In the turn-of-the century Texas town of Cottownwood Springs, marshal Frank Patch is an old-style lawman in a town determined to become modern. When he kills drunken Luke Mills in self-defense, the town leaders decide it's time for a change. That ask for Patch's resignation, but he refuses on the basis that the town on hiring him had promised him the job for as long as he wanted it. Afraid for the town's future and even more afraid of the fact that Marshal Patch knows all the town's dark secrets, the city fathers decide that old-style violence is the only way to rid themselves of the unwanted lawman.
This anthology telefilm aired on NBC on November 8, 1969, and tells three strange tales: "The Cemetery," directed by Boris Sagal; "Eyes," directed by Steven Spielberg; and "The Escape Route," directed by Barry Shear. This film also served as a backdoor pilot for the TV series of the same name, which premiered on December 16, 1970.
At the end of the Civil War, a major shipment of Union gold has been stolen and buried in the desert. Only one man knows the whereabouts of gold and the US Army sends captain Matt Martin to arrest him and come back with the gold. Martin, his prisoner and a handful of men enter Indian territory in search of the precious cargo. The Apaches, outlaws and storms will make it difficult.
