The Deputy Season 1, Episode 37: Trail Of Darkness

Badge For A Day (The Deputy)

In the premiere episode, titled "The Deputy," Fry selects Silver City, Arizona, as the spot to head off two men he suspects of carrying supplies to a holdup gang led by Ace Gentry (Robert J. Wilke). After arresting the supply drivers, Fry tricks Clay McCord into joining him in delivering the foodstuffs to Gentry. When McCord realizes he has been duped into raiding an outlaw camp, he turns back toward Silver City, leaving Fry to face the outlaws alone.

30 min

The Wild Wind

Charlotte Nelson tells Clay McCord of her concern for her younger brother, Trooper, who has fallen into a gang headed by the evil Bull Ward. McCord then arranges for Trooper to get an honest job as messenger for a mining company, transporting shipments of gold. This pleases Ward who assumes that Trooper will turn the gold over to him, but Trooper has mended his ways and when confronted and threatened by Ward while delivering the gold, shoots him. Having proven his worth, Trooper now gets his friend, Tommy -- another former member of Ward's gang -- hired to assist him in his job as messenger.

Back To Glory

Three bank robbers come across a traveling-players' caravan. They shoot the actor-manager and two of them then kidnap Angela, one of the actresses. The third robber, Cowan, stays with the other actress, Lily, and is arrested by Simon Fry. Cowan winds up in the Silver City jail but escapes, steals a horse, and knocks down Fran McCord as he flees. Clay McCord and Herk Lamson track Cowan to a cabin where his two cronies are holed up with Angela. (One of these cronies is dying from a knife wound sustained when he and the other robber fought over Angela.) Clay and Herk arrest Cowan and Clay kills the other robber in a gunfight. Angela is then reunited with Lily.

Shadow Of The Noose

Simon Fry arrests a ""Drifter"" for shooting a man, stealing his wife, and then shooting her. He takes the Drifter to a jail in the nearby town but, when a lynch-mob gathers, moves him on to Silver City. Following him is a landowner named Akins and several of Akins' cronies who are anxious for some quick ""justice."" Fran McCord believes the Drifter's pleas of innocence and persuades brother Clay to help Fry transport the prisoner to a trial in Prescott. Before this happens, Akins tricks the Drifter into making a jailbreak but this plan fails. On the trail to Prescott, Akins again makes a move against the Drifter which Fry and Clay thwart. Fry then reveals to Clay evidence of the Drifter's guilt.

Powder Keg

supplying gunpowder to the Apaches. Herk's journey to Prescott with his prisoner is endangered when a garrulous telegrapher spreads the word of Deaver's capture - word that reaches the prisoner's Indian allies.

Like Father

While Chesley Vantage eagerly greets the arrival in Silver City of his son, Brad, who's been studying in Kansas to be a veterinarian, word reaches Deputy McCord that a gunfighter is also on the way from Kansas, apparently to settle a score. McCord soon learns that Brad acquired his vet training while serving time in a Kansas prison. He also learns that the gunfighter, Jim Stanton, wants to kill Brad because he mistakenly believes Brad warned authorities about a planned prison escape. McCord spares Brad from Stanton's wrath by coming up with a ruse to put Brad in jail. Then McCord kills Stanton in a barroom shootout. Brad's now free to set up his practice and his father, himself a reformed outlaw, is none the wiser about his son's criminal past.

Proof Of Guilt

The Johnny Shanks Story

Focus Of Doom

Marshals in three Arizona towns have been shot dead and Simon Fry fears the killer may now be coming to Silver City. He sends Herk Lamson off on vacation and watches as four suspicious strangers arrive in town: a cowboy named Barker, a gambler named Regan, a salesman named Madden, and a guitar-player named Wilk. Fry arrests Regan for cheating at cards while Clay McCord offers to escort Wilk back to his hotel. Wilk pulls a gun on McCord in an alley and explains he's been shooting marshals because his daughter was killed in the crossfire when marshals were making an arrest. Fry then comes into the alley followed by Fran McCord. Fran distracts Wilk who is then shot by Fry. As Wilk dies, he says he'll be happy to rejoin his daughter.

The Big Four

McCord infiltrates a group of outlaws to inform Fry of their plans. Fry: Henry Fonda. Johnny: Henry Brandon. Curly: Gerald Milton. Billy: Richard Bakalyan. Ike: Charles Fredericks.

30 min

The Next Bullet

Clay finds a note in a murdered man's pocket that threatens death to Herk Lamson. Marshal Fry is convinced that the crime is linked to a sensational trial held the previous year where a woman was convicted of murdering her husband and her brother's vowed vengeance.

