Matt Dillon, Doc Adams, and Festus Haggen have been in Denver to testify at an important trial. They are traveling by passenger train back to Dodge City when a large group of Sioux led by a man named Red Willow block the tracks and force the train to stop. When Matt meets with Red Willow and Running Fox, who can speak English, he learns the Sioux have left the reservation and are seeking two men that sold them poison liquor, which resulted in the death of three braves and blinded five others. The Sioux are convinced the two men are on board the train.
The Sioux demand the two men be turned over to them to exact justice. Matt explains that he will find out the identity of the pair and see they are prosecuted in Dodge for their crimes. Red Willow agrees to present the proposal to the other members of their tribe.
A tremendous problem exists because the train is stopped high in the mountains where it is already cold, and the temperature is likely to plunge after the sun goes down. The passengers on the train are at significant risk of freezing to death. (This is a major logistical problem with the story. The route taken by the train is never identified, but there is no logical path that would take the train through mountains. The terrain between eastern Colorado and Dodge City, Kansas is mostly flat.)
One of the passengers, Ada Coleman, is traveling with her husband Scott. Ada is six months pregnant. She was injured when the train had to stop suddenly. Doc tries to help her, but he is limited in what he can do under the circumstances.
The train conductor knows what might happen if the train is forced to sit in the mountains overnight, and -- without informing the Marshal -- he organizes a foolish attempt to free the train and escape the Sioux. Of course, this only makes matters worse because the Sioux prevent the escape and manage to break several of the windows in the train cars in the ensuing melee. The train engineer named Tibbett is seriously wounded by a Sioux arrow. Furthermore, any hopes of the Sioux agreeing to allow the train to go on to Dodge is now lost. Red Willow demands the release of the two men they seek by morning.
Marshal Dillon realizes the situation is untenable. He devises a plan to travel by foot to a relay station that is a few hours away. Festus and a passenger named Floyd Coleman stage a fight to distract the Sioux while Matt jumps off the train and begins the long trek to the relay station. Three of the Sioux that were on a hunting expedition see some of the Marshal's tracks in the snow and begin to pursue him.
This two-part episode features a veritable treasure trove of character actor guest stars, a few who make their solo appearance in a Gunsmoke episode. Eddie Applegate plays a passenger named Al. Applegate never enjoyed that much success as an actor. He was best known for playing the character Richard Harrison on The Patty Duke show.
Tim Considine portrays Scott Coleman. Considine was a popular child actor featured in several television shows and a few films for Walt Disney. He appeared with Fred MacMurray in Disney's first live-action film The Shaggy Dog. Shortly after that appearance, he was cast with MacMurray as the oldest Douglas son, Mike, on the series My Three Sons. After five seasons, he no longer considered My Three Sons a challenge and quit the show. His acting career fizzled following that series. However, around the time he appeared in this episode of Gunsmoke, he also appeared in the film Patton where George C. Scott's character slapped him.
Another familiar face appearing in this episode is Dana Elcar. Here he plays a confidence man posing as a priest named Pennigrath. Elcar's resume was impressive with many appearances in films and television. Elcar went blind during the time he was playing the character Pete Thronton on MacGyver, and his affliction was incorporated into his character on the show. He continued to play roles that called for blind characters following his time on that show.
Several other actors are included in this episode that have varying degrees of experience on Gunsmoke. Pamela Dunlap as Ada Coleman, Roy Engel as Tibbett, Gene Evans as Billy -- "just Billy" -- Eddie Firestone as Hap, Ron Hayes as Floyd Coleman (Scott's brother), Clifton James as Sam Wickes, Ken Lynch as Lucas, John Milford as Clay Foreman, Doreen Lang as Mae, Anne Seymour as Sarah, Loretta Swit as Donna, Richard Lapp as Running Fox, and X Brands as Red Willow all appeared in multiple episodes of the show over its long run. Although this is Richard Kelton's first Gunsmoke participation, he would return for three additional appearances. His character in this episode is named Bud.
This plethora of acting talent allows this episode to be stretched over two parts by including sub-plots. Many of the characters are people traveling in pairs, and they have their own stories to add to the overarching story of being held captive on a train. Part 2 explores more of those stories.
