A county officer named Burt Tilden transports three young men from the county jail where they have been held for robbery to Dodge City. An extremely religious family named Hale lives on a farm near Dodge and have agreed to allow the troubled teenagers to work on their farm. This idea is a form of probationary work release where the young men can gain some stability in their lives, learn the value of demanding work, and hopefully choose to change their direction in life.
The name of the episode, "The Thieves," is a reference to the three young men, Eric Tabray, Billy Clarke, and Claude Jones, who goes by the nickname "Shuffles." Eric is the son of a noted murderer who was convicted and hanged.
Tilden despises the men he is transporting. He resents the opportunity being given the trio. He refuses to give them water on the long trip to Dodge, and he enjoys taunting the three with his contention they will be back in jail, or worse, soon.
When they arrive in Dodge, Matt Dillon is disgusted at Tilden's treatment of the young men. The Marshal also discovers the Hales have only agreed to allow two of the men -- Clarke and Shuffles -- to work for them. That means Tabray will have to return to the jail, but when Sam Noonan and Kitty Russell learn of the situation, they agree to allow Eric to work at the Long Branch Saloon under Sam's supervision.
Throughout the story, Eric has trouble understanding why Sam is so willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Eric even makes the assertion that people do not give without expecting something in return. It speaks volumes for the life the young man has endured to that point.
We learn in this story that Sam also ran afoul of the law when he was younger. Sam was fortunate that someone provided him an opportunity to change his life. Now Sam wants to reciprocate by providing Eric the same opportunity.
While Eric flourishes in Dodge City, Billy and Shuffles are working on the Hale farm. Shuffles, who appears to have a low IQ, seems happy on the farm. Mr. Hale even gives Shuffles a small piece of land to grow whatever he wants, much to the young man's delight. Billy, on the other hand, is less enthused. He is even more cynical than Eric and is looking for an opportunity to get his hands on some money and go on the run. When Eric visits Shuffles and Billy at the Hale farm, Billy implores him to use his position at the Long Branch to steal some money.
The gist of the story revolves around Eric and the conflict he faces between Sam's encouragement and trust in him against Billy's influence to pursue less honest means and ends.
This is the third and final appearance by Michael Burns in a Gunsmoke episode. He handles the Eric Tabray part in this installment. Burns was a talented actor and has led an interesting life. He was quite successful in television roles during his teen years and well into his twenties. He had previously played the recurring Barnaby West character for two seasons on the series Wagon Train. Just prior to his involvement in this Gunsmoke episode, he appeared twice in the late 60s reboot of Dragnet. One of those was as the infamous "Blue Boy" character in the 1967 reboot debut "The LSD Story." He continued acting while he studied history at William and Mary and UCLA. In 1977 he entered Yale University where he eventually earned his Ph. D. He quit acting and became a history professor. He retired from teaching in the early 2000s and now owns a horse farm in Kentucky.
Timothy Burns, who is not related to Michael, makes the first of two appearances on Gunsmoke. He plays the Billy Clarke character. Timothy Burns appeared in a few different television shows over the years, but he has made a bigger mark in television as a writer.
William "Bill" Calloway plays the Shuffles character in his only Gunsmoke appearance. This was an early role for Calloway. He would eventually become better known for his voice work in several animated features.
Veteran actors John Schuck and Royal Dano also play roles in this story. Schuck plays Burt Tilden in his second and final Gunsmoke appearance. Dano plays Gideon Hale in a surprisingly small part.
The obvious point to this story is to give the viewer the rare opportunity to get a glimpse into Sam Noonan's background. Noonan, as played by Glenn Strange, has been part of the Gunsmoke world for several years, but we have never learned much about him prior to this story. Strange appeared in numerous television westerns and western films. He also made several appearances in science fiction films and often played Frankenstein's monster. His Sam Noonan portrayal endeared him to the Gunsmoke cast and audience. After he died of cancer in 1973, Amanda Blake reportedly took his death especially hard.
In addition to the portion of the story involving Sam, we get a glimpse into the alcohol related struggles of Louie Pheeters. James Nusser does not get that much screen time in this episode, but he makes every second of it count. I think his performance here is as strong as any he contributed during his time with the show.
