Gunsmoke (TV Series) Thursday's Child (1965) User Reviews

The great 'Jean Arthur' is excellent in this interesting episode.

[kfo9494 · 9/10 · 6 February 2013]

The wonderful Jean Arthur is again at her best but this time on the small screen as she is the mother of an outlaw on the run. But there is much more to this story.

Julie Blane (Jean Arthur) comes into Dodge on a stagecoach. Little did she know at the time but her old friend Kitty runs the Long Branch. Kitty invites her inside for a drink and a room where we learn that Julie is there to delivery her son's baby. But the catch, that no one knows, is that her son is a outlaw and on the run for killing an army pay-master and the delivery will have to be secret.

When she gets to the hideout of her son, Lonnie Blane, the mother is very sick. Julie says that they must have a doctor or she will die. Lonnie's partner goes and kidnaps Doc and forces him to ride out to the hideout. During the delivery the mother dies and it appears that Lonnie wants nothing to do with the baby. But may want to use the baby as a get-away hostage if the law finds him.

It will be a hard task for his mother to take. But she has to find a way to put an end to the running and make sure the baby is safe. And the results will be satisfying to the viewer.

The episode was very well written. The story was entertaining and the characters interesting. Really nothing bad in this program. Was a pleasure to see Jean Arthur working in front of the camera again.

Notable Cast and Director

[wdavidreynolds · 7/10 · 11 January 2021]

Julie Blane is an old friend of Kitty Russell from Kitty's formative days in New Orleans. According to Kitty, Julie taught her everything she knows about running a saloon. Julie pays a visit to Miss Kitty in Dodge City. All of Kitty's friends take an instant liking to Julie.

However, Julie's primary reason for visiting the Dodge City area is not to visit an old friend. She has traveled to Kansas to visit her son, Lonnie and his wife, who is expecting a baby. Lonnie is a wanted outlaw, although he is wanted under a different identity, and no one other than Julie and Lonnie know his true identity. Lonnie, his wife, and Lonnie's sidekick are all hiding in a shack somewhere outside Dodge.

When Lonnie's wife goes into labor, complications quickly arise. Julie had met Doc Adams in Dodge, and she insists that his assistance is required for the delivery. Lonnie sends his sidekick to Dodge to essentially kidnap Doc and bring him to the shack.

The biggest point of conflict in this story is that Lonnie Blane is a petulant narcissist. He doesn't really care about anyone else, including his mother and his baby. He is only concerned with self preservation. As a result, Julie and Doc find themselves more or less hostages held by Lonnie.

By all historical accounts, many actors valued the opportunity to appear in a Gunsmoke episode. Season 10 of Gunsmoke featured actors such as John Drew Barrymore, Theodore Bikel, and Dennis Hopper. This episode is notable because Jean Arthur was enticed from a 12-year acting hiatus to appear as the Julie Blane character. Supposedly her appearance here led to her getting her own series, The Jean Arthur Show, which only lasted a few episodes. Arthur had been an actress of some renown earlier in her career with starring roles in films such as Shane, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and -- one of my personal favorites -- You Can't Take It With You. Arthur was reportedly Frank Capra's favorite actress.

Despite an obvious attempt to portray Arthur in the best possible light, her performance here would probably not be all that notable if not for her Hollywood status. There is a clear attempt to develop a romantic connection between Julie and Doc, but the chemistry never quite truly comes to fruition. Likewise, her onscreen relationship with Scott Marlowe, who plays Lonnie, comes across as stiff and superficial.

Another extraordinary aspect to this episode is that it was the second of two Gunsmoke episodes directed by the highly regarded director Joseph H. Lewis, who directed many episodes of the series The Rifleman and, later, The Big Valley. (In all fairness, the appreciation for Lewis developed in more recent years long after his career had ended.) While this does not rise to the level of some of the best work Lewis did, it does contain several familiar Lewis elements:

• Low or unusual camera angles in several scenes
• A long take inside the shack as Doc moves around the table
• The funeral scene in particular is vintage Lewis, especially when the perspective changes so the viewer is looking out the door of the shack at the people gathered around the grave. This scene includes another long take as the characters walk toward the doorway from the gravesite.
• Long shots through trees as various characters approach the shack.
• Shots of people walking down stairways.

Some of the plot elements in this story recall some of Lewis' films, especially the film noir classic Gun Crazy. (To explore some of Lewis' best work, check out his films Gun Crazy, The Big Combo, and Terror in a Texas Town.) Some of the episodes of The Rifleman he directed are also highly regarded, especially "The Deserter." I think his other Gunsmoke episode, "One Killer On Ice" is superior to "Thursday's Child."

Scott Marlowe, a familiar face that appeared in four Gunsmoke episodes, tended to play the same sort of self-obsessed character in every performance, and this episode is no exception.

In the final analysis, this is one of those episodes that would probably not be of any particular note if not for the cast and the director.

What's Wrong With Her Acting?

