User Reviews

After a few episodes in the 19th season that was less than watchable, the show returns to its roots and provides the viewer with a top notch episode that is as good as any show in the entire run of the series. As simple as the plot seems, the show has a nice twist that is usually unseen in western type shows. Thus making it a very entertaining show for viewers.

When a gunslinger named Scott Coltrane (Steve Forrest) tries to make Dodge City his home, his reputation precedes him. Seems like every young gunman will try there luck with Mr Coltrane in order to make a name. This will cause problems not only for Coltrane but for the citizens of Dodge City.

Matt will either have to live with his town being a killing field or make Coltrane leave town. When all else fails, it may have to come to a gunfight in the streets of Dodge City between Marshal Dillon and Scott Coltrane. The Marshal versus the fastest gunman in the west.

This is one of the better episode of the series. Make sure that you stay for the entire ending or you could miss one of the better written scripts in a long time.

NOTE- Glenn Strange (Sam) is very ill at the time of filming this episode. By the time the show is broadcast, Mr Glenn had passed. Even though Mr Strange has no speaking part, it was very evident that lung cancer has taken its toll on the fine actor.

This plot has been used dozens of times in TV westerns and movies. A retired gunslinger tries to lead a quiet life but is constantly harassed by wanna be fast draws. You really have to wonder about this way of thinking even in the old West. In todays world it would be like taking a swing at The Rock and hoping for the best. A good script and good acting made this episode very enjoyable.

IMO, almost any of the black & white Gunsmoke episodes outshine nearly all of the color ones. We've seen this before with shows which made that transition, like The Andy Griffith Show. The colorization seemed to diminish the air of mystique about the series. There are however episodes in color that do stand out - The Widowmaker being one of them. Steve Forest is very believable in this role, which required some multi-dimensional acting. Although the core plot is cliched, this episode was very enjoyable, and the plot twist at the end really caught me by surprise. While the narrative is not in the supernatural or sci/fi realm, the ending to this one was as unpredictable as a Twilght Zone episode.

A gunfighter finds it difficult to escape his reputation as one of the fastest guns alive arrives in Dodge City. The man's name is Scott Coltrane, but he earned the nickname "The Widowmaker" because of his speed and accuracy.

Coltrane despises the reputation. He moved into a remote area of Mexico for several years to escape his past and learn to live with himself. Now he has married a woman who knows almost nothing about his past. He only wants to settle down and live a quiet life as a farmer.

Unfortunately, word of Coltrane's whereabouts begins to spread, and other gunfighters looking to make a name for themselves begin arriving in Dodge to face the man. Matt Dillon is torn between wanting to help Coltrane get the peace he so desires, and his duty to protect the citizens of the area. Obviously, repeated gunfights are antithetical to keeping any kind of peace.

Steve Forrest returns to Gunsmoke for the final time in the run of the series. His previous three appearances had been to play characters that could best be described as psychopathic killers. In this story, he demonstrates his ability to play a more sympathetic character.

David Huddleston is a familiar face to any longtime television viewers. He plays a character named Dad Goodpastor in this episode, which represents the second of his four appearances in the series. Goodpastor travels with a gunfighter that goes by the name "Kid Chama," played by Randolph Roberts in the first of two Gunsmoke appearances.

This is the only Gunsmoke part for actress Barra Grant, who only appeared sporadically in television shows and films until she decided to write and direct. Jerry Gatlin, who was better known as a stunt man, appears early in the episode as a gunfighter named Buck Lennart.

This is the first episode of Season 19 that features the full regular cast, along with several of the familiar Dodge City residents. It is notable as one of the last appearances for actors Hank Patterson (Hank Miller, who runs the livery stable in Dodge) and Glenn Strange, as Sam Noonan. Strange was gravely ill by this time, and Patterson, who was in his eighties, was nearing the end of his long acting career.

This episode reminds me of a story from Season 9 titled "Legends Don't Sleep." The earlier Kathleen Hite story treated a similar premise quite differently. Like the Scott Coltrane character in this story, an aging gunfighter named Race Fallon desperately wants to live a peaceful life on a farm outside Dodge, but his reputation stands in the way. The way Matt handles the two situations could not be more different.

This story contains a clever twist in the resolution that is not a total surprise if the viewer pays close attention.

Although the story mines some familiar territory in the westerns genre, the acting, writing, and directing provide a lot of entertainment. This is certainly more in keeping with traditional Gunsmoke stories than the earlier episodes in Season 19.