Gunsmoke (TV Series) 9:12 to Dodge (1968) User Reviews

Good episode with some lessons for all.

[headhunter46 · 8/10 · 5 October 2014]

This started out with a gorgeous old steam engine that came rolling in to a station. I love those old steamers and ride one whenever I get the chance. That told me it was probably going to be one of the better episodes. It turns out our well respected Marshall is escorting a suspect to trial in Dodge, as the title implies. He is accused of murder and there were eye witnesses.

Now enter a sincere woman who has dedicated her life to guaranteeing humane treatment of prisoners and it gets very complicate for our hero when he receives a telegram warning him there are friends of the accused planning to effect an escape.

For a few minutes it looks very bad for Matt and doc when the woman interferes at the worst possible moment, but all ends well. And the help Matt needs comes from the one who was least likely to offer it. I won't ruin it by telling you who it was cuz I'm hoping you'll watch it for yourself.

And one thing about the bread that was mentioned by others. When I was a kid my mother made bread at home, several times a week. It became my job to slice it up when she saw that I was good at it. I learned to make a nice neat slice because I didn't like lumpy bread. I used a special bread knife that grandma gave us, it had saw like teeth on it and I could slice bread so it looked like it came from the store. So, just maybe the bread was not out of place.

Throw Mrs Devon from the train...

[grizzledgeezer · 7/10 · 27 June 2013]

This is the kind of action-packed episode "Gunsmoke" fans are fond of. Its problem is one that afflicts most episodic television -- you know that neither Matt nor Doc will be killed, so there's no suspense in that regard.

Matt and Doc are escorting a man accused of murder to trial. (The title is an obvious reference to "3:10 to Yuma", which similarly involves delivering a criminal to justice via train.) Doc is present, apparently because the man has a leg injury and Doc's ministrations might be needed to keep him healthy. Naturally, a bunch of the man's friends are planning to effect his escape, and -- of course -- kill Marshall Dillon (yawn).

The real troublemaker, however, is Mrs Devon, a liberal do-gooder whom most liberal do-gooders would have no trouble slapping silly. Her concern over Dillon's "brutal" treatment of the prisoner gets Matt really steamed. He ought to toss the *****, but he's too much of gentleman to do so. She does, however, sort-of redeem herself.

Yes, the conductor /is/ Robert Emhart -- who's aged so much, he no longer looks nor sounds like Robert Emhart.

There's another good performance from Todd "Jason" Armstrong as the killer being escorted. (He would later commit suicide after contracting AIDS. A shame, because he was a decent actor.)

This episode ends on a note (sounded occasionally on this series) I find distasteful. Someone who's done Matt or Festus or Doc some great and terrible wrong asks forgiveness -- and Matt or Festus or Doc is quick -- much too quick -- to forgive them, when a blunt lecture is what's needed.

Other than its unavoidable predictability, this is a pretty good episode -- but not one I'm interested in watching again.

Egregious Goof... At the beginning, when Matt, Doc, and the prisoner are eating sandwiches, it's patent that someone got the bread from the nearest day-old. (The slices are perfectly square and obviously machine-cut.) Would it have been that difficult to buy an artisan loaf and cut it by hand?

Takes All Kinds

[darbski · 7/10 · 20 January 2018]

***SPOILERS*** Okay, there are givens in almost any show. We know that Matt and Doc are gonna be okay, right? we also know that there wouldn't be any "special" train for a worthless killer. we further know that they wouldn't take said dirtbag anywhere else to hang him; they'd save time and money by shipping him straight to Leavenworth. What we DIDN'T know was that when they stopped the train, "The Village People" would get on board. The only one missing was a hippie with a banjo, for cryin' out loud. The annoying woman never got off a shot, but Doc did; I think it was the third time I saw him pick up a Colt and blast a scurvy rat. THAT part was gratifying, at least. kfo9494 expressed his displeasure in the fact that Mrs. Goody Dingbat didn't pick up some stray lead somehow. I concur. She was pretty, but expendable. She could have provided an object lesson for Buttinskies. I also think that it was amazing that there were stray guns just laying around for her, Doc, and Matt to pick up in the nick of time. I give it a 7.

Too Many Questionable Plot Elements

[wdavidreynolds · 6/10 · 12 May 2021]

Matt Dillon is inexplicably transporting a man named Johnny August to Dodge City via a private train car to stand trial for murder. Doc Adams is traveling with them because August was shot in the leg. Presumably, the Marshal needed Doc to provide assurance that August was well enough to travel.

(This entire situation is perplexing. Dillon does not normally transport prisoners via train. Was there no doctor in the place where the Marshal took custody of August? Who did August murder that warranted such special transportation accommodations?)

