Gunsmoke (TV Series) A Family of Killers (1974) User Reviews

"It's like I always said..."

[wdavidreynolds · 6/10 · 13 October 2021]

The name of this story refers to a family of cruel, sadistic men -- "meaner than a four-headed rattlesnake" according to Festus Haggen -- led by a man named Elton Sutterfield. Other members of this dysfunctional group include Jacob Sutterfield, a man known as "Crazy Harley," another named Brownie, and the Pitchford brothers, Ham and Tobin.

This gang has been scattered over several states for some time, but they are having a demented family reunion not too far from Dodge City. They plan to rob and kill their way through Kansas, and then hightail it to Mexico.

U. S. Marshal Bob Hargraves has made apprehending the members of this group of lunatics his personal mission after some of them killed two of his deputies, one of which Hargraves loved like a son and the ruthless gang roped and dragged through cacti while naked before subjecting him to carving with a knife.

Hargraves manages to catch up with Crazy Harly, Jacob, and Tobin at a campsite. He kills Jacob and wounds Tobin, but Harly gets away. Since Dodge is the closest town, Hargraves takes Jacob's body and the wounded Tobin there.

Matt Dillon and Bob Hargraves are old friends, of course. When Marshal Dillon learns the Sutterfields are nearby, he decides to go after them. Matt is apprehensive about allowing Hargraves to join him due to concern over whether his fellow Marshal is willing to act according to law, or if he is merely out for revenge. However, Hargraves convinces Matt he will act in accordance with his duties as a Marshal.

This primary plot device that propels the story from this point forward is the continued pursuit of the gang by the two law men.

Actor Glenn Corbett appears for the third and final time in the series. Corbett plays Bob Hargraves, the U. S. Marshal intent on avenging the murder of his deputies.

Anthony Caruso's involvement with Gunsmoke was extensive and varied, and it goes all the way back to Season 3's "Born to Hang" episode. He plays the incorrigible Elton Sutterfield in this story. Elton Sutterfield is not much different than the Pappy Quinn or Talley characters Caruso played in the previous two episodes in which he appeared.

Mills Watson can be seen in small parts in several Gunsmoke episodes. His final participation in the series features him in a more prominent role as the Crazy Harley character. The other gang members are played by actors Morgan Paull, George Keymas, Frank Corsentino, and Stuart Margolin as a character that prefaces most sentences he speaks with the annoying phrase, "It's like I always said..." This is Paull's first Gunsmoke appearance and the last for Keymas, Corsentino, and Margolin.

Actress Zina Bethune portrays Jonnalee Simpson, a runaway that is held against her will by Sutterfield under the threat that he would hunt her down and kill her if she tries to escape from the miserable existence he has imposed. Bethune was a talented dancer who appears in several television dramas in the 1960s and 1970s. This is her only Gunsmoke role.

This story is about as formulaic and predictable as they come. It is not especially awful, but it offers nothing in the way of much intrigue. It promises a lot but delivers little. Sutterfield is supposed to be a fiendish psychopath, but he is too stupid to be good at it -- and he is the brains of the outfit! He treats the woman he holds against her will with abusive disdain (he even refers to her as "trash"), and it is insinuated that he allows the rest of the gang to use her for sex as it suits him. (Such relationships were naturally not explicitly described in 1974 television, but the implication is there.)

This is also one of those episodes where it is clear there was not enough material to fill the time, so there are several obvious time killing scenes. For example, Marshals Hargraves and Dillon spend a considerable amount of time climbing some bluffs, and Sutterfield and his group prove quite adept at talking about how much they hate Matt Dillon, threatening one another, and discussing how mean and ornery they are.

The acting is solid, of course. A portion of the story is set in Dodge City, and we get a few glimpses of most of the regular cast.

Watch closely for a scene inside the Long Branch Saloon with the Matt Dillon and Kitty Russell characters. Kitty refers to the Roniger's having another baby -- their eighteenth. This is a reference to the Roniger family first introduced in Season 13's "Baker's Dozen" episode. Bess Roniger, the (apparently) extremely fertile mother, also appears in Season 17's debut episode "The Lost."

The title says it all.

[grizzledgeezer · 6/10 · 18 May 2015]

This is one of those contrived, by-the-numbers episodes that barely moves past its basic idea. Matt and another marshal are after a family of psychopathic killers (yawn...) who brutally murdered the marshal's deputy.

The father and his nasty offspring are the expected caricatures, who aren't particularly interesting on any level. And then there's a young woman the father has schlepped along to provide homely services -- and prepare food and coffee, as well. The story plays out as a heavily padded version of "The Cabin", generally considered one of the best episodes.

There's little of dramatic interest, other than the marshal's desire to kill the son who cut his deputy to pieces. Matt keeps warning against it, and don'tcha know, when the bad'un is cornered, the marshal decides he doesn't have the guts to kill a man in cold blood. "It takes more guts not to," pontificates Matt.

In short... A P&P episode -- predictable and pointless.

"Real Life" note: When Matt and the marshal swim the river, they do so fully clothed -- in cold weather! In real life, they'd have removed most or all of their clothing and stuffed it in their bags. You don't want to walk around in the cold in wet clothes! (They dry off with amazing rapidity.) Cowboys often disrobed when crossing rivers, even in mild weather. (This is shown in "Lonesome Dove".)

After a fine start- it failed to continue

[kfo9494 · 4/10 · 16 August 2012]

In an episode that had such high hopes at the beginning- by the end of the show it had digressed into an uninteresting play with useless dialog. The story may have been good for a half hour show- but when the writers have to stretch the show out for the full hour- it loses any value and interest that may have been provided.

During the first part of the show we get a rowdy bunch of outlaws that will not stop for any type of law or lawman. It is headed by Elton Sutterfield (Anthony Caruso) that uses a heavy hand to keep the others in line. They have just murdered a deputy marshal in another district and now are in hiding in the area close to Dodge City.

US Marshal Hargraves (Glenn Corbett) is the one that had his deputy killed and is on the trail of the group of outlaws as he moves into Matt Dillon's territory. Matt agrees to go with Hargraves but it seems that Hargraves is more interesting in getting revenge than justice. And as the two set out on the trail of the criminals, Matt will have to keep his eye also fixed on Marshal Hargraves.

This is not a bad story as the two lawmen set out on horseback to areas outside Dodge. But from then on the story loses appeal with dialog repeating itself after every scene. It just failed to entertain.

Anthony Caruso did a fine job as the leader of the outlaws but there is not much else remarkable about the show. Not even with the young girl named Jonnalee that was passed around by the gang of outlaws for favors. Failed in many aspects.