I've been watching "Gunsmoke" occasionally, and am so impressed with its high quality that I kinda wish I had nothing better to do than sit back and watch every episode.
The synopsis and the other review give a good idea of "Talbot"'s plot. What they do not reveal is how beautifully written, acted, and directed this episode is. Anthony Zerbe gives a finely nuanced performance as a bad man who longs to turn his life around. Salome Jens (Zerbe's real-life sister-in-law!) is similarly effective as a woman who doesn't fully trust the man who killed her husband, but recognizes that this could be her only chance for a "good" relationship. And though the story could have turned out in any number of ways, there is a happy ending, sans schmaltz.
As strange as it might seem, the best words to describe this episode are "gentle" and "delicate". Compared to the garish "Technicolor" of "The Big Valley" and similar cheesy Westerns, this episode is a watercolor.
By the way, this is a "Gunsmoke" episode that acknowledges how down-on-their-luck women were obliged to take up prostitution when they had no other choice. (Note how "The Rifleman" 3.32, "The Reluctant Bride", averts its gaze in a similar situation.) As far as I know, such recognition wasn't common in this era of "wholesome" television.
The synopsis and the other review give a good idea of "Talbot"'s plot. What they do not reveal is how beautifully written, acted, and directed this episode is. Anthony Zerbe gives a finely nuanced performance as a bad man who longs to turn his life around. Salome Jens (Zerbe's real-life sister-in-law!) is similarly effective as a woman who doesn't fully trust the man who killed her husband, but recognizes that this could be her only chance for a "good" relationship. And though the story could have turned out in any number of ways, there is a happy ending, sans schmaltz.
As strange as it might seem, the best words to describe this episode are "gentle" and "delicate". Compared to the garish "Technicolor" of "The Big Valley" and similar cheesy Westerns, this episode is a watercolor.
By the way, this is a "Gunsmoke" episode that acknowledges how down-on-their-luck women were obliged to take up prostitution when they had no other choice. (Note how "The Rifleman" 3.32, "The Reluctant Bride", averts its gaze in a similar situation.) As far as I know, such recognition wasn't common in this era of "wholesome" television.