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 2.10 [040]
"Stopover In A Western Town"
Original NBC Broadcast - 27 November 1963

 Revue Studios Production
Executive Producer Frank Price
Written by Carey Wilber
Directed by Richard L. Bare

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
and
James Drury as The Virginian

Guest Star
(credited during the ride-in)
Dick York [Jefferson Tolliver]

Complete ending credits:
Co-Starring
Joan Freeman as Caroline
#
Warren Oates as Corbie
#
Robert Simon as Ben Wainright
#
with
Ross Elliott . . . . . as Sheriff Abbott
Ed Peck . . . . . as Cassidy
Sam Edwards . . . . . as The Desk Clerk
Sandy Sanders . . . . . as Rider
Owen Cunningham . . . . . As The Man
Barry Brooks . . . . . as the Train Conductor
Ann Adler . . . . . As The 1st Saloon Girl
Joan Willis . . . . . as The 2nd Saloon Girl
#
and
Lillian Bronson as Aunt Grace
#
Virginian Theme Percy Faith
#
Director of Photography John L. Russell, A.S.C.
#
Art Director . . . . . George Patrick
Film Editor . . . . . Ray C. de Vally, A.C.E.
Editorial Dept. Head . . . . . David J. O'Connell
Musical Supervision . . . . . Stanley Wilson
Set Decorators . . . . . John McCarthy and Perry Murdock
Color Coordinator . . . . . Robert Brower
Color by Pathe
#
Assistant Director . . . . . Milton Feldman
Sound . . . . . Joe Lapis
Makeup . . . . . Leo Lotito, Jr.
Hair Stylist . . . . . Florence Bush
The title "The Virginian" by permission of EMKA, LTD.

Series regular characters appearing in this episode:
Featuring the Virginian with a brief appearance by Steve and Trampas

Synopsis:
Carolyn Witman and her Aunt Grace are headed from New York to San Francisco by train.
Carolyn's father had sent her away because he disapproved of
her friends. At the rail stop in Pawnee Junction, a
drunken Jefferson Tolliver boards the train and plops himself down in the
seat across from the two women. His conversation embarrasses Grace but amuses Carolyn.

The next day the train pulls to a stop to avoid hitting the
cattle the Virginian had driven onto the tracks. The bridge ahead had been
washed out, and it could be days before it was repaired. Jeff, who had once
worked at Shiloh but had left to seek his fortune, decides to join the cattle
roundup with the other hands. The spoiled Carolyn doesn't want to wait on
the train and offers the Virginian $10 to take her into town. Fed up with
her impatience, the foreman lifts the woman on to his saddle and rides off
with her toward Medicine Bow. Steve and Trampas proceed with moving the
cattle while Jeff and another Shiloh hand named Corbie follow after the
Virginian. The Virginian drops Carolyn off in the street, gives her directions
to the hotel, and rides away without acknowledging her further. The girl
complains to Jeff, "That is the rudest, most arrogant excuse for a man I've
ever met." Jeff replies that the Virginian was just having fun with her and
was "all right" once a person got to know him.

Well, Carolyn can have her own fun. When the train finally arrives she
informs Grace that she had
decided to stay in Medicine Bow. She tells her aunt she wants to look for a
horse - a wild one that she can make obey her. Warned of the danger of such
a steed, the girl states, "It's the danger that makes the animal exciting."
At Shiloh, Carolyn apologizes to the Virginian for her rudeness at the train
and hopes that they will be friends. The Virginian picks out a horse for
her and instructs her on the fine points of horse buying, then they both
ride out to the countryside to try out the animal. When the Virginian
ignores her advances, Carolyn kicks the horse into a gallop, pretending it
had run away with her. She is disappointed when the foreman doesn't come to
her rescue and returns to his side to explain that it wasn't all that easy
being rich. The biggest problem is that her father won't allow
her to "pick her own man." The Virginian responds, "I'm not as much a
greenhorn as you think I am." He reads her as being "reckless and
headstrong without a thought of consequences" - the type of woman a man
would have to beat and "keep on a Spanish curb bit" - the kind that "enjoys
playing games with people" and is trying to play a game with him.

Determined to teach the Virginian a lesson, Carolyn decides to have a party.
The Virginian and Jeff are among those she invites, and it seems that for
awhile the foreman and the young woman are enjoying each other in a waltz.
But the Virginian has more important matters to tend to - someone is
rustling and butchering cattle. The other ranchers want to form a
stockman's association to deal with them. Sheriff Abbott is concerned this
will lead to a range war where innocent people are hanged or shot. But the
Virginian thinks an association is a good idea - as long as the ranchers are
deputized and go according to law, not emotion.

Grace believes her niece is in love with the Virginian, but Carolyn feels
she just wants to "put a ring in his nose and teach him to heel." She
attempts this by playing up to Jeff. Corbie warns Jeff that Carolyn is only
leading him on, but the lovesick cowboy won't believe him. His desire for
Carolyn overrides his honesty when he comes upon one of the cattle butchers
and decides to go in with the man for money.

The Virginian begins to suspect Jeff might be involved in something
underhanded when the cowboy buys a new hat and boots and spends his nights in
town. Hearing from Corbie that Jefferson is going to Medicine Bow every
night to visit Carolyn (not to play poker as he had said), the Virginian
confronts Carolyn about her intentions toward Jeff. Although the girl does
admit to Jeff that Medicine Bow is just a stopover for her and he had only
made the time a little more interesting, the cowboy becomes more determined than
ever to win her affection. It's then that "things get all messed up,"
despite Carolyn's repentance and insistence that she "never meant to cause harm." [bj]

Notes:
On Clothing - Carolyn had on a split riding skirt. Grace objected, "No lady
ever rides straddle." Carolyn responded, "They do out here," and her Aunt
appraised, "I suppose it's practical."

On the Virginian - Carolyn observed that Wyoming was such a big country.
She wanted to know why the Virginian stayed in such a place. He remarked
that his work was there and that it was big so a man can feel free.

General - Corbie's statement that a lot of ranchers in the area got started
by "setting about with a wide and careless loop in their rope" to stock
their land with cattle, and it all "depended on which side of the rope
you're on" was similar to Trampas' opinion in 1.01 [001] "Throw a Long Rope."

Joan Freeman also appears in 1.11 "The Devil's Children," 3.26 "Timberland,"
and 4.15 "Blaze of Glory."

Robert Simon (sometimes credited as Robert F. Simon) can also be seen in
4.17 "Men With Guns" and 7.09 "The Storm Gate."

Warren Oates fans can also see him in 3.21 "A Slight Case of Charity," 4.24
"One Spring Like Long Ago," and 5.02 "Ride to Delphi." [bj]
 

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