User Reviews

Other reviewers applauded the performance of Jack Elam in this drama. I'm a fan of Jack but I felt that in this portrayal he was overacting and making his character more unlikable than necessary. On the other hand Festus was admirable. His thank you to the Mother nun when leaving them in the shack was moving and his caring for the children and the nuns showed how big his heart was. Ken Curtis at his best.

The final Gunsmoke episode that originally aired in 1969 features three nuns who have escorted two children to Dodge City with the intention of finding their father. They met their mother, a woman named Ivy Landers, on a freight train. The mother was seriously ill and died during the trip. Before she passed, she told Mother Tabitha her husband is a man named Pack Landers that lives near Dodge.

When the women and children arrive in Dodge, Festus Haggen greets them. Festus clearly has a soft spot for people of faith, because every time a nun, priest, or other person of the cloth reaches Dodge, Festus "gloms on" to them.

The nuns inform Festus of their goal to unite the children with their father. Festus is hesitant to say much about Pack Landers, but he does admit he knows the man. He makes arrangements for a wagon to transport the children and the nuns the several miles to the place where Landers is known to reside.

Festus and his guests arrive at the ramshackle dwelling and find it in disarray. Festus is not sure Landers still lives in the shack, but they find evidence that someone has been there recently.

After Festus gets the women and children settled, he goes back to Dodge. Pack Landers soon arrives at the shack, drunk, belligerent, and surprised to find people in his dwelling.

Once Landers sobers and learns the reason the people are there, he begins to scheme how he might be able to use this situation to his advantage. The remainder of the episode involves the nuns trying to protect the children while determining what will be best for their future contrasted with their father's exploration of different possibilities for profiting from the circumstances.

Jack Elam's over-the-top portrayal of the Pack Landers character is the central focus of this episode. It is interesting to contrast Elam's character in this episode and his Titus Spangler character in Season 17's "P. S. Murry Christmas." Both episodes feature Elam's relationship with children, but his character in the latter episode is an opposite to the character Elam portrays here.

Lynn Hamilton makes her second and final Gunsmoke appearances as Mother Tabitha. Hamilton was a familiar face in many different television shows in the 1970s and 1980s. She may be best remembered for her recurring roles on Sanford and Son and The Waltons. She is convincing as the leader of the three nuns in this story.

The two Sisters are played by Gloria Calomee and Susan Batson. This is the only participation in Gunsmoke for both women. Batson is better known today for her work as an acting coach.

Ken Curtis's performance in this episode is noteworthy. The Festus Haggen character is often polarizing for long-time fans of Gunsmoke. Some people find his character endearing, while others find him annoying. This episode strikes the right balance of highlighting the Festus character without making him more of a caricature, as was sometimes the case (and is the case with Jack Elam's character in this story). It is funny that the writers and producers always had the Festus character interact closely with any religious characters on the show.

In the end, this episode suffers from a lack of originality. We have seen all of these characters before in other Gunsmoke episodes (see Season 12's "Ladies from St. Louis" for one example). It is also a bit confusing, because Elam's performance is so exaggerated the viewer never really knows whether he is supposed to be funny or menacing. The episode is certainly entertaining and worth viewing, but it does not rank as one of the better episodes of the series.

This episode begins inside a boxcar where three black nuns are caring for a women and her two small kids. The women is very sick and is on her way to Dodge to give the kids to their father Pack Landers (Jack Elam).

Before the train arrives in Dodge City the women has died and the two children are in the care of nuns; Mother Tabitha, Sister Charles and Sister Blanche. They meet up with Festus that explains to the nuns that Mr Pack Landers is a backwoods ornery old man that did not care for anyone. However, the nuns will carry the kids to Mr Landers per the request of the dead wife.

So now the Nuns will take evaluation of Mr Landers in order to make sure that the children will be taken good care. This will prove to be harder than first thought as Landers wants nothing to do with the kids until he finds out that money may be involved.

Even though this episode is played well by the cast, the ending did not leave a warm and fuzzy feeling. The show at times was funny and at other times heartwarming. But when the final scenes of the show are played out- the viewer feels almost duped by the writers. Not really a poor show but do not expected too much from this episode -you could be disappointed.