Annie Oakley

Kate Kinsman is going to seed on a farm as wife of uncaring husband, Jeff. She craves attention and tries to get some by tricking Jeff into a fight with handsome neighbor, Dolliver (John Anderson). The ploy however backfires. Then suddenly Jeff turns up dead and Kate sics the marshal on Dolliver.

Average episode that manages some suspense. Notice how effectively the characters of Kate and Jeff are sketched-in during the first half-minute. Somehow I get the impression this entry would have been more effective had writer Meston played up the plight of a vain woman losing her looks in unappreciative surroundings. This would certainly amount to a novel story angle for a Western series and one crypto-feminist Meston could have scripted intelligently. Chester again shines with his backwoods twang and earnest stammer-- watch Arness's subtle reactions to his deputy's always growling stomach.

Here is a very unique story that had all the makings of a fine mystery novel but was played as a western theme making for an entertaining watch for the series.

It starts as Jeff and Kate Kinsman are in town to pick up supplies. We then see a fairly handsome man, Dolliver, enter the General Store. Kate gets off the wagon and goes inside the store only to return and tell her husband that the handsome Dolliver was coming on to her. A near fight breaks out between Jeff and Dolliver before Marshal Dillon is able to break it up and send the people on their own way.

A day later, Kate comes into town and advises that her husband has been shot and killed by the sweet talking Dolliver. Matt goes out to investigate but does not have enough evidence to arrest. Now Kate feels bad for the murder since it was her fault the two men were fighting. But Matt believes there is more to this murder than meets the eye.

This was an interesting story when someone thinks more of themselves than is really possible. Florence MacMichael was a nice pick to play the homely Ms Kinsman and of course John Anderson, as Dolliver, always plays his character to perfection. A wonderful acted episode that was a entertaining to watch.

Husband and wife Jeff and Kate Kinsman live near Dodge City. Kate is unhappy, neglected, and bored. Jeff is overbearing and dismissive. Kate manufactures strife between her husband and another local resident, bachelor and "ladies man" Ed Dolliver (credited as "Delliver"), by telling her husband the neighbor was flirting with her at the general store where Dolliver was purchasing a Sharps rifle. Kinsman and Dolliver engage in a bit of verbal sparring, and Kinsman threatens Dolliver with a knife before Matt Dillon can intervene and prevent any bloodshed.

When Jeff is shot and killed with a Sharps rifle on the prairie the next day, Dolliver immediately becomes the prime suspect. However, Marshal Dillon is not so sure the case is as open-and-shut as the circumstantial evidence would indicate.

John Anderson appears for the third time in a Gunsmoke episode as the Ed Dolliver character. This is his only appearance in Season Five. He would return to the series an additional nine times, with his last participation in Season Eighteen's "Kimbro."

Florence MacMichael makes her only Gunsmoke appearance as Kate Kinsman. Fans of The Andy Griffith Show may remember MacMichael as Barney Fife's romantic interest in the first season of that series. She portrayed Winnie Kirkwood in the series Mr. Ed for several episodes over a couple of seasons.

Veteran character actor George Mitchell makes the first of two Gunsmoke appearances as the Jeff Kinsman character.

Annie Oakley was a famous sharpshooter who was a major attraction in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The title of this episode is "Annie Oakley," which essentially eliminates any mystery regarding the story. It should be noted, however, the episode names were not displayed on screen during the early seasons of the show. It is possible a viewer of this episode would not be aware of the title.

MacMichael, Anderson, and Mitchell all turn in first-rate performances. While there is some mystery at play, it is not especially difficult for the viewer to solve. There are a couple of hints provided in the early altercation between Kinsman and Dolliver, and the episode title is a significant spoiler.

One of the things I enjoy most about the Gunsmoke series is the way the writers would weave in subtle humor and highlight character traits. The scenes where Old West "foodie" Chester Goode is complaining about Dolliver's coffee and fantasizing about food are classic.

Annie Oakly was a TV series that was on the air from 1954-1957. The star of the series was Gail Davis, a plain looking woman who was a trick shot, and got noticed and promoted by Gene Autry. Davis also had an affair with Autry that lasted eight years, until his wife finally put a stop to it.

This episode is titled Annie Oakley, and it seems to parallel some of the scandal of Gail Davis and Gene Autry, except that it was Gene Autry who had the women fighting over him.

In this story, Kate Kinsman tells her husband that there is another man willing to fight for her. She tells her husband that Dolliver (played by John Anderson) is flirting with her. When her husband confronts him, Dolliver sarcastically says "I wouldn't put any salt on that old crow," and thus both Kinsman and her husband are enraged!

A day later, Kinsman's husband is shot dead by a Sharp's rifle. Both her husband and Dolliver owned one. Sharp's rifles began production in 1848 and ceased production in 1881. Over 120,000 were sold during that era. So there were a lot of them around, but Kinsman demands that Dillon arrest Dolliver, and she threatens to make trouble for Dillon.

This episode is not bad, except that it is hard to take any of Kinsman's demands seriously. Since the first moment, Dillon is suspicious of Kinsman, so there is not much tension or mystery here.