User Reviews

Matt Dillon rides into Dodge City early one morning with a mean, ornery prisoner named Job Snelling. The Marshal has not slept in 36 hours, and Snelling fights Matt at every opportunity. Matt finally gets Snelling secured in the jail and lies down for some rest, but constant interruptions and frustrations ensue.

Snelling continues to cause trouble and even manages to stab Marshal Dillon in the arm with a fork. A mischievous boy wreaks havoc all over town. Kitty Russell is furious at Matt for missing a picnic she had planned while he was chasing Snelling. Two old prospectors begin fighting and causing damage in the Long Branch Saloon. Every time Matt tries to get some rest, another crisis erupts.

As if all of this is not frustrating enough, everyone keeps telling Matt how bad he looks and how he needs to get some rest.

This episode features another stellar cast of characters and character actors. Margaret Hamilton, best known as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, plays a cantankerous woman named Edsel Pry. This is her only Gunsmoke appearance, and it is wonderfully annoying.

Frequent television villain Leo Gordon portrays the nasty Job Snelling. Shug Fisher and Douglas Fowley play the two old prospectors who find themselves the victims of a mail-order bride fraud. Fisher plays the same character he always played. This is one of his twenty-seven Gunsmoke roles. Fowley appeared in everything from the film Singin' in the Rain to Gomer Pyle, U. S. M. C. He had a recurring role as Doc Holliday in the series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp alongside Hugh O'Brien.

Child actor Willie Aames plays the rambunctious Andy Ballou. John Fielder and Helen Page Camp play his parents, Odem and Seva Ballou. Familiar actor J. Pat O'Malley has a brief scene as a Drummer.

The episode features a healthy dose of recurring Gunsmoke characters, too. Herb Vigran returns for another portrayal of Judge Brooker. Woodrow Chambliss shows up briefly as Lathrop. Ted Jordan appears again as Nathan Burke.

James Arness is especially good in this story. He looks and acts exhausted. The Matt Dillon character's frustration shines through the performance. On the other hand, Ken Curtis has never been more annoying as Festus Haggen. Of course, he is SUPPOSED to be annoying. That is the point to his character in this story.

This is one of the more unique and memorable episodes of Season 18. It is an unexpected departure from the heaviness of many of the installments in the series. This story can be described as the ultimate "one of those days."

Poor Ole Marshal Dillon has a bad day when he has been up for three days chasing a prisoner that he was able to bring back for trial. Matt arrives back early in the morning and is finally able to put his head on a pillow at the office. Right after his head hits the pillow, Festus comes walking in with a mess of catfish to clean. Matt begs Festus to take it outside so he can get some sleep and take the prisoner to Judge Brookins that evening. Festus tells Matt that the Judge is leaving early today and he has to take him over to him this morning. Matt tells Festus to just give him a few minutes sleep and then wake him up.

Right after Matt head hit the pillow again, Ms Pry comes into the office holding a young boy by the ear. She tells Matt that she wants something done to the boy since he stole one of her pies. So Matt has to get back up and take charge of the boy.

So you can tell this is how the entire day will go for Matt. But this is just the beginning of the day--- Matt is stabbed by the prisoner, the boy runs away, Kitty is ticked off at him, a fight breaks out in the Lone Branch, Judge Brookins tells Matt the prisoner has to be returned to military jurisdiction ..etc...etc...etc. Nothing goes right this day in Dodge for Marshal Dillon.

This is a lighter episode that was a fun watch. Regulars cast members are excellent and shown throughout the show. A good watch when you take it for what it is worth- a lighthearted show and a fantastic ending.

Given that "Gunsmoke" was "the class act" among TV westerns, this episode's attempt at humor comes off pretty well -- not anywhere nearly as silly as other series would have handled it. (Whoever scored the show, however, should have been kicked -- and right hard -- for reminding us, over and over again, that this episode is supposed to be funny. Duh.) Perhaps the best thing about the episode is the parade of popular character actors, including John Fiedler, Herb Vigran, J Pat O'Malley, and, of course, Margaret Hamilton.

The funniest thing about the episode is the treatment of the two prospectors, friends for 30 years, who've sent off for a mail-order bride. Does anyone really believe they could have prospected together for 30 years and still -- shall we say -- retained an interest in women? If you believe that...

This episode is truly one that is unique. It is most likely the most hilarious episode of Gunsmoke one could have ever seen. It is priceless. It all starts with Matt getting back very early one morning with a prisoner whom he had been tracking. Matt hadn't had any sleep in 36 hours and it showed. He was in no mood for a fist fight but that is what he got from the man who tried to escape. Well he put an end to that and in the jail cell the guy went. Finally getting a chance to sit down on his cot, he looks up at the clock only to see that the night is pretty much gone and it won't be long before the town is up and moving if some aren't already-it was just before 5 am.This is the end of Matt's quiet day. First we have Festus who shows up with a bag of catfish that he had just caught and needed to clean. Matt informs him that he would like to get some sleep and would he go outside to clean his fish. OK so Festus drags table and all out the door making a rather loud clamor doing it not really thinking about what he was doing. Then he yells at the milkman for having a squeaky wheel on his cart. All the while poor Matt is still trying with no success to get sleep. Festus also informed Matt that if he wanted to see the Judge that day with his prisoner he had better do it that morning as the Judge was planning on leaving on the morning stage. So much for the idea of sleep for Matt.This is just the beginning. Next in line if you will, one of the ladies of Dodge shows up pulling a young boy by the ear for making a disaster out of her weekly baking. He destroyed her pies. Throwing one of them at her.Then it is time to go see the Judge with his prisoner. Matt gets attacked again. This time the prisoner puts a fork in Matts arm. Festus rather helps one this fight and Matt gets to the Judge with his prisoner. The judge decides that the man is still in army custody and should be handled by a higher court and taken to Fort Dodge. He does help Matt out though and orders that Festus and Newly do that and that Matt "get some sleep you look awful". Matt then proceeds to go see Doc about his arm. He there gets told that Kitty is upset with him to put it lightly about missing out on a picnic she had planned for the two of them. Matt sees Kitty on the boardwalk but she won't talk to him. Kitty ends up with problems of her own as two old mining partners get into a fight over a mail-order-bride and to whom she will marry. In so doing they nearly destroy the Long Branch.She is met with no choice but to get Matt to put an end to it. I love how he does it. She opens the door at the office, looks at Matt and says two words-"fight,Long Branch. To watch this was as funny as it gets. Matt gets that taken care of and of course must make peace with Kitty-which you know they both want. They end up making a date for dinner that night with Kitty cooking for them there-she doesn't want to go out. Matt is all smiles over that but still very tired. The evening is soon there and Matt and Kitty are finishing their meal-which Matt offers high praises for-best meal he ever had he tells her. Well then of course you finish it off with good liquor-right- of course. 1837 Napoleon brandy. Then they hear glass breaking downstairs. This time Kitty says 'short of murder,I'll handle this". She does and when she comes back she finds Matt stretched out at an angle on her bed sound asleep-snoring like a buzz saw, and the look on her face is priceless. She is beside herself. She takes her soup tureen and smashes it hoping to wake Matt up-doesn't work-then out the door she goes-with a bang,of course. Down the stairs she heads, the old guys are living it up again-she dumps their beer over their heads and with Sam wondering where she is going it is getting late she could get molested-" really" she says. This is too good folks-well worth watching!

One of my favorite episodes of the series. Lighthearted and all the characters are entertaining. A great James Arness comic performance.