User Reviews

Haven't watched an episode of Gunsmoke in years but dug this up because every once in a while I'll try to find something with Suzanne Pleshette in it. When she guest starred in a TV show, she usually elevated it, which she did here. Richard Kiley plays an opportunistic bounty hunter who sees a big score in his next capture when he finds a rancher's son. Of course the ranch is outside Dodge, so some of the cast knows him, but that is about the extent of it. This is more of an anthology episode, as most of the cast takes the week off with short scenes from Matt Dillon, Miss Kitty and the Doc. The guest stars take center stage here as Richard Kiley plays the Bounty Hunter, Shelly Novack the son, and Henry Wilcoxon plays the rich rancher father. After the son bribes the bounty hunter to take him home instead of jail, the real story starts to unfold. Now starts the typical Father/Son story line where one wants more out the other, and an argument leads to the Father's health quickly declining. Suzanne Pleshette steps in as the older sibling who quickly comes in to mediate the situation and get rid of the bounty hunter, who has now progressed from bribery to extortion on his end. The story moves along rather well. Richard Kiley and Suzanne Pleshette are worth the watch.

I have never been a fan of Suzanne Pleshette -since I had mainly seen her on other TV series and never thought much of her acting ability. However, in this episode she is the person that makes this show interesting and watchable with her tough acting playing a character that a times is hard as nails and at other times showing her soft side. She was the bright spot in this episode.

The episode begins as Lewis Stark, a bounty hunter, comes up on an escape prisoner Adam Bramley. Instead of collecting his money for Adam's return, he instead takes Adam back to his father's ranch where he eyes a way of making more money.

John Bramley is the father but has a heart condition that has taken his toll on his health. Adam tells his father that he owes Stark $1000 and wants his father to pay him. John refuses causing an argument that resulted in another heart-attack for John.

The rest of the episode feature Ms Pleshette as Glory Bramley as she take control of the situation and brings some order to the Bramley farm. But with just a taste of money- Stark decides he wants more than what was first asked. And will John and Adam come to terms with their relationship as father and son?

This is not an episode that is top of anyone's list but a nice story with some good acting. A good watch for viewers.

Adam Bramley escapes from a prison in Texas where he has served two years at hard labor and was facing another two years. Bramley returns to his father's ranch near Dodge City with a $1,000 bounty on his head.

A bounty hunter named Lewis Stark finds Bramley, but once he learns that Bramley comes from a family with some wealth, he sees an opportunity to make more money than he would make returning Bramley to Texas for the bounty.

What Stark does not know is Adam and his father, John Bramley, have been estranged. John is a man who has lived his life by working hard and building what he has. Adam has defied his father's ethics and taken his own independent path...and run afoul of the law in the process. As a result, the father is not so quick to give Adam the money to pay off Stark.

John is in extremely poor health due to heart problems. When he and Adam argue, the argument turns into a physical altercation, and John has an attack that nearly kills him. Doc Adams comes to the ranch and examines John. He warns Adam his father does not need the stress of the situation at hand.

Nevertheless, Adam promises Stark he will get the money given time, whether his father will give it to him or not. As a result, Stark begins to make himself comfortable on the Bramley ranch.

When Adam's sister, Glory, is apprised of the situation, she agrees to give Stark $1,000 if he will leave the ranch. Stark is not satisfied with only $1,000, as he sees much greater possibilities. When Glory asks what she can do to convince him, Stark grabs her and kisses her. In response, Glory scratches the bounty hunter on the neck and makes it clear what Stark is thinking is not in the cards.

Glory subsequently has the ranch hands dispense some physical "encouragement" to Stark and escort him off the Bramley land. Stark goes to Dodge where he gets a room.

Adam realizes the situation is not likely resolved. When he visits Stark in Dodge, the bounty hunter tells him he wants $5,000, or he will take the young man back to Texas.

The remainder of the story involves Adam coming to terms with his past mistakes and maturing enough to take responsibility for what he has done, while Stark continues to look for an opportunity to benefit financially.

The veteran actor Richard Kiley appears for the first time in a Gunsmoke episode as he plays the Lewis Stark character. The Stark character is shrewd, but he is not shrewd enough to avoid becoming a victim of his own lust and greed. Kiley's performance is a highlight of this episode. Over the next four seasons of the show, Kiley would appear in three additional episodes.

Suzanne Pleshette fills the Glory Bramley role in this story. This is the only time the actress would join the Gunsmoke cast. The scenes between Pleshette and Kiley are excellent.

Shelly Novack, a former football star, plays Adam Bramley. This is also his only part in a Gunsmoke episode. Novack was quite an athlete in real life and enjoyed some success as an actor before he died suddenly of a heart attack when he was only 34 years old.

Another acting veteran, Henry Wilcoxon, portrays John Bramley. Wilcoxon appeared in numerous films through the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He was a good friend of the famed director Cecil B. DeMille and appeared in several of his films. Later in his life, his work consisted of small parts in television and a few films.

This is one of those episodes where nothing related to Gunsmoke has any importance to the results. The Matt Dillon, Kitty Russell, and Doc Adams characters make brief appearances, but nothing they contribute is vital to the story. Although Ken Curtis and Buck Taylor are seen in the opening credits, their characters are not part of the episode. This could have just as easily been an episode of most any other Western series.

Furthermore, the story is formulaic and predictable. There is nothing about the Adam Bramley character that makes the viewer want to care what happens to him. Instead, we are reduced to merely wanting to see Stark fail. More scenes with the Stark and Glory Bramley characters would have been preferable, but that was not the point of the story. To make matters worse, writer Donald Sanford tacks on an unnecessary, overly sentimental ending.

"Stark" is a formulaic episode that's partly redeemed by the presence of the perfectly cast Richard Kiley and Suzanne Pleshette. He's a bounty hunter who's going blind, while she's the daughter of a stubborn rancher who never had a proper relationship with his son. (Where have we seen this before?)

It's not hard to see where this will end up -- the son will eventually recognize his obligations to himself and his father, and voluntarily give himself up, to return to prison to complete his term. But it's nice to see Pleshette have Kiley beaten up before she pays him his blackmail.

The problem is the very end, where father and son "kiss and make up". The writing is not only a bit gloppy, but... Let's just say that, if you want to draw a tear from the audience, this is not the way to do it. ROTFLMAO. I couldn't stop. (Had the ending not been so abusively sentimental, I would have given "Stark" seven stars.)