Summary[]
Andy hopes to finally bring peace to two of the county's longtime feuding families, the Carters and the Wakefields - by arranging a duel between the two patriarchs of the quarreling clans!
Plot[]
Andy Marries a Young Couple
When Andy nearly gets shot while attempting to let a son and daughter of two feuding families get married, he decides the best way to help the youngsters is to find out what caused the feud in the first place and end it. After explaining to Opie and Aunt Bee the dangers inherent in getting caught between feuding families, with his famous version of Romeo and Juliet[1], Andy sets off to end the long-running feud. Despite his efforts, Andy is unable to discover the cause of the feud because the families don't know either. Furthermore, Andy discovers that despite decades of so-called feuding, no one from either family has ever been injured or even shot at. Andy brings the feuding parties together, explaining how bad it makes them look to have a feud where no one has ever been killed. He then tries to egg on the two feuding fathers into a half-hearted duel, which sends both running for their lives like scared rabbits! When it becomes clear that their two youngsters have enough courage and are willing to stand up for each other, the feuding fathers realize the potential of their offspring, embrace the marriage, and end the feud.
Notes/Trivia[]
- This plot is derived from the legendary Hatfield-McCoy feud.
- Andy wears a gun in this episode.
- This episode was a vehicle for Andy Griffith's Romeo & Juliet stand up routine, which was released on his classic comedy album in the late 1950s. It is generally considered second only to "What It Was, Was Football.”
- Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Wakefield do not appear in the episode.
- Don Knotts does not appear in this episode, despite being credited.
- Andy says he learned some French when he was "over there in the War."
- When Andy unloads the shotguns of Mr. Carter and Mr. Wakefield, it is obvious that the shells he removes from the guns are empty, or spent. Perhaps since the two are proven to be cowards this is intentional.
- We discover that the Taylor's home has a doorbell (not a very common convenience, especially in the rural south, circa 1960).
- In the first scene of the show we see Aunt Bee's hair down and not done up in a bun, as would normally be seen on the show, since the Taylor household has been awakened in the middle of the night for Andy (Mayberry's Justice of the Peace) to marry Josh and Hannah.
- Andy wears a nightshirt and nightcap to marry couples who come to the house in the middle of the night to be wed.
- We discover the Taylor home has an upright piano and Aunt Bee can play.
Goofs[]
- During the duel, Andy pretends to check the shotguns and removes the shells. He mistakenly switches the guns when he hands them back.
Music[]
Quotes[]
Andy: (quoting Romeo and Juliet) Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.
Opie: What does that mean, Paw?
Andy: It means I'd like to stay and jaw with you a while longer, but I gotta be movin' on.
Mr. Wakefield: "We don't understand French".
Gallery[]
