Untraditionally good looking in a way that made his sleazy characters seem all the more sleazy, Marjoe Gortner has never been an actor whose work I had to rush to see. He was absolutely reprehensible in "Earthquake", and I booed him as the man who broke Emma's heart on "Falcon Crest". But playing a phony preacher in this Western comedy TV movie, I found him a lot more enduring even though his character was a scheming rascal. After being kicked out of one town, he heads to another, utilizing a disguise after finding the body of a dead preacher, and basically assumes his identity. He goes up against fat cat David Huddleston who basically removed from town anybody who stands in his way, and that includes the widowed Estelle Parsons and her beautiful 19 year old daughter Pamela Sue Martin. Mama approves of the phony preacher according her daughter especially when he prevents Huddleston from successfully getting them out of town, but it's obvious that Gortner doesn't plan on sticking around long.
Very entertaining and featuring some great character actor performances (with Slim Pickens great as an eye patch wearing confidant and advisor to Gortner), and Karl Swenson (" Little House on the Prairie's" Mr. Hansen) once again playing the town elder. Huddleston is a great villain, and Parsons is memorable as a kind and supportive mother, a far cry from her role as Blanche in "Bonnie and Clyde", that won her an Oscar, and very different from her recurring role on "Roseanne" and "The Conners". I just wish that she had a little more to do. Martin is fine as the young heroine, certainly not anything like her role as Fallon on "Dynasty", and it's a shame that you know from the start that she's going to have her heart broke. I couldn't see this as a long-lasting series, since it appears to have been a pilot based on the way it ended, but as a single TV movie, it kept me entertained and helped me give a new glimpse into its leading actor whom I've always thought of as a heavy.
Very entertaining and featuring some great character actor performances (with Slim Pickens great as an eye patch wearing confidant and advisor to Gortner), and Karl Swenson (" Little House on the Prairie's" Mr. Hansen) once again playing the town elder. Huddleston is a great villain, and Parsons is memorable as a kind and supportive mother, a far cry from her role as Blanche in "Bonnie and Clyde", that won her an Oscar, and very different from her recurring role on "Roseanne" and "The Conners". I just wish that she had a little more to do. Martin is fine as the young heroine, certainly not anything like her role as Fallon on "Dynasty", and it's a shame that you know from the start that she's going to have her heart broke. I couldn't see this as a long-lasting series, since it appears to have been a pilot based on the way it ended, but as a single TV movie, it kept me entertained and helped me give a new glimpse into its leading actor whom I've always thought of as a heavy.