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Gunsmoke - The First Season

starring: James Arness, Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone, Dennis Weaver

: Gunsmoke - The First Season
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
EAN: 0097368521346
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Black & White, NTSC
Label: Paramount
Manufacturer: Paramount
Number Of Items: 6
Publisher: Paramount
Region Code: 1
Release Date: July 17, 2007
Running Time: 1051 minutes
Sales Rank: 6157
Studio: Paramount
Theatrical Release Date: September 10, 1955



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Editorial Review:

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

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)





































Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Best TV western Ever
This is it. The real Gunsmoke. This is the half hour broadcasts heavy on drama and character acting ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - better than expected
My father grew up watching gunsmoke and I thought it would be another hokey cowboy show. I was pleasently ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - 1st Season Gunsmoke
This was purchased as a gift for my brother and if you like older TV shows this is a good buy.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - 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 ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Gunsmoke- The First Season
I would highly recommened this 39 episode set to all Gunsmoke fans. James Arness seems to be more involved in ... Read More

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Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.