Hallie - Recap

Bret is busy preparing for the purchase of 30 cases of wine for the Red Ox. After giving instructions to Jack and Shifty on how to redesign the upstairs rooms to store the wine, he orders 3,000 fliers from Mary Lou and then heads for Tucson with Tom to negotiate the deal. On the way there, Bret and Tom pass the Broomick brothers, Barney and Kenneth. Barney warns his younger brother Kenneth not to shoot anyone this time and tells him that they’re doing the work of the Lord. He figures that Bret will lead them right to their target, a woman.



In Tucson, Bret is unpacking when Tom comes to get him for dinner. Bret leaves the case with their money on the chair, but Tom suggests that they check it in the hotel safe. His partner insists that it’ll be fine and they leave for lunch. Once they’re gone, a woman arrives at the hotel desk and identifies herself as Mrs. Bret Maverick. She talks the desk clerk into showing her to Bret’s room. Once she’s alone, the woman searches the furniture and spots the case, and easily finds the hidden compartment with the money. Once she takes the money, the woman climbs out the window.

Barney and Kenneth are in town and the older brother complains that they would have had her if Kenneth hadn’t messed things up. They know their target sent a letter To Bret and Barney figures that Maverick is the last friend that their target has. When Kenneth wonders what happens if their target doesn’t have the money, Barney says they’ll rob a couple of banks and take the money to Fort Smith, Arkansas.



Bret and Tom return to the hotel and the desk clerk informs them that Bret’s “wife” is there. He runs up stairs and discovers that the money is gone. Tom complains but Bret notes that only the wine owner, Amos Ingersall, knew they were coming. He interrogates the desk clerk who describes the woman. Bret recognizes the description and tells Tom that the woman is Hallie McCulloch, an old “associate.” He promises Tom that he’ll get their money back, with interest. Tom checks with the hack driver, who knows that Hallie said she was going to El Paso. Bret figures that she said it deliberately to put it off the track and figures that Hallie is conning the locals to make money.

Hallie is posing as a widow and goes to a tea room to meet with Captain Rufus Pinkerton, an investor. She says that she has $4,000 from her husband’s estate. Bret and Tom come in and spot her, and Bret breaks up the deal by claiming that Hallie is married to Senator Langhorn of Texas, and that she suffers from delusions. Pinkerton buys into Bret’s con and lets them haul Hallie out. They take her to her room and Bret starts searching her bags for their money. As he searches, he explains that Captain Pinkerton is with the Pinkertons and Bret saved her from jail time. Hallie is angry that Bret got involved and they argue back and forth. Bret finally finds the money in a hand mirror and Tom takes it and leaves them.



Once Tom leaves, Hallie turns on the charm and tries to borrow some money for him. Bret offers to buy Hallie her next meal. They go to a restaurant and Bret talks about how he’s settled down and spends a lot of his time just relaxing. Tom storms in and tells Bret that he’s checked around and there’s no wine auction. When Hallie tries to slip away, Bret realizes that she sent the fake letter and angrily walks away.

When Hallie returns to her room, she discovers that someone has torn the place up and apparently left through the window. Barney is hiding in the wardrobe and calls for Kenneth. Hallie locks Barney in the closet and gets out just as Kenneth comes through the window.

Back in Sweetwater, Tom and Bret stop in at the Red Ox and tell Jack that there is no wine. Mary Lou arrives with the handbills for the wine and Jack tells her that there’s no wine. As workers bring in the wine racks, Bret explains that there’s no auction and no wine. Mary Lou demands payment for her handbills and Bret quickly leaves. Tom brings Mary Lou to his office and gives her a present that he bought for her in Tucson. It’s a German camera lens and Mary Lou is thrilled to have it. As they start to kiss, Jack runs in and says that Tom needs to stop a fight.



Hallie arrives by stagecoach and introduces herself to Rodney as Mrs. Bret Maverick. Meanwhile, Barney and Kenneth have interrogated the ticket-taker and are now riding to Sweetwater.

