Anybody Can Kill a Marshal

Marshall Dillon sees himself as an ordinary man just doing his job the best way he knows how. But others look at him differently. To outlaws, he is a fearsome, unkillable foe. To citizens, he is more legend than man.

"Any Body Can Kill a Marshall" is a unique episode that looks at Dillon's legend. Two outlaws, Lucas and Clede, plot to kill Dillon so they can have free reign over Dodge City. Clede ambushes the Marshall at point blank range but fails to kill him. When the two are talking over how they'd like to kill Dillon but aren't sure how to go about it, they are overheard by a strange, shabbily dressed man named Painter. Painter offers to do the job for a flat $200 up front. The outlaws agree and pay the man, who vows he will kill the Marshall the next day.

Painter spends some of his money right away. We see him purchase a gun and a nice suit of clothes, with compliments to the shopkeeper. He shows kindness to a saloon girl and gives her a note to send to somebody the next day. He even compliments Marshall Dillon for breaking up a fight. The following day, he has sworn to kill him...

I won't spoil what happens next as others have done.This is a moody, melancholy episode of "Gunsmoke", made more atmospheric by ominous music. The music was courtesy of the great Bernard Hermann and appeared in several notable "Twilight Zone" episodes. Character actor Milton Seltzer steals the show as Painter, a man both sympathetic and creepy. It's obvious from his laconic personality that he has given up on life. "He just don't care no more!" says Clede. We later discover Painter's motivations and they are not what one would expect.

We see Marshall Dillon through many different eyes in this episode. Miss Kitty is furious with him because he constantly risks his life, telling him "You make me sick!" at one point. Painter discovers admiration for the Marshall, a man he's never met. Clede has almost supernatural terror of Dillon, bellowing at him "Why don't you DIE, Marshall Dillon?". Lucas sees him as an obstacle to be disposed of. Matt might be aware of these viewpoints but soldiers on because that's all he knows how to do.

The ending on the episode is ambiguous in a real life way that most TV Westerns would avoid. This episode is proof again why "Gunsmoke" was on one of the best.

Lots of interesting things in this episode, but alas, it's further proof that Gunsmoke's stellar team of writer Hite and director Harris was only human (just like Matt Dillon).

The entire "Dillon must be Invulnerable" thing is pretty contrived, with too much time spent on the wearisome, repetitive dialogue between Warren Stevens and his chunky, booze-chuggin' pal James Westerfield. After a while, this business just seemed to go nowhere-- ESPECIALLY at the end, when one of them inexplicably escapes justice (they had, after all, conspired to kill a U.S. Marshall).

In the middle of it all is Milton Selzer ("Painter"), whose story is definitely more interesting; however, the two conspiratorial thugs, with their incessant "there's GOTTA be a way to kill that Marshall" routine keep intruding, resulting in a 50-minute drama that seems unbalanced....AND unfulfilling.

And even though the show's plot would have been much more predictable, it would have been MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE if Matt's ride out to meet the lame young lady had been the FINAL SCENE, thereby making the oddball character of Painter and his "mission"-- to use the money for a noble cause at the inevitable cost of his own life---the main focus; this would have assigned the two screwball characters to secondary importance. But Painter's altruistic motif with the money is essentially tossed aside in the plot.

It just doesn't feel right...as if we're watching the first/rough draft of Ms. Hite's script.

A few more observations:

1.) The highly-praised "Woman's Perspective" of writer Kathleen Hite comes on with a vengeance in the early scene with Matt and Kitty; JEEEESH, ladies; back off a bit! Talk about frustration...

2.) In a dark, moody show like this, one must question the decision to cast Howard McNear when he was currently EMBLAZONED in the consciousness of TV America as Mayberry's resident tonsorial nut-case (ie: The Andy Griffith Show).

3.) Yes, lots of Bernard Herrmann's brooding musical cues from Twilight Zone's "Where Is Everybody".

4.) Nice change of pace at the end, as Matt doesn't exactly ride off into the sunset---but instead slogs off on foot in a soaking rainstorm (with no musical underscore). -- Hey, Matt--why not at least walk on the sidewalk platform, under the wooden awnings? Next thing you know, you'll catch a nasty cold, and Miss Kitty will be CHEWIN' YER A____ OFF AGAIN.

LR

So i've seen this episode before but this time i think i reeeally paid attention. LOVED the entire story, LOVED the ending. lol sadly i'm not as refined and cultured as my fellow commenters so dunno who did the music, dunno why it was so special. Well, because i simply don't care. But don't get me wrong, if someone else wants to take the time researching these things i'm happy to read all about it. i'm just lazy, not so much stupid. For information like that and much more, i suggest yinz check out the user review from @drmality-1. After perusing all of the other reviews, this was the most informative yet still enjoyable input on this episode. Just a suggestion.

This is a fascinating episode of Gunsmoke and also one of the very best. And Kathleen Hite's plot is what makes it a cut above. Simply put, she introduces the idea that Matt Dillon may not actually be a human being. In this episode he inexplicably survives two point-blank assassination attempts, the first without a scratch. And his first would-be assassin, an outlaw named Clede, becomes convinced that Dillon is an immortal supernatural presence.

This is not as kooky as it may seem. Although Dillon is frequently wounded in the series and is sometimes ill, he does not die and at times really does appear to be some sort of Greek god in a cowboy hat. I do not know but suspect that Clint Eastwood's supernatural Western figures, the High Plains Drifter and the Pale Rider, may have been inspired, at least subconsciously, by this episode. At any rate, hats off to Hite, who was getting better and better as a writer, and to Milton Selzer, who is marvelous as a transmundane hitman.

Just saw this for the first time. It's surprising it doesn't show up on "best episodes" lists. But the same could be said for a lot of other episodes. It's off-kilter (the bad guys wondering out loud whether Marshal Dillon is actually killable), with an "uneasy" ending. I won't spoil it.

Besides the somewhat unusual story, several other things stand out. One is a rarity among the hundreds of thousands of motion pictures and TV shows made in the entire history of the world -- a lightning flash //is not// accompanied by thunder, which occurs several seconds later.

Another is Howard McNear's quirky turn as Wilbur Jonas' assistant. McNear (Doc Adams in the radio version) played this role several times, presumably because Dabbs Greer wasn't available.

The last is the music editor's selection of Bernard Herrmann's music from an early Twilight Zone episode. It's out of place in a Western (not just the music itself, but the vibraphone), which is probably why it's so effective.