Gunsmoke (1955) s02e04 Episode Script

ANNOUNCER: Starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
Lift.
Lift, Doc, lift.
Oh, "Lift, Doc.
" You're heavy, you big dummy.
Where are you gonna put me, Mr.
Dillon? Right over here.
I oughta put you into jail where you belong.
That's what we oughta do with ya.
All right.
Easy up.
Oh, thank you, Mr.
Dillon.
I'm sorry that I've been so much trouble.
I still say we oughta take him in there, put him in jail and lock him up.
Otherwise he's gonna get out tomcattin' around again, even on those two sprained ankles.
Well, I don't know, Doc.
I think this'll slow him down to a crawl.
You're in pretty bad shape, Chester.
Oh, I know, I know.
I've been sayin' over and over to myself.
I said, "Chester, you're a fool.
You're just a fool.
" It's the wages of sin, that's what it is.
You're lucky you got off as easy as you did.
What do you mean, "the wages of sin"? Well- I-I told you what happened.
I was sittin' up there in that two-story window, admiring the view, so to speak, and I fell.
Mm-hm.
I just fell right there on the street.
Yes, but you never did say why you fell.
Well, where I come from, a gentleman wouldn't ask why.
Oh, well, you're not where you came from.
Well, sometimes I wish I was.
Like now? Yeah.
Like now.
Well, maybe this time you'll learn something.
Hey, Chester, don't pay too much attention to Doc.
He never was much of a gambler.
A gambler? Well, I never was fool enough to get trapped into a private game with a couple of sharpers.
You didn't tell him that, did ya, Mr.
Dillon? Half the population saw me run him out of town, Chester.
It's not much of a secret.
You are just all country, Chester.
Just all cou- Imagine a grown man gettin' talked into a game like that.
And then yellin' so loud when he got took.
It's no wonder they dropped you out of the window.
Oh, well, they just nothin' but a bunch of crooks.
Good morning, marshal.
Hello, boys.
What can I do for ya? How's Chester, marshal? I heard all about him and them two card sharks.
Something you want, Torp? City boys too smart for him, huh? All right, what is it you want, boys? Summers, tell him.
Well, it's about tomorrow night, marshal: the roundup.
Now, they say your season's over and Dodge'll be spilling full of cowboys celebratin', they'll all be drunk.
That always happens end of the season.
Yeah, but there'll be more of 'em this year.
A lot more of 'em.
There'll be some homesteaders in town too.
A lot more homesteaders.
Now, that means trouble, marshal.
I expect that.
What's the matter? You afraid somebody's gonna wreck your store, Summers? Well, sure I am.
Now, we've all talked this thing over and we want you to get together some good, tough men.
At least 20 of 'em.
And deputize 'em.
That way there won't be any trouble.
Now, that's what we want.
Now, let me tell you something, Summers, it's my job to keep the peace here in town and I'll do it.
But I'll do it my own way.
I know, marshal- Look, you turn in this town tomorrow night looking for trouble and they'll find it.
Those cowboys'll bunch you up and shoot it out with every man wearing a badge.
It'd be the worst slaughter Dodge has ever seen.
It's about as fool an idea as I've ever heard.
I think it's a good idea.
I don't want my saloon wrecked just because you're mule-headed.
You're a gambler, Torp.
You can take your chances with everybody else.
If you don't like it, close up your place tomorrow night.
And lose that Texas money? Not very likely.
We're not all gamblers, marshal.
Now, they can wreck my store just as fast as a gamblin' house once they get started.
Now, it's up to you to make certain.
That's right, it's up to me.
Suppose we leave it that way, huh? And you won't do anything? I'll be doing everything I can, Summers.
Well, I don't know, marshal.
Summers, some people think I'm too soft with Front Street and some people think I'm too tough.
But that's the way it is in every town.
If a peace officer does his job right, he pleases nobody.
We didn't come here for no lecture, marshal.
Then what did you come here for, Torp? You gonna help me pick those deputies? Is that it? As a matter of fact, I could.
Mm-hm.
And two hours after you did, those deputies of yours would have it fixed so you'd have the only tables open for play.
Is that true, Torp? You think I'm crazy? Do a thing like that and have the whole street on me? I wanna protect my place, not ruin it.
Well, that makes sense to me.
I just hope you know what you're doing, marshal, because it's your responsibility.
I hope you can handle it.
Come on.
He won't listen to nobody.
Goodbye, gentlemen.
