Question about "Gunsmoke"
Inanimate Carbon Rod
Land....
Over the holidays, I've been home more than usual and mid-day (12:00 noon
Pacific time), TV Land shows Gunsmoke. I've watched this show off and on
since I was a kid and watched it with my grandparents. While watching
recently, I got to wondering about something.
My question is this: why are there so many episodes that are Matt Dillion
only stories, or "town" stories, where Matt is absent. I assumed that the
"town" stories might be episodes where James Arness was away filming some
movie or another, but there seem to be just about as many episodes where
he's the only reoccurring character to appear on-screen. And occassionally,
there are episodes where the main reoccurring characters (Festus, Doc,
Kitty, Matt, etc.) don't even appear at all or hardly at all.
So, is there any rationale for this sort of schedule? Most group cast shows
rotate stories through the characters, but try to show everyone at some
point or another during the episode. Otherwise the egos get in the way,
right? ("he has more lines than I do!") But this show seems to violate this
"rule" big-time.
In my opinion, the best episodes are those where everyone is involved. The
best is probably the one where Matt was shot in the back and they whole
group is helping to transport him to Denver for surgery and the train is
stopped by robbers.
Ken from Chicago
"Inanimate Carbon Rod" <rocke...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:SAyIb.13577$lo3....@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> Granted, it's not a current TV show, but reruns are being shown on TV
> Land....
>
> Over the holidays, I've been home more than usual and mid-day (12:00 noon
> Pacific time), TV Land shows Gunsmoke. I've watched this show off and on
> since I was a kid and watched it with my grandparents. While watching
> recently, I got to wondering about something.
<snip>
I don't think this newsgroup is limited to only current tv shows.
-- Ken from Chicago
Joe Gillis
>My question is this: why are there so many episodes that are Matt Dillion
>only stories, or "town" stories, where Matt is absent. I assumed that the
>"town" stories might be episodes where James Arness was away filming some
>movie or another,
AFAIK, Arness didn't make any movies during the run of Gunsmoke, unless you
count his cameo in the classic shootout climax of Bob Hope's Alias Jesse James
(1959).
but there seem to be just about as many episodes where
>he's the only reoccurring character to appear on-screen. And occassionally,
>there are episodes where the main reoccurring characters (Festus, Doc,
>Kitty, Matt, etc.) don't even appear at all or hardly at all.
>
>So, is there any rationale for this sort of schedule? Most group cast shows
>rotate stories through the characters, but try to show everyone at some
>point or another during the episode. Otherwise the egos get in the way,
>right? ("he has more lines than I do!") But this show seems to violate this
>"rule" big-time.
>
Several possible reasons for this:
1) Ego. Each actor wants to be spotlighted, so unless the show was specifically
a "group" episode, the scriptwriters often would focus on one character (this
is also true of Bonanza). Remember, this was before Hill Street Blues
revolutionized prime time action shows with the soap-opera technique of
intercut stories, so non-group episodes would invariably center on one or two
characters at most.
2) Cost. Some actors may have been on per-episode or even daily contracts, so
the less they worked, the less money it cost the producers.
3) Logistics. It may have been easier on the production schedule if only one
star was needed per episode. Perhaps more than one episode was shooting at a
time, and it was physically impossible for all the cast members to be together
at the same time. James Drury has claimed that he sometimes shot scenes from
FOUR (!) different Virginian episodes in the same day, riding his horse from
one part of the Universal backlot to another.
4) Health. While an infantryman in WW2 Italy, James Arness was shot and
severely wounded, leaving one of his legs shorter than the other. The stuntwork
demanded of the star of an action show worsened his condition -- by the sixties
he had difficulty walking & was often in great pain on the set. While most
stars demand they get more scenes and dialogue, Arness started going to the
writers and asking them to give him LESS to do (James Garner would later do
this, and for the same reason, on The Rockford Files). So Gunsmoke began
specializing in scripts which gave guest stars almost all the work. From the
mid sixties (color episodes) on, there are dozens of episodes in which the
regular cast appears only intermittently and Arness himself only shows up in
the wraparounds.
