On her way back to Dodge after a short trip, Kitty shares a stagecoach ride with Blaine Copperton, a gentlemanly but uncertain man who seems to be far less mature than his age. Suddenly, two... Read allOn her way back to Dodge after a short trip, Kitty shares a stagecoach ride with Blaine Copperton, a gentlemanly but uncertain man who seems to be far less mature than his age. Suddenly, two armed bandits attack the stage, killing the driver and seriously wounding Copperton. Copp... Read allOn her way back to Dodge after a short trip, Kitty shares a stagecoach ride with Blaine Copperton, a gentlemanly but uncertain man who seems to be far less mature than his age. Suddenly, two armed bandits attack the stage, killing the driver and seriously wounding Copperton. Copperton manages to grab a shotgun and kill the bandits, but then collapses unconscious. Kitt... Read all
Photos
- Doc
- (credit only)
- Cowhand
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe exterior and interior of the Copperton ranch house is the same set used for the Barkley ranch in The Big Valley (1965).
As the stagecoach continues its journey, it is stopped by two bandits. They kill the driver and discover the strongbox on board contained only a small amount of money. However, when they force the male passenger to hand over his wallet, they find he is carrying quite a bit of cash. The passenger then manages to kill both bandits, but he is also shot. This leaves Kitty stranded with the stagecoach and a seriously injured man.
Kitty, being the strong, tough woman she is, somehow manages to get the man back on the stage and drives it along the trail. She encounters a wagon belonging to a mining family named Dagget blocking the trail. She explains the desperation of her situation with the wounded man, and the Daggets refuse to help when they discover the man is Blaine Copperton. The Daggets and Copperton families are bitter enemies, because the Coppertons consider the Daggets squatters on their land.
Kitty eventually makes it to the Copperton ranch where she finds the fiesty Jessie Copperton -- Blaine's mother. The Copperton matriarch is accustomed to giving orders and immediately includes Kitty as a subordinate, which does not go over well. Nevertheless, Mrs. Copperton soon develops a level of respect for Kitty, because she sees that Kitty is a strong-willed woman, too.
Young Tracey Copperton is Blaine's meek, withdrawn daughter. Her grandmother despised Tracey's deceased mother and opposed Blaine's marriage to her. Jessie directs some of that same disdain toward her granddaughter. Kitty instantly takes pity on Tracey for the way Jessie bullies her.
After tending to her injured son, Jessie escalates the feud with the Daggets by taking some of the ranch hands and visiting the Dagget's shack. She has her men set fire to shack, and they shoot one of the Dagget boys in the leg. This leads to the Daggets kidnapping Kitty and Tracey. They demand Blaine Copperton come to their mine so they can exact some "eye-for-an-eye" revenge by shooting him in the leg.
Virginia Gregg's performance as Jessie Copperton is her last for this series. Gregg appeared in a total of seven Gunsmoke episodes over the years. She was a favorite of Jack Webb who cast her repeatedly as many different characters in both the original Dragnet series and the 1967 reboot. Her specialty was playing strong, often cantankerous, sometimes treacherous, females.
John Ericson makes his only Gunsmoke appearance as Blaine Copperton. He does not have that much to do in the episode, because he is unconscious during most of his screen time. When he does have the opportunity to act, he mostly just scowls.
Lisa Gerritsen had appeared just a few episodes earlier in the awful "The Miracle Man" episode, although the inferior quality of the earlier episode was certainly not her fault. In this story, she plays Tracey Copperton.
The Daggets, who have some of the worst teeth of any characters in Gunsmoke history, are played by familiar Gunsmoke guests. Nora Marlowe is Ma. Marlowe could play all types of characters, from the jolly, kindly character, to much more devious nasty types. Conlan Carter and Charles Kuenstle both commonly played villainous types on Gunsmoke. They play the two Dagget sons.
Steve Raines once again plays a stage driver in this story. Raines appeared often in Gunsmoke episodes, and many of those appearances was as a stagecoach driver.
The idea behind this story is certainly nothing new, and it comes across as lazy and sloppily handled. The story meanders all over without making much of a point or resolving anything. Is the story about the problems in the Copperton family stemming from the dominant matriarch? Is it about the ongoing feud between the Coppertons and the Daggets? Did Kitty Russell only buy hats on her shopping trip? She wears the same dress for the few days the episode spans.
The regular Gunsmoke character featured in this episode is Kitty Russell, of course, but even Amanda Blake appears to be going through the motions this time around. She spends most of her screen time giving other characters disapproving looks. Bonus disappointment: learning that she prefers her steaks "burnt to a crisp."
There isn't much involvement from the other Gunsmoke regulars, but, as with Blake, there is nothing inspired about any of the performances.
- wdavidreynolds
- May 21, 2021
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3