Gunsmoke (TV Series) Joe Phy (1958) User Reviews

For once Matt doesn't think things through

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 27 August 2016]

Matt and Chester head to the town of Elkader to arrest a man for murder, a man who shot Matt in the shoulder in a drunken fog.

But they have a problem. There is a marshal there, Joe Phy, who has the reputation of being a gunslinger, and he runs a tight ship. It is so tight that their wanted guy would never actually come into town.

Matt notices some "tells" that make him believe that the marshal is a phony, so he gets one of the town drunks - who isn't drunk at the time - to call Phy out, to make him draw. As suspected, he is a fake and backs down. Once Phy is exposed though, the saloon turns into one of those drunken brawls in which people could get shot or at least bludgeoned. Matt can't expose himself as a marshal and stop the brawl or else the wanted murderer will not stop at Elkader.

Matt has a talk with Phy and it turns out he just always wanted to be a lawman, so he went west from Ohio and claimed he was one and people believed him. He turns out to have the best of intentions and a childlike demeanor.

In the end, Matt gets his man, and as he leaves Elkader with his one lawless prisoner, he wonders "What exactly have I done here?", as Phy's absence as lawman will mean that Elkader will have many more crimes and many more criminals than if he had just left things be. This is a rare case of Marshal Matt Dillon not thinking things completely through.

Paul Richards is great as the brave "lawman" called out and turning yellow as a result. Nobody could sweat and go pale like he did. Morey Amsterdam as the drunk put up to calling out Phy as a fraud is unrecognizable as his makeup has him looking quite scruffy. I didn't know who he was at all until I saw the credits.

And three days after this episode first aired I was born. Happy almost birthday to me.

Paul Richards Classic

[jamdifo · 8/10 · 10 February 2013]

This episode works best when Paul Richards is in it. He's the same actor who was in the very 1st episode of Gunsmoke, in which he out drew Dillon and almost killed him. In this episode, Richards plays the opposite, a marshal who talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk.

Dillon almost gets killed in this one as he gets shot from behind by a drunk criminal at the very beginning of the episode. Luckily Dillon only gets shot in the shoulder (so far 6th time in the series he's been shot).

This leads him to Elkader to catch the criminal. This is when it gets good, as Dillon first hears of Joe Phy, then meets him. The whole middle part of this episode is great. Paul Richards acting is perfect, how at first he acts as a menacing marshal, then an embarrassed fraud. His whole motive of acting like a marshal was he really was like a little kid and Richards conveys that convincingly.

The end when Dillon gets the criminal is not very suspenseful. Joe Phy was all this episode needed.

Matt suspects the lawman in Elkader is not what he seems

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 24 June 2013]

There is a gunfight at the beginning and ending of this episode that was some of the most horrible filmed scenes in the entire run of the series. But the part between the opening and closing scene is a solid gold performance by everyone involved.

Right at the beginning of the show a drunk criminal named Carey Post shoots Matt. Matt returns fire but is unable to injure the now fleeing Post. Matt knows that Post lives near Elkader and after recovering from his wound rides with Chester to apprehend the criminal.

Now here is when the story gets interesting. When Marshal Dillon arrives in Elkader he is surprised to hear that the town has a US Marshal named Joe Phy with the reputation of being a fast with his gun. But Marshal Dillon suspects that Joe is not really what he claims to be and gets help from a local drunk to prove his point.

Paul Richards does an outstanding job of playing all the emotions that came with a character like Joe Phy. The way Richards used his look and voice help the viewer to believe that were actually standing in Elkader watching the plot unfold. A wonderful episode that was a surprising watch.

