# Gunsmoke season 19

Gunsmoke is an American Western television series developed by Charles Marquis Warren and based on the radio program of the same name. The series ran for 20 seasons, making it the longest-running Western in television history.
The first episode of season 19 aired in the United States on September 10, 1973, and the final episode aired on April 1, 1974. All episodes were broadcast in the U.S. by CBS.
Season 19 of Gunsmoke was the eighth season of color episodes. Previous seasons were filmed in black-and-white.

## 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 deputy Festus Haggen (Ken Curtis); 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 deputy Newly O'Brien (Buck Taylor).

## Cast and characters
### Main

* James Arness as Matt Dillon
* Ken Curtis as Festus
* Milburn Stone as Doc
* Amanda Blake as Kitty
* Buck Taylor as Newly

## Production

Season 19 consisted of 24 one-hour color episodes produced by executive producer John Mantley along with producer Leonard Katzman an associate producer Ron Honthaner.
William Conrad, who was cast as the voice of Matt Dillon in the original Gunsmoke Radio series, provides narration at the beginning of both parts of episode 1 & 2, "Women for Sale" (parts 1 & 2).

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 588 | 1 | "Women for Sale (Part 1)" | Vincent McEveety | Jim Byrnes | September 10, 1973 (1973-09-10) |
| Matt tracks down white-slave traders led by Timothy Fitzpatrick (James Whitmore) and Comancheros led by Blue Jacket (Gregory Sierra) who abducted young Cynthia Emery (Kathleen Cody) just a few miles from Dodge. On the way to Mexico, he rescues an orphaned girl Marcy McCloud (Dawn Lyn), and saloon gal Stella Silks (Shani Wallis). ||||||
| 589 | 2 | "Women for Sale (Part 2)" | Vincent McEveety | Jim Byrnes | September 17, 1973 (1973-09-17) |
| Matt continues his pursuit of white-slave traders. ||||||
| 590 | 3 | "Matt's Love Story" | Gunnar Hellström | Ron Bishop | September 24, 1973 (1973-09-24) |
| While tracking renegade Les Dean (Victor French), Matt takes a grazing bullet to the skull causing amnesia. He is found by a young widow, Mike Yardner (Michael Learned), and they fall in love. They must then deal with neighboring rancher, Starcourt (Keith Andes), who will stop at nothing to take Mike's land. ||||||
| 591 | 4 | "The Boy and the Sinner" | Bernard McEveety | Hal Sitowitz | October 1, 1973 (1973-10-01) |
| Farm boy Colby Eaton (Vincent Van Patten) tries to stop Noah Beal (Ron Moody) from giving up his honor for booze, and to keep Jess Bradman (Ken Lynch) from swindling away Noah's land. ||||||
| 592 | 5 | "The Widow-Maker" | Bernard McEveety | Paul F. Edwards | October 8, 1973 (1973-10-08) |
| An ex-gunman known as The Widowmaker, Scott Coltrane (Steve Forrest), is unable to put his reputation behind him and settle down with his wife Teresa (Barra Grant). Even after returning from obscurity, other gunslingers like Kid Chama (Randolph Roberts) continue to seek him out, forcing Matt to decide if he will run Coltrane out of Dodge. ||||||
| 593 | 6 | "Kitty's Love Affair" | Vincent McEveety | Story by : Joan E. Gessler & Susan Kotar Screenplay by : Paul Savage | October 22, 1973 (1973-10-22) |
| Reformed gunfighter Will Stambridge (Richard Kiley) begins a courtship with Kitty, but he has a $1,000 price on his head from the mother of one of his victims. ||||||
| 594 | 7 | "The Widow and the Rogue" | Bernard McEveety | Story by : Harvey Marlowe and Paul Savage Screenplay by : Paul Savage | October 29, 1973 (1973-10-29) |
