Le justicier

Having Tivo (a system that records programs automatically) has re-introduced Gunsmoke to me. I was a young boy when it began in the 1950's. I loved the early shows. The 1962 shows are being aired on TV Land right now and I have about a dozen recorded for future viewing. I wanted to make an observation about James Arness's character, Matt Dillon. He was my hero growing up and watching the show. After seeing the shows again, 40 years later, I know why. Matt was justice. He meted out retribution to those who were evil. Here he was, standing 6 feet seven inches with a voice like God.

Watching Matt save the day in episode after episode made me realize how great it would to have a Matt around today: someone who would stand up to the bully, step in a wield his gun at the villains taking advantage of anyone in sight. I guess we all had heroes, but who could ever match James Arness. He was fair, gentle, understanding, but had the strength and skill to ward off any foe.

I miss Matt Dillon. We won't see his like again. Even Clint Eastwood, with his Dirty Harry justice, did not have the depth of Matt with his combination of gunplay and compassion.

For the 20 years that it ran on CBS,"Gunsmoke" was the essential Western to watch. Not only it was about a Marshal who retain law and order in Dodge City in the 1800's,but set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Kansas frontier. The stories kept its viewers on edge no matter what its characters were going through as Matt Dillon(played by James Arness) kept the peace alongside his deputies Chester Goode(Dennis Weaver from 1955-1964 for 290 episodes),Quint Aspen(Burt Reynolds from 1962-1965 for 50 episodes),Festus Hagen(Ken Curtis from 1964-1975 for 304 episodes),Thad Greene(Roger Ewing from 1965-1967 for 51 episodes)and Newly O'Brian(played by Buck Taylor from 1967-1975 for 174 episodes). It also had Matt Dillon's love interest Miss Kitty(Amanda Blake from 1955-1974 for 568 episodes)and the resourceful medical physician Doc Adams(Milburn Stone),and Sam (Glenn Strange from 1961-1975 for 238 episodes),and Miss Hannah(Fran Ryan from 1974-1975 for 26 episodes. Amanda Blake left the series at the end of the show's 19th season and was replaced by Fran Ryan in the final season). Only actors James Arness and Milburn Stone remained with the series as the only cast members that stayed throughout it's 20-year run.

Out of the 635 episodes that "Gunsmoke" produced,the series premiered on September 10,1955 with the episode "Matt Gets It". From September 10, 1955 until June 17, 1961 there were 233 half-hour black and white episodes. On September 30,1961 the show expanded to a hour long format that produced 176 episodes in black and white until May 7,1966. Then on September 17,1966 the show evolved from 11 seasons in black and white to color for 266 episodes until the final episode of the series on March 31,1975. During the first few seasons of "Gunsmoke" the show was in the top ten of the Nielsens becoming a huge Saturday night prime time favorite between 1955-1961 where the show became a phenomenon. By 1967, in it's 13th season, CBS made the decision to move the series from Saturday nights to Monday nights where it was back at the top of the ratings,due to a new audience and a earlier time slot. Between Seasons 13 thru 20 saw "Gunsmoke" surging back into the Top Ten of the Nielsens becoming one of the top five shows on television between 1967-1975.

The astounding success of "Gunsmoke" spawned seven Prime-Time Emmy nominations during it's run winning four Prime-Time Emmys in 1958(Best Dramatic Series);1959(Best Supporting Actor-Dennis Weaver);1968(Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role-Milburn Stone);1970(Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing). "Gunsmoke" was nominated for four Golden Globes with actress Amanda Blake for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series three times in 1970,1971 and 1972. Golden Globe nominated also when to Milburn Stone for Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Series in 1972. Golden Globe nominations also went to Ken Curtis and James Arness as well. When "Gunsmoke" ended it's run in 1975 it marked the end of the television Western...an astounding feat that when it was on the air during the early-1970's it surpass it's rival "Bonanza" which was already off the air two years earlier. When it was abruptly canceled on March 31,1975(with the final episode of the series "The Sharecroppers") the cast had no warning and learned their fate from media outlets. On September 8, 1975 the two shows that replaced the long-running "Gunsmoke" were two spinoffs of CBS' "Mary Tyler Moore Show" which were "Rhoda",and "Phyllis" that were placed on it's prime- time Monday night schedule. James Arness reprised the role of Marshal Dillon for six made for television movies based on "Gunsmoke" that aired on CBS between 1987 and 1994 featuring the original cast that includes Ken Curtis, Amanda Blake and Buck Taylor.

Festus's Haggen, a tough, street smart quick witted character, up until season 11 that is. Anyone who is a true fan of Gunsmoke especially the black and white episodes will notice that Festus's character changed drastically in season 11. Season 11 is when Festus had to start wearing his right ear bent over by his hat and it's also when the powers that be turned Festus Haggen into a bumbling idiot. Festus's character before season 11 was so prominent that he could have had his own show. Incidentally, Festus was Dillon's first true deputy U.S. Marshall, not Chester as most people think. Chester's character was like night and day. Some episodes he would seemingly have the ability to think and reason (somewhat) and other episodes he had the mental capacity of a child and some episodes he was almost feminine. I didn't mean to run on about Chester however, I just wanted to write this to pay my respects to possibly the greatest cast member Gunsmoke ever had, up until season 11 that is. Festus Haggen. If you've never noticed this, pay attention to Festus's character when he first appears in season 8, episode 13 "Us Haggens". Pay attention to how he talks, how he wears his hat, even how he walks. Festus character up until season 11 is tough, street smart and always paid his own way. After season 11 we never see this "Festus" again. His speech is drawled and protracted, his street smart persona his gone, and to make him look even more silly, he now bends his right ear over under his hat. Notice the episode "Ten little Indians" (season 11) the scene where Festus is sitting at the table with Al Tresh played by Warren Oates. This scene is hard for me to watch. Festus is acting like he's about one estrogen hormone away from being a woman. But that's coming from a die hard black and white fan of the original Festus Haggen. If anyone is a fan of the original Festus write a review and let me know.

