Season Twenty

Matt Dillon Must Die!, September 9, 1974 Written by Ray Goldrup, Directed by Victor French, Guest Cast: Morgan Woodward, Joseph Hindy, Bill Lucking, Henry Olek, Douglas Dirkson, Frederick Herrick, Elain Fulkerson. Dillon finds himself in the revengeful hands of a half-crazed widower who plans to hunt Dillon down and kill him to revenge the death of his son, a wanted murderer.

Morgan Woodward & James Arness

A Town In Chains, September 16, 1974 Written by Ron Bishop, Directed by Bernard McEveety, Guest Cast: Ramon Bieri, Russell Wiggins, Gretchen Corbett, Ron Soble, Lance le Gault, Med Flory, John Crawford, Paul C. Thomas, Thad Halb, Don Stroud. Dillon is captured and held for ransom by five bank robbers he has been pursuing.

Gretchen Corbett with James Arness

The Guns Of Cibola Blanca (Part One), September 23, 1974 Written by Paul Savage, Directed by Gunnar Hellstrom, Guest Cast: Harold Gould, Dorothy Tristan, Richard Anderson, James Luisi, Jackie Coogan, Henry Beckntan, Gloria Le Roy, Shug Fisher, Rex Holman, Michael Christofer. Doc and saloon owner Lyla Ross find themselves virtual slaves when they are kidnapped by a band of former Confederate officers-turned-outlaws.

Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester on The Addams Family. One of the Little Rascals)

The Guns Of Cibola Blanca (Part Two), September 30, 1974Written by Paul Savage, Directed by Gunnar Hellstrom, Guest Cast: Harold Gould, Dorothy Tristan, Richard Anderson, James Luisi, Jackie Coogan, Henry Beckrttan, Gloria Le Roy, Shug Fisher, Rex Holman, Michael Christofer. With Doc overdue and a stagecoach with three passengers missing, Matt, Festus, and Newly set out to find their friend.

Thirty A Month And Found, October 7, 1974 Written by Jim Byrnes, Directed by Bernard McEveety, Guest Cast: Gerte Fvans, Van Williams, Nicholas Hammond, David Brian, Ford Rainey, Kim O'Brien, Vietor Izay, Hal Baylor. A sequence of tragedies leads to the death of three cowboys, one of them an old friend of Matt's.

Van Williams with and without Ken Curtis

The Wiving, October 14, 1974 Written by Earl Wallace, Directed by Victor French, Guest Cast: Harry Morgan, Karen Grassle, John Reilly, Dennis Redfield, Linda Sublette, Herman Poppe, Michelle Marsh. Farmer Jed Hackett orders his three sons to go to town and not return without prospective brides. Harry Morgan guest-stars.

(M*A*S*H and Dragnet)

The Iron Men, October 21, 1974 Written by John Mantley, Directed by Gunnar Hellstrom, Guest Cast: Cameron Mitchell, John Russell, Barbara Colby, Eric Olson, George Murdock, William Bryant, Marc Alaimo, Paul Gehrman, Alec Murdock. Cameron Mitchell guest-stars as Chauncey Demon, a once highly respected sheriff who has let himself degenerate into a saloon bum, and whose old friend Matt Dillon won't accept his condition as final.

The Fourth Victim, November 4, 1974 Written by Jim Byrnes, Directed by Bernard McEveery, Guest Cast: Biff McGuire, Leonard Stone, Paul Sorensen, Victor Killian, Lloyd Perryman, Frank K. Janson. A series of seemingly random killings have the citizens of Dodge City in near panic, but Dillon believes they are part of a pattern in which Doc is slated to be the next target.

The Tarnished Badge, November 11, 1974 Written by Robert Vincent Wright, Directed by Michael O'Herlihy, Guest Cast: Victor French, Pamela McMyler, Nick Nolte, Ruth McDevitt, Gartry Walberg, James Lyon, Eddie Firestone, Ross Elliot, Sam Edwards, William Kitt. Victor French guest-stars as Sheriff Bo Harker, a town tamer who keeps his citizens in line with fear and brutality.

Victor French with James Arness in The Tarnished Badge.

Nick Nolte (Beverly Hills Cop, Lorenzo's Oil)

In Performance Of Duty, November 18, 1974 Written by William Keys, Directed by Gunnar Hellstrom, Guest Cast: Eduard Franz, David Huddleston, Paul Koslo, Bonnie Bartlett, Rance Howard, Martin Kove, Michael MacRae. Dillon is frustrated by Judge Kendall's insistence that the letter of the law be maintained and that Emmett Kaysinger and his gang, all known outlaws, be set free unless there is solid evidence to hold them.

Island In The Desert (Part One), December 2, 1974 Written by Jim Byrnes, Directed by Gunnar Hellstrom, Guest Cast: Strother Martin, William C. Watson, Regis J. Cordic, Hank Brandt. Strother Martin guest-stars as Ben Snow, a half-crazed desert hermit who saves Festus's life--only to force him to become a human pack animal.

Island In the Desert (Part Two), December 9, 1974 Written by Jim Byrnes, Directed by Gunnar Hellstrom, Guest Cast: Strother Martin, William C. Watson, Regis J. Cordic, Hank Brandt. In the conclusion of a two-part episode, Ben Snow tries to get his long-hidden gold back to civilization to use in fighting an old enemy.

