The Virginian (TV Series) The Masquerade (1967) User Reviews

Dad's coming for a visit

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 15 June 2020]

David Hartman in this Virginian story [lays a shy bank clerk who is courting widow Diana Muldaur who has a young son Bobby Buntrock who shows Hartman little respect. But he has more than that to worry about when he hears that his father Lloyd Nolan is coming for a quick stopover visit on a train west.

Nolan was a famous sheriff and Hartman had written him saying he was sheriff of Medicine Bow. Clu Gulager, James Drury and the rest of the town join in on the masquerade because Hartman is a nice guy.

Accent is on the comedy here as the visit stretches for a few days. Guest cast and regulars perform well here. Lloyd Nolan of course is never bad in anything.

Down with Hartman

[pfors-647-501497 · 6/10 · 23 April 2013]

Lumpish David Hartman is dead weight on this otherwise decent episode. Hartman's incongruity almost defies description. He's a massive oak of a man who makes James Drury and Clu Gulager look like children when he's standing next to them, yet his character is so meek, and performance so listless, that his screen presence amounts to the sum total of zero. Peppy Lloyd Nolan (as Hartman's father!), who hot-wired a surge of energy into every scene he played, does all he can to keep the plot on its feet, as does Dave Grusin's music. His score, which includes some atmospheric banjo licks, seems at times to be giving Hartman's performance for him.

Oh so sappy but thoroughly enjoyable.

[redpin-70557 · 9/10 · 24 August 2019]

Yes, it's yet another of those "pretend I'm in a different line of work so my relative will be proud of me" episodes. Almost every TV series of the 50's and 60's had a crack at this scenario at least once in their run, along with an "amnesia" episode and a "flashback" episode. In fact, the later was a way of making an episode on the cheap. Just reuse lots of old footage and write a bit of dialogue to fill in the gaps.

With regard to the "make the relative proud" episodes, these were usually a disaster, being a farce from start to finish. However in this case I thoroughly enjoyed it, albeit admitting it was completely "sappy".

I was expecting it to fall into the trap of humiliation or forced comedy, but it never did. And contrary to another review, I feel that Hartman played his role exactly as required by the writers and directors. Having him play it any other way would have ruined it.

I was starting to lose interest in the series but then every so often there's a gem like this episode.

This is definitely one of the better episodes of the complete series.