Episode Details

Originally Aired: May 24, 1959

Gunsmoke #372, "Wagon Show," presents a dilemma for Marshal Matt Dillon when Bannock's Grand International Circus arrives in Dodge City on a sweltering summer day. While Chester is thrilled by the sight of an elephant performing tricks on the plaza and townspeople eagerly anticipate the show, Matt learns that violence has followed this particular circus from town to town. Two people were killed in Hayes City, and riots have erupted wherever the show has played. When Matt tracks down the circus owner, Maggie Bannock, a former strongwoman who now runs the operation with her husband Jim Conger, he refuses to grant them a permit to perform in Dodge.

Despite Matt's warning, Maggie defiantly leads her wagon train toward town, and the next morning a parade proceeds through the streets with elephant Jenny and all the circus fanfare. Even Doc and Kitty are caught up in the excitement, treating Matt's concerns dismissively as they look forward to some entertainment in the dull Kansas heat. Matt faces mounting pressure as the entire town anticipates the two o'clock performance, but he remains convinced that allowing this show to proceed will bring the same deadly trouble that has plagued other towns.