Kitty welcomes her mentor to town, but her friend is burdened by a secret: she's here to deliver the child of her outlaw son, a man willing to take his own mother hostage.Kitty welcomes her mentor to town, but her friend is burdened by a secret: she's here to deliver the child of her outlaw son, a man willing to take his own mother hostage.Kitty welcomes her mentor to town, but her friend is burdened by a secret: she's here to deliver the child of her outlaw son, a man willing to take his own mother hostage.
Photos
John Barton
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
John Breen
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Noble 'Kid' Chissell
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Bert Madrid
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Spec O'Donnell
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Robert Lewin
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- John Meston(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJean Arthur's first onscreen acting role after a 12-year hiatus.
- GoofsWhen Doc goes in the general store to get baby supplies he calls the store clerk Jonas. However that was a character played by Dabbs Greer. The clerk was played by Roy Barcroft, and his character is called 'Roy' and appeared many times in the Gunsmoke series. Even in the credits it has Roy listed for Barcoft's character..
Featured review
Sadly, Jean Arthur flopped
Jean Arthur gave stellar performances in a handful of films from the 1930's. Most notably, she successfully, starred in films such as, "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington", "You Can't Take it With You", "Talk of the Town", and "The More the Merrier". She also gave a wonderful performance in the 1953 film, "Shane". With the exception of these performances however, Arthur had a tendency to provide horribly flat, one dimensional, interpretations of the characters that she portrayed. That is sadly, the sort of performance that she gave in this episode of Gunsmoke.
After viewing this episode, and being dismayed by her rigid, flat, performance, I conducted a cursory review of her online biographies. I was not surprised, to discover that Arthur suffered from debilitating, stage fright, which resulted in a plethora of career setbacks. Somehow, directors like the legendary Frank Capra, and George Stevens, were able to get Arthur to deliver outstanding, and memorable, performances. Without their directorial supervision, she seemed to be more preoccupied with concerns about how she might look, than with emoting the true feelings and thoughts, that her character would have had. It shows. In an example from this episode of Gunsmoke, after being struck in the face by her son, she recoils briefly, and she then, stares at her son flatly, with absolutely no emotion. The result of such instances, is that her performance, and therefore, the episode, made no sense.
This episode, marked Arthur's first performance after a 12 year hiatus. Her extreme stage fright and insecurities, resulted in her being very obviously, preoccupied with things, other than the role. In addition to being distracted by her performance, I found myself, distracted by her appearance. Whether by way of plastic surgery, or the tricks of the make-up artist, she (like too many actors), was seemingly, desperate, to not show her true age. I always, find it sad, and distracting, when actors do everything in their power, to appear, perpetually young. I admire, those actors who are unafraid of aging. They are unfortunately, in the minority.
Jean Arthur's performance in this episode of Gunsmoke, could easily be used as a teaching resource, to help upcoming actors, realize what happens when they are focused on their appearance, to the detriment of being embodied in their roles. As for the overall legacy of Jean Arthur, I hope that anyone reading this review, will take the time to view the films that I mentioned at the outset of this review, for in those films, she was radiant, and she gave a stellar performance, in each one of them. When she got out of her own way, Jean Arthur, was a wonderful actor!
After viewing this episode, and being dismayed by her rigid, flat, performance, I conducted a cursory review of her online biographies. I was not surprised, to discover that Arthur suffered from debilitating, stage fright, which resulted in a plethora of career setbacks. Somehow, directors like the legendary Frank Capra, and George Stevens, were able to get Arthur to deliver outstanding, and memorable, performances. Without their directorial supervision, she seemed to be more preoccupied with concerns about how she might look, than with emoting the true feelings and thoughts, that her character would have had. It shows. In an example from this episode of Gunsmoke, after being struck in the face by her son, she recoils briefly, and she then, stares at her son flatly, with absolutely no emotion. The result of such instances, is that her performance, and therefore, the episode, made no sense.
This episode, marked Arthur's first performance after a 12 year hiatus. Her extreme stage fright and insecurities, resulted in her being very obviously, preoccupied with things, other than the role. In addition to being distracted by her performance, I found myself, distracted by her appearance. Whether by way of plastic surgery, or the tricks of the make-up artist, she (like too many actors), was seemingly, desperate, to not show her true age. I always, find it sad, and distracting, when actors do everything in their power, to appear, perpetually young. I admire, those actors who are unafraid of aging. They are unfortunately, in the minority.
Jean Arthur's performance in this episode of Gunsmoke, could easily be used as a teaching resource, to help upcoming actors, realize what happens when they are focused on their appearance, to the detriment of being embodied in their roles. As for the overall legacy of Jean Arthur, I hope that anyone reading this review, will take the time to view the films that I mentioned at the outset of this review, for in those films, she was radiant, and she gave a stellar performance, in each one of them. When she got out of her own way, Jean Arthur, was a wonderful actor!
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Stage 3, CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA(Dodge City Western Street)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3
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