Can't Shoot Matt Dillon

[Vince53]

Last July, I started a thread on another forum entitled "Can't Shoot Matt Dillon," in which I report every time the Marshal gets shot. I watch Gunsmoke about five times a week on Youtube, and today was the seventh time He got shot.

A band of 100 outlaws take over Dodge City and shoot Matt Dillon. Fortunately, they only hit him four times, so a few hours later, he's back in business. Matt kills the gang leader with three shots, showing us who's the toughest guy in town.

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...and, as such, was more "realistic" (and depressing) than most radio and TV western series. Unlike most western heroes, Marshal Matt Dillion was shot several times every season, whether he was William Conrad on radio, or James Arness on TV- on some occasions, he initially survived the bullets. Other times [in "special episodes"], he found himself near death. In virtually every situation, Matt recovered, eventually gunning down the man, or woman, who tried to kill him. Powerful resolution, to be sure...

[Vince53]

TVKnowledgeFan, I can't remember the episode, but my favorite was the one where they shot him, and Matt fell off his horse and rolled down a cliff. When he reached the bottom, he got up and walked away muttering to himself.

[Marvo301]

Your thread title is a misnomer Vince53 since it's obvious you can shoot Matt Dillon. (or Matthew as Festus calls him) What you can't do is kill Matt Dillon! And the reason is obvious. If you killed Matt Dillon you would kill the show.

[Vince53]

Valid point, Marvo. I got the title of the thread after watching so many outlaws shoot at Marshal Dillon and miss. While discussing it on another forum, I was surprised to learn that he does get shot quite a few times. So this thread is dedicated to recording those times.

And in today's exciting episode: Matt gets knocked down but comes up shooting, killing one of his foes but getting shot in the arm in the process. The wound is serious enough that it takes Matt a minute or so to get on his horse and continue the chase in "Big Man, Big Target."

[Vince53]

Well, Ellie was leading Marshal Dillon and Festus into an ambush, but her guilty conscience saves the day. Festus gets shot, but Matt rides away unharmed in "South Wind."



In case you were worried, Ruth was unharmed.

[Vince53]

happened again--almost. Matt and Chester are holed up in a cabin with a rancher when a band of mounted Indians attacks in "Honor Before Justice." The odds are grossly unfair, but despite that, a couple of the Indians managed to escape.

[Vince53]

Ouch! It really did happen! Matt and Festus ride head-on into a large gang of outlaws in "The Raiders." Matt gets winged on the arm, but since it only involves blood, he glares at it and it stops bleeding.

[Vince53]

Most badmen can't shoot Marshal Dillon, but Bette Davis stars as an evil widow who wants to hang Matt. She doesn't get to hang him, but she does manage to shoot him in the arm, which is better than most criminals do.



"The Jailer" is definitely one of their better episodes.

[Vince53]

You can't shoot Marshal Dillon, but someone manages to stab him pretty good in "Return to Dodge," a made-for-TV Gunsmoke movie. To make up for it, they show a flashback where Matt gets shot, and later in the film, Matt manages to get shot in the arm.

[Vince53]

It's a good thing you can't shoot him, because he doesn't know how to count.



Matt knows that five villains are waiting for him in "Sarah." He decks two and arrests two. Uh, Matt, that guy behind you with the rifle and the clear shot...

[Vince53]

Meanwhile, an evil trader shoots an Indian and his son and steal their furs. But the son, "Kioga," survives and walks into town looking for the man. Marshal Dillon can't get anything out of him, but what do you expect from a brave who walks 200 miles with a bullet in him?

Justice is done, of course, even though Kioga can't leave the guy staked out next to an ant hill.

[Vince53]

A ruthless, heartless murderer had Matt covered from the front! An evil Mexican bandito has Matt covered from behind! What will happen?!?

Why, the murderer shoots the bandito, because he knows you Can't Shoot Matt Dillon.

[Vince53]

With his friends surrounding him at a table at the Long Branch, Festus was recounting his adventures in the future.

"They gave me some money and took me to Atlantic City, New Jersey," Festus explained. "Why, there's nothing there but a beach with a few boards to walk on," Interrupted Matt. "But in the future, it will have a boardwalk that goes for miles, and there's lots of big buildings!" exclaimed the deputy. "And they have these buildings called casinos where everybody goes to gamble."

"Why don't they just gamble at saloons, like everybody else?" asked Kitty. "Because," Festus explained dramatically, "In the casinos, you gamble against machines." "Why would anybody want to gamble with a machine," Kitty asked, "when it can't talk to you?"

Festus continued, "You put your money into the machine and then you push buttons to decide how you want to play. I tried the poker machines and the blackjack machines, but I kept losing." "That figures," snapped Doc. Ignoring him, Festus continued, "But then I found a Pepsi Cola machine." "Pepsi Cola?" asked Kitty. "I never heard of that game." "Well," neither did I, explained Festus, "but I was losing at everything else, so I decided to play Pepsi Cola. I put all my money into that machine, and then pushed different buttons to play. I sure wish I could have figured out the rules of the game, though."


"You lost all your money playing a game when you didn't even know the rules?" exclaimed Doctor Adams. "Festus, that was stupid!" "What do you mean, 'lost'?" exclaimed Festus. "I won a soda pop every time I played!"

[Vince53]

Matt is digging up a phony grave, deliberately turning his back on Judd Nellis. Judd has a gun, but it's no good. Matt beats him to the draw by throwing a shovelful of dirt in his face.

Because You Can't Shoot Matt Dillon.