User Reviews

The last episode of the 20th season was never meant to be the concluding episode. In fact, James Arness said "We didn't do a final, wrap-up show. We finished the 20th year, we all expected to go on for another season" the network "never told anybody they were thinking of canceling" According to the Wall Street Journal "Many of the cast and crew members of the show found out about the cancellation from trade publications." It is sad for television history that Festus was the only primary character featured when three original characters of the show had no significant screen time. Most episodes were written to be self-contained to allow for syndication. On the other hand, the lack of resolve in the ending allowed for the later successful TV movies based on the series and original cast.

As mentioned in other reviews, this was not intended to wrap up the series. James Arness said in many interviews that the cast fully expected to be renewed given their season long ratings. But, the rural purge was underway and Gunsmoke was part of that now infamous programming decision.

That said, this is a whimsical episode, and there's nothing at all wrong with those, and this one was consistently funny. It's also nice that this season-ending episode featured Ken Curtis, who by this time was getting acting opportunities on par with James Arness. This shows how good an actor Curtis was, but also shows what a class person Arness was, in that he freely shared the stage with the ensemble cast.

In many ways, the kind of wrap this episode would have been, had the cast known ahead of time it was the end, would have been like the made-for-TV movie "Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge."

Sadly, by this time, Curtis rightly considered himself an A-list TV actor and wanted equivalent money as a star. The producers wanted to pay him like a co-star. That's why this episode ended up being the final performance Curtis had as Festus Haggins.

The ability to seamlessly combine comedy with drama is difficult, and in this episode, Curtis pulls it off very well. But, the entire guest star cast pulls off "lazy and manipulative scumbags" very well indeed! And that's what this episode needed.

Gunsmoke could have gone for at least another season with solid ratings. CBS owed the cast and crew the room and chance to craft a special send-off episode. The negative feedback CBS earned for this oversight is a major reason why successful series afterward were nearly always given that send off coda.

This 635th and final episode of a great American classic deserves much more than the trashing the other reviewers have given it. They are absolutely right that it lacks fancy plot and character development and fights to the death. This last episode presumes that the viewer doesn't need any further lessons in morality that the previous 634 episodes bludgeoned them with. It's a fresh and light-hearted tribute to the chaotic, petty entanglements that our world was built upon. In the end, everything works out for the best and the chaos continues presumably forever. This final tongue-in-cheek peek through the keyhole into the convoluted nature of our existence is very refreshing. For those of us who can see the forest in spite of the trees, it tells a truly meaningful story... with all of life's drama and problems and entangled obligations, it is still worth living.

...And the lesson in life never ends... Don't judge this quaintly tangled tale too harshly, it was meant as an uplifting send-off and not something to be critically acclaimed or bashed.

Happy trails to all who made this series the icon that it was.

I liked it thought it was entertaining. I see a LOT OF y'all didn't like it, but I thought it was a good one. I'd like to get the name of the song that ABEL sang on the porch in Dodge. Or at least get the lyrics. I HEARD IT BEFORE ON AT LEAST 3 or 4 DIFFERENT MOVIES. Not Gunsmokes. But can't get the Title. OH WELL ITS ONLY 1 EPISODE. There's about 600 + more you can watch. EP

This is a mostly Festus ep. Not the trouble. It is that this epiisde feels a little too mid-1970's in theme. You can feel the real-life 1970's ambiance shining right through.

A fair story line with some great actors and actresses. Times were changing, westerns were slowly disappearing off TV. Growing up with many of the westerns in the late 50's and in the 60's, they were watched almost every night. I still today watch many of the TV shows from those times. Gunsmoke is still my favorite to watch.

It is interesting to see how many on Gunsmoke later were in other TV shows and in many movies. I can name many of the people that were in Gunsmoke and what other shows and movies they played in. I still wish they would have kept Gunsmoke on the air for a few more years and brought back some of the older members that were still alive as they did in a few later special Gunsmoke shows. I am thankful for the memories.

It is often said that all good things must end, and that sentiment certainly applies to one of the greatest television series in history, Gunsmoke. "The Sharecroppers" represents the final installment of the great series, but it did not have to be so.

The cancellation of Gunsmoke had nothing to do with the so-called Rural Purge when CBS summarily canceled several popular shows, including The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Mayberry R. F. D., Hee Haw, and others because the network powers thought the shows did not appeal to a younger demographic. The shows were still popular, but the audience for those shows was older and not what CBS wanted. The shows were replaced with more contemporary series targeted at younger audiences, including All In the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, and several detectives shows like Cannon, Kojak, and Barnaby Jones.

Fred Silverman had orchestrated the Rural Purge, and he originally intended Gunsmoke -- a show he personally disliked -- to be part of the massive cancellations, but Gunsmoke finished in the top five ratings for the 1971-72 season. It did not hurt that CBS Chief Executive William Paley also wanted to keep the show.

