BreakDown Gunsmoke 55-64: S1 Episodes 35 & 36 The Guitar & Cara

In The Guitar, two drunken men parade the gentle Weed Pindle through Dodge under the guise of friendship, hinting at darker intentions tied to his past. As tension builds inside the Long Branch, Chester and Doc sense the crowd teetering between justice and mob rule. Though the immediate threat is stopped, humiliation and cruelty follow, and Weed rides out of town broken but free. By morning, two bodies hang from a tree—yet not the one many expected. Matt Dillon is left with suspicions he cannot prove, and Dodge is left to consider what kind of justice was truly served.

In Cara, a woman from Matt Dillon’s past arrives in Dodge after a desperate act, stirring memories better left buried. At the same time, word comes of an outlaw who sends someone ahead to prepare his crimes. As Matt pieces together the connection, loyalty and duty collide in quiet, painful ways. When the trap is sprung, bullets fly and truths surface too late. In the end, the Tolliver gang is finished—but for Matt, the loss reaches far beyond the law.

Transcript

Jennifer 0:09

Welcome to Breakdown Gunsmoke 55-64, where we're diving deep into classic TV's legendary Western. We're covering two episodes from season one because we're just crazy for gunsmoke. I'm Jennifer Packard, your guide, and fan of all things Dodge City.

Steve 0:25

I'm Steve Latshaw, director of the Museum of Western Film History in Lone Pine, California, and a lifelong fan of Gunsmoke. In each episode, we explore plots, characters, and themes that made this show a TV legend. Plus, we'll share some fun facts and angles you might not have noticed before.

Jennifer 0:41

So buckle up and hold on to your head. First up, we're covering episode 35, The Guitar, which aired July 21st, 1956. Matt and a Calvaryman are settling up when three men come out of a cafe or saloon up the street. Two of them are firing their guns in the air. In between them is a scrawny man in loose clothes clutching a guitar, Weed Pindle. On either side are two larger drunken men. The larger one is called Augie in this episode, but credited later as short, and the other man is Tyler. They've decided to keep Weed drunk and parade him through Dodge. Matt steps in and tells them to keep their guns in their holsters, and Weed insists the men have been good to him. When Weed mentions he once served in the 3rd Illinois Calvary, the two drunk men quietly lock in a real plan. Matt heads for the fort with the cavalry man but asks Chester to watch over the three men. The drunks announce their plans openly. After they finish drinking at every saloon, they will hang Weed, saving the long branch for the last saloon. Townsmen warn Chester, but Doc believes Dodge won't allow a hanging. And through the course of events, the men drag Weed from saloon to saloon. Finally they lead Weed, riding his burrow rainbow to the long branch. They keep pretending to be friendly, buying drinks and laughing. Inside the long branch, while the good guys watch in silence, the two men announce they're going to hang him openly, right to his face. Weed is confused and frightened and doesn't understand why. When Doc and Chester stand up to stop it, one of the men pulls a knife and slashes at Doc's coat. Guns come out and the room freezes as they try to force Weed toward the beam to hang him from the saloon. Chester storms in with a shotgun and forces them to untie Weed. And in the background, it's either Sam or Pence, because I think they keep changing the name. He backs him up from behind with another gun. So the two men leave the saloon and supposedly the town. Inside, the townspeople comfort Weed, they listen to him play guitar, and they take up a collection to help him. Later the two men sneak back into town and they paint Weed's burrow and smash his guitar, and Weed breaks down in tears. Now Matt eventually returns and unleashes his jaw dropping backhand twice. Weed is offered a place to stay, but leaves anyway. When the townspeople see the two men riding after him, they secretly follow. That night, the men ambush Weed in the woods and the scene cuts. Morning reveals a pair of feet hanging from the tree, but then the camera kind of pans and pulls back, and you it's revealed that there are two men hanging from a tree. They are not Weed but the two men who plan to lynch him. The townsmen quietly lie about when Weed left, but Matt can't prove anything, though he heavily suspects. Doc wonders if the two men finally got the hanging they wanted so badly, and Matt is left standing alone. My general afterthoughts this is like my fifth or sixth viewing of this episode. I enjoyed this episode a lot, but it kills me how Chester and Doc appear to not look ahead. They should never have left Weed alone, but maybe that's a contrast between them and Matt. I don't know. There's a lot left to interpretation here.

