Time of the Jackals (13 Jan. 1969)
"Gunsmoke" Time of the Jackals (original title)

Matt and Festus shoot it out with an outlaw who was a member of the infamous Jess Trevor gang, particularly notorious for murder and mayhem. Matt finally kicks in the outlaw's door and ... See full summary »

Director:

Vincent McEveety

Writers:

Richard Fielder (story), Paul Savage (teleplay)

Stars:

James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
James Arness	...	Matt Dillon
Milburn Stone	...	Dr. Galen 'Doc' Adams
Amanda Blake	...	Kitty Russell
Ken Curtis	...	Festus Haggen
Leslie Nielsen	...	Jess Trevor
Beverly Garland	...	Leona
Edmund Hashim	...	Tim Jackson
Buck Taylor	...	Newly O'Brien
Kipp Whitman	...	Daggett
Charles Maxwell	...	Del Rainey
Jonathan Goldsmith	...	Lucas Brant (as Jonathan Lippe)
Robert Knapp	...	Dan Foley
Sid Haig	...	Cawkins
James Nusser	...	Louie Pheeters
Glenn Strange	...	Sam Noonan

Storyline

Matt and Festus shoot it out with an outlaw who was a member of the infamous Jess Trevor gang, particularly notorious for murder and mayhem. Matt finally kicks in the outlaw's door and shoots him. The outlaw lives for a few minutes, and Matt asks him why he deserted the Trevor gang. The dying outlaw reveals that he left at the request of Trevor's girlfriend, who was also shocked by his cruelty and wishes to leave. The woman is then shown lying in a corner, having accidentally been shot by Matt. To his horror, Matt recognizes the woman as Leona, a woman he knew and loved before he came to Dodge City. Guilt-ridden, he brings Leona back to Dodge and learns her story: she had drifted after leaving Matt, turning to prostitution and hooking up with various gang members, closing with Trevor himself. Trevor has learned of Leona's defection and puts out a murder contract on her. While Matt searches for Trevor (and Trevor orders a hit on Matt), Kitty (who is nursing Leona) struggles with her ...

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 January 1969 (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

User Reviews

Fine acting makes this episode watchable

Leslie Nielsen plays Jess Trevor who is an outlaw that rides along the Kansas outback with his gang and steal and kills at will. One of his so-called girls named Leona has left the gang and ends up shot by Matt during a gunfight where one of the gang members ends up dead.

Leona has a history since she use to be Matt's girlfriend before he becoming Marshal. But for the last fifteen years she has turned herself into a toy for all types of men including the outlaw gang.

Trevor now wants Matt killed so that he can loot the area around Dodge before another Marshal is appointed. So he forces an old gang member to kill Matt as he sleeps. But when things go wrong Trevor is arrested and placed in jail. But it will not be long before the gang gets word of his arrest and plan to break him out at any cost. Plus Leona must decide to stand up for herself or live back with the outlaws.

Even with another side plot that includes Ms Kitty having suspicion of Leona and Matt- the story really did not cause much interest. The bright spot was Leslie Nielson playing the bad-guy that was ruthless in dealing with people. The acting in this episode is top notch.