This episode of Gunsmoke, which only briefly features Festus, Marshall, and Newly is a well thought out and exciting episode. Travis Colter and his family are in between a rock and a hard space. Two of Travis's brothers are on the run outlaws and one has already been hanged. His mother can't stand losing another son. Travis faces discrimination because of his name, and to his chagrin, his mother has to start working in the saloon. Thus begins a long road for Travis, who has his personal obstacles to overcome. Jan-Michael Vincent and the late Kim Hunter give terrific performances, and make "The Legend" a great Gunsmoke episode to watch.
5 Reviews
time again to rummage through the recycling bin...
grizzledgeezer17 September 2013
Here we go again... Someone with a bad past -- or simply a bad image -- wants to "do right", but is beset by forces trying to steer him in the wrong direction. (Steer? Get it?) Sometimes they even try to buffalo him into Doing Something Wrong. (Buffalo? Get it?) It's as predictable as Kraft Singles.
"Gunsmoke" must have had a mimeographed boilerplate script for this sort of story, where the writer simply filled in the blanks. It probably took no more than a long afternoon to create a "new" script. This one doesn't seem to have been edited carefully, because there were no "penny" novels.
The only original thing is the song about her infamous husband Mrs Coulter sings in a saloon. The melody sounds only sort-of 19th-century. (This is a common problem in TV Westerns. * You'd think a professional composer would have no trouble parodying the melodies and harmonies of 19th-century popular songs. But I've never heard one that got it right.)
This is an episode you can safely pass by (unless you're hot for Jan-Michael Vincent, which I'm not).
PS: I'm bothered that the reviewer who has likely reviewed more "Gunsmoke" episodes than anyone else thinks that "action" is the most-important element of a Western. He's sometimes surprised that a story with little or no action can be engaging.
* Also movie Westerns. Take "Destry Rides Again". Though the Loesser/Hollander "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have" captures a 19th-century musical-hall quality, "You've Got That Look" sounds thoroughly modern.
"Gunsmoke" must have had a mimeographed boilerplate script for this sort of story, where the writer simply filled in the blanks. It probably took no more than a long afternoon to create a "new" script. This one doesn't seem to have been edited carefully, because there were no "penny" novels.
The only original thing is the song about her infamous husband Mrs Coulter sings in a saloon. The melody sounds only sort-of 19th-century. (This is a common problem in TV Westerns. * You'd think a professional composer would have no trouble parodying the melodies and harmonies of 19th-century popular songs. But I've never heard one that got it right.)
This is an episode you can safely pass by (unless you're hot for Jan-Michael Vincent, which I'm not).
PS: I'm bothered that the reviewer who has likely reviewed more "Gunsmoke" episodes than anyone else thinks that "action" is the most-important element of a Western. He's sometimes surprised that a story with little or no action can be engaging.
* Also movie Westerns. Take "Destry Rides Again". Though the Loesser/Hollander "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have" captures a 19th-century musical-hall quality, "You've Got That Look" sounds thoroughly modern.
Inconsequential and Forgettable
wdavidreynolds9 August 2021
The Colter family is noted for the thieving ways of the patriarch, who has since been killed. The father's outlaw legacy has been continued by the two older sons, Virgil and Clayt. Travis, the 18-year-old younger son lives with his mother, Beatrice, "Bea."
Travis cannot escape the infamous family reputation. He looks for a job to help he and his mother make ends meet, but no one wants to hire a member of the Colter family. Bea takes a job singing at The Bull's Head Saloon out of desperation, and Travis is embarrassed and ashamed.
Travis idolizes his father and brothers to some degree, but Bea knows there is no future in being an outlaw. She tries to convince Travis not to take that route, but as Travis becomes increasingly frustrated, he sees joining his brothers as his only option.
Oscar winner Kim Hunter plays the Beatrice Colter character. At this point in her career, she appeared in several television dramas. When this episode was produced, she had already appeared in the first three Planet of the Apes movies as the ape named Zira. This episode aired in October 1971, and Escape from the Planet of the Apes, which was the last of the Planet of the Apes films to include Hunter, premiered in July 1971.
Jan-Michael Vincent portrays Travis Colter. This appearance takes place early in Vincent's career. This story features the only appearances by Hunter and Vincent in a Gunsmoke episode.
Greg Mullavey also makes his only Gunsmoke appearance in this story. He plays Virgil Colter. Like Hunter and Vincent, Mullavey did a considerable amount of episodic television over the years.
The other Colter brother, Clayt, is played by Richard Kelton. Kelton had previously appeared in Season 16's two-part Snow Train episode. He guest stars in five different Gunsmoke episodes.
There is nothing particularly interesting about this episode. It is clear the writer and production team intended the viewer to feel empathy with Travis and Beatrice Colter's situation, but the characters are written and portrayed in such a way it is difficult to care much.
It is odd that Travis never experiences any moral conflict over what his father did, or his brothers do. This is not a story about a kid that desires to be honest but is a victim of circumstances beyond his control. Travis is more than willing to join his outlaw brothers, but they refuse. The fact that he sees no other alternative shows he lacks imagination and any moral bearing. Likewise, Bea does not seem to oppose Travis joining his outlaw brothers because what they do is morally wrong. She does not want Travis to join his brothers, because she knows there is little future in such a life.