It is no surprise to learn that August has "friends" who want to see him freed and Marshal Dillon eliminated. Their goal is to keep Matt from achieving his goal of making it back to Dodge with prisoner in tow.

Soon after the story begins, the train makes a scheduled stop and several passengers are allowed to board, much to Marshal Dillon's chagrin. The stage line is not able to run because of a burned bridge, and the unexpected passengers have been diverted to the train from the stagecoach on which they were scheduled. (Once again, this is a curious development. If the private train car was added specifically to transport the prisoner, why is it suddenly acceptable for the train to take on the additional passengers? There is another train scheduled later; why not make them wait for it?)

To add to the Marshal's misery, among the passengers is a woman named Elizabeth Devon. Mrs. Devon is traveling westward to meet her husband who has been appointed a territorial governor. In Chicago, Mrs. Devon did some work in prison reform. She has seen the deplorable conditions in prisons, and -- for some reason -- immediately decides August is being mistreated by the Marshal.

The crux of this story involves Marshal Dillon's challenges ensuring Johnny August arrives in Dodge City while minimizing any trouble along the way.

The cast in this episode is up to the usual Gunsmoke standards of excellence. Joanne Linville is Elizabeth Devon. Linville was a familiar face in television from the 1950s through the 1980s. Linville had a knack for playing strong, often stubborn female characters. She was married to Mark Rydell who directed several Gunsmoke episodes in the mid-1960s. Every time I see Linville, I am reminded of her role as a Romulan commander in a Star Trek episode where she attempts to romance Mr. Spock. This is Linville's last of three Gunsmoke appearances.

Todd Armstrong plays Johnny August in his second and final Gunsmoke episode. He had previously played John Eagle Wing in the late Season 13 episode "The First People." His Johnny August character is smooth and charismatic, which feeds into Mrs. Devon's compassion for his situation.

Watch for Robert Emhardt in the role of the train conductor. Emhardt was a prolific actor. He appeared in seemingly countless television shows and films. His participation is especially interesting in this episode, because the title, "9:12 to Dodge" is an obvious nod toward the 1957 Western film 3:12 to Yuma, in which Emhardt also appeared.

Frank Marth, Johnny Haymer, Harry Lauter, Fred Coby, Lee de Broux, Tom Waters, and Link Wyler are all familiar character actors that show up at some point in this story.

Preston Wood authored this story. He would later contribute Season 16's two-part "Snow Train" episode, which also finds Matt and Doc, along with Festus, riding a train that encounters challenges. Wood wrote for many television shows during his career, and not all of them involved trains.

This is the first of three different Gunsmoke episodes directed by Emmy award-winning director Marvin J. Chomsky.

Despite the strong cast, this story contains too many questionable plot elements to consider it among the better Gunsmoke episodes. If you avoid thinking about it too much, it does provide some measure of entertainment.

'Nothing worse than a crusading female'

[kfo9494 · 5/10 · 8 October 2013]

Those are close to the words spoken by Doc Adams and in this case I have to agree. There is much going on in this episode that could have made this one of the better shows in the season but one obnoxious character and a surreal ending left a bad taste in ones mouth about the entire show.

In all takes place on a special train heading to Dodge with Matt, Doc and a mildly wounded prisoner by the name of Johnny August. The train was not suppose to have any more passengers but a bridge fire caused the stagecoach not to run and when they make their first stop a slew of people board. And you can guess some of the people are friends of Johnny August (I find that name amusing) that are set on freeing their friend.

Also aboard the train is a high and mighty female that use to be in charge of the prison reform committee in Chicago. For some reason she sticks her nose into the affairs of Johnny August and thinks Marshal Dillon is abusing his powers. Not only does Matt have to deal with trying to make Dodge now he has a rude female that thinks she knows more than anyone else. It's a tough train ride.

The story was not bad but the part of the female, played by Joanne Linville, was like rubbing salt in a wound. You know it is sad when you hope her character gets mortally wounded by a stray bullet bring an end to objectionable person. But that did not happen and instead we get a closing scene that will make even the most avid fan of the series nauseous.

Annoying people and plot

[rerunwatcher · 2/10 · 3 January 2023]

I love Gunsmoke and watch it multiple times a week. There are many strong and fine Gunsmoke episodes. This is not one of them. There are WAY too many annoying people. The stupid train conductor for one. He forgot to give something to Marshall Dillon that resulted in major problems. Then we have one of the MOST annoying females ever to appear on Gunsmoke. This woman is a "do-gooder" who is minding everyone's business but her own. The only slightly interesting plot point was that it was set on a train as opposed to Dodge as most are. And another strike against this is that my favorite guy Festus is not on. Doc Adams is on however which is a plus. If you are flipping channels and run up on this episode, just keep flipping channels. Like maybe the Weather Channel which is more exciting.