Matt's Love Story

I've watched since 1955 often until retirement now watched all 20 seasons and this was one of my top 5 episodes. Arness,Michael Learned and Victor French were excellent. Would have rated a 10 if Kitty could have felt the pain Matt had watching her over the years stepping out by seeing him with Mike.

Matt has amnesia and is saved by the lovely Michael Learned. Since he has no recollection of being the Marshall of Dodge and also that he is the exclusive "property" of Miss Kitty, he falls in love with the lady who saved him. She is a widow and very handy, but Matt finds a lot of things to fix on her ranch and it is obvious that they are falling in love with each other. On one particular evening in a very quaint way, we hear Matt whistling, the widow opens her bedroom door and then we see Matt walking towards the room....then we break to commercial! Oh, but we know the handsome Matt and the lovely widow have a wonderful night of love. The dastardly bad guy, played by Victor French, shows up at the ranch and tells the widow who Matt really is. After Matt hears mention of Dodge City, his memory slowly starts to return. Of course, he goes back to Dodge, breaking the widow's heart. And Miss Kitty never hears about his misadventure in another woman's arms.

The thing I like best about this episode, is that to me, Mike is what Kitty would be like if she hadn't been raised in bars and gambling houses. They are both strong, independent women. Women who know that they can't force Matt into being what he's not. It was nice to see Matt able to be with a woman without his marshall obligations inhibiting him.

If there is ever a Love Story for the ages, this is it. For any dyed-in-the-wool Gunsmoke fan, this story puts a new spin on the oldest theme in the world. Matt and Kitty always had a "thing", but Matt was always too married to his work to be really serious. It takes amnesia to get Matt to be really serious about really one woman. This shows the inner Matt Dillon. He is compassionate, thoughtful, fearless and, yes, loveable. After a spell he shows how truly grateful he is for being cared for by anyone. Matt always had that side of him, however, he always had that badge to guide his true focus - his badge and the law.

Because of his focus on the badge, it took a blow to the head to find out what was really in Matt's heart. And Michael Learned, who else could play this part, was perfect in the part of Mike Yardner in this award winning episode. Parley Baer as Chester Wesley Proudfoot. After nurturing and helping and getting Matt back on his feet, she finds out who he really is. Her line at the very end "Its hard to find two good men and lose them both", will make you cry is revealing as we learn what we always knew throughout the story that Mike was a hard working, deeply committed person who has had some bad breaks. But you know she's gonna get through this heartbreak as well.

This, in my opinion, casting being so good, is why Gunsmoke ran for 20 years while others fell by the wayside. This and James Arness, who played the part consistently and professionally, gave its adoring fans something to store in their hearts. Gunsmoke always had a stellar cast from the originals, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake and Dennis Weaver. Even the smaller regulars were consistent and good. When they needed to add a cast member, they found the best in Bert Reynolds, Ken Curtis, Buck Taylor, Roger Ewing, James Nusser and Roy Roberts.

But along with the TV Gunsmoke fans, there were many old Radio Gunsmoke fans who were hoping the TV version would measure up to the radio version. Gunsmoke on radio also had a stellar cast with William Conrad as Matt, Parley Baer as Chester Wesley Proudfoot, Howard McNear as Doc Adams and Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell.

In one of the more famous episodes in the Gunsmoke series, Matt Dillon is pursuing a man wanted for murder named Les Dean. Dean is a loner who is about as tough as they come. He is not an ordinary outlaw, as he actually lives by a moral code -- it just is not always aligned with what passes for law and order. When he has the opportunity, he shoots Matt, takes anything that might identify him, and abandons the Marshal.

In pursuit of water, Matt's horse eventually finds a homestead on the prairie. The property belongs to a woman named Mike Yardner. Mike knows it is not likely a saddled horse would be wandering riderless on the prairie. She manages to find Matt barely conscious and with some help from him, is able to transport him back to her house.

When Matt regains full consciousness, he discovers he has suffered memory loss. He does not know who he is, what happened, or anything about his past. (This is a form of memory loss known as "posttraumatic amnesia" because of the head injury with elements of another form of memory loss known as "retrograde amnesia" where the victim cannot recall memories prior to the onset of amnesia.)

A romance begins to develop between Mike and Matt. They share a kiss -- something he never did with Kitty Russell -- and, later, it is strongly implied the couple slept together. (In the 1990 Gunsmoke film, "Gunsmoke: The Last Apache," it is revealed that Mike had Matt's daughter following the incidents depicted in this story.)

Meanwhile, a cowardly rancher named Hasty Starcourt wants the land Mike owns. He hires Dean to kill Mike.

Michael Learned stars in this episode as Mike Yardley. Learned was appearing as Olivia Walton in the series The Waltons at the time this episode was filmed. The Waltons was a CBS series, as was Gunsmoke. Learned would return as another character a few episodes later in the two-part "A Game of Death... An Act of Love" episode. Naming Learned's character Mike in this story is obviously a nod to Learned's name.

This is the third episode of Season 19 of Gunsmoke, and, like the two-part "Women for Sale" episode that started the season, most of this episode only involves the Matt Dillon character. There is a single scene set in Dodge City where the other series stars discuss the fact that Matt has been away for an extended period. It appears the scene was added to remind the viewer the other cast members were still part of the show.

Victor French makes another of his eighteen different Gunsmoke appearances as the "outlaw with integrity" Les Dean character. Les Dean is the kind of character French excelled at playing.

Actor Keith Andes plays the part of Hasty Starcourt in this story. This is the only appearance in the series for Andes, although he and James Arness both had parts as young men in the 1947 film The Farmer's Daughter starring Loretta Young, Joseph Cotton, and Ethel Barrymore.

Johnathan Lippe (his birth name was Johnathan Goldsmith, and he later started using that name instead of Lippe) is another Gunsmoke veteran that appears in this episode as the character Monte Rupert, one of Starcourt's employees. Lippe made fourteen different appearances in the series. He tended to play the same impetuous, foolish character who tends to talk when he should listen.

Familiar character actor William Schallert has a small part here as Judge Ray Cordelius. This is the last of seven appearances by the actor in the series.

This is one of those episodes that longtime fans of the series tend to remember. It is also a story with significant impact on Gunsmoke lore. It is a fascinating use of the amnesia theme, which is certainly not unique in television and films. Gunsmoke fans know Matt Dillon would never have allowed Mike to break through those rigid barriers where he keeps everyone -- and especially Kitty -- at some distance if not for the memory loss. He is "married" to his badge and his responsibilities as a U. S. Marshal.

It is shocking (and profoundly sad on some level) how quickly Matt reverts to his old persona once he regains his memory. How he can so quickly discard his feelings for Mike (at least it *seems* as though he discards them) is disturbing.

The different plot elements used in this story -- Matt chasing a fugitive, Matt being injured, a love story, and the greedy, wealthy landowner who covets their neighbor's land -- have been used in other episodes and other television series, but the way those elements are used here is refreshing and unique.