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Does this scene prove that Matt and Kitty did in fact share a kiss on Gunsmoke?
Despite the wishes of many fans, Dodge City’s most obvious couple never officially got together.
Gunsmoke was many things to many people. It was a look at the triumphs and trials of the American frontier. It was an action-packed series full of shootouts and fistfights. It was both dramatic and raw as well as hilarious and eccentric. It was also one of the most romantic shows on TV without ever revealing whether its star-crossed lovers were actually a couple.
Saloon owner Kitty Russell and U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon had immediate chemistry from the start. The tension every time their eyes met in those early seasons seemed to forecast many romantic storylines to come. But those swoon-worthy episodes never materialized.
Instead, the show kept the audience enthralled, if also a little frustrated, with coy flirting and subtle body language. For almost twenty years!
Gunsmoke famously never featured a kiss between what would be the obvious romantic leads on any other show. Other characters commented on the nature of Matt and Kitty’s relationship, seemingly implying they were in love, but there was a severe lack of physical affection shown between the two – even by Sixties TV standards.
However, eagle-eyed viewers (or perhaps wishful thinkers) will know that the first episode of season 11 provides not only some of the clearest evidence of feelings between Matt and Kitty but also a loving embrace and even a potential kiss.
What would bring out such emotions to the usually stoic streets of Dodge? Marshal Dillon almost dying at the hands of a large horde of outlaws, of course. Matt suffering near-death experiences was a relatively common part of the series, but the events surrounding his presumed-fatal gunshot wounds in “Seven Hours to Dawn” play out in a unique way.
Doc Adams tells the gang’s leader, Mace Gore, played by a calculating John Drew Barrymore, that the Marshal is dead, even though he’s still hanging on by a thread. Kitty is distraught when she hears the news, so much so that even her nefarious tormentor mentions that she and Matt must have been more than friends.
When she finally sees Matt alive at the end of the episode, she runs to him like any romantic partner would. Doc Adams mentions the best thing for Matt now is lots of care and attention, then conveniently leaves them alone. Kitty smiles and says “I’ll just see what I can do about that,” before hugging Matt and… wait for it… drumroll… appearing to, perhaps, maybe, plant a kiss on his cheek.
Not exactly the kiss fans were no doubt hoping for, but compared to most of the other signs of affection seen on the series, it’s practically a full-on smooch!
Do you remember any other rare romantic moments from Gunsmoke?
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31 Comments
I think on the outside and in public they were very reserved and holding themselves as public figures. However behind closed doors I get the feeling that they enjoyed a very healthy and wonderful affection and sex life. There is one episode where Matt passes out on Kitty’s bed because he’s so tired and she was looking forward to a romantic evening. She starts to go out of the saloon and Sam says, “Miss Kitty it’s awful late to be going out.” “What does that have to do with anything?”, asks Kitty. “Well you might get molested!”, says Sam. “OH REALLY!”, Kitty says. But you could tell Miss Kitty was expecting sex that night and she was trying to walk off her frustration. They never showed the physical stuff because they didn’t have to but it kept all of us tuning in all those years wondering just when the writers would let us see a glimpse of Kitty’s and Matt’s love. But if you watch these characters and all the sly signs and flirtations they give then you just know!
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=631483191884111
Bravo!
When the producer was being interviewed, and pressed about just what Kitty did as a hostess, he replied, “Kitty is exactly what you think she is. She’s somebody that just has to go and see from time to time.”
After becoming owner of the Longbranch, Kitty didn’t seem to work as a “hostess” anymore. However, she did have girls that worked for her that did have rooms above the saloon. I assume Matt continued to go see her on days that they weren’t on the air.
IMO, when the presentation is done well enough, there's no need to show the visuals. It's all in the head, because imagination makes things even better than reality can! 😉. Meaning, in that clip above, they definitely kissed.
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Michael Learned in “Matt’s Love Story,” Season 19, Episode 3.
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Well there were only 3 types of frontier women in Rope Operas. The writers probably built a template, labeled Dame 1 - homestead woman, slaving over a cook stove, trudging water (reference: Little House on the Prairie). Dame 2 - the young and the beautiful, perhaps calculating too (reference: Wild, Wild West). And Dame 3 - the Saloon Gal, shall we say "𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅 (reference: Gunsmoke).
Plug in the plot of who gets shot, where. And which female agonizes over all of it. And there you have an "instant" Western!
Example: Look at the scripted kiss between Hawkeye and Margaret on M*A*S*H.
I tend to overthink MASH anyway (duhhh). Meaning 10 to 1 comments against my calling out the death of Henry Blake as well. Being defended on the point of "War is Hell" to which I relented!