Gunsmoke (TV Series) The Busters (1975) User Reviews

Outstanding episode

[kenstallings-65346 · 9/10 · 28 July 2018]

Many consider this episode the finest of the twentieth and final season of the series. It is hard to argue against it being so.

The plot is plenty straightforward, but the acting is what takes this episode to the heights. Gary Busey turned in a special performance, and enjoyed strong support from John Beck and Lynn Benesch, the three of whom carried this episode with minimal acting by the normal ensemble cast.

It would take a truly cold-hearted person to watch this episode and not get a bit misty eyed. Ultimately, the value of one's life is measured by the quality and dedication of one's pursuits, regardless of how much time one lives.

One of the better shows from the last season- good watch

[kfo9494 · 9/10 · 12 September 2012]

In a surprising good and heartfelt episode we are introduced to two horse busters by the name of Harve Daley (Gary Busey) and Mitch Hansen (John Beck). While they are breaking in horses for a local rancher, Harve gets bucked off and the horse steps on his head. This is the only horse that Harve has not busted in years and is injured doing the task.

The two men go to Dodge to get their full pay for bucking the horses when Harve begins having fainting spells. Mitch takes him to see Doc Adams where he finds there is bleeding in the brain tissue from the horse stomp. Doc advises Mitch that Harve has only a short time to live and Mitch wants this kept from Harve. Doc agrees but tells Mitch to make sure he does not ride a horse nor have any heavy activities.

Mitch pays a bar-maid named Zoe to show Harve a good time. Only problem is that Harve, not being wise with women, begins falling in love with the Longbranch bar-maid. His dream has always been to see Montana and Mitch and him make plans to leave. Harve tells Zoe his dreams and ask her to join them as his wife.

Zoe wants to change her ways and agrees to go with them. But when Mitch tells Zoe the truth about Harve's medical condition, she plans to stay in Dodge and lets him down slowly.

Heave is upset and starts asking questions about how he has been treated. When Harve sees the horse that caused the injury, Mitch knows that Harve must ride. But at what cost will the ride take on the health of Harve.

John Beck and Gary Busey are excellent in this episode. Viewers know they are friends and would do anything for the other. And the way that Gary Busey plays Harve could not have been a better cast.

This one is worth the watch.

A great send-off for a great series

[wgranger · 9/10 · 13 December 2007]

The two men were actually free-lance broncobusters, and this is how Sheriff Matt Dillon got involved: the ranch owner had refused to pay the men, but the sheriff made him pay because the owner's own ranch hands admitted that the two men did the work. I know this is a minor point but Gary Busey's character was actually suffering from an epidural hematoma, not a subdural one. This is what allowed him to have the "lucid interval" and have that final "good time" before his death. I still think this was one of the greatest episodes and was an appropriate send-off for the series - Gary's character and the show both went out with a bang. Overall, the later Gunsmoke episodes seemed to show more humanity than the "shoot 'em up" episodes in the early years and I still am sorry it went off the air.

Gary Busey Shines!

[revran · 10/10 · 9 January 2007]

I really enjoyed this episode. Gary Busey's quiet, gentle cowboy is such a contrast to the bad guy roles he's played. Lynn Benisch who plays the saloon girl/girlfriend also is wonderful. Doc has the wise but tender bedside manner we all loved him for. The story of the bronc busting cowboys really gives one a feel for the loneliness of the roving cowboys way of life. Do you tell a dying man that he has a terminal disease? John Beck as Busey's partner tells Doc he going to give his friend a good time he will still be talking about two days after he's dead. He just doesn't count on the complications that arise. The story would make a great stand alone film. We loved it!

Two characters were bronco busters, not cattle rustlers

[sconeedshelp · 10/10 · 25 June 2007]

The two characters in the episode were bronco busters, not cattle rustlers. Gary Busey's character was thrown from a wild horse and stomped in the head, causing the head trauma that would kill him. John Beck's character knows the truth from Doc Adams but doesn't tell his friend and even goes out of his way to keep Busey's character from fighting at the Long Branch, knowing he could die from any additional blows to the head.

This is a terrific episode, beautifully acted and written. The series lated twenty years and could have gone longer because of the great stories and characters. Some other Westerns from the same era suffer from hanging on too long or trying to be serious and ending up being campy but Gunsmoke is the star of the genre.

One of the two best episodes in the history of this series

[mts43 · 10/10 · 31 August 2020]

It's appropriate that one of the best episodes in the entire 20-year history of the landmark series was in the final season. It is remarkable that this series could still produce such outstanding writing even after 20 years.

Definite watch

[rochellehendrix · 10/10 · 30 November 2021]

This is a really great episode with great acting. I miss seeing the regular cast because it doesnt really seem like a Gunsmoke episode, but it is well worth a watch.

