Marshal Dillon is on the trail of an outlaw when he encounters a dying man who asks the marshal to help his grandson find a mother he hasn't seen in several years.Marshal Dillon is on the trail of an outlaw when he encounters a dying man who asks the marshal to help his grandson find a mother he hasn't seen in several years.Marshal Dillon is on the trail of an outlaw when he encounters a dying man who asks the marshal to help his grandson find a mother he hasn't seen in several years.
Johnny Whitaker
- Willie Hubbard
- (as Johnnie Whitaker)
- Director
- Writers
- Jim Byrnes
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- John Meston(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis 2-parter is the last of 7 episodes for Jeremy Slate, including another 2-parter, The Raid: Part 1 (1966) and The Raid: Part 2 (1966).
Featured review
The Pursuer Becomes the Pursued
Marshal Matt Dillon has been chasing an escaped murderer named Ben Rodman through some treacherous country for a week. Along the way, Rodman stops at a watering hole being managed by an old man named Silas Hubbard. Silas and his grandson Willie live in a makeshift encampment and earn money from the sale of the scarce water. Rodman takes some of the water, and when the old man insists on payment with his gun, the outlaw tosses two one-dollar coins on the ground. Hubbard makes the mistake of taking his eyes off Rodman. This gives the killer the opportunity to shoot the old man and ride off.
Matt is not far behind. The Marshal can see that Silas is dying from the gunshot wound. The old man tells Matt the boy's father is dead, and his mother left six years earlier for the town of Table Rock, some twenty miles away. (This raises questions regarding the existence of Silas and Willie. Where did they get food and supplies for living?) Silas asks the Marshal to take Willie to Table Rock to find his mother, and Matt agrees.
After Silas dies, Matt and Willie make their way to Table Rock, but they find the town is deserted, except for a single drunk man. The man tells the Marshal a group abandoned the town in a wagon earlier to make their way across the badlands to a town called Whiskey Butte.
Matt and Willie catch up with the wagon which has a bad wheel and is stuck on some rocks in a stream of water. The passengers include a woman named Maggie Blaisedell, a man named Jed Rascoe, and four prostitutes Maggie manages. Marshal Dillon asks if anyone knows about Willie's mother, a woman named Sarah Hubbard. Amy, one of the women, says she knew Sarah, but she is dead.
As Matt and Jed work on the wagon, the Marshal notices some gold dust leak from the wagon. Dillon realizes the wagon has been equipped with a false bottom to conceal the gold. When he confronts Maggie about the treasure, she tells him she agreed to transport it to Whiskey Butte for some prospectors.
Another of the woman passengers named Lisa also sees the gold dust and overhears the conversation between Matt and Maggie. While everyone is asleep, she steals some of the gold dust, drains the water supply from the wagon, and rides to a hideout where Rodman and his gang are staying.
When Rodman learns of the gold, he sets out in pursuit of the wagon. The pursued has now become the pursuer. Marshal Dillon, Willie, and the remaining wagon passengers find themselves with limited water supplies and the target of Rodman's gang.
Rodman and his gang are played by several veteran Gunsmoke guest stars. Rodman is played by Jeremy Slate in the last of his seven Gunsmoke appearances. (Slate appeared in nine different one-hour episodes, but two of those were two-part installments.) Slate starred in one my favorite Gunsmoke stories: Season 7's "The Gallows."
Rex Holman plays one of Rodman's gang named Oakley. Holman appeared in sixteen Gunsmoke episodes, including a couple of thirty-minute stories in Season 6. Ken Swofford is the gang member named Speer. Don Megowan, who often played tough guys, appears in the role of the gang member named Lucas.
Character actor David Sheiner participates in his only Gunsmoke episode as the character Preacher Jones. Apparently, Preacher Jones has abandoned his position as a member of the clergy for more lucrative pursuits as part of Rodman's gang.
Johnny Whitaker -- who was often billed as "Johnnie," as he is here -- portrays the young boy, Willie Hubbard. Whitaker is best known for playing Jody Davis in the series Family Affair with Brian Keith. That series ended around the same time this episode was filmed.
In Season 7, an episode titled "Wagon Girls" features the story of a group of women traveling by wagon to Colorado. Ellen Burstyn plays one of the women on the wagon (she was going by the name Ellen McRae at the time). Burstyn returns to Gunsmoke some nine years later in this story, again as a woman traveling on a wagon. It is easy to forget that Burstyn appeared in numerous television shows before she found success in films. She would eventually win a Best Actress Oscar in 1975 for her performance as Alice Hyatt in Martin Scorsese's Alice Dosen't Live Here Anymore. Her performance as Amy Waters in this episode is her last for the series.
Ruth Roman plays the part of Maggie Blaisedell in this story. Her only other Gunsmoke participation was as a tough saloon owner named Flo Watson in Season 15's "Coreyville."
In addition to Roman and Burstyn, the other women traveling on the wagon are portrayed by Claire Brennan as Lisa, Lieux Dressler as Victoria, and Merry Anders as Shirley. This performance was the last credited in the acting career of Merry Anders. She found it increasingly difficult to find parts and chose to retire. Fans of classic television may recognize Anders from her recurring role as Policewoman Dorothy Miller in the late 1960s Dragnet reboot.
