As soon as Fletcher and Smith leave, Diamond Jim packs the money that Heyes has slipped back to him and removes his props from the empty office. Diamond Jim’s part is over.
Back in the Silver Springs hotel, Clem and the boys toast their success so far.
There’s a knock on the door.
Curry and Clem dash into the next room while Heyes faces an excited Fletcher. Smith won’t have to pay Miss Brandon an inflated price for her land. He’s found another owner right near by and he’ll tell him who it is if Smith will let him have a share in the deal. They argue, but eventually Smith agrees to cut Fletcher in for fifteen percent.
Curry, Heyes and Clem consider the situation somberly. Fletcher’s greed will cost him money, but it won’t get them the $50,000 Clem wants. She wants both the money and to get even with Fletcher. So, all they have to do is get to Horace Wingate, the other holder of Golden Meadow deeds, and buy his land before Fletcher can. Great idea, but what will they use for money now that Diamond Jim is gone?
Heyes stalls Fletcher while Curry and Clem go to Horace Wingate and buy his land with a check. Wingate is loath to accept a check from strangers, so Clem offers to let him hold her pearl necklace until the check clears. Wingate relents. Curry and Clem leave just before Smith and Fletcher drive up.
Wingate is confused. The land is worthless, but today people keep coming by wanting to buy it. Fletcher asks how much he sold the land for. One dollar an acre, Wingate tells them proudly and asks how much they’d have paid. “As much as $5 an acre,” admits Smith. Wingate stomps into his house for his shotgun. He’s going to get that swindler who paid him only a dollar an acre!
Smith accuses Fletcher of leaking the news, creating a run on Golden Meadows land. Fletcher claims innocence, but admits he’s been waiting for one big opportunity and this is it. He shoves Smith out of the carriage and whips the team, eager to get to Miss Brandon before anyone else does.
Curry returns to Wingate, ostensibly to have him sign the transfer of ownership papers. Wingate holds a rifle on him, accusing him of trying to fleece an old man and demands the deeds back. Curry reluctantly hands him the deeds, getting his bad check back in return.
Fletcher helps himself to $50,000 of his company’s money, then buys Miss Brandon’s land. Clem sighs with satisfaction as Fletcher leaves with his worthless deeds. As soon as he’s gone, she dashes out of the rented mansion and whistles for the carriage she had waiting.
In Silver Springs, Heyes and Curry watch Fletcher’s carriage race by. He seems to be in a hurry. “He wants to get to Diamond Jim’s office before it closes. He’ll be about two days late,” Heyes observes. The boys take a seat at the train depot to wait for Clem.
Fletcher hurries to the De Vega Land Development office, but finds only an office for rent. He asks a janitor what happened to the company, but the janitor has never heard of them. That office has been empty for two months. Fletcher pales.
Many hours later Curry and Heyes are still waiting for Clem at the train depot, grudgingly accepting that she’s taken the money and dumped them. They decide to track her down and save her from a life of crime. Since her father and her safe deposit box are both in Denver, that seems like the place to start.
Clem is not pleased to see them. She’s expecting a Federal Marshal and a Deputy State Attorney General, men she’s sure they won’t want to meet. Heyes and Curry don’t believe her, but do appreciate the imagination she’s showing in trying to get rid of them. The argument is interrupted by a knock on the door. Clem urges them to hide in the closet, but they decline. With a shrug, she opens the door. Heyes and Curry leap to their feet in alarm as State Attorney General Hawkins and Federal Marshal Toomey enter.
Clem, Hawkins and Toomey discuss the next step in getting her father out of prison. The $50,000 represents full restitution of the money her father embezzled, but that doesn’t automatically mean he will be released. But Clem has already arranged to have the firm audited, and she’s sure there will be a substantial shortage found. Clem explains Fletcher is the embezzler; he blamed her father the first time, but won’t be able to blame anyone else this time. Toomey and Hawkins depart. Now Heyes and Curry know the whole story.
They accompany Clem to the train station, but won’t hand over her ticket until she relinquishes the photo of them which they know she’s retrieved from the bank. Seeing they’re adamant, she digs through her bag, then hands over an envelope. They wave goodbye as the train chugs away. Inside the envelope, they find only copies of their Wanted posters.
