Do You Remember The First ‘Gunsmoke’ Episode That Was Broadcast in Color?
Gunsmoke got a whole lot more colorful when its twelfth season debuted Sept. 17, 1966. For the first time, the adventures of Marshal Matt Dillon, Miss Kitty, Doc, Festus, and the gang would be broadcast in color, requiring some big changes for its actors, their costumes, and the Gunsmoke intro. Here’s what happened when Gunsmoke debuted its first color episode, “Snap Decision,” which sees Marshal Dillon in a major crisis.
What changes did the new technology require?
TV Guide/courtesy Everett Collection
According to Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty, no real changes happened on the Gunsmoke sets, which she said merely served “as a frame for the characters.” But her character literally underwent an overhaul from head to toe.
To accommodate the show’s earlier black-and-white seasons, Blake mostly wore red for the most dramatic contrast. Now that she’d be shot in color, Blake’s natural auburn hair was made, as she described it, “brassier” to showcase the new color technology. Her wardrobe shifted from crimson dresses to shimmery gowns in vibrant jewel tones of orange, purples, and emerald greens to showcase her coppery tresses.
Blake’s make-up also intensified with her signature beauty mark touched up before each shoot. According to Blake, the entire transformation took about two hours. In addition to Kitty’s glow-up, Gunsmoke’s opening scenes needed to be reshot in color.
What happened on the Gunsmoke episode “Snap Decision”?
To showcase its transformation to color, the Gunsmoke writers presented a doozy of a storyline that sees James Arness‘s Marshal Matt Dillon shoot down his longtime friend and former Army buddy, Ray Gilcher (Sam Gilman), who had turned to a life of crime. Unbeknownst to the marshal, as the two reminisced about their Army days, he was about to be fired on by a sniper. Gilcher, who lunged for his rifle, was actually aiming at the gunman, not his good friend.
Overcome with guilt, Matt promises the dying Gilcher that he’ll lay down his guns, give up his job as marshal, and retreat to a room in Dodge City. Meanwhile, his replacement must deal with a bounty hunter and another newcomer who claims he’s Gilcher’s son. Dillon tries to befriend the young man, but the bounty hunter has a secret that could change everything for all involved.
How many more seasons did Gunsmoke air in color?
GUNSMOKE, Buck Taylor, James Arness, Ken Curtis, Glenn Strange. Everett Collection
Gunsmoke would broadcast eight seasons in full color, adding two more Emmy nominations plus a supporting actor win for Milburn Stone, who played Doc, to its tally of 15 wins and 25 nominations. Though it aired its final episode in 1975, Gunsmoke lived on in a trio of TV movies, Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (1987), Gunsmoke: The Last Apache (1990), and Gunsmoke: To The Last Man (1992). Only the first film featured Miss Kitty, as Marshal Dillon moved to Arizona to live life as a family man.
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TV Westerns of the 50's & 60's
September 2021
’50s and ’60s TV Westerns roundup, celebrating the shows and stars of their golden age.
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