Gunsmoke (TV Series) Once a Haggen (1964) User Reviews

Dang' Good Show-- seriously

[lrrap · 9/10 · 25 January 2021]

The other comments here on IMDB all summarize the plot in great detail-- so why watch the show?

WELL.........

It's a very strong episode, expertly written and directed. There's a TON of excellent dialogue and character interaction--- at the end you almost feel as if you've experienced a full-length film; it's that good.

Plenty of surprises--especially as the episode is gathering momentum to the end. There's also a nice musical interlude featuring the fabulous singing of Ken Curtis, which really enhances the bond between Festus and Bucko-- friends 'til the bitter end...with even a wisecrack or two as they are about to meet their doom.

Elizabeth McRae (April) is her usual engaging self, often coming perilously close to outright caricature....but still managing to control it.

Lots of edge-of-the-seat tension as Matt (and April) try to pull the truth out of the drunken, cowardly "Pop" (Roy Barcroft)-- while back at the office, Chester its trying to snag the keys to let himself out of jail, and on the other side of town, a double-lynching is about to take place in a dramatically lit barn (the brooding, intense nighttime photography of these hour-long episodes CONTINUES to be a great asset in the visual dramatics). All of these plot elements are brought together and resolved brilliantly by writer Les Crutchfield.

Gunsmoke was the quintessential "adult" Western, and this episode-- while not intentionally profound or "probing", nonetheless contains great depth and insight in its writing, acting and directing that says a great deal about both the strength AND the frailty of us human-folk. LR

a "definitive" episode

[grizzledgeezer · 9/10 · 18 September 2013]

If you're a Festus fancier (and I am), this episode supplies a gift-box full of him. * The early Festus looks more like Ken Curtis, and he's snarkier and more-serious than the character he'd become as a series regular. Regularity (???) must have been in the producers' minds, because Curtis's credit appears with the regulars, rather than as a guest. He now starts appearing every two or three episodes.

This is Festus' third episode, and Matt still isn't sure whether to trust him -- nor does Festus trust Matt. This story is arguably the turning point in their relationship.

Festus' trail companion is Bucko, wonderfully played by Slim Pickens. They perfectly complement each other. Though Pickens appeared in later episodes, it apparently was not as a friend of Festus. Roles that Pickens might have played were often taken by Shug Fisher, one of Curtis's close friends.

Festus calls Fickett a "hidebound old honyock". This is a derogatory word for central and eastern-European workers, and appears related to "bohunk".

It's amusing that Pop (Roy Barcroft, a villain in many B Westerns) describes Festus as "in his prime". Ken Curtis was 48 at the time, which in 19th-century terms made him a man rapidly approaching "old age". (Men rarely "cowboyed" much past 30.) Curtis was nearly 60 when the series ended.

Nevertheless, Curtis does his own stunt when he leaps up from the saddle and grabs the beam he and Pickens are about to be hung from. (Curtis might have succeeded as a stunt man. His fighting is scrappy and athletic, and always convincing.) Plot hole: Bucko has all his silver buttons when he leaves the Long Branch. How and where he loses one is never explained, especially as he was with Festus all night.

An excellent episode, worth more than one viewing.

* For those lady-lovers who are a-wonderin'... Festus is rat-purtier'n any female /I/ ever seed. Though the conventionally nice-looking Chester is often shown as having a (sometimes reciprocated) interest in women, it's only in the earliest Festus episodes that Festus shows an attraction to females (or vice versa). Once he becomes a cast regular, 20th-century prejudices as to what makes a man good-looking (or not) kick in. Frankly, Festus is adorably cute, and given his athletic prowess, it's surprising women don't run after him. This is particularly true of Kitty, who admits in one episode that, although Matt is far and away her best male "friend", she has others.

Slim Pickens and Ken Curtis work great together in this show.

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 27 December 2012]

Festus and his friend Bucko are playing poker at the Long Branch. Festus uses all his money on the last pot and Bucko asks to use a Mexican dollar that he uses as buttons but they refuses. Anyway one man wins the pot and places the money in his wallet.