Steve 4:25

Yeah, it's another tough, dark Sam Peckinpah script. Uh brutal, ugly, and brilliant. I I'm very curious as to whether the the original radio story that it may have been based on was uh was this dark because it just again it it it it looks, sounds, and smells like a Sam Peckinpah script from beginning to end. And watching it unfold and the surprises, I thought, well, this could have been written and directed in an alternate universe, this could have been written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Some interesting themes I noticed in this episode, starting with mob cruelty and dehumanization. Weed is treated as entertainment rather than a person, showing how easy, easily cruelty disguises itself as fun when fueled by alcohol and group behavior. And you made an interesting point about Doc uh in the summary. Doc believed Dodge wouldn't allow a hanging, not realizing that not only would they allow it, they'd instigate one with that surprise ending. Uh cowardice versus quiet complicity. Most townspeople dis disapprove, but they remain silent until the danger becomes undeniable, revealing how fear and hesitation enable violence. False friendship and betrayal, Augie and Tyler mask their murderous intent with jokes, drinks, and kindness, turning hospitality into a weapon.

Jennifer 6:01

Other key themes we have justice outside the law. The episode confronts the unsettling idea that formal justice fails and vigilante justice steps in with morally ambiguous results. We have innocence exploited. Weeds confusion and trust make him especially vulnerable, emphasizing how the powerless are often targeted first. And last, the cost of violence on the soul. Even when justice is served, no one celebrates. The ending leaves moral residue rather than relief. Now for the character arcs, Matt Dillon begins confident that Dodge will not allow lynching, but returns to find the limits of law and authority. And by the end, Matt prevents nothing and proves nothing, leaving him isolated and shaken by justice carried out beyond his reach. For Doc Adams, he initially trusts the town's decency, but is physically and morally threatened when he intervenes. His final reflection reveals grim clarity. Violence sought often returns to its seekers. And Kitty Russell acts as a silent witness to the town's behavior. Her role underscores the emotional weight of watching cruelty unfold while being powerless to stop it sooner.

Steve 7:20

Weed Pindle starts as a gentle, harmless man clinging to music and memories. He survives not through strength, but through endurance and possibly the protection of unseen allies. By leaving Dodge, Weed preserves his life, but loses his sense of safety and belonging. Augie and Tyler, they move from drunken cruelty to calculated murder. Their arc is one of escalation, ending in poetic but deeply troubling irony. They become victims of the very violence that they had planned. And the townspeople. Collective arcs shift from passive observers to quiet participants in concealment. Their lie protects weed, but permanently stains their moral certainty, leaving them complicit in an extrajudicial killing.

Jennifer 8:08

For our guest cast, we have Aaron Spelling as Weed Pindle. He lived from 1923 to 2006. He was an American television producer who shaped modern TV drama. He created and produced Charlie's Angels, Dynasty, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Melrose Place, and Starski and Hutch. He was known as one of the most successful producers on television uh history, and it's funny that I only recognized him this go-around.

Steve 8:37

You know, it's interesting. My friend actor James Best was a very close friend of Aaron's spellings, and they f they first got together when Aaron was doing uh guest bits in TV shows like this and also furiously writing scripts at the same time. And Jimmy told me, he said, despite Aaron's, you know, small size, he was a pretty tough guy. And which which is why when I was watching the end of this, I wondered if maybe uh weed was gonna kill the two guys that were were pursuing him, but but that wasn't the ending I got.

Jennifer 9:11

It was surprise casting, but yeah, it was very well done. The next we have is Jacques Aubuchon as short. He lived from 1924 to 1991. He was an American character actor, appeared in House of Wax in 1953, the gate, the Great Gatsby in 1949, and many TV westerns, including Rawhide, Wagon Train, and The Rifleman.

Steve 9:36

Yeah, his last two TV credits uh were episodes of Remington Steel and Highway to Heaven in 1984. And uh he passed away in 1991, just seven years later.

Jennifer 9:49

And next we have a return of Charles H. Gray, who was born in 1921 from St. Louis, Missouri. We have talked about him earlier in this season, but he was known for prophecy in 1979, The Young and the Restless in 73, and Charo in 69. And he died in 2008 in San Bernardino.

