Henry Huckaby, a local farmer and fed up with a sore back and an empty belly leaves to seek his fortune in Dodge. After several failed ideas he hits on one that may make him rich but could a... Read allHenry Huckaby, a local farmer and fed up with a sore back and an empty belly leaves to seek his fortune in Dodge. After several failed ideas he hits on one that may make him rich but could also cost him his life.Henry Huckaby, a local farmer and fed up with a sore back and an empty belly leaves to seek his fortune in Dodge. After several failed ideas he hits on one that may make him rich but could also cost him his life.
Photos
- Director
- Writers
- John Meston(uncredited)
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- Charles Marquis Warren(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJohn Newman who plays boxer Johnnie Towers is the first black actor to be listed in the closing credits of Gunsmoke. The next time a black actor is listed in the closing credits is Yaphet Kotto playing Piney Biggs in the 1970 story-line titled The Scavengers.
- GoofsIn this episode, Matt stops a prize fight because "Prize fighting is illegal in Kansas." However, in Big Tom (1960) (season 5), Matt not only doesn't prohibit the scheduling of a prize fight, but actually participates in it because one of the fighters is too ill to fight.
Featured review
Huge Cast of Familiar Faces
Henry Huckaby is another poor dirt farmer who is sick of eating oatmeal and potatoes and struggling to make ends meet. Huckaby reminds me of Caleb Marr in episode 26, "Caleb." Both men are facing an existential crisis. While Caleb Marr seeks meaning in life, Henry Huckaby thinks money will solve his problems. Like Marr, Huckaby decides to make his way to Dodge City to seek a solution.
Huckaby isn't too concerned with the ethical ramifications of his quest. He wants to make his fortune with as little effort as possible. He considers gun running, stable tending, blacksmithing, and even tries gambling, and finds none of them particularly lucrative.
As Huckaby continues his quest for a moneymaking idea, he witnesses a fight between a man named Otto and an ornery cowboy named Jake. Jake picks the fight with Otto on the streets of Dodge, but Jake doesn't know Otto is a trained boxer. Otto easily wins the fist fight. Huckaby introduces himself to Otto, and Otto tells him he is willing to fight anyone, anywhere.
Huckaby recalls meeting a Fort Dodge soldier named Johnny Towers who is supposed to be very good with his fists, and Huckaby decides he will become a fight promoter, therefore the name of the episode. Huckaby is able to get Otto and Towers to agree to fight, and he manages to make all of the arrangements for the fight to take place in the Dodge City freight yard.
Of course, the events do not transpire quite like Huckaby expects, and the resulting situations move this John Meston story along.
The cast for this episode is huge compared to most Gunsmoke stories, as a matter of fact, it was the largest cast used in a single episode of the entire series up to this time. There are many lesser known but familiar faces among the cast, but most are uncredited.
Vic Perrin is the Henry Huckaby character. Perrin performed in many television episodes during the 1960s and 1970s. He had previously appeared in the Season 9 Gunsmoke episode "Now That April's Here," and he was featured in other Gunsmoke episodes. He played different roles in many different episodes of Dragnet and Adam-12 in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Later in his career he was noted for his voice work in animated features.
Wilhelm Von Homburg's Otto character was based on Von Homburg's career as a boxer, and director Andrew McLaglen had Von Homburg flown to the U.S. from Germany especially for this episode.
John Newman's performance as Johnny Towers is notable as an unusually non-stereotypical portrayal by a person of color during the time this episode was made. The Towers character is treated with dignity and respect, which was not always the case during this time.
Huckaby isn't too concerned with the ethical ramifications of his quest. He wants to make his fortune with as little effort as possible. He considers gun running, stable tending, blacksmithing, and even tries gambling, and finds none of them particularly lucrative.
As Huckaby continues his quest for a moneymaking idea, he witnesses a fight between a man named Otto and an ornery cowboy named Jake. Jake picks the fight with Otto on the streets of Dodge, but Jake doesn't know Otto is a trained boxer. Otto easily wins the fist fight. Huckaby introduces himself to Otto, and Otto tells him he is willing to fight anyone, anywhere.
Huckaby recalls meeting a Fort Dodge soldier named Johnny Towers who is supposed to be very good with his fists, and Huckaby decides he will become a fight promoter, therefore the name of the episode. Huckaby is able to get Otto and Towers to agree to fight, and he manages to make all of the arrangements for the fight to take place in the Dodge City freight yard.
Of course, the events do not transpire quite like Huckaby expects, and the resulting situations move this John Meston story along.
The cast for this episode is huge compared to most Gunsmoke stories, as a matter of fact, it was the largest cast used in a single episode of the entire series up to this time. There are many lesser known but familiar faces among the cast, but most are uncredited.
Vic Perrin is the Henry Huckaby character. Perrin performed in many television episodes during the 1960s and 1970s. He had previously appeared in the Season 9 Gunsmoke episode "Now That April's Here," and he was featured in other Gunsmoke episodes. He played different roles in many different episodes of Dragnet and Adam-12 in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Later in his career he was noted for his voice work in animated features.
Wilhelm Von Homburg's Otto character was based on Von Homburg's career as a boxer, and director Andrew McLaglen had Von Homburg flown to the U.S. from Germany especially for this episode.
John Newman's performance as Johnny Towers is notable as an unusually non-stereotypical portrayal by a person of color during the time this episode was made. The Towers character is treated with dignity and respect, which was not always the case during this time.
helpful•131
- wdavidreynolds
- Dec 6, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Stage 3, CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA(Dodge City Western Street)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content