Matt runs into an old flame named Sarah that now runs a one-woman saloon for bandits out in the desert. Matt will have to pass as a villain in order to save Sarah's reputation as a trusted c... Read allMatt runs into an old flame named Sarah that now runs a one-woman saloon for bandits out in the desert. Matt will have to pass as a villain in order to save Sarah's reputation as a trusted confidante.Matt runs into an old flame named Sarah that now runs a one-woman saloon for bandits out in the desert. Matt will have to pass as a villain in order to save Sarah's reputation as a trusted confidante.
Milburn Stone
- Doc
- (credit only)
Amanda Blake
- Kitty
- (credit only)
Ken Curtis
- Festus
- (credit only)
Jonathan Goldsmith
- Sonny
- (as Jonathan Lippe)
Ron Manning
- Engels
- (as Ronald Manning)
- Director
- Writers
- Calvin Clements Sr.
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- John Meston(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to the DVD, this episode was previously called "The Lair." No indication why they changed it.
Featured review
Matt Revisits His Past and Goes Undercover
Marshal Matt Dillon and Deputy Newly O'Brien have been chasing some outlaws that robbed a stagecoach and killed the driver near Dodge City. They caught all but one of the men and placed them in jail in Cimarron. Matt has left Newly behind to go after the last man, whose name is Vesco.
Matt catches up with Vesco at a remote way station near the border with Mexico. Matt tries to take the bandit into custody, but Vesco resists, a gunfight ensues, and Vesco is killed.
Matt learns the way station is run by one of his former romantic interests, a woman named Sarah. Matt and Sarah were involved in a relationship when he was a deputy in San Antonio. (As far as I know, this is the first mention of Dillon having been a deputy in San Antonio.)
Sarah has lived through some rough years since she and Matt parted ways. Now she runs this way station frequented by men who are often at odds with law enforcement.
Matt intends to stop long enough to bury Vesco and clean up a bit before riding back to Cimarron to meet Newly and return to Dodge. His plans are thwarted when a gang of seedy men led by a tough guy named Pappy Quinn ride into the way station. Normally, Pappy and his men stop for a few drinks and leave after a couple of hours, but Pappy tells Sarah they are there to meet some other men and will be hanging around for a while. Of course, this presents a problem since Matt is hiding in a bedroom.
When Pappy and his men begin to become a little too physically aggressive with Sarah, she tells then she just got married to a notorious outlaw who goes by the moniker "Dakota Charlie." Pappy finds Matt shaving in the bedroom and accepts Sarah's story.
Matt reluctantly agrees to go along with Sarah's lie and stick around overnight. Pappy tries to convince Matt -- who he thinks is Dakota Charlie -- to join them in a robbery of a gold shipment. Marshal Dillon recognizes an opportunity to stop a crime and take Pappy and his men into custody.
Anytime Matt finds himself in these situations, it seems there is at least ONE member of the gang that distrusts the Marshal and insists on proving they are faster with a gun or better with their fists. (There must be some rule about these kinds of circumstances where the Marshal must prove how tough he is.) Sure enough, Digby, one of Pappy's gang, takes on Matt in a fist fight.
The story focus suddenly shifts from the past relationship between Sarah and Matt to Marshal Dillon's efforts to thwart the robbery by Pappy and his gang.
Veteran actress Anne Francis makes her only Gunsmoke appearance as Sarah in this story. Francis was prominently featured in movies such as Bad Day at Black Rock, Blackboard Jungle, and Forbidden Planet in the mid-1950s. She later turned to television work and appeared in many television shows in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Francis is good in this role, and it would been nice to learn more about her past with Matt Dillon.
Anthony Caruso returns for another Gunsmoke guest-starring role. He appeared in fourteen episodes over the twenty-year run of the series. In this story, he portrays Pappy Quinn. Jonathan Lippe (later Goldsmith) also appeared in fourteen different series installments. Here he plays the character named Sonny, who is the same smarmy, over-confident villain Lippe/Goldsmith always played in about every television show where he guested.
Rex Holman was another frequent Gunsmoke guest, as he plays a menacing tough guy in sixteen different episodes of the series. He plays another of Pappy's gang named Ed in this story. Former wrestler Mike Lane plays the Digby character. His fight with Matt is notable because it isn't often Matt tangled with people who were even larger than he was.
