Gunsmoke (TV Series) Lacey (1962) User Reviews

Sometimes father does know best

[kfo9494 · 7/10 · 16 November 2012]

This episode is an ode to young love as Lacey Parcher, a young farm girl, falls head-over-heels to a young man named Jess. However Lacey's father, Cyrus, is totally against the love affair. He is so set against the relationship that he tells Jess never to set foot on his property again.

In the next act, we see Ma Parcher bring Lacy into the Marshal's office in Dodge. As Ma talks with Matt she tells him that Lacy has killed her father and she does not want her back at her house. So Matt has to lock Lacy up as he tries to get to the bottom of the killing. But it will be difficult as Lacy will not relay much about the murder. They only thing that she asks of Matt is to tell her if they hang women.

Later Matt sends Lacy over to stay at Ma Smalley's boarding house as they wait for the Judge. Here she finds out that Jess is running around town with his old girlfriend. With that information Lacy becomes enraged, ties up Ma Smalley and sets off to find Jess.

When she finally finds Jess and the girlfriend more than sparks are going to fly. Plus we also find out that Lacy thought much more of 'true love' that Jess could have predicted.

This was an episode that probably was not the best script- but good enough to keep the viewer attention to the end. Sherry Jackson, who played Lacy, made the character interesting to the point of staying with the show just to find out Lacy's outcome. A good watch.

Well Acted But Overlong

[wdavidreynolds · 6/10 · 24 August 2020]

Yet again, the Season 7 predilection for stories built around female characters is present in "Lacey." Lacey Parcher is in love with Jess Ayley. Lacey's father, Cyrus, strongly disapproves of the relationship. When he finds Lacey and Jess kissing in the barn, Cyrus tells Jess to leave and never return. This leads to an ugly scene inside the Parcher house where Cyrus further refuses to condone the relationship between Lacey and Jess and even slaps Lacey.

Soon, Lacey and her mother, Ellen, ride into Dodge City. They go to Marshal Dillon's office and Lacey confesses that she has killed her father. The primary plot centers around Matt's efforts to discover exactly what happened.

I think it is often the little glimpses into life in Dodge City or the lives of the Gunsmoke characters that make the show so interesting. In this episode, we get to spend some time with Ma Smalley who runs a boarding house in the town.

Unfortunately, this is one of those episodes that perhaps would have been better in the half-hour format from the previous six seasons. The story plods along at times. Matt tries his best to find answers that make sense, but no one is willing to tell everything they know. This requires many slow, talky scenes with characters staring longingly into the distance.

This episode features a strong cast with Sherry Jackson as the pretty, young Lacey, Dorothy Green as her stoic (and stubborn) mother, and Jeremy Slate as Jess, who is too stupid and careless for his own good.

Yes, Sherry Jackson's very beautiful face carries much of the show

[bobforapples-40146 · 8/10 · 16 July 2023]

You can see plain as day this ep would have worked better as a half hour ep. Except in one regard-- that would have given less time to look at Sherry Jackson. She's beautiful and appealing to look at in every way.

She was another actress who linked up this series with the original Twilight Zone. She appeared in a third season TZ ep called"The last rites of Jeff Myrtlebank". It seems like in many ways that this and the original Twilight Zone were sister shows to each other with so many cast members like Sherry appearing. Her Gunsmoke appearances outnumber her Twilight Zone one. And that was TZ's massive loss!

Even Though We've Seen the Story 1000 Times

[csmith-99615 · 9/10 · 29 August 2020]

This is what makes Gunsmoke exceptional. They took a story that's been told countless times( a father stands in the way of his daughter and her beau )but still made it compelling. Great acting and a solid script keeps the viewer's interest till the end. Once again Matt gets a little sloppy with the law but that's necessary to have the ending the writers wanted. Good watch.

Hite a great writer

[maskers-87126 · 9/10 · 3 November 2018]

Full story. Goid acting throughout aith Matt having some especially nice scenes. powerful ending helped by music choice.

Slow moving -- should have been a 30 minute episode

[LukeCoolHand · 4/10 · 28 September 2021]

This episode had one redeeming feature. The beautiful Sherry Jackson. Other than that this episode played like a talky soap opera.. There were even scenes where someone was talking to someone with their backs turned to the listener, just like in soap operas. Even the great Jeremy Slate could not save this episode.. Too long and not much plot. Not one of the best.