The Worst Episodes of Lawman
Every episode of Lawman ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Lawman!
Lawman is an American western television series originally telecast on ABC from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during 1879 and the 1880s. Warner Bros. already had several western series on the air at the time, having launched Cheyenne with Clint Walker as early as 1955. The studio continued the trend in 1957 with the additions of Maverick with James Garner and Jack Kelly, Colt .45 with Wayde Preston, and Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins. One year later, Warner Bros. added Lawman and Bronco with Ty Hardin. Prior to the beginning of production, Russell and Brown and producer Jules Schermer made a pact to maintain the quality of the series so that it would not be seen as "just another western." At the start of season two, Russell and Brown were joined by Peggie Castle as Lily Merrill, the owner of the Birdcage Saloon, and a love interest for Dan.
Lowest Rated Episodes Summary
The worst episode of "Lawman" is "The Old War Horse", rated 7.2/10 from 54 user votes. It was directed by N/A and written by N/A. "The Old War Horse" aired on 10/9/1960 and is rated 0.0 point(s) lower than the second lowest rated, "Man Behind the News".
7.2/10 54 votes#1 - The Old War Horse
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 10/9/1960
Bess Harper was Lily's mentor as a young girl, the woman who gave her her first job. Now she is an old alcoholic, in town to try to get five thousand dollars out of the town of Laramie left to it by her estranged ex-husband. Lily hatches a plan to rehabilitate her and get her back on stage, to the chagrin of her lawyer, who was the one who put the idea into her head.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.2/10 42 votes
#2 - Man Behind the News
Season 4 Episode 35 - Aired 5/13/1962
Luther Boardman is the new owner of the Laramie Free Press, and he is in love with the outlaw persona. Feeling the outlaws are the real story in the wild west, he begins a smear campaign against Dan. He accuses him of police brutality because Dan knocked out a man who was rowdy and drunk and threatening to shoot people in the Bird Cage, even though Boardman wasn't in the saloon at the time. He soon has the drunk convinced he needs a public apology from Dan.
Director: Robert B. Sinclair
Writer: N/A
- 7.2/10 46 votes
#3 - Explosion
Season 4 Episode 38 - Aired 6/3/1962
The lawmen put their lives on the line to shield an emotionally disturbed youth from a lynch mob. Billings: Gary Vinson. Shay: John Qualen. Troop: John Russell. McKay: Peter Brown. Bobbie: Miranda Jones. Lily: Peggie Castle.
Director: Richard C. Sarafian
Writer: N/A
- 7.3/10 58 votes
#4 - The Kids
Season 2 Episode 20 - Aired 2/21/1960
Three kids ride into town, take a shot at Dan, and ride out. He and Johnny pursue them, catch them, and bring them in, in spite of being clawed and bitten in the process. Lily refuses to let him put the little girl, Dodie, in jail and takes her to the Bird Cage. None of the kids will tell Dan anything about who they are, but he soon learns that their father is a wanted outlaw, and they want to go live with him rather than their Uncle Lou.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.3/10 52 votes
#5 - Man on a Wire
Season 2 Episode 33 - Aired 5/22/1960
The 'Black Hand' was a secret criminal society, esp. of Italians, organized for blackmail and deeds of violence during the last decade of the 1800's. Now, in Laramie, two trapeze artists are being blackmailed, and they believed that they had escaped from the 'Black Hand' by coming to America.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/10 59 votes
#6 - The Chef
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 3/1/1959
Hans is a chef wanting to open up his own restaurant, but the Youngs keep him bound to a contract they have with him. Dan helps him get out of it in an unusual (but legal) way, in a show played for laughs, one of the lighter episodes.
Director: Stuart Heisler
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/10 54 votes
#7 - Reunion in Laramie
Season 2 Episode 23 - Aired 3/13/1960
Pianist Reed Smith drank to forget the war. He's conquered the drinking problem, but not the men who are trying to get him because of things he did that they can't forget. The reunion takes place at the Bird Cage Saloon in Laramie.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/10 45 votes
#8 - Mark of Cain
Season 3 Episode 28 - Aired 3/26/1961
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/10 49 votes
#9 - Jailbreak
Season 4 Episode 39 - Aired 6/10/1962
McKay (Peter Brown) is hoodwinked by a reckless---but naive---young lady determined to spring her sinister fiance from jail. Bole: Peter Breck. Little Britches: Pamela Austin. Troop: John Russell. Snead: James Griffith. Callaghan: Frank Ferguson.
Director: N/A
Writer: John D. F. Black
- 7.5/10 57 votes
#10 - Lady in Question
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/21/1958
When Johnny McKay's old sweetheart comes to town, she is followed by her lover who goads Johnny into a gunfight. Johnny kills him, but the man's gun is missing when Johnny returns with Dan Troop. Troop must place Johnny under arrest for murder.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/10 62 votes
#11 - Battle Scar
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 3/22/1959
A military man has a breakdown and finally reveals the truth about a war battle: he let people believe he had been a hero, when instead he was court-martialed for deserting his men.
