Matt investigates why a gunman is harassing station master Jesse Daggett by killing his passengers in cold blood, when things reach a climax after a female passenger is shot dead.Matt investigates why a gunman is harassing station master Jesse Daggett by killing his passengers in cold blood, when things reach a climax after a female passenger is shot dead.Matt investigates why a gunman is harassing station master Jesse Daggett by killing his passengers in cold blood, when things reach a climax after a female passenger is shot dead.
Clem Fuller
- Stage Passenger
- (uncredited)
Earl Parker
- Stage Passenger
- (uncredited)
Ted Smile
- Stage Passenger
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Sam Peckinpah
- John Meston(uncredited)
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPernell Roberts appeared in two Gunsmoke episodes. One prior to Bonanza (1959) (this one) and the other post his Bonanza days.
- GoofsWhen Marshal Dillon and Chester are target-shooting on the range, Chester takes aim and fires 3 shots at a can on a log before striking it. Dillon then draws his gun and fires 2 times hitting the can. Without reloading, Chester then tells Dillon he's going to "fan" the pistol in his next attempt to hit the can, destroying the log in the process. He raises his weapon and fires six shots by fanning the hammer. He could not have fired another shots without reloading his six-shooter first.
Featured review
Out of Luck
A masked gunman robs the stagecoach on its way to Dodge City. One of the passengers is murdered. The passenger did not resist. It was essentially an execution.
When Jim Buck, the stage driver, arrives in Dodge, he reports the murder to Matt Dillon. Buck thinks Jesse Daggett, who runs the way station that serves as the stagecoach's destination to-and-from Dodge, conspired with the gunman in the robbery. Daggett knew the stagecoach was carrying a gold shipment. A man named Nat Pilcher also stopped at the way station. Buck is convinced Daggett told Pilcher about the gold.
Matt and Chester Goode ride the stagecoach back to the way station and wait a few days to see if they can catch the killer/thief. They will learn there is much more to this story than is apparent on the surface.
Robert Brubaker appears for the first time in a Gunsmoke episode. He plays Jim Buck, the stagecoach driver in this story. Brubaker portrayed the Jim Buck character in fifteen Gunsmoke episodes from this installment through Season 9's "False Front" episode. After Glenn Strange's death late in the run of the series, Brubaker started playing Floyd, the bartender at the Long Branch Saloon. He continued playing that role through the end of the series.
Actor Barry Atwater follows up his Season 1 appearance in the "Robin Hood" episode with a role in this story. He plays Jesse Daggett. Atwater's expressionless lack of emotion fits well with the stoic nature of the character.
Pernell Roberts appeared in two Gunsmoke episodes produced over ten years apart. He fills the cold, stern Nat Pilcher role in this story. He returned as a gunfighter with a mustache in Season 13's "Stranger in Town." Between those two appearances, he played Adam Cartwright on Bonanza.
A notable attribute of this Gunsmoke installment is that it is another where writer/director Sam Peckinpah wrote the screenplay for a John Meston story that was originally broadcast as an episode of the radio series. (Peckinpah is credited as David S. Peckinpah, instead of the previous Sam Peckinpah credits.) In this case, Peckinpah sticks closely to the Meston script without adding much. Most of the dialog is identical in the radio and television versions. (This episode is a fitting example of translating a radio script to a television script, however. In the radio version, many of the details must be described to the listener, where they are depicted in the television version.)
The opening scene where Chester and Matt are practicing their shooting was added by Peckinpah. There is also a humorous scene added inside the way station where Chester and Matt are dining with other stagecoach passengers, and Chester demonstrates some tentativeness with his dining etiquette. Peckinpah seemed to enjoy writing quirky scenes for the Chester Goode character.
The biggest problem with this story is not Peckinpah's fault. It lies in Meston's contrived viewer deception. Meston wanted to confuse the viewer and does so to the detriment of the story.
The Jesse Daggett and Nat Pilcher characters are quintessential Meston creations, though. Dagget lives by his own "code" and refuses to compromise, even if doing so could prove deadly. His fatalistic outlook on life -- namely that each person has so much luck in life, and when it runs out, there is nothing the person can do -- is quite curious. The Pilcher character lacks any redeeming qualities, which is common among Meston's bad guys.
When Jim Buck, the stage driver, arrives in Dodge, he reports the murder to Matt Dillon. Buck thinks Jesse Daggett, who runs the way station that serves as the stagecoach's destination to-and-from Dodge, conspired with the gunman in the robbery. Daggett knew the stagecoach was carrying a gold shipment. A man named Nat Pilcher also stopped at the way station. Buck is convinced Daggett told Pilcher about the gold.
Matt and Chester Goode ride the stagecoach back to the way station and wait a few days to see if they can catch the killer/thief. They will learn there is much more to this story than is apparent on the surface.
Robert Brubaker appears for the first time in a Gunsmoke episode. He plays Jim Buck, the stagecoach driver in this story. Brubaker portrayed the Jim Buck character in fifteen Gunsmoke episodes from this installment through Season 9's "False Front" episode. After Glenn Strange's death late in the run of the series, Brubaker started playing Floyd, the bartender at the Long Branch Saloon. He continued playing that role through the end of the series.
Actor Barry Atwater follows up his Season 1 appearance in the "Robin Hood" episode with a role in this story. He plays Jesse Daggett. Atwater's expressionless lack of emotion fits well with the stoic nature of the character.
Pernell Roberts appeared in two Gunsmoke episodes produced over ten years apart. He fills the cold, stern Nat Pilcher role in this story. He returned as a gunfighter with a mustache in Season 13's "Stranger in Town." Between those two appearances, he played Adam Cartwright on Bonanza.
A notable attribute of this Gunsmoke installment is that it is another where writer/director Sam Peckinpah wrote the screenplay for a John Meston story that was originally broadcast as an episode of the radio series. (Peckinpah is credited as David S. Peckinpah, instead of the previous Sam Peckinpah credits.) In this case, Peckinpah sticks closely to the Meston script without adding much. Most of the dialog is identical in the radio and television versions. (This episode is a fitting example of translating a radio script to a television script, however. In the radio version, many of the details must be described to the listener, where they are depicted in the television version.)
The opening scene where Chester and Matt are practicing their shooting was added by Peckinpah. There is also a humorous scene added inside the way station where Chester and Matt are dining with other stagecoach passengers, and Chester demonstrates some tentativeness with his dining etiquette. Peckinpah seemed to enjoy writing quirky scenes for the Chester Goode character.
The biggest problem with this story is not Peckinpah's fault. It lies in Meston's contrived viewer deception. Meston wanted to confuse the viewer and does so to the detriment of the story.
The Jesse Daggett and Nat Pilcher characters are quintessential Meston creations, though. Dagget lives by his own "code" and refuses to compromise, even if doing so could prove deadly. His fatalistic outlook on life -- namely that each person has so much luck in life, and when it runs out, there is nothing the person can do -- is quite curious. The Pilcher character lacks any redeeming qualities, which is common among Meston's bad guys.
helpful•50
- wdavidreynolds
- Jan 20, 2022
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3
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