Gunsmoke: One Man’s Justice (1994)

James Arness is Matt Dillon, about to celebrate his birthday and awaiting the arrival of daughter Beth and her husband Josh for the big occasion.

But the stage they’re arriving on is hit by bandits. Josh and a man named Healy (Bruce Boxleitner) are wounded trying to defend the stage; a woman aboard suffers a mortal wound.

She had two sons traveling with her, 15-year-old Lucas (Kelly Morgan) and his younger brother Martin (Mikey LeBeau).

Lucas decides to avenge his mother’s death and slips off in the middle of the night, determined to track down the bandits.

Dillon and Healy set off in pursuit, at first to protect Lucas, later to help him fulfill his quest and bring the outlaws to justice.

The men they’re looking for is the Sean Devlin gang. And even with three guns, they’re going to be outnumbered if they catch up.

The question nagging at Dillon: The Devlin gang had just robbed a train and made off with $30,000. Why would they interrupt their get-away to commit another robbery.

Meanwhile, Beth tries to coax Martin out of mourning. Having lost both parents, fearing he’ll lose his brother, the young boy won’t eat or talk.

James Arness as Matt Dillon, dispensing the wisdom of a former lawman in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)

Bruce Boxleitner as Davis Healy, helping track down the Devlin gang in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)

Review:

This marked the last of five Gunsmoke films, the first of which aired in 1987, 12 years after the show’s 20-year run (1955-1975) on TV ended.

It also marked the final screen appearance for James Arness, who was 70 when it aired. He died in 2011 at age 88.

Here, he’s still young enough to face trouble head on, still determined to dispense justice with a sense of fairness, yet old enough to provide lots of wisdom to a youngster bent on revenge.

Boxleitner is a companion with a secret, and Amy Stock-Poynton plays Beth for the fourth time. The first was in 1990’s “Gunsmoke: The Last Apache” as the 21-year-old daughter Dillon just discovered he had.

The film isn’t as good as the first three “Gunsmoke” movies, noteable for their fast, action-packed pace. But it’s worth a view for fans of Westerns and certainly for anyone with fond memories of the TV series.

Kelly Morgan as Lucas Miller, determined to track down his mother’s killers in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)

Mikey LaBeau as Martin Miller, mourning the death of his mother and the disappearance of his brother in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)

Directed by:
Jerry Jameson

Cast:
James Arness … Matt Dillon
Bruce Boxleitner … Davis Healy
Amy Stock-Poynton … Beth Riordan
Alan Scarfe … Sean Devlin
Christopher Bradley … Josh Riordan
Mikey LeBeau … Martin Miller
Kelly Morgan … Lucas Miller
Apesanahkwat … Six Eyes
Hallie Foote … Hannah Miller
Clark Heathcliff Brolly … Jesse
Don Collier … Sheriff
Ed Adams … Waco

Runtime: 91 min.

Amy Stock-Poynton as Beth Riordan, presenting her dad with a shotgun for his birthday in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)

Christopher Bradley as Josh Riordan, recovering from a wound suffered in a stage holdup in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)

Memorable lines:

Stage passenger to Beth: “Do you have children?”
Beth Riordan, Matt’s daughter: “Not yet.”
Josh Riordan, her husband: “We’re working on it.”
Beth: “Josh!”

Healy to Matt Dillon: “You read those road apples (horse droppings) pretty good. Course, I guess a long and lustrious law enforcement career will give a man those special kind of skills.”

Healy to Lucas Miller: “You can’t see it, but he (Matt Dillon) still feels that star on his chest.”

Lucas Miller, taking gunfight lessons from Healy: “What’s the third thing?”
Healy: “That’s the difference between livin’ and dyin’.”
Lucas: “Tell me.”
Healy: “That’s when you ask the dark part of your soul, ‘Can I kill a man? Can I take this life? Can I live with the doin’ of it?'”

Alan Scarfe as Sean Devlin, bloodthirsty leader of the outlaw gang in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)

Apensanahkwat as Six Eyes, an Indian encouraging Lucas on his journey in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)

Hallie Foote as Hannah Miller, taking her growing sons to California in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)

Kelly Morgan as Lucas Miller, practicing his six-gun skills for when he meets his mother’s killers in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)

Buce Boxleitner as Davis Healy, quick with the gun and on the trail of outlaws in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)

James Arness as Matt Dillon, determined to save young Lucas Miller from himself in Gunsmoke, One Man’s Justice (1994)