User Reviews

Bo Remick is simpleton oaf that is as large as nearly any man in this town outside of Dodge. Bo has the childlike crush on a woman named Lee Stark but she is in a relationship with a man named Billy Martin. One evening Bo hears some noise while walking home and finds Lee telling Billy to leave her alone. Bo pushes Billy and the next thing we know is that Billy is dead and Bo is accused of murder.

The town is near lynch mode as Sheriff Wood sends for Marshal Dillon to help with the prisoner's safety. With the help of Matt, Bo is held waiting for the circuit Judge to make his appearance. Matt will also have to deal with Billy's father, Wes Martin (James Gregory), that is not happy with how long the verdict is taken. He vows to take action into his own hands instead of waiting for the final sentencing by the Circuit Judge.

Matt has some reservations about Lee Martin's testimony. But when Bo tries to escape time has run out for Matt and Bo.

The story, by itself, was really not that bad. In fact, it was an sad story that involved a large childlike person that was also mentally challenged. Cliff Osmond does a great job of playing this type pf character and does another fine job in this episode. And Beverly Garland that played Lee Stark did a great job in the ending scenes to make the episode better than expected. Good Watch!

In my opinion, the section of Season 13 that features this episode contains some unusually poor quality installments of the series. I suppose a series that runs for 20 years is bound to have some bad episodes here and there, but this trifecta is not characteristic of the normal high-quality Gunsmoke often produced.

Episode 14, "Wonder" is an absolute mess. Episode 15, "Baker's Dozen" is an uncharacteristically sentimental attempt to offer a feel-good episode at Christmas, and this episode, "The Victim" is a tired, predictable story that lacks anything particularly interesting.

This is another of those episodes where Matt is on his own away from Dodge City. Cliff Osmond plays a fairly stereotypical overgrown brute with a low IQ named Bo Remick. Bo has a crush on Lee Stark, who is apparently the town's token "saloon girl." When Bo happens upon a situation where Billy Martin--the son of the town's patriarchal namesake, Wes Martin--is harassing Stark, the chivalrous Remick comes to Stark's defense, and Martin is killed.

Remick is arrested and charged with murdering Martin. The elder Martin is understandably angry over the untimely death of his son, and, for some unknown reason, the other townspeople seem all too eager to punish Remick. The sheriff--apparently the only person in the small town that cares about justice--sends word to Matt Dillon that he needs help to prevent a lynching.

If this seems like familiar territory for Marshal Dillon, it is because it is. There are a number of other episodes of Gunsmoke where Matt finds himself in some small town facing a potentially violent vigilante mob that are more interested in their misplaced vengeance than they are in seeing actual justice done.

Unfortunately, this particular version of the familiar story does nothing to build suspense or even make the viewer care that much about the outcome.

There is even an absurd scene where Matt essentially tricks a couple of the more vocal townspeople into being deputized and has to resort to beating them up to make them wear their badges and perform their "sworn duties."

There are some recognizable actors in this episode. James Gregory plays Wes Martin, but his performance is bland and uninspired. Beverly Garland handles her role as Lee Stark well enough. Cliff Osmond plays a character he has played many other times. I suppose when you are a bigger, somewhat unattractive man, it is easy to become stereotyped as a brutish simpleton. There is nothing much notable about any of the performances.

There is simply nothing much to recommend about this episode.

If you are trapped inside by a major snowstorm and the only thing on television is this episode, then watch it - it is certain to make you fall asleep.

Having watched all the Gunsmoke episodes ever shown prior to this one, I can unequivocally say this is the worst, most boring episode yet.

Predictable, slow, dragged out, and tiresome.

Marshal Dillon is called out to a small town named after the nearby cattle baron because the cattle baron's misbehaving son done went and got his skull cracked open by the town simpleton strongman who didn't mean to do it but did it anyway in the presence of the town's sole saloon girl that was the object of the cattle baron's misbehaving son's sexual harassment who hasn't told the whole truth to the town's sheriff who feels like quitting because he owes everything to the cattle baron like everyone else in the town including the saloon girl and her crippled up father who were the recipients of the cattle baron's help in buying their saloon.

If the above paragraph sounds fascinating to you, you'll love this episode. If you see the above paragraph as a fill-in-the-blank run on paragraph of old westerns, you now know everything you need to know about this episode.

Step along. Nothing to see here. Get about your business. Move on.

Cliff Osmond once again plays a gigantic lumbering moron. This time he kills someone. Apparently when he heard the screaming and the bones cracking he thought that meant to squeeze harder.

Like in the 1970 Gunsmoke episode "Celia," Osmond (the father of Donny & Marie Osmond) is in love with a very pretty girl. Like in "Celia" she only sees a big demented steaming lump, and so Osmond is jealous of the normal guys that spend time with his dream girl, played by Beverly Garland. The sweet and beautiful Garland was 32 in 1968, and was a bit old for her role.

Beverly Garland's boyfriend was Billy, played by Tim O'Kelly, who was 15 years younger than Garland. When big Cliff sees Garland and Billy making out in the livery stable, he goes nuts and Billy ends up dead. Was it an accident? Marshal Dillon thinks so, but Billy's Dad wants a lynching.

Billy's Pa is played by James Gregory, who was great at playing nasty drunks, bigots, and back stabbing characters in Westerns. He always reminded me of the nastier version of Forrest Tucker. They looked very similar, and I always wished they had played evil brothers in a Gunsmoke episode.

The key to what really happened is Beverly Garland, but she is not talking out of fear of Billy's Dad. Dillon is up against James Gregory and the whole angry town. Cliff Osmond is no help at all because he just wants to stand around and look pretty. Before long, all hell breaks loose. Will an innocent man hang? Is he innocent? Should he hang regardless?