"The Virginian" Throw a Long Rope (TV Episode 1962) Poster

(TV Series)

(1962)

User Reviews

Review this title
4 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
7/10
Range War Developing
bkoganbing27 March 2020
There's some rusting out in Wyoming and the ranchers get an excuse to burn out some homesteaders. But if you're Henry Garth and you have the title of judge you have law and order to stand for.

If you're a major like John Anderson however you're looking for an excuse for some battle. This one was at Wounded Knee and enjoyed every minute of it.

And if you're Jack Warden you're just looking to survive and provide for your family on the farm you're working.

We get a bit of The Virginian's background in this episode and he doesn't want a range war no matter who's side he might be counted in on. It's a tug of war for Lee J. Cobb's soul with James Drury and John Anderson doing the tugging.

Good number 3 episode for the series.
7 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
9/10
Crisis on the range
pfors-647-5014971 April 2013
Producer Charles Marquis Warren and stars Lee J. Cobb and James Drury leave indelible imprints on this stellar early episode. Warren and director Ted Post, frequent collaborators on the rugged series "Rawhide," produce the same rawboned authenticity here. Cobb and Drury work up an interesting dynamic: The principled Judge Garth is reluctant to make war on homesteaders, but he's grudgingly concluding that he has no choice; The Virginian disagrees and hopes to dissuade him without directly opposing a man he greatly respects. It's a fascinating historical coincidence that this episode about attempts to pull back from the brink of a cataclysmic event aired the same month as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
13 out of 15 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
The farms and the cowboys
VetteRanger14 January 2023
This theme always reminds of one of the big musical numbers in Oklahoma. "Oh the famers and the cowmen should be friends!"

But in Western lore, and a few times in actual Western history, things didn't work out that way ... with violent, bloody consequences. This episode harkens to those dark days.

Here a homesteader is suspected of rustling and almost hung. Even Judge Garth loses patience with the situation, but the Virginian isn't so sure things should be handled that way and stands up for his beliefs. That's a bit of a departure from the book which inspired both a movie and this series, since in that book the Virginian hung Trampas for such an offence!

The show continued it's excellent casting by bringing on Jack Warden as the homesteader.
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
10/10
Powerful and provocative
hnt_dnl9 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The Virginian was never on my radar as a kid as far as classic TV Westerns. Even though they were all before my time, I gravitated towards stuff like reruns of Gunsmoke, The Big Valley, and Bonanza when I was younger. So I really didn't know what The Virginian was about. Based on this "first" episode (it's listed as the third one on this site, but shows up first on amazon), it seems like a keeper. As the title character and fully embodying the stalwart qualities of a heroic protagonist, James Drury was particularly exceptional in this one, being the bridge between the 2 feuding parties and trying to keep the peace. Also, the great Lee J. Cobb was superb as the ranch owner with a crisis of conscience. Very much feeling like a feature film, running close to 90 minutes, this episode is the tried and true ranchers vs homesteaders tale, pitting iconic guest actors John Anderson (rancher) and Jack Warden (farmer) on opposite sides. The episode also features Ted Knight in a juicy part as one of Warden's farmer friends, as well as stalwart TV actress Jacqueline Scott as Warden's wife. I could totally see how this episode would reel viewers into sticking with the series and why it ran for a decade.
4 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Clear your history

Recently Viewed