MAVERICK Mondays: "The Maverick Line" (1960)

MAVERICK Mondays: Number 24









MAVERICK: "The Maverick Line" (1960 ABC-TV/Warner Brothers) Original Air Date: November 20, 1960.  Starring James Garner as Bret Maverick, Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, Buddy Ebsen as Rumsey Plumb, Peggy McCay as Polly Goodin, Will Wright as Atherton Flayger, Charles Fredericks as Shotgun Sparks, Chubby Johnson as Dutch, Charles Alvin Bell as Bandy, Alan Reynolds as Phineas Cox.  Written by Ron Bishop and Wells Root.  Directed by Les Goodwins.


Bret and Bart take the titular stagecoach to Snowflake to claim their inheritance from Uncle Micah Maverick.  The journey is interrupted by highwayman Rumsey Plumb, who is more saddened by the brothers' disinterest in continuing the business than in the empty lockbox.  Rumsey isn't as disappointed as the Mavericks soon will be.

Once the brothers arrive at attorney Atherton Flaygur's office, they learn that the Maverick Line is all they've received in the will--"to install regards for commerce and to repel traits of idleness and shiftlessness" in accordance with Micah's wishes.  Bret and Bart rush for the door, only to be stopped by Polly Goodin, heir to the land that Micah purchased right of way from.  She'd like it back, so there's potential for a substantial profit in the rickety old stage line after all.  Enough of one to put the lives of both Mavericks in danger when Flaygur learns that a "tragic misfortune" befalling them both would revert ownership of the Line to the will's executor.

The Maverick Line posthumously introduces us to the boys' Uncle Micah.  After all we've learned about Bret, Bart, Beau, Pappy and Uncle Bentley, Micah is the Bizarro Maverick: strongly disapproving of gambling and a wayward existence while championing hard work.  Forget Beau and his (accidental) Civil War medal--Micah was the true white sheep of the family.  Little wonder that Pappy Beauregard and brother Bentley have no bequeathment from him--obviously, Micah thought only the young 'uns were salvageable.

"Any man who needs to make a will isn't spending his money properly." -- Pappy (One of Our Trains is Missing)

For all of his will's verbiage extolling of the value of hard work, the evidence we're shown calls that virtue into question, along with Uncle Micah's business acumen.  Miserly Micah's decrepit stage has two horses (both looking ready for the glue factory) instead of the usual four, he paid meager wages that attracted less than committed employees like Dutch, and he was too miserly to even hire a shotgun to back up his driver.  The last of these "qualities" enables Rumsey Plumb to make a consistent living--even with a lockbox that's often empty.  Giving him the benefit of a doubt, Micah appears to have died without much to show for all that work ethic, so he might have been cheap out of necessity.  Suffice to say that reading between the (Maverick) lines fully supports Pappy's philosophy of life over his thrifty brother's.

Intended to the the fourth season's premiere, but delayed until November due to James Garner's departure from the series, The Maverick Line would have been the weakest opener to date by a considerable margin.  While the Mavericks have a spotty history at best in business deals away from the poker tables, they always seem several steps further behind Goodin and Flaygur than they should be.  You'd think that all the interest in their right-of-way (including a land rush filled with nagging questions) would have told at least one of the brothers to hold instead of fold.

The contrivances to get to the denouement are also much more noticeable than before.  A really glaring example is Plumb's second lockbox procurement: after it has been established that he always has the driver hold it while he shoots the lock off, Rumsey takes the box after accosting Bret and Polly en route and sends them on their way.  Why?  So he can conveniently set off the bomb inside it seconds later without killing the show's stars.  At least, that's the only explanation that fits--certainly no logical progression based on the story up to that point.  (If he'd known that it would be Garner's finale when The Maverick Line was filmed in March 1960, Jack Warner might have signed off on that detonation in Bret's hands---but I digress.)

"Just clearing my conscience.  Hard to explain to a man in your kind of work." --Shotgun Sparks, to probate lawyer Atherton Flaygur.

