Wanted: Dead or Alive (TV Series) Epitaph (1961) User Reviews

Bad, Bad 'Martha Boyd' Adds Spice To This Shocking Episode

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 15 November 2010]

A friend of Josh's - a sheriff, no less - is now wanted for stealing $10,000 at a bank and a fellow lawman who knows Josh asks him to find the man before other bounty hunters kill the guy. The theory is that the sheriff, known as the most honest guy in the territory, has been led astray by a very bad woman. Hey, it happens.

So, Josh goes after the guy, not for the $300 but to save his skin and find out what's behind all of this. Well-known actor Richard Anderson plays "Sheriff Jim Kramer." The real attention-getter in this story is the bad woman" "Martha Boyd." Wow, she's a doozy: looks-wise and in brutal attitude. She's a killer, figuratively and literally. I'm speaking of actress Enid Jaynes, who was hot stuff. Too bad there isn't a bio and/or picture of her here on IMDb. I even "googled" her name and came up empty - a real mystery woman.

Anyway, there are some shocking scenes involving her character in the second half of this entertaining episode.

Wanted: Dead or Alive - Epitaph

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 16 December 2015]

Bounty hunter, Josh Randall (Steve McQueen), is summoned to Border City's Sheriff Office, having no idea that the wanted criminal he is asked to pursue is the sheriff of the town! Television veteran Richard Anderson (of westerns among many other genre shows) guest stars as the sheriff-turned-bank-robber who has fled town with loot stolen due to a woman who came off the stage bewitching him (Enid Jaynes). Jaynes' Martha Boyd not only packs a mean rifle but will shoot anyone right in the back in order to keep her loot! James Drake has a very minor part as another patsy of Martha's, Larry Simon.

Josh and former sheriff, Kramer (Anderson), are good friends, so this is a personal mission not at all about the bounty…Josh wants to make sure Kramer is brought back to Border City in one piece, but with Martha targeting him in order to make sure the money stays in her possession no one is safe! I think "Epitaph" will not be remembered as much for its simplistic plot as it will be for the startling conclusion which ends violently. Because Martha Boyd is so devious, greedy, and ruthless, this kind of female character isn't the norm in this era of western. And when she draws on Josh, and he must retaliate in self defense, the dénouement had to have stunned audiences watching on their television sets. Kramer's fate, in particular, rather shocked me in that he never really stands a chance. When Kramer and Josh decide to go after the money so they can return it to the bank and town, with Martha waiting on top of a boulder from a distance ready to shoot them in the back (this not long after getting rid of Larry, who was excess baggage to her despite using him to rob the loot away from Kramer), the angle of the camera shot truly intimates how vulnerable men in the Old West could be, susceptible to a bullet in the back at any turn.

Best scene for me was a well lit nighttime fireside discussion between a disappointed Josh and a defeated Kramer, both down in the dumps over this whole situation. The point of how love can cause a man to commit questionable deeds is what is driven home in this episode. A sullen McQueen makes sense considering what his character must endure, watching his friend broken and ultimately executed. Jaynes isn't really in the episode long, but she does make her presence felt. What a devious, deadly villainess.

Other scenes include Kramer encountering a scorned bounty hunter who surprised the fugitive sheriff when his back was turned, Josh visiting a saloon to take a few shots of whiskey before his unfortunate trip as the bartender (a cigar clinched tight in teeth on one side of his mouth) laments the loss of a fine sheriff that lost his way, and the current Border City Sheriff, Walt (Bart Burns) conversing with Josh over what happened to Kramer, trying to come to terms with the inexplicable act committed.

A Great Episode

[Easygoer10 · 9/10 · 18 January 2020]

I love this episode. You have an excellent guest star in Richard Anderson. He was previously cast in the brilliant anti-war film, "Paths of Glory" (1957); one of (wizard) director Stanley Kubrick's finest films. Also cast is Martha Boyd as "Enid James". She is a very bad woman, to say the least. This is a must see episode. Even the ending reminds me of "The Killing" (1956). This is another film Stanley Kubrick directed, about the robbery of a thoroughbred racetrack. All I will tell you is they have similar endings.

What do you do when a friend turns bad?

[cpotato1010 · 8/10 · 24 February 2019]

What sets this episode apart are two things.

The acting of Richard Anderson and the character of "Martha Boyd".

Richard Anderson is always a pleasure to watch. Here he plays a strong man who has made a serious mistake. He wants to make good on getting back the bank's money before he returns to face his punishment. You feel sympathy for the character due to Mr. Anderson's fine acting.

"Martha Boyd" is one of the nastier female characters on the Western TV shows. Her screen time is rather short, but as played by a 25 year-old Enid Janyes, it is memorable.

btw, there is a bit more of a bio now for Enid, although no pictures. Of interest is that during all of her acting career she was married to producer Jules Levy. She had several parts in one of the series he produced, "The Rifleman", among others. The IMDB picture for the two season 5 episodes of "The Rifleman" looks like a head shot of the actress, not the character.

I do have one question, though. Since "Martha" was so determined to keep the money, willing to shoot her erstwhile partner, why was "Jim" allowed to live when she and "Larry" took the money from him?

That detail aside, a good episode.

"Things that men will do in the name of love"

[ebertip · 6/10 · 9 May 2019]

Good sheriff goes bad over pretty woman. Josh goes after sheriff. Pretty woman who is ruthless intervenes. Not an imaginative plot.