Cheyenne (TV Series) The Durango Brothers (1962) User Reviews

The sure way to a man's heart is through his . . . .

[pensman · 8/10 · 19 June 2016]

Two plot lines here and a series spin off sort of. The Durango brothers are trying to find a husband for their sister Lottie (Sally Kellerman, well before M.A.S.H.). But she is a bit particular and finds the "men" who brothers dragoon from the local saloon well below her standards. When she sees Cheyenne, she just about drools and she hasn't even seen him with his shirt off. However, Cheyenne has no desire to marry Lottie. He's actually looking for some men who have gone missing in the area. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the missing men are Lottie's previous "suitors." But are they captives or are they dead? The first clue saying no to Lottie is fatal is finding six hats in the barn; the second, six fresh graves. And who manages this group of murderers: Ma Hortense Durango (Ellen Corby, otherwise sweet old grandma of Waltons' fame).

Lottie insists no one kill Cheyenne but Ma figures he might have an accident. The first attempt is poison, the second to crush him under a falling hay bale, the third to arrange a mine accident, the fourth is an accidental shooting while fending off varmints, the fifth is an attempt to plant a rattlesnake in the wash basin. In the end Cheyenne captures the gang; and it appears Lottie may have found a new man after all.

Jack Elam was always a scene stealer and popular enough to be a guest on Cheyenne three times; and when he guested playing Deputy J. D. Smith, it was enough to encourage a spin off: The Dakotas. Ironically a show that was canceled for being too violent.

"You're the hardest dyin' feller I've ever seen."

[faunafan · 10/10 · 14 July 2022]

Calhoun Durango (the irrepressible Jack Elam) had done his best, but Bodie outsmarted him every time, which wasn't too hard since Calhoun, supposedly the smartest of the three brothers, tried every dimwitted stunt he could think of to dispatch our hero and make it look like an accident. That's only one of the memorable quotes from this very entertaining episode. In awe, brother Obed observed, "That's the cleanest dang feller I ever did see." Though the Durango home appeared tidy and clean, Obed (who evidently had been hit on the head one too many times) and his brothers obviously had little firsthand experience with soap and water. Then there's burly Homer's determination to prove himself the strongest man in the county by breaking furniture and by failing more than once to defeat Cheyenne at arm wrestling.

Although immediately and hopelessly infatuated with Cheyenne--the first acceptable prospective groom her brothers had finally found for her--their simple, sweet sister Lottie (Sally Kellerman in one of her first tv appearances) grudgingly accepted that he might not exactly be hearing wedding bells. But her brothers were a clan rivalling the Barker boys a few decades later, determined to see to it that she wore that wedding dress for the man she had chosen. However, Ma Barker had nothing on Ma Durango. Ellen Corby was delightful to watch as she (at first) welcomed the tall, dark, and handsome stranger; her little girlish flutter on first meeting Cheyenne was priceless and she seemed compelled to touch him at every opportunity, as if verifying that he was real. But her admiration quickly evaporated when she learned that he was a lawman sent to investigate the disappearance of six men who were last seen at the Durango B&B. What ensues is the boys' comical efforts, under Ma's direction, to have Cheyenne join the six men underground in the apple orchard.

This is one of my favorite episodes because it combines romance, humor, and ultimately justice, with only a smattering of violence. No one dies onscreen; the gunfighting is saved for the end when the Durango brothers and their diminutive but deadly matriarch make one last-ditch effort to stop Bodie from doing his job. We all know that no one has ever managed to do that; in this case, the ever hopeful Lottie helped him. When it's obvious that Cheyenne Bodie is out of reach, though, she's ready to turn her eyes elsewhere. Cheyenne leaves with a smile on his face. No doubt this is an adventure he will someday relate to his children.

What are they thinking ?

[jamesochsner · 1/10 · 29 September 2021]

Has to be the goofiest episode. Over the top performances by Jack Elam and the others.

Violent, Bizarre, Dreadful, Demented , Cruel, Disgusting and Horribly Directed

[wge1954 · 1/10 · 4 July 2022]

This episode is meant to be a farce. The Oxford Language Definition of farce is: a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations. The writer of this definition must have based it on this miserable episode.

This episode is played off as a slapstick comedy. But, the mischievous family members, excluding the daughter, have kidnapped and murdered 6 men that failed to attract the attention of the daughter. Doesn't quite compare to The Three Stooges or The Marx Brothers.

And if the plot isn't horrible enough, the director obviously had never learned the timing and mannerisms of comedy.

Kind Hearts and Coronets, starring Alec Guinness, had murders but was comical. The Good Guys had numerous deaths but they were brilliantly written, acted and directed. This thing had none of them.

"When he washes up tonight he's gonna reach down in that little ol' commode, and put his hands on the biggest, nastiest, RATTLER you ever seen!"

[ben-thayer · 20 August 2022]

Cheyenne finds trouble when the three *very* large Durango brothers bring him home to marry their sister, Lottie. But even more trouble is in store when the brothers and their Ma discover Cheyenne is investigating the mysterious disappearance of several men last seen in the area.

The second (some may argue third) of the full-on comedic episodes, clearly played for laughs with no shame whatsoever. Director Otto Lang rolled with the assignment and went for it all the way, complete with chirping bird sounds when Jack Elam gets clocked.

Ridiculous? Absolutely...but way fun nevertheless.

The stellar cast sure went with it, they appeared to be having a blast in this one. Ellen Corby, Jack Elam, and a very young Sally Kellerman? That's a darned good ensemble, and they rise to the occasion. All the cast performances were a hoot.

Ellen Corby as Hortense "Ma" Durango...was she ever young? I love it when she plays the heavy, as she also did in The Andy Griffith Show. A 25yr old Sally Kellerman is most lovely, and Lottie's "accent" is utterly atrocious. It's also amusingly puzzling in that she seems to be the only one in the family with one. Series veterans Mickey Simpson and Charles Briggs are a scream as big oafs Homer and Obed Durango, they really deliver in this one. I loved it when Ma coldcocks Obed across the jaw for nearly spilling the beans for the umpteenth time.

But this is Jack Elam's show, his Calhoun Durango stole the episode completely. His exaggerated facial expressions and dialogue delivery are a lot of fun to watch, and are a direct stepping stone to his numerous comedic roles in the future.

Although clearly not for all, it's one of my favorite episodes. I mentioned Andy Griffith above deliberately. The episode feels more like an episode of the Andy Griffith Show than Cheyenne...not a bad show to emulate. And one notable addition was Cheyenne's rendition of Love's Old Sweet Song.

Watch and enjoy!