Brett and Bart Maverick (and in later seasons, their English cousin, Beau) are well dressed gamblers who migrate from town to town always looking for a good game. Poker (5 card draw) is their favorite but they’ve been known to play such odd card games as Three-toed Sloth on occasion.

Maverick

Season 1 Ep.08: Hostage

Intros brother Bart (Jack Kelly) teaming with Bret to board a riverboat’s maiden voyage, sold out to Creole aristocrats with gambling fever. To crash the private cruise, the Mavericks intro themselves to the ship’s French owner, whose lovely daughter Yvette is shanghaied right after the Mavericks are rebuffed. The brothers pursue the kidnappers, hoping to win the jeune fille, an invitation, and a reward. At the New Orleans cabaret where the Mavericks meet Yvette, pop singer Don Durant (“Johnny Ringo”) croons “Get Along Home Cindy” to her. Durant was a runner-up for the role of Bart.

Maverick told the story of the Maverick brothers, Bret and Bart, card sharks who lived during the Old West era. The show was originally a straightforward adventure tale, but it evolved when the writers began adding comedy to the scripts. Bret quickly became the television western’s first… More quasi-mercenary, a character who would help the forces of justice, but usually only if he stood to profit from doing so. When he resorted to gunfire, he wasn’t the West’s finest marksman. In fact, he was much more likely to outsmart his opponent or slip out the back door once trouble began. The writers also added a foil for Bret – his brother Bart. Bart was more conservative than the devilish Bret, but just as unlikely to join any fight that could be avoided. The two characters began alternating as leads on the show as they journeyed through small towns with odd names like Oblivion and Apocalypse. Along the way, they associated with fellow card sharks like Dandy Jim Buckley and Gentleman Jack Darby. There was also Samantha Crawford, a lovely female rogue who loved to challenge the Maverick brothers to see who could out-con the other. All these elements helped make Maverick a television western that stood apart from the crowd. Audiences responded to the mix of traditional Western adventure and good-natured humor, making the show an instant hit. Bret Maverick, in particular, became a hero for many armchair cowboys.

Cast and Crew:

* Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick
* James Garner as Bret Maverick
* Roger Moore as Beauregard Maverick

Creator: Roy Huggins
Director: Leslie H. Martinson, Douglas Heyes & others
Production Company: Warner Bros. Television
Audio/Visual: mono, black & white
Date Release: 1957

Additional details in:

Maverick in IMDB | Maverick in Wikipedia

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