User Reviews

Stanwyck is pretty much who you'd expect her to be at this point in her career. In this episode of Rawhide, she plays a strong woman, who is on the wrong side of things, and does it well enough to make you dislike her. That's the intention. Things were done differently in the 50's and 60's, so when you see intensity, it's typically overt and in the extreme.

Considering the director of this episode, Tay Garnett, got his start with Mack Sennet/Hal Roach and Pathe, you know you'll get traditional performances from his actors. Stanwyck, probably had more input than the usual guest star, but she's doing what she's told. After all, she was a professional; anybody would tell you that.

I like the surprise of a, Stanwyck, showing up in a 1961/2 episode of, Rawhide. Watching her do what she does is such a pleasure. The episode is a cut above the usual fair that's so common in this series, i.e., Rowdy, Mushy and Wishbone go to town and get in trouble with the local sheriff, who locks 'em up, while the rest of the drovers plot a plan to break 'em outta jail, etc.

Fact is, you get to see, Stanwyck, ride a horse, handle guns, shoot people and then, unexpectedly, die. All done competently, long before she assumed her place in TV history as western matriarch, Victoria Barkley, on The Big Valley, where she continued to turn out complex performances not unlike this one. And, btw, long after she did so much more on the big screen in starring roles with all the major costars of the 30's, 40's and 50's. This woman deserves your attention.

So, if you've seen this and didn't like it because, Rowdy, didn't show up, or Stanwyck, showed (way) up, watch it again with an open mind and consider this review, because you're supposed to dislike, Nora Holloway, but you should like the actor who played her...

A lot happens in this episode. It is certainly a showcase for Barbara Stanwyck who gets to play an ambitious cold-hearted woman. Nora Holloway is cut from the same cloth as Phyllis Dietrichson in DOUBLE INDEMNITY and the title character in THE FILE ON THELMA JORDON. Only this time her husband is a military captain, and a lover she has on the side is also employed at the fort.

Personally I thought the subplot with the lover was a bit too much and unnecessary. They could have just shown her manipulating a man who might have fancied her; then in the end, believing she could maybe have a life with him when her marriage fell apart. We didn't need the soap opera drama of her making love to one of her husband's colleagues. There was already plenty of other stuff going on in the episode without needing to include that.

I do like how Gil Favor and his men need to venture to the fort and how they become embroiled in all of this. Hey Soos has a bit more to do in this story than he usually does in other episodes. Rowdy is not part of the action. The focus is on Favor having to deal with the captain's treacherous wife.

I have to admit I was surprised that one of the other wives was killed (off screen). Mainly because she was sort of a minor character, and because I thought writer John Dunkel was setting up the boy to be a casualty, since the captain's wife had such fondness for him. It probably would have been more dramatic if her actions had indirectly led to the kid's death.

I thought Robert Lowery, who played the captain, made the most of his screen time. And the scene near the end where he realizes how badly his wife had abused his trust, was very well-played. One couldn't help but feel sorry for him!

As for Stanwyck's character, we're supposed to dislike her, perhaps even hate her...but I do think her death at the end, which satisfies a sort of moral code about punishing wrong-doers, ultimately makes her sympathetic.