The odd thing about outlaw partners Sontag and Evans was their age disparity. Christopher Evans (Morris Ankrum) was the older of the two, and presented in this episode as the uncle of Sue Evans (Claudia Barrett), who John Sontag (John Smith) was engaged to. The young couple was in their twenties. This fact had some implications later in the story when Railroad Detective Margaret Jones (Kristine Miller) attempted to pass herself off as the wife of Sontag in a ruse to get the men to come out of hiding.
Apparently both men had a vendetta against the railroad, Sontag in particular because he suffered an injury while employed and the company didn't stand behind him when he recovered. In the story, the men plot to blow up a train and then go on the run when Jonesy's partner Matt Clark (Jim Davis) enlists the local sheriff to form a posse and go after the outlaws.
Granted, this was an early Fifties TV show, but anyone could see the posse attack on the Evans gang was a dumb move. The good guys come charging against the outlaws using a frontal assault on horseback while the criminals returned fire concealed behind a barricade that made them hard to even see. Fortunately, Matt Clark and the sheriff (Howard Negley) had the smarts to figure this out, as they dismounted and approached from a different direction. Evans finally surrendered when his niece intervened, while John Sontag died of his wounds. Historically, this was known as the Battle of the Stone Corral (June 1893), but that name was not mentioned in the story.
If you've got a sharp eye and you're as old as I am, you might recognize the sheriff's deputy in this story. You also would have had to watch the Mickey Mouse Club as a kid in the Fifties; this was the second time I've caught head Mousketeer Jimmie Dodd in a Western.
Apparently both men had a vendetta against the railroad, Sontag in particular because he suffered an injury while employed and the company didn't stand behind him when he recovered. In the story, the men plot to blow up a train and then go on the run when Jonesy's partner Matt Clark (Jim Davis) enlists the local sheriff to form a posse and go after the outlaws.
Granted, this was an early Fifties TV show, but anyone could see the posse attack on the Evans gang was a dumb move. The good guys come charging against the outlaws using a frontal assault on horseback while the criminals returned fire concealed behind a barricade that made them hard to even see. Fortunately, Matt Clark and the sheriff (Howard Negley) had the smarts to figure this out, as they dismounted and approached from a different direction. Evans finally surrendered when his niece intervened, while John Sontag died of his wounds. Historically, this was known as the Battle of the Stone Corral (June 1893), but that name was not mentioned in the story.
If you've got a sharp eye and you're as old as I am, you might recognize the sheriff's deputy in this story. You also would have had to watch the Mickey Mouse Club as a kid in the Fifties; this was the second time I've caught head Mousketeer Jimmie Dodd in a Western.
