A young man's refusal to fight as an expected rite of passage is at the center of many problems.A young man's refusal to fight as an expected rite of passage is at the center of many problems.A young man's refusal to fight as an expected rite of passage is at the center of many problems.
Photos
Alma Beltran
- Engrace Etchahoun
- (as Alma Leonor Beltran)
Claudio Martínez
- Vitorio
- (as Claudio Martinez)
Charles Cirillo
- Sheep Herder
- (uncredited)
John Marlin
- Sheep Herder
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMark Shera and Robert Urich starred together in tv series SWAT.
- GoofsDuring the fight scene Robert Urich has a brown vest and a white apron. Then suddenly the vest is gone and the apron is blue striped. Then the brown vest and white apron re-appear.
Featured review
Some Traditions Need to Be Abandoned
A community of Basque immigrants have established residence near Dodge City where they raise sheep. The Etchahoun family observes a bizarre ritual where sons must defeat their father in a fight to be considered a man. (There seems to be no historical accuracy to this ritual being a customary practice among the Basque people.)
Manolo Etchahoun refuses to fight his father, Alejo, because Manolo fought and killed another man before the family immigrated to the United States. Alejo is ashamed of Manolo's refusal to fight, and the entire community is critical of Manolo, including Kattalin Larralde, the woman Manolo loves. When Joachim, Manolo's younger brother, defeats Alejo in a fight, it puts even more pressure on Manolo.
This episode features another stellar guest cast. Manolo is played by Robert Urich, whose Hollywood career was just beginning. Urich was a close friend of Burt Reynolds. Reynolds encouraged Urich to move to California in the early 1970s and began recommending him to producers. Prior to playing Manolo, Urich had appeared with another recent Gunsmoke guest David Soul as part of a group of young vigilante cops in the film Magnum Force. Around the time of this performance, Reynolds recommended Urich to producer Aaron Spelling for a part in the series S. W. A. T., which also starred another memorable Gunsmoke guest Steve Forrest. S. W. A. T. Only lasted one-and-one-half seasons, but Urich's participation directly led to the actor being cast as Dan Tanna in the more popular series Vega$. This was the only Gunsmoke part Urich played.
Nehemiah Persoff was no stranger to Gunsmoke fans, as he appeared in six different episodes of the series. In his final series appearance, he plays the Etchahoun patriarch, Alejo.
Like Urich, actor Mark Shera was just beginning his acting career when he made his only Gunsmoke appearance in this episode as Joachim Etchahoun. Shera would join Urich in the S. W. A. T. cast where he played a fellow officer to Urich's Jim Street. Shera is best known for playing Barnaby Jones's nephew and protégé Jedediah "J. R." Jones later in the popular detective series Barnaby Jones.
Alma Beltran portrays the matriarch of the Etchahoun family, Engrace. Along with Urich and Shera, this is her only Gunsmoke role.
In a surprising bit of casting, Jess Walton returns to Gunsmoke in this story where she plays Manolo's love interest Kattalin Larralde. Walton's other Gunsmoke role was as Newly O'Brien's terminally ill wife Patricia in the Season 18 episode named after her character.
Watch for a brief appearance by actor Brion James as a patron of the Long Branch Saloon who taunts Manolo in a short scene. James was just beginning what would be a prolific career in numerous films and television shows.
This is another of the many late-series episodes where the regular Gunsmoke cast has little to do. The contrived scenes where they do appear are not important to the story and appear to be included just to lend some Gunsmoke flavor to the proceedings. There is a scene inside the Long Branch where the unlikeable Nathan Burke further proves his unlikability.
This story must rank as one of the strangest in the twenty-year run of Gunsmoke. The entire premise of a young man reluctant to fight his father to verify his manhood is as uninteresting as it is unpleasant. There is no reason to care about Manolo's fretting over not wanting to engage his father in a fight. In fact, there are plenty of reasons to NOT care.
There are several awkward scenes, but the scenes where Kattalin is trying to convince Manolo how important it is that he fight his father are truly bizarre.
