User Reviews

I admit this ep does have problems. No, not that there are is no sheriff of the county Dodge be located in. He could have been sick and no deputy was taking the leader job at the time. Or the job be largely honorary with a federal marshall patrolling Dodge. But much superior question is what about the Army guys at Fort Dodge? Where were all they in all this?

Another problem with the story is this. When Festus and Thad were trying to stop that Sheriff from pulling a rifle young Thad could have ran and grabbed the elderly Sheriff's arms to stop him from getting the rifle off the rack. No other real problems with this ep.

Matt is taken hostage by a group of men that have escaped from the territorial prison in Leavenworth. They intend to use Matt as insurance against being captured or killed as they make their way to presumed freedom in Mexico.

One thing I especially appreciate about this episode is Darren McGavin's performance as Lon Gorman. His character isn't a black-and-white "bad guy." He is a victim of injustice, wrongly convicted and imprisoned, who has more or less accepted his fate and now lives only for vengeance. (His vocal performance is reminiscent of Billy Bob Thorton in Sling Blade.)

The plan chosen by the escapees is a bit odd. Rather than try to "run for the border," they decide their chances are better with a well-known, well-respected hostage. They inform towns along their path in advance of their plans and who they are holding hostage. It almost works until they reach Lamb County, Texas, where tough, stubborn Sheriff Hockley is located.

I disagree with some of the other reviewers who consider the situation described in this episode as lacking believability. The scene where the escapees enter a standoff with Sheriff Hockley--played by Willis Bouchey, another of the all-time great character actors--and his posse in particular. Hockley is obviously a notorious bluffer, as we witness in the scene in his jailhouse with Festus and Thad. (Both who come across as rather inept in this episode.) His bluff doesn't work as well with the escapees.

When the escapees threaten to kill Matt if Hockley doesn't let them pass, Hockley encourages them to go ahead and kill Matt with the understanding that the escapees will all be killed as soon as they follow through with the execution. Just when Gorman seems to think he is defeated, Carl Mandee, played by the always excellent Simon Oakland, puts a knife to Matt's throat and threatens to carve pieces of Matt a little at a time until the escapees are allowed to pass. Hockley's bluff is called, and he agrees to allow the escapees to pass, but with the posse as an escort of sorts.

I won't give any more of the story away, but the resolution is fairly quick after the incident described above.

I actually like the tense nature of this story in the last few minutes. My only complaint about this episode is that it drags while the escapees are moving toward the border and being tracked by Festus and Thad. Back in Dodge, Kitty and Doc fret over Matt's possible fate. There isn't much compelling that happens during this stretch of the story. While the writers obviously intended to build suspense during this time, it just doesn't work very well.

If there is anything unbelievable about the episode, it is that a group of prison escapees would be allowed to travel so long and so far with absolutely no one, other than Thad and Festus, following them or trying to stop them.

The casting of Gunsmoke as a whole was always excellent, and this is another stellar cast of familiar faces. All things considered, the episode is not THAT bad.

Matt is captured by some desperadoes who want to use him as a hostage to get to the Mexican border, (a fer piece from Dodge), They actually leave a note that the Sheriffs of all the various counties along the way should be informed so they can actually meet them with a posse and see that they have Dillon and are prepared to kill him if they can't go through peacefully. Somehow this almost works as the various Sheriffs let them go through until a dispute between two of the desperadoes gives Dillon an opening to force a climactic battle.

I would think that, at best, these guys would have had an escort to the border of each sheriff's posse to make sure they freed Dillon when they got there and that the Mexican authorities would be waiting for them at that point. But beyond that, I find it interesting that every country they go through has a sheriff but Ford County, where Dodge City lies, does not.

The reason of course, is that Marshal Dillon operates not only as a US Marshal but also the Dodge City town Marshal and, in effect, the Sheriff of Ford County. The writers wanted to have stories centered in Dodge, stories that take place in the surrounding countryside and stories about him trailing outlaws to various places so they gave him all three jobs at once,which one person could never do. In real life Luke Short was the Marshal of Dodge, Bat Masterson was the Sheriff of Ford County and US Marshals patrolled Oklahoma territory or went after fugitives. They were three different jobs. Who breaks up the fights at the Long Branch when Matt's away? Oh, and Short and Masterson both have several deputies. The writers wanted Matt to do everything, so all he gets are Chester and Festus.

It appeared from the beginning scenes that this was going to be another outstanding episode worthy of a watch. But after the plot of the show is revealed the program takes a turn into an almost weird type storyline. The great guest cast was not used properly nor was there enough time spent on one situation before the course of the show seemed to change.

The episode begins with four escaped convict from Leavenworth Territorial Prison (two of them Darrin McGavin and Simon Oakland who would much later star in the series Night Stalker) think it is a good idea to kidnap Marshal Dillon and use him as hostage as they flee to Mexico. Not only that do they think having a hostage will help, they also want the towns in their path to know they are arriving with Matt it tow. Now this might sound like a good plan for a show but do you really think they want to give the entire travel plans to each community as they make their way through Texas. Not only that but if something was to happen to Matt what is the back-up plan? Everyone in the law enforcement world knows where they are located. It makes no sense.

Here is a scene from the episode that actually made me say 'What?'- When the convicts, with Matt as hostage, come up on a posse forming a line in the road, the sheriff refuses to move. One of the convicts, with gun to Matt's head, advises that he will shoot Matt if they do not let them through. The Sheriff says go ahead and shoot because if something happens to Matt we are killing all of you. But then another convict holds a knife to Matt's throat. But this time the Sheriff lets them pass. Makes no sense.

With the storyline rather laughable it got no better when the story turned toward the rest of the cast. Kitty and Doc was worrying back at the Long Branch and Festus and Thad was thinking of a way to rescue Matt. The entire episode did not seem to have any flow to the story.

Anyway this episode proved to be more of a disappointment than entertaining. The story did not flow. It did not seem real.