Gunsmoke (1955) s02e01 Episode Script

ANNOUNCER: Starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
Dodge It sure is a wild camp.
Like they say, it's still got the hair on.
And when men come to meet there, likely as not it's in order to tear each other apart.
They do it often enough.
It's a good thing we got somebody around to pick up the pieces.
Somebody like Doc Adams.
I'd hate to see anything happen to him.
I need him too.
Matt Dillon, U.
S.
Marshal.
Mr.
Dillon, heh, look who I got with me.
Oh, hello, Kitty.
How are you? I just happened to run into Chester on the street, and he insisted I come along with him.
Well, I'm mighty glad you did.
Come on, sit down.
Thanks.
I'm not disturbing you, am I? Not a bit.
I was just hanging around here, waiting for Chester to get back.
I mailed them letters and things down at the depot, Mr.
Dillon.
Oh, good, Chester.
I took that circular over to Mr.
Hightower.
Uh, he said he'd get some printed up in a couple of days.
Fine, Chester.
That's all that you wanted, wasn't it? Yes, that's all.
I mean, uh, there's nothing else that you need me for.
I mean, right now, is there? No.
There's not a thing, Chester.
Everything's going along pretty good, ain't it? Yeah, everything's going along fine except for one thing.
Huh? That, uh, buzzing in your head.
Uh, my head? Yeah.
Look, come on, why don't you tell us what it's all about, huh? Well, it- Uh- It's not that, uh- Well, I did run into a friend of mine just a couple of minutes ago.
He's- Heh.
I haven't seen him in years.
I knowed him a long time ago, when I was in the Army.
Uh, you know how it is.
Go on.
Didn't I ever tell you about him? He's- He's stationed right out here at Fort Dodge.
He's just 5 miles away.
Imagine that.
Chester, I got an idea.
Oh? Why don't you go see your friend? Oh, really? Go on, take a couple of days.
There's nothing for you to do around here, anyway.
Well, a, uh, couple of day- You- You're sure that's a good idea, Mr.
Dillon? Well, it was my idea, wasn't it? Yeah.
Yeah, it's your idea.
I mean, yeah.
Well, I guess I better get started.
There's no sense wasting time here.
Goodbye, Chester.
Oh, goodbye, Miss Kitty, and, uh, thanks.
I won't be gone but a couple of days, Mr.
Dillon.
Oh.
Have a good time, Chester.
Bye.
So that's why he wanted you here, huh? I guess he thought it might help.
He forgot to mention one thing, though.
This, um- This friend of his has a very interesting job in the Army.
Oh, really? What's that? He's a mess sergeant.
A mess sergeant? Couple of days out there, I'll have to go back and get him in a wagon.
You may never see him again.
Marshal Dillon! Whoo.
Well, what's the trouble, son? I'm looking for the doc.
Have you tried his office? I've been there.
I've been everywhere.
I gotta find him, marshal.
I was sent to fetch him.
Somebody sick? Well, my pa told me to bring him out to our place.
Say, aren't you Ben Pitcher's boy? Yes, sir.
My name's Jerry.
Well, now, your pa must be awful sick if he's the one sending for Doc.
I know, he hates doctors.
He don't believe in 'em, but he wants Doc now, marshal.
He told me I had to find him.
There's a backroom at the Dodge House, Jerry.
Doc sometimes plays a little poker in there.
Thank you, lady.
I'll go look.
And you tell him I want to see him before he leaves, will you? I'll tell him, marshal.
And, look, Jerry, if you don't find him, you come on back and I'll help you.
See? Yes, sir.
That's funny.
I heard Ben Pitcher hates doctors.
Yeah, and his wife's just as bad as he is.
They say he got cut up in a knife fight once and then threatened to kill Doc if he came anywhere near him.
That's right.
And he almost bled to death as a result.
I'm gonna ride out there with Doc, Kitty.
Something very wrong about this.
Whoa, whoa.
I don't see anybody around.
Well, you don't expect a sick man to be waiting on the front porch for you, do you? Well, I'd expect almost anything of Ben Pitcher.
Yeah, people can change, Doc.
Yeah, some people, but not Ben.
No, sir.
Well, we'll soon find out.
All right.
Hey, you know I think this is the first time you ever rode in my buggy with me.
Yeah, and I think it'll be the last too.
I think I'll walk back to town.
What's the matter? Scare you? You drive like a maniac, Doc.
Hello, Mrs.
Pitcher.
Well, what you doing here, marshal? I just came along to keep Doc company.
How do, Mrs.
Pitcher? Hello, Doc.
Where's the boy? Oh, he said to tell you he'd be along directly.
Why didn't he come with you? Well, he said you gave him a list of things to buy in town.
Oh, I forgot.
Uh, Mrs.
Pitcher, where's Ben? Oh, he's out back.
Out back? In the barn.
What's he doing in the barn? Well, you go ask him, Doc.
I don't interfere in my husband's way of doing things.
