Gunsmoke (TV Series) The Pariah (1965) User Reviews

Familiar Plot Lifted by Outstanding Performances

[wdavidreynolds · 7/10 · 19 January 2021]

When Sicilian immigrant Paolo Scanzano kills the outlaw Johnny Hooker, he is first heralded as a hero. However, when the Dodge City residents learn the details of the event -- Scanzano shot Hooker while Hooker was eating -- they begin viewing him as a coward.

This is a familiar trope of the television western: a seemingly mild character somehow kills a notorious outlaw only to be viewed in a negative light by fellow citizens. It also uses a somewhat common dramatic theme of a character who does not -- or will not -- explain the circumstances surrounding the event while others jump to unwarranted conclusions. Scanzano's ignorance of local laws and customs works to his detriment.

In this case, Hooker invaded the Scanzano home and was clearly a danger to the family. He menacingly barked orders to various family members and demanded they accommodate him. Of course, the viewer has the benefit of seeing the events unfold, while the residents of Dodge City must rely only on an incomplete newspaper account and Scanzano's fractured retelling of the details. The fact that Scanzano is an "outsider" to the people of the area probably does not help his cause much.

As is common in this type of story, Hooker's brothers hear of the shooting and decide to travel to Dodge to exact revenge for their brother's death. Since the residents of the town have harshly judged Scanzano, they abide and even encourage the cruel taunting and bullying perpetrated by the Hookers towards Scanzano.

This familiar story benefits significantly from the fine performances of the cast. The great character actor John Dehner adopts an accent and plays the role of Paolo Scanzano. Lee Van Cleef, one of the all-time great western "heavy" types, appears all too briefly as Johnny Hooker. Two other Gunsmoke veterans, Steve Ihnat and Tom Reese play Ben and Wayne Hooker, respectively.

Calvin Clements wrote this episode and was involved in writing over 40 episodes of Gunsmoke over the years. His first was the episode "Jonah Hutchinson" earlier in Season 10. Clements also wrote the James Stewart-Henry Fonda film Firecreek and several episodes of The Rifleman.

I do not view this episode as negatively as some of the other user reviews. While the theme was overused in many western television dramas, the acting in this episode lifts it to above average status, in my opinion.

A scene that looks ridiculous

[LukeCoolHand · 7/10 · 13 July 2021]

There is a scene towards the end where John Dehner gets his gun shot out of his hand. He falls to the ground and then acts paralyzed from the waist up, trying to get his gun by crawling using only his legs to crawl barely moving. That scene is hard to describe but is very weird looking. How does getting your gun shot from your hand paralyze your whole body ? After a minute or two he gets up fine and walks and all of a sudden he's not acting paralyzed anymore. Odd scene.

The action was strong but the script was weak

[kfo9494 · 4/10 · 11 February 2013]

John Dehner plays an Italian immigrant named Paolo Scanzano who happens to get a unwanted visit from a known outlaw. When John Hooker comes in for food, Paolo's children notice that his picture is on a wanted poster that says dead or alive. When the outlaw is at the table eating, Paolo finds a way to get a gun and shoot the wanted man. When he carries the body into town he is held-up as a hero. But when he tells a reporter that he shot the man while he was eating- things change.

For some reason the people in Dodge think you should at least give a wanted killer a fighting chance -- so now they turn on Paolo. Now people are yelling insults and calling him a coward for his actions. When his barn is burned, Paolo knows that he did nothing to shame his family and he must fight back. But it will come at a cost.

I really never got into this story. It just seemed all to odd that the citizens of the peace loving town of Dodge would turn on a man that shot a wanted killer for invading his home. Did not like the concept or the script. The bright spot was John Dehner that played the part of the Italian with great results. Other than the acting, this show was below par for the series.

Chef Boyardee would be proud

[Johnny_West · 5/10 · 28 June 2022]

Back in the old days, when it was still allowed, kids used to imitate foreign accents and pretend to be TV characters. The rhyming Italian accent was always fun, and nobody did it worse than John Dehner as Scanzano.

