User Reviews

THE RIFLEMAN – Suspicion - 1963

This is the 157th episode from the 1958 to 1963 western series, THE RIFLEMAN. Over the course of 168 episodes we follow the life of Lucas McCain and his son, Mark. They have moved to the small western town of North Fork where they hope to start a new life. Chuck Connors headlines the series with Johnny Crawford as his son. Connors is a world class hand with a Winchester rifle which of course ends up getting him in no end of trouble.

Chuck Connors and his son, Johnny Crawford, are riding back to North Fork after delivering some cattle to a ranch several days away. They come across a man, Kevin McCarthy, whose wagon had suffered a broken wheel. They lash up a repair good enough to get the wagon into North Fork. McCarthy, who has a fondness for the bottle, regales Connors and Crawford with tales of his travels. He is now a painter of signs who travels throughout the west.

McCarthy is a bit short of cash, so he trades innkeeper Patricia Blair an woman's broach watch for a room for the week. He trades the blacksmith, Joe Higgins, a diamond ring to have his wagon repaired. He makes several other trades for goods or services.

Sheriff Paul Fix gets a telegraph message warning him that a killer could be coming his way. There has been a string of murders and robberies all heading towards North Fork. The list of stolen items matches exactly what McCarthy has been bartering throughout town. Fix puts the grab on McCarthy and locks him up. Connors' finds it difficult to believe that the always, half cut, McCarthy is a killer.

When questioned, it turns out that the real killer had tried to rob McCarthy. The man had taken McCarthy's cash box and rifled through it. He got a rather unpleasant surprise. McCarthy kept a live rattlesnake in the box. The snake disposed of the highway man and McCarthy helped himself to the man's possessions. McCarthy never knew they were stolen. There was however, a 500 dollar reward for the killer, dead or alive.

This one is played in a comic style that works quite well, with McCarthy shining as the happy go lucky, whiskey sodden traveller.