User Reviews

I have to say that this entire episode (part 1 and 2) is perhaps the best show in the entire collection of 'Gunsmoke'. The fine acting and the way each line is delivered by the actors makes the viewer believe that they are right in the middle of the story with a unique realism not experienced many times.

In this first part episode, Festus is on the path of an escaped convict named Gard Dixon in the arid desert outside of Cottonwood. When Festus is ambushed by the convict, Festus lays in the arid desert with no hope of survival.

However, Festus is found by a man named Ben Snow (Strother Martin). Ben Snow has been in the desert for a very long time. Oh, not by his choice but by a bad situation. Ben and a friend was looking for gold and they got caught up in a sandstorm. After six days the storm passed and Ben found himself all alone. During the this time Ben found a large amount of gold and has been wanting to find a way out of the desert for a long time.

Ben takes Festus back to his area where water is found and helps him get back to health. During his recovery, Festus sees sign that Ben has some serious psychotic behavior issues. Ben carries on conversations with snakes and keeps talking about this town named Ten Strike that is full of people and pretty girls. Ben also wants to find a formal rival of his named Sam Bristol in the town of Ten Strike so that he can show Sam that he is now rich.

Festus is forced to carry water like an pack mule while the delusional Ben Snow holds him at gunpoint. So the first episode ends with the two heading to Ten Strike.

Strother Martin is brilliant in this show playing the crazed Ben Snow that wants nothing but to see Sam Bristol. Some of the best acting I have seen in a long time. Ready for Part 2.

Gunsmoke's Part One of "Island In The Desert" was the pinnacle of all episodes during its twenty year run. Festus Haggin brought in a known killer named Gard Dixon to Cottonwood for his hanging. The town -- in its infinite wisdom -- was ready to see a killer be hung for first-degree murder and robbery. Festus Haggen left the jail in hopes of returning to Dodge City ... or so it seemed to him in the opening part of the episode. Soon enough, Gard Dixon took a letter opener and -- eventually -- stabbed the deputy to death; he then fired one round from a gun and wounded the deputy to death ... thus starting the escape to the desert. The town became shocked at his escape. Obviously, Gard Dixon would likely flee to Mexico to avoid a hanging in Cottonwood.

Burke obtained a message from the telegraph office in Dodge City. Word came out that Gard Dixon escaped from Cottonwood; moreover, Matt Dillon and Newly O'Brien would be leaving Dodge City to find Festus Haggen ... and eventually track down a vicious animal named Gard Dixon. The acting sheriff in Cottonwood would tell Dillon and O'Brien that little or no signs of water or trees were present in an eighty- or ninety-mile trek into the desert.

Gard Dixon seriously wounded Festus Haggen during the chase. Haggen fell unconscious after being grazed by gunfire from Dixon's rifle. Ben Snow found Festus Haggen all alone in the blazing desert without any water. He took him into his cave. He used a mud mixture to Haggen's wound on his head. Haggen had been resting in Ben Snow's cave. All the while, Ben Snow had been living as a hermit. Festus Haggen was about to find Gard Dixon at first light.

Ben Snow had other plans for Festus Haggen. Ben Snow had intentions of heading to Ten Strike -- a once-thriving town in Arizona ... all while he was finding Gard Dixon. He forced Haggen to carry water like a pack mule. Ben Snow would eventually make Festus Haggen's life miserable during the trek. Haggen was fighting for survival against Ben Snow's tyrannical behavior. Ben Snow was more inclined to reach Ten Strike rather than aiding Festus Haggen in search for a ruthless killer in the desert. A Fat 18 Out Of 10!! A bigger-than-life episode from the 1974-1975 Television Season!!

Matt Dillon and Festus Haggen deliver a prisoner named Gard Dixon to Sheriff Grimes in the town of Cottonwood. Marshal Dillon has to leave immediately to testify at a trial the next day. Festus stays behind with plans to get some rest before returning to Dodge City.

Sheriff Grimes is careless and Dixon stabs Grimes. Dixon escapes with the sheriff's gun and a rifle. Sheriff Grimes yells that the prisoner is escaping, and Dixon shoots him. Dixon takes a horse and rides away.

Festus hears the shot, finds the fatally wounded Sheriff Grimes, and sets out in pursuit of Dixon. Dixon heads northwest into a desert area. When Dixon realizes Festus is close behind, he finds a vantage point in a rocky area and shoots the Deputy. The bullet only grazes the side of Festus's head, but it is enough to make him lose consciousness.

Ben Snow has been living alone in the desert for many years. When Snow sees vultures circling overhead nearby, he investigates and finds Festus wounded. He takes Festus back to his camp, which is next to a water source, where he nurses him back to health.

Years earlier, Snow and a partner named Sam Bristol had found gold in the desert and were returning to a town called Ten Strike when they were caught in a sandstorm that lasted for days. By the time the sandstorm ended, he and Bristol were stranded with little water. Bristol shot Snow in the leg for the water, left him to die in the desert, and went to Ten Strike.

Snow was alone, lost, and injured, with no horse, pack mule, or supplies. A wild burro led him to the only water source for miles around, and Snow set up residence there. Over the many years, Snow has managed to accumulate a significant cache of gold, but he has no way to transporting it out of the desert. Snow's only "companion" is a rattlesnake named Homer he feeds mice.

