Gunsmoke season 3

The third season of the American Western television series Gunsmoke aired in the United States between September 14 and June 7, 1958.^[1][2] The season consisted of 39 black-and-white 30 minute episodes. All episodes were broadcast in the U.S. by CBS, originally airing Saturdays at 10:00-10:30 pm (EST).^[3]

Gunsmoke
Season 3
Starring	James Arness Dennis Weaver Milburn Stone Amanda Blake
No. of episodes	39
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 14, 1957 (1957-09-14) – June 7, 1958 (1958-06-07)
Season chronology
List of episodes

Gunsmoke was developed by Charles Marquis Warren and based on the radio program of the same name.^[4] The series ran for 20 seasons, making it the longest-running Western in television history.^[5][6]

Synopsis

Gunsmoke is set in and around Dodge City, Kansas, in the post-Civil War era and centers on United States Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) as he enforces law and order in the city. In its original format, the series also focuses on Dillon's friendship with three other citizens of Dodge City: Doctor Galen "Doc" Adams (Milburn Stone), the town's physician; Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake), saloon girl and later owner of the Long Branch Saloon; and Chester Goode (Dennis Weaver), Dillon's assistant.^[7]

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Gunsmoke cast members

Main

• James Arness as Matt Dillon
• Dennis Weaver as Chester
• Milburn Stone as Doc
• Amanda Blake as Kitty

Production

Season 3 consisted of 39 half-hour black-and-white episodes produced by Norman Macdonnell.

The fight scene near the end of episode 18, "Buffalo Man", served as the basis for an educational film produced by the American Cinema Editors, called Film Editing: Interpretation & Values, used by film students all around the world.

