Letter of the Law

October 11, 1958

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Gunsmoke - S4 - E5

A rich landowner seizes the chance to get a little more acreage when he discovers that a homesteader has failed to file the paperwork to make his quarter section his own.

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Gunsmoke: Season 4 - 39 Episode s

4x1 - Matt for Murder
September 13, 1958
Matt resigns as Marshall after Tom Samples accuses Matt of killing an innocent man;however, Doc and Matt's old friend Wild Bill Hickok come up with a plan that might clear Matt of this erroneous charge of murder.
4x2 - The Patsy
September 20, 1958
Matt doubts the veracity of Long Branch hostess Holly Fanshaw's claim that she saw trail drover Fly Hoyt murder young Dave Thorp. His suspicions increase further when Hoyt voluntarily returns to Dodge in order to clear his name.
4x3 - Gunsmuggler
September 27, 1958
Matt believes white smugglers supplied the guns that a band of Pawnee used to attack local ranchers.
4x4 - Monopoly
October 4, 1958
Two murders result when an unscrupulous Eastern businessman named Ivy hires a psychotic killer to help him establish undisputed control of Dodge City's freight shipment business.
4x5 - Letter of the Law
October 11, 1958
A rich landowner seizes the chance to get a little more acreage when he discovers that a homesteader has failed to file the paperwork to make his quarter section his own.
4x6 - Thoroughbreds
October 18, 1958
Matt and Chester, out of water while riding back to Dodge, come upon a man with two fine horses who is not very trusting. When they meet him later in Dodge, he is much different: friendly and spending money freely.
4x7 - Stage Hold-Up
October 25, 1958
A stagecoach on which Matt and Chester are riding is robbed and another passenger is murdered. Matt utilizes a ruse to incriminate the thieves when a "cowboy" appears and offers to show him where one of the thieves may be buried.
4x8 - Lost Rifle
November 1, 1958
Matt refuses to arrest his friend Ben Tiple without more evidence, when the man he has been feuding with is found shot in the back.
4x9 - Land Deal
November 8, 1958
When a stranger leading some immigrants planning on settling outside of Dodge wants Matt to give him a badge to avert trouble, Matt gets suspicious and rides out to their camp to see what is really up.
4x10 - Lynching Man
November 15, 1958
After mild-mannered Hank Blenis is "lynched" by the two men who stole his horse, self-righteous Charlie Drain decides to take the law into his own hands and is led tragically astray by the culprits.
4x11 - How to Kill a Friend
November 22, 1958
Two gamblers find Matt incorruptible and attempt to intimidate him by hiring gunman Toque Morlan. The two are ironically unaware that Morlan was Matt's close friend until a long-ago attack by a mob left Morlan scarred and harboring a bitter grudge against lawmen.
4x12 - Grass
November 29, 1958
White men pretending to be Indians attack greenhorn Harry Pope at night, and he kills one of them. Now the dead man's friends want revenge.
4x13 - The Cast
December 6, 1958
When Doc arrives too late to save his patient, her husband, a good friend of Matt's, blames Doc for her death.
4x14 - Robber Bridegroom
December 13, 1958
Financially desperate Jack Fitch robs a stagecoach and abducts passenger Laura Church, unaware that she is "engaged" to an unscrupulous businessman who threatened to ruin her father if he did not agree to the marriage.
4x15 - Snakebite
December 20, 1958
Claustrophobic plainsman Poney Thompson is arrested for murdering a man who maliciously shot his dog, but an ironic fate awaits him after he breaks free from Chester's custody.
4x16 - Gypsum Hills Feud
December 27, 1958
Matt's attempt to find a man who shot at him from ambush leads him and Chester into the middle of a murderous feud between two bitter and isolated mountain families.
4x17 - Young Love
January 3, 1959
Over the objections of his sometime partner Rod Allison, treacherous Jim Box murders aging rancher Jesse Wheat, then attempts to steal cattle from Wheat's young widow.
4x18 - Marshal Proudfoot
January 10, 1959
Matt goes along with a hoax when Chester's aging Uncle Wesley arrives for a visit. Wesley thinks Chester is the marshal and Dillion is his assistant.
4x19 - Passive Resistance
January 17, 1959
A man's house is burned and his livestock killed, but he refuses to identify the perpetrators to the marshal.
4x20 - Love of a Good Woman
January 24, 1959
An old friend of Doc's, a nurse, is visiting and he hopes she will stay around Dodge. In the meantime Matt is worried that an ex-con is gunning for him even though he thought he was innocent five years ago.
4x21 - Jayhawkers
January 31, 1959
Trail boss Dolph Quince sends for his friend Matt to help escort his cattle herd into Dodge because he is having trouble with Jayhawkers (Kansas renegades), and he hopes to ease the animosity his men have towards all Kansans.
4x22 - Kitty's Rebellion
February 7, 1959
An old friend of the family comes to Dodge looking for Kitty, but when he finds out she's a saloon owner, he's dismayed. Intent on defending her honor wherever she is insulted, he nearly gets himself killed. Kitty finally tells him that she has no honor, and he keeps making a fool out of himself thinking otherwise. It sends him away and saves his life at the same time.
4x23 - Sky
February 14, 1959
Young Billy flees Dodge in fear after being suspected of shooting dead an older saloon girl whose sexual advances he had been resisting.
4x24 - Doc Quits
February 21, 1959
Doc takes hard the death of a homesteader under his care; then a flashy new medicine man comes to town and takes away many of his patients.
4x25 - The Bear
February 28, 1959
Rivalry for the affections of a former saloon gal leads to a frame-up for murder.
4x26 - The Coward
March 7, 1959
A coward gambler, who's too cheap to hire a gunman, wants Matt dead for a beating he got from him years ago, so he starts some talk around Dodge about the big reputation any person could gain, if they simply killed Matt.
4x27 - The F.U.
March 14, 1959
When Onie Becker is shot down on the streets of Dodge after quarreling with Al Clovis in a poker game, everyone thinks Al Clovis committed the shooting. The plot thickens after Matt and Chester pursue Clovis on a train headed out of Dodge.
4x28 - Wind
March 21, 1959
Men start killing each other over saloon girl Dolly Varden, who seems to bring gamblers luck just by standing next to them when they're playing cards.
4x29 - Fawn
April 4, 1959
After years of captivity, a white woman and her half-Indian daughter are set free by the Indians, but they are shunned in Dodge.
4x30 - Renegade White
April 11, 1959
A gunfight in the Long Branch forces Matt to arrest a drunk. Letting him go since it was a fair fight, he suspects him of selling guns to the Indians, and goes after him even though he may run into those Indians.
4x31 - Murder Warrant
April 18, 1959
Matt and Dodge City's businessmen employ an unusual tactic to save ambush victim Lee Prentice from being taken to corrupt Baker City to face certain hanging on a trumped-up murder charge.
4x32 - Change of Heart
April 25, 1959
Matt becomes suspicious when Jerry Cass's plans to marry saloon hostess Bella Grant are complicated by Bella's sudden insistence that Jerry leave his recently-inherited ranch for six months.
4x33 - Buffalo Hunter
May 2, 1959
Marshal Dillon has to stop a ruthless, cold-blooded, greedy, buffalo hunter who is in the habit of brutally killing his hired help to avoid paying them their wages.
4x34 - The Choice
May 9, 1959
Matt tries to help Andy Hill, a young gunman who is apparently trying very hard to go straight, by getting him a job riding shotgun on the stagecoach.
4x35 - There Was Never a Horse
May 16, 1959
Gunman Kin Creed arrives in Dodge determined to enhance his reputation by outdrawing Matt in a gunfight. He goes to great lengths to force Matt into a confrontation and is able to wound him, but it proves to be a pyrrhic victory.
4x36 - Print Asper
May 23, 1959
Print Asper is suspected of attempted murder when he forces a crooked lawyer, at gunpoint, to return the ranch he stole from him, and the lawyer still ends up getting shot later by someone.
4x37 - The Constable
May 30, 1959
Dodge City's businessmen learn a hard lesson when they reject Matt's advice and hire a meek constable to handle a gang of rowdy but free-spending trail cowboys.
4x38 - Blue Horse
June 6, 1959
Seriously injured Matt faces a moral dilemma when Blue Horse saves his life and prevents the escape of a prisoner. The Marshal knows that Blue Horse is being sought by the Cavalry as a fugitive from a reservation, and he is well aware that he is duty-bound to assist their search in any way possible.
4x39 - Cheyennes
June 13, 1959
Matt seeks the help of wise Chief Long Robe to track down gunrunners who are supplying renegade Cheyenne braves with rifles used to murder prairie-dwelling families. Long Robe provides Matt with the needed information, but warns him that the death of even a single brave could lead to a violent uprising.

