Television Review: HONDO: "Hondo and the Mad Dog" (1967)

"Your lives are meaningless compared to HONDO!"






HONDO: "Hondo and the Mad Dog"  (1967 ABC-TV/MGM/Batjac Productions) Episode 8; Original Air Date: October 27, 1967.  Starring Ralph Taeger as Hondo Lane, Noah Beery Jr. as Buffalo Baker, Kathie Browne as Angie Dow, Gary Clarke as Captain Richards, Buddy Foster as Johnny Dow.  Guest Stars James MacArthur as Corporal Barton, Royal Dano as Liebel, Ben Wright as Dr. Paul, William Benedict as Willie, James Beck as Sergeant Highton, Michael Harris as Mills.  Written by Nathaniel Tanchuck.  Directed by Arthur H. Nadel.


Series Overview for HONDO: TV's Unlikeliest Cult Hit at this link   


Perpetual poker loser Corporal Barton is out on patrol with Mills, who is a frequent beneficiary of his fellow non-com's ineptitude at the tables.  The two soldiers are hunting for rabid animals amid reports of a hydrophobia outbreak.   After Mills rebuffs Barton's request for a loan, the Corporal commits robbery and murder, not knowing his crime is being witnessed by Hondo Lane's dog Sam.  After realizing he's being watched, Barton tries to eliminate Sam but fails to do so before Hondo's best friend escapes and rejoins the scout. 

Back at Fort Lowell, Mills' horse turns up without him and Barton informs Captain Richards that he suspects his partner deserted.  Meanwhile, leery Fort Lowell residents are giving Sam a wide berth in the aftermath of the hydrophobia scare, and tensions intensify once Sam makes a growling lunge at his would-be killer in the cantina.  Corporal Barton slyly suggests that Lane's dog has gone mad, and then Johnny Dow is bitten by a white wolf that is driven away by Sam--with Hondo as the only witness.  With no human corroboration of Lane's version--that the child was bitten by a white wolf--outcry increases to destroy the canine, led by Barton and stern, dog-hating Liebel.  Sam is quarantined with Hondo given 20 hours to find the wolf before his pal will be destroyed.

The independence that comes from "belonging to nobody but himself" and hunting his own dinner turns from asset to liability in the wake of a rabies scare.  Innocent Sam is shunned by Fort Lowell's populace on nothing more than rumors, then pursued by a bloodthirsty lynch mob on admittedly compelling, but circumstantial evidence.  Lane, Buffalo and little Johnny Dow remain loyal, and neutral Captain Richards resists any lawlessness, but man's best friend is otherwise surrounded by enemies in Hondo and the Mad Dog.

Fortunately for our dynamic duo, the much more enlightened Dr. Paul is at Fort Lowell to assist with the hydrophobia scare.  Back from studies overseas with Pasteur, the Doctor is available to treat Johnny Dow--and to see Hondo's reasoning, namely that infection would have Sam biting "anyone and everyone" instead of a select few.   His credibility buys Hondo a little time to find the white wolf, but not much--and even the good Doctor thinks that Hondo may be after a "phantom".

As a rule, genre takes on frontier justice are pretty grim affairs (witness the later Hondo and the Hanging Town), even a novel one such as this.  But writer Nat Tanchuck (well-suited for animal-centric westerns, with numerous episodes of FURY and MY FRIEND FLICKA behind him) provides a fair amount of levity.   Barton's laughably bad "system" (standing pat on middle pairs in a draw game!) makes the source of his "losing streak" obvious and Hondo gets to deliver several deadpanned zingers at stone-faced Liebel (well played by the always sonorous Royal Dano).

Director Arthur H. Nadel established his western bonafides with multiple episodes of THE RIFLEMAN to his credit, and went on to helm a couple of two part LASSIEs.  He handles the challenge of staging more extended animal sequences than usual for the series, with Sam, the guest wolf, and even a chicken figuring prominently into the plot. 

