Gun Law (1955–1975)
"Gunsmoke" (original title)

Marshal Matt Dillon keeps the peace in the rough and tumble Dodge City.

Stars:

James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 13 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
James Arness	...	Matt Dillon (635 episodes, 1955-1975)
Milburn Stone	...	Doc (604 episodes, 1955-1975)
Amanda Blake	...	Kitty (568 episodes, 1955-1974)
Ken Curtis	...	Festus (304 episodes, 1959-1975)
Dennis Weaver	...	Chester (290 episodes, 1955-1964)

Storyline

Marshal Matt Dillon is in charge of Dodge City, a town in the wild west where people often have no respect for the law. He deals on a daily basis with the problems associated with frontier life: cattle rustling, gunfights, brawls, standover tactics, and land fraud. Such situations call for sound judgement and brave actions: of which Marshal Dillon has plenty.

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Plot Keywords:

marshal | warrior | hero | colt .45 | tough guy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Marshal Dillon

Filming Locations:

Bell Ranch, Santa Susana, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arness Production Company, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), Filmaster Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 30 min 60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White (1955-1966) Color (1966-1975)

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gary Busey's character Harve Daley was the last man killed on the show.

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Quotes

Dr. Galen 'Doc' Adams: [Festus offers to buy Doc a beer with a silver dollar that he earned from shoeing horses in episode "Whelan's Men".] Why don't you take that money and invest it in something? Why don't you do that?
Festus Haggen: Invest it in what?
Dr. Galen 'Doc' Adams: There's wonderful land values outside of Dodge. Now why don't you go out there someplace, look around, and buy yourself a lot?
Festus Haggen: A lot of what?
Dr. Galen 'Doc' Adams: A lot! A lot of land!
Festus Haggen: Well fiddle, I can't afford to buy a lot of land. You probably could the way you've been a bilking and gouging...
Dr. Galen 'Doc' Adams: Oh, ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Justified: Riverbrook (2010)

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Soundtracks

"The Old Trail"
by Rex Koury and Glenn Spencer
Aspen Fair Music, Incorporated (ASCAP)

User Reviews

Highest rated episode in Gunsmoke's twenty year run

The original title of "Kitty's Love Affair" was "End of the Run." The story depicted a gunfighter who fell in love with Kitty and hoped that, by buying a ranch and settling down, he could encourage her to marry him. The original ending had the gunfighter (Richard Kiley) hanged. Unfortunately, John Mantley, the producer, decided that, yet again, Matt would save the day. Before Mr. Kiley was cast in the role of Will Stambridge, the writers (S.L. Kotar and J.E. Gessler) were told there could be no kissing scenes between the gunfighter and Miss Kitty because "Gunsmoke fans would never allow it." After Richard accepted the role, the script was altered to allow Will to kiss Kitty four times! This was the highest rated episode in the twenty year history of Gunsmoke.