This episode took place before there was the development of an underlying romance between Matt and Miss Kitty. A strange man dressed in very fancy clothes comes into the saloon and strikes up a conversation with Kitty. There is a full moon that night and he manages to talk Kitty into taking a midnight buggy ride with him.
When neither of them has returned by the following morning, the townspeople assume the worst of the stranger and Matt and Chester ride out to follow the trail of the buggy. It turns out that the buggy broke down after Kitty went ballistic when the man tried to kiss her. He is from the east coast, so is unfamiliar with life on the frontier. He gallantly tries to protect Kitty, only to have her be completely unappreciative. Matt then comes to his defense and saves the day by repairing the buggy.
In this episode, Kitty is portrayed as being less than the overly nice woman in the other episodes. She plays the role of the pampered woman, although she points out that she is half Native American. While Matt shows concern for her welfare, there is nary a hint of romantic entanglement between them that was such an underlying characteristic of later episodes. A hint of jealousy on the part of Matt would have made it a better episode.
7 Reviews
Jumping to Conclusions
wdavidreynolds21 January 2022
A well-dressed stranger from New York named James (Jim) Rackmil is having a drink at the Long Branch Saloon. When he meets Kitty Russell, he invites her to go for a moonlight ride with him to Indian Springs, and she accepts.
The next morning, Kitty is missing. Bill Pence at the Long Branch Saloon tells Chester Goode Kitty left with some dude the night before, and he has not seen her since. Matt Dillon investigates and finds a sharply dressed man rented a horse and buggy from Moss Grimmick the night before. Moss knows there was a woman with the man, but he did not see her. Moss tells Matt the man asked for directions to Indian Springs and indicated they were going for a short ride. Moss is concerned that his horse and buggy have not been returned. Matt and Chester set out to try to find Kitty.
Meanwhile, Rackmil and Kitty are stranded on the prairie. As they rode along the previous night, Rackmil tried to kiss Kitty, and she slapped him. Rackmil subsequently ran over a log and bent the axle on the buggy. Rackmil has not been successful at repairing the buggy. He also had no matches for building a fire. Kitty is furious at the situation and becomes even more angry when Rackmil sees a small group of American Indians approaching and rides off on the only horse available.
Warren Stevens plays Jim Rackmil in this story. Stevens should be familiar to any television viewers in the late 1950s or 1960s or has watched classic television shows in reruns as he was a frequent guest on shows produced during that timeI Stevens is one of several actors that had parts in the 1956 sci-fi classic film Forbidden Planet and also appeared in one or more episodes of Gunsmoke. Along with Stevens, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Jack Kelly, Richard Anderson, Earl Holliman, George Wallace, Robert Dix, James Drury, Morgan Jones, and James Best all appeared in both that film and on Gunsmoke. Stevens appeared in two more Gunsmoke stories.
This episode mostly features Stevens with Amanda Blake, James Arness, and Dennis Weaver. Gage Clarke makes another appearance as Jim Dobie from the Dodge House. George Selk plays the Moss Grimmick role in a scene. Stephen Ellsworth takes his only turn at playing Long Branch half-owner Bill Pence.
This is an unusual, enjoyable, change-of-pace installment in the Gunsmoke series. It is a nice exercise in avoiding jumping to conclusions. Blake is especially outstanding, as she often was when she needed to be. This story helps build on the portrayal of the Kitty Russell character as an independent, tough woman.
An interesting, underlying aspect of this story is the dynamic between the Matt and Kitty characters. Kitty takes a late-night carriage ride with a stranger, and Matt is not even visibly upset once he finds out. He even invites Rackmil to join them for dinner. (Another reviewer makes the claim this episode takes place before Matt and Kitty were romantically involved, but the two have frequently dined together in episodes prior to this episode, and Kitty frequently made comments implying they were involved romantically on some level as far back as the first season.)
The next morning, Kitty is missing. Bill Pence at the Long Branch Saloon tells Chester Goode Kitty left with some dude the night before, and he has not seen her since. Matt Dillon investigates and finds a sharply dressed man rented a horse and buggy from Moss Grimmick the night before. Moss knows there was a woman with the man, but he did not see her. Moss tells Matt the man asked for directions to Indian Springs and indicated they were going for a short ride. Moss is concerned that his horse and buggy have not been returned. Matt and Chester set out to try to find Kitty.
