Walt Clayton is a powerful, wealthy rancher who is accustomed to getting what he wants. He is the mostly benevolent leader of a small empire where he chooses the sheriff, and the people in the area are content to allow him to run everything.
The only person who is not fully onboard with Walt's autocracy is his daughter, Donna. She loves her father, but she resents his suffocating treatment.
Donna and one of Walt's ranch hands named Cory Soames have fallen in love, much to Walt's disappointment and disapproval. They visit the local preacher in an attempt to marry, but Walt and some of his men interrupt the proceedings. Walt ridiculously accuses Cory of stealing one of his horses. Cory is taken into custody by Walt's men and turned over to Sheriff Dave Henning, Walt's appointed law enforcement. Matt Dillon is summoned from Dodge City to make sure Cory stands trial for the crime.
Walt takes Donna back to the ranch and pleads with her to forget about Cory. He considers the young man an unfit husband for his daughter. When Donna reveals she is pregnant, Walt is furious.
Cory does himself no favors by assaulting Sheriff Henning and attempting to escape, but he is quickly apprehended by some of Walt's men and taken back to the ranch.
With Cory back under Walt's control, the father decides to allow the couple to marry. He thinks having Donna and Cory married is preferable to having a grandchild born out of wedlock. However, Walt insists Cory face the charges against him for horse stealing and -- now -- for assaulting the sheriff and breaking out of the sheriff's custody. Walt hits Cory repeatedly and even considers shooting his new son-in-law, but Cory fights back. Walt is injured, and Cory escapes.
Marshal Dillon arrives and begins to investigate. He hears Walt's distorted account of the incident, but he hears a different story from Donna. The Marshal's less biased intervention will be needed to prevent tragedy.
This episode is highlighted by another outstanding guest cast. Morgan Woodward, who appeared on Gunsmoke almost enough to be a regular cast member, fills the role of Walt Clayton, and this is vintage Woodward.
Sam Elliott and Melissa Newman make their single Gunsmoke appearances as Cory and Donna, respectively. This role was quite early in Elliott's acting career. He had appeared in a few episodes of Lancer prior to this part, but his frequent participation in westerns would not come until later. He is one of the few Gunsmoke participants whose career is still active in 2021.
Melissa Newman's career was considerably less prolific than Elliott's, although she did appear in several television shows and films during her career. Newman was often confused with Melissa Stewart Newman, the daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, This Melissa Newman is a few years older than the daughter of the famous Hollywood couple.
There are several notable smaller parts in this story. Lane Bradford, who had played Dodge resident Dump Hart in a couple of episodes earlier in the season, makes an appearance in this episode as Joe Eggers. Fran Ryan, who would replace Amanda Blake in the cast of Gunsmoke in Season 20 as the character Hannah, makes her first Gunsmoke appearance in this story as the wife of Reverend Keller. James Chandler plays the part of Reverend Keller in one of his six Gunsmoke roles. He plays a reverend or preacher in three of those appearances.
Veteran actor George Wallace portrays Sheriff Henning. Wallace first gained notoriety as Commando Cody in the serial Radar Men from the Moon. This is the last of three appearances by Wallace in a Gunsmoke episode. Remarkably, those appearances were far apart. The first was in the pilot episode for Gunsmoke, "Hack Prine," which aired later in Season 1, the second appearance took place in Season 9, and the third in this, the final episode of Season 17.
If the plot of this story sounds familiar, it is because it has been done many times, including a few times in the history of Gunsmoke. A powerful, overbearing, possessive father tries to prevent his daughter from marrying the man she loves. Season 10's "Crooked Mile" and Season 11's "Harvest" come immediately to mind. (It is worth noting the daughter character in "Crooked Mile" was played by Katherine Ross, who married Sam Elliott long after Gunsmoke left the air.)
A common element among the Season 17 episodes is the considerable number that have little, if anything, dependent on the Gunsmoke characters or setting. Many of the episodes are stories that could exist in almost any Western series. It is fitting the final episode of Season 17 has that same characteristic. This story includes an early scene set in Dodge, but it seems to only exist to give the regular cast some screen time. Most of the story takes place away from Dodge, and the Matt Dillon character is the only one of the regular characters important to the story.
