The Pack Rat

"The Pack Rat" seems to have been cobbled together from two scripts that came up short. As a form of artistic casserole, it is not particularly palatable.

There's a show business dictum that you should never work with children or animals. One reason for avoiding children is that they can lead to the commission of one of the worst dramatic crimes -- gross sentimentality.

Here, the late Manuel Padilla Jr plays an abused child ("Sancho") who knows little else but to steal. Of course we know how this is going to work out, don't we? It's actually worse -- not only is he (apparently) reformed, but he's adopted by Norteamericanos -- which I no more believe than I believe Godzilla has minty-fresh breath.

Outside of filling the hour, his presence serves no purpose other than to reveal that the woman (Loretta Swit) who's escorting her friend (who's recently experienced parturition) to the fort where her husband is stationed, is actually the wife of the /prisoner/ Matt is escorting to the fort.

Well, actually... Sancho warns Festus, but it's too late -- but everything turns out all right, anyway. To help the li'l scudder develop a proper sense of self-esteem, Festus lies, telling Sancho he really saved the day, didn't he? (Nope.)

This is an episode with no redeeming value, intellectual or entertainment-wise. You may safely pass.

I never liked Manuel Padilla, Jr. In the 1966 Tarzan TV series. He was too cute for a jungle boy, and he always rhymed when he talked. Several years later, he becomes Marshal Dillon's best buddy by sheer accident. On the road to Dodge, Dillon finds little Sancho stealing his stuff. Instead of shooting the little pack rat and rolling him under a rock, 1970s Marshal Dillon takes him under his wing.

Meanwhile as Dillon goofs off trying to help orphans, his prisoner Danton, and his wife (Loretta Swit) are planning to kill Dillon on the road to Fort Union.

I never understood why Dodge did not have its own courthouse and gallows. It seemed like there was enough crime and murder in Dodge to justify a courthouse. Loretta Swit plans to put a derringer into Marshal Dillon and blow him away. A pregnant woman sneaks into the wagon Dillon is taking to Fort Union. The stowaway & Loretta Swit, Dillon's would-be assassin are on the trip strictly due to Dillon seriously goofing off. He is taking a deadly criminal to court, and he should be doing it with Festus or Newly, and without any spontaneious guests.

Eventually the pregnant woman has to give birth, and ten minutes are spent on that. Meanwhile little Sancho finds a picture of Swit and her criminal husband (played by William Watson), and realizes that Loretta Swit is the wife of the killer, so he sets out to warn Dillon. Festus joins him, but Sancho and Festus never get to Dillon on time, so it is just a pointless subplot.

Overall, this is a very choppy story that looks like the writers were looking through old unused 30 minute scripts and put two of them together into one big mess. The only redeeming point is that there is gun-play and bloodshed by the end, and some of the bad people end up under ground.

Matt Dillon is taking a prisoner named Sam Danton to Dodge City with plans to take him on to Fort Union later. (There is no explanation offered for why the Marshal is responsible for transporting the prisoner to Fort Union, or why a prisoner must be delivered there.) A young Hispanic boy named Sancho sneaks into their camp while they are asleep and begins stealing everything he can. Matt wakes up and catches the kid.

The Marshal learns that Sancho is an orphan, and he has been stealing to survive. Matt decides to take Sancho along to Dodge.

After they reach Dodge, Marshal Dillon begins making plans for the trip to Fort Union. He pays a visit to Doc Adams's office, because he wants Doc to look at a wound on Danton's leg. Doc is busy treating a very pregnant woman named Martha Mason. Mrs. Mason was planning to travel on to Fort Union where she intends to meet her soldier husband. Accompanying Mrs. Mason is another woman named Belle Clark. The two women met on the stage before arriving in Dodge. Fort Union is the intended destination for both, but neither knows how they will get there, since there is no stage service to the fort.

(Among many odd aspects to this story is the fact that two women travel some distance to Dodge City by stagecoach with a final destination not easily accessible from Dodge.)

Doc warns that Mrs. Mason should not travel in her present condition. When Belle learns that Marshal Dillon is on his way to Fort Union, she asks if she can travel with him. Matt inexplicably agrees, but he does not know what the viewer will soon learn: Belle is married to Sam Danton.

For some unknown reason, Marshal Dillon asks Newly O'Brien to go with him on the trip to the fort and asks Newly to obtain a wagon and supplies for the trip. (This is another odd story element. Why is a wagon, supplies, and a deputy needed to transport one man to Fort Union?) The next morning, Matt, Newly, Danton, and Belle all set out for Fort Union. Matt leaves Sancho in Kitty Russell's care until he returns.

The travelers do not know just how determined Mrs. Mason is to get to the fort to be with her husband. She stows away under a tarp in the wagon. (A pregnant woman hides under a tarp in the back of a wagon loaded with supplies and manages to remain undetected for what appears to be a significant amount of time?) When the mother-to-be begins experiencing labor pains, the others on the trip realize they have an additional passenger. Our troupe is forced to stop while Mrs. Mason has her baby. Fortunately, everything goes well, and a healthy baby boy is born.

