Ash

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.

The final scene between the partners was the most sensitive and affecting scene I've ever seen in a sixties Western. I am trying to recall any episode with John Dehner when the viewers are crying (rather than cheering) when his character dies. And Anthony Caruso also was just perfect here.

I noticed a couple of ironies. Right after Ben is shot, the Marshall says he has to lock up Ash. Which brings up the question why Ben was not locked up after he started acting belligerent. Ben became much more of a threat than Ash. Perhaps the territorial insane asylum was too far away.

Regardless, this episode is not to be missed.

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.

Ben Gault (John Dehner) and Ash Farior (Anthony Caruso) are two country traders that become friends while in Dodge. They are such good friends that they decide to give up their roaming life and become partners in a freight business inside the town of Dodge.

Both mean are becoming well respected members of the community as they do everything to help the farmers out even to the point of billing some for later payment.

One day Ben is unloading a wagon when a 55 gallon barrel hit him in the head. He is rushed to Doc Adam's place where he finally regains consciousness. But something is not correct, Ben is not the same.

Instead of being his pleasant self he seems to turn on everyone. Including his former best friend, Ash, and customers to the office. The blow on the head has left him with another personally so strong that he goes to the Long Branch confronts a young saloon woman named Tilly, hits Ash and then goes after Ms Kitty. Matt intervenes and places Ben in jail.

For some reason Ben has it in his head that Tilly is going to marry him. When she tells him that she is engaged to Emmett Hall, he become enraged and goes gets a rifle. Ash knows that with the sickness Ben is either on his way to kill Emmett or even Tilly- something must be done.

This is one of those episode that when the credits roll you know you have seen a great show. It was a bonanza for this show to have two fine actors in Dehner and Caruso playing characters that appeal to all viewers. The story was easy to understand- two good friends. Another fine episode from season 8.

Ben and Ash are partners and best friends in a Dodge City freight office. They are both generous good natured people, and the episode spends a good deal of time on how they are partners at everything. But then tragedy strikes and Ben is hit on the head by a heavy barrel. He is carted up to Doc Adams' office, and Doc is not sure that he will live.

A few hours later and Doc sends for Ash, although he won't say why. Ben has regained consciousness and will live. However, his personality has completely changed due to his head injury, and now he is mean and aggressive. And he may be this way for the rest of his life. When he recovers Ash is patient with him, but Ben has taken to drinking heavily, to snapping at everyone, and worst of all he is stalking a saloon girl, Tillie, who he says he plans to marry regardless of what she says. When she says that she is marrying Emmett (Adam West), Ben decides he will kill Emmett. He does know enough to lie about it to Marshal Dillon, but Ash knows the truth, and figures something must be done to stop him.

This was an unusual episode of Gunsmoke on such an untimely subject. The Civil Rights era was in full swing in 1963, so racism being a common topic on Gunsmoke was understandable. But in 1963 people were largely held responsible for their actions regardless of circumstances. I think of the true story behind "The Honeymoon Killers" (1969), in which Ray Fernandez, who always led an unremarkable life, was hit in the head by the steel hatch of a ship and had his frontal lobe injured. From that point forward he developed a complete lack of impulse control, abandoned his family, and embarked upon a career of romancing and fleecing lonely women. He was eventually executed for a murder he committed while running that con. Nobody thought of letting him off the hook because of the head injury. It was just so progressive of Gunsmoke to bring up such a subject in the context of a western.