Episode Summary:
A 24-man cavalry patrol is slaughtered in a Comanche ambush -- all but the scout, Amos Cartwright, who had married a Comanche woman (now dead) and lived among them for years. Will Bailey (Kelley), whose brother is among the mutilated corpses, starts talking about a) getting up a posse to go kill some Indians - any Indians will do - and b) killing Amos, whom he blames for leading the men into a trap. Matt tries to cool Bailey off, but Amos confronts Bailey in the saloon. Matt prevents a shootout, but a few days later Amos butchers Bailey. Matt and Chester track and arrest him. They learn that Amos could not side with either his friends the Indians, or his friends the cavalrymen, so he just ran away and let the battle take its course. A party of Indians led by Amos' brother-in-law Buffalo Tongue now appear on the ridge. Amos says the Indians will welcome him, and Matt lets him go, hoping the war party won't notice him and Chester. But instead of welcoming Amos, Buffalo Tongue executes him with an arrow through the chest, adding insult to the death by not taking the scalp or counting coup. Chester speculates that Amos knew what would happen and has just saved their lives.

Notes:
Kelley sports long hair and a scruffy beard in this one, and is nearly unrecognizable but for the arched eyebrows and gravel voice.
Dead Again: Scalped (off-screen) by an Army scout
Kelley's name is misspelled in the credits: "DeForrest Kelley"
In the book Gunsmoke, Kelley recalled:
      “Gunsmoke was the first show in which I worked where there was that over-worked phrase today, ‘a feeling of family’ with the regular cast. I remember going to lunch one day with the regular cast and was astounded to see Jim Arness put away two huge prime rib steaks – plus dessert. Jim paid the bill for everybody and we in turn each gave him cash for our share. I suppose he was the only one making enough money to save receipts for tax purposes at that early stage. They were a wonderful group and I think it’s ironic that Star Trek has been referred to as ‘Gunsmoke in Space.’”

Sources: viewing; Lentz (1997); Brooks & Marsh; Barabas

Plot Summary:
A real classic. Tom Rath is on his way to interview for a new job, under pressure from his wife to make more money. In a series of flashbacks, he reviews his wartime experiences - killing enemy soldiers to get their coats; an adulterous affair with an Italian woman; accidentally killing his best friend with a grenade... Then Tom learns that he has a child by the woman in Italy and the couple have to deal with that.

Notes:
Kelley has one scene as the medic in a flashback, trying to convince Rath that his buddy is dead.
For Trekkers: One of Kelley's very few lines is, "This man is dead, Captain."

Sources: viewing; Internet Movie Database.

Role: ?
Episode: 5.1 (134)           Airdate: 9/2/56
Commercial Recording: None known

Role: ** Jim Breck (Gunfighter)
Released: 10/3/56
Director: Charles Marquis Warren
Writer: Winston Miller
From the novel Bitter Sage by Frank Gruber
Producer:Sam Wiesenthal
Notes: RKO; 93m; color.
Commercial Recording: None known

Plot Summary:
This has a lot of standard Western cliches - a loner saving the town from rowdy cowboys, a final showdown, people in hopeless love with the wrong folks... but it's all pretty well done.
      Outlaw Wes Tancred wants out of his gang after their leader Sam Murdock deliberately kills one of his own wounded men. Sam's girl Cathy has eyes for Tancred but Tancred turns her down. Sam draws on Tancred and is killed; when the law arrives, the scorned Cathy swears that Tancred "never gave Sam a chance." Tancred is pardoned from jail but finds himself pursued by an unpleasant ballad about how he gunned down his best friend. Under an alias, he becomes ostler at Burrows' stage-stop. When outlaws rob the stage and kill Burrows, Tancred shoots them all dead in front of Burrows' young son Jody, thereby becoming the boy's idol. Jody's aunt Lorna Miller and her sheriff husband Fred convince Tancred to stick around a while for Jody's sake.
       Meanwhile, rowdy cowboys are due to hit town, and the townspeople (except for avaricious saloon-keeper Kirk) demand that the sheriff control them. Miller had been beaten to a pulp by baddies in the past, and is unable to overcome his own fears to stand up to them alone. When the cowboys arrive, both Miller and Tancred see one of them murder an unarmed farmer. At the trial, the fearful Miller gives false testimony indicating self-defense, but Tancred confronts him and testifies to the truth. He also 'fesses up that he is Wes Tancred of song and story. Cornered, Miller does the right thing and changes his testimony. This prompts Kirk to call in gunslinger Breck (Kelley) to force the sheriff into a fatal showdown. Tancred tries to persuade Breck, an old buddy, not to do the job and states that he'll have to go through him to get to Miller. Breck seems to reluctantly agree, and starts to head for his horse, but then he just can't resist the idea of a showdown with his ol' friend. They move into the street for the traditional routine, people gather, Breck draws, Tancred guns him down. Kirk, annoyed at this turnaround, is about to shoot Tancred himself, but Miller notices and shoots him. The town rejoices and proclaims Miller their savior. With long sad gazes at Lorna, the woman he can't have, Tancred moves along down the trail.

Notes:
Kelley's few minutes on screen are very fine; he gives Breck a devil-may-care swagger, puts him through a number of mood swings, and does his coin-over-the-knuckles trick with a shiny gold dollar. Cameron Mitchell gives a fine performance here as the fearful sheriff.

Dead Again: Gunned down by a friend in a showdown.

Sources: viewing; Internet Movie Database; Review: Variety 10/3/56

Episode Summary:
Introduction: Bradley shows examples of automation, such as a machine operated by photocell.
      The storyline is used to show off a variety of technological wonders used in a Civil Air Patrol rescue operation. The computer "Dr. TOVAC" predicts a storm that will interfere with a planned nuclear test. Project leader Dr. Michaels decides to move the test forward to avoid the storm, and recalls nuclear physicist Dr. Barton (Kelley), who has gone home to L.A. for the weekend. Barton dutifully flies off to work, but his plane vanishes. The Civil Air Patrol sets out to search while the narrator waxes eloquent about the radar, aircraft & communications technology being used. They find only a piece of the plane's tail. Dr. Michaels decides to make use of TOVAC's accumulated data, and has it predict where Barton would have landed if he managed to bail out. Sorenson, a para-doctor, is flown to the area, jumps out, searches on foot and finally finds Barton, bringing more rescue people and machinery into play. Barton is taken to a hospital and the test is conducted as scheduled. Barton's wife blames TOVAC for the crash, noting that the predicted storm that caused all the rush didn't even show up on time. On cue, the storm arrives.

Notes:
Kelley has just a couple of scenes - Barton relaxing with his young son over a set of complicated equations to determine the winner of the World Series, and lying battered in a ravine where he is rescued. It's fun to see the mammoth old computers from this era.

Sources: Brooks & Marsh; EPGuides.com; Guyer 1992