# Gunsmoke season 13

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 13 aired in the United States on September 11, 1967, and the final episode aired on March 4, 1968. All episodes were broadcast in the U.S. by CBS.
Season 13 of Gunsmoke was the second 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; and Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake), saloon girl and later owner of the Long Branch Saloon. Deputy Newly O'Brien (Buck Taylor) was added to the cast in season 13.

## 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 13 consisted of 25 one-hour color episodes produced by John Mantley and associate producer Joseph Dackow.

### Writing

This season included a rewrite of season 8, episode 28, "I Call Him Wonder" released as episode 14, "Wonder".
The title for episode 19, "Blood Money", was also used in season 3, episode 3.

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 439 | 1 | "The Wreckers" | Robert Totten | Hal Sitowitz | September 11, 1967 (1967-09-11) |
| Kitty pins Matt's badge on an unconscious outlaw to protect the marshal from a holdup gang. ||||||
| 440 | 2 | "Cattle Barons" | Gunnar Hellström | Clyde Ware | September 18, 1967 (1967-09-18) |
| Cattle barons fight over a large herd. ||||||
| 441 | 3 | "The Prodigal" | Bernard McEveety | Calvin Clements, Sr. | September 25, 1967 (1967-09-25) |
| A journalist looking for a sensational story talks Matt into reopening a murder case, where the Marshal finds himself the prime suspect. ||||||
| 442 | 4 | "Vengeance (Part 1)" | Richard C. Sarafian | Calvin Clements, Sr. | October 2, 1967 (1967-10-02) |
| A drifter seeks revenge against a rancher and his men when they kill his brother and severely injure his father. ||||||
| 443 | 5 | "Vengeance (Part 2)" | Richard C. Sarafian | Calvin Clements, Sr. | October 9, 1967 (1967-10-09) |
| A drifter refuses Matt's help and chooses to exact revenge his way, with no regards to who he hurts. ||||||
| 444 | 6 | "A Hat" | Robert Totten | Ron Bishop | October 16, 1967 (1967-10-16) |
| A stray bullet from a cattle baron ruins the hat of a frontiersman, setting off a chain reaction of violence and retribution. ||||||
| 445 | 7 | "Hard Luck Henry" | John Rich | Warren Douglas | October 23, 1967 (1967-10-23) |
| Festus goes to Pratt County with his clumsy cousin "Hard-Luck" Henry, to determine how a chest of gold should be divided among the Haggen clan. ||||||
| 446 | 8 | "Major Glory" | Robert Totten | Story by : Clyde Ware and Richard Carr Teleplay by : Richard Carr | October 30, 1967 (1967-10-30) |
| A pair of Army deserters wait for the perfect opportunity to murder their Sergeant, whose been riding roughshod over them. ||||||
| 447 | 9 | "The Pillagers" | Vincent McEveety | Calvin Clements, Sr. | November 6, 1967 (1967-11-06) |
| A gang of outlaws kidnap Newly and Kitty based on their assumption that he's a doctor. ||||||
| 448 | 10 | "Prairie Wolfer" | Robert Butler | Calvin Clements, Sr. | November 13, 1967 (1967-11-13) |
| While Festus is acting Marshal, a desperate pair of trappers steal $20,000 from a fur trader who refused to buy their worthless pelts. Second Gunsmoke episode titled "Prairie Wolfer". The first was season 9, episode 16. ||||||
| 449 | 11 | "Stranger in Town" | E. Darrell Hallenbeck | Story by : Emily Mosher and John Dunkel Screenplay by : John Dunkel | November 20, 1967 (1967-11-20) |
| A hired killer is distracted by his wife and a son that he never knew. ||||||
| 450 | 12 | "Death Train" | Gunnar Hellström | Ken Trevey | November 27, 1967 (1967-11-27) |
| The passengers of a railroad car are quarantined for a fever that could spread. ||||||
| 451 | 13 | "Rope Fever" | David Alexander | Chris Rellas | December 4, 1967 (1967-12-04) |
| A Sheriff enjoys his new-found glory when he puts Festus in jail on a trumped-up murder charge. ||||||
| 452 | 14 | "Wonder" | Irving J. Moore | Story by : Mary Worrell and William Blinn Screenplay by : William Blinn | December 18, 1967 (1967-12-18) |