Well, is he sick or isn't he? He's in the barn.
You go talk to him.
I got work to do.
That woman would drive me crazy.
Maybe that's what happened to the old man, huh? Yeah, between the two of them, I don't think that youngster's got much of a chance.
Oh, he seems like a nice enough kid, Doc.
Yeah, he's a nice boy but with those folks, I don't know Better let me go in first, Doc.
All right, go on.
Pitcher? I'm back here.
I thought it was Doc.
He's here.
What are you doing in here in the barn with that cow, aren't you sick? No, it ain't me that's sick, Doc.
Then who is? My cow.
What?! Yeah.
She's got the colic or something.
I done everything I can for her.
Well, it's not funny, Matt.
You mean to tell me that you had me come all the way out here from town to doctor that cow? Well, I wouldn't let you doctor no humans.
Not in my family anyways.
But a cow's different.
I don't mind so much you working on a cow.
Listen.
She's hurting bad, Doc.
I ought to kick you right in the head.
Well, don't take it out on me that you doctors don't know nothing.
If you're so smart, do something for my cow- before she dies.
Well, I'm here now, I might as well.
But you don't deserve it, Ben.
Well, you ain't doing it for me.
You bet your life I'm not doing it for you.
Now, get out of my way and let me in here.
Take your time, Doc.
I'm in no hurry.
Here's your knife.
You went and stuck her with it, didn't you? Sure, I stuck her.
Well, I could've done that.
Well, then why didn't you do it? It's the oldest remedy in the world for a bloated cow.
And it's not painful.
Now, give her all the water she wants, but don't feed her anything for a couple days.
She gonna live? I don't know.
Well, if she dies, I ain't gonna pay you.
I don't want your money anyway.
What's wrong with my money? Nothing wrong with your money.
It's you.
Let's get out of here, Matt.
Doc, you missed all the excitement.
What? It happened right after you left.
Well, everybody was running around and looking for you.
Well, what happened? Well, you see, old Mrs.
Hill- She was just walking down the street, and I guess the sun was too much for her or something 'cause she fainted and she fell right through the general store window and she cut her arm real bad.
Nobody could stop the bleeding.
That's why they were all looking for you.
I told 'em you'd come here, but they wouldn't believe me.
Well, what happened to Mrs.
Hill, son? She died, Doc, just before I left.
Now, take it easy, Doc.
Look, this is not your fault, you know.
A woman died.
I could've saved her, but she died.
Don't you talk at me like that.
She died because of you and your rotten, twisted- Hey, you couldn't have done nothing.
None of you doctors is any good.
Doc! Pa's got a knife! Pa? Doc.
Matt, he ripped me with that knife.
Let's get you in the house, come on.
Hey, what about pa? You let me know when he comes to, I'll knock him out again.
Matt, by golly, I can't see a thing.
From here, how's that look to you? Now, Doc, it's bleeding pretty bad.
It is, huh? Yeah.
I don't care for the mess you're making, marshal.
Get some more hot water, will you, Mrs.
Pitcher? You ordering me around my own house? Hurry up.
Now, Matt, I tell you, I don't think that knife has ruptured anything in there.
But I know there's a couple veins gotta be tied off.
And then it's gotta be sewed up.
I can't do it from here, so you're gonna have to do it for me.
Now, look, Doc, I- There's needles and thread in my bag.
You get 'em, bring 'em in here, I'll show you how.
But, Doc, I- I just don't think I can do it.
Well, by thunder, I'm gonna bleed to death if you don't.
I'll do it.
Marshal- Get out of here.
You- You hit me awful hard.
Did I? He jumped me first.
You saw it.
I-I was only trying to protect myself.
Pitcher, if Doc doesn't come out of this, I'm gonna quit being a marshal and I'm gonna come after you as a plain man.
And so help me, I'll kill you.
You're threatening me.
Get out of here.
Get out of this house and stay out.
Hello, Doc.
Kitty? Mm-hm.
What are-? What are you doing here? Trying to act like a nurse.
Whoa, how did I get here? Matt brought you in on the wagon.
The wagon? Well, I guess you did a pretty good job, Matt.
Glad that you're all in one piece, Doc.
But I'll tell you something, I felt like I had fence posts for fingers.
Yeah.
Well, let me- Oh, no, you don't.
You're gonna rest in bed a few days because you lost a lot of blood.
Well, now, who's-? Who's the doctor around here? You are, but I'm the nurse.
Hm.
Hmph.
Matt.
Yeah.
Oh, is he awake? Mm-hm.
And you know what he wants now? What? Well, he says he's tired of drinking plain water and that if we don't start cutting it with some good corn, he won't drink anymore.
Ah Well, let him go thirsty.
He won't hold out for long.
Oh, I won't, huh? No public servant's gonna tell me what's good for me.
Now, I've been here four days and I'm getting sick of it.
Get out of here and get me some whisky.
Now, you listen to me, Doc.
