Bored housewife Yuma Linz (Karen Sharpe) is a femme fatale with perhaps no equal circa 1890 near Dodge, Kansas. While her husband Dave (William Henry) is away running various errands, she entertains multiple men who discover each other's presence and become sworn enemies.
Even Yuma's husband sees evidence of infidelity with his own eyes. But Yuma doesn't miss a beat. Instead, she convinces Dave his tired eyes are playing tricks on him and that he just needs rest and the special meal she's prepared. Rather than trouble Yuma, the discoveries of her unfaithfulness intensify some dark passion within her. Puppeteer Yuma enjoys the competition for her affection and has a ready answer for each man in her life. She believes she has everything under control, but comforts like hers rarely unfold in an orderly fashion.
Seeking relaxation by heading out on a fishing trip, Qiunt is instead pulled into Yuma's terrible web when he witnesses the shooting of her husband. Quint tries to talk to the dying man. But as he leans close to hear the man's ebbing voice, Quint is struck over the head by Ira (Ned Glass as a ruthless villain who justifies any means through the end objective of protecting his dissolute son). Ira is convinced his son Web, motivated by an obsession for Yuma he can't hide, killed Dave Linz so that he could move in with Yuma.
Crazed Ira ties up Quint and threatens to harm him if he does not sign a paper stating Quint "seen" Yuma's other lover Jeff (John Hanek) kill her husband. Quint could sign that paper and plan to later retract the statement, but he has no reason to believe his life will be spared after his signature is obtained. He also has a strong sense of independence and integrity. After Quint repeatedly refuses to sign, Ira and his son throw Quint down a dry well and hang a bucket of rocks that could "spilt his skull like a melon" above.
When Marshal Dillon begins investigating the most recent murder in the Dodge area, Yuma turns up the heat on yet another man. But Dillon keeps his cards close to his vest and that intensifies Yuma's interest in him. As expected, the marshal uses this to his advantage. While Yuma weaves, Dillon waits.
This plot is twisted and arguably even a bit byzantine, which seems apropos considering the course and ultimate fate of so many extramarital relationships-especially when one cavalier spouse is seeing multiple lovers and gaslighting the other spouse. Is it crazy? Of course it is, but it's not nearly as crazy as some of the episodes of Forensic Files or Deadly Women or Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry? Or so many other true crime shows. Some people who have lived "normal" productive lives will shred holy tenets when they believe they have a shot at love, money, fame... It's an uncomfortably brutal aspect of the human condition, a Pandora's box that often consumes the aspirant along with her marionettes when a blinding need overwhelms reason.
Categorically, "Dry Well" is an episode about the madness of unbridled aspiration and blinding obsession. The title is a brilliant metaphor and the acting is compelling. Karen Sharpe is like a cat gleefully playing with blind mice while Ned Glass shows he can be ruthless and chilling as an unbalanced father willing to protect his son at any costs. James Arness often excels as Matt Dillon, but his acting in "Dry Well" is the strong type of performance required as a counterbalance to the narcissistic Yuma.
Unapologetic Yuma (Karen Sharpe) is the star of the show. Secondary cases can be made for self-possessed Marshall Dillon and steadfast Quint as well as irrational Ira. Regardless, each is more than convincing in one of Gunsmoke's most memorable episodes, a haunting treasure that is worth watching multiple times because so much of the plot is based on allusion and innuendo.
Even Yuma's husband sees evidence of infidelity with his own eyes. But Yuma doesn't miss a beat. Instead, she convinces Dave his tired eyes are playing tricks on him and that he just needs rest and the special meal she's prepared. Rather than trouble Yuma, the discoveries of her unfaithfulness intensify some dark passion within her. Puppeteer Yuma enjoys the competition for her affection and has a ready answer for each man in her life. She believes she has everything under control, but comforts like hers rarely unfold in an orderly fashion.
Seeking relaxation by heading out on a fishing trip, Qiunt is instead pulled into Yuma's terrible web when he witnesses the shooting of her husband. Quint tries to talk to the dying man. But as he leans close to hear the man's ebbing voice, Quint is struck over the head by Ira (Ned Glass as a ruthless villain who justifies any means through the end objective of protecting his dissolute son). Ira is convinced his son Web, motivated by an obsession for Yuma he can't hide, killed Dave Linz so that he could move in with Yuma.
Crazed Ira ties up Quint and threatens to harm him if he does not sign a paper stating Quint "seen" Yuma's other lover Jeff (John Hanek) kill her husband. Quint could sign that paper and plan to later retract the statement, but he has no reason to believe his life will be spared after his signature is obtained. He also has a strong sense of independence and integrity. After Quint repeatedly refuses to sign, Ira and his son throw Quint down a dry well and hang a bucket of rocks that could "spilt his skull like a melon" above.
When Marshal Dillon begins investigating the most recent murder in the Dodge area, Yuma turns up the heat on yet another man. But Dillon keeps his cards close to his vest and that intensifies Yuma's interest in him. As expected, the marshal uses this to his advantage. While Yuma weaves, Dillon waits.
This plot is twisted and arguably even a bit byzantine, which seems apropos considering the course and ultimate fate of so many extramarital relationships-especially when one cavalier spouse is seeing multiple lovers and gaslighting the other spouse. Is it crazy? Of course it is, but it's not nearly as crazy as some of the episodes of Forensic Files or Deadly Women or Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry? Or so many other true crime shows. Some people who have lived "normal" productive lives will shred holy tenets when they believe they have a shot at love, money, fame... It's an uncomfortably brutal aspect of the human condition, a Pandora's box that often consumes the aspirant along with her marionettes when a blinding need overwhelms reason.
Categorically, "Dry Well" is an episode about the madness of unbridled aspiration and blinding obsession. The title is a brilliant metaphor and the acting is compelling. Karen Sharpe is like a cat gleefully playing with blind mice while Ned Glass shows he can be ruthless and chilling as an unbalanced father willing to protect his son at any costs. James Arness often excels as Matt Dillon, but his acting in "Dry Well" is the strong type of performance required as a counterbalance to the narcissistic Yuma.
Unapologetic Yuma (Karen Sharpe) is the star of the show. Secondary cases can be made for self-possessed Marshall Dillon and steadfast Quint as well as irrational Ira. Regardless, each is more than convincing in one of Gunsmoke's most memorable episodes, a haunting treasure that is worth watching multiple times because so much of the plot is based on allusion and innuendo.
