Tag: Amanda Blake

I’m reading a book on James Arness…or Matt Dillion from Gunsmoke. When you watch these beginning shows you see Arness turn into a fine actor. He was in many movies before Gunsmoke but he looked a little uncomfortable in the first season. By the second season, you could see a huge change. Arness said he wasn’t comfortable and he got an acting teacher to help refine his acting for television.

I liked the show because I grew up watching the hour-long color episodes (seasons 12-20) of Gunsmoke in reruns. The first 6 seasons were black and white and 30 minutes long. Seasons 7-11 were one-hour black and white shows. As I said seasons 12-20 were one-hour color shows. 

Now I’m watching the first 6 seasons for about the 6th time… There is no Festus or Newly…we have Chester (Dennis Weaver), who is a refreshing character. They never played these episodes on television when I was younger. There still is Doc Adams  (Milburn Stone)and the astonishing Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake).

These episodes dealt with murder, rape, human trafficking, and plenty of Matt Dillon (James Arness) decking bad guys with his fist or the butt of his gun. They are 30 minutes long which is great. They got to the point quickly. Some of the stories were grim but matched the look of the series. It was an adult show at this time.

I was surprised at how rough, violent, and authentic they were and that is not knocking the later episodes but there is a huge difference. The violence was toned down as the series continued. The later color episodes centered more around the guest stars and the old black and white ones centered more on the local residents of Dodge City. That was by design because of the hour format…and some shows had some filler in them in that format.  

Have Gun Will Travel was also on CBS along with Gunsmoke. You will see some of the same character actors and sets. Some Have Gun Will Travel scenes were filmed in a redecorated Long Branch… Too bad there wasn’t a crossover at least once.

Chester…I’ve always liked Dennis Weaver as an actor…in McCloud, Duel, and anything he was in… He brings his character Chester alive as a real person. Chester had a limp on the show and Dennis Weaver said he would take yoga classes so he could do things like putting on a boot to look believable with a bad leg…he also put a pebble in his boot on his right foot so he would not forget which leg was lame. He said it took him months after Gunsmoke not to use the limp on camera because he was so used to it.

Chester could be lazy but he was invaluable and loyal to a fault to Matt Dillon. Dennis Weaver left the show after the 9th season with no explanation on what happened to Chester as was the way back then with TV shows. He was mentioned one time in the 20th season. Burt Reynolds joined the show for two years in seasons 8 and 9. He said it was his best experience in entertainment. The cast was extremely close. 

If you are a fan and have seen only the later episodes…check these out. It puts a new light on the show. Unlike other Westerns, Native Americans were not usually the bad guys in Gunsmoke. Matt Dillion was a good friend to many of them.

Here is a badly recorded clip of Matt Dillion, Chester, and Ken Curtis who would later take Chester’s place in the show and play Festus.

I grew up watching the hour-long color episodes (seasons 12-20) of Gunsmoke in reruns and I liked the show. Now I’m watching the first 6 seasons…they are black and white and very different. There is no Festus or Newly…we have Chester (Dennis Weaver) and he is a refreshing character. They just never played these episodes on television when I was younger. There still is Doc Adams  (Milburn Stone)and a very young good looking Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake).

These episodes dealt with murder, rape, human trafficking, and plenty of Matt Dillon (James Arness) decking bad guys with his fist or the butt of his gun. They are 30 minutes long which is great. They got to the point quickly. Some of the stories were grim but it matched the look of the series.

I was surprised at how rough, violent and authentic they were and that is not knocking the later episodes but there is a difference. The violence was toned down as the series continued.

The later color episodes centered more around the guest stars and the old black and white ones centered more on the local cast of Dodge City.

Have Gun Will Travel was also on CBS along with Gunsmoke. You will see some of the same character actors and sets. Some Have Gun Will Travel scenes were filmed in a redecorated Long Branch… Too bad there wasn’t a crossover at least once.

Chester…I’ve always liked Dennis Weaver as an actor…in McCloud, Duel and anything he was in… He brings his character Chester alive as a real person. Chester had a limp on the show and Dennis Weaver said he would take yoga classes so he could do things like putting on a boot look believable with a bad leg…he also put a pebble in his boot on his right foot so he would not forget which leg was lame.

Chester could be lazy but he was invaluable and loyal to a fault to Matt Dillon. Dennis Weaver left the show after the 9th season with no explanation on what happened to Chester as was the way back then with TV shows.

If you are a fan and have seen only the later episodes…check these out.