The Wild Wild West (TV Series) Night of the Casual Killer (1965) User Reviews

One of the better Episodes that has no Lovelass

[DKosty123 · 9/10 · 19 April 2009]

This episode features John Dehner as Maxwell Avery and he plays a bad guy very well in this particular episode. Dehner is a very good actor who did a lot of roles in his career. This plot is one of the better ones.

It involves saving President Grant from certain scandal as a result of Avery's calculated plot. West & Gordon come after Avery but it seems no matter what they do, Avery is always one step ahead of their chase. The chase theme is what makes this a stronger plot than most episodes. Avery here is almost as adept as Lovelass is at making West & Gordon keep trying but gasping for air trying to catch him.

The final sequence is quite clever filming for a 1960's TV series. It involves a mine, mine cars, and dynamite in quite an elaborate sequence.

All the World's a Stage

[jackbuckley-05049 · 10/10 · 7 August 2021]

This episode, though, of course, a drama, is alot of fun with an especially good premise. One of the delights is that West & Gordon are in the story together at the same time, with few separations isolating their performances, which is the usual procedure. Their interplay is quite good. I enjoyed the plot device of the 2 agents posing as entertainers travelling by show-wagon, pretending to be lost, thus gaining entry into villain John Dehner's remote, secret hideout. It's a pleasure seeing West portraying a bouncy but physically-weak show-biz type in derby hat. Where he learned his magic tricks isn't explained but probably something he learned over the years, as it could come in handy, as it does here. And Gordon's over-the-top performance of Hamlet's soliloquy is most amusing, dressed in costume as the melancholy, indecisive Prince of Denmark. As a former theatrical-actor, prior to his joining the Secret Service, the agent's thrilled to be on center-stage again, savoring every moment. Topping all of this, John Dehner is superb as a corrupt-politician on-the-run---smooth, dapper & intelligent. He's always very watchable in every role he played. HIs conversations with West are quite compellingly well-written, especially during their dinner scene. Ruta Lee, always easy-on-the-eyes, plays a somewhat ditzy ex-actress, currently down on-her-luck, hooked-up with Avery(Dehner), & confused about the trustworthiness of men---even suave James West can't seem to "unconfuse" her! Imaginative finale in the mine with the coal-cars, along with a cute ending with Gordon, West, & Ruta Lee(I forget her character's name) back in their special Secret Service train. All in all, a fine, captivating, engrossing episode, with everything running--and working--on all cylinders! Probably one of the best.