GUEST CAST
SALLY FIELD — CLEMENTINE HALE
DON AMECHE — DIAMOND JIM GUFFY
RUDY VALLEE — WINFORD FLETCHER
JACKIE COOGAN — CRAWFORD
BUDDY LESTER — DRUNK
KEN SCOTT — TOOMEY
STUART RANDALL — HAWKINS
WILLIAM BENEDICT — JANITOR
Roy Huggins was responsible for many popular television programs over the course of his career, but his favorite was always Maverick, both because it was totally his creation and because it had an enormous impact on Westerns that followed. He wanted to imbue Alias Smith and Jones with the same irreverence and sense of fun, so it isn’t surprising that he resurrected what has been called “one of — if not the — most beloved episodes of [Maverick]” [37] — “Shady Deal at Sunny Acres.”
Huggins told the story to writer Buck Houghton on May 13, 1971, noting “the writer will research crime in this period, reading the book Our Rival the Rascal specifically, in order to find the best caper for this particular story. We are also trying to locate another book, Yellow Kid Weil, which contains two great con games — one of which was used in ‘Shady Deal at Sunny Acres.’ The other con game did not deal in stocks but in something else, and it was almost as good as the Shady Deal caper. These con games are in public domain.” Buck Houghton went off and wrote a first draft, which Huggins was disappointed with. His rewrite notes contain a completely new structure and significant changes to the caper. But Houghton’s second draft was still disappointing, so Huggins gave the story to Glen Larson.
Huggins did not often give Larson writing assignments because he believed he “didn’t know how to tell a story…I knew that the one thing he didn’t have was the one thing I needed — someone to help me with story.” [38] But after having received two poor drafts from Buck Houghton, he turned to Larson. The new rewrite notes, dated June 28, began with “Note: in the present draft Clementine’s reasons for wanting to steal from Fletcher are rotten.” They continued for eleven detailed pages and ended with “Note: the script needs a complete rewrite.” Larson came through and “Dreadful Sorry, Clementine” became a worthy heir to “Shady Deal at Sunny Acres.”
The one problem with this episode is Clem’s approach in getting Heyes and Curry to help her steal the money. It doesn’t seem logical that such a good friend would resort to blackmail without simply asking them for help first. While her reason for this tactic ultimately isn’t explained to the audience, Huggins understood it and explained it to Larson during the story conference on June 28. “Clem didn’t want to tell our boys the truth because she was afraid they wouldn’t help her if they didn’t think there was some money in it for them.” As a long-time friend of Heyes and Curry, Clem is familiar with their larcenous and self-interested natures and she has no reason to suppose they’ve changed, despite their efforts to go straight. While her motive was not strictly larcenous, Clem thoroughly enjoys her foray into crime. She keeps the photo because she may want to use it to coerce them again, and while Huggins wanted her to remain honest in this story, he kept open the possibility that “in the next one, she may come to our boys and say, ‘Fellows, I’m hooked.’” [39]
“Shady Deal at Sunny Acres” made use of every recurring character that had ever appeared in Maverick at that time. Huggins also wanted to make use of recurring characters in Alias Smith and Jones. Clementine Hale was introduced in this episode with the specific intention of her being such a
character, although she ultimately appeared only twice in the series due to Sally Field’s schedule.
Originally the boys go to their old friend Soapy Saunders for help with the scam, but when Sam Jaffe was unavailable, the character was changed to Diamond Jim Guffy, giving Heyes and Curry another friend and potentially even more opportunities for con games in the future.
Shootout at Diablo Station
“This really sounds like this could be fun. We all sit around and think of places where nobody’s coming from.”
Hannibal Heyes
STORY: JOHN THOMAS JAMES
TELEPLAY: WILLIAM D. GORDON
DIRECTOR: JEFFREY HAYDEN
SHOOTING DATES: OCTOBER 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 1971
ORIGINAL US AIR DATE: DECEMBER 2, 1971
ORIGINAL UK AIR DATE: JANUARY 10, 1972
Kid Curry walks into the Bridefoot telegraph office where Hannibal Heyes is composing a message to Sheriff Lom Trevors, informing him they’re on their way to Porterville to see him about the latest amnesty news. Curry tells him that the stage will be leaving soon; they’ll be safe as long as the sheriff doesn’t see them together.
Horses pull the stagecoach at breakneck speed while inside, Heyes sits next to George Fendler opposite Curry and two women, sisters on their way to live with their uncle in Porterville now that their father, a judge, has died. It dawns on Fendler that he recognizes one lady from Yuma’s Longhorn Saloon. She denies that this is possible. Fendler insists he’s right until Curry strongly suggests he take the lady’s word.
