Gunsmoke: Kitty's Outlaw (1957)
Season 3, Episode 4
7/10
First Love
10 January 2022
A mysterious stranger named Cole Yankton (how is that for a cowboy name?) is staying at the Dodge House. Yankton must have a notorious reputation, because Howie, the hotel clerk, is quite intimidated by the man. Chester Goode notices Yankton and Kitty behaving in a friendly manner toward one another.

When Matt Dillon sees Yankton on the Dodge City street, he introduces himself. Yankton is friendly, but Marshal Dillon is clearly suspicious. Later, Yankton interrupts Matt and Kitty talking inside the Long Branch Saloon. Yankton asks if he can speak with Kitty in private. When they go into an alley outside the saloon, they engage in a passionate kiss.

Kitty and Matt have a dinner date, and Kitty suggests they eat at a Mexican restaurant near the edge of town. Chester runs into the restaurant to tell Matt three men robbed the bank in Dodge, and one of the men was Yankton. It looks as though Kitty intentionally lured Matt farther from the central part of the town as a distraction. Matt and Chester go after the thieves, but the question about Kitty's involvement lingers.

Ainslie Pryor plays the part of Cole Yankton in this episode. Pryor had appeared in two other episodes in Season 1. Unfortunately, Pryor developed cancer and died a few months after this episode was filmed and passed away in 1958.

A couple of Dodge City regulars make appearances in this episode. Howard Culver returns to play Howie Uzzell, and Dabbs Greer returns as Mr. Jonas. The early scene between Dennis Weaver and Greer inside Mr. Jonas's store is outstanding.

This is another of those stories that provides some small glimpse into the past of one of the main characters, in this case, the Kitty Russell character. The ending scene is a highlight and puts Amanda Blake's acting prowess on full display. The kiss between Kitty and Yankton is shocking given the fact that Kitty and Matt never shared anything similar in any of the 635 episodes of the series.

Kathleen Hite wrote the screenplay for this John Meston story, and as such, it represents Hite's first credited work in the series. She would write five screenplays for Meston stories in Season 3. Hite started authoring her own stories beginning in Season 6. She participated in over forty episodes of Gunsmoke through Season 10. Over the years Norman MacDonnell produced Gunsmoke, Hite and Meston provided many of the best episodes.
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