Gunsmoke

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A high percentage of the Gunsmoke episodes that Claude Akins appeared in were outstanding, and this is another one. He was a Native American but didn't bill himself as such.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gTnGzbiPLU

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Stuff about Gunsmoke.

-- James Arness really was a quick-draw artist. Before the show went on the air he was trained for months by expert Arvo Ojala. The actors used Colt 45s that were loaded with blanks.

-- There's an urban legend that John Wayne was first offered the role of Matt Dillon and turned it down, but that's not true. Charles Marquis Warren, the television show's producer, had directed Arness a few years earlier in a movie called Hellgate and was impressed by him, so he gave him a screen test. Arness agreed to take the role but then tried several times to back out, hoping to continue in films instead. He was under contract to Wayne, who urged him to take the role and even introduced the first episode to give it a good launching.

-- Warren had previously directed Milburn Stone on a movie and offered him the role of Doc, but Stone hated Warren and almost turned down the part.

-- The unpopular Warren was ousted early in the second season, and the radio show's producer and co-creator Norman Macdonnell was brought in to replace him.

-- Arness's right leg was torn up by machine gun fire in Italy in WWII and he limped for the rest of his life. When he was before the cameras he had to hide his limp, while Dennis Weaver had to pretend to limp.

-- Arness didn't take the show seriously at first and was constantly clowning and disrupting the shooting. Finally in the third season Stone blew up at him and profanely bawled him out in front of the crew. Arness apologized and behaved himself after that.

-- Arness later became very serious about the show and protective of Matt Dillon, who he would not allow to make a mistake. Amanda Blake thought that was a bad move. Blake also complained that the writers could think of little else to do with Kitty except to have her taken hostage or be involved in stagecoach accidents.

-- In the show's last seasons Blake became embroiled in a long-running feud with John Mantley, who by that time was the show's producer. It ended up with her being fired after the 19th season, although the story was put out that she quit. More about this subject later.

-- Blake died of AIDS at age 60. He last husband was bisexual, and he died of it too.

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Another superb script from Calvin Clements Sr. here. An unprecedented fifteen years along, Clements, Ron Bishop, Jim Byrnes and Paul Savage were still turning out enough gems of stories to keep Gunsmoke rolling on. Earl Holliman is great here as always as Will. Jacqueline Scott's Abelia character was featured in several episodes and considered as a love interest for Festus, but the idea was scrapped.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsvVJZKJ0Aw

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This episode features an expertly crafted script by Preston Wood, with rising complications and tensions presented in a very clear three-act structure. This is something that comic book writers need to learn about. Some posters here might recognize guest star Joanne Linville as the Romulan commander in the Star Trek TOS series episode called The Enterprise Incident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4pbdVP3SVM

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This episode had an excellent script by Jim Byrnes, and James Stacy is charismatic in the role of Yankton. Usually I can't bear Forrest Tucker in comedic roles, but he was excellent in dramas, as he shows here.

Sorry for the fragmentation but this seems to be the most complete version of the episode that's posted online.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSSJtwH1WSA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7JbZlbp2w8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYqdtwmHvdA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoDoBYCmOKY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYGU0HJWGd4

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In Gunsmoke's last seasons, producer John Mantley turned it into an increasingly glossy show with a lot of location shooting all over the West. In this two-part story, South Dakota substitutes for Colorado.

Amanda Blake doesn't appear here, but she became resentful of being rousted from her home in Arizona and sent all over, often into rough or unpleasant conditions. Mantley's approach worked well though, as this story testifies.

Side note: James Arness's double collapsed from being forced to run so much in the snow. And having to shoot scenes in landscapes that the cast and crew hadn't tracked up proved tricky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Ygrb3jPLM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT1Bx40oiTE

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I can't find these lyrics on the Internet, which leads me to believe that the song may have been written for this episode. I wonder who composed it and whether there's more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC--jr4CoLk

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In fact, let me post that whole episode because it's excellent and it's the second and last time that Festus and Chester appeared together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a51CiNCExAQ

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A fine entry from Season 18 written by Ron Bishop, whose striking dialogue alone makes it worth the admission price. But you also get guest appearances by the great actor Morgan Woodward and super-cool customer Alex Cord. And there's also Harrison Ford, who is well cast as one of Woodward's hired thugs. That's Leif Garrett and his sister Dawn Lyn as the kids.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKygbb2UkT8

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I posted this two-part episode in a thread that dropped out out sight long ago, but a lot of you haven't seen it and it needs to be posted in the official Gunsmoke thread. It has a superb script by Clyde Ware and a stellar guest cast led by Gary Lockwood and John Anderson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eghHx7PhVv8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXiFX_20ef8

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Eighteen years along, Gunsmoke's cast was older and James Arness's limp was more noticeable. This fine script by Jim Byrnes seems to contain a wistful recognition that this great series was in its home stretch and that we would never see its like again.

There are really two stories going on here. One is about Matt's old mentor, played by John Anderson, trying to pull himself out of the gutter, and the other, more subtle one, is about Matt reflecting on his choices in life and what they've cost him.

The end for Gunsmoke came sooner that anyone connected with the show anticipated though. More about that later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-np6eoO1Qyc

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Another B&W episode that showcases the incomparable Dennis Weaver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64VzGEOhOuE

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One of the last episodes written by John Meston features an amazing cast, with Ed Asner, Robert Culp, Michael Crawford, George "Goober" Lindsay (as a villain!), Scott Marlowe, Elisha Cook Jr. and Harold J. Stone. Culp is the standout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFjx5lCi8Ig

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Let's say farewell to the B&W episodes (and Chester) with this one. Chester and Doc's scene at the midpoint may be the funniest of the series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKCTOyFihEU

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Well, I changed my mind. There are a few more B&W episodes I want to post, including this one by the great writer Kathleen Hite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvjBgJbrq8I