Root and Bishop do have several funny lines in the script, saving their tastiest for Buddy Ebsen's Rumsey Plumb, who is the best written character by a wide margin.  Self-sufficient, hard working, but thoroughly professional, he's a hoot as he protects his interest in his steadiest income source.  Plumb draws a distinct line between Sparks and himself, generously provides his horse at a key moment without hesitation, and has the Mavericks "over" for quail dinner when all is said and done.  Chubby Johnson (Pappy) grouses as yet another comical stagecoach driver, and Will Wright (Rope of Cards) also returns to the series, channeling his best Charles Lane.  Atypically strange and ultimately unsatisfyingly so, The Maverick Line is more evidence of a show in decline than a stage setter.  It is likely overrated due to its accidental status as Garner's farewell.

HOW'D THEY DO AT POKER?

No table action at all for Bret or Bart.  I said it was atypical.

WISDOM FROM PAPPY?

Nope, none at all, and you'd think he'd have had something to say about dear estranged brother Micah.  Before I checked the credits, I occasionally wondered if the writers had ever seen MAVERICK before.  But they had.....

THE BOTTOM LINE:

...among the writers brought aboard by Coles Trapnell for the third season, Wells Root and Ron Bishop partnered on two installments previously.  They typically worked as a team, but each had one solo outing for the fourth season.  It's very MAVERICK-like to have highwaymen, professional gamblers and even the fixer Sparks having far more honor than the bankers and financiers we meet.  Not so much to have both brothers so outwitted simultaneously, or for the story have such transparent contrivances.  The Maverick Line has a number of witty lines and Goodwins presents them nicely, but the decline in the writing without the original contributors from the first two seasons is palpable by this time.  Some really funny moments from Ebsen, but ultimately a disappointing swan song for James Garner.  Likely the weakest Bret-Bart teaming.  (** out of four)

MAVERICK airs Monday through Friday without commercial interruption at 2:35 P.M. Central Time on Encore Westerns, and every Saturday morning at 9 A.M. Central Time on MeTV.

Our Favorite Episodes: The TV debut of Marie Gomez (1960)

Through the wonder of YouTube, the Horn Section is proud to present a legendary television moment: the television debut of magnificent Marie Gomez:

Ms. Gomez is the subject of the most popular post in this blog's twelve year history, in which yours truly rhapsodized about her terrific performance in 1970's BARQUERO for the Crush-A-Thon hosted by Forgotten Films.

I'm not the only one who has been crushing on Ms. Gomez over the years.  YouTube user Panama Red has posted highlights from her many guest appearances from the 1960's on series such as THE WILD WILD WEST, I SPY, and of course her most famous TV role, as Perlita on THE HIGH CHAPARRAL.  With her show romance, Manolito (Henry Darrow) at a reunion a few years back:

And, at the height of her career on the show:

(YouTuber Panama Red has posted several Marie Gomez clips on the channel, but unfortunately has yet to share clips from her HONDO episode, Hondo and the Comancheros.  Too bad.  For now, you'll have to check out her catfight with Kathie Browne on getTV or on DVD.)

Two years before her prime time acting debut on DOBIE GILLIS and a full decade before BARQUERO, Ms. Gomez was a contestant on YOU BET YOUR LIFE.  It is that full May 26, 1960 episode at the top of this post.  The then-aspiring actress was teamed with 5'2" voice acting dynamo Daws Butler---and, at 5'6', towers over him.  Marie identifies her heritage as French and Spanish an in accent distinctly leaning towards the former.

Groucho does the Bunny Hop,  and longtime Milwaukee Braves manager Fred Haney appears in the opening minutes, but get real--Marie is the main attraction.  Check out the whistles she gets in the finale--before she competes for the $10,000.  Marie arrives at the 9:02 mark--enjoy!

Look for Marie Gomez as Perlita Flores on THE HIGH CHAPPARAL on INSP weekdays at 6 A.M. Central.  

The Horn Section Salutes: KEN BERRY (1933-2018)

Oh, Captain!  My Captain!  Yesterday brought the very sad news that Ken Berry, our beloved Captain Wilton Parmenter, has passed away at age 85.

