Cleavus Lukens and Festus Haggen first met when they were both children. Cleavus came from a family that was profoundly poor. His parents were so poor they sent Cleavus to live with the Haggen family. While Festus harbors fond memories of his childhood, Cleavus is bitter and resentful.
As an adult, to say Cleavus has a chip on his shoulder is an understatement. His life of poverty has led to an obsession with material wealth. He thinks everyone considers him a lesser person because he has never had anything.
Cleavus is scavenging for something to eat when he happens upon a mine near Dodge City. An old man named Uriah Spessard has apparently been working the mine. When he sees Cleavus going through his supplies, Spessard threatens to shoot Cleavus. However, it quickly becomes obvious Cleavus is desperate. Spessard shares his food with the younger man, but Cleavus is suspicious and reluctant to accept Spessard's charity.
When Spessard continually refers to Cleavus as "son," Cleavus snaps and shoves the man, which results in Spessard fatally hitting his head. Cleavus discovers the man has a small pouch full of gold dust. When he begins looking around, he sees deposits of pyrite -- "Fool's Gold" -- along the walls and thinks it is real gold.
Cleavus travels to Dodge where he finds his old friend Festus is now a Deputy U. S. Marshal. Based on his discovery of the pyrite, Cleavus files a claim on the mine and now thinks he is a rich man.
The lifetime of bitterness and resentment drives Cleavus to extreme measures. He uses the gold he took off Spessard to buy a new suit of clothing, and he treats Festus, Doc Adams, and Kitty Russell to dinner. (Matt Dillon plays about as minimal role as possible and still be included in this episode.) Cleavus decides he wants to marry Kitty and refuses to accept her rejection of his proposal. He lashes out at anyone who doubts his sudden change in status. Festus cares for Cleavus and tries to help him to no avail.
The remainder of the story involves Festus piecing together the mysterious details of Cleavus's newfound wealth juxtaposed with Cleavus's misguided efforts to convince Miss Kitty to accept his marriage proposal.
Actor/director/writer Robert Totten is in the spotlight in this story in the role of Cleavus Lukens. Totten appeared in a total of eight different Gunsmoke episodes. Most of his appearances were smaller roles, but in this episode, he is the primary guest star.
Totten's career is closely tied to Gunsmoke. He directed episodes of several television shows throughout his career, including episodes of Hawaiian Eye, The Virginian, Bonanza, Daniel Boone, and Mission Impossible. However, his most prolific directorial work was done with Gunsmoke, where he directed twenty-five installments. In Season 16 alone, Totten directed the episodes "Stark," "The Scavengers," "Jenny," and the episode that aired prior to this installment, "Murdoch."
Totten gained a reputation in Hollywood circles as temperamental and - at times - difficult. Totten was involved in directing the Western film Death of a Gunfighter starring Richard Widmark in 1969. Totten and Widmark had problems - "artisitic differences" - during the filming. Totten was relieved of his directorial duties, and famed action director Don Siegel was hired to finish the film. When the film was complete, Siegel refused screen credit, and Widmark objected to having Totten's name appear in the credits. The parties involved reached a compromise where the directing would be credited to "Al Smith." The Directors Guild rejected this change because there was another director named Al Smith. The director's credit was then changed to the fictitious name "Alan Smithee." This naming scheme (sometimes the name "Allen Smithee" is used) set a precedent as the official pseudonym to be used any time a director wanted their name removed from a film they had directed.
Totten also directed the 1970 film The Wild Country, which was written by frequent Gunsmoke contributors Calvin Clements, Jr. And Paul Savage and starred familiar faces Steve Forrest, Vera Miles, Ron Howard, Morgan Woodward, Jack Elam, Dub Taylor, Karl Swenson, Woody Chambliss, and Mills Watson.
Character actor Arthur Hunnicutt appears briefly at the beginning of this story as the Uriah Spessard character. This is surprisingly Hunnicutt's only Gunsmoke appearance, as Hunnicutt was a familiar face in television during the 1960s and early 1970s. The role came later in Hunnicutt's career when he was often relegated to smaller parts. Hunnicutt was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the Howard Hawks Western The Big Sky in 1952. His last prominent film role was Hawks' 1966 film El Dorado in which Hunnicutt played the character Bull along with John Wayne as Cole Thornton and Robert Mitchum as Sheriff J. P. Harrah. (Incidentally, El Dorado so closely resembles Hawks' Rio Bravo from 1959 it could be considered a remake, but Hawks always denied it was intended to be a remake.)
"Cleavus" is an odd story. The Cleavus Lukens character is portrayed as a profoundly disturbed individual, but there is also a certain innocent naïveté about the character that evokes the viewer's sympathy. Most of the time, Robert Totten's performance projects a harsh, crazed, seething anger, but there are sad moments of despair as Cleavus spirals toward seemingly inevitable tragedy. The story resolution is more in keeping with some of the darker episodes of Gunsmoke from earlier seasons.
It is mildly interesting to get an additional glimpse into the childhood of Festus Haggen. Although Gunsmoke viewers meet several of the Haggen family members over the years, there is not a lot of information about Festus as a child. It is nice to know he has fond memories of those times.
The theme of some man striking it rich (or, as in this case, thinking he has struck it rich) and deciding he will convince Miss Kitty to marry him has been explored previously, most notably in Season 7's "The Dreamers." Season 7's "Marry Me" also mines similar territory with a character being determined to wed the saloon owner.