Gunsmoke had survived an announced cancellation after the twelfth season. It also managed to continue after the 1972 season. By 1975, Gunsmoke had endured. It still drew decent viewership, but in Season 20 the show had declined from its past place at the top or near the top of the ratings. There had been speculation the series might not return for a twenty-first season, but according to many people involved, CBS had approved planning for another season. There was even talk of Amanda Blake returning as Kitty Russell. Silverman was about to leave CBS for ABC, but one of his last acts at CBS was to cancel Gunsmoke and end its twenty-season run.

Unfortunately, no one associated with the series knew when they were producing episodes for Season 20 it would be the end of the show. Perhaps that is why the show ends rather unceremoniously with this particular episode.

An extremely lazy, shiftless man with one of those great Gunsmoke names Dibble Pugh lives on a farm in Crow Tree Valley with his son Abel and daughters Av Marie and Lailee. Pugh is the consummate procrastinator. He is the type of person always planning something, but he usually intends to start working the next day, or he lacks what he needs to get started.

The Pughs are sharecroppers. Linder Hogue owns the farm. He allows the Pughs to live there with the understanding they will improve the farm and raise crops. So far, Dibble has not lived up to his part of the arrangement.

In a moment straight out of Jack and the Beanstalk, Dibble sends Abel to Dodge City to buy a mule with money Av Marie had earned. (If he only had a good mule, Dibble could finally get started planting crops, or so he contends.) In Dodge, Abel encounters a con man named Rupert who "sells" Abel a mule. Unfortunately for everyone but Rupert, it is not just any mule; it is Ruth, Festus Haggen's mule. When Festus sees Abel slowly riding away on Ruth, he intervenes. Abel is acting under the understandable impression he is the rightful owner of the mule. In the ensuing tussle, Festus's gun is fired, and the shot hits Abel in the leg.

Abel is not seriously injured, but now he has no mule and cannot walk all the way back to Crow Tree Valley. Festus feels responsible for the accidental shooting and volunteers to take Abel home.

Once Festus and Abel arrive at the farm, Festus quickly finds himself in a dilemma, as Dibble plays on Festus's guilty conscience to convince him to stick around and do some plowing. Further complications arise when Av Marie uses Festus in a scheme to make her boyfriend Toby Hogue (Linder's son) jealous.

It should be no surprise this final episode features the usual strong cast that was a hallmark of the series. Victor French was an important part of the series during Season 20, as he starred in two episodes and directed five. French first appeared in Season 11's "Wishbone" episode and went on to guest star in another seventeen, including this one. He plays the slothful, mildly humorous Dibble Pugh in this story.

Canadian Actress Susanne Benton makes her only Gunsmoke appearance in this series finale as Av Marie Pugh. Benton's acting career was relatively short with only twenty-one appearances in various films and television shows.

Lisa Eilbacher portrays Lailee Pugh. This is her second Gunsmoke appearance. She had also appeared in Season 18's "Kimbro." Her most famous roles were as the character Casey Seeger in the film An Officer and a Gentleman, starring Richard Gere and Debra Winger and as the character Jenny Summers in Beverly Hills Cop with Eddie Murphy. She left the acting business in the mid-1990s.

Terry Williams plays the guitar-playing Abel Pugh. Williams was better known as a musician than an actor. He was a founding member of the band The First Edition, which included future superstar Kenny Rogers. In this story, the Abel Pugh character performs a song known as "The Riddle Song," an English folk song. Actress Ann-Margaret performs the same song in the 1961 Frank Capra film Pocketful of Miracles. It has been recorded by several artists.

Actor Jacques Aubuchon portrays Linder Hogue in this episode. Aubuchon appeared in a total of four Gunsmoke episodes, but prior to this role, his other appearances had been well back in the black-and-white era of the series. In fact, Aubuchon's first Gunsmoke participation was during Season 1's "The Guitar" which is one of the most memorable episodes of the series.

This is one of the earliest performances by actor Bruce Boxleitner. He plays the Toby Hogue character here. Boxleitner would go on to star alongside James Arness in the series How the West Was Won, and he played a key role in the made-for-television movie Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice.

Graham Jarvis makes his only Gunsmoke appearance as the conman known only as Rupert. Jarvis appeared in well over one hundred television shows and films during his prolific acting career.

It is fitting the final episode of the series primarily features Ken Curtis, because Curtis was not involved in any of the subsequent movie sequels because Curtis and the producers of the movies could never come to terms on a contract. This episode amounts to Curtis's (and Festus's) swan song with Gunsmoke. However, it is disappointing the series ends with such a weak story that gives the impression it was included more to fulfill the obligation for episodes than to actually entertain or provide meaningful content.

Throughout the history of the series, there are several plots where Festus tries to do something to help someone or feels obligated to aid someone and finds himself involved in a frustrating situation. This story mines the same vein as episodes like Season 16's "The Tycoon." There is nothing wrong with the premise, but this script meanders between a love story, a comedy, and throws in some drama in an attempt to provide meaning. One minute everyone is Festus's friend, and the next minute they are his enemy. Every time I see it, I keep wondering why Festus does not simply return to Dodge and leave this convoluted mess behind. (Of course, there would be no story if he did.)

