Gunsmoke: Old West Stories

Originally Aired: November 20, 1960

Gunsmoke #450, "The Professor," Matt Dillon and Chester encounter an unlikely figure on the prairie: Otis Milford, a scholarly easterner who has lost his horse while robbing an Indian grave in the name of science. Milford claims to be writing a book about Western culture and Indian tribes, and he's armed with a Pawnee bow and arrow he's testing for research purposes. Matt gives the professor a ride into Dodge City, where Milford quickly makes himself unwelcome by prying into hotel records, asking intrusive questions, and nearly getting himself kicked by examining a stranger's silver-decorated saddle without permission.

Doc Adams warns Matt that the naive professor is a danger to himself, especially with his talk of venturing into Indian territory. With Milford's raw feet, ill-fitting boots, and complete lack of frontier skills, Doc gives him about two days to live if he attempts such an expedition. As complaints pile up around town, Matt realizes he needs to intervene before the well-meaning but hapless scholar gets himself killed in his pursuit of knowledge about the Wild West.

Originally Aired: November 13, 1960

Gunsmoke #449, "The Big Con,"

In this tense episode, a frantic gambler named Hook rushes into the Dodge City bank at opening time with an unusual request. With Marshal Matt Dillon and Chester looking on, Hook asks banker Mr. Pap for an immediate loan of twenty thousand dollars, using his poker hand as collateral. He claims to be in the middle of a high-stakes game at the Lady Gay saloon with forty thousand dollars in the pot, and he needs more money to stay in. Two other players, Shainways and Bordon, accompany him to ensure the cards aren't switched. Despite Matt's reservations, the excited banker examines Hook's four aces and agrees to the risky loan, seeing it as a sure thing that will net the bank a quick two thousand dollar profit.

Matt reluctantly agrees to protect the money as the group returns to the card game, but disaster strikes when Hook's four aces lose to Shainways' straight flush. The devastated Mr. Pap faces financial ruin, having gambled with depositors' money. Doc Adams arrives and recognizes the scheme from a similar con he heard about years ago in New Orleans, raising Matt's suspicions that Hook and his confederates have deliberately swindled the bank in an elaborate setup.

Originally Aired: November 6, 1960

Gunsmoke #448, "Jedros Woman," Matt Dillon and Chester discover a badly beaten and starving woman near their campsite after someone steals their pot of cooking beans. Following the tracks through the brush, they find her collapsed with the bean pot nearby, too weak to have eaten the food she desperately took. The woman is covered in bruises and barely clinging to life. Unable to get any information from her unconscious form, Matt and Chester carefully transport her back to Dodge City in a borrowed wagon, where Doc Adams takes her in and begins fighting to save her life.

The mystery of the woman's identity is soon solved when a man named Jedro arrives at the Long Branch Saloon demanding his wife back. When Matt confronts him about the brutal beating, Jedro claims it's none of the marshal's business and insists on his legal right to see her. Despite Doc's concerns about what the visit might do to his patient, Matt agrees to take Jedro to see the woman he calls Allie, setting up a tense confrontation that will determine her fate.

Originally Aired: October 30, 1960

Gunsmoke #447, "Never Pester Chester," finds Chester and Marshal Matt Dillon sweltering in the summer heat when Doc Adams arrives with news of two rowdy cowboys harassing the ladies of Dodge City. Too hot to deal with the troublemakers himself, Matt sends Chester down to handle it. The deputy's reasonable approach backfires when the two Texans, Stobo and Trevit, rope Chester and drag him brutally out of town. By the time Matt finds him, Chester is torn to ribbons and barely breathing, with Doc Adams uncertain whether he'll survive the next few days.

In a cold rage, Matt makes a calculated decision. He unbuckles his gun and leaves it behind at the jail, determined to bring the two men back alive rather than simply shoot them down. Against the advice of friends and fellow lawmen, the unarmed marshal rides out alone to track down Stobo and Trevit, planning to see them hanged if Chester dies. What follows is a tense pursuit along the Arkansas River, where Matt's determination to deliver frontier justice without his gun puts him at severe disadvantage against the brutal cowhands.

Originally Aired: October 23, 1960

Gunsmoke #446, "Newsmaam," a headstrong female journalist causes considerable consternation when she arrives in Dodge City. Phoebe Appleby has attached herself to trail boss Finn's cattle drive all the way from the Cimarron, refusing to leave despite his repeated demands. When Finn drags the stubborn woman to Matt Dillon's office demanding she be locked up for disturbing the peace, the marshal finds himself in an uncomfortable position. Phoebe insists she's merely observing the cattle drive to write a true picture of the West, but her scandalous attire—men's clothing—and contrary attitude make her unwelcome everywhere she goes.

Matt locks her up for her own protection, fearing what might happen if the rowdies on Front Street get a look at her unusual appearance. He enlists Kitty Russell's help in getting Phoebe proper women's clothing and arranging accommodations, but the imperious journalist proves difficult, demanding pale yellow dresses and a suitable hotel room rather than accepting the simpler arrangements offered. As Doc and Chester look on with amusement at Matt's predicament, the marshal discovers that dealing with one contrary woman may be harder than facing down gunmen.

