Mannon

When Matt finally rides into town, Mannon is chomping on a piece of meat. Others here have claimed it was ridiculously loud, crunchy chicken, But it was clearly a pig's foot. My question was how was he eating that? They don't usually have lots of centrally located meat. If anyone knows what he was eating, I'd be obliged.

Meanwhile, Kitty claims to give Matt an advantage in instilling self-doubt into Mannon's mind. Shaking his confidence. And yet? Matt survives as a fluke, a piece of luck. Not really sure what we're supposed to make of that.

What is that song Mannon sings so many verses of? Steve Forrest was a classically trained baritone.

Will Mannon was Quantrell's executioner in the Civil War. In this episode, the actor who portrays Mannon develops his character almost totally by the way that Festus, Doc, Kitty and the entire town react, the subtlest but most potent way of drawing in an audience. Steve Forrest's portrayal of Mannon is an acting master class in underplaying the role. We see a Festus, a Kitty and townspeople never quite viewed in this manner before. It is my favorie of all of the "Gunsmoke" episodes. Forrest will reprise the type of gunfighter seasons later in another episode entitled "The Widowmaker."

With 20 years and over 600 episodes to choose from, its hard to pick a favorite one but this is it. Steve Forrest plays the villain so well that you're trying to reach into the screen to strangle him. Many other reviewers point out how unbelievable some of the events are. What they don't seem to realize is that the whole purpose of this episode was to have a confrontation between Forrest and Matt. This was done beautifully (and brutally). Saying this was the BEST episode is really saying something given the quality of 5he series.

This is a very simple plot that is played out for the entire 52 minutes of air time. Will Mannon (Steve Forrest)is a crazed ex-civil war vet that has one of the fastest draws in the west. He is such a bad-butt that he is willing to kill just for the sport. He first shoots Festus outside Dodge and rides his mule into town. Now his sights are set on Marshal Matt Dillon.

Matt is out-of-town while Will Mannon intimidates the entire town. The townsfolk are so scared of him that while playing poker Mannon says he has four aces and no one questions him. And to show how bad he is- he even assaults Ms Kitty causing her to need Doc Adams for her injuries.

Newly finally finds Matt and tells him about Mannon and the injured Ms Kitty. The climax of the show appears when Matt rides into town and faces Mannon on the street of Dodge.

Steve Forrest did a good job of making the character of Mannon come to life. This could have been a long painful episode but Forrest's acting ability brought great interest to the show.

"Mannon", first aired January 1969, has guest star Steve Forrest as Will Mannon, "twice as fast" a gun hand as Marshal Matt Dillon according to Deputy Festus Haggin (Ken Curtis). In addition, Mannon is a sworn sociopath new to TV westerns, holding ruthlessness as a life principle, portrayed as William Quantrill's right-hand killer-in-chief in the historic raid on Lawrence, Kansas. The showdown is set and it is a gripping countdown with Mannon having the entire town bulldogged by the time the Marshal returns one night to Dodge. To prove his credentials, Mannon works over Miss Kitty (Amanda Blake) and almost kills Festus and Matt. My only problem with this plot -- and it's a big one -- is its near total unbelievability. Mannon arrives in town having shot Festus and left him for dead, riding Festus's mule (ably played by Ruth) with a transparently false story in explanation to Deputy Newley and other townspeople. Yet when Mannon shoots up the Long Branch, refuses to pay for bottles of whiskey, then challenges Newley and Sam the bartender (Glenn Strange) gets the drop on Mannon with his double-barreled shotgun, Miss Kitty steps in to summarily castrate the forces of law and order, orders them to lay down their weapons in favor of Mannon -- and effectively leaves the town in his grip. This only changes for Kitty when she herself and her man, Matt, are personally threatened by Mannon, and it is only by sheer fluke that they survive -- at Mannon's expense.