Black Jack Haggen is another of those Gunsmoke villains that are lacking any redeeming qualities. Killing another person means nothing more to him than someone stepping on a bug. When he kills one of the farmers that lives close to Dodge City, Matt Dillon sets out in pursuit.
Matt isn't alone this time, though. He runs across Festus Haggen, who is also after his uncle for personal reasons. Matt agrees to allow Festus to tag along in the pursuit of Black Jack.
And so, we meet the one-and-only Festus Haggen for the first time.
Decades later, I am not sure when the Gunsmoke producers decided to add Festus as a regular character on the show. Although we first meet Festus here, we don't see him again until the next season in the "Prairie Wolfer" episode. However, this episode sure seems like it is as much to introduce us to Festus as anything.
There is a lot of Festus storytelling, especially as he tells Matt about his very unique family, many who have no qualms about breaking the law when it suits them, and maybe that even includes Festus. A big part of the tension in this episode is built around Matt not being sure if he can trust Festus or not.
Denver Pyle is good, as always, as Black Jack Haggen. We also get to meet April as played by Elizabeth MacRae, perhaps better known as Lou Ann Poovie on Gomer Pyle USMC. April would make additional appearances as Festus's girlfriend in the next season of Gunsmoke. Billy Hughes, a frequent guest on many westerns at the time, also appears early in this episode.
It is difficult to judge this episode on its own merits, because we now know the profound impact the Festus character would have on Gunsmoke. But a large part of this episode is an early version of Festus being Festus. The resolution to the episode is not especially surprising.