STAGE 7 "Fox Hunt" 1955
This is the last episode of the one season run of the anthology series, STAGE 7. The series ran for 25 episodes during 1955. The headliner in this western episode is, Dennis Morgan.
Texas Ranger, Dennis Morgan is sent out to help a small town Sheriff round up a trio of bank robbers. Morgan arrives in the small burg to find that the Sheriff is dead. He had been bushwhacked by the trio and shot dead.
Morgan tries to round up a posse but none of the local men are interested. They don't like the odds. Morgan asks an older prospector looking type just riding into town, if he will join in chasing the bandits down. The man, Harry Shannon, looks at the Ranger for a moment and then agrees. He wants a feed of fresh grub first. Morgan sends him over to the beanery with a dollar and tells him to fill up.
The two men hit the trail out into the hill country looking for their prey. They are soon joined by several townsfolk, John Doucette and Howard Negley. The two new joiners figure that if the old man, Shannon can ride with the Ranger, then so can they.
The men track the robbers down to a rocky ridge where they are camped out. It seems that one of the men, Paul Burke, had been wounded in the bank hold up. Guns are pulled and everyone fires off a fistful of rounds to no effect. Shannon volunteers to climb up around behind the gunmen and see if he can flush them out.
Ranger Morgan and the others watch as Shannon scrambles up the ridge and disappears from sight. At the top, gunman, Burke and his partner John Cliff holster their guns when they see Shannon. It turns out that Shannon is actually the third member of the hold-up bunch. It was he who had killed the local Lawman.
Now Shannon yards iron and kills his partners. He yells down to Morgan and company to come on up. The Ranger and the others sling the two dead men over their horses to take back to town. Morgan and the others, figure that the third man must of fled during the firefight.
Shannon of course has hidden the loot and intends to return later to retrieve it. Morgan though starts to smell a rather large rodent in the cheese cupboard. He quickly realizes that the rat in play is Shannon. He disarms the man and they join the others for the ride back to town.
This could have been a real corker of an episode. The writers, Frank Burt and Richard Carr, however blow the suspense factor by revealing at the start, that Shannon was the killer of the lawman. (He had been riding into the town to get some medical and food supplies when Morgan had asked him to join the posse. What better place to hide than with the posse) Frank Burt was best known for working on the screenplay for the Anthony Mann directed, THE MAN FROM LARAMIE starring James Stewart. Richard Carr is best known for MAN FROM DEL RIO and HELL IS FOR HEROES. Still, even with the plot giveaway, it is an interesting duster.
Behind the camera there is some first rate talent. The director is long time film-editor and occasional director, Stuart Gilmore. The 3 time Oscar nominated Gilmore's work includes editing turns on, SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS, THE ENEMY BELOW, THE HUNTERS, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, THE ALAMO, HATARI!, AIRPORT and THE ANDROMDEA STRAIN.
The d of p here is noir veteran, George Diskant. His work includes, "DESPERATE", "RIFFRAFF", "THEY LIVE BY NIGHT", "PORT OF NEW YORK", "BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN", "THE RACKET", "ON DANGEROUS GROUND", "THE NARROW MARGIN", "BEWARE MY LOVELY" and "KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL".
Some excellent location filming at Vasquez Rocks helps with the look of the episode.
This is the last episode of the one season run of the anthology series, STAGE 7. The series ran for 25 episodes during 1955. The headliner in this western episode is, Dennis Morgan.
Texas Ranger, Dennis Morgan is sent out to help a small town Sheriff round up a trio of bank robbers. Morgan arrives in the small burg to find that the Sheriff is dead. He had been bushwhacked by the trio and shot dead.
Morgan tries to round up a posse but none of the local men are interested. They don't like the odds. Morgan asks an older prospector looking type just riding into town, if he will join in chasing the bandits down. The man, Harry Shannon, looks at the Ranger for a moment and then agrees. He wants a feed of fresh grub first. Morgan sends him over to the beanery with a dollar and tells him to fill up.
The two men hit the trail out into the hill country looking for their prey. They are soon joined by several townsfolk, John Doucette and Howard Negley. The two new joiners figure that if the old man, Shannon can ride with the Ranger, then so can they.
The men track the robbers down to a rocky ridge where they are camped out. It seems that one of the men, Paul Burke, had been wounded in the bank hold up. Guns are pulled and everyone fires off a fistful of rounds to no effect. Shannon volunteers to climb up around behind the gunmen and see if he can flush them out.
Ranger Morgan and the others watch as Shannon scrambles up the ridge and disappears from sight. At the top, gunman, Burke and his partner John Cliff holster their guns when they see Shannon. It turns out that Shannon is actually the third member of the hold-up bunch. It was he who had killed the local Lawman.
Now Shannon yards iron and kills his partners. He yells down to Morgan and company to come on up. The Ranger and the others sling the two dead men over their horses to take back to town. Morgan and the others, figure that the third man must of fled during the firefight.
Shannon of course has hidden the loot and intends to return later to retrieve it. Morgan though starts to smell a rather large rodent in the cheese cupboard. He quickly realizes that the rat in play is Shannon. He disarms the man and they join the others for the ride back to town.
This could have been a real corker of an episode. The writers, Frank Burt and Richard Carr, however blow the suspense factor by revealing at the start, that Shannon was the killer of the lawman. (He had been riding into the town to get some medical and food supplies when Morgan had asked him to join the posse. What better place to hide than with the posse) Frank Burt was best known for working on the screenplay for the Anthony Mann directed, THE MAN FROM LARAMIE starring James Stewart. Richard Carr is best known for MAN FROM DEL RIO and HELL IS FOR HEROES. Still, even with the plot giveaway, it is an interesting duster.
Behind the camera there is some first rate talent. The director is long time film-editor and occasional director, Stuart Gilmore. The 3 time Oscar nominated Gilmore's work includes editing turns on, SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS, THE ENEMY BELOW, THE HUNTERS, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, THE ALAMO, HATARI!, AIRPORT and THE ANDROMDEA STRAIN.
The d of p here is noir veteran, George Diskant. His work includes, "DESPERATE", "RIFFRAFF", "THEY LIVE BY NIGHT", "PORT OF NEW YORK", "BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN", "THE RACKET", "ON DANGEROUS GROUND", "THE NARROW MARGIN", "BEWARE MY LOVELY" and "KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL".
Some excellent location filming at Vasquez Rocks helps with the look of the episode.
