Ash

The script contains its share of contrivances, and what begins as a good-natured, humorous "Bromance" turns tragic, and ultimately very moving.

John Dehner was one of the busiest actors of the day, especially in TV and radio. He played a wide range of character-types but, because of his great facility as an actor, had a tendency to slip into annoying, stage-y mannerisms; the fluttering eyelid thing chief among them. These tendencies work well for the whimsical, light-hearted scenes-- less so for the glowering, dramatic stuff.

However, Dehner's final scene, shot in extreme close-up, is masterfully restrained. Beautifully performed.

But whatever his affectations, Dehner is BOGART compared to Adam West, whose appearance is mercifully brief. GOOD GRIEF-- the guy couldn't deliver a line with sincerity or naturalism to save his life! Total phony, the essence of CAMP-- which, ironically, ended up saving his career. Dee Hartford--a super-model of the day and ALSO a sub-standard actress, manages to give a very respectful performance, light-years better than, say, her role in Twilight Zone's "Bewtichin' Pool".

Anthony Caruso is fine, and his strength and sincerity are the centerpiece of this show. Nice going.

There's a very POWERFUL scene near the end, played in total silence, with Dehner stalking the streets of Dodge in the dead of night, rifle in hand, with a dark and ominous musical underscore in the background. He passes several storefronts, saloons, and homes in the near-total darkness---another example of the SUPERB depth and texture of Gunsmoke's nighttime B&W photography.

Again, it's the Final Five Minutes of this episode that save it---so good, in fact, that most of my reservations seem rather insignificant LR

Good drama on the tragedy of head trauma as well as the meaning of friendship and loyalty of two good men. John Dehner and Anthony Caruso play the friends and business partners affected. Collaterally involved is Dee Hartford as a saloon gal, later of "Lost In Space" and tv's "Batman", who is escorted here by Adam West, Batman himself. On hand too is spindly westerner William Fawcett, who gave up an academic career to go into acting and was best known as Pete in "Fury" on screen for five years before this.

Gunsmoke can get a bit heavy in bromances, Festus toward Matt being the primary example and this is another example,but strong acting and an unusual story line make for a good episode.

One of my favorite Gunsmoke episodes. An emotional one if you have a best friend.

Absolutely one of the best of many Gunsmoke episodes. The end was so tragic and seeing Ben lose his mind, Ash like a true friend stood by him until the end. Then Ben speaking as a dying man, relieved of the ills of his actions....Ash had to live with that killing the rest of his days. So Matt let him go? He spent the rest of his life without his friend and a whole lot of guilt. Wonderfully written