A young girl named Jenny Pritchard arrives in Dodge City on the stagecoach. Jenny is only nine (almost ten) years old, and she has traveled to Dodge in the hopes of reuniting with her father. The father has written Jenny and asked her to visit him on the ranch he has just purchased.
Newly O'Brien and Kitty Russell meet Jenny when she goes inside the Long Branch Saloon looking for help. Kitty and Newly are surprised to see someone so young traveling alone. Jenny tells them her story about coming to meet her father. Since the stage does not go to Slater's Crossing near where her father lives, she had to disembark in Dodge. When Jenny tells Kitty and Newly her father's name is Lucas Pritchard, they realize Jenny's father is a wanted outlaw.
Since Matt Dillon is out of town, Newly rides to where Jenny was supposed to meet her father and finds Pritchard there. Newly proposes Pritchard return to Dodge with him, spend a couple of days with Jenny, and then surrender to face the charges against him. Pritchard agrees, and they ride back to Dodge.
Unfortunately, Judge Alan Franklin is in Dodge from Missouri to fill in while Judge Brooking is away. Judge Franklin has indicted Pritchard at some point in the past. When he sees Pritchard and Newly, he orders Newly to immediately lock Pritchard in jail. The Judge will not listen to any objections from Deputy O'Brien.
The next morning, Jenny goes to the Dodge City Jail looking for Newly. The Deputy is not there, and Pritchard is locked in a cell. Jenny soon finds a wanted poster for her father and realizes her father is an outlaw, and Newly, Kitty, and Festus Haggen knew who her father was. Jenny is naturally upset.
Pritchard convinces Newly to let him out of jail long enough to go talk with Jenny, who is staying with Miss Kitty. Jenny refuses to talk with her father, and he leaves dejected. As they are walking back to the jail, Pritchard manages to get away from Newly and ride away on a stolen mare.
Judge Franklin is furious at the turn of events. He orders Festus to form a posse and go after Pritchard, and he orders Newly to be locked in jail. The situation will require Marshal Dillon's return and some work on the part of all the key players to reach a resolution.
Talented character actor Steve Ihnat returns to Gunsmoke for the sixth and final time as Lucas Pritchard. Around the time this episode aired, Ihnat released the experimental Felliniesque film he wrote, directed, and in which he starred titled Do Not Throw Cushions Into the Ring. When he traveled to the Cannes Film Festival in 1972 to screen the picture, he suffered a fatal heart attack at age 37. People close to Ihnat have said he was unhappy with the types of roles he was being offered -- primarily as villains -- and that dissatisfaction led to him make the film.
Lisa Gerritsen plays Jenny Pritchard in what was also her final Gunsmoke appearance. Gerritsen is best known for her role as Bess Lindstrom on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the spinoff series Phyllis. She participated in a total of four Gunsmoke episodes.
The part of Judge Alan Franklin is played by Rance Howard in the first of two different Gunsmoke episodes in which he appeared. Howard is the king of the bit part, as he often appeared in small parts in both television shows and films throughout an acting career that spanned well over sixty years. Howard is the father of Ron and Clint Howard and was one of Andy Griffith's best friends.
Steve Raines, another bit-part actor, makes one of his fourteen appearances in this episode. This role is notable, because there is a stagecoach in this episode, but Raines does not play the driver, as he frequently did in any episode where he appeared. Instead, Raines plays Ed Reilly whose mare Pritchard steals after managing to get away from Newly.
This is the first episode in some time where most of the episode takes place inside Dodge City, and all the regular stars are involved.
The overarching theme of this episode could be summed up as "everyone makes mistakes." Lucas Pritchard's life has been a series of admitted mistakes. Newly O'Brien makes mistakes with his treatment of Pritchard. Jenny Pritchard makes mistakes by shutting out everyone, instead of allowing them to explain why they chose the actions they did.
The problem with this episode is its familiarity. Stories featuring an outlaw risking capture to reunite with a child who does not know they are a criminal are all too common in the Westerns genre. In fact, a similar plot element was used with several differences in the "Luke" episode earlier in Season 16. Jack Miller wrote both episodes.