| Festus takes the charming, unethical petty thief J.J. Honegger (James Stacy) back to Dodge, but must rely on him to protect the widow Martha Cunningham (Beth Brickell) and her son Caleb (Clay O'Brien). ||||||
| 595 | 8 | "A Game of Death...An Act of Love (Part 1)" | Gunnar Hellström | Paul F. Edwards | November 5, 1973 (1973-11-05) |
| Cattleman Bear Sanderson (Morgan Woodward) seeks vengeance against the Indians he suspects of killing his wife Lavinia Sanderson (Whitney Blake). His daughter Cora Sanderson (Donna Mills), and Matt, eventually convince "back-east" lawyer Cicero Wolfe (Paul Stevens) to defend the alleged renegades when no one else in Kansas will. ||||||
| 596 | 9 | "A Game of Death...An Act of Love (Part 2)" | Gunnar Hellström | Paul F. Edwards | November 12, 1973 (1973-11-12) |
| The Indians accused of murdering a cattleman's wife stand trial. ||||||
| 597 | 10 | "Lynch Town" | Bernard McEveety | Story by : Anne Snyder & Joann Carlino Screenplay by : Calvin Clements, Sr. | November 19, 1973 (1973-11-19) |
| Alcoholic Judge Warfield (David Wayne) is forced by Matt to hold an inquest into the death of a female saloon-keeper that resulted in the lynching of innocent drifter, Jake Fielder (Ken Swofford). The presence of the drifter's son, Rob Fielder (Mitch Vogel), doesn't make matters any easier for the judge. ||||||
| 598 | 11 | "The Hanging of Newly O'Brien" | Alf Kjellin | Calvin Clements, Sr. | November 26, 1973 (1973-11-26) |
| A backwoods community led by Kermit (Billy Green Bush) wants to hang Newly for a failed emergency operation he performed on Grandpa (Rusty Lane) to try and save his life. ||||||
| 599 | 12 | "Susan Was Evil" | Bernard McEveety | William Keys | December 3, 1973 (1973-12-03) |
| Matt asks Nellie (Kathleen Nolan) and her niece Susan (Kathy Cannon) to take care of wounded outlaw Boswell (Art Lund) at a stage coach line house. However for Susan, Boswells arrival ruins her plan to escape to the big city. ||||||
| 600 | 13 | "The Deadly Innocent" | Bernard McEveety | Calvin Clements, Sr. | December 17, 1973 (1973-12-17) |
| A mentally challenged young man, Billy (Russell Wiggins), struggles to live as an adult. After he attacks Barnett (Charles Dierkop) for cruelty to animals, Billy's fate must be decided by the authorities, with the help of his friend, Festus. ||||||
| 601 | 14 | "The Child Between" | Irving J. Moore | Harry Kronman | December 24, 1973 (1973-12-24) |
| Newly tries to help care for the sick baby of wanted man Lew Harrod (Sam Groom) and his untrusting Comanche wife Makesha (Alexandra Morgan), who distrusts the medicine of the white man, even to the point of endangering her own tribe. ||||||
| 602 | 15 | "A Family of Killers" | Gunnar Hellström | William Keys | January 14, 1974 (1974-01-14) |
| Matt and U.S. Marshal Bob Hargraves (Glenn Corbett) team up to hunt a family of particularly sadistic outlaws led by Elton Sutterfield (Anthony Caruso). ||||||
| 603 | 16 | "Like Old Times" | Irving J. Moore | Richard Fielder | January 21, 1974 (1974-01-21) |
| Reformed safecracker Ben Rando (Nehemiah Persoff) tries to start his life over with his gal Carrie (Gloria DeHaven) after serving a 12-year prison term, only to be tempted yet again to do one last job. ||||||
| 604 | 17 | "The Town Tamers" | Gunnar Hellström | Paul Savage | January 28, 1974 (1974-01-28) |
| Matt and fellow marshal Luke Rumbaugh (Jim Davis) attempt to bring justice to the frontier town of Hint, but Badger's (Leo Gordon) bunch plan to ambush Luke to get him out of the way permanently. ||||||
