The Hanging (31 Dec. 1966)

Dodge City is the site where notorious outlaw, Billy Boles, is set to hang. However, the town is occupied by people determined for their own kind of justice.

Director:

Bernard L. Kowalski

Writers:

Calvin Clements Jr. (story), Calvin Clements Sr. (teleplay)

Stars:

James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
James Arness	...	Matt Dillon
Milburn Stone	...	Doc
Amanda Blake	...	Kitty
Ken Curtis	...	Festus
Roger Ewing	...	Thad
Edmund Hashim	...	Saline
Glenn Strange	...	Sam
Hank Patterson	...	Hank
Charles Wagenheim	...	Halligan
Ted Jordan	...	Burke
Byron Foulger	...	Ollie
Tom Stern	...	Billy Boles
Kit Smythe	...	Ivy
Robert Knapp	...	Warren
Henry Darrow	...	Oro

Storyline

Dodge City is the site where notorious outlaw, Billy Boles, is set to hang. However, the town is occupied by people determined for their own kind of justice.

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 December 1966 (USA)

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Festus: Shore would save a lotta fuss 'n bother if we shoot 'im now, Matthew.

User Reviews

A crowded cast with a crowded plot

This episode begins in a violent manner as we see a man break into this home and shoot down the man and wife right before dinner. The man, Billy Boles, is an escaped murderer and is being pursued by Matt, Festus and Thad. The shots alert the three law-men and before long Billy Boles is in custody and being taking back to Dodge City.

Upon arriving back in Dodge, Matt gets a telegraph from the district judge advising that the hanging for Mr Boles will happen in Dodge City at the earliest convenience. Thus Dodge City gets ready for a hanging.

The only problem with this scenario is that the town has been invaded by people on both sides of the Billy Boles case. There are people that want Billy Boles dead ASAP due to the heartache he has caused in other places. Plus you have some people that have come to Dodge to spring the criminal out of jail before the hanging. And thus the plot of the episode as which side may succeed in their part of the bargain.

This really is not a bad plot idea - but seemed a bit crowded. There were some good actors that got very limited screen time due to the many characters in the show. The plot was interesting but had too many people fighting for different causes that makes the entire show seem slow. And with all of this, they sped through a nice sub-plot concerning the person that was the 'hangman' which would have been a good show by itself.

Too many characters with too many ideas.