Crooked Mile

Quint Asper and a beautiful young woman named Susan Degler have fallen madly in love. Susan's father, Cyrus Degler, a former man from "the hill country" (like Festus Haggen) owns a ranch near Dodge City. Cyrus has grown very possessive of Susan, especially in recent years since his wife died and Susan has grown older. He cannot stand the thought of his daughter marrying and leaving him alone. This puts him at odds with Quint. While Cyrus uses the excuse of not wanting his daughter to marry a "half breed," it is obvious Quint's ethnicity has little to do with his objections.

The situation spirals out of Cyrus's control, as it becomes increasingly apparent he is losing his daughter. Cyrus chooses to take the drastic step of "sending for" Cousin Praylie. Cousin Praylie is someone who "fixes" situations. Anytime someone in the Degler family is in trouble, they call Cousin Praylie for help. According to Festus, Praylie "does the dirty work" for the Deglers.

Cyrus sets a chain of events in motion that will lead to a horribly tragic outcome.

There is nothing especially unique about this tragedy of a couple in love facing protests from other family members. As a matter of fact, George Kennedy, who plays the Cyrus Degler role in this episode and the Gunsmoke writers would explore a similar theme in Season 11's episode "Harvest." Cyrus Degler in this episode and Ben Payson in the Season 11 episode are essentially the same person. The only very minor complaint regarding this episode is the outcome is predictable.

(Pretty much any time a major cast member engages in a romance during this time in television history, the story inevitably leads to tragedy.)

The thing that lifts this episode above the norm is the acting. Kennedy, Royal Dano as Praylie, and Katherine Ross as Susan each deliver the goods with their respective performances. Kennedy and Dano were no strangers to Gunsmoke, each appearing in several episodes. This marks the first of two appearances by Katherine Ross, both during Season 10. Of course, Ross would go on to star in The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Dano's performance here is particularly noteworthy, as it again demonstrates his range as an actor. In distinct roles he convincingly played characters that were kind and gentle, silly and funny, and mean and despicable, as he does here.

This episode must rank in the top ten tragic Gunsmoke episodes. This is also one of the few episodes of the series that features Burt Reynolds as a central character. Reynolds appeared in several episodes during the brief time he was on the show, but he was usually just a supporting character. Reynolds appeared in a few more episodes before leaving the series, but I tend to think of this episode as a fitting end to the Quint Asper character on the show. In a much later episode, Matt reveals that Quint left Dodge. It makes sense that he might want to leave the town after the tragic events in this story.

The mini side story about Doc Adams and his ham adds some needed levity to this heavy episode. The scene in the Long Branch where Doc, Festus, and Quint are delighting in the cured ham while Kitty questions what all the fuss is about is funny. Aged, "country" ham is an acquired taste, for sure.

Veteran actor Charles Morton is especially amusing as a Long Branch patron who helps himself to some of Doc's ham while Doc is distracted. Morton's career began in Vaudeville. He was cast as a leading man in a few silent films in the late 1920s, but his career did not fare as well after that. He appeared in numerous films and television shows during an extensive acting career, but most of his parts were small and/or uncredited. He appeared in ten different Gunsmoke episodes prior to his death in 1966, always in an uncredited part.

(Footnote: As the father of a pretty daughter close to Susan Degler's age, I disagree with other reviewers who call Cyrus's behavior toward his daughter "creepy." He is definitely overly protective of Susan, and one gets the distinct impression that no man would measure up to what he wants for his daughter. While I am not overprotective of my daughter - I actually LIKE her boyfriend - I can understand how Cyrus feels. This story is a nice reminder that one should be careful about how they treat things they treasure, especially other human beings.)

Once again, we get the man can't allow his adult daughter talking to men, daughter resists, man scold's daughter, daughter still resists, man hits, daughter, daughter whimpers and goes away cowering, daughter conceals her love affair. His reasoning, because she's my daughter, oh...... Ok...... Somehow this plot has been resurrected more times than Jason Voorhees. The forbidden love story can be traced all the way back to Romeo and Juliet and probably before. It's been used in movies, TV, songs, Broadway plays, and who knows where else, usually with predictable results.