Long shadows fall as the stagecoach pulls into Diablo Station. Out of sight, four outlaws—Chuck Gorman, Bud, Harry and Hank — watch the passengers alight. Inside the station, Fendler complains about the price of whiskey and the rotten coffee. Before supper is finished, the outlaws barge in and tie up everyone but Hayfoot, the stationmaster, who insists upon lowering the US flag before sunset. Back inside, he tells the gang there is nothing worth stealing on the coach or in the station.
Heyes introduces himself as Joshua Smith and identifies one of the women as his wife, thinking it would be safer for them. Curry says he is Thaddeus Jones and identifies the other woman as his wife. At their queries, Gorman informs them that they’re waiting for something to happen, probably about noon the next day. George Fendler offers a couple hundred dollars in an attempt to make a deal for his own release, saying he’s got business in Porterville. He divulges to the outlaw leader that Smith and Jones cannot be married to the ladies because they boarded the stage at different times, and he knows one woman from the Longhorn. The women, Mary and Ellie, again deny they ever set foot in a saloon.
Mary asks for some whiskey, surprising all the men and her sister. At Fendler’s query as to whether his information has earned his freedom, Gorman shoves him into his seat, believing Fendler would sell him out the same as he did the ladies.
When Bud, one of the outlaws, asks about food, Mary laughs at the thought of a man cooking supper, so Chuck assigns her the job. To prevent her escape after she’s been untied, he demands her shoes and stockings. She willingly complies, foot propped up on the table as she seductively eases off her stocking and drops it over the outlaw’s shoulder. Mary asks that her sister’s hands be untied so she can eat more easily.
Heyes wonders what they’re all waiting for and Chuck reveals that if the stage doesn’t arrive in Porterville, the next morning the sheriff will come out looking for it. Curry asks if it’s Lom Trevors he’s talking about. Chuck says a man in Trevors’s custody was shot in the back in cold blood, allegedly trying to escape. The man was Ambrose Gorman, Chuck’s brother. Now Chuck is going to kill Trevors in revenge.
As the outlaws play cards to pass the time, Mary sits close to Chuck, her hand on his thigh. The subtle suggestion is not lost on Chuck and after the next round of cards, he and Mary head for the stationmaster’s bedroom. With a knowing look, Fendler offers Heyes and Curry “Longhorn Saloon” as the succinct reason for her behavior.
While Hank stands guard at the window and Bud and Harry argue about the sin of playing cards, Hayfoot whispers to Ellie. Then, leaning toward Curry on her other side, she begins to untie his wrist bindings.
The station sits in darkness and all is quiet. Tiring of solitaire, Harry begins to pace, wondering why Chuck and Mary are so long in the bedroom. Bud and Hank, though curious, refuse to check on them and bother their boss. Harry’s too worried and he slowly eases open the door. When he pokes his head in, Mary cocks a pistol and whispers for him to come in. Scared, she holds the gun on him and orders him facedown on the bed next to Chuck. The passengers and remaining two outlaws can only wonder what is going on behind the closed door.
Watching her prisoners, Mary’s attention is diverted by the sound of the doorknob turning. Behind her Hank breaks the window and calls to her to drop the gun and to Harry and Chuck that they can get up. While the outlaws are occupied with Mary, Curry unties the rope binding his feet, leaving it loosely arranged around his ankles.
Angry now, Chuck orders the women tightly bound and then he strikes Mary several times. She’s lucky he didn’t kill her but Heyes points out that it could have been the other way around since she had the gun. Chuck reiterates his orders to stand guard and the passengers and Hayfoot drift off to sleep. Boredom entices the outlaws into a semblance of sleep as well.
Chuck rouses and relieves Bud at the window. As Bud ambles back to sit by the bedroom door, he notices that one of the passengers is missing. Heyes awakens and pretends to just notice that Mr. Jones is gone. The outlaws search frantically. Chuck pries up a floorboard, but there is no cellar he could be hiding in. Frustrated, Chuck turns to George Fendler for information, but he will not give it. Chuck then asks Hayfoot, the only one who would know of a hiding place, but Hayfoot also refuses to talk even when Chuck threatens him with a bullet to the forehead. At that point, Heyes says Mr. Jones wouldn’t want him to die; he should tell where he is. Reluctantly, Hayfoot tells about a secret cupboard he built for his wife in case of an Indian attack. When the door is pried off, Curry uncurls himself from his hiding place.