These are just possibilities -- I'm not claiming they're the actual reasons.
The only one that is definitely applicable to Gunsmoke is #4, Arness' health.
=================================================
"I don't mind lying, but I HATE inaccuracy." -- Samuel Butler
Uniblab
news:SAyIb.13577$lo3....@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>
> only stories, or "town" stories, where Matt is absent. I assumed that the
> "town" stories might be episodes where James Arness was away filming some
> movie or another, but there seem to be just about as many episodes where
> he's the only reoccurring character to appear on-screen. And
occassionally,
> there are episodes where the main reoccurring characters (Festus, Doc,
> Kitty, Matt, etc.) don't even appear at all or hardly at all.
>
> So, is there any rationale for this sort of schedule?
TV Land only shows the last nine seasons, which are in color (there were 20
seasons in all). I believe the earlier episodes that TV Land doesn't show
have a greater number of "full cast" shows. But even then, there were
episodes where Arness only had a supporting role.
My theory (and it's just a theory): since shows produced more episodes per
season back then (over 30 vs. 22 these days), it was necessary to spread the
acting work around so that multiple episodes could be worked on at the same
time. As for the later seasons: perhaps Arness, after all those years
playing Matt, got a deal where he wouldn't have to appear in every episode
(like Angela Lansbury had for several seasons of "Murder, She Wrote"). Or
perhaps the writers were running out of stories, it was easier to start
treating the show as a sort of western anthology.
-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----
KazamaSmokers
Virginian" that only features the title character about half the time.
And, of course, "Maverick" split the stories between several leads.
Actually, a number of shows in the 60's and 70's used to do that. "The
Name of the Game" (great show) is the one that comes most prominently
to mind. Networks also used to run several revolving series under
umbrella titles, like "The Men" and "The Bold Ones".
John
James Arness Played Matt Dilion on Gumsmoke from 1955-1975 with the
Marshall Matt Dilion of Dodge City and the found Person's Name?
Kathy O'Connell
"Joe Gillis" <cinema...@aol.comedy> wrote in message
news:20031231092127...@mb-m12.aol.com...
> >
> >My question is this: why are there so many episodes that are Matt Dillion
> >only stories, or "town" stories, where Matt is absent. I assumed that the
> >"town" stories might be episodes where James Arness was away filming some
> >movie or another,
>
> AFAIK, Arness didn't make any movies during the run of Gunsmoke, unless
you
> count his cameo in the classic shootout climax of Bob Hope's Alias Jesse
James
> (1959).
Also "The First Traveling Saleslady," a DREADFUL musical starring Ginger
Rogers that featured Carol Channing and Clint Eastwood as the 2nd romantic
leads. Just picture that. Arness loses Ginger Rogers (a corset saleswoman
in the Old West) to Barry Nelson.
and
"Gun the Man Down" which co-starred Angie Dickinson
You can tell if it's a "Gunsmoke"-era Arness in the movies if his hair is
dark. Arness' natural hair color is blond.
>
> but there seem to be just about as many episodes where
> >he's the only reoccurring character to appear on-screen. And
occassionally,
> >there are episodes where the main reoccurring characters (Festus, Doc,
> >Kitty, Matt, etc.) don't even appear at all or hardly at all.
> >
> >So, is there any rationale for this sort of schedule? Most group cast
shows
> >rotate stories through the characters, but try to show everyone at some
> >point or another during the episode. Otherwise the egos get in the way,
> >right? ("he has more lines than I do!") But this show seems to violate
this
> >"rule" big-time.
> >
>
> Several possible reasons for this:
>
> 1) Ego. Each actor wants to be spotlighted, so unless the show was
specifically
> a "group" episode, the scriptwriters often would focus on one character
(this
> is also true of Bonanza). Remember, this was before Hill Street Blues
> revolutionized prime time action shows with the soap-opera technique of
> intercut stories, so non-group episodes would invariably center on one or
two
> characters at most.