Later that evening the hotel clerk calls Matt over to investigate noises. Matt goes into the room and finds the man who won at poker dead from three stabs wounds. His money has been taken and the person escaped by the window. Matt also finds a Mexican dollar button and sets out to arrest Bucko.

Bucko cannot remember what happened last night but Festus tells the Marshal that they went to Pop Schiller's place after the poker games and drank beer and Pop would back the story up. However Pop tells the Marshall that only Festus was there last night Bucko was a no-show.

Bucko is found guilty of murder and is set to hang. But a female named April, who happens to be Festus's girlfriend, comes over to talk with Pop and gets him to confess that Bucko was actually there the night of the murder.

But all this may be mute when Festus breaks Bucko out of jail but ends up being tied up in the hands of an angry mob that wants to see them hang. Marshal Dillon has got to find out the facts or it will be too late.

Slim Pickens and Ken Curtis work great together in this episode. We also get to hear some find singing from Curtis and some funny lines from Pickens. Perhaps not the most interesting story but was well played and entertaining. Good watch.

Many Unique Aspects to this Episode

[wdavidreynolds · 8/10 · 23 November 2020]

At the end of the episode "Prairie Wolfer" Festus Haggen assured Matt Dillion he would likely return to Dodge City at some point. At the beginning of this episode, Festus is playing cards at The Long Branch Saloon with his friend Bucko Taos. Festus and Bucko have been on the trail for three weeks bringing a herd of cattle to Dodge, and they decide to blow off some steam by playing cards and getting drunk.

Festus, Bucko, and the others lose to a "Dude" who is leaving Dodge the next morning. This Dude remarks how he has to keep the money he won separate from the money he carries for business purposes, so everyone in the saloon knows the Dude is carrying a large amount of cash.

Festus and Bucko are broke "flatter than a fritter." Festus asks Miss Kitty about extending credit, but Kitty refuses. After making a lot of noise about maybe robbing the bank or the Dude, Festus and Bucko head over to Pop Schiller's restaurant and bar for a night of drinking.

When the Dude is found stabbed to death in his hotel room, Matt finds a Mexican silver dollar near the body. This implicates Bucko, as he unsuccessfully tried to use one of the Mexican silver dollars he uses for vest buttons in the card game. It seems that Bucko doesn't have the best reputation among the people of Dodge. Like his friend Festus, Bucko even admits he isn't above breaking the law when it suits him.

When Matt visits Bucko's shack, he finds a blood stained envelope and sees that Bucko is missing a button on his vest. Matt arrests Bucko, but Bucko has an alibi -- he was with Festus the whole night at Pop Schiller's place. However, Pop curiously refuses to corroborate the story. Pop admits Festus was there, but denies Bucko was with him. To complicate matters, Bucko has no memory of the events.

When Judge Brooking asks the jury foreman -- a man named Fickett -- for the verdict, Fickett launches into a tirade that demonstrates just how prejudiced he and the jury were against Bucko. It is difficult to imagine any judge would agree the trial was fair considering the flimsy evidence and listening to Fickett rant about how everyone knows what a terrible person Bucko is. Nevertheless, Judge Brooking accepts the verdict and sentences Bucko to hang.

Marshal Dillon gets the opportunity to play detective once again, as he realizes some of the evidence against Bucko is a bit suspicious. Matt tries to put the pieces of the murder together and gets considerable help in doing so from a woman named April.

We first met April in Season 8 in the episode titled "Us Haggens" where we also first met Festus. In that episode, she is Festus's Uncle Black Jack Haggen's companion. Here, she *sort of* appears to be Festus's girlfriend, but Festus doesn't always seem to be that fond of having April around.

There is an attempted jail break and an attempted lynching before the mystery is solved and the truth revealed.

At this point in their burgeoning relationship, Matt and Festus are still a bit wary of one another. Matt knows Festus isn't above breaking the law if it suits him, and Festus, being a Haggen, has a natural distrust of all law men.

