rape, murder, no arrest. - Gunsmoke (1955) Discussion

[–] grizzledgeezer 8 years ago

This has been discussed before. I reviewed the episode, and the rapist is flat on his back, the gun still in his holster. There's no question Festus murdered the guy. *

The attitude of the male characters (other than Festus) towards rape seems rather "non-committal". Doc talks about May needing some time to get over it, but doesn't seem otherwise disturbed.

* The proof of this is that we hear two shots.

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[–] grizzledgeezer 8 years ago

This has been discussed before. I reviewed the episode, and the rapist is flat on his back, the gun still in his holster. There's no question Festus murdered the guy. *

The attitude of the male characters (other than Festus) towards rape seems rather "non-committal". Doc talks about May needing some time to get over it, but doesn't seem otherwise disturbed.

* The proof of this is that we hear two shots.

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[–] madman58 8 years ago

festus plugged him twice?

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[–] grizzledgeezer 8 years ago

Apparently. We hear two shots, but the guy's gun is still in its holster. There's nothing to indicate he drew.

This might have been an editing error, but I doubt it.

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[–] fredwhite-87744 8 years ago

So, Matt bushwacked some bad guys in some really early episodes too.

Fred

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[–] madman58 8 years ago

yes, i remember that. he gave chester the order because they were way out gunned.

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[–] givemyallyou 8 years ago

Yes that episode Chester was confused on why they were going to "bushwhack" like 5 dudes but then did it anyway!lol

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[–] givemyallyou 8 years ago

I know this episode was very odd

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[–] grizzledgeezer 8 years ago

It is odd, because unlike most formulaic television, there's no simple solution that allows Matt to "take care of" the bad guys while retaining his moral principles. He and Chester consciously commit what is, as the law interprets it, murder.

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[–] ben-thayer 8 years ago

"I never saw men who deserved less of a chance than you."

One of Dillon's most iconic quotes.

This one is worthy of discussion. These men weren't just outlaws, they were BUTCHERS. What they had done to entire families was beyond heinous, and they did not exclude children in their butchery. Plus, Dillon and Chester were vastly outnumbered, and it was entirely likely they would not have survived any attempt to take the butchers alive.

I saw this one as Dillon expedites the inevitable. If he had returned to Dodge with Mickey Simpson, how long would it have taken to collect the names of the gang members and have them classified "dead or alive"?

If anything, Dillon was pragmatic.

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[–] grizzledgeezer 8 years ago

If anything, Dillon was pragmatic.

Of course, pragmatism can be an excuse for any sort of behavior. But it's difficult to fault Dillon in this particular situation.

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[–] ben-thayer 8 years ago

Although Dillon was typically consistent with his application of "the law", he did have moments where he reacted less of a lawman and more of a man.

A good example of this is the episode Cow Doctor (S2, Ep1). Dillon is faced with the death of Doc Adams after he'd been knifed, and he says to Ben Pitcher:

"If Doc doesn't come out of this all right, I'll quit being a marshal. I'll come after you as a plain man... looking for revenge, and I swear I'll *kill* you."

In truth I wanted to reopen the discussion we had some time back on The Quest for Asa Janin, based upon the events in Cow Doctor. During the discussion we debated Sheriff Macklin's actions, and whether or not it made sense when he drew on Dillon and told him Janin wasn't going back to Hays City.

But in Cow Doctor, we have Dillon himself swearing he's going to take the law into his own hands the same as Macklin, and this was in relation to the impending (possible) death of a friend. My point was...in Quest, Sheriff Macklin's wife and child were murdered. If Dillon acts that way about the death of a friend, then that helps explain Macklin's actions in relation to the murder of his family.

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