The fine cast and excellent performances make this episode worth watching, but some of Season 17 -- particularly some of the later episodes -- make it seem as though the writers and producers had exhausted any original ideas and resorted to rehashing earlier stories.
The only person who is not fully onboard with Walt's autocracy is his daughter, Donna. She loves her father, but she resents his suffocating treatment.
Donna and one of Walt's ranch hands named Cory Soames have fallen in love, much to Walt's disappointment and disapproval. They visit the local preacher in an attempt to marry, but Walt and some of his men interrupt the proceedings. Walt ridiculously accuses Cory of stealing one of his horses. Cory is taken into custody by Walt's men and turned over to Sheriff Dave Henning, Walt's appointed law enforcement. Matt Dillon is summoned from Dodge City to make sure Cory stands trial for the crime.
Walt takes Donna back to the ranch and pleads with her to forget about Cory. He considers the young man an unfit husband for his daughter. When Donna reveals she is pregnant, Walt is furious.
Cory does himself no favors by assaulting Sheriff Henning and attempting to escape, but he is quickly apprehended by some of Walt's men and taken back to the ranch.
With Cory back under Walt's control, the father decides to allow the couple to marry. He thinks having Donna and Cory married is preferable to having a grandchild born out of wedlock. However, Walt insists Cory face the charges against him for horse stealing and -- now -- for assaulting the sheriff and breaking out of the sheriff's custody. Walt hits Cory repeatedly and even considers shooting his new son-in-law, but Cory fights back. Walt is injured, and Cory escapes.
Marshal Dillon arrives and begins to investigate. He hears Walt's distorted account of the incident, but he hears a different story from Donna. The Marshal's less biased intervention will be needed to prevent tragedy.
This episode is highlighted by another outstanding guest cast. Morgan Woodward, who appeared on Gunsmoke almost enough to be a regular cast member, fills the role of Walt Clayton, and this is vintage Woodward.
Sam Elliott and Melissa Newman make their single Gunsmoke appearances as Cory and Donna, respectively. This role was quite early in Elliott's acting career. He had appeared in a few episodes of Lancer prior to this part, but his frequent participation in westerns would not come until later. He is one of the few Gunsmoke participants whose career is still active in 2021.
Melissa Newman's career was considerably less prolific than Elliott's, although she did appear in several television shows and films during her career. Newman was often confused with Melissa Stewart Newman, the daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, This Melissa Newman is a few years older than the daughter of the famous Hollywood couple.
There are several notable smaller parts in this story. Lane Bradford, who had played Dodge resident Dump Hart in a couple of episodes earlier in the season, makes an appearance in this episode as Joe Eggers. Fran Ryan, who would replace Amanda Blake in the cast of Gunsmoke in Season 20 as the character Hannah, makes her first Gunsmoke appearance in this story as the wife of Reverend Keller. James Chandler plays the part of Reverend Keller in one of his six Gunsmoke roles. He plays a reverend or preacher in three of those appearances.
Veteran actor George Wallace portrays Sheriff Henning. Wallace first gained notoriety as Commando Cody in the serial Radar Men from the Moon. This is the last of three appearances by Wallace in a Gunsmoke episode. Remarkably, those appearances were far apart. The first was in the pilot episode for Gunsmoke, "Hack Prine," which aired later in Season 1, the second appearance took place in Season 9, and the third in this, the final episode of Season 17.
If the plot of this story sounds familiar, it is because it has been done many times, including a few times in the history of Gunsmoke. A powerful, overbearing, possessive father tries to prevent his daughter from marrying the man she loves. Season 10's "Crooked Mile" and Season 11's "Harvest" come immediately to mind. (It is worth noting the daughter character in "Crooked Mile" was played by Katherine Ross, who married Sam Elliott long after Gunsmoke left the air.)
A common element among the Season 17 episodes is the considerable number that have little, if anything, dependent on the Gunsmoke characters or setting. Many of the episodes are stories that could exist in almost any Western series. It is fitting the final episode of Season 17 has that same characteristic. This story includes an early scene set in Dodge, but it seems to only exist to give the regular cast some screen time. Most of the story takes place away from Dodge, and the Matt Dillon character is the only one of the regular characters important to the story.
The fine cast and excellent performances make this episode worth watching, but some of Season 17 -- particularly some of the later episodes -- make it seem as though the writers and producers had exhausted any original ideas and resorted to rehashing earlier stories.
