2020 Paley Archive Elements 3840x1536 Banner2

GUNSMOKE: THE BIG CON (TV)

Summary

The first of two programs on this asset. One in this series of western dramas about Marshal Matt Dillon, lawman of Dodge City, Kansas, and the people who live in and pass through that town in the closing decades of the 19th century. In the first episode, Dillon walks through a graveyard and mulls over all the violent deaths of its occupants. In town, he journeys to the bank with Chester, and while he is there, another man, Shaneways, enters and frantically requests to borrow $20,000 for a poker game, offering his four-ace hand as collateral. The temporary bank manager, Mr. Papp, is initially doubtful, but gives in to the man’s request despite Dillon’s warning. They both accompany Shaneways back to his game, where he loses to another man who has a straight flush. Shaneways promises to pay the bank back soon, but Papp panics, believing that he has ruined the town’s funds. Dillon tries to reassure him, and then warns Shaneways not to leave town, getting the names of the other men at the game, Hook and Varden. Doc then pulls Dillon aside and says that he remembers hearing of an extremely similar scenario in New Orleans where some men ran a con on a bank, and Dillon begins to suspect that Shaneways is working with Hook and Varden and intends to leave town with the $20,000. Back at home, Chester makes coffee and Dillon ponders the situation. Doc soon arrives and tells him that Papp has attempted suicide in his despair and suggests that Dillon should arrest Shaneways and the others, but Dillon says that he has no proof of the con. They decide to goad Shaneways into fleeing, noting that if Hook and Varden follow him, it will prove their crime. Dillon visits Shaneways and questions him about the game and about New Orleans, but he feigns ignorance. Later, however, Chester shows Dillon a note from the criminals stating that they have kidnapped Doc and fled. Dillon and Chester pursue them on horseback, and as night falls, Dillon tells Chester to steal the men’s horses and hide while he collects Doc. At the crooks’ campsite, Doc tells them that they sabotaged themselves by running and revealing their guilt, as he would not have been able to identify them. Dillon surprises them and rescues Doc, and Chester helps them to escape, leaving Hook and Varden stranded in the desert. Shaneways worries that they have condemned the men to death, but Dillon assures him that they will be collected and sent to prison along with him. Includes commercials.

Details

  • NETWORK: CBS
  • DATE: May 3, 1958 10:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:29:26
  • COLOR/B&W: B&W
  • CATALOG ID: B:07907
  • GENRE: Drama, western
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, western
  • SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1955-1975
  • COMMERCIALS:
    • TV - Commercials - L&M cigarettes
    • TV - Commercials - Remington Charge-a-Lite flashlight

CREDITS

  • Norman MacDonnell … Producer
  • John Meston … Writer
  • John Rich … Director
  • James Arness … Cast, Matt Dillon
  • Dennis Weaver … Cast, Chester
  • Milburn Stone … Cast, Doc
  • Amanda Blake … Cast, Kitty
  • Raymond Bailey … Cast, Shaneways
  • Joe Kearns … Cast, Mr. Papp
  • Alan Dexter … Cast, Hook
  • Gordon Mills … Cast, Varden
  • Perry Ivins … Cast, Mr. Hogg