9.2/10384 votesLoading...#1 - The Gallows
Season 7 Episode 22 - Aired 3/3/1962
While returning suspected killer Pruit Dover to Dodge to stand trial, Matt is shot and badly wounded, and yet Dover stays with him and nurses him back to health.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Writer: John Meston
9.0/10293 votesLoading...#2 - Caleb
Season 9 Episode 26 - Aired 3/28/1964
Caleb Marr comes to Dodge in search of a meaningful life after finally acknowledging his failure at farming.
Director: Harry Harris
Writer: Paul Savage
8.9/10322 votesLoading...#3 - With a Smile
Season 8 Episode 29 - Aired 3/30/1963
A rancher's spoiled son believes even after he is convicted of murder that his father's wealth and influence will save him from the hangman.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Writer: John Meston
8.9/10315 votesLoading...#4 - Seven Hours to Dawn
Season 11 Episode 1 - Aired 9/18/1965
Mace Gore's gang has taken over Dodge. When Matt is believed killed, Festus and Doc have a plan to lure Gore into a trap, even though his usual plan is to leave by dawn.
Director: Vincent McEveety
Writer: N/A
8.9/10261 votesLoading...#5 - Sam McTavish, M.D.
Season 16 Episode 4 - Aired 10/5/1970
Doc Adams feels that Sam McTavish (who is a woman Doctor) may replace him.
Director: Bernard McEveety
Writer: Bethel Leslie
8.8/10296 votesLoading...#6 - The Cabin
Season 3 Episode 24 - Aired 2/22/1958
Matt get caught in a blizzard then finds shelter in a cabin but finds more than he bargained for.
Director: John Rich
Writer: John Meston
8.8/10354 votesLoading...#7 - Long, Long Trail
Season 7 Episode 6 - Aired 11/4/1961
A headstrong young woman will undertake the long, dangerous journey to her fiancé's fort on her own if she must, so Matt nominates himself to escort her.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Writer: Kathleen Hite
8.8/10237 votesLoading...#8 - The Quest for Asa Janin
Season 8 Episode 38 - Aired 6/1/1963
A young man is convicted of killing the saloon girl he wanted for his own. Matt is so sure that the young man is really innocent that he goes on the road after another suspect to prevent an unjust hanging.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Writer: Paul Savage
8.8/10265 votesLoading...#9 - Prairie Wolfer
Season 9 Episode 16 - Aired 1/18/1964
Festus returns to Dodge from wolfing and is hired by the Cattleman's Association to hunt down the wolves killing everyone's cattle. What he finds is that what's been doing the preying may wind him up in prison if he doesn't get Matt's help.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Writer: John Dunkel
8.8/10209 votesLoading...#10 - Wishbone
Season 11 Episode 22 - Aired 2/19/1966
Festus has a habit of using the wishbone from a dead chicken for making wishes on. When he comes across Doc Adams, alone and snakebit, he uses that wish to help him, if it can. Meanwhile, Matt searches for three outlaws who held up a stage, killing the driver and guard.
Director: Marc Daniels
Writer: Paul Savage
8.8/10284 votesLoading...#11 - Mannon
Season 14 Episode 17 - Aired 1/20/1969
Gunman Will Mannon comes to Dodge, after shooting Festus and taking his mule, to face Matt in a gunfight.
Director: Robert Butler
Writer: N/A
8.8/10239 votesLoading...#12 - The Widow-Maker
Season 19 Episode 5 - Aired 10/8/1973
A gunfighter wants to forget his past... and wants everyone else to forget it too. Unfortunately for him, this is not easy to accomplish...
Director: Bernard McEveety
Writer: N/A
8.8/10194 votesLoading...#13 - Island in the Desert (1)
Season 20 Episode 11 - Aired 12/2/1974
Festus, in the desert hunting escaped killer Gard Dixon is wounded by the outlaw. He is found by Ben Snow, a half-crazy hermit who has been living in the desert with his gold for many years.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.8/10182 votesLoading...#14 - Island in the Desert (2)
Season 20 Episode 12 - Aired 12/9/1974
While Matt and Newly hunt for Festus, Ben Snow and Festus attempt to haul his gold out of the desert.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.7/10242 votesLoading...#15 - Where'd They Go
Season 5 Episode 27 - Aired 3/12/1960
When Jonas accuses Clint Dodie of robbing his store, Matt and Chester set out in the bitter cold go to Clint's farm to make an arrest.
