It was good to see Noah Beery, Jr. In this finsl episode. It is a good episode; one of the few (perhaps only) episodes with the ocean in it. I believe that was done intentionally. Also, the last lines are great. A fine episode to end on.
5 Reviews
McQueen's final outing as Josh Randell.
mcelhaney8 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
*Review Contains Spoilers*
After three seasons, Steve McQueen left for the big screen and ended one of better western series of all time. This particular episode does not denote the ending of the series (McQueen simply didn't sign up for another season, something that was probably decided after this episode was written) but it is interesting on it's own merits.
The plot is fairly straightforward; We begin with Barney's son (Jonathon Bolt) having his "duel" in bar broken up by his father, Barney (played by Noah Beery Jr. who a few episodes ago portrayed "El Gato") kicks his son outta his horse ranch to go off to San Fran to become a "man"...okay...along comes Josh Randell, bringing two prisoners rides up to Barney's horse ranch to "rent" two horses so his "bounty" can ride their way to Nevada. Naturally, the prisoners escape and take the horses with them. Barney rides with Randell to chase down the prisoners.
The chase is rather perfunctory and not very memorable save for the unusual setting along the California shoreline. Making for some spectacular shots during the episode.
Beery is certainly more comfortable in this role compared to his forced "Mexican" impression in "El Gato". This episode is notable for being the first acting role for career stuntman Bill Hart, who still acts today.
McQueen doesn't appear in the prologue and makes only a token appearance at the end. Despite this, I do not believe this was a "set-up" episode for a spin-off. Barney's son plays no role in the chase and has little chemistry with Beery.
A fine, but not really great outing for series finale as too much attention is placed on Barney 'n David. But I still recommend it if only for the location and stunt work involved.
After three seasons, Steve McQueen left for the big screen and ended one of better western series of all time. This particular episode does not denote the ending of the series (McQueen simply didn't sign up for another season, something that was probably decided after this episode was written) but it is interesting on it's own merits.
The plot is fairly straightforward; We begin with Barney's son (Jonathon Bolt) having his "duel" in bar broken up by his father, Barney (played by Noah Beery Jr. who a few episodes ago portrayed "El Gato") kicks his son outta his horse ranch to go off to San Fran to become a "man"...okay...along comes Josh Randell, bringing two prisoners rides up to Barney's horse ranch to "rent" two horses so his "bounty" can ride their way to Nevada. Naturally, the prisoners escape and take the horses with them. Barney rides with Randell to chase down the prisoners.
The chase is rather perfunctory and not very memorable save for the unusual setting along the California shoreline. Making for some spectacular shots during the episode.
Beery is certainly more comfortable in this role compared to his forced "Mexican" impression in "El Gato". This episode is notable for being the first acting role for career stuntman Bill Hart, who still acts today.
McQueen doesn't appear in the prologue and makes only a token appearance at the end. Despite this, I do not believe this was a "set-up" episode for a spin-off. Barney's son plays no role in the chase and has little chemistry with Beery.
A fine, but not really great outing for series finale as too much attention is placed on Barney 'n David. But I still recommend it if only for the location and stunt work involved.
Superb Last Episode
sambase-3877327 June 2021
I wasn't expecting much, thinking the last episode of the series would just be a kind of walk through, a few nails here, a few screw there, and everybody goes home. Boy was I wrong. This is easily the best episode of the entire series, and I saw every episode. This looks and feels like a theatrical movie. The shots are so good from start to finish. The story is deep and moving. The acting is excellent. No complaints at all about this great episode and that's why I gave it a "10", which I rarely give any TV episodes.
Was this filmed near Paradise Cove, CA?
cpotato101017 March 2019
The filming location is unusual, near the coast by Malibu and surrounding areas.
The story seemed a little uneven, kind of like a half-hearted pilot for Noah Beery. He is the highlight of this flawed episode.
There were a few too many gaps in the plot, and why would Josh be taking two wanted men on foot?
There was one unusual stunt, where one of the wanted men is roped off a horse and dragged through the surf, rather than some field.
Not exactly the best send-off for the series.
The story seemed a little uneven, kind of like a half-hearted pilot for Noah Beery. He is the highlight of this flawed episode.
There were a few too many gaps in the plot, and why would Josh be taking two wanted men on foot?
There was one unusual stunt, where one of the wanted men is roped off a horse and dragged through the surf, rather than some field.
Not exactly the best send-off for the series.
Slapdash End to Series
Johnny_West3 May 2022
Josh Randall is barely in this episode. Noah Beery, Jr. Plays the father of Jonathan Bolt. The beginning is a scene where a gunfighter makes a coward out of Jonathan Bolt, and Noah Beery comes to the rescue of his wimpy son. The scenes between Beery and Bolt are beyond awkward, and Bolt and his father have no chemistry at all as father and son. It is like they had just met for the first time (it was probably true as actors).
Noah Beery spends the whole episode calling Steve McQueen as "Josh" and then "Sam" and there is no point to it except that this episode seems to be about building up Noah Beery as some kind of ecentric friend of Randall, and possibly a supporting character if the series had continued.
The whole feel of this episode is slapdash, like they realized that McQueen was not returning, and they tried to improvise some kind of continuity using Noah Beery Jr as a possible replacement. I am surprised that Wright King was not worked into this episode also. It would have been interesting to see Wright King and Noah Beery Jr trying to take over for Steve McQueen if a fourth season had been filmed.
The fact that all the scenes are on the beach makes it seem even more ridiculous. Why would Josh Randall travel a thousand miles on horseback to find two bounties in California? You get the feeling they just wanted to slap something together that they could put on TV, and it turned out to be the final episode.
The only highlight is that McQueen and Beery are clearly riding the horses that are going down some steep sandy California hills, and I was impressed. They were both good at riding horses. The scenes looked a bit dangerous.
Noah Beery spends the whole episode calling Steve McQueen as "Josh" and then "Sam" and there is no point to it except that this episode seems to be about building up Noah Beery as some kind of ecentric friend of Randall, and possibly a supporting character if the series had continued.
The whole feel of this episode is slapdash, like they realized that McQueen was not returning, and they tried to improvise some kind of continuity using Noah Beery Jr as a possible replacement. I am surprised that Wright King was not worked into this episode also. It would have been interesting to see Wright King and Noah Beery Jr trying to take over for Steve McQueen if a fourth season had been filmed.
The fact that all the scenes are on the beach makes it seem even more ridiculous. Why would Josh Randall travel a thousand miles on horseback to find two bounties in California? You get the feeling they just wanted to slap something together that they could put on TV, and it turned out to be the final episode.
The only highlight is that McQueen and Beery are clearly riding the horses that are going down some steep sandy California hills, and I was impressed. They were both good at riding horses. The scenes looked a bit dangerous.
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