I have been watching Gunsmoke my entire life. I have childhood memories of watching some of the later episodes when they first aired. For many years, a local television station in the area where I lived showed the color episodes after the late news every Saturday night. I can recall stations and networks that ran the thirty-minute episodes from 1955 to 1961 under the name "Marshal Dillon" at various points. (Note: I have seen online sources state the show originally aired under the name "Marshal Dillon" until 1961, but this is not accurate. The first-run episodes aired as "Gunsmoke," but CBS re-ran the thirty-minute episodes during prime time under the name "Marshal Dillon" from 1961 to 1964, and those episodes were later syndicated under the name "Marshal Dillon.")

I am grateful that many of the "classic television" networks have continued to broadcast the show. As of 2021, the TV Land network shows the color episodes. The INSP network runs both the thirty-minute and one-hour black-and-white episodes. The MeTV network airs the entire series from start to finish Monday through Saturday in one hour time slots with two thirty-minute episodes shown together during the broadcast of the shows from 1955 through 1961. Unfortunately, some of the episodes broadcast today have short segments removed by the networks to allow more commercials to be aired.

For many years, the one-hour black-and-white episodes were not shown anywhere. Many of my favorite episodes are included in those seasons. It is nice to see some of the networks airing episodes from those earlier one-hour seasons.

Based on the stories related in the movies that followed the end of the series, we know Matt Dillon eventually left Dodge City and his job as U. S. Marshal, but, as we often observed over the course of the series, it is often difficult for someone with a well-known reputation to escape that reputation.

In my opinion, none of the Gunsmoke movies were able to capture the excellence of the television series when it was at its best. There are episodes of the series that are as good as anything that has been broadcast on television. It would have been interesting to see what a twenty-first season would have included.

The unplanned series finale gets mixed reviews. I can't say it's a masterpiece. Still there are worse things to watch including other Gunsmokes. Victor French is associated with dramatic performances in this series. He played a number of villains. Here he plays a lazy sharecropper to comedic effect. The role doesn't always work. Still it's worth staying with. Along with some decent music, the real star of this one is Ken Curtis. Festus was never better. Here the beloved deputy evokes laughs without seeming moronic. And a message extolling hard work and making things right slips in. Part of the appeal of this series is it has so many episodes. There's bound to be some worth watching. This one works well enough. If you're down on this one you can go back to the series beginning. As for me it's wistful thinking about how bad TV got after canceling an iconic show.

For the last show of the entire series this show was bizarre, not only in the story department but the way the characters acted on screen. In fact we were more than halfway through the episode and I did not understand where the story was going or which plot the program was taking. It was like someone put the action and dialog together after each scene with all the odd circumstance that is rarely seen in a 'Gunsmoke' episode.

The show was so quirky it's going to hard to describe the action. It centers around a family called the Pugh's. The father of the family Dibble- is as lazy as they come. He is suppose to be working the land as a sharecropper for the man that owns the house named Linger Hogue. The rest of the family involves a son called Abel that goes around playing ballads on his guitar, and also two daughter Lailee and Ava Marie with the latter having a crush on the owner of the house son named Toby Hogue.

When Abel goes into Dodge to buy a mule, a swindler sells him Festus's mule. Festus accidentally shoots Abel in the leg and volunteers to take Abel home. When he gets to the Pugh's place, the father, Dibble, talks Festus into helping plow the ground. Of course Festus is the only one working. In the mean time, Ava Marie Pugh is mad at her sweetheart Toby and tries to make him jealous by being sweet on Festus.

There is nothing in this episode that makes good sense. From the weird boy playing guitar to the suppose relationship between aging Festus and the twenty year old Ava Marie- it was just unorthodox. I never really could get past the fact the a Deputy Marshal willfully spend many days plowing a field for a man that never helped out. For the last show of the series, this was weak.

This is not one of the better written episodes. Maybe the writers were unmotivated, maybe deflated, but it was kind of going through the motions of a Gunsmoke episode. It should have been better for the last of over 600 episodes. Adios folks.

As others said the episode was without direction until Ruth was sold, then it began to have the typical Gunsmoke feel of later seasons - outside Dodge, with a plot that sometimes was as mild as a Kansas spring. No doubt the show was tired, having started as a radio show in 1952, and still going in the post-Vietnam mid-1970s world of middle east terrorism.

Even actor Victor French, who was in a supporting role in this episode, had taken time off from his NBC Little House on the Prairie work to head over to CBS for this and one or two other late season Gunsmoke episodes.

I agree it was disappointing for this fine series to end this way, but it did - CBS has a history of not making the best programming decisions, with The Walton's "John Boy" mess and JR's laughable dream...