You think Torp would try that, Matt? Front Street would never stand for it, would they? Well, if he had 20 deputies backing him up, they would, Doc.
And I'd get the blame for what happened too.
That Torp, he's just no good, that's all.
He's just plain no good.
Oh, I don't know about that, now.
I know of a fella who got skinned in his place once and Torp gave him $20 so as he wouldn't leave town broke.
And the fellow was so doggone ungrateful, he never did thank Torp for it.
Never did.
Yeah, how much did the $20 cost him? Heh.
Seven hundred, that's all.
You know, Mr.
Dillon, I ain't gonna be too much help to you tomorrow night.
It's all right, Chester.
You can watch the jail.
Yeah, but you gotta have somebody to help you out on the street.
One man, anyways.
You can't be everyplace at once.
I wouldn't ask any man to face that street tomorrow night.
Well, I know a few that'd do it, and so do you.
Yeah, but I wouldn't ask 'em.
Well, I didn't expect to find you back there.
Well, while Sam's at lunch, I'm in charge.
What'll it be, mister? One beer, bartender.
Where's the crowd, Matt? We're countin' on the roundup to be a big one this year.
They'll be here.
Don't you worry about that.
This town'll be packed by dark.
More business than you can handle.
That's what I hear about you, trouble.
Yeah, I always look for trouble, Kitty.
It's lookin' for you tonight.
Torp and some of his boys cut cards last night.
The low man's in for a big job.
Me? You.
Dead.
Tonight? That's what I hear.
Matt, why is Torp after you? Well, he's wanted an open town for a long time, Kitty.
With me out of the way, he'd have one.
I'm lookin' for the peace officer of this here town.
I aim to get drunk tonight so I figure to shoot this Dodge City marshal now, while I'm sober.
You think you're man enough to do it? Yep.
Except for one thing.
He's gettin' faster and I've just been gettin' older.
Hiya, Matt.
Zel, you old badger, how are ya? Ah, it's been a long time, Matt.
Kitty, I want you to meet an old pal of mine.
This is Zel Blatnik.
Mighty proud to know ya, ma'am.
How do you you do? Zel, this is your first time in Dodge, isn't it? First time, Matt.
Heard about you, though.
U.
S.
marshal.
Guess I've seen everything now.
Disappointed? Well, I'll tell ya, Miss Kitty, I knew Matt Dillon before he got civilized.
Why, there was a time I had to tie his leg up to give him a haircut when he come to town.
Oh? Well, the wilder the colt the better the horse.
That's right.
The only trouble with Matt was that fool honest streak he always had.
Ah, how about you, Zel? Are you rich? Nobody's rich on the Mexican border.
Hot sun and pinto beans, little else.
What do you do down there, Zel? Fight and fry bacon.
And we're mighty short bacon.
Hired out to a general over in Chihuahua a while back.
Lost 20 pounds, $200 and a good horse.
Lucky to save my hide though.
You see, I got drunk with the men the general hired me to shoot.
He turned out to be a better man than the general.
So I told him the general hired me to shoot him and then I headed for Texas.
General lost three soldiers trying to keep me from swimming the Bravo.
You must be pretty handy with a gun, Zel.
Just fair, ma'am.
Just fair.
But when I take my gun out of the holster, I go right ahead and use it while some I knew took a half a second to mull it over.
You know, there's a roundup in Dodge tonight, did you know that Matt was handling it alone? All right, Kitty, now.
You shut up.
I heard all about it.
That's why I'm here: To say hello and sign on for a night's pleasure.
Gimme a star, Matt.
It won't be my first.
You? I was sheriff of Tascosa for six months.
Nah, go on.
It's in the record, Matt.
It's in the record.
They caught up with me there, but by that time I'd done such a good job taming the town that the governor pardoned me.
All right, Zel, I believe ya.
But, listen, this is my job tonight.
There's no reason for you to mix in it.
I heard they're plannin' a party for ya tonight.
Word gets around fast.
I've owed you something for a long time.
Now, that's got nothin' to do with it.
It has and you got no right not to let me pay it back a little.
Now there's a chance.
Zel, you're as crazy as you ever were.
That's better.
Now let's go find me a badge, Matt.
Mighty nice to have met you, Miss Kitty.
Oh, no.
It's on the house.
So long, Kitty.
See you later, Matt.
And good luck to both of ya.
Oh.
There, there.
That oughta do it.
Yeah, thank you.
You sure been a long time comin' to Dodge, Mr.
Blatnik.
How you mean, Chester? Well, I heard Mr.
