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The Best Episodes of The Deputy Season 1

Every episode of The Deputy Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Deputy Season 1!

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The Deputy is an American western series that aired on NBC from September 1959, to July 1961. The series stars Henry Fonda as Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory and Allen Case as

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    The Deputy Season 1 Episode 1 - Badge For A Day (The Deputy)
    7.5/10(45 votes)

    #1 - Badge For A Day (The Deputy)

    S1:E1

    In the premiere episode, titled "The Deputy," Fry selects Silver City, Arizona, as the spot to head off two men he suspects of carrying supplies to a holdup gang led by Ace Gentry (Robert J. Wilke). After arresting the supply drivers, Fry tricks Clay McCord into joining him in delivering the foodstuffs to Gentry. When McCord realizes he has been duped into raiding an outlaw camp, he turns back toward Silver City, leaving Fry to face the outlaws alone.

    Director:Don Medford
    Writers:Norman Lear, Roland Kibbee

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  2. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 2 - The Wild Wind
    6.9/10(38 votes)

    #2 - The Wild Wind

    S1:E2

    Charlotte Nelson tells Clay McCord of her concern for her younger brother, Trooper, who has fallen into a gang headed by the evil Bull Ward. McCord then arranges for Trooper to get an honest job as messenger for a mining company, transporting shipments of gold. This pleases Ward who assumes that Trooper will turn the gold over to him, but Trooper has mended his ways and when confronted and threatened by Ward while delivering the gold, shoots him. Having proven his worth, Trooper now gets his friend, Tommy -- another former member of Ward's gang -- hired to assist him in his job as messenger.

    Director:David Butler
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 3 - Back To Glory
    7.2/10(35 votes)

    #3 - Back To Glory

    S1:E3

    Three bank robbers come across a traveling-players' caravan. They shoot the actor-manager and two of them then kidnap Angela, one of the actresses. The third robber, Cowan, stays with the other actress, Lily, and is arrested by Simon Fry. Cowan winds up in the Silver City jail but escapes, steals a horse, and knocks down Fran McCord as he flees. Clay McCord and Herk Lamson track Cowan to a cabin where his two cronies are holed up with Angela. (One of these cronies is dying from a knife wound sustained when he and the other robber fought over Angela.) Clay and Herk arrest Cowan and Clay kills the other robber in a gunfight. Angela is then reunited with Lily.

    Director:Felix E. Feist
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 4 - Shadow Of The Noose
    7.6/10(41 votes)

    #4 - Shadow Of The Noose

    S1:E4

    Simon Fry arrests a ""Drifter"" for shooting a man, stealing his wife, and then shooting her. He takes the Drifter to a jail in the nearby town but, when a lynch-mob gathers, moves him on to Silver City. Following him is a landowner named Akins and several of Akins' cronies who are anxious for some quick ""justice."" Fran McCord believes the Drifter's pleas of innocence and persuades brother Clay to help Fry transport the prisoner to a trial in Prescott. Before this happens, Akins tricks the Drifter into making a jailbreak but this plan fails. On the trail to Prescott, Akins again makes a move against the Drifter which Fry and Clay thwart. Fry then reveals to Clay evidence of the Drifter's guilt.

    Director:Robert B. Sinclair
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 5 - Powder Keg
    7.7/10(35 votes)

    #5 - Powder Keg

    S1:E5

    supplying gunpowder to the Apaches. Herk's journey to Prescott with his prisoner is endangered when a garrulous telegrapher spreads the word of Deaver's capture - word that reaches the prisoner's Indian allies.

    Director:David Butler
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 6 - Like Father
    7.4/10(35 votes)

    #6 - Like Father

    S1:E6

    While Chesley Vantage eagerly greets the arrival in Silver City of his son, Brad, who's been studying in Kansas to be a veterinarian, word reaches Deputy McCord that a gunfighter is also on the way from Kansas, apparently to settle a score. McCord soon learns that Brad acquired his vet training while serving time in a Kansas prison. He also learns that the gunfighter, Jim Stanton, wants to kill Brad because he mistakenly believes Brad warned authorities about a planned prison escape. McCord spares Brad from Stanton's wrath by coming up with a ruse to put Brad in jail. Then McCord kills Stanton in a barroom shootout. Brad's now free to set up his practice and his father, himself a reformed outlaw, is none the wiser about his son's criminal past.

