This was an interesting episode with some subplots and underlying circumstances. I suspected the worst of the bad guys was someone familiar just by looking at him, but I couldn't place him until after he spoke a few times. Sure enough, it was Leslie Nielson, of Naked gun fame. The bad guys were on the lam and they had a woman with them who would later prove to have some prior history with our dear Marshall. The woman had been a close friend, maybe really close, to Matthew in the past but is now traveling with some questionable people. She gets wounded while her and one of the gang are holed up on a cabin. It appears Matthew might have been the one who actually shot her. But thankfully old doc patches here up and all seems to be improving. But the rest of the gang shows up and there is a shootout. Won't tell you how it ends, it's just too good to ruin it for you.
4 Reviews
good Leslie Nielsen performance
grizzledgeezer8 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Leslie Nielsen always struck me as a tepid, not-very-energetic actor. He usually played "good" or "nice" roles, and rarely -- if ever -- found anything interesting about such characters.
Here he plays a thoroughly nasty killer who has no hesitation murdering the man who saved him from capture (by Dillon & posse). His performance is so uncharacteristically lively that I didn't recognize him until I caught his speech patterns. (A beard also provided some camouflage.)
Episodes in which "somebody wants to kill Matt" are far too common, but this one has an unusual twist. Nielsen figures that with Dillon dead, it'll take the Government at least a week to replace him and get things back to "normal". In that time, he and his gang can easily rob banks of $300K or more. We know Matt isn't going to die (though how he escapes is something of a surprise).
In the drama department is a woman (the inimitable Beverly Garland) who seems to have had every male in Kansas (including Matt and Doc) as a boyfriend at some point. Kitty is, of course, jealous. Oh, yes... Nielsen wants the woman's ex-husband (who Dillon has an uneasy relationship with) to kill Dillon. Which might not be that difficult, as Matt sleeps in the jail with the light on, where he can be seen from the window! And the side door is unlocked...
Here he plays a thoroughly nasty killer who has no hesitation murdering the man who saved him from capture (by Dillon & posse). His performance is so uncharacteristically lively that I didn't recognize him until I caught his speech patterns. (A beard also provided some camouflage.)
Episodes in which "somebody wants to kill Matt" are far too common, but this one has an unusual twist. Nielsen figures that with Dillon dead, it'll take the Government at least a week to replace him and get things back to "normal". In that time, he and his gang can easily rob banks of $300K or more. We know Matt isn't going to die (though how he escapes is something of a surprise).
In the drama department is a woman (the inimitable Beverly Garland) who seems to have had every male in Kansas (including Matt and Doc) as a boyfriend at some point. Kitty is, of course, jealous. Oh, yes... Nielsen wants the woman's ex-husband (who Dillon has an uneasy relationship with) to kill Dillon. Which might not be that difficult, as Matt sleeps in the jail with the light on, where he can be seen from the window! And the side door is unlocked...
Excellent Cast and Intriguing Ideas Fall Short
wdavidreynolds1 June 2021
Jess Trevor is one of those Gunsmoke outlaw characters that is clearly not only committed to a criminal lifestyle for financial gain, he actually enjoys what he does. The man is at least a sociopath, and possibly a psychopath. He has surrounded himself with a large gang willing to take orders.
Trevor is not content with small town bank robberies. He has formulated a plan to take control of an entire territory, and that plan includes eliminating Matt Dillon. He reasons if Dillon can be killed, it would take some time to find and install a replacement, and he could use that time to launch an unprecedented crime spree.
A woman named Leona has been involved in a relationship with Trevor, but she has reached a point where she can no longer stand his treachery. She convinces one of the gang members to split from the group and take her along.
When Marshal Dillon and Festus Haggen catch up with the pair fleeing from law enforcement as well as the Trevor gang, Leona's companion is killed in a shootout, and Leona is shot as well. When Matt sees her, he realizes it was likely one of his bullets that caused her injury. The Marshal recognizes her as a serious old flame from his days before he landed in Dodge City. Dillon takes Leona to Dodge so Doc Adams can work his magic on her wound.