Episodes

See also: List of Gunsmoke (TV series) episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
79	1	"Crack-Up"	Ted Post	John Meston	September 14, 1957 (1957-09-14)
Matt believes a hired gunman with a steel-nerved reputation has lost his confidence when he begins to act tense and anxious, which makes him even more dangerous.
80	2	"Gun for Chester"	Louis King	John Meston	September 21, 1957 (1957-09-21)
Chester recognizes a man that just rode into town as someone he knew back in Missouri and tells Matt that he's here to kill him.
81	3	"Blood Money"	Louis King	John Meston	September 28, 1957 (1957-09-28)
When an ungrateful curmudgeon learns that the cowboy who saved his life is wanted, he kills him for the reward and faces the backlash of Dodge's citizens.
82	4	"Kitty's Outlaw"	Andrew V. McLaglen	Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Kathleen Hite	October 5, 1957 (1957-10-05)
Kitty's old boyfriend, Cole Yankton comes to town to rob the bank.
83	5	"Potato Road"	Ted Post	John Meston	October 12, 1957 (1957-10-12)
An impoverished and desperate prairie family lures Matt and Chester out of town with a tale of murder.
84	6	"Jesse"	Andrew V. McLaglen	John Meston	October 19, 1957 (1957-10-19)
A young man comes to town seeking his father's unknown killer so he can avenge his death.
85	7	"Mavis McCloud"	Buzz Kulik	Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Kathleen Hite	October 26, 1957 (1957-10-26)
A beautiful young lady fresh from the east comes to Dodge to get married but falls prey to frontier violence.
86	8	"Born to Hang"	Buzz Kulik	John Meston	November 2, 1957 (1957-11-02)
An innocent drifter saved from lynching at the hands of two unrelenting ranchers is fixed on revenge.
87	9	"Romeo"	Ted Post	John Meston	November 9, 1957 (1957-11-09)
Inspired by the play Romeo and Juliet, the children of feuding family patriarchs fall in love.
88	10	"Never Pester Chester"	Richard Whorf	John Meston	November 16, 1957 (1957-11-16)
Matt hunts down two drifters who dragged Chester behind their horses and left him for dead.
89	11	"Fingered"	James Sheldon	John Meston	November 23, 1957 (1957-11-23)
An irritating townsman is suspicious of a rancher when his second wife vanishes just like his first.
90	12	"How to Kill a Woman"	John Rich	Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : David S. Peckinpah[A]	November 30, 1957 (1957-11-30)
Matt and Chester keep a close watch at a stage stop for a ruthless killer who is murdering stagecoach passengers in cold blood.
91	13	"Cows and Cribs"	Richard Whorf	Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Kathleen Hite	December 7, 1957 (1957-12-07)
A conscientious woman's plan to adopt a baby is jeopardized when Matt discovers her shiftless husband is involved in cattle rustling.
92	14	"Doc's Reward"	Richard Whorf	John Meston	December 14, 1957 (1957-12-14)
A guilt-ridden Doc kills an obstinate man who prevents him from providing aid to a badly injured patient and then teaches the dead man's revenge-seeking brother a lesson in civility.
93	15	"Kitty Lost"	Ted Post	John Meston	December 21, 1957 (1957-12-21)
Kitty is abandoned on the open prairie by an Eastern suitor.
94	16	"Twelfth Night"	John Rich	John Meston	December 28, 1957 (1957-12-28)
Matt gets caught in the middle of an Ozark-mountain family feud when the two remaining survivors come to Dodge City.
95	17	"Joe Phy"	Ted Post	John Meston	January 4, 1958 (1958-01-04)
When Matt and Chester track a killer to the small town of Elkader, they come upon a fraudulent U.S. Marshal who interferes with their investigation.
96	18	"Buffalo Man"	Ted Post	Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Les Crutchfield	January 11, 1958 (1958-01-11)
Matt and Chester ride out to a buffalo hunter's camp to investigate the death of a man Doc found earlier.
97	19	"Kitty Caught"	Richard Whorf	John Meston	January 18, 1958 (1958-01-18)
Kitty is taken hostage during a bank robbery by the Gunther brothers, and they warn Matt that if he follows, they will kill her.
98	20	"Claustrophobia"	Ted Post	John Meston	January 25, 1958 (1958-01-25)
Two cowboys employ unscrupulous methods to steal land from an elderly man, and when he retaliates Matt arrests him, but his fear of the tight confinement of jail creates a moral dilemma.
99	21	"Ma Tennis"	Buzz Kulik	John Meston	February 1, 1958 (1958-02-01)
A strong-willed woman frees her son from Matt's custody, but the Marshal is determined to bring him to justice.
100	22	"Sunday Supplement"	Richard Whorf	John Meston	February 8, 1958 (1958-02-08)
Two writers from New York come to Dodge looking for fascinating Western stories and when they don't find anything worth reporting, they create their own, one of which unwittingly causes an Indian uprising.
101	23	"Wild West"	Richard Whorf	John Meston	February 15, 1958 (1958-02-15)
A rancher's younger wife conspires with two men to kidnap her elderly husband and stake him out in the open prairie in an elaborate plan to steal his ranch.
102	24	"The Cabin"	John Rich	John Meston	February 22, 1958 (1958-02-22)
Matt seeks shelter from a blizzard in a cabin and encounters two psychopathic criminals who murdered the owner and enslaved and abused his daughter.
103	25	"Dirt"	Ted Post	Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : David S. Peckinpah[A]	March 1, 1958 (1958-03-01)
Matt investigates who shot a newlywed man just moments after his wedding.
104	26	"Dooley Surrenders"	John Rich	John Meston	March 8, 1958 (1958-03-08)
Matt sets out to clear a buffalo skinner, who was accused by his boss of murdering one of his hunting companions.
105	27	"Joke's on Us"	Ted Post	John Meston	March 15, 1958 (1958-03-15)
A man suspected of horse theft is hanged, but within minutes the perpetrators find out that he was innocent.
106	28	"Bottleman"	John Rich	John Meston	March 22, 1958 (1958-03-22)
For reasons only known to him, the town drunk attacks the new Faro dealer who just arrived in Dodge.
107	29	"Laughing Gas"	Ted Post	James Fonda	March 29, 1958 (1958-03-29)
The town bully is humiliated in a traveling show and seeks retribution.
108	30	"Texas Cowboys"	John Rich	John Meston	April 5, 1958 (1958-04-05)
A Texas trail boss is determined to prevent Matt from learning which one of his men is responsible for murder.
109	31	"Amy's Good Deed"	John Rich	Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Kathleen Hite	April 12, 1958 (1958-04-12)
A bitter old woman comes to Dodge to die and tells Matt, "You're going to kill me".
110	32	"Hanging Man"	John Rich	John Meston	April 19, 1958 (1958-04-19)
Dodge merchants are committing suicide but Matt suspects something more nefarious.
111	33	"Innocent Broad"	John Rich	Story by : John Meston Screenplay by : Kathleen Hite	April 26, 1958 (1958-04-26)
Matt attempts to save a young girl from making some bad decisions but her boyfriend causes trouble for all of them.
112	34	"The Big Con"	John Rich	John Meston	May 3, 1958 (1958-05-03)
Matt investigates three con artists who defraud the bank, but they flee taking Doc hostage.
113	35	"Widow's Mite"	Ted Post	John Meston	May 10, 1958 (1958-05-10)
Matt is suspicious of the intentions of a gentleman gambler, especially after he proposes to a recently widowed woman.
114	36	"Chester's Hanging"	Ted Post	John Meston	May 17, 1958 (1958-05-17)
Matt jails a wanted murderer, and his partner trying to avoid punishment attempts to break him out before the Marshal learns that he's also involved.
115	37	"Carmen"	Ted Post	John Meston	May 24, 1958 (1958-05-24)
An Army major threatens to put Dodge under martial law after soldiers transporting the Fort's payroll are killed in a robbery.
116	38	"Overland Express"	Seymour Berns	John Meston	May 31, 1958 (1958-05-31)
An outlaw masquerading as a passenger has plans to hold up a stagecoach full of riders including Matt and his prisoner.
117	39	"The Gentleman"	Ted Post	John Meston	June 7, 1958 (1958-06-07)
A charming and debonair gambler comes to Dodge and puts himself smack in the middle of a torrid relationship.

Release

Broadcast

Season three aired Saturdays at 10:00-10:30 pm (EST) on CBS.^[3]

Home media

The third season was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment in two volumes. The first 19 episodes were released on December 9, 2008 and the remaining 20 episodes were released on May 26, 2009.

Reception

Gunsmoke held the number one primetime spot in the Nielsen ratings four years straight, for the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons.^[8]

Awards and nominations

Award	Year[a]	Category	Nominee(s) / Work	Result	Ref(s)
Primetime Emmy Awards	1958	Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic or Comedy Series	James Arness	Nominated
		Best Continuing Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic or Comedy Series	Dennis Weaver	Nominated
		Best Dramatic Series with Continuing Characters	Gunsmoke	Won
		Best Editing of a Film for Television	Mike Pozen for "How to Kill a Woman"	Won
		Best Teleplay Writing (Half-Hour or Less)	John Meston for "Born to Hang"	Nominated

1. Indicates the year of ceremony.