"Gunsmoke" (1955) TV series 1955-1975

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Release Date:

10 September 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Marshal | Cult Western | Famous Opening Theme | Saloon Owner | One Word Title

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 11 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 4 of 954)

James Arness	...	Marshal Matt Dillon / ... (617 episodes, 1955-1975)
Milburn Stone	...	Dr. Galen 'Doc' Adams / ... (460 episodes, 1955-1975)
Amanda Blake	...	Kitty Russell / ... (423 episodes, 1955-1974)
Ken Curtis	...	Festus Haggen / ... (252 episodes, 1959-1975)

Also Known As:

Gun Law (UK)
Marshal Dillon (USA) (rerun title)
Rawhide (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:30 min (1955-1961) (233 episodes) (including commercials) | USA:60 min (1961-1975) (402 episodes) (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:TV-G (some episodes) | USA:TV-PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Bell Ranch, Santa Susana, California, USA

Company:

Arness Production Company

Trivia:

Slated to be canceled in 1967 due to low ratings, but then-CBS president William Paley reversed the decision. He moved the show from Saturdays to Mondays (cancelling "Gilligan's Island" (1964) in the process), placing it back in the Nielsen's Top Ten (Paley and his wife were both big fans of the show).

Quotes:

U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon: [to any man seemingly planning to go gunning for somebody.] If you're gonna to use that gun, you better start on me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Silverado' (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Old Trail

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.