User Reviews

This is a strange story. Kip Gilman (played by Tim O'Connor) is on the run for a murder charge. This was the first of three appearances by O'Connor on Gunsmoke. His character, Gilman, seems like a really nice guy.

When Gilman finds runaway Packy (played by Kurt Russell), he feeds the kid, and offers to help him get to Dodge City, so Packy can find his mother. This is the first of Kurt Russell's two appearances on Gunsmoke. Gilman and Packy pretend to be father and son, in order to mislead anyone that might be looking for them.

Eventually, they get to Dodge and find Packy's mom, Elena (played by Diane Ladd, who was married to Bruce Dern, and became the mother of Laura Dern). This was the first of her three appearances on Gunsmoke. Elena is living in the town slum, "Rathole Alley"," which very rarely was shown on any episode of Gunsmoke.

Elena has a drinking problem, and is probably turning tricks in the slum in order to buy liquor. Another previous tenant of this slum was June Lockhart, who also played a woman with a drinking problem. Lockhart appeared on Gunsmoke in 1958, in the episode "Beulah."

For some unknown reason, once Gilman reunites Packy with his mom, he does not continue on the run. It seems like love at first sight for Gilman. Why would he want to become the husband of a drunken prostitute with a truant son? Elena does everything to rebuff and disillusion Gilman. Gilman spends his money to help Elena, and to fix up her shack. Gilman plans to stay living in the same shack, with Elena and Packy, as a family, even though it is the worst part of Dodge City. It would have been nice if these characters had been shown a couple of episodes later, so there could have been a positive update on the family.

Along comes Karl Swenson, who was on Gunsmoke a total of nine times. This was his fifth appearance. Swenson and his crew are hunting for Gilman, who allegedly killed the ranch foreman and robbed their payroll money. Dillon is researching the allegations against Gilman, and gets a telegram that exonerates Gilman, and puts the blame on one of Swenson's men, Ed Sykes. Sykes was played by character actor Jan Merlin, who usually played a villain, but this was his only appearance on Gunsmoke.

Despite the best efforts of Dillon, Festus, Miss Kitty, and Gilman to avoid a gun-fight, all hell breaks loose at the end. This episode builds up to a very action-packed conclusion, with no less than six gun-slingers in the exciting final shoot-out.

A solid episode with an intriguing plot. It's good to see things work out for the main characters at the end--especially since we never quite know where things are headed until the very last scene.

Tim O'Connor was a fine actor, and his scene with Diane Ladd (also excellent) when he decides to "man up" and go out and face the thugs was really well done. Young Kurt Russell was one heck of a talented child actor, and the dynamic between "father and son" was excellent.

Hate to be picky, but Festus' crucial gunshot from under the wagon near the end was aimed WAY too low to ever hit "Duster" up on the roof.

I was annoyed by the director's contrived, stage-y use of the crowd of derelict DENIZENS of the Shanty Town. Mostly old, decrepit weirdos who could barely manage to stand, they still strike terror into the hearts of the two thugs when Elena tells them the zombies will "tear them apart". The 2 guys could have easily shot their way through the crowd...unless these creeps really ARE the undead! But during the climatic scene when Tim O' came out to face the thugs, the DENIZENS were nowhere to be see. Then, sure enough, as soon as it was time to wind up the show--as if the assistant director said "GO!"... the denizens all started to shuffle onto the scene, like so many walking corpses. And the three extras who were chosen to walk by the camera for the very last shot were really BIZARRE!

Also-- the "local color" shot that opened Act 3-- the kid pushing the other one in the wheelbarrow, was downright stupid, proving that things are often better WITHOUT the director's clever, "inventive" touches.

But these are minor annoyances; the central story of a family "in-the-making" is really quite appealing. LR

RE: The giant chicken SQUAWK at 36:17. The writer could have easily had Tim O'Connor say "Packy, why not go out and finish them 'taters so I can have a word with your ma?" (or words to that effect), instead of the very contrived device of a massive, spud-eating chicken "B-GAWK" on the soundtrack, which convinces Packy to run outside. I mention this because that SAME CHICKEN sound effect is used in the background of EVERY episode that features a farm or ranch with chickens; I especially noticed in in Season 8. It cracks me up every time, but especially here. It sounds as if an outsize hen is about to invade the premises.

PS-- I assume that the plentiful cash that Tim O' keeps handing out is from the $10K that was planted on him (?) If so, it's stolen money, and not his to spend. ALSO-- what, exactly, does "Blue Heaven" refer to??

The 10th season opener, "Blue Heaven" features young Kurt Russell, son of actor Bing Russell, as runaway Packy Kerlin, in search of his destitute alcoholic mother Elena (Diane Ladd), turning tricks outside Dodge City. Enter wanted fugitive Kip Gilman (Tim O'Connor), who insists on posing as Elena's husband and Packy's father, trying to escape a trio of men from Texas accusing him of theft and murder, hoping to prove his innocence with the aid of a sympathetic Festus. No doubt when this episode premiered on September 26 1964, the folks in Cleveland Ohio were watching to spot their beloved horror host Ghoulardi, known professionally as Ernie Anderson, who makes a very brief appearance 15 minutes in, offering directions for a dollar. Anderson and Tim Conway had been writing partners in Cleveland, before Tim's comic antics were noticed by Steve Allen, who figured he could play Ernie's straight man role opposite Conway in Hollywood. It was Tim who implored his friend to join him on the West Coast, and this cameo (billed only as 'Man') was only the beginning for Ernie, who eventually became ABC's busiest voice-over artist, doing promos for all their shows, after leaving Cleveland behind at the end of 1966. At the time he made this episode of GUNSMOKE, Ernie couldn't resist doing a spoof of the longtime Western series on his own primetime special on WJW-TV 8, THE ERNIE ANDERSON SHOW, playing the Marshal himself, opposite 'Big Chuck' Schodowski, who portrayed the Parma bank robber known only as 'The Stranger.' Wisely choosing Schodowski to fill Ghoulardi's shoes, Big Chuck remained in the public eye, a "big fish in a small pond," on the station from 1963 until his retirement in 2007. The memory of Ernie Anderson, who passed away in 1997, continues to be celebrated each year at Halloween time in Cleveland, at the annual GHOULARDI FEST.