"Gunsmoke" Marry Me (1961)

Director:

Dennis Weaver

Writer:

Kathleen Hite (writer)

TV Series:

"Gunsmoke" (1955)

Original Air Date:

23 December 1961 (Season 7, Episode 13)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Plot:

An uncouth young mountain man is told by his pa that it's time he had himself a wife, so he comes to Dodge, is pleased by the looks of Miss Kitty, and simply kidnaps her. |

Plot Keywords:

Marshal | Warrior | Hero | Colt .45 | Tough Guy

Cast

James Arness	...	Matt Dillon
Dennis Weaver	...	Chester
Milburn Stone	...	Doc
Amanda Blake	...	Kitty
Don Dubbins	...	Orkey
Warren Oates	...	Sweet Billy
Cactus Mack	...	Pa (as Taylor McPeters)
Glenn Strange	...	Sam
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Breen	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Jimmy Noel	...	Man Leaving Saloon (uncredited)
Chick Sheridan	...	Storekeeper (uncredited)
Lucian Tiger	...	Passerby (uncredited)

Directed by
Dennis Weaver

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kathleen Hite		writer

Produced by
Norman MacDonnell	....	producer
Frank Paris	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Fleet Southcott		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Albrecht Joseph		(as Al Joseph)

Casting by
James Lister
Lynn Stalmaster

Art Direction by
Albert Heschong

Set Decoration by
Herman N. Schoenbrun

Makeup Department
Glen Alden	....	makeup artist
Pat Whiffing	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wesley J. McAfee	....	assistant director (as Wes McAfee)

Art Department
Clem Widrig	....	property master

Sound Department
Gene Eliot	....	sound effects editor
Vernon W. Kramer	....	sound mixer
Joel Moss	....	sound re-recording mixer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Thelma Milborn	....	costumer (as Thelma Hilborn)
Alexander Velcoff	....	costumer

Music Department
Gene Feldman	....	music editor

Other crew
Edle Bakke	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Arness Production Company
• CBS Television Network

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1961) (USA) (TV) (original airing)

Other Companies

• Pacific Title  titles and opticals

Runtime:

60 min

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Arness Production Company

Nothing original here

Yet another variant on the yokel-kidnaps-himself-a-bride plot, this one is typical, trying to be funny but not succeeding; there just isn't much that's funny about being kidnapped. The little lady's oh-so-feminine shrieks of dismay, the kidnapper-swain's indulgent certainty that she's just playing hard to get--it's all standard and all unfunny. A sentimental turn at the lame climax of the story, done to soften up the viewer so that he won't want to see the kidnappers punished, seems forced and is unconvincing. A couple of errors against continuity also bothered me. Kitty is kidnapped wearing the sort of evening garb, complete with dangling earrings and pinned-up hair, that she would have worn in the saloon; after a day or two she is seen in the kidnappers' cabin wearing a pretty but modest daytime dress of the sort a prosperous settler's wife would have worn. Did the kidnappers wait while she packed? It didn't appear so at the time. Also, Doc is shown burning the personal effects of a cholera victim to thwart the spread of the disease; he takes no such precautions when someone else later succumbs to cholera in his presence. Seems like sloppy storytelling in a series I don't associate with sloppiness.