[janet-conant · 8/10 · 4 September 2022]

I saw this episode some time ago and thought the acting was believable. Why are so many reviewers dumping all over Arthur? I am good at spotting wooden acting as Gunsmoke seems to feature characters that aren't convincing but not here. When Julie tells Doc "You're not old, you're just lovely" it's from the heart. As for when her son slaps his mother, after assisting Doc to run, her reaction was in keeping with a mother to a son, shock and disbelief that he would actually do that. Her hurt shows in her face how her son is so heartless.

I remember seeing Arthur doing a screen test as Scarlett for Gone With the Wind and it was as good as most. She was wonderful in Shane and the other performances mentioned. I don't see how she was more interested in her appearance than her purpose.

Doc and Festus are wonderful together and always enjoy their bickering. Milburn Stone gives one of his best putting himself in peril to get an infant help. I don't agree that Lon isn't pulling his weight he's rather good as a selfish, uncaring son. However I don't see why several reviewers find fault with Arthur as she was convincing to me and I watched looking for bad acting. Didn't see it. When she points that gun at her son saving Doc and ready to kill Lon she shows great conviction.

I was just waiting for someone to make up a bottle for that starving baby.

Brilliant performance by Jean Arthur

[montmorencysr · 10/10 · 23 May 2023]

How wonderful it is to see the subtle brilliance of Jean Arthur working with Doc. The two of them act off of each other like only 2 pros could. There are those on this platform that try to hawk their knowledge (or lack thereof) of Miss Arthur's acting chops only to disclose their novice opinions. Her brilliance is an example of "less is more" and the subtle nuances of her reactions are a testament to her knowledge of the camera. Make no mistake - this is a wonderful performance given by Ms. Arthur aided with a great script and a masterful pair up with Doc. Thankfully this has brought us one of the great Gunsmoke episodes in its 20 years. This is a master class in how legendary talent often make the most of what they are given. It's so nice to see performances where the principles are deeply devoted to providing their audience with the highest of quality in entertainment.

The great Jean Arthur!

[horton-raymond · 8/10 · 4 September 2022]

The great Jean Arthur! A real treat to see her here, after several years out of the acting business. She made so many great movies! And she turns in a very moving performance here, showing her trademark vulnerability. Scott Richards, playing her criminal son, is rather one dimensional. Good episode!

There is a BUG on this site that tells me I haven't reached 600 characters, so my review is too short. So, I'm just going to repeat the above and hope that it works this time!

The great Jean Arthur! A real treat to see her here, after several years out of the acting business. She made so many great movies! And she turns in a very moving performance here, showing her trademark vulnerability. Scott Richards, playing her criminal son, is rather one dimensional. Good episode!

Sadly, Jean Arthur flopped

[fanoftcm · 2/10 · 20 May 2019]

Jean Arthur gave stellar performances in a handful of films from the 1930's. Most notably, she successfully, starred in films such as, "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington", "You Can't Take it With You", "Talk of the Town", and "The More the Merrier". She also gave a wonderful performance in the 1953 film, "Shane". With the exception of these performances however, Arthur had a tendency to provide horribly flat, one dimensional, interpretations of the characters that she portrayed. That is sadly, the sort of performance that she gave in this episode of Gunsmoke.

After viewing this episode, and being dismayed by her rigid, flat, performance, I conducted a cursory review of her online biographies. I was not surprised, to discover that Arthur suffered from debilitating, stage fright, which resulted in a plethora of career setbacks. Somehow, directors like the legendary Frank Capra, and George Stevens, were able to get Arthur to deliver outstanding, and memorable, performances. Without their directorial supervision, she seemed to be more preoccupied with concerns about how she might look, than with emoting the true feelings and thoughts, that her character would have had. It shows. In an example from this episode of Gunsmoke, after being struck in the face by her son, she recoils briefly, and she then, stares at her son flatly, with absolutely no emotion. The result of such instances, is that her performance, and therefore, the episode, made no sense.

This episode, marked Arthur's first performance after a 12 year hiatus. Her extreme stage fright and insecurities, resulted in her being very obviously, preoccupied with things, other than the role. In addition to being distracted by her performance, I found myself, distracted by her appearance. Whether by way of plastic surgery, or the tricks of the make-up artist, she (like too many actors), was seemingly, desperate, to not show her true age. I always, find it sad, and distracting, when actors do everything in their power, to appear, perpetually young. I admire, those actors who are unafraid of aging. They are unfortunately, in the minority.

Jean Arthur's performance in this episode of Gunsmoke, could easily be used as a teaching resource, to help upcoming actors, realize what happens when they are focused on their appearance, to the detriment of being embodied in their roles. As for the overall legacy of Jean Arthur, I hope that anyone reading this review, will take the time to view the films that I mentioned at the outset of this review, for in those films, she was radiant, and she gave a stellar performance, in each one of them. When she got out of her own way, Jean Arthur, was a wonderful actor!

AWFUL

[maskers-87126 · 4/10 · 29 August 2018]

Jean Arthur was so terrible in her stagey overwrought performance it was nearly impossible to endure. It wasn't helped by the improbable storyline. I think Ive seen every episode at least once and this was one of two worst on record.