When Bret discovers that Hallie is in town, he storms into her hotel room and asks why she’s there. Hallie gives him a pair of cufflinks that she stole from him two years ago. She claims that she really cares deep down but Bret doesn’t buy it. He tells her to lay off the Mrs. Maverick angle and hit the trail, but Hallie says that she’s planning on staying.

Outside, Bret runs into Deputy Sturgess, who compliments him on his wife. Bret goes to the Red Ox to find Tom and tries to figure out what to do with the wine racks. When Mary Lou finally asks him about his “wife,” Bret insists that Hallie isn’t his wife but they don’t believe him. Tom comes in but claims that Bret and Hallie got married in Tucson. Hallie comes in and asks to meet Bret’s friend, and he ushers out and explains that he’s taking her to the Lazy Ace and that Cy will soon get rid of her.



Later, Barney and Kenneth visit the Red Ox, talk to Jack, and claim to be Bret’s admirers. They want to pay their respects but Jack refuses to give them directions.

Cy is angry that Bret brought his new “wife” home, but Bret says that it will only be rough until Cy gets used to her. The foreman refuses to do the cooking or washing for her. However, when he actually meets her, he soon falls to her charms until he learns that she’s planning to redecorate the ranch. Bret goes fishing and leaves them to hash things out between them. Once he’s gone, Cy explains that he wants things just the way he has them and Hallie agrees. She compliments him on his carvings and starts rearranging them.



When Bret returns, he discovers that Hallie and Cy are thick as thieves. Cy ignores his boss’ warnings that Hallie is up to something and she plays innocent. Bret discovers that she’s moved into his room and ends up sleeping on the couch. He hears something and wakes up, and Barney and Kenneth storm in. After a fight, Cy comes in with a shotgun and fires a warning shot.

Once things settle down, the brothers explain that Barney wants to become a preacher and that they rob banks to raise the money. A minister in Fort Smith, Arkansas, offered to teach Barney in return for $2,400. They made exactly $2,400 from a bank robbery and Barney took that as a sign. However, he had Kenneth hold the money and Kenneth ran into Hallie. Now they want Hallie and their money. Bret admits that he’s tempted to turn Hallie over but Cy refuses. As Hallie listens in, Barney warns that they’ll watch the place until they find Hallie. Bret points out that even if they kill Hallie, they won’t have the $2,400 and murder could hurt Barney’s career as a minister.



The brothers reluctantly leave and Bret tells Cy that there’s nothing they can do because the brothers have a legitimate complaint. He figures that Hallie doesn’t have the money which is why she’s staying there. Hallie comes out and asks for a hug, and Bret reluctantly agrees. She admits that she’s tired and scared, and the brothers were too dumb to quit. Bret tells her that they’re gone for the night and kisses her.



The next morning, Hallie explains that she conned Bret out of his money to pay the Broomicks, and promises not to do it ever again. He doesn’t believe her but they share a chuckle over it and Bret tells her that she has to pay the Broomicks their money. Hallie asks him to loan her $2,000 and Bret says that he doesn’t have it. After they finish breakfast, Cy confronts Bret, who insists that he isn’t going to start paying off Hallie’s debts because it would never end.

Hallie sneaks into Bret’s room and finds his hidden stash of $3,000 in a Bible. She glances at Bret’s bed and remembers, and then leaves the ranch.



Bret goes to the Red Ox and Tom complains about his various schemes. Jack tells Bret that he saw the Broomicks and they left town with the money. Cy comes in and tells Bret that he gave Hallie a horse because she claimed her mother was dying in Phoenix. Bret tells his foreman that Hallie’s mother does that from time to time, but figures Hallie got the money from somewhere else. A chicken farmer, Sloatman, comes in and asks to buy the racks thinking that they are chicken shippers. Bret eagerly seizes on the deal and buys Sloatman a drink.

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