A woman puts a price on Matt's head after he shoots down her husband.A woman puts a price on Matt's head after he shoots down her husband.A woman puts a price on Matt's head after he shoots down her husband.
Val Dufour
- Day Barrett
- (as Val DuFour)
Walter Bacon
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Roydon Clark
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Herman Hack
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Chick Hannan
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Whitey Hughes
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Earl Parker
- Cowboy
- (uncredited)
Bert Rumsey
- Bartender
- (uncredited)
Jack Tornek
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe sign at the bottom of the stairs leading to Doc Adams' office appears for the first time; it remained there through the entire run of the series. It reads: "G. Adams, M.D. / Surgeon and / General Pract.".
- GoofsThe poster that Mrs. Stoner had printed up and posted all over town misspells Matt Dillon's name as Matt Dillion with an added i.
Featured review
A Spiteful Widow Puts a Price on Matt Dillon's Head
Jeremy and Sarah Stoner were among the original settlers in the Dodge City area. The Stoners resent new settlers arriving and homesteading around them. Mr. Stoner suspects the newcomers of stealing his livestock before he can brand it, even though there is no evidence of any crimes occurring. He has taken to shooting the homesteaders on site, which draws the attention of Matt Dillon.
When the Marshal confronts Stoner about the shooting of a man named Jake Reeves, Stoner does not deny the murder, but he considers it justified. Matt plans to take Stoner into custody. The old man raises his rifle to shoot. Matt draws, shoots, and kills Stoner.
When Sarah Stoner learns of her husband's demise, she offers a bounty of $1,000 to anyone that will kill Matt Dillon. Naturally, there are people all too willing to kill the Marshal for the money. Some hate Matt for past actions he has taken to enforce laws. Others are desperate for money.
Little known actress Helen Wallace threatens to steal the show as the stubborn, steel-jawed, piercing-eyed Sarah Stoner. Her loathing of Matt Dillon when she discovers he killed her husband is palpable. Wallace portrayed characters in three more Gunsmoke episodes, including two one-hour, black-and-white installments.
Val Dufour appears in this story as the pesky, annoying Day Barrett. Barrett is a ranch hand in the area who is delighted to see the bounty on Marshal Dillon's head. Dufour would return for another role later in Season 1 and would join the guest cast two more times in addition to the two first season appearances.
Paul Newlan makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the story as Jeremy Stoner. Newlan played hundreds of uncredited parts in films earlier in his career. He would return once more to the Gunsmoke set in Season 2.
Jean Inness plays a key role near the end of the episode as Mrs. Reeves. Inness appeared once more in the series in a Season 5 episode.
There is a great scene where Kitty Russell visits Mrs. Stoner to ask her to abandon her efforts to see Matt killed. This is the first incident where the Gunsmoke viewers see the tough, intensely passionate Miss Kitty that would become familiar over the run of the series. At one point in the scene, Kitty calls Mrs. Stoner a "nasty old hypocrite," and it is vintage Kitty Russell.
Bert Rumsey, who played Sam Noonan the bartender in many episodes during the first five seasons of Gunsmoke, has a rare speaking part in this story. (Of course, this is a different actor playing this character. Glenn Strange was the most famous Sam Noonan beginning near the end of Season 6 of the series into Season 19.)
Gunsmoke writers would use the theme of pioneering settlers resenting newcomers at various points during the run of the series, and the idea of putting a bounty on one of the main characters is a familiar device in westerns. One of the challenges of reviewing these early episodes so many years later is trying to consider them within the proper context. These episodes were establishing trends when they first aired.
The resolution of this story is abrupt, which is common in the thirty-minute episodes. However, it does highlight an axiom that is as true today as it was in 1955. It is easy to objectify and dehumanize people you don't know.
When the Marshal confronts Stoner about the shooting of a man named Jake Reeves, Stoner does not deny the murder, but he considers it justified. Matt plans to take Stoner into custody. The old man raises his rifle to shoot. Matt draws, shoots, and kills Stoner.
When Sarah Stoner learns of her husband's demise, she offers a bounty of $1,000 to anyone that will kill Matt Dillon. Naturally, there are people all too willing to kill the Marshal for the money. Some hate Matt for past actions he has taken to enforce laws. Others are desperate for money.
Little known actress Helen Wallace threatens to steal the show as the stubborn, steel-jawed, piercing-eyed Sarah Stoner. Her loathing of Matt Dillon when she discovers he killed her husband is palpable. Wallace portrayed characters in three more Gunsmoke episodes, including two one-hour, black-and-white installments.
Val Dufour appears in this story as the pesky, annoying Day Barrett. Barrett is a ranch hand in the area who is delighted to see the bounty on Marshal Dillon's head. Dufour would return for another role later in Season 1 and would join the guest cast two more times in addition to the two first season appearances.
Paul Newlan makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the story as Jeremy Stoner. Newlan played hundreds of uncredited parts in films earlier in his career. He would return once more to the Gunsmoke set in Season 2.
Jean Inness plays a key role near the end of the episode as Mrs. Reeves. Inness appeared once more in the series in a Season 5 episode.
There is a great scene where Kitty Russell visits Mrs. Stoner to ask her to abandon her efforts to see Matt killed. This is the first incident where the Gunsmoke viewers see the tough, intensely passionate Miss Kitty that would become familiar over the run of the series. At one point in the scene, Kitty calls Mrs. Stoner a "nasty old hypocrite," and it is vintage Kitty Russell.
Bert Rumsey, who played Sam Noonan the bartender in many episodes during the first five seasons of Gunsmoke, has a rare speaking part in this story. (Of course, this is a different actor playing this character. Glenn Strange was the most famous Sam Noonan beginning near the end of Season 6 of the series into Season 19.)
Gunsmoke writers would use the theme of pioneering settlers resenting newcomers at various points during the run of the series, and the idea of putting a bounty on one of the main characters is a familiar device in westerns. One of the challenges of reviewing these early episodes so many years later is trying to consider them within the proper context. These episodes were establishing trends when they first aired.
The resolution of this story is abrupt, which is common in the thirty-minute episodes. However, it does highlight an axiom that is as true today as it was in 1955. It is easy to objectify and dehumanize people you don't know.
helpful•70
- wdavidreynolds
- Nov 30, 2021
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3
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