When Danny Stalcup, a young member of a gang on the run, is mortally wounded in a fall, Doc Adams is kidnapped, along with Festus, and forced to help.When Danny Stalcup, a young member of a gang on the run, is mortally wounded in a fall, Doc Adams is kidnapped, along with Festus, and forced to help.When Danny Stalcup, a young member of a gang on the run, is mortally wounded in a fall, Doc Adams is kidnapped, along with Festus, and forced to help.
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Vic Tayback
- Bill Hankins
- (as Victor Tayback)
Ross Dollarhide
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Rudy Doucette
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Duke Fishman
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Michael Jeffers
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Bert Madrid
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Charles Joseph Stone
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- John Meston(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWritten by Charles J. (Joseph) Stone, Milburn Stone's brother.
Featured review
Rip-roaring Story Provides Mindless Entertainment
Bede Stalcup and his gang have robbed a bank and are on the run. Bede's younger brother Danny is gravely injured when he is thrown off his horse, rolls down a hill, and is impaled on a tree branch. The younger Stalcup desperately needs a doctor.
Bede sends two of his men, Bill Hankins and Link Parrin into the nearest town, which happens to be Dodge City, to try to find a doctor. They locate Doc Adams and stake out his office while they wait for an opportunity to abduct him.
Doc is compelled go tend to a woman who is about to have a baby on a ranch outside Dodge. Matt Dillon asks Festus Haggen to take Doc so Doc can get some much-needed rest. Once Festus and Doc are out of town, Hankins and Parrin stop the buggy and force the pair to go to the hideout where the injured boy is suffering.
The older brother does a lot of threatening and pulls his gun to shoot Festus after an altercation, but Doc warns Bede if he hurts Festus, Danny is a dead man. They tie up Festus, and Doc begins to tend to the injured boy.
For some reason, Stalcup and the rest of the gang foolishly leave the shack, which means Festus and Doc are left alone with Danny. Doc naturally assists Festus in escaping.
Meanwhile, word reaches Dodge that the Stalcup gang is headed to the same area where Matt knows Doc and Festus were going. The Marshal quickly assembles a posse and sets out in pursuit of the outlaws.
The posse soon catches up to the gang, and a shootout ensues. Bede Stalcup manages to escape after Festus is shot and seriously injured. Festus and Danny Stalcup are loaded in a wagon and transported back to Dodge, but the young boy dies on the trip.
Back in Dodge, Doc finds he must perform a delicate operation on Festus, who is extremely weak from blood loss. Marshal Dillon expects Bede Stalcup to arrive in town at some point, because the outlaw does not know his brother has died.
It is surprising that actor James Olson makes his only Gunsmoke appearance in this episode. Olson was a regular on television dramas throughout his career which spanned from the later 1960s to the early 1990s. Olson plays the Bede Stalcup character in this story. This is also the only Gunsmoke role for actor Darrell Larson, who plays the injured Danny Stalcup.
A couple of notable actors make their final Gunsmoke appearances in this story. Vic Tayback portrays the character Bill Hankins. Tayback appeared in four episodes of the series. This performance occurred a few years before Tayback would begin playing the character Mel Sharples in the series Alice. Russell Johnson, who was best known for his role as Professor Roy Hinkley on Gilligan's Island, also makes his fourth appearance. He plays the character Link Parrin in this story.
This is one rip-roaring story, at least for Gunsmoke circa 1972. In past episodes, the incident with Stalcup taking Festus and Doc captive would have filled the entire story, but it is only about half of the episode here. The story combines that plot element, the seriously injured Festus situation, and the attempt by Bede to reunite with Danny -- all which are familiar story ideas that have been done on Gunsmoke before -- into one exciting hour. The viewer is even treated to a rendition of Festus Haggen's familiar discourse on why he has never learned to read.
There are no surprises in this episode. It is a fast-paced story of Western-trope plot elements combined into an hour of mindless entertainment.
Bede sends two of his men, Bill Hankins and Link Parrin into the nearest town, which happens to be Dodge City, to try to find a doctor. They locate Doc Adams and stake out his office while they wait for an opportunity to abduct him.
Doc is compelled go tend to a woman who is about to have a baby on a ranch outside Dodge. Matt Dillon asks Festus Haggen to take Doc so Doc can get some much-needed rest. Once Festus and Doc are out of town, Hankins and Parrin stop the buggy and force the pair to go to the hideout where the injured boy is suffering.
The older brother does a lot of threatening and pulls his gun to shoot Festus after an altercation, but Doc warns Bede if he hurts Festus, Danny is a dead man. They tie up Festus, and Doc begins to tend to the injured boy.
For some reason, Stalcup and the rest of the gang foolishly leave the shack, which means Festus and Doc are left alone with Danny. Doc naturally assists Festus in escaping.
Meanwhile, word reaches Dodge that the Stalcup gang is headed to the same area where Matt knows Doc and Festus were going. The Marshal quickly assembles a posse and sets out in pursuit of the outlaws.
The posse soon catches up to the gang, and a shootout ensues. Bede Stalcup manages to escape after Festus is shot and seriously injured. Festus and Danny Stalcup are loaded in a wagon and transported back to Dodge, but the young boy dies on the trip.
Back in Dodge, Doc finds he must perform a delicate operation on Festus, who is extremely weak from blood loss. Marshal Dillon expects Bede Stalcup to arrive in town at some point, because the outlaw does not know his brother has died.
It is surprising that actor James Olson makes his only Gunsmoke appearance in this episode. Olson was a regular on television dramas throughout his career which spanned from the later 1960s to the early 1990s. Olson plays the Bede Stalcup character in this story. This is also the only Gunsmoke role for actor Darrell Larson, who plays the injured Danny Stalcup.
A couple of notable actors make their final Gunsmoke appearances in this story. Vic Tayback portrays the character Bill Hankins. Tayback appeared in four episodes of the series. This performance occurred a few years before Tayback would begin playing the character Mel Sharples in the series Alice. Russell Johnson, who was best known for his role as Professor Roy Hinkley on Gilligan's Island, also makes his fourth appearance. He plays the character Link Parrin in this story.
This is one rip-roaring story, at least for Gunsmoke circa 1972. In past episodes, the incident with Stalcup taking Festus and Doc captive would have filled the entire story, but it is only about half of the episode here. The story combines that plot element, the seriously injured Festus situation, and the attempt by Bede to reunite with Danny -- all which are familiar story ideas that have been done on Gunsmoke before -- into one exciting hour. The viewer is even treated to a rendition of Festus Haggen's familiar discourse on why he has never learned to read.
There are no surprises in this episode. It is a fast-paced story of Western-trope plot elements combined into an hour of mindless entertainment.
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- wdavidreynolds
- Sep 6, 2021
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