A large woman and her small companion bring trouble to Kitty's saloon, as the woman has a way of causing guns to be drawn.A large woman and her small companion bring trouble to Kitty's saloon, as the woman has a way of causing guns to be drawn.A large woman and her small companion bring trouble to Kitty's saloon, as the woman has a way of causing guns to be drawn.
Henry Brock
- Drummer
- (as Heinie Brock)
Chick Hannan
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Billy McCoy
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Fox O'Callahan
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Bert Rumsey
- Bartender
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the morning after the card game while Matt is talking to Doc, a reward poster for Lewt McCanles can be seen on the far right side of Matt's bulletin board. Lewt McCanles was the name of the character played by Gregory Peck in Duel in the Sun (1946).
- Quotes
Matt Dillon: It sure was a temptation to let him go after her.
Doc: Yeah! He was just about her size too.
- ConnectionsReferences Duel in the Sun (1946)
Featured review
Big Lena Wave Wreaks Havoc in Dodge City
A tall, gun-toting woman rides into Dodge City with a smaller man. Chester Goode, Matt Dillon, and Doc Adams are sitting in front of the Marshal's office, and they watch as the couple rides up to the office. When the man steps on the woman's foot, she hits and verbally abuses the man. Chester is highly amused by the situation, and the woman takes exception to Chester's laughter.
The woman introduces herself as Lena Wave and her companion as Emmett Fitzgerald. Emmett is a gambler, and "Big" Lena plans for him to play cards at the Long Branch Saloon. Lena presides over the game while Emmett deals the cards. If anyone -- including Chester -- does something to displease Lena, she physically removes them from the game.
Big Lena presents problems for Matt, because he does not know how to deal with a female bully.
When a drunk buffalo hunter makes advances at Lena in the Dodge House, she shoots and kills him. Nate Bannister, the dead man's partner, soon arrives in town to seek justice for his partner's death. When Marshal Dillon refuses to arrest Lena for murder, Bannister decides he will kill her. Bannister pulls a knife on the Marshal, and is subsequently jailed.
Big Lena wants to see the man that wants to kill her. When they meet, it is love at first sight for Bannister, but Lena harbors some secrets that will introduce obstacles into the relationship.
Dee J. Thompson is the Lena Wave character in this story. Thompson appears in the series in one additional episode as Widow Pearl Winton, who has romantic designs on Festus Haggen. Thompson was a frequent guest on television shows throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
A common casting error in television series of this time is to cast an attractive person in a role where the person is supposed to be unattractive. (There is at least one more Gunsmoke episode where this is true. Season 7's "Milly" features Jena Engstrom as a supposedly homely woman, but Engstrom does not fit the description she is given by men in the story.) Thompson is a tall woman. She does not have the natural beauty of Amanda Blake at the time, but she is not an unattractive woman, as the story would have us believe.
Joel Ashley made appearances in many westerns throughout his career. He appears in four Gunsmoke episodes, including this one. He plays the Nate Bannister character.
Actor Terry Becker makes his only appearance in the series as Emmett Fitzgerald. Becker is best known for playing Chief Sharkey on the series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea during its four seasons.
Howard Culver appears once again as the clerk at the Dodge House. Although he is credited only as "Hotel Clerk," Lena refers to him as "Mr. Uzzell" during the episode. That name would be used for him, along with Howard and Howie, in future episodes.
This is one of those stories that straddles the line between comedy and drama. There are some funny lines and scenes in the episode. After Matt knocks out Bannister in the Marshal's office, Matt says, "Sure was a temptation to let him go after her." Doc replies, "Yeah. He was just about her size, too." Shortly following that scene, Bannister is expressing his attraction to Lena. The camera briefly cuts to James Arness's face, and the look of perplexed disgust is hilarious.
There is not enough time in this episode to gain an understanding of how Lena Wave came to be the overbearing bully she has become. The story hints at some of the reasoning, especially near the end, but the time constraints prevent any real exploration of the subject. As a result, the story lacks substance and just kind of fizzles out as it reaches its conclusion.