Mr. Berry was one of the biggest stars on television from the mid-1960's to the early 1970's, with the misfortune of having two hits cancelled despite high ratings within four years.  MAYBERRY R.F.D. is often cited as the most egregious example of CBS' 1971 "rural purge", as the show wrapped up its third season in 15th place in the Nielsens and got a pink slip anyway.  

Berry did an admirable job in the most difficult of situations, essentially replacing Andy Griffith on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.  TV history tells us that such continuations are virtually impossible to pull off: AfterMASH and SANFORD ARMS are among the many failures, and even ARCHIE BUNKER'S PLACE never cracked the top ten despite having the parent show's lead.  MAYBERRY R.F.D. ranked 4th in each of its first two seasons, a ranking that actually bettered half of the seasons from Griffith's run.

From HOLLYWOOD PALACE, November 27, 1965:

Of course, Ken Berry is loved by all of us here at The Horn Section for his brilliant performance as Captain Parmenter on F TROOP, and MAYBERRY's demise had to feel like deja vu all over again, as F TROOP was ABC's second highest rated sitcom behind BEWITCHED in each of its two seasons but was ended anyway.  Not by ABC, but by Warner Brothers!  In five seasons from 1965 to 1971, Ken Berry's series never averaged below a 31 share--but he received two cancellations anyway.  Tough crowd.

The network and studio executives, that is.  Certainly not the public.  Ken Berry landed his own variety show shortly afterward, and the 1972 KEN BERRY 'WOW' SHOW featured future stars Steve Martin, Cheryl Ladd and Teri Garr.

Along with leads in the Disney features HERBIE RIDES AGAIN and THE CAT FROM OUTER SPACE, Berry was also memorably pitching Kinney shoes throughout the 1970's and early 1980's, before settling in for another long run on MAMA'S FAMILY.

But it is F TROOP that best demonstrates Ken Berry's versatility.   Berry dances in The Ballot of Corporal Agarn and Only One Russian Is Coming! Only One Russian Is Coming!, among others.  Other episodes to best remember our Captain by on this sad, sad day:

Old Ironpants: This first season entry isn't officially a dual role, but it might as well be.  Parmenter goes off for two weeks' training with General George Custer (wishing him good luck on his new assignment at Little Big Horn) and takes to the course all too well.

Captain Parmenter, One Man Army:  With O'Rourke, Agarn and the rest of the troop illegally re-enlisted, Parmenter finds himself alone at the Fort on the eve of an attack by the Shugs.

Wilton the Kid: Ken Berry gets his turn at a dual role in earnest, as Captain Parmenter and the bank robbing Kid Vicious.

Bye, Bye, Balloon: Watch the ballet-like almost pratfall that opens this memorable color episode, and how well Berry works with guest star Harvey Korman in the saber duel.  No segment better displays Berry's gift for physical comedy IMO.

Really, though, just about any of the 65 episodes will feature some first class comedy from Ken Berry and his castmates.  His passing leaves Larry Storch and my fellow Texan James Hampton as the only surviving regulars.  Berry's ex-wife Jackie Joseph is also still with us: she guest starred in Our Hero, What's His Name?

Rest in peace, Captain.  More of Ken Berry's interview at Emmy TV Legends follows.  The entire interview can be found here.

Leon Errol Series: RIVERBOAT RHYTHM (1946)

"Why the Hell isn't this on DVD or Blu yet?" -- Number 102







RIVERBOAT RHYTHM (RKO 1946) Starring Leon Errol, Glen Vernon, Walter Catlett, Jonathan Hale, Harry Harvey, Florence Lake, Ben Carter, Mantan Moreland, Marc Cramer, Emory Parnell, Dorothy Vaughan, Ferris Taylor, Jason Robards Sr., Lillian Randolph, Frankie Carle and his Orchestra.  Screenplay by Charles E. Roberts.  Directed by Leslie Goodwins.

Introduction to The Leon Errol Salute series is at this link.