During its short run, two of the seventeen HONDO segments featured a main storyline exploring the bond between the titular character and his faithful canine, with Hondo and the Mad Dog being the less sentimental of the Sam-centric episodes.  Hondo might disavow ownership of Sam, but Lane's loyalty to his best friend is never under question.  Lane proves it again here, standing alone between Sam and the throng "foaming at the mouth" to destroy the dog.  (Given his zest for the duty, it's questionable that the "mad" pooch Liebel shot earlier was sick at all.)   

In fact, Hondo and Sam both come through in the clutch, rescuing each other by the time all is said and done, with extra kudos due the latter in my opinion.  Despite an entire town turning against him and wanting him destroyed, Sam bravely saves Johnny from a wolf and Lane from a killer who gets the drop on our human hero.  Does Sam's heroism get him any special consideration afterward?  Nope!  Ever the tough love advocate, Hondo goes off to have a steak dinner while sending Sam out to hunt yet another jackrabbit for his.

Uh, Hondo, you are aware that since the wolf didn't have hydrophobia, there might still be an infected animal out there, aren't you? 

JUST A LITTLE AHEAD OF HIS TIME:

Dr. Paul mentions having had the opportunity to study rabies under Louis Pasteur, and specifically taking part in his successful discovery of a vaccine for humans.  However, HONDO is set five years after the Civil War (1870), some fifteen years before Pasteur's successful treatment of young Joseph Meister for the disease.

It ain't advisable to threaten Sam....

....as Liebel finds out.

HOW MANY CANS OF WHOOPASS?

Self-righteous Liebel gets himself decked for making one too many threats to destroy Sam.  Later, Hondo needs a timely assist from his canine pal to subdue the guilty Corporal.  Sam actually does more scrapping than his human in Hondo and the Mad Dog, defending Johnny from the wolf and tangling with Barton twice before the climactic showdown.

IS THE CANTINA STILL STANDING?

Lane stepped outside to do all his fightin' this time.  The only indoor skirmish was Sam's angry reaction to the man who attempted to stab him in the desert, and no furniture was harmed in the production of this television episode.

A DOG'S LIFE:

Hey, this one is all about Sam, what more can I say?

THE BOTTOM LINE:

An episode focusing on Sam seems like a sure thing, and extra time with our four legged friend is always welcome.  While a statement against vigilante justice is far from novel for a western, this one is made in a unique fashion, with a surprisingly healthy dose of humor considering the subject matter.  Not quite as emotionally resonant as Hondo and the Gladiators but slightly better executed.   (***1/2 out of four)

HONDO airs every Sunday morning at 7:30 A.M. Eastern Time on getTV, and throughout the month of October getTV is airing a four episode HONDO marathon every Wednesday night starting at 8 P.M. Eastern.

Television Review: LOVE THAT BOB: "Bob Traps a Wolf" (1957)

LOVE THAT BOB (a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW): "Bob Traps a Wolf" (Original Air Date: 1/3/57) Starring Bob Cummings as Bob Collins, Rosemary DeCamp as Margaret MacDonald, Ann B. Davis as Charmaine "Schultzy" Schultz, Dwayne Hickman as Chuck MacDonald, Lyle Talbot as Paul Fonda, Angie Dickinson as Cynthia.  Written by Paul Henning, Shirl Gordon and Phil Shuken.  Directed by Norman Tokar. 

Series overview of LOVE THAT BOB a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW at this link. 

Margaret has cooked beef stroganoff for dinner, but Playboy Bob already has something cookin' with model Cynthia, who has invited the perennial free bird to fly by her nest after the day's work is done.  Since Margaret is tired of putting dinners in the fridge (there's fourteen in there by her current count) Bob decides to play matchmaker for his sister and Paul Fonda, who matchmaker Bob suddenly deems a perfect brother-in-law despite his constant references to him as a "wolf.  It's to no avail: Bob only succeeds in offending Margaret, who feels like she's "on the auction block".  

Sister Margaret gets her revenge by implying to Cynthia that she is actually Bob's wife--and tending to multiple "little Bobs", including young Elvis.  With Cynthia slipping away, Bob doubles down on his attempts to marry his sister off, enlisting nephew Chuck with some financial enticement.  Margaret counterplots once her brother's back is turned, outbidding "Uncle Bob" for Chuck's services and enlisting Schultzy and Paul the Wolf as assistant blockers set to foil the bachelor photographer's latest conquest attempt.

