Gunsmoke (TV Series) The Wreckers (1967) User Reviews

A very nice start to season 13.

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 20 May 2013]

Matt and Kitty are on vacation together when Matt spots a convict and arrests him. Like always Kitty is disappointed that her holiday is now ruined and they are on their way back to Dodge riding a stagecoach with a prisoner.

A gang of bandits sabotage the stage to rob the cash box. When the stagecoach breaks away from the horse team, the stage flips severely injuring the prisoner and knocking out Matt. When Kitty hears the bandits outside she removes the Marshal's badge from Matt's chest and places it on the prisoners.

After the prisoner dies it is not long before the bandits know they have the famous Marshal Dillon. The only chance of saving the Marshal's life is if the town of Dodge to pay ransom money. But there are no givens when it comes to these bandits.

Amanda Blake gives a very strong performance as she is in some very physical scenes during many parts of the show. Even though the ending was kind of odd- the story was strong and the action was entertaining. One of the best parts of the show was when Louie, the town drunk, ask to delivery the ransom money because he has no money to donate and Matt is his friend. A very nice start to season 13.

Kitty switches the identities of the two men........

[DeepFriedJello · 9/10 · 26 November 2022]

....because she witnesses a large group of bad guys shoot the stagecoach driver. She knows that the bad guys are not going to be nice to a wounded marshal, so she pins Matt's badge on the murderer he is escorting to Dodge and puts Matt's gun on him also. Matt then assumes the identity of the murderer. The bad guys who caused the stagecoach to crash, fight over who gets to enjoy Kitty's company and Matt doesn't care for that. The leader of the gang sees big money coming in a ransom for Matt, but who is Matt? They send Kitty to Dodge to collect a ransom, but will she be successful? Will Matt enjoy his fake identity as a outlaw murderer? Will Louie Pheeters get a snoot full? Watch this fine episode and find out.

Matt got into quite the pickle in this one.

[headhunter46 · 8/10 · 17 September 2014]

Outlaws rob the stage not knowing Matt and Kitty are on it. The stage is wrecked deliberately by a man who swapped the hitch pin with one made of wood. It was certain to break when the stage started up a steep incline. The stage broke free of the horses and went crashing down the hillside. Matt and his prisoner were knocked out. Seeing the outlaws approaching, Kitty switched identities with Matt and the prisoner for fear the outlaws would shoot the Marshall on sight.

Kitty is sent back to Dodge to tell the townsfolk Matt is being held for ransom. Doc has to remind the people how much Matt has done for them, then Louie offers to escort Kitty back to the hideout. There are a few surprises and a big shootout.

Every time KItty gets on a stage coach, she gets into trouble.

[grizzledgeezer · 10/10 · 30 July 2015]

My introduction to "dramatic arts" was "The World of Star Trek", by David Gerrold. He ripped into the series for its repetitive "puzzle box" stories, in which the principal characters are captured (or something similar) and have to work their way out. As we //know// the characters are going to be back next week, where is the pleasure in this sort of mechanical story telling?

"The Wreckers" is such a story, but a lot more pleasurable. Matt and Kitty find themselves in a Really Terrible situation, one likely to result in both their deaths. What makes this such a terrific episode is how they do it, by playing on the fears and insecurities of their captors. The dialog is smart, and you're occasionally left wondering exactly what's going on. For what is to a large degree formulaic story telling, "The Wreckers" works up a surprising amount of suspense.

Matt //does// shoot his way out at the end, but it doesn't play out the way you might expect. It's very satisfying.

Also satisfying is seeing Dodge's cowardly citizens //finally// supporting Matt.

A top episode, worth more than one viewing.

"BAD WRITTING"

[TheFastestManOnEarth · 10/10 · 4 October 2020]

I disagree, to me this is what I call "Real Writing"... and actually this is my favorite episode of almost all of those I have seen of Gunsmoke... so much so, that I actually saw this episode when I was about 35, I'm now 66... and this episode still lives solidly in my memory. I guess because I've been there.

This episode "humanized" Dillon... and endeared him to us. Yes, I scorn Kitty for being so treacherous to another human being... but her love for Matt was so strong, that she would do "ANYTHING"..! Man... if I could find me a woman like that..!

And Matt... even though being given a "LOUSY DEAL"... still stood TALL, one more time... and came out a winner!

I don't know about the rest of you... but let me tell you this, there are times in your life where you are gonna catch a bad deal... can you, and "did you"... pick yourself up... ONE MORE TIME, even though you knew... there was no way out?

WHY did Kitty switch the identities of the two men??

[markthurman-44228 · 8/10 · 10 April 2021]

I'm giving away a bit of info about the first few minutes of the episode, but nothing else. Therefore, I'm not indicating a spoiler alert.