The Deal

A gang headed by men named Quincannon and Usher kidnap Fran McCord. They tell her brother, Clay, that to save his sister he must go along with their plan to rob the payroll of a local mine. Clay cooperates, even going so far as to lure Simon Fry out of town on the day of the robbery. Fry, however, sees through Clay's ruses and soon Clay tells him the truth. Together they ride to the mine and in a shoot-out with the gang, Clay kills Quincannon. Usher rides off to the cabin where Fran is being held. Fran has freed herself from her ropes and when Usher enters the cabin, she throws water in his face and hits him in the head with a frying pan. Clay and Fry then arrive to complete the arrest.

60 min

Land Greed

Vivian Vance as widow Emma Gant, who tries to enlist Fry's help in protecting her property from greedy ranchers. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Billy: Robin Riley. Fran: Betty Lou Keim.

30 min

Man Of Peace

Apaches steal a shipment of repeating-rifles headed for the cavalry at Ft. Donaldson. Simon Fry fears this means war but Clay McCord wants to get the Indians' side of the story and so travels alone to visit Chief Magnus. He learns the Chief is angry because white men have been ambushing Apaches and selling their scalps. McCord promises to deal with the culprits who prove to be an old man named Isbel and his two sons, the bloodthirsty Mordecai and the more sensitive Micah. In the ensuing shoot-out, Micah is killed but McCord, though shot in the leg, manages to arrest Isbel and Mordecai. Chief Magnus is now satisfied and returns the stolen rifles.

The Orphans

Fry baits a trap for three killers by fixing a raffle. McCord: Allen Case. Mrs. Bean: Carol Kelly. Timmy: Dennis Rush. Finley: Lane Bradford. Lamson: Wallace Ford. Dillon: Karl Lucas.

30 min

Backfire

Con Marlowe makes a violent escape from a work-gang at the Arizona Territorial Prison. He heads for Silver City where his wife, Peg, awaits him and where he can find Marshal Lamson, the man he blames for sending him to prison. During an encounter between the two in Peg's hotel room, Marlowe strikes a match to light a cigar and Lamson, thinking Marlowe's drawing his gun, shoots him dead. The bullet strikes Marlowe in the back and when word of this spreads, townspeople turn against Lamson. Marlowe's widow vows to avenge her husband and sends for two gunfighters, Fred Sooley and Len Harbin. Sooley figures this isn't his fight and leaves town but Harbin challenges Lamson in the hotel dining room. Deputy McCord arrives on the scene, Harbin draws his gun to shoot Lamson, and McCord shoots Harbin dead, the bullet entering the gunfighter's back. The townspeople in the dining room agree McCord's actions were justified and McCord uses this incident to prompt the townspeople to reexamine their at

60 min

Hang The Law

Fry enlists the help of a clergyman's sister to clear McCord of a murder charge. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Blanche: Lillian Bronson. Rev. Cartwright: Willard Sage.

30 min

Silent Gun

The Hidden Motive

While defending the Spencer ranch against rustlers, Deputy McCord shoots and kills ranch-owner Aaron Spencer. Though the shooting seems justified, McCord feels guilty, especially when breaking the news to young Mrs. Spencer. At first she is angry and bitter but later softens and seems to be falling in love with McCord, much to his discomfort. Red Dawson and his rustlers now break into the Spencer home one night, demanding money. (It seems Aaron Spencer, unknown to his wife, was the rustler's secret partner.) McCord arrives in time to arrest the rustlers and Mrs. Spencer decides to join relatives in Canada.

Lawman's Blood

The Return Of Simon Fry

A man named Kipp has been brought in from San Francisco to get rid of Simon Fry. He ambushes Fry who's driving a buckboard but the buckboard overturns, spills a can of coal oil, and in the ensuing fire, Kipp is burned beyond recognition. His body is mistakenly thought to be Fry's and Clay McCord sadly delivers the eulogy at Fry's funeral. Fry, after revealing himself to an astonished McCord, then disguises himself as a book salesman and goes in search of the man who hired Kipp. Two of this man's thugs, Vic Rufus and Jubba, eventually lead Fry to their boss, Jake Carter. Carter, an old enemy of Fry, has been forcing farmers off their land, knowing that land values will rise sharply after a railroad goes through that area. Fry manages to arrest Carter.

30 min

Queen Bea

Protection racketeers invade Silver City, planning to replace the small merchants with a chain of stores. Beatrice: Phyllis Avery. Fry: Henry Fonda. Fletcher: Paul Dubov. Briscoe: Kim Spalding. McCord: Allen Case. Fran: Betty Lou Keim.

30 min

The Two Faces Of Bob Claxton

McCord and Fran try to rehabilitate a teenage thief (Robert Montgomery Jr.). McCord: Allen Case. Fran: Betty Lou Keim. Fry: Henry Fonda. Mike: Bob Hopkins. Pete: Johnny Seven. Solomon: Ron Soble.

30 min

Lady With A Mission

A suffragette incurs the wrath of male citizens. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Hodges: Carleton Young. Sloan: James Lanphier. Tinny: Tod Griffin.

