A young outlaw finds he has a knack for medicine and turns straight, telling Doc he wants to be his pupil.A young outlaw finds he has a knack for medicine and turns straight, telling Doc he wants to be his pupil.A young outlaw finds he has a knack for medicine and turns straight, telling Doc he wants to be his pupil.
Photos
John Breen
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Jaye Durkus
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Frank Ellis
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
George Ford
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Cactus Mack
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Fred McDougall
- Waiter
- (uncredited)
Alex Sharp
- Clerk
- (uncredited)
Chick Sheridan
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Glenn Strange
- Sam
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Kathleen Hite
- Norman MacDonnell(uncredited)
- John Meston(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
Featured review
Psychopathic Killer in Real Life Too
This was a very good story, except that in typical Gunsmoke tradition, just about everyone dies. Kathleen Hite wrote this episode, and unlike Gunsmoke creators John Meston and Les Crutchfield, she occasionally wrote happy endings. This was not one of them.
While most of the story focuses on Doc Adams, there is a lot more going on here. Crahan Denton, who appeared on Gunsmoke twice, plays Clint, the main villain. Clint is a psychopathic killer. Denton's performance is chilling. Denton has a deadpan personality. He matter-of-fact tells people that he just killed someone, or that he is going to kill them.
In some ways Denton reminds me of the hired killer, Anton Chigurh in "No Country for Old Men." Javier Bardem was younger in that role, and he gave it a European flair, but he just killed people like he was eating a bag of peanuts. Crahan Denton has that same cold-blooded, evil style.
Denton kills one guy because he broke his leg and could not help Denton rob a bank. He kills three people when he is robbing a bank. He kills some more before Marshal Dillon finally catches up to him. He even manages a happy laugh or two when he watches one guy dying. Brutally scary performance by Denton, who died in 1966 of a heart attack at the age of 52.
Believe it or not, there is a real killer in this cast. Many years later, one of the Gunsmoke villains would be convicted of a real murder and attempted murder, and sentenced to 32 years in prison. He died in prison, June 2019. Robert Sorrells played the dim-witted Augie in this episode. Sorrells appeared on Gunsmoke fourteen times. He usually played a third-string thug, or one of the guys that got killed off early in an episode. In "Apprentice Doc" he is the ultra-creepy sidekick to Crahan Denton, who is constantly abusing Augie, both verbally and physically. Sorrells' performance reminds me of Renfield (Dwight Frye), who was the original henchman to Dracula (1931).
Ben Cooper, who passed away in 2020, plays Pitt Campbell. Pitt and the guy with the broken leg are supposed to help Crahan Denton and Augie (convicted killer Robert Sorrells) rob a bank. Pitt decides to get a doctor for the unconscious guy with the broken leg, and to stay behind to tend to his friend. That totally drives Crahan Denton off the edge, and he vows to Augie that he will get revenge on both of them.
Denton later kills off that mutual friend, and then goes to Dodge City to kill off Pitt. A couple of points did not make much sense. Why did they kidnap Doc Adams to tend to a broken leg? Why did Denton want to kill Doc Adams too? Adams was unconscious when he was kidnapped.
The rest of the episode is heart-breaking to watch. Pitt and Doc Adams (Milburn Stone) strike up a great friendship as Pitt becomes an apprentice to Doc Adams. They get really close, and then Crahan Denton and Augie come to town to kill Pitt.
The finale is really sad and hard to watch. It is also pointless and unnecessary. We have seen Marshal Dillon get shot all over the body numerous times and survive, so it could have been written that Pitt survived a gunshot, and Doc Adams could have had his own medical assistant for a while. Sadly, Doc Adams gets his heart broken again, and suffers the loss of another friend. Milburn Stone was awesome in this episode, and so was Ben Cooper. They both dialed it up a notch with great performances.
While most of the story focuses on Doc Adams, there is a lot more going on here. Crahan Denton, who appeared on Gunsmoke twice, plays Clint, the main villain. Clint is a psychopathic killer. Denton's performance is chilling. Denton has a deadpan personality. He matter-of-fact tells people that he just killed someone, or that he is going to kill them.
In some ways Denton reminds me of the hired killer, Anton Chigurh in "No Country for Old Men." Javier Bardem was younger in that role, and he gave it a European flair, but he just killed people like he was eating a bag of peanuts. Crahan Denton has that same cold-blooded, evil style.
Denton kills one guy because he broke his leg and could not help Denton rob a bank. He kills three people when he is robbing a bank. He kills some more before Marshal Dillon finally catches up to him. He even manages a happy laugh or two when he watches one guy dying. Brutally scary performance by Denton, who died in 1966 of a heart attack at the age of 52.
Believe it or not, there is a real killer in this cast. Many years later, one of the Gunsmoke villains would be convicted of a real murder and attempted murder, and sentenced to 32 years in prison. He died in prison, June 2019. Robert Sorrells played the dim-witted Augie in this episode. Sorrells appeared on Gunsmoke fourteen times. He usually played a third-string thug, or one of the guys that got killed off early in an episode. In "Apprentice Doc" he is the ultra-creepy sidekick to Crahan Denton, who is constantly abusing Augie, both verbally and physically. Sorrells' performance reminds me of Renfield (Dwight Frye), who was the original henchman to Dracula (1931).
Ben Cooper, who passed away in 2020, plays Pitt Campbell. Pitt and the guy with the broken leg are supposed to help Crahan Denton and Augie (convicted killer Robert Sorrells) rob a bank. Pitt decides to get a doctor for the unconscious guy with the broken leg, and to stay behind to tend to his friend. That totally drives Crahan Denton off the edge, and he vows to Augie that he will get revenge on both of them.
Denton later kills off that mutual friend, and then goes to Dodge City to kill off Pitt. A couple of points did not make much sense. Why did they kidnap Doc Adams to tend to a broken leg? Why did Denton want to kill Doc Adams too? Adams was unconscious when he was kidnapped.
The rest of the episode is heart-breaking to watch. Pitt and Doc Adams (Milburn Stone) strike up a great friendship as Pitt becomes an apprentice to Doc Adams. They get really close, and then Crahan Denton and Augie come to town to kill Pitt.
The finale is really sad and hard to watch. It is also pointless and unnecessary. We have seen Marshal Dillon get shot all over the body numerous times and survive, so it could have been written that Pitt survived a gunshot, and Doc Adams could have had his own medical assistant for a while. Sadly, Doc Adams gets his heart broken again, and suffers the loss of another friend. Milburn Stone was awesome in this episode, and so was Ben Cooper. They both dialed it up a notch with great performances.
helpful•133
- Johnny_West
- May 14, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Stage 5 & Stage 6, Paramount Sunset Lot, 5800 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California, USA(Dodge City Western Street)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3
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