LARAMIE: THE BAREFOOT KID (TV)
Summary
One in this series of western dramas about ranchers in the Wyoming territory of the 1870s. In this episode, a young barefoot man steals Jess' horse in the dead of night, and Jess tracks the thief to a nearby town. He catches him at the blacksmith's, the horse having thrown a shoe, though the boy, Juan, denies the theft. Jess then prepares to leave town, but the sheriff, Vince, surprises him by saying that he must stay to testify at the boy's trial, as horse-stealing is a felony. He then meets Ruth Craik, the daughter of the local judge, and she invites him to dinner at her home. While there, he notes that Juan had the "good instincts" to care for the horse, but the judge remains firm in his decision to try him, and Ruth tells Vince not to "let this one get away." At the trial, Juan unconvincingly claims that he "found" the horse and Jess describes the events as they happened, and they are both stunned when Judge Craik deems him guilty and sentences him to hang. He ignores Jess' pleas to retract the death sentence, and another witness, Emery, explains that Craik fought long and hard to reclaim the town's land from the Mexicans, losing his son in the process, and is trying to keep the town "clean."
Jess talks to a townswoman, Jenny, who explains that the sheriff is a "muttonhead" whose former deputy was Craik's son. When he was shot by a Mexican prisoner, Ruth exploited Vince's guilt to get close to him and influence his decisions. Jess decides to stay in town and visits Juan in prison, who tearfully talks about his lack of a family and wonders about his impending death, at which point Jess pulls a gun on Vince and frees Juan. Vince and his men give chase, and Jess is caught while Juan gets away. Jenny defends Jess, but Vince locks him up and goes to break the news to Craik. Juan sneaks up to Jess' cell and promises to free him, and Jenny confronts Vince, saying that Craik is only seeking vengeance for his son and that he is under Ruth's thumb. Vince then takes Jess to the judge, and Juan intervenes and tries to help, but they are both recaptured, with Craik saying that Juan's "kind" killed his son and ordering them locked up again. Vince, however, reconsiders and allows Juan and Jess to escape again, and though Craik catches them, Jess overpowers him and declares that the town's rules must change. He then heads back to Laramie with Juan in tow and happily greets his friends, brushing off their worries of trouble. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: January 9, 1962 7:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T80:0071
- GENRE: Drama, western
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, western
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1959-1963
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- John Champion … Producer
- Dan Ullman … Associate Producer
- Joe Kane … Director
- Dick Nelson … Writer
- Cyril Mockridge … Music by
- John Smith … Cast, Slim Sherman
- Robert Fuller … Cast, Jess Harper
- Spring Byington … Cast, Daisy Cooper
- Dennis Holmes … Cast, Mike Williams
- Rafael Campos … Cast, Juan de la O
- Joanna Barnes … Cast, Ruth Craik
- Mary Sinclair … Cast, Jenny Stevens
- Richard Coogan … Cast, Vince Cutter
- Oliver McGowan … Cast, Judge Craik
- Harry Carey Jr. … Cast, Dan Emery
- Henry Rowland … Cast, The 1st Man
- Harry Carter … Cast, The Bartender
- Lenny Geer … Cast, The Blacksmith