Although the title "A House Divided" mainly refers to the family bringing Josh the problem, josh and Wright King have some secrecy issues, leading Josh to get punched off-screen at the end.
Long time McQueen friend Gordon ("Bullitt") plays the villain here. Gordon's wife at the time (Bek Nelson) had a more pleasant role in a different Wanted. Gordon and Harry Townes (who was also in a Wanted) teamed in a classic Twilight Zone (The Four of Us are Dying). Gordon's last role was in a movie about McQueen.
3 Reviews
Asking A Lot Out Of 'Josh'
ccthemovieman-12 December 2009
Boy, some people ask too much. In this episode, poor "Josh Randall," after getting knocked out by someone hiding inside his hotel room, finds out from the client the next morning that she ("Amama Cross") wants Josh: 1 - to save her father from being hanged; 2 - figure out who killed someone; 3 - then prove it was him and not her father. To complicate matters further, her father is wanted by the law and there is a bounty out on him.
"I don't do detective work," Josh tells her, but she expects him to do everything here for her for $500.....and, of course, Randall - being the good guy he is - finally agrees even though a couple of people in town are trying to kill him before he even begins the case!
Don Gordon guest-stars as the villain. Man, he always was good in that role, whether it was on TV or in the movies. Although retired from acting, Gordon had a long career.
There are a number of sub-plots in this story, too, concerning a few people, most in the "Cole" family.....and I'll leave at that. In all, another intelligent and well-done episode.
"I don't do detective work," Josh tells her, but she expects him to do everything here for her for $500.....and, of course, Randall - being the good guy he is - finally agrees even though a couple of people in town are trying to kill him before he even begins the case!
Don Gordon guest-stars as the villain. Man, he always was good in that role, whether it was on TV or in the movies. Although retired from acting, Gordon had a long career.
There are a number of sub-plots in this story, too, concerning a few people, most in the "Cole" family.....and I'll leave at that. In all, another intelligent and well-done episode.
How did McQueen Allow Scrappy Doo?
TheFearmakers28 March 2023
Steve McQueen is a great movie star. He was a good actor when he kept within his wheelhouse, and didn't try too hard, and right off the bat, this was the perfect series for him... he was cool, he was vulnerable, he was tough, he was sparse and simple...
And he was also a primadonna right off the bat, firing people off the set as if he were a veteran actor with all the money in the world... and yet somehow he managed to allow Wright King to basically co-star on nine entire episodes of the series...
Wright's not a bad actor, and he's not a great actor... he just kind of fills space, and always has, from the minute he got a kiss from Vivian Leigh in Streetcar... he stands there and simply exists...
And here he's a punk wannabe bounty hunter named Jason, hanging around Josh and usually getting him into trouble... or rather, more trouble than usual... and he has a pet dog... which is a double stress since pets don't fit this show, and god forbid the dog dies...
Anyhow, what's cool, and ironic while speaking of sidekicks, is that McQueen's most faithful future sidekick Don Gordon, from Bullitt to Towering Inferno, plays a bad guy... or, you know, the token lowlife scum-bag, and it's nice seeing them together, and fighting this time... "Drink your orange juice and shut up Delgetti."
But the boy and his dog get in the way, as usual, and the plot is both complicated and sluggish... but it's not a bad episode, just kinda filler... then again so are all the Scrappy Doo/Boo Boo episodes with Wright King's Jason... a shame, since Season 2 is much better than Season 3, by which time he's gone...
Funny too, because King would have fit better in the last season than this one.
And he was also a primadonna right off the bat, firing people off the set as if he were a veteran actor with all the money in the world... and yet somehow he managed to allow Wright King to basically co-star on nine entire episodes of the series...
Wright's not a bad actor, and he's not a great actor... he just kind of fills space, and always has, from the minute he got a kiss from Vivian Leigh in Streetcar... he stands there and simply exists...
And here he's a punk wannabe bounty hunter named Jason, hanging around Josh and usually getting him into trouble... or rather, more trouble than usual... and he has a pet dog... which is a double stress since pets don't fit this show, and god forbid the dog dies...
Anyhow, what's cool, and ironic while speaking of sidekicks, is that McQueen's most faithful future sidekick Don Gordon, from Bullitt to Towering Inferno, plays a bad guy... or, you know, the token lowlife scum-bag, and it's nice seeing them together, and fighting this time... "Drink your orange juice and shut up Delgetti."
But the boy and his dog get in the way, as usual, and the plot is both complicated and sluggish... but it's not a bad episode, just kinda filler... then again so are all the Scrappy Doo/Boo Boo episodes with Wright King's Jason... a shame, since Season 2 is much better than Season 3, by which time he's gone...
Funny too, because King would have fit better in the last season than this one.
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