Apart from a superb performance by Buddy Ebsen and excellent support from cowboy veteran Ben Johnson, what makes this episode stand out is the magnificent location photography. The IMDd information is wrong. This was not shot in the studio but in southern Utah, around Kanab. The final scenes were filmed in the abandoned town set in Johnson Canyon. There's been no attempt to preserve the place and it's gradually collapsing into the desert. How do I know? I've been there and seen it myself.
There's a touch of sentimentality in the way the script treats the small boy and it's slightly at odds with the revenge aspects of the story. Even so, Drago is a standout. Even the almost total absence of Matt Dillon himself doesn't matter. This is as good as anything'70s TV westerns had to offer and, as a previous poster points out, makes Bonanza look pale in comparison.
There's a touch of sentimentality in the way the script treats the small boy and it's slightly at odds with the revenge aspects of the story. Even so, Drago is a standout. Even the almost total absence of Matt Dillon himself doesn't matter. This is as good as anything'70s TV westerns had to offer and, as a previous poster points out, makes Bonanza look pale in comparison.