Films/DVD Asylum

Early Gunsmoke ... John Meston

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Been watching the early episodes of Gunsmoke on DVD (Season 1 - 3) ... Black & White half hour episodes.
Comments ... John Meston was one hell of a writer. This series was way ahead of it's time for something that was filmed in the late 1950's.
Episodes that stuck in my mind ... there were many others
* BLOODY HANDS ... When Marshal Dillon kills 3 men of an outlaw gang, he begins to suffer a nervous breakdown because of all men he has killed in the past. [How does one learn to live with killing so many men, even in the line of duty]
* WHAT the WHISKEY DRUMMER HEARD ... A weird whiskey drummer named Wilbur Hawkins makes a claim to Matt that he overheard a man making a offer to pay 300 dollars to kill him, and shortly thereafter an attempt is made on Matt's life. [covers the subject of a serial killer].
*GUN FOR CHESTER ... Chester claims the new stranger in town is really there to kill him and Matt investigates, but remains skeptical even after Chester is shot in the arm by an unseen person. (Chester had killed somebody's relative before in a drunken bar room Gunfight ... but he won't talk about it to Matt ... did he feel guilty about it?)
*KITTY's OUTLAW ... Kitty is suspected of being an accomplice when she leads Matt to a restaurant on the edge of town, and the stranger she has been seeing, robs the bank. [Was she trying to help an old love?]
Gunsmoke was rather dark & more like "film noir" in the early days. It was characterized as an "Adult Western" ... I have to agree.
John Meston was once quoted as saying (in reference to Gunsmoke) "If I had known it would last this long, I would never have created the darn thing."
I for one am glad he did create it ... very talented writer. He wrote 196 of the 635 episodes produced for television between 1955 and 1975

If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are.
--Zen Proverb

Edits: 01/05/12

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