Gunsmoke (1955)

Directed by

Norman Macdonnell

Genre

Westerns on television

Country

United States

Length

20 seasons, 635 episodes

Rated

TV-G

Rating

6.7 of 10 from 113 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Marshal Matt Dillon keeps the peace in Dodge City, Kansas during the 1870s. The show follows his dealings with outlaws, townspeople, and the challenges of settling the American West.

classicseriousslow-burnatmosphericgrittygroundednostalgicepisodic

What happens

Gunsmoke is a media franchise centered around the American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television. The radio series ran from 1952 to 1961. John Dunning wrote that, among radio drama enthusiasts, "Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time." It ran unsponsored for its first few years, with CBS funding its production. In 1955, the series was adapted for television and ran for 20 seasons. It ran for half-hour episodes from 1955 to 1961, and one-hour episodes from 1961 to 1975. A total of 635 episodes were aired over its 20 year run, making it the longest-running scripted American primetime television series until being surpassed in episodes by The Simpsons. At the end of its run in 1975, Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith wrote: "Gunsmoke was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the west. Our own Iliad and Odyssey, created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp Western as romanticized by Buntline, Harte, and Twain. It was ever the stuff of legend." Five made-for-TV movies were produced after its 20-year run. The show won 15 Primetime Emmy Awards as well as other accolades. It was frequently well received, holding a top-10 spot in the Nielsen ratings for several seasons. The franchise also spawned comic book series as well as books and a collection of short stories by Ballantine Books. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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