Dodge would appear to be undergoing a rash of suicides--or is a murderer with a rope making the rounds?Dodge would appear to be undergoing a rash of suicides--or is a murderer with a rope making the rounds?Dodge would appear to be undergoing a rash of suicides--or is a murderer with a rope making the rounds?
Photos
Gordon Carveth
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Herman Hack
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Fred McDougall
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Charles Morton
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Jimmy Noel
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Robert Robinson
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan
- Bartender
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- John Meston(uncredited)
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- Charles Marquis Warren(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Matt is talking with Harp's widow, his sad face could be mistaken for a young John Wayne.
Featured review
Detective Marshal
A Dodge City businessman named Herb Sawyer is found hanging from a rafter in his office. The initial assumption everyone makes is that Sawyer committed suicide, but as Matt investigates further, he concludes Sawyer was murdered. Matt wants everyone to assume Sawyer killed himself in the hopes the murderer will not feel threatened and reveal himself.
Subsequently, the Marshal sees Mel Tucker purchasing new clothing as Tucker intends to marry Cora Bell, an older, worn-looking woman that recently began working for Kitty Russell at the Long Branch Saloon. Matt is instantly suspicious because Tucker does not have a job or any known means of support. Tucker is placed under arrest and jailed.
Meanwhile, a stranger named Dan Dresslar meets Cora at the Long Branch, and they discuss her relationship with Tucker. Cora reveals that she is marrying Tucker more out of desperation than anything. (It is difficult to understand what future Cora thinks she will have with a man who does not work and has no prospects.)
When another businessman is found hanging while Tucker is incarcerated, Matt is forced to release Tucker. Dillon returns the $300 that was in Tucker's profession when he was arrested.
The normally insanely jealous Tucker and his bride-to-be Cora begin to pal around with Dresslar. When Kitty Russell reveals that Mel and Cora have delayed their marriage because they are broke, Matt figures out the mystery of the murders.
Actor Luis Van Rooten makes his single Gunsmoke appearance as the Mel Tucker character. Van Rooten, who was a master of dialects, had a fairly prolific career in films in the 1940s and early 1950s. With the growing popularity of television, Van Rooten made the transition to several guest starring roles in television dramas in the 1950s and 1960s.
Zina Provendie plays Cora Bell in this story in her sole Gunsmoke role. Provendie's acting career was short lived with only a few television guest starring appearances and a couple of small film roles.
Robert Osterloh also makes his only Gunsmoke appearance in this episode. He plays Dan Dresslar. Osterloh is one of those vaguely familiar faces seen in numerous television shows of the 1950s and '60s.
The Matt Dillon character's detective skills are on full display in this unique story, and John Meston's script keeps the viewer in suspense until all is revealed at the end of another solid Gunsmoke installment.
Subsequently, the Marshal sees Mel Tucker purchasing new clothing as Tucker intends to marry Cora Bell, an older, worn-looking woman that recently began working for Kitty Russell at the Long Branch Saloon. Matt is instantly suspicious because Tucker does not have a job or any known means of support. Tucker is placed under arrest and jailed.
Meanwhile, a stranger named Dan Dresslar meets Cora at the Long Branch, and they discuss her relationship with Tucker. Cora reveals that she is marrying Tucker more out of desperation than anything. (It is difficult to understand what future Cora thinks she will have with a man who does not work and has no prospects.)
When another businessman is found hanging while Tucker is incarcerated, Matt is forced to release Tucker. Dillon returns the $300 that was in Tucker's profession when he was arrested.
The normally insanely jealous Tucker and his bride-to-be Cora begin to pal around with Dresslar. When Kitty Russell reveals that Mel and Cora have delayed their marriage because they are broke, Matt figures out the mystery of the murders.
Actor Luis Van Rooten makes his single Gunsmoke appearance as the Mel Tucker character. Van Rooten, who was a master of dialects, had a fairly prolific career in films in the 1940s and early 1950s. With the growing popularity of television, Van Rooten made the transition to several guest starring roles in television dramas in the 1950s and 1960s.
Zina Provendie plays Cora Bell in this story in her sole Gunsmoke role. Provendie's acting career was short lived with only a few television guest starring appearances and a couple of small film roles.
Robert Osterloh also makes his only Gunsmoke appearance in this episode. He plays Dan Dresslar. Osterloh is one of those vaguely familiar faces seen in numerous television shows of the 1950s and '60s.
The Matt Dillon character's detective skills are on full display in this unique story, and John Meston's script keeps the viewer in suspense until all is revealed at the end of another solid Gunsmoke installment.
helpful•00
- wdavidreynolds
- Sep 17, 2023
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3
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