Mysterious 19-year-old Mavis McCloud arrives on the stagecoach in Dodge City. She was preceded there by a telegram informing the unnamed U. S. Marshal in Dodge she was arriving to be married and wanted the marshal to meet her at the stage. There is an amusing early scene when Chester Goode and Doc Adams jump to the conclusion the woman is coming to Dodge to marry Matt Dillon.
When the stage arrives, an extremely tentative Matt meets Mavis McCloud and introduces himself. (Chester is smitten, of course. "Oh, Mr. Dillon, she's just awful purty.") Miss McCloud assures Marshal Dillon she is there to marry, but not to marry Matt in one of the more amusingly awkward scenes the show ever featured. When Matt asks her where she is from, she refuses to tell him. Matt concludes Mavis ran away from home.
Mavis met Barney Wales while she was waiting for the stage to Dodge, and Wales stepped in to stop a cowboy from harassing her. In about three weeks, Mavis and Barney marry and settle on Wales's ranch near Dodge. Once again, a nice humorous moment takes place when Chester becomes very emotional at the wedding. (Kitty cries, too, but one suspects it is more of a lament over her own situation than crying happy tears for the newly betrothed couple.)
A strange, dour man named Lou Staley soon arrives in Dodge looking for Mavis. When he learns the woman has married, he pledges to kill her husband and -- since he blames Matt -- then Marshal Dillon. Matt's concern grows as he can see the trouble Staley intends to cause.
Actress Fay Spain makes the first of three Gunsmoke appearances in this story where she portrays Mavis McCloud. Spain made the rounds of the television dramas in the late 1950s and through much of the 1960s. She was also noted for taking on villain roles in several low-budget teen movies in the 1950s. One of her last performances can be seen in a small part in The Godfather: Part II where she portrays the gangster Hyman Roth's tuna salad sandwich making wife.
Casey Adams was the stage name given to Max Showalter by Darryl F. Zanuck early in Showalter's career. He appears as the character Barney Wales using the Adams name in this episode, which was his only time as a guest in the series.
Familiar actor Robert Cornthwaite makes one of his two Gunsmoke appearances in this story as the Lou Staley character. Cornwaithe starred as Dr. Arthur Carrington in 1951's The Thing from Another World, which featured James Arness as The Thing. (Both Cornwaithe and Showalter guest starred in numerous episodes of the Perry Mason series.)
This is the second episode featuring a screenplay by Kathleen Hite based on a John Meston story. This is also the first of five Gunsmoke installments directed by Buzz Kulik, all in Season 3 and 5. Kulik developed an excellent reputation for directing television dramas in the 1950s and '60s. In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s and '80s, he became known for directing made-for-TV movies.
The mysterious nature of Mavis McCloud is the device used to maintain interest in this story, and the viewer never learns all the answers. Primarily, what was the nature of the relationship between Lou and Mavis that led to the events in this episode? The viewer only learns a minimal amount of information, but the events depicted in the story raise many questions with some potentially disturbing answers.
Spain and Cornthwaite are outstanding in their roles. Spain's Mavis projects strength and determination, which is a distinguishing factor in both Meston's and Hite's writing. Cornthwaite's Lou Staley is very creepy and resolute.
(I could not help wondering why Matt does nothing when Staley tells him he plans to kill Barney Wales and then kill Matt.)
Watch for two rare mentions of actual historical figures in this episode. Matt mentions Lillie (or Lily) Langtry, who was a famous actress in the latter part of the 19th Century. (Infamous Texas judge Roy Bean, Jr. Was obsessed with Langtry. He even renamed the town of Eagle's Nest, Texas "Langtry" and the saloon he operated there "The Jersey Lily" in her honor. William Wyler's excellent 1940 film The Westerner uses Bean's obsession as a primary plot element. John Huston's 1972 film The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean also incorporates Bean's fascination with the actress in the plot.)
The other historical figure mentioned is hatmaker John B. Stetson. When Chester suggests someone should invent a device for blocking the sun, Matt humorously responds John B. Stetson has already done so.
When the stage arrives, an extremely tentative Matt meets Mavis McCloud and introduces himself. (Chester is smitten, of course. "Oh, Mr. Dillon, she's just awful purty.") Miss McCloud assures Marshal Dillon she is there to marry, but not to marry Matt in one of the more amusingly awkward scenes the show ever featured. When Matt asks her where she is from, she refuses to tell him. Matt concludes Mavis ran away from home.
Mavis met Barney Wales while she was waiting for the stage to Dodge, and Wales stepped in to stop a cowboy from harassing her. In about three weeks, Mavis and Barney marry and settle on Wales's ranch near Dodge. Once again, a nice humorous moment takes place when Chester becomes very emotional at the wedding. (Kitty cries, too, but one suspects it is more of a lament over her own situation than crying happy tears for the newly betrothed couple.)
A strange, dour man named Lou Staley soon arrives in Dodge looking for Mavis. When he learns the woman has married, he pledges to kill her husband and -- since he blames Matt -- then Marshal Dillon. Matt's concern grows as he can see the trouble Staley intends to cause.
Actress Fay Spain makes the first of three Gunsmoke appearances in this story where she portrays Mavis McCloud. Spain made the rounds of the television dramas in the late 1950s and through much of the 1960s. She was also noted for taking on villain roles in several low-budget teen movies in the 1950s. One of her last performances can be seen in a small part in The Godfather: Part II where she portrays the gangster Hyman Roth's tuna salad sandwich making wife.
Casey Adams was the stage name given to Max Showalter by Darryl F. Zanuck early in Showalter's career. He appears as the character Barney Wales using the Adams name in this episode, which was his only time as a guest in the series.
Familiar actor Robert Cornthwaite makes one of his two Gunsmoke appearances in this story as the Lou Staley character. Cornwaithe starred as Dr. Arthur Carrington in 1951's The Thing from Another World, which featured James Arness as The Thing. (Both Cornwaithe and Showalter guest starred in numerous episodes of the Perry Mason series.)
This is the second episode featuring a screenplay by Kathleen Hite based on a John Meston story. This is also the first of five Gunsmoke installments directed by Buzz Kulik, all in Season 3 and 5. Kulik developed an excellent reputation for directing television dramas in the 1950s and '60s. In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s and '80s, he became known for directing made-for-TV movies.
The mysterious nature of Mavis McCloud is the device used to maintain interest in this story, and the viewer never learns all the answers. Primarily, what was the nature of the relationship between Lou and Mavis that led to the events in this episode? The viewer only learns a minimal amount of information, but the events depicted in the story raise many questions with some potentially disturbing answers.
Spain and Cornthwaite are outstanding in their roles. Spain's Mavis projects strength and determination, which is a distinguishing factor in both Meston's and Hite's writing. Cornthwaite's Lou Staley is very creepy and resolute.
(I could not help wondering why Matt does nothing when Staley tells him he plans to kill Barney Wales and then kill Matt.)
Watch for two rare mentions of actual historical figures in this episode. Matt mentions Lillie (or Lily) Langtry, who was a famous actress in the latter part of the 19th Century. (Infamous Texas judge Roy Bean, Jr. Was obsessed with Langtry. He even renamed the town of Eagle's Nest, Texas "Langtry" and the saloon he operated there "The Jersey Lily" in her honor. William Wyler's excellent 1940 film The Westerner uses Bean's obsession as a primary plot element. John Huston's 1972 film The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean also incorporates Bean's fascination with the actress in the plot.)
The other historical figure mentioned is hatmaker John B. Stetson. When Chester suggests someone should invent a device for blocking the sun, Matt humorously responds John B. Stetson has already done so.
