Gunsmoke (TV Series) Chester's Hanging (1958) User Reviews

Dennis Weaver solidifies his Chester character

[kfo9494 · 7/10 · 11 July 2013]

The one thing that stands out in this episode is how well Marshal Dillon and Chester Goode worked together. Even though Chester was more of a handy-man around the office he was the one man in town that Matt could trust. And coming to the end of the 3rd season of working together, the bond of the two was very evident on the screen.

When two cowboys get into a fight at the Long Branch, Matt has no choice but to arrest them. The next morning Matt releases the two only later to find out that one of the cowboys, Jim Cando, is on a wanted poster for killing a stage coach driver. Matt locks Cando up in the jail and the other cowboy, Binder, will hire a gunman to spring his friend from jail. Matt suspects that trouble is brewing and takes extra precaution to prevent an inevitable escape attempt he feels is ahead.

A nice offering that was well written and well acted. It is a classic western tale that is always entertaining to watch. Perhaps not the most exciting episode in the lot but one that was watchable till the very end. Good watch.

Tense Ending

[jamdifo · 8/10 · 20 July 2013]

Thru out the series Dillon never hid his dislike for gunmen, and it continues to show here. Gunman Cando (Charles Cooper) gets hit in the head by Dillon's gun. When Dillon sees a flyer for his arrest, in a tense showdown, Dillon shows his speed on the draw, so fast that Cando has no time to move. In what looked to be a good shootout, turns lopsidedly in Dillon's favor.

There's also the tense meeting when Haney (Walter Barnes) and Dillon 1st meet. Dillon knows why he's there. The ending is the best with Cando choking Chester and Haney and Cando's accomplice watching on. It had me wondering how he would get out of this. Thank goodness for Hank Sims (Arvid Nelson) saving Dillon's life, killing Haney. Why didn't Dillon hire this guy to replace incompetent Chester? In fact, Dillon complimented Chester at the end but never thanked Sims for saving his life. He just told him to take Joe Carpel to Doc's, implying he was just wounded, not killed. Other than that, I thought it was a great tense episode thru out.

Other observations:

Boot Hill at the beginning of the episode looks like Dillon is their at night time for the 1st time. Walter Barnes is the same guy who beat up Clint Eastwood at the end of Every Which Way But Loose. Poor Joe Carpel (Johnny Dee), its his only TV/film credit of his career and we never know if he survived the hit to the head by gunman Haney.

Agree

[darbski · 8/10 · 24 August 2017]

Yeah,, I gotta agree with jamdifo about Chester. Matt gets a notch in his not-paying-attention belt for missing the circular on Cando, and of course, Binders should've taken off - "Got outta Dodge" - as soon as he told Cando that Haney was coming from Cheyenne to help out in the breakout. It HAD to take at least a week to get from Cheyenne to Dodge back then, and on horseback? even longer. By then, Binders could've been long gone, and Cando would've been a stuck pig. For Haney and Binder to get in the back door, SOMEONE had to leave it open, or at least unlocked. Gee, who was supposed to be watching things at the office? Right; Chester. And, yeah. Sims was overlooked. Matt should've had 'ol Brainiac take Carpel over to Doc's while he thanked Sims for saving the day., and THEY had coffee.

Chester Gets an Unwanted Lift

[dougdoepke · 3 August 2007]

Pretty good entry, but nothing special. Matt jails a wanted man whose partner must break him out, otherwise he too will face a hangman's noose. So the partner sends for a gunman, played by the formidable-looking Walter Barnes. Too bad Barnes can't work up a degree of nasty to match his looks, which would have really added to the showdown.

Some well-scripted byplay between Doc and Kitty. Also Chester gets a chance to shine, showing what a fine and unique creation his character was. There's been no one quite like him before or since. Nice touch bringing in two ordinary yet dependable average Joe's to help guard the jail. All in all, however, a fairly routine episode.

Excellent episode

[streetlight2 · 9/10 · 2 November 2020]

This episode fits more into the half-hour than many episodes do in a full hour. This episode could have been expanded to an hour with a chase across the country with more action, perhaps in a hideout, had Cando escaped.

Tough Guys

[StrictlyConfidential · 6/10 · 20 April 2021]

(*Jim Cando quote*) - "You're a rough bloody lawman, Marshal."

Murderer, Jim Cando is thrown in jail for starting a fight. He orders his partner, Lee Binders to get him out by any means or he will involve him in the murder too.

Lee sends for hired gunman, Jack Haney to help take care of business, which makes plenty of trouble for Marshal Dillon.