Those of us old enough remember Gunsmoke as a cultural landmark. Not only did the show usher in the era of the adult Western, but it also brought to series TV some strong dramatic values not much in evidence at the time. Few of us ever expected the show would last as long as it did. Nonetheless, there are some good reasons for the longevity. Those reasons, I believe, are most noticeable during about a five-year period from 1956 through the early 60's, and are worth focusing on for fans of the series.

The first year (1955) was far from the best, but it did put in place several elements that would mature powerfully over the following period. Of course, there's the cast of those early years. Above all, there's James Arness as the Marshal. Once Arness gets into the role after an uneven start, he's simply superb as the show's long-time anchor. Dennis Weaver's Chester is memorably easy to parody, with his slow wits and distinctive down-home drawl. But Weaver's also a fine actor, who provided his character with a rare measure of pathos unequaled by other supporting players over the 20 year run. There was always the chance that Chester's "comic relief" would descend into buffoonery, but Weaver and the producers handled the risk well. Milburn Stone's Doc adds a lot of color to the core cast, but he also trafficked in a lot of self-conscious mannerisms for my taste. Nonetheless, he mixed well with the others, while his caustic bantering with the over-matched Chester could be both unforced and funny. And, of course, there's Amanda Blake's Kitty, the good-hearted saloon-keeper, who a led a rather implausibly chaste private life. But here we're dealing with the mores of the time. The fact is that Blake brings just the right emotional tone to a character that was more constrained than the others. The cast may not seem so special on paper, but on screen the chemistry was superb.

The 1955 entries opened with an unusual prologue-- Matt's little contemplative walk through Boot Hill where he pondered the fate of those mouldering in their graves.These reflective moments set an unusual tone for an action genre. Plus, they provided an extra dimension that took us outside the story by suggesting there are larger meanings within which the story would unfold. These were not heavy-handed messages, but rather subtle suggestions that moral lessons can be drawn from the stories that follow. The prologue was dropped after the first year, perhaps because the writers had exhausted the brief time frame. Nonetheless, the undercurrent continued for the next few years, especially in Matt's reactions to how some stories turned out. In "Brother Whelp" (1959), for example, he finds out the unexpected truth behind two brothers' rivalry over the same girl,. His perplexed reactions in the final few seconds indicate an attempt to come to grips with the strange ways of the world, ones that continue to elude his grasp. Thus, the episode ends on a subtly contemplative note, unusual for that day or any day. It's this inner dimension present at times during the early years that is often overlooked.

Above all, however, it was the superior scripts that distinguished the series during this period. The excellence, I believe, was largely due to one man-- John Meston, who appears to have served as head writer until 1965. Note how many of the best screen-plays were either penned by him or taken from his ideas. He came to the TV production from the radio version where I expect he honed his skills. Those skills are in real evidence from 1956 to the early 60's. (And I expect it's no accident that this is the same time-frame during which Norman Mac Donnell served as series producer-- the man responsible for assembling the production crew.) Meston's specialty was dramatic structure. His best scripts are tight, suspenseful, and about as realistic as constraints of the time would allow. At his best, there was a dark inkling of just how difficult life on the Kansas frontier was. It's those moments I like best when some sorry homesteader or drifter confronts moments of personal anguish in the face of never-ending hard work, hostile Indians, and unforgiving elements-- in short, those rare moments of historical truth. Few series of the time bothered with the actual plight of prairie sod-busters. But Meston sometimes did. He was also good at limning colorful characters, building suspense, and also, surprisingly for the day, giving women strong roles in a genre that traditionally downplayed them. Together with Mac Donnell, I believe these two are largely responsible for Gunsmoke's "golden age". Too bad, their behind-the-scenes contributions have never been duly recognized.

I haven't seen all the entries from this 5-year period, but I have seen the majority. So let me recommend a few that I think are worth catching up with. "The Guitar"(1955), easily the best of the first season, scripted by the legendary maverick, Sam Peckinpah, and no doubt the only entry of that period to implicate cast principals in a major crime!; "Ma Tennis" (1958), an original concept, superbly directed by Buzz Kulik, with a number of dramatic twists; "Jayhawkers" (1959), an effective glimpse of a Texas trail crew, with a surprising dramatic turn by Jack Elam; "Kangaroo" (1959) a fearsome entry, with hulking, Bible spouting Peter Whitney showing no mercy to even his sons; and,"The Cabin" (1958), an unusual noirish entry that somehow got past the censors.

None of this is to deny that later entries in the series lacked merit. However, I do think the series soon lost the edge and tightness of this peak period. I'm only sorry that copies are so difficult to obtain. Most are worth a look-see, even in our era of super-charged TV.

I discovered Gunsmoke 34 years after it had been off the air, in 2008 by watching one of its late 1970's entry and was impressed, so I decided to start from the beginning and I am amazed by how a western tv show that began 14 years before I was even born could have been written to stand the test of time---65 years ago, and the early episodes (1 - 7) are some of the best written and acted human drama that can be applied to life today.