Bently (11 Apr. 1964)

A dying man confesses to a murder of which he was acquitted, but Chester suspects the man was lying.

Director:

Harry Harris

Writer:

John Kneubuhl

Stars:

James Arness, Dennis Weaver, Milburn Stone

Cast

Episode cast overview:
James Arness	...	Matt Dillon
Dennis Weaver	...	Chester
Milburn Stone	...	Doc
Amanda Blake	...	Kitty
Burt Reynolds	...	Quint
Charles McGraw	...	Calvin
June Dayton	...	Emily
Gene Lyons	...	Fletcher
Bill Erwin	...	Ned
Jan Clayton	...	Clara Wright

Storyline

Ned Wright was tried and acquitted of murdering Bently, but Ned and his wife have been outcasts ever since. When he falls ill, Ned tells Doc that he killed Bently after all, then dies. Chester, in his last appearance on the show, suspects that Ned was lying in hopes of somehow thereby making life better for his widow. As Chester sets himself to find Bently's real killer, the man who was Bently's best friend hires a man to kill Chester.

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 1964 (USA)

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arness Production Company, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Dennis Weaver's last appearance as Chester on Gunsmoke.

User Reviews

Another excellent script that is entertaining to the end.

In another great story from the writers of 'Gunsmoke' we get a tale where a woman is the center of hatred for a crime her husband was accused. This episode was just fantastic in the way the story came across and the way the actors performed their characters. Just good in nearly every way possible.

Ned Wright had been accused of killing a man named Bently but was acquitted of the charges. Most of the townsfolk of Dodge still had a bad taste in their mouth about the verdict and not only had hatred for Ned Wright but also for his wife Clara.

With Ned on his death bed, Clara comes into Dodge to fetch the Doc. But a crowd of people would not let her pass saying they did not want her kind in their town. Matt comes up and disperses the crowd. All this was witnessed by Albert and Emily Calvin which were friends of Bently but feel nothing but remorse for the way Clara was treated.

When Doc gets to Ned's bedside, Ned confesses to killing Bently then dies. But Chester believes that Ned confessed only to try to help Clara and did not really commit the murder. This did help Clara as the Calvin's, feeling bad for the way Clara was treated, takes her in to their upper class house.

But when Chester starts asking questions about Bently, Albert Calvin gets upset. He hires a gunman for $1000 to kill Chester. When the gunman leaves with the money, Albert has to stop Chester asking questions all by himself. But he will find that firing his shotgun may change his world in a way no one could ever comprehend.

An excellent script! An episode that will have you glued to the set the entire hour waiting for the next nugget of information. This is a excellent watch!

PS- Goodby Dennis Weaver you will be missed.