Showboat captain Errol is running a real shoestring operation.  So much so that he doesn't have the $50 to secure a license at his latest stop.  Ever the fast thinker, Errol barters with town clerk Taylor, but the traded hair tonic renders Taylor as bald as Leon.  This has Sheriff Parnell after our funnyman, but he's thwarted in his arrest attempt by "Colonel Witherspoon" (Catlett), who pushes Parnell into the river while the boat shoves off with Catlett in tow.

Safe waters?  Not for long.  In Leon's stead, Colonel Catlett gets drunk at the helm and accidentally runs the craft ashore--right outside the town's swank hotel and angering its proprietor Robards.  The mere mention of the Colonel's name has Robards changing his tune--Witherspoon is a very rich and mysterious eccentric.  The sound of his name doesn't endear Errol to everyone in town, though--he finds himself in the middle of a feud with rival Colonel Hale after he assumes Witherspoon's identity to elude the Sheriff.

Playing a masquerading Matt Lindsay again three years after the demise of the MEXICAN SPITFIRE series, Leon Errol had his final feature film lead in RIVERBOAT RHYTHM.  As always, assuming a new identity to avoid jail time opens multiple cans of worms, including a near marriage with Florence Lake (usually Mrs. Kennedy in Edgar's RKO shorts) being demanded of his alter ego.  Yes, being jailed or hitched is better than facing the murderous Beeler family--even if Edgar might disagree.

Little wonder that it often feels a lot like a SPITFIRE entry sans the late Lupe Velez: Goodwins directed all eight entries in that series and Roberts scripted all but the first.  RHYTHM adds a little spice to the formula though.  The life-and-death situation that Matt Lindsay unwittingly gets into certainly has higher stakes than Errol's typical ruse as the Fake Lord Epping.  Adding to the desperation, this version of Uncle Matt is much more impoverished than the Lindsey who served as Carmelita's co-conspirator.

A real treat is created by the casting of Mantan Moreland and Ben Carter as two of Uncle Matt's riverboat employees.  Abbott and Costello had nothing on the precise timing of Moreland and Carter.  In their penultimate appearance as a screen team, they present their "incomplete sentences" routine that was also superbly utilized in the Charlie Chan films THE SCARLET CLUE (1945) and DARK ALIBI (1946).  But RHYTHM provides a bonus you won't find in those better circulated films: Leon Errol is smoothly integrated into the routine here about two minutes in, with wonderfully timed results.   Seeing Carter, Moreland and Errol juggling this legendary wordplay is a true marvel, and easily the finest sequence in RIVERBOAT RHYTHM.   

Sadly, this would be the penultimate film for Carter, who died of diphtheria months after completing DARK ALIBI; he was only 35.  Moreland would revive the act with a young Nipsey Russell as his straight men but his chemistry with Carter was never fully duplicated.

Frankie Carle gets prominent billing, four songs, and more screen time than Moreland and Carter.  Too bad.  Carle was a legitimate Wizard of the Keyboard, but modern audiences will be a lot more interested in the comedic highlights.  You do get to hear Carle's most famous song, Sunrise Serenade.

Leon Errol's solo features for RKO arrived about once per year through 1946, and for the most part (MAMA LOVES PAPA was an exception) surprisingly avoided the boozy formula of his better remembered shorts.  The wobbly limbed comic darts between his dual identities in a sober fashion.  Instead, Catlett gets these vices in RIVERBOAT RHYTHM as the inebriated Colonel wrecks the ship (DUI, no doubt) and unwittingly saddles the incognito Errol with a wife.   As was the case in POP ALWAYS PAYS (Catlett hilariously mooched off Errol for that film's duration) these two old pros work seamlessly.

Jason Robards Sr. and Lilian Randolph are uncredited but easily recognized.  A young Nan Leslie and Tommy Noonan are among the others you can spot if you don't blink.  Joan Newton gets prominent billing as Errol's niece, but this was one of only two films she would make, the other being BEDLAM with Boris Karloff.

RIVERBOAT RHYTHM gets a one-star rating when it turns up in your TV guides, but don't believe that hype.  It is no doubt of its time but the gags are decent and are more than decently delivered.  It would end up being Leon's last go-round headlining a feature (supporting parts in THE NOOSE HANGS HIGH and the JOE PALOOKA series remained) but he had five more years of entertaining two-reelers ahead of him, with the majority scripted by Roberts and directed by Goodwins.

