You will probably never see this B&W season on TV again. James Arness, Dennis Weaver, Amanda Blake and Milburn Stone. Excellent!

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Product Description

Marshall Matt Dillon is responsible for keeping the law and respectability in Dodge City in this western action-drama. Gunsmoke captured the courage character and spirit of the Western Frontier.System Requirements:TRT: 1051 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097368521346 Manufacturer No: 852134

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11481 in DVD
• Brand: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
• Released on: 2007-07-17
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Black & White, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 6
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 1051 minutes

Amazon.com
A TV series doesn't get a more auspicious launch than did Gunsmoke, the first episode of which, broadcast on Sept. 10, 1955, was introduced by none other than John Wayne ("Some of you may have seen me before"). In this historic prologue (included in this first-season round-up), Wayne hypes Gunsmoke as "honest, adult, and realistic." Of James Arness, starring as United States Marshal Matt Dillon, Wayne predicts, "He'll be a big star, so you might as well get used to him." Viewers did more than get used to him. "Mr. Dillon," as his sidekick Chester (Dennis Weaver) calls him, became a television icon who literally stood tall as a steadfast, incorruptible symbol of justice through two of America's most tumultuous decades. The Bravo network ranked him among TV's 50 greatest characters. Gunsmoke was television's longest running Western, and Arness's 20-year stint as Dillon would be matched only by Kelsey Grammer's Frasier Crane (and, by the way, Milburn Stone, who costarred with Arness as crusty, "vinegar face" Doc Adams).

For those who grew up with Gunsmoke's full-hour color episodes, this first season will be something of a revelation. The show is in black and white, and, at a half-hour, lean and gritty. Not that Dodge City is Deadwood, by any means, but its reputation as "the Gomorrah of the plains," as Dillon notes in the first episode, is well earned. Most episodes begin with Dillon setting the stage, Dragnet-style, like a frontier Joe Friday. "A man will choose his gun quicker to make a point than he'll draw on his logic," he ruminates at one point. "That's where I come in." Gunsmoke has its share of shootouts and traditional Western action, but the best episodes are gripping psychological dramas. In "Reward for Matt," the embittered widow of a racist Dillon was forced to gun down puts a price on his head. In "The Killer," Dillon exposes a gunslinger (guest star Charles Bronson) for the coward he is. Even an otherwise light-hearted holiday episode, "Magnus," in which Chester's backwards, backwoods brother comes to visit, is darkened by a twisted man gunning for "wicked" dance hall woman Miss Kitty (Amanda Blake), queen of the Longbranch saloon (and a close friend of the marshal—just how close is only hinted at). John Wayne was right: More than 50 years later, Gunsmoke remains "the best thing of its kind to come along." --Donald Liebenson

Beyond Gunsmoke

More TV Westerns

50th Anniversary Collection

Director's Collection

Stills from Gunsmoke: The First Season (click for larger image)

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Customer Reviews

better than expected
My father grew up watching gunsmoke and I thought it would be another hokey cowboy show. I was pleasently surpised to find out that it was very well written and full of life lessons applicable to anytime and place.

1st Season Gunsmoke
This was purchased as a gift for my brother and if you like older TV shows this is a good buy.

See how it all began for the longest running dramatic series in the history of television!
"GUNSMOKE" premiered in 1955 and was canceled in 1975, for a total of 20 seasons and 635 episodes. It is one of the best, if not the best, television series of all time. Originally, it was in the black and white half hour format, then it went to black and white full hour, and finally to the beloved color full hour programming. The episodes in color are probably the best known to today's audiences. But I guarantee you that the episodes from the original black and white programming are just as good, and the first season is no exception. This great show also had an excellent cast. James Arness was Marshal Matt Dillon of Dodge City, Kansas, Amanda Blake was Miss Kitty Russell, a prostitute at first, and then later the full owner of The Long Branch. When the show first started out, Kitty was just a madame, or, as the show so cleverly disguised it, a "saloon girl". Over time, the many fans of the show began to see her profession as awkward, because how could she work in the saloon when there was a certain special relationship between her and Matt? Since the show was so strongly devoted to its fans, the writers changed Miss Kitty to at first half owner, and then later, full owner. However, the show never took Kitty and Matt's relationship to a higher level. It would be strange to see Marshal Dillon come home to a house full of kids, now wouldn't it? Also in the main cast were Dennis Weaver as Chester Goode, and Milburn Stone as Galen "Doc" Adams. Chester was not a deputy, but more of a helper to Matt. He was best known for his straight legged limp and his high pitched cries of "Mr. Dillon". Doc was a crusty and cantankerous old coot on the outside, but had a very good heart on the inside. The constant friendly badgering between Doc and Chester was always hilarious, so much that they eventually became somewhat of a comedy act. Unfortunately, Weaver left the show in 1964 to pursue other things. This is when the newer and more familiar to modern audience age of "Gunsmoke" was ushered in. When the show brought in Ken Curtis as Festus Haggen in 1959, Roger Ewing as Thad Greenwood in 1965, and Buck Taylor as Newly O'Brien in 1967. But I am not picky, and love any episode just as much as another. I shall look forward to all those episodes, some of which I have never seen. Other wonderful characteristics of this show were its impeccable use of guest stars, and transitioning the Western genre from the old serials of the 1940's to the adult Western. This show was actually the first adult television Western. The writers and producers attempt was to break away from the cliche-laden Lone Ranger to the realistic West. No masked men found here! The first season of "Gunsmoke" did not feature as much as it would later in the way of special guest stars, because it was just viewed as another Western. However, this first season did have several guest stars, such as John Dehner, Royal Dano, Aaron Spelling, Charles Bronson, and Strother Martin. The guest stars can be found more abundantly in later seasons, but it did not take long for the producers to realize the jackpot they had found for television. Below is a list of all the episodes that can be found in this 6-disc set.


1. MATT GETS IT (Series Pilot)

2. HOT SPELL

3. WORD OF HONOR

4. HOME SURGERY

5. OBIE TATER

6. NIGHT INCIDENT

7. SMOKING OUT THE NOLANS

8. KITE'S REWARD

9. THE HUNTER

10. THE QUEUE

11. GENERAL PARSLEY SMITH

12. MAGNUS

13. REED SURVIVES

14. PROFESSOR LUTE BONE

15. NO HANDCUFFS

16. REWARD FOR MATT

17. ROBIN HOOD

18. YORKY

19. 20-20

20. REUNION '78

21. HELPING HAND

22. TAP DAY FOR KITTY

23. INDIAN SCOUT

24. THE PEST HOLE

25. THE BIG BROAD

26. HACK PRINE

27. COOTER

28. THE KILLER

29. DOC'S REVENGE

30. THE PREACHER

31. HOW TO DIE FOR NOTHING

32. DUTCH GEORGE

33. PRAIRIE HAPPY

34. CHESTER'S MAIL ORDER BRIDE

35. THE GUITAR

36. CARA

37. MR. AND MRS. AMBER

38. UNMARKED GRAVE

39. ALARM AT PLEASANT VALLEY


Excellent show! The very best in television entertainment!


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THIS REVIEW IS DEDICATED TO ANYONE, LIVING OR DEAD, INVOLVED WITH THE MAKING OF "GUNSMOKE".