>
SuzAnne & Gabor Barabas' "Gunsmoke" book (Macmillan Publishers) interviews a
whole lot of people involved with this show, and general consensus is that
this was a very NON ego-driven show. Arness seemed to see acting as
unimportant compared to family and surfing(!), so once the show had been on
forever and Arness was in a position of enormous power, he had it arranged
so that he could have a lot of time off.
I agree that the best episodes are the ones that feature the entire core
cast. My favorite episode ran on the Westerns Channel yesterday ("7 Hours
Till Dawn").
> 2) Cost. Some actors may have been on per-episode or even daily contracts,
so
> the less they worked, the less money it cost the producers.
>
> 3) Logistics. It may have been easier on the production schedule if only
one
> star was needed per episode. Perhaps more than one episode was shooting at
a
> time, and it was physically impossible for all the cast members to be
together
> at the same time. James Drury has claimed that he sometimes shot scenes
from
> FOUR (!) different Virginian episodes in the same day, riding his horse
from
> one part of the Universal backlot to another.
If you watch enough "Gunsmokes," you'll notice Matt Dillon's shirt never
changes unless it's a special occasion. Arness' scenes could be cut in
anywhere and the costume continuity would remain.
>
> 4) Health. While an infantryman in WW2 Italy, James Arness was shot and
> severely wounded, leaving one of his legs shorter than the other. The
stuntwork
> demanded of the star of an action show worsened his condition -- by the
sixties
> he had difficulty walking & was often in great pain on the set. While most
> stars demand they get more scenes and dialogue, Arness started going to
the
> writers and asking them to give him LESS to do (James Garner would later
do
> this, and for the same reason, on The Rockford Files). So Gunsmoke began
> specializing in scripts which gave guest stars almost all the work. From
the
> mid sixties (color episodes) on, there are dozens of episodes in which the
> regular cast appears only intermittently and Arness himself only shows up
in
> the wraparounds.
Yep. He was wounded at the Battle of Anzio. He worked closely with his
longtime stunt man. As the series goes on (and on and on) you can see his
walking get more difficult.
>
> These are just possibilities -- I'm not claiming they're the actual
reasons.
> The only one that is definitely applicable to Gunsmoke is #4, Arness'
health.
During the course of the run of "Gunsmoke" (1955-1975), Arness had a public
divorce where sued for and got custody of his children; Amanda Blake got
married and divorced several times. Milburn Stone had health problems
(replaced by Pat Hingle for awhile). And Dennis Weaver quit, came back, and
quit again. I'm sure these personal reasons contributed to the production
schedule as well. I saw one episode where Amanda Blake is missing in which
Sam the bartender (Glenn Strange) takes some of the expository dialogue that
would have gone to Kitty. Additional characters were added (Burt Reynolds
as Quint Asper, Ken Curtis as Festus) to take up some of the storylines.
Everybody has to love something. I love "Gunsmoke."
Uniblab
"Kathy O'Connell" <ocon...@pobox.upenn.edu> wrote in message
news:bsv3t6$5m6g$1...@netnews.upenn.edu...
>
> Everybody has to love something. I love "Gunsmoke."
>
series? I have always thought it a shame that the show is split into
multiple syndication packages, because the color shows (generally the
weakest, IMHO) are the ones the get rerun the most often. I really like the
hour-long B&W shows, which ran on the old CBN Family Channel years ago, and
have since moved to one of those smaller digital cable nets which I don't
get.
Brent McKee
"KazamaSmokers" <hunt...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:574b34e6.03123...@posting.google.com...
"Name of the Game" was a revolving series in all but name; one week
would feature Gene Barry as the owner of the publishing company, the
next week would feature Tony Franciosa as the star writer on one of
his magazines and the third would feature Robert Stack as the editor
on another publication. The only person who was regularly seen on all
three was a young starlet named Susan Saint James in one of her first
roles. This allowed them to make a ninety minute show with the same
basic theme and do 24 or 26 episodes a year for three years. Try
doing that with one star and something bad is going to happen.
