An orphaned Indian boy latches on to a cowboy in need of work and the two of them find all doors closed to them in Dodge.An orphaned Indian boy latches on to a cowboy in need of work and the two of them find all doors closed to them in Dodge.An orphaned Indian boy latches on to a cowboy in need of work and the two of them find all doors closed to them in Dodge.
Photos
Bill Zuckert
- Enoch
- (as William Zuckert)
Noble 'Kid' Chissell
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Walt Davis
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Pete Kellett
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Kathleen Hite
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- John Meston(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe characters Jud and Wonder returned in a sequel to this one that aired on December 18, 1967, Wonder (1967). They are, however, played by different actors, Richard Mulligan and Tony Davis, respectively.
- ConnectionsRemade as Gunsmoke: Wonder (1967)
Featured review
Memorable Episode
This is one those episodes that I find particularly memorable for some reason. Jud Sorell is a cowboy that is more or less stuck with an Arapaho boy. The boy tries to steal food from Jud while Jud is camping. When Jud tries to return the boy to his family, he discovers their village has been burned and all of the people killed. Unlike many others in this story, Jud sees the boy's humanity instead of treating him as some kind of wild animal. Jud refuses to abandon the kid, and the boy latches on to Jud as a caretaker.
Along the way, Jud and his companion face all manner of discrimination because of the boy's ethnicity. Jud doesn't want the kid following him everywhere, but he cares too much to leave the child behind. This is the central plot of this episode.
One curiosity about this installment of the series is the absence of Quint Asper. Matt takes the little boy to Fort Dodge to meet with some Indian scouts in an attempt to discover more about the boy's background. Although Quint is half Comanche, and the boy is Arapaho, Quint's absence is a bit conspicuous.
The drama for the story comes from three major losers led by a guy named Docker. When Jud wins all their money in a poker game -- not once, but twice -- they can't accept the losses. My biggest issue with this episode is that Jud knows Docker and his idiot companions are sore losers, and he nevertheless engages them a second time. Maybe Jud was just acting out of desperation, but it was a pretty foolish move.
Ron Hayes carries this episode as Jud Sorell. The story is really all about him and the little boy, with the Gunsmoke regulars, including the Marshal, acting as side players. Look for a young, pre-Star Trek Leonard Nimoy as one of Docker's friends.
There is a very similar, very poor episode in Season 13 titled "Wonder" that uses similar characters played by different actors and *seems* to assume some knowledge of this earlier episode. In that episode Jud's last name is Pryor instead of Sorell, and Matt curiously does not seem to know the boy.
As memorable as this episode is, it falls short of greatness for me. This isn't a story about any Gunsmoke character. It could just as easily have been an episode of pretty much any other western.
Along the way, Jud and his companion face all manner of discrimination because of the boy's ethnicity. Jud doesn't want the kid following him everywhere, but he cares too much to leave the child behind. This is the central plot of this episode.
One curiosity about this installment of the series is the absence of Quint Asper. Matt takes the little boy to Fort Dodge to meet with some Indian scouts in an attempt to discover more about the boy's background. Although Quint is half Comanche, and the boy is Arapaho, Quint's absence is a bit conspicuous.
The drama for the story comes from three major losers led by a guy named Docker. When Jud wins all their money in a poker game -- not once, but twice -- they can't accept the losses. My biggest issue with this episode is that Jud knows Docker and his idiot companions are sore losers, and he nevertheless engages them a second time. Maybe Jud was just acting out of desperation, but it was a pretty foolish move.
Ron Hayes carries this episode as Jud Sorell. The story is really all about him and the little boy, with the Gunsmoke regulars, including the Marshal, acting as side players. Look for a young, pre-Star Trek Leonard Nimoy as one of Docker's friends.
There is a very similar, very poor episode in Season 13 titled "Wonder" that uses similar characters played by different actors and *seems* to assume some knowledge of this earlier episode. In that episode Jud's last name is Pryor instead of Sorell, and Matt curiously does not seem to know the boy.
As memorable as this episode is, it falls short of greatness for me. This isn't a story about any Gunsmoke character. It could just as easily have been an episode of pretty much any other western.
helpful•72
- wdavidreynolds
- Oct 19, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3
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