My Father, My Son

Jim Barrett is a tired gunslinger who cannot escape his past, as much as he wants to. When he kills the young, loud-mouthed, brash Joey Jeffords--played by a young Zalman King, who would go on to long a career in erotic, soft-core films--in a fair gun fight, a series of events are set in motion that are bound to end in tragedy.

Throughout the episode, we learn a lot about Barrett's regrettable past while Pa Jeffords rounds up his clan to find Barrett and exact revenge for Joey's death. We never learn much about Jeffords and his family, other than they are all ornery and determined to avenge Joey's death.

This episode features another outstanding cast, particularly with Jack Elam's Jim Barrett character and Lee Van Cleef as the Jeffords patriarch, although as another reviewer suggested, Van Cleef is pretty much wasted here. Tino Pollick is good in his role as David.

The problem with this episode is that it is predictable and weak on substance, despite having two different story arcs. The Jeffords clan never seems particularly menacing. One has to wonder how they managed to survive as long as they have given their arrogance and oddball sense of justice. David's hatred for Jim Jeffords seems a bit contrived, given the circumstances. The ending is quite predictable by the time we arrive there.

Elam's performance here is the highlight, and it elevates the episode somewhat. He does a great job at eliciting a certain level of sympathy for his character, although we know he is just reaping what he has sown during his career. He knows he has no future, and he fully accepts his regrettable past.

This is another episode where the stories could have been part of any western. The Dodge City regulars are merely side players, and, once again, Matt has to leave town to attend to other duties. The premise of the episode was promising enough, but the poor script doesn't live up to the promise.

The episode begins in Hay City with two young brothers, Joey and Bernie Jeffords, watching Jim Barrett (Jack Elam) play pool in a small saloon. Jim Barrett is a gunslinger with a bad reputation that is just trying to stay out of trouble. Joey Jeffords thinks that he is faster than Barrett and challenges him to a gunfight. When Barrett kills Joey the other brother tells Barrett that his father and brothers will be looking for him. Barrett tells him that he will be in Dodge.

In Dodge, Marshal Dillon is none to happy to have Barrett in town. But after finding out that no warrants exist, he tells Barrett that he better not even break a whiskey glass or he will be in jail. Barrett tells him that he is not looking for any trouble but it seems that a young man in town wants to see Barrett dead. The young man named David has a dark past and so the reason that he wants to see Barrett dead. The secret that David carries will be revealed during the show.

But let's not forget about the Jeffords. After dad Jeffords gets his sons together they take out for Dodge. They have their plan set up where one brother will call Barrett out into the street and the rest will be hiding in the shadows. It seems that everyone wants to see the famous gunslinger dead.

An episode that is full of action. With Elam and Lee Van Cleef in the episode you know you are in for an all-out good western. The story was fascinating and the writing was interesting. A real entertaining episode that was a pleasure to watch.

Too many storylines for,one episode and too many leading men. This should have been two seperate episodes.

Not a review, a comment. Another reviewer commented that it was a waste to use Lee Van Cleef in such a small role. People writing reviews fifty years after a show was filmed need to remember that many of the actors who appeared on these shows were at the beginning of their careers. They only became stars after these early appearances.