Maverick
(1957)
Run Time: 60 min
Color: Black and White
Aspect Ratio: 1.33 : 1
Sound: Mono
Producer: Warner Bros Television
Genre
- Western
Seasons: 5
Episodes: 124
Overview
Maverick initially starred James Garner as Bret Maverick, an adroitly articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother Bart Maverick, and for the remainder of the first three seasons, Garner and Kelly alternated leads from week to week, sometimes teaming up for the occasional two-brother episode.*The Maverick brothers were poker players from Texas who traveled the American Old West by horseback and stagecoach, and on Mississippi riverboats, constantly getting into and out of life-threatening trouble of one sort or another, usually involving money, women, or both. They would typically find themselves weighing a financial windfall against a moral dilemma. Their consciences always trumped their wallets since both Mavericks were intrinsically ethical.*When Garner left the series after the third season due to a legal dispute, after which he began a successful movie career, Roger Moore was added to the cast as cousin Beau Maverick. As before, the two starring Mavericks would generally alternate as series leads, with an occasional "team-up" episode.*Partway through the fourth season, Garner look-alike Robert Colbert replaced Moore and played a third Maverick brother, Brent. No more than two series leads (of the four total for the run of the series) ever appeared together in the same episode, and most episodes featured only one. All two-Maverick episodes included Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick. For the fifth and final season, the show returned to a "single Maverick" format as it had been originally in the first eight episodes, with all the remaining new episodes starring Kelly as Bart. The new episodes, however, alternated with reruns from earlier seasons starring Garner as Bret.*Budd Boetticher directed several of the early episodes of the first season until sharply disagreeing with Huggins about Maverick's philosophy, which resulted in Boetticher assigning Bret Maverick's scripted lines to supporting characters and filming the result, thereby attempting to change the whole series by making Maverick into a standard Western hero as found in the earlier Boetticher-directed series of theatrical films starring Randolph Scott. Robert Altman wrote and directed the episode entitled "Bolt from the Blue" starring Roger Moore in the fourth season, with a couple of scenes later purloined and reshot for the subsequent Mel Gibson movie version.*The show was part of the Warner Bros. array of TV Westerns, which included Cheyenne, Colt .45, Lawman, Bronco, The Alaskans, and Sugarfoot.
Other Related Shows
1.
The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick
Three eyewitnesses identify Bret Maverick as the man who robbed Wells Fargo of $40,000, and a desperate Maverick soon finds himself trapped in jail while the citizenry construct a gallows for him right outside the window. Bret recalls that he and his brother had flipped a coin earlier to decide which Maverick would travel in what direction, ruminating that if it had landed differently, Bart would be sitting in that cell instead. This episode marks the debut of the vocal version of the closing theme song, though it would not be heard again for several episodes. With Whitney Blake, Ray Teal, and Jay Novello.
2.
The Lonesome Reunion
While waiting for Bart in a Denver hotel lobby, Bret comes to the aid of a woman who is being followed. He soon finds himself knocked unconscious, and mixed up with several gangsters looking to recover a $120,000 bank heist haul they buried near a town called Lonesome. With John Russell and Joanna Barnes. Bart is heard in voice over, reading out a letter he wrote to Bret, but does not appear (and Jack Kelly is unbilled). The lead-in is like the first seven episodes of the series, without the opening featuring Garner's and Kelly's names, and without Garner's character's name after the episode's title and Garner's name ("...as Bret Maverick").
3.
Alias Bart Maverick
Bart encounters Gentleman Jack, who has a $1000 reward on his head?and who instigates an identity switch with an unknowing Bart. The episode features the debuts of Richard Long as Gentleman Jack Darby, a variation on Zimbalist's Dandy Jim Buckley character, and Arlene Howell as Cindy Lou Brown, a showgirl who is thoroughly charmed by Darby.
4.
The Belcastle Brand
A destitute Bret goes to work for a family of British nobles living in Wyoming, leading them in a safari across the desert. This is the first episode to feature Ed Reimers' spoken intro ("Maverick! Starring James Garner and Jack Kelly!"). As well, the vocal end theme also returns for this episode, though not yet permanently. With Reginald Owen.
5.
High Card Hangs
Bart and Dandy Jim Buckley (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) are partners in a mining stake in the Black Hills, but things go awry when a rival prospector is murdered, and Bart and two others are accused of the crime. Bart must work with Dandy Jim to expose the real murderer?and quickly, as Bart is scheduled for the gallows the next morning. Note how much warmer Dandy Jim Buckley's friendship with Bart appears to be than his rivalry with Bart's brother Bret in the subsequent episode "The Jail at Junction Flats". With Dan Sheridan and Martin Landau.
6.
Escape to Tampico
A wanted American killer is living in Tampico; Bret is hired to trick him into crossing back over the US border where he can be arrested. Set primarily in Mexico, this episode features Gerald Mohr as a variation of Humphrey Bogart's Casablanca character, shot on the original Casablanca set. With Barbara Lang and John Hubbard.
