The Glory and the Mud

Here, we see a young Rosco Purvis Coltrane, aka James Best many years before becoming a county sheriff. You can almost hear and see Rosco in his character here named Beal.

Here is an episode that words are not going to relate how powerful and entertaining this show was to watch. Excellent acting and a story that is just as powerful today as it would have been in the old west.

Sam Beal (James Best) has just lost his job and comes up to Marshal Dillon asking if he could be his deputy so that he can gain some background in law to get a job in another town as Sheriff. Sam believes that he needs to shoot some guy in order to have a reputation but Matt puts him in his place.

Meanwhile on the stage, a famous Wild West Show attraction Jack Dakota (Kent Smith) comes into Dodge. Jack is aging and his eyesight and reflexes are not what they use to be when he was younger. He has arrived in town to see if his old sweetheart Sarah Carr (Marsha Hunt) hopefully to settle down get married. In their younger day they had a relationship but Jack left and Sarah got married to another man. She is now a widow and Jack has returned to court Ms Carr.

With everyone in town wanting to talk and shake the hand of the famous Jack Dakota, Sam Beal sees a way to make a name for himself. If he can out-draw Jack Dakota he feels sure that he will have a reputation that will lead to a job as Sheriff. Even with Matt warning Jack of Beal's intentions, Jack feels to old and tired to move on. Jack's life will come down to a gunfight on the streets of Dodge. It will be the young against the aging as someone will die. But will the one living finally see that a reputation is sometimes all one has left.

The script was nearly poetic and the acting fantastic. I have seen Kent Smith in a few shows and was never impressed with his performance. However in this show, his portrayal of the aging Dakota is one of the better I have seen. The entire cast was brilliant in this show that was a pleasure to watch. A good watch for everyone.

Sam Beal is a cowboy who has decided being a cowboy no longer interests him. He aspires to become a town marshal, but his motivation is misguided. Beal thinks if he can become a lawman, he will gain the respect and admiration -- even fear -- of others. He sees Matt Dillon as a role model, not because he is a firm advocate of law and order, but because of the perceived power he holds over others.

Beal approaches Marshal Dillon about becoming a deputy. Beal is even willing to take the job for no pay. He just wants the experience. It doesn't take Matt long to discern Beal's wrong-headed motives, and he rejects Beal's proposal.

Jack Dakota is a famous former law enforcement person who has been performing in a Wild West show in recent years. He arrives in Dodge City in the hopes of rekindling an old romance with a woman named Sarah Carr and settling down.

Problems arise when Sam Beal views Dakota's arrival in Dodge as an opportunity to establish the reputation he so badly desires. Beal thinks if he can beat Dakota in a gunfight, he will earn the experience he needs to become a town marshal. (Beal's attitude further highlights his narcissism and just how unfit he is for law enforcement.)

The primary plot elements in this story are Dakota's attempts to romance Sarah Carr juxtaposed with Beal's naïve stalking of Dakota and his feeble, obnoxious attempts to lure Dakota into a gun fight.

This episode reminds me of the episode "Legends Don't Sleep" earlier in Season 9. "The Glory and the Mud" is told from a different perspective, of course. Jack Dakota is not an ex-con with a reputation for murder and theft, but he finds leaving his past behind just as difficult as Race Fallon does in the earlier story.

Kent Smith shines in the role of Jack Dakota. He conveys a certain stoic, resigned pragmatism. The episode gets its title from a line near the end when Dakota makes a tough decision. The immensely talented Marsha Hunt is Sarah Carr. Hunt's acting career was derailed in the 1950s when she was essentially (and unfairly) blacklisted as a "Red." Hunt was married for a short time to Jerry Hopper who directed this episode of Gunsmoke.

James Best is Sam Beal. Best appeared in many television shows over the years with a number remarkable performances is such shows as The Andy Griffith Show, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and any number of westerns. We last saw him on Gunsmoke in the very memorable Season 8 episode "With A Smile."

There are a few more notable performances in this episode. Robert Sorrells, who was a frequent Gunsmoke guest over the years, plays a simpleton named Cloudy. James Arness's daughter Jenny appears in a small role. This is one of the last few episodes to feature Dennis Weaver as Chester Goode.