Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge

As only a casual fan of the original series I may not be able to compare and contrast this movie as well as some others but the producers of this tv film seem to have covered all their bases.

First of all the story was very well done. By basing the movie on one of the original tv shows the viewers were given a sense of continuity that some movies that are based on previous tv shows don't have. Also, the story itself, while not all that original, was well written and suspenseful. Out of the 5 GUNSMOKE movies that were made I felt that this one was the best.

Secondly, this movie did a fine job of bringing back the original cast members. Amanda Blake as "Kitty" and Buck Taylor as "Newly O'brien" helped to give this movie an authentic feel. Having said that it would have been nice if Dennis Weaver as "Chester" and or Ken Curtis as "Festus", both served as deputy under Marshall Dillon, had made an appearance in the movie.

Lastly, while the movie overall was a good one it seemed to me that James Arness portrayed Matt Dillon less like the character in the original series and more like the mountain man character of "Zeb Macahon" in his other western series HOW THE WEST WAS WON. Still this movie is a good view and those who like James Arness or GUNSMOKE will appreciate it.

I agree with others who have said the Earl Holliman character just didn't fit with the rest of the movie. As for Matt's mountain man look, I think there are many episodes in the series that suggest that if he hadn't become a U.S. marshal, he would have become a mountain man / trapper. But for any Gunsmoke fan, I think it was very special seeing Matt and Kitty back together one last time. Since Kitty wasn't in the last season of the regular TV series, this episode provided some closure to one of the longest screen romances of all time. I think the final scene with Matt and Kitty stayed true to the tone set by the TV series.

This last Gunsmoke movie returns to Dodge City where Matt Dillon has to face once again someone from his past when he was marshal there. Steve Forrest who is one sick puppy of a villain has been released from prison and is looking for Dillon whom he shot before, but who was caught anyway.

This film with flashback scenes from a Gunsmoke episode from 1969 gives us the background of the story. Obviously someone was inspired by the Star Trek film The Wrath Of Khan.

For good measure the blame is thrown on another old time convict Earl Holliman when Forrest shoots the warden after his release. James Arness is trailing him for most of the film with the non-help of shavetail army lieutenant Ken Olandt who has his orders to bring Holliman in. Olandt is quite good in his role, brave and loyal, but a bit of a jerk.

James Arness looking craggy which befits his role as the retired marshal. The flashback sequences give a real time feel to this film because it is real time.

The confrontation scene is well staged and unforgettable. In fact both of them, the one with Holliman and Arness standing off some bounty hunters and the one with Forrest. The one with Holliman is borrowed straight out of Ride The High Country.

One very fitting coda to the life and career of Matt Dillon.

I have been a big fan of Gunsmoke for years and always hoped that Matt and Kitty would finally get together romantically. So when I watched "Gunsmoke-Return to Dodge" I again was hoping that they would wind up together now that Matt is no longer the marshall. Indeed he does come to rescue her at the end from another brutal attack by a bad guy, but then he just looks up at her in the window and walks off. She has tears in her eyes. Not even a hug. Booooo...

Both Matt and Kitty have aged now but it's obvious that she still loves him. He cares for her but appears to be more interested now in just being a fur-trapping mountain man who lives alone. Not how I would have ended the long-running series.

Gunsmoke cast regulars James Arness (Matt Dillon), Amanda Blake (Kitty) and Buck Taylor (Newly) reunite for a pretty good old fashioned western. The plot involves the release from prison of Matt's most deadly foe, Steve Forrest, reprising his role as Will Mannon, bent on revenge. Another Gunsmoke alumni is along for the ride, Earl Holliman, who does a good turn as Jake Flagg. According to reports, Ken Curtis held out for too much money and subsequently did not reprise his role as Festus, what remains of his part is filled in by character actor Mickey Jones as Oakum. Too bad, it would have been great to see him don the spurs one more time. Milburn Stone (Doc) who appears along with Festus in flashbacks, had passed away by the time this film was made. There are several minor plot holes, chief among them is that in the episode, "Mannon" the title character was killed at the end, apparently while the end credits rolled, Doc discovered that he was still alive, saved him and he was then sent to prison. All in all, this film holds true to the legacy of the great, classic TV series.