Reunion '78

A stranger named Jerry Shand rides into Dodge City with an agenda. He meets a partner who has already been scouting the town looking for someone. The partner encourages Shand to abandon his search, but Shand is determined to find and confront the person. When Belle Archer, one of the Long Branch Saloon employees, sees Shand, she is upset and asks Chester Goode -- with whom she had been engaged in conversation -- to tell Kitty Russell she is not feeling well and goes to her room.

Shand finds a salesman man named Andy Culley in the Long Branch Saloon. (Culley boasts about a new product he plans to sell where barbs are attached to fence wire. He even references one of the inventors of barbed wire, Jacob Haish.) Shand insists Culley drink to "his old hometown" of Lawrence and tries to force Culley to continue drinking. When Culley refuses, Shand accosts him and reveals a tattoo on Culley's arm. Matt Dillon is in the saloon and sees the confrontation. He stops Shand and takes him to the Dodge jail.

Culley soon pays a visit to the jail and surprisingly pays the $25 bail to free Shand. Later, Culley sees Shand on the street and asks to talk with him. Culley apologizes profusely for something that happened between the men years earlier. Culley asks what he can do to make amends, and Shand insists Culley leave Kansas. The salesman has established himself in Dodge City and does not want to give up the life he has built there. Culley even offers money if Shand will leave him alone. When it is clear Shand will not relent, Culley draws a derringer and threatens to shoot Shand. Shand draws his pistol in self-defense and kills Culley.

Belle hears the discussion between the two men and witnesses the altercation from her upstairs room overlooking the street. Other people soon appear at the scene of the shooting, and everyone assumes Shand murdered Culley. Belle knows the truth, but she refuses to tell the Marshal what she saw and heard. The people of Dodge considered Culley a friend, and they threaten to lynch Shand.

Matt must deal with the unrest of the citizenry, but when he realizes Belle's room overlooks the area where Culley was shot, he is convinced Belle witnessed the conflict.

Shand is put on trial in Dodge -- with Doc Adams acting as judge! The truth will be revealed at the trial.

There are no guest stars of any renown in this episode. Val Dufour returns for his second appearance in the series. He plays the Jerry Shand character. He had previously appeared in a more villainous role just three episodes earlier in the "Reward for Matt" episode.

Marion Brash plays Belle in her only Gunsmoke appearance. Brash's acting career would later include several recurring roles in various soap operas.

Maurice Manson was no stranger to television during the 1950s and 1960s. He portrays the Andy Culley character in this story, which is the first of two Gunsmoke appearances for him. His second and final involvement in the series would occur toward the end of the first season.

This is a tale about finally dealing with lingering events from the past. The three primary guest characters -- Culley, Shand, and Brash -- all harbor memories that drive their actions in this story. The tension builds throughout the story, as the viewer knows what really happened, but only Belle and Shand among the cast of characters know the truth, and both are reluctant to honestly address the events.

Since there is a trial and a courtroom scene, there are many more extras than usual in the cast for this episode.

There are either a few curious aspects to this story, or they may just be continuity errors. Shand tells Marshal Dillon that Quantrill and his men rode into Lawrence in '63. Earlier in the story, Shand states the events in Lawrence occurred ten years earlier, which means the events in this story take place in 1873. However, the name of the episode is "Reunion '78," which would seem to indicate the story takes place in 1878.

Additionally, Shand tells Marshal Dillon that Quantrill and his men killed his father and took his mother away. He also tells Matt he was "just a kid" and his mother got him out of bed and told him to hide in the woodshed to avoid the raiders. However, at the trial, Shand testifies that Quantrill's men killed both his father and mother and took "his girl" away.

Finally, it is odd that Belle and Culley both live in Dodge, but Belle does not seem to know Culley, although she immediately recognizes Shand from the past.

There is a gunfight in this episode but that really is not the reason this show was compelling. There is a relationship between two of the characters that will be revealed in the end with some heartbreaking results. The ending is not a happy one but one that was already decided by fate.

The story involves a man from Lawrence named Jerry Shand that rides into Dodge with the notion of finding a man that he knew many years ago. This was not going to be a friendly reunion but one that will cause old wounds to be revealed and transgressions renewed.

Jerry is after a man that belonged to the Quantrill's Raiders about ten years ago that killed his family. He thinks he has tracked him down to a hardware drummer named Andy Culley. Their meeting will sooner or later lead to a gunfight with one of the parties arrest for murder.

But Matt believes that a saloon girl named Belle Archer may have witnessed the gunfight and can give evidence that the shooting was in self defense. But it seems that Belle is hiding something. With a man's life in danger will Matt be able to get to the truth.

The story was pleasant enough but the real kicker came at the end of the show. We learn more about the characters than they wants us to know. People are no longer living in the past. A good watch.

I had never heard of Quantrill or Quantrill's Raiders! My parents were huge Gunsmoke fans and as we got older we were allowed to watch it. I wasn't born when this episode aired and just saw tonight for the 1st time. I actually took the time to check into Quantrill and was amazed as to the factual history, those who participated, the tattoo, etc. So glad I'm a Gunsmoke fan along with millions of other fans!

I may be crazy but I could swear I saw a grave in the opening Boot Hill with the date "1978". If so, somebody in the prop department made a huge mistake.

... obviously nobody involved in television in 1956 anticipated prolonged reruns, DVDs, streaming, or very much analysis . In the episode prologue Matt Dillon walks through Boot Hill waxing philosophical. You can clearly see some of the death years on the tombstones. A couple of them read 1882 and 1883. The title of the episode is "Reunion 78" - as in 1878. The lead guest character talks about Quantrill's Raiders and the havoc they raised in Lawrence, Kansas as having occurred ten years before, which would make this 1873. So which is it??? If Marshal Dillon is "seeing dead people" ten years before their death, he indeed has a great burden. No wonder he is a serious man. But I digress.

A cowpoke and a girthy entrepreneur/salesman are engaged in what seems to be good natured conversation in a bar. But it turns out the cowpoke's family was killed in an attack by Quantrill's Raiders ten years before and the salesman has the identifying tattoo of Quantrill's Raiders on his arm. The cowpoke decides to force the salesman to drink himself to death as revenge, but Matt Dillon breaks this up. The disagreement moves outside and later the salesman and ex-raider is found shot dead by the cowpoke, who claims it is self defense. A saloon girl actually saw what happened, but for some reason does not want to talk. Earlier she had seemed to have recognized the cowpoke and retired to her room so the cowpoke could not recognize her in return. What goes on here?

Watch and find out what happened.