Lynching stories are fairly commonplace in the oeuvre of the Western, but this is a well-done example.
The Ruckers -- Ben, the father, Gabe and Seth, the sons -- manage a ranch near Dodge City. When they begin having trouble with rustlers, they set out to remedy the situation using their own vigilante justice, as was often the case during the time period. No one will blame a rancher for protecting their own property.
The Ruckers see four rustlers stealing their cattle and begin chasing and shooting at them. Two are quickly killed. As the remaining two thieves head in different directions, Seth takes off after one. Ben and Gabe come upon Jed Bailey, a poorly regarded resident of the area, who is running away from the shooting. Seth loses the rustler he is chasing, and he sees the fourth join the one he was chasing in the distance. Meanwhile Ben and Gabe capture Bailey, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bailey tries to tell them he was not involved in the rustling, but Ben and Gabe are convinced otherwise. They quickly hang Bailey just as a shocked Seth rides up to see the hanging body and tells his father and brother two of the rustlers managed to get away.
Later, Silas Shute, a well-known, aging bounty hunter, finds Bailey's body hanging. Since Bailey resembles the picture of an outlaw for which Shute has a wanted dead-or-alive poster, Shute decides he will cut down the body, shoot the corpse, ride into Dodge, and claim the easy-money bounty. Shute doesn't count on the townspeople of Dodge City knowing Bailey and knowing he is not the outlaw on the poster. Shute is charged with murder and placed in the jail to await trial.
Of course, the Ruckers all know what REALLY happened to Bailey. The subsequent story is about the Ruckers dealing with their consciences while Shute faces a trial where the verdict appears to be a foregone conclusion. After all, Shute foolishly boasted about killing Bailey when he brought the body into Dodge.
I find it mildly fascinating to view this episode in light of the science of the times. Today, forensics would easily prove that Bailey did not die from the shooting. One wonders how many people have been wrongly convicted of a crime based on the lack of better science to prove their innocence.
A couple of things lift this episode above standard fare for me: the fact that we get to see so many of the Dodge regulars--Halligan, Percy Krump, Nathan Burke, Lathrop, and Sam Noonan, plus many of the familiar, unnamed, uncredited actors that appeared in numerous Gunsmoke episodes as townsmen (for example, actors Max Wagner, Chuck Hamilton, Rudy Sooter, Bert Madrid, and Sailor Vincent). There are also quality performances by frequent Gunsmoke guests Morgan Woodward and Tom Simcox. Shug Fisher as Silas Shute is essentially the same character Fisher always played in every show where he guest starred. Some of the interactions between Shute and Festus help to lighten the episode and help us feel more sympathy for Shute's situation.
The writers could have taken the ending of this episode in a few different directions. It is interesting to see the way they chose to end it. I will only say it is not predictable given the way many episodes of Gunsmoke ended.
The Ruckers -- Ben, the father, Gabe and Seth, the sons -- manage a ranch near Dodge City. When they begin having trouble with rustlers, they set out to remedy the situation using their own vigilante justice, as was often the case during the time period. No one will blame a rancher for protecting their own property.
The Ruckers see four rustlers stealing their cattle and begin chasing and shooting at them. Two are quickly killed. As the remaining two thieves head in different directions, Seth takes off after one. Ben and Gabe come upon Jed Bailey, a poorly regarded resident of the area, who is running away from the shooting. Seth loses the rustler he is chasing, and he sees the fourth join the one he was chasing in the distance. Meanwhile Ben and Gabe capture Bailey, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bailey tries to tell them he was not involved in the rustling, but Ben and Gabe are convinced otherwise. They quickly hang Bailey just as a shocked Seth rides up to see the hanging body and tells his father and brother two of the rustlers managed to get away.
Later, Silas Shute, a well-known, aging bounty hunter, finds Bailey's body hanging. Since Bailey resembles the picture of an outlaw for which Shute has a wanted dead-or-alive poster, Shute decides he will cut down the body, shoot the corpse, ride into Dodge, and claim the easy-money bounty. Shute doesn't count on the townspeople of Dodge City knowing Bailey and knowing he is not the outlaw on the poster. Shute is charged with murder and placed in the jail to await trial.
Of course, the Ruckers all know what REALLY happened to Bailey. The subsequent story is about the Ruckers dealing with their consciences while Shute faces a trial where the verdict appears to be a foregone conclusion. After all, Shute foolishly boasted about killing Bailey when he brought the body into Dodge.
I find it mildly fascinating to view this episode in light of the science of the times. Today, forensics would easily prove that Bailey did not die from the shooting. One wonders how many people have been wrongly convicted of a crime based on the lack of better science to prove their innocence.
A couple of things lift this episode above standard fare for me: the fact that we get to see so many of the Dodge regulars--Halligan, Percy Krump, Nathan Burke, Lathrop, and Sam Noonan, plus many of the familiar, unnamed, uncredited actors that appeared in numerous Gunsmoke episodes as townsmen (for example, actors Max Wagner, Chuck Hamilton, Rudy Sooter, Bert Madrid, and Sailor Vincent). There are also quality performances by frequent Gunsmoke guests Morgan Woodward and Tom Simcox. Shug Fisher as Silas Shute is essentially the same character Fisher always played in every show where he guest starred. Some of the interactions between Shute and Festus help to lighten the episode and help us feel more sympathy for Shute's situation.
The writers could have taken the ending of this episode in a few different directions. It is interesting to see the way they chose to end it. I will only say it is not predictable given the way many episodes of Gunsmoke ended.
