User Reviews

Luke Dangerfield and his partner Austin Keep are riding along discussing whether someone is following them. Luke is wanted but Keep is the more cautious of the two. A sniper is watching the two men. When they are within range, the bounty hunter shoots Luke.

Luke and Austin manage to elude capture, but Luke is gravely wounded. Since Dodge City is only about six hours away, they decide to go there.

Luke is convinced he is dying. His last wish is to see his daughter, Kathy. He has not seen Kathy since she was quite young. Luke once lived with his wife and daughter on a small farm near Dodge, but he had abandoned his family many years earlier. The outlaw had received word that Kathy was still living in Dodge and was now teaching school there.

After Austin and Luke arrive in Dodge, Austin manages to get Luke into a room at the Dodge House. Luke is in tremendous pain, and desperately wants to see Kathy before he dies. Austin quickly learns that Kathy was killed at some point in the past. He pays a saloon girl named Doris Prebble, who worked with Kathy in a saloon, $25 to visit Luke and pretend to be his daughter.

When they make it to the room, much to Austin's surprise, Luke gives the woman posing as his daughter $300 he has saved. Since Luke likely has little time left to live, Doris is willing to continue perpetrating the lie that she is Kathy.

Everyone is shocked when Doc Adams examines Luke and finds the man has a good chance to make a full recovery. Of course, this significantly impacts the charade Austin and Doris have been carrying on. Complicating the whole situation is the fact that Doris has started to see Luke as a father figure and develop feelings for him.

Meanwhile, Austin is waiting for Moses Reedy, the bounty hunter, to ride into Dodge to claim the $3,000 bounty on Luke. Austin intends to kill Reedy as revenge for shooting Luke.

Luke Dangerfield is played by Morgan Woodward, who appeared in 18 different Gunsmoke episodes. Woodward had most recently played a key role in the "Hackett" episode late in Season 15. Although Luke is an outlaw, it is easy to root for the character in this story.

Anthony Costello fills the Austin Keep role. This was his first guest role on the show. He returns in a part later in Season 16's "Lavery." Costello was one of the earliest celebrity deaths from AIDS in 1983. The oddest aspect of the Austin Keep character is that he never has a change of attitude toward the life he has lived. He is not wanted by any authorities, but he never gives the impression that he has any regrets for any past actions. He is an impetuous type, and one wonders what kind of future life he might pursue beyond this story.

Katherine Justice can be seen in numerous television dramas in the late 1960s into the early 1980s. She possessed a sly smile that often made it appear she was being deceitful. Her portrayal of Doris Prebble in this story is convincing.

The Moses Reedy character is portrayed by character actor Rex Holman, who appeared in sixteen different Gunsmoke episodes, usually as a villain. Holman's fourth Gunsmoke action took place in Season 11's "Malachi." He subsequently made at least one appearance in each of the remaining seasons of the show.

This is another of those episodes where the regular cast is relegated to minor, supporting roles. Since most of the story takes place inside Dodge City, it is surprising the regular cast has so little involvement. Everyone makes an appearance, but -- except for Doc Adams and Matt Dillon -- no one else has anything resembling a key part in the story.

This story is also another example of the notable change in tone many Gunsmoke stories experienced from earlier to later seasons. The only heavy in this episode is the Moses Reedy character. * It is so uncharacteristically sickeningly sweet; one almost expects everyone to engage in a group hug at the end of the episode. In the end, there simply is nothing particularly interesting about this story.

*The scene where Reedy emerges from the Dodge City Bank showing off his bounty money is ridiculous. It is difficult to believe someone would pick up $3,000 from the bank and walk out waving it around for any passerby to see.