Given that this shopworn storyline has been driven into the ground over and over, this episode doesn't do a lot for me, nor do any of its predecessors. Come to think of it, I wouldn't have found this type of story all that interesting had it not been recycled numerous times and should be in the cliché hall of fame.

We do however get some name actors in the deal; we get Morgan Woodward who's a serviceable actor provided he has material to work with and doesn't try and overact the part. George Kennedy whose best moments were in Naked Gun. Royal Danno whose always been a strong character actor. And lastly Katherine Ross whose been an excellent actress in whatever she does. However, no matter who they get to play the parts, this episode belongs in the recycle bin.

Good episode but unsettling. the way george kennedy obsessed over katherine ross is down right cringy. royal dano is always excellent. burt reynolds is a bit too blase and nonchalant towards the man who's charged to kill him.

One of Gunsmoke's most unusual "comic relief" scenes---the gourmet smoked ham that we first see on Doc's operating table. For a few seconds, we think that it's a HUMAN body part...but ultimately, the hunk-a-ham ends up over at the Long Branch for a fun feast with Doc, Festus, Quint, etc. The scene actually made me hungry. But then, trouble walks in the door....

And speaking of HAM (fans of Mr. Kennedy: get ready to hit the "NOT USEFUL" button....), George Kennedy nearly ruins this episode for me; he just doesn't have the acting chops for this kind of role; his line delivery is phony and ill-at-ease. He's nowhere near the class of actor as, say, James Arness or Royal Dano--who is positively TERRIFYING in this show. Man, what an ominous, threatening, inhuman dude! Now THAT"S a fine actor--totally poised and technically solid.*

So I deduct one rating star for Kennedy but restore it for Dano. The plot is pretty standard and predictable--which is fine, since the script is written well. Great shot of Festus and Quint DIVING out of the blacksmith shop as it EXPLODES--try it in SLO-MO! Also-- (NON-Spoiler alert)--there are two deaths during the final climatic scene--one looks very fake (director should have re-filmed it), the other really cool. Also, Ken Curtis and Burt Reynolds make a great team. LR

* (A friend and I had the great pleasure of meeting with Royal Dano in his Santa Monica home in September, 1988. I was in town to meet with Ray Bradbury re: a musical project, and called Royal cold out of the phone book. I had a videocassette of "Face of Fire" ('59) which he appeared in but didn't own a copy of. So he invited my friend and me over. A THREE-HOUR chat, during which he talked on like an excited kid---and he recalled EVERY DETAIL of his career, too, from his stage debut in "Finians' Rainbow" (1947) to the present. My only regret is that we didn't have a recorder to capture our talk. His wife kept peeking around the corner saying "Royal, your dinner's getting cold.." What a night!)

Here is a sad family tale of a father that refuses to let his 19 year old daughter grow up and does not see that it could cost him everything he has in life.

Cyrus Degler (George Kennedy) has a daughter named Susan (Katharine Ross) that is seeing Quint. This relationship is much to the displeasure of Cyrus who expresses his emotion by horse whipping Quint and telling him that he will kill him if he continues to see his daughter.

Back at the house Cyrus tells Susan that since her mother died years ago, she is all that he has in her life and wants to protect her. When Susan tells him that she will continue to see Quint, he picks up the horse whip again- but this time Susan pulls a rifle off the wall and points it at her Dad. Cyrus backs off and then telegraphs his kin folk named Praylie Degler to come to Dodge. Praylie is the member of the clan that takes care of matters when requested.

When Praylie arrives in Dodge his intention is to kill Quint. But with Festus and the Marshal suspicious, it will be difficult to complete the task.

After a strange explosion at the blacksmith shop, Matt tells Praylie to leave town. But he heads to Cyrus's house to get get paid for his services. But instead of taking the money owed, he robs Cyrus of all the money he has in life. Susan comes in and again take the rifle off the wall- this time to protect her father. But this time things will be far different and lives changed.

An excellent script and well acted. Was entertaining throughout the entire show which keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat. A great watch for any viewer.