SO....WHY ISN'T THIS ON DVD YET?

Only 65 minutes long, so it would need a double feature at the very least.  Also, RIVERBOAT RHYTHM had all but disappeared from TV in the last two decades, but TCM did air it in September (when I was finally able to DVR it) so there's hope for a repeat showing in the near future.

WHY IT SHOULD BE ON DVD:

I'd put it on just for the Moreland/Carter/Errol sequence alone.  Yes, this is of its time, but the brilliance of Moreland and Carter shines through in all three of their screen appearances together.  In a more enlightened era they might well have reached the heights of Abbott and Costello or Martin and Lewis.  RIVERBOAT RHYTHM has more going for it than just the legendary vaudeville team, though.  Errol really, truly needs a solo boxed set with all of his RKO features to go with the eight-film MEXICAN SPITFIRE series that Warner Archive has issued, and I plan to mention this until it happens, dammit!  Along with complete sets of those two reelers.......

Television Review: HONDO: "Hondo and the Ghost of Ed Dow" (1967)

"Your lives are meaningless compared to HONDO!"









HONDO: "Hondo and the Ghost of Ed Dow" (1967 ABC-TV/MGM/Batjac Productions) Season One, Episode 12.  Original Air Date: November 24, 1967.  Starring Ralph Taeger as Hondo Lane, Noah Beery Jr. as Buffalo Baker, Kathie Browne as Angie Dow, Buddy Foster as Johnny Dow, Gary Clarke as Captain Richards, Michael Pate as Chief Vittoro, Glenn Langan as Victor Tribolet.  Guest Stars: David Brian as Ben Dow, Ben Wright as Dr. Paul, June Dayton as Wilma Hendrix, James Chandler as Matt Hendrix, Chris Alcaide as Selby, Ted Jordan as Gruder.  Written by Stanley Adams and George F. Slavin.  Directed by Harry Harris.


Series overview and introduction to the HONDO episode guide at this link.


Four masked men led by Selby raid the Hendrix Trading Post, vocally expressing displeasure with the school for Apache children operated on the premises.  Mrs. Hendrix is badly injured in the attack, but before she is knocked unconscious she manages to tear a buttoned cuff off of the leader's coat.  Hondo Lane arrives in the aftermath and assists Mr. Hendrix in flagging down the stagecoach en route to Fort Lowell.

That stage is carrying Ben Dow, who has arrived from Boston after hearing of his son's death at the hands of an Apache.  Sensing an opportunity to finally get his hands on Angie's store, Tribolet contradicts her story and tells Ben that Hondo Lane killed his son.  This revelation has the senior Dow vowing to take grandson Johnny back East with him by any means necessary--which includes doing business with Selby's gang after the legal process proves too slow for Ben's liking.

Hondo Lane's past comes home to roost again, and this time it is recent past that we've witnessed: Ed Dow's failed ambush to collect a withdrawn reward in the premiere.  Lane was never sure whether Dow's demise was caused by his bullet or Silva's arrow.  Neither were we, and seeing the footage again doesn't make it any clearer.  But one thing has been crystal to us all along: Ed Dow's death was caused by Ed Dow.

Not that a newly grieving and already classist father is going to understand that, especially when egged on by the wealthiest man at Fort Lowell.  Ben Dow is the latest outsider to learn that things are done differently in the Territory of Arizona.  Unlike his predecessors, the elder Dow briefly seems to bond with Hondo at first before Tribolet poisons the well.  But after the idea is planted that Ed was the victim of a plot between his daughter and law and her "lover"?  Ben punches Hondo--a rare shot that goes without response after the Captain's interruption.

Hondo and the Ghost of Ed Dow was no doubt welcomed by fans just tuning in who had missed Hondo and the Eagle Claw, with a full five minutes of flashbacks to show us how the show's namesake had actually rescued Mrs. Dow and Ben's grandson from hostile renegades.  This brought Lane no thanks from the late, jealous Ed Dow, and new viewers are brought up to speed in efficient fashion.