Who's Gonna Call My Bluff

[dougdoepke · 22 July 2007]

Unusual story from the fertile imagination of writer John Meston. Nonethrless, the opening scene is poorly staged, the gunplay clumsily done-- good thing for Matt and Chester that gunmen were such lousy shots. The plot picks up as soon as Paul Richards arrives. Few actors of the time were better able to convey unhinged menace or nervous weakness than Richards. He had that natural air of unpredictability that made his roles especially interesting to watch. Too bad he succumbed to an early death. Morey Amsterdam, later of the Dick Van Dyke Show, is almost unrecognizable as Cicero, the barfly. Still, he plays the grizzled part well. There's some suspense as we try to figure out the phony marshal and what he's up to. Except for the opening and closing scenes, this is a pretty good entry. (In passing-- note the rather dismal view the screenplay adopts toward self-regulation. It makes clear that without a strong central figure to enforce the law, anarchy is the inevitable result. Left to their own devices, men, at least, are inherently destructive. This amounts to a premise behind many Western screenplays and is more in evidence here than usual.)

HATE to criticize my beloved Gunsmoke but the ENDING imho SUCKED!

[birdgoog · 9/10 · 15 August 2020]

I LOVE Gunsmoke. Guess it's the fact that i enjoyed this episode so much that bums me out. i tried really hard to rationalize it but imho the ending SUCKED! Dillon told Joe Phy if he continued to wear a gun he'd end up getting shot. Ok, i get that and i agreed. So what's to regret? i understand that now the town was no longer gonna be peaceful BUT (according to Matt himself) by having Joe Phy "called out" and exposed as a fraud, the REAL marshal basically saved Joe's life! Eventually some ACTUAL bad guy gunman was gonna find him out. Again i completely agree. So i just don't get the ending. Marshal Dillon got the sneaky bad guy who shot him and was wanted for murder. He had to bust Joe so he wouldn't someday be killed. i mean, like, shouldn't that be a "YAYYY!?!" Anyways, how the F shall i rate this episode?! imho it was a 10 ... until the very end! ... Ok. So basically one minute out of a great half hour show? Yeah, that shouldn't cost that much, right? i give it a 9 and pretend that the poopy ending (with Matt being regretful at what he HAD to do-save a life FFS!) never even happened! ... So Matt and Chester galloped our of town smiling and joking. PROUD of doing the RIGHT THING! ...

There now, isn't that better?? 😬

Solid Episode.

[jdcoates · 9/10 · 22 February 2019]

Another episode that illustrates what made this a legendary western; drama, unflinching honesty, and toxic-masculinity.

Phy (the only thing missing is ON)

[darbski · 9/10 · 10 August 2017]

Neat little episode with Matt and sidekick Chester going after Carey Post who grazed Matt with a gunshot some weeks before the two ride into a town managed by a fellow who claims to be a U.S. Marshal.Of course, Matt realizes he isn't, and puts Cicero Grimes up to the task of calling him out and humiliating him if front of the so-called town. It's a poor excuse for one, but it works, I guess. Several days later, Post shows up, Matt busts him, lessons learned.

Just a couple things: Why didn't Matt take the badge from Joe after he confessed his sins? Why didn't he give him back his gun? Even if he wasn't really a lawman, it was still his property. How did Joe get out of town? Cicero Grimes was the name used by Richard Boone in a very fine western written by Elmore Leonard called "Hombre". The novel in 1961, the movie in 1967. Both are excellent, and available from Amazon. The Cicero in Hombre is a galaxy away from the one in this show, however. Boone was absolutely deadly in his powerful portrayal of a bad man.

When Carey Post rides into Elkader, he's on possibly the most beautiful Paint or Appaloosa I've ever seen. Also, in this episode, it was great acting, a good story, and an ending that was necessary; it told of exactly HOW the term Buffaloed came to be. Look it up, under Wyatt Earp.

Grrrrr!

