This Season 1 episode begins somberly with a U. S. Calvary unit riding into Dodge City with twenty-three dead soldiers that were ambushed by Comanches at Cold Creek. (This is one of the few episodes from the first season that does not open with Matt Dillon walking around Boot Hill with a James Arness voiceover.) Several of the Dodge City residents line the streets to watch the procession.
Will Bailey is watching the procession. His brother is among the dead soldiers. He blames Amos Cartwright for the deaths and vows revenge. Cartwright is a white man who serves as a scout for the Calvary. He is the only survivor of the twenty-four men that were ambushed.
Bailey hates the Comanche and plans to form a posse to go after and kill any American Indians he and the posse can find, but he especially hates Cartwright because he married a Comanche woman and lived with them for some time.
Cartwright soon learns Bailey is making threats. He confronts Bailey in a tense moment in the Long Branch Saloon. Matt Dillon intervenes and stops any bloodshed, but Cartwright tells Bailey he will see him later.
(Note: In the earlier episodes of Gunsmoke, food is sometimes served in the Long Branch, as in this episode where Kitty Russell tells Matt the cook has prepared a stew Matt likes. As the series progressed, there would be occasional scenes where sandwiches were available, but never any hot meals.)
Veteran actor Eduard Franz portrays Amos Cartwright in this story. As a younger man, Franz appeared in numerous films. In 1951 he portrayed Dr. Stern in the film The Thing from Another World, in which James Arness played the monster alien. As he aged and television became more popular, he found success guest starring in various series. Franz has the distinction of being the only actor that appeared only in the first and last season of Gunsmoke. His two roles in the series took place twenty years apart.
DeForest Kelley (credited as DeForrest Kelley) appears as the character Will Bailey in his only Gunsmoke appearance. Kelly was a frequent guest in westerns throughout the 1950s and early 1960s prior to his iconic role as Leonard "Bones" McCoy in Star Trek: The Original Series and the first six Star Trek movies.
"Indian Scout" is an episode that distinguishes Gunsmoke from other series of the time. The story has a dark, ominous tone, and John Dunkel's script does not pull any punches. The Amos Cartwright character in particular finds himself caught in the quintessential no-win situation. One gets the sense that past events in his life have led him to stop caring much whether he lives or dies.
As with many of the first season episodes, this episode was originally one of the radio broadcasts. Dunkel wrote both the radio story and the television screenplay.
Beware: some versions of this episode have key scenes removed either for additional commercial time or due to inferior quality prints. (I know of at least one DVD version of the episode where an important scene with the Will Bailey character is removed.)
Will Bailey is watching the procession. His brother is among the dead soldiers. He blames Amos Cartwright for the deaths and vows revenge. Cartwright is a white man who serves as a scout for the Calvary. He is the only survivor of the twenty-four men that were ambushed.
Bailey hates the Comanche and plans to form a posse to go after and kill any American Indians he and the posse can find, but he especially hates Cartwright because he married a Comanche woman and lived with them for some time.
Cartwright soon learns Bailey is making threats. He confronts Bailey in a tense moment in the Long Branch Saloon. Matt Dillon intervenes and stops any bloodshed, but Cartwright tells Bailey he will see him later.
(Note: In the earlier episodes of Gunsmoke, food is sometimes served in the Long Branch, as in this episode where Kitty Russell tells Matt the cook has prepared a stew Matt likes. As the series progressed, there would be occasional scenes where sandwiches were available, but never any hot meals.)
Veteran actor Eduard Franz portrays Amos Cartwright in this story. As a younger man, Franz appeared in numerous films. In 1951 he portrayed Dr. Stern in the film The Thing from Another World, in which James Arness played the monster alien. As he aged and television became more popular, he found success guest starring in various series. Franz has the distinction of being the only actor that appeared only in the first and last season of Gunsmoke. His two roles in the series took place twenty years apart.
DeForest Kelley (credited as DeForrest Kelley) appears as the character Will Bailey in his only Gunsmoke appearance. Kelly was a frequent guest in westerns throughout the 1950s and early 1960s prior to his iconic role as Leonard "Bones" McCoy in Star Trek: The Original Series and the first six Star Trek movies.
"Indian Scout" is an episode that distinguishes Gunsmoke from other series of the time. The story has a dark, ominous tone, and John Dunkel's script does not pull any punches. The Amos Cartwright character in particular finds himself caught in the quintessential no-win situation. One gets the sense that past events in his life have led him to stop caring much whether he lives or dies.
As with many of the first season episodes, this episode was originally one of the radio broadcasts. Dunkel wrote both the radio story and the television screenplay.
Beware: some versions of this episode have key scenes removed either for additional commercial time or due to inferior quality prints. (I know of at least one DVD version of the episode where an important scene with the Will Bailey character is removed.)