Gunsmoke (TV Series) Jenny (1962) User Reviews

Our First Sign of Quint in Action

[cronb01 · 8/10 · 14 February 2019]

Quint Asper (Burt Reynolds) gets his first chance at being a sort of deputy for Marshall Dillon in this interesting story about a woman (the titular Jenny) caught up with two bank robbers and being willing to try to seduce Matt to help them out (that doesn't work, of course).

I'm mostly writing to dispute the "mistake" point about Jenny saying she was going back East and then heading to a western part of Kansas. She is only going to Garden City because it is the closest town where she can catch a stagecoach going east. So it was not a mistake.

Ruta Lee (Jenny) keeps this episode interesting

[kfo9494 · 7/10 · 26 November 2012]

This episode begins as two bank robbers, Al Flack and Zel Meyers, rob a bank killing two people and getting away with $3000. The two split the money and agree to meet in Pueblo in a few weeks to rob another establishment. Al rides off to Wichita and Zel and his woman named Jenny Glover decide to ride to Dodge so that Zel can do some gambling.

After Zel loses all his money, he tries to rob the man who won the cash. However he has gotten rid of the money but Zel hits him over the head with his gun anyway causing fatal injuries. Zel later on ends up in jail for trying to shoot Matt.

Jenny and Zel comes up with a plan where Jenny tries to use her sexual powers to force Matt to release Zel. But Matt is too smart for that situation. Zel does happen to get out of jail when Al Flack comes to town and pays his $1000 bond.

When released Zel and Al are talking about killing Matt but it is overheard by Louie, the town drunk, and he reports the information to Marshal Dillon. Matt goes through two murder attempts before Zel and Al leave town with Jenny in tow. Jenny then finds out that the two men plan on killing her before they get to Pueblo.

With Matt and Quint on the trail of the three friends, Matt and Jenny will both need help, perhaps from each other, in order to save their lives.

I have never been a fan of Ruta Lee that played Jenny. But she was at her best in this episode that stretched her acting ability and showing off her beauty. She kept the whole show interesting. A nice watch for viewers.

NOTE- Second episode featuring Burt Reynolds as Quint. First time showing him as blacksmith of Dodge.

Pretty good episode.

[birdgoog · 8/10 · 22 November 2020]

Lol my two favorite scenes in this episode have almost nothing to do with the key players. First at ab three minutes in: Here comes Doc in his fancy buggy, horse trotting down Main Street. He's got an arm stretched across the back of his seat, reins jauntily held in the other hand, little legs crossed ... just the EPITOME of COOL! The second scene at ab 52 minutes in: Quint and Matt all decked out in their rain suits that look like giant garbage bags! Something especially ab Quint, think it's the way his hood is tied so tight around that gorgeous yet disgusted face! The dialogue was cute but it's just the image of these two nuts practically drowning in the pouring down rain, all tucked into their soaked rain suits! Just so ... ADORABLE! ... yeah, the rest of the episode was pretty good too.

Matt Dillon finally gets physical with a woman!...

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 12 October 2022]

... In his room actually! I'll get back to that later.

A couple of bank robbers end up killing a man during one of their heists. They split up until time for their next job. The bank robber Zel goes to Dodge City with his girlfriend Jenny (Ruta Lee). He makes her take a job as a saloon girl, partly to make money to support him with, and partly so he can keep an eye on her as he is very jealous. Zel is a hothead gambler, and when he loses to another man he follows him into a dark side street and tries to get his winnings back at gunpoint. In the struggle Zel hits him in the head with a gun and kills him in the process. A nearby drunk saw Zel, and so he ends up arrested for murder.

So Zel has revealed himself to be not very bright on top of being a coward. So why does Jenny stick with him? It seems that Jenny doesn't know how to survive without a man. It's not that she's helpless. She's manipulative but bright and knows how to take care of herself. She just seems to need that "prop" of a man by her side, even if he is not much of a man.

