Gunsmoke (TV Series) The Witness (1970) User Reviews

a welcome return to Mestonish malevolence

[grizzledgeezer · 8/10 · 16 September 2013]

"Gunsmoke"'s earliest TV episodes -- most of them adapted from John Meston's radio plays -- were Hobbesian: "nasty, brutish, and short". As the episodes expanded to an hour, then added color, "Gunsmoke"'s tone gradually softened. There weren't as many maniacal villains, and the pile of corpses at the end was smaller (too often, none at all).

"The Witness" returns "Gunsmoke" to a semblance of its g(l)ory days. The "deranged dad and psycho siblings" story had been done to death, but it's a delight to see the ever-wonderful Harry Morgan as the fanatical father. Note the understated way he reacts to his son's death. And it's fun to see Herb Vigran (generally remembered for lighter roles) as Judge Booker.

Unlike many hour-long episodes, this one shows no signs of padding. And though I'd never had trouble understanding Festus' line of reasoning, his explanation of why he didn't take a job putting up a split-rail fence was quite beyond comprehension, nearly inducing a cortical short-circuit.

I say -- in all seriousness -- that I'd have rated this episode 9 if the father and all his sons had wound up dead at the end. But you can't have everything -- especially when Standards & Practices is looking over the producers' shoulders.

Better than expected episode.

[kfo9494 · 9/10 · 9 October 2013]

This episode begins with a bang when a man recognizes Ira Pickett on a Dodge train as the one that killed his brother. Ira pulls a gun out and shoots the man. A passenger and his son, Arnie and Jared Sprague, hold Ira until they reach Dodge and turn him over to the Marshal.

Waiting at the train station is Ira's father and brother, Osgood and Joseph Pickett, when they hear about Ira's problem they seek out the witnesses to the shooting and make them come around to their way of thinking. Osgood Pickett, who has a smooth way of talking, eliminates one witness and then goes after the Sprague family. He holds the Sprague mother and daughter hostage while Arnie changes his story of the shooting so that Ira will be released from jail. But the ordeal will not be over with the release of Ira.

A better episode than expected. Was not to keen on seeing Harry Morgan playing a rough Osgood Pickett but he came across very convincing and really brought the character to life. In fact was very impressed with the entire cast as the show was so entertaining that the episode seemed short in length. A good watch.

Tense, Compelling Entertainment

[wdavidreynolds · 8/10 · 16 July 2021]

A passenger train bound for Dodge City includes a young man named Ira Pickett as a rider. Another passenger recognizes Ira as the man who killed his brother during a range war. After the exchange of some heated words, Ira pulls his gun and kills the man.

Two passengers -- Arnie Sprague and Wendell Beecher -- witness the incident. Beecher accuses Pickett of murder. Arnie's son Jared was awakened by the gunfire. When Pickett begins to threaten Beecher, Jared pulls his gun and takes Pickett into custody to be turned over to the Marshal when they reach Dodge.

Upon arriving in Dodge, Matt Dillon locks Pickett in the jail. Judge Brooker is due in town later in the day. Beecher and the Spragues leave for their respective homes.

Two strangers soon ride into Dodge. They are meeting someone arriving on the train. The strangers learn about the incident on the train and the people involved. The pair leave town and later arrive at Beecher's farm where they find Beecher underneath a wagon doing some work. The elder of the pair of strangers pushes a log being used to hold the wagon off the ground, which causes the wagon to crush Beecher.

The pair then proceeds on to the Sprague ranch where they find Arnie. The elder man tells Arnie he is Osgood Pickett, the father of Ira, the man locked in the jail in Dodge. Osgood is accompanied by his other son, Joseph. Since Arnie is supposed to ride into Dodge to testify against Ira, Osgood and Joseph will stay at the ranch with Arnie's wife Martha and his daughter Edda. Osgood encourages Arnie to stop at the Beecher farm on his way into Dodge.

It is soon revealed the Picketts make their living as hired guns. Ira is particularly fast. There is an ongoing conflict over a fence location in Clark County, and the Pickett men have been hired to participate.

Arnie informs Matt Dillon about finding Beecher dead. He expresses doubts to Judge Brooker as to whether Ira's actions on the train were an act of self-defense or not, much to everyone's surprise. Judge Brooker releases Ira due to lack of evidence. Jared Sprague is shocked and disappointed that his father refused to tell the truth, but he thinks it is because Arnie is intimidated by Ira's presence. He knows nothing about the situation at his home.

Arnie is hopeful the Picketts will now be satisfied and go on their way, but, of course, that does not happen. Now that Osgood has successfully bullied Arnie, he decides to continue to take advantage of the situation.

