The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (TV Series) The Man Who Lied (1955) User Reviews

The plot thickens

[gordonl56 · 7/10 · 26 September 2013]

THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF Wyatt Earp – The Man Who Lied – 1955

This is episode six of the 1955-1961 western series starring Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp.

In this one, crooked businessman, House Peters Jr is still annoyed with the new Wichita Marshall, Hugh O'Brian. He hires a gunman, Richie Vallin, to gun down O'Brian. Vallin agrees to do the deed for $1000. The money is paid and the play is set in motion.

Vallin calls out O'Briao but the Marshal refuses to play along. He can tell that Vallin is not really a top gunman. O'Brian wants to know why Vallin is so hot to be killed. He has the town newsman, Don Haggerty check around to see if anyone knows Vallin.

He soon discovers that Vallin is a deserter from the Army. The man feels so bad about the act that he now wants to prove his bravery. O'Brian manages to switch the bullets in Vallin's pistols for duds while Vallin is out of his hotel room. O'Brian now approaches Vallin and says it is time to settle the matter.

After Vallin straps on his guns he goes for a quick draw. O'Brian clears leather first and beats Vallin by a mile. He does not fire though. He points out that Vallin has now proved he is no coward and there is no need for him to die. Vallin sees the light and tells O'Brian about Peters and the $1000 Vallin received to kill O'Brian. O'Brian files this away for future use.

After a rip roaring first four episodes to the series the last two have been a tad weak. Having said that, these are still entertaining examples of television from almost 60 years ago, and well worth a look for the western fan.

The director, Frank MacDonald, helmed over 100 feature films as well as several hundred television episodes. (b/w)

Who Is The Little Kid That Alerted Earp?

[wheeloffire · 8/10 · 5 May 2017]

This is actually a question, instead of a review. I clicked on User Comments, but this is where the site brought me.

Who is the little kid that alerts Wyatt Earp that Buff Yancy is looking for him? He appears when Yancy asks him to find Wyatt, and then again, when he's telling Wyatt about Yancy's request.

I'd swear I've seen that kid, but a little more grown up. At first, I thought it might be Stephen Talbot, who played Gilbert Bates on Leave It To Beaver.

The part and the actor are not listed among the Cast listing, which I find somewhat amazing.

Anybody know who this kid is?

What It's About

[darbski · 10/10 · 31 August 2018]

***SPOILERS*** This is a good episode, and shows anyone who's enjoyed the series exactly what Wyatt was about. where other westerns gun down as many bad guys as possible, this one relies on brainwork to win the day. Not that there is NO gunplay - far from it. It's just that Wyatt (and his brothers) tried every way possible to avoid it. He didn't invent "buffaloing" an unruly cowhand or outlaw, he just perfected it. Indeed, there's a really good chance that an unwillingness to use that method was what got Bat's brother, Ed Masterson killed when he was a lawman. I believe that it is the differences in the type of westerns that we love that make our viewing that much more critical. This was one of the best of the type, with solid acting, good story, action, and a lesson in courage. I'm giving it a 10.

One other thing is the issue that wheeloffire (Cream?) brought out. It's a real puzzler, ain't it? I don't know the answer. I wonder if our good friends at IMDb could help us out? If it was the little snotnose that was always getting Beaver in trouble (like all the rest of his moron buddies did), maybe he could be somehow tracked backwards to find out - good luck.