And the few flaws, in my opinion, are enough to knock this otherwise excellent show down a notch.
There are two major, important points in the script that are just too "easy", too slick, too formulaic...where a bit more thought and realism was needed. First is the discovery of the shoot-out carnage at the station (where every bad guy killed the other bad guy), where the stage coach guys make a major leap in logic TOO QUICKLY; the drama needed just another 8-10 seconds of hesitation, uncertainty..and THEN the big conclusion that Dan was a master gun-fighter. This would have been much more convincing. The Second came near the very end, when Carl has his big epiphany about "pride." It was good...but it just needed a bit less of a facile, "Scripted" feel... like "Let's tie this all together, since we're short on time." Also, I wish Carl and Lucy didn't just stand there during the final melee; she should have made a break to get his shotgun, etc..to add to the confusion and excitement.
Still, the final scene with Glenn Corbett and his horse scaling the fence with guns-a-blazing was mighty thrilling.
BIG cast of men in this one, with a welcome good-guy role for L. Q. Jones, who is very cool. Glenn Corbett was one of those "almost" actors...who did a decent job onscreen, as long as he wasn't called on to do too much dynamic emoting. A lot of his Route 66 episodes were very good...some less so...depending on how the script was tailored to his strengths. "Chicken" must have been written specifically for him, since it fits him very well, and the empathy he draws form the viewer is immediate and strong.
The script is full of "compromised" characters, whose personal stories weave a fascinating web: a decent, non-aggressive guy who, through a freakish, one-in-a-million occurrence is thrust into the role of heroic crime-fighter, a lame brother and his beautiful babe-of-a-sister (and their personal, guarded secret) who are targeted by the biggest, greediest rancher in the area (and whose personality changes radically from the 1st scene where we meet him). And then there's L. Q, who serves as the slightly bemused observer to his buddy's situation. And let's not forget the
amusing scene with rough-and-tough Richard Reeves as the drunk who challenges Dan to a gunfight (odd that Reeves gets no screen credit).
When all is said and done, this episode will keep you engaged from beginning to end.
The music score is credited to Fred Steiner..though again with Herschel Gilbert as "supervisor" (not that Steiner needs any supervision). I suspect that the score was essentially an assemblage of Steiner cues that Gilbert cobbled together...and again, the music is a bit overblown and almost garish in its effect; it's often too loud and OBVIOUS--- the harmonica/guitar for the opening campfire, the big Hollywood-ish romantic theme, Steiner's quaint "Minnie" cue when Doc Adams walks down his office stairs (as if to say: "and here comes that crotchety old duffer, Doc Adams himself!"). Again, this new approach to Gunsmoke's music often defeats the subtleties of the onscreen drama.
ALSO...is that Chubby Johnson's REAL beard?? He almost always wore one, but this one is HUGE! And, as expected, the Chub-ster bites the dust fairly early on.
Despite the flaws, a very fine Episode. LR.
