William E. Talley is what one might call an ethical gunfighter. He earns his living by killing others for pay, but he only supports causes he considers worthy. In this manner, he may see himself as a purveyor of justice. Nevertheless, he IS someone that makes his living by killing other people, and he has developed some measure of notoriety.
Talley is also quite devoted to his wife and daughter. They travel to Dodge City in response to an offer from a group of farmers who have settled in the area. A powerful rancher named Shaw Anderson will not allow the farmers to use the water on the land he occupies. Shaw is one of those rugged pioneer types that appear in the series with some frequency. (One must wonder just how many wealthy, powerful ranchers can occupy one area.) However, Shaw possesses wisdom and intelligence like that of Talley. Also like Talley, Shaw is widely known for his wealth and power.
Shaw considers the water the property of the Kiowa. Allowing the farmers to use the water would mean acknowledging their rights to do so and accepting the inevitable expansion of settlers moving west. Shaw considers the settlers parasites that will abuse and ruin the land he so loves.
When Talley and Shaw -- two notorious titans -- finally meet face to face, they find neither is willing to compromise. They eventually agree to face one another in a gunfight at dawn the next morning.
The cast for this episode exceeds even the usual lofty standards of Gunsmoke. Many have appeared in the series previously, but they are assembled into a single episode here.
Eric Braeden returns for the third and final time. (One of those episodes was the three-part "Gold Train" episode from Season 17.) Braeden plays the William E. Talley character in this story, and it is perfect casting of a character that is supposed to be educated and cultured with cold, menacing undertones.
Gene Evans is equally effective as Shaw Anderson. This is one of ten episodes of Gunsmoke for Evans. He possesses the rugged demeanor of a man one could believe was a pioneer who carved out an area for himself and tamed it.
Miriam Colon portrays Shaw Anderson's wife, Mignon. This is the eighth and final appearance for Colon in the series. Mignon is every bit the tough, determined equal of her husband.
Mariette Hartley also makes her final Gunsmoke appearance in this story. Hartley plays Ellie Talley, William's wife. Hartley does not have much to do in this episode. It is never completely clear whether she truly knows what her husband does. She once refers to him as a "business advisor."
Patti Cohoon (later, Cohoon-Friedman) is another actor making their final Gunsmoke appearance with this story. In this episode, she plays Ronilou Talley, William's beloved daughter.
Lloyd Bochner frequently appeared in films and television as sneaky, polished scoundrels. In his only Gunsmoke appearance he plays sleazy attorney Cauley Burdette. The farmers hired him to represent their interests in trying to acquire rights to the water controlled by Anderson. It is Burdette who brings Talley to Dodge.
John Milford plays Hutchinson, a gunfighter who faces Talley early in the episode. This is the last of seven appearances by Milford in the series. He literally goes out with a bang.
Bing Russell and Robert Karnes appear here in small roles. Both appeared in several other Gunsmoke episodes. They are both included in the unusually lengthy list of actors making their final appearance in the series in this episode.
This story is an interesting variation on the old Westerns trope of a long-established, powerful rancher/pioneer in the Old West who resists settlers ("plow pushers," "sodbusters," "squatters") during the U. S. Westward Expansion. This theme is used frequently during the run of the Gunsmoke series, as well as several other television Westerns and films.
This story is more nuanced than the standard version where the poor, deserving settlers are fighting against the greedy land baron (see the classic film Shane for one of the better examples of this classic Westerns theme). Both parties in this disagreement present reasonable arguments for why they are justified in their actions.
This plot also touches briefly on the theme of a gunfighter -- in this case, Talley -- who knows the chosen profession is not sustainable and not likely to lead to a long life.
The problem with this story is the abrupt resolution. Anderson and Talley agree to confront one another at an isolated location. (They are already together when they make the decision, why prolong the event? This is a variation on the tendency of Western stories to have someone -- usually a "good guy" wrongly accused -- sentenced to hang at dawn the next morning to give the condemned person time to "make their peace with their maker," or something similar.) Both men show up for the big showdown, but the more reasonable, rational women in their lives and Marshal Dillon all converge on the shootout location JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME to make the two men listen to reason. The story then hastily concludes in a pleasant, tidy ending.
It is a shame the story manages to keep the viewer guessing and then tacks on a "...and they all lived happily ever after" ending. The ending lacks the imagination of the rest of the story.
8 out of 8 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