7.
The Judas Mask
Bart's chasing a Norwegian dance hall girl who robbed him of $20,000, hoping to catch her before she vanishes into Mexico. With Anna-Lisa and John Vivyan.
8.
The Jail at Junction Flats
Bret becomes a partner in one of Dandy Jim Buckley's schemes, but soon finds himself having to break his partner out of jail if he wants to collect his share of the proceeds. According to Roy Huggins in his comprehensive Archive of American Television interview, the memorable ending offended many viewers when the episode was first broadcast. Written by Marion Hargrove. Dan Blocker briefly appears in flashback as gunslinger Hognose Hughes; Patrick McVey plays Sheriff Morrison Pyne.
9.
The 39th Star
A coincidental pair of identical suitcases create a potentially lethal quandary for Bart. With Bethel Leslie and John Litel.
10.
Shady Deal at Sunny Acres
Bret is robbed by a ruthless banker (John Dehner) after depositing an evening's poker winnings, setting in motion an intricate sting operation to recover the money. While Bart and all of the series' recurring characters join forces to dupe the banker, Bret sits whittling in a rocking chair across the street from the bank every day, responding to the queries of the local townspeople curious about how he plans to recover his money with "I'm working on it." The only episode to feature all seven of the recurring Maverick characters from the first two seasons (all of whom, along with Dehner, are listed in the opening credits), and the final appearance for both Samantha Crawford (Diane Brewster) and Dandy Jim Buckley (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.), who both became regulars in other series and were subsequently unavailable as a result. Writer Roy Huggins notes the close patterning of the first half of later movie The Sting to this episode in his Archive of American Television interview. In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #81 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[2]
11.
Island in the Swamp
A township of Louisiana swamp dwellers imprison Bret after he's discovered tied up and floating down the river in a boat. With Edgar Buchanan, Erin O'Brien, and Arlene Howell?who does not play Cindy Lou Brown here, despite having just portrayed the character in the previous episode. Howell would return to the role of Cindy Lou Brown twelve episodes later, in "Passage To Fort Doom".
12.
Prey of the Cat
A rare Maverick episode that could be described as "Western noir". When Bart is seriously injured after a wildcat spooks his horse, his old friend Pete Stillman (Wayne Morris) puts him up over the winter to recover. But during Bart's extended recuperation, Pete's bitter and increasingly unbalanced wife Kitty (Patricia Barry) develops a potentially deadly erotic fixation on Bart.
13.
Holiday at Hollow Rock
Bret rides into Hollow Rock, Wyoming, to bet on the annual horse race, stopwatch in hand. One of two Garner episodes (the other being "Black Fire") not included in Columbia House's 1990s library of series videotapes. Features Saundra Edwards and Tod Griffin.
14.
The Spanish Dancer
Bart joins up with Gentleman Jack, both looking to make their fortunes as auctioneers and as poker players in an isolated boom town. Both also vie for the affections of the titular dancer, played by Adele Mara (Roy Huggins' wife).
15.
Game of Chance
Bart is swindled by a French countess (Roxane Berard) and her uncle (Marcel Dalio) ? so he calls in Bret to help engineer a mission to retrieve his money. Bart compares the mission specifically to the complex "Sunny Acres" sting that he helped pull for Bret. Samantha Crawford and Dandy Jim Buckley are mentioned in passing, but do not appear.
16.
Gun-Shy
Bret is hot on the trail of half a million dollars' worth of buried Confederate gold, but is constantly thwarted by a square-jawed, upstanding lawman. This is Maverick's Gunsmoke spoof, with Ben Gage as Marshal Mort Dooley (a comical version of Marshal Matt Dillon) and Walker Edmiston as the Chester character. There's also a brief, veiled dig at Have Gun Will Travel. Also featuring Andra Martin as the leading lady, Marshall Kent as "Doc", Reginald Owen as rival con man Freddie Wilkins, and Gage Clarke as Badger, an amusing encyclopedia salesman. Dooley mentions the unseen "Hognose Hughes", a character seen in "The Jail At Junction Flats" and played by Bonanza's Dan Blocker in that episode.
17.
Two Beggars on Horseback
The Maverick brothers each have a cashier's check for $10,000 which they use as poker stakes ... only to find out the issuing company has gone bust while they've been playing at the table. However, the opportunistic Jessamy Longacre (Patricia Barry) knows how one?and only one?Maverick can get his money back. Soon the brothers (with Jessamy hot on their trails) are forced into a comically treacherous cross-country race to cash their check at the only branch of the bank that hasn't yet received word of the bankruptcy. This episode marks the only time in the series in which Kelly's character wears a black hat; both brothers wear black hats in the opening sequences until Bart trades his to a stable operator in order to secure a horse. The title stems from an otherwise unrelated play by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly called Beggar on Horseback. With Ray Teal as Stryker, and Will Wright as a retired Confederate general.
18.
