Doing a review of Gunsmoke is a labor of love. 635 episodes over twenty years! Starred James Arness as Marshal Matt Dillon, the steadfast beacon of Dodge City, dogged in his pursuit of killers, thieves and villains. Amanda Blake portrayed the beautiful, fiery Miss Kitty Russell, the proprietor of the Long Branch saloon, and Milburn Stone as the curmudgeon Doc Adams, always stroking his face and patching up countless wounds. Marshal Dillon's sidekick was first Dennis Weaver as Chester Goode, the loyal helper with a limp who always seemed to encounter trouble. Burt Reynolds was Quint Asper, the half-breed blacksmith who could fight with his hands or a gun. And in Season 9, the introduction of Ken Curtis as Festus Haggen, Matt's deputy, the tough, whiskered companion, whose running verbal feuds with Doc Adams ( you ole scudder! ) were always of great amusement. In the early seasons of Gunsmoke, the introductory soliloquy by Matt Dillon as he walked ruefully through Boot Hill cemetery, reflecting on the unfortunate inhabitants, and remarking that men were quicker to draw their guns than to draw upon their logic in the face of danger. The acting was hallmark, the stories exciting and a great cast of characters who appeared in each episode, such as John Dehner, Darren McGavin, Steve Forrest, Morgan Woodward, Lee J. Cobb, John Anderson, Richard Kiley, Ricardo Montalban, Betty Davis, Bruce Dern, Nehemiah Persoff and James Gregory to name a select few. The show's themes of courage, redemption, justice, honor, revenge, love and loyalty stand as timeless monuments to the greatness of each week's episode. Gunsmoke defines the western genre as none other ever will!
