Sweet and Sour

I don't remember who played the role of Rena on radio. Karen Sharpe was very good at portraying this sort of role on TV. She did pretty much the same thing on Bonanza in The Ape. Pretty on the outside and VERY ugly on the inside.

This is a very good episode.

This episode has one of my favorite lines from Matt in the whole series:

Ab Laster: "you're gonna wish you never met me..." Matt: "I'm wishing that already!"

I believe this is the first episode where it is stated that Kitty is "half-owner" of the Long Branch.

Rena is a real beauty, one of the best Gunsmoke has to offer. I have seen this many times in life- you are trying to figure out what women want from a man- very often, they just want attention.

This episode is about manipulation for the benefit of one's ego and/or profit. It could be a man or a woman, but in this case it happens to be about a woman. Beware of manipulators. I've run into them my whole life and I've hated them my whole life. They are nothing but trouble. You can't just punch them and shoot them like you can on TV westerns, so they are much more difficult to deal with in real life, especially when they win the confidence of one of your family members.

Matt Dillon runs into a beautiful young woman and rescues her from a trouble maker. Then the woman turns up in Dodge needing a job. Matt wants Kitty to hire her at the saloon, but Kitty doesn't want to saying she thinks the girl is a manipulator and that Matt is being suckered by her pretty face. And of course Kitty is right and Matt is wrong. Dead wrong. But Matt persists and Kitty gives in and hires the girl, warning that somebody is going to get hurt because of her.

I'll stop right there, but anybody can probably guess what's going to happen. A pretty girl right in the middle of tough guys in a country awash in guns. Gee, what could possibly happen?

Anyway, this is a very good episode. And a good lesson for all of us. Beware of manipulators. They are everywhere.

Matt Dillon and Chester Goode are waiting for the stagecoach in Wichita when they meet a pretty woman named Rena Decker. Rena had engaged a man named Ab Laster in a conversation. When Laster begins to become a bit too aggressive with the woman, Matt steps in. Matt and Ab exchange angry words, and Matt punches Ab. Ab makes some threats about getting even with the Marshal after they get to Dodge City.

Rena is a stranger in Dodge and needs a job. Matt introduces her to Kitty Russell, who - for the first time - mentions she is half-owner of the Long Branch Saloon, in the hopes Rena can work at the Long Branch Saloon. When Kitty interviews Rena, she finds something more sinister behind the attractive exterior. Rena has developed the dubious skill of goading men into fighting over her, and she enjoys it immensely.

Initially, Kitty refuses to hire Rena, but Matt and Chester dismiss Kitty's concerns. Kitty accuses the men of being unable to see beyond the pretty face. Kitty agrees to hire Rena as much to prove a point as anything.

Actress Karen Sharpe perfectly fits the role of the dangerously beautiful Rena Decker in this, the first of two Gunsmoke roles. At the time this episode was filmed, Sharpe was signed to John Wayne's production company and accepted roles in many television westerns. She would later marry renowned director Stanley Kramer after which she quit acting and worked with the production company she and her husband formed.

John Alderson plays the Ab Laster character. This is one of three Gunsmoke appearances for the actor who often played villains. A few other familiar faces appear in small roles in this story. Walter Reed plays Joe Garrett. John Mitchum plays a man known only as "Joe." Ken Mayer appears as Hank.

Once again, the production team behind the Gunsmoke series delivers a unique tale for the time this episode was produced. The male lead characters are all clueless, while the Kitty Russell character is the one smarter person that can clearly understand the situation that exists and predict what will happen. Thanks to Matt's refusal to listen to Kitty and trust her judgement, needless violence and deaths will result.

(There is a cleverly shot, key scene in the Marshal's office where Kitty joins Matt, Chester, and Doc to tell them she is not going to hire Rena. The three men are surprised by this news and begin to question Kitty's reasoning. The aggressive body language of the three men - Chester and Doc are standing, while Matt is seated - compared to Kitty's seated, passive position is noteworthy.)

A young beautiful woman named Rena Decker rides a stage into Dodge with Matt and Chester. Matt sees that the young woman is vulnerable and has already stopped a man that was getting fresh with her. So Matt take the young girl under his wing and tries to get her a job at the Long Branch.

But when Kitty tells Matt that something is not right with the woman, it makes the entire Marshal's office laugh. The girl is too nice and good looking to cause any trouble in Dodge. Kitty goes ahead and hires the woman and it only takes a few minutes before Rena makes a liar out of someone.

A different plot that centers around a young woman entering the rough town of Dodge. With some fine acting and creative writing, this show was interesting throughout. Good show.