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Around Dodd City and in the territory on the west, there's just one way to handle the killers
and the spoilers, and that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke starring William Conrad, the transcribed story of the violence that moved west with
young America, and the story of a man who moved with it.
I'm that man, Matt Dullen, United States Marshal. The first man they look for and the last they
want to meet. It's a chancey job and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
Mr. Dullen, I've got a telegraph for you.
Oh, who's it from, Chester?
Well, I think somebody's playing a joke on you.
A joke? What? Why?
I never read such a thing. It's plum crazy. I mean, here, maybe you better take a look
at it.
Yeah. This is from the ward apartment.
That's what it says.
Rex Proctor coming to Dodge as full authority. Bad reports. Take orders from him.
You see what I mean? It says there, sending this government man to check up on you.
Well, it's an official telegram, Chester.
But it says you've got to take orders from him.
Well, yeah, I get it. He's kind of like an inspector general in the Army.
But what do they mean? They got bad reports about Dodge. Things are getting out of hand.
Well, Chester, Dodge isn't the most orderly community in the United States.
I don't like it, Mr. Dullen. I don't like no part of it.
Well, we'll know more about it when he gets here tomorrow.
It's insult. That's what it is.
Now, Chester, maybe this Proctor's a good man. Maybe he knows what he's doing.
How could somebody from Washington know anything at all about the frontier?
No, sir, Mr. Dullen, you mind what I say. You're making a bad mistake if you even let
him get off that train.
There it comes, Mr. Dullen, the good old Santa Fe. You're right on time.
Yeah.
I mean, I wish it wasn't on time today. I wish they'd never get here.
Everything is going to be all right, Chester.
No, it ain't.
Well, we'll soon find out.
You'll soon find out. I know all I need to.
You were in the Army, Chester. You know how things go.
That's what I mean.
You're judging a man you haven't even seen.
Well, we're getting off now. Look, I'll bet that's him.
Yeah, with a beaver hat.
Look, Al, he looks like he takes a bath every single day, Mr. Dullen.
Rex Proctor?
Yes. How'd you know my name?
I'm Matt Dullen, Mr. Proctor.
Oh, yes, of course. Glad to meet you, Marshal Dullen.
Ah, that's just a prop for...
For... I don't believe I was informed of him.
That's all right, mister. I never heard of you, either.
You'll be wanting a hotel, Mr. Proctor. I've got you a room at the Dodge house.
Well, thank you, Marshal. I'll go there first. I would like to wash up a little.
I don't tell you, Mr. Dullen.
Never mind, Chester. Then I'll show you the town, Mr. Proctor.
No, Marshal.
No?
I'll look the town over alone. I want to be free to form an unbiased opinion of the situation here.
I see.
I might as well tell you we've had some rather damaging reports about Dodge City.
And they all say the Dodge is a pretty rough town, is that it?
The government is interested in making the frontier safe, Marshal, safe for everybody.
The only question in Washington is the Dodge hasn't entirely achieved that goal.
In Washington?
You know, I'm going to tell you something, Mr. Proctor.
Yes, Marshal?
You're right. You're absolutely right about Dodge.
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The most.
Get out the geranium water. Here comes Mr. Proctor.
Hello, Marshal.
Come in, Mr. Proctor.
And Chester, isn't it?
Chester Wesley Proudfoot.
Well, I've looked Dodge over carefully, Marshal.
Yes, it's been pretty quiet today, Mr. Proctor, so far.
You mean you're expecting trouble?
Well, nothing out of the ordinary.
What do you call the ordinary?
I don't suppose you got off the boot hill, did you?
No. No, but I've certainly heard about it.
Now, it's got a growing population.
Which doesn't seem to bother you much, Marshal.
It has, Mr. Proctor.
What do you mean, it has?
Well, I've accounted for my share of those graves.
I'm sure you have. And that's one of the things wrong with this town.
Oh?
There's no need for shooting here. I've made a study of such towns as this, Marshal,
and I can't understand why you run Dodge the way you do.
And what way is that, Mr. Proctor?
Well, there's no deadline for one thing.
Your riff-raff should be restricted to one part of town
where they won't endanger respectable people.
You know, there was a deadline when I came here.
I got rid of it.
And why, may I ask?
Well, Mr. Proctor, the riff-raff that you're talking about,
they're not all bad men.
Most of them are just honest cowboys,
or buffalo hunters, or sodbusters on a little spree.
But there isn't one of them that likes to be reminded he isn't quite respectable.
Now, they don't need a deadline.
They know where it is.
I don't agree, Marshal. We'll put the sign back up.
We'll put up some other signs, too.
Like what? Clanchardale, Finney, or Strait?
Take it easy, Justin.
This is a serious matter.
Well, go ahead, Mr. Proctor.