Looks Familiar

[Bronco46 · 9/10 · 11 February 2011]

This is an excellent episode! Well acted and well written. It has an excellent cast. John Beck and Gary Busey are standouts in this story of men who travel the country breaking horse for ranchers as they move around the country. This story is very familiar though and was probably written Mr. Busey in mind. He had just finished Thunderbolt and Lightfoot the year before. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot starred Busey and Clint Eastwood who robbed a successfully robbed a bank; but Curly (busey's character) got a head injury during the robbery and died after he and Clint had escaped. It was a poignant drama that ends just like this episode. It would be very hard to believe this was a coincidence. That being said; this was a good story, that stands on it's own.

The Dangers of Being a Cowboy

[wdavidreynolds · 8/10 · 18 November 2021]

Harve Daley and Mitch Hansen are a couple of bronco-busting cowboys that drift from ranch to ranch engaging in their chosen profession. They are currently working for a rancher named Simeon Reed near Dodge City. The two have been taking turns breaking horses. The last is a beautiful white horse that no one has been able to tame. It is Harve's turn to ride. When he tries to ride the horse, he is thrown, and the horse kicks Harve in the head.

Harve shrugs off the injury. When the pair tries to collect the money they are owed, the ranch foreman only pays half of the amount they were promised. The foreman tells the cowboys they will have to talk to Mr. Reed about any discrepancy in the wages paid.

Harve and Mitch ride into Dodge City to find the rancher in the hopes of getting the money they are due. While they are in the Long Branch Saloon, Harve collapses, but he quickly recovers. Doc Adams happens to be in the saloon and sees what happens. He briefly examines Harve and encourages him to come to his office.

Doc examines Harve and discovers he has suffered a subdural hematoma. Doc explains to Mitch that Harve's condition will deteriorate and eventually result in death. Harve only has a few days left to live. Mitch asks Doc not to share this news with Harve.

Mitch pays Zoe, a woman that works in the Long Branch, to spend some time entertaining Harve. The two soon begin to fall in love and make plans to marry before Mitch tells Zoe about Harve's fate.

Gary Busey steals the show with his portrayal of the Harve Daley character. His characterization results in a complex individual that is innocent, wise, and eminently likeable. He knows he cannot be a bronco buster for many more years, and he has dreams of settling on land in Montana where he intends to raise horses. This is Busey's only appearance in the series, but it is one of the best in a long history of great performances by Gunsmoke guests. Busey, who first moved to Hollywood to pursue a music career, would soon draw rave reviews -- and a Best Actor nomination by the Motion Picture Academy -- for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story. Incidentally, in December 1988, Busey suffered serious brain trauma when he crashed his motorcycle. The accident resulted in permanent brain damage, but Busey was eventually able to resume his acting career.

Actor John Beck appeared in three Gunsmoke episodes. He plays the Mitch Hansen character in this story, his last for the series. Lynn Benisch (credited as Lynn Benesch) portrays Zoe. This is the only appearance in the series for the little used actress.

Gregg Palmer appears for the last time in a Gunsmoke episode as the rancher Simeon Reed. Palmer was a veritable Gunsmoke veteran with parts in twenty-one different episodes.

The Gunsmoke regulars have little to do in this episode. Milburn Stone has the most screen time, but even that is minimal. This story is built around the Harve, Mitch, and Zoe characters.

This marks the last of forty-five Gunsmoke episodes directed by Vincent McEveety and the final of thirty-four written by Jim Byrnes.

This episode is a must-see for Busey's performance. It also represents the last high-quality story in the history of the series, as the last two episodes broadcast were lacking in content. However, I would hesitate to consider this among the best episodes in Season 20, much less in the entire run of the series. While it is not a bad story, it does not offer much beyond Busey's outstanding acting. The viewer knows where the story is headed early in the episode, and the lack of involvement by the regular cast is noticeable. As with the earlier Season 20 episode "Thirty A Month and Found" this story does expose the tough, often brutal aspects of the life of a cowboy. The portrayal of Harve's injury does not ring true, though. It is not likely anyone suffering the injury described would have been able to function as well as Harve does throughout most of the story.

CBS selected this episode for the final Gunsmoke broadcast of the twenty-season run of the series. It originally aired in March 1975, but it was not the final first-run episode broadcast. That distinction goes to "The Sharecroppers." CBS re-ran "The Busters" on September 1, 1975, and that was the last regular season Gunsmoke CBS broadcast.

Well-Done Episode

[ellisel · 10/10 · 5 June 2006]

John Beck performed brilliantly as Mitch Hansen in the last original episode of Gunsmoke. He and his partner were involved with cattle rustling. His partner rode a bull that became too volatile for his own good; he suffers a horrible gash in his head. Upon reaching Dodge City, Dr. Adams told Mitch Hansen his partner endured a subdural hematoma -- without any hope of living. Even with all the medicine in the world would not help him at all. His partner only had days to live; therefore, he spent whatever time left to enjoy the finer things in Dodge City. Both of them signed up for a $150 contest to determine how long they could withstand the challenge of riding a horse. The only problem: they would be leaving for Montana. The worst part? Hansen's partner was nearing death; his last activity would be to ride the horse before enduring the eternal rest from that type of terminal injury. I would have rated the episode a 14 .... all because of the special circumstances involving the final scene leading up to Hansen's partner dying much too soon in Dodge City .... particularly in 1975.