A newcomer to Dodge City named Andy Travis and another man are involved in a shootout, and Travis kills the man in self-defense. Matt Dillon sees the shooting, and he realizes Travis is an extremely fast draw. He takes Andy's gun and convinces the young man to stop carrying a gun to avoid furthering a reputation as a gunfighter.
Travis gets a job working for Moss Grimmick at Grimmick's stable. He is a friendly sort, and the Dodge residents that meet him all think highly of him. As Marshal Dillon soon learns, Andy has a past he has not revealed.
Adam Kennedy appears in the Andy Travis role in the first of two Gunsmoke appearances. The actor later starred in the soap opera The Doctors, and the Western series The Californians. Kennedy's acting career was relatively short-lived, as he later focused on writing and painting. Kennedy often used the pseudonym John Redgate for his writing. He authored the novel "The Domino Principle" and later wrote the screenplay for the film based on the novel. He was also an accomplished painter and was once hailed in Paris as that city's most outstanding American painter.
James Griffith was an accomplished actor with hundreds of acting credits. He later wrote stories for Mission: Impossible and The Fugitive. It is his character, Joe Kite, who provides the name for the episode. Joe Kite is a presumptuous bounty hunter. Thanks to the Kite character, the viewer learns that Marshal Dillon does not like it when people sit at his desk without permission. (The initial scene with Griffith and Arness is an interesting verbal sparring match with the Matt Dillon character as the more aggressive threat and the Joe Kite character the more nonchalant participant.)
Actor Chris Alcaide makes a brief appearance in this story as Barnes, another bounty hunter. Alcaide was a familiar face -- usually in a villain role -- first in dramatic films in the 1950s, and later in television dramas with a heavy emphasis on westerns. He appeared in five different Gunsmoke episodes. Fans of The Rifleman will certainly recognize Alcaide, as he appears in ten different episodes in that series.
This story includes the first appearance by George Selk as Moss Grimmick, who owns and operates the livery stable in Dodge City through Season 9 of the series. Selk appears in a total of forty-four episodes and the stable was mentioned in other episodes where Selk does not appear.
This episode evokes as many questions as it answers. It is a complex, nuanced script about the problems inherent in trying to escape one's past. This is the first instance of a theme that would be revisited at various times over the course of the series. As with many John Meston stories, viewers should not expect a neat, tidy ending. It also shows Matt Dillon at his most human and vulnerable and features a few humorous touches.
There is a scene at the beginning of the episode where Chester and Matt are sitting outside The Dodge House talking and watching the man who first faces Andy Travis inside The Long Branch Saloon. This scene is often removed from broadcasts today to allow for more advertisement time.
Travis gets a job working for Moss Grimmick at Grimmick's stable. He is a friendly sort, and the Dodge residents that meet him all think highly of him. As Marshal Dillon soon learns, Andy has a past he has not revealed.
Adam Kennedy appears in the Andy Travis role in the first of two Gunsmoke appearances. The actor later starred in the soap opera The Doctors, and the Western series The Californians. Kennedy's acting career was relatively short-lived, as he later focused on writing and painting. Kennedy often used the pseudonym John Redgate for his writing. He authored the novel "The Domino Principle" and later wrote the screenplay for the film based on the novel. He was also an accomplished painter and was once hailed in Paris as that city's most outstanding American painter.
James Griffith was an accomplished actor with hundreds of acting credits. He later wrote stories for Mission: Impossible and The Fugitive. It is his character, Joe Kite, who provides the name for the episode. Joe Kite is a presumptuous bounty hunter. Thanks to the Kite character, the viewer learns that Marshal Dillon does not like it when people sit at his desk without permission. (The initial scene with Griffith and Arness is an interesting verbal sparring match with the Matt Dillon character as the more aggressive threat and the Joe Kite character the more nonchalant participant.)
Actor Chris Alcaide makes a brief appearance in this story as Barnes, another bounty hunter. Alcaide was a familiar face -- usually in a villain role -- first in dramatic films in the 1950s, and later in television dramas with a heavy emphasis on westerns. He appeared in five different Gunsmoke episodes. Fans of The Rifleman will certainly recognize Alcaide, as he appears in ten different episodes in that series.
This story includes the first appearance by George Selk as Moss Grimmick, who owns and operates the livery stable in Dodge City through Season 9 of the series. Selk appears in a total of forty-four episodes and the stable was mentioned in other episodes where Selk does not appear.
This episode evokes as many questions as it answers. It is a complex, nuanced script about the problems inherent in trying to escape one's past. This is the first instance of a theme that would be revisited at various times over the course of the series. As with many John Meston stories, viewers should not expect a neat, tidy ending. It also shows Matt Dillon at his most human and vulnerable and features a few humorous touches.
There is a scene at the beginning of the episode where Chester and Matt are sitting outside The Dodge House talking and watching the man who first faces Andy Travis inside The Long Branch Saloon. This scene is often removed from broadcasts today to allow for more advertisement time.