The downside?  There's still a current story to be told, and that requires a few shortcuts with these recollections taking up over ten percent of Hondo and the Ghost of Ed Dow.  Selby seems way too loose lipped with Tribolet before any business deal is cut, given his gang's ongoing operations.  It's also unclear how the freighting magnate would be unscathed after things turn sour, given Ben Dow's disposition and the live capture of Selby's men (presumably willing to keep talking). Director Harris (Hondo and the Sudden Town) also gets a case of the cutes after the final showdown by showing Sam literally bringing in the final perp--briefly bringing HONDO into territory it usually avoids.

David Brian's stern disapproval rivals that of any prior antagonist, and his transition to understanding is handled smoothly.  Prior to that aforementioned lapse into too-heroic dog territory (which, to be fair, is at the fade-out of the final act), Harris and writers George F. Slavin and Stanley Adams (Hondo and the Hanging Town) capably deliver the expected meat-and-potatoes action.

Michael Pate's penultimate appearance as Chief Vittoro is a mere cameo: he has no lines and merely waves to the Dows from a distance.  (Pate is riding that recognizable Appaloosa from BROKEN ARROW, reportedly 22 years old when HONDO was filmed.)  Glenn Langan's Victor Tribolet reaches a new low in his fourth appearance, showing us that even children aren't off-limits.

Hondo and the Ghost of Ed Dow marks the closing of a chapter for the show: it turned out to be the swan song for Angie Dow and son Johnny.  Kathie Browne and Buddy Foster remained in the closing credits, but neither appeared in the final five episodes.  The show's focus shifted to assignments outside Fort Lowell and Noah Beery's role as Buffalo Baker was beefed up considerably.  Whether the phasing out of the Dows was temporary or permanent is impossible to determine due to the show's truncated run, but the experiment was a success.  The next four HONDO segments were all winners and the Nielsen ratings also took an upward turn.

Three decades after its premiere on ABC, Hondo and the Ghost of Ed Dow would mark the end of an era a second time.   On May 28, 1999 it was the final installment shown on T.N.T., ending the show's highly successful ten year run on the cable channel.  (That's some 520 consecutive Saturday mornings that at least one of the seventeen episodes aired!)

HOW MANY CANS OF WHOOPASS?

After foolishly kicking Sam at Hondo's favored watering hole, Selby and Gruder get the worst of it despite getting a two-on-one against Emberato.  They later lose a rematch at their hideout, with Buffalo providing some backup this time.  Hondo's ring record gets one mild blemish, though-- that uncontested right cross from Mr. Dow.  It's likely that Hondo would have taken the high road anyway.  While David Brian was roughly the same age (57) as Rod Cameron and Jim Davis who had locked horns with Lane in past installments, he looked much older than both.

IS THE CANTINA STILL STANDING?

Hondo dispatches the two baddies in his opening bout with only one chair as collateral damage.  Pretty good day for the place in light of prior segments.

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER HIM BY:

Check out that photo of Ed Dow inside dad's watch: just as stone faced as his father!  A real chip off the old block!

A DOG'S LIFE:

The four legged sidekick puts in a full workload.  First, Sam finds the key piece of evidence at the Hendrix Trading Post.  Then he identifies the culprits back at the Fort (which got him Selby's boot).  He next picks up Johnny's scent and leads Hondo and Buffalo to Selby's hideout after the kidnapping--locating the boys yo-yo along the way.  Finally, the pooch takes his man out of the action in the finale.  Sam always could identify that one baddie who was terrified of canines.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Wrapping up some loose ends from the opening two-parter, Hondo and the Ghost of Ed Dow reliably delivers the action but suffers a bit from a compressed timeframe to tell its original story.  The lesser of two outings for both director Harris and the Adams/Slavin writing team.  (**1/2 out of four)

HONDO airs every Sunday morning at 10:15 A.M. Central Time on getTV.

https://www.get.tv/programs/hondo

Television Review: CRAZY LIKE A FOX: "Fox and Hounds" (1985)

CRAZY LIKE A FOX: "Fox and Hounds" (CBS-TV/Sony 1985) Original Air Date: March 24, 1985.  Starring Jack Warden as Harry Fox, John Rubenstein as Harrison Fox, Penny Peyser as Gail Fox, Robby Kiger as Josh Fox, Mary Ellen Trainor as Connie Olsen, Ron O'Neal as the Smuggler, Barbara Babcock as Helen, Jonathan Banks as Inspector Dick Hawkins, Philip Brown as Jim, Theodore Wilson as Ernie, Zetta Whitlow as Robin. Teleplay by Ruel Fischmann; Story by Robert Malcolm Young.  Directed by Charles Braverman.