Part 1 of this story is sufficiently suspenseful. It primarily serves to lay the groundwork for Part 2 without giving away the principal mystery of who is responsible for the Sioux deaths and injuries. Part 1 moves quickly, and there are so many characters involved, becoming acquainted with all the players takes a good deal of time.
The Sioux demand the two men be turned over to them to exact justice. Matt explains that he will find out the identity of the pair and see they are prosecuted in Dodge for their crimes. Red Willow agrees to present the proposal to the other members of their tribe.
A tremendous problem exists because the train is stopped high in the mountains where it is already cold, and the temperature is likely to plunge after the sun goes down. The passengers on the train are at significant risk of freezing to death. (This is a major logistical problem with the story. The route taken by the train is never identified, but there is no logical path that would take the train through mountains. The terrain between eastern Colorado and Dodge City, Kansas is mostly flat.)
One of the passengers, Ada Coleman, is traveling with her husband Scott. Ada is six months pregnant. She was injured when the train had to stop suddenly. Doc tries to help her, but he is limited in what he can do under the circumstances.
The train conductor knows what might happen if the train is forced to sit in the mountains overnight, and -- without informing the Marshal -- he organizes a foolish attempt to free the train and escape the Sioux. Of course, this only makes matters worse because the Sioux prevent the escape and manage to break several of the windows in the train cars in the ensuing melee. The train engineer named Tibbett is seriously wounded by a Sioux arrow. Furthermore, any hopes of the Sioux agreeing to allow the train to go on to Dodge is now lost. Red Willow demands the release of the two men they seek by morning.
Marshal Dillon realizes the situation is untenable. He devises a plan to travel by foot to a relay station that is a few hours away. Festus and a passenger named Floyd Coleman stage a fight to distract the Sioux while Matt jumps off the train and begins the long trek to the relay station. Three of the Sioux that were on a hunting expedition see some of the Marshal's tracks in the snow and begin to pursue him.
This two-part episode features a veritable treasure trove of character actor guest stars, a few who make their solo appearance in a Gunsmoke episode. Eddie Applegate plays a passenger named Al. Applegate never enjoyed that much success as an actor. He was best known for playing the character Richard Harrison on The Patty Duke show.
Tim Considine portrays Scott Coleman. Considine was a popular child actor featured in several television shows and a few films for Walt Disney. He appeared with Fred MacMurray in Disney's first live-action film The Shaggy Dog. Shortly after that appearance, he was cast with MacMurray as the oldest Douglas son, Mike, on the series My Three Sons. After five seasons, he no longer considered My Three Sons a challenge and quit the show. His acting career fizzled following that series. However, around the time he appeared in this episode of Gunsmoke, he also appeared in the film Patton where George C. Scott's character slapped him.
Another familiar face appearing in this episode is Dana Elcar. Here he plays a confidence man posing as a priest named Pennigrath. Elcar's resume was impressive with many appearances in films and television. Elcar went blind during the time he was playing the character Pete Thronton on MacGyver, and his affliction was incorporated into his character on the show. He continued to play roles that called for blind characters following his time on that show.
Several other actors are included in this episode that have varying degrees of experience on Gunsmoke. Pamela Dunlap as Ada Coleman, Roy Engel as Tibbett, Gene Evans as Billy -- "just Billy" -- Eddie Firestone as Hap, Ron Hayes as Floyd Coleman (Scott's brother), Clifton James as Sam Wickes, Ken Lynch as Lucas, John Milford as Clay Foreman, Doreen Lang as Mae, Anne Seymour as Sarah, Loretta Swit as Donna, Richard Lapp as Running Fox, and X Brands as Red Willow all appeared in multiple episodes of the show over its long run. Although this is Richard Kelton's first Gunsmoke participation, he would return for three additional appearances. His character in this episode is named Bud.
This plethora of acting talent allows this episode to be stretched over two parts by including sub-plots. Many of the characters are people traveling in pairs, and they have their own stories to add to the overarching story of being held captive on a train. Part 2 explores more of those stories.
Part 1 of this story is sufficiently suspenseful. It primarily serves to lay the groundwork for Part 2 without giving away the principal mystery of who is responsible for the Sioux deaths and injuries. Part 1 moves quickly, and there are so many characters involved, becoming acquainted with all the players takes a good deal of time.
