Jude Bonner is a half-Cheyenne Dog Soldier who is accustomed to doing whatever he wants. His brother Virgil is a notorious outlaw wanted for murder and who knows what else. Matt Dillon tracks Virgil to a saloon in some town and arrests him. The Marshal takes Virgil to Hays City where he stands trial and is sentenced to death by hanging.
When Jude Bonner hears of his brother's intended fate, he and his men ride into Dodge City and savagely beat Newly O'Brien, beat and shoot Festus Haggen, and kidnap Kitty Russell. Jude tells the people of Dodge if his brother hangs, he will kill Kitty in retaliation.
Matt visits the Governor and asks for a stay of execution for Virgil, but the governor has no grounds for granting a stay and refuses. Virgil is hanged as sentenced. When Jude learns his brother has been hanged, he brutalizes Kitty (rape is implied but never explicitly stated). He and his men take Kitty back into Dodge and with a great deal of fanfare, he throws Kitty off her horse and shoots her with Doc Adams and Festus watching. The gang leaves Kitty for dead and rides out of town.
When Matt discovers what has happened to Kitty, he takes off his badge and goes after Bonner. Although the gang could run, Jude is not satisfied with taking his revenge against Kitty, he desires a confrontation with Dillon. Matt is perfectly willing to oblige.
Actor William Smith, who recently passed away as of the date of this writing, was one of the all-time great actors at playing villains. As a young man he often appeared in uncredited roles in films. One of his most memorable villain roles was as the character Anthony Falconetti in 1976's groundbreaking mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man. He also played a recurring character during the last season of the series Hawaii Five-O. He was a weightlifter of some renown. This is the first of two Gunsmoke roles for Smith.
This is also the first of two appearances in the series by actor Marco St. John, who plays the doomed outlaw Virgil Bonner in this story.
A couple of familiar character actors contribute parts as some of Jude's fellow Dog Soldiers. Geoffrey Lewis makes his only Gunsmoke appearance as Lafitte Bonner. This appearance takes place early in Lewis's acting career. He would go on to play roles in many television shows and films. He can often be seen throughout the 1970s in films with Clint Eastwood. Hal Baylor seemingly had parts in every television western, including seven episodes of Gunsmoke. He plays the character known only as Toke in this story.
Stafford Repp, who was best known as Chief O'Hara in the television series Batman makes his fifth and final Gunsmoke appearance in one scene as the Sheriff of Hays City where Virgil Bonner is about to be executed. James Chandler plays the Governor in one of his six different Gunsmoke roles.
This is a very intense, exciting, fast-paced episode. In fact, one could argue this story was worthy of a more detailed treatment. Everything happens TOO quickly at times. The story could have benefitted from allowing the tension to build more. More exploration of Matt's willingness to discard some of his core principles and to sacrifice his career as a U. S. Marshal was warranted. The time Bonner holds Kitty captive is relatively short in the episode, but it must have been significant, based on her wounds when Bonner returns her to Dodge. More time devoted to the captivity would have built more animosity toward Bonner.
All hardcore fans of the series know that some episodes are obviously padded with filler because the subject is not adequate to fill the time. The opposite is true for this story.
An odd aspect to the way this story is written is how inept Jude Bonner and his men are at shooting people. Jude appears to tell Lafitte to kill Festus, but the Deputy is brutally beaten and only shot through the shoulder. One would think if they bothered to shoot Festus, they would do it in a more definitive manner. Likewise, when Jude returns Kitty to Dodge, he shoots her once and assumes he has killed her. Since his objective was to avenge his brother's death, one would think he would have been more thorough.
Another reviewer compared the Jude Bonner character to the Will Mannon character from Season 14's "Mannon" episode, and the two characters have several similarities. They both assault Miss Kitty. They are both brazen and supremely confident that no one can stop them from doing what they want. They both have an extremely violent history. Bonner is operating out of deep-rooted anger (he even mentions to Kitty that he does not take any joy from killing), where Mannon seems motivated by the need to prove something to himself or others and his deranged, sadistic tendencies.
The most memorable scene in this episode is clearly when Matt visits the severely injured Kitty in Doc's office. Kitty occasionally expressed affection for Matt in numerous ways, but this is one of the few times in Gunsmoke history -- and the ONLY time it is so explicit -- that Matt reveals his true feelings for Kitty.
Of all the Season 18 entries, this story is at least arguably the most "must see" episode. All the major characters play a prominent role, and several others like Nathan Burke and Woody Lathrop are also featured. There is nothing particularly profound or original about this story, but the storytelling packs a wallop.
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