I suppose most TV series went for something off the beaten path at least once. Here a classic Western tries a mystery/suspense episode with nothing distinctively Western about it, set almost entirely in an elaborate Victorian mansion. Betsy Garth has been invited back to the home of her friend who died in a fire two years ago. Randy, who drives her from Shiloh, is also forced to stay by an approaching storm despite ominous hints that he is not welcome - a fortunate circumstance, as it turns out, since he seems to be the only one who entirely keeps his head during the ensuing spooky evening. In a classic mystery set-up, Mrs. Brynmar (Jane Wyatt) has also invited the other three friends (Brooke Bundy, Mark Goddard and Tom Skerritt) who were present the night of the fire, and we learn that she believes one of the four was responsible for her daughter's death and intends to find out who it is.
It's a nice little mystery, with a limited field of suspects and the usual red herring. (The only minor plot hole I noticed involved the letter; the script doesn't make it quite clear whether it ever reached its intended recipient two years before, or how it came to be where Randy found it.) The storm raging outside and sinister servants, strange noises and odd incidents indoors all add to the atmosphere. Agatha Christie it is not, nor is it film noir that makes you look behind the door after watching it, but it's a fairly intriguing and suspenseful episode and makes for pleasant entertainment.
It's a nice little mystery, with a limited field of suspects and the usual red herring. (The only minor plot hole I noticed involved the letter; the script doesn't make it quite clear whether it ever reached its intended recipient two years before, or how it came to be where Randy found it.) The storm raging outside and sinister servants, strange noises and odd incidents indoors all add to the atmosphere. Agatha Christie it is not, nor is it film noir that makes you look behind the door after watching it, but it's a fairly intriguing and suspenseful episode and makes for pleasant entertainment.