Guest star Will Hutchins stars in "Blind Man's Bluff" as an innocent bystander who is accused of murdering a fellow gambler in Dodge City. The victim's own last words condemn him and they're taken as the "gospel truth" even though the poor guy is delirious at this point. So Will has no choice but to skedaddle with Marshal Dillon in hot pursuit. At that point, the story takes a left turn. In another town, Dillon is mugged and left for dead in an alley by a motley crew of despicable bad guys. "Gunsmoke" specialized in presenting these kinds of rotten eggs, and they usually show up by the bushel load in the series. Dillon survives, but temporarily loses his eyesight from the severe beating. Still on the lam, Hutchins joins up with the muggers and they decide to finish off the Marshal once and for all. But Hutchins has a change of heart when he sees that his evil cohorts intend on roping and dragging the Marshal to death. He steps in at the last moment and saves Dillon. Miraculously, Dillon regains his eyesight just in time so that he can beat the hell out of the bad guys. After some persuading from the good Marshal, Hutchins reluctantly gives himself up even though he faces a death sentence if convicted. The episode ends on a happy note when the real killer has a pang of conscience and turns himself in at the last moment before poor Will goes on trial for murder. "Blind Man's Bluff" is a slightly above average entry in the series, and Hutchins' wide-eyed deer-in-the-headlights expression fits his character to a tee. You'd never know that Hutchins is actually 6-1 because he looks like a standing next to the 6-7 Marshal Dillon (James Arness). Hutchins is best-remembered now for his early 1960s western series "Sugarfoot" in which he played a character very similar to the one here. That being an innocent-looking fair-minded nice guy.
Review of Blind Man's Bluff
