User Reviews

Likable brothers Billy and Lew Baxter are in Dodge City picking up supplies. They go into the Long Branch Saloon to have a drink. Gunfighter Joe Delk is in the Long Branch, too. When he begins harassing Kitty Russell, Billy steps in and the two men have words. When Billy starts to draw his gun, Delk kills him. When Lew sees his brother killed, he starts to draw, but Delk guns him down, too.

(John Meston used a similar set of circumstances where two brothers face a gunfighter with tragic results in the story "Executioner" earlier in Season 2.)

Kitty tells Matt Dillon that the Baxters drew first. The Marshal takes Delk's gun and invites him into the street for a fistfight. Matt savagely beats Delk and locks him in jail for some reason. The gunfighter is released after a few days, but now the man's confidence has been badly shaken. When Matt returns Delk's guns, he gives Delk a chance to face him in a gunfight, but Delk walks away.

The eminently recognizable Harold J. Stone makes the first of his seven Gunsmoke appearances as the Joe Delk character. Stone was one of those actors with incredible range. He could play villains, heroic characters, and comedic roles.

Steven Terrell and Robert C. Ross portray the Baxter brothers, Lew and Billy, respectively. Both actors had short-lived acting careers playing mostly smaller parts.

The only other actor of note in the story is Hal Baylor. Baylor was a frequent guest in television westerns. He had previously appeared in the Gunsmoke pilot, "Hack Prine." Baylor appeared in a total of seven Gunsmoke episodes. He is one of the very few actors, other than the series regulars, who appeared in both the first and last seasons of the series.

This is a fascinating psychological tale of a man facing his own personal demons. Stone's performance lifts the story above the questionable details of the story. Why did everyone stand around in the Long Branch while Delk shot both Baxter brothers? Couldn't someone try to stop the fight or get Marshal Dillon? When Kitty tells Matt the shootings were technically "fair" fights, what gives Matt the right to beat the man? And then, after beating him, why was Delk jailed for several days if he technically did nothing illegal?

One of the more unusual episodes in the entire run of Gunsmoke. It's really a physicalogical study of a hardened gun fighter. A known gun slinger comes into town and immediately gets a couple of young cow hands to draw on him. He kills them easily ( self defense because they drew first). Matt, who probably could have killed the gun man with his gun, instead decides to take off his gun belt and use his fists. We really don't see the beating but it's bad enough to keep the gun fighter bed ridden for a week or so. The rest of the show is the guy trying to recover mentally from the beating. He lost all self confidence and turned from a cold blooded killer to a scared little man. Really interesting watch complete with some Twilight Zone music

Good character study. Gunman Delk (Stone) mercilessly outdraws two young brothers. Since the boys drew first, Matt's legal hands are tied, but not his fists. He beats Delk harshly in fistfight as punishment. As result, Delk is unnerved and starts drinking. But what will happen now to a gunshy gunman.

Stone is excellent as the brutal Delk, looking every inch the part and going through the various character changes effectively. He even manages a bit of sympathy despite his callous nature. Note entry's final conversational exchange with its subtle after-death implication. On downside — to me the several shootings are treated a little too casually, even for half-hour TV.

Which was likely the point I think this one neefed to go pn longer. It was bery good as far as it went.

It's interesting seeing some of the troupes they supposedly had back in the Old West, like fighting with your gun being more honorable than fighting with your fists. But then again, only the gunmen seemed to carry that philosophy. Probably because they couldn't fight with their hands so the actual "cowards" of that period could easily thrive by power of the gun... all they had to do was be quick at the draw.

Anyway, that's what happens here when a gunmen eager to get his name known is in The Long Branch looking for trouble which leads to a sad scene where 2 nice young well liked siblings end up dead. After that Matt literally beats the courage out of him! I mean we don't get the pleasure of seeing but it affects the jerk in ways he never saw coming.

The episode is more psychological than most and through that the bad guy really get what's coming to him the rest of the story. Solid entry.