"Gunsmoke" wasn't a "kiddie" Western, with sweet "cowgirls" in skirts; the not-very-masculine, sometimes chubby * men who serenaded them; and the crimes were mostly against property, committed by evil agro-capitalists. The //threat// of murder was common, but the act rare. Naturally, there was no mention of prostitution, drug addiction, or the heavy drinking and barroom brawls. And cowboys kissed their horses, but never each other.
The most-basic element of "Gunsmoke" was its emphasis on just how violent the American West was. The villains weren't just "bad guys" but often psychos and maniacs. John Meston wrote many good stories about them, ** and this is one of the best.
Matt Dillon is confronted with a terrible moral dilemma -- a man enjoys provoking people into drawing first, so he can legally kill them -- then brags about it. Matt has to find some way to, in effect, murder the guy and get away with it. His solution shows a solid understanding of human nature and psychology, a skill he will display throughout the series.
Forget the fact that Charles Bronson was, //at best//, a thoroughly unconvincing actor. The story //works//. Directed by Robert Stevenson (who made a couple of good feature films, and was later Disney's "house" director), it moves along without any fuss to its violent ending.
A must-see.
* Larry McMurtry makes a snide remark about Gene Autry's BMI in "Horseman, Pass By".
** He's given story credit, with the script written by someone else. But the story is ur-Meston.
The most-basic element of "Gunsmoke" was its emphasis on just how violent the American West was. The villains weren't just "bad guys" but often psychos and maniacs. John Meston wrote many good stories about them, ** and this is one of the best.
Matt Dillon is confronted with a terrible moral dilemma -- a man enjoys provoking people into drawing first, so he can legally kill them -- then brags about it. Matt has to find some way to, in effect, murder the guy and get away with it. His solution shows a solid understanding of human nature and psychology, a skill he will display throughout the series.
Forget the fact that Charles Bronson was, //at best//, a thoroughly unconvincing actor. The story //works//. Directed by Robert Stevenson (who made a couple of good feature films, and was later Disney's "house" director), it moves along without any fuss to its violent ending.
A must-see.
* Larry McMurtry makes a snide remark about Gene Autry's BMI in "Horseman, Pass By".
** He's given story credit, with the script written by someone else. But the story is ur-Meston.