Cotter's Girl

This episode is very cleverly written Mariette Hartley and her execution of this character would entice carol Burnett and other comedic females to show appreciation with a nod,wink and ear tug.

Any outtakes from this episode taping would be must see.

I am very pleasantly surprised.

Don't know if she was ever teamed up with Jeanette Nolan or Jack elam--if she wasn't-- than it would have been deemed "missed opportunity for tv magic"- we are all fools if we don't revisit tv "excellence"...

This is the distaff version of "Old Companion", with the male heir replaced by a female. * It's comparably pointless -- the central conflict, of turning a tomboy into a young "lady", is of no particular consequence to anyone.

What saves this show (which could have been as awful as "Old Companion" -- see my review) is Mariette Hartley's performance. "Charming" doesn't begin to describe it. She's as fresh as a daisy and natural as spring water, unmannered and devoid of self-awareness. It's unlikely any other ingénue of the early '60s could have done remotely as well. One gets the feeling that the script was written with her in mind.

Recommended -- not for the story, but for the pleasure of watching Ms Hartley.

* In watching multiple seasons of various TV series, I'm surprised at how often episodes within a few weeks of each other are thematically similar or even identical. (This even happens /across/ series!) It's probably not an accident -- one writer's idea provokes an "I can do better reaction" in other writers.

I just saw this ending; this was a special Gunsmoke and all of the cast did a great job and some were interesting though short lived. At first Roy Barcroft, long time bad guy to Roy Rogers and other good guys, was the father and then John Clarke, who recently died with a long running role on Days of our Lives, was the man who fought with him. Two parts at the end jumped out to me; the tall young man who got on the stage was a sometime double for Clint Walker. The second was when Kitty ran up behind Matt, called him Dillon and hugged him with a great big smile on her face; I have to wonder if this was an adlib.

Clarey Cooter had a lot to learn only about how to live around people not how to be open and honest. She was comical only in how nieve she was about things most of us take for granted. When Matt met up with her he definitely got more than he was expecting. So off to Dodge they went. I loved the scene when they stopped in Shallow Water at a dress shop. That was funny. An older lady ran the shop and I don't think she was too long on patience but then neither was Clarey. Can't blame her for not wanting anything to do with a corsset. I don't think anyone these days would either. It was a good story and a nice change of pace from the norm. Make sure you watch the last scenes. Totally priceless!

Marriette Hartley delivers a fantastic performance, upstaging every regular cast member in what must rank as the most delightful Gunsmoke episode ever. This is both heart warming and funny. The constant interplay between Hartley and James Arness is mesmerizing, as each cast member is allowed to just have fun on camera, and that jolliness shines through the entire episode.

The plot, such as it is, becomes unimportant as this is a human play of an innocent platonic relationship, and is as close as one will ever get to seeing James Arness play out as a father of a teenage daughter, one who by the way isn't interested in playing the role of daughter, as she is puppy lover!

Hartley was actually 23 years old when this episode was made, and yet she plays the role of innocent teen so well that one forgets how old she really was. It took an outstanding actress to pull this role off, and Hartley delivered!