Gunsmoke is an American Western television series developed by Charles Marquis Warren and based on the radio program of the same name.[1] The series ran for 20 seasons, making it the longest-running Western in television history.[2][3]
The first episode of season 7 aired in the United States on September 30, 1961, and the final episode aired on May 26, 1962. All episodes were broadcast in the U.S. by CBS.[4]
Season 7 of Gunsmoke was the first season of one hour episodes filmed in black-and-white. Previous seasons were half-hour episodes, and color episodes were not filmed until season 12.
Synopsis
Gunsmoke is set in and around Dodge City, Kansas, in the post-Civil War era and centers on United States Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) as he enforces law and order in the city. In its original format, the series also focuses on Dillon's friendship with three other citizens of Dodge City: Doctor Galen "Doc" Adams (Milburn Stone), the town's physician; Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake), saloon girl and later owner of the Long Branch Saloon; and Chester Goode (Dennis Weaver), Dillon's assistant.[5]
Cast and characters
Main
- James Arness as Matt Dillon
- Dennis Weaver as Chester
- Milburn Stone as Doc
- Amanda Blake as Kitty
Production
Season 7 consisted of 34 one hour black-and-white episodes produced by Norman Macdonnell and Frank Paris as associate producer.
Episode 13, "Marry Me", was the last of four episodes directed by Dennis Weaver.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 234 | 1 | "Perce" | Harry Harris | John Meston | September 30, 1961 | |
| A gunslinger saves Matt's life and becomes well-liked in Dodge, but the love of a woman leads him down the wrong trail. | ||||||
| 235 | 2 | "Old Yellow Boots" | Ted Post | John Meston | October 7, 1961 | |
| Matt suspects one man for two different murders, an old prospector and well-to-do rancher, his only clue is an unusual boot imprint. | ||||||
| 236 | 3 | "Miss Kitty" | Harry Harris | Kathleen Hite | October 14, 1961 | |
| Dodge's rumor mill is running full overdrive when Kitty whisks a young boy off the stagecoach and hustles him out into the country, but much to Kitty's dismay, the gossip finds the wrong ears. | ||||||
| 237 | 4 | "Harpe's Blood" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | October 21, 1961 | |
| Bad blood runs through a family's veins and a brute of a man promises his dying wife that he will raise their two sons "hard and strict". | ||||||
| 238 | 5 | "All That" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | October 28, 1961 | |
| A failed rancher loses everything, home, cattle and wife, but comes-up with an ingenious plan to pay back those that wronged him. | ||||||
| 239 | 6 | "Long, Long Trail" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Kathleen Hite | November 4, 1961 | |
| Matt reluctantly agrees to escort a young woman on a treacherous journey across the prairie to Fort Wallace, Kansas, where they encounter numerous perils along the way. | ||||||
| 240 | 7 | "The Squaw" | Gerald Mayer | John Dunkel | November 11, 1961 | |
| A widowed rancher takes-in an Arapaho squaw which infuriates his son and divides the family. | ||||||
| 241 | 8 | "Chesterland" | Ted Post | Kathleen Hite | November 18, 1961 | |
| Chester becomes engaged, and in his eagerness to please the girl, buys a run-down abandoned homestead where he experiences many hardships and, in the end, betrayal. | ||||||
| 242 | 9 | "Milly" | Richard Whorf | Story by : Hal Moffett Screenplay by : John Meston | November 25, 1961 | |
| The poverty stricken daughter of a hopeless drunk believes the only way to save her brother and escape their forsaken lives is to get married. | ||||||
| 243 | 10 | "Indian Ford" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Dunkel | December 2, 1961 | |
| A white woman is spotted living among the Arapaho people and Matt accompanies the Cavalry in an attempt to rescue her, but she's reluctant to being saved. | ||||||
| 244 | 11 | "Apprentice Doc" | Harry Harris | Kathleen Hite | December 9, 1961 | |
| Doc is taken aback when he's approached by a man, who earlier was involved with a gang that kidnapped him, with an unusual request, teach me your profession. | ||||||
| 245 | 12 | "Nina's Revenge" | Tay Garnett | John Meston | December 16, 1961 | |
| A conniving and abusive husband wants nothing more than to get his hands on his father-in-law's money and sets in motion one dark plan after another to acquire it, but his tormented wife will punctuate the ending of his crashing scheme. | ||||||
| 246 | 13 | "Marry Me" | Dennis Weaver | Kathleen Hite | December 23, 1961 | |
| A clan of amusing hill folk kidnap Kitty with the sole purpose of her marrying the eldest son. | ||||||
| 247 | 14 | "A Man a Day" | Harry Harris | John Meston | December 30, 1961 | |
| An outlaw gang offers Matt a bribe to leave town so they may rob the bank, and when he refuses, they threaten to kill a man a day until he leaves town. | ||||||
| 248 | 15 | "The Do-Badder" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | January 6, 1962 | |
| A meddlesome gold prospector strikes it rich and settles down in Dodge, where he offers unfettered advice to improve local townspeople lives, but everything and everyone he touches doesn't turn to gold. | ||||||
| 249 | 16 | "Lacey" | Harry Harris | Kathleen Hite | January 13, 1962 | |
| A young farm girl has a heated argument with her disapproving father concerning her boyfriend, and when pa turns-up dead she takes the blame. | ||||||
| 250 | 17 | "Cody's Code" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | January 20, 1962 | |