This is yet another David Victor and Herbert Little, Jr. Screenplay for a John Meston story that first aired on the radio broadcast. Despite the fact the television screenplay and radio broadcast differ little, the radio version works better, because Lena Wave is described as a two-hundred-pound woman as strong and ornery as a mule. Since the listener cannot see the characters, it makes the story more convincing. (In the radio broadcast, Virginia Gregg portrays Lena; Vic Perrin plays Emmett Fitzgerald; and John Dehner fills the Nate Bannister role. All three actors appeared in the television series on numerous occasions.)
The woman introduces herself as Lena Wave and her companion as Emmett Fitzgerald. Emmett is a gambler, and "Big" Lena plans for him to play cards at the Long Branch Saloon. Lena presides over the game while Emmett deals the cards. If anyone -- including Chester -- does something to displease Lena, she physically removes them from the game.
Big Lena presents problems for Matt, because he does not know how to deal with a female bully.
When a drunk buffalo hunter makes advances at Lena in the Dodge House, she shoots and kills him. Nate Bannister, the dead man's partner, soon arrives in town to seek justice for his partner's death. When Marshal Dillon refuses to arrest Lena for murder, Bannister decides he will kill her. Bannister pulls a knife on the Marshal, and is subsequently jailed.
Big Lena wants to see the man that wants to kill her. When they meet, it is love at first sight for Bannister, but Lena harbors some secrets that will introduce obstacles into the relationship.
Dee J. Thompson is the Lena Wave character in this story. Thompson appears in the series in one additional episode as Widow Pearl Winton, who has romantic designs on Festus Haggen. Thompson was a frequent guest on television shows throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
A common casting error in television series of this time is to cast an attractive person in a role where the person is supposed to be unattractive. (There is at least one more Gunsmoke episode where this is true. Season 7's "Milly" features Jena Engstrom as a supposedly homely woman, but Engstrom does not fit the description she is given by men in the story.) Thompson is a tall woman. She does not have the natural beauty of Amanda Blake at the time, but she is not an unattractive woman, as the story would have us believe.
Joel Ashley made appearances in many westerns throughout his career. He appears in four Gunsmoke episodes, including this one. He plays the Nate Bannister character.
Actor Terry Becker makes his only appearance in the series as Emmett Fitzgerald. Becker is best known for playing Chief Sharkey on the series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea during its four seasons.
Howard Culver appears once again as the clerk at the Dodge House. Although he is credited only as "Hotel Clerk," Lena refers to him as "Mr. Uzzell" during the episode. That name would be used for him, along with Howard and Howie, in future episodes.
This is one of those stories that straddles the line between comedy and drama. There are some funny lines and scenes in the episode. After Matt knocks out Bannister in the Marshal's office, Matt says, "Sure was a temptation to let him go after her." Doc replies, "Yeah. He was just about her size, too." Shortly following that scene, Bannister is expressing his attraction to Lena. The camera briefly cuts to James Arness's face, and the look of perplexed disgust is hilarious.
There is not enough time in this episode to gain an understanding of how Lena Wave came to be the overbearing bully she has become. The story hints at some of the reasoning, especially near the end, but the time constraints prevent any real exploration of the subject. As a result, the story lacks substance and just kind of fizzles out as it reaches its conclusion.
This is yet another David Victor and Herbert Little, Jr. Screenplay for a John Meston story that first aired on the radio broadcast. Despite the fact the television screenplay and radio broadcast differ little, the radio version works better, because Lena Wave is described as a two-hundred-pound woman as strong and ornery as a mule. Since the listener cannot see the characters, it makes the story more convincing. (In the radio broadcast, Virginia Gregg portrays Lena; Vic Perrin plays Emmett Fitzgerald; and John Dehner fills the Nate Bannister role. All three actors appeared in the television series on numerous occasions.)
helpful•71
- wdavidreynolds
- Dec 6, 2021
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3
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