    Director:David Butler
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 7 - Proof Of Guilt
    7.2/10(37 votes)

    #7 - Proof Of Guilt

    S1:E7

    No description available

    Director:Arthur Lubin
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 8 - The Johnny Shanks Story
    7.2/10(36 votes)

    #8 - The Johnny Shanks Story

    S1:E8

    No description available

    Director:David Butler
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 9 - Focus Of Doom
    7.3/10(33 votes)

    #9 - Focus Of Doom

    S1:E9

    Marshals in three Arizona towns have been shot dead and Simon Fry fears the killer may now be coming to Silver City. He sends Herk Lamson off on vacation and watches as four suspicious strangers arrive in town: a cowboy named Barker, a gambler named Regan, a salesman named Madden, and a guitar-player named Wilk. Fry arrests Regan for cheating at cards while Clay McCord offers to escort Wilk back to his hotel. Wilk pulls a gun on McCord in an alley and explains he's been shooting marshals because his daughter was killed in the crossfire when marshals were making an arrest. Fry then comes into the alley followed by Fran McCord. Fran distracts Wilk who is then shot by Fry. As Wilk dies, he says he'll be happy to rejoin his daughter.

    Director:Arthur Lubin
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 10 - The Big Four
    7.5/10(38 votes)

    #10 - The Big Four

    S1:E10

    McCord infiltrates a group of outlaws to inform Fry of their plans. Fry: Henry Fonda. Johnny: Henry Brandon. Curly: Gerald Milton. Billy: Richard Bakalyan. Ike: Charles Fredericks.

    Director:David Butler
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 11 - The Next Bullet
    7.2/10(29 votes)

    #11 - The Next Bullet

    S1:E11

    Clay finds a note in a murdered man's pocket that threatens death to Herk Lamson. Marshal Fry is convinced that the crime is linked to a sensational trial held the previous year where a woman was convicted of murdering her husband and her brother's vowed vengeance.

    Director:David Butler
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 12 - The Deal
    7.6/10(30 votes)

    #12 - The Deal

    S1:E12

    A gang headed by men named Quincannon and Usher kidnap Fran McCord. They tell her brother, Clay, that to save his sister he must go along with their plan to rob the payroll of a local mine. Clay cooperates, even going so far as to lure Simon Fry out of town on the day of the robbery. Fry, however, sees through Clay's ruses and soon Clay tells him the truth. Together they ride to the mine and in a shoot-out with the gang, Clay kills Quincannon. Usher rides off to the cabin where Fran is being held. Fran has freed herself from her ropes and when Usher enters the cabin, she throws water in his face and hits him in the head with a frying pan. Clay and Fry then arrive to complete the arrest.

    Director:Herschel Daugherty
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 13 - Land Greed
    7.8/10(37 votes)

    #13 - Land Greed

    S1:E13

    Vivian Vance as widow Emma Gant, who tries to enlist Fry's help in protecting her property from greedy ranchers. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Billy: Robin Riley. Fran: Betty Lou Keim.

    Director:Robert B. Sinclair
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 14 - Man Of Peace
    7.8/10(32 votes)

    #14 - Man Of Peace

    S1:E14

    Apaches steal a shipment of repeating-rifles headed for the cavalry at Ft. Donaldson. Simon Fry fears this means war but Clay McCord wants to get the Indians' side of the story and so travels alone to visit Chief Magnus. He learns the Chief is angry because white men have been ambushing Apaches and selling their scalps. McCord promises to deal with the culprits who prove to be an old man named Isbel and his two sons, the bloodthirsty Mordecai and the more sensitive Micah. In the ensuing shoot-out, Micah is killed but McCord, though shot in the leg, manages to arrest Isbel and Mordecai. Chief Magnus is now satisfied and returns the stolen rifles.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 15 - The Orphans
    7.2/10(29 votes)

    #15 - The Orphans

    S1:E15

    Fry baits a trap for three killers by fixing a raffle. McCord: Allen Case. Mrs. Bean: Carol Kelly. Timmy: Dennis Rush. Finley: Lane Bradford. Lamson: Wallace Ford. Dillon: Karl Lucas.

    Director:Frederick Stephani
    Writers:Katherine Albert, Dale Eunson

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  16. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 16 - Backfire
    7.8/10(36 votes)

    #16 - Backfire

    S1:E16

    Con Marlowe makes a violent escape from a work-gang at the Arizona Territorial Prison. He heads for Silver City where his wife, Peg, awaits him and where he can find Marshal Lamson, the man he blames for sending him to prison. During an encounter between the two in Peg's hotel room, Marlowe strikes a match to light a cigar and Lamson, thinking Marlowe's drawing his gun, shoots him dead. The bullet strikes Marlowe in the back and when word of this spreads, townspeople turn against Lamson. Marlowe's widow vows to avenge her husband and sends for two gunfighters, Fred Sooley and Len Harbin. Sooley figures this isn't his fight and leaves town but Harbin challenges Lamson in the hotel dining room. Deputy McCord arrives on the scene, Harbin draws his gun to shoot Lamson, and McCord shoots Harbin dead, the bullet entering the gunfighter's back. The townspeople in the dining room agree McCord's actions were justified and McCord uses this incident to prompt the townspeople to reexamine their at

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 17 - Hang The Law
    8.4/10(40 votes)

    #17 - Hang The Law

    S1:E17

    Fry enlists the help of a clergyman's sister to clear McCord of a murder charge. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Blanche: Lillian Bronson. Rev. Cartwright: Willard Sage.