John Dehner is Scanzano, the Italian immigrant who happens upon a wanted killer and shoots him. He gives the $5000.00 reward to a local church charity, which seems insane, considering that $5000.00 in 1870 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $113,082.44 today. His Italian family consists of Anglo kids and a German wife (played by Ilka Windish).

Like often happens, Gunsmoke sets out to make a point about sensitivity to other cultures and cannot even cast one Italian character with a real Italian. Considering that they often used Italian actor Vito Scotti to play Indians and Mexicans, it would have been nice to see Scotti playing an Italian.

John Dehner rhymes everything he says, he has a really cheap fake mustache that is totally flat, like a sticker, and every time he talks about his family, the Chef Boyardee spaghetti music comes on in the background.

The only good thing about this episode is Matt Dillon is in it, along with good villains like Lee Van Cleef, Tom Reese, Steve Ihnat, and George Keymas. These guys are all decent thugs on their own, but together they make a formidable menace.

Eventually Matt Dillon sorts them out, like they deserve. Considering all the mean things that were done to the Scanzano family, I was hoping for major bloodshed at the end.

One bright point is that the townfolks that supported the villains when they were persecuting Scanzano, eventually show him some love. One glaring question is why the minister and church that got the $5000.00 donation never stepped up to help Scanzano? Seems pretty mean-spirited that they never gave Scanzano a hand when his family needed it.

One very low point is the ridiculous gun-fight between Steve Ihnat and Scanzano. Scanzano gets shot in the shoulder and then wiggles in the dirt for about 90 seconds like he was paralyzed, as he crawls very slowly towards his gun by clawing the dirt with one hand while yelling in rhyme "pizza pizza mama mia I no a coward. Always a remember, Scanzano was a not afraided. Ravioli ravioli tortellini."

"Eh, What's a-da-maddah wid you?"

[lrrap · 5/10 · 12 November 2021]

...or Italiano-inflected words to that effect.

John Dehner's Italian shtick..and the cornball scripting of his family, home, etc...(and his fake mustache) are tough to take seriously. As the episode begins to develop tension and become more believable, it regresses into the contrived business where all of Dodge's citizenry immediately rejects Dehner as the title "Pariah".

Ultimately, the script, direction, and John Dehner's performance begin to achieve some real depth and honesty, as he ponders his legacy to his sons, and decides to confront the evil that lurks within the hearts of the Hooker brood (Dehner was, in fact, a very good...if overused, actor). So it's not a total loss.

HUGE MISSED OPPORTUNITY!! I was waiting (in vain, as it turns out) for a very important plot point to re-surface: that Paolo decided to donate the $5K reward money to the local church; how could the writer have POSSIBLY abandoned that idea at the end of the show?? Since the reward money was such a big part of the hatred that developed against Paolo, why wasn't his donating it to charity revealed at some crucial point as the show neared its climax? 1.) Maybe one of the Hooker boys might have had 2nd thoughts, and challenged his violent brothers 2.) Maybe the townspeople might have rallied behind Paolo and defended him during the big confrontation. 3.) Maybe the barn-raising materials at the end could have been purchased with the reward money, thus creating wonderful feelings among the citizens, who would apologize and welcome Paolo back into the community.

There are SO many possibilities here..which a rushed, cliche-ridden script ignores. Too bad. LR.

Frustrating Beyond Belief!!

[stevoreno · 4/10 · 16 January 2021]

Immigrant Shoots Outlaw,Town Scorns him for no good reason.Then he Wails on a local hood after being attacked,Town Hates and Doesn't Respect Him!Then his Barn is Set Fire To.His Livestock is Killed.Town still Hates Him.The Townspeople of Dodge act SO Poorly,the episode is hard to watch.The hero gets Shot,and they still act like Morons. This is one Frustrating Hour that Really Doesn't Redeem itself.I think it's the worst episode in the series,save for The one where Chester Brings his Awful Girlfriend to his Hovel Dugout on the Prairie. By the way,I am a Big Gunsmoke Fan.