User Reviews

This is a fine episode with thoughtful writing and character development. Trouble in Kingville, a neighboring town, results in a miscarriage of justice with corruption trickling down from the top. Matt's long experience and astute sense of right and wrong drives him to get to the bottom of it, and we watch him keenly questioning witnesses in court and cross-examining them in ways not seen before this episode. The actors were chosen well for their roles. The judge's speech near the end was moving and insightful. This was an enjoyable episode to watch, well-paced, and gave the viewer a satisfying conclusion.

A poor man named Jake Fielder becomes a convenient scapegoat when a prominent woman named Kate Geer in the town of Kingville is killed. Fielder is lynched by the people of the town. Matt Dillon travels to the town to investigate.

The town is controlled by a powerful businessman named John King. Sheriff Ridder, who at least had the conscience to notify Marshal Dillon of the situation when Fielder was charged with murder, and Judge Warfield, who spends most of his time drinking, are both under King's control. King does not want any further investigation into Kate Geer's death, but Marshal Dillon smells the proverbial rat and orders an inquest to be held.

Jake's son, Rob Fielder, knows his father was not capable of murder, but his admonitions to that effect are ignored. Because of the inquest, Rob is asked to stay in the town, and King tells Judge Warfield to allow the boy to share his room at the hotel. Initially, Warfield looks down on Rob and treats him with disdain. However, as the judge gets to know the boy better, he begins seeing potential in someone that has never enjoyed much in the way of an opportunity to improve their lot in life.

Veteran actor David Wayne appears for the first time in a Gunsmoke episode with his involvement in this story as Judge Warfield. He would return in Season 20 as an ailing preacher looking to establish a church on an American Indian reservation in the episode titled "I Have Promises to Keep."

Mitch Vogel portrays the surprisingly intelligent, cynical Rob Fielder character. This appearance is the second of three Vogel made in the series. Vogel was best known as Jamie, the young man adopted by Ben Cartwright on Bonanza.

Warren J. Kemmerling (Sheriff Ridder), Norman Alden (bartender Tom Hart), Ken Swofford (Jake Fielder), and Scott Brady (John King) are actors that had appeared in numerous Gunsmoke episodes. This is the final appearance in the series for Kemmerling, Alden, and Brady. Swofford would return in the aforementioned "I Have Promises to Keep" episode with David Wayne in Season 20.

Julie Cobb -- the daughter of actor Lee J. Cobb -- makes an appearance here as one of the women that worked in the saloon and testified at the inquest. This is the first of two Gunsmoke roles for Cobb.

A distinguishing characteristic of Season 19 is the number of stories that use common themes as a backdrop for a morality tale. In this case, the backdrop is a man wrongly executed and the subsequent investigation into that injustice. But the story is actually about a judge whose moral compass has malfunctioned and his realization he has lost his way. It takes his observations of Rob and their burgeoning relationship to help him realize just how lost he has become.

There is a scene early in the episode set in Dodge City when Matt receives the telegram about the situation in Kingville. Other than that scene with Doc Adams and Festus Haggen, the involvement of the Matt Dillon character in the investigation into the lynching and Kate Geer's death is the only Gunsmoke connection.

There are some flaws with this episode. There are a few too many lofty speeches, and the Doc and Festus scene is either endearing or annoying, depending on one's perspective, but it is clearly included to fill time. Still, there is enough mystery and intrigue with the story to keep it interesting.

The actual cast of Gunsmoke was barely at all in this episode. The show starts with Festus having a silly argument with Doc Adams. Back when Festus and Doc Adams were first getting to know each other in the early 1960s, they often had interesting discussions that had a humorous bent. Festus was portrayed as a hardcore cowboy, and cunning hill person.

Unfortunately, by the last couple of years of this series, Festus was often depicted as the town goofball that often made dumb remarks, and walked around whistling while his spurs tinkled like he was Tinkerbell.

Like many other episodes of Gunsmoke where Matt Dillon was missing in action, this one features guest actors to carry the slack. David Wayne and Mitch Vogel are an unlikely pairing. Mitch Vogel, who spent the last two years of Bonanza (48 episodes) dragging the show down with his whining negative personality, brings more of the same to Gunsmoke. David Wayne, who usually played nice older characters, plays against his type, by acting as a corrupt alcoholic judge.

Vogel is the dreary son of Ken Swofford. Swofford was on Gunsmoke twelve times as a sleazy character, thug, drunk, bum, cattle rustler, etc. Swofford was on dozens of TV shows from the 1960s to the 1990s, usually as a bad guy. In this episode Swofford plays an angry street bum who gets tossed out of a saloon, and later that night comes back and gets caught stealing money from the murdered saloon owner.

Swofford gets lynched. Vogel was a great choice for Swofford's son. They both had reddish orange hair, and they both played the same type of whiny angry characters. So by the time Marshal Dillon ambles into this episode (for about 90 seconds), all the action is over.

Dillon punts the ball to David Wayne, who is told by the town boss to cover up the killing of the saloon owner, Kate. So we spend 75% of the episode watching David Wayne argue with the town boss, and talking about the meaning of life with Mitch Vogel. Getting to know Vogel should have pushed any alcoholic over the edge, but in this case, the Judge (David Wayne) exposed the town boss in order to help Vogel.

After watching this episode I am torn between two emotions. One side was interested in the show- while the other side was dissatisfied by the way the show ends. And after watching, it felt like a waste of time to have sat through the entire 50 minutes.

When a poor beggar is believed to have murdered a local saloon-maid, the citizens in the town take the law into their own hands and lynch the beggar.

The yellow-streaked sheriff of the town sent for Marshal Dillon and a judge, but left town when a local wealthy big-shot tells him to get leave. Thus the beggar is hanged before Dillon or the judge can make it to the small town.

The show is doing well at this time as we have an interesting developing plot. But for some reason the show seemed to have taken a left turn when another plot develops that is as interesting as drinking water.

The beggar had a teenage son and now the mostly corrupt drunk judge feels remorse for the boy. And the viewer is pulled into the dialog between the judge and the boy which is not interesting in the least.

By the time the show ends, we had some type of trial that brings no justice to either side of the argument. It felt like the show was for naught. Which is not a glowing review for any show.