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Gunsmoke is an American Western television series developed by Charles Marquis Warren and based on the radio program of the same name. The series ran for 20 seasons, making it the longest-running Western in television history.

The first episode of the first season aired in the United States on September 10, 1955, and the last episode aired on August 25, 1956. All episodes were broadcast in the U.S. by CBS.

The first season was a half-hour program filmed in black-and-white. One-hour episodes of the program were not introduced until season 7, and color episodes were not filmed until season 12.

Synopsis

Gunsmoke is set in and around Dodge City, Kansas, in the post-Civil War era and centers on United States Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) as he enforces law and order in the city. In its original format, the series also focuses on Dillon's friendship with three other citizens of Dodge City: Doctor Galen "Doc" Adams (Milburn Stone), the town's physician; Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake), saloon girl and later owner of the Long Branch Saloon; and Chester Goode (Dennis Weaver), Dillon's assistant.

Cast and characters

Main

• James Arness as Matt Dillon
• Dennis Weaver as Chester
• Milburn Stone as Doc
• Amanda Blake as Kitty

Production

Season one was produced by Charles Marquis Warren, with Norman Macdonnell acting as associate producer.

Development

The actual pilot episode of the television series was aired as episode 26 during the first season. The sets used were totally different. The jailhouse has no door on the back wall replaced by the gun rack which usually sits on the side wall, Matt's desk is a high rolltop positioned against the wall as opposed to the flat desk more situated out into the room, the pot-belly stove and bulletin board with the wanted posters is missing, the safe is where the stove was, and the front door is not the same. The Long Branch saloon has a longer bar with a high shelve on the wall above it, the huge brass adornment that sits center stage is missing, unfamiliar taxidermy and wall decor, and the most notable change is a bartender that we have never seen in past or future episodes.

The beginning boot hill introduction is also different, revealing for the first time Marshal Dillon walking down the hill towards the fake backdrop of Dodge City in the background.

Matt uses a six-shooter with a much shorter barrel in this episode, not the seven and one-half inch barrel we normally see throughout the series.

Casting

Some of the guest cast included actors who had performed in the radio series. Episode 2 is the first of 12 appearances of John Dehner, who also performed in approximately half of the 480 radio episodes of Gunsmoke. Episode 12, "Magnus", used Robert Easton, who had also played Magnus in the radio broadcast of the episode. Lawrence Dobkin played the character "Jacklin", in both the radio and television versions of episode 31, "How to Die for Nothing".

Jester Hairston, who appeared in episode 14, was the first black performer to appear in Gunsmoke.

Writing

Episode 11, "The Queue", is the first episode written by Sam Peckinpah, who wrote prolifically for Gunsmoke as well as other Western series of the era.

Episode 13, "Reed Survives" was the first television screenplay written by Les Crutchfield, who wrote 138 radio and television Gunsmoke stories and scripts, second only to the number written by the series co-creator, John Meston. Crutchfield created the character Festus Haggen. Three episodes written by him were aired after his death in 1966.

Some scripts were re-writes of scripts used in the radio series. Episode 4, "Home Surgery", was presented as a radio broadcast before it aired on television.

Storylines were sometimes taken from well-known literature. Episode 6, "Night Incident", is loosely based on Aesop's Fables, The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Titles did not always directly reflect the reference. For example, episode 17, "Robin Hood", is not based on the legend of Robin Hood. The only similarities are they both robbed from the rich. In the episode, the protagonist kept and spent the money he stole and was not the "good guy".

Production design

Wanted posters seen hanging in Matt Dillon's office are for "William H. Bonney", aka Billy the Kid and Black Bart, aka Charles Earl Bowles, a notorious stagecoach robber. Billy the Kid was born Henry McCarty on September 17 or November 23, 1859. This helps date the series from late 1877 to 1878 since Billy the Kid's first wanted poster identified him as 18 years old. Black Bart's first stagecoach robbery was July 26, 1875, and his last was November 3, 1883. Both dates fit within the aforementioned timeline.

Wanted posters for the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang and Lewt McCanles are added to the Marshal's bulletin board in episode 8, "Kite's Reward". Lewton "Lewt" McCanles was Gregory Peck's character in the 1946 Western film Duel in the Sun. These also appear in episode 25, "The Big Broad".

In episode 16, "Reward for Matt", the sign at the bottom of the stairs leading to Doc Adams's office was added and it remained there through the entire run of the series. It reads: "G. Adams, M.D. / Surgeon and / General Pract.".

Filming

Episode 30, "The Preacher", is an example of camera tricks and angles to make the 6' 7" James Arness appear smaller than Chuck Conners, who was 6' 5½" (1.9m) tall.

Film locations and angles were not always considered for accuracy. In the beginning scene of episode 39, "Alarm at Pleasant Valley", Matt and Chester see a distant fire, which includes a desert of majestic saguaros, not something that would be part of the Kansas prairie of Dodge City.

Episodes

Release

Broadcast

Season one aired Saturdays at 10:00-10:30 pm (EST) on CBS.

Home media

The first season was released on DVD by Paramount Home Video on July 17, 2007.

Reception

Awards and nominations

1. Indicates the year of ceremony.

Footnotes

1. Barbaras 1990, p. 74–75.
2. Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 570–571.
3. McNeil 1996, p. 351–352.
4. Barbaras 1990, p. 444, 742.
5. Costello 2006, p. 255, 539.
6. ^ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 570.
7. Barbaras 1990, p. 87–102.
8. ^ "Hack Prine". Gunsmoke. Season 1. Episode 26. May 12, 1956. CBS.
9. "Night Incident". Gunsmoke. Season 1. Episode 6. October 29, 1955. CBS.
10. "Robin Hood". Gunsmoke. Season 1. Episode 17. February 4, 1956. CBS.

References

• Barbaras, SuzAnne & Gabor (1990). Gunsmoke: A Complete History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-89950-418-3.
• Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
• Costello, Ben (2006). Gunsmoke: An American Institution. Chandler, Arizona: Five Star Publications, Inc. ISBN 978-1-58985-014-9.
• McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.

External links

• Gunsmoke season 1 at IMDb
• Gunsmoke season 1 at TV Guide
• Gunsmoke season 1 at epguides.com

• Gunsmoke seasons
• 1955 American television seasons
• 1956 American television seasons