Steve 10:11

Yes, uh Gray was also a regular on the Rawhide TV series. He did 47 episodes of that show in the 60s.

Jennifer 10:19

Next we have Dwayne Thorson as Delmar. He lived from 1920 to 1982. American actor appeared in films like Thunder Road and TV series, including Bonanza, Wagon Train, and Rawhide, often cast in rugged or military roles.

Steve 10:35

Yeah, he was another one of those guys that worked worked constantly. It's just a dependable character actor that you you cast because you know he's going to get it on the first take and always get it right.

Jennifer 10:46

Next we have Bill Hale as Tom. He lived from 1922 to 1978. He was an American actor and singer, appeared in Laramie, Perry Mason, Rawhide, and films, including The Great Sioux Uprising. And he's known for a strong voice and his many Western roles. You know, he's got an interesting Western uh connection as well. Uh Bill Hale was the brother of Republic Pictures singing cowboy star Monty Hale. And of course, Monty Hale, he had a series that lasted at Republic for about three or four years, and and he didn't do much work after that, some TV. Uh he was on on the movie Giant for six months, teaching uh James Dean how to be a cowboy. And then, of course, Monty Hale was later involved, uh, along with his wife Joanne in the creation of the Autry Museum in Los Angeles. But uh yeah, so Bill Hale was Monty Hale's brother. I didn't know about the connection to the Autry. Last we have Joseph Mell as Pence. He lived from 1913 to 1996, 1996, American actor and stunt man. He worked in many westerns and action films. He appeared in Giant the Alamo and numerous TV westerns during the 1950s and 60s.

Steve 12:03

Yes, and he worked, he worked, he worked non-stop in the 60s. Uh, and in the late 50s, he did two very memorable drive-in movies. I keep bringing these in. Uh, I just love the titles. He was in Hot Rod Rumble and the classic Michael Landon film, I Was a Teenage Werewolf.

Jennifer 12:23

Our screenplay was by Sam Peckinpah, story by John Meston. This was directed by Harry Horner and produced by Charles Markey Warren. So a little be a little behind the scenes, we have Harry Horner, the director. He lived from 1910 to 1994. He was a Hungarian-born American art director, production designer, and occasional director. He won two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction for The Heiress in 1949 and 12 o'clock high in 1949. Horner also worked on The Apartment in 1960, The Magnificent Seven in 1960, and Sweetbird of Youth in 1962, The Man from Uncle in TV, and Cimarron, the 1960 TV adaptation. He was the father of composer James Horner, known for scores for Titanic and Braveheart, Wrath of Khan and Aliens, to name but a few.

Steve 13:24

Again, paying attention to the location work in this. At the beginning of this episode, we we see um uh an establishing shot of the Melody Ranch Western Street uh to kind of establish the location, which could very well have been a stock shot, but the rest of the town exteriors is the fake street on a sound stage. And I'm observing something that what they're doing is they'll sometimes they'll establish the street with an actual shot of the street, but they move into that fake street on the soundstage when they have a lot of extras and a lot of principal actors they're playing. So they they you know it's it's obviously cheaper to have them all working there at the soundstage rather than carry them out to location. And they again use the backwoods area there at Melody Ranch in this one.

