Gunsmoke (season 2)
Gunsmoke is an American Western television series developed by Charles Marquis Warren and based on the radio program of the same name.[1] The series ran for 20 seasons, making it the longest-running Western in television history.[2][3]
| Gunsmoke | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 39 |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 8, 1956 – June 29, 1957 |
| Season chronology | |
The first episode of season 2 aired in the United States on September 8, 1956, and the final episode aired on June 29, 1957. All episodes were broadcast in the U.S. by CBS.[4]
Season 2 of Gunsmoke was a half-hour program filmed in black-and-white, as one hour episodes were not introduced until season 7, and color episodes were not filmed until season 12.
Synopsis
Gunsmoke is set in and around Dodge City, Kansas, in the post-Civil War era and centers on United States Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) as he enforces law and order in the city. In its original format, the series also focuses on Dillon's friendship with three other citizens of Dodge City: Doctor Galen "Doc" Adams (Milburn Stone), the town's physician; Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake), saloon girl and later owner of the Long Branch Saloon; and Chester Goode (Dennis Weaver), Dillon's assistant.[5]
Cast and characters
Main
- James Arness as Matt Dillon
- Dennis Weaver as Chester
- Milburn Stone as Doc
- Amanda Blake as Kitty
Production
Season 2 was produced by Charles Marquis Warren (episodes 40–49, 51–52, 57) and Norman Macdonnell (episodes 50, 53–56, 58–78).
The first episode of season 2 was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, who directed 96 episodes during the series run, more than any other director.
Writing
Storylines would occasionally be taken from real-life events. Episode 4 of the season, "The Round Up" reflects an actual event that happened when Wild Bill Hickok accidentally shot his deputy Mike Williams.
Occasionally, the episode titles reflected verses or passages from the Bible. The title of episode 10, "Greater Love" is a reference to John 15:13 and is delivered by Doc in the final scene, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."[6] The title of episode 34, "Who Lives by the Sword" is a proverb derived from Matthew 26:52, "Then said Jesus unto him, 'Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.'"[7] Some titles were plays on words, such as episode 37, "The Man Who Would Be Marshal", which is a play on words of the short story The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling but is not based on it.[8]
Production design
Sometimes, set pieces were reused. For example, the hotel in episode 2, "Brush at Elkader", is the Dodge House. The reception desk is repositioned, but the staircase leading to the upstairs rooms has the same unusual Swiss chalet-style wooden balusters that are found in the Dodge House.[9]
Music
The melody playing at the end of the episode is the Irish air Garryowen, it was the marching tune for General George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry Regiment.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1 | "Cow Doctor" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : John Dunkel | September 8, 1956 | |
| Doc is called out to a farm for a medical emergency under false pretenses and becomes involved in an altercation. | ||||||
| 41 | 2 | "Brush at Elkader" | Ted Post | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Les Crutchfield | September 15, 1956 | |
| Matt and Chester track a killer that they know by name only to the small town of Elkader, where the people out of fear refuse to cooperate. | ||||||
| 42 | 3 | "Custer" | Ted Post | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Gil Doud | September 22, 1956 | |
| An overconfident Army deserter callously breaks the law and strongly believes there will be no repercussions, but soon his fate will be sealed. | ||||||
| 43 | 4 | "The Round Up" | Ted Post | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Sam Peckinpah | September 29, 1956 | |
| Matt refuses Dodge City merchant's request to hire more deputies to protect their interests during a round-up which lead to threats and danger for the Marshal. | ||||||
| 44 | 5 | "Young Man with a Gun" | Christian Nyby | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Winston Miller | October 20, 1956 | |
| Matt shoots and kills an arrogant gunfighter pursuing a reputation and now the gunman's inexperienced teen-aged brother comes to Dodge seeking revenge. | ||||||
| 45 | 6 | "Indian White" | Ted Post | Story by : Tom Hanley Screenplay by : David Victor and Herbert Little, Jr. | October 27, 1956 | |
| A twelve-year-old white boy must make a life decision, stay with the woman who claims he's her son or return to the Cheyenne Indians that raised him. | ||||||
| 46 | 7 | "How to Cure a Friend" | Ted Post | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Winston Miller | November 10, 1956 | |
| Townspeople tongues wag when they find out that Matt has vouched for his friend, a known gambler and gunman, to set-up shop in the Long Branch. | ||||||
| 47 | 8 | "Legal Revenge" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Sam Peckinpah | November 17, 1956 | |
