Hello Everyone!
Wow, I can't believe it's November 1 already.
Speaking of November 1--it was exactly 61 years ago today (Sunday, November 1, 1959) that the Maverick episode "The Lass With The Poisonous Air" premiered on ABC-TV.
The plot:
The storyline for this episode was adapted by Catherine Turney from series creator/producer Roy Huggins' novel Lovely Lady, Pity Me (which was also the basis for an episode of 77 Sunset Strip with the same title).
On the outskirts of Denver, Bart gallantly rescues Linda Burke (Joanna Moore), whose horse is galloping out of control. The gambler and the lady fall in love and rendezvous by a lake every day.
Lovely Linda remains coy about her private life during their lakeside trysts, neglecting to tell Bart that she's married to the wealthy guy he plays poker with in town.
Linda has a rival for Bart's affection: Cathy, the teenaged daughter of the owner of the livery stable where his mare (Goldie!) is being stabled. Bart pays no attention to her, so she sneaks to the lake where she secretly spots him and Linda. Later, Cathy asks Bart to take her for a buggy ride, and they conveniently "happen" to pass by the Burke mansion in time to see Linda leaving for dinner with her husband.
Bart also has a rival for Linda's affection: Dana, a drunk who's already sore at Bart because he lost at poker to him. Dana knows about Bart's meetings with Linda and threatens to blab to her husband. He also taunts Bart until the gambler knocks him out.
The next day, Dana beats Bart to the lake and is shot in the back by Linda, who flees, leaving Bart to take the rap after he arrives to find Dana dead. Cathy warns him that the sheriff is on the way to arrest him for Dana's murder. Bart wonders how that's possible, because, didn't he just now discover the body, with no one else around?!
Cathy hides him in a barn and urges him to run away. But, Bart wants to prove his innocence. He asks Cathy for some tattered old clothes and a nondescript horse to ride. Bart lopes into Denver and narrowly escapes after he's spotted by the sheriff.
Bart scales a balcony into Linda's room at the mansion. She's startled to see him, but then professes her "love" for him. She tells him to go to the lake and she'll meet him there.
Instead, Linda runs downstairs, screaming to her husband and the sheriff that Bart just tried to kill her. Then, Bart comes downstairs with his hands up. The sheriff hears him out. Linda's husband tries to alibi for her, but their stories become so contradictory that they finally confess that Linda is guilty of killing Dana. Bart goes free and can be his carefree gamblin' self again.
Although she had a poisonous air, Linda was a lucky lass to have been "extra chummy" with Bart Maverick. Unfortunately, her portrayer, Joanna Moore, wasn't so lucky. Following a promising start that included a brief stint as "Peggy" on The Andy Griffith Show and a marriage to actor Ryan O'Neal which produced actress Tatum O'Neal, Ms. Moore's career and life sadly declined. After battling drug addiction and lung cancer, Ms. Moore died at age 63 in 1997.
But, she shines in "The Lass With The Poisonous Air". Here are some original stills from the Kellection of Ms. Moore with Jack Kelly:
The original snipe for this still says, "ROMANCE LEADS TO TRAP...Bart Kelly [sic--yes, the caption writer actually called him that!] gets chummy with a mysterious beauty named Linda (Joanna Moore) and ends up in a well-planned frame in 'The Lass With the Poisonous Air', ABC's Maverick teledrama Sunday, November 1 (7:30-8:30 PST). Jack Kelly stars as Bart Maverick."
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