My Thoughts - The Andy Griffith Show: Manhunt (1960)
Synopsis: When an escaped criminal results in a manhunt near Mayberry, Andy (Andy Griffith) and Barney (Don Knotts) are ready to do their part. However, the state police don't want their help. Andy, not wanting to lose face in front of his son, Opie (Ron Howard) and the rest of the town, decides to help anyway but things only become worse when the criminal (Frank Gerstle) gets Barney's gun.
My Thoughts:
The first scene with Barney is a good reminder of what Don Knotts brought to this series. His excitement over the escaped criminal followed up with his inability to use the radio correctly was as funny as it can get.
It's unclear if the state police never wanted Andy's help or if he convinced them not to ask for it. Capt. Barker (Ken Lynch) wasn't particularly friendly toward him when he and his crew arrived but also didn't seem as though he was going to be opposed to Andy's help until the latter became uncomfortably impressed with the use of magnetic pins and Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) showed up and insisted Andy get dinner first. After that first impression, I could see why someone would be skeptical.
Still, Andy's advice about not just focusing on the main roads was sound. Even if he didn't want the sheriff's help, I do find it odd Barker wouldn't have at least considered having a couple his men patrolling those roads rather than putting all his eggs in one basket.
All that said, I'm also not so certain having Andy stay in Mayberry was such a bad idea. If the criminal got past the roadblocks, it would potentially put the citizens in danger. Having the local law enforcement presence would be a deterrent.
The boat trick at the end had its merits but was also riskier than the episode acknowledged. We'll start with the risk to Emma Brand (Cheerio Meredith). Andy's strategy was clearly to protect her by giving the fugitive an escape plan but that didn't necessarily mean the man wouldn't still hurt her. Plus, what if, when Andy's leaky boat started to sink, the guy swam to the other side rather than back the way he came? It might have been a brilliant move on Andy's part, but it still relied heavily on luck.
Final Opinion: It's a funny episode that gives Andy a chance to show off his common sense and prove why he deserves to be sheriff of Mayberry. There are a lot of things that are best not to give too much thought to but it is still a fun episode to watch.
My Grade: A
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Here is some of my other Mayberry-related content:
The Andy Griffith Show - Where are Andy's Relatives?
Three Ways The Andy Griffith Show Taught Me How Not to Be a Dad
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