The script contains its share of contrivances, and what begins as a good-natured, humorous "Bromance" turns tragic, and ultimately very moving.
John Dehner was one of the busiest actors of the day, especially in TV and radio. He played a wide range of character-types but, because of his great facility as an actor, had a tendency to slip into annoying, stage-y mannerisms; the fluttering eyelid thing chief among them. These tendencies work well for the whimsical, light-hearted scenes-- less so for the glowering, dramatic stuff.
However, Dehner's final scene, shot in extreme close-up, is masterfully restrained. Beautifully performed.
But whatever his affectations, Dehner is BOGART compared to Adam West, whose appearance is mercifully brief. GOOD GRIEF-- the guy couldn't deliver a line with sincerity or naturalism to save his life! Total phony, the essence of CAMP-- which, ironically, ended up saving his career. Dee Hartford--a super-model of the day and ALSO a sub-standard actress, manages to give a very respectful performance, light-years better than, say, her role in Twilight Zone's "Bewtichin' Pool".
Anthony Caruso is fine, and his strength and sincerity are the centerpiece of this show. Nice going.
There's a very POWERFUL scene near the end, played in total silence, with Dehner stalking the streets of Dodge in the dead of night, rifle in hand, with a dark and ominous musical underscore in the background. He passes several storefronts, saloons, and homes in the near-total darkness---another example of the SUPERB depth and texture of Gunsmoke's nighttime B&W photography.
Again, it's the Final Five Minutes of this episode that save it---so good, in fact, that most of my reservations seem rather insignificant LR