Gunsmoke (TV Series) Sweet Billy, Singer of Songs (1966) User Reviews

Some of the dialog is quite funny in this non-serious episode

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 31 March 2013]

If you are looking for a serious drama then this episode is not for you. This is an all out comedy that was actually very well written when you think of all the dialog that was used in this hour show. When going into this show knowing that this is a fun expression of entertainment then this episode is not bad at all.

It begins when three nephews of Festus come into Dodge. At first Festus believes that they are there to settle a score which involves shooting his ear off. Not the entire ear but the hangy-down part. (this refers us back to a season 10 episode called 'Eliab's Aim') However Lambert, Emery and Sweet Billy Haggan are in town to find Sweet Billy a wife. The only qualification for marrying is that the woman must be able to read and write. Something most all men Haggans cannot do.

After a few strike-outs, Sweet Billy meets up with Orabelle Beal. They decide to marry but Orabelle's father, Pony Beal (Slim Pickens), demands a $500 dowry. There is nothing else that the Haggans can do except try to work for the money. With Festus's help they start a freight company that seems to be doing well. Then all of the sudden Pony Beal is accused of steal the Haggen's mules which only leads to more shenanigans by the entire cast. Will Sweet Billy and Orabelle ever be able to marry?

This episode is by no means a classic episode of 'Gunsmoke'. But it gives a chance to let the cast loosen up and have a good time. And really some of the lines in the show are actually very humorous. Listen to the exchange when the Haggans try to hang Pony Beal- it is quite funny. The bad part is the lines go by so fast that it is hard to comprehend. Nice show and a perfect cast on all the parts.

I Give It a Ten For Haggen (& Pickens) Content.

[atomicis · 10/10 · 13 August 2021]

Surprised to see the low rating here. If you watch Gunsmoke, you gotta like Festus. This is a great Festus-centric episode, and yes it is leaned toward the comical, but c'mon, if you dislike Festus' character you shouldn't be watching (or rating) Gunsmoke... For the one reviewer who wondered if people like this existed back then, I got some news for you... They still do. I worked for a while in Hartsville, Tennessee. Only about 45 minutes from Nashville, Hartsville is in Trousdale County (borders on the infamous Macon County) and is known for the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country, as well as its prolific meth production. There are people there who speak WORSE than the Haggens in this episode. They point and guffaw at my "Yankee accent"! Believe it or not, but it's true.

Brooke Bundy is so beautiful and sexy she makes the ep

[gregkent-67629 · 9/10 · 13 February 2021]

This story concerns three of Festus Haggen's cousins trying to find a wife for the youngest of the three. They first try for Diane Ladd's comely saloon girl but she is very turned off and upset by talk of marriage to a stranger. For a short time the ep is bad because Ladd exits the scene so fast.They soon discover Brooke Bundy and she is a dream come true and she wishes to marry the young man.

I do not know as much about Gunsmoke as about three posters here. None the less this is a highly entertaining if uneven ep ( I cannot figure out whether one character is guilty or not at the end). Watch and enjoy.

THE BEST! I love this epsidoent, in fact its my favorite.

[tamika-93754 · 10/10 · 11 January 2024]

I absolutely cant stand the typical Matt gets trapped in the desert, or old man dies alone epsidoers that make no sense at all.

This episode doest not insult the intelligence. Like the episodes where the bad guys simply walk up to someone defending their farm and take a gun right out of their hands, or Matt goes alone to capture dangerous people.

It's cute, with a lovely couple, and it's light hearted. People cant be killed daily. People dont get kidnapped daily either. And Fester is my favorite character. If more episodes were like this, the show would have gone for 42 years. Cute plot too...

Great Cast, Silly Story

[wdavidreynolds · 5/10 · 12 February 2021]

Once again, we have a Gunsmoke episode that features members of Festus Haggen's family. This story harkens back to Season 10, Episode 23, "Eliab's Aim." Eliab Haggen comes to Dodge City with the intent of shooting off "the hangy-down part" of Festus's ear. In that episode, Festus manages to negotiate a "King's X" for a year with his nephew Eliab -- a one year promise not to shoot Festus's ear in return for a pair of fancy boots Festus had acquired.

Festus's nephews Sweet Billy, Emery, and Lambert arrive in Dodge with the boots Festus had given Eliab. Eliab has given the boots to Sweet Billy. When Festus first sees his nephews, he instantly assumes they are in Dodge to shoot off his ear, but they explain they are there to convince their uncle to help Sweet Billy find a woman to marry. Since Festus is the only "big city Haggen," they are sure he can help. The primary requirement for this would-be bride is that she can read and write, because Haggen men lack that ability.

Unfortunately, Festus does not have a lot of luck finding "the best she-male in Dodge City" for his nephew. Orabelle Beal sees Sweet Billy around Dodge City and they quickly become engaged -- only after Emery and Lambert give their approval. The only remaining obstacle to Orabelle's and Sweet Billy's union is Orabelle's father, Pony Beal.

Pony Beal is not one to miss an opportunity for financial gain. While he agrees to allow Sweet Billy and Orabelle to marry, he demands a "dowry" of $500 -- $250 for readin' and $250 for writin'.

Festus and his nephews decide to start a freight business -- a "coperation" -- to try to earn the money to pay Pony. Of course, operating a business comes with some risk, especially when the business is operated by several Haggens and Pony Beal is involved.