Director: Stuart Heisler
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/10 50 votes
#12 - The Hardcase
Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 1/31/1960
Beth Denning, a somewhat wild girl, seems to stir up trouble wherever she goes. Raised by a lazy father in a filthy cabin, she can't seem to break out of the mold. Dan, knowing that a cattle drive is coming into town, lays down the law to both her father and to her, warning them to not cause any more trouble in Laramie. When Beth is found beat up and near death after a scene at the Bird Cage, the town is ready to lynch an innocent young man until Beth comes out of her coma to identify the real culprit.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/10 61 votes
#13 - Belding's Girl
Season 2 Episode 26 - Aired 4/3/1960
Meg Belding leaves home at 21, away from her verbally and physically abusive father. Lily gives her a job at the Bird Cage, and he tracks her down, threatening to beat her. A kind man she meets protects her, and soon they want to get married. Her father objects. Dan and Lily have to run interference for her.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/10 50 votes
#14 - The Swamper
Season 2 Episode 35 - Aired 6/5/1960
An alcoholic, Jim Phelan,is a swamper who is offered a bribe to help make a bank robbery possible. He wants to, but with a condition which involves his unpolished daughter, Ellie.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/10 44 votes
#15 - Old Stefano
Season 3 Episode 15 - Aired 12/25/1960
Tracy McNeil is a supposed businessman who is showing an inordinate interest in Lily Merrill. Johnny teases Dan about it, but Dan doesn't want to interfere. In fact, Lily is interested in buying McNeil's thoroughbred horse, but his price is too high: to try to persuade Dan to let him buy up land that isn't really for sale. Meanwhile, Old Stefano, a mute old shepherd who comes to town with an injured sheep dog, is accused of killing McNeil's injured horse. Dan has to intervene in McNeil's behalf.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/10 51 votes
#16 - The Robbery
Season 3 Episode 16 - Aired 1/1/1961
On the trail of a murderer, Troop (John Russell) is stymied by the stubborn arrogance of an Army lieutenant. Davidson: Robert Ridgely. Deever: Hal Torey. Roach: Warren Kemmerling. McKay: Peter Brown. Lily: Peggie Castle.
Director: Robert Altman
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/10 46 votes
#17 - Cort
Season 4 Episode 33 - Aired 4/29/1962
A stranger rides into town and collapses. After the doctor's examination, Troop tries to question him, but gets nowhere. All the stranger will say is that there's going to be a lot of trouble around sundown.
Director: Burt Kennedy
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/10 57 votes
#18 - The Runaway
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 2/1/1959
Ben Steed is a soldier who wants to be a writer. His father, an army colonel, wants him to stay in the army. The son leaves, but not with the intent to desert as much as to get away from the situation. Complicating matters is the fact that he and his girlfriend, whom his father dislikes, have secretly gotten married, and also a troublemaker trying to get revenge on the Colonel.
Director: Stuart Heisler
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/10 62 votes
#19 - The Ugly Man
Season 2 Episode 19 - Aired 2/14/1960
Lily is threatened in an alley at night by a man calling himself ""the ugly man"". He seems to know all about her and accuses her of deceit and lies (although she is sure she doesn't know him) and he promises to kill her at midnight on some night soon. Dan and Johnny begin a constant vigil, one or the other being with her 24 hours a day until they can track down a man with no name and no face. Finally, one of the girls who works in the saloon discloses a secret that unlocks the mystery.
Director: N/A
Writer: Clair Huffaker
- 7.6/10 57 votes
#20 - The Town Boys
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 9/18/1960
Johnny goes against everyone else's better judgement when he takes personal responsibility for 4 boys who have been arrested for killing a milk cow. The four boys lack any direction in life and remind Johnny of himself at their age. He finds them work at the livery stable, determined to help them rehabilitate. Three of the boys end up admiring him and wanting his approval, while the fourth boy is not only 'bad', he is criminal.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/10 49 votes
#21 - Firehouse Lil
Season 3 Episode 17 - Aired 1/8/1961
In this lighter episode Jake, in charge of fire co. #2 and Oren, in charge of fire co. #1, crash into each other and start a fight in the street during a fire drill. After Lily chides them loudly in public for their behavior, she is elected unanimously the new fire marshall. A group of bandits witness this and prepare to start a fire as a diversion so they can rob the payroll being held in the bank. Lily and the Volunteer Fire Brigade save the day.
Director: Leslie H. Martinson
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/10 41 votes
#22 - The Inheritance
Season 3 Episode 25 - Aired 3/5/1961
No description available
Director: Marc Lawrence
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/10 51 votes
#23 - Owny O'Reilly, Esq.
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 10/15/1961
Millie Cotton, the governor's daughter, has run away from home and landed in Laramie. Desperate for money, she robs Owny in an alley with her hairbrush in his back. Both are scared. Owny later describes the robber as a huge, vicious man. Dan, told to be on the lookout for the governor's daughter, recognizes Millie, who sings for Lily and is told honestly that she has a lovely voice. Owny is struck by her, not knowing that she is his assailant. When he finds out, his hurt feelings take over. Later, an escaped convict, Millie, Owny, his horse, and his dog all combine for a scene of pandemonium before everything is sorted out.
Director: Leslie H. Martinson
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/10 42 votes
#24 - The Catalog Woman
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 11/5/1961
When one of Laramie's citizens disappears the day after his wedding to a woman he met through a marriage catalog, Dan does some investigating. Learning that several other men have also disappeared after marrying someone from that agency, he decides to try to flush her out by posing as an eligible bachelor, Arthur Daniels. Lily at first thinks it's funny, but gets serious (and jealous) once Johnny points out that this could be for real - or even fatal.
Director: Leslie H. Martinson
Writer: N/A
- 7.7/10 60 votes
#25 - The Badge
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/23/1958
Johnny puts his badge on the line when he bets Dan that his life long friend, Bill Anderson, is a good guy - and the only one in his family. Bill has trouble through some misunderstandings, and his brother gets out of prison at just the right time to really stir things up, but Johnny remains loyal to him throughout.
Director: Lee Sholem
Writer: N/A