Kitty Russell is traveling via stagecoach again, and that usually means disaster is imminent. In this case, the coach is suddenly separated from the team of horses. The out-of-control coach plunges end-over-end down an embankment and into a gully. The driver, who was pulled off by the horses, is killed. Kitty is the only passenger, and she remarkably survives with no serious injuries.
Kitty is now stranded in an extremely remote area of the badlands. She manages to find water, and she also encounters a feral girl who lives alone in a wooded area along the banks of a river. At first, the girl is terrified of Kitty, but over time, she learns to trust Kitty. The two soon form a bond.
Matt Dillon, Newly O'Brien, and Festus Haggen are searching for Kitty, and they learn of the wrecked stage at a way station. They soon find the wreckage and tracks that indicate someone left the area.
As Kitty and the girl make their way across the prairie, they happen upon the Mather family camping in an old, abandoned house. The Mathers are a group of degenerates that claim they are on their way to a Fourth of July celebration in some nearby town. They manage to capture the feral girl and bind and gag Kitty to a post. They intend to take the feral girl into town and charge people to view her before selling the girl to a traveling show. Fortunately, Matt, Festus, and Newly are closing in.
The part of the feral child -- or "Wild Child" as it appears in the credits -- is played by Laurie Prange. Prange should have been nominated for an Emmy for this role. This was quite early in her acting career, but her performance is astoundingly convincing. This was Prange's only Gunsmoke appearance.
Former Oscar winner Mercedes McCambridge lends her talents in her only Gunsmoke episode as the sinister Rubilee Mather. Rubliee is the "brains of the outfit" when it comes to the Mather family.
Royal Dano guest stars in a Gunsmoke episode for the final time. Here he plays Rubilee's sickly, incapacitated husband Henry. It is a surprisingly small role considering some of the other prominent parts he played over the course of the series.
Gunsmoke veterans Link Wyler and Charlie Kuenstle play the dimwitted Mather sons.
Actress Peggy Rea makes her final Gunsmoke appearance by reprising her role as Bess Roniger from the sappy Season 13 episode "Baker's Dozen." Two of Gunsmoke producer John Mantley's children -- Jon Jason Mantley and Maria Mantley -- play members of the Roniger family.
This story is one of the more unique in the entire Gunsmoke oeuvre. The story was written by actor Warren Vanders, who appeared in twelve Gunsmoke episodes. He usually played sneaky, sinister types of characters. Jack Miller, who wrote twelve episodes of the series and was "Executive Story Consultant" for forty-five others is credited for writing the teleplay.
This episode features another great starring performance by Amanda Blake. There have been several stories published about Blake's reluctance to do these "location shoot" stories. She found them exhausting, and as the years wore on, was less enthused about doing them. At least part of the reason she left the show (or was fired, depending on who is telling the story) prior to Season 20 was over her increasing reluctance to do these types of stories. Blake was absent in many of the Season 16 episodes. It is nice to see Season 17 begin with such a strong part for Blake.