| Doc suspects the wife of knifing her husband after he treats his badly infected leg and urges Matt to investigate when the man brandishes a gun. | ||||||
| 48 | 9 | "The Mistake" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Gil Doud | November 24, 1956 | |
| A troublesome man suspected of murder proclaims his innocence but needs Doc, who's out of town to establish his alibi. | ||||||
| 49 | 10 | "Greater Love" | Ted Post | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Winston Miller | December 1, 1956 | |
| Matt risks his own life when an outlaw takes Doc hostage and threatens to kill him if he does not help his wounded partner. | ||||||
| 50 | 11 | "No Indians" | Ted Post | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : John Dunkel | December 8, 1956 | |
| Dodge settlers are leaving after a rash of Pawnee Indian raids and when Matt investigates, he concludes it's something more shocking. | ||||||
| 51 | 12 | "Spring Term" | Ted Post | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : William F. Leicester | December 15, 1956 | |
| A man from Matt's past seeks revenge for the hanging of his partner and has hired a gunman to kill him, but the shooter makes a grave mistake. | ||||||
| 52 | 13 | "Poor Pearl" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Sam Peckinpah | December 22, 1956 | |
| A love triangle ends in unimaginable violence when two men court the same girl. | ||||||
| 53 | 14 | "Cholera" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Les Crutchfield | December 29, 1956 | |
| A recent outbreak of cholera is used as a weapon of revenge when a rancher terrorizes homesteaders off their land. | ||||||
| 54 | 15 | "Pucket's New Year" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | January 5, 1957 | |
| Matt and Chester rescue an old buffalo hunter who was abandoned and left for dead in the freezing cold temperatures on the prairie. | ||||||
| 55 | 16 | "The Cover Up" | William D. Russell | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : William N. Robson | January 12, 1957 | |
| Matt arrests an abusive rancher who killed two squatters on his land, and after he's jailed his guilt comes into question when a third nester is murdered. | ||||||
| 56 | 17 | "Sins of the Father" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : John Dunkel | January 19, 1957 | |
| A large imposing mountain man and his Arapahoe Indian wife, whose father led raids on the local settlers face untold prejudice at the hands of Dodge townsfolk, but it's her strength and resilience that overcome the intolerance. | ||||||
| 57 | 18 | "Kick Me" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Endre Bohem and Louis Vittes | January 26, 1957 | |
| A Kiowa Indian guide delivers his revenge by stalking the merciless outlaw that humiliated and dishonored him. | ||||||
| 58 | 19 | "Executioner" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Gil Doud | February 2, 1957 | |
| A vicious gunfighter brazenly kills an over-matched rancher, now the rancher's grief-stricken brother formulates a life-threatening plan to force Matt to settle the score. | ||||||
| 59 | 20 | "Gone Straight" | Ted Post | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Les Crutchfield | February 9, 1957 | |
| Matt is given the unpleasant task of serving a warrant on an ex-member of Billy the Kid's gang in the small town of Tascosa, Texas but problems arise when three men living completely normal lives fit the limited description supplied to him. | ||||||
| 60 | 21 | "Bloody Hands" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | February 16, 1957 | |
| Matt guns down three bank robbers in a fierce gunfight, and when the surviving member of the gang calls him a "butcher" it sends him into an emotional tailspin. | ||||||
| 61 | 22 | "Skid Row" | Ted Post | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Gil Doud | February 23, 1957 | |
| A young woman comes to Dodge in search of her fiancé who has become the town drunk after failing to prosper on his homestead. | ||||||
| 62 | 23 | "Sweet and Sour" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | March 2, 1957 | |
| Kitty warns Matt that the new girl in town is nothing but trouble, and her intuition proves correct when the flirtatious young lady manipulates her ardent admirers into facing off against each other in gunfights. | ||||||
| 63 | 24 | "Cain" | Ted Post | John Meston | March 9, 1957 | |
| A kind and charismatic stranger dying of heart failure stops in Dodge on his way to see the Arizona desert, but his demeanor changes drastically when a man from his past steps into the Long Branch. | ||||||
| 64 | 25 | "Bureaucrat" | Ted Post | Story by : John Meston Teleplay by : William F. Leicester | March 16, 1957 | |
| Matt's superior, a government official from Washington comes to Dodge to observe the Marshal's job performance and doesn't like what he sees. | ||||||
| 65 | 26 | "Last Fling" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | March 23, 1957 | |
| A cruel and verbally abusive farmer abandons his wife and heads to Dodge with his friend for one last fling, to drink his life savings away, but it's his determined spouse that will have the last word. | ||||||
