- POINT BLANK
Original Airdate: September 29, 1957
Synopsis. Maverick settles temporarily in the small railroad town of Bent Forks, where he soon falls in love with Molly Gleason, a woman with a somewhat disreputable past (played by Karen Steele). Bret doesn’t realize that Molly and her lover, a bank teller named Ralph Jordan (Mike Connors), plan to use him as a pawn in their scheme to embezzle $100,000.
“Point Blank” was originally conceived as the pilot for Maverick. As far as series creator Roy Huggins was concerned, it’s still the “real” pilot. The reason why is laid out in “Birth of a Legend,” Part 1 of Maverick: Legend of West.
Synopsis. In the town of Hallelujah, outlaw Cliff Sharp breaks into Bret’s hotel room and plants evidence linking Maverick to a $40,000 robbery-and-murder scheme. After the town convicts him on circumstantial evidence, Bret faces the gallows. When greedy Sheriff Tucker offers to fake the hanging if Bret leads him to the stolen money, Maverick goes along with the ruse but ditches the sheriff at the first opportunity. When Bret discovers that Molly Clifford, Sharp’s wife (played by Whitney Blake) arrives in Hallelujah, he trails her to New Mexico in the hopes of finding the money and clearing his name.
Synopsis. David Frankham guest stars as “Captain” Rory Fitzgerald, a con artist acquaintance whom Bart encounters in Virginia City. Fitzgerald owes Maverick $4,000, but claims to be out of money. Bart becomes suspicious when he recognizes the glamorous “countess” whom Fitzgerald is escorting as Liz Bancroft, a card dealer from New Orleans. He later discovers that Fitzgerald and Bancroft are plotting to swindle wealthy Placer Jack Mason out of $200,000.
