The Fourth Victim (4 Nov. 1974)

Dillon has to find and stop a serial sniper in Dodge who has been killing one man per night with a silencer equipped .30 caliber rifle.

Director:

Bernard McEveety

Writer:

Jim Byrnes

Stars:

Milburn Stone, Ken Curtis, Buck Taylor

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Milburn Stone	...	Doc
Ken Curtis	...	Festus
Buck Taylor	...	Newly
James Arness	...	Matt Dillon
Biff McGuire	...	Potter
Leonard Stone	...	Ray Price
Ted Jordan	...	Burke
Paul Sorensen	...	Bill Saxbe
Howard Culver	...	Howie
Woody Chambliss	...	Lathrop
Victor Kilian	...	Homer Jones (as Victor Killian)
Lloyd Perryman	...	Henry Meeker
Frank Janson	...	Jeb Nelson (as Frank K. Janson)
Al Wyatt Sr.	...	Earl Haines (as Al Wyatt)
Ben Bates	...	Second Matt

Storyline

Late one night, a man (seen only from the shoulders down or in silhouette) enters the Dodge House Hotel, swipes a room key, lets himself into the room and goes back to return the key. A few minutes later, the room's occupant comes in. As he shuts the door, he looks up and sees the silhouette -- pointing a rifle at him. The slug drills him through the heart, but there is no sound of the shot and he's not discovered until the next morning. Newly thinks that someone could fashion a device to silence muzzle blasts. Matt sends word throughout Dodge and the nearby communities to form a street police force. But the killer strikes again the next night, and the next. Matt's now convinced that the serial killer is choosing his victims for a specific purpose -- most likely because they served on a jury. Matt questions Doc, who's lived in Dodge the longest, about the juries he remembers serving on and whether he remembered the men who served with them and who they judged. From Doc's information, ...

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Plot Keywords:

number in title

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1974 (USA)

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ben Bates, who doubles for Matt in the last scene, was James Arness's double on the show in real life (Arness had trouble walking due to taking bullets in a knee on Anzio Beach)

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Goofs

The killer goes into a barn to set up the third sniper attempt, stopping long enough to knock another visitor to the barn unconscious. When the killer walks from there to a ladder, he passes through a shaft of light and we see his face for about a quarter second.

User Reviews

A change from the usual horse opera format

During the twentieth and final season of the long-running western, the writers of "Gunsmoke" came up with an ingenious installment about a sniper terrorizing Dodge City. The victims, it is discovered, served on a jury that resulted in the conviction of the accused; thus, revenge is the motive for the attacks. After three fall to the sniper's bullet, Marshall Dillon (James Arness) must use all his law and order savvy to prevent killing of the fourth victim: Doc Adams (Milburn Stone).

Adams becomes a target in a trap set by the marshall, adding greatly to the tenseness of the installment.

This thrilling episode benefits tremendously from the score provided by Martin Field and Bruce Boughton, the latter who would go on to win numerous composition nominations for his work on "Dallas" and other television shows.