User Reviews

Inside the Dodge House a woman has arrived by the name of Cara. Cara is an old flame of Matt's and it has been years since they have seen each other. She appears to still have a crush on Matt and comes to him for help. Matt gets her a job at the Long Branch, that does not make Kitty to happy, and goes to work trying to make money.

Matt has been informed by a regional Sheriff that there is a bank robber in Kansas named Tolliver. He says that no one has been close enough to Tolliver to get a good look so no one really knows what he looks like. But the sheriff tells Matt that he has a woman working for him that cases the town out before the robbery. Matt becomes suspicious about Cara.

The episode gives the viewer a brief look, which is rare, into Matt's earlier life. It was kind of obvious from the beginning what was going to transpire but the writer did throw in an ending that is classic 'Gunsmoke'. The episode was entertaining enough to make for a good watch.

Note- Cara was to have arrived in Dodge during the night. That morning, while still in her room, calls for Matt. After they meet Matt says he needs to go to meet the 9am stage which the Sheriff is riding. They go to the jail and Chester is cooking. Chester without ever meeting Cara or talking to Matt about Cara, seems to know how Cara looks when the Sheriff gives a description.

Unconvincing drama of lost love that simply fails to gel. An old flame of Matt's, named Cara, comes to town, apparently to rekindle Matt's affections. She's grown rather hard-bitten, however, so Matt is on guard. Then Dillon learns that a notorious bank robber named Tolliver is headed Dodge's way, and is known to send ahead a woman to scout the town. Now Matt's really on guard.

The savvy viewer can see the ending of this entry coming from a mile away. Perhaps the half-hour's best scene is where Amanda Blake as Kitty shows her subtle acting skills with Arness. Dressed in something that looks like a discarded pile of frilly lace, she can barely conceal her distaste for Matt's interest in another woman. Worse, Dillon wants Kitty to take in Cara and show her the ropes at the Long Branch. It's a little gem for Blake who maintains a delicately proper edge through-out. Also, note how delicately the script implies that Cara is a "fallen woman" whose virtue was cast aside once Matt left her. This is typical 1950's innuendo which avoided such plain-spoken words as "prostitute" at all costs. All in all, a familiar road, rather poorly done.

Howie Uzzell asks Doc Adams to come to the Dodge House where a woman guest has made a weak attempt at suicide. The woman asks Doc to tell Matt she wants to see him. Her name is Cara.

When Matt visits Cara at the Dodge House, it is a reunion. Cara and Matt had a romantic relationship in Yuma, Arizona twelve years earlier. Matt later tells Kitty Russell he left Yuma "to prove himself," and by the time he completed his objective, the relationship was over.

Matt thoughtlessly asks Kitty to help his old flame. Kitty does not enjoy the idea of taking on the task, but she agrees to do it. (Amanda Blake looks every bit the girl boss throughout this episode.) As the story progresses, she becomes less and less happy to have Matt's old girlfriend around.

Sheriff Benson from another town visits Dodge. He is just passing through, but he warns Matt about a wanted bank robber and murderer named Jack Tolliver who has been spotted in Kansas. He can't tell Matt much about the man because no one knows what Tolliver looks like. However, Tolliver works with a female partner who arrives in the towns Tolliver is about to hit about a week in advance to perform reconnaissance. When Sheriff Benson describes the woman, Matt realizes it is Cara.

Matt begins to watch Cara as he suspects she will provide clues to Tolliver's arrival in Dodge so the crimes can be stopped.

Jorja Curtright makes her only Gunsmoke appearance as Cara. Curtright's acting career was not extensive. Her lackluster performance in this episode may shed some light on why that was the case. She had a distinctive career later as an interior designer. She was married to author Sidney Sheldon for thirty years.

Douglas Odney portrays the Jack Tolliver character. Like Curtright, this is his only Gunsmoke appearance, and his acting career was short-lived, as is his screen time in this story.

Actor Charles (Chuck) Webster's acting career was more prolific than his other guest co-stars, but his small role as Sheriff Benson is his only participation in the series.

Wilfred (Budd) Knapp makes another appearance as Sam Botkin, the bank president. Note the brief glimpses of the sign at the bank shows the name is "Botkin Bank," and the safe inside is labeled "Botkin's Bank." It would later become the Dodge City Bank.

The premise of this story is intriguing enough, but the theme of an old flame coming back into the hero's life with nefarious intentions would be used repeatedly in other westerns over the years. At least one more episode features one of Matt's past loves, Season 18's "Sarah."

The story never reaches its potential, and the performance by Curtright falls flat. There is a sort of chess match element between Matt and Cara, but the David Victor and Herbert Little, Jr. Script always keeps the Marshal one step ahead, which eliminates any real suspense.