Season 12 ushers in the color episodes of Gunsmoke with an intriguing story. When Matt Dillon kills an outlaw on the run who happened to be an old friend, he decides he can't stomach his job anymore. He abruptly turns in his badge, although he decides he will stay in Dodge City.
Marshal Clint Tucker, who was filling in for Matt in Dodge while Matt was out chasing the outlaws, is more or less stuck with Matt's job. (Why was Marshal Tucker there? Matt did not normally have another Marshal come to Dodge when he was away.) Tucker is clearly annoyed by Festus Haggen's personaliity, and does not think much of his abilities as a deputy.
As the story develops, we learn that things are not quite what they seem, especially when it comes to some rather ruthless bounty hunters.
This is a good, suspenseful story, and it is easy to sympathize with Matt's inability to accept the fact that he killed an old friend, although the killing was understandable under the circumstances. Doc Adams actually provides the name of the episode when he tells Matt over dinner that what Matt did was a "snap decision."
Although the story here is good, there are problems with the story as it relates to actual historical circumstances. We can overlook the fact that there would not normally be a U.S. Marshal stationed in a town like Dodge City -- we have to overlook that fact in every episode of Gunsmoke. Matt Dillon often functioned more like a Deputy U.S. Marshal. At times, he functions more like a Town Marshal, and, at other times, he functions as a County Sheriff would.
As a matter of fact, early in this episode, Matt laments that Ray Gilcher chose to enter Ford County: "Ray, you knew I was Marshal of Dodge. You should have stayed out of Ford County." He also mentions to Marshal Tucker that he no longer wants to be "Marshal of Dodge." Dillon wasn't just "Marshal of Dodge." He was a U.S. Marshal. U.S. Marshals generally covered entire territories or states. Town marshals would have only had jurisdiction within the city limits of the town. The Ford County Sheriff would have jurisdiction within all of Ford County, including Dodge City. The story in this episode obviously blurs all of those lines.
As a U.S. Marshal, Dillon would have been responsible for trying to capture Gilcher and his partner once they entered his territory, which presumably would have included all of Kansas and possibly more. Crossing into Ford County would not have made a difference. (Noted, however, that U.S. Marshals actually rarely pursued fleeing criminals. That responsibility usually fell on Deputies, and even then only for federal criminals.)
Despite the historical flaws, this is still a good, tense episode with great performances all around. Sam Gilman only appears briefly as the friend Matt kills, Ray Gilcher. Gilman pops up in many classic television shows, often in smaller parts. He was a close friend of Marlon Brando.
Claude Akins plays the Marshal Tucker role in this story. The prolific character actor was certainly no stranger to Gunsmoke fans. This is one of the ten appearances he made on the show.
Michael Cole is the character Kipp in this episode. Cole was perhaps best known for playing the lead character Pete Cochran on all five seasons of The Mod Squad. This is his only appearance in a Gunsmoke episode.
Michael Strong portrays the bounty hunter named Shaver in one of his two Gunsmoke appearances. Shaver had been on Ray Gilcher's trail before Matt killed Gilcher, and now he is pursuing Gilcher's partner.
It is also notable that Orville Sherman makes his final appearance on Gunsmoke as a preacher in this episode. Sherman played a few different roles in Gunsmoke episodes over the years, including the recurring role of store owner Wib Smith during seasons eight and nine.
