MovieChat Forums > The Andy Griffith Show (1960) Discussion > 1-2 The Manhunt

1-2 The Manhunt

posted 7 years ago by godewey (16472)
19 replies | jump to latest

This episode has Andy and Barney chasing down an escaped criminal in a man hunt
along with the state police. He gets in Andy's boat, which has a hole, and has to
swim back to shore.

This is the first time we see Barney looking for his bullet and the first time he fires
his gun in the courthouse.
It is the first time we see Otis and Mayor Pike. He wasn't mentioned by name
only has mayor. Unfortunately the actor who portrayed him died a year later so he
was only in 11 episodes.
We see Emma again in this episode. She is called by Emma Bran. I believe later she
is called Emma Watson.
Andy call Barney his cousin once again.
He called his boat Gertrude.
We also see Barney pat down his mother at the checkpoint.
We also see Otis let himself out of the cell.

I noticed the town was "on" Andy because he wasn't involved in the manhunt.
I wonder why? We also saw Opie stand up to the town and tell them off.
He was sticking up for his dad.

My favorite part is when Andy 10-4'd the captain from the state police.
I also liked the part when Andy saw the magnetic map and told the captain
they still used pins. They didn't have many left because the woman's club used them
all to help with the dresses.

If I recall the town often questioned Andy and of course Barney. I really wonder why
they would do that. I mentioned last time there were inconsistencies. I wonder why there
were so many?

[–] db20db (17235) 7 years ago

I remember this episode , saw it a couple of times just over the past several months.

Yes, the inconsistencies. I saw an episode this morning which revealed Mayberry had an airport. I actually caught my first aerial view of the town. Yes, it was a typically small town but not so small that it required only two lawmen, who, for the most part had nothing more to do than to rattle door handles on a nightly basis.

[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

An airport, really ?
I don't remember that at all. Was it in the later episodes ?

I seem to remember either Andy or Barney's middle name changes. I know there are more I just can't remember them.
I will try to pay attention as I revisit these episodes.

[–] db20db (17235) 7 years ago

Yes, much later, one of the colorized episodes. Aunt Bee decided to take flying lessons in order to have a notable life experience to share with others.

[–] [email protected] (5854) 7 years ago

Oh I remember that episode. It was what I would call an "airfield" rather than a commercial airport. No big jets coming in and out of Mayberry! There's simply not enough traffic for commercial flight to make it viable for an airline to schedule regular service to a town like Mayberry.

But we do have several airfields around here and it's all small towns. My uncle got his private pilot license many years ago (just like Aunt Bea). He had his own little plane which he kept in a hangar at a local airfield.

As far as the OP, it was established early on and very wisely, that Andy was no innocent rube just because he was a sheriff in a small town. He was every bit as smart as the "big city" boys!

[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

"Andy was no innocent rube just because he was a sheriff in a small town. He was every bit as smart as the "big city" boys!"

We knew this. It seemed the town wasn't always convinced of this. I remember them giving Andy a hard
time in different episodes. Andy usually just laughed it off. Barney took it a little too much to heart.
By the end of the show they got their man. Yet the town would continue to give them a hard time.

I wonder how long Andy had been sheriff before the series started?
It seemed like he had been there awhile. What happened to the deputy before Barney got there?
It was never mentioned. Did he get killed during a raid of one of the stills ? Did Floyd nick him during
a shave and it got infected ?

[–] db20db (17235) 7 years ago

There's an irony that, in one of the later episodes once again, Andy would catch the eye of Hollywood and be the subject of a movie, Sheriff Without A Gun.

[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

If I remember that film crew wasn't a film crew. They were going to rob the bank.
I think there was article about him in the paper or magazine.
If I remember Aunt Bea said the reason he didn't wear a gun is because it made him feel too heavy
on one side or something like that.

[–] db20db (17235) 7 years ago

No, you're thinking of a different one. The one I was referencing was, as I said, another of the later, colorized episodes. In that one, Andy, Aunt Bee and Opie actually travel to Hollywood and meet with the filmmakers.

[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

Damn, I really need to watch those again. I've seen the B@W dozens of times.
I'm much less familiar with the colorized ones.
I do remember them going to Hollywood but don't remember any details.

[–] db20db (17235) 7 years ago

I seem to remember the episode you're referring to. It was another one of those scenarios where Barney was completely gullible and taken in whereas Andy eventually got suspicious.

I think it's completely conceivable that the incident which put Andy in the newspaper is what got Hollywood's attention in the latter episode.

[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

I think the whole town was taken in. Except Andy of course.
There were three people from Hollywood. One of them was Gavin MacLeod.

I'm sure that's why Hollywood wanted to make that movie.
I wonder how many more episodes took something from a previous episode?

[–] db20db (17235) 7 years ago

I made an immediate connection to the original Walking Tall, the story of Sheriff Buford Pusser in neighboring Tennessee in the early 70's. He also had a reputation for not wearing a gun. It appears there could have been an overlap between that movie and the Andy Taylor movie.

[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

That actually makes total sense.
Hollywood does and has always tried to capitalize on something that is successful.

[–] db20db (17235) 7 years ago

All of the characters in that episode referred to it as " the airport. " And when I saw it, it actually reminded me of the one which belonged to a town of 7000 which I lived in for a number of years. Its technical designation was the Municipal Airport, but just as in Mayberry, the locals usually just referred to it as the airport.

Aunt Bee never got her pilot's license. That came up at the end and she expressed a genuine reluctance to go that far. Her goal was to learn just enough to take one solo flight, which she did.

[–] [email protected] (5854) 7 years ago

Boy it has been a LONG TIME since I saw that episode! I remember Bea taking a solo flight, but that's all. I was just assuming that she got her license.

But again, a "municipal airport" would really be more for small, privately owned aircraft. The big domestic carriers of the day, Eastern, Allegheny, etc, would not have scheduled flights into such a small airport. Maybe some small commuter airlines would have service there though.

[–] db20db (17235) 7 years ago

Uh, I'm well aware of the type of air traffic we used to get at our municipal airport. And I've been through enough of the country's major airports and several abroad to know the difference. You're just stating the obvious and it would only be relevant if I had suggested that Aunt Bee was learning to pilot a jetliner.

[–] [email protected] (5854) 7 years ago

Uh, you're not the only person who reads these posts. Maybe not everyone is as knowledgeable as you are.

I've been through as many airports (or more) as you. I used to be flight attendant for a commuter carrier which flew into a lot of those " municipal" type airports. Later I worked for two different international carriers. I don't expect everyone to know a whole lot about airports.

No need to get your knickers in a twist over a little post.

[–] jason88cubs (2444) 7 years ago

I loved the map part

That was teh goofy Andy that ended up dissapearing later on which isnt a bad thing, its just fun to see

[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

"Well that's a dandy little item there"

Cracks me up every time I see it.