Product Details

• Actors: Robert Conrad, Ross Martin, Paul Williams, Harry Morgan, Rene Auberjonois
• Directors: Burt Kennedy
• Writers: William Bowers
• Producers: Jay Bernstein, Robert L. Jacks
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 1998
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302443199
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #333,009 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This episode is a must-own for The Wild, Wild West fans as well as TV buffs who collect pilot shows. Robert Conrad stars as West, James West, a frontier 007, and according to President Grant (James Gregory), "the finest underground intelligence officer we have." Posing as "the dandiest dude that ever crossed the Mississippi," he embarks on his first assignment: to find Juan Manolo, a madman bent on starting a revolution ("The whole world will know my name!"). Suzanne Pleshette also stars as Lydia, an old flame who still burns hot. "I waited on that hard bed alone for eight hours until the police came," she provocatively scolds West upon their reunion. The late, great Victor Buono (King Tut on Batman) also appears as the inscrutable Wing Fat ("Would you care for a pipe?" he offers. "It is filled with joy"). Ross Martin costars as master of disguise Artemus Gordon, who also provides West with his gadgets, such as a pool cue that doubles as a gun barrel, a breakaway Derringer West that can hide in his boot heels, and a belt buckle that dispenses bullets. This episode was directed by Richard Sarafian, whose estimable credits include Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, I Spy, and Batman. This program is also available in a three-volume boxed set. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first night of James West, May 27, 1999

By 

Thomas Rucki (Paris, France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild, Wild West (Vol. 1: 'The Night of the Inferno') [VHS] (VHS Tape)

What I like the most in this episode is the taut opening scene with prisoner James T. West and Arte playing the drunk military. The villains are outrageously flamboyant : pre-"Count Manzeppi" Victor Buono as Wing Fat and Nehemia Persoff as vicious sadistic Juane Manolo. Suzanne Pleshette as Lydia Monteran with her gun mania is gorgeous. James Gregory as authoritative President Grant is just fine for his single part in the entire series. He recaptures the feeling of the old west much better than Roy Engel. The dialogues are smart and sophisticated, for instance, when Colonel Shear says : "the dandiest dude that ever crossed the Mississippi in his private railroad car." The James West's gadgets ritual (especially, the close-up of the sleeve-gun) in the train is a pure delight. Thanks to Frank Phillips' only cameraworks, the black and white mood is extraordinary. The jazz/western music composed and conducted by Richard Markowitz is top-notch and everybody know the main theme by heart. Above all, the trade mark of the show, I mean the freeze frame which turns into a rough sketch. In this episode, there is one incoherent detail about the change of Jim West's costume when he goes to Quemada. But who cares ? The pilot episode, directed, like a movie, by Richard Sarafian, that I can watch over and over and forever : I'm a devotee. I hope they will release the music very soon.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The pilot episode of the James Bond of Westerns, February 10, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Wild, Wild West (Vol. 1: 'The Night of the Inferno') [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"The Night of the Inferno," the pilot episode of "The Wild Wild West," establishes the formula for the television series created by Michael Garrison about the James Bond of the Old West that ran on CBS from September 17, 1965 until September 7, 1970. But while the formula is tried and true, adapting the super spy formula of exotic villains and grandiose plans to rule a significant portion of the American West, the tone of the series is not yet to be established. This is clear as soon as we meet our heroes "James" West (Robert Conrad) and "Artemus" Gordon (Ross Martin).

The pilot starts off with a great hook as condemned prisoner James T. West is dragged to a railroad train in the middle of the night--where he finds President Ulysses S. Grant (James Gregory), who is providing cover for his top undercover agent. Given the cover identity of a rich Eastern dandy with his own private train, Grant sends West out on his first mission to stop the power mad Mexican Juan Manolo who plans to be number one in the whole world. When West and Gordon arrive in Quemada, they find not only the crazy general (Nehemiah Persoff) and his little army but an inscrutable Chinese merchant, Wing Fat (Victor Buono) and one of West's old flames, Lydia Monteran (Suzanne Pleshette). Of course the lady starts shooting at West about a minute after she sees him, but that is to be expected.

Actually, all things considered this is a very decent pilot, which was written by Gilbert Ralston. The camera does spend a lot of time watching West load up on guns and gadgets before heading off to Quemada, but of course each and every one of those toys is going to pay off during the course of the episode. At one point the story is going pretty much right by the numbers, but that is just a set up for some really nice twists at the end. My biggest complaint (besides the fact Grant is rather skinny) is that the character of Gordon is really wasted in this first episode. Fans of the series will immediately recognize Artie's first appearance in the story, but the revelation that he is West's sidekick is tossed off in a meaningless gesture (however, he does turn out to be a mean shot in his own right). Juan Manolo is no Dr. Miguelito Loveless, but then who is?

Final Note: You might be surprsied by the differences in the title cartoon sequence (no hitting ladies this early in the game) and the order the end shots of each act replace the original frozen cartoon images. This still remains the coolest way of going to a station break in television history.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wild Wild's Best, January 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wild, Wild West (Vol. 1: 'The Night of the Inferno') [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Great movie, if you like black and white films. I thought it was good, and I would definitely recommend it. It was one of the "better" episodes, and I enjoyed it. Even though the show is old, it doesn't affect the quality of the tapes. In fact, everything is perfect. There was nothing wrong with mine, no fuzziness or tracking problems at all. The picture was clear as a bell, and even the little paper slip cases hold up well, so it isn't cheap. Great story, great "surprise" ending, and it is not a waste of money, even though the movie is only an hour long. I can guarantee you at least one night of good viewing...I've watched my copy at least ten times since I bought it. It is a little cheesy (in the best possible since), but so are all old movies. I would encourage you to buy it, because you will get your money's worth. I would talk more about how great the plot is, but you'll have to see that for yourself :)