Watch Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge For Free

Simply Perfect

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Okay, there were a few shortcomings as others have pointed out. It would have been nice had a few more of the old cast regulars joined in this reunion (Ken Curtis, Dennis Weaver, Roger Ewing, Burt Reynolds...) But they didn't, for whatever reason, so what can be done? However, the movie did provide flashbacks to the original Mannon episode, which aired in 1969. So we got to see many of the regulars in that way.I had actually forgotten that Amanda Blake was in this movie until watching it again yesterday on streaming video. So, seeing her was more than enough. I recall that she had contracted cancer some years earlier which required oral surgery. So, if her speech sounds a bit slurred, that is why. In the flashbacks, she looks lovely, and a good 20 years younger. However, in the movie, it is repeatedly mentioned that only 12 years have passed since Mannon terrorized Dodge. 12 years wouldn't age someone that much. I was kind of surprised to learn that she was only 58 when this movie was shot. She looked a good 8 to 10 years older. My apologies for saying that, but again, perhaps it had to do with the major health issues which she was forced to suffer through. The only other problem I had (and it was a minor one) was that in the original Mannon episode, Steve Forrest's character was apparently killed by Matt in a shootout. Yet here he is being released from a 12 year prison stint to hunt Matt down for revenge. No doubt the viewer is expected to assume that Mannon was only wounded and did not die. However, since flashbacks were being employed to tell other aspects of the story, perhaps a timely flashback, even a make-shift one, (with Mannon being carried off to Doc Adam's office?) could have sufficiently addressed this confusing situation.Having said that, I absolutely LOVED this movie!!! I grew up watching Gunsmoke with my Dad, as a young kid in the 50's and 60's. It was my all-time favorite show. Thus, there was naturally some excitement to observe how Matt's character had evolved since the show ended some 12 or 13 years earlier. I was not disappointed. The writing was excellent, the directing right-on. The action began from the get-go, and it didn't skip a beat. There were a few tragic plot twists (Holliman's character being accused of murder), and some clever one-liners by Matt ("you could put his brains in a teacup"), while describing someone's IQ. You've got your trademark scummy, bushwhacking saddle-tramps. And you've got your peaceful, friendly Native American women, who by the way, are rather easy on the eyes.If not for a couple of minor flaws as mentioned above, I would give this 10 stars. For any Gunsmoke fan out there, I highly recommend this movie. James Arness recently left us, but his legacy lives on. RIP, Marshall Matt Dillon.

While it's a joy to see Matt and Kitty back together, this movie sorely lacked any hint of the Gunsmoke magic. In a nutshell, Matt Dillon is now a mountain man, Kitty has left Dodge and Newly O'Brian the former gunsmith and deputy is now marshal.Will Mannon, the evil gunslinger who appeared in a self-titled episode of Gunsmoke, is released from prison to kill Matt and the judge who put Mannon in prison. Another prisoner, Jake Flagg, who is an old friend of Matt's, breaks out of prison by using the warden as hostage. Flagg needs to warn Matt about Mannon. The gunslinger shoots the warden and Flagg is now wanted by a young, overzealous deputy and some bounty hunters. Several of the unscrupulous bounty hunters actually stab Dillon who is found and taken back to Dodge where he awakens to find Miss Kitty. Matt tries to help protect Flagg meanwhile Mannon returns to Dodge where he torments Miss Kitty as he did in the original episode. Back then he had raped Kitty and beat her, something Matt did not know.Okay, inconsistencies. First, but this is my opinion, Matt would not have become a Mountain Man. It's just not him(maybe they got him confused with his Zeb Macahan character from How the West Was Won). Second, Kitty explains why she left Dodge. It's a flashback from the episode "The Badge" where Matt is shot and Kitty just can't handle seeing him hurt anymore. Any fan of the show would know that this episode(don't know when it aired but certainly not in the last year of the show) ends with Matt meeting Kitty and sort of convincing her to come back, which she does. The movie made it sound like she never came back. Amanda Blake left the show in 1974. There are reports she claims she was sick and tired of the character and the commute(she was living in AZ at the time). Others question that producer John Mantley fired her for money reasons. They allegedly did not get along at all. Third, in the episode Mannon, he is apparently shot dead from how the episode ends but I guess it could have been interpreted as him possibly surviving.Those are disappointments show-wise. Other ones that made fans cringe are James Arnesses' hair and make-up, absolutely scary. Kitty looked her age and did not look bad at all. Amanda Blake had contracted AIDS and she later died from the disease 2 years after this film. Ken Curtis did not return, he reportedly wanted more money than Blake. Finally, Matt and Kitty never kiss at the end, they never even get together. She see's him through a window and sheds a tear as he goes back to his lonely life. Reportedly, the original script had Matt walk into the hotel where Kitty was(and you could use your imagination). There were too many Flashbacks which took away from developing the plot to this movie. They actually show one Flashback twice.John Mantley produced the movie and I was surprised someone with such a grasp on GS let this be the end product.Also, the cover art for the movie on this website only show's James Arness. There is another version which has a small picture of Kitty on it.Otherwise, it's fun to see M&K back together.

As only a casual fan of the original series I may not be able to compare and contrast this movie as well as some others but the producers of this tv film seem to have covered all their bases.First of all the story was very well done. By basing the movie on one of the original tv shows the viewers were given a sense of continuity that some movies that are based on previous tv shows don't have. Also, the story itself, while not all that original, was well written and suspenseful. Out of the 5 GUNSMOKE movies that were made I felt that this one was the best.Secondly, this movie did a fine job of bringing back the original cast members. Amanda Blake as "Kitty" and Buck Taylor as "Newly O'brien" helped to give this movie an authentic feel. Having said that it would have been nice if Dennis Weaver as "Chester" and or Ken Curtis as "Festus", both served as deputy under Marshall Dillon, had made an appearance in the movie.Lastly, while the movie overall was a good one it seemed to me that James Arness portrayed Matt Dillon less like the character in the original series and more like the mountain man character of "Zeb Macahon" in his other western series HOW THE WEST WAS WON. Still this movie is a good view and those who like James Arness or GUNSMOKE will appreciate it.

Twelve years after gunslinger Will Mannon is sent to prison, he is parolled. He has sworn to revenge himself by killing Matt Dillon and the judge who sent him there. Fellow prisoner, and old friend of Dillon's, Jake Flagg, tries to convince the warden to temporarily release him so he can warn Dillon, but is refused. Flagg breaks out and is being hunted for the murder of the warden. Dillon, hearing of this, sets off to track his old friend down. In the meantime, Mannon shows up in Dodge and begins terrorizing Miss Kitty. This is the first of five TV-movies recalling the later escapades of Matt Dillon after retiring as the marshal of Dodge City, Kansas. Earl Holliman is excellent (as usual) as Jake Flagg, as is Steve Forrest in reprising his role from the original 1975 episode. This is a very good story and there are several flashbacks from the original episode interspersed throughout. Thanks to director Vincent McEveety, the film retains the same cinematic "feel" of the original episode. It's a "must see" for any die-hard "Gunsmoke" fans.