The times in which this story was set, 1870's America, with the influx of immigrants from Europe coming to our shores, illustrates the problems of assimilation of one family and understanding that America is more about justice than they understood. Matt and Festus were caught in the middle of a Russian/Jewish family with a very strong willed patriarch and his equally strong willed son who is willing to stand against his father when his father doesn't seem willing to avail his family of this new land where the law does not oppress, but truly seeks to have justice for everyone.
There are 3 outstanding performances here that should be remembered. First, Paul Stevens is excellent as the Father. He is one of my favorite character actors and, in addition to this role, he played in 2 other episodes of Gunsmoke and was excellent in both of them as well. He plays the soft spoken, grieving father who is willing to jeopardize his relationship with his son to do what he believes is right according to his religious beliefs. A scene that might be the most powerful ever in TV history was when his wife rebukes him for his beliefs and he, very tenderly, asserts that there are only 2 things that he fears; offending God and losing her love. She then replies that she has loved him for over 30 years and he will never lose her love and she has never loved him more than that moment. The tears are flowing while watching that! Powerful stuff.
A young Richard Dreyfuss is here as the middle son and he also gives a glimpse into his future as one of the premier actors of the 80's and 90's. He gives a very passionate portrayal of a son who cannot understand his father not wanting to see justice for what the "ruffians" did to his brother.
Also, Victor French gives his usual fine performance here as the bad guy. It is interesting that he also gave a similar performance here as he gave in another Gunsmoke episode that also had Paul Stevens. In "Trafton", he played a bad guy who developed a conscience after encountering a Reverend played by Stevens. The chemistry between those two actors is palpable in both of those episodes.
It's easy to see how this is one of the most acclaimed episodes of Gunsmoke in it's long run. It's definitely one that I will watch whenever I see it is coming.
There are 3 outstanding performances here that should be remembered. First, Paul Stevens is excellent as the Father. He is one of my favorite character actors and, in addition to this role, he played in 2 other episodes of Gunsmoke and was excellent in both of them as well. He plays the soft spoken, grieving father who is willing to jeopardize his relationship with his son to do what he believes is right according to his religious beliefs. A scene that might be the most powerful ever in TV history was when his wife rebukes him for his beliefs and he, very tenderly, asserts that there are only 2 things that he fears; offending God and losing her love. She then replies that she has loved him for over 30 years and he will never lose her love and she has never loved him more than that moment. The tears are flowing while watching that! Powerful stuff.
A young Richard Dreyfuss is here as the middle son and he also gives a glimpse into his future as one of the premier actors of the 80's and 90's. He gives a very passionate portrayal of a son who cannot understand his father not wanting to see justice for what the "ruffians" did to his brother.
Also, Victor French gives his usual fine performance here as the bad guy. It is interesting that he also gave a similar performance here as he gave in another Gunsmoke episode that also had Paul Stevens. In "Trafton", he played a bad guy who developed a conscience after encountering a Reverend played by Stevens. The chemistry between those two actors is palpable in both of those episodes.
It's easy to see how this is one of the most acclaimed episodes of Gunsmoke in it's long run. It's definitely one that I will watch whenever I see it is coming.