Gunsmoke fans expect casting excellence, and this episode certainly does not fail in that regard. Harry Morgan is absolutely chilling as Osgood Pickett. Morgan was not cast as a villain often, but he makes the most of the opportunity in this story. Morgan's charisma and deceitfully friendly demeanor makes his wicked treachery even more threatening. This episode would have first been shown around the same time Morgan was playing Officer Bill Gannon on Dragnet, and that helps make this role even more jarring. This was Morgan's first involvement with Gunsmoke, but he would return for three additional episodes.

The Pickett sons are played by Ray Young and Dack Rambo. This was Young's only Gunsmoke appearance. Rambo would return as the character Cyrus Pike in the two part "Pike" episode later in Season 16. That episode first introduced the Sally Fergus character played by Jeannette Nolan. Rambo continued playing the Cyrus Pike character in the spinoff series Dirty Sally, which starred Nolan and was based on the same Sally Fergus character.

Veteran character actor Tim O'Connor fills the Arnie Sprague role. This was the second of three appearances in a Gunsmoke episode for O'Connor. Harry Morgan and Tim O'Connor would eventually appear together again in two different episodes of the long running series M*A*S*H.

Barry Brown is Jared Sprague. This is his only participation in a Gunsmoke episode. He plays the impetuous, idealistic son perfectly. Brown was also a writer and was considered a promising talent before he committed suicide in 1978.

Martha Sprague, Arnie's wife, is played by June Dayton. Dayton is a familiar face, as she appeared in many television shows between 1950 and the mid 1980s. This is the last of four different episodes of Gunsmoke in which she appeared.

A young Annette O'Toole makes one of her earliest acting appearances in this episode as Edda Sprague. O'Toole would later appear in numerous films and portrayed the Martha Kent character in the series Smallville. She is married to actor Michael McKean (Laverne & Shirley, This is Spinal Tap, Better Call Saul, Curb Your Enthusiasm).

The character actor I. Stanford Jolley makes his ninth and final Gunsmoke appearance in this episode as the Wendell Beecher character. Jolley was a heavy smoker and was in poor health later in life. His role in this episode is one of his last performances before his death in 1978.

This episode features the first appearance by veteran actor Herb Vigran as Judge Brooker. Vigran would appear as the same character ten more times during the run of the series.

"The Witness" is the first episode in some time that evokes the theme from earlier days of the series of an utterly vile, despicable group. The Pickett men are as mean and nasty as any of the villainous families from past episodes. Their confidence and certainty that they can do whatever they want with no consequences is astounding. Their arrogance and hubris help make them appear more imposing, but it also leads to their downfall. It is the type of story that makes for a tense, compelling entertainment. However, this episode does continue a Season 16 trend of stories where there the involvement of the regular characters other than Matt Dillon is negligible.

Courage Is Dear, But Cowardice Can Be Costlier

[robscoe49 · 9/10 · 31 January 2007]

The scene opens with a train thundering across the prairie.A father and son are dozing.In the aisle,an angry man demands to look at a sleazily-handsome young man named Ira Pickett,whom the older man insists murdered his brother.

A scuffle ensues,and Pickett guns the man down.An elderly man says Pickett committed murder,and Ira backhands him savagely.

The father and son are awakened by the turmoil.The son smashes Pickett in the head and grabs a gun,training it on the killer.The son announces"he is holding Pickett for the Marshal in Dodge City."The father grabs Pickett's gun,also holding him at bay.Pickett lolls back in his seat,laughing ruefully at the irony.

An older man in black and a younger one arrive in Dodge to see a body loaded onto a wagon.A man declares there was a shooting on the train involving an "Ira Pickett,"but the body is his victim's;Pickett is in jail.

The old man(who peppers his speech with Biblical aphorisms)is Osgood Pickett,with his older son,Joseph.Osgood Pickett is the paterfamilias of a ruthless clan of gunslingers.

In Dodge,the witnesses(Arnie Sprague and son,Jared)will testify against Ira Pickett when Judge Booker arrives at 3 p.m.

The annoyingly talkative Edda Sprague picks up her father and brother in a wagon;she hectors Jared about his capturing Pickett.As they leave,the Picketts ride up, encountering the old man whom Ira assaulted(one Beecher),who praises the courageous Spragues.

The Picketts visit Beecher at his farm.He is under a wagon(supported by a wooden block),making repairs.Osgood Pickett kicks out the prop;the wagon falls on Beecher,killing him.

