Dang that Marshall Dillon is mean

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BSA1

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I have started watching the old Episodes of Gunsmoke. Produced in the 1950’s, in a B&W 1/2 hour long show. My wife has commented how mean Marshall Dillon is in the early programs.

The program I watched last night was first aired on 12/1956. The plot is a hitman hired to kill Marshall Dillon kills the wrong person by mistake. Dillon finds and arrests him but without any witnesses or a confession he has to release him. Only thing is Dillon gives the hitman gun back and then threatens to kill him either on the street or right in the office. Hitman confesses and identifies who hired him. Dillon and Chester track him down and in the classic western steps out of building and shoots at Dillon first. Dillon fires one round and the bad guy falls to the ground unable to fight. Dillon then fires three more bullets into the bad guy laying on the ground.

In the episode before that Dillon and Chester ambush six outlaws, kills four of them and wounds another without identifying themselves or giving any warning.

Chester sure is a whiner.

Miss Kitty sure is pretty and she drinks whiskey right in front of everyone in her bar!
 
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BSA1 said:
I have started watching the old Episodes of Gunsmoke. Produced in the 1950’s, in a B&W 1/2 hour long show. My wife has commented how mean Marshall Dillon is in the early programs.

The program I watched last night was first aired on 12/1956. The plot is a hitman hired to kill Marshall Dillon kills the wrong person by mistake. Dillon finds and arrests him but without any witnesses or a confession he has to release him. Only thing is Dillon gives the hitman gun back and then threatens to kill him either on the street or right in the office. Hitman confesses and identifies who hired him. Dillon and Chester track him down and in the classic western steps out of building and shoots at Dillon first. Dillon fires one round and the bad guy fall’s to ground unable to fight. Dillon then fires three more bullets into the bad guy laying on the ground.

In the episode before that Dillon and Chester ambush six outlaws, kills four of them and wounds another without identifying themselves or giving any warning.

Chester sure a whiner.

Miss Kitty sure is pretty and she drinks whiskey right in front of everyone in her bar!
Click to expand...

The thirty-minute episodes are the best; also much more violent than later years when they went to the one-hour format.

Chester was a whiner, no doubt, but the Chester character couldn't really be appreciated until he was replaced. Chester was the bumbling fool much of the time, but he did some things right, enough, I guess to keep from getting fired. He did save Matt Dillon's life a time or two as I recall.

Festus was a good character to a limited point, but the Festus role was so concentrated in being "Festus", that a little bit of Festus was plenty and went a long way. It was often overdone, to the point it detracted from the show somewhat.

Gunsmoke was certainly one of my favorites; I listened to it on the radio on Sunday evenings as a small kid, then watched the originals on TV for twenty years. As re-runs, many of the later toned-down episodes with characters like Newly and Thad (especially Thad) aren't really worth watching.

The early episodes have held up well and remain good ones.
 
BSA1 said:
Dillon fires one round and the bad guy falls to the ground unable to fight. Dillon then fires three more bullets into the bad guy laying on the ground.

In the episode before that Dillon and Chester ambush six outlaws, kills four of them and wounds another without identifying themselves or giving any warning.
Click to expand...

Case#1 is called "termination with extreme prejudice".

Case#2 is known as "cutting down the odds".
 
I’ve been watching the early episodes of Gunsmoke also and agree the 30 minute episodes were my favorite. The episodes from 1955, 56, seem amateurish and almost funny after watching them again from the early years. Matt is just plumb mean at times. Chester is a whiner alright, but Festus just wears me out with all his gibberish. When Gunsmoke started being produced in color I’ve never seen so much green used. All the bushes, pastures, store walls, tables, inside walls, lakes, even Festus’s pants are green. I believe some technicians had something to do with everything being green and doctored up the original colored episodes. Miss Kitty has sure got pretty red hair. I am a Gunsmoke fan from day one.
 
Xfuzz said:
Matt Dillon....
Gunsmoke's 20 year run.

Matt shot/stabbed poisoned(1) 56 times.
An estimated 138 kills including 7 females.
Click to expand...

These figures may be right, but they seem to vary often.
 
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The most memorable episode of Gunsmoke I can recall is from 1961. I don't know the title or the date it was aired, but John Dehner (a frequent guest star on the show) plays an outlaw Matt killed.

You have to watch the episode to observe Dehner's unique dying scene after Matt shoots him (maybe a few times, I can't remember). His violent body movements and facial expressions are unmatched in any western ever. Dehner does it perfectly.

I didn't get that off of YouTube or another Internet source. I just happened to watch the episode a few years back but may have also seen it when it wasn't a rerun.
 
Yep, Gunsmoke comes on at 1:00 so getting ready to watch it. 30 minute ones are good and Matt is inclined to not take any **** off anyone. Read that Doc and Kitty “ had a thing” going, Doc had very good taste!
 
Probably the earliest episodes were a more realistic portrayal of reality in post civil war western towns than what is seen later and currently! Heavens, just outright kill a gunman because he had tried to kill you, :eek::eek::eek:
 
Not related to Gunsmoke, but Festus (Ken Curtis) was a lead singer with the Tommy Dorsey band in the early 1940s (he replaced Frank Sinatra), and later he was also a member of the Sons of the Pioneers musical group. He was also famous director John Ford's son-in-law.
 
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One episode some Texan cowboys roped & dragged poor Chester till he was near dead. He lived, so Matt had to let him go. Matt removed his badge & gun and beat the cow smell out of the guy in the alley. I think it was Alan Hale, Jr. A big guy. I'd like to see Dillon and Cheyenne Body go at it one time! Dennis Weaver played the biggest, but lovable(?) milk toast ever. At least Festus would drop the gloves & fight once in a while!
 
I, too, preferred the half hour black and white Gunsmoke episodes. But, maybe my all time favorite episode was an hour long one. It was called “Seven Hours To Dawn”. A ruthless gang actually takes over the whole town of Dodge. Matt is shot down in the street and is pronounced dead by Doc. Miss Kitty and the other townsfolk are stunned.

Watch it, and tell me what you think.
Larry
 
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