Change Your Image
rrrozsa-55134
Reviews
Gunsmoke: Quint's Trail (1963)
Chester dodged a bullet (maybe literally)!!
This is more a comment than a review
per se; however, it adds another level of enjoyment to the show.
Others have rightly pointed out that Chster is the primary focus of the story in this episode - Chester's triumph in the face of what he interpreted as his friends' lack of faith in his abilities (or level of responsibility) for an important task, at lest compared to Quint. It was largely a matter of pride.
What I haven't seen mentioned is how differently things might have ended up, if Chester, rather than Quint, had taken the family and their belongings on the trip, as their guide. At first glance, it appears that Chester proved to everyone's satisfaction (including to himself) that he would have been just as capable at guiding the family, and all their belongings, safely to their destination.
But when you think about what ended up transpiring between the young lady and Quint on the trip, and when you consider the obvious pathology (we are talking about mental illness here) behind her actions towards men who respond to her flirting, I can only imagine how differently the encounter between Belle and Quint (after she ran away during the night and waited for Quint to come to the remote location where she "made her play" for him. Quint saw right through Belle's attempted manipulations and was able to avoid any actions that might have triggered a repeat of her previous "self-defense killing" of the last guy who had "responded as a man" to her advances.
Knowing Chester for all these seasons, I think we can all agree that Chester's Achilles' heel has always been a pretty face, especially if she plays the "damsel needing a big, strong protector". We have seen multiple episodes in which Chester was hopelessly smitten with any new pretty woman who got off the stage, or played up to his ego. If Chester had taken this trip instead of Quint, this episode might very well have resulted in up either dead (self-defense) or in jail, accused of assault.
This way, Quint's experience with women prepared him to turn Belle's folly into a teaching moment, and Chester did himself proud by catching the bad guy and returning the money to the family, and beating them to their destination by using the shortcut that he had planned to use for their route.
Gunsmoke: Kate Heller (1963)
A different Mabel Albertson character than I grew up with
Throughout the mid-to-late sixties, our family, which consisted of Mom, Dad, two girls and two boys ranging from 1st grade to 8th grade, watched a lot of family sitcoms. I was well acquainted with Mabel Albertson through characters she played in several of our favorite shows, typically portaying a manipulative, judgmental characters, such as Howard Sprague's mother on "The Andy Griffith Show", Samantha Stevens' mother-in-law on "Bewitched", and Donald Hollinger's mother (Ann Marie's prospective mother-in-law), whose approval Ann was always trying to win, on "That Girl". Mabel's characters were typically disagreeable in their overall demeanor, comolete with a critical-sounding tone-of-voice, perpetually furrowed brows, and a disapproving frown. Mabel guest-starred in at least one episode of practically every prime-time hit show of that era.
What sets this episode of Gunsmoke apart from Mabel's other guest-apparances, and is such a treat for me, is that it really shows off Mabel's impressive acting chops. This is one of those episodes I have saved, and enjoy watching it again and again, especially Kate's scenes at the relay station. The writing is excellent, even in the most seemingly common-place conversations.
A few examples: Kate's conversation with the stage coach drivers who found Matt and brought him to Kate for help ("I'd be obliged in you'd undress him for me.... Well, it ain't modesty, you know --I'm four times married -- but I could get to the work of 'im sooner. Gentle 'im all you can."). Or Kate's comment to Andy after she finished removing the three bullets from Matt's back: ("You mind what I say... The only bullets worth usin' are to destroy a killer... or to ease an animal's mortal pain. You mind that."). Mabel's delivery of every line is subtle perfection and never over-acted.
Besides her great delivery of her lines, the subtle changes in Mabel's facial expressions convey Kate's every thought and emotion, even when she is just standing in silent contemplation.
Based on this one episode, I feel Mabel was a very underrated actress.
Every scene in this episode, including the well-executed ending, is worth watching.
Gunsmoke: Homecoming (1964)
The ending was not satisfying to me.
There were some strange decisions made by the writers, that detracted from my satisfaction that most other reviewers felt in the closing scene.
First. Earlier in the episode, Edna stated outright, to her son, that all she cares about is keeping the house, property, and the business, all of which were in her name. That is exactly what she ended up with. Why does she look defeated, that both guys left her and she now owns everything, to sell and do whatever she wants with?