Meanwhile, Rackmil and Kitty are stranded on the prairie. As they rode along the previous night, Rackmil tried to kiss Kitty, and she slapped him. Rackmil subsequently ran over a log and bent the axle on the buggy. Rackmil has not been successful at repairing the buggy. He also had no matches for building a fire. Kitty is furious at the situation and becomes even more angry when Rackmil sees a small group of American Indians approaching and rides off on the only horse available.
Warren Stevens plays Jim Rackmil in this story. Stevens should be familiar to any television viewers in the late 1950s or 1960s or has watched classic television shows in reruns as he was a frequent guest on shows produced during that timeI Stevens is one of several actors that had parts in the 1956 sci-fi classic film Forbidden Planet and also appeared in one or more episodes of Gunsmoke. Along with Stevens, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Jack Kelly, Richard Anderson, Earl Holliman, George Wallace, Robert Dix, James Drury, Morgan Jones, and James Best all appeared in both that film and on Gunsmoke. Stevens appeared in two more Gunsmoke stories.
This episode mostly features Stevens with Amanda Blake, James Arness, and Dennis Weaver. Gage Clarke makes another appearance as Jim Dobie from the Dodge House. George Selk plays the Moss Grimmick role in a scene. Stephen Ellsworth takes his only turn at playing Long Branch half-owner Bill Pence.
This is an unusual, enjoyable, change-of-pace installment in the Gunsmoke series. It is a nice exercise in avoiding jumping to conclusions. Blake is especially outstanding, as she often was when she needed to be. This story helps build on the portrayal of the Kitty Russell character as an independent, tough woman.
An interesting, underlying aspect of this story is the dynamic between the Matt and Kitty characters. Kitty takes a late-night carriage ride with a stranger, and Matt is not even visibly upset once he finds out. He even invites Rackmil to join them for dinner. (Another reviewer makes the claim this episode takes place before Matt and Kitty were romantically involved, but the two have frequently dined together in episodes prior to this episode, and Kitty frequently made comments implying they were involved romantically on some level as far back as the first season.)
Where's Kitty
dougdoepke18 August 2011
Different kind of episode with fine ironical ending that carries a moral, I suspect, about appearances. Anyway, slick-looking dude (Stevens) enters Long Branch and proceeds to charm Kitty with gentlemanly ways. Together they leave, but we don't know where. Next day, neither can be found. Matt finds out they took a buggy trip out on the Indian-crossed prairie. Now he and Chester ride out, searching.
Good turn by Stevens, but even better one by Blake who hits just the right notes, given Kitty's well-established character. There's considerable suspense as we wonder what's happened to the likable saloon owner. It's a little tamer 30-minutes than usual, but still shows Meston's skills as a writer with versatile ideas.
Good turn by Stevens, but even better one by Blake who hits just the right notes, given Kitty's well-established character. There's considerable suspense as we wonder what's happened to the likable saloon owner. It's a little tamer 30-minutes than usual, but still shows Meston's skills as a writer with versatile ideas.
An excellent episode that shares a part of a man and wife's history
bagdad3418 September 2011
My wife Carolyn and I were married in Daytona Beach, FL on 21Dec1957. We stopped for the night at the Florence Motel in St. Augustine. There was a pay TV (a quarter for 30 minutes) and also a vibrating bed for a quarter. We started watching TV and shortly the "Kitty Lost" episode came on. My quarter ran out before the end and I had no more change. Ran up to the front office half dressed and got change for a dollar bill. Carolyn wasn't all that happy about it but we finished watching the program and have been watching Gunsmoke and reruns ever since. That was an excellent episode and "Kitty Lost" has been a loving part of our lives for 54 years, tho we have not seen it since our honeymoon night. And that was 5 kids, 19 grandkids and one great grandkid ago. Sgt. Willis, USMC 1953-1956
Them Indians'r Peaceable
darbski9 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Different storyline with a little lesson. Don't do stupid stuff on the prairie; at night or any other time....got it? There are these critters called rattlesnakes that like to hang out there; they can be a real wet blanket. Still, Kitty and Jim Rackmil's luck changed when Matt and Chester decided to go look for them. The Indians that showed up, whether they were Cheyenne, Kiowa, or Comanche weren't looking for trouble, so they didn't chase down and chop up Rackmil when he rode off from Kitty. No bad guys, just bad luck, and then good luck. Many times, it was just that thing that saved the bacon. I was really surprised when Kitty didn't deck Jim for riding off, though. Kitty looked really good with minimal makeup. What the heck; the whole episode was a change of pace, and a good one. I'm not gonna tell you anything else.