Series overview and introduction to the CRAZY LIKE A FOX episode guide at this link.

P.I. Harry Fox arrives at his office, finding a dog waiting for him with Harry's business card stuck in his collar.  The canine's tag identifies him as "Max", a student at the obedience school run by recent Fox client Connie Olsen.  Failing in his attempts to reach Ms. Olsen, Harry decides to leave Max with Harrison's family overnight while he continues to search for her.  While walking Max, Harrison finds himself the target of two armed men seeking to steal the detection dog and politely declines to provide further boarding.

The search for Connie takes the senior Fox to her residence the next day, and Harry's curiosity is further piqued when he discovers that Max has been re-trained to sniff out household cleansers.  Unfortunately his investigation is put on hold at that point, as Ms. Olsen has been located after an anonymous tip from Harrison's pursuers: she's a homicide victim, and Harry is arrested as the prime suspect.

Yep, Harry is booked for murder at the end of Act II, but this being the bright, light world of CRAZY LIKE A FOX, he's out on bail mere minutes into Act III.  And not just back on the case, but with a small sample of cocaine in hand from a pal in Vice Squad to bait the bad guys within minutes of his release into Harrison's custody.  Hey, inveterate viewers of the show know that Mr. Fox is one persuasive guy, right?

As directed by long-time documentarian Charles Braverman, Fox and Hounds doesn't skimp on the humor, but commendably brings it from less typical places: Harry's bad driving takes an episode off, and Harrison gets chased by the bad guys more often than his father.  But fear not--Harrison is still continually put-upon.  The lawyer finds himself hiding behind dumpsters, crossing flimsy bridges, having his legal advice disregarded and finding Max (who takes a shine to son Robby, but surprisingly isn't much of a scene stealer) even less cooperative than Harry.  Suffice to say Rubenstein's reliable slow burn gets a real workout.

Not that this episode is any less Warden-centric than usual.  Acquiring someone else's limousine for the second straight outing, Harry ups the ante considerably by also borrowing the aforementioned street drug, a second sniffing canine, and finally a helicopter before the case is cracked.  And while it takes awhile, Fox Senior finally gives us the vehicular damage we've come to expect from him.  Just not from the driver's seat this time--another eye opener.

If you wanted to see Jonathan Banks in drag, Fox and Hounds is your installment.  A quarter century before BREAKING BAD and almost as curmudgeonly as he would become in his most famous role, Banks spends almost all of his screen time undercover in dress and wig after vouching for Harry as a old pro.  No, it isn't punishment, just another day on the job for Inspector Dick Hawkins.  Hawkins' trust in Harry makes him a target of barbs from an even more acerbic Babcock (as homicide Lieutenant Helen)--as does his choice to wear lace.

Director Braverman returned to helm Fox in 3/4 Time, then moved on to the more overt humor of SLEDGE HAMMER!, becoming one of that cult classic's most frequent directors.  With a 18.5 rating, Fox and Hounds scored a solid 14th out of 72 programs in the Nielsen Ratings but still came in second on March 24, 1985 to ABC's rather unremarkable Sunday Night Movie: CALIFORNIA GIRLS with Robby Benson and video vixen Tawny Kitaen (20.3, 9th).  While slightly below the show's 1984-85 average in that regard, Fox and Hounds was on firm ground creatively.  Young and Fischmann threw us a few curveballs while Braverman deftly handled this show's comedy/mystery balancing act.  (*** out of four)

CRAZY LIKE A FOX occasionally airs on getTV.