Another Good episode where the characters out shine the plot. The whole show is a conflict between Festus' friendship with an escaped prisoner and his duty as a US deputy Marshall. The ending was predictable but the whole time you found yourself saying " C'mon Festus, bend the rules just one time".
5 Reviews
Duty Versus Friendship
wdavidreynolds23 September 2021
Matt Dillon, Newly O'Brien, and Festus Haggen are spending the night away from Dodge City in a hotel. In the wee hours of the morning, a bunch of drovers are in town in a celebratory mood. Between the rowdy drovers and Festus's incessant snoring, Matt and Newly cannot sleep. Matt has to go to Hayes, anyway, and he decides to leave early.
Festus is awakened by the commotion in the streets. He decides to go to the saloon and have a beer. Along the way, he runs into an old friend named Jesse Dillard. Jesse is the much beloved cook for the drovers. Festus was a drover at some point in the past where Jesse was the cook.
Festus and Jesse spend some time reminiscing about old times while Newly listens. As the three men are sitting around a table, a U. S. Marshal walks in, points a gun at Jesse and places him under arrest. Jesse had broken out of prison some time earlier. He had killed a man who cheated him out of wages and flogged him because he is a black man. He was given an incredibly harsh sentence of ten years at hard labor for the crime.
As Marshal Halstead, Festus, and Newly escort Jesse back to prison, they are met on the trail by two of the drovers named Murphy and Link. They order the Marshal to release Jesse, but the Marshal refuses. When Murphy draws his pistol, it accidentally discharges and hits Marshal Halstead in the gut. Murphy and Link flee the scene. Newly tries to tend to Halstead, but the bullet is still inside the man. They set out for the nearest town in the hopes of finding a doctor.
Dave Carpenter, who is the cattleman for whom the drovers work, is devoted to Jesse and wants to see his release. Marshal Halstead eventually dies from the gunshot wound. Festus and Newly are charged with seeing that Jesse is returned to custody. The situation creates a moral conflict for Festus, as he is torn between his friendship with Jesse and his duties as a deputy.
Gunsmoke episodes feature so many outstanding casts that it is easy to take it for granted. This is yet another stellar guest lineup.
Brock Peters returns for his second and final appearance in a Gunsmoke episode. He is excellent as the Jesse Dillard character. Peters had previously appeared in Season 14's "The Good Samaritans."
Actor Don Stroud is a familiar face in television and films beginning in the late 1960s well into the 2000s. Stroud had a small part in Quentin Tarantino's 2012 film Django Unchained. Stroud plays the part of Pete Murphy in this story. This is his first Gunsmoke role. He returns for one more episode in Season 20.
Robert Pine appears for the fourth and final time. He plays the part of the drover named Link. Regis Cordic portrays Marshal Halstead in one of his five series roles, which were all either law enforcement officers or reverends.
Familiar actor Leonard Stone plays the weaselly hotel clerk Abel Glass in this story. He appeared in a total of five Gunsmoke episodes. Perennial tough guy Jim Davis plays the determined rancher Dave Carpenter. This is one of his eleven different Gunsmoke appearances.
Several other Gunsmoke actors with some series history appear in small roles, including Ted Gehring, Norman Bartold, and Larry Finley. Lloyd Nelson and Pete Kellett, who had a combined 140-plus appearance in Gunsmoke episodes, both can be seen in this installment.
The premise for this story is interesting enough. The way Festus accepts the responsibility of his position demonstrates the evolution of the character over the years. Longtime fans of the series will remember when Matt (and the viewers) first met Festus, he was not exactly trusting of law enforcement, and he was not above breaking the law when it suited his needs. By this time, he is fully committed to his duties as a Deputy U. S. Marshal and all the responsibilities that come with the job.
The only problem with this episode is it loses momentum about halfway through once the standoff between Carpenter and his men and Festus and Newly begins. However, it makes a nice recovery with a surprise ending, which is not that much of a surprise for anyone paying close attention.
Festus is awakened by the commotion in the streets. He decides to go to the saloon and have a beer. Along the way, he runs into an old friend named Jesse Dillard. Jesse is the much beloved cook for the drovers. Festus was a drover at some point in the past where Jesse was the cook.
Festus and Jesse spend some time reminiscing about old times while Newly listens. As the three men are sitting around a table, a U. S. Marshal walks in, points a gun at Jesse and places him under arrest. Jesse had broken out of prison some time earlier. He had killed a man who cheated him out of wages and flogged him because he is a black man. He was given an incredibly harsh sentence of ten years at hard labor for the crime.
As Marshal Halstead, Festus, and Newly escort Jesse back to prison, they are met on the trail by two of the drovers named Murphy and Link. They order the Marshal to release Jesse, but the Marshal refuses. When Murphy draws his pistol, it accidentally discharges and hits Marshal Halstead in the gut. Murphy and Link flee the scene. Newly tries to tend to Halstead, but the bullet is still inside the man. They set out for the nearest town in the hopes of finding a doctor.
Dave Carpenter, who is the cattleman for whom the drovers work, is devoted to Jesse and wants to see his release. Marshal Halstead eventually dies from the gunshot wound. Festus and Newly are charged with seeing that Jesse is returned to custody. The situation creates a moral conflict for Festus, as he is torn between his friendship with Jesse and his duties as a deputy.