The Rivals
Bret switches identities with a wealthy playboy, who is trying to win the heart of a lady (Patricia Crowley) who claims to have only disdain for money. The story is based on a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan originally produced in 1775, and features Roger Moore as Jack Vandergeld, who ends up posing as "Bret Maverick" for much of the episode. Moore would later be a regular series lead as cousin "Beau Maverick" in season 4, after Garner left the series?consequently, this is the only episode featuring Garner and Moore together. Moore is billed at the beginning of the episode along with Garner and Kelly, an honor rarely accorded a guest star in the series. Bart appears only briefly, including a deep focus 3-shot at the episode's opening. Dandy Jim Buckley is mentioned, but does not appear. Jack's father, Archibald, is played by Neil Hamilton.
19.
Duel at Sundown
Bret's old friend (Edgar Buchanan) tries to marry him off to his daughter (Abby Dalton) but she's in love with villainous gunfighter Red Hardigan (Clint Eastwood). Though Bret would prefer to avoid violence, things soon escalate into a wild fistfight. Given time, a lethal showdown with Hardigan (who is a far faster and more accurate shot than Bret) seems inevitable. Bart appears briefly. Story by Howard Browne. See separate article.
20.
Yellow River
After losing his stake in a bank robbery, Bart crosses paths with a pretty conwoman (Patricia Breslin). When her story proves false, he rides after her only to find she is partnering a cattle drive?one whose trailhands are being murdered one by one. With Tol Avery and Robert Conrad. During the episode, Bart twice compares Breslin's character of Abby to Maverick semi-regular Samantha Crawford ... perhaps because this script is recycled from the second season Cheyenne episode "The Dark Rider", which features Diane Brewster's first appearance as Crawford, with the same dialogue as Abby's in the later Maverick episode.
21.
The Saga of Waco Williams
Bret partners up with Waco Williams (Wayde Preston), an almost too-good-to-be-true cowboy with an unbending moral code and an unshakable belief that things will work out. Bret is in such disbelief of Waco's actions, he actually breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience at the episode's conclusion. Features R. G. Armstrong as a cattle baron, Brad Johnson as his contemptible son and his strong-willed daughter, played by future Academy Award winner Louise Fletcher (she won the Oscar for her portrayal of the villainous Nurse Ratched in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest). Written by Gene L. Coon from a story by Montgomery Pittman, and directed by Leslie H. Martinson. Writer-producer Stephen J. Cannell explained in his Archive of American Television interview that he later used Williams as the prototype for "Lance White," Tom Selleck's role on Garner's subsequent series The Rockford Files.
22.
The Brasada Spur
Bart has an unexpectedly difficult time inveigling his way into a high-stakes poker game?the only way in is to win the favor of the richest, most stunningly beautiful woman in town (Julie Adams), who has a suspicious nature and a retinue of staff to keep people like Bart away from her. The title refers to a railroad line which Bart wins shares in ... but all is not as it seems as a complex cat-and-mouse game is being played.
23.
Passage to Fort Doom
Bart signs on as a wagon train guide through hostile territory, in this episode that examines the power of a decision to be courageous under fire rather than running the other way. Featuring Diane McBain, Ron Hayes, and Arlene Howell in her final appearance as Cindy Lou Brown. Written by producer Roy Huggins, this is the only episode scripted with Jack Kelly in mind during the early seasons; according to Huggins' videotaped reminiscences for the Archive of American Television, he had previously given orders that the writers always picture Garner as Maverick regardless of which actor would end up playing the part.
24.
Two Tickets to Ten Strike
Bret finds himself momentarily attracted to a ditzy but charmingly appealing young woman (Connie Stevens) whose stage fare plus an additional hundred dollars has been paid by an unknown benefactor, then hunts down some thugs in the wake of being abruptly assaulted on the street. The episode, a hybrid of comedy, mystery, and action drama, features young Adam West as a confused villain. Veteran western film star Roscoe Ates appears as genially cooperative Joe the barber and the supporting cast includes scheming Lyle Talbot and a nefarious but beautiful Andrea King.
25.
Betrayal
While being held up by masked bandits, Bart realizes that another stagecoach passenger recognizes the voice of one of the robbers. With Pat Crowley and Ruta Lee as romantic rivals and Don "Red" Barry as a sheriff. Ruta Lee had played different characters in two other episodes, "The Comstock Conspiracy" with Garner and "The Plunder of Paradise" with Kelly. Oddly, Pat Crowley alternated her billing as Pat or Patricia for various Maverick episodes; she was not related to Kathleen Crowley but both appeared on most of the same narrative television series of the era, though the two Crowleys never worked together in the same episode on any show.
26.
The Strange Journey of Jenny Hill
Singer Jenny Hill (Peggy King) can't figure out why Bret keeps following her from town to town...but it would seem to have something to do with a trial involving Big Mike (in his final appearance). Also features Sig Ruman as Jenny's manager, and William Schallert as her accompanist Carl. Explicitly set in June 1878, Jenny twice sings the song "Some Sunday Morning" ? originally written in 1945 for the Warner Bros. film San Antonio.