Shug Fisher, who appeared in so many Gunsmoke episodes he almost deserves regular credit, plays the part of Jed Rascoe. Fisher always played the same rough-around-the-edges character. Here he plays the character with a bit more restraint that usual.
This is another episode where James Arness is the only regular cast member seen, and all the story takes place away from Dodge City.
The first part of this two-part episode is the better of the two. It does an excellent job at laying the proper groundwork for the second part and creating intrigue and suspense.
Matt is not far behind. The Marshal can see that Silas is dying from the gunshot wound. The old man tells Matt the boy's father is dead, and his mother left six years earlier for the town of Table Rock, some twenty miles away. (This raises questions regarding the existence of Silas and Willie. Where did they get food and supplies for living?) Silas asks the Marshal to take Willie to Table Rock to find his mother, and Matt agrees.
After Silas dies, Matt and Willie make their way to Table Rock, but they find the town is deserted, except for a single drunk man. The man tells the Marshal a group abandoned the town in a wagon earlier to make their way across the badlands to a town called Whiskey Butte.
Matt and Willie catch up with the wagon which has a bad wheel and is stuck on some rocks in a stream of water. The passengers include a woman named Maggie Blaisedell, a man named Jed Rascoe, and four prostitutes Maggie manages. Marshal Dillon asks if anyone knows about Willie's mother, a woman named Sarah Hubbard. Amy, one of the women, says she knew Sarah, but she is dead.
As Matt and Jed work on the wagon, the Marshal notices some gold dust leak from the wagon. Dillon realizes the wagon has been equipped with a false bottom to conceal the gold. When he confronts Maggie about the treasure, she tells him she agreed to transport it to Whiskey Butte for some prospectors.
Another of the woman passengers named Lisa also sees the gold dust and overhears the conversation between Matt and Maggie. While everyone is asleep, she steals some of the gold dust, drains the water supply from the wagon, and rides to a hideout where Rodman and his gang are staying.
When Rodman learns of the gold, he sets out in pursuit of the wagon. The pursued has now become the pursuer. Marshal Dillon, Willie, and the remaining wagon passengers find themselves with limited water supplies and the target of Rodman's gang.
Rodman and his gang are played by several veteran Gunsmoke guest stars. Rodman is played by Jeremy Slate in the last of his seven Gunsmoke appearances. (Slate appeared in nine different one-hour episodes, but two of those were two-part installments.) Slate starred in one my favorite Gunsmoke stories: Season 7's "The Gallows."
Rex Holman plays one of Rodman's gang named Oakley. Holman appeared in sixteen Gunsmoke episodes, including a couple of thirty-minute stories in Season 6. Ken Swofford is the gang member named Speer. Don Megowan, who often played tough guys, appears in the role of the gang member named Lucas.
Character actor David Sheiner participates in his only Gunsmoke episode as the character Preacher Jones. Apparently, Preacher Jones has abandoned his position as a member of the clergy for more lucrative pursuits as part of Rodman's gang.
Johnny Whitaker -- who was often billed as "Johnnie," as he is here -- portrays the young boy, Willie Hubbard. Whitaker is best known for playing Jody Davis in the series Family Affair with Brian Keith. That series ended around the same time this episode was filmed.
In Season 7, an episode titled "Wagon Girls" features the story of a group of women traveling by wagon to Colorado. Ellen Burstyn plays one of the women on the wagon (she was going by the name Ellen McRae at the time). Burstyn returns to Gunsmoke some nine years later in this story, again as a woman traveling on a wagon. It is easy to forget that Burstyn appeared in numerous television shows before she found success in films. She would eventually win a Best Actress Oscar in 1975 for her performance as Alice Hyatt in Martin Scorsese's Alice Dosen't Live Here Anymore. Her performance as Amy Waters in this episode is her last for the series.
Ruth Roman plays the part of Maggie Blaisedell in this story. Her only other Gunsmoke participation was as a tough saloon owner named Flo Watson in Season 15's "Coreyville."
In addition to Roman and Burstyn, the other women traveling on the wagon are portrayed by Claire Brennan as Lisa, Lieux Dressler as Victoria, and Merry Anders as Shirley. This performance was the last credited in the acting career of Merry Anders. She found it increasingly difficult to find parts and chose to retire. Fans of classic television may recognize Anders from her recurring role as Policewoman Dorothy Miller in the late 1960s Dragnet reboot.
Shug Fisher, who appeared in so many Gunsmoke episodes he almost deserves regular credit, plays the part of Jed Rascoe. Fisher always played the same rough-around-the-edges character. Here he plays the character with a bit more restraint that usual.
This is another episode where James Arness is the only regular cast member seen, and all the story takes place away from Dodge City.
The first part of this two-part episode is the better of the two. It does an excellent job at laying the proper groundwork for the second part and creating intrigue and suspense.
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- wdavidreynolds
- Aug 4, 2021
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