The Rustlers

Synopsis:

The Dukes’ friends and neighbors, Burl and Sherry Tolliver, want to enter their horse Manassas in the upcoming Mrs. J.D. Hogg Stakes Race – the highlight of the annual Hazzard County Fair.

The Tollivers are convinced that Manassas is fast enough to win the $10,000 first prize, so Bo and Luke decide to pace-check the horse against the General.

Word of the horse’s speed soon spreads after the time trial is witnessed by Rosco and Enos (who arrive sharing a patrol car for some unexplained reason).

After Boss promises Lulu that she’ll be the owner of the winning horse, Manassas gets kidnapped, first by Rosco, and then by some traveling horse thieves. The combination of straw in the back of Rosco’s patrol car and Enos’s loose lips help to put the Dukes on the kidnappers’ trail. When they find Manassas, Luke gets the job of riding the horse back to the fair grounds [sic] in time for registration while Bo decoys the horse thieves.

Commentary:

Cletus (Rick Hurst) and Lulu (Peggy Rea) both make their second appearances in this episode. Cletus has to blow up another vehicle as a favor to his cousin, Boss Hogg, but still doesn’t get to put on a Hazzard deputy’s uniform. In Lulu’s first appearance, Repo Men, she was after a Rolls Royce. In this episode we get another insight into the lifestyle she expects Boss to keep her in. We also get to see what Boss thinks about his wife when he says “Put that woman in the winner’s circle and somebody’ll slap a saddle on her.”

Highlights:

When Manassas first goes missing, Rosco blames Bo and Luke (who were transporting the horse), and sets off in hot pursuit. As usual, the boys get away, while Rosco ends up destroying a washing line, much to the annoyance of its owner, Widow Baxley.

Trivia:

Mel Tillis, who plays Burl Tolliver, is better known as a country singer. He took a few acting roles around this time, including Smokey and the Bandit II and the first two Cannonball Run movies. He returned to Hazzard as himself in The Hazzardgate Tape (season 5, episode 5).

Dorothy Collier, who plays Sherry Tolliver, is now Dorothy Best. She married James Best (Rosco) in 1986. Along with Kevin Lang, they now run their own production company called Best Friend Films.

In the opening scene, Luke and Jesse sing Amazing Grace in the General. Tom performed his own vocals, but Denver Pyle’s vocals were dubbed. Also in this episode, we find out that Boss’s driver is called Alex.

–synopsis and vidcaps by Hoss (with info from The Dukes of Hazzard Unofficial Companion).