Jennifer 14:16

Next we ride into episode 36, Kara, or Kara, which aired July 28, 1956. This episode opens in the Dodge House, where Doc and the hotel manager are attending to a woman named Kara, who recently survived a suicide attempt. The manager urges Doc to send for Matt Dillon to talk to her. At the Marshal's office, Chester notices Matt distracted by a telegram announcing that Sheriff Benson from Wichita will arrive on the 9 a.m. stage. Doc reports Kara's desperate incident and Matt's interest sharpens when he hears her name. Matt visits Kara in her room. They haven't seen each other in nearly 12 years, having known each other in Yuma, Arizona. Kara claims she's been drifting through life, but when Matt asks her why she's in Dodge, she just says she wants to stay. Matt tells her he'll try to help and then goes to the Long Branch to ask Kitty to help her out. Kitty, annoyed, initially resists, but eventually agrees when Matt presses her. Later, Matt and Sheriff Benson discuss a new threat. Bank robber Tolliver, whose accomplice was sent ahead to scout the area, is revealed to be a woman. Matt stays composed and Chester manages to keep his mouth shut. Matt returns to Kara's room to learn more. She deflects questions about her past relationships but asks Matt to stay in town another week, saying his presence gives her comfort. Over the next few days, Kitty and Chester share their suspicions about Kara, but Matt watches quietly, several steps ahead. Chester tails Kara only to see her buy a train ticket. Chester races back to get Matt. They confront her and she sort of confesses, but she thinks she's succeeded in putting them on the train on Tolliver's trail, getting them out of the way. But Matt was keeping up appearances and he and Chester get off the train 10 miles down the line and come back. That night, Matt and Chester wait in the bank when Kara arrives with Tolliver and another gunman. They break into the bank and a brief shootout ensues. One outlaw is killed. Tolliver grabs Kara as a hostage, and in the chaos, Tolliver and Kara are both shot. Kara dying whispers that she still loves Tolliver, and she's amazed at the fact that she loves him. With all three robbers dead, Chester notes that the Tolliver gang is finished. And Matt replies, It's the end of a lot of things, and walks off, leaving Chester to tend to the fallen. So my general afterthoughts, this is one of the few episodes that illuminates who Matt was before being a Marshal. He wasn't he hasn't been a marshal that long, and honestly, I disliked Car from the moment she's on screen. But again, you don't see the ending coming.

Steve 17:29

No, you don't. It's keeps you guessing. It's a very cerebral script, lots of plot twists, great detective work on the part of Matt, and Kara is thoroughly unredeemable. Um and correct me if I'm wrong, I was watching this and I got the impression in that final shootout, and I'm not sure w whether I saw this or not. Did Tolliver actually shoot her himself?

Jennifer 17:54

I thought so.

Steve 17:55

Yeah. Yeah, it was like, and and she she was she loved him to the end. It was just wow. Just thoroughly unredeemable characters, you know. And no no pretense at even I mean, a typical Western show at this time, she would have been the good bad girl, and maybe Matt would have redeemed her. But there's no redemption here. It's just she's the enemy. But uh I I loved it. There's some interesting themes in this show. Um as always, uh Love Entangled with Destruction. The episode explores how love can persist even when it becomes self-destructive, the ending, blinding people to danger and moral consequence. Deception and emotional manipulation. Kara uses vulnerability, history, and implied intimacy to manipulate those who want to help her, blurring the line between genuine pain and calculated deceit. She she really tries to play Matt, although he's not easily played. In the limits of mercy, Matt's willingness to help Kara tests how far compassion can go before it becomes dangerous to oneself and others.

Jennifer 19:06

Other notable themes we have identity and reinvention. Cara claims to be drifting and searching for stability, but her actions reveal a fixed attachment to her past, particularly to Tolliver. We have trust versus professional judgment. Personal history threatens to override Matt's instincts as a lawman, raising the question of whether anyone can truly separate past feelings from present duty. And then last we have irreversible endings. The closing line underscores that this story is not just about stopping a crime, but about the permanent end of relationships, illusions, and possibilities. So for our character arcs, Kara, she's introduced as fragile and lost. She gradually reveals herself as calculating yet emotionally trapped. Her arc is tragic rather than villainous, and she manipulates others to serve a doomed loyalty to Tolliver, ultimately dying, still bound to the man that she is shocked to still love. Tolliver functions as both criminal threat and emotional anger. His presence exposes Kara's true allegiance and drives the episode towards its fatal conclusion. Now for Chester Proudfoot, he acts as the ground level observer. His suspicions, surveillance, and steady follow-through contrast with Matt's emotional restraint, and he ends the episode performing the practical work Matt can no longer do. Matt Dillon begins emotionally guarded, but he's clearly affected by Kara's reappearance. Throughout the episode, he balances compassion with strategy, quietly staying ahead of events. In the end, even though he stops the robbery, Matt is left hollow, realizing that foresight and control cannot prevent emotional loss. Doc Adams recognizes Kara's desperation early and treats her with care, but remains practical. His role reinforces the tension between treating wounds and understanding their deeper causes. And Kitty Russell, initially resistant and suspicious, her instincts prove sound. Her arc highlights emotional intelligence and boundary setting, especially when compared to Matt's conflicted attachment. Kitty is usually spot on in her assessment of other women. Almost without fail.

