Gunsmoke

I’ve reviewed this TV Series before so I’m make a normal blog entry this time round. Until finally exceeded by the likes of The Simpsons, Gunsmoke starring the 6’ 7” James Arness as Matt Dillon was the longest-running TV series in history spawning literally scores of Westerns due to its success. Along with a revolving door of Deputies the show starred Milburn Stone as the acerbic Doc and Amanda Blake as the Madame and owner of the Long Branch who carried on a platonic love affair with the Marshall that kept watchers guessing for the entire run of the show.

Among the stock set-pieces that figured at the start of each show were the shoot-out on the same set where the famous gunfight in High Noon took place with Rodd Redwing playing the over-looked opponent and the meditative visits to Boot Hill where the men who opposed the Marshall lay buried. Rodd Redwing, it turns out was an expert weapons man noted for his ability to draw and fire accurately in 0.2 seconds hitting a quarter at 20 feet. It was he who taught Arness how to handle a gun along with many others.

Matt and Miss Kitty’s love affair must rank as one of the longest running cases of unrequited love but had they consummated the relationship millions of women would have had their hearts broken. My own Mother observed that in later years of the show’s run our aged neighbours across the road stayed up when the show was moved to 11 PM to Midnight.

Modern training regimens, drugs, and supplements have changed our image of what a handsome leading man should look like. When Matt Dillon has his standoff each week with his back to us we see no buns of steel, no well-shaped glutes thrusting against his buckskin breeches; indeed even when Doc patches him up we barely ever see any skin. No toned abs or rippling pecs, in those days actors kept their clothes on. Miss Kitty gets to wear strapless fashions that tend to show off her assets as do her girls. Although it is obvious she is running a brothel the closest we get to any action is the ocassional departure of a girl with her client.

One thing that has changed is attitudes toward smoking and tobacco. In those days actors did their own commercials on set barely breaking out of character hence in the supplements on the first disk we get to see Arness shilling for his favourite brand of unfiltered cigarettes. Still alive in his 87th year apparently he quit or beat the odds.