--
Brent McKee
To reply by email, please remove the capital letters (S and N) from
the email address
"If we cease to judge this world, we may find ourselves, very quickly,
in one which is infinitely worse."
- Margaret Atwood
"Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic worldview - nothing more
constraining, more blinding to innovation, more destructive of
openness to novelty. "
- Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002)
Brent McKee
"Kathy O'Connell" <ocon...@pobox.upenn.edu> wrote in message
news:bsv3t6$5m6g$1...@netnews.upenn.edu...
>
> news:20031231092127...@mb-m12.aol.com...
> >
I seem to recall hearing the story that he was the first off the boat
at Anzio because he was the tallest man in his landing craft and his
CO's logic was that if Arness went in above his chest the other guys
would literally be in over their heads. Arness went in to his neck.
> > These are just possibilities -- I'm not claiming they're the
actual
> reasons.
> > The only one that is definitely applicable to Gunsmoke is #4,
Arness'
> health.
>
> During the course of the run of "Gunsmoke" (1955-1975), Arness had a
public
> divorce where sued for and got custody of his children; Amanda Blake
got
> married and divorced several times. Milburn Stone had health
problems
> (replaced by Pat Hingle for awhile). And Dennis Weaver quit, came
back, and
> quit again. I'm sure these personal reasons contributed to the
production
> schedule as well. I saw one episode where Amanda Blake is missing in
which
> Sam the bartender (Glenn Strange) takes some of the expository
dialogue that
> would have gone to Kitty. Additional characters were added (Burt
Reynolds
> as Quint Asper, Ken Curtis as Festus) to take up some of the
storylines.
Weren't Reynolds and Curtis brought in to eventually replace Weaver
but Reynolds wasn't happy with the character he was playing and was
replaced by the character of Newley.
There was another factor that basically mandated the "town" stories.
In the early 1970s there was the first of the periodic "anti-violence
in TV" campaigns and this one seems to have actually had an effect.
The town stories seemed in part to be a response to this -- an effort
to tell stories with the basic western theme but without as much
violence as they had in the earlier series. This was also reflected
in the show opening. Instead of Matt gunning down one of the series
of faster but less accurate gunmen, you had him riding full speed
across the prairie (a shot made when he heard that the show had been
cancelled) or the opening with the main street and the characters'
pictures in insets.
A great series and I wish I could see the black and white half hours
again.
Kathy O'Connell
"Uniblab" <uni...@uniblab.net> wrote in message
news:3ff349f9$1...@corp.newsgroups.com...
>
> "Kathy O'Connell" <ocon...@pobox.upenn.edu> wrote in message
> news:bsv3t6$5m6g$1...@netnews.upenn.edu...
> >
> > Everybody has to love something. I love "Gunsmoke."
> >
> Hey, Kathy -- since you're a big fan, what's your favorite era of the
> series? I have always thought it a shame that the show is split into
> multiple syndication packages, because the color shows (generally the
> weakest, IMHO) are the ones the get rerun the most often. I really like
the
> hour-long B&W shows, which ran on the old CBN Family Channel years ago,
and
> have since moved to one of those smaller digital cable nets which I don't
> get.
>
gorgeous glory. I guess that's my favorite time, before it too often turned
into "The Festus Show." Those shows were heavily focused on the ensemble.
The DVD's of the first season have just been released, and I have a fondness
for those early (1955-62, I believe) half hour B&W's as well, many of which
are stories from the radio series under the direction of John Meston, who
created the series.
Alas, my cable system doesn't carry TVLand (it's fate's cruel joke on me),
so I haven't seen color episodes in a long time outside of the ones offered
by the CBS Video Library.
In general, my favorite episodes are any that are Kitty-centric. (OT: her
beauty mark is missing in some of the early eps). And I hate to watch
anything from the last season when Amanda Blake left the show.