4x1 - Matt for Murder

4x2 - The Patsy

4x3 - Gunsmuggler

4x4 - Monopoly

4x5 - Letter of the Law

4x6 - Thoroughbreds

4x7 - Stage Hold-Up

4x8 - Lost Rifle

4x9 - Land Deal

4x10 - Lynching Man

4x11 - How to Kill a Friend

4x12 - Grass

4x13 - The Cast

4x14 - Robber Bridegroom

4x15 - Snakebite

4x16 - Gypsum Hills Feud

4x17 - Young Love

4x18 - Marshal Proudfoot

4x19 - Passive Resistance

4x20 - Love of a Good Woman

4x21 - Jayhawkers

4x22 - Kitty's Rebellion

4x23 - Sky

4x24 - Doc Quits

4x25 - The Bear

4x26 - The Coward

4x27 - The F.U.

4x28 - Wind

4x29 - Fawn

4x30 - Renegade White

4x31 - Murder Warrant

4x32 - Change of Heart

4x33 - Buffalo Hunter

4x34 - The Choice

4x35 - There Was Never a Horse

4x36 - Print Asper

4x37 - The Constable

4x38 - Blue Horse

4x39 - Cheyennes

S0: Specials

S1: Season 1

S2: Season 2

S3: Season 3

S4: Season 4

S5: Season 5

S6: Season 6

S7: Season 7

S8: Season 8

S9: Season 9

S10: Season 10

S11: Season 11

S12: Season 12

S13: Season 13

S14: Season 14

S15: Season 15

S16: Season 16

S17: Season 17

S18: Season 18

S19: Season 19

S20: Season 20