Slim Pickens plays Bucko Taos. It is a treat to see Pickens and Ken Curtis work together in this episode. It is too bad we never get to see Pickens return as Bucko in any future episodes of Gunsmoke.

Elizabeth MacRae reprises her role as April from the earlier Season 8 episode. MacRae is perhaps best known in her role as Lou Ann Poovie on the series "Gomer Pyle: USMC," but she also appeared in some films, including Francis Ford Coppola's excellent film "The Conversation."

This unique episode also features Ken Curtis's fine singing talents. Early in his career, Curtis was the vocalist for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. He would later appear in "singing cowboy" western films. The song the Festus character sings, "Six Shiny Black Horses," was written by Curtis.

Finally, this is one of only two episodes of Gunsmoke that features both the Festus Haggen and Chester Goode characters. Dennis Weaver left the show soon after this episode was filmed. As a matter of fact, we only see Chester in one more episode later in Season 9 before he leaves for good.

"Once a Haggen" gives Ken Curtis' "Festus" character a chance to shine

[chuck-reilly · 8/10 · 21 February 2020]

The 1964 "Gunsmoke" entry titled "Once a Haggen" is a pivotal episode in the popular Western series as Ken Curtis' "Festus" character begins to appear regularly on the program. This early version of Festus is a bit different than the character viewers would come to know (and some to hate) as the series went on. He doesn't have that scruffy beard and his hillbilly dialect is kept at a minimum. He also seems to have a bit more intelligence than the later version. In this episode, he befriends another slightly dim-witted character named Bucko (Slim Pickens) who's accused of murdering a slick poker player after losing to him in a high-stakes game at the Long Branch Saloon. There's more than one loser (including Festus), but the evidence goes against Bucko. At the trial, a local yokel named Pop Schiller (Roy Barcroft) gives testimony that he witnessed the murder and it all but seals Bucko's fate. Festus, however, is buying none of it and Marshal Dillon is also very suspicious of Pop's account. Their concerns don't matter to a gathering lynch mob led by a nasty guy played by Kenneth Tobey. He also lost his shirt at the card game and wants to stretch a few necks to get his "pound of flesh." Since Festus is standing in his way, Tobey decides to string him up too. But after a severe shakedown by the Marshal, Pop Schiller admits that he was threatened by the real killer to point the finger in the other direction. All's well that ends well when Dillon and Chester arrive just in time to prevent Bucko and Festus from swinging into eternity. Naturally, the real killer (an avid member of the lynching party) takes a fatal bullet from the Marshal before he has a chance to make a hasty exit. Festus Haggen soon started appearing regularly in the series as Chester Goode (Dennis Weaver) was phased out. Festus wasn't everybody's "cup of tea," but the limping and slow plodding Chester hadn't been either. This episode was directed by the prolific Andrew V. McLaglen. Also in the cast was the good-looking and very alluring Elizabeth MacCrae as April. She definitely livened up the atmosphere every time she was on screen. Her character seemed to enjoy Festus' company, which means she was probably having eyesight problems. Of special note in this entry is Marshal Dillon's interrogation technique when he needs to get information fast. It may be unconstitutional and bordering on torture, but it works every time.

One of the most memorable episodes in the series!

[hpringnitz · 10/10 · 3 May 2022]

With Dennis Weaver, Ken Curtis, and Slim Pickens all together with all the series regulars, it doesn't get any better. Add to this the absolutely gorgeous Elizabeth MacRae and this one gets a solid 10 in my book.

I was only 6 when this was new, but I had such a crush on Miss MacRae it wasn't funny. Always have had an eye for the purty gurls....... ;)

Just okay

[maskers-87126 · 7/10 · 28 October 2018]

At least Festus broke his endless stream of bromances for a minute although his interactions with April were like a love sick 12 yr old. and APRIL. Every episode she was on she appeared to be severly mentally deficent. But a good mystery line to story.