With Beecher dead,the Picketts go to intimidate the Spragues.Osgood Pickett hints to Arnie Sprague that if Ira is hanged,Sprague's wife and daughter will suffer,also.The Picketts remain at Sprague's to ensure "compliance."Osgood Pickett suggests that Arnie and Jared stop by the Beecher farm on their way into town.

The father(terrified of the Picketts)tells his unwitting hostage wife and daughter that the Picketts are cattle buyers from Oklahoma - Mr.Osgood,and son Joseph.

The Spragues find Beecher crushed to death.Arnie Sprague(mad with fear) recants his testimony,distressing his son and disquieting the Marshal.

A smirking Ira Pickett is freed;he sneeringly tells Festus Hagen about making his fortune soon in the "Clark Couty fence war."

Arnie and Jared return(Jared,ashamed of his father's cowardice.)Osgood Pickett tauntingly demands "restitution":Arnie Sprague's hundred head of cattle.

After hearing from Festus about Ira's involvement in Clark County,Matt Dillon sends a telegram to the local sheriff.

Edda Sprague rides off to fetch a wandering cow.Jared,sawing meat outside,starts to enter the smokehouse when he sees Ira Pickett ride up.Jared goes berserk,rushing inside to get a rifle.His father tried to stop Jared,slapping Jared hard across the face,knocking him down.

Jared leaps up,grabs a gun and wants to starts shooting.As they argue,Osgood Pickett enters,orders them(at gunpoint) to surrender the rifle,then smashes it against a table.

Outside,Osgood Pickett sees the sheriff coming,and sends Ira after Edda for "insurance."A suspicious Matt Dillon grills Arnie Sprague over his perjurious volte face in court,but Arnie sticks to his lie.Again,Osgood and Joseph are introduced as the cattle-buying Osgoods from Oklahoma.

Ira pitches woo to an unsuspecting Edda,and as they return with the cow, Jared,irascible,retrieves a hidden revolver,loads it,and conceals it again.

Later in the parlor,Ira sings as Edda plays the piano.Edda(smitten with Ira)betrays her brother,revealing that she saw him practicing with the gun in his bedroom.Jared lunges forward,but Ira shoots him in the arm.

Having worn out their "welcome,"Ira and Joseph Pickett go out to the barn to sleep.Their father,Osgood,keeps watch from a chair on the front porch.

Arnie Sprague,ashamed of his cowardice,decides belatedly to take action.

The Clark County sheriff returns a telegram about an outlaw family named Pickett - father Osgood, and sons,Joseph and Ira.Marshal Dillon heads immediately to the Spragues.

Morning dawns,and Arnie is cooking breakfast.Joseph Pickett opines that, in addition to the cattle,the Picketts want a hostage for "safe passage" - the daughter,Edda.

Arnie Sprague seizes Jospeh,pressing a butcher knife to his throat.Sprague removes Joseph's gun,shooting him,but the injured Pickett escapes through the kitchen door.

A gun battle rages.The Picketts cannot get inside,but Osgood Pickett orders Joseph to set the house ablaze.

Marshal Dillon rides up as Ira Pickett attempts to enter the house. the Marshal fires on Ira,killing him.

Seeing his favorite son die takes the fight out of Osgood who kneels beside Ira's body,grief-stricken.The story ends as the Marshal,the Spragues,and Joseph Pickett watch Osgood Pickett looking mutely at his youngest son,realizing the dynasty of terror he envisioned has now come to an abrupt,bloody end...

Harry Morgan excelled as Osgood Pickett,the sanctimonious gunslinger with a curdled smile who,with his sociopathic sons,terrorized a rancher and his family for doing their civic duty.

Tim O'Connor was convincing as Arnie Sprague,the timorous cattleman bullied by the sadistic Osgood Pickett until Sprague decided to fight back.

Dack Rambo(Ira Pickett)played the part well of a smug outlaw,groomed for his criminal career by his equally twisted father.

Barry Brown(Jared Sprague)effectively portrayed the moralistic cattleman's son whose sense of social responsibility,and innate heroism put his father's fecklessness to shame.

This episode's ending was predictable,but enjoyable when the faint-hearted father(seeing his son injured,and his daughter threatened) ultimately decided to stand up - like a true son of the Old West - against the vile,cowardly oppressors who had been menacing his family, and subverting justice.

Two Great Character Actors Playing Against Type

[spenser-43563 · 10/10 · 22 May 2021]

We enjoyed this episode - particularly with Harry Morgan playing the heavy and Tim O'Connor playing the Nice Guy.

If you want to see the characters in switched roles - check out Mr. TOC's 2 episodes on MASH.