User Reviews

In this episode Jack Albertson plays an aging pickpocket and con-artist named Danny Wilson that also has a bad heart. So he thinks of this scheme that will be one for the books, his last big con.

Danny finds out that two men are in Dodge to kill Marshal Dillon for a bar owner that feels like Matt is too hard on rules. After Danny exposes the men to Marshal Dillon he sets up his own little 'murder-for-hire' with the bar owner. But little does the bar owner know that he is being set up for one last con job.

Even though the episode was acted well by all involved, Kelton Garwood, that plays Percy Crump the undertaker, has one of his best performances as part of the Gunsmoke re-occurring cast member. The episode was interesting enough for the viewer to be entertained the entire time. Good watch.

NOTE- As a fan of westerns, the monument of the rider on the horse looked suspiciously like the statue of Tom Barkley in the episode of 'The Big Valley- Boots with my Father's name' filmed four years earlier. In this episode the statue has more decorations but the horse looks exactly the same. Not saying that it is the same statue- but it sure looks like it.

Danny Wilson is a pathetic confidence man. He is a lousy pickpocket, and most of his failed schemes involve attempting to trick someone into giving up some money. He is so inept at his "craft" that he tries to pick the pocket of a fellow stage passenger, gets caught, and is thrown off the stage.

Kitty Russell is an old friend of Danny and feels sorry for him. When Danny has some kind of medical episode, Doc Adams examines him. Doc tells Danny his heart is failing, and he does not have much time left to live.

With the knowledge of his pending death, Danny visits Percy Crump, the Dodge City undertaker, and arranges an elaborate funeral and burial with a price tag over $1,400. To pay for it, Danny concocts a scheme to swindle the money from a contemptible Dodge City saloon owner who harbors a grudge against Matt Dillon.

Jack Albertson was a Tony and Oscar Award winner when this episode was made. He eventually won an Emmy for his performance in the series Chico and the Man in the 1970s. He fills the Danny Wilson role here. Albertson often played swindlers and con men in his television appearances. His performance here is one of the biggest highlights of this story.

Veteran actor Scott Brady makes the first of his three Gunsmoke appearances as Heenan, the saloon owner. Brady would have a small recurring role as the character Joe Foley on All In the Family. He was originally offered the Archie Bunker role on that show and turned it down before Carroll O'Connor was cast in the part.

Other notable actors involved in this story include Vito Scotti as Danny's drinking pal Indiana, and Frank Marth and Rayford Barnes as a couple of hired killers.

Several Gunsmoke recurring roles are featured in this episode. Woody Chambliss, Tom Brown, Glenn Strange, and Steve Raines as yet another stage driver all can be seen during the story. Kelton Garwood (who often appeared in the credits as John or Jonathan Harper) has one of his most prominent parts in a Gunsmoke episode as Percy Crump.

Although James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake, and Ken Curtis all make appearances in this story, most of their scenes are brief and on the periphery of the story.

The episode is built around Albertson's Danny Wilson character. Albertson was great at playing this type of character. Unfortunately, there is nothing truly compelling or mysterious about the story.