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Gunsmoke: Matt Gets It & Hack Prime [VHS]

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These two episodes deal with the same theme, although their airdates differ by seven months. The first, "Matt Gets It" , is the premiere episode of the series, and James Arness as Matt Dillon is introduced by John Wayne. Early in the episode, Matt is gunned down by a gunslinger that is easy to anger and blames everyone else for the inevitable battle. He is then nursed back to health by Doc and fussed over by Kitty. It introduces the main characters and their relationships are established very quickly. In watching the episode, I was amazed at how quickly the relationships between Matt, Chester, Doc and Kitty are established. The episode ran for twenty years and those relationships did not change much over those years.
One thing that has always puzzled me about the series is that it is established very early that Kitty runs a house of prostitution. We clearly see the dance hall girls walking up and down the steps with the men and no adult could miss the significance of their actions. However, most people thought of Kitty as only a woman who loves a man who cannot return that love. I can remember asking my grandmother what those women were doing, only to be told to ignore it.
Despite all of the violence of the frontier, the men who settled their issues with guns have a strict sense of honor and ethics. This is clearly demonstrated in the second episode, "Hack Prine." Prine is an old friend of Matt's who once saved his life. Now, he has been hired to kill Matt. Prine is very open about that, talking about how it is a job. Matt also understands that and offers to borrow an amount equal to Prine's pay if he will not complete the job. Prine's ethical code is such that he feels obligated to complete the task, even though it means killing a friend. Another man is killed and the killer attempts to frame Prine. Matt immediately understands that Prine could not have done it because the dead man did not carry a gun. Despite being a hired killer, Prine is bound by a very strict code of conduct that means that he can only kill people who try to kill him. Eventually, the circumstances force a showdown between Hack and Matt. It is here where Arness shows his acting ability. Without being tearful, he is able to show extreme anguish at the death of his friend.
These two episodes have a common theme and demonstrate all of the traits that kept the series going for twenty years. It was more adult than most, the writing was excellent and the characters were well developed from the beginning. Many other shows with a western theme came and went during the Gunsmoke run, but this a show where the actors wore out before the public interest did.

Being a true Gunsmoke fan I have seen this video and can't say enough about it. John Waynes intro for James Arness is absolutly the truth,Jim is an excellent talent.The rest of the cast is so fantastic that you fall in love with each one of them,and wow what a living doll that Amanda Blake! If you don't have this one in your collection you should!

This is one of those old shows of the fifties, that everyone that might watch it again or for the first time will never forget it. James Arness was a great actor in the series and still is a great actor until now. The rest of the crew like Festus,Kitty and the doctor are great.

First Draw -- Contains two 30-minute episodes of Gunsmoke. The first episode is entitled "Matt Gets It". It is the premier episode of Gunsmoke, first aired on Sept. 10, 1955. It features an introduction to the show by John Wayne (sufficient reason alone to view this tape). Marshall Dillon takes on a gunslinger with a lightning quick draw. This episode epitomizes Gunsmoke as Matt Dillon's steady hand is matched against that of the faster man. Amanda Blake (Kitty Russell) is so youthful in appearance to be almost unrecognizable at first. (Black & White)

The second episode is entitled "Hack Prine". This is the series' pilot episode. It is the story of a hired gun who once saved Matt's life and is now hired to kill him. Although the pilot episode, it was apparently first aired in May of 1956. (Black & White)

WHAT A DARN SHAME NOTHINGCAN COMPARE WITH THIS GREATTELEVISION SERIES. THE ACTORS, DRAMA AND THE GENERAL THEME ARE UNMATCHEDIN THIS VIDEO. I WAS BORNIN 1950 AND NOTHING WILLEVER DUPLICATE GUNSMOKE ANDTHE OTHER WESTERN SERIES.

It was really cool to find that this was the very first Gun Smoke ever and even cooler to see John Wayne introduce and endorse the then new program. The vidio contains 2 epasodes in the first its easy to identify with the feelings of the gunslinger who killed a man who cheated him at cards, but he was unaware that the man was unarmed .The killer was a likable man who only wanted to be left alone and come and go as he pleased. The second epasode was about a old freind of matts who was hired to kill him. I hope more of the later series w/Festus will become avalable soon!