Two men cut off a Chinese immigrant's pigtail, and he tells Matt that he can return home to China only with the pigtail or by taking the lives of the men who stole it.Two men cut off a Chinese immigrant's pigtail, and he tells Matt that he can return home to China only with the pigtail or by taking the lives of the men who stole it.Two men cut off a Chinese immigrant's pigtail, and he tells Matt that he can return home to China only with the pigtail or by taking the lives of the men who stole it.
Photos
Dennis McCarthy
- Howard
- (as Devlin McCarthy)
Dee Cooper
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
George DeNormand
- Shotgun Rider
- (uncredited)
Charles H. Gray
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Bob Reeves
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Bert Rumsey
- Sam
- (uncredited)
Bing Russell
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Sam Peckinpah
- John Meston(uncredited)
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is the first of 11 episodes which Sam Peckinpah wrote for Gunsmoke (1955).
- Quotes
Matt Dillon: I always thought I was kinda humble.
Doc: You're about as humble as a turpentine cat.
Featured review
An Immigrant Fights Stereotypes and Discrimination
When a Chinese immigrant named Chen arrives in Dodge City, he is met with discrimination by some of the locals. Two men -- Howard and Rabb Briggs -- want Chen to leave the town. The bullies have heard that Chinese men value their braided pigtail, or "queue," and consider it a disgrace to have it removed.
(The truth of this custom is not exactly as portrayed in this and other westerns set in the mid and late 19th century. The Qing Dynasty in imperial China required men to grow their hair long and shave their forehead. The long hair was to be braided into the queue. Men who refused to comply were considered rebels.
As the United States began to flourish in the late 1800s, there was a significant increase in Chinese immigration. Chinese men would come to the United States to make money to send home. Since these men planned to return to China at some point, they were required to return with their queue or be considered a revolutionary. San Francisco even passed a "Pigtail Ordinance" in 1873 to require all prisoners to have their hair cut within an inch of the scalp.)
Bailey works at the stage office in Dodge, and he greets Chen when he first arrives. Bailey considers Dodge City a wicked place where evil and sin flourish. However, Bailey is not above being lured by the temptations offered within the town confines.
Actor Keye Luke portrays Chen in his only Gunsmoke appearance. Luke was born in Canton, China, but grew up in the United States. He is best known for his roles in the Charlie Chan film series and in the series Kung Fu.
Sabastian Cabot portrays the sanctimonious Bailey character in this story. Cabot's extensive acting career included considerable voice-over work. He plays villains in both of his Gunsmoke appearances, but, having been a valet earlier in his life, he excelled at playing servant types. One of his most famous roles was as Mr. French in the series Family Affair from the late 1960s into the early 1970s.
Actor/Director Robert Gist plays Rabb Briggs. Gist would return for two more episodes in the series. Dennis McCarthy (credited as Devlin McCarthy) makes his only Gunsmoke appearance as the character known only as Howard. McCarthy can be seen in small roles in numerous television shows through the years. He often played doctors, reverends/priests, or some kind of law enforcement officer.
The screenplay for this John Meston story was written by Sam Peckinpah. This his first Gunsmoke screenplay and one of the earliest writing credits for the famed director. The Bailey character is pure Peckinpah with early glimpses of character traits that would appear again in his later work as both a writer and director.
Peckinpah's work on Gunsmoke and contributions to other series like Trackdown, Broken Arrow, Tales of Wells Fargo, and Have Gun - Will Travel led to his heavy involvement early in the series The Rifleman. In fact, the pilot for The Rifleman was originally written as a Gunsmoke episode but was rejected. Peckinpah then gave the script to Dick Powell who green-lighted the production of the episode "The Sharpshooter" for the series Zane Grey Theatre. That episode was used as the first episode of The Rifleman. (It is also worth noting that in Peckinpah's original script the main character was named John McCain and did not have a son. Director Arnold Laven suggested changing the name to Lucas McCain and adding the Mark McCain character.) Later, Peckinpah would develop the outstanding series The Westerner starring Brian Keith. Unfortunately, it only lasted for thirteen episodes before it was canceled.
