I totally agree with reviewer KFO's assessment of this episode.
The excellent combo of writer Hite and director Harris missed the true potential of this show by creating a "fool/simpleton" character for Kathleen Nolan to play. Nolan had recently left the role of Kate in "The Real McCoys" to expand her career opportunities, but here she is saddled with a role that is largely missing the depth and dignity which the "McCoys" role sometimes offered her.
Still, there is plenty to enjoy here, if you can get past Dodie's chronically silly, self-obsessed condition. Her initial meeting with Doc Adams is genuinely charming, and her encounters with the overheated guys in the pool hall and saloon are amusing and occasionally downright funny.
What disappoints is Dodie's lack of concern for the plight of the other kids at the orphanage; once in Dodge City, she shuts out everything about her past, and when Matt takes her back to the place, the kids seem to be the farthest thing from her mind. Fortunately, Matt smells a rat (in the person of the vile Addie Bagge and her brother Floyd), which leads to the final touching scenes of the episode.
Yes, the final five minutes really save this one; Arness and little Diane Mountford (a truly fine young actress), plus Fred Steiner's gentle, bell-ringing/muted string underscore, provide a very moving and fitting conclusion to this odd combination of cruelty and lighthearted daffiness. Interesting that the title character is entirely absent from this scene, which only serves to emphasize the dis-connect between Dodie and the kids.
Still, they are happily reunited at tale's end.
Another standout musical score by Fred Steiner, who provides some new variants on his whimsical fiddlin' theme/music (originally written for the Season Six episode "Minnie") at the beginning of Act II and during the following meeting scene between Dodie n' Doc.
LR
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