The solitude has given time for Snow's lust for revenge against Sam Bristol to fester. He tries to convince Festus to help him get to Ten Strike, but Festus is determined to return to Cottonwood for a fresh horse and supplies so he can resume his pursuit of Dixon.

Festus underestimates Ben's desperation, however. The hermit manages to get the Deputy's gun, forces him to put on his own manacles, and turns Festus into a human pack mule. They set out for Ten Strike on foot with Festus carrying a supply of water and the gold.

After Sheriff Grimes is killed in Cottonwood, someone from a neighboring town goes to Cottonwood until a sheriff can be found. He sends Matt a telegram in Dodge alerting him to the Dixon's escape and Festus's pursuit. Matt and Newly O'Brien leave Dodge to investigate.

The guest cast for this episode is relatively small. William C. "Bill" Watson fills the role of Gard Dixon in this story. Watson's intense, fast-talking style made him an ideal actor for playing villains. Including this performance, he appeared in four Gunsmoke episodes, with his role in this two-part episode his last in the series.

The great Strother Martin portrays Ben Snow. Martin appeared in eleven different episodes of the series, including the two parts of this episode, but his previous appearance came ten years earlier in Season 9's brilliant "No Hands" episode. Of course, Martin is an eminently recognizable character actor. His career featured parts in various television shows from Gilligan's Island to The Rockford Files, but he was also a familiar face in many iconic Westerns films, including The Sons of Katie Elder, Cool Hand Luke, True Grit, and its sequel Rooster Cogburn. Sam Peckinpah cast Martin and Martin's friend L. Q. Jones -- another frequent Gunsmoke guest star -- in prominent roles in his films The Wild Bunch and The Ballad of Cable Hogue. Martin's performance in "Island in the Desert" is one of his most extreme performances. Martin and Ken Curtis are quite the dynamic duo.

Actor Regis Cordic appeared in five Gunsmoke episodes, and all but one of those roles was as either a sheriff or marshal. His previous appearance was in Season 18's "Jesse" where he played Marshal Halstead, who was also killed.

Like Cordic, Hank Brandt made five appearances as a guest on Gunsmoke. In this story, Brandt portrays John Lipon, who is temporarily acting as sheriff in Cottonwood until a permanent sheriff can be appointed. Brandt played a much bigger role in the Season 15 episode "Morgan," where he portrayed Morgan's right-hand man.

I was in high school when this episode first aired, and it is one of the episodes I can distinctly remember watching at that time. I have seen it many times since, and it always fascinates me.

There are some scenes in part one that are especially worth noting:

• The scene where Festus is awakened by Ben Snow carrying on a conversation with Homer the rattlesnake is amusing in an unnerving way.

• Snow's transformation from appreciating the mere presence of another human being when he first finds Festus to telling Festus if he cannot provide the pack mule services, he will be shot like a lame mule and forcing Festus to carry the water and gold as they walk across the desert is remarkable. A tenuous friendship becomes an adversarial, abusive relationship. What was initially good fortune for the deputy becomes burdensome.

One aspect to this story that puzzles me is why Festus is so compliant. Although Snow repeatedly threatens to shoot the Deputy if he does not do what the hermit says he must do, Festus has the upper hand. Snow is helpless without Festus, and it would seem Festus could use that fact to his advantage. He almost does a couple of times when he becomes frustrated at Snow for repeatedly poking him with his stick and when he insists on taking a drink of water.

There is a scene early in the episode when Nathan Burke delivers a telegram to Matt informing him about Dixon's escape. Matt is sitting alone in the Long Branch Saloon with a beer, which I cannot recall ever seeing before.

Will Snow and Festus make it to Ten Strike? Will Matt and Newly catch up with them? That and more will be revealed in the second part.

During its twentieth (and last) season "Gunsmoke" pulled out the stops and had some of the show's best episodes, showcasing most of the cast members. "Island in the Desert, Parts I and II" is centered around Festus, played by Ken Curtis, as the deputy is in pursuit of a murderous felon, superbly played by perennial villain William C. Watson. Festus's quest takes him into the desert where he meets a deranged prospector Ben Snow, played by the always dependable Strother Martin. Snow has been in the desert for more than a decade, searching for and acquiring a stash of gold, an accomplishment that he wants to return to his old stomping ground, a town called Ten Strikes. Snow wants to show his wealth to a former rival named Sam Bristol.

After being wounded by a bullet from the escaping criminal, Festus is cared for by Snow who later forces the deputy to serve as his "pack mule" to haul the gold through the desert toward Ten Strikes.

The pair must contend with the savage heat, Snow's frequent bits of paranoia, and the fact that Watson's character is still on the loose.

All of these are answered in the second installment that is just as riveting as the first.

Martin, Watson, and Curtis are good in their parts, with the former having a slight edge over the other two. Martin had a long career in Hollywood, with a long string of memorable roles, especially as the warden in Paul Newman's "Cool Hand Luke." "Ben Snow" became just another feather in a cap filled with performances to die for.

Another plus for the show is the impressive use of location, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Arizona/Utah). Sprawling vistas and panoramic landscapes add to the fact that the characters are far from civilization and at the mercy of the environment.

Strother Martin's performance in this two part series of Gunsmoke is quite impressive. Strother and Ken Curtis are the main two actors and both played their parts well. Usually Strother does not have a complete major role as he does in this 2 part episodes. It is well worth watching.