The Long Branch - Gunsmoke (1955) Discussion

[–] stargazer1701-1 8 years ago

true that! ...but did you ever notice that we see very little blood when some one gets shot?

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[–] djvang88 8 years ago

Yet the standard line from Doc whenever a good guy gets shot is "He's lost a lot of blood".

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[–] grizzledgeezer 8 years ago

"He's lost a lot of blood" is one of the show's most-common lines.

It was probably used because CBS didn't want Gunsmoke to show great streams of blood pouring from huge open wounds as the victim writhed in agony.

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[–] stargazer1701-1 8 years ago

Dust on the floor is great point grizzlegeezer. Didn't they talk about that on HBO's Deadwood? And wouldn't the dust accelerate the coagulation of blood from the wound (and potentially cause an infection)?

I'm also on the same page with you guys on Doc Adam's: He's lost a lot of blood.

Being a huge Star Trek fan, I sometimes wondered if Deforest Kelley used Milburn Stone as a template for McCoy. Both southern, grouchy doctors with a penchant for mumbling and grumbling to themselves. Sometimes, when Doc Adams kneels over a victim, I can almost hear him say 'he's dead, Jim'.

Smoke me a kipper. I'll be back for breakfast

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[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ed-ryba 8 years ago

DeForest Kelley acted mostly in WESTERNS before Star Trek, and in at least one "Lone Ranger" TV episode, he actually played a doctor in the Old West! But that may have been the ONLY time he played a doctor before he played Dr. McCoy. In LOTS of Western movies, he was a gun-slinging bad guy.

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[–] marmac2768 8 years ago

No, DeForrest Kelly played a doctor on an episode of Bonanza named "The Decision". He played Dr. Michael Jons, who was accused of murder and in jail when Hoss is hurt in an accident. He has to help him, but the judge will not let him out of jail to help Hoss. It's a pretty good performance for him.

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[–] grizzledgeezer 8 years ago

I believe saloons commonly had sawdust on the floor, which was periodically swept up. Peanut shells, too.

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[–] Tresix 8 years ago

Did they serve peanuts in bars back in those days? I know some of them used to serve hard-boiled eggs, as far as food went.

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[–] grizzledgeezer 8 years ago

They sure did serve peanuts. They were a cheap snack, and the shells on the floor aided in sweeping up.

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[–] rex-sheldon 8 years ago

Speaking of well-used lines like"he's lost a lot of blood ", I think the most common line heard on both Gunsmoke and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is "Hold it!" On Wyatt Earp, every time a brawl or a gunfight is about to start, Wyatt runs up out of nowhere yelling "hold it!" On Gunsmoke, it's usually at the Longbranch when Matt pokes his head in over the swinging doors and stops the ruckus with a loud "hold it!" If I had all the DVD's of these shows, I'd take a tally of how many times it's said.

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[–] liscarkat (19385) 5 months ago

The floors in the Long Branch, and in a lot of buildings in "Gunsmoke", appear to be sheets of smooth material like plywood or masonite, instead of planks. Even in crude cabins.

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