Calvin Clements, Jr. Shoehorns Dr. Chapman into the story by having Beatrice Colter be an old acquaintance. This provides the opportunity to have the new Dodge City resident play a prominent role in the story. Unfortunately, none of the other Gunsmoke regular cast members are important to the story.
This is one of those Gunsmoke episodes with little in the way of memorable content. It is an inconsequential story that fills the requirements for an episode to fill the season.
Travis cannot escape the infamous family reputation. He looks for a job to help he and his mother make ends meet, but no one wants to hire a member of the Colter family. Bea takes a job singing at The Bull's Head Saloon out of desperation, and Travis is embarrassed and ashamed.
Travis idolizes his father and brothers to some degree, but Bea knows there is no future in being an outlaw. She tries to convince Travis not to take that route, but as Travis becomes increasingly frustrated, he sees joining his brothers as his only option.
Oscar winner Kim Hunter plays the Beatrice Colter character. At this point in her career, she appeared in several television dramas. When this episode was produced, she had already appeared in the first three Planet of the Apes movies as the ape named Zira. This episode aired in October 1971, and Escape from the Planet of the Apes, which was the last of the Planet of the Apes films to include Hunter, premiered in July 1971.
Jan-Michael Vincent portrays Travis Colter. This appearance takes place early in Vincent's career. This story features the only appearances by Hunter and Vincent in a Gunsmoke episode.
Greg Mullavey also makes his only Gunsmoke appearance in this story. He plays Virgil Colter. Like Hunter and Vincent, Mullavey did a considerable amount of episodic television over the years.
The other Colter brother, Clayt, is played by Richard Kelton. Kelton had previously appeared in Season 16's two-part Snow Train episode. He guest stars in five different Gunsmoke episodes.
There is nothing particularly interesting about this episode. It is clear the writer and production team intended the viewer to feel empathy with Travis and Beatrice Colter's situation, but the characters are written and portrayed in such a way it is difficult to care much.
It is odd that Travis never experiences any moral conflict over what his father did, or his brothers do. This is not a story about a kid that desires to be honest but is a victim of circumstances beyond his control. Travis is more than willing to join his outlaw brothers, but they refuse. The fact that he sees no other alternative shows he lacks imagination and any moral bearing. Likewise, Bea does not seem to oppose Travis joining his outlaw brothers because what they do is morally wrong. She does not want Travis to join his brothers, because she knows there is little future in such a life.
Calvin Clements, Jr. Shoehorns Dr. Chapman into the story by having Beatrice Colter be an old acquaintance. This provides the opportunity to have the new Dodge City resident play a prominent role in the story. Unfortunately, none of the other Gunsmoke regular cast members are important to the story.
This is one of those Gunsmoke episodes with little in the way of memorable content. It is an inconsequential story that fills the requirements for an episode to fill the season.
From a good concept- it got old fast!
kfo94942 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
With nearly all the regulars only making a cameo appearance, this program had to rely on the guest to make this interesting. But it also needed a strong script which it failed to deliver. The episode needed action yet we were given more dialog that nearly anyone can handle. This would have been a good PBS special but for a western 'Gunsmoke' it was too dull.
The concept was nice with a young man just turning 18 years of age named Travis looking to make a way for himself. But what followed him was his last name. He was from the Colter family which in Kansas meant you were a killer or thief. So Travis went through discrimination just due to his last name. His mother, Bea, was use to hearing remarks about her family name but Travis thought he needed to prove himself in honor of his brothers and dead father.
When his bandit brothers come to call, Travis wants to run with them. He was tired of being called names and all the whispers and wanted to a real Colter. This seemed like an excellent developing story but from there it really went no where. Instead of us getting action we are left where Travis tries to warning his brothers and runs through a window getting cut with glass and his mother singing ballads in a area saloon. And then when the Marshal, Newly and Festus are supposedly catching up with the brothers the only action we get is the sound of gunshots. They did not even provided stock footage of Matt riding in on his horse.
Maybe I am to harsh on this episode but it had a good concept and a good beginning that seemed to fail as the script wore on and on. It needed more action and less dialog. It got old fast.
The concept was nice with a young man just turning 18 years of age named Travis looking to make a way for himself. But what followed him was his last name. He was from the Colter family which in Kansas meant you were a killer or thief. So Travis went through discrimination just due to his last name. His mother, Bea, was use to hearing remarks about her family name but Travis thought he needed to prove himself in honor of his brothers and dead father.
When his bandit brothers come to call, Travis wants to run with them. He was tired of being called names and all the whispers and wanted to a real Colter. This seemed like an excellent developing story but from there it really went no where. Instead of us getting action we are left where Travis tries to warning his brothers and runs through a window getting cut with glass and his mother singing ballads in a area saloon. And then when the Marshal, Newly and Festus are supposedly catching up with the brothers the only action we get is the sound of gunshots. They did not even provided stock footage of Matt riding in on his horse.
Maybe I am to harsh on this episode but it had a good concept and a good beginning that seemed to fail as the script wore on and on. It needed more action and less dialog. It got old fast.
For diehard fans only
ronnybee211214 December 2019
You would never even know this was a Gunsmoke episode throughout 90% of this very weak episode. Most of the regulars are conspicuously absent throughout the main story. The remaining guest-actors are left with the task of breathing some life into a very weak script. Jan Michael Vincent is worth mentioning. Many consider him to be a hack actor,but he really did put forth an honest effort in this,from what I saw. Do not go out of your way to see this particular episode,it is one of the very few true duds in the collection. Do not say you were not warned !
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