Another great showcase for the increasingly popular (and talented) Ken Curtis.
WAY too much mugging from the three cousins in the opening scenes; Royal Dano was a terrific actor (truly terrifying as "Praylie" .. another weirdo Haggen.. in "Crooked Mile"), but his shameless ham-bone routine in this one is sometimes embarrassing. And I REALLY get tired of seeing Denver Pyle in every third episode (though he was GREAT in "The Violaters"), doing his basic backwoods schlub routine. When Shug Fisher comes across as the most controlled, realistic actor onscreen, you KNOW you've got problems! (Shug, incidentally, was one of Ken Curtis' real-life pals and colleagues from their "Sons of the Pioneers" singing days together).
Anyway, the episode moves along nicely, veering between near-farce (the 3 cousins) and dark drama (the events in the barn between Carl Reindel and the always-dependable Don Beddoe), sometimes convincingly, sometimes less so. Festus' individual encounters in rounding up the 3 cousins are nicely varied (with the obligatory stunt-double fistfight w/ Denver Pyle, etc.)
But what was the ghoulish bit (w/ actor Ken Mayer) and the lady's SCALP he was lovingly combing, while Shug Fisher was chowin' down on his beans?? What the hell was THAT about??
Then there's the sub-plot about Festus and the kid he takes fishing; is Festus a bad influence on the boy, especially when he encourages the young 'un to lie to his mother about playin' hooky? Enter the sagacious Matt Dillon to offer some advice. It might have been good to see this subplot somehow tied in with the final resolution with Festus and his clan...how, I wouldn't know.
Overall, an enjoyable show, especially since Ken Curtis is front-and-center throughout. LR.
