User Reviews

Occasionally, "Gunsmoke" series regulars would step aside to allow one of its stars to interact with guest stars, and in the case of "Tatum," this would be Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness), who appears without Miss Kitty, Doc, Festus or Newly, as Matt exercises the power of his badge to escort the body of a notorious outlaw into Dodge City, to be interred next to his late wife, against the wishes of irate law-abiding citizens.

But, to complicate matters, the body remains alive and kicking, and fighting with his three estranged surviving daughters, whom the title character, Bodie Tatum (Gene Evans), somehow summons to his remote farmhouse hideaway, which he shares with his foreign "woman," Kata (Ana Corita, in her only television acting role to date).

For the sake of the cherished memory of their devoted late mother, who suffered many difficulties in her marriage to a ruthless outlaw bearing no intention to reform, daughters Maddy (Sandra Smith), Gwenn (Jay W. MacIntosh) and Marion (Sheila Larken) arrive at the Tatum homestead, to accompany their father and his mistress and her infant son, who turns out to be their half-breed half-brother, in a horse-drawn wagon, on a two-day journey into Dodge City, to meet Matt Dillon along the way, in his capacity of law enforcement escort.

Years earlier, after leaving their parents, Maddy has since become a saloon owner with an eye for business; Gwenn has relocated with her new family to a small Iowa community; Marion has become engaged to a reputable citizen, Dirk Mitchell (Jeff Pomerantz). Needless to say, none of these three defines herself as a Tatum.

Ed Terrall (Kenneth Tobey) plays an active role among Dodge City town-folk who object to admitting Tatum into the community's memorial park, even if it means standing up to U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon, who hasn't been able to capture Bodie Tatum alive but must defend his right to a proper internment.

By evening, the dysfunctional Tatum family rests before the bed of a creek, during which time Bodie manages to spend a few moments conversing with each daughter aside from the remainder of the clan. Gene Evans doesn't attempt character sympathy nor understanding.

But he plays Tatum as the gruff, estranged father who somehow wants the best for his daughters and infant son, subtly indicating their need to band together for their own sakes.

And band together they must, as the Tatum unwelcome wagon approaches Dodge City. Will Matt Dillon manage to fend off the angry mob, which awaits Tatum's arrival? Will the family unite to survive the ordeal? Will Bodie Tatum survive the journey long enough to hear the Clergyman's (Lloyd Nelson) delivering his eulogy?

Jay W. MacIntosh (as Gwenn) appears three weeks later in "Walton's" episode "The Dust Bowl Cousins" (#1.12, 1972) as Cora Walton, a survivor of the Oklahoma drought of 1936, so she's good at playing these "hard times on the Plains" characters.

Gene Evans, more than a decade later, appears healthier on his "Murder, She Wrote" guest spots than as Bodie Tatum, so he's good at playing those gruff old codgers knocking at the Pearly Gates.

Sandra Smith (as Maddy) and Sheila Larken (as Marion) also deliver heart-felt performances here, as the other two Tatum daughters, who, not-unlike Gwenn, face the dilemma of destroying their own lives by revealing their pasts for the sake of their late mother and for their seemingly unappreciative father, who creates a seemingly impossible situation for the sisters to endure.

The cast is rounded out by Robert Tindell as Man #1, Duncan Inches as Man #2, and Neil Summers in his first television acting role, as Joe Beel.

A tough, old outlaw named Bodie Tatum lives with a Cheyenne woman and their baby boy somewhere outside Dodge City. As Tatum is returning to the place he shares with Kata -- his companion -- he encounters a bear. The bear mauls the man before he manages to shoot it a few times, and it runs away. The incident leaves Tatum severely injured.

Kata takes Tatum to Dodge City to see Doc Adams, but the man has suffered extensive internal injuries. Doc delivers the news that Tatum will never recover from the injuries and only has a few days to live at the most.

When Kata hears the news, she sends word to Tatum's three grown daughters. The daughters hold their father in disdain, as he left them and their mother when they were younger. Their mother was heartbroken, and the daughters hold their father responsible for the grief he caused their mother and for sending her to an early grave.

Tatum regrets his past actions, but he is wise enough to realize he cannot change what has been done. He only wishes to make peace with his daughters and be buried in Spearville next to his wife's grave.

This presents problems on a couple of fronts. The women do come to visit their dying father, but they are initially opposed to the idea of making sure his last wishes are granted. Many of the citizens of Spearville hate Tatum and the previous damage he did there. They do not want Tatum buried in their cemetery.