Director: Jesse Hibbs
Writer: John Meston
8.7/10221 votesLoading...#16 - The Renegades
Season 8 Episode 18 - Aired 1/12/1963
Quint says that white renegades, not Indians, are the cause of recent raids around Dodge. Working shotgun on the stage, he proves his point when he is attacked, then pursued by those renegades. His "Indian" skills save him and a colonel's daughter who has contempt for half-Comanche Quint.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Writer: John Meston
8.7/10248 votesLoading...#17 - Kate Heller
Season 9 Episode 1 - Aired 9/28/1963
A teen-aged boy who robbed and killed to impress a saloon gal is pursued by Matt. The boy waylays Matt and leaves him for dead, then goes home to his grandmother's house to find her nursing Matt back to health.
Director: Harry Harris
Writer: Kathleen Hite
8.7/10236 votesLoading...#18 - Once a Haggen
Season 9 Episode 18 - Aired 2/1/1964
A man is stabbed after winning in a poker game, and Festus is suspected.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Writer: N/A
8.7/10287 votesLoading...#19 - Hung High
Season 10 Episode 8 - Aired 11/14/1964
As Matt takes a convicted man to Hays City for hanging, Matt and the prisoner are waylaid and the prisoner lynched. Matt is framed for the killing, then arrested by a sergeant with a grudge against him.
Director: Mark Rydell
Writer: John Meston
8.7/10220 votesLoading...#20 - Chicken
Season 10 Episode 11 - Aired 12/5/1964
Mistakenly hailed as a hero who downed four robbers, a man rethinks his decision to let folks regard him as a gunfighter when protecting the woman he wants calls for a gunman's skill.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Writer: John Meston
8.7/10204 votesLoading...#21 - The Bounty Hunter
Season 11 Episode 7 - Aired 10/30/1965
Lured out of retirement with the promise of land, a bounty hunter is aimed by his boss at the man who killed his son; however, he neglects to tell his hound that the reward and charges had been dropped.
Director: Harry Harris
Writer: Paul Savage
8.7/10235 votesLoading...#22 - The Raid (1)
Season 11 Episode 18 - Aired 1/22/1966
A band of robbers have hit numerous banks with uncanny precision, planning and ease. They have their sights on Dodge now but they must remove a big obstacle before they can proceed - Marshal Dillon.
Director: Vincent McEveety
Writer: N/A
8.7/10203 votesLoading...#23 - The Raid (2)
Season 11 Episode 19 - Aired 1/29/1966
When one of the gang is hurt after robbing Dodge, the Doc is taken to patch him up. The posse was preparing to go after them but a new problem has been set they must take care of before they can recover their friend.
Director: Vincent McEveety
Writer: N/A
8.7/10685 votesLoading...#24 - The Jailer
Season 12 Episode 3 - Aired 10/1/1966
Six years after her husband's hanging, Ma Stone plots her revenge against Matt Dillon by first kidnapping Kitty to use as a lure and then jailing Matt to be hanged on the morning of the second day with Kitty watching as her man died.
Director: Vincent McEveety
Writer: N/A
8.7/10280 votesLoading...#25 - Gunfighter, R.I.P.
Season 12 Episode 6 - Aired 10/22/1966
A gunfighter (McGavin) hired to murder Matt Dillion gets wounded while trying to save the life of an elderly Chinese man.
Director: Mark Rydell
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Gunsmoke
Every episode of Gunsmoke ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Gunsmoke!
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and...
Genres:WesternAction & AdventureDrama
Network:CBS
Best Episodes Summary
"The Gallows" is the best rated episode of "Gunsmoke". It scored 9.2/10 based on 384 votes. Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and written by John Meston, it aired on 3/3/1962. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Caleb".