When his uncle kills his father in cold blood, Buck Henry vows to avenge his death, no matter what the cost.When his uncle kills his father in cold blood, Buck Henry vows to avenge his death, no matter what the cost.When his uncle kills his father in cold blood, Buck Henry vows to avenge his death, no matter what the cost.
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- GoofsIt's very windy in the town where Rance is gambling, but the saloon curtains aren't moving, the swinging doors aren't swinging, and the dirt and leaves blowing around right outside the door don't blow in.
Featured review
The Determined Vengeance of Buck Henry Woolfe
The trail of bloodshed the title of the episode references is the product of the actions of Rance Woolfe. Rance is one of those purely evil, unrepentant outlaw characters the Gunsmoke writers favored over the years.
Prior to the start of this episode, Woolfe has paid a visit to Mr. Lathrop's store in Dodge City. He robbed the store, and mercilessly beat Mr. Lathrop. Doc Adams is tending to the store owner's medical needs, and Festus Haggen learns the details of the crime from Mr. Lathrop. Festus promptly sets out in pursuit of Woolfe.
After leaving Dodge, Rance travels to his brother John's farm. John Woolfe lives on the farm with his son Buck Henry. John is not pleased to see his despicable brother, but he agrees to allow Rance to stop long enough to rest himself and his horse. The two brothers argue, and Rance shoots and kills John. He begins to ransack the house looking for money.
When Buck Henry walks into the house, he sees his uncle searching for money and his father lying dead on the floor. He quickly realizes Rance killed his father. When Buck Henry raises his rifle to shoot Rance, the outlaw draws his gun and shoots Buck Henry.
Rance has taken what little money there was and is back on the run. Festus eventually arrives at the house and finds Buck Henry injured, but, fortunately, the bullet from Rance's gun only creased the young man's head. He will be okay.
Buck Henry is determined to avenge his father's death by killing Rance, but Festus insists he leave justice to the proper legal authorities. After the young man hits Festus in the head with a cast iron skillet, he sets off in pursuit of his fugitive uncle. When Festus regains consciousness, he goes after both Buck Henry and Rance and soon finds he has Buck Henry's girlfriend Joanie riding along.
A couple of Gunsmoke veterans play the Woolfe brothers. Tom Simcox portrays Rance, and Larry Pennell plays John. It is easy to believe these characters are brothers, because the two actors look they could be related. This is the final appearance in the series for both men.
Kurt Russell plays Buck Henry Woolfe. This is Russell's second and final appearance in a Gunsmoke episode. The earlier role was ten years earlier in Season 10 when Russell was still a kid. His appearance here is just prior to a proliferation of acting jobs that would begin to define his acting career.
The great character actor Harry Carey. Jr. Is yet another actor making his final appearance in the Gunsmoke series with this episode. He plays Amos Brody, a carefree farmer, who is one of John and Buck Henry's neighbors and the father of Joanie, Buck Henry's girlfriend.
Janit Baldwin makes her only Gunsmoke appearance as Joanie Brody. Baldwin enjoyed a successful ten-year acting career before leaving the profession to pursue a successful career as a fashion designer.
Look for Craig Stevens, who is best known for his starring role as the ultra-cool detective Peter Gunn in the Blake Edwards series of that name, as a mysterious character credited only as "The Gambler." I wanted to know more about this sharply dressed character who spends his time hanging out, gambling, and drinking in a saloon in a small middle-of-nowhere town. The story gives the impression that he is the saloon owner and operates a brothel upstairs. The character is basically a hard-drinking, gambler version of Peter Gunn sans the detective attributes.
This is also the final appearance for Read Morgan in the series. He plays the bartender in the saloon where The Gambler operates. This marks Morgan's tenth Gunsmoke appearance.
I find it amusing that Festus is the person pursuing Rance Woolfe and encounters Woolfe's nephew, Buck Henry, who also wants to catch Rance to dispense his own measure of justice. Festus is adamantly opposed to the idea of Buck Henry accompanying him in his further pursuit.
Long time Gunsmoke fans will recall the Festus character was first introduced to Gunsmoke in Season 8's "Us Haggens" when Matt Dillon encountered him while pursuing Black Jack Haggen, who was Festus's uncle. Festus was trying to catch up with his uncle because Black Jack had killed Fergus Haggen, Festus's twin brother. Like Buck Henry and his uncle Rance in this story, Festus was planning to kill Black Jack. Marshal Dillon never quite knows whether to trust the man or not, but he allows Festus to accompany him in the pursuit.
This is a fun episode, even though it lacks much in the way of originality. It uses several tried-and-true Gunsmoke story elements: the incorrigible, unconscionable outlaw (Rance), the outlaw's innocent victims (Mr. Lathrop, John and Buck Henry Woolfe), the righteous character pursuing the outlaw (Buck Henry), the righteous character's love interest (Joanie), and the hero (Festus).