Second. In the very first scene between the Drummer (forgot his name) and Edna, when he was flattering her in her shop, he outright stated that he is unencumbered, travels all over, can come and go as he likes, and can just pick up and leave anytime. Even the most sheltered woman in the world would read that message as "If you are bored and want a good time, then we can hook up for while, till I move on to my next hunting ground". When she replied with a tryst time and place, I said out loud, "Does she find that attractive?" Her response would have been more logical to me if he had added, "Hey, I can take you away with me, no strings attached, and we can each walk away whenever we want" but we never heard him saw that, much less talk about marriage.
Third. Even if she had made a commitment with the Drummer, I assumed that the plan would be to wait in town until the husband and ex were out of the picture, she would stay in town long enough to liquidate everything, and THEN she could go with him, have money to spend, and even take care of her son in some other town. So why did she make such a fuss that he was leaving town, in the closing scene? And why was he leaving, when she was about to come into some serious disposable cash? Her reaction should have been anger that he was not waiting around for everything to be sold before leaving. So I was expecting her to say "Good riddance! You could have had thousands if you waited for me to sell everything. I'll just keep it all myself. Bye." After all, the course had just AWARDED HER EVERYTHING, FREE AND CLEAR?
The only "just" and satisfying ending, for me, would have been if the court had ordered the property to be sold, and the proceeds divided betweeh the ex, who built the house and buildings, and half to Edna and her husband. Then the two men could have said in the closing scene that they would sell the property, and the ex would take his half, and the new husband would take his half, but leave Edna out in the cold with nothing,
on the legal grounds that she had admitted to an extramarital affair, in front of multiple witnesses. THAT was the ending I was expecting and looking forward to. Instead, the conniving, greedy woman who didn't care about anyone got exactly what she wanted -- the house, the property, and the business, which is now hers to sell and have plenty of money to do whatever she wants with it. And now she doesn't have to even share it with her son!
I didn't see the ending as anything as total victory for Edna. The two men didn't die or go to prison, but they left of their free will, which even better for her. I feel like everyone played right into her hands, even her son.
Gunsmoke: Trail of Bloodshed (1974)
"Matt peek-a-boo cameo" episode explanation
A well-respected reviewer, Kfo9494, whose Gunsmoke reviews many of us have enjoyed over the years, mentioned one thing in his/her review of this episode that I feel needs some commentary. In the last paragraph of the review, kfo referred to the episode as a "Matt-lite" episode. I have heard other reviewers mention the fact that in a lot of the later seasons of Gunsmoke, James Arness (Matt) is noticeably absent from many of the episodes, often just showing up for the very last shoot-out, or as in this episode, popping in at the last scene to speak a few lines. As a long-time Gunsmoke fan, I thought I would share some background that I myself was not aware of until reading about it very recently.
Most of us are aware that Matt Dillon was the only character who appeared in every episode of Gunsmoke's 20-season run. But there are facts that many of us, including kfo, may not be aware of.
James Arness was drafted into the US Army during the middle of World War II. In 1944, his right lower leg and foot were badly injured by machine gun fire during the US invasion of Anzio, Italy. After staying in the hospital for almost a year, undergoing multiple surgeries, he was left with his famous limp for the rest of his life. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronz star. His rehabilitation was lengthy and arduous, but Arness fully recovered. However, the injuries plagued him for the rest of his life, limiting his ability to walk for any length of time. Gunsmoke had to schedule his walking scenes early in the day throughout his career with the show.
In part due to his height (he was 6'7"), arness contracted arthritis in the latter part of Gunsmoke's run. The pain became so bad that Arness could no longer deal with multi-day shoots, so the producers allowed him to film all of his scenes for an episode in a day. The arthritis made riding horseback excruciatingly painful.
Between the old war injury affecting his walking, and the arthritis impacting his ability to ride and participate in fist-fights that had comprised to much of his screen time in the earlier seasons, he was forced to reduce his time spent in action scenes, although we do still see him show his stuff occasionally in some of the late episodes.
Some may feel that, given the amount pain Arness experienced when shooting scenes involving leaping onto horses, galloping through over rocky crags, chasing down villains by foot, or engaging in prolonged fist fights in the last seasons, he perhaps should have just walked off the show entirely, rather than only showing in "cameo" appearances in many of the late episodes, one of which this episode seems to have been. In my own opinion, however, it wouldn't be Gunsmoke without Matt Dillon. Even a short scene in which he appears really has an impact on the episode, given his strong screen presence. I myself just appreciate even more those episodes late in the series in which he is still featured, now that I know what he was going through, every moment of the shooting.
