Gunsmoke (TV Series) Mail Drop (1967) User Reviews

Even an outlaw can love his children

[headhunter46 · 8/10 · 14 September 2014]

Billy, a boy of about 13 becomes disillusioned with boarding schedule in the east and travels to Dodge in the hope of meeting his father who sends a letter from Dodge every year reminding him of his birthday. The father might be absent from the boys life but he still cares enough to send that letter every year. The boys mother has died so he feels he prefers to now be with his father, whom he has not seen in years.

Matt and Festus try to hide from Billy the fact that his father is an outlaw wanted in many states. The story line is a bit predictable, but the actors did very well with the script.

The father just HAS to see his son and gets caught in the process. There is a jail break and a sad turn of events, but the episode ends on a good note with Billy going on to improve his lot in life.

Eddie way too old

[gary-64659 · 8/10 · 3 October 2019]

Child star Eddie Hodges plays young boy Billy, and is made to carry this episode by being the focus of the script in most scenes. He falls some considerable way short of pulling it off -- mainly because the task was impossible. When this screened he was within a month of turning 20, and it stuck out like a sore thumb playing a little kid whose gestures, actions and reactions indicated an age of, say, 13 at most. Scenes where he grabs Festus and sobs on his chest are awkward to say the least. His pop is shocked he made it from Ohio on his own, so he could be playing a subteen -- with producers trying to ring the last juice out of Eddie's bygone child stardom. There was miscasting here too, with half-sober-half-sweet-faced Eddie having to explain to everyone how he had misbehaved back at school. In my opinion, John Anderson too should have been much harsher as an outlaw dad, befitting being wanted for "rustling and murder in every state west of the Mississippi" (Matt's words); his turnaround to sacrifice his take of the rustling hardly rings true.

"I wanna be a cowboy and ride the range with m' pa!"

[grizzledgeezer · 7/10 · 17 July 2015]

Another rather tepid episode.

John Anderson makes his annual "Gunsmoke" appearance (this time as a murderer and cattle thief) who's sent his son to boarding school to keep him away from trouble. The son is played by Eddie Hodges, who's probably best-remembered as the kid who lisped through "Gary, Indiana" in "The Music Man", and Frank Sinatra's son in "A Hole in the Head". He was a good actor, and acquits himself well here.

The problem is the script's treatment of the situation. A child's coming to grips with his affectionate father being a notorious criminal is fraught with possibilities for high drama -- and tawdry sentimentality. "Gunsmoke"'s tendency to underplay (which is almost always the right way to go) results in this case in draining most of the emotion out of the story. We expect a stronger give-and-take between father and son, but don't get it. Anderson's death scene is perfunctory, and not particularly moving.

This is another "okay" episode that doesn't deliver anything not in the preceding description. It's not a must-see.

PS: I wonder what the kid is going to tell his friends at boarding school...

The script had no flare and had little entertainment value,

[kfo9494 · 4/10 · 11 March 2013]

This episode begins when a teenage boy named Billy Johnson comes to Dodge looking for his father. He says that he gets a letter every year about this time from his father addressed from Dodge. Since he has never seen his father he asks the Marshal if he had seen him and shows a picture. Marshal Dillon recognizes him as an outlaw named Roberts.

Sure enough Roberts is in town and comes to visit his son. But Marshal finds out and arrest Roberts. Now the young boy believes he was used for bait by the Marshal and vows to break his father out of jail.

I never got into this story. It was predictable and not very entertaining. I could not get past the fact that the boy had never seen his father and upon learning that he was an outlaw wanted to ride off with his unknown father to Montana. It made no sense.

The actors Eddie Hodges and John Anderson did all they could to bring excitement into the show but it was the script that pulled the episode down. The redeeming quality of the show was the forlorn ending but it could not have saved the program. Just did not have the flare that other episode possess.

Unusually Poor Execution

[wdavidreynolds · 5/10 · 25 March 2021]

Young Billy Johnson comes to Dodge City to visit his father. Billy's father has been sending Billy letters postmarked from Dodge City on an annual basis. Billy has been attending boarding school, but he has grown disillusioned with school, and he longs to see his father.

Billy thinks his father's name is Will Johnson. He does not know his father is the notorious outlaw Bill Roberts. Roberts is wanted for cattle rustling and murder in several states. When Billy shows Matt Dillon a picture of his Dad, the Marshal instantly recognizes Roberts.

Matt and Festus Haggen do everything they can to keep Billy from finding out his father is a wanted man. Since they allow Billy to hang around the Dodge City jail, it is only a matter of time until Billy discovers the truth. When the outlaw father gets word his son has come to Dodge City, he attempts a clandestine meeting at Ma Smalley's Board House where the boy is staying. The meeting gives Matt the opportunity to arrest Roberts.

The remainder of the episode addresses Billy's conflicted feelings between his loyalty to his father and his friendship with Matt and Festus, while Roberts is conflicted with wanting to be with his son and the dawning realization that it is not in Billy's best interest.

Normally, the Gunsmoke casting is outstanding, but the main characters in this tale are poorly cast, poorly written, and poorly directed. The role of Billy is played by actor Eddie Hodges who, as others have pointed out, was nearly 20 years old when this episode was shot. Of course, it is not unusual for Hollywood to use actors to play much younger roles, but Hodges looks more like a young adult than a kid. The scenes where he attempts to portray immaturity and naivete are awkward and lack believability.

John Anderson, who is normally great in everything he does, plays the outlaw Bill Roberts in this story. Roberts is supposed to be a hardened, calloused killer and thief, but he comes across as a somewhat sympathetic, pitiable character here, especially at the end of the story. (I think Anderson is perfectly capable of playing a tough criminal. It just doesn't happen here.)

However, I do think Bing Russell's performance as one of the Roberts gang is notable. His character's callous disregard for everyone that interferes with what he wants makes it easy to believe he is a notorious outlaw. We needed more of that demeanor from Bill Roberts. This is one of Russell's eight Gunsmoke appearances.

It isn't often the casting and performances are a problem with this series. In fact, there are many episodes where an otherwise mediocre story is lifted by excellent acting. Unfortunately, this is one of those outlier episodes where the overall execution is not up to the usual standards of excellence.

Homely Kid

[TtheK2 · 5/10 · 25 July 2022]

I didn't realize Eddie Hodges plays Billy in this episode. I wondered why such a homely kid was cast in the role. As others have commented, he was too old. Looked like a short adult playing a little boy. Not believable, and he lost the cuteness of his youth. Story is OK except final scene. Don't know why Billy was so cheerful about going back to boarding school.