It is Christmas season in Dodge City, and the festivities include a party and dance. Chester Goode's brother Magnus is in town to visit, much to Chester's fear and dread. Chester is embarrassed by his brother and considers him unfit to be around people who live in the town. "People will think my whole family was brought up in a cave!" Chester exclaims upon learning his brother is in town. Magnus even admits he does not enjoy spending time in towns and prefers living away from civilization. Over the course of this story, the viewer learns that Magnus is far more wise and worldly than Chester thinks he is.
Robert Easton is brilliant as Magnus Goode. Easton was a prolific actor with numerous appearances in films and television, but he was best known as an expert on dialects. He coached several actors in prominent roles over the years. I remember seeing him on The Tonight Show where he discussed different dialects with Johnny Carson and provided several examples. This episode is the only time Easton appeared in a Gunsmoke television episode. I have always wished his Magnus portrayal could have been included in more episodes of the series.
Actor James Anderson makes the first of nine Gunsmoke appearances in this episode. He plays the self-righteous, holier-than-thou, curiously named character Lucifer Jones. Anderson was only 35 years old when this episode was filmed, but the Lucifer Jones character looks much older.
This is the first episode in the series where the Chester Goode character is so prominently featured. It also provides a more extensive view of Dodge City than previous episodes.
Although the setting for this episode is during the Christmas season, there is little in the way of a traditional Christmas story. It is a simple tale about Chester and his brother, and Chester's discovery that Magnus is not who Chester thought he was. Several times during the story, Magnus relates some experience, and Chester is surprised.
The episode is worth seeing especially for the performances and the brief glimpse into Chester's personal life. The subplot with Lucifer Jones appears to have been added to heighten the action in the story, but it is not necessary.
The original broadcast date for the episode was Christmas Eve 1955. The television script was adapted from a Gunsmoke radio episode that was broadcast about a year earlier and also featured Easton as the Magnus character. Magnus is the only member of Chester's immediate family that would appear in the series. However, Chester's Uncle Sunday Meechum would pay a visit in Season 8's hour-long "Uncle Sunday" episode.
There would not be another Gunsmoke story set in the Christmas season until Season 17's "P. S. Murry Christmas."
Note the opening typically used in the early seasons of the series with Matt walking among the graves on Boot Hill and ruminating about his life as a U. S. Marshall is not used for this episode. The episode opens with Kitty Russell and some other women briskly walking along the sidewalks of Dodge.