(How fortunate Belle is perfectly capable of delivering the baby, cutting the umbilical cord, cleaning the child, and is able to find ample blankets and other supplies for the baby in the supply wagon!)

Meanwhile, young thief Sancho looks at pictures he finds in a jewelry box he stole from Belle and discovers she and Danton are married. Since Sancho is aware of the situation with the Marshal on the trail, he "borrows" Festus Haggen's mule, Ruth, and sets out in pursuit. When Festus discovers Sancho and Ruth are missing, he is not far behind.

To further complicate matters, an outlaw named Jake Hawkins, who hates Matt Dillon, has made an arrangement with Danton. Danton and Belle are supposed to get the drop on the Marshal and his Deputy at an appointed place on the trail. Hawkins and his men are waiting in ambush where Hawkins plans to kill Dillon. In return for the setup, the Dantons will be set free.

William Watson appeared in three different Gunsmoke episodes (counting the two-part "Island in the Desert" as one episode). He always played an outlaw. In his two other appearances he plays about as nasty, incorrigible a human being as one can imagine. Here, his Sam Danton character is slightly less depraved. He finds Sancho's antics amusing, and he offers his unsolicited views on babies.

Manuel Padilla, Jr. Fills the Sancho role in this story. This is the third of his four appearances on the show.

Loretta Swit was a little more than two years away from beginning her iconic role as Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H when she appeared here as Belle Clark. Swit would return a few months later in Season 16's "Snow Train: Part 1" and "Snow Train: Part 2."

Heidi Vaughn makes her only Gunsmoke appearance as Martha Mason. Mason did a lot of television work in the early and mid 1970s, but her acting career was relatively short-lived.

Robert Brubaker makes another of his 29 Gunsmoke appearances as the Jake Hawkins character. In early episodes of the series, Brubaker often played stagecoach driver Jim Buck. In later seasons, following the death of Glenn Strange, he frequently portrays Long Branch bartender Floyd.

The writing for this story is a complete mess and comes across as a lazy effort. Many elements of the story are out of place and seem to be introduced merely for the sake of convenience. For example...

• Somehow Danton was able to conveniently concoct and arrange an elaborate escape plan with his wife and Hawkins before Matt Dillon had even captured him!

• The strange use of the wagon seems to be included only so there would be some place for the pregnant woman to stow away.

• Why would a U. S. Marshal allow a civilian to tag along on a trip where a prisoner is being transported? It introduces a level of danger that is completely unprofessional and unnecessary.

• Why would a woman disobey doctor's orders when she knows it could endanger her and her baby's life? Mrs. Mason wants to be with her husband but at what risk? And why did she wait until she was eight months along in the pregnancy to make the trip? The only reason seems to be to add material to the story to fill time.

• Why does Hawkins need Danton's help to kill Marshal Dillon? Wouldn't it be much easier to hide along the trail and ambush Matt? Having Danton involved only complicates matters, particularly with Belle accompanying him.

• What is the point in introducing the Sancho character? Sure, Sancho's thievery provides the name of the episode and results in his discovery that Belle and Danton know one another for the viewer and Festus, but Sancho does not catch up with Marshal Dillon and company before they discover the truth about the Dantons themselves. Manuel Padilla, Jr. Was a fine young actor, but his presence here is superfluous to the story.

Finally, an implausible ending is tacked on to introduce a sentimental element and provide some measure of resolution to the Sancho story.

This story was written by veteran television writer Arthur Browne, Jr. Jim Byrnes is credited along with Browne for the teleplay. Calvin Clements, Sr. Is credited as Executive Story Consultant. With all that talent involved, one would think a more cohesive story without so many questionable aspects would be the result.

This episode, when combined with the previous "The War Priest" disaster, arguably creates the worst back-to-back episodes in the series. The cast members are all talented actors, but their talents are wasted on such poor execution.

This episode is really rather tedious to watch, It is slow, plodding and totally implausible. First, we have Matt taking another prisoner to another location for his punishment. Over the course of this series, this happens a lot. I would think that a United States Marshall should have better things to do with his time than transport a prisoner. Usually, it's Hayes City, this time it's going to a military fort. WAIT! I thought Fort Dodge was closer but we have to go longer to Fort Union so there can be more drama I guess.

Anyhow, we have a pretty nasty character. Played by William Watson. He is just a bad guy who has no redeeming qualities at all. Loretta Swit, just a few years from her iconic role on MASH, is wasted here. She is hooked up with Sam Denton and is along for the ride to help ambush Matt and rescue her husband. I don't understand how Matt would allow this gaggle of people to go along with him to take a dangerous criminal to another location.

You add in Sancho and you have a mashed up mess of an episode. Sancho is here just for the fact that he is cute. You have a pregnant woman in here who is in such a hurry to see her husband, she takes a chance losing the baby and her life instead of waiting a few days until a comfortable stagecoach comes along.

I would love to know how the user ratings on this one is 6.8 out of 10. I gave it a 3 just to be nice, but I could have made it a 1 or 2 instead.