User Reviews

A farmer dead set on getting help for a blind daughter has decided to do whatever it takes to get the money to send her to a school that specializes in teaching the sightless to read and be self sufficient. He has stolen horses and arranged to have them fresh and ready for a gang of bank robbers so they can outrun a posse that will probably be chasing them after robbing a bank. He will receive a handsome fee that will bring enough to pay for his daughters care. This is the first time he has broken the law and does not realize what a mess he has gotten himself into by dealing with murderous outlaws.

Newly gets involved when he tracks the stolen horses to the farm and meets the girl. There is deception to spare as the plan begins to fall apart. Then finally, the formerly honest farmer does what is right.

I thought it was a good episode because it portrayed a father who cared enough for his daughter he was willing go to extremes to care for her. And even though he made a bad choice initially, his conscience came through and he did the right thing while there was still time to salvage his mistake.

I hope that was not enough info to ruin the episode for you. I left out a lot of the action in the hope you could still enjoy what I thought was a good one. The main characters have only a few minutes of air time, this one is 90% Newly and I thought he carried it quite well.

***SPOILERS*** I noticed it once before in another episode. Newley being a player. In this one, he's got two girls lined up for the same Ice-Cream Social. Next, he's whining to Kitty about how it's difficult being single. Oh, yeah? Kitty and Doc both offer advice, but we're supposed to figure that he just CAN'T say no to pretty girls. Matt sends him out to a farm to check on some hot horseflesh, and there, he meets the pretty blind girl, whose thieving father owns the farm and is neck deep in dirty work.

Newley just can't tell her that he's a deputy, sent out by the Marshal to see about horse thievery, can he, now?? Nope, and THAT'S where it hits the fan. I't also where he should have been able to start telling this lovely blind girl the truth. Nope. It makes for an interesting story, and it ends well. Unless you've read some of my other reviews, then you'll know how I feel about "happy endings". It's an 8.

This is one of the shows that you try hard to like. You have a blind girl living with her father in the rural west and it already makes for a heartwarming story. But for some reason this episode never caught hold of the warmth that it was trying to project.

The blind girl named Susan lived with her father as they did the best they could from day to day. Her father, Ben, had been trying to take her daughter to a blind school in Kansas City so that she can be taught how to read and write but he just did not have enough money to make that trip happen. So Ben now takes up a life of crime as he steals horses and sells them to outlaws for a small price. And with the money from the ill-gotten-gains is what he is going to use to take Susan to Kansas City.

Newly stumbles up on the farm as Ben is away and becomes smitten with Susan. But when Ben returns with stolen horses, Deputy Newly is tied up and Ben tells his daughter that Newly is the one stealing the horses.

After the outlaws force there way into their house, Susan finally puts two and two together and knows her father is a criminal. As she pleas for him to turn himself into the law, the outlaws have a different intention for the entire gang.

I found one part of the show extremely irritating. When blind Susan would ask a question no one would tell her what was going on around her. Her father, Newly or the outlaws would not answer her questions. For 'God Sakes' somebody answer her questions! Even though Pamela Dunlap played the part of Susan with excellent results, the dialog failed this episode. An episode that was to be heartwarming- ended with just a few smoldering embers.

Ben Hurley has a daughter named Susan who is blind. If he can manage to get Susan to Kansas City there are schools there that teach the blind to read. Ben is convinced this will significantly improve Susan's quality of life. Unfortunately, there is not enough money to be made from the farm to allow Ben to achieve his goal.

Desperate people sometimes do things that are unwise, and Ben resorts to stealing horses and selling them to a gang of outlaws. Since Susan is blind, she is not aware of the drastic steps Ben has taken to get the money they need. He tells Susan they are selling everything they own and moving to Kansas City.

Matt Dillon asks Deputy Newly O'Brien to investigate a report of some stolen horses. Newly is quite willing to get out of town because of a sticky romantic situation involving two women and an ice cream social.

The investigation quickly and easily leads Newly to the Hurley farm where he discovers Susan all alone. The Deputy is attracted to Susan, who is very pretty and kind. Susan is cautious when they first meet, but a minor injury prompts Newly to come to her aid. Newly's gentle demeanor appeals to Susan, and a friendship quickly develops.

When Ben returns to the farm, he finds Newly there and instantly realizes his crimes have been discovered. Ben uses Susan's blindness to his advantage by telling her Newly is a horse thief. For some reason, Newly chooses not to dispute Ben's claims out of respect for the relationship Susan has with her father. Ben ties Newly to a post in the barn and tells Susan he is going to get the Marshal.

The situation becomes even more complicated when one of the outlaws named Pinto is shot. Since the gang has been buying stolen horses from Hurley, they take Pinto to the farmhouse, only to find Newly there. Carr, one of the gang members, recognizes Newly as Matt's Deputy, and Susan suddenly is aware she has been deceived by her father.

Tom Drake, who plays Ben Hurley, was a veritable staple of television during the 1960s and 1970s, but this is his only Gunsmoke role. Pamela Dunlap makes her first Gunsmoke appearance as Susan Hurley. She would return in the next season's Snow Train: Part 1 and Part 2 episodes. Dunlap is still acting. She has appeared in many films and television shows.

The outlaw gang in this episode are all familiar Gunsmoke faces. John Crawford plays the injured Pinto. Rex Holman is the especially nasty Carr. Anthony Caruso makes one of his fourteen Gunsmoke appearances in a surprisingly small part as Gulley.

With "Ring of Darkness," we have another Gunsmoke story idea that had potential, but the episode suffers from poor execution. An inordinate amount of time is spent on scenes with Newly and Susan talking. The scenes involving the outlaw gang at the farmhouse are rushed and formulaic. For example, having Carr attempt to force himself on Susan and having her throw hot water in his face is extremely predictable. At least one other episode of Gunsmoke has Newly being held by outlaws at some out of the way location with a beautiful woman involved. Other than being the gunsmith in Dodge City, and a part-time Deputy U. S. Marshal, the Newly character was especially adept at being held captive by someone or some group.

This story was clearly meant to feature Buck Taylor's character prominently as the other Gunsmoke regulars appear in brief scenes at the beginning and end. Unfortunately, the laborious story execution fails to offer as much as it could have in the way of entertainment.