Episode Guide
Season 20
Episode Guide
Matt Dillon Must Die
S20
E1
Sep 10, 1974
Dillon finds himself in the revengeful hands of a half-crazed widower who plans, with the aid of his four surviving sons, to hunt Dillon down and kill him to revenge the death of his son, a wanted murderer.
A Town In Chains
S20
E2
Sep 17, 1974
Dillon is captured and held for ransom by five bank robbers he has been pursuing when he rides into a small town to warn it about the outlaws-only to find out that they have taken over the place.
The Guns of Cibola Blanca Part 1
S20
E3
Sep 24, 1974
Doc and pretty saloon owner Lyla Ross find themselves virtual slaves when they are kidnapped by a band of former Confederate officers-turned-outlaws.
The Guns of Cibola Blanca Part 2
S20
E4
Oct 1, 1974
With Doc overdue and a stage coach with three passengers missing, Matt, Festus, and Newly set out to find their friend in the conclusion of the two-part episode.
Thirty A Month And Found
S20
E5
Oct 8, 1974
A sequence of tragedies leads to the death of three cowboys, one of them an old friend of Matt's.
The Wiving
S20
E6
Oct 15, 1974
Jed Hockett, a farmer, orders his three sons to go to town and not return without prospective brides.
The Iron Men
S20
E7
Oct 22, 1974
Cameron Mitchell guest starts as Chauncey Demon, once a highly respected sheriff who has let himself degenerate into a saloon bum, and whose old friend Matt Dillon won't accept his condition as final.
The Fourth Victim
S20
E8
Nov 5, 1974
A series of seemingly random killings have the citizens of Dodge in near panic, but Dillon believes they are part of a pattern in which Doc is slated to be the next target.
The Tarnished Badge
S20
E9
Nov 12, 1974
Victor French guest stars as Sheriff Bo Harker, a town tamer who keeps his citizens in line with fear and brutality.
In Performance of Duty
S20
E10
Nov 19, 1974
Dillon is frustrated by Judge Kendall's insistence that the letter of the law be maintained and that Emmett Kaysinger and his gang, all known outlaws, be set free unless there is solid evidence to hold them.
Island In The Desert Part 1
S20
E11
Dec 3, 1974
Strother Martin guest stars as Ben Snow, a half-crazed desert hermit who saves Festus' life only to force him to become a human pack animal.
Island In The Desert Part 2
S20
E12
Dec 10, 1974
In the conclusion of a two-part episode, Ben Snow tries to get his long-hidden gold back to civilization to use in fighting an old enemy.
The Colonel
S20
E13
Dec 17, 1974
Lee J. Cobb and his daughter Julie Cobb appear together for the first time when Cobb guest stars as a once-proud military officer who is suddenly faced with a painful and unplanned reunion with his daughter Ann.
The Squaw
S20
E14
Jan 7, 1975
Fleeing from both Matt Dillon and his double-crossed partners, outlaw Gristy Calhoun discovers that his survival in the badlands depends on an Indian woman.
The Hiders
S20
E15
Jan 14, 1975
Karp and his associates, who make their living lawfully by taking skins from range cattle, find themselves confronted by the law when they go beyond their legal rights and do exactly as they please.
Larkin
S20
E16
Jan 21, 1975
Newly finds himself in a strange alliance with a professional killer as he tries to get his prisoner to Dodge City before they are both killed by bounty hunters.
The Fires of Ignorance
S20
E17
Jan 28, 1975
Allen Garfield guest stars as a school teacher in an episode of "Gunsmoke" that makes a strong statement for compulsory education for children, even in the less enlightened Dodge City of the 1870's.
The Angry Land
S20
E18
Feb 4, 1975
Dillon takes young Bessie Sutherland, now an orphan after her parents have been killed on the prairie, to live with her Aunt Rachel, only to discover that she is not wanted.
Brides And Grooms
S20
E19
Feb 11, 1975
Farmer Jed Hackett decides it is time his three sons marry the women they brought back from Dodge.
Hard Labor
S20
E20
Feb 25, 1975
Matt Dillon is sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor for shooting a fugitive in the town of Bedrock.
I Have Promises To Keep
S20
E21
Mar 4, 1975
Festus is caught in the middle when an Eastern preacher, played by guest star David Wayne, wants to build a church for the Indians and the townspeople, all of whom are filled with prejudice.
The Busters
S20
E22
Mar 11, 1975
Two bronco busters risk their lives to raise money for a ranch in Montana, only to have the dream ruined by a wild stallion.
Manolo
S20
E23
Mar 18, 1975
Two bronco busters risk their lives to raise money for a ranch in Montana, only to have the dream ruined by a wild stallion.
The Sharecroppers
S20
E24
Apr 1, 1975
Av Marie Pugh is a young lady who has her hands full trying to get her lazy family to plant a crop before their landlord runs them off the property.