Season 11 of Gunsmoke is in many ways "The Season of Festus." After many years of Dennis Weaver's Chester Goode character, a couple of seasons of Burt Reynolds's Quint Asper Character, and a few episodes that feature various combinations of Chester, Quint, and Festus, that all changes in Season 11. Reynolds and Weaver were gone by the time this season rolled around. Roger Ewing had joined the cast as the young Thad Greenwood, but this season is unmistakably about Festus Haggen.
This episode is a great example of how much of Season 11 was built around the Festus character. Matt is out of town on and off, something that would happen with increasing frequency as the series left the Black and White TV world and started broadcasting in color. In the meantime, Festus finds himself in a conflict with an arrogant gunslinger in a traveling medicine show. The gunslinger gets drunk, and challenges Festus to a gunfight in the streets of Dodge City, something that Matt had warned the two against before leaving town.
When Festus starts to unbuckle his gunbelt to engage the loudmouth drunk in a fistfight, the gunslinger interprets the move as Festus drawing his gun. The gunslinger fires and wounds Festus. Festus draws his weapon and kills the drunken gunslinger.
Sam, the Long Branch bartender, sees everything that happened, but the family of the gunslinger claims Festus took advantage of the drunken state of the young man, drew first, and therefore murdered him.
As other reviewers have noted, Festus then does something out of character. He decides to flee Dodge City so Matt doesn't have to deal with a murder charge against his friend. In the early days of Festus's time in Dodge, he may very well have run, as he was not that averse to skirting the law when it suited him, but he has been around Matt and the people of the town enough by now to know better.
The most compelling part of the episode actually happens as Festus heads toward the Nebraska border to get out of Dillon's jurisdiction. He trades Ruth, his faithful mule, for an old, broken-down horse. (This is another strange action for Festus. It is difficult to imagine him trading Ruth under any circumstances, but he does so because he thinks a horse would be harder to track than a mule.) He also has to throw his gun into the deal.
Eventually the horse throws Festus. Festus is forced to go on foot until he happens upon a barn where he spends the night. Fortunately, the barn belongs to a woman, her son, and an old man living in a nearby house that has potential as a stagecoach way station. A man who more or less owns the town nearby wants the woman and her family to leave the house because he fears it will divert traffic from his town. The story changes from Festus running from Matt and Thad, who are now pursuing him, to Festus standing against this overconfident patriarch that intends to use intimidation to get his way.
After Festus is bullied by the man and his thugs, Festus concludes that running is the wrong solution to any of these situations. He goes into town and faces down the thugs just as Matt and Thad ride in to take control. Festus agrees to return to Dodge to face a Coroner's Inquest, where he will, of course, be exonerated.
It's another entertaining episode of this great series, but it requires the writers to take some unnecessary liberties with the Festus character. I agree with one of the other reviewers, this would have been better split into two episodes. I especially think the story told when Festus is on the run would have made a good episode on its own.
This episode is a great example of how much of Season 11 was built around the Festus character. Matt is out of town on and off, something that would happen with increasing frequency as the series left the Black and White TV world and started broadcasting in color. In the meantime, Festus finds himself in a conflict with an arrogant gunslinger in a traveling medicine show. The gunslinger gets drunk, and challenges Festus to a gunfight in the streets of Dodge City, something that Matt had warned the two against before leaving town.
When Festus starts to unbuckle his gunbelt to engage the loudmouth drunk in a fistfight, the gunslinger interprets the move as Festus drawing his gun. The gunslinger fires and wounds Festus. Festus draws his weapon and kills the drunken gunslinger.
Sam, the Long Branch bartender, sees everything that happened, but the family of the gunslinger claims Festus took advantage of the drunken state of the young man, drew first, and therefore murdered him.
As other reviewers have noted, Festus then does something out of character. He decides to flee Dodge City so Matt doesn't have to deal with a murder charge against his friend. In the early days of Festus's time in Dodge, he may very well have run, as he was not that averse to skirting the law when it suited him, but he has been around Matt and the people of the town enough by now to know better.
The most compelling part of the episode actually happens as Festus heads toward the Nebraska border to get out of Dillon's jurisdiction. He trades Ruth, his faithful mule, for an old, broken-down horse. (This is another strange action for Festus. It is difficult to imagine him trading Ruth under any circumstances, but he does so because he thinks a horse would be harder to track than a mule.) He also has to throw his gun into the deal.
Eventually the horse throws Festus. Festus is forced to go on foot until he happens upon a barn where he spends the night. Fortunately, the barn belongs to a woman, her son, and an old man living in a nearby house that has potential as a stagecoach way station. A man who more or less owns the town nearby wants the woman and her family to leave the house because he fears it will divert traffic from his town. The story changes from Festus running from Matt and Thad, who are now pursuing him, to Festus standing against this overconfident patriarch that intends to use intimidation to get his way.
After Festus is bullied by the man and his thugs, Festus concludes that running is the wrong solution to any of these situations. He goes into town and faces down the thugs just as Matt and Thad ride in to take control. Festus agrees to return to Dodge to face a Coroner's Inquest, where he will, of course, be exonerated.
It's another entertaining episode of this great series, but it requires the writers to take some unnecessary liberties with the Festus character. I agree with one of the other reviewers, this would have been better split into two episodes. I especially think the story told when Festus is on the run would have made a good episode on its own.