Newly O'Brien and Kitty Russell meet Jenny when she goes inside the Long Branch Saloon looking for help. Kitty and Newly are surprised to see someone so young traveling alone. Jenny tells them her story about coming to meet her father. Since the stage does not go to Slater's Crossing near where her father lives, she had to disembark in Dodge. When Jenny tells Kitty and Newly her father's name is Lucas Pritchard, they realize Jenny's father is a wanted outlaw.
Since Matt Dillon is out of town, Newly rides to where Jenny was supposed to meet her father and finds Pritchard there. Newly proposes Pritchard return to Dodge with him, spend a couple of days with Jenny, and then surrender to face the charges against him. Pritchard agrees, and they ride back to Dodge.
Unfortunately, Judge Alan Franklin is in Dodge from Missouri to fill in while Judge Brooking is away. Judge Franklin has indicted Pritchard at some point in the past. When he sees Pritchard and Newly, he orders Newly to immediately lock Pritchard in jail. The Judge will not listen to any objections from Deputy O'Brien.
The next morning, Jenny goes to the Dodge City Jail looking for Newly. The Deputy is not there, and Pritchard is locked in a cell. Jenny soon finds a wanted poster for her father and realizes her father is an outlaw, and Newly, Kitty, and Festus Haggen knew who her father was. Jenny is naturally upset.
Pritchard convinces Newly to let him out of jail long enough to go talk with Jenny, who is staying with Miss Kitty. Jenny refuses to talk with her father, and he leaves dejected. As they are walking back to the jail, Pritchard manages to get away from Newly and ride away on a stolen mare.
Judge Franklin is furious at the turn of events. He orders Festus to form a posse and go after Pritchard, and he orders Newly to be locked in jail. The situation will require Marshal Dillon's return and some work on the part of all the key players to reach a resolution.
Talented character actor Steve Ihnat returns to Gunsmoke for the sixth and final time as Lucas Pritchard. Around the time this episode aired, Ihnat released the experimental Felliniesque film he wrote, directed, and in which he starred titled Do Not Throw Cushions Into the Ring. When he traveled to the Cannes Film Festival in 1972 to screen the picture, he suffered a fatal heart attack at age 37. People close to Ihnat have said he was unhappy with the types of roles he was being offered -- primarily as villains -- and that dissatisfaction led to him make the film.
Lisa Gerritsen plays Jenny Pritchard in what was also her final Gunsmoke appearance. Gerritsen is best known for her role as Bess Lindstrom on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the spinoff series Phyllis. She participated in a total of four Gunsmoke episodes.
The part of Judge Alan Franklin is played by Rance Howard in the first of two different Gunsmoke episodes in which he appeared. Howard is the king of the bit part, as he often appeared in small parts in both television shows and films throughout an acting career that spanned well over sixty years. Howard is the father of Ron and Clint Howard and was one of Andy Griffith's best friends.
Steve Raines, another bit-part actor, makes one of his fourteen appearances in this episode. This role is notable, because there is a stagecoach in this episode, but Raines does not play the driver, as he frequently did in any episode where he appeared. Instead, Raines plays Ed Reilly whose mare Pritchard steals after managing to get away from Newly.
This is the first episode in some time where most of the episode takes place inside Dodge City, and all the regular stars are involved.
The overarching theme of this episode could be summed up as "everyone makes mistakes." Lucas Pritchard's life has been a series of admitted mistakes. Newly O'Brien makes mistakes with his treatment of Pritchard. Jenny Pritchard makes mistakes by shutting out everyone, instead of allowing them to explain why they chose the actions they did.
The problem with this episode is its familiarity. Stories featuring an outlaw risking capture to reunite with a child who does not know they are a criminal are all too common in the Westerns genre. In fact, a similar plot element was used with several differences in the "Luke" episode earlier in Season 16. Jack Miller wrote both episodes.