Steve 21:29

Yes, she is.

Jennifer 21:32

For our guest cast, we have, and I should have looked this up, so I might have to correct this later. Post-recording, I did look it up, and it's pronounced Georgia. Georgia Cartwright. She was born in 1928. I did not find her date of death. She's an American actress with a mix of film and TV work in the 1950s to the 1970s. She appeared in Perry Mason, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, and Maryland. And she's known for strong supporting roles in Western and dramatic television episodes.

Steve 22:05

I did a little further digging on her, and she she died May 11, 1985. She was married to a very famous writer and producer named Sidney Sheldon. And Sidney Sidney uh was known for his novels, many of which were made into movie series or uh miniseries, TV miniseries. And he was also the producer of the legendary 60s sitcom I Dream of Genie. And uh Kurt Wright's last credit that I found was for a Dale Robertson series I watched as a kid, a Western series called Iron Horse. And I was a big train buff, so I I watched that show every week. And but that was her last credit. I'm assuming at that point uh her husband's career was going on so well that she said, you know, uh might as well just just enjoy the ride. But she she was a brilliant actress and uh uh amazing work in this episode. But I didn't like her character at all. At all.

Jennifer 23:12

Next we have Charles Webster as Sheriff Benson. He lived from 1919 to 1984. He was an American character actor with numerous TV credits, including Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Wagon Train, and Rawhide. He appeared in films such as The Proud Ones in 56 and the gunfight at Dodge City in 1959, often in rugged or authority roles.

Steve 23:36

Interesting, uh Webster's last credit was also an episode of the Dale Robertson series Iron Horse. And it interests me, we've seen this a lot with guest actors on this show. And you look up uh they they kind of match credits. I think a previous episode there were a couple of different actors that both had their last credit being uh James Coburn movie Our Man Flint. So that was kind of interesting.

Jennifer 23:58

Next we have Douglas Odney as Tolliver. He lived from 1923 to 2014. He was an American television actor whose work appeared primarily in the 50s and 60s, TV, crime, and Western series, including Highway Patrol, State Trooper, and Yancey Derringer.

Steve 24:16

Yeah, that guy was another guy that he worked pretty steadily. He had 25 screen credits uh between his career start and he in 1952, and uh his last credit was in 1961. So after nine years in the business, he obviously walked away and found something else to do with his life because you know he lived for another what 54 years? 1960 to 2000, that would be 40, and then 2014 is when he died. So yeah. He he'd had enough, I guess.

Jennifer 24:46

Wilfred Knapp, as Mr. Botkins, uh he lived from 1909 to 17 sorry, he lived from 1909 to 1979. He was an American actor whose career spanned film and television. He appeared in a variety of westerns and dramas, including The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earth, Tales of Well Far, Tales of Wells Fargo, and Have Gun Will Travel, and he was known for dependable supporting performances.

Steve 25:13

Yes, he was actually in an in a gunsmoke episode that we looked at in our our previous um episode that we recorded, uh, and he worked as much in his native Canada as he did in the U.S.

Jennifer 25:25

He's a Canadian-American actor whose career spanned film and television. Okay. And last we have Howard Culver as Mr. Oozel. He lived from 1918 to 1984. He was best known for his Western and radio work. Starred in the radio series Straight Arrow and appeared on TV and Gunsmoke, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Bonanza, and the Virginian. He was recognized for his authoritative presence and clear voice.

Steve 26:02

Um uh his some of his later work included the Buck Rogers TV show. Uh he did a movie I actually saw, The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies, in in the early 80s, and he also did uh a sequel to one of the biggest horror films ever made. He was in Halloween 2.

Jennifer 26:21

Well, our story was by John Maston, script by David Victor and Herbert Little, directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Charles Marquis Warren.

Steve 26:32

Yet another Gunsmoke episode directed by that British master of Disney live action movies, Robert Stevenson.

