A sequel to a previous made-for-TV western, THE NEW DAUGHTERS OF JOSHUA CABE stars John McIntire as the titled Josh Cabe, a hardworking homesteader serving as the local community's interim sheriff. Although a rustic, straight-as-an-arrow type, Josh is a bit of a trickster, who "adopts" three miscreant young females to inherit his spread, so that his enemies don't acquire his land. His "daughters" consist of a former prostitute (Dalton), a spitfire with a long arrest record ( Williams) and a coquettish kleptomaniac (Jarrett). However, when a shyster is on to his scheme and attempts blackmail, Josh goes to visit him only to find the man recently stabbed. Cabe is found guilty of the murder and sentenced to hang in 30 days. His daughters are determined to break him out of the territorial jail.
STORY ($$): The script doesn't have any twists or thrills and is basically by-the-numbers. Cabe's girls set to get him out of jail beyond the boundaries of the law, while Josh's chums, Bitterroot (Elam) and Mrs. Cargo (Nolan) attempt the same, albeit within the boundaries of the law. There's a healthy dose of comedy that helps move the picture along as this made-for-TV movie solidly blends the western with the comedy.
ACTING ($$$): The work of the actors helps to elevate this above your run-of-the-mill TV movie. The western veterans, Elam, Nolan and the always entertaining Geoffrey Lewis do well in their support roles, but it's the "daughters" that truly standout. Not familiar faces, the trio have a great rapport with each other and show range as actresses with their screwy schemes to save Josh from the gallows. Liberty Williams is terrific as Charity, the volatile daughter, who gets to go undercover at the prison as a provisions deliverer. Renne Jarrett, who would marry director Bruce Bilson several years after making this picture, is a delight as well, transforming her playful Ada into a buttoned-up, scholastic spinster duping the warden (Dehner, who is terrific in his cameo) into believing that she's interested in writing an expose on him. Dalton's soiled dove, Mae, is the more cerebral of the girls, but she can lose her head around men, like she does when she has a prison guard inspect her "twisted" ankle).
STORY ($$): The script doesn't have any twists or thrills and is basically by-the-numbers. Cabe's girls set to get him out of jail beyond the boundaries of the law, while Josh's chums, Bitterroot (Elam) and Mrs. Cargo (Nolan) attempt the same, albeit within the boundaries of the law. There's a healthy dose of comedy that helps move the picture along as this made-for-TV movie solidly blends the western with the comedy.
ACTING ($$$): The work of the actors helps to elevate this above your run-of-the-mill TV movie. The western veterans, Elam, Nolan and the always entertaining Geoffrey Lewis do well in their support roles, but it's the "daughters" that truly standout. Not familiar faces, the trio have a great rapport with each other and show range as actresses with their screwy schemes to save Josh from the gallows. Liberty Williams is terrific as Charity, the volatile daughter, who gets to go undercover at the prison as a provisions deliverer. Renne Jarrett, who would marry director Bruce Bilson several years after making this picture, is a delight as well, transforming her playful Ada into a buttoned-up, scholastic spinster duping the warden (Dehner, who is terrific in his cameo) into believing that she's interested in writing an expose on him. Dalton's soiled dove, Mae, is the more cerebral of the girls, but she can lose her head around men, like she does when she has a prison guard inspect her "twisted" ankle).