Originally Aired: October 16, 1960

Gunsmoke #445, "Crack-Up," Matt Dillon returns from a week in Abilene to find trouble brewing in Dodge City. While getting a haircut at Peters' barbershop, a stranger pulls a gun and demands immediate service, ordering the unarmed Marshal out of the chair. Dillon refuses to back down, calling the gunman's bluff and forcing him to leave. Chester later identifies the man as Nate Springer, a notorious paid killer known as the most nerveless gunman alive—a man of ice who never shows fear.

Springer's presence in Dodge puts everyone on edge, including Doc Adams, who finds himself confronted by the paranoid killer at Delmonico's restaurant. When Springer threatens Doc for simply looking at him, Matt intervenes and warns the gunman that he'll jail both Springer and whoever hired him once he discovers the target. But something seems to be happening to the infamous killer—his legendary composure appears to be cracking, and Doc notices the man of ice is starting to melt. Matt knows whatever is happening to Springer isn't good, setting the stage for a dangerous confrontation.

Originally Aired: October 9, 1960

Gunsmoke #444, "Born to Hang," finds Matt Dillon racing against time to prevent a double murder. Joe Digger, a drifter, barely survives a lynching when ranchers Glick and Pate string him up for horse theft based on nothing more than finding their horses near his camp. Robert, the third rancher, refuses to participate in the hanging and secretly cuts Digger down after the others ride off, saving his life but earning himself dangerous enemies. When Robert brings the rope-scarred Digger into Dodge City, Matt learns the full story and recognizes the burning rage behind the survivor's calm demeanor.

Despite Digger's claims that he harbors no ill will toward his would-be killers, Matt knows better. The marshal gives himself until midnight the following day to bring Glick and Pate to justice before Digger takes matters into his own hands. When Matt and Chester ride out to arrest the ranchers, they discover that Glick appears genuinely unaware that Digger survived the lynching, complicating Matt's efforts to prevent further bloodshed. The marshal must navigate between serving justice and stopping vigilante revenge before Dodge City sees more violence.

Originally Aired: October 2, 1960

Gunsmoke #443, "The Big Itch," brings Marshal Matt Dillon into a troubling mystery when Samantha Church arrives in his office seeking help. Her husband George left their ranch two days earlier to pay off their bank note with money from their first big cattle sale, but he never made it to the bank and hasn't been seen since. The only lead is that rancher Hobie Price was spotted riding off with George that Monday morning, and Hobie was later seen at the Long Branch that night, spending money freely and buying drinks for everyone. When Matt questions Kitty about Hobie's behavior, she confirms he was drinking heavily and throwing cash around like there was no tomorrow.

Matt and Chester search the countryside between the Church ranch and Dodge City, looking for any sign of what might have happened to George. They question Ben Stanley, the young man the Churches raised after his parents were killed in a raid, but he has no helpful information beyond confirming George's eagerness to pay off the debt. As the investigation stalls with no trace of either George or Hobie Price, Chester begins developing a mysterious rash that demands Doc's attention.

Originally Aired: September 25, 1960

Gunsmoke #442, "Doc Judge," finds Doc Adams in a dangerous case of mistaken identity. When a bitter ex-convict named Bryce Hart arrives in Dodge City, he immediately confronts Doc at Delmonico's restaurant, insisting that Doc is actually Judge Kennebre from Wyoming—the man who sentenced him to seven years in prison. Despite Doc and Chester's protests that he's a physician, not a judge, Hart refuses to believe them and vows to kill Doc for revenge. Initially, Doc dismisses Hart as harmless, especially since the man isn't even wearing a gun. However, Chester grows increasingly concerned about the threat.

The situation takes a deadly turn when Chester witnesses Hart in action at the Long Branch Saloon. Armed now with a gun and demonstrating professional skill with it, Hart violently runs Bob Forrest out of the establishment, proving he's far more dangerous than Doc believed. With Marshal Matt Dillon out of town on business and not expected back for another day, Chester races to Doc's office to warn him of the escalating danger. The deputy must now find a way to protect Doc from a vengeful killer who won't listen to reason.

Originally Aired: September 18, 1960

Gunsmoke #441, "Two Mothers," begins at a graveside service for a young man killed in a brawl. Marshal Dillon tries to offer condolences to the victim's mother, Miss Lorenda Henshaw, while another woman, Hattie Meisner, desperately attempts to speak with her. Lorenda refuses to talk, and for good reason: it was Hattie's son Jake who pulled the trigger. Though the shooting happened during a drunken fight, Jake used his gun on an unarmed man, and now he sits in jail awaiting execution. Hattie, a respected and God-fearing woman known throughout Dodge City for her kindness and strength, is consumed by grief and desperation over her son's fate.

In a shocking confrontation at the marshal's office, Hattie delivers an ultimatum to Matt Dillon: if Jake hangs on Thursday, she will kill the marshal. Matt knows she's serious and capable with a firearm, yet he also recognizes she's a good woman driven to the edge by unbearable circumstances. With no legal way to save Jake and no desire to harm Hattie, Matt faces an impossible situation, leaving Doc Adams and Kitty to wonder how he can possibly protect both himself and this grieving mother from a tragedy neither wants.