| Matt helps an Indian boy reunite with a drifter whose being badgered by a pair of disgruntled brothers. ||||||
| 453 | 15 | "Baker's Dozen" | Irving J. Moore | Charles Joseph Stone | December 25, 1967 (1967-12-25) |
| Doc fights to keep three orphaned babies from being separated. ||||||
| 454 | 16 | "The Victim" | Vincent McEveety | Story by : Hal Sitowitz Screenplay by : Arthur Rowe | January 1, 1968 (1968-01-01) |
| Matt comes to the aid of a Sheriff in a nearby town to help fend off a lynch mob. ||||||
| 455 | 17 | "Dead Man's Law" | John Rich | Calvin Clements, Jr. | January 8, 1968 (1968-01-08) |
| Matt is seriously injured in a shoot-out outside of Dodge, and in his absence a group of vigilantes run rampant in town. ||||||
| 456 | 18 | "Nowhere to Run" | Vincent McEveety | Story by : Robert Totten Screenplay by : Ron Honthaner | January 15, 1968 (1968-01-15) |
| A pair of teenage thieves' hamper the rescue of their partner, who fell into a well, for fear that he'll give them up. ||||||
| 457 | 19 | "Blood Money" | Robert Totten | Hal Sitowitz | January 22, 1968 (1968-01-22) |
| A gunfighter's father despises his son's profession and purposely disables his shooting hand, and now he must defend himself from three avenging gunman. ||||||
| 458 | 20 | "Hill Girl" | Robert Totten | Calvin Clements, Sr. | January 29, 1968 (1968-01-29) |
| Newly stops a young back-hills girl who's trying to escape an abusive relationship involving her half-brothers from stealing his horse and little do they know, when he takes her to Dodge, the half-crazed brothers follow. ||||||
| 459 | 21 | "The Gunrunners" | Irving J. Moore | Hal Sitowitz | February 5, 1968 (1968-02-05) |
| A trapper attempts to mete out justice to Army deserters who injured his adopted Indian son. ||||||
| 460 | 22 | "The Jackals" | Alvin Ganzer | Calvin Clements, Jr. | February 12, 1968 (1968-02-12) |
| Matt heads down into Mexico to capture a man who plotted the murder of his old friend and mentor. ||||||
| 461 | 23 | "The First People" | Robert Totten | Calvin Clements, Sr. | February 19, 1968 (1968-02-19) |
| A politically ambitious Indian Agent falsely accuses Matt of participating in a murder committed on the reservation. ||||||
| 462 | 24 | "Mr. Sam'l" | Gunnar Hellström | Harry Kronman | February 26, 1968 (1968-02-26) |
| A water-witcher offers hope to ranchers and farmers when Dodge is struck by a drought. ||||||
| 463 | 25 | "A Noose for Dobie Price" | Richard C. Sarafian | Antony Ellis | March 4, 1968 (1968-03-04) |
| Matt enlists the help of a former outlaw to find two condemned killers who escaped from jail. ||||||

## Release
### Broadcast

Gunsmoke began its thirteenth season in a new timeslot (Mondays at 7:30 PM eastern time). With this the series returned to being among the top ten highest rated programs, where it remained for the next six seasons.

### Home media

The thirteenth season was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment in a two volume set on May 22, 2018.

## Reception

After failing to make the top 30 the previous season, Gunsmoke season 13 moved to a new timeslot and jumped to #4 in the Nielsen ratings.

### Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Category | Nominee(s) / Work | Result | Ref(s) |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 1968 | Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition | Morton Stevens for "Major Glory" | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 1968 | Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama | Milburn Stone | Won | |
* ↑ Indicates the year of ceremony.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Barbaras 1990, p. 74–75.
* ↑ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 424–425.
* ↑ McNeil 1996, p. 351–352.
* ↑ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 570.
* ↑ Barbaras 1990, p. 116–118.
* ↑ Barbaras 1990, p. 87–102.
* ↑ Barbaras 1990, p. 147–148.
* 1 2 Costello 2006, p. 76; 429–442.
* ↑ "1966-1967 TV Ratings". classictvguide.com."1967-1968 TV Ratings". classictvguide.com.