Word of Honor

Three men abducted twenty-four-year-old Hank Worth, son of wealthy, fiercely independent Dodge City area resident Jake Worth. The men planned to hold Hank for $20,000 ransom. When the young man tried to escape, one of the abductors shot him in the back. The kidnappers convinced Doc Adams to travel thirty-five miles from Dodge to tend to Hank's injuries. Unfortunately, the wound is lethal, and even Doc cannot save the young man's life.

After Hank dies, Jack and Rudy, two of the kidnappers, want to kill Doc so he cannot identify them. Harry, who leads the trio, knows Doc is the only doctor within one hundred miles in any direction. In a mildly surprising bit of ethical behavior, Harry agrees to let Doc go free if Doc will swear not to reveal their whereabouts or identities. (Harry does mention he fears he might need a doctor at some point and realizes there is not another doctor within a reasonable distance.) Doc agrees to their terms and returns to Dodge.

Back in Dodge City, Doc tells Matt Dillon about the incident, but he refuses to violate his promise and identify the perpetrators. Soon, Jake Worth rides into Dodge and tells Marshal Dillon Hank is being held for ransom. Jake is willing to pay the ransom, but he wants Matt to help make sure Hank is returned safely. Of course, Matt already knows Hank is dead.

The Marshal suggests he and Jake attempt to retrieve the money. When they ride to where the money was left per the kidnappers' instructions, the money is missing, and they find Hank's dead body propped against a tree. Now Jake wants revenge. He insists Matt tell him the identity of the person with the knowledge of who was responsible for Hank's death. Matt cannot share that information with Jake without endangering Doc.

Doc devises a plan to lure the kidnappers into town by spreading the word that he violated his promise. Jake Worth is angry at Matt, and the kidnappers are determined to kill Doc because they think he lied to them. These two points of contention provide the tension in this story.

Claude Akins makes the first of ten Gunsmoke appearances in this episode. He plays the leader of the kidnappers named Harry. His partners, Rudy and Jack, are played by actors Dick Paxton and Tom Carney, respectfully, in their only Gunsmoke roles. Paxton's acting career was all but over by 1960, but Carney had a more extensive resume with numerous small parts in television dramas.

Versatile actor Robert Middleton portrays Jake Worth in this episode. Middleton primarily played heavies and authority figures in films and television shows. He returned for two more episodes in the Gunsmoke series.

I think this is the only episode where the character Jake Worth is actually shown, and it is the first time the character is mentioned. However, the character's name would be used in a few later episodes. For example, Matt Dillon might tell someone he needs to "ride out to Jake Worth's place" for some reason to explain why he is leaving town.

Jake Worth's two older sons, Jeff and Ed, are played by actors Ray Boyle and Will J. White. Both were known for playing dozens of small roles in both films and television. Boyle played Morgan Earp in several episodes of the series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.

This is the first episode in the series that features Milburn Stone in the Doc Adams role as a key, central character. According to sources involved in the early episodes of the series, Stone did not initially care much for James Arness. Arness enjoyed playing practical jokes on the set, and Stone considered it unprofessional. As time went on, the two became close friends. It is interesting to see how angry and belligerent Doc acts toward Marshal Dillon in this story.

Long time Gunsmoke viewers are accustomed to seeing ornery, grumpy Doc, especially when he was dealing with Festus Haggen in later episodes. In this story, he is even more irascible and obstinate than normal. However, the devotion the character always displayed toward his profession is noticeably clear this early in the long life of the series.

This episode contains a frequent first-season attribute: often when the Matt Dillon character is talking to someone, he stares into the distance away from the person he is addressing. I assume this was a technique favored by Charles Marquis Warren, who directed most of the first season episodes. There is such a scene in this episode where Doc is telling Matt about the experience with the kidnappers and Hank Worth's death. Matt addresses Doc, but instead of looking in Doc's direction, he stares straight ahead as if he is talking to someone off camera. I have always thought this was a strange quirk of the early episodes.

Interesting moral dilemma revolving around the limits of giving one's word of honor. After killing their hostage, three kidnappers get Doc to give his word that he will not divulge their identity or location. In return, they promise not to kill him. It seems Doc's not so interested in his own life as he is in the health and safety of those who would otherwise lose the only doctor within hundreds of miles. Doc does tell Matt something bad has happened but nothing more. Then rancher Ray Middleton, the father of the victim, finds out about dead son and insists the marshal do something. But Matt can't since Doc won't break his word. Now Doc's in a dilemma-- he's putting Matt's life in danger unless he breaks his oath to the kidnappers. What should he do? The situation is further compounded when Middleton gives his own word that he will not interfere in Matt's plan to get the kidnappers. However, if Middleton keeps that oath, Matt is placed in further jeopardy.

Sounds complicated, but the predicament does get the viewer to think about what limits there should be to keeping one's word, if any. The episode generates some suspense, though I don't think the horns of the dilemma are sufficiently played up. Doc's more cantankerous than usual, at the same time the entry establishes his total dedication to the medical profession-- a character quality that would become a series staple.

After two shows that the characters were trying to find themselves, this episode is much better done and it seems that they are more comfortable in the roles. Doc is much more ornery in this early episode but you can tell his love for the medical profession is as strong in the early shows as in the end of the series run.

The episode begins with Doc being carried some 35 miles outside Dodge on a medical emergency. What he finds is a man young named Hank Worth that has been shot in the back and the injury is so severe that Hank ends up dying. Doc knows that the three men at the cabin are the killers but he gives his word of honor not to reveal their names.

It is not long before Marshal Dillon finds out that Jake Worth's boy has been kidnapped and killed. When he tells Jake that he has information about the killers, Jake is ready to ride with his other sons to kill the bandits. But Matt cannot reveal the person he got the information from. This puts the Worth's and Marshal Dillon at odds. Even with Matt's life in danger, Doc has given his word as a medical physician plus his 'word of honor' not to reveal the names of the killers.

A real nice watch and a moral decision that will stay with the character Doc Adams throughout the series. After two rough starts to the series this one settles down and we see glimpses of people that we will know for the next twenty years. Good Watch.

Even when dealing with the most dishonorable of men.

Doc is brought 35 miles out of town to tend to a man who was shot in the back. Before the man dies he says that the men who brought Doc there shot him. For some reason Doc tells the men who brought him this piece of information. They won't let him leave alive unless he gives his word of honor not to say who they are or where they are.

Doc does tell Matt about what happened, but he also tells him why he can say nothing - he gave his word. Soon enough the name of the victim presents itself when his father comes to Dodge and says that one of his sons has been kidnapped. When Matt tells the father that he can't produce the man who could finger the killers, the father tells Matt he'll come to Dodge the next day and kill Matt if he doesn't give him the man's name. Complications ensue.

Doc is very irascible here and unreasonably frank with the killers. The only reason he seems to care if he lives or dies is because he is the only doctor for a couple of hundred miles. There is an episode later on where it is revealed that, in his youth, Doc was in love with a woman who died, but I could never see Galen Adams, M. D. as a husband had the woman lived. He was 100% dedicated to his profession as healer.