The New Mexican Connection

This one gets a bit complicated, but all the pieces come together for a satisfactory conclusion meaning the bad guys are rounded up and accounted for.

All this begins when Dennis Weaver spots the suspect in a bank robbery from back when he was in New Mexico on the streets of New York. Weaver arrests Gary Vinson and gets the pleasure of bringing him back to New Mexico. But while in his native Taos someone calls and says that girlfriend Diana Muldaur is being held until Vinson is released. And after racing back to New York Weaver finds Muldaur has been spending the weekend with rockstar Ricky Nelson and his manager Jackie Cooper on an interview.

This episode had a solid cast of performers in it. Besides those already mentioned Gilbert Roland plays a New Mexico sheriff, Murray Hamilton a liberal commentator who's ragging on the NYPD, and Sharon Gless in a small role as a policewoman.

Most of all there's Ray Danton playing the part of a very deadly hit- man who Sam McCloud has to go the extra mile to outwit.

So what's behind all this. Let's just say someone has a lot to lose if the whole truth came out.

I particularly enjoyed this episode because of the climax involving a fight between Dennis Weaver and the chief villain on top of a stagecoach in New York City. J.D. Cannon and Terry Carter trailing Weaver, Muldaur and the bad guy in the coach can't believe what they're seeing like it was from some western film.

In fact I remember the stagecoach well. It was part of the promotion of the Cattleman steakhouse and there were two of them in midtown Manhattan. They're gone now, but in the Seventies it was not uncommon to see them around in the early evening hours. I ate at the Cattleman several times and the food was great.

Glad to see this episode of McCloud preserved that piece of New York history.