Festus Haggen gets word that his cousin Maude Haggen is in trouble in the town of Buckland. Maude sold the father of the notorious Watson brothers some bad moonshine that resulted in the father's death. The Watson boys want revenge.
As he makes his way to Buckland to offer assistance to his relative, Festus happens upon a dying gunfighter named Jim Travers. Travers accidentally shot himself. (One wonders how often that might have happened during a time when many people carried guns.) Travers knows he is going to die, but he convinces Festus to promise to bury him "deep" before Festus rides on to Buckland. Travers tells Festus he can have the fancy silver-studded saddle from Travers's horse in return for the burying.
Festus buries the dead Travers, takes the saddle, and rides into Buckland on his mule, Ruth. Ruth is outfitted with the fancy saddle. Festus quickly learns his cousin is long gone. This leads to a case of mistaken identity. It seems the mayor of Buckland had hired Jim Travers to rid the town of the troublemaking Watsons. The mayor sees the fancy saddle and immediately assumes Festus is Travers.
The remainder of the episode is essentially a comedy where most of the people in Buckland think Festus is Travers, the Watson brothers turn out to be nothing more than an ornery trio of bumblers, and Festus waxes existentially about his past. Along the way, there are toads, a bungled ambush, and a seemingly rabid dog.
There is an especially amusing scene early in this episode where Doc Adams, Kitty Russell, and Thad Greenwood explain the absence of Festus from Dodge City to Matt Dillon. They systematically share a number of the odd metaphors and colloquialisms of which Festus is fond of using.
As is usually the case with Gunsmoke, there are some notable performances in this episode. George "Goober" Lindsey and Hoke Howell, both veteran actors from The Andy Griffith Show (although Howell only appeared in a few episodes as Dud Wash), play two of the hapless Watson brothers. Dub Taylor, who also appeared in the previous episode, "Saturday Night," is the bartender at the Buckland saloon. Butch Patrick, most famous for playing Eddie on the Munsters, also makes an appearance as a kid in Buckland.
Denver Pyle makes another of his many Gunsmoke appearances as the town doctor. Of course, most people know Pyle was also an occasional guest on The Andy Griffith Show where he played Briscoe Darling. As a matter of fact, Briscoe became Dud Wash's father-in-law when Dud married his daughter, Charlene.
This is the only Gunsmoke episode directed by Charles Rondeau, a veteran director who also directed numerous episodes of other (mostly) 1960s series such as F Troop, Batman, Hawaiian Eye, and Surfside 6. A fight scene late in the episode is oddly similar to the fight scenes in the campy Batman television series that aired from 1966 to 1968, minus the "Zoinks!" and "Whacks!" graphics superimposed on the screen.
Likewise, this is the only episode written by Jay Simms. Simms wrote several episodes for other series: Have Gun - Will Travel, The Rifleman, and The Big Valley. His crowning achievement may have been co-scripting the classic 1962 Ray Milland apocalyptic B-movie Panic in Year Zero.
This is one of those episodes that focuses solely on a single character -- in this case Festus -- and takes place primarily away from Dodge City. The scene near the end when Festus is telling Matt Dillon about his adventures in Buckland while attempting to complete a house of cards is great.
I realize many people don't care for the comedy episodes, but this one is a lot of fun.
As he makes his way to Buckland to offer assistance to his relative, Festus happens upon a dying gunfighter named Jim Travers. Travers accidentally shot himself. (One wonders how often that might have happened during a time when many people carried guns.) Travers knows he is going to die, but he convinces Festus to promise to bury him "deep" before Festus rides on to Buckland. Travers tells Festus he can have the fancy silver-studded saddle from Travers's horse in return for the burying.
Festus buries the dead Travers, takes the saddle, and rides into Buckland on his mule, Ruth. Ruth is outfitted with the fancy saddle. Festus quickly learns his cousin is long gone. This leads to a case of mistaken identity. It seems the mayor of Buckland had hired Jim Travers to rid the town of the troublemaking Watsons. The mayor sees the fancy saddle and immediately assumes Festus is Travers.
The remainder of the episode is essentially a comedy where most of the people in Buckland think Festus is Travers, the Watson brothers turn out to be nothing more than an ornery trio of bumblers, and Festus waxes existentially about his past. Along the way, there are toads, a bungled ambush, and a seemingly rabid dog.
There is an especially amusing scene early in this episode where Doc Adams, Kitty Russell, and Thad Greenwood explain the absence of Festus from Dodge City to Matt Dillon. They systematically share a number of the odd metaphors and colloquialisms of which Festus is fond of using.
As is usually the case with Gunsmoke, there are some notable performances in this episode. George "Goober" Lindsey and Hoke Howell, both veteran actors from The Andy Griffith Show (although Howell only appeared in a few episodes as Dud Wash), play two of the hapless Watson brothers. Dub Taylor, who also appeared in the previous episode, "Saturday Night," is the bartender at the Buckland saloon. Butch Patrick, most famous for playing Eddie on the Munsters, also makes an appearance as a kid in Buckland.
Denver Pyle makes another of his many Gunsmoke appearances as the town doctor. Of course, most people know Pyle was also an occasional guest on The Andy Griffith Show where he played Briscoe Darling. As a matter of fact, Briscoe became Dud Wash's father-in-law when Dud married his daughter, Charlene.
This is the only Gunsmoke episode directed by Charles Rondeau, a veteran director who also directed numerous episodes of other (mostly) 1960s series such as F Troop, Batman, Hawaiian Eye, and Surfside 6. A fight scene late in the episode is oddly similar to the fight scenes in the campy Batman television series that aired from 1966 to 1968, minus the "Zoinks!" and "Whacks!" graphics superimposed on the screen.
Likewise, this is the only episode written by Jay Simms. Simms wrote several episodes for other series: Have Gun - Will Travel, The Rifleman, and The Big Valley. His crowning achievement may have been co-scripting the classic 1962 Ray Milland apocalyptic B-movie Panic in Year Zero.
This is one of those episodes that focuses solely on a single character -- in this case Festus -- and takes place primarily away from Dodge City. The scene near the end when Festus is telling Matt Dillon about his adventures in Buckland while attempting to complete a house of cards is great.
I realize many people don't care for the comedy episodes, but this one is a lot of fun.
