Take Her, She's Cheap

Over twenty seasons, several stories about homeless bum families living in their wagons were done. Sometimes they were grifters and killers. Occasionally they were families where the Husband was a lazy drunk who only provided to his family what food they could steal from town to town.

In this version, the lazy father, played by Malcolm Atterbury, tries to give away his daughter to Matt Dillon. Naturally, Dillon says no, but the teenage girl is smitten by Matt Dillon, who is like a god compared to her piece of trash father and creepy brother (Harry Dean Stanton).

Instead of Dillon helping the girl by putting her in a better place, he just yells at her family and dumps her back with them.

Miss Kitty had a lot of money, and Doc Adams was always talking about helping people, too bad they never set up a halfway house for people that needed help.

An orphanage and a vocational school was within the means of Miss Kitty. Doc Adams could have had a hand in running it.

It was tragic to return Lauri Peters, who had just been assaulted, to the lazy bum father and lowlife brother where she came from. The Gunsmoke gang could have done better.

Leading lady Lauri Peters is stunningly good, making this episode of "Gunsmoke". She was going on 21 here and had already starred in two A-movies as a teen. What a shame that after this appearance she never made another one for four years, and after that only very occasionally. On the other hand, she contributed mightily to the furthering of noted acting teacher Stanford Meisner's theory and practice for other young actors. Here she plays "Allie", a young runaway smitten with Matt Dillon who is molested before her would-be rapist's brother can deal with the attacker with a bottle over the head. A very touching, natural and intelligent portrayal by such a young actress.

Good acting, good and different storyline so why wasnt it better?, Well, as usual tbe young women are absurd. sle's,been raped and walks miles stumbling into Dodge,with shiney, freshly washed hair, blouse tucked in, cheery and in love. Sure, thats how every girl feels after a rape. Bad direction ,poor production elements. Hites promising script deserved better.

It's a good thing that Lauri Peters is a fine actress, and she pulls off this very touchy role (another Kathleen Hite "Women's Perspective" character) very well indeed.

But she looks like she's just stepped out of the Mademoiselle Finishing School for Debutantes, right into the CBS make-up department (a few dirt smudges along with the immaculate eyelashes, etc) and into the rough n' tumble American Old West. And that's BEFORE we get to Ms. Peters' hair-style---a perfectly marvelous, perky, mid-60's "do." Then there's the lovely suntan... Sorry, but these things drive me nuts in TV of the era.

As seen by the other comments posted here, CBS fully expected the men folk of America to tune in and ogle Ms. Peters, whose acting talents, thankfully, are excellent. But our sense of credulity is further stretched by the fact that Allie is able to WALK ALONE for Miles and Miles at night, through forest and thicket, with no problem at all...save for the two thugs she has the misfortune to meet. And there are many more inconsistencies in Ms. Hite's script.

Big Matt is in a pretty foul mood throughout, and has no problem SLAPPING people around in situations where his usual calm, restrained presence would NEVER have acted with such violence. But--on the other hand: when Festus tells Matt that the Marshall's office was shot up (which would have killed Matt had he been there) and the guys who did it are now over at the Long Branch (trashing it, as we later find), what does Matt do?? NOTHING. He just turns in for the night (!). It's only during his breakfast outing the next A. M. with Kitty that he decides to....inexplicably... beat the crap out of the bad guy with barely a word spoken between them.

Is this Hite's idea of a less tolerant, more vengeful Matt D, perhaps in mid-life crisis?? The script provides MORE than a hint of Matt's frustration: he resists the young tart's infatuation while--at the same time---resisting the continually-implied advances of "Madame" Kitty Russel, an open invitation to Ms. Hite's subtle probing of the male psyche. No wonder the "conflicted" Marshall of Dodge pounds the living s___ out of anybody who crosses him in this show.

Linda Watkins and Malcolm Atterbury are about as unsavory a couple as you could ask for (but I guess that's the point), and Dean Stanton --who also gets pummeled by Matt--completes the family portrait....that is, except for the brood of squeaky-clean tykes running around the woods, one of whom wears this HUGE, floppy hat like Jackie Coogan wore in "The Kid".

There's just too many silly elements in this episode that I couldn't get past. I understand that the rape issue is not to be taken lightly, but it was handled MUCH more seriously and less gratuitously in "The Violaters" a few shows back.

So, if you are blinded by Lauri Peters's charms to the point that you are willing to ignore the significant dramatic flaws in this episode, hit the "NOT HELPFUL" button--- NOW!!

LR.

I watch Gunsmoke reruns very often. This is the second time this SAME actress plays a rape victim on Gunsmoke. The actress is good and the viewer does feel sorry for her.