User Reviews

Another comment posted here describes this episode as no-better, no-worse than most...that is, only average. Considering that so much of Gunsmoke's Season 8 is excellent, I suppose you could argue that JEB is "average". But how much can anyone expect from a series that was grinding out a 50-minute TV drama per week, on a grueling schedule, which still managed to maintain a very high quality level throughout? I find this show far better than "average"; watch "Tombstone Territory" if you want AVERAGE.

JEB is a very solid show, well scripted, directed and acted. Excellent characters and interactions that hold our attention throughout. James Hampton is very effective--- sincere and sympathetic--in the title role. My one complaint is Emile Genest's slightly-too-theatrical tendencies as the villain. Also, for an authentic French Canadian actor, I felt that his accent was never entirely convincing.

I enjoyed Quint's taking in the kid and protecting him, and I thought the scene with Matt risking a meeting with the Indians to straighten out the horse-thief issue was excellent. Milburn Stone turns in another first-rate performance as Doc, especially in his "glass of beer" scene with Kitty and the panicky father near the beginning. A nice contrast and balance to the episode's drama, which creates real tension and excitement near the end; I actually cheered out loud at the big shotgun blast that solves Jeb's problem. And what a beautiful Appaloosa! (the lead horse, that is).

Also, a very fine original score by Fred Steiner. AND YES--- the very obvious TRUCK TRACKS in the scene with Matt and Quint riding was really surprising; maybe everyone on the crew was too exhausted this late in the season to notice. LR

The penultimate episode of Season 8 is another written by Paul Savage, who had also penned the previous episode "The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner." It features James Hampton as a naïve, curious young man named Jeb Willis who finds an Appaloosa roaming free on the prairie, takes it as his own, and rides into Dodge City. Jeb has lived on a farm with his father all his life and has never ventured far. His visit to Dodge City is his first to any town.

Jeb doesn't know the horse belonged to a hunter that was brutally executed by a group of American Indians. When Matt Dillon and Quint Asper find the hunter's body, Quint instantly recognizes the man was executed for some heinous crime against the American Indians. The reason for the hunter's killing is a small mystery embedded within this story.

In Dodge, the Appaloosa attracts the attention of a friendly cowboy named Ab Singleton. (Singleton is played by Roy Thinnis/Thinnes, who was best known as the star of the Quinn Martin sci-fi drama series The Invaders. He was a popular member of the cast of the soap opera General Hospital around the time this episode was made.) Ab and Jeb become friends, and Jeb agrees to sell the horse to Ab.

When Chouteau, a friend of the dead hunter, rides into Dodge, he sees Ab with the Appaloosa and immediately jumps to the conclusion that Ab stole the horse from his hunter friend. Ab and Chouteau get into a fight, and Ab is fatally stabbed. Chouteau soon learns that Jeb sold the horse to Ab, and -- again -- mistakenly concludes Jeb stole the horse.

While Matt attempts to solve the mystery of the horse and the reason for the hunter's death, Chouteau stalks Jeb in his own quest for justice.

Canadian actor Émile Genest portrays the stubborn, vengeance-driven Chouteau in the first of his two Gunsmoke appearances. His acting career featured several prominent performances in his native country, but he frequently ventured into the United States to perform in television and film roles.

James Hampton would appear on Gunsmoke again in Season 10 as Festus Haggen's cousin Eliab, who is intent on shooting off Festus's ear..."just the hang-y down part." Hampton and Burt Reynolds were friends and appeared in numerous movies and television shows together during their respective careers.

Hampton was great at playing this type of innocent, naïve character at this point in his career, and he was often cast in such roles. Soon after his appearances on Gunsmoke, he began starring as Hannibal Dobbs in the series F Troop. Later in his career he took on notable, considerably more serious roles in films such as The China Syndrome and Sling Blade. Hampton' s performance stands out in this solid, well-acted Gunsmoke installment.

LOL at comments about this not being a very good episode. Well, the facts are for network TV now in 2022 I watch a couple shows on Thursday night. The rest of my viewing is done bopping around cable and the multitude of shows I can get with my ROKU smart TV, but I recently found INSP on my cable which shows daily episodes of Gunsmoke. Rating this Gunsmoke episode of Jeb (S8,E37) against "network" shows I would give Jeb a solid 10 with the top network show about a 6. Rating "Jeb" against other Gunsmoke episodes, I gave it an 8 and that's because Gunsmoke was/is an extremely high quality show. I would love to find some info about that particular appaloosa in the show. A stunning horse as were 99.999% of the horses on Gunsmoke.

Hampton's character goes around telling everyone, "Oh please, don't hurt me, I'm so weak and stupid!" This hayseed is dumber and more naive than most, so much that I had ZERO sympathy for him. I guess the hillbillies in the Gunsmoke audience sympathized.