There is quite a cast of great character actors involved in this episode. Emery Haggen is played by Shug Fisher in one of his 27 different Gunsmoke appearances. Fisher tended to always play the same character in anything where he was featured. Royal Dano, a veritable staple of television from its earliest days to the early 1990s, is Lambert Haggen. (Note: Dano would later play almost the same character, a bumbling goofball named Jefferson Dooley, in the Season 13 episode, "Hard Luck Henry." The difference is Dooley is an enemy of the Haggens.) Robert "Bob" Random is Sweet Billy in this story. Random appeared a few episodes earlier in Season 11 in "South Wind."

The great Slim Pickens makes his first Gunsmoke appearance since Season 9's "Once A Haggen" as Pony Beal. Brooke Bundy, who guest starred in many television shows over the years, plays Pony's daughter, Orabelle. Bundy had previously appeared in the excellent Season 9 episode, "The Magician."

There are two notable small roles included in this episode. Judy Carne plays Pearl, one of the women Festus targets for Sweet Billy (unfortunately, she couldn't read or write). Carne was married to Burt Reynolds around the time Reynolds was playing Quint Asper on Gunsmoke. They were divorced by the time this episode aired. Diane Ladd briefly appears in one scene as one of Kitty Russell's saloon girls and another of the possible Sweet Billy prospects, Lulu. Ladd was married to another occasional Gunsmoke actor, Bruce Dern, during this time. Their daughter is the acclaimed actress Laura Dern.

There is a likely historical error in this episode. In the scene in the restaurant where Pony and Orabelle Beal are first shown, Pony is eating what appears to be spaghetti. Spaghetti was rarely eaten in the United States during the time this episode is set, and it is highly unlikely it would have been served in a restaurant in Kansas. Pasta became more common in the U.S. after Italian immigrants arrived later in the 19th and early 20th century, and it only became more popular nationwide after World War II as soldiers returned from Europe where they had been exposed to pasta dishes.

This is another mildly entertaining episode, although I can certainly understand some people finding the attempts at humor annoying. I think the episode is worth watching for the excellent cast alone, but in the end, it falls far short of many of the better episodes in the series.

Thad is making $50 a month

[LukeCoolHand · 3/10 · 13 August 2021]

In this episode. Matt's deputy Thad Greenwood comments that he has 2 months pay coming so he can give $50 to Festus who is trying to raise $500 for one of his cousin's dowry. Matt , Kitty and Doc all pony up $50 too. When did everyone get so much money? Matt has said many times he only makes $8 a month and Doc claims he either gets no pay or gets paid chicken eggs for his services. So when did Thad start making WAY more than Matt?

Anyway I pretty much despise these silly, hillbilly talking 3 stooges' episodes.

I know the episodes will get better...

[championbc-99-5005 · 1/10 · 20 November 2014]

I am watching "Gunsmoke" unfold in chronological order, and since the series lasted 20 years, I am sure that the series did not stay in the ditch that it is in at the current time.

So many episodes leading up to this one in season 11 have attempted comedy and fallen short. "Three Stooges" humor does not work in "Gunsmoke," and that's what the last few episodes, including this one, have tried to do.

In other reviews, I have read that the original writers and producers had retired from writing this season, and I can tell that James Arness is tiring of the role, as he is only making disjointed cameos now. He is constantly involved with off-camera action, like taking horse thieves to Hays City, or other extended leaves.

Festus is a great character, and I am fascinated watching his character evolve, but I am sick of all the other Hagens who are inflicted on us. These relatives reminded me a lot of the Darling Family or Ernest T. Bass on "The Andy Griffith Show," though such things worked there.

The low point of this episode has become the low point of the entire series, I think. When Matt shows up, sitting behind Festus on his mule, Matt's feet nearly dragging the ground, I wonder how Arness even let this picture get to the silver screen. He looked ridiculous! That said, I know the series learned how to work around Arness' frequent absences and his declining involvement in the show, and they must have gotten better writers, because I remember some color episodes that were real classics.

But this one was silly, ridiculous, and insulting to the true fan of the "Gunsmoke" legacy. I think these transitional writers must have moved on, maybe to work on "My Mother the Car" or "Gilligan's Island." If they had stayed, "Gunsmoke" would never have reached 20 seasons.

If you skip this episode, and about three or four before it, you will miss nothing important. Be warned.

Worst Episode of the Series so far!

[daveiulee · 1/10 · 13 February 2021]

Good guest stars, totally wasted in the terrible episode. Gunsmoke doing a comedy show - why?

WORST EPISODE I HAVE SEEN TO THE END OF SEASON 11!!

[bdmax60 · 3/10 · 3 October 2022]

I have the complete 20 Season Set and have watched every episode to the end of Season 11 so far in chronological order. The half hour ones were the best and are much darker than the later ones. I like the relationship with Matt and Chester better than the one with Festus.

However, this is the only episode that I could not watch to the end as it was so silly. There have been other earlier episodes that were comedic and were ok, but this one was painful to watch. A good cast wasted.

I love 98% of the episodes that I have watched so far. Gunsmoke is still the best despite clunkers like this one.

Too many Haggens

[streetlight2 · 2/10 · 17 December 2020]

Were there really folks living in the mid to late1870s mimicked by Festus, and his relatives? Enough is enough. Then again, the early humanoids survived for a while replaced by more modern species.