| No good deed goes unpunished when a middle-aged man hides a wounded fugitive in the house that he's building for his young and pretty fiancé. | ||||||
| 251 | 18 | "Old Dan" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Kathleen Hite | January 27, 1962 | |
| The good folks of Dodge bend over backwards to help a charming and loveable old drunk change his ways. | ||||||
| 252 | 19 | "Catawomper" | Harry Harris | Story by : James Favor Screenplay by : John Meston | February 10, 1962 | |
| A spoiled overindulged young woman grows tired of the way her boyfriend treats her and proceeds to make him jealous by entertaining other suitors. | ||||||
| 253 | 20 | "Half Straight" | Ted Post | John Meston | February 17, 1962 | |
| A hired gunman is stalking Matt but is sidetracked by a beautiful farm girl whom he promises to go straight. | ||||||
| 254 | 21 | "He Learned About Women" | Tay Garnett | Story by : John Rosser Screenplay by : John Meston | February 24, 1962 | |
| Chester and an attractive Mexican woman escape from a band of Comancheros, but when they're recaptured, he believes that she betrayed him. | ||||||
| 255 | 22 | "The Gallows" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | March 3, 1962 | |
| Matt is certain that the man he's taking to the gallows, whose been convicted of murder, is innocent. | ||||||
| 256 | 23 | "Reprisal" | Harry Harris | John Meston | March 10, 1962 | |
| Matt informs a woman that he had to kill her carousing husband, and even though she didn't love him, demands an eye for an eye from the Marshal. | ||||||
| 257 | 24 | "Coventry" | Christian Nyby | John Meston | March 17, 1962 | |
| An unsympathetic conman is given the silent treatment by the townspeople when he's found innocent in the murder of a beloved Dodge citizen. | ||||||
| 258 | 25 | "The Widow" | Ted Post | John Dunkel | March 24, 1962 | |
| A desperate widow of a military officer killed in battle arrives in Dodge to retrieve his body, but her motives prove controversial. | ||||||
| 259 | 26 | "Durham Bull" | Harry Harris | Story by : Jack Shettlesworth Screenplay by : John Meston | March 31, 1962 | |
| A ruthless gang conspire to steal a prized Hereford breeding bull worth its weight in gold from a shrewd old Texas cattleman and his grandson. | ||||||
| 260 | 27 | "Wagon Girls" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | April 7, 1962 | |
| Matt comes upon a wagon train full of young ladies answering an ad for women wanted to marry rich Colorado gold miners, but the underhanded wagon master has formed his own immoral plans. | ||||||
| 261 | 28 | "The Dealer" | Harry Harris | Story by : Les Crutchfield Screenplay by : John Dunkel | April 14, 1962 | |
| A lovestruck cowboy pursues a faro dealer but her feelings are not mutual since he was the gunman who shot and killed her card-cheating father. | ||||||
| 262 | 29 | "The Summons" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Story by : Marian Clark Screenplay by : Kathleen Hite | April 21, 1962 | |
| An outlaw who was refused a bounty blames Matt and lures him to a nearby town in an outlandish plan to hang him. | ||||||
| 263 | 30 | "The Dreamers" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | April 28, 1962 | |
| A wealthy obnoxious miner passing through Dodge becomes infatuated with Kitty, and when she rebukes his advances, he sets aside his dreams and chooses to run her out of business. | ||||||
| 264 | 31 | "Cale" | Harry Harris | Kathleen Hite | May 5, 1962 | |
| A headstrong young drifter is determined to make things right when he's wrongly suspected of being the accomplice to horse thief. | ||||||
| 265 | 32 | "Chester's Indian" | Joseph Sargent | Kathleen Hite | May 12, 1962 | |
| Chester shoots a runaway Indian hidden away by a young, enamored farm girl, who then pressures Chester into nursing him back to health. | ||||||
| 266 | 33 | "The Prisoner" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Robert E. Thompson | May 19, 1962 | |
| A Fort Leavenworth prison escapee and murderer makes his way to Dodge and finds himself involved in a family's drama. | ||||||
| 267 | 34 | "The Boys" | Harry Harris | John Meston | May 26, 1962 | |
| A snake-oil salesman, and his three miscreant sons commit multiple crimes and Matt starts a rumor with one of the boys in hopes of exposing all of them. | ||||||
Release
Broadcast
Season seven aired Saturdays at 10:00-11:00 pm (EST) on CBS.[4]
Home media
The seventh season was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment in two volumes. The first 17 episodes were released on December 11, 2012 and the remaining 17 episodes were released on February 5, 2013.
Reception
After four straight seasons in the number one primetime spot in the Nielsen ratings, Gunsmoke dropped to number three, being unseated by two other Westerns, Wagon Train and Bonanza.[6]
Footnotes
- ^ Barbaras 1990, p. 74–75.
- ^ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 570–571.
- ^ McNeil 1996, p. 351–352.
- ^ a b Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 570.
- ^ Barbaras 1990, p. 87–102.
- ^
- "1957-1958 TV Ratings". classictvguide.com.
- "1958-1959 TV Ratings". classictvguide.com.
- "1959-1960 TV Ratings". classictvguide.com.
- "1960-1961 TV Ratings". classictvguide.com.
- "1961-1962 TV Ratings". classictvguide.com.
References
- Barbaras, SuzAnne & Gabor (1990). Gunsmoke: A Complete History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-89950-418-3.
- Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
- Costello, Ben (2006). Gunsmoke: An American Institution. Chandler, Arizona: Five Star Publications, Inc. ISBN 978-1-58985-014-9.
- McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.