TALES OF WELLS FARGO "Alder Gulch" 1957
TALES OF WELLS FARGO was a western series than ran for a total of 200 episodes between 1957 and 1962. Dale Robertson plays the lead as Jim Hardee. Hardee is an agent for the stage and cargo hauling outfit. When something goes wrong he is the man they send to fix it.
This episode is the third of the series. Wells Fargo stages are being robbed almost daily as they leave the Montana town of Alder Gulch. There has been a gold strike locally and this of course has drawn some most unsavoury types to the area. Fargo agent, Jim Hardee (Dale Robertson) is sent in to find out what is going on.
Sure enough, the stage that Robertson is on is held up by a group of gunmen. Robertson, ever the observant one, notices that the men are wearing the same type of gun belts decorated with silver stars. After the robbery, the stage pulls into Alder Gulch and unloads at the Wells Fargo office.
Robertson makes contact with the station manager, Stuart Randell. Randell tells Robertson that murder and mayhem has become normal in the area. Gold claims jumped and prospectors killed etc. His stage gets held up every time it takes a gold shipment. The crooks seem to always know when gold in on board. Station manager Randell, is sure that the local Law, Tom McKee is in with the criminal types.
Robertson hits some of the town's drinking establishments and soon finds two men, Lee Van Cleef and John Doucette wearing the gun belts the hold-up men wore. Robertson spins a tale of being handy with a gun and looking for work. Robertson has even bought a gun belt from the same store as Cleef and Doucette.
Word arrives that the "boss' wants all the men to gather at a building on the edge of town. Robertson walks in bold as anything and because of the gun belt is accepted into the gang. The "boss" now shows and is indeed Sheriff McKee. McKee plans on killing several of the town's prominent citizens. These men want to form a vigilante group to deal with crime wave. This is the last thing McKee and group want.
Needless to say the whole affair ends up with a bit of blood spillage and the nasty types rounded up. Robertson had managed to warn the town elders of the plot against them. The men, led by Wells Fargo office man, Randell round up a group of honest types and bushwhack the outlaw gang. Most will be keeping a date with a short piece of rope with a long fall.
This is a pretty good episode with action a plenty. The talent behind the camera is top flight with director Alan H Miner in the chair. Long time television veteran Miner started out on the big screen with a nice trio of low end westerns, GHOST TOWN, THE RIDE BACK and BLACK PATCH. The one time Oscar nominated Bud Thackery does nice work as the episode's director of photography.
The episode is written by Frank Gruber. Gruber cranked out the story or screenplays for film and television between 1939 and 1968. He worked in several different genres and was equally adept with all. These include, NORTHERN PURSUIT, THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS, JOHNNY ANGEL, DRESSED TO KILL, FIGHTING MAN OF THE PLAINS, CARIBOO TRAIL, WARPATH, PONY EXPRESS and SILVER CITY.
TALES OF WELLS FARGO was a western series than ran for a total of 200 episodes between 1957 and 1962. Dale Robertson plays the lead as Jim Hardee. Hardee is an agent for the stage and cargo hauling outfit. When something goes wrong he is the man they send to fix it.
This episode is the third of the series. Wells Fargo stages are being robbed almost daily as they leave the Montana town of Alder Gulch. There has been a gold strike locally and this of course has drawn some most unsavoury types to the area. Fargo agent, Jim Hardee (Dale Robertson) is sent in to find out what is going on.
Sure enough, the stage that Robertson is on is held up by a group of gunmen. Robertson, ever the observant one, notices that the men are wearing the same type of gun belts decorated with silver stars. After the robbery, the stage pulls into Alder Gulch and unloads at the Wells Fargo office.
Robertson makes contact with the station manager, Stuart Randell. Randell tells Robertson that murder and mayhem has become normal in the area. Gold claims jumped and prospectors killed etc. His stage gets held up every time it takes a gold shipment. The crooks seem to always know when gold in on board. Station manager Randell, is sure that the local Law, Tom McKee is in with the criminal types.
Robertson hits some of the town's drinking establishments and soon finds two men, Lee Van Cleef and John Doucette wearing the gun belts the hold-up men wore. Robertson spins a tale of being handy with a gun and looking for work. Robertson has even bought a gun belt from the same store as Cleef and Doucette.
Word arrives that the "boss' wants all the men to gather at a building on the edge of town. Robertson walks in bold as anything and because of the gun belt is accepted into the gang. The "boss" now shows and is indeed Sheriff McKee. McKee plans on killing several of the town's prominent citizens. These men want to form a vigilante group to deal with crime wave. This is the last thing McKee and group want.
Needless to say the whole affair ends up with a bit of blood spillage and the nasty types rounded up. Robertson had managed to warn the town elders of the plot against them. The men, led by Wells Fargo office man, Randell round up a group of honest types and bushwhack the outlaw gang. Most will be keeping a date with a short piece of rope with a long fall.
This is a pretty good episode with action a plenty. The talent behind the camera is top flight with director Alan H Miner in the chair. Long time television veteran Miner started out on the big screen with a nice trio of low end westerns, GHOST TOWN, THE RIDE BACK and BLACK PATCH. The one time Oscar nominated Bud Thackery does nice work as the episode's director of photography.
The episode is written by Frank Gruber. Gruber cranked out the story or screenplays for film and television between 1939 and 1968. He worked in several different genres and was equally adept with all. These include, NORTHERN PURSUIT, THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS, JOHNNY ANGEL, DRESSED TO KILL, FIGHTING MAN OF THE PLAINS, CARIBOO TRAIL, WARPATH, PONY EXPRESS and SILVER CITY.
