James Arness was seventy years old when he hopped back into the saddle for Gunsmoke: The Long Ride. That’s a wild thought. Most people are thinking about a quiet retirement at seventy, but Arness was still busy being Matt Dillon, the most iconic lawman in television history. This 1993 TV movie wasn't just a nostalgia trip; it was a gritty, somewhat somber look at what happens when the world moves on but the man doesn't.
Honestly, by the time this third made-for-TV movie aired on CBS, the Western genre was in a weird spot. Unforgiven had just won Best Picture a year earlier, changing the "Oater" vibes from white-hat heroism to something much darker and more reflective. You can feel that influence here. It’s not the bright, studio-lot Dodge City of the 1950s. It’s dusty. It’s lonely. And Matt Dillon is a man who just wants to be left alone on his ranch, only to be dragged back into the violence he spent decades trying to escape.
The Plot That Kicked It All Off
The story starts with a wedding. Matt is at his daughter’s nuptials—Beulah Quo plays her mother, Mike Yardner—and things feel actually peaceful for a second. Then, of course, the plot happens. A group of outlaws led by a guy named John Parsley (played by Ali Afshar) decides to rob a stagecoach and kill a few people. The twist? They frame Matt Dillon for the crime.
It’s a classic Western trope: the lawman turned fugitive.
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Matt has to go on the run to clear his name, which takes him across the border into New Mexico. He’s being hunted by a relentless posse, and the irony is thick. The man who spent twenty years hanging outlaws is now the one looking over his shoulder. James Arness plays this with a weary gravity. He’s slower than he was in the black-and-white days, but his presence is still massive. When he stares someone down, you still believe they’re about to have a very bad day.
Casting Choices and Familiar Faces
One of the coolest things about Gunsmoke: The Long Ride is the supporting cast. You’ve got James Brolin playing John Borland. Brolin brings a certain ruggedness that matches Arness well. Then there's Amy Stock-Poynton as Beth, Matt’s daughter. Their relationship is the emotional core of these later movies. It gives Matt something to lose, which was rarely the case during the original series when he was just the bachelor marshal of Dodge.
Christopher Bradley and Patrick Dollaghan fill out the ranks, but let’s be real—you’re here for Arness. He had this way of saying more with a grunt or a squint than most actors do with a three-page monologue.
Why the 1990s Gunsmoke Movies Felt Different
If you grew up watching the original series, these TV movies might feel a bit jarring at first. The pacing is different. It’s slower, more "cinematic" in a 90s television sort of way. There’s a lot of focus on the landscape—the big, empty stretches of the West that make the characters look small.
The violence is also a step up. Not that it’s a slasher flick, but it’s more visceral than the sanitized gunfights of 1962. When people get shot in The Long Ride, it hurts. It feels heavy. This was the era of the "Revisionist Western," where the myth of the West was being deconstructed. Matt Dillon isn't a superhero; he's an old man with a bad leg and a lot of enemies.
The New Mexico Connection
A big chunk of the movie was filmed in Santa Fe and various spots around New Mexico. It looks great. The production values were clearly higher than the previous entry, The Last Apache. They used the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a famous filming location that’s seen its share of Western history. The lighting is naturalistic, catching the golden hour across the high desert, which adds to that "end of an era" feeling the movie leans into so hard.
Addressing the "Missing" Dodge City Regulars
People always ask: where was Kitty? Where was Doc?
By 1993, Milburn Stone (Doc Adams) had passed away, and Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty) had died in 1989. Their absence is felt, but the movie doesn't try to replace them. It respects the void. Instead of trying to recreate the Long Branch Saloon magic, the writers leaned into Matt’s new life. It’s a smart move. Trying to cast a "new" Doc Adams would have been a disaster and fans would have revolted.
The story focuses on Matt's survival and his legacy. There's a sequence where he's riding with a young man who clearly looks up to him, and you see Matt trying to pass on some wisdom without being preachy. It’s basically a passing of the torch that never quite happens because, let’s face it, there will never be another Matt Dillon.
