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» » Rauchende Colts Kangaroo (1955–1975)

Short summary

Chester saves a man from a zealot's violent "justice," then faces a dose of the same himself.

The title of the episode refers to Kangaroo court, where court proceedings are prejudiced or unlawful

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Hunaya
    We get a different kind of story in this episode that features a large Bible spouting man, Ira Scurlock, that carries a leather strap and believes that he was put on this earth to beat the wicked ways out of sinners. Along with Ira is his two sons that fear their father as he never spared the rod against either of them. But it is not just Ira's sons but any passing person that Ira believes is sinning. He ties them to a tree and whips them with his strap all while quoting verses that he feels meets the situation.

    Chester got on the bad side when Ira claimed that Chester helped a sinner avoid his punishment. Well it is not long before Ira wants to take the sin out of Chester by cutting his hand off. When his boys jump Chester, Ira begins his own brand of justice to convict and punish Chester.

    Not the most topical show but was one that was interesting enough to capture the viewer's attention. Peter Whitney was excellently cast as the preacher-type man that believes his justice is the only way. Even though this has never been a plot that I really enjoyed watching in a TV series, this program had many interesting view points. When the end of the show nears the viewer will not be disappointed. Nice watch.
  • comment
    • Author: Ylal
    What an episode! You know when the episode starts on Boot Hill, its usually good. Been awhile though since I've seen Dillon up there. Peter Whitney plays Ira, the crazy Father who has a warped sense of the Bible and uses it as an excuse to punish people severely, like beating with the belt and cutting off hands! His performance also scared me, I did not want to meet this man in person.

    Dillon stops Ira from beating on a man, Ira's reasoning it was the Sabbath and he shouldn't have been going into Dodge (working), but yet Ira thinks its OK to carry out the Lord's work on the Sabbath to belt whip. Ira has 2 sons who support their Dad fully. I was surprised Dillon never drew his gun encountering the 3, with the 2 sons holding rifles.

    The one son Dal (Richard Rust) drinks a shot of whiskey at the Longbranch. His Dad catches him and beats him on the street in front of everyone. All of a sudden Dal has a change of heart and doesn't fully support his Dad. He's not so crazy anymore, in fact he's rational. I guess whiskey does have some benefits.

    In the end, Ira and the other son, Hod (John Crawford, best known as the mayor in the Dirty Harry flick "The Enforcer") pass judgement on Chester to cut off his right hand. Ouch! Chester can't believe what's going on. Ira misses and axes his son in his side, while the other son, Dal (who got Dillon overnight) shoots and kills his Dad. Another sad ending to this season of a family torn apart by death. Season 5 seems to have that theme.
  • comment
    • Author: Gozragore
    The sight of the giant-sized Peter Whitney striding across the prairie in long coat, big hat, and fired by the righteous wrath of the Lord is a memorable one. He's a cruel, Bible-spouting patriarch with two cowering sons, whom he whips for any perceived transgression. Apparently his Bible reading skipped over the part about Jesus and sinners. Anyway, he's an unforgettable creation and one of the standout villains of the entire series.

    The story is about his wreaking punishment with a merciless snarl on any poor devil who falls afoul his righteous obsession. Chester falls afoul by untying a Sabbath-breaking cowboy from Whitney's whipping tree. Now Chester must pay by losing the right hand that unbound the sinner. Needless to say, Chester has some difficulty following the ruthless logic. Though this is a Whitney "tour-de-force", Richard Rust also shines as the doubting son. Good concept and script from writer James Fonda. In passing-- why the episode is entitled "Kangaroo'" beats me since it has nothing remotely to do with marsupials or the Australian outback. My guess is they had to slap a title on the finished screenplay and just any old noun would do.
  • comment
    • Author: Risteacor
    **SPOILERS** I wasn't going to comment on this episode, but, what the hell... It's always a pleasure to watch crazy people who are sure they've got God (or any other word) on their side get stopped. The irony is, these false prophets will probably bear out any sentence that they've pronounced on others. I have a little problem with Ira dying so fast. he was a real big guy, and unless it was a heart or head shot, he would have been able to hold out for a while to find out he failed. Sayin that, it was pretty funny to watch him chop his own kid's arm half off. Fear's a killer; fear of one's parents is a future killer.
  • Episode cast overview:
    James Arness James Arness - Matt Dillon
    Dennis Weaver Dennis Weaver - Chester
    Milburn Stone Milburn Stone - Doc
    Amanda Blake Amanda Blake - Kitty
    Peter Whitney Peter Whitney - Ira
    Richard Rust Richard Rust - Dal
    John Crawford John Crawford - Hod
    Lew Brown Lew Brown - Jim Bride
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