Matt Dillon discovers two dead bodies on the prairie -- a man and a woman. He finds a shovel and buries them. (This scene is sometimes cut by stations showing this episode in syndication, and the episode begins with Matt finding the little girl.) He soon finds a young girl wounded and unconscious with a horse standing nearby. When he stops to help her, she tells him her name is Bessie, and she was traveling with her family to her Aunt Rachel's house. Her family had made the decision to move from Indiana westward to begin a new life after Bessie's mother received letters encouraging the move from her sister, Bessie's Aunt Rachel.
Along the way, a group of amoral scavengers attacked them. Bessie was able to get away on her horse, Galahad, but her parents were murdered. Marshal Dillon must break the sad news to Bessie that her parents are dead.
Matt takes the little girl into protective custody, and they set out to find the Durham homestead, where Bessie's aunt and uncle live. When they reach an isolated farm, Matt and Bessie hope it is the Durham residence, but when the Marshal knocks on the door, the woman inside tells him her name is not Durham, and she knows nothing about anyone named Durham. Matt tells her Bessie is hurt, and they will need to rest in their barn.
A man -- presumably the woman's husband -- soon arrives. He tells Matt he and Bessie are not welcome, but Matt insists they will have to stay until Bessie is better.
What Marshal Dillon does not know is the man is not the woman's husband, and the woman is indeed Rachel Durham. Rachel's young son and husband had died some months earlier, and when the man happened along and found a woman all alone, he forced himself on her and moved into the house.
The scenes with the man (credited only as "The Man") and Rachel are among the most terrifying in Gunsmoke history. He has turned Rachel into a slave, including using her for sex whenever he wants. She later tells Matt that she ran away multiple times, but The Man would find her and bring her back.
That night, Bessie begins to run a high fever. When Matt tries to take her to the house for care, The Man tells him to go back to the barn. The Marshal quickly loses his patience and kicks the door in. Rachel screams The Man is not her husband. The Man grabs a gun, but Matt draws, shoots, and kills him.
The primary point of conflict in this story is Matt's attempts to convince Rachel to take custody of Bessie, but Rachel has decided to sell the farm. She is understandably confused. She wants nothing to do with her niece, because she is afraid of all the loss she has already suffered.
This is yet another Season 20 episode that uses a smaller cast than normal. Several of the Season 20 stories are set in remote, isolated area, which allowed for a cast of only a few people.
Carol Vogel takes on the Rachel Durham role in this episode, which was her only appearance in the series. Vogel was a familiar face in many of the televisions shows of the 1970s and 1980s, but her appearances were sporadic with only two or three appearances each year.
Child actor Eileen McDonough portrays Bessie in her only Gunsmoke role. McDonough's career only lasted a few years. She later played the character Patsy Brimmer in two episodes of The Waltons, which were her final acting credits.
Actor Bruce M. Fischer plays The Man in this story, and, like Vogel and McDonough, this is his only Gunsmoke role. Although his screen time is short, his character is as menacing as any in the history of the show. This is not the only work where Fischer played a man who abused women. Fischer also had parts in the Clint Eastwood films Escape from Alcatraz and The Outlaw Josey Wales, and he played rapists in both.
Dayton Lummis plays Mr. Holmby, a prospective buyer of the Durham farm. This is his only Gunsmoke role and was the last acting credit in his career. Lummis's lengthy acting career was characterized by a considerable number of small roles.
Phil Chambers is the only actor in this story -- other than James Arness -- who had any Gunsmoke experience. He appeared in seven episodes, with this performance as his last. He plays a farmer Matt and Bessie meet on their way to the Durham farm.
This is a different kind of Gunsmoke story with some interesting twists and turns. The first half of the story is especially strong as Matt tries to win Bessie's trust and the viewer is exposed to the horror of the circumstances that have befallen Mrs. Durham. However, the second half dwells on Rachel's reluctance to become a caretaker for Bessie, and it is significantly slower and more predictable.
Jim Byrnes wrote the teleplay based on a story written by Herman Groves. The parallels between Bessie's predicament and Rachel Durham's situation are obvious. (Bessie lost her parents in a brutal, tragic set of circumstances and is now alone. Rachel lost her husband and son only to be brutalized by a passing drifter and is now alone, too.)
