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1.26 [--]
"Echo Of Another Day"
(not to be confused with episode #124 'Echo Of Thunder')
Original NBC Broadcast - 27 March 1963
Revue Studios Production
Executive Producer Roy Huggins
Produced by Warren Duff
Written by Frank Fenton
Directed by William Graham
Starring:
(shown on the ride-in)
Lee J. Cobb as Judge Henry Garth (not in this episode)
Doug McClure as Trampas
Gary Clarke as Steve Hill (not in this episode)
and
James Drury as The Virginian
Guest Star:
Bradford Dillman [ Sam Harder]
Co-Starring: (also on the ride-in)
John Dehner [ Bleeck]
Edward Asner [ George Johnson]
End Credits (complete)
(co-stars were listed during the ride in--no co-stars at the end)
With
Francis J. McDonald ... Saul Weintraub
Russell Thorson ... The Sheriff
Grace Lee Whitney ... Nina
John Mitchum ... Madison
Frank Sully ... Danny
Frank Watkins ... Gregg
and
Joe Moross as Landegger
#
Virginian Theme Percy Faith
#
Director of Photography - Lionel Lindon, A.S.C.
#
Supervising Producer - Frank Price
#
Art Director - George Patrick
Film Editor - Budd Small
Editorial Dept. Head - David J. O'Connell
Musical Supervision - Stanley Wilson
Set Decorators - John McCarthy and James M. Walters
Color Consultant - Alex Quiroga
Color Processing by Consolidated Film Industries
#
Assistant Director - Charles S. Gould
Sound - Earl Crain, Jr.
Costume Supervisor - Vincent Dee
Makeup - Jack Barron
Hair Stylist - Florence Bush
The title "The Virginian" by permission of EMKA, LTD.
Series Regular Characters in this Episode :
Virginian and Trampas
With Recurring Characters:
Sheriff Evans and Danny the bartender
Brief Synopsis:
Fresh out of prison, Sam Harder determines to return the gold he took during a train
holdup. Years earlier Trampas had declined to be in on the robbery, and Sam had made
sure the rest of the gang let him go on his way. With his friend back in Medicine
Bow, Trampas wants to help protect the man from the fast gun who had instigated the crime
but because of his former manner of life is suspected by a government agent to be Harder's
accomplice. The Virginian, however, has faith that Trampas is a changed man.
More Detailed Synopsis:
Upon his release from prison Sam Harder (Dillman), an old friend of Trampas', shows up in
Medicine Bow. Five years previously Sam had become involved with some low-lifes in a
train robbery, intending to use his share of the $50,000 to buy a diamond ring for his
wife. The gang had invited Trampas to go in on the haul, but the young cowboy declined.
Afraid Trampas might spill information about the upcoming train heist the gang was
reluctant to let him go. But Sam could "prove" his own abilities with a gun if
need be and told the others, "He's out of it." Now that he's a free man Harder
is determined to return the gold to the government and get on with his life. One person
stands in his way--Bleeck (Dehner), the greedy fast gun who had instigated the robbery
and, unable to find the stash himself, has been waiting for Sam to return and lead him to
the bullion. Trampas, spotting Sam at the saloon, asks the Virginian to give him a job at
the ranch. There are no complaints when it comes to the man's work, but the
Virginian is concerned he might influence Trampas to turn back to his wild way of living,
something the foreman will not tolerate because Trampas is his friend. Sam doesn't
want Trampas to get involved because he's sure Bleeck will try to kill him after he leads
him to the money. Not wanting to chance interference, Sam and Trampas argue in the
saloon. Trampas "lets" Sam knock him unconscious, and Harder leaves without
him. But two of Bleeck's cohorts, "The Rat" and "The Pig," pick
up the boy and take him to the meeting place. To complicate the matter, government agent
George Johnson (Asner) comes to town also set on following Sam to the gold and insists
that, since Trampas and Harder had been working together around the time of the robbery,
the young cowhand was probably an accomplice to the crime. Even though the Virginian
"doubts it," Johnson becomes even more convinced when Trampas disappears at the
same time Sam leaves to meet Bleeck. The agent tries to follow, but Harder ropes him from
his horse and leaves him afoot. Johnson is picked up by a man returning to town and
encounters the Virginian and a posse who are on the trail of the outlaws. The
Virginian makes it known that he doesn't care about the gold or Bleeck or Harder or the
government or anything else but Trampas--he just wants Trampas--and takes charge of the
hunt, insisting Sheriff Evans can't track the men without his help. When asked if he
thought Harder was trying to prove something, the Virginian states, "I believe
Trampas is trying to prove something or I wouldn't be here," commenting he thought
Trampas felt he owed Sam for his life. Intent on protecting his pal and confident
his boss will come to the rescue, Trampas leaves signs along the trail, thus proving the
faith the Virginian has in him. The money located, "The Rat" wants to take over,
but Bleeck guns him down. Now talking about the gold, Bleeck knows it's always been
"You give it back or I take it all. They can have it. All you can do is buy
something...But you and me have to prove this thing between us." Sam is faster
on the draw but has respect for the dead outlaw and tells the arriving posse not to rough
up the body because Bleeck "was a man." Contemplating the events (while Trampas
goes to dance with a barmaid who "owed" him for a bottle of perfume
"straight from Paris") Sam comments to the Virginian Bleeck was "dead
without ever learning how to live. But he sure knew how to die."
Memorable moments in the relationship between the Virginian and Trampas:
The Virginian didn't want anyone interfering with the kind of man Trampas was becoming
(see 2.01 "Ride a Dark Trail" for the kind of man he had been). In this
well-directed scene aptly set in the barn while Sam and the Virginian were drying a new
born foal, we are given Frank Fenton's wonderful assessment of human nature when the
Virginian warns Harder that Trampas is his friend, and he won't stand for him to try to
pull the young cowboy back to his wild ways--"We all think we've changed, we think
we've become something better and different. We think we've grown up. Then something
happens like a prairie catches fire or a herd bolts and stampedes or a star falls.
And we find out we're back again to something we thought we'd forgotten."
The government agent kept insisting Trampas was an accomplice to the crime and wondered
how the Virginian could "still believe in that kid" when, to all appearances, it
looked like Trampas and the gang were "chummy." The Virginian told him,
"Whether he's right or wrong I'm going to be here for him." Later when
Johnson asked if he believed there was any man who, "if the price was right, wouldn't
put a knife in your back," the foreman (finding the knife Trampas had stuck in the
tree as a trail marker) replied, "Yeah. A man who'd put one in a tree." As
for Trampas' regards for the Virginian, he respected his boss's abilities, assuring Harder
he could "follow a rabbit all over St. Louis" and would think things out and not
hurry or interfere before the time was right. After hearing the Virginian's
"coyote" signals Trampas told Harder the foreman was out there and wanted to let
them know he was around in case they needed him. When Harder commented, "You think a
lot of him," Trampas nonchalantly stated, "I can take him or leave him.
I'd just hate for him to leave me."
Where was that scene?:
Viewers may remember Bleeck singing then talking about the time his teacher told him he
sang like a "bullfrog." When Sam asked about his mother, Bleeck reply was
"Are you some kind of hammer looking for nails?"
Horse trivia:
James Drury rode a different Appaloosa in this episode which looked very much like
Stormy, the horse Robert Horton used in WAGON TRAIN. Bradford Dillman also appears in 9.17
"The Legacy of Spencer Flats"
In addition to portraying Morgan Starr during the 4th season interim between Judge Garth
and new owner John Grainger, John Dehner made guest appearances in 2.02 "To Make This
Place Remember" and 8.03 "Halfway Back From Hell" [bj] *
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