Gunsmoke (TV Series) False Witness (1959) User Reviews

Liar, Liar pants on fire.

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 27 August 2013]

Here is another case of a classic TV western that was entertaining to watch. Forget about any political statement, this is a drama that took the viewer on a trip that became an interesting watch. This is all a viewer can ask of a show.

The episode begins with a bang (literally) when a man is shot walking down Front Street. Just so happens that a man, Romey Crep, said he witnessed the shooting blaming a nineteen year old boy, Tom Morey, for the murder. It is not long before Crep is telling the Judge all he saw and Tom is sentenced to hang.

Marshal Dillon is to transport Tom to Hays City for the hanging. But all the while something is bothering Matt. Romey Crep has now become somewhat of a celebrity as he rehashes they story for anyone that will listen. And with Tom in Hay City, it just so happens that Crep is the witness to another killing. Matt and the viewers know something is amiss.

This was an entertaining story set in a classic western theme. Don't try to over-analyze the show by trying to change the ending, just enjoy for thirty minutes a program that takes you on a interesting trip. With the fine acting and well written story this show was a good watch.

Wright the King Liar

[jamdifo · 7/10 · 24 December 2013]

Due to the title of the episode it becomes crystal clear who the killer is halfway thru the episode. A different title would have made it better. Wright King plays Crep, who wants to get noticed so bad, he kills people and lies saying he saw someone else do the shooting. He's kind of a twisted sociopath and played well by King.

You also have a young Wayne Rogers as Tom, who suffers the hanging thanks to Crep's lies. Crep actually kills 3 people in this episode. I love seeing an angry, ticked off Dillon, and we see that in all its glory directed at Crep at the end.

Amazingly, both Wright King and Wayne Rogers are still alive today. Also, for the first time in Gunsmoke up to this point, its been 10 episodes straight since Dillon has killed someone.

Thank You, Matt

[darbski · 10/10 · 5 October 2017]

**SPOILERS** I loved this episode, as painful as it was to watch. I've myself been the victim of a liar, and it did some real damage in my life. It happens to people every day, So, it was a real treat to see this excellent drama unfold. I truly liked it when Matt shook and threw the rat across Doc's office, and then had him dragged off to jail. Even though he was obviously hurt, they didn't bother asking Doc to check him out. For me, it isn't really a stretch for Matt to ask the authorities in Hays to hold up on an execution; I'm sure these guys would do each other certain favors regularly. Justice prevailed, ain't we glad.

The acting in this episode was top notch; a tightly wound drama around a basic commandment (NOT a guideline). Thanks to IMDb for the references, and S.A.G. for deep pool of talent.

And Justice Is Carried Out

[StrictlyConfidential · 6/10 · 30 November 2020]

(*Marshal Dillon to Tom Morry quote*) - "You better start watching your step, then."

With a title like "False Witness", this episode of TV's "Gunsmoke" sort of gives itself away as to who is the real culprit in these murderous crimes.

Romey Crep craves attention. And, so, to gain the notice of others he puts himself in the privileged position of being the sole witness to murder.

The trouble is Romey can't keep his mouth shut and, so, he eventually trips over his own words and that tightens the noose around his neck by a few notches.

Why Not Something Daring?

[dougdoepke · 17 August 2007]

This entry presents a good object lesson in how conventions of the day undermine a potentially powerful story. A man is shot from a darkened alleyway. Romey Kreb (Wright King) claims he saw Tom Morey (Wayne Rogers) do the shooting. Trouble is that Morey's an obviously decent sort, while Kreb acts like a self-important weasel. Dillon, however, has no choice but to lock Tom up and turn him over for trial, where a cantankerous hanging judge sentences Tom to hang. There's a good scene in Tom's cell where Tom's behavior is obviously that of an innocent man, but Matt must do his duty and deliver Tom to Hays City for execution.

Now, the screenplay and direction (Ted Post) make it evident that Tom is innocent while Kreb is the guilty party. But anyone familiar with standards and practices of that day knows Tom won't be hanged before his innocence can be proved. For not to do so, would suggest that the American machinery of criminal justice (even in frontier days) is capable of gross injustice. The movies might have gotten away with that aspersion, but certainly not America's number one TV show watched weekly by millions of good citizens. Yet, consider how much more powerfully the story would play out were an innocent man hanged before the news could reach authorities, especially after the poignant jail cell scene. That would have dramatically enhanced this otherwise routine entry and would have shown what we all know to be true anyway-- no system of justice is perfect.

Nonetheless, the Cold War was at its peak, and not even a show as solidly law and order as Gunsmoke was willing to challenge the political or commercial imperatives of the time.

Plot hole

[erikvornoff · 6/10 · 24 January 2022]

One little fly in the ointment in this latest Gunsmoke episode....

When Tom, the Wayne Rogers character, was first accused of murder by Crep, played by Wright King, the Gunsmoke writers messed up on a plot point.

While Matt checked Tom's gun at the time; he corroborated that Tom took two shots like Crep claimed, Doc did not bother to dig the bullets out of the body in order to compare them to the ones that were fired in Tom's gun.

This might have saved us all a half hour, or at least put the episode into more of a realistic and consistent (to the other episodes) track.