Strange bedfellows in Bogen County. Imagine the Lone Ranger teaming up with Chester from GUNSMOKE to rescue the angelic Kelly Garrett from the clutches of J. R. Ewing.
The late, great Mitchell Ryan stars as a malicious and megalomaniacal Texas power broker who runs Bogen County as his own private fiefdom. Speeding down the highway, he waves off the dutiful patrolman who immediately pulls back. He hunts wild game from his helicopter and then hosts an elaborate barbecue for his loyal subjects, where he gropes and grabs a young woman he later seduces into bed. It's good to be the king!
But the king's queen, Jaclyn Smith, catching her husband in flagrante delicto--and not for the first time--takes off for the open road. But Ambler Bowman won't let this prized possession slip from his grasp. Rousting the judge from bed and into court in his bathrobe, he issues a warrant for her apprehension and return. She is dutifully driven the 300 miles back to Bogen County by Texas Ranger Jack Kerns, played by Michael Parks.
"Mister Dillon!" one can almost hear Henry Gibson cry. Gibson plays a limping state bureaucrat dispatched to Bogen County to audit the books, which have been cooked--literally--in a suspicious fire. He tells the Texas Ranger that there's something rotten in Bogen County. Wannabe country music warbler Jack decides to stick around town and refuel on cheeseburgers with mustard and relish. His suspicions were aroused by the trumped-up charges Judge Henry Martin used to lock Maggie in jail. The singing cowboy even bullies his way into jail to perform for Maggie, his "captive audience," while the town's quivering Keystone Kops assemble in the stairwell with shotguns, unsure of how to react to an unprecedented challenge to Bowman's dictates.
Pat Hingle plays the vassal Judge Henry Martin in a complete contrast to the hanging judge he so memorably portrayed a decade earlier in HANG 'EM HIGH. Here he's bought and paid for by Bowman. When Judge Martin's daughter, a friend of Maggie's, calls him to account, Henry's hangdog face reflects a man almost beaten into resignation and despair. But only almost. Judge Martin's mustering the courage to release Maggie is the pivotal first crack in Ambler's once-impenetrable line of loyalist toadies.
Crater-faced John Quade is perfectly cast as the corrupt sheriff. He's apoplectic at the judge's turning against Ambler, "You done checked your brains out of town on a Greyhound bus, Henry? ... It's your funeral!" he bellows at the turncoat judge, whose conscience is clear but who's head is now in the crosshairs of Ambler's rifle. Alerted to this Brutus' betrayal, Ambler speeds and skids his car right onto the sidewalk of the courthouse and shoots out the judge's window. Chester runs to warn the Lone Ranger that Ambler is officially unhinged.
Jack and Maggie learn firsthand that Ambler has flipped when the husband scorned chases after their car in his helicopter. "He's nuts!" shouts Jack in a keen Captain Obvious observation. This tense scene is amazingly played out and appeared incredibly risky for all involved as the blades tilted low and the dust clouds billowed. This was a cinematic-quality chase scene start to finish.
Mitchell Ryan as Burke Devlin on DARK SHADOWS struck a balance between menace and charm. Here, even when flashing his trademark broad, squinty-eyed smile, it's all malice. He's a very scary man. And Maggie is a very scared woman. Jaclyn Smith's Maggie is not the street-smart Kelly Garrett of CHARLIE'S ANGELS. Maggie was a poor and ignorant young rustic who had the misfortune of catching the roving eye of the lustful Ambler. Whether to curry favor or to avert his wrath, her parents gave her over to Ambler, sealing her fate and squashing her dream of escaping this dried-up and dusty town.
No mention is made of Maggie suffering physical abuse, but evidence of psychological abuse abounds. A fearful Maggie's initially refuses to help the investigation into Ambler's illegal activities. She's convinced nothing will change and that Ambler will always find her to exact revenge. One can feel the frustration of Jack and Chester as they try to convince Maggie that by testifying can be freed for good from Ambler's control. Only when Ambler finally overplays his hand does Maggie muster the courage to defy him.
Ryan, Smith, and Parks were each excellent in their roles. Special mention must be made of LAUGH-IN veteran Henry Gibson, a cartoon voice and comic actor who herein proved he can play it straight convincingly. I loved the scene where the diminutive Gibson stands up to the tall but indifferent bureaucrat Alan Fudge and prevails. A highlight of the supporting cast unfortunately underutilized were Fred Willard and George Memmoli as Ambler's bumbling henchmen. I suspect their roles were diminished because this latter-day Abbott and Costello combo did serve to lighten the mood, which would have undermined the tension the producers successfully established and sustained.
This compelling and entertaining movie initially aired over CBS on a Friday night. Perhaps not coincidentally, just a few years later this same Friday night spot would for a decade boast the blockbuster drama DALLAS. Could this film about a Texas power broker with a love for money and an eye for the ladies have exerted any influence or inspired the creation of J. R. Ewing? Parallels include Ambler mentioning he is owed favors from all over Texas and his calling out a woman at the barbecue named Sue Ellen. But J. R., even at his most scheming, underhanded, and devious, could never match the evil embodied by Ambler Bowman. J. R. Always loved his mama.
