Another happy Gunsmoke story when Billy Crale, who had been missing for 17 years, shows up to be with his mother in her last days. The Mother is overjoyed, and her health returns.
Dillon had previously searched for Billy in the war records, and found out he was dead. According to Dillon, he had never told Ma Crale about it. However, since Billy died as a Union Soldier, the War Department would have contacted her directly, and she would have also gotten the U.S. Flag and a pension check from the War Department. So that story was badly researched.
Dillon also remembers Billy from a wanted poster, so he looks through dozens of them, and finds an old poster for a guy named Johnny Red. When Dillon confronts Billy (James Drury) about it, he gets rude with the Marshal, instead of explaining his situation in detail. So Dillon and Chester think the worst of Billy. However, when Dillon checks on the wanted poster, he gets a telegraph saying it was dropped due to lack of evidence.
So do Billy and his Ma go on to have a wonderful life together on the farm? Is there a happy ending? Sadly, a couple of former criminals that used to be Billy's pals show up looking for Billy thanks to the rumors that his Ma has thousands of dollars hidden on the ranch. All hell breaks loose.
This episode really went out of its way for a tragic ending. This episode could have ended in a lot of positive ways, but the writer picked the worst possible, "everybody dies" ending.
Dillon had previously searched for Billy in the war records, and found out he was dead. According to Dillon, he had never told Ma Crale about it. However, since Billy died as a Union Soldier, the War Department would have contacted her directly, and she would have also gotten the U.S. Flag and a pension check from the War Department. So that story was badly researched.
Dillon also remembers Billy from a wanted poster, so he looks through dozens of them, and finds an old poster for a guy named Johnny Red. When Dillon confronts Billy (James Drury) about it, he gets rude with the Marshal, instead of explaining his situation in detail. So Dillon and Chester think the worst of Billy. However, when Dillon checks on the wanted poster, he gets a telegraph saying it was dropped due to lack of evidence.
So do Billy and his Ma go on to have a wonderful life together on the farm? Is there a happy ending? Sadly, a couple of former criminals that used to be Billy's pals show up looking for Billy thanks to the rumors that his Ma has thousands of dollars hidden on the ranch. All hell breaks loose.
This episode really went out of its way for a tragic ending. This episode could have ended in a lot of positive ways, but the writer picked the worst possible, "everybody dies" ending.