With a Smile

This has one of the most powerful endings of any 'Gunsmoke' episode in the entire series. Making this episode one of the best I have seen in a very long time.

The show centers around Major Creed (RG Armstrong) who is a large land and farm owner outside of Dodge City. He has a son named Dal Creed (James Best) that happens to be a weak coward which is totally opposite from his father.

Dal happens up on the Long Branch one evening and tries to strong-arm a saloon girl named Lottie. However Lottie is in a relationship with Pat Kane who just happens to be a ex-worker of the Creed ranch that Dal got fired. Anyway Pat don't take kindly to have his girl roughed up by Dal so they get into a fist fight until broken up by Marshal Dillon.

The next night while Lottie and Pat are leaving the Long Branch, shots ring out and Lottie is killed. Chester happens up to the scene and witnesses Dal getting on his horse and riding off. So Matt and Chester go out to the Creed farm to arrest Dal.

After a guilty verdict with the penalty of hanging, Major Creed uses all his political power to try to get a retrial or pardon. When he tells Dal that all attempts so far have failed - Dal goes into a crying and whining fit that embarrasses all that witness the spectacle. His father apologizes for his son's action and begins to think of a way that his son can die with a smile on his face.

The sheriff where the hanging is to take place tells Dal that his father has paid him and others to fake the hanging. Dal will look like he was hung but will be safe under the boarded up scaffold. Upon hearing this news Dal changes from a crying coward into a arrogant bully. It will be with the flare of arrogance that Dal ascends the steps to the hangman's noose. But all is not the truth.

Whatever the reason, at the end of this episode I knew I had witnessed a great entertaining story. From the script to the acting the entire episode was solid. James Best was perfect as the coward. R.G. Armstrong was a perfect cast as the father figure. Even minor characters such as the sheriff of Hays City was brilliant to the script. One of the most solid shows in the entire 'Gunsmoke' collection.

Major Creed has a cowardly bully, Dal, for a son. Dal tries to bully one of his father's ranch hands, and when he won't be bullied Dal says he might put a bullet in his leg. Dal backs down when the hand actually challenges him to a gunfight. The Major comes out and gets only Dal's side of the story and fires the ranch hand. This scene is probably included to illustrate what kind of a person Dal is.

The the scene changes completely to show the ranch hand who didn't get fired attempting to assault a local girl, Lottie, and murdering her father when he attempts to intervene. Quint hears the gunfire, fights with the murderer, and has to kill him to contain him.

Lottie ends up working at the Long Branch since her father's farm had to be sold to pay her debts. She and the ranch hand who got fired from the Creed ranch strike up a romance. When Dal tries to get romantic with Lottie against her will, he once again is shown up as a coward by that same ranch hand. Later that night he tries to shoot the ranch hand down in cold blood as he walks along with Lottie, but hits and kills Lottie instead, by accident. Dal exchanges gunfire with Chester, who clearly sees him. Dal is tried for murder, convicted, and sentenced to hang.

Everything up to this point has just been to get to the essence of the plot - That Dal is a completely worthless person who cannot take responsibility for what he has done and thinks his father will find some way to bend the system - his friendship with the governor, his money, something to get him off the hook for murder, because dad has been getting him off the hook for everything his whole life. He doesn't realize that what he has done is so despicable that nobody is going to keep him from hanging. I wondered why there was that violent scene at Lottie's ranch that seemed to have nothing to do with anything in what came before or after, except perhaps for this - If Lottie had been some random girl whose sad past you did not see, the audience might not hate Dal quite so much. And the author of this piece obviously wants you to really hate this guy.

As the date of his execution nears, Dal melts down into a whiny mess. The major can see he is going to shame both of them when he does die, and he says something interesting to Dillon - That he would rather he die than see his son shame him by dying a coward. What did he mean by that? Watch and find out.

....at playing weak, stupid, evil characters and he made quite a successful career doing it. Both for laughs (Roscoe P Coltrane comes to mind) and for dramatic effect. Which this episode of Gunsmoke did in spades. One the very best from Best!

I really liked this episode. It definitely was not what I expected and of all the episodes this one really stands out as the best. If you have not seen this one you should. Great, I was NOT expecting the ending.

I was always in love with Sharon Farrell (along with all the men that married her) from adolescence-on. She had a wide range, but her portrayal of wide eyed innocence is spot-on here. Linden Chiles as the noble cowpoke wronged by James Best at his smarmiest. What a cast!!! They play to type but at a perfect pace. It's so good to watch actors trained and practiced in their art! Story: somewhat run of the mill but elevated by the ensemble's performance and great guest stars! Plenty of bits for everyone to do and the director spread it around so no one misses out. Andrew McLaglen was top-notch as is evident here! Nothing touches it today!