Devil's Carnival

Kimble, hitchhiking, accepts a ride from Hanes McClure (actor Warren Oates). When the sheriff of the small town, Charles Edward Shafter (actor Phillip Abbot), learns Hanes is coming to town, he tries to stop him, but Hanes rushes by him.

Hanes has a reputation of being a dangerous criminal who has committed robberies and killings. Driving recklessly, he almost hits a young man, Tad Thompson (actor Dee Pollock), and Kimble grabs the wheel to save him. However, Hanes and Kimble both end up in jail. While Charles Edward knows Kimble is innocent in the traffic matter, and is grateful to Kimble for saving his life when Hanes pulled a gun, he recognized him as Dr. Kimble, and had to take him into custody.

Tad's mother Marybeth Thompson (actress Madeleine Sherwood) is the nosy telephone operator. She treats Tad like a child, and is an annoying presence throughout the episode. Tad's father ruined his life by associating in crime with Hanes McClure, and she is afraid Hanes will have the same effect on Tad. Tad wants to get out from under his mother's suffocating influence, and admires the aggressive, self-confident Hanes McClure.

As a carnival atmosphere settles on the town with two major criminals in the local jail, Kimble must join with Hanes, whom he dislikes and mistrusts, in order to make a jailbreak. Yet, he must also discourage Tad, who is all too eager to help the prisoners and enter into an exciting life of crime.

I've watched a lot of DVDs of 1960s and 70s shows and have noticed one familiar cliché--the hellishly awful small town. Instead of being the nice Mayberry-like places, very often small towns are shows as being places filled with narrow-minded idiots...and this one is pretty idiotic!

When the show begins, Haines (Warren Oates) arrives back in town after many years...and folks all run for cover. Apparently, he is a hellraiser and has been accused of a lot of crimes--and they are sure he's returning to cause trouble. Fortunately, they are able to capture him...unfortunately, Richard Kimble was picked up while hitchhiking and they capture him as well. Now both men are in a tiny jail...waiting to be taken off to the county jail. As for the townsfolk, they all begin acting like idiots and a weird mob mentality takes hold. Once scared, they are now quite brave now that Haines is behind bars...at least for now.

Warren Oates' performance is enjoyable but I wasn't thrilled by the episode simply because the towns folk were all such cartoonish people...and the lady played by Madelyn Sherwood so annoying I felt like tossing something at my TV! Worth seeing but seriously flawed.

Dick hitchhikes is way into trouble when the guy giving him a lift is the notorious Hanes McClure. Warren Oates is in his element here as the guy who everyone is afraid of. The sheriff starts chasing them and McClure almost hits a teen named Tad, but Kimble turns the wheel to avoid tragedy. The sheriff throws them both in jail and believes Dick that he had nothing to do with any of this, but he recognized Dick's wanted poster and is holding him until Lieutenant Gee-rard gets here from Staf-ford, Indiana. The great Strother Martin is also on hand as a conniving, money hungry owner of a pool hall and restaurant. He is also a part time deputy who sells pictures of the famous prisoners and of a young cutie pointing at bullet holes. He also sells autographed pictures of himself signed "what we've got here is failure to communicate." Now, young Tad is crucial to the plot, as his overbearing mama, Madeleine Sherwood, later to become Mother Superior in the Flying Nun, is no superior mother here. She is switchboard Sally, town gossip who is trying to keep her son from becoming like his daddy, who died in prison after falling in with Haines McClure. Only her little tadpole is sick of her nagging and wants to be a gangster. He sees Dick's goodness and wants to help him escape. Eventually there is a shootout between Hanes and the sheriff which leaves Hanes dead and the sheriff critically wounded. Kimble escapes, of course, and tells Tad that if he feels the need to leave his town, and who wouldn't, he should walk away, not run. Wise winds indeed, which Tad follows. The fate of the sheriff is unknown. The fate of Richard Kimble, on the other hand, is known. He remains.....a fugitive.

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode as it portrays Warren Oates at his best ! What a better role for Oates to play than the notorious Hanes McClure. Just the thought of Hanes returning to Corona has everyone literally trembling in their shoes; and Oates plays it to the hilt !

Philip Abbott plays Constable Charles Edwards, a long time friend of Hanes. He's forced to deal with the rowdy, enthusiastic McClure who won't take no for an answer.

Strother Martin is hysterical in his role as billiard hall owner Shirky, who will do anything for a dollar. Throw in an excellent performance by Madeleine Sherwood as the town's phone operator and overprotective mother along with the nosy, Peyton Placelike townsfolk and we do have a Devil's Carnival.

A very memorable episode indeed !

The problem with a long-running drama series based on a single idea, is that the stories become repetitive and samey. However, now and again, an absolute gem shines forth. This episode is one. Directors of TV dramas certainly got their money's worth when casting Warren Oates as villain. Here he is in full toothy, leering mode as local bad boy Hanes McLure a suspected bank robber and murderer. Heading back to his home town of Corona he picks up Richard Kimble. Roaring into Main Street in his truck, he almost runs down local teenager Tad Thompson, whose life is saved by Kimble's intervention at the wheel. The Sheriff tries to arrest McLure in a pool hall. In a scene worthy of the cover of a lurid pulp magazine, McLure grabs teenage, jailbait waitress Sue-Anne (bouffant - check, bare midriff- check, tight pants - check) by the hair and pulls a gun, using her as a shield. Again, Kimble's quick thinking saves the day, and the criminal is hustled into a cell. Trouble is, Kimble is also arrested as McLure's accomplice. Then - the bombshell. The Sheriff expresses his gratitude for Kimble's help, but tells him he knows who he is, and that he will be sending for Lieutenant Gerard! At this point things get rather unsavoury . Realising they have two celebrity criminals in their midst, the townsfolk take advantage. Rapacious acting deputy Saulter starts charging people 50 cents for a peek at the prisoners, and Sue-Anne poses provocatively for photos near the bullet holes in the pool hall wall and floor, at $1,50 a picture! The press and media are invited in and visitors are regaled with individual versions of what occurred. Everybody is on the make. Tad Thompson is disgusted by the antics of his fellow citizens. He is grateful to Kimble and wants to help him. Tad's problem however, is his clinging domineering mother Marybeth who orders him not to get involved. She treats him like a 5 year-old and there are definite shades of Mrs Bates (Psycho) in her character! Being "The Fugitive," we know that Kimble is likely to get away. But, in the meantime we are able to observe an unpleasant indictment of human nature at the hands of the greed-obsessed hicks who live in this shabby south-western town. A plus for this series is the quality of the guest stars. In addition to Warren Oates, Strother Martin plays avaricious pool hall owner Saulter with a convincing slimeiness, and Wilford Brimley is the smug, self-safisfied mayor, who suddenly sees benefits for the town in the situation.