Miss Kitty

This seemed to be a story that was written last year for a thirty minute show that they stretched into the new hour format. While watching this episode it contained about 20% story and the rest was filler that appeared to have been written only for time sake.

The story began as promising as any episode could begin- as Miss Kitty, without a word to anyone, seems to sneak out-of-town in the middle of the night. She rides many miles to a stagecoach stop where she meets a a child named Thad (about 12 years of age). The child calls her Aunt Kitty as they set off on her horse to a farm house.

At the farm owned by Horace and Mattie Kelk, Ms Kitty drops the boy off under suspicious circumstances. With Ms Kitty acting so cautious concerning the boy, we the viewer suspect that the child could have been Ms Kitty's own child. Even when Ms Kitty confided with the Kelk's the story behind the child, it really did not take an suspicions away. Add to the fact that the child's father, an outlaw named Tucker Ferrin, was seeking the boy and the hatred that Ms Kitty had for Tucker- we get the feeling that the boy story is not told absolutely correct.

And with the ending of the show we are again left with a cloud over the entire story as Ms Kitty brings the boy to Dodge with no clear cut explanation of her intentions. Making the viewer feel that there is much more to this story than what was told.

This really is not a bad story, in fact it could have been one of the better episodes in the collection. But it appeared that the writer played it too close to the vest. The show really only had three parts, the sneaking out of town, the story of the child and when Ms Kitty takes matter into her own hands near the end. With such a good story the script was just too safe. Sad to see all the great interesting material unused.

You can count on K. Hite to wrirte a strong script for a woman. And Chester was very funny. Not enough killing for some men. Really an interesting story with a strong cast.

Miss Kitty secretly picks up the child of one of her best friends at the stage depot. The child, Thad (played by Roger Mobley), was sent to her because his mother was beaten to death by his father, a wanted outlaw named Tucker Ferrin. Tucker is played by John Lasell, who only appeared on Gunsmoke this one time. He does a great job of coming across like an evil, vicious killer, and a cruel abuser of women.

Unfortunately for Miss Kitty, the unpleasant Mr. Jonas (Dabbs Greer) was on the same stage with Thad, so he sees Miss Kitty pick the kid up. As soon as Jonas gets to Dodge, he is telling everyone that stops into his General Store about it. Chester of course, loves gossip, and goes around talking to everyone about Miss Kitty.

Miss Kitty wants to keep Thad a secret, because she is afraid that his father, Tucker is coming after Thad (and he is). She has made arrangements for Thad to stay with the Kelk family, at their farm. Harold J. Stone (seven appearances on Gunsmoke) and Linda Watkins (six appearances on Gunsmoke) play the Kelks. They are more than happy to provide Thad a new home and a fresh start.

When Miss Kitty heads out to the Kelk farm, Chester makes a big deal out of it. A short time later, Frank Sutton comes to town looking for Miss Kitty. He is the sidekick of Tucker Ferrin, and he wants to meddle in Tucker's search for Miss Kitty. Tucker meets Chester at the Longbranch, and in a couple of minutes Chester has told Sutton everything about Miss Kitty leaving town. Sutton immediately realizes that he saw her on the road, and knows where she is going.

The next day, Tucker Ferrin comes across his sidekick, Sutton, and gets all the information from Sutton that he got from Chester. Now Tucker knows where to look for Miss Kitty. A short time later, Tucker confronts Miss Kitty, and starts beating on her to find out where his son is. The last time Miss Kitty got abused, she had to kill the crazy old man in "Kitty's Killing" (season 5, episode 24). Now she is getting abused again. Miss Kitty doesn't take abuse well. She is not a victim.

The story was very good. Miss Kitty could really act like a tigress when she had to. She had so much fire and energy that I wonder sometimes why she never got the chance to make movies. She would have been great paired with John Wayne in one of his many Westerns during this era.

As the episode closes, Miss Kitty takes Thad for a walk around Dodge City, and that is the last we ever see of this child that she loves so much. This child that Miss Kitty loves so much is in one episode, and then he is never back again.

A lack of continuity regarding characters like Thad is one of the flaws of Gunsmoke. A long-running show like Gunsmoke could have brought back guests from prior years. It would have been nice to see Thad a few seasons later.

Any episode featuring Amanda Blake is sure to highlight Miss Kitty's strength of character and resilience, and that is the case here. My only issue with the episode is the unanswered question hanging over the ending like a veil. Kitty seems honest in her explanation to Mattie and Horace about Thad's backstory, so why doesn't she tell Matt? It's clear by his expression as he watches Kitty and Thad walk hand in hand that he has a different idea about Thad's parentage than the one Kitty reveals. She too seems to be hiding something from him, and yet she's never deceived him or her other friends before. Did she lie to Mattie and Horace? With a resolution of this question, the episode would certainly be a classic of the series. It's still a great story, but frustratingly so.

Feminine, maternal, loving, gentle, rational, mentally tough, fiercely protective, moral; we see the full character of Miss Kitty in this fine Gunsmoke  episode.

Kathleen Hite wrote a true gem in "Miss Kitty" about a young orphan Thad Ferrin (well played by Roger Mobley) who is whisked from the hands of evil by his bio-mom, then by his adoptive aunt, Miss Kitty. Miss Hite's goal was to show the viewing audience what Miss Kitty was all about by developing her strong character; and she succeeded. All of the above adjectives are portrayed during the episode from Kitty dealing with Thad to her dealing with Matt, Chester, & Doc, and with the outlaws.

John Lasell plays a strong role as Tucker Ferrin in that the viewing audience will absolutely hate him.

Director Harry Harris used some great closeups to depict a climactic showdown of Good vs. Evil.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Miss Kitty" in that the essence of her whole being comes out; and it's not surprising she owns & runs a saloon. I wished it was shot in color, however.