Gunsmoke (TV Series) The Warden (1964) User Reviews

A nice story that had a lot of potential

[kfo9494 · 7/10 · 13 January 2013]

Even with a interesting background of the main characters, this show seemed almost awkward as it progress to the climax. Perhaps it was some of the suspicious acting or the way the plot seemed to vary between topics. This was a show that could have been more entertaining with just a few tweaks to the characters.

The show begins as Warden Stark (George Kennedy) and a young man named Trainey buy from an Indian named Bull Foot (Anthony Caruso) his daughter named Cool Dawn. But the deal was really a set up as Bull Foot is a known con-man as he sells his daughter then she escapes and comes back to the house to be resold to the next passer-by.

Anyway as Warden's wagon passes Festus's wagon, Cool Dawn jumps out and runs up to Festus asking for protection. But before Festus can get her back to Dodge she steals Festus's mule and rides off. When Festus tells Marshal Dillon about the incident they ride out to Bull Foot's house. Upon arriving the mule is there plus Warden and Trainey have returned to seek revenge on Bull Foot. After shots are fired, Matt arrests both of them but later releases them as long as they leave the Dodge area.

However, Warden goes back to Bull Foot's house and kidnaps Cool Dawn. And from this point we learn the past of Warden Stark. It seems that Stark was in charge of a reformatory school in Ohio. The school caught fire and thirty boys and his wife and child died. Stark is wanted in Ohio for the deaths. But with Cool Dawn's legs chained up to prevent escaping, we learn more about what happened in Ohio and why Warden Stark is not to be trusted.

It really is a nice story. The only hang-up I had was some of the acting just was not believable. Kennedy and Caruso were solid in their performance- however, Julie Parrish was portraying an Indian woman that looked and sounded more like a passenger on the Mayflower crossing than a Indian-- and Christopher Connelly that played Trainey seemed almost frighten at times about delivering his lines. But with that said, the script was worthy enough to produce a nice watch for viewers.

Stupid

[maskers-87126 · 6/10 · 26 September 2018]

Fine actors wasted on a stupid story. Includes a actress playing a Native Am. Who looks mo more n.am then an Italian. Generally a mess.

Unusually Poor Casting

[wdavidreynolds · 5/10 · 8 December 2020]

Two familiar Gunsmoke guests appear in the opening scene of this installment: George Kennedy as a man named Stark who is also called "Warden" (we learn more about why he earned that name during the story) and Anthony Caruso as a Native American named Bull Foot. Stark and a younger man named Trainey travel around the prairie and sell various goods from their wagon. Their journey takes them by Bull Foot's farm where they stop to rest and water horses.

Bull Foot is a notorious cheat/confidence man, who, in this story, agrees to sell his daughter Cool Dawn to Stark in exchange for some needed goods. Stark is enamored with Cool Dawn, because she reminds him of his deceased wife. Bull Foot knows his daughter will escape from the men once they are away from the farm, as he and Cool Dawn have apparently pulled this con before.

Sure enough, as Stark and Trainey resume their travels, they encounter Festus Haggen on the trail. Festus is driving a wagon to Dodge City from Pueblo, Colorado. Cool Dawn seizes on the opportunity to get away and seeks refuge with Festus who is happy to oblige. However, as soon as they are a safe distance from Stark and Trainey, Cool Dawn steals Festus's mule and returns to her father's farm.

Stark is quite unhappy about Cool Dawn's escape and eventually shoots Bull Foot and takes Cool Dawn away in chains. Festus, who has developed something of a romantic interest in Cool Dawn, finds the wounded Bull Foot and takes him to Dodge City where Doc begins to nurse him back to health. Matt and Festus are able to learn that Stark and Trainey took Cool Dawn and set out in pursuit of the pair.

The remainder of the story involves shifting focus between Stark, Trainey, and Cool Dawn as they travel along, and Matt and Festus as they track them. Along the way we learn more about Stark's past and a growing rift between Stark and Trainey.

This episode features Julie Parrish's only appearance in a Gunsmoke episode, and she is badly miscast as the Cool Dawn character. Christopher Connelly fills the role of the Trainey character. Connelly performed as Norman Harrington in the television series Peyton Place beginning around the same time this episode was made. He would go on to appear in many television shows, and, later in his career, several Italian B-movies. He died of lung cancer at the relatively young age of 47.

In the end, I find this episode generally unsatisfying. There is never much reason to care about the fate of any of the characters. It is a lackluster effort overall. However, I did enjoy the idea of Doc making hair tonic for Festus, and Matt's observation that he didn't know if it would improve Festus's appearance, but it should keep the mosquitos away.

Bizarre story

[Johnny_West · 3/10 · 17 August 2022]

George Kennedy goes in every direction, from evil, mean, crazy, controlling, and finally he tries to be nice. Too little, too late. Kennedy plays Warden and he has an unhealthy hold over his dim-witted lackey Trainey (Christopher Connelly), who is enthralled by and also terrified of Warden.

Two years earlier, Warden was the Warden of some kind of prison for kids, and it caught fire with his wife and daughter inside. Why Warden had his wife and child locked up in a prison is never explained, and just one reason the story is not very credible.

Even dumber is that Trainey had the key, but could not open the lock to the front gate, so 30 prison kids and Warden's wife and child died. Trainey never figured out that the reason the lock would not open is because Warden gave him the wrong lock. It took Trainey two years to figure out that Warden had given him the wrong key, when Julie Parrish (Bullfoot's Indian daughter) reasoned out that if the key did not work, it must have been the wrong key. Even then Trainey was mystified by her logic. I have to rank Trainey as one of the dumbest characters to ever appear on Gunsmoke.

There is a weird homo-erotic sub-plot here which is never explained. Essentially Warden killed his wife and child and 30 others so that he could live with Trainey in a wagon for two years. Trainey wants to leave Warden, but Warden blackmails Trainey as the killer of 30 kids, and is constantly guilting him. Trainey thinks Warden saved him from hanging, but it was Warden that got everyone killed.

At some point George Kennedy crosses paths with Anthony Caruso, who is playing Bullfoot, the stereotype Indian who is a theif that sells his daughter to strangers, because she is trained to run away and return home. Caruso admits to Matt Dillon that he used to sell his dog, until the dog did not return, so now he sells his daughter. Kennedy buys the girl, and goes nuts when she takes off. He then wants to kill Bullfoot, and capture the girl.

Cool Dawn (Julie Parrish) is the pretty non-Indian white girl who plays Caruso's emotionally abused Native American child. Festus immediately gets enamored of the girl too, since she is barely 16 and he is 40. Trainey is in love with the girl too, since he finally sees a way to escape the clutches of Kennedy /Warden. Kennedy & Trainey eventually go back to kidnap Cool Dawn, and Caruso / Bull Foot gets shot.

Festus rescues Bull Foot and takes him to Dodge. Marshal Dillon is on the case now, and Justice will be done. At the end, Cool Dawn settles for Trainey, and Bull Foot / Caruso does some more outdated stereotype remarks. Trainey thinks Bullfoot is funny, and wants to marry into his family.

The best highlight is that Dillon dispenses Justice with his gun in this one. Cool Dawn is bright, so why she loves a father (Caruso) that sells her to travelers is beyond me.