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.

I wished that they could have kept Thad Ferrin on and somehow tied him into Thad Greenwood's story. I wished that sweet boy's character could have been kept for a few more seasons. Plus I always thought Miss Kitty would've made a good mother, Saloon keeper and all. She had a few more opportunities throughout the show and it was sad every time she let the children go. The episode "The Foundling" was one where I thought she should get to keep the baby. Then in the episode "The Lost" where she helps a wild child become civilized, Kitty again surrenders the girl. The constant agony of never getting to keep Matt Dillon, seemed to be exacerbated by the loss of several children along the way.

The episode opens with Miss Kitty, with her hair uncharacteristically braided and down rather than assembled into a concise but glamorous bun, sneaking out into the stable in the middle of the night and riding off. She meets a young boy of about ten at a stagecoach depot in another town. They greet each other enthusiastically and affectionately at the depot, and she rides off with him. Any secrecy about all of this that Kitty wished to preserve is ruined by the fact that Jonas, owner of the general store in Dodge City, is in another stagecoach on its way back to Dodge City, and sees all of this. When he returns he of course spills the beans, and soon Matt Dillon, Doc Adams, and Chester all know what happened. Kitty returns to Dodge City without the boy - she left him at a farm with friends. She is completely mum on the subject.

So what nobody is saying and everybody is thinking is - Could this be Kitty's son from her pre Matt Dillon/Dodge City days? In the 19th century a single woman just couldn't have a child born outside of marriage and raise that child in the clear light of day without both being ostracized, so that would explain Kitty's actions. Is this what is going on? Watch and find out.

This is the great thing about these one hour Gunsmoke episodes - the amount of character development that is allowed in the supporting characters. In this episode we see both the softer and fiercely loyal side of Miss Kitty. We also see some of the affection displayed between Matt and Kitty where he tells her how he feels without really telling her and she reciprocates.

This is a rare but very good showcase for Amanda Blake's acting talents, and I'd highly recommend it.

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.