Lawman (1958)
Lawman is an American western television series originally telecast on ABC from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during 1879 and the 1880s. Warner Bros. already had several western series on the air at the time, having launched Cheyenne with Clint Walker as early as 1955. The studio continued the trend in 1957 with the additions of Maverick with James Garner and Jack Kelly, Colt .45 with Wayde Preston, and Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins. One year later, Warner Bros. added Lawman and Bronco with Ty Hardin. Prior to the beginning of production, Russell and Brown and producer Jules Schermer made a pact to maintain the quality of the series so that it would not be seen as "just another western." At the start of season two, Russell and Brown were joined by Peggie Castle as Lily Merrill, the owner of the Birdcage Saloon, and a love interest for Dan.
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Episode 1 - The Town Boys
Release Date: 1960-09-18Johnny goes against everyone else's better judgement when he takes personal responsibility for 4 boys who have been arrested for killing a milk cow. The four boys lack any direction in life and remind Johnny of himself at their age. He finds them work at the livery stable, determined to help them rehabilitate. Three of the boys end up admiring him and wanting his approval, while the fourth boy is not only 'bad', he is criminal.
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Episode 2 - The Go-Between
Release Date: 1960-09-26Lily and Johnny are both kidnapped and held by a gang of blackmailing killers. They send a concussed, blindfolded Johnny back into town with orders to clean out Lily's bank account and leave the money where it can be picked up. Dan works with Johnny to figure out where she is being held before the men can get back to their hideout with the money. Dan knows they plan to kill her as soon as they return. The urgency both of them feel is indicative of the closeness the three of them have.
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Episode 3 - The Mad Bunch
Release Date: 1960-10-02 -
Episode 4 - The Old War Horse
Release Date: 1960-10-09Bess Harper was Lily's mentor as a young girl, the woman who gave her her first job. Now she is an old alcoholic, in town to try to get five thousand dollars out of the town of Laramie left to it by her estranged ex-husband. Lily hatches a plan to rehabilitate her and get her back on stage, to the chagrin of her lawyer, who was the one who put the idea into her head.
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Episode 5 - Return of Owny O'Reilly
Release Date: 1960-10-16Owny catches a wanted man by snagging him on his fishing line. He takes the body back to town to claim the reward, and with Johnny going out of town to collect it for him, he suggests to Dan that Owny be made his deputy while he's gone. The results are hilarious, with Owny trying desperately to copy Dan in everything.
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Episode 6 - Yawkey
Release Date: 1960-10-23Yawkey, who has killed 27 men and has the reputation of being the fastest gun alive, shows up at the Bird Cage and sends notice to Dan that he's going to kill him at 3:30 that afternoon. Dan's never met him, and doesn't know why he wants to kill him. Both Johnny and Lily try to talk Yawkey out of it, to no avail. Dan is determined to do his job regardless of the consequences, much to Lily's dismay. The end is a study in the life of a gunslinger.
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Episode 7 - Dilemma
Release Date: 1960-10-30Troop (John Russell) tries to determine the identity of a terrified saloon sweeper being pursued by outlaws. Burbage: Tom Drake. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle. Shea: Harry Antrim. Walt: John Beradino. Harry: James Anderson. Fen: John McCann.
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Episode 8 - The Post
Release Date: 1960-11-06 -
Episode 9 - Chantay
Release Date: 1960-11-13Chantay is a young Indian girl who runs away from the Indian school because her teacher makes her 'do bad things'. She is followed and returned by an Indian policeman, Great Bear, but not before she meets and is smitten with Johnny. Later, he finds her under the bed in the marshall's office as he's sleeping, to Dan and Lily's shared amusement. He must take her back to the school, and then has to prove she's innocent of murder.
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Episode 10 - Samson the Great
Release Date: 1960-11-20A boxing promoter arrives in Laramie with ""Samson the Great,"" a champion prizefighter. A number of local men pay for a chance to fight Samson in the hope of winning $50 but Samson easily defeats each of them. Samson then settles himself in the local saloon, becoming increasingly obnoxious and abusive. When Deputy McKay intervenes, Samson beats him up. Marshal Troop, to get Samson out of town, then challenges him to a fight and manages to defeat him after a brutal, bare-knuckle brawl.