| 66 | 27 | "Chester's Murder" | Ted Post | John Meston | March 30, 1957 | |
| The townspeople of Dodge suspect Chester of committing murder after he's knocked unconscious, and the belligerent drunkard he was escorting to jail is found shot to death lying next to him. | ||||||
| 67 | 28 | "The Photographer" | William D. Russell | John Dunkel | April 6, 1957 | |
| An arrogant photographer creates quite a stir in Dodge with his newfangled picture box, but his attempts to acquire sensational photographs are reprehensible which cause serious turmoil. | ||||||
| 68 | 29 | "Wrong Man" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | April 13, 1957 | |
| A miserable and cowardly homesteader mistakes a passer-by for a wanted outlaw and shoots him in the back to claim the $1,000 reward, but when he's told that he shot the wrong man he feverishly coerces his abused wife to verify his alibi. | ||||||
| 69 | 30 | "Big Girl Lost" | Ted Post | John Meston | April 20, 1957 | |
| A pompous well-to-do gentleman from Philadelphia comes to Dodge in search of his runaway fiancé whose family dismissed for being a ship captain's daughter. | ||||||
| 70 | 31 | "What the Whiskey Drummer Heard" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Story by : John Meston Teleplay by : Gil Doud | April 27, 1957 | |
| An odd whiskey salesman has valuable information for Matt, that he overheard a conversation between two men putting a $300 bounty on his head. | ||||||
| 71 | 32 | "Cheap Labor" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | May 4, 1957 | |
| An overbearing brother badgers and mistreats his sister, dominating her life and regarding her only as hired help which creates animosity when a new stranger in town shows her interest. | ||||||
| 72 | 33 | "Moon" | William D. Russell | John Meston | May 11, 1957 | |
| A crooked card dealer resorts to desperate measures to recover his gambling losses. | ||||||
| 73 | 34 | "Who Lives by the Sword" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | May 18, 1957 | |
| A loathsome gunslinger shoots and kills two of Dodge's beloved brothers and Matt's immediate emotional backlash sends the gunman reeling into despair. | ||||||
| 74 | 35 | "Uncle Oliver" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | May 25, 1957 | |
| An old codger brings his simpleton nephew to town and decides that he would be a good fit for Matt's assistant but when Chester gets ambushed, the big galoot can't be found, making him a questionable suspect. | ||||||
| 75 | 36 | "Daddy-O" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | June 1, 1957 | |
| Kitty is elated at first to finally meet her father, who abandoned her when she was born, but she grows increasingly cautious over his overbearing intentions. | ||||||
| 76 | 37 | "The Man Who Would Be Marshal" | William D. Russell | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : David Victor and Herbert Little, Jr. | June 15, 1957 | |
| A retired Army officer who has been approved for the job of marshal by the War Department, approaches Matt with an unusual request, "Quit, I want to be Marshal". | ||||||
| 77 | 38 | "Liar from Blackhawk" | Andrew V. McLaglen | John Meston | June 22, 1957 | |
| A newcomer in town craves respect and uses a pawn to pump-up his fake reputation as a gunman. | ||||||
| 78 | 39 | "Jealousy" | Andrew V. McLaglen | Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Sam Peckinpah | June 29, 1957 | |
| An injured card dealer spurned by Matt wants revenge and starts spreading rumors that the Marshal is courting his old friend's wife. | ||||||
Release
Home media
The second season was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment in two volumes. The first 20 episodes were released on January 8, 2008, and the remaining 19 episodes were released on May 27, 2008.
Reception
After failing to finish in the Nielsen ratings top 30 in its first season, Gunsmoke finished season 2 at number 8, the highest rated Western for the season.[10]
Awards and nominations
| Award | Year[lower-alpha 1] | Category | Nominee(s) / Work | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 1957 | Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series | James Arness | Nominated |
- Indicates the year of ceremony.
Footnotes
- Barbaras 1990, p. 74–75.
- Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 570–571.
- McNeil 1996, p. 351–352.
- Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 570.
- Barbaras 1990, p. 87–102.
- "Greater Love". Gunsmoke. Season 2. Episode 10. December 1, 1956. CBS.
- "Who Lives by the Sword". Gunsmoke. Season 2. Episode 34. May 18, 1957. CBS.
- "The Man Who Would Be Marshal". Gunsmoke. Season 2. Episode 37. June 15, 1957. CBS.
- "Brush at Elkader". Gunsmoke. Season 2. Episode 2. September 15, 1956. CBS.
-
- "1955-1956 TV Ratings". classictvguide.com.
- "1956-1957 TV Ratings". classictvguide.com.
References
- Barbaras, SuzAnne & Gabor (1990). Gunsmoke: A Complete History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-89950-418-3.
- Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
- Costello, Ben (2006). Gunsmoke: An American Institution. Chandler, Arizona: Five Star Publications, Inc. ISBN 978-1-58985-014-9.
- McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.