Did you see that stagecoach wreck?? End over end several times. No seatbelts (of course). Was that a survivable wreck? I'm not so sure. Those onboard the stagecoach should have been thrown around like rag dolls, probably breaking every bone in their bodies. Yet, all three occupants of the stagecoach survive, at least initially. I think it's very unusual that the one woman onboard is alert immediately after the wreck, while both big, strong men are unconscious. Not only is Kitty not either dead or, like the others, unconscious, she is alert enough to switch the identities of Matt and his prisoner. But, WHY did she do that? She could not have known that the accident was planned. And even though she could hear men approaching, she could not have known who they were or their intentions. Even if she thought the arriving party was there to rescue Matt's prisoner, why would she think that those in the party would not recognize the prisoner, which would foil her attempt to switch their identities? I don't think there is any plausible explanation for why Kitty switched their identities, other than it was necessary for the sake of the plot.

Otherwise, this was a terrific episode that features the great actor Warren Oates, who happens to be from my neck of the woods in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.

Familiar Territory

[wdavidreynolds · 6/10 · 21 August 2019]

Season 13 begins with a smaller Gunsmoke cast. Thaddeus Greenwood is presumably no longer living in Dodge City, as Roger Ewing is no longer part of the cast. (Ewing will make a brief, uncredited appearance as Thad a few episodes into the season.) Buck Taylor will join the cast as Newly O'Brien later in the season.

The season begins with Matt Dillon and Kitty Russell away from Dodge. Apparently, they had left for a vacation, but much to Kitty's continuing frustration, Matt has picked up a prisoner, Monk Wiley, that he is now escorting back to Dodge. Anyone that has watched Gunsmoke with any frequency knows Kitty riding on a stagecoach means trouble.

(This little plot element bugs me to some degree. I don't think there is any way Matt would consider transporting a notorious outlaw with Kitty traveling along.)

The stagecoach on which they are riding is sabotaged at a way station. The team of horses is separated from the coach soon after they leave the way station, and the carriage rolls down a hill with Kitty, Matt, and Monk Wiley all inside.

The saboteur is a member of Tate Crocker's gang of outlaws. Crocker and company have been watching the stagecoach, waiting for it to crash so they can rob it. They kill the driver and guard and cautiously approach the wrecked coach.

Meanwhile, Kitty, although suffering from a possibly broken rib, hears the gunshots. Matt and Wiley are both unconscious. She quickly removes Matt's badge and the papers he is carrying and places them on Wiley. She removes the shackles on Wiley and puts them on Matt.

When Crocker and his men arrive at the stagecoach, Kitty tells them Matt is Monk Wiley and vice versa. Although Crocker and his men are disappointed in the amount of money they find in the stagecoach strongbox, they hatch a plan to use Matt -- or at least the person they THINK is Matt -- as a hostage for a large ransom from the town of Dodge City.

Matt regains consciousness and quickly picks up on the ruse that Kitty has planned. Wiley is more severely injured, and there is some doubt whether he will recover.

The remainder of the episode involves Matt pretending to be an outlaw under Crocker's suspicious eye, Kitty pleading with the citizens of Dodge to put up the ransom for Matt, and an inevitable shootout finish.

Warren Oates, who is one of my personal favorite character actors, is fantastic as Tate Crocker, and his performance is the highlight of the episode. I would probably rate this episode lower if not for the performance by Oates. Oates appeared in this episode after his work with Sam Peckinpah in Ride the High Country and prior to his iconic performances in films with director Monte Hellman (The Shooting, Two Lane Blacktop, Cockfighter) and Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia). This was his last appearance on Gunsmoke.

Look for Charles Seel in the role of Eli, the guy that travels with the gang, prepares food, and provides medical assistance when necessary. Seel often appeared in Gunsmoke episodes as Barney Danches, the telegraph operator.

I personally consider this episode too similar to many other Gunsmoke episodes where Matt is captured by some group, usually outlaws of some type, and held for some reason. There are also numerous nagging problems with the story as it relates to Gunsmoke as a whole. Unfortunately, those issues cannot be addressed without spoilers. The story is certainly entertaining, however, and is worth watching to see the performance by Warren Oates.

It is worth noting this is the first episode broadcast after the show was canceled near the end of Season 12 and subsequently given new life. This episode marked the first time the show was not broadcast on Saturday night.

A Case of Bad Writing

[austinatmeetup · 3/10 · 14 February 2014]

This episode broke three cardinal rules of good fiction writing.

Number 1. You want your protagonist to encounter difficulties which he or she has to overcome, but the difficulties have to be caused by things he or she can't control, things from the outside, not by his or her own stupidity. When the protagonist brings things upon himself or herself, the reader or the viewer is not interested. That viewer just gets disgusted. In this case, both Kitty and Matt acted stupidly and caused the very problems the viewer was supposed to care about.

Number 2. You don't want to have people acting out of character, because that just doesn't make sense to the reader or the viewer. In this case, the deputies acted out of character in that they did not try to help.

Number 3. Your protagonist should get out of his or her difficulties by his or her own wits, not by chance or fluke. In this case, our protagonists did not get out of their difficulties by their own ingenuity but instead basically by fluke.

I would provide more specific information except that I don't want to give it away to people who haven't seen it.

I do not wish to see any other shows written by Hal Sitowitz.