Gunsmoke is a CBS Entertainment Group western drama franchise created by John Meston and Norman Macdonnell. The setting of the franchise takes place Dodge City, KA during the settlement of the American west. The central character, Marshal Dillon who is a sheriff, does his very best to maintain order his town. Gunsmoke started as a radio series which broadcasted from 1952 to 1961 while the television series lasted from 1955 to 1975. The radio series lasted 480 episodes while the TV series lasted 635 episodes, making Gunsmoke the longest running live-action series of the 20th century.
Gunsmoke was considered to be "the dramatization of the American epic legend of the west. Our own Iliad and Odyssey, created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp Western as romanticized by [Ned] Buntline, [Bret] Harte, and [Mark] Twain. It was ever the stuff of legend."
Radio and TV character differences
The franchise's differences were noted between the characters on the radio and TV versions of Gunsmoke. In the radio series, Doc was acerbic, somewhat mercenary, and borderline alcoholic, at least in the program's early years. On radio's Gunsmoke, Doc Adams's real name was Dr. Calvin Moore. He came west and changed his name to escape a charge of murder. The television Doc, though still crusty, was in many ways softer and warmer.
Nothing in the radio series suggested that Chester Proudfoot was disabled; this merely visual feature was added to the Chester Goode character on television because of actor Dennis Weaver's athletic build, to emphasize Chester's role as a follower and not an independent agent.
Miss Kitty, who after the radio series ended, was said by some to have engaged in prostitution, began in that role in the television series, working in the Long Branch Saloon. In an earlier 1956 episode ("How to Cure a Friend", season two, episode seven), the owner of the Long Branch was named Bill Pence (a role played by at least three different actors over the years). A later episode ("Daddy O", season two, episode 36, filmed in 1956 and aired in 1957) begins with Chester pointing out to Matt (who had been out of town) a new sign under the Long Branch Saloon sign saying "Russell & Pence, Proprietors". In that same episode, John Dehner portrayed a dubious New Orleans businessman claiming to be Kitty's father, who tried to talk her into selling her half interest in the Long Branch and returning to New Orleans with him as a partner in his alleged freight business.
In another 1956 episode (involving a new saloon girl named "Rena Decker", who causes four deaths by provoking men into fighting over her), Miss Kitty identifies herself as half-owner of the Long Branch with Mr. Pence (played by Judson Pratt). Subsequently, Miss Kitty transitioned to sole owner. Although early film episodes showed her descending from her second-floor rooms in the saloon with Matt, or showed her or one of her girls leading a cowboy up to those same rooms, these scenes disappeared later on, and viewers were guided to see Miss Kitty just as a kindhearted businesswoman.
Television media
Television series
- Main article: Gunsmoke (television series)
Television Spinoff
- Main article: Dirty Sally
Gunsmoke had one spin-off series, Dirty Sally, a semicomedy starring Jeanette Nolan as an old woman and Dack Rambo as a young gunfighter, leaving Dodge City for California to pan for gold. The program lasted 13 weeks and aired in the first half of 1974, a year before Gunsmoke ended.
Television films
In 1987, CBS commissioned a reunion movie titled Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge. James Arness and Amanda Blake returned in their iconic roles of Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty, with Fran Ryan returning as Kitty's friend/saloon-owner Hannah and Buck Taylor as Newly O'Brian. Doc Adams and Festus Haggen were not featured in the film. Milburn Stone had died 7 years earlier in 1980 and the role of Doc was not recast. Ken Curtis balked at the salary offer he received and said that he should be paid based on Festus' importance in the character hierarchy. The screenwriters responded to Curtis' absence by making Newly the new Dodge City marshal. The film, shot in Alberta, featured a now-retired Marshal Dillon being attacked and a vengeful former rival returning to Dodge City to entrap him.
In 1990, the second telefilm, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache, premiered. Since Amanda Blake had died the year before, the writers decided to revisit a 1973 episode for the movie. The episode was based on "Matt's Love Story". In the episode, Matt loses his memory and his heart during a brief liaison with "Mike" Yardner (played by Michael Learned, better known for playing Olivia in The Waltons). In the film, Learned returns as Mike, who reveals to Marshal Dillon that he is the father of their daughter, Beth (played by Amy Stock-Poynton) and asks him for help in saving her from a band on Apaches. Other films included Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992), Gunsmoke: The Long Ride (1993), and Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice (1994). Arness appeared in all five made-for-television movies.
Products
The Gunsmoke brand was used to endorse numerous products, from cottage cheese to cigarettes.
The Heartland toy company included an 8" (1/9th scale) plastic Matt Dillion figure as well as his horse "Buck" (aka "Old Faithful Buck") in their line of famous TV cowboys and their horses during the 1950s.
Lowell Toy Manufacturing Corporation ("It's a Lowell Game") issued Gunsmoke as their game No. 822. Other products include Gunsmoke puzzles.
In 1985, Capcom released a video game for the arcade (and its corresponding game for the NES in 1988) with a Western theme, called Gun.Smoke. Other than the Western theme, the show and game have no relationship whatsoever.
Comics
- Dell Comics published numerous issues of their Four Color comics series on Gunsmoke (including issues #679, 720, 769, 797, 844 and, in 1958–1962, #6–27).
- Gold Key Comics continued with issues #1–6 in 1969–70.
- A comic strip version of the series ran in British newspapers for several years under the show's UK title, Gun Law.
- Hardcover comic BBC Gunsmoke Annuals were marketed in Great Britain under the authority of the BBC which had broadcasting rights there.
- Gunsmoke comics in Spanish were published under the title Aventura la ley del revolver (Gun-Law Adventures).
Books
- In 1957, Ballantine Books published a collection of short stories. Each story is based on a half-hour Gunsmoke episode. Although a photo of James Arness and the CBS TV logo are on the book cover, in at least one story Matt introduces Chester as "Chester Proudfoot", an indication that the stories are actually adapted from radio scripts.
- Whitman Books published
- Gunsmoke by Robert Turner in 1958, and
- Gunsmoke: "Showdown on Front Street" by Paul S. Newman in 1969 ...
- In 1970, Popular Library published the following paperback book written by Chris Stratton:
- Gunsmoke
- In 1974, Award Books published the following paperback books written by Jackson Flynn based on the TV series:
- Gunsmoke #1: "The Renegades"
- Gunsmoke #2: "Shootout"
- Gunsmoke #3: "Duel at Dodge City"
- Gunsmoke #4: "Cheyenne Vengeance"
- In 1998, Boulevard Books published the following paperbacks written by Gary McCarthy based on the TV series:
- Gunsmoke
- Gunsmoke: "Dead Man's Witness"
- Gunsmoke: "Marshal Festus"
- A series of novels based upon the television series written by Joseph A. West with forewords by James Arness was published by Signet:
- Gunsmoke: "Blood, Bullets and Buckskin", January 2005
- Gunsmoke: "The Last Dog Soldier", May 2005
- Gunsmoke: "Blizzard of Lead", September 2005
- Gunsmoke: "The Reckless Gun", May 2006
- Gunsmoke: "Dodge the Devil", October 2006
- Gunsmoke: "The Day of the Gunfighter", January 2007
- "Gunsmoke: An American Institution, Celebrating 50 Years of Television's Best Western" Written by Ben Costello, Foreword by Jim Byrnes, and Introduction by Jon Voight and published by Five Star Publications, Inc.(now Story Monsters LLC) Published 1 edition (December 22, 2012)
Independent E-book
- Gunsmoke: Battlefield Dodge, June 2015
External Links