After Zel's arrest it seems Jenny is trying to flirt with the marshal to try and get Zel out of jail. When Dillon says he sees through this, Jenny tells him she is actually after Dillon. She is probably telling the truth since Zel is for sure headed for prison, Jenny knows this even if Zel doesn't, and Jenny does need that prop. And you know what they say about a woman scorned.

At first Jenny tries to get the Marshal in trouble by showing up in his room one night and threatening to scream. He quickly bundles her up in a blanket so that she cannot be heard, throws her over his shoulder, and takes her to Kitty's room. Kitty is not buying Jenny's story.

So Jenny comes up with a way to raise Zel's bail and lies to him that Matt Dillon has stolen her from him. Hothead Zel, as easy to read as a neon sign, promises to kill Dillon over this, which was what Jenny wanted. How will this work out? Well, obviously there are 12 more seasons of Gunsmoke after this episode, so that does give an inkling of a hint.

A few points - Burt Reynolds as Quint reappears in this episode. No longer the angry half Comanche, he is now the easy going affable blacksmith. If Matt needs an extra gun Quint is always ready to go after those Smokies - I mean - bandits with his trusty knife. But where's Chester? It seems that Quint and Chester are like Superman and Clark Kent. You never see both of them at the same time.

This episode is the first time that we see that Matt has an actual residence - a room. Also, apparently clean linen in the old west was as sturdy as a bullet proof vest. At least, I hope it was clean!

Actress?

[chemosaaby · 21 July 2021]

Came across this episode while flipping through channels. I recognized the girl playing Jenny but couldn't place her so of course I came to IMBD. Strangely, even though the episode is titled "Jenny" the actress who played her is not listed. Thankfully, as I was typing this - it came to me where I'd seen her. She played Phyllis' daughter on the Mary Tyler Moore show. Her name is Lisa Gerritsen.

Two episodes called "Jenny"

[rrrozsa-55134 · 9/10 · 9 January 2024]

One reviewer mentioned that the girl who played "Jenny" was not listed in the Cast, and was the same little girl (Lisa Gerritsen) who played "Bess", Phyllis' daughter on Mary Tyler Moore show.

Actually, there are two episodes of Gunsmoke called "Jenny", about five seasons apart. In this episode, Jenny is played by Ruta Lee, as noted by another reviewer. In Season 16, Episode 15 (1970), there is another episode called "Jenny" in which Lisa Gerritsen played "Jenny". This episode aired when Lisa Gerritsen was only about five years old.

By the way, this is not the only instance in which Gunsmoke has two episodes with the same title, in different seasons. I guess the writers back then never foresaw the confusion it would cause viewers Googling the titles of the episodes in order to comment on the episodes! They probably couldn't even fathom the notion that within one generation, Smart phones (and the internet) would replace the room-sized mainframe computers that could only be found in universities and large corporations!

Mishmash

[gary-64659 · 6/10 · 27 February 2019]

Given the talent on display here for this episode -- writer John Meston, usually "Gunsmoke"'s ace up its sleeve, and director Andrew McLaglen, a specialist in westerns -- this was a terrible mishmash. The story centers on Ruta Lee playing "Jenny", a cynical, self-seeking temptress with two murdering partners. When Marshal Dillon spurns her advances she promises he will be murdered by her partners and laughs in his face at the thought. Despite all their combined efforts, they somehow fail to kill Dillon (he has more lives than 9 cats). When Dillon and Quint (a newly added Burt Reynolds, who is the most charismatic figure on the screen through this phase of the "Gunsmoke" odyssey) catch up with the three in the badlands, Jenny, about to be murdered by her boyfriend, saves herself by allowing Dillon to nab them all. Instead of Dillon putting her away in prison as a criminal -- as he always did with no qualms, even pretty women -- he lets her go gratitude in for saving HIS life and gives her the remains of the crims' last murdering bank robbery as a reward, for, something... Incredible, i.e. wholly unbelievable. Additionally, it is also sadly lacking any of Chester's (totally absent) or Doc's humor, which made the series in many ways. I think I have overrated it at 6.

Mistake

[vjk-41416 · 4/10 · 29 January 2019]

At the end of the show, Jenny says she will go east to Garden City. Garden City is West of Dodge City.