[Johnny_Hing · 7/10 · 27 October 2013]

A good solid episode, as usual. One quip though: if I hadn't have just watched Season 2's episode called "Brush at Elkader", I might have given this a 9. You see, in this episode, one of the locals in Elkader asks Matt (accompanied by Chester) if he's been to Elkader before. He says no, that this is the first time he's ever been there. And, this is reinforced by the fact that no one seems to know him or realize that he is the Marshall. Yet, he and Chester were both there just a year earlier. John Meston was the writer of both episodes, so I'm not sure what he was thinking. I would have liked to have seen more continuity in some of the episodes, instead of the writers/directors assuming that the viewers have short memories when it comes to previous episodes. The show seems to perpetually take place some time in the 1870s, even though the show ran for 20 years and should have taken us up at least to 1890. And, some of the grave markers on Boot Hill very clearly show dates in the early 1880's. However, in Season 2, there were a couple of episodes where Doc said the Gold Rush happened 20 years ago, which would indicate that the current time is.... well, you do the math. Other than that (sorry, had to get that off my chest), another fine episode in what for me was the greatest TV show of all time.

Calling a Bluff

[wdavidreynolds · 6/10 · 24 January 2022]

Carey Post is an outlaw, and he is drunk. When he sees Matt Dillon on the Dodge City streets, he shoots and wounds the marshal before riding away. Doc Adams patches up Matt, and when he has healed, Matt and Chester Goode ride to Elkader where Matt knows Post lives.

In Elkader, Matt, who has removed his badge to prevent the people from knowing he is a U. S. Marshal, and Chester meet Cicero Grimes, the town drunk. Grimes tells them a U. S. Marshal named Joe Phy arrived in Elkader about a month earlier, and Phy has put a stop to any gunplay. Cicero warns Matt - since he looks like he might be a gunfighter - that Phy will run him out of town.

Sure enough, when Joe Phy sees Matt and Chester, he warns them against any attempts at gun fighting. He tells them he will kill them both if they try to do anything to disrupt the peace in the town. Of course, Matt knows Phy is not a U. S. Marshal, but he does not know why the motivation behind the man's act.

Matt's biggest problem is he wants to arrest Carey Post, but he knows Post will not ride into Elkader if he knows Phy is there. Marshal Dillon needs Post to think it is safe to come into town. That will entail the ending of Phy's authoritarian reign over the town.

Paul Richards returns for another Gunsmoke guest role. Richards has the distinction of being the first character to shoot Matt Dillon in the series premiere "Matt Gets It." This is the third of four appearances Richards makes in the series. He is excellent as the mysterious Joe Phy character and showing the range of characteristics -- the tough façade hiding the more vulnerable man underneath.

Morey Amsterdam makes his only Gunsmoke guest appearance as the character Cicero Grimes. Amsterdam appeared in a few different westerns prior to gaining fame playing the wise-cracking Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the early 1960s. It is notable that Amsterdam appeared in the episode immediately following the episode where his Van Dyke co-star Rose Marie guested. Amsterdam is surprisingly good in this role. Without the Buddy Sorrell trademark vest and loosened tie, it may take the viewer a bit to recognize the actor.

William Kendis plays the Carey Post character in his only Gunsmoke appearance.

This entertaining story features a unique premise. It is not so much about Marshal Dillon apprehending Post as it is a clever mystery surrounding Joe Phy. However, the story does introduce some questionable elements:

• Since Phy is not really a U. S. Marshal, how does he earn a living? He might be able to get by for a brief time without being paid, but it would not be sustainable for a man who had been a farmer in Ohio before arriving in Elkader.

• How does Phy expect to maintain his charade over the long term? It is only a matter of time before some gunfighter decides to challenge him, especially with the tough guy image he uses to bluff others.

• Why is Marshal Dillon's trickery required? Couldn't Matt simply talk with Phy privately? Needlessly involving Cicero Grimes in the scheme to expose Phy seems not only dangerous, but unethical.

• Why is Matt content to wait in Elkader for Post to show up? He is leaving Dodge with no law enforcement for an extended period. (Chester says they were "pounding around on the prairie for nigh on up to a week" when they arrived in Elkader, and later, he states they have been in Elkader for a week. That is at least two weeks away from Dodge. Assuming Elkader is a week's ride away from Dodge, it will be another week before Matt returns.)