Marshal Matt Dillon keeps the peace in rough-and-tumble Dodge City.Marshal Matt Dillon keeps the peace in rough-and-tumble Dodge City.Marshal Matt Dillon keeps the peace in rough-and-tumble Dodge City.
- Won 5 Primetime Emmys
- 15 wins & 25 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe show was slated to be cancelled in 1967 due to low ratings, but CBS President William Paley, who was a big fan, reversed the decision. He moved the show from Saturdays to Mondays (cancelling Gilligan's Island (1964) in the process), placing it back in the Nielsen's Top Ten.
- GoofsThe real Dodge City is located on green, rolling plains in SW Kansas. The setting of the series is instead in a semi-arid, hilly/mountainous area.
- Quotes
[the teaser of the very first episode, "Matt Gets It."]
John Wayne: Good evening. My name's Wayne. Some of you may have seen me before. I hope so. I've been kicking around Hollywood a long time. I've made a lot of pictures out here. All kinds. Some of them have been westerns and that's what I'm here to tell you about tonight. A western. A new television show called "Gunsmoke". When I first heard about the show "Gunsmoke", I knew there was only one man to play in it. James Arness. He's a young fellow, and may be new to some of you. But I've worked with him and I predict he'll be a big star. And now, I'm proud to present "Gunsmoke".
- ConnectionsFeatured in CBS Fall Preview Special: Seven Wonderful Nights (1961)
- SoundtracksThe Old Trail
(uncredited)
Written by Rex Koury and Glenn Spencer
Aspen Fair Music, Incorporated (ASCAP)
People in the earlier episodes gave the impression that they were ordinary, hard working people who barely eked a living out of a hard land. They did what they had to do to get by, out on the lonely Kansas plains. When they met disaster, it was "implied" on screen and the viewer could use his imagination as to what happened. Those shows did not have all of the "Hollywood" glitz that pervaded later episodes.
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Sound mix