| 605 | 18 | "The Foundling" | Bernard McEveety | Jim Byrnes | February 11, 1974 (1974-02-11) |
| Matt must find a home for Lettie's (Kay Lenz) unwanted baby girl, offering her to Maylee (Bonnie Bartlett) after killing her husband Eli Baines (Don Collier). However, Kitty has already become attached to the baby. ||||||
| 606 | 19 | "The Iron Blood of Courage" | Gunnar Hellström | Ron Bishop | February 18, 1974 (1974-02-18) |
| Gunfighter William E. Talley (Eric Braeden) is hired by Burdette (Lloyd Bochner) to settle a disagreement over water rights between his homestead clients, and rancher Shaw Anderson (Gene Evans). However, Talley's wife Ellie (Mariette Hartley) and daughter Ronilou have already met and befriended Shaw's Kiowa wife Mignon (Míriam Colón), complicating the inevitable showdown. ||||||
| 607 | 20 | "The Schoolmarm" | Bernard McEveety | Dick Nelson | February 25, 1974 (1974-02-25) |
| Unmarried schoolteacher Sara Merkle (Charlotte Stewart) is told by Doc that she is pregnant, after being raped by Jack Stokes (Scott Walker). Her trouble escalates even further when her admirer Carl Pruitt (Lin McCarthy) tries to help. ||||||
| 608 | 21 | "Trail of Bloodshed" | Bernard McEveety | Story by : Earl W. Wallace Screenplay by : Paul Savage | March 4, 1974 (1974-03-04) |
| Young farmer Buck Henry (Kurt Russell) sets out to find the man who killed his father John Woolfe (Larry Pennell), his own renegade uncle, Rance Woolfe (Tom Simcox). Festus and Buck Henry's gal, Joanie Brodie (Janet Baldwin) also get involved in the hunt. ||||||
| 609 | 22 | "Cowtown Hustler" | Gunnar Hellström | Jim Byrnes | March 11, 1974 (1974-03-11) |
| Has-been pool player Moses Darby (Jack Albertson) looks for a way to regain others' respect. Dave Rope (Jonathan Goldsmith Lippe), promising his gal Sally (Nellie Bellflower) that he will "hit it big", convinces Darby that he will be back on top if they partner-up and hustle his skill in Dodge against Willie Tomsen (John Davis Chandler). ||||||
| 610 | 23 | "To Ride a Yeller Horse" | Vincent McEveety | Calvin Clements, Sr. | March 18, 1974 (1974-03-18) |
| Scheming mother Mrs. Shepherd (Louise Latham) will stop at nothing to fulfill her own dreams for her daughter Anna May (Kathleen Cody) and son Chester (Thomas Leopold), even to the point of provoking a dangerous confrontation between Anna's admirer Newly, and the ranch hand Orlo. And yet, memories of one who rode a yellow horse still haunts Mrs. Shepherd's mind. ||||||
| 611 | 24 | "The Disciple" | Gunnar Hellström | Shimon Wincelberg | April 1, 1974 (1974-04-01) |
| Matt's life is changed during a bank robbery after his gun arm is seriously wounded. As the outlaws are gunning for him, he finds unlikely help from Lem Rawlins (Dennis Redfield), a conscientious objector army deserter. ||||||

## Release
### Broadcast

Season nineteen aired Mondays at 8:00-9:00 pm (EST) on CBS.

### Home media

The nineteenth season was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on February 4, 2020.

## Reception

Gunsmoke season 19 dropped to #15 in the Nielsen ratings.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Barbaras 1990, p. 74–75.
* ↑ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 570–571.
* ↑ McNeil 1996, p. 351–352.
* 1 2 Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 570.
* ↑ Barbaras 1990, p. 116–118.
* ↑ Barbaras 1990, p. 87–102.
* ↑ Barbaras 1990, p. 147–148.
* ↑ Costello 2006, p. 508–522.
* ↑ "1973-1974 TV Ratings". classictvguide.com.