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Episode 11 - The Second Son
Release Date: 1960-11-27When Al May comes home with a bag of stolen payroll money and being pursued by a posse, his younger half brother, Charlie, grabs the money and runs, letting himself get caught and taking the rap for Al. What he wants is acceptance by his dad and his brother, who blame him for his mother's running off with another man years before. Since Lily insists he's innocent and begs Dan to do something, he comes up with a plan to expose the truth.
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Episode 12 - The Catcher
Release Date: 1960-12-04Troop (John Russell) goes after a murder suspect, unaware that the real killer is riding with the posse. Catcher: Med Flory. McKay: Peter Brown. Fenway: Robert Armstrong. Bailey: James Coburn. Mrs. Fenway: Claudia Barrett.
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Episode 13 - Cornered
Release Date: 1960-12-11Johnny kills a notorious gunman only because the killer's gun misfires. Although the town wants to make him a hero, he knows the truth. Then he learns that the gunman's son is going to be coming to avenge his father's death, and he's reputed to be faster than his father was.
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Episode 14 - Escape of Joe Kilmer
Release Date: 1960-12-18 -
Episode 15 - Old Stefano
Release Date: 1960-12-25Tracy McNeil is a supposed businessman who is showing an inordinate interest in Lily Merrill. Johnny teases Dan about it, but Dan doesn't want to interfere. In fact, Lily is interested in buying McNeil's thoroughbred horse, but his price is too high: to try to persuade Dan to let him buy up land that isn't really for sale. Meanwhile, Old Stefano, a mute old shepherd who comes to town with an injured sheep dog, is accused of killing McNeil's injured horse. Dan has to intervene in McNeil's behalf.
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Episode 16 - The Robbery
Release Date: 1961-01-01On the trail of a murderer, Troop (John Russell) is stymied by the stubborn arrogance of an Army lieutenant. Davidson: Robert Ridgely. Deever: Hal Torey. Roach: Warren Kemmerling. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle.
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Episode 17 - Firehouse Lil
Release Date: 1961-01-08In this lighter episode Jake, in charge of fire co. #2 and Oren, in charge of fire co. #1, crash into each other and start a fight in the street during a fire drill. After Lily chides them loudly in public for their behavior, she is elected unanimously the new fire marshall. A group of bandits witness this and prepare to start a fire as a diversion so they can rob the payroll being held in the bank. Lily and the Volunteer Fire Brigade save the day.
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Episode 18 - The Frame-Up
Release Date: 1961-01-15Troop comes under fire when new evidence shows he sent an innocent man to the gallows. John Russell. Jessica: Randy Stuart. Courtney: Dabbs Greer. Belmont: William Mims. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle.
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Episode 19 - Marked Man
Release Date: 1961-01-22Troop is reunited with his friend Tod Larson (Andrew Duggan), unaware of a grim irony at work: Larson has been hired to kill the marshal. Troop: John Russell. Darby: Jeff DeBenning. Lily: Peggie Castle. McKay: Peter Brown. Muriel: Miranda Jones.
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Episode 20 - The Squatters
Release Date: 1961-01-29Before he died, a Wyoming cattleman gave Ad Prentice a tract of land to start a ranch. Prentice's hired hand, Bent Carr, hopes to gain possession of the land by proving the transaction was illegal.
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Episode 21 - Homecoming
Release Date: 1961-02-05Troop (John Russell) goes after an escaped murderer who has sworn to kill him. Walker: Marc Lawrence. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle. Eddy: Ray Strickland. Mary: Adrienne Marden.
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Episode 22 - Hassayampa
Release Date: 1961-02-12Hassayampa Edwards is a temperance leader who tries to get the saloons in Laramie closed. When one burns down, Dan forces Lily to close the Bird Cage until the storm dies down.
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Episode 23 - The Promoter
Release Date: 1961-02-19Troop and Lily form a business partnership to frustrate a dapper crook bent on seizing control of Laramie by buying all the saloons. Lily: Peggie Castle. Troop: John Russell. De Vries: John van Dreelen. McKay: Peter Brown. Ferris: Frank Gerstle. Rogers: Don Beddoe. North: J. Edward McKinley.
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Episode 24 - Detweiler's Kid
Release Date: 1961-02-26Elfreida Detweiler has been raised by her father, a hardnosed, hateful, spiteful old German immigrant who resents her because she wasn't a son, and her mother died giving her birth. To try to prove to him that she is as good as a son, she calls out Jim Austin, a young man who has taken a liking to her, but whom her father hates. Johnny tries to stop her, and she challenges him to a gunfight the next day at noon. He can't back down, and he ""can't fight a girl"". In spite of its dark overtones, this show has a definite comic touch to it.
