WILD WILD WEST, THE: THE NIGHT OF THE INFERNO {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The first in this drama series about the adventures of Jim West and Artemus Gordon, two undercover government agents working in the old American West on secret assignments for President Ulysses S. Grant. In this episode, West – under the fake cover of a "renegade" due to be hanged – is brought to Grant, who instructs him to journey to the Texas town of Quemada to put a stop to a series of guerilla raids conducted by the megalomaniacal Juan Manolo. Disguising himself as a "fancy dude," West boards a private train car and discusses the plan with Gordon, then showing him the array of hidden weapons and gadgets on the train, including a few exploding billiard balls. The train arrives in the burned-out Quemada as its remaining citizens flee to safety, and West tries to buy information from Wing Fat, a corpulent Chinese opium addict who tells him that one Lydia Monteran can possibly arrange a meeting with Manolo himself at her – and now also his – home, Casa Estrella.
West is "introduced" to Lydia, who is then revealed to be his former lover, but when he requests to meet Manolo, she quickly turns on him and nearly shoots him. Grant's Colonel Shear finds West and, admitting that the scheme in Quemada is "ten times bigger" than anticipated, urges West to abandon the plan, but West remains determined to catch the crime lord. Gordon and West find a path through the cemetery in which the wagon wheel tracks are deeper going in than out, and West realizes that visitors have been secretly depositing goods, namely gunpowder and other munitions, in the cellar of Casa Estrella. West returns to Lydia and forcefully demands to know if she is really the elusive "Manolo," but she soon proves genuinely ignorant of the stash in the basement, and Manolo finally reveals himself and grabs them both.
Declaring that he wishes to take back the Texas territory and then proceed to world domination, he throws both West and Lydia in a prison cell, but West manages to escape with the help of a variety of hidden gadgets and then destroys Casa Estrella, much to Lydia's annoyance. West then announces that "Wing Fat" is the real Manolo, and Manolo, impressed with his deduction, casually orders the execution of his stand-in, General Andreas Cassinello. West quickly haggles with Manolo to be his new second-in-command and receive 25% of his take, and he takes advantage of Manolo's love of gambling and offers to wager Gordon and Lydia's lives against his fancy private train car over a game of pool – but the game quickly turns explosive, thanks to all the gadgets hidden on the train, and West kills Manolo with a javelin disguised as a cue stick. He removes the "Wing Fat" mask as he dies, revealing his true identity as Manolo, and Lydia, Gordon and West ride back east, their mission accomplished. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: September 17, 1965 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:50:54
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:56644
- GENRE: Drama, western
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, western; Drama, action/adventure
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1965-1969
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Michael Garrison … Producer, Created by
- Richard C. Sarafian … Director
- Gilbert Ralston … Writer
- Richard Markowitz … Music by
- Robert Conrad … Cast, Jim West
- Ross Martin … Cast, Artemus Gordon
- Suzanne Pleshette … Cast, Lydia Monteran
- Victor Buono … Cast, Wing Fat / Juan Manolo
- Nehemiah Persoff … Cast, Juan Manolo / General Andreas Cassinello
- James Gregory … Cast, Ulysses S. Grant
- Tom Reese … Cast, The Driver
- Walter Woolf King … Cast, Colonel Shear
- Phil Chambers … Cast, Train Captain
- Warren Parker … Cast, The Engineer
- Alberto Morin … Cast, The Majordomo
- Clint Ritchie … Cast, The Lieutenant
- Bebe Louie … Cast, Mei Mei