Other westerns series would mine some of the same subject matter as this story. The Rifleman even included an episode titled "The Queue" with a similar theme. Watching this episode over sixty years after it first aired diminishes the impact it would have had in 1955. Nevertheless, the episode highlights timeless issues of stereotyping, discrimination, and dehumanization of groups of people because of their ethnicity.
Of special note is the scene where Doc Adams is removing one of Chen's teeth while Matt watches. It is funny, revealing, and some of the sound effects border on the cringeworthy. This scene is one of the best early scenes in the series.
(The truth of this custom is not exactly as portrayed in this and other westerns set in the mid and late 19th century. The Qing Dynasty in imperial China required men to grow their hair long and shave their forehead. The long hair was to be braided into the queue. Men who refused to comply were considered rebels.
As the United States began to flourish in the late 1800s, there was a significant increase in Chinese immigration. Chinese men would come to the United States to make money to send home. Since these men planned to return to China at some point, they were required to return with their queue or be considered a revolutionary. San Francisco even passed a "Pigtail Ordinance" in 1873 to require all prisoners to have their hair cut within an inch of the scalp.)
Bailey works at the stage office in Dodge, and he greets Chen when he first arrives. Bailey considers Dodge City a wicked place where evil and sin flourish. However, Bailey is not above being lured by the temptations offered within the town confines.
Actor Keye Luke portrays Chen in his only Gunsmoke appearance. Luke was born in Canton, China, but grew up in the United States. He is best known for his roles in the Charlie Chan film series and in the series Kung Fu.
Sabastian Cabot portrays the sanctimonious Bailey character in this story. Cabot's extensive acting career included considerable voice-over work. He plays villains in both of his Gunsmoke appearances, but, having been a valet earlier in his life, he excelled at playing servant types. One of his most famous roles was as Mr. French in the series Family Affair from the late 1960s into the early 1970s.
Actor/Director Robert Gist plays Rabb Briggs. Gist would return for two more episodes in the series. Dennis McCarthy (credited as Devlin McCarthy) makes his only Gunsmoke appearance as the character known only as Howard. McCarthy can be seen in small roles in numerous television shows through the years. He often played doctors, reverends/priests, or some kind of law enforcement officer.
The screenplay for this John Meston story was written by Sam Peckinpah. This his first Gunsmoke screenplay and one of the earliest writing credits for the famed director. The Bailey character is pure Peckinpah with early glimpses of character traits that would appear again in his later work as both a writer and director.
Peckinpah's work on Gunsmoke and contributions to other series like Trackdown, Broken Arrow, Tales of Wells Fargo, and Have Gun - Will Travel led to his heavy involvement early in the series The Rifleman. In fact, the pilot for The Rifleman was originally written as a Gunsmoke episode but was rejected. Peckinpah then gave the script to Dick Powell who green-lighted the production of the episode "The Sharpshooter" for the series Zane Grey Theatre. That episode was used as the first episode of The Rifleman. (It is also worth noting that in Peckinpah's original script the main character was named John McCain and did not have a son. Director Arnold Laven suggested changing the name to Lucas McCain and adding the Mark McCain character.) Later, Peckinpah would develop the outstanding series The Westerner starring Brian Keith. Unfortunately, it only lasted for thirteen episodes before it was canceled.
Other westerns series would mine some of the same subject matter as this story. The Rifleman even included an episode titled "The Queue" with a similar theme. Watching this episode over sixty years after it first aired diminishes the impact it would have had in 1955. Nevertheless, the episode highlights timeless issues of stereotyping, discrimination, and dehumanization of groups of people because of their ethnicity.
Of special note is the scene where Doc Adams is removing one of Chen's teeth while Matt watches. It is funny, revealing, and some of the sound effects border on the cringeworthy. This scene is one of the best early scenes in the series.
helpful•40
- wdavidreynolds
- Nov 26, 2021
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3
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