Gunsmoke: The Long Ride (1993) (TV)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Jerry Jameson

Writer (WGA):

Bill Stratton (written by)

Release Date:

8 May 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Retired marshal Matt Dillon must clear his name after mistaken identity makes him wanted: dead or alive. |

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Murder | Fugitive | Robbery | Sequel

Cast

James Arness	...	Matt Dillon
James Brolin	...	John Parsley
Amy Stock-Poynton	...	Beth Readon
Christopher Bradley	...	Josh Reardon
Patrick Dollaghan	...	Deputy Monaghan
Don McManus	...	Jules Braxton Jr.
Marco Sanchez	...	Collie Whitebird
Ali MacGraw	...	Uncle Jane Merkel
Tim Choate	...	Sheriff Bart Meriweather
Michael Greene	...	Ike Berry
Stewart Moss	...	Dr. Strader
Jim Beaver	...	Traveling Blacksmith
Sharon Mahoney	...	Amanda Southwick
Rick Dano	...	Skeeter Padgett (as Richard Dano)
Ed Adams	...	Tebbel

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Bonanza Creek Ranch - 15 Bonanza Creek Lane, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

CBS Entertainment Production

Quotes:

Deputy Monaghan: You know, it's funny. When I was a kid, I heard a lot about this great Dodge City marshal.
Matt Dillon: Thanks.
Deputy Monaghan: Yeah. Seems like you dwindled some since then, huh?
Matt Dillon: Yeah, not enough to stop me from robbery and murder, huh?
Deputy Monaghan: Wouldn't be the first time a lawman turned outlaw.
Matt Dillon: Yeah, or the other way around.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice (1994) (TV)

James Brolin shines in fine character performance

This is one of a number of TV movies, made in the early nineties, based on the character of U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon (now retired), from the popular long-running television series, GUNSMOKE.

This script is typical of all westerns. Matt is arrested at his daughter's wedding on trumped up charges of murder. With a posse after him and wanted dead or alive, he must stay alive while tracking the actual murderer. He is aided in this by his daughter and new son-in-law and by two people he meets in his travels, a down and out preacher, John Parsley, and a retired prostitute, Uncle Jane.

James Arness is his usual self, again playing Matt Dillon. Ali McGraw plays Uncle Jane and Christopher Bradley plays his son-in-law. With only 18 scenes and a role that does not require much dramatic flexibility, Mr. Bradley manages to bring an integrity to the role, which lesser actors may have glossed over. The real star of the show is James Brolin, who plays John Parsley with a gentleness, a sincerity and a strength that manages to outshine every other performance. This is fine character acting and deserved an Emmy nomination.

It's an okay film if you are into westerns or a GUNSMOKE fan. The VHS transfer is, however, quite poor - very murky and with much color bleed. It looks more like a generations removed dub from a TV broadcast, rather than a pristine transfer from original materials. Even the VHS box gets the Christopher Bradley character's name wrong. He plays Josh and the box identifies him as Will McCall. Shoddy.