(Side note: One odd aspect to the chronology in this story is that Doc Adams knows Leona and knows about her relationship with Matt. However, if their relationship took place before Matt arrived in Dodge, how does Doc know her? Of course, Matt could have told Doc about the relationship, but Doc seems to personally know Leona as though they had met previously.)
As menacing and as despicable as Trevor is, he is not exactly the evil mastermind he seems to think. The Marshal is able to capture him fairly easily, and he jails the gang leader in Dodge City while he awaits a train to transport Trevor back to prison.
Naturally, Trevor's gang is going to attempt to free their leader, and they choose to do so when the train arrives and the Marshal and his deputies take Trevor to the train.
While all of this is going on, Kitty Russell learns about Leona's past with Matt Dillon, which leads to a few scenes where the two women sort of verbally spar. They talk a lot without explicitly saying what they seem to be thinking.
Leslie Nielsen portrays Jess Trevor. This is Nielsen's only Gunsmoke guest starring role. The familiar actor was known for playing comedy roles later in his career, but he often played dramatic roles and even villains earlier, as he does in this story. His typically smooth, casual, aloof style is surprisingly effective in this part. There is one scene in particular with Jonathan Lippe (who later abandoned the Lippe stage name and used his birth surname Goldsmith) as a bounty hunter named Lucas Brant that is quite effective in demonstrating the depth of the Trevor character's depravity. (This is arguably the best scene in the episode.)
The rest of Trevor's gang is comprised of several actors that are no stranger to Gunsmoke fans. Edmund Hashim, Charles Maxwell, Robert Knapp, Kip Whitman and Sid Haig all make appearances, and they are all great in their smaller roles.
Beverly Garland plays the part of Leona. Garland is no stranger to any fans of classic television. She had recurring roles in several different shows over the years, including My Three Sons, 7th Heaven, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. This is one of four different Gunsmoke appearances for Garland.
Garland's character is supposed to be a woman that has seen her share of use and abuse, but -- in all honesty -- Amanda Blake with her heavy makeup (especially noticeable in this episode contrasted with Garland) fits that description better at this point in the two careers. Garland was a fine actress, but I question her casting opposite Blake in this particular role.
This story has some intriguing elements, but it never really delivers the goods. The performances are good enough, but the presentation is poor. The whole scene near the end where Trevor is being moved from the jail to the train is especially ridiculous. Matt knows Trevor's gang is going to try to free him. There are all sorts of strangers that have suddenly appeared in town. Yet the Marshal chooses to March Trevor down the middle of the street where they can be easily surrounded.
Trevor is not content with small town bank robberies. He has formulated a plan to take control of an entire territory, and that plan includes eliminating Matt Dillon. He reasons if Dillon can be killed, it would take some time to find and install a replacement, and he could use that time to launch an unprecedented crime spree.
A woman named Leona has been involved in a relationship with Trevor, but she has reached a point where she can no longer stand his treachery. She convinces one of the gang members to split from the group and take her along.
When Marshal Dillon and Festus Haggen catch up with the pair fleeing from law enforcement as well as the Trevor gang, Leona's companion is killed in a shootout, and Leona is shot as well. When Matt sees her, he realizes it was likely one of his bullets that caused her injury. The Marshal recognizes her as a serious old flame from his days before he landed in Dodge City. Dillon takes Leona to Dodge so Doc Adams can work his magic on her wound.
(Side note: One odd aspect to the chronology in this story is that Doc Adams knows Leona and knows about her relationship with Matt. However, if their relationship took place before Matt arrived in Dodge, how does Doc know her? Of course, Matt could have told Doc about the relationship, but Doc seems to personally know Leona as though they had met previously.)