30 min

The Border Between

While returning from Mexico with a prison escapee, Marshal Fry and Clay McCord are ambushed by a Mexican landowner whose daughter, Felipa, has been kidnapped by an American miner from Leadville, Evan Sloate. The landowner vows to kill Fry unless McCord can return Felipa. McCord rides to Leadville and is directed to Sloate's mine by Lorrie, Sloate's discarded girlfriend. McCord gets a job in the mine and makes contact with Felipa but their conversation is interrupted by the jealous Sloate. Sloate flogs McCord and orders him off his property but McCord sneaks back and rescues Felipa. Sloate soon catches up with them. Before he can shoot McCord, however, Felipa shoots her kidnapper. The Mexican then gets his daughter back, Fry is freed, and he and McCord resume returning that escapee to prison.

30 min

Final Payment

A paraplegic seeks revenge on McCord and Fran, whose father he blames for his condition. Groat: Gerald Mohr. McCord: Allen Case. Fran: Betty Lou Keim. Kemmer: Kevin Hagen. Priscilla: Mari Aldon. Doc: Charles Seel.

30 min

Dark Reward

Local businessmen offer a reward for bank robbers---dead ones. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Rosie: Jean Willes. Ross: Richard Garland. Hawkins: John Dennis. Mrs. Carter: Frances Morris.

30 min

Marked For Bounty

A bounty hunter stalks Ralph Jenson, who escaped from prison to visit his dying father. Jenson: Ron Hayes. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Harch: Alan Baxter. Judge: Edward Earle. Pete: Raymond Hatton. Miller: Charles Seel.

30 min

The Truly Yours

A trio of three men, (Coffer, File, and Fancy), rob the bank in Silver City one night after setting fire to Clay McCord's store as a diversion. Clay persues them to a mine but winds up being imprisoned inside a mine tunnel. A family of traveling Gypsies comes across the scene. The two sisters in this family free Clay who then shoots one of the robbers and captures the other two. One of these two knew Clay from childhood and Clay, seeing that the robber isn't all bad, promises to speak up for him at his trial.

30 min

A Time To Sow

Andy Willis' boyish looks are deceiving---he's a hired killer. Willis: Richard Crenna. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Lucy: Coleen Gray. McCullough: Frank Ferguson.

30 min

The Last Gunfight

Gunfighter Johnny Dean wants to shed his reputation by settling down in Silver City under the alias ""Roger Enright."" He plans to buy a ranch north of town and marry the local music teacher, Helen Ivers. Trouble arrives in the form of Dan Crawford, a young man who's been trailing Dean and who wants to kill him in a shootout in order to acquire a reputation. Local bully Burt Johnson learns of Crawford's quest and decides to kill Dean himself. To settle which man will get the ""honor,"" Crawford and Johnson play cards. Crawford wins but when Johnson learns Crawford has a reputation for shady card-dealing, he challenges Crawford to a duel on the town's street. Dean tries to avert bloodshed by stepping between them but the men fire anyway and Dean is killed. Deputy McCord checks the body and says it shows only one bullet hole. Each shooter claims to be the one who fired the fatal shot but McCord refuses to settle their dispute, not wanting either man to claim ""credit."" He later confides to Ma

Chain Of Action

A man refuses to reveal the location of stolen loot needed to save a boy from blindness. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Scofield: Lee Patterson. Claudia: Bek Nelson. Porter: Francis DeSales.

30 min

The Lucifer Urge

Barney Wagner uses loopholes in the law to evict farmers from their land. Clay McCord deplores this practice but cannot intervene since Wagner's staying within the law. Eventually McCord tricks Wagner into offering him a job which then enables him to arrest Wagner for attempted bribery. This pleases McCord since Wagner shot McCord's father eleven years ago.

30 min

Palace Of Chance

McCord uses a gambling-hall hostess to lure her boy friend---a wanted outlaw---to Silver City. Julie: Karen Steele. McCord: Allen Case. Fry: Henry Fonda. Reed: Dennis Cross. Lucille: Irene James.

30 min

The X Game

Two cowboys swindle an illiterate farmer. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Huerta: Carlos Rivera. Allison: John Hoyt. Webb: Howard Wendell. Coyle: Tom McKee. Queed: Don Gordon.

30 min

The Stand-Off

Fry falls prey to a trap laid by an escaped criminal.

30 min

The Choice

Vince Edwards as an ex-convict who intends on becoming a doctor---if the townspeople let him forget his past. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Sutton: Rex Holman. Tanner: Chris Alcaide. Doc Landy: Addison Richards.

30 min

Ma Mack

McCord helps a woman search for her missing son. Ma Mack: Nina Varela. Abner: Jack Hogan. Fry: Henry Fonda. Bates: Douglas Kennedy. Reece: Gregory Walcott. Lamson: Wallace Ford.

30 min