Production Trivia and Behind-the-Scenes Grit
- Directed by Jerry Jameson: Jameson was a veteran of TV movies and procedurals. He knew how to move a story along without losing the character beats.
- The Script: Written by Jeb Rosebrook, who also worked on The Black Hole and The Walton's. He understood the "family" aspect of Gunsmoke but knew how to toughen it up for a 90s audience.
- The Horse: Arness was notoriously picky about his horses due to his height (6'7") and his old leg injury from World War II. They had to find a mount that could handle his frame and look right on camera.
- Lasting Legacy: This was the third of five TV movies. It sits right in the middle of the "reunion" era, often cited by fans as one of the better-plotted installments.
The Reality of the "Fugitive" Plot
Some critics at the time complained that the "man on the run" plot was a bit cliché. And yeah, maybe it was. But in the context of Gunsmoke, it worked because it stripped Matt of his authority. In Dodge, he had the badge. He had the jail. He had the law on his side. In Gunsmoke: The Long Ride, he has nothing but his horse and his wits.
Watching him navigate a world where he is the "criminal" is fascinating. It forces him to use stealth and strategy rather than just walking into the middle of the street for a fast-draw showdown. It shows a more vulnerable side of the character that we rarely saw in the 635 episodes of the original show.
How to Watch It Today
Finding these movies can be a bit of a scavenger hunt depending on which streaming services are currently fighting over the rights. For a while, they were staples on the INSP channel and Grit TV.
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If you're a physical media collector, there's a DVD set that includes all five of the TV movies: Return to Dodge, The Last Apache, The Long Ride, One Man's Justice, and To the Last Man. Honestly, if you're a fan, the set is worth it just for the completionist aspect. The transfers aren't 4K crisp, but they capture that specific 90s film stock look perfectly.
Critical Reception and Fan Impact
When it first aired, the ratings were solid. People still loved James Arness. The movie proved that there was still an appetite for traditional Western storytelling, even as the "New Hollywood" was trying to move away from it. Fans appreciated that the movie didn't try to "reboot" the character but rather allowed him to age naturally.
There's a specific kind of comfort in watching Arness. He’s like a tall, weathered oak tree. He’s just there. Even when the plot gets a little convoluted with the various sub-villains and the secondary posse members, Arness anchors the whole thing.
Misconceptions About the Movie
- Is it a sequel to a specific episode? Not really. It follows the timeline established in Return to Dodge (1987), but it stands alone. You don't need to have watched 20 seasons of the show to understand what's going on.
- Does he go back to Dodge? No. This movie is firmly set in the New Mexico territory. Dodge is a memory at this point.
- Is it too violent for kids? It's TV-PG or TV-14 depending on where it’s airing. It’s rougher than the old show, but it’s tame by modern HBO standards.
Final Reflections on the Long Ride
Gunsmoke: The Long Ride represents a specific moment in television history. It was the twilight of the Western giants. James Arness would only do two more of these before hanging up the spurs for good.
There's a scene near the end where Matt is just looking out over the horizon. You can see the years on his face. It’s not just the makeup; it’s the weight of playing a character for nearly forty years. It’s rare in any medium for an actor to inhabit a role for that long and still find something new to say. This movie gave Matt Dillon a sense of closure that the original series—which was cancelled somewhat abruptly in 1975—never really got to provide.
If you’re looking for a film that captures the grit of the old West with the production polish of the 90s, this is it. It’s a story about justice, sure, but mostly it’s about a man who refuses to break, no matter how many people are chasing him.
Next Steps for Gunsmoke Fans
If you want to dive deeper into the world of Matt Dillon after finishing the film, start by tracking down the DVD collection of the five TV movies to see the full "retirement" arc. Most fans agree that watching them in order—starting with Return to Dodge—provides the best context for Matt's relationship with his daughter Beth. Additionally, check out the radio archives of Gunsmoke featuring William Conrad; it’s a much darker, grittier version of the story that influenced the tone of these later films more than the early TV seasons did. Finally, if you're ever in New Mexico, a visit to the Bonanza Creek Ranch will give you a real-world look at the landscape that defined Matt Dillon's final years.