Carey Wilbur, who had a lengthy list of tv westerns to his credit, wrote this timely adventure which sheds light on oppressed Indians; newsworthy material in the 1970s. There's also a heroin smuggling angle and a related murder that gets Cannon on board and up against some dangerous folks.
10 Stars. Excellent.
Lawrence Dobkin directed and did a fine job with the cast, and some good dialogue to match. Dobkin was also associated with MOD SQUAD, so you know there's going to be friction, this is a violent episode.
Among the suspects is Jay Silverheels, in rare form, smoking cigars and looking sinister. It's amazing to see the Lone Ranger's heroic sidekick in this role. Also in the cast is X Brands; his real first name was also Jay. Brands, like Silverheels, a veteran of westerns. Corrine Camacho, who worked quite a bit for producer Quinn Martin, plays the Indian native who hires Cannon.
Leslie Nielsen makes his first appearance on the show, and long before THE NAKED GUN, played many villains to perfection. About a year earlier, he had a terrific role as a sly drug smuggler on the MOD SQUAD. This time he plays a slick lawyer --and watch your back.
Cannon does his famous rib-breaking bear hug.
The small western town where this is set looks a lot (at least in parts) like Burbank, California? Burbank and North Hollywood were typically local shooting spots for the series. And not much has changed over the years. Also scenes shot at Van Nuys Airport.
Very clever ending. Lawrence Dobkin handled this scene quite well, similar to the ending of the first episode from Season 1.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 14 CBS/Paramount remastered color dvd box set (2012). Classic blue and red dvd set.
