This ghastly episode is way up on the list of reasons I wouldn't hire William Kelley or Earl Wallace to write a script for me even if I could afford to pay them and they worked for union scale. Kelley is the culprit here, turning in some mind-bogglingly bad situations in the story of a vengeful ex-con who bullies his way around Dodge to torment a former partner who ran out on him during a robbery for which he spent a long prison sentence. At one point, Hackett (Earl Holliman) grabs the Long Branch's shotgun and shoves it right into bartender Sam Noonan's gut, fully intending to blow him in half. Sam says the weapon isn't loaded (he had just cleaned it), but Hackett pulls the triggers anyway. Click. Click. If Matt Dillon had been around, he would have punched Hackett right into next week; instead Hackett leaves and keeps on stalking his quarry (Morgan Woodward), who's now a farmer. Neither Holliman nor Woodward look the least bit comfortable in their roles (Woodward's character is a sniveling coward; Holliman's is the schoolyard bully who acts about 12 years old; he even talks soprano at a few points when he taunts other characters). When Hackett is finally caught, it's because the farmer tackled him around the legs as if trying to kiss his ... well, you know. It's a toss-up as to whether Holliman is worse here or in "Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge" (1987), but it's not worth three hours of viewing to find out.
Review of Hackett
