The Governor of Wyoming is up for re-election and is on a speaking tour, and he's promising the citizens of Casper that the railroad will be expanded from their town across the state of Wyoming through the badlands. But the sheriff - who supports his opponent - warns him that the Clancy gang controls the badlands, and Clancy is against the railroad expansion. Nevertheless the Governor is determined to follow through, and when he arrives at Red Rock he finds only the saloon owner, Kitty Flambeau, and her saloon girls to welcome him, as Clancy has threatened the townspeople if they attend. Wells Fargo supports the railroad expansion, and they've sent Jim Hardie to ensure the Governor's safety. But Clancy and nine of his men arrive in Red Rock and trap Hardie and the Governor inside Kitty's saloon with her girls, which would cause a scandal and ruin the Governor's chance for re-election when word gets out that he spent the night in a saloon full of women.
OK, I'll admit up front that this is my favorite episode of the series. Hardie has to deal not only with a large group of outlaws, he's trapped with a group of beautiful, willful women who are ready to start squabbling at a moment's notice. Then there's the Governor, who is so determined to avoid the scandal he wants to fight his way out no matter the odds, shooting one of Clancy's men recklessly and provoking a protracted shootout. Luckily the previous owner of the saloon had fortified it against a siege as result of Indian raids some years back.
This is one fun episode, with a good deal of action as well as humor, not to mention a screen full of extremely attractive ladies who have no shortage of brisk, saucy dialogue, well...saucy for the late 50s that is. In fact, there's considerable banter from the entire cast, including the smug, overconfident sheriff as well as Clancy and his gang, as they discover it won't be so easy to take the saloon as they thought. And the women prove themselves repeatedly as the fight progresses, with Clancy's men deciding eventually they want the women as much as the Governor.
And I have to say, I had to envy Dale Robertson as the ladies swarm over Hardie, smothering him with kisses. I felt the same way watching him in Son of Sinbad alongside a cast full of beautiful exotic dancers assembled by Howard Hughes.
The cast is not well known but pretty good nonetheless. Mari Blanchard appears as Kitty, and her career was varied, but she appeared in pictures such as Destry with Audey Murphy as well as Abbot and Costello go to Mars. Douglas Kennedy appeared as Clancy, and he was a busy actor in mostly westerns, with a good number of his roles being villainous. Wendell Holmes appears as the Governor, and his career was a modest one, with most of his appearances falling between 1958-62. Former cowboy star Bob Steele appeared as one of Clancy's gang. The group of saloon girls were very beautiful, but basically unknown, with each having only a small number of roles. But they absolutely shined here.
A fun ride and my favorite episode of the series. A good way to spend 30 minutes!