We've gone to a lot of trouble to keep you alive.
We sure have.
Well, don't worry yourselves about me none.
I could get out of here right now if I wanted to, only I kinda like having you two wait on me.
Now, who's that? Well, that's a dumb question if I ever heard one.
Maybe you'd find out if you went out the door.
Say, I never thought anything could make you ornerier than you've always been, doctor, but, by golly, I think that stabbing did it.
Why don't you quit talking too much and go answer the door? Come on in! Oh, what manners.
Come on in, I said.
Listen to that bull.
All right, fire me, then.
Doc? Who's that? Oh, Jerry, come on in, son.
Well, what brings you to town, Jerry? I- I come for Doc.
Well, what's the matter with you? Pa's sick.
He's about to die, he's so sick.
Now, wait a minute, Jerry.
What's this all about? I know.
He made me lie last time.
He don't even know I'm here now.
He don't know you're here now? He's too sick.
He don't know nothing.
It's- It's like he was out of his head or something.
What about your ma? Does she know you're here? She'd have stopped me.
Doc? Now, look, Jerry, Doc's in very bad condition.
He can't be moved.
Please, Doc? All right.
I'll go with you, Jerry.
Now, Doc- I'm a doctor, Matt.
There's a man dying.
Don't make no difference who it is.
Doc, you're crazy.
You'll open that wound up, riding out there.
You're not strong enough.
That's taking too much of a chance, Doc.
Jerry.
Yes, sir? How'd you get in town? Well, I-I figured you'd need it so I brought the wagon.
That's just fine, son.
I'll go with you.
Well, are you gonna stand there or are you gonna help me? All right, I'll help you.
Come on.
These confounded bumpy roads! Whoa there.
Jerry, get the horses tied up.
Yes, sir.
Now, Doc.
Huh? Look, you just sit right there.
I'll get out and give you a hand here.
Now, wait a minute.
I don't need a hand.
What I need is to figure this thing out.
Just a minute, now.
Now, wait just a minute.
Now, here.
Well, now, take it easy.
Put- All right.
Look, put your weight on my shoulder.
No, here, you take- Wait a minute.
Don't push me, now.
Take hold of my hand.
All right.
There.
Okay, now, come on, easy.
That's fine.
How do you feel? I'm fine, I'm fine.
Just bring my bag, I'm gonna need that.
Come on, now.
Hold on.
Come on, easy.
Think he's gonna be all right? Don't you worry about Doc, Jerry.
Got a lot of fight in him yet.
Well, come on.
Come on, I got a job to do.
What's the matter? I'll get a whupping for this.
Ah, don't worry about that, Jerry.
Come on.
Ma's probably in the bedroom.
Jerry, where you been? Mrs.
Pitcher.
What are you doing here? Well, Jerry came in town to get me.
We don't want no doctors.
Well, your husband's sick, ain't he? He's terrible sick, but you can't do no good.
Well, I can try.
Jerry, I'm gonna whup you.
No, Mrs.
Pitcher, you're not.
Don't you tell me what I'm gonna do, marshal.
Now, you listen to me.
Doc is in no condition to be here at all, but he came.
He came to help a man who tried to kill him.
And you're not going to stop him, Mrs.
Pitcher.
Would you please get out of the way? He looks pretty sick, doesn't he? Marshal! You leave that alone, Jerry! Ma, don't! Let go of that gun, Mrs.
Pitcher.
I'm gonna kill you.
You and the doc both.
No, you're not.
You don't even deserve Doc being here, Mrs.
Pitcher.
You don't deserve it at all.
Marshal.
Yeah.
I been thinking.
I been sitting here all night, thinking.
I don't want him to die.
I can't have him die.
Well, Doc's doing everything he can for him, Mrs.
Pitcher.
But can he save him? Do you think he can save him? Well, I don't know.
Doc, how is he? Well, he- He's past the worst, I guess, Mrs.
Pitcher.
He'll- He'll be all right, I think.
Can I see him? Can he talk? Well, just- Just a little while.
He- He needs a lot of rest now.
You look like you could use some rest too, Doc.
Let's you and me go back to Dodge.
And I promise you I'll- I'll sleep all the way.
Doc.
He wants to talk to you.
Well, Pitcher? My My wife says you was here all night.
She says you saved my life.
Well, I might've helped, maybe.
Yeah, maybe.
But what I want to say is: I ain't gonna pay you.
I never asked you to pay me.
Now, wait a minute, Doc.
Pitcher, Doc here saved your life.
But I ain't gonna pay him.
Why not? 'Cause my cow died.
Because your cow died? Matt, come on.
Pitcher, I- Doc.
Hm? He means what he says, Doc.
I can't change him.
It's all right, ma'am.
I can't change him, but there's something I gotta say.
I'm proud to have you in my house, Doc.
Real proud.
I can't say no more.
Hm.
What do you think of that? I think you've been paid, Doc.
Paid pretty good.