The story features the Festus Haggen character most prominently of the regular cast members. Milburn Stone is seen in a couple of bookend scenes at the beginning and end, and James Arness makes his requisite appearance in an extremely brief scene at the end. Paul Savage's script provides a few moments of humor along the way.
Prior to the start of this episode, Woolfe has paid a visit to Mr. Lathrop's store in Dodge City. He robbed the store, and mercilessly beat Mr. Lathrop. Doc Adams is tending to the store owner's medical needs, and Festus Haggen learns the details of the crime from Mr. Lathrop. Festus promptly sets out in pursuit of Woolfe.
After leaving Dodge, Rance travels to his brother John's farm. John Woolfe lives on the farm with his son Buck Henry. John is not pleased to see his despicable brother, but he agrees to allow Rance to stop long enough to rest himself and his horse. The two brothers argue, and Rance shoots and kills John. He begins to ransack the house looking for money.
When Buck Henry walks into the house, he sees his uncle searching for money and his father lying dead on the floor. He quickly realizes Rance killed his father. When Buck Henry raises his rifle to shoot Rance, the outlaw draws his gun and shoots Buck Henry.
Rance has taken what little money there was and is back on the run. Festus eventually arrives at the house and finds Buck Henry injured, but, fortunately, the bullet from Rance's gun only creased the young man's head. He will be okay.
Buck Henry is determined to avenge his father's death by killing Rance, but Festus insists he leave justice to the proper legal authorities. After the young man hits Festus in the head with a cast iron skillet, he sets off in pursuit of his fugitive uncle. When Festus regains consciousness, he goes after both Buck Henry and Rance and soon finds he has Buck Henry's girlfriend Joanie riding along.
A couple of Gunsmoke veterans play the Woolfe brothers. Tom Simcox portrays Rance, and Larry Pennell plays John. It is easy to believe these characters are brothers, because the two actors look they could be related. This is the final appearance in the series for both men.
Kurt Russell plays Buck Henry Woolfe. This is Russell's second and final appearance in a Gunsmoke episode. The earlier role was ten years earlier in Season 10 when Russell was still a kid. His appearance here is just prior to a proliferation of acting jobs that would begin to define his acting career.
The great character actor Harry Carey. Jr. Is yet another actor making his final appearance in the Gunsmoke series with this episode. He plays Amos Brody, a carefree farmer, who is one of John and Buck Henry's neighbors and the father of Joanie, Buck Henry's girlfriend.
Janit Baldwin makes her only Gunsmoke appearance as Joanie Brody. Baldwin enjoyed a successful ten-year acting career before leaving the profession to pursue a successful career as a fashion designer.
Look for Craig Stevens, who is best known for his starring role as the ultra-cool detective Peter Gunn in the Blake Edwards series of that name, as a mysterious character credited only as "The Gambler." I wanted to know more about this sharply dressed character who spends his time hanging out, gambling, and drinking in a saloon in a small middle-of-nowhere town. The story gives the impression that he is the saloon owner and operates a brothel upstairs. The character is basically a hard-drinking, gambler version of Peter Gunn sans the detective attributes.
This is also the final appearance for Read Morgan in the series. He plays the bartender in the saloon where The Gambler operates. This marks Morgan's tenth Gunsmoke appearance.
I find it amusing that Festus is the person pursuing Rance Woolfe and encounters Woolfe's nephew, Buck Henry, who also wants to catch Rance to dispense his own measure of justice. Festus is adamantly opposed to the idea of Buck Henry accompanying him in his further pursuit.
Long time Gunsmoke fans will recall the Festus character was first introduced to Gunsmoke in Season 8's "Us Haggens" when Matt Dillon encountered him while pursuing Black Jack Haggen, who was Festus's uncle. Festus was trying to catch up with his uncle because Black Jack had killed Fergus Haggen, Festus's twin brother. Like Buck Henry and his uncle Rance in this story, Festus was planning to kill Black Jack. Marshal Dillon never quite knows whether to trust the man or not, but he allows Festus to accompany him in the pursuit.
This is a fun episode, even though it lacks much in the way of originality. It uses several tried-and-true Gunsmoke story elements: the incorrigible, unconscionable outlaw (Rance), the outlaw's innocent victims (Mr. Lathrop, John and Buck Henry Woolfe), the righteous character pursuing the outlaw (Buck Henry), the righteous character's love interest (Joanie), and the hero (Festus).
The story features the Festus Haggen character most prominently of the regular cast members. Milburn Stone is seen in a couple of bookend scenes at the beginning and end, and James Arness makes his requisite appearance in an extremely brief scene at the end. Paul Savage's script provides a few moments of humor along the way.
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- wdavidreynolds
- Oct 20, 2021
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