Gunsmoke seems like a very conservative show in the modern day, but in the 1950s it had a lot of liberal points of view. Taking shots at bible thumpers and religious people was one of them.
In this episode, the incredibly obnoxious and vile Ira Scurlock comes into town with his two abused sons. Scurlock is played by Peter Whitney, who could be incredibly obnoxious, unreasonable, and vile all at the same time. I honestly never liked Peter Whitney.
The episode title of Kangaroo refers to a kangaroo court, which Marshal Dillon mentions when he first confronts Whitney as he is going to whip someone going to Dodge "to sin." Dillon should have beaten up Whitney at that point, and sent him back to the hills. It would have saved a life.
Whitney's sons are played by Richard Rust and John Crawford. Richard Rust was a young actor in the 1950s who seemed destined for stardom. John Crawford was a long time character actor who appeared on Gunsmoke 14 times, and was also in some movies with John Wayne. Crawford usually played a second string villain or member of somebody's gang.
One of Whitney's sons (Rust) wants to break free of the religious oppression. The two brothers know their Dad is nuts, but they are afraid of him. Whitney kidnaps Chester in order to cut his hand off as retribution for Chester cutting loose the guy that Whitney was going to whip. Really nutty stuff. This episode was kind of pointless. Richard Rust fights to keep Chester alive, and later when everyone is asleep, he goes to town to get Marshal Dillon.
This episode was bizarre even in the 1950s, except that the supporting cast did a great job. They all take Whitney's rants seriously, and he seems like a very menacing and dangerous character. This episode is a lot better than it should be. The actors carry the day, over really bad writing.