McCloud
Portrait of a Dead Girl (or Who Killed Miss U.S.A.?)
TV Flash files “Portrait of a Dead Girl (or Who Killed Miss U.S.A.?)” as a desk essential hour — McCloud (1970–1977) on NBC, season 1, episode 1, aired 1970-02-17, 120 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 46 in the McCloud guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 1970-02-17 (120 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “Man from Taos (1) (or Who Says You Can't Make Friends in New York City?)” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “Portrait of a Dead Girl (or Who Killed Miss U.S.A.?)”. Portrait of a Dead Girl (or Who Killed Miss U.S.A.?) opens the boots-on-asphalt brief. Weaver's New Mexico marshal already a western myth in New York; fish-out-of-water on the Mystery Movie wheel.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Portrait of a Dead Girl (or Who Killed Miss U.S.A.?) sit in the McCloud guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 46 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did McCloud S01E01 air?
Portrait of a Dead Girl (or Who Killed Miss U.S.A.?) aired 1970-02-17 and is listed at 120 minutes.
Do I need Gunsmoke first?
No. Weaver's marshal is a post-Gunsmoke reinvention, not a sequel. Mystery Movie New York is the assignment.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Dennis Weaver's New Mexico marshal brings boots, a hat, and western myth onto New York asphalt. Fish-out-of-water crime on the Mystery Movie wheel, post-Gunsmoke reinvention with a drawl. Cowboy patience colliding with Manhattan procedure, then winning the hour on charm instead of gunfire.
So the group chat wants a New York cop in a black-tie silhouette (Lana would call the hat a *statement*) and then McCloud shows up in boots like that was the whole fish-out-of-water contract. NBC, 1970–1977: Taos marshal Sam McCloud is assigned to the NYPD, solving crimes with small-town tactics and big-city collisions. Herman Miller's Mystery Movie staple alongside Columbo. Dennis Weaver's post-Gunsmoke reinvention: boots, a hat, western myth on asphalt. J.D. Cannon's Chief Clifford and Terry Carter's Sgt.…
Filed against
- Dennis Weaver as Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud
Dennis Weaver’s Chester Goode was Gunsmoke’s limp and loyalty — chorus, not gadget, in Dodge City’s weekly moral court. Twenty seasons of adult western that treated a gunfight as a verdict, James Arness as a marshal the camera could…
- J.D. Cannon as Chief Peter B. Clifford
J.D. Cannon’s Chief Peter B. Clifford parked McCloud’s New York while a New Mexico marshal brought boots onto asphalt — Mystery Movie wheel, post-Gunsmoke reinvention, cowboy patience colliding with Manhattan procedure. 1970s…
- Terry Carter as Sgt. Joe Broadhurst
Terry Carter partnered McCloud as Sgt. Joe Broadhurst — New Mexico marshal boots on New York asphalt, fish-out-of-water crime on the Mystery Movie wheel, cowboy patience colliding with Manhattan procedure. Drawl versus the precinct. TV…
Also in season 1
- S01E02 Man from Taos (1) (or Who Says You Can't Make Friends in New York City?)
- S01E03 Manhattan Manhunt (1) (or Horse Stealing on Fifth Avenue)
- S01E04 Murder Arena (1) (or The Concrete Corral)
- S01E05 Manhattan Manhunt (2) (or The Stage Is All the World)
- S01E06 Murder Arena (2) (or Walk in the Dark)
- S01E07 Man from Taos (2) (or Our Man in Paris)