Reed Survives

Strong story with movie-level cast-- Carradine, Albright, and Drury. Farm wife Albright shows up at Matt's office, claiming husband Carradine wants to kill her. Matt rides to farm, but Carradine shows no suspicious signs, emphasizing instead that he loves her and does so in convincing fashion. Now Matt doesn't know what to think until Kitty points out handsome young drifter (Drury) who has started work at the farm. And so the plot thickens.

Good screenplay from Les Crutchfield that leads to one of those deeper ironical endings that helped distinguish the series. Fine work from young Drury as the star-crossed drifter. However, someone in production decided Albright should be dressed as though she just stepped out of a glossy magazine-- some farm wife! Also, the cadaverously impressive Carradine's part is much to brief for an actor of his abilities. There's an unusual moment in the screenplay that should be noted. Matt walks into the saloon where Doc is holding forth at a table with others clustered around. Convention leads us to expect Matt will linger in some fashion with another cast principal. But he doesn't, walking past instead. Thus we never learn what the heavy discussion was about. The plot is advanced not a whit. But the moment does suggest something unusual and often neglected in a tightly budgeted TV series. Namely, that there is life beyond camera range.

Reed is not a man's name in this usage. It is the straw the old farmer shows off to Matt.

This site explains the inspiration of the dialogue between the two men.

A search of the internet shows an explanation which includes Bible verses which inspired the title.

These early episodes of Gunsmoke are interesting for comparing the character develop which came later. Kitty is better looking, Matt is as circumspect as he ever would be about whether he accepted her social offerings. We can only wonder at the reasons they never confirm if they are together.

Dennis Weaver willingly played the second fiddle, then, after leaving the show spent the rest of his career trying to get out of his small shadow.

Wow - I have seen Lola Albright in a few other things but have never seen her look as good as she does in this episode. Gunsmoke camera men or make-up artist knew how to make a woman look absolutely stunning. I agree with another reviewer who questions why this episode was named Reed Survives when no-one in the cast has that name. Maybe a boo- boo somewhere . Oh well, still a good episode.

Young and sexy former saloon girl marries older preacher/rancher and proceeds to poison the well of public opinion concerning his treatment of her.

Handsome ranch hand believes her when she makes advances towards him but it's all a scheme to kill the older husband and end up with the money and property. Lola Albright stars with John Carradine and James Drury. Well acted, directed and good cinematography makes this early Gunsmoke very watchable.

The Lola Albright character also apparently has a sexual past with Matt Dillon that they hint at which makes the story more interesting.

I'm a tremendous Gunsmoke fan of the 30 minute episodes. Such excellent writing and the simple and effective storylines provided a depth of adult western noir that no other western television show ever achieved.

When Gunsmoke went to one hour the series suffered but until then it was superb and "The Reed Survives" is an excellent example of the 30 minute Gunsmoke.

Surprising twist at the end of this episode gives it an extra something.

A wealthy older man and much younger woman named Ephraim and Lucy Hunt are married and live near Dodge City. Lucy arrives at the Marshal's office to tell Matt Dillon her husband is trying to kill her. Matt is dubious about Lucy's claims, but he agrees to investigate further.

(The opening scene includes Chester Goode telling Matt Lucy Hunt is in town. Chester questions why Lucy married Ephraim and speculates it may be for his money. Matt offers no suggestions. Lucy then walks into the office. The scene up to where Lucy walks into the office is sometimes cut in today's broadcasts to allow more commercial time.)

The Marshal pays a visit to Ephraim, and the man convinces Matt he loves his wife very deeply. He compares his wife to a fragile reed and tells Matt it is his duty to provide her protection to prevent her/the reed from being broken. This statement provides the basis for the name of the episode.

Handsome, young Booth Rider is a hired hand working on the Hunt farm. When Matt talks to Rider in the Long Branch Saloon, he tries to convince the cowboy to seek his fortunes elsewhere, but Rider refuses. Lucy uses her sex appeal to seduce Rider into killing Ephraim by telling him Ephraim has a gun and plans to kill them both. The scheme eliminates Ephraim and Rider, since the young man would be blamed for the death.

Classic television fans will remember beautiful, doe-eyed Lola Albright from her portrayal of Edie Hart, nightclub singer and Peter Gunn's love interest in the series Peter Gunn. (Albright fans should see her stunning, sultry performance in an obscure Alexander Singer film A Cold Wind in August. That film starred a couple of other Gunsmoke alum, Scott Marlowe and Joe De Santis, as well as Herschel Bernardi who played Lieutenant Jacoby in the Peter Gunn series.) This performance as Lucy Hunt is Albright's only Gunsmoke role.

The great John Carradine appears here as Ephraim Hunt. The prolific actor had already appeared in hundreds of films by the time he played this role. Carradine claimed he never made much money acting, and with the advent of television, he found steady work in the medium in roles like this that were arguably beneath his level of talent. Carradine would appear in one other Gunsmoke episode in Season 5.

Actor James Drury portrays the Booth Rider character in this story. Drury was a familiar face in westerns films and television shows before and after appearing in this episode. He would appear in another three episodes of the series, all during the thirty-minute era. The actor is best known for the starring role in the NBC series The Virginian.

This is the first television Gunsmoke story written by Les Crutchfield. Crutchfield would later create the character Festus Haggen. He continued contributing to the series until his premature death at age 50 from cancer.

A frequent plot device in the earlier Gunsmoke episodes is having a scheming woman convince a man to commit murder or do some other illegal act for her. Women are often portrayed as conniving, manipulative fortune seekers, as is the case with the Lucy Hunt character.

Again, here is an episode that was innovative television in 1955, but offers few surprises over sixty years later, because there have been countless comparable stories used in dramas since. When viewed in the proper context, this is a well-executed episode.