10 reviews
This one is different
- Boycemaxblues70
- Apr 16, 2012
- Permalink
exceptional acting
I don't write too many reviews but this one is worth it. The guest stars alone make it worthwhile. Denver Pyle plays his meanest, Strother Martin plays the pathetic nice guy to the Hilt and Kevin Hagen plays a selfish, childish guy. And to see the 3 of them together makes this an excellent episode. The story is a little mean-spirited but it has a very justified conclusion. A little like a twilight zone episode. Well worth watching.
- budsterfish
- Sep 26, 2017
- Permalink
Justice is literally served!
One of the Best Episodes in the Series
Many of the other reviews do a great job of summarizing this excellent episode of one of the all-time classic television series. This is another John Meston tragic masterpiece that is as much Rod Serling or Alfred Hitchcock as a TV western.
Comparisons to Meston's "Phoebe Strunk" episode are appropriate. Denver Pyle's Ginness family "out nasties" Virginia Gregg's Strunk family. Whereas Phoebe Strunk seems to have some feeling for her family, the Ginness patriarch shows very little feeling for anyone other than himself. As a result, the Ginness boys show no compassion for anyone, even one another. When one of the boys is thrown from his horse and breaks his leg, the other brothers find it amusing. Toward the end of the episode, Matt delivers a short speech where he points out this attribute of the dastardly Ginness family.
I am fascinated with the casting of Denver Pyle as the Ginness patriarch. Pyle appears frequently on Gunsmoke - he was originally considered a candidate for the Matt Dillon character when the series was being cast. Pyle played another nasty character in the "Us Haggens" episode that first introduced the Festus Haggen character. Pyle plays Festus's uncle Black Jack Haggen in that episode.
I love the casting of Pyle in this episode because it contrasts perfectly with Pyle's casting as Briscoe Darling in The Andy Griffith Show. Here Pyle is the father of the wicked Ginness boys, while Darling is the patriarch of the similarly odd (but not evil) Darling family on TAGS.
The casting of this episode is perfect. Strother Martin's Will Timble character is as tragic a figure as you will find. The Ginness brothers are all familiar character actors of the time. Milburn Stone's Doc Adams is the closest thing to a hero as any character in the story. Burt Reynolds acts as Matt's sidekick in this episode, as he often did during his short involvement of the series. There is no sign of Dennis Weaver's Chester Goode character.
This is a great episode, and arguably my favorite of the entire series.
Comparisons to Meston's "Phoebe Strunk" episode are appropriate. Denver Pyle's Ginness family "out nasties" Virginia Gregg's Strunk family. Whereas Phoebe Strunk seems to have some feeling for her family, the Ginness patriarch shows very little feeling for anyone other than himself. As a result, the Ginness boys show no compassion for anyone, even one another. When one of the boys is thrown from his horse and breaks his leg, the other brothers find it amusing. Toward the end of the episode, Matt delivers a short speech where he points out this attribute of the dastardly Ginness family.
I am fascinated with the casting of Denver Pyle as the Ginness patriarch. Pyle appears frequently on Gunsmoke - he was originally considered a candidate for the Matt Dillon character when the series was being cast. Pyle played another nasty character in the "Us Haggens" episode that first introduced the Festus Haggen character. Pyle plays Festus's uncle Black Jack Haggen in that episode.
I love the casting of Pyle in this episode because it contrasts perfectly with Pyle's casting as Briscoe Darling in The Andy Griffith Show. Here Pyle is the father of the wicked Ginness boys, while Darling is the patriarch of the similarly odd (but not evil) Darling family on TAGS.
The casting of this episode is perfect. Strother Martin's Will Timble character is as tragic a figure as you will find. The Ginness brothers are all familiar character actors of the time. Milburn Stone's Doc Adams is the closest thing to a hero as any character in the story. Burt Reynolds acts as Matt's sidekick in this episode, as he often did during his short involvement of the series. There is no sign of Dennis Weaver's Chester Goode character.
This is a great episode, and arguably my favorite of the entire series.
- wdavidreynolds
- Mar 29, 2019
- Permalink
"Love the widow Burns' pork sausages. Yes, sir... Cain't get enough."
- grizzledgeezer
- Dec 19, 2015
- Permalink
Sad Ending
Another Gunsmoke episode which ends with the bad guys getting their dark reward. Gunsmoke is the film noir of westerns. Very dark and gritty storyline
- cleoclandy
- Apr 1, 2020
- Permalink
John Meston pens a very non traditional episode of Gunsmoke
They learn to share
Good Character Study
There is no convenient resolution provided in this episode, the bad guys do bad things and in the end are mostly left to their own devices. However Denver Pyle creates such a despicable man in the form of Pa Ginnis and his brood you sort of feel he gets what he deserves just by having to live with his own disgusting self.
Strother Martin does a great job as the hapless wood carver who is tormented by the Ginnis clan. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he has a good heart and it's disturbing when he suffers at the hands of the cruel Ginnis louts.
Overall I suppose the theme is back in the day you could find all types, the good, the bad and the somewhere in between. This episode does a good job of showing the interaction between these characters without offering any cheap comfort. The bad guys are still around at the end... you just hope for Dodge's sake they decide to move on!
Strother Martin does a great job as the hapless wood carver who is tormented by the Ginnis clan. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he has a good heart and it's disturbing when he suffers at the hands of the cruel Ginnis louts.
Overall I suppose the theme is back in the day you could find all types, the good, the bad and the somewhere in between. This episode does a good job of showing the interaction between these characters without offering any cheap comfort. The bad guys are still around at the end... you just hope for Dodge's sake they decide to move on!
When in doubt, go Kosher.