The ex-con in this story is a man named Leo Pitts. When the story begins, Leo has been released from prison after serving five years for robbery. Leo is married to Lily, a former saloon worker who evidently married Leo to escape that profession.
(John Meston wrote this episode, and this appears to be a familiar theme with him. In his stories people often marry more for convenience than love. Meston was supposedly a serious student of the Old West, and perhaps this more pragmatic outlook on marriage was prominent during the time.)
Leo owns some property near Dodge City, and he has hidden gold he presumably stole inside the house. He and Lily travel into Dodge where Leo deposits the gold, which is worth about $5,000, in the bank. Mr. Botkin, the bank president, reports Leo's deposit to Matt Dillon. Mr. Botkin and the Marshal suspect the gold was stolen, but there is no way to prove its origins. Matt tells Mr. Botkin there probably isn't much that can be done about the gold, but he plans to ride to Larned and talk to Judge Brooking about the situation.
Naturally, Leo is not content with money in the bank, a wife, and an opportunity to start anew. He plans to kill Matt, because he blames the Marshal for his arrest and subsequent prison sentence. Fortunately, Matt sees Pitts lurking around the jail and pointing his gun at Chester, and Matt tells Pitts to leave Dodge and never return. (Pitts never tries to hide his intentions, which seems most unwise. He even tells Matt he plans to kill him. It is never clear how Pitts thinks he can kill a U. S. Marshal with no consequences.)
Matt was already ill with some kind of fever when he sets out on his journey to see the judge. Along the way, the fever worsens to the point that Matt is forced to stop at a shack where he passes out. When the Marshal awakens, he discovers the body of an unarmed Leo Pitts inside the shack with him. Pitts has been shot and killed, and Dillon's gun has been fired twice. Of course, circumstantial evidence suggests feverish Matt killed Pitts, but Matt doubts the circumstances tell the true story.
The primary plot of the episode centers around the mystery of what actually happened in the shack and what will happen to Leo's widow, Lily, who rather quickly develops a romantic interest in Matt. The situation is complicated when Leo's brother Sam rides into Dodge determined to avenge his brother's death.
Jeanne Cooper, a veteran television actress best known for her portrayal of Kay Chancellor on The Young and the Restless for many years and the mother of actor Corbin Bernsen, is very good as Lily Pitts. John Kellogg and Richard Devon are Leo and Sam Pitts, respectively. Both men were very familiar character actors from this time who often played heavies.
Thomas Carr directed this episode, and it is the only episode in the series he directed. Carr was a veteran director known for directing episodes of many other westerns series, including Trackdown, Rawhide, Stagecoach West, Wanted: Dead or Alive, and several others.
This is one of the last few episodes in the series that includes Dennis Weaver's Chester Goode character.
Actor Roy Roberts makes his second appearance as Harry Botkin/Bodkin (the spelling of the name varied), the bank president. Roberts has also played Mr. Dobie, the owner of the Dodge House in a couple of Season 8 episodes. Roberts, who played bankers in other television series, appeared as Botkin/Bodkin several more times in Gunsmoke episodes through Season 19.
Howard Wendell appears for the first time in the series as Judge Brooking. Wendell played the same character in three more episodes.
In the end, there is nothing very clever or profound about this episode, but it is an entertaining, well-acted story.
(John Meston wrote this episode, and this appears to be a familiar theme with him. In his stories people often marry more for convenience than love. Meston was supposedly a serious student of the Old West, and perhaps this more pragmatic outlook on marriage was prominent during the time.)
Leo owns some property near Dodge City, and he has hidden gold he presumably stole inside the house. He and Lily travel into Dodge where Leo deposits the gold, which is worth about $5,000, in the bank. Mr. Botkin, the bank president, reports Leo's deposit to Matt Dillon. Mr. Botkin and the Marshal suspect the gold was stolen, but there is no way to prove its origins. Matt tells Mr. Botkin there probably isn't much that can be done about the gold, but he plans to ride to Larned and talk to Judge Brooking about the situation.
Naturally, Leo is not content with money in the bank, a wife, and an opportunity to start anew. He plans to kill Matt, because he blames the Marshal for his arrest and subsequent prison sentence. Fortunately, Matt sees Pitts lurking around the jail and pointing his gun at Chester, and Matt tells Pitts to leave Dodge and never return. (Pitts never tries to hide his intentions, which seems most unwise. He even tells Matt he plans to kill him. It is never clear how Pitts thinks he can kill a U. S. Marshal with no consequences.)
Matt was already ill with some kind of fever when he sets out on his journey to see the judge. Along the way, the fever worsens to the point that Matt is forced to stop at a shack where he passes out. When the Marshal awakens, he discovers the body of an unarmed Leo Pitts inside the shack with him. Pitts has been shot and killed, and Dillon's gun has been fired twice. Of course, circumstantial evidence suggests feverish Matt killed Pitts, but Matt doubts the circumstances tell the true story.
The primary plot of the episode centers around the mystery of what actually happened in the shack and what will happen to Leo's widow, Lily, who rather quickly develops a romantic interest in Matt. The situation is complicated when Leo's brother Sam rides into Dodge determined to avenge his brother's death.
Jeanne Cooper, a veteran television actress best known for her portrayal of Kay Chancellor on The Young and the Restless for many years and the mother of actor Corbin Bernsen, is very good as Lily Pitts. John Kellogg and Richard Devon are Leo and Sam Pitts, respectively. Both men were very familiar character actors from this time who often played heavies.
Thomas Carr directed this episode, and it is the only episode in the series he directed. Carr was a veteran director known for directing episodes of many other westerns series, including Trackdown, Rawhide, Stagecoach West, Wanted: Dead or Alive, and several others.
This is one of the last few episodes in the series that includes Dennis Weaver's Chester Goode character.
Actor Roy Roberts makes his second appearance as Harry Botkin/Bodkin (the spelling of the name varied), the bank president. Roberts has also played Mr. Dobie, the owner of the Dodge House in a couple of Season 8 episodes. Roberts, who played bankers in other television series, appeared as Botkin/Bodkin several more times in Gunsmoke episodes through Season 19.
Howard Wendell appears for the first time in the series as Judge Brooking. Wendell played the same character in three more episodes.
In the end, there is nothing very clever or profound about this episode, but it is an entertaining, well-acted story.