Dillon mention you a lot, and the way he talk, he never seemed sure that you was alive.
Well, I never was sure, Chester.
Zel, here, isn't the most cautious man, you know.
You think being a U.
S.
marshal ain't askin' for an early grave, Matt? Yeah, that may be, Zel.
I guess there's plenty out there who'd be glad to help dig it too.
Men like Torp is all.
You know, that's the funny part of it, Chester.
Even good men have a strange streak in 'em.
Makes 'em suspect anybody who's paid the handle of bad element.
I guess they figure some of the dirt's rubbed off on him.
That's the way it was in Tascosa.
They wanted me around, all right, but they wanted me to keep my distance.
Treated me like one of them hired killers with a string of notches in his gun.
All right, plenty of them around.
One's too many for me.
Them notches usually mean some poor devils got shot in the back.
To my thinking, it's a poor kind of brain.
Yeah.
Ain't much of a man has to notch his gun to keep his courage up.
The town's fillin' up.
Chester, keep this with you just in case, huh? Oh, yes, sir.
On watch from here.
All right.
Come on, Zel.
Marshal, you gonna let these bandits rob me? Try and stop us and you'll go out too, marshal.
Shall we stop it? No, no, they're just taking him down to Long Branch to stand him for a few drinks, that's all.
That's Hightower, the town printer, they like him.
This sort of officially opens this year's roundup, doesn't it? Yeah.
How will we work it, Matt? Well, I tell ya, you better take this side of the streets, Zel, and I'll take the other side, be over there somewhere.
All right.
Right.
Say, by the way, Matt, can I get your Spencer Carbine? Come in awful handy as a club if I don't use it for nothin' else.
Sure, Zel, it's yours.
And listen, I oughta thank you for what you're doin' tonight.
Ain't done nothin' yet.
But if somebody shoots you in the back, I'll do plenty.
See ya later, Zel.
Sure, Matt.
No shootin', huh? Well, I ain't never learned to read yet.
You can pick this up in my office in the morning.
Break it up.
Move along.
Somebody should take care of that man.
All right, who fired the shot? Sorry, marshal, there is no fight.
Got the drop on you, ain't I, marshal? All right, get out.
You better take a look at this man, marshal.
He's dying.
Why should I look at him? He's wearin' a badge.
Matt.
Matt, I- I think that did it.
No, Zel.
This is my fault.
I crossed the street.
I left the Carbine with Chester.
Oh, Zel, I Matt listen to me.
You did right.
The only thing you could do.
It was my fault.
Anyway, I've been livin' on my own time since the day you pulled me out of the mob in Alamacoto.
I never did thank you for that.
Zel.
Here, Matt.
You've been hit here.
Never mind.
I'm sorry, Matt.
Here, I'll get somebody to carry him up the altar.
No! I'll carry him.
What happened, Mr.
Dillon? What happened? He's dead.
Well, who shot him? I shot him.
I didn't even know who he was.
Now, Matt! Matt.
Why don't you just let 'em fight each other.
What are you gonna do, Mr.
Dillon? I'm closing Front Street.
What? You can't.
They'll kill ya.
I'll go with ya.
No, ya won't.
This is my job.
Front Street's closed.
Get outta here and go home.
Are you crazy, marshal? My home is in Texas, mister.
And I ain't makin' the trip tonight.
You close the street, marshal, and we'll open up the whole- Now, get outta here! Close it up.
Hey, Dad, where are you? Ah, hiya, Charlie.
Where you goin'? The marshal closed the street.
I'm leavin'.
He can't do that.
Well, I ain't waiting to find out.
Matt, I know how you feel, we all do.
But closing the town's not right, it's not fair.
Why take it out on us? Front Street's closed.
Lock up and get out.
Like Miss Kitty said, marshal, it ain't fair.
We're not closing up.
I said close up.
Close up, Sam.
Good luck, Matt.
We've been waitin' for you, marshal.
I'm here.
Go ahead.
No.
Not with that shotgun.
You will have to pay for that, marshal.
I've already paid for it.
Now, you got a gun.
Go ahead and use it.
I ain't no gunfighter, marshal.
You're through in Dodge, Rydell.
Get outta here, all of ya.
Ain't you gonna put a marker up, Mr.
Dillon? Remember how Zel said he never thought much of a man who notched his gun, Chester? Yes, sir.
I remember.
Well, I never notched mine.
But I'm notchin' it now.
For him.
It's gonna be his marker.
Every time I look at that it will have to remind me of what happened last night.
So long, Zel.