User Reviews

Now that we can view episodes of TV series in chronological order, it's fun to see the writers develop their ideas.

When I saw 'Coventry' the image of one of Gunsmoke's best villains, Harry Speener from 'Blood Money' four years before, (9/28/57), materialized in my mind. Speener, a wonderfully sleazy weasel of a man, played by the perfectly cast Vinton Hayworth, is not much of a horseman but is on his way to Dodge because a job awaits him. He's fallen off the horse and broken his leg but a nice guy named Joe Harp comes by to rescue him, with Speener complaining about everything all the way. In Dodge, Speener finds out that harp, a man everybody likes, is a wanted man. Speener suddenly becomes Harp's best friend and convinces him to flee with him. He then shoots Harp and claims the 'dead or alive' reward. he was already as unpopular in Dodge as Harp was popular and now, after claiming his reward, is totally rejected by the populace. Speener finally decides to leave, on horseback and again falls off and injures himself. But this time there's no Joe Harp to come by to help him so he dies alone on the prairie.

in 'Coventry', Joe Maross' Dean Beard can't be bothered to help the Otts in a storm, resulting in the loss of their unborn child. Jesse Ott later confronts him and is killed. Beard has been cheating local farmers on land deals. He 'gets off' his murder charge due to a lack of witnesses but everybody knows he did it if only because they are familiar with his character. He is "Speenered" by the citizens of the town and territory and like Speener, decides to leave, on horseback. He winds up in a storm, just like the Otts. One change John Meston made is that a couple of cowboys do help Beard "because we don't want to descend to his level", but he winds up alone anyway, dying under a falling tree. Maybe Harry Speener pushed it over.

As far as I am concerned, this kind of episode is why 'Gunsmoke' was called an 'adult' western. Yes, the bad guy gets it in the end, but not quite the way one would expect from lighter Western fare. To see events unfold as they did, seemed inevitable, but still chilling. And the egoism of the villain would never have allowed him to do what is the pragmatic thing, because his narcissism would not allow it. He simply had to behave as he did ... having him caught and brought to justice in a conventional way would have been simplistic, and the character would never have accepted it. The ending happened as it should have. His descent into a madness is because he is unable to face what he truly is, and he knows that others in the town see him, finally, for what he is - innocent on paper, but guilty in reality.

Ladies and gentlemen, "Gunsmoke" has entered "The Twilight Zone." Gripping episode from start to finish that breaks out of the series' usual mold. Bad guy literally gets away with murder, but when it's time for justice to be served, Matt Dillon is powerless. The ending is creepy, complete with music borrowed from "The Twilight Zone" as the villain is eventually dealt with by a higher force, just as earlier predicted by his victim.

I remember seeing this one years ago and wondering if it was either an outtake from Rod Serling's "Zone" ideas or whether it was a coordinated effort between the two shows' creators or producers. I still don't know. I suppose the answer can only be found in "The Twilight Zone."

Contrary to the previous user reviews here, there is no need to disparage Rod Serling or his great series "The Twilight Zone" when discussing an unrelated "Gunsmoke" episode.

The biggest problem in "Coventry" is with villain Dean Beard remaining in Dodge after certain events in which he is clearly involved. He's really asking for trouble. A seemingly clever trickster like Beard would have skipped town. Joe Maross gives a convincing performance as "rotten to the core" villain Dean Beard. He makes the blatant morality play of "Coventry" work. Another good thing is the visual appeal of the episode's denouement, set in amid a windstorm on a desolate prairie. Certainly not one of the great "Gunsmoke" episodes, but worth an occasional look.

"Coventry" is an example of what happens when a writer doesn't have a good idea and, deadline looming, mechanically cranks out an obvious story. If I didn't know better, I'd think Rod Serling had written one of his heavy-handed morality tales, and John Meston took credit. Or discredit, if you like.

Dan Beard is a land speculator who lies to landowners about the government repossessing their land for a third of its value, then offers them only one-half. When Jessie Ott (note the misspelling) threatens to tell everyone that Beard is a liar and a cheat, Beard murders him.

It's obvious he's guilty, but there's only circumstantial evidence, and the circuit judge is obliged to acquit. Dodge's citizens know better, and Beard is ostracized ("sent to Coventry"). He finally quits Dodge, and what happens to him is the most obvious, clumsy sort of irony. It's hard to believe Meston couldn't come up with something better.

This is not the -- uh -- caliber of story we expect from "Gunsmoke".

Addendum: I watched it again on 11/21/2015. A second viewing tempered my feelings. Yes, the ending remains heavy-handedly ironic, but it's such a pleasure seeing a bad guy the law can't touch get the punishment he so richly deserves that it's hard to stay angry for long. And given the current attempts of Big Business to take over government, the story has a certain resonance.