Tatum, who still has warrants for his arrest pending, agrees to surrender to Matt Dillon. The Marshal is aware that Tatum is dying and decides to accompany him to Spearville, but there will be challenges along the way, especially from the Spearville residents that do not want him there.

This episode features another stellar performance by Gene Evans, one of ten in the series, as he plays the character Bodie Tatum. Sandra Smith, Shelia Larken, and Jay MacIntosh play Tatum's daughters. This story marks the only Gunsmoke appearance by MacIntosh, but both Smith and Larken had appeared previously.

Actress Anakorita portrays Tatum's Cheyenne companion, Kata. Her acting career only included a few roles. This is her sole Gunsmoke appearance.

This episode includes the final appearance in the series by actor Kenneth Tobey. He appeared in three other episodes. Tobey's association with James Arness goes all the way back to the 1951 film The Thing from Another World. Actor Jeff Pomerantz also appears for the last time in the series as the Spearville sheriff, Dirk Mitchell.

Lloyd Nelson was a script supervisor for 79 Gunsmoke episodes, but he also played small parts in eleven different installments. Watch for him here in the part of a clergyman. Nelson would later serve as script supervisor for several prominent films, including several films with Clint Eastwood.

The bear that attacks Bodie Tatum early in the story is the same bear that played Gentle Ben in the 1960s series of that name. The animal also had a recurring role as "Fairchild" on The Beverly Hillbillies.

This story is clearly meant to warm the old heartstrings, but it fails to generate much in the way of interesting content. The idea that someone could suffer such serious internal injuries and still make a long wagon trip to another town does not make much sense, and the wisdom of even attempting such a journey is questionable.

Much of the story is spent in tedious conversations. Tatum talks with each of his daughters. Tatum talks with Marshal Dillon. Tatum talks with Kata. Occasionally, someone from Spearville shows up to warn the group to stay away.

The only involvement of the regular Gunsmoke stars comes from the Doc Adams character in his diagnosis of Tatum's terminal condition, and the Matt Dillon character, who escorts the group from Dodge to Spearville. This is another story where the Gunsmoke setting is not important.

The theme of a dying man reflecting on his past mistakes and wanting to make amends as much as possible is nothing new. Unfortunately, there is little in this episode, other than some fine performances, to recommend.

Bodie Tatum (Gene Evans) is a former gunman with an Indian wife; he is mortally mauled by a bear, and so his three estranged daughters descend on Dodge City to see him to his grave in Spearville, Kansas -- which is east of Dodge yet looks oddly like Tucson, Arizona, arid mountains and saguaro cacti included... Now, that's silly. There's nothing in Kansas which looks like that... A touching episode, though, with a heart-breakingly elegiacal score by the great Richard Shores.

An older former gunman, that has warrants still out for his arrest, is attacked by a bear. The injures are serious and the gunman, Bodie Tatum, only is given about a week to live by Doc Adams.

We now learn that Bodie, who is now living with an Indian woman and they have a child together, had abandoned his family years ago. Leaving his three daughters with his wife. His wife had dies but he sent for his three daughter to come and visit him. We learn that he has three different type daughter, one was a hard working and looking woman, one was a young social type person and the other was a saloon girl.

His dying wishes is to make amends with his daughter and to be buried by his wife in Spearville. After some uncomfortable moments, the daughters decide to honor their father wish and take him to Spearville to be buried. But this would prove difficult as most of Spearville remember the gunman and what no part of him returning to their town. The Sheriff of Spearville will do all he can to stop the wagon that is occupied by Bodie Tatum. So with warrant still on Bodie, Marshal Dillon will make the trip with Bodie and the daughters.

Gene Evans does a nice job of playing the dying man that finally comes to grip with his daughters. The writers did a nice job of having each daughter come from different backgrounds which lead to more interest in the story. However there was little action during most of the show and a lot of routine dialog. An average show with average results.

The other reviews sum up the story well. My only comment is this: Bodie appears to be the healthiest "dying man" I've ever seen on television. He gets mauled by a bear in the first 2 minutes of the show, and then spends the next 45 minutes of the show perfectly healthy, lucid, seemingly without pain, and, well, just matter-of-fact. If you didn't know from the start that he's gonna die (from Doc Adams) you would never guess he was even hurt.

On cue, he dies (off camera) with 5 minutes left in the show, just in time to wrap up the drama.