In the light of morning, Chuck watches out the window. Heyes suddenly laughs aloud at the thought that Sheriff Trevors will know there’s trouble inside when he doesn’t see the flag flying. The prisoners berate him for thoughtlessly giving away their last chance. Harry is ready to go out to hoist up the flag, but Chuck sends Hayfoot out in case of an ambush.
Fendler apologizes to the women for the way he treated them. Their courage has put him to shame. The outlaws gag him and the other passengers so they can’t call out a warning. They wait until a posse of three men arrives. Delighted at the small number, Chuck calls his men to cover the front of the cabin and is shocked at sudden gunfire. They are surrounded. Lom orders them out, but Chuck threatens to start killing passengers if the sheriff doesn’t let the gang ride away. He pulls Jones to the window to verify that no one has been hurt so far. Lom agrees to let the gang go and calls them out one at a time to drop their weapons. Before they exit, Chuck and his men hide extra guns in their shirts.
Chuck is the last to step out and asks how Trevors knew there was something amiss. Lom recognized the flag flying upside down as a distress signal. As the gang rides away, Heyes pulls off Curry’s gag and he shouts a warning. The outlaws turn and fire on Lom, hitting him in the shoulder. The posse pursues them.
As the passengers pack up to leave, Hayfoot says he realized what Heyes had in mind when he started in about the flag. Otherwise, Lom says, he would have blundered in and got shot and it wasn’t even him who shot the prisoner. Ambrose Gorman had pulled a gun on his deputy, not him.
The stagecoach is ready and the posse returns with the outlaws. Fendler watches as the women talk to their Uncle Bart. Though they were coming to stay with him, they’ve learned they can take care of themselves and will head back to their home in Tucson.
Heyes and Curry ask about their amnesty but Lom knows it would be political suicide for the gover
nor to issue it now. They just need to keep trying. The stagecoach, the posse and Heyes and Curry all ride away, leaving Hayfoot to right the flag.
GUEST CAST
HOWARD DUFF — GEORGE FENDLER
ANNE ARCHER — ELLIE LEWIS
NEVILLE BRAND — CHUCK GORMAN
PAT O’BRIEN — HAYFOOT STOCKTON
GEORGE CHANDLER — TELEGRAPHER
ELIZABETH LANE — MARY LEWIS
JACK MANNING — UNCLE BART LEWIS
MIKE ROAD — LOM TREVORS
STEVE SANDOR — BUD
JIM ANTONIO — HARRY
GARY VON ORMAN — WARD WEBSTER
BILL FLETCHER — HANK
Because scenes are not shot in the order they appear in the aired version, it is vitally important for a continuity person to keep track of who was wearing what and how an actor performed a certain movement. Long-distance sequences, such as a stagecoach on the road, were used from other episodes or even other westerns, and had to be carefully matched in the editing room. “Shootout at Diablo Station” suffers from lack of such continuity. In the initial traveling sequence, the stagecoach driver’s hat is white when leaving town, black while traveling and white again when they arrive at the way station. Under the table, Mary’s hand is on one of Gorman’s thighs; his hand is resting on his other thigh. Yet both of his hands also hold his cards. When leaving the cabin to raise the flag, Hayfoot tucks it under his right arm. Immediately he steps out through the door and the flag is under his left arm. Hayfoot’s way station at night is not the same as it is during the day — they are two completely different cabins.
One thing purposely changed was the characters. Roy Huggins insisted on it. In his story notes for teleplay writer William Gordon, Huggins wrote that Fendler, who had accused Mary and Ellen of being saloon girls, “should realize he’s been a sonofabitch and try to make up for it somehow or other. There should be other character changes, to justify the story.” [40] According to Huggins’s notes, the girls had been raised so protectively, it’s as if “they were in a convent.” [41] In a line from the script that was cut, Ellen even admits that, not only have they never been near a saloon, but “we have — never even — been near Men!” However, Mary’s striptease when taking off her stockings and her silent invitation to Chuck to join her in the bedroom belie any naiveté her sister tries to establish and the audience is left confused. After Mary has been discovered and is once more tied up, in a scene that was cut, Heyes asks her about the “saloon girl business.” Her response is, “You think saloon girls don’t care about being murdered?” Chuck Gorman changes too, exhibiting enormous mood swings. He rationally tells his plan to kill Sheriff Trevors in cold blood but rages at Fendler’s negotiations, Mary’s tease and Curry’s disappearance.
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