As an adult, to say Cleavus has a chip on his shoulder is an understatement. His life of poverty has led to an obsession with material wealth. He thinks everyone considers him a lesser person because he has never had anything.
Cleavus is scavenging for something to eat when he happens upon a mine near Dodge City. An old man named Uriah Spessard has apparently been working the mine. When he sees Cleavus going through his supplies, Spessard threatens to shoot Cleavus. However, it quickly becomes obvious Cleavus is desperate. Spessard shares his food with the younger man, but Cleavus is suspicious and reluctant to accept Spessard's charity.
When Spessard continually refers to Cleavus as "son," Cleavus snaps and shoves the man, which results in Spessard fatally hitting his head. Cleavus discovers the man has a small pouch full of gold dust. When he begins looking around, he sees deposits of pyrite -- "Fool's Gold" -- along the walls and thinks it is real gold.
Cleavus travels to Dodge where he finds his old friend Festus is now a Deputy U. S. Marshal. Based on his discovery of the pyrite, Cleavus files a claim on the mine and now thinks he is a rich man.
The lifetime of bitterness and resentment drives Cleavus to extreme measures. He uses the gold he took off Spessard to buy a new suit of clothing, and he treats Festus, Doc Adams, and Kitty Russell to dinner. (Matt Dillon plays about as minimal role as possible and still be included in this episode.) Cleavus decides he wants to marry Kitty and refuses to accept her rejection of his proposal. He lashes out at anyone who doubts his sudden change in status. Festus cares for Cleavus and tries to help him to no avail.
The remainder of the story involves Festus piecing together the mysterious details of Cleavus's newfound wealth juxtaposed with Cleavus's misguided efforts to convince Miss Kitty to accept his marriage proposal.
Actor/director/writer Robert Totten is in the spotlight in this story in the role of Cleavus Lukens. Totten appeared in a total of eight different Gunsmoke episodes. Most of his appearances were smaller roles, but in this episode, he is the primary guest star.
Totten's career is closely tied to Gunsmoke. He directed episodes of several television shows throughout his career, including episodes of Hawaiian Eye, The Virginian, Bonanza, Daniel Boone, and Mission Impossible. However, his most prolific directorial work was done with Gunsmoke, where he directed twenty-five installments. In Season 16 alone, Totten directed the episodes "Stark," "The Scavengers," "Jenny," and the episode that aired prior to this installment, "Murdoch."
Totten gained a reputation in Hollywood circles as temperamental and - at times - difficult. Totten was involved in directing the Western film Death of a Gunfighter starring Richard Widmark in 1969. Totten and Widmark had problems - "artisitic differences" - during the filming. Totten was relieved of his directorial duties, and famed action director Don Siegel was hired to finish the film. When the film was complete, Siegel refused screen credit, and Widmark objected to having Totten's name appear in the credits. The parties involved reached a compromise where the directing would be credited to "Al Smith." The Directors Guild rejected this change because there was another director named Al Smith. The director's credit was then changed to the fictitious name "Alan Smithee." This naming scheme (sometimes the name "Allen Smithee" is used) set a precedent as the official pseudonym to be used any time a director wanted their name removed from a film they had directed.
Totten also directed the 1970 film The Wild Country, which was written by frequent Gunsmoke contributors Calvin Clements, Jr. And Paul Savage and starred familiar faces Steve Forrest, Vera Miles, Ron Howard, Morgan Woodward, Jack Elam, Dub Taylor, Karl Swenson, Woody Chambliss, and Mills Watson.
Character actor Arthur Hunnicutt appears briefly at the beginning of this story as the Uriah Spessard character. This is surprisingly Hunnicutt's only Gunsmoke appearance, as Hunnicutt was a familiar face in television during the 1960s and early 1970s. The role came later in Hunnicutt's career when he was often relegated to smaller parts. Hunnicutt was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the Howard Hawks Western The Big Sky in 1952. His last prominent film role was Hawks' 1966 film El Dorado in which Hunnicutt played the character Bull along with John Wayne as Cole Thornton and Robert Mitchum as Sheriff J. P. Harrah. (Incidentally, El Dorado so closely resembles Hawks' Rio Bravo from 1959 it could be considered a remake, but Hawks always denied it was intended to be a remake.)
"Cleavus" is an odd story. The Cleavus Lukens character is portrayed as a profoundly disturbed individual, but there is also a certain innocent naïveté about the character that evokes the viewer's sympathy. Most of the time, Robert Totten's performance projects a harsh, crazed, seething anger, but there are sad moments of despair as Cleavus spirals toward seemingly inevitable tragedy. The story resolution is more in keeping with some of the darker episodes of Gunsmoke from earlier seasons.
It is mildly interesting to get an additional glimpse into the childhood of Festus Haggen. Although Gunsmoke viewers meet several of the Haggen family members over the years, there is not a lot of information about Festus as a child. It is nice to know he has fond memories of those times.
The theme of some man striking it rich (or, as in this case, thinking he has struck it rich) and deciding he will convince Miss Kitty to marry him has been explored previously, most notably in Season 7's "The Dreamers." Season 7's "Marry Me" also mines similar territory with a character being determined to wed the saloon owner.
