Ex-con Fred Garth seeks to exactly re-create the hanging death of his father by casting Doc as the father and Matt Dillon as the young Garth (who was shot in the leg and tied to a post while... Read allEx-con Fred Garth seeks to exactly re-create the hanging death of his father by casting Doc as the father and Matt Dillon as the young Garth (who was shot in the leg and tied to a post while his father swung). Garth kidnaps Matt, Doc, Kitty and Festus and isolates them in a deser... Read allEx-con Fred Garth seeks to exactly re-create the hanging death of his father by casting Doc as the father and Matt Dillon as the young Garth (who was shot in the leg and tied to a post while his father swung). Garth kidnaps Matt, Doc, Kitty and Festus and isolates them in a deserted town.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOld Dodge Town is about a night's ride east of Dodge City. Garth and Kitty leave after the Long Branch closes, and arrive in Old Dodge Town soon after sunup.
- GoofsIt appears that Dodge City and Old Dodge Town are a night's ride from each other - see Trivia for this episode. But when Garth leaves to get Doc in Dodge, he gets back to Old Dodge the same day. When Matt leaves Dodge to go to Old Dodge during the day, he tells Newly that he should be back before dark.
- Crazy creditsThe nut on the bolt that Matt is chained to is a hexagon bolt, they didn't have those back in them days, they were square nuts.
An old prospector named Nebs soon arrives in the town and is met by the stranger with gun in hand. Nebs says he is the only person still living in "Dodge Town," which was a settlement that preceded what is now known as Dodge City. The citizens of the old town moved closer to the river and settled Dodge City. Nebs still lives alone in the ramshackle settlement and travels to Dodge City whenever he needs supplies or wants to buy a bottle of whiskey from the Long Branch Saloon. Nebs confirms that Matt Dillon is still the Marshal in Dodge City.
(Side note: There are no historical facts to support the idea of a Dodge Town that I can find. The existence of the old town appears to be an invention for this story.)
The stranger orders Nebs to leave Dodge Town and head west toward Colorado. When Nebs is hesitant to agree to the stranger's demands, the stranger shoots Nebs in the ear, hastening the prospector's departure.
The stranger rides on to Dodge City where he learns Marshal Dillon is away on business. He visits the Long Branch and has a conversation with Kitty Russell. Kitty asks the stranger if they have met before, but he tells her he has never been in Dodge City.
After buying some supplies from Woody Lathrop and arranging for Hank Miller to provide a horse and buggy behind the Long Branch, the stranger returns to the saloon, which is now closing for the evening. After Sam Noonan leaves, the stranger abducts Kitty and forces her to accompany him to Dodge Town where he locks her in the old jail there.
When Sam informs Festus Haggen that Kitty is missing, and that Hank provided a buggy for the stranger the previous evening -- a fact that may or may not be related -- Festus sets out to find Kitty. It is easy enough to follow the buggy tracks to the old town, but the stranger is waiting and locks Festus in the jail with Kitty.
The mystery man then leaves again for Dodge City where he tells Doc Adams that Festus was thrown from his mule and has a broken leg. He agrees to take Doc to Dodge Town where Festus is waiting, and he tells Newly O'Brien at the Marshal's office that he and Doc are going to the old town. Once they are in Dodge Town, the stranger orders Doc into the cell with Kitty and Festus.
When Matt arrives back in Dodge City, Newly brings him up to speed on all of the recent developments and the stranger and Doc going to Dodge Town to help Festus. Of course, Marshal Dillon decides to join the "party" at the old settlement.
The stranger is waiting for the Marshal to arrive, of course. He forces Matt to give up his gun by threatening to shoot Kitty. He then shoots Dillon in the leg and chains him to a post.
At this point, the stranger reveals his identity as Fred Garth, and he announces his plans to re-enact his father's hanging fifteen years earlier in Dodge Town by hanging Doc while Matt watches. (He cannot hang a woman, and Festus was not around fifteen years earlier.)
Tom Skerritt portrays the stranger/Fred Garth in this story. Skerritt is no stranger to anyone that has watched many television shows or movies. This is one of his five different Gunsmoke guest starring roles. Although Skerritt has tended to play more benevolent characters as his career has advanced, he often played villains during the time this episode was produced.
Skerritt's character is the primary focus of this episode, and the only other guest star is William Fawcett as Nebs. This is Fawcett's final appearance in a Gunsmoke story. He had previous appeared in eight other episodes. He had an affinity for playing eccentric characters and excelled at playing old prospectors and hermits.
Several of the familiar Dodge faces make appearances in this story. Nathan Burke (Ted Jordan), Sam Noonan (Glenn Strange), Woody Lathrop (Woody Chambliss), and Hank Miller (Hank Patterson) are all seen at various points in this episode.
While it is clear the stranger is intent on carrying out revenge, and the opening scenes hint at the reason, the way the suspense is built throughout the story is extremely effective. The ending is not what is expected.
(There is a surprisingly cruel revelation regarding Matt Dillon in this story that does not ring true to what we know about the noble Marshal. Matt was forced to shoot the younger Garth in the leg all those years earlier when Garth rode into Dodge Town intending to free his father. Matt then chained Garth to a post while the hanging was conducted. It is difficult to imagine the Marshal doing something so cruel as to chain an injured person to a post while his father is hanged within eyesight.)
- wdavidreynolds
- Jul 5, 2021
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3