As menacing and as despicable as Trevor is, he is not exactly the evil mastermind he seems to think. The Marshal is able to capture him fairly easily, and he jails the gang leader in Dodge City while he awaits a train to transport Trevor back to prison.
Naturally, Trevor's gang is going to attempt to free their leader, and they choose to do so when the train arrives and the Marshal and his deputies take Trevor to the train.
While all of this is going on, Kitty Russell learns about Leona's past with Matt Dillon, which leads to a few scenes where the two women sort of verbally spar. They talk a lot without explicitly saying what they seem to be thinking.
Leslie Nielsen portrays Jess Trevor. This is Nielsen's only Gunsmoke guest starring role. The familiar actor was known for playing comedy roles later in his career, but he often played dramatic roles and even villains earlier, as he does in this story. His typically smooth, casual, aloof style is surprisingly effective in this part. There is one scene in particular with Jonathan Lippe (who later abandoned the Lippe stage name and used his birth surname Goldsmith) as a bounty hunter named Lucas Brant that is quite effective in demonstrating the depth of the Trevor character's depravity. (This is arguably the best scene in the episode.)
The rest of Trevor's gang is comprised of several actors that are no stranger to Gunsmoke fans. Edmund Hashim, Charles Maxwell, Robert Knapp, Kip Whitman and Sid Haig all make appearances, and they are all great in their smaller roles.
Beverly Garland plays the part of Leona. Garland is no stranger to any fans of classic television. She had recurring roles in several different shows over the years, including My Three Sons, 7th Heaven, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. This is one of four different Gunsmoke appearances for Garland.
Garland's character is supposed to be a woman that has seen her share of use and abuse, but -- in all honesty -- Amanda Blake with her heavy makeup (especially noticeable in this episode contrasted with Garland) fits that description better at this point in the two careers. Garland was a fine actress, but I question her casting opposite Blake in this particular role.
This story has some intriguing elements, but it never really delivers the goods. The performances are good enough, but the presentation is poor. The whole scene near the end where Trevor is being moved from the jail to the train is especially ridiculous. Matt knows Trevor's gang is going to try to free him. There are all sorts of strangers that have suddenly appeared in town. Yet the Marshal chooses to March Trevor down the middle of the street where they can be easily surrounded.
Fine acting makes this episode watchable
kfo949428 September 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Leslie Nielsen plays Jess Trevor who is an outlaw that rides along the Kansas outback with his gang and steal and kills at will. One of his so-called girls named Leona has left the gang and ends up shot by Matt during a gunfight where one of the gang members ends up dead.
Leona has a history since she use to be Matt's girlfriend before he becoming Marshal. But for the last fifteen years she has turned herself into a toy for all types of men including the outlaw gang.
Trevor now wants Matt killed so that he can loot the area around Dodge before another Marshal is appointed. So he forces an old gang member to kill Matt as he sleeps. But when things go wrong Trevor is arrested and placed in jail. But it will not be long before the gang gets word of his arrest and plan to break him out at any cost. Plus Leona must decide to stand up for herself or live back with the outlaws.
Even with another side plot that includes Ms Kitty having suspicion of Leona and Matt- the story really did not cause much interest. The bright spot was Leslie Nielson playing the bad-guy that was ruthless in dealing with people. The acting in this episode is top notch.
Leona has a history since she use to be Matt's girlfriend before he becoming Marshal. But for the last fifteen years she has turned herself into a toy for all types of men including the outlaw gang.
Trevor now wants Matt killed so that he can loot the area around Dodge before another Marshal is appointed. So he forces an old gang member to kill Matt as he sleeps. But when things go wrong Trevor is arrested and placed in jail. But it will not be long before the gang gets word of his arrest and plan to break him out at any cost. Plus Leona must decide to stand up for herself or live back with the outlaws.
Even with another side plot that includes Ms Kitty having suspicion of Leona and Matt- the story really did not cause much interest. The bright spot was Leslie Nielson playing the bad-guy that was ruthless in dealing with people. The acting in this episode is top notch.
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