A young man is convicted of killing the saloon girl he wanted for his own. Matt is so sure that the young man is really innocent that he goes on the road after another suspect to prevent an ... Read allA young man is convicted of killing the saloon girl he wanted for his own. Matt is so sure that the young man is really innocent that he goes on the road after another suspect to prevent an unjust hanging.A young man is convicted of killing the saloon girl he wanted for his own. Matt is so sure that the young man is really innocent that he goes on the road after another suspect to prevent an unjust hanging.
Edward Faulkner
- Deputy
- (as Ed Faulkner)
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez
- Bartender
- (as Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez)
Albert Cavens
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Shug Fisher
- Barkeep
- (uncredited)
Ethan Laidlaw
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Bert Madrid
- Scotsman's Henchman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Paul Savage
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- John Meston(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
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Featured review
OK, So Just Hit the "NOT HELPFUL" Button.....
I am totally impressed with the quality of Gunsmoke's 8th Season, and was looking forward to a block-buster ending with this episode, largely based on the rave reviews here.
I think it's a solid episode with, unfortunately, an unbalanced script.
1.) We needed to see more of Dave in the opening so that we could understand Matt's total commitment to proving his innocence. This would have made the plot even more compelling.
2.) The entire business with Owen and Leroy, while well-directed, was pretty silly. The scene was designed to inform Dillon of the name of real killer, but this was accomplished by some amazingly far-fetched logic. Get this: Owen knows the identity of the killer, but he chooses to tell Dillon that HE (Owen) did it--why? So Dillon will draw on him, Owen will kill Dillon, and thus Owen will "be somebody" in the eyes of the world, for having killed Matt Dillon. That, as I understood it, is the reason for this scene. Owen's plan goes astray, and Dillon ends up learning the killer's name from the weasely LeRoy.
Surely Paul Savage could have designed a less contrived (and shorter) way for Dillon to learn the name of the killer, and thus give Dave's story more screen time. And how about cutting the business with Doc and the coffee?
3.) I appreciated the scenes with Matt, Anthony Caruso, and the infant---but I was expecting the plot to go in a new direction that involved the kid. As it is, the kid was essentially a prop that (once again) might have been reduced to give us more insight into Dave. Yes, I realize that the baby DID subtly show us Caruso's tender side-- which makes the story about his wife and kid more compelling---so I get it.
4.) The final scene in Hays City was TOO RUSHED. After all of the intensity, bloodshed, Matt's exhausting ride with Janin, etc, we see Matt pop into the Sheriff's office: Janin's in prison, the leg feels fine, etc.... There needed to be a more intense, GRADUAL build-up to the big news that Lane Chandler delivers. It's a common problem with scripts--- carefully build momentum and tension to the big final scene...but then RUSH through it because you've spent too much on the previous scenes. Much too "tidy" a way to end this episode; a re-write was needed.
Another fine Original score by Van Cleave, with one glaring exception: the "drunk" music for Louie Pheeters' promenade to Dillon's office---totally Cartoon quality (and another scene that was LESS important than the pacing of the final 3 minutes of the show).
STILL-- it's another high-quality episode overall...dark, gritty, intense and unyielding. And yes, James Arness really shines--solid as a rock, especially in the edge-of-your-seat tension of the Cantina scene with Jack Lambert and friends.
NOTE:
These comments are intended to be "HELPFUL" to anyone who hasn't seen the episode, but will likely (as is usually the case here on IMDB) only infuriate the people who've already seen it and won't acknowledge its flaws. LR
I think it's a solid episode with, unfortunately, an unbalanced script.
1.) We needed to see more of Dave in the opening so that we could understand Matt's total commitment to proving his innocence. This would have made the plot even more compelling.
2.) The entire business with Owen and Leroy, while well-directed, was pretty silly. The scene was designed to inform Dillon of the name of real killer, but this was accomplished by some amazingly far-fetched logic. Get this: Owen knows the identity of the killer, but he chooses to tell Dillon that HE (Owen) did it--why? So Dillon will draw on him, Owen will kill Dillon, and thus Owen will "be somebody" in the eyes of the world, for having killed Matt Dillon. That, as I understood it, is the reason for this scene. Owen's plan goes astray, and Dillon ends up learning the killer's name from the weasely LeRoy.
Surely Paul Savage could have designed a less contrived (and shorter) way for Dillon to learn the name of the killer, and thus give Dave's story more screen time. And how about cutting the business with Doc and the coffee?
3.) I appreciated the scenes with Matt, Anthony Caruso, and the infant---but I was expecting the plot to go in a new direction that involved the kid. As it is, the kid was essentially a prop that (once again) might have been reduced to give us more insight into Dave. Yes, I realize that the baby DID subtly show us Caruso's tender side-- which makes the story about his wife and kid more compelling---so I get it.
4.) The final scene in Hays City was TOO RUSHED. After all of the intensity, bloodshed, Matt's exhausting ride with Janin, etc, we see Matt pop into the Sheriff's office: Janin's in prison, the leg feels fine, etc.... There needed to be a more intense, GRADUAL build-up to the big news that Lane Chandler delivers. It's a common problem with scripts--- carefully build momentum and tension to the big final scene...but then RUSH through it because you've spent too much on the previous scenes. Much too "tidy" a way to end this episode; a re-write was needed.
Another fine Original score by Van Cleave, with one glaring exception: the "drunk" music for Louie Pheeters' promenade to Dillon's office---totally Cartoon quality (and another scene that was LESS important than the pacing of the final 3 minutes of the show).
STILL-- it's another high-quality episode overall...dark, gritty, intense and unyielding. And yes, James Arness really shines--solid as a rock, especially in the edge-of-your-seat tension of the Cantina scene with Jack Lambert and friends.
NOTE:
These comments are intended to be "HELPFUL" to anyone who hasn't seen the episode, but will likely (as is usually the case here on IMDB) only infuriate the people who've already seen it and won't acknowledge its flaws. LR
helpful•1911
- lrrap
- Mar 21, 2021
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- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3
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