Main Cast: Audie Murphy, Susan Cabot, Paul Kelly, Mary Castle, Charles Drake
Release Year: 1953
Country: US
Run Time: 75 minutes
Plot
No relation to the TV and radio series of the same name, Universal-International's Gunsmoke is a Technicolor vehicle for action star (and war hero) Audie Murphy. Murphy plays a wandering hired gun who is commissioned to kill a rancher (Paul Kelly). The film's conflict arises when the gunslinger befriends his would-be victim and comes to reject the attitudes of those who hired him. The fact that the gunman has fallen in love with the rancher's daughter (Susan Cabot) may have something to do with his change of heart. Audie Murphy mends his ways by the time Gunsmoke comes to a close, as if there was any doubt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Fans of Westerns will take a liking to Gunsmoke, a good little "oater" that pleases with a handful of small pleasures. Gunsmoke is a modest and unassuming in its ambitions and scope, but that's one of its attractions. It's not trying to be an epic, just a little picture with some nicely delineated characters, a standard issue but reliable sort of plot and enough small surprises along the way to keep one's interest and make one come away feeling nicely served. It also boasts some very attractive cinematography from Charles P. Boyle and Harvey Gould, which captures and shows off the settings to good advantage. Nathan Juran's direction is good and solid; nothing fancy, just getting the job done, but doing so in a manner which bespeaks efficiency rather than impatience. Audie Murphy is. . .well, Audie Murphy, which means that there's nothing he does here that can't be viewed in his other films. But the part is a good fit for Murphy, and he carries the picture well. Susan Cabot adds some fire to the picture as his soon-to-be-beloved, and there's fine support from Paul Kelly, Jack Kelly and Don Randolph. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Jack Kelly - Curly Mather; Jesse White - Professor; Don Randolph - Matt Telford; William Reynolds - Brazos; Chubby Johnson - Doc Farrell; Stanley Mack; Philo McCullough - Abner Sneed; Bill Radovich - Bartender; James F. Stone - Shay; Clem Fuller - Two Dot; James Van Horn - Clay
Credit
Robert F. Boyle - Art Director, Alexander Golitzen - Art Director, Rosemary Odell - Costume Designer, William Holland - First Assistant Director, Nathan Juran - Director, Richard Whorf - Director, Bartlett Carré - Director, Ted Kent - Editor, Henry Mancini - Composer (Music Score), Herman Stein - Composer (Music Score), Joseph E. Gershenson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Bud Westmore - Makeup, Charles P. Boyle - Cinematographer, Harvey Gould - Cinematographer, Aaron Rosenberg - Producer, Russell A. Gausman - Set Designer, Ray Jeffers - Set Designer, Leslie I. Carey - Sound/Sound Designer, Robert Pritchard - Sound/Sound Designer, Daniel D. Beauchamp - Screenwriter, Norman A. Fox - Book Author
Murphy stars as Reb Kittridge, a wandering hired gun who is hired to kill a rancher (played by Paul Kelly). The gunman has also fallen in love with the rancher's daughter (Susan Cabot). Reb mends his ways by the time Gunsmoke comes to a close.[1]
