"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.