User Reviews

Matt is very tired when he receives a report that two cowboys from out of town are drunk and accosting women on the sidewalks. Chester is sent in his place and they manage to rope him and drag him through the streets, leaving him for dead outside of town. Matt finds him and Doc Adams reports that he doesn't know if Chester is going to live. With this knowledge firmly in mind, Matt rides out after the men. He locates them and finds it difficult to restrain himself from taking the law in his own hands. Even though he does not kill them, Matt finds a way to come very close and achieve appropriate payback. The episode ends with a truly fifties television bromance scene between Matt and Chester. The half-hour episodes in the early years of the series are by necessity stories that lack the depth of the later ones of a full hour. There is less time devoted to the chase and capture of the two bad guys, which leads to less tension being built. However, there is enough to keep you fixated as to what is going to happen.

Good entry. Some of the best and most unusual episodes are when Matt shows an all-too-human side. Here he lets Chester tame two rowdy cowboys because Matt's too tired to deal with them. Instead the cowhands poke fun at the slow-witted Chester and then drag him behind a horse. Needless to say, Matt's beside himself with guilt and anger as Chester hovers near death. The climactic fist-fight with the gargantuan Buddy Baer (ex-heavyweight champion Max Baer's brother and a surprisingly good actor) promises more than it delivers. Still, it's odd to see someone bigger than the 6'6" Arness. The final scene with Matt and Chester is well conceived since it could have easily become maudlin. Limitations with the budget can easily be seen in the sparseness of the trailside encampment and its pitifully skimpy equipment; while it looks like someone pulled strings to hand youngster Gary Vinson a couple of lines that could easily have been given to the trail boss Paul Birch. Nonetheless, an above average 30 minutes

Very tough to watch but. Well done and believable except why. isnt dragging a man a highly punishable crime?

An exhausted Matt Dillon just wants to get some sleep when a Dodge City resident named Shiloh comes into the office to report two cowboys are harassing women outside the Long Branch Saloon. Matt sends Chester Goode to tell the men they are welcome to drink and enjoy themselves in Dodge, but they cannot continue bothering women.

Chester confronts the pair of drunken cowboys, but they laugh at him. One of the men, a giant of a man named Stobo, lassos Chester and drags Chester through the town out onto the prairie where they leave him severely injured.

Shiloh alerts Marshal Dillon to the events. Matt finds Chester and takes him to Doc Adams's office. Doc has doubts about Chester's chances of recovery, even if the viewer does not.

Kitty is able to identify the two men as Stobo and Treavitt, and she tells Matt they are part of a group of drovers camped somewhere outside Dodge. Matt sets out in pursuit, but he is so furious even he does not know whether he will try to arrest them or kill them. Part of his fury is fueled by the guilt he feels over sending Chester to confront the men.

Actor Buddy Baer, who was a former boxer and the younger brother of boxing champion Max Baer, portrays the huge Stobo character in this story, which was his only Gunsmoke performance. Baer often played characters with "big" in the name, or with names like "Sampson" and "Bull." He can frequently be seen in roles in westerns of the 1950s and 1960s.

Tom Greenway returns for his second Gunsmoke episode. He portrays the Treavitt character in this story. He had previously appeared in another episode prominently featuring the Chester Goode character, Season 2's "Chester's Murder." Greenway had roles in five different Gunsmoke stories, all during the thirty-minute seasons.

This episode includes the first appearance in the series by actor Woodrow Chambliss. Chambliss portrays the Shiloh character. Shiloh is one of those characters that is a local resident everyone knows, but he is only seen in a single episode. Chambliss would later appear regularly as Mr. Lathrop, a Dodge store owner. Chambliss took part in thirty-eight Gunsmoke episodes over the course of the series.

Paul Birch, the original "Marlboro Man," appears briefly as a trail boss.

A highlight of this episode is the focus on the relationship between Matt and Chester. Matt often treats Chester like an older brother would treat a little brother. Chester is more aloof and less confident in the relationship, however. For example, Chester always calls Matt "Mr. Dillon." Chester often expresses doubts about how much his Dodge City friends care about him. The Matt Dillon character demonstrates his love and care for his sidekick in this story.

If there is a single attribute that sets Gunsmoke apart from other series, it is that the writers, directors, and producers were never afraid to show the Matt Dillon character's flaws. He often made mistakes, demonstrated vulnerabilities, and was sometimes guided more by his emotions than his duties and responsibilities.

As a lifelong Gunsmoke fan, I have wished for years there would have been an explanation provided in an episode for where Chester went after he left Dodge. It would have been great if the character could have returned for a visit at some point in a later season, too. (The only reference to Chester Goode after Dennis Weaver left the show was in Season 20's "The Fourth Victim" when Newly O'Brien is reading an old court record and mentions Chester's name. Matt responds that Chester once worked for him and left Dodge shortly after the court case Newly is referencing.)

This is a favorite episode as it shows how this early TV Western was uncompromising in its scripts and how its characters reacted to tragedy. After Chester is all the dry to death behind a horse by two Cowboys, Matt Dillon is out for revenge, not justice. As if you were we are not disappointed.

This is an episode that shows that the relationship between Marshall Dillon and Chester what's more than false employer but that of true friends

When Matt sends Chester down to the saloon to quiet some rowdy cowboys things do not go as planned. The two brutes, lead by the large man named Stobo and another man named Treavitt, rope Chester and they drag him out of town. When Marshal Dillon finds Chester, he is near death and Matt knows he should have never sent Chester to handle the cowboys. Matt is on a mission to find the two people involved.

Not a bad episode as there are lots of emotion that is transferred between character on this show. Plus we get to see a classic western fight scene where Matt will face-off against one of the biggest villains in the series. We also get to hear the words from Marshall Dillon that Chester is the only man in Dodge that he trusts. Good watch.

Somebody needs to set that sheriff straight and I'm here to do it. The one thing I never liked about Matt Dillon is his holier than thou attitude toward everybody. He lectures people all the time and acts like he's perfect. Well, you ain't perfect Dillon you got your flaws just like everybody else.

In this episode Dillon is too lazy to go take care of some men harassing women near the saloon. He wants to just lay on the bed and think about what a great sheriff he is. So he sends Chester to do the job that he should do himself. And Chester is nearly killed while being dragged behind a horse. Nice work, Mr. Dillon. If Chester ever recovers he should put a bullet in your chest.

Does Dillon learn his lesson? Nope. He keeps lecturing people. There's a lot to like in Gunsmoke the TV series. But to me the most unlikable character is Matt Dillon himself.