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Episode 25 - The Inheritance
Release Date: 1961-03-05 -
Episode 26 - Blue Boss and Willie Shay
Release Date: 1961-03-12 -
Episode 27 - Man from New York
Release Date: 1961-03-19A New York policeman arrives in Laramie determined to mete out justice for a crime committed years before by a now respected citizen. Foster: Mike Road. Stiles: Richard Arlen. Troop: John Russell. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggy Castle. Winnie: Sheila Bromley.
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Episode 28 - Mark of Cain
Release Date: 1961-03-26 -
Episode 29 - Fugitive
Release Date: 1961-04-02A man's skipping town makes it look like he's guilty of a stagecoach robbery. Joey: Michael Davis. Troop: John Russell. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle. Meg: Catherine McLeod. Mrs. Fields: Dorothy Konrad.
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Episode 30 - The Persecuted
Release Date: 1961-04-09Troop (John Russell) must find another way to deal with a maniacal killer after the man is acquitted in court. Keller: Adam Williams. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle. Annie: Jean Willes. Roy: Evan McCord. Jake: Dan Sheridan. Turner: Jeffrey Morris.
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Episode 31 - The Grubstake
Release Date: 1961-04-16The lawmen try to protect a saloon hostess from swindlers. Troop: John Russell. McKay: Peter Brown. Stephanie: Heather Angel. Rainbow Jack: Frank Ferguson. Lily: Peggie Castle. Jake: Dan Sheridan.
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Episode 32 - Whiphand
Release Date: 1961-04-23Troop (John Russell) steps in when a romantic triangle threatens to erupt in bloodshed. Jed: Med Flory. Cassie: Peggy McKay. Bull: Leo Gordon. McKay: Peter Brown.
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Episode 33 - The Threat
Release Date: 1961-04-30A David and Goliath-type battle ensues as a physically weak man uses psychological warfare to punish his brother's killer. Edgar: Whit Bissell. Swan: Don O'Reilly. Troop: John Russell. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle. Villiers: Russ Conway. James: Walter Reed.
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Episode 34 - The Trial
Release Date: 1961-05-07Embittered Dexter Weston blindly leaps at the chance to even the score with Judge Whitehall (Ray Teal), who sentenced Weston's father to hang years before. Dexter: Richard Sakal. Tandis: Shirley Knight. Troop: John Russell. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle. Charlie: Tim Graham.
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Episode 35 - Blind Hate
Release Date: 1961-05-14Troop (John Russell) tries to avoid bloodshed when an embittered rancher threatens the man courting his daughter. Lucy: Mala Powers. Warner: Jason Evers. Pastor: Ted de Corsia. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle.
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Episode 36 - The Break-In
Release Date: 1961-05-21To cap a baffling turn of events, a notorious outlaw enters the Laramie jail---and demands to be paid the price on his head. Troop: John Russell. Hudson: Sheldon Allman. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle. Berliner: Maurice Manson. Gates: Chubby Johnson.
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Episode 37 - Conditional Surrender
Release Date: 1961-05-28Pa Beason has come to Laramie to die. He has led a life of killing and looting,and has never been brought to justice. He chose Laramie because he has heard that Dan is a fair man. He offers to give Dan a full confession of all of the raids he has performed over the years on the condition that his daughter, Iona, is cleaned up and put into a dress and looks like a lady rather that one of his sons, who are following in his footsteps. Dan agrees, knowing Lily can't turn down a challenge like that. He then agrees to make sure the girl is taken care of on the condition that Pa talks his boys into surrendering to him.
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Episode 38 - Cold Fear
Release Date: 1961-06-04Troop (John Russell) steps in when two vengeful gunmen kidnap ex-marshal Brad Turner's new bride. Turner: Frank Overton. Ann: Maggie Mahoney. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle. Lou: Chris Alcaide. Bert: Jerry Barclay.
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Episode 39 - The Promise
Release Date: 1961-06-11A condemned murderer (Ken Lynch) gives one last order to a cohort: kill Troop (John Russell)! McKay: Peter Brown. Washburn: Robert Palmer. Lily: Peggie Castle. Nancy: Caroline Comant. Bracque: Don Haggerty. Albrecht: Charles Tannen.