The Colonel, December 16, 1974 Written by Arthur Dales, Directed by Bernard McEveety, Guest Cast: Lee J. Cobb, Julie Cobb, Daniel J. Travanti, Richard Ely, Todd Lookinland, Randolph Robert, Roy Jen. Lee J. Cobb and his daughter Julie Cobb appear together for the first time when Cobb guest-stars as a once-proud military officer who is suddenly faced with a painful and unplanned reunion with his daughter.

Daniel J. Travanti (Hill Street Blues)

Lee J. Cobb

Lee J. Cobb with Arness and Julie Cobb

The Squaw, January 6, 1975 Written by Jim Byrnes, Directed by Gunnar Hellstrom, Guest Cast: John Saxon, Arlene Martel, Tom Reese, Morgan Paull, William Campbell, Harry Middlebrooks, X Brands. Fleeing from both Matt Dillon and his double-crossed partners, outlaw Gristy Calhoun discovers that his survival in the badlands depends on an Indian woman

The Hiders, January 13, 1975 Written by Paul Savage, Directed by Victor French, Guest Cast: Ned Beatty, Mitch Vogel, Lee de Broux, Sierra Bandit, Damon Douglas, Robert Donner, Ellen Blake. Karp and his associates, who make their living lawfully by taking skins from range cattle, find themselves confronted by the law when they go beyond their legal rights and do exactly as they please.

Ned Beatty with Ken Curtis

Larkin, January 20, 1975 Written by Jim Byrnes, Directed by Gunnar Hellstrom, Guest Cast: Richard Jaekel, Anthony Caruso, Jack Rader, Robert Sorrells, Kathleen Cody, Michael le Clair, Elliot Lindsay, Robert Gentry, Maggie Malooly. Newly finds himself in a strange alliance with a professional killer as he tries to get his prisoner to Dodge City before they are both killed by bounty hunters.

The Fires Of Ignorance, January 27,1975 Written by Jim Byrnes, Directed by Victor French, Guest Cast: John Vernon, Allen Garfield, Lance Kerwin, Herb Vigran, Diane Shalet, George di Cenzo. Allen Garfield guest-stars as a schoolteacher in an episode that makes a strong statement for compulsory education for children, even in the less enlightened Dodge City of the 1870s.

Allen Garfield

The Angry Land, February 3, 1975 Written by Jim Byrnes, Story by Herman Groves, Directed by Bernard McEveety, Guest Cast: Carol Vogel, Eileen McDonough, Bruce M. Fischer, Dayton Loomis. After her parents are killed on the prairie, Dillon takes young Bessie Sutherland to live with her Aunt Rachel, only to find that she is not wanted.

Brides And Grooms, February 10, 1975 Written by Earl Wallace, Directed by Victor French, Guest Cast: Harry Morgan, Dennis Redfield, David Soul, Amanda McBroom, Linda Sublette, Michelle Marsh, Jim Backus, Spencer Milligan, Jerry Hoffman, Ray Girardin. Farmer Jed Hackett decides it is time his three sons marry the women they brought back from Dodge. Harry Morgan and David Soul guest-star.

Jim Backus (Gilligan's Island & the voice of Mr. Magoo.)

David Soul (Starsky & Hutch)

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Hard Labor, February 24, 1975 Written by Earl Wallace, Story by Hal Sitowitz, Guest Cast: John Colicos, Hal Williams, William Smith, Kevin Coughlin, Ben Piazza, Gregory Sierra, Gerald McRaney, Don Megowan, Lloyd Nelson. Matt Dillon is sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor for shooting a fugitive in the town of Bedrock. Click HERE for more information.

WILLIAM SMITH as Latch	GERALD McRANEY (Simon & Simon) as Pete Murphy	JOHN COLICOS as Judge Flood
HAL WILLIAMS as Widge	BEN PIAZZA as Fifer	GREGORY SIERRA as Osuna

I Have Promises to Keep, March 3, 1975 Written by Paul Savage & Earl Wallace, Story by Paul Savage (as William Putman), Directed by Vincent McEveery, Guest Cast: David Wayne, Tom Lacy, Ken Swofford, Ken Renard, Trini Tellez, Ed McCready. Festus is caught in the middle when an Eastern preacher wants to build a church for the Indians and the townspeople--all of whom are filled with prejudice.

The Busters, March 10, 1975 Written by Jim Byrnes, Directed by Bernard McEveety, Guest Cast: Gary Busey, John Beck, Lynn Benesch, Gregg Palmer. Two bronco busters risk their lives to raise money for a ranch in Montana, only to have the dream ruined by a wild stallion.

Gary Busey

Manolo, March 17, 1975 Written by Earl Wallace, Story by Earl Wallace and Harriet Charles, Directed by Gunnar Hellstrom, Guest Cast: Nehemiah Persoff, Robert Urich, Mark Shera, Alma Lenor Beltram, Jess Walton, Brioni James, Michael Gregory, Joe Bams. Manolo is not recognized as a man in the eyes of his people because he refuses to fight his father, a traditional Basque custom to prove one's manhood.

Robert Urich

The Sharecroppers, March 31, 1975 Written by Earl Wallace, Directed by Leonard Katzman, Guest Cast: Susanne Benton, Victor French, Terry Williams, Jacques Aubuchon, Bruce Boxtleitner, Lisa Eilbacher, Graham Jarvis. The last first run Gunsmoke to run on network TV.

Bruce Boxleitner

Graham Jarvis