Perhaps the producers were looking for something fresh and original, but this story is just boring. There are numerous dialogue-heavy scenes, and many of the actors are required to try to talk in some sort of faux European accent with varied degrees of success. It is a complete waste of the fine acting talent assembled.
(Footnote: Sheep herders were often resented by cowboys and cattlemen. Dodge City was certainly "cattle country" both historically and in the Gunsmoke world. It is odd to learn that this entire community of Basque shepherds are suddenly introduced to the Gunsmoke world with no apparent resistance from the cattle folks in the area.)
Manolo Etchahoun refuses to fight his father, Alejo, because Manolo fought and killed another man before the family immigrated to the United States. Alejo is ashamed of Manolo's refusal to fight, and the entire community is critical of Manolo, including Kattalin Larralde, the woman Manolo loves. When Joachim, Manolo's younger brother, defeats Alejo in a fight, it puts even more pressure on Manolo.
This episode features another stellar guest cast. Manolo is played by Robert Urich, whose Hollywood career was just beginning. Urich was a close friend of Burt Reynolds. Reynolds encouraged Urich to move to California in the early 1970s and began recommending him to producers. Prior to playing Manolo, Urich had appeared with another recent Gunsmoke guest David Soul as part of a group of young vigilante cops in the film Magnum Force. Around the time of this performance, Reynolds recommended Urich to producer Aaron Spelling for a part in the series S. W. A. T., which also starred another memorable Gunsmoke guest Steve Forrest. S. W. A. T. Only lasted one-and-one-half seasons, but Urich's participation directly led to the actor being cast as Dan Tanna in the more popular series Vega$. This was the only Gunsmoke part Urich played.
Nehemiah Persoff was no stranger to Gunsmoke fans, as he appeared in six different episodes of the series. In his final series appearance, he plays the Etchahoun patriarch, Alejo.
Like Urich, actor Mark Shera was just beginning his acting career when he made his only Gunsmoke appearance in this episode as Joachim Etchahoun. Shera would join Urich in the S. W. A. T. cast where he played a fellow officer to Urich's Jim Street. Shera is best known for playing Barnaby Jones's nephew and protégé Jedediah "J. R." Jones later in the popular detective series Barnaby Jones.
Alma Beltran portrays the matriarch of the Etchahoun family, Engrace. Along with Urich and Shera, this is her only Gunsmoke role.
In a surprising bit of casting, Jess Walton returns to Gunsmoke in this story where she plays Manolo's love interest Kattalin Larralde. Walton's other Gunsmoke role was as Newly O'Brien's terminally ill wife Patricia in the Season 18 episode named after her character.
Watch for a brief appearance by actor Brion James as a patron of the Long Branch Saloon who taunts Manolo in a short scene. James was just beginning what would be a prolific career in numerous films and television shows.
This is another of the many late-series episodes where the regular Gunsmoke cast has little to do. The contrived scenes where they do appear are not important to the story and appear to be included just to lend some Gunsmoke flavor to the proceedings. There is a scene inside the Long Branch where the unlikeable Nathan Burke further proves his unlikability.
This story must rank as one of the strangest in the twenty-year run of Gunsmoke. The entire premise of a young man reluctant to fight his father to verify his manhood is as uninteresting as it is unpleasant. There is no reason to care about Manolo's fretting over not wanting to engage his father in a fight. In fact, there are plenty of reasons to NOT care.
There are several awkward scenes, but the scenes where Kattalin is trying to convince Manolo how important it is that he fight his father are truly bizarre.
Perhaps the producers were looking for something fresh and original, but this story is just boring. There are numerous dialogue-heavy scenes, and many of the actors are required to try to talk in some sort of faux European accent with varied degrees of success. It is a complete waste of the fine acting talent assembled.
(Footnote: Sheep herders were often resented by cowboys and cattlemen. Dodge City was certainly "cattle country" both historically and in the Gunsmoke world. It is odd to learn that this entire community of Basque shepherds are suddenly introduced to the Gunsmoke world with no apparent resistance from the cattle folks in the area.)
helpful•61
- wdavidreynolds
- Nov 18, 2021
Details
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content