Gunsmoke episodes feature so many outstanding casts that it is easy to take it for granted. This is yet another stellar guest lineup.
Brock Peters returns for his second and final appearance in a Gunsmoke episode. He is excellent as the Jesse Dillard character. Peters had previously appeared in Season 14's "The Good Samaritans."
Actor Don Stroud is a familiar face in television and films beginning in the late 1960s well into the 2000s. Stroud had a small part in Quentin Tarantino's 2012 film Django Unchained. Stroud plays the part of Pete Murphy in this story. This is his first Gunsmoke role. He returns for one more episode in Season 20.
Robert Pine appears for the fourth and final time. He plays the part of the drover named Link. Regis Cordic portrays Marshal Halstead in one of his five series roles, which were all either law enforcement officers or reverends.
Familiar actor Leonard Stone plays the weaselly hotel clerk Abel Glass in this story. He appeared in a total of five Gunsmoke episodes. Perennial tough guy Jim Davis plays the determined rancher Dave Carpenter. This is one of his eleven different Gunsmoke appearances.
Several other Gunsmoke actors with some series history appear in small roles, including Ted Gehring, Norman Bartold, and Larry Finley. Lloyd Nelson and Pete Kellett, who had a combined 140-plus appearance in Gunsmoke episodes, both can be seen in this installment.
The premise for this story is interesting enough. The way Festus accepts the responsibility of his position demonstrates the evolution of the character over the years. Longtime fans of the series will remember when Matt (and the viewers) first met Festus, he was not exactly trusting of law enforcement, and he was not above breaking the law when it suited his needs. By this time, he is fully committed to his duties as a Deputy U. S. Marshal and all the responsibilities that come with the job.
The only problem with this episode is it loses momentum about halfway through once the standoff between Carpenter and his men and Festus and Newly begins. However, it makes a nice recovery with a surprise ending, which is not that much of a surprise for anyone paying close attention.
Jesse, Festus, Carpenter
crabbylucy21 May 2023
ABSOLUTELY the best performance I have EVER seen for Jim Davis! Ken Curtis is always true to his heart! Buck Taylor as usual is the one who does the right thing. I wouldn't want anybody other than Festus and Newly to have my back!
We've watched from the first episode (as adults) and have been so very impressed with the whole series. I wish there were more series WORTHY of 20 seasons with 30+ episodes per season!
Matt, Doc, Kitty, Festus, and Newly are the magic of the series.
The characters and values of the series are legendary! Long live universal values! Long live the Gunsmoke characters and values!
We've watched from the first episode (as adults) and have been so very impressed with the whole series. I wish there were more series WORTHY of 20 seasons with 30+ episodes per season!
Matt, Doc, Kitty, Festus, and Newly are the magic of the series.
The characters and values of the series are legendary! Long live universal values! Long live the Gunsmoke characters and values!
One of the best episodes of Gunsmoke ever made.
mskaggs-9792424 May 2023
My review title says it all. Once in a great while there is a television series that airs an episode that gives a valid reason for it being on the air. This was one of those episodes. The 1973 episode "Jesse" had a realistic story and Brock Peters and Ken Curtis gave one of their best performances. I will never understand why they were not nominated for Emmys that year. (Curtis for Best Supporting Actor and Peters for best Guest Actor) Sometimes the Emmy voters just get it wrong. If I know it's going to be aired on either Me-TV or TV Land I make it a point to watch. It is a true western classic.
An interesting story made uninteresting by writers.
kfo949416 August 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Jesse is a escaped convict has been hired by Dave Carpenter to cook on cattle drives with the checkered past. Jesse is a black person that the writers make out to be a peaceful meek person that was unjustly taken advantage of during his trial and conviction. It so happens that Festus, an old friend of Jesse, and Newly happen up on Jesse without knowledge of his escape.
Not long the meeting is interrupted by US Marshal Halstead that has papers for the arrest of Jesse for the escape. Jesse goes without a problem but Mr Carpenter is outraged to the point of getting Jesse back and sending him to Mexico in order to avoid the charges.
During an altercation, Marshal Halstead gets shot and ends up dead. Now Festus is torn between his friendship with Jesse and his duty as a deputy US marshal.
The conflict with Festus is an interesting plot with his loyalty to Jesse and his loyalty to justice. The story did get long as we are subjected to at least 20 minutes of a stand-off between lawmen and the cattlemen with little if any action. Thus making the Festus conflict less interesting than could have been.
Not long the meeting is interrupted by US Marshal Halstead that has papers for the arrest of Jesse for the escape. Jesse goes without a problem but Mr Carpenter is outraged to the point of getting Jesse back and sending him to Mexico in order to avoid the charges.
During an altercation, Marshal Halstead gets shot and ends up dead. Now Festus is torn between his friendship with Jesse and his duty as a deputy US marshal.
The conflict with Festus is an interesting plot with his loyalty to Jesse and his loyalty to justice. The story did get long as we are subjected to at least 20 minutes of a stand-off between lawmen and the cattlemen with little if any action. Thus making the Festus conflict less interesting than could have been.
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