A repugnant drifter hopes to use his nubile daughter to get his hands on a piece of land.A repugnant drifter hopes to use his nubile daughter to get his hands on a piece of land.A repugnant drifter hopes to use his nubile daughter to get his hands on a piece of land.
Photos
James Hampton
- Jeb
- (as Jim Hampton)
Fred McDougall
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Jimmy Noel
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Lucian Tiger
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Paul Savage
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- John Meston(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPa Hack's Brood (1963) was the 318th and middle episode of Gunsmoke (1955)'s 20 seasons & 635 episodes. The longtime series beginner, Matt Gets It (1955), was 317 episodes before and The Sharecroppers (1975) the series conclusion, was 317 episodes after.
Featured review
Uncharacteristically Weak
Pa Hack is the kind of lazy, shiftless sociopath that is fairly common in Gunsmoke episodes -- see also Phoebe Strunk, Pa Ginnis, and any number of others. Hack, his daughter, and two sons travel around the prairie begging and stealing whatever they can.
When the Hack clan runs across a farm owned by a man named Willis and his son Jeb, they manage to beg some flour and coffee and steal a couple of chickens. Pa Hack immediately gets the idea of having Jeb Willis and his daughter Maybelle marry. Hack, being such a lowlife, reasons a marriage between Jeb and Maybelle will give him an opportunity to take part of the Willis farm where they can settle.
While Pa Hack is plotting his absurd scheme for getting Maybelle and Jeb married, young Annie McGovern has moved into the Willis house following the death of her mother. It seems the elder Willis promised to take care of Annie before her mother died.
The Hack patriarch is an idiot, along with being extremely lazy and lacking any sense of morality. This story is essentially just a series of bumbling attempts by Hack to get what he wants without doing much of anything or giving anything in return. Hack is such a degenerate, even his son Orville and his daughter Maybelle find his actions reprehensible.
In the end, I think Paul Savage's script lacks the bite and grit someone like John Meston, or even Kathleen Hite would bring to this kind of story. Pa Hack and his "brood" are more pitiable than evil. The Annie McGovern character, as played by the versatile veteran character actor Mariana Hill, is more or less wasted, as is James Hampton's Jeb Willis. (There may have been a more interesting story in the possible romance between Jeb and Annie.)
Most of the action in this episode takes place away from Dodge City, although there are a few scenes in Dodge near the beginning.
Unfortunately there isn't much to recommend about this episode. The story is simply not very strong, and the acting is just so-so for the most part. As was sometimes the case, there really isn't anything especially specific to Gunsmoke in this story. Matt Dillon is only involved because he coincidentally stops at the Willis farm on his way to Meade, Kansas to deliver some papers.
Look for a young Lynn Loring as Maybelle Hack. As a child, into her teen years, and on into young adulthood, Loring appeared in the CBS soap opera Search for Tomorrow. Despite her young age, she was already a television veteran when this episode was made. She would eventually become the president of a television studio in the late 1980s.
George Lindsey, who was best known as Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show/Mayberry R.F.D., stands out in the limited role of Orville Hack. Lindsey was a talented actor, and it shows here. Lindsey appeared in a number of television westerns around this time, and he often played "heavies."
When the Hack clan runs across a farm owned by a man named Willis and his son Jeb, they manage to beg some flour and coffee and steal a couple of chickens. Pa Hack immediately gets the idea of having Jeb Willis and his daughter Maybelle marry. Hack, being such a lowlife, reasons a marriage between Jeb and Maybelle will give him an opportunity to take part of the Willis farm where they can settle.
While Pa Hack is plotting his absurd scheme for getting Maybelle and Jeb married, young Annie McGovern has moved into the Willis house following the death of her mother. It seems the elder Willis promised to take care of Annie before her mother died.
The Hack patriarch is an idiot, along with being extremely lazy and lacking any sense of morality. This story is essentially just a series of bumbling attempts by Hack to get what he wants without doing much of anything or giving anything in return. Hack is such a degenerate, even his son Orville and his daughter Maybelle find his actions reprehensible.
In the end, I think Paul Savage's script lacks the bite and grit someone like John Meston, or even Kathleen Hite would bring to this kind of story. Pa Hack and his "brood" are more pitiable than evil. The Annie McGovern character, as played by the versatile veteran character actor Mariana Hill, is more or less wasted, as is James Hampton's Jeb Willis. (There may have been a more interesting story in the possible romance between Jeb and Annie.)
Most of the action in this episode takes place away from Dodge City, although there are a few scenes in Dodge near the beginning.
Unfortunately there isn't much to recommend about this episode. The story is simply not very strong, and the acting is just so-so for the most part. As was sometimes the case, there really isn't anything especially specific to Gunsmoke in this story. Matt Dillon is only involved because he coincidentally stops at the Willis farm on his way to Meade, Kansas to deliver some papers.
Look for a young Lynn Loring as Maybelle Hack. As a child, into her teen years, and on into young adulthood, Loring appeared in the CBS soap opera Search for Tomorrow. Despite her young age, she was already a television veteran when this episode was made. She would eventually become the president of a television studio in the late 1980s.
George Lindsey, who was best known as Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show/Mayberry R.F.D., stands out in the limited role of Orville Hack. Lindsey was a talented actor, and it shows here. Lindsey appeared in a number of television westerns around this time, and he often played "heavies."
helpful•102
- wdavidreynolds
- Nov 16, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Stage 3, CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA(Dodge City Western Street)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content