Don't Judge a Book by Its cover
jamdifo7 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
This is a rare episode in which no one gets killed, wounded, beat up, sick, shot, hurt, or dies. The theme is appearances can be deceiving and it happens over and over in this episode. For instance: Warren Stevens character is a sharp dresser and is thought of having a gun hidden on him, but he doesn't.
Warren Stevens character seems like a smooth, cool guy. He's not, he tries to kiss Miss Kitty and she slaps him. I love the line by Miss Kitty when Stevens says what's wrong trying to kiss a beautiful girl "Nothing, except I'm not the girl".
Warren Stevens character seems smart as he's out west to invest in mines. He's not as he rides a carriage at night, wrecks it, has no matches, and can't fix a bent axle.
Warren Stevens character seems like a coward when he rides away on the horse upon seeing Indians. He's not, he was just trying to have them chase him instead of Miss Kitty.
The Indians looked dangerous. They weren't, they were peaceful.
This episode beats that theme nonstop for 25 minutes. Though Miss Kitty had some funny sarcastic lines.
Warren Stevens character seems like a smooth, cool guy. He's not, he tries to kiss Miss Kitty and she slaps him. I love the line by Miss Kitty when Stevens says what's wrong trying to kiss a beautiful girl "Nothing, except I'm not the girl".
Warren Stevens character seems smart as he's out west to invest in mines. He's not as he rides a carriage at night, wrecks it, has no matches, and can't fix a bent axle.
Warren Stevens character seems like a coward when he rides away on the horse upon seeing Indians. He's not, he was just trying to have them chase him instead of Miss Kitty.
The Indians looked dangerous. They weren't, they were peaceful.
This episode beats that theme nonstop for 25 minutes. Though Miss Kitty had some funny sarcastic lines.
Kitty put herself in a poor situation
kfo949423 June 2013
The circumstance surrounding this episode is a little queer when Kitty meets a dandy man, Jim Rackmil, at the Long Branch and then decides to take a midnight buggy ride in the prairie to look at the moon. And then some ten miles out of Dodge, Jim decides that he will try to steal a small kiss and Kitty slaps the crap of of him which leads to a bent axle that the dandy man cannot repair. And to make matters even worse, the next morning Jim Rackmil jumps on the horse and rides off leaving Kitty by herself.
Thanks goodness Matt gets worried when Kitty is nowhere to be found and starts making inquiries about where she may have went. After talking to Moss Grimmick, Matt and Chester ride off looking for the rented buggy's tracks.
I know I am being judgmental about this episode but what really bothered me was that a smart woman like Kitty, on her day off, would meet a guy for all of three minutes and then take a long buggy ride to see the moon and not suspect the guy might not try to get a little sugar- or perhaps even worse. Not much going on in the episode which leads viewers to become uninteresting in the plot. Making the suspicious ending even less entertaining.
Thanks goodness Matt gets worried when Kitty is nowhere to be found and starts making inquiries about where she may have went. After talking to Moss Grimmick, Matt and Chester ride off looking for the rented buggy's tracks.
I know I am being judgmental about this episode but what really bothered me was that a smart woman like Kitty, on her day off, would meet a guy for all of three minutes and then take a long buggy ride to see the moon and not suspect the guy might not try to get a little sugar- or perhaps even worse. Not much going on in the episode which leads viewers to become uninteresting in the plot. Making the suspicious ending even less entertaining.
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