This is one of those stories where Matt is far away from Dodge City, and the other regular cast members are absent except Buck Taylor, who appears briefly as Newly O'Brien. The story begins with the revelation of the past relationship between Matt and Sarah, but that plot element gives way to the situation where Matt becomes an undercover agent plotting against the would-be thieves.
Gunsmoke fans looking for shootouts and fisticuffs -- things that can be rare in the later episodes -- will find things to enjoy in this story. However, the episode is titled "Sarah," even though the namesake character is not the central character. Instead, Francis's character is unceremoniously tossed away. The script does a decent job building tension, but the resolution is predictable and falls flat.
Matt catches up with Vesco at a remote way station near the border with Mexico. Matt tries to take the bandit into custody, but Vesco resists, a gunfight ensues, and Vesco is killed.
Matt learns the way station is run by one of his former romantic interests, a woman named Sarah. Matt and Sarah were involved in a relationship when he was a deputy in San Antonio. (As far as I know, this is the first mention of Dillon having been a deputy in San Antonio.)
Sarah has lived through some rough years since she and Matt parted ways. Now she runs this way station frequented by men who are often at odds with law enforcement.
Matt intends to stop long enough to bury Vesco and clean up a bit before riding back to Cimarron to meet Newly and return to Dodge. His plans are thwarted when a gang of seedy men led by a tough guy named Pappy Quinn ride into the way station. Normally, Pappy and his men stop for a few drinks and leave after a couple of hours, but Pappy tells Sarah they are there to meet some other men and will be hanging around for a while. Of course, this presents a problem since Matt is hiding in a bedroom.
When Pappy and his men begin to become a little too physically aggressive with Sarah, she tells then she just got married to a notorious outlaw who goes by the moniker "Dakota Charlie." Pappy finds Matt shaving in the bedroom and accepts Sarah's story.
Matt reluctantly agrees to go along with Sarah's lie and stick around overnight. Pappy tries to convince Matt -- who he thinks is Dakota Charlie -- to join them in a robbery of a gold shipment. Marshal Dillon recognizes an opportunity to stop a crime and take Pappy and his men into custody.
Anytime Matt finds himself in these situations, it seems there is at least ONE member of the gang that distrusts the Marshal and insists on proving they are faster with a gun or better with their fists. (There must be some rule about these kinds of circumstances where the Marshal must prove how tough he is.) Sure enough, Digby, one of Pappy's gang, takes on Matt in a fist fight.
The story focus suddenly shifts from the past relationship between Sarah and Matt to Marshal Dillon's efforts to thwart the robbery by Pappy and his gang.
Veteran actress Anne Francis makes her only Gunsmoke appearance as Sarah in this story. Francis was prominently featured in movies such as Bad Day at Black Rock, Blackboard Jungle, and Forbidden Planet in the mid-1950s. She later turned to television work and appeared in many television shows in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Francis is good in this role, and it would been nice to learn more about her past with Matt Dillon.
Anthony Caruso returns for another Gunsmoke guest-starring role. He appeared in fourteen episodes over the twenty-year run of the series. In this story, he portrays Pappy Quinn. Jonathan Lippe (later Goldsmith) also appeared in fourteen different series installments. Here he plays the character named Sonny, who is the same smarmy, over-confident villain Lippe/Goldsmith always played in about every television show where he guested.
Rex Holman was another frequent Gunsmoke guest, as he plays a menacing tough guy in sixteen different episodes of the series. He plays another of Pappy's gang named Ed in this story. Former wrestler Mike Lane plays the Digby character. His fight with Matt is notable because it isn't often Matt tangled with people who were even larger than he was.
This is one of those stories where Matt is far away from Dodge City, and the other regular cast members are absent except Buck Taylor, who appears briefly as Newly O'Brien. The story begins with the revelation of the past relationship between Matt and Sarah, but that plot element gives way to the situation where Matt becomes an undercover agent plotting against the would-be thieves.
Gunsmoke fans looking for shootouts and fisticuffs -- things that can be rare in the later episodes -- will find things to enjoy in this story. However, the episode is titled "Sarah," even though the namesake character is not the central character. Instead, Francis's character is unceremoniously tossed away. The script does a decent job building tension, but the resolution is predictable and falls flat.
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- wdavidreynolds
- Sep 6, 2021
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