Gunsmoke

[birdguy 3,943]

According to what I could find on the internet Amanda Blake did play the part of Kitty on the first episode.  But she was just a saloon girl then.  On episode 27 she became the proprietor and owner of the Longbranch and wore the beauty mark for the first time.

Noel

[Fielder 3,681]

On 1/26/2024 at 5:00 AM, birdguy said:

According to what I could find on the internet Amanda Blake did play the part of Kitty on the first episode.  But she was just a saloon girl then.  On episode 27 she became the proprietor and owner of the Longbranch and wore the beauty mark for the first time.

Noel

By gosh you are right! I went back to check and was sure Kitty was played by someone else. But she was Kate, not Kitty. Kate owned the saloon back then.

Red arrow is Kate.

Green arrow is Kitty

She was so young looking, I didn't recognize Amanda Blake, LOL.

[birdguy 3,943]

I've seen two more early episodes of Gunsmoke last week.  Neither one was very good or in keeping with the later episodes.  Acting still kind of stiff and the actors haven't meshed yet.  But Kitty now owns the Longbranch and is Matt's woman but she hasn't got the beauty mark yet. 

On one of the episodes Matt suspects a man of a killing and jails him.  He claims his innocence and escapes.  He leaves Dodge and Matt goes after him..  He finds him and wounds him in the shoulder and brings him back to jail.  Then Matt finds out the guy actually is innocent and has to apologize for shooting him.

In the next episode I watched a gang of white men are stealing cattle from small ranchers and killing the family and making it look like Indians did it by scalping them.  Matt sets up a decoy ranch and lures the guys in.   Then he ambushes and kills three of them without warning.  The rest surrender.

Those plots wouldn't make it in the later episodes after the show caught on and matured.

Noel

[Patco Lch 1,466]

Now that Miss Kitty was one little gal who could sure hold her liquor. She could drink any time of day then all night entertaining cow pokes with no effect. And ole Doc. First thing in the mourning he would walk past Mat and Chester or Festus and ask them to join him at the Longbranch for a cold one. And how many cow pokes died right in front of Kitties bar due to a shootout. I believe if Marshall Dillon would close down the Longbranch and run Kitty out of town the homicide rate in Dodge would be cut about 3/4. Does anyone really think those ladies working there were just to sell drinks to the drovers? I suspect a town madam in cahoots with the town Marshall. Small town corruption. 

All in fun in case a devoted fan should take issue with this post and call me out to meet on Main Street at high noon.🤠

 

[Fielder 3,681]

Editorial in the Dodge City Daily News:

Deputy Festus is too busy telling entertaining anecdotes down at the saloon while the bank is being robbed. Chester has a bum leg and can't catch rioting cowboys. Doc has a soft heart and charges too little when bandits get wounded.

[LHookins 3,103]

14 hours ago, Patco Lch said:

Does anyone really think those ladies working there were just to sell drinks to the drovers?

I hate to admit how old I was when I first asked, "Wait... what kind of woman owns a saloon?"  They hid this *very* well.

I heard about an early episode when Chester is questioning why Miss Kitty knows so much about men.  "Mister Dillon" responds, "Chester, Kitty knows a LOT of men."  Apparently this happened twice in this episode.  I didn't see this one myself so someone else will have to verify it.

Hook

[charliearon 3,025]

Some interesting reading!

https://www.quora.com/On-Gunsmoke-why-were-the-women-of-the-Long-Branch-referred-to-as-saloon-girls-when-in-the-Old-West-they-were-more-likely-to-be-prostitutes-Miss-Kitty-excepted-Was-this-50s-TV-morals

[ViperPilot 81]

Gunsmoke is good; it had a Spin Off (remember Dirty Sally?), but personally I prefer Arness' and Manley's subsequent project, How The West Was Won. Zeb Macahan was one tough hombre.

[HiFlyer 9,362]

On 1/24/2024 at 8:07 PM, Zatoichi said:

The Rifleman, Bonanza, Paladin, Wanted, Dead or Alive. All great. Love Doc Stone.

My aunt watches those... (repeatedly)

[Mike A 338]

On 1/24/2024 at 5:07 PM, Zatoichi said:

Paladin

[Paul Deluca 164]

Rawhide, Tombstone Territory are the ones i watch.

[Adrian123 1,015]

Tales of Wells Fargo. "Im Jim Hardee. Wells Fargo pays me a good salary." 🙂

[Paul Deluca 164]

Other cowboy shows i remember growing up were, The Lawman, Sugarfoot, Trailmaster, Wagon Train, The Rebel.