Doc Adams is frustrated that people do not pay him for his services. Doc tells Chester Goode and Matt Dillon that he is considering leaving Dodge City for San Francisco. (It should be noted the Doc character portrayed by Howard McNear in the radio version of Gunsmoke often exhibited characteristics distinct from the television version of the character portrayed by Milburn Stone. The radio Doc was miserly and greedy. Doc's complaints in this wonderful opening scene are more in keeping with John Meston's version of Doc from the radio show than the generous, compassionate, cantankerous Doc Adams Gunsmoke viewers knew.) Matt half-jokingly tells Doc he will arrest him if he must to prevent him leaving.
Doc's grumbling is interrupted by the arrival of a stagecoach. The driver tells Matt three bandits attempted to rob the stage. The stagecoach shotgun man was killed in the ensuing shootout, but he managed to wound two of the bandits. The driver identifies one of the would-be robbers as a local man named Howard Brant.
Matt, Chester, and Doc ride to the Brant farm and find a distraught Mrs. Brant as her husband is gravely wounded. She tells Matt her husband was not a "bad person," but he would go along with anything his close friend Jed Butler asked. Butler had masterminded the stagecoach robbery. Matt and Chester leave Doc at the farm to tend to Howard Brant while they return to Dodge.
Brant eventually dies, but Doc disappears after leaving the Brant farm. Matt goes in search of Doc and visits Tobeel, a Pawnee friend who tends to know about anything that happens on the prairie. Tobeel tells Matt two white men have established residence in a shack in a hard-to-find area, and one of the men is injured. Tobeel leads Matt to the shack. Jed Butler has abducted Doc to tend to the other wounded bandit. Now Matt is faced with the challenge of trying to save Doc's life.
Amzie Strickland guest stars in this story as Mrs. Brant. This is the second of four appearances in the series for Strickland. Her portrayal of the despondent Mrs. Brant is noteworthy. She often played nervous, tentative characters, but this deeply grieving character is something a bit unusual for the familiar actress.
Claude Akins appears in his second Gunsmoke episode. He portrays Jed Butler in a key, small part.
Frank DeKova makes his first appearance in the series as the Pawnee named Tobeel. DeKova played the same character in two more episodes. DeKova also appeared in another two episodes as different characters. He often played American Indians in television shows, including the role of Chief Wild Eagle in the comedy series F Troop.
This story is as important for further establishing the relationship between Matt Dillon and Doc Adams as it is for the details of the story. Matt's solution to the situation with Doc being held hostage is a clever gamble. The Marshal understands the importance of Doc's presence in Dodge City, but this goes beyond need. Matt also treasures Doc as a friend.
(The friendship aspect between the Matt and Doc characters is interesting in these early episodes, because Milburn Stone later admitted he personally did not particularly care for James Arness in the early years of the show. Stone took his work seriously, and Arness was known for arriving late on set and not taking things very seriously. The two men later became close friends.)
Milburn Stone is especially good in this episode. The expressions on his face during the tense scene between him, James Arness, and Akins are incredible without the Doc character having to say much.
The title of this episode references a passage from the Bible in John 15:13, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Doc quotes the verse during the scene with Stone, Arness, and Akins.
Doc's grumbling is interrupted by the arrival of a stagecoach. The driver tells Matt three bandits attempted to rob the stage. The stagecoach shotgun man was killed in the ensuing shootout, but he managed to wound two of the bandits. The driver identifies one of the would-be robbers as a local man named Howard Brant.
Matt, Chester, and Doc ride to the Brant farm and find a distraught Mrs. Brant as her husband is gravely wounded. She tells Matt her husband was not a "bad person," but he would go along with anything his close friend Jed Butler asked. Butler had masterminded the stagecoach robbery. Matt and Chester leave Doc at the farm to tend to Howard Brant while they return to Dodge.
Brant eventually dies, but Doc disappears after leaving the Brant farm. Matt goes in search of Doc and visits Tobeel, a Pawnee friend who tends to know about anything that happens on the prairie. Tobeel tells Matt two white men have established residence in a shack in a hard-to-find area, and one of the men is injured. Tobeel leads Matt to the shack. Jed Butler has abducted Doc to tend to the other wounded bandit. Now Matt is faced with the challenge of trying to save Doc's life.
Amzie Strickland guest stars in this story as Mrs. Brant. This is the second of four appearances in the series for Strickland. Her portrayal of the despondent Mrs. Brant is noteworthy. She often played nervous, tentative characters, but this deeply grieving character is something a bit unusual for the familiar actress.
Claude Akins appears in his second Gunsmoke episode. He portrays Jed Butler in a key, small part.
Frank DeKova makes his first appearance in the series as the Pawnee named Tobeel. DeKova played the same character in two more episodes. DeKova also appeared in another two episodes as different characters. He often played American Indians in television shows, including the role of Chief Wild Eagle in the comedy series F Troop.
This story is as important for further establishing the relationship between Matt Dillon and Doc Adams as it is for the details of the story. Matt's solution to the situation with Doc being held hostage is a clever gamble. The Marshal understands the importance of Doc's presence in Dodge City, but this goes beyond need. Matt also treasures Doc as a friend.
(The friendship aspect between the Matt and Doc characters is interesting in these early episodes, because Milburn Stone later admitted he personally did not particularly care for James Arness in the early years of the show. Stone took his work seriously, and Arness was known for arriving late on set and not taking things very seriously. The two men later became close friends.)
Milburn Stone is especially good in this episode. The expressions on his face during the tense scene between him, James Arness, and Akins are incredible without the Doc character having to say much.
The title of this episode references a passage from the Bible in John 15:13, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Doc quotes the verse during the scene with Stone, Arness, and Akins.