    Director:Robert B. Sinclair
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 18 - Silent Gun
    8.3/10(30 votes)

    #18 - Silent Gun

    S1:E18

    No description available

    Director:Sidney Lanfield
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 19 - The Hidden Motive
    8.1/10(35 votes)

    #19 - The Hidden Motive

    S1:E19

    While defending the Spencer ranch against rustlers, Deputy McCord shoots and kills ranch-owner Aaron Spencer. Though the shooting seems justified, McCord feels guilty, especially when breaking the news to young Mrs. Spencer. At first she is angry and bitter but later softens and seems to be falling in love with McCord, much to his discomfort. Red Dawson and his rustlers now break into the Spencer home one night, demanding money. (It seems Aaron Spencer, unknown to his wife, was the rustler's secret partner.) McCord arrives in time to arrest the rustlers and Mrs. Spencer decides to join relatives in Canada.

    Director:Sidney Lanfield
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 20 - Lawman's Blood
    8.0/10(31 votes)

    #20 - Lawman's Blood

    S1:E20

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 21 - The Return Of Simon Fry
    8.1/10(28 votes)

    #21 - The Return Of Simon Fry

    S1:E21

    A man named Kipp has been brought in from San Francisco to get rid of Simon Fry. He ambushes Fry who's driving a buckboard but the buckboard overturns, spills a can of coal oil, and in the ensuing fire, Kipp is burned beyond recognition. His body is mistakenly thought to be Fry's and Clay McCord sadly delivers the eulogy at Fry's funeral. Fry, after revealing himself to an astonished McCord, then disguises himself as a book salesman and goes in search of the man who hired Kipp. Two of this man's thugs, Vic Rufus and Jubba, eventually lead Fry to their boss, Jake Carter. Carter, an old enemy of Fry, has been forcing farmers off their land, knowing that land values will rise sharply after a railroad goes through that area. Fry manages to arrest Carter.

    Director:Arthur Lubin
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 22 - Queen Bea
    7.9/10(27 votes)

    #22 - Queen Bea

    S1:E22

    Protection racketeers invade Silver City, planning to replace the small merchants with a chain of stores. Beatrice: Phyllis Avery. Fry: Henry Fonda. Fletcher: Paul Dubov. Briscoe: Kim Spalding. McCord: Allen Case. Fran: Betty Lou Keim.

    Director:Robert B. Sinclair
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 23 - The Two Faces Of Bob Claxton
    7.0/10(26 votes)

    #23 - The Two Faces Of Bob Claxton

    S1:E23

    McCord and Fran try to rehabilitate a teenage thief (Robert Montgomery Jr.). McCord: Allen Case. Fran: Betty Lou Keim. Fry: Henry Fonda. Mike: Bob Hopkins. Pete: Johnny Seven. Solomon: Ron Soble.

    Director:David Butler
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 24 - Lady With A Mission
    6.5/10(29 votes)

    #24 - Lady With A Mission

    S1:E24

    A suffragette incurs the wrath of male citizens. Fry: Henry Fonda. McCord: Allen Case. Hodges: Carleton Young. Sloan: James Lanphier. Tinny: Tod Griffin.

    Director:Sidney Lanfield
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. The Deputy Season 1 Episode 25 - The Border Between
    7.9/10(34 votes)

    #25 - The Border Between

    S1:E25

    While returning from Mexico with a prison escapee, Marshal Fry and Clay McCord are ambushed by a Mexican landowner whose daughter, Felipa, has been kidnapped by an American miner from Leadville, Evan Sloate. The landowner vows to kill Fry unless McCord can return Felipa. McCord rides to Leadville and is directed to Sloate's mine by Lorrie, Sloate's discarded girlfriend. McCord gets a job in the mine and makes contact with Felipa but their conversation is interrupted by the jealous Sloate. Sloate flogs McCord and orders him off his property but McCord sneaks back and rescues Felipa. Sloate soon catches up with them. Before he can shoot McCord, however, Felipa shoots her kidnapper. The Mexican then gets his daughter back, Fry is freed, and he and McCord resume returning that escapee to prison.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Badge For A Day (The Deputy)" is the best rated episode of "The Deputy" season 1. It scored 7.5/10 based on 45 votes. Directed by Don Medford and written by Norman Lear, Roland Kibbee, it aired on 9/12/1959. This episode is rated 0.6 points higher than the second-best, "The Wild Wind".