This is one of the last episodes in the series where James Arness is the only member of the regular cast involved. (The upcoming "Hard Labor" episode will be the final "Matt only" story.) The minimal cast, absence of any major acting names, and isolated, remote location likely made this an economical episode to produce. Nevertheless, it is another entertaining installment late in the series.
Along the way, a group of amoral scavengers attacked them. Bessie was able to get away on her horse, Galahad, but her parents were murdered. Marshal Dillon must break the sad news to Bessie that her parents are dead.
Matt takes the little girl into protective custody, and they set out to find the Durham homestead, where Bessie's aunt and uncle live. When they reach an isolated farm, Matt and Bessie hope it is the Durham residence, but when the Marshal knocks on the door, the woman inside tells him her name is not Durham, and she knows nothing about anyone named Durham. Matt tells her Bessie is hurt, and they will need to rest in their barn.
A man -- presumably the woman's husband -- soon arrives. He tells Matt he and Bessie are not welcome, but Matt insists they will have to stay until Bessie is better.
What Marshal Dillon does not know is the man is not the woman's husband, and the woman is indeed Rachel Durham. Rachel's young son and husband had died some months earlier, and when the man happened along and found a woman all alone, he forced himself on her and moved into the house.
The scenes with the man (credited only as "The Man") and Rachel are among the most terrifying in Gunsmoke history. He has turned Rachel into a slave, including using her for sex whenever he wants. She later tells Matt that she ran away multiple times, but The Man would find her and bring her back.
That night, Bessie begins to run a high fever. When Matt tries to take her to the house for care, The Man tells him to go back to the barn. The Marshal quickly loses his patience and kicks the door in. Rachel screams The Man is not her husband. The Man grabs a gun, but Matt draws, shoots, and kills him.
The primary point of conflict in this story is Matt's attempts to convince Rachel to take custody of Bessie, but Rachel has decided to sell the farm. She is understandably confused. She wants nothing to do with her niece, because she is afraid of all the loss she has already suffered.
This is yet another Season 20 episode that uses a smaller cast than normal. Several of the Season 20 stories are set in remote, isolated area, which allowed for a cast of only a few people.
Carol Vogel takes on the Rachel Durham role in this episode, which was her only appearance in the series. Vogel was a familiar face in many of the televisions shows of the 1970s and 1980s, but her appearances were sporadic with only two or three appearances each year.
Child actor Eileen McDonough portrays Bessie in her only Gunsmoke role. McDonough's career only lasted a few years. She later played the character Patsy Brimmer in two episodes of The Waltons, which were her final acting credits.
Actor Bruce M. Fischer plays The Man in this story, and, like Vogel and McDonough, this is his only Gunsmoke role. Although his screen time is short, his character is as menacing as any in the history of the show. This is not the only work where Fischer played a man who abused women. Fischer also had parts in the Clint Eastwood films Escape from Alcatraz and The Outlaw Josey Wales, and he played rapists in both.
Dayton Lummis plays Mr. Holmby, a prospective buyer of the Durham farm. This is his only Gunsmoke role and was the last acting credit in his career. Lummis's lengthy acting career was characterized by a considerable number of small roles.
Phil Chambers is the only actor in this story -- other than James Arness -- who had any Gunsmoke experience. He appeared in seven episodes, with this performance as his last. He plays a farmer Matt and Bessie meet on their way to the Durham farm.
This is a different kind of Gunsmoke story with some interesting twists and turns. The first half of the story is especially strong as Matt tries to win Bessie's trust and the viewer is exposed to the horror of the circumstances that have befallen Mrs. Durham. However, the second half dwells on Rachel's reluctance to become a caretaker for Bessie, and it is significantly slower and more predictable.
Jim Byrnes wrote the teleplay based on a story written by Herman Groves. The parallels between Bessie's predicament and Rachel Durham's situation are obvious. (Bessie lost her parents in a brutal, tragic set of circumstances and is now alone. Rachel lost her husband and son only to be brutalized by a passing drifter and is now alone, too.)
This is one of the last episodes in the series where James Arness is the only member of the regular cast involved. (The upcoming "Hard Labor" episode will be the final "Matt only" story.) The minimal cast, absence of any major acting names, and isolated, remote location likely made this an economical episode to produce. Nevertheless, it is another entertaining installment late in the series.