Jennifer 26:41

A little behind the scenes, you know, if you blink or miss it, but in the goofs and continuity category, some folks get upset when you point out that uh there might have been a mistake. I always get a kick out of it. Um I had to try it several times, but Kitty's Mole disappears and reappears between shots in the episode. Probably a continuity oversight, maybe it's a camera reverse shot thing, but you know, it's just a simple visual goof. And another one is when Matt abruptly leaves the breakfast table, his plate vanishes between shots. I find that fun to watch.

Steve 27:19

You know, an interesting example of that, there's a there's a great uh Howard Hawkes Western that was released in 1967 called uh El Dorado with John Wayne and Robert Mitchum and James Kahn. And over the course of the film, both Wayne and Mitchum's characters get wounded. Uh particularly towards the end in a in a street gun fight. And towards the end of the film, they're they're the last couple of scenes, they're they're using crutches, both of them. But what happened in the scene when they were filming is the actors kept forgetting which cr which arm the crutch was supposed to be under, so they kept they kept switching back and forth. Now, Howard Hawks was known for you'd study your script the night before, the next day you'd get to the set, you'd sit down with Howard, he'd have a yellow pad and his secretary, and rather than pay attention to the script, he'd rewrite it right there. He said, Duke, you say this, and Bob, you say this. And so they actually shot, and it's in the movie, a scene towards the end of the film where Wayne and Mitchum are giving each other grief about which arm their crutch is supposed to be under. They just said, Okay, we can't save this, therefore we're going to have the characters reference it. Um paying attention to locations again. Uh we established at the beginning of the show the Melody Ranch Street, and I thought it might be a stock shot, but I noticed at the end they made great use of the street and the train station and and the train. So they did some location work at Melody Ranch on this one.

Jennifer 28:50

All in all, two really good, solid episodes, entertaining and emotionally involved.

Steve 28:58

You know, it's it's funny. They I I I've watched a lot of vintage TV over the course of my life, and and my era as a kid was the 1960s, and it's been my experience that all the strongest episodes, they tend to they tend to play early in the season, and by the last uh several weeks of the season and in the sixties it was a thirty to thirty-two episode order, but in nineteen fifty-five it was thirty-nine episodes a season. But you find that in the last the last several episodes of the season, they run a lot of the weaker episodes. But I've I'm not finding weak gunsmoke episodes. I mean, they're every bit as challenging and and surprising as they were at the beginning of the season. They just seem to get better.

Jennifer 29:44

Well, you know, uh compared to a lot of shows, they had a lot of scripts and a lot of other materials to draw from that kept I think definitely helped keep it solid for so long, because you had so many of these were by John Meston and they were from the radio. The sh the radio shows provided a lot of material.

Steve 30:05

Well, you know, when I in the 1980s, uh this was pre it was VHS was just starting, so you really couldn't collect movies, but you collect old radio shows. And I had quite a few of the gunsmokes, and I enjoyed listening to them. And what I remember about it was that the the shows were very very good. The writing was tremendous, the acting was tremendous. I mean it it's they're they're really worth checking out. And uh and yeah, obviously these these guys had a lot of great scripts already produced that they could they could play with and turn convert to TV.

Jennifer 30:41

They had a lot of some material. And um I think the writers again, we've talked about it before, they were top-notch.

Steve 30:48

Well, you know, and this is this is something we've talked about before, but writers today, and really writers in the 70s on up to today, a lot of them when they do their research, they research old TV shows or old movies. But the writers creating these TV shows were researching the history. And that's that's I think a critical difference.

Jennifer 31:12

And that's what made Gunsmoke so good and why it lasted so long. And that's why we're here.

Steve 31:17

Yes, absolutely.

Jennifer 31:33

Thanks for joining us for this double feature, and join us next time as we explore more episodes of Gunsmoke. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with friends, family, and uncles, and grandparents.

Steve 31:49

If you have memories, questions, or fun gunsmoke facts, email us. We might feature them in a future episode.

Jennifer 32:05

You can support me through buymeacoffee.com backslash Jennifer L. Packard. The link is in the show summary or on mindwavemedia.design at the bottom of the page. Thank you for being part of this journey.

Steve 32:20

Until next time, keep your boots on the ground and your six shooter at your side. We'll see you next time.