Gunsmoke: False Front (1962)
The bet should have been canceled as soon as the kid started showing off, shooting bottles.
The bet, and the basis for the newspaper story that was supposed to be the outcome after the two-week bet, was to prove or disprove the newsman theory that a man with NO gun skills can survive by bluffing his way, based on his reputation and the way he carried himself.
As soon as the kid lined up those bottles on Front Street and shot at them, the bet should have been called off. First, the kid missed one out of five, and did not shoot each one using a fast draw. That in itself showed that he is not up to par with most gunslinger, and would increase the chances of some punk seeing a chance to win if they called him out. Second, even if his display of skills had been impeccable enough to discourage challengers, that would not serve to prove or disprove the theory of an unskilled man being able to survive by BUFFING alone. Either way, the kid rendered the newspaper story moot, since the premise changed half-way through. If the bet had been called off due to the terms not being met, there would have been no reason to employ any shenanigans to get the kid murdered in order to win the bet.
I dropped the score a couple points for that reason. It just made no logical sense to me why the bet was allowed to continue after the kid quit basing his survival on bluffing, resorting instead on proving his skills (which were subpar).
Gunsmoke: The Brothers (1966)
There must be more than one episode named "The Brothers."
It really annoys me when Gunsmoke has more than one episode, in different seasons, with the same title. The one I just watched opened, titled "The Brothers", opened with a stage coach pulling up to a way station, where Kitty and two male passengers disembarked. The driver told them that the connecting stage was going to be delayed due to some bad roads, so they would have to "make do" on their own for a few hours, and he drove away.
While Kitty was making some coffee, one of the two male passengers came in, all excited, and told Kitty he recognized the other passenger as a wanted killer whom he recognized from a wanted poster. While they were talking, the other passenger came in and approached Kitty, whispering obscenities in her ear. She slapped him and went into a bedroom, where she dug her Derringer from her purse. As the bad guy opened the door, Kitty fired with her Derringer and the other passenger fired at him in the back, killing him.
The rest of the episode involved the killer's older brother coming into town to kill the people who had killed his brother. I was hoping to read some reviews on this episode, but the reviews on this page appear to be for a different episode of the same name. It bugs me that Gunsmoke appears to be the only show that names more than one episode, in different seasons, by the same title. I'm sure it is unintentional, but it has happened more than once. Didn't they keep a list somewhere of their episode titles so they could keep track of titles they had already used?
Sheesh!
Gunsmoke: Alias Festus Haggen (1972)
Worth watch just to see Ken Curtis in a dual role!
Those of us who are huge Gunsmoke fans enjoyed seeing Ken Curtis in various roles before he became a regular cast member as Festus Haggin. It was interesting to observe how the character of Festus was developed and refined over the years. The "early" Festus did not have the squinty right eye, nor was his "hillbilly" accent as pronounced as the Festus character portrayed in this episode.
One of the great pleasures of watching this particular episode is the rare treat of seeing Ken Curtis portray both his regular Festus character and the look-alike outlaw which is the subject of the mistaken identity central to this episode's plot.
You don't fully realize how talented Curtis was as a character actor until you have this opportunity to compare the voice inflections, facial expressions, and overal differences in the demeanors, accents, posture, facial expressions, and overall physical appearances of both characters. It is almost impossible to believe that the two characters are actually played by the same actor, rather than two separate actors who just look very much alike. Ken Curtis made Festus seem so natural and authentic as a character that it is easy to forget that Festus was an exceptional feat due to Curtis's amazing talent as an actor!
Gunsmoke: Jenny (1962)
Two episodes called "Jenny"
One reviewer mentioned that the girl who played "Jenny" was not listed in the Cast, and was the same little girl (Lisa Gerritsen) who played "Bess", Phyllis' daughter on Mary Tyler Moore show.
Actually, there are two episodes of Gunsmoke called "Jenny", about five seasons apart. In this episode, Jenny is played by Ruta Lee, as noted by another reviewer. In Season 16, Episode 15 (1970), there is another episode called "Jenny" in which Lisa Gerritsen played "Jenny". This episode aired when Lisa Gerritsen was only about five years old.
By the way, this is not the only instance in which Gunsmoke has two episodes with the same title, in different seasons. I guess the writers back then never foresaw the confusion it would cause viewers Googling the titles of the episodes in order to comment on the episodes! They probably couldn't even fathom the notion that within one generation, Smart phones (and the internet) would replace the room-sized mainframe computers that could only be found in universities and large corporations!