This is one of the stronger Season 15 Gunsmoke offerings. The acting by the guest stars is top-notch, and the performance by James Nusser is especially noteworthy. While guessing the story outcome is not that difficult, the story execution is outstanding.
The name of the episode, "The Thieves," is a reference to the three young men, Eric Tabray, Billy Clarke, and Claude Jones, who goes by the nickname "Shuffles." Eric is the son of a noted murderer who was convicted and hanged.
Tilden despises the men he is transporting. He resents the opportunity being given the trio. He refuses to give them water on the long trip to Dodge, and he enjoys taunting the three with his contention they will be back in jail, or worse, soon.
When they arrive in Dodge, Matt Dillon is disgusted at Tilden's treatment of the young men. The Marshal also discovers the Hales have only agreed to allow two of the men -- Clarke and Shuffles -- to work for them. That means Tabray will have to return to the jail, but when Sam Noonan and Kitty Russell learn of the situation, they agree to allow Eric to work at the Long Branch Saloon under Sam's supervision.
Throughout the story, Eric has trouble understanding why Sam is so willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Eric even makes the assertion that people do not give without expecting something in return. It speaks volumes for the life the young man has endured to that point.
We learn in this story that Sam also ran afoul of the law when he was younger. Sam was fortunate that someone provided him an opportunity to change his life. Now Sam wants to reciprocate by providing Eric the same opportunity.
While Eric flourishes in Dodge City, Billy and Shuffles are working on the Hale farm. Shuffles, who appears to have a low IQ, seems happy on the farm. Mr. Hale even gives Shuffles a small piece of land to grow whatever he wants, much to the young man's delight. Billy, on the other hand, is less enthused. He is even more cynical than Eric and is looking for an opportunity to get his hands on some money and go on the run. When Eric visits Shuffles and Billy at the Hale farm, Billy implores him to use his position at the Long Branch to steal some money.
The gist of the story revolves around Eric and the conflict he faces between Sam's encouragement and trust in him against Billy's influence to pursue less honest means and ends.
This is the third and final appearance by Michael Burns in a Gunsmoke episode. He handles the Eric Tabray part in this installment. Burns was a talented actor and has led an interesting life. He was quite successful in television roles during his teen years and well into his twenties. He had previously played the recurring Barnaby West character for two seasons on the series Wagon Train. Just prior to his involvement in this Gunsmoke episode, he appeared twice in the late 60s reboot of Dragnet. One of those was as the infamous "Blue Boy" character in the 1967 reboot debut "The LSD Story." He continued acting while he studied history at William and Mary and UCLA. In 1977 he entered Yale University where he eventually earned his Ph. D. He quit acting and became a history professor. He retired from teaching in the early 2000s and now owns a horse farm in Kentucky.
Timothy Burns, who is not related to Michael, makes the first of two appearances on Gunsmoke. He plays the Billy Clarke character. Timothy Burns appeared in a few different television shows over the years, but he has made a bigger mark in television as a writer.
William "Bill" Calloway plays the Shuffles character in his only Gunsmoke appearance. This was an early role for Calloway. He would eventually become better known for his voice work in several animated features.
Veteran actors John Schuck and Royal Dano also play roles in this story. Schuck plays Burt Tilden in his second and final Gunsmoke appearance. Dano plays Gideon Hale in a surprisingly small part.
The obvious point to this story is to give the viewer the rare opportunity to get a glimpse into Sam Noonan's background. Noonan, as played by Glenn Strange, has been part of the Gunsmoke world for several years, but we have never learned much about him prior to this story. Strange appeared in numerous television westerns and western films. He also made several appearances in science fiction films and often played Frankenstein's monster. His Sam Noonan portrayal endeared him to the Gunsmoke cast and audience. After he died of cancer in 1973, Amanda Blake reportedly took his death especially hard.
In addition to the portion of the story involving Sam, we get a glimpse into the alcohol related struggles of Louie Pheeters. James Nusser does not get that much screen time in this episode, but he makes every second of it count. I think his performance here is as strong as any he contributed during his time with the show.
This is one of the stronger Season 15 Gunsmoke offerings. The acting by the guest stars is top-notch, and the performance by James Nusser is especially noteworthy. While guessing the story outcome is not that difficult, the story execution is outstanding.
