The Cabin

The original version of this story, done on the radio Gunsmoke, was a masterpiece of gritty, bleak and realistic storytelling. As other reviewers have suggested, it's a little out of place in the TV version.

Furthermore, Bill Conrad's version of Marshal Dillon with his gravelly voice works much better with the often gloomy and dark story lines that were much more common with the radio show than the more tame television Gunsmoke. Beyond that, radio's reliance on sound effects rather than pictures add a haunting element with the howling winds and the noises in the pitchfork scene.

This episode is good, and worth watching... but do yourself a favor and give the radio version of "The Cabin" a listen!

One of the best of the early ones.Hard to go wrong with Claude Akins and the wonderful Harry. Dean Stanton. All that was missing was Watren OAtS AND Bruce Dern! Pat Barry was good as well. Small cast small space it felt claudtrophobic, which was right.

I love me some Claude Akins - and obviously so did many directors back in the day cause the guy is everywhere, he's one of the best character actors anywhere - but, in this episode he is just the most hateful guy. Harry Dean Stanton is his usual great quirky self, and Patricia Barry is really wonderful - she totally evokes the sadness and despair needed for her character - but, Claude Akins' character was awful. Which means he did a great job on this role.

Though I never I watched this show on its original run - I was too young - I just started recently watching the reruns of this good show, and I have to compliment not just the regulars but, the guest stars, too - they sure brought to life the variety of these stories. It's easy to become attached to all these characters l; I get why it spent so many years on TV!

Even with the melancholy ending, this episode hit a nerve that resounds through the entire series making this show one of the better in the entire collection. The way the episode leaves the viewer feeling for the forlorn character makes this an unusual ending, from the regular happy-go-lucky closures, that we usually get from the writers. In this your emotions run shallow as the camera fades to black leaving the viewer wanting more in order to find out the outcome of life.

The episode begins with Marshal Dillon getting struck in a blizzard while leaving Hays City back in route to Dodge. He stumbles up on a cabin where two outlaws have invaded and set up their little house of horrors by killing the man and making the woman, Belle, a slave to their every whim. Belle, from the bruises on her face, has been abused physically and mentally for some time. Even the viewer give the hint of sexual assaults that must have continued for more time that anyone, especially Belle, wants to remember.

The outlaws are set on killing Matt but wants it to look more like an accident than a murder. So they prepare a plan that will have Matt knocked unconscious and then left in the blizzard to die.

An excellent choice of actors brings the episode to life that includes Claude Akins, Harry Stanton and the wonderful Patricia Berry. With the script and the actors this show was bound not to fail. Excellent show.

In my book, this is one of the most daring and bleakly original of the half-hour episodes. For once, the neglected factor of weather on the prairie plays a role. Those who've spent some time on the high plains with the wind blowing across the open flats from the Rockies knows how grimly isolating those winter months can be. Unfortunately, Western films seldom capitalized on this important aspect of frontier life and thus excluded a very real dramatic feature. This half-hour understands the elemental significance of winter without the modern amenities.

Matt is driven to seek shelter in a cabin among strangers. There he falls victim to two outlaws who have killed the father of the girl who remains (Patricia Barry). Clearly, from the bruises, she has been repeatedly raped without a man to protect her. Now she cowers before the two grinning outlaws, Harry Dean Stanton (later to become a 60's cult figure) and the perpetually leering Claude Akins in a typically bravura performance. What's more they intend to unceremoniously get rid of the intrusive Marshal. The tiny cabin with its roaring fire and grotesque shadows, appears to be a noirish hell with Matt trapped inside. The look and feel here contrast sharply with the series norm.

Now, all of this plays out in compelling fashion, but what really lifts the episode to sublime heights is the ending. Unsurprisingly, Matt has saved the girl and as a result, we expect a conventional 50's conclusion. But what we get is something entirely different, more realistic and disturbing than the typical happy ending. What wonderful work from writer Meston that lifts this obscure half-hour to memorable heights. Somehow the adult-level climax slipped past the censors of the period, maybe because it was just one more half-hour in a heavy schedule. But for anyone researching the cultural history of the period, this entry amounts to a real departure and can be enjoyed from both a historical and entertainment standpoint. Thanks to the producers for taking a real chance on this one and to writer Meston for not flinching.