My name is Jim Hendrickson and I have list of things I am trying to collect and it must be complete,my friends have called me a completeist(my spelling)for many years and this is my blog. I cover just about everything, so you never know what will show up here. I have very eclectic taste ranging from pop music to history to horse racing and many more things that catch my interest. Come along and see whats out there.
Dennis Cullen, raised as a white boy but really an Indian, leaves to join the Cheyenne during an Indian uprising. The script was used on the Gunsmoke television series October 27th 1956
"Bohannan" September 25th 1972 Season 18 episode 3 From the latter seasons comes an interesting story of a "faith healer" (Richard Kiley) who comes to doubt himself when ask to really cure a boy (Vincent Van Patten) with a genetic disorder.
The 1957-58 season was the 3rd season for Gunsmoke on CBS television and its first as the #1 show on television. This was the first of 4 consecutive seasons as the top rated show on tv and set the record that would not be matched until "All in the Family" spent 5 consecutive seasons as the #1 show from 1972-1976.
Here is episode #12 of the 3rd season titled "How To Kill a Woman" with guest star and future western icon Pernell Roberts. Roberts would soon become a star with another top rated western tv show, "Bonanza", which had 3 straight seasons at the biggest show on tv (1964-1967).
September 10th 1955, CBS television debuted its version of the already popular radio western "Gunmsoke". With James Arness cast as US Marshall Matt Dillon of Dodge the show would be a mainstay of US television until its final episode on March 31st 1975 (a then record of 20 years on prime time television).
The debut episode, "Matt Gets It" was introduced to the US audience by John Wayne, which lent an air of credence to James Arness as Matt Dillon. His portrayal of Dillon was in the vein of the radio version created by William Conrad, but over the ensuing the years Arness molded the character to more of his personality and less bitter about life and people. CBS' in later years would tone down the violence seen in the first few seasons of Gunsmoke and it became more of a character drama than western. In the beginning many of the radio scripts with small changes were used and by the 3rd season was the #1 program on primetime television. Gunsmoke paved the way for a slew of "adult" westerns with good scripts and believable situations with the good guy not always winning or getting the girl.
Today on its 60th birthday "Gunsmoke" is still seen as a high point in drama and westerns on TV and in 1958 was awarded the Emmy Award for Best Dramatic Series. In 1959 the Emmy Awards added a category for Best Western Series, thanks to the popularity of Gunsmoke every network had several on their schedule, but they lost to ABC's "Maverick".
Even today Gunsmoke is seen on at least 3 different networks everyday, ME-TV, TVLand and Starz Westerns, proving that some shows are so good they transcend generations.
After being bluffed into fleeing Dodge City, 3 con men take Doc hostage as they run from Marshall Dillon.
The TV version of this episode has Joseph Kearns, legendary radio actor, as Mr. Papp the banker in charge. Joe Kearns voice such characters as Ed the vault guard on the Jack Benny Show and The Man in Black narrator on the early seasons of Suspense. He went on to be remembered by the TV generation as Mr. Wilson on Dennis the Menace.
In an ironic twist one of the con men taking the banker for money was Raymond Bailey, better known to TV audiences as Mr. Drysdale the banker on The Beverly Hillbillies.
Miss Kitty arrives in Dodge after a visit to Elsworth, with news that the stage she was traveling on had been robbed. The modus operandi fits Teddy Blue Fish, a modern Robin Hood who robs from the rich, while sparing the women and the poor. As in Kitty's case, the robber stole the strong box containing $500 and took all of banker Botkin's money, but left the other two passengers and Kitty alone. He was a perfect gentleman and well disguised, wearing a flour sack over his head. Matt is in a quandry since no one has been able to get enough evidence to get Fish, and being sort of a gentleman bandit, people feel obliged to protect him.
Gunsmoke on TV
"Robin Hood"
Season 1 episode 17
aired February 4th 1956
John Henry Jordan has 19 arrests to his credit, ranging from robbery to murder, but he consistently confounds the law by avoiding convictions. The secret of his success is that he robs from the rich and not the poor. Henry is no altruist, however, but rather a scheming criminal who buys the loyalty of potential witnesses in this manner. Every time he goes to trial they give conflicting testimony to protect him. Jordan enjoys his bounties in Dodge until Matt discovers a way to turn the tables against the so-called Robin Hood.
A bank robber masquerading as a respectable citizen of Dodge is thwarted in his plans by Tobeel, an embittered Indian upon whom he perpetrated a cruel joke. As a result, the robber kills Tobeel, but the Indian's death is the catalyst for his own doom.
Our show this week is "Suspense" and its to celebrate what would have been the 94th birthday of a radio legend, William Conrad. Famous for being Marshall Matt Dillon on the radio version of "Gunsmoke" during its entire run from 1952 to 1960. He was also know for being in almost every dramatic show on radio at some point, the narrator of "Escape", roles in "X Minus One", etc., he narrated this classic episode :
This week's presentation of Gunsmoke on Radio and Television is the episode that was the television version's season 4 premiere. The 1958-59 television season would be the 2nd of 4 straight seasons that Gunsmoke was the #1 show on prime time network television.
Season 3 of Gunsmoke on television, 1957-58, was the first of 4 consecutive seasons at the #1 show on network prime time television. Gunsmoke aired on CBS at 10pm on Saturday night.
Buffalo Man
Season 3 episode 18
aired January 11th 1958
(with Jack Klugman as Ticks and John Anderson as Siple)
John Anderson was honored by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and presented with a Western Heritage Award in 1967 for his years of work in television and movie westerns. The long fight scene filmed for this episode was used by the U.S.C Film School as well as other film schools in the US to train student film editors.
