MATT DILLON takes "The Marshall's Gamble" (1956)

Here's a TV-inspired saga from Four Color Comics #769, back in 1956. The Grand Comics Database credits the art to Jim McLaughlin. 

Lawrence Welk plays more TV WESTERN THEME SONGS (1958)

More classic tunes from Champagne Larry's best ever LP. I posted the first four HERE. 

THEMES FROM THE "HIP" by Bud Wattles & His Orchestra (1959)

Here are four tracks from this 1959 LP that put a jazz spin on these TV Western theme themes. The others will appear here soon. Start snapping those fingers, you cowboy cool cats. 

YouTube Theater: GUNSMOKE Episode 2 - "Hot Spell"

YouTube Theater: GUNSMOKE episode 1 "Matt Gets It" (1955)

Here's news: Gunsmoke comes to the INSP Network with a July Marathon Kickoff. It starts July 8 at 2pm (all times Eastern) with Gunsmoke: To the Last Man. And here's what follows . . . 

·        Return to Dodge on July 16^th at 2pm 

·        Gunsmoke: All That on July 22^nd at 10 am

·        Gunsmoke: Long, Long Trail on July 22^nd at 11 am

·        Gunsmoke: The Squaw on July 22^nd at 12 pm

·        Gunsmoke: Chesterland on July 22^nd at 1 pm

·        Gunsmoke: Milly on July 22^nd at 4 pm

·        Gunsmoke: Indian Ford on July 22^nd at 5 pm

·        Gunsmoke: The Long Ride on July 23^rd at 2 pm

·        Gunsmoke: One Man’s Justice on July 23^rd at 10 pm

The OTHER James Arness

He wasn't ALWAYS Matt Dillon. Just 99% of the time.

(OK, you caught me. I couldn't resist just one Dillon pic.)

GUNSMOKE: Blood, Bullets and Buckskin by Joseph A. West

Once Gunsmoke jumped from the half-hour black and white format to the hour-long color episodes, I didn’t watch it much. When I did catch a show, I was left with the feeling Matt Dillon had gone soft, and eventually long in the tooth.

But this book, the first in a series of six by Joe West, turned me into a Gunsmoke fan again. The Dillon portrayed here is the tough-as-nails Marshal I remember from the black and white days. The only difference is he’s now running Dodge with the help of Festus instead of Chester.

And make no mistake, these characters really are Matt and Festus, and this really is Dodge. Some TV novelizations I’ve read feature generic cowboys just carrying the names of show characters. Not so here. The personalities, dialogue and rapport between Matt, Festus and Kitty are spot on, and Joe has done his research on Dodge, giving us a backdrop right out of the history books.

Here’s one of the first exchanges between our heroes:

     “When did you get in, Matthew?” the deputy asked.
     “Early this morning,” Matt replied.
     Festus’ right eye screwed up tight, as it always did did when he was thinking hard. “And them Plunkett boys?”
     Matt inclined his head along Front Street. “They’re laid out over to Percy Crump’s funeral parlor.” Matt hesitated, then said, “There was another with them, went by the name of Clem Beecham.”
     Festus nodded. “I’ve heard of that ranny. They say he’s plumb loco and a killer to boot.”
     “Not anymore he isn’t,” Matt said, a grim smile touching the corners of his mouth. “He’s over to Percy Crump’s as well.”

Matt, of course, is about to be hit with a fistful of trouble - in this case a pair of gambler/gunslingers who have an old score to settle with a father-son team of cattlemen. And he’s caught in the middle until the violence escalates to the point the must choose sides, putting his own life on the line in the cause of justice.

As a bonus, the book even has a Foreward by James Arness.

Blood, Bullets and Buckskin is a joy from start to finish, and I look forward to getting my mitts on the next book in the series, The Last Dog Soldier.

 Joseph A. West

Sing Along With . . . Gunsmoke

Here's your chance to practice up for your next visit to a Karaoke bar. Just click the arrow below to fire up the jukebox and hear Tex Ritter sing the Gunsmoke theme. Then join right in. (Extra points for harmonizing.)

Gunsmoke by Tex Ritter

Gunsmoke trail
Oh tell me of days gone by
So alone, you still wind your way
All the ghostly horsemen ridin’
As they speed the Eastern mail
It’s up to you to see them through
Gunsmoke trail

The gunsmoke now has faded from the blazin’ .44s
The stagecoach is rusted on the hill
The wagon wheels you used to feel
Will sing their song no more
The sound of the caravan is stilled

Gunsmoke trail
No traveler can tell where you go
Sands of time are hidin’ your way
Then if heaven ever let you
You could tell a rugged tale
That’s why I hate to see you fade
Gunsmoke trail

And if heaven ever let you
You could tell a rugged tale
That’s why I hate to see you fade
Gunsmoke trail