User Reviews

"Arthur Pierce Madison" (Michael Lipton) - is from a Boston newspaper and he's on assignment to write about the West, more specifically about the life of a bounty hunter. At first Josh isn't receptive but when Arthur tells him his name will become famous in print, it appeals to Randall's ego and he says, "okay."

He thinks he has to teach Arthur how to shoot and ride a horse but it turns out, he already knows both but in odd ways, and he only believes in shooting for sport. That's just one of several surprises by this "gentleman" from back East who is a nice guy but sometimes a hindrance when Josh goes searching for tough-guy "Jack Torrance," a man wanted for murder and armed robbery.

About halfway through this episode comes a big surprise, at least to this viewer. "Arthur" is in a saloon talking to this pretty woman with a low-cut dress and she looks familiar. When she speaks, I recognized the voice: it is Mary Tyler Moore!! She plays "Sophie Anderson," kind of a Southern con artist looking to get name in print. It was shocking to see what she showed, skin-wise, after mainly seeing her only as the more modestly-dressed "Laura Petrie" or "Mary Richards." According to her resume here on IMDb, MTM had been acting in TV roles for a couple of years.

Anyway, Lipton is the star of this episode which combined drama and humor.

Steve McQueen is an overrated actor as evidenced by his acting in the entire series. First of all, he seems to think that it makes him seem like a tough guy to speak as though he has a mouthful of oatmeal. His performance is wooden and without any real emotion, being limited to just one, and that is bland and unconvincing.

Now we have Mary Tyler Moore whose character is a hysterical over the top caricature of the dumb saloon girl. But it is fun to watch her in a role completely different from her typical wholesome down home girl. An added bonus is the low cut dress which accentuates her voluptuous figure which we all knew she had from the tight fitting sweaters she wore as Laura Petrie.

Then there is the ridiculous gun that Josh carries. For some reason Hollywood writers of westerns are obsessed with designing unrealistic over the top guns for their heroes (e.g., The Rifleman).

These westerns are fun to watch for the nostalgic value, but as real drama with suspense, they fall far short of being adult entertainment.

I gave it five stars because of Mary Tyler Moore, but without her it is more like one or two stars.