User Reviews

I'm surprised to see others here criticize the acting here because to me the acting is uniquely authentic for the situation. In fact, there's one scene with the old man and his wife that is heartbreaking in it's depiction of marital cruelty that I've never seen before.

The story is simple, two drunks bother Kitty and she runs them off so one swears to come back and teach her a lesson. He and his drunk friend begin a final drunken fling until things come to a head.

But the story really comes back to the marriage, filled with cruelty and suffering. I would give it a higher rating for most other series but it certainly is a very good episode of Gunsmoke.

I'd guess that the commentators here who criticize the acting of the guest stars as overdone and unrealistic are young...TOO young to have perspective on real people of the past and what they were like.

I say this because the Peaveys ring true, so much so that I was really intrigued by their scene together in the cabin. My grandparents and other people who were born in the late 19th-century spoke and related to each other VERY much like the Peaveys do; not quite that harsh, thankfully, but I clearly remember older folks from that same generation and social standing behaving in a similar way. Florenz Ames and Ann O'Neal TOTALLY capture those characteristics in a very authentic way....since both were OF THAT SAME GENERATION.

So listen up, youngsters: what may seem overblown and unrealistic to you may, in fact, be exactly the opposite, the type of reality that the actors, writers, and director captured precisely for the viewing audience of the day (which included my grandparents).

Thus, a TV film like this serves as a "window" to America's past, and the way people thought, spoke and acted. "Gunsmoke" often betrayed that type of authenticity with the young babes in the cast (with their 50's-60's hairdos, make-up and huge eye-lashes), but with the OLD FOLKS they cast, they were usually spot-on.

Add to this the fact that the 2 older actors in question represent a FABULOUS history of theatrical experience and know-how. Check out Florenz Ames, who had a remarkable stage career: vaudeville, Gilbert & Sullivan, Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, etc, prior to his late-life TV roles. Now, I will be the first to acknowledge the differences between the big, broad, presentational style of the theater and the much more intimate, restrained technique of TV acting, but I was struck by Mr. Ames' control of what is essentially a very colorful, flamboyant part; I thought he really nailed it.

And Anne O'Neal was absolutely wonderful: very realistic and understated. Again, I've known several older people in my youth who acted and spoke exactly in this manner, and she immediately grabbed my attention and won my sympathy. A particularly true-to-life detail was her continual reference to the Marshall as "Dillon" in the final scene.

And let's not forget Anne O'Neal's special place in the pantheon of supporting players with the 3 Stooges ("TELEPHONE FOR THE THREE STOOGES!" in "Pain in the Pullman" and the fox hunt lady in "Ants in the Pantry"), as well her final appearance as one of the nursing home patients in The Twilight Zone's fondly remembered "Kick the Can".

I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion but, while you're forming that opinion and putting it on public display here on IMDB, just realize that there's a HELL of a lot of history, experience and insight in some of the shows you are slamming. LR.

John Peavy and Mulligan Rives are two old, incorrigible sodbusters who have tired of trying to make a living farming on the prairie. They intend to spend whatever money and time they have left drinking. Kitty Russell throws the pair out of the Long Branch Saloon when Peavy tries to force himself on her.

In an extremely cruel act, Peavy goes to the house he shares with his wife, Sabina. He takes the money they have and tells the woman he is permanently leaving her. Peavy and Rives return to Dodge City.

Back in Dodge, someone takes a shot at Peavy. The shot creases the old codger's neck, and he goes to see Doc Adams. Doc sends Chester Goode to tell Matt Dillon about the shooting. When Matt talks to Peavy and Rives, they tell him Kitty took the shot.

The Marshal pays a visit to Miss Kitty (viewers are reminded again of how stunning Amanda Blake was in those days), who admits she is willing to shoot Peavy if he does not leave her along but denies she was the person that took the shot that injured the man. (The look on Blake's face when the Kitty character asks Matt if he believes the story Peavy and Rives have told is chilling.) Just as Matt leaves the room, someone shoots through the window in Kitty's room.

Matt immediately suspects Peavy, as he had said he planned to get revenge against Kitty for shooting him. The Marshal and Chester begin searching for the two old men and find them drunk by the Arkansas River. Peavy still insists he plans to beat up Kitty but denies taking a shot at her.

Florenz Ames plays the John Peavy character in his single Gunsmoke role. Peavy is the rare actor from the time of filming this episode who was born in the late 1800's not too long after the Gunsmoke episodes are set. He was a vaudeville veteran. His television career was quite short, as he died in 1958.

Frank DeKova (credited as Frank de Kova) portrays Mulligan Rives. DeKova played the American Indian character named Tobeel in a few other episodes of the series. Although they play contemporaries in this story, DeKova was over thirty years younger than Ames.

Anne O'Neal makes her only Gunsmoke appearance as Sabina Peavy. O'Neal was a Hollywood veteran near the end of her acting career when this episode was filmed. Most of her roles were small and uncredited parts, although she did appear in some high-profile films during her career. One of her more prominent roles was in the underrated classic film Gun Crazy, which was directed by Joseph H. Lewis. Lewis would direct two episodes of Gunsmoke in Season 10.

The characters John and Sabina Peavy and Mulligan Rives are vintage John Meston creations. The harsh brutality of life on the prairie and plains during the time are on full display

This story is bizarre, clever, and fascinating - even shocking at times - with some unexpected twists and turns. There are some similarities between this story and Season 1's "Tap Day for Kitty" episode, although this tale takes a darker direction and adds some brutally harsh aspects.

Having just watched "Last Fling" I would differ with a previous reviewer that found the characters, Mr. Peavy and his wife, Mrs. Peavy as uninteresting and not believable. To the contrary, I find the character actors in the Gunsmoke series as the core of the episode. Dillon, Doc, Chester and Kitty always performed well but the new characters added the spice to each episode. Peavy is more than interesting, as is his wife, and both are absolutely believable. Peavy's performance as a drunk was excellent and Mrs. Peavy projects a real and believable frontier woman. To say that these characters detract from the story is ridiculous; they make the story and did an excellent job as did De Kova. Another great Gunsmoke episode.

This episode had a good concept but the questionable acting by the guest cast took away from the main plot of the story as it seemed some of the actors tried to overplay their part.

The story begins when an aged, down on his luck, farmer named John Peavy demands that Kitty show him a good time. Well Kitty had enough of the drunk Peavy and slaps him saying that if he tries that again she will shoot him. Peavey leaves but vows he will return.

Peavy goes home and tells his abused wife, Sabina, that he is leaving her and is going off with his friend to drink away his life. And sure enough he leaves but before he gets close to Dodge someone takes a shot at him. Peavy tells the Marshal that it was Kitty. It is not long before Kitty gets her window shot out and the Marshal suspects Peavy. The Marshal has a problem in town that could lead to someone getting killed for revenge.

The story plays out well but the acting seemed way too staged. Florenz Ames that played Mr Peavy and Anne O'Neal that played Mrs. Peavy just did not come across as interesting or believable. Their parts just did not help the show in any form. Their acting took away from an otherwise nice show.

The 30-minutes manages some impact despite uneven performances. Mean old sod-buster Peavy leaves long-suffering wife for last fling in Dodge. Trouble is he harasses Kitty who threatens him if he tries it again. Now someone takes a shot at Kitty causing Matt to track down Peavy.

First part is marred by actor Ames's near buffoonish turn as Peavy. I'm not sure what effect he was aiming for, but it's distracting in a negative way. Story doesn't really gel until last third when plot takes an unexpected turn, and Matt again shows why justice is more important than the law.