One nagging question arises when watching Bob Traps a Wolf: why doesn't Bob just invite Cynthia over for dinner at his sister's house?  After all, Cynthia admits she's not much of a cook, and Bob could impress her with a nice, home-cooked meal and then drive his model back to her apartment for a nightcap.  It'd be a lot cheaper than taking her out to eat, and Margaret would certainly be placated: she'd enjoy the company and having her cooking eaten for a change.  In the process, Bob could also destroy any notion Cynthia has that he's a married man.  What's the downside?

Well, if you're an inveterate BOB viewer, you already know the answer--that would mean the possibility of the model getting chummy with Bob's sister--and subsequently becoming privy to his dating habits on other nights!  Man, staying foot loose and fancy free is so much work....

There was always a subtext of marital infidelity to LOVE THAT BOB: circumstances constantly forced Collins to hide his romantic escapades from Margaret, with the bachelor rarely able to take his dates to the home he shared with his sister and nephew.   Reinforcing this feeling, Bob often had to literally sneak out the back door (in the kitchen) to avoid "getting caught" by Margaret, who usually acted more like a wife than an older sister.  During prime time in the Eisenhower Era, this setup was as close as Henning and Cummings could get to a "philandering manual". Still, it was fascinating--sometimes amazing--to see just how far they could go within the boundaries of the era and medium.

In Bob Traps a Wolf, however, this subtext creeps closer to being text than ever before. Margaret all but masquerades as Bob's wife to Cynthia in person, and more blatantly does so over the phone.  As a result, she has Bob's latest target resisting his charms: Cynthia doesn't want to be a home wrecker.  With her trio of supporting players, Ms. MacDonald's act is very convincing--enough so that Bob's romantic intentions are (off-screen) violently foiled.  We only see the aftermath:

So Bob Collins carouses for 14 straight evenings (that we know of, anyway), tries to add another new conquest in front of us, glad-handingly tries to manipulate his friends and family, and ends up getting his much-deserved comeuppance in the form of romantic failure and having his throne usurped at home.  Right?  Wrong--not on ever-subversive LOVE THAT BOB!  The tables turn multiple times in Bob Traps a Wolf, but in the end, it's the real wolf--Bob--who has the trump card, courtesy of his private plane.  When the bluff is called, Margaret, Fonda and Schultzy walk away foiled while playboy Bob Collins wins again. 

Angie Dickinson as Cynthia

Twenty-five year old Angie Dickinson provides the vavavoom factor this time, making the first of two series appearances (1958's Bob and Automation is hilarious, btw).  Interestingly, she only appears in the opening scene at Collins' studio--we visit her apartment twice later, but we're kept outside the front door both times.   The same can't be said for Bob, and damned if we can't keep rooting for the stinker.  The edgiest character of the Fifties?  For sure, his batting average was higher than Bilko's--after all, this show wasn't titled YOU'LL NEVER GET LAID, now, was it?

WHO WAS BLOCKING?

In this segment, Hell, who wasn't?  Even the usually hero-worshipping Chuck was an obstacle by episode's end, albeit a paid one.

DID BOB SCORE?

As mentioned above, Bob re-enters Cynthia's apartment on the second try, singing "A Romantic Guy" (the rarely heard lyrics to the show's theme song) while closing the door on us.  I'd say his chances were well over 50% with the future Pepper Anderson at that point.

Bob lays it on a little too thick at times, and his antagonists fail to convince (Margaret and Paul don't even kiss when engaged, for example).  The minor flaws are far from fatal.  Bob Traps a Wolf is arguably the best installment of director Norman Tokar's brief run, giving us a structural surprise (complete with false ending) along with the then-novel twist of letting devilish Bob have the last laugh.  Some belly laughs pop out amidst the twists and turns, and Lyle Talbot's Fonda is always a proper foil.  Add in Angie Dickinson's presence as Bob's date of the week and a typically solid script from Henning, Gordon and Shuken, and this one is almost as big a winner as its protagonist.  (*** out of four)