User Reviews

Sheriff Cheyenne Bodie is facing a courtroom full of people who are determined to see him hanged at the order of the town's richest man, Ralph Tobin, for the death of his good-for-nothing son Jess. Also, presiding Judge Pomeroy has a reputation for being a hangin' judge, and he's a friend of Ralph Tobin. Uh-oh; things aren't looking good for Cheyenne Bodie. There are a few side stories, such as Jess' wife Beth, who has a past she'd rather the old man not know about that has nothing to do with her long-ago friendship with Cheyenne. Another issue is a lack of water, and Ralph Tobin's beloved Arroyo Seco is a dying town because of it. Related to that, his sons Harry and Jess are in cahoots with Chet Noler (or Noller) to defraud the town by lying about the water well he's been contracted to dig. Added to the drama, an innocent young man is killed to keep the fraud a secret. Doing his job, Cheyenne jails the murderous well-digger. Before Judge Pomeroy arrives for the trial, however, a liquored-up mob goaded by Jess Tobin storms the jail to execute their own brand of prairie justice against Chet. It doesn't end well for Jess. No sooner has Ralph Tobin told Cheyenne he wanted him to stay on to benefit from the prosperity to come because he admires him so much, than he's demanding his trusty sheriff's head on a platter. So much for prairie loyalty.

Very few episodes of "Cheyenne" have had me talking to the screen in frustration, but this one did. Every couple of minutes, I found myself muttering about injustice, stupidity, and the general incompetence of just about everybody, which is actually a compliment to the cast; they all played their parts very convincingly. Water wasn't the only thing lacking in Arroyo Seco; there was also a gross absence of integrity-- except in one man, Cheyenne Bodie. I completely agree with previous reviewer keith-73. This episode has the most surprising and satisfying ending of any in the series. Although I found it torturous to watch because of the way a noble man like Cheyenne was treated, I commend the writers for giving us the O. Henry ending that made the thought of rewatching the episode bearable. Especially noteworthy is Clint Walker's ability to convey more with a look than many actors can with a line of dialogue. As a side note, I'm guessing that this episode was filmed around the time he made "Yellowstone Kelly" because his hair is a little longer and he still has the slightly more bulked-up physique that he had in that impressive Western movie. In any event, Clint Walker is the reason many of us got hooked on "Cheyenne" to begin with, and why we enjoy even the occasional episode that makes us want to punch the tv set.