2.09 FOUR FROM STILLWATER
Four Star Production No. 2719
Nov. 29 1959 ABC Fri
Directed by David Lowell Rich

Written by George and Gertrude Fass

Director of Photography: Harry Wild

 

Starring: Peter Breck (as Clay Culhane)


Guest Cast:
Karl Swenson ............Doc Wyle
Barney Phillips ..........Charlie Johnson
Duncan McLeod ....... Ben Thompson

John Newton……….. Joe Williams

Ken Mayer………….  Cagen

Willam Boyer………. Bridges

Mary Webster……...  Mary Wyle

Kim Charney……….. Petie Johnson

 
Synopsis:

On the trail to Stillwater, Clay finds one of his gunslinger friends has been lynched by four men.  Once he arrives in town, Clay is outraged that no one will speak up about the crime. Clay finds Stillwater has no law and his friend was wrongly imprisoned, and executed by citizens. The town discovers they executed the wrong man and cover up the crime. Can Clay uncover the identity of the four men and stand up alone against a town with no conscience? Does he forget the law and resort to his gunfighter past to get even? Will he escape this deadly town unscathed or suffer the same treatment as his friend?

 

*Notice the horse Cagen is riding? Yes...it is Coco! (Coco later became Nick Barkley's horse on The Big Valley. Peter purchased Coco and retired the horse from show biz. Rumor has it Coco lived a long and happy life and died while Peter was riding him...)

 

Special Guest Star: 

 

Karl Swenson 

Of Swedish descent, burly, light-haired character actor Karl Swenson was born in Brooklyn and started his four-decade career on radio. Throughout the late 30s and 40s, his voice could be heard all over the airwaves, appearing in scores of daytime serials (Lorenzo Jones) and mystery dramas (Inner Sanctum Mysteries). He gave visual life to one of his serial characters, Walter Manning, in "Portia Faces Life" when it went to TV in 1953. It was during his lengthy work in this medium that he met his wife, stage and radio actress Joan Tompkins. They appeared together throughout their careers on TV and in a few films. In the 1950s, he kept afloat on TV in rugged guest spots (Dr. Kildare (1961), Gunsmoke (1955), Maverick (1957), Mission: Impossible (1966) and Hawaii Five-O (1968)). He didn't appear in films until age 50+ with minor roles in Kings Go Forth (1958), North to Alaska (1960), The Birds (1963) and The Sons of Katie Elder (1965). His voice was also well utilized in such animated features as The Sword in the Stone (1963) as the voice of Merlin. Karl met actor Michael Landon on the set of Bonanza (1959), appearing in four separate episodes over time. Landon remembered him when he began to film Little House of the Pararie (1974). Cast in the recurring role of lumber mill owner Lars Hanson, he remained on the show until his death in 1978 of a heart attack. He character on the show also died. 

Published courtesy of biographer: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net