How is it I haven't seen a man in Dodge who isn't wearing a gun?
Now, you think they should check their guns?
Certainly.
If men want to fight, they'll fight, Mr. Proctor.
But if they haven't got guns...
They'll use something else.
And besides, if there's a rule that they have to check their guns,
they'll think I'm afraid of them.
And that'll be the end of any law at all.
You're wrong, Marshal.
This is going to be the beginning of a strong law here.
I want those signs up before sundown.
Well, surely you ain't going to do it, Mr. Dillon.
Yeah, I'm going to do it, Justin.
But why?
Because that's the only way I can teach Proctor his lesson.
You're not the most popular man in Dodge tonight, Mac.
I don't recall I ever was, Kitty.
People are saying you've turned into an old maid.
Yeah, I know.
Oh, because of that idiot Proctor.
Look at him over there.
He's tearing at everybody like they were bugs.
Well, he's trying to do his job, Kitty.
The only trouble is he doesn't know how.
You really have to do what he tells you, Mac.
Well, I'll admit I never ran a town before except on my own terms.
Well, then why do it now?
Get out and let Proctor handle it.
He thinks he knows everything.
I never ran from a fight, Kitty.
And it's Proctor I'm fighting now.
And the only way I can.
Oh, well, maybe you're right, Mac.
You quit now, things are only going to get a lot worse than they are.
Well, Mac.
Yeah, I knew this would happen.
He's got a gun.
I'll take that gun, mister.
No.
Give it to him, Charlie.
I've got it.
The boy's drunk.
He just killed a man, mister.
I know that.
And what are you standing up for him for?
You a friend of his?
No, I'm not.
I'm not.
What are you standing up for?
You a friend of his?
My name's Stroud, Marshal.
I'm trail boss of the TR out there.
Any rides for you?
That's right.
They murdered an unarmed man, Stroud.
He's under arrest.
You want me to lock him up, Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, take him, Chester.
All right, come on with me, fella.
Tank fire.
Stroud.
I don't like to see that, Marshal.
Neither do I, Stroud.
Well, the other man started it.
Well, he wasn't armed.
He just got into town.
He hadn't heard about your new rule against carrying guns.
That's a good defense, Stroud, but Charlie wasn't wearing a gun belt.
He had that six-shooter hidden in you.
All right, I tried.
But I'm telling you, Marshal, that's what comes with trying to disarm the men.
I've seen it in other towns.
I know.
Then you better do something about it fast.
So you've got another man for Boothill, Marshal.
Mr. Proctor, did you hear what Stroud just said?
I heard him.
Good.
And we'll count this man as yours.
You think about that, Mr. Proctor.
Matt.
Oh, Matt.
Well, hello, man.
Oh, you look like you've been to a hanging man.
I guess I'm not too cheerful today, Doug.
Proctor?
Last night's killing didn't seem to bother him much.
He doesn't learn very fast, does he?
No.
Well, I admire you for trying, Matt.
But from what I hear people saying, you're a buckling under to this man,
is making you look mighty foolish in their eyes.
They don't work for the government, Doug, and I do.
I told them that.
I've said with a job like yours, you have to take the good with the bad.
Up to a point, I do, Doug.
What do you mean?
Things might get so bad here, I'll have to quit.
For everybody's sake.
Marshal Dillon.
It's Proctor.
I know. What's he got on his mind?
Marshal, right next door here, right in that saloon,
there's a man wearing a gun.
I told him about the rule, and he laughed at me.
He said to send you in.
He said you know him.
Maybe I do.
His name is Fane.
Nick Fane?
Yes.
Well, what's the matter?
Is he a special friend of yours?
Nick Fane's a gunman, Mr. Proctor.
Does that mean you're afraid of him?
I'll talk to him.
See you later, Doc.
Yes, sure, man.
I'm coming with you, Marshal.
You shouldn't be trying to enforce the law around here, Mr. Proctor.
I have that authority.
On paper, maybe.
I'm just telling you for your own good, you might get hurt.
Hello, Fane.
Howdy, Marshal.
Is he back?
Marshal, what's going on here, anyway?
Got a new rule about carrying guns, Fane.
Yeah, I know.
I saw them signed.
Then why are you still wearing them?
Mr. Proctor, why don't you shut up and stay out of this?
Marshal, did I ever cause any trouble in Dodge?
No, Fane, you never did.
And I never will.
As long as you run this town the way you have.
I respect you, Marshal.
For a man like me, I got a lot of enemies.
I'm not like most men.
If I take my gun off, my life wouldn't be worth a nickel.
No, I don't think it would.
I'm not taking it off, Marshal.
Not even if it means fighting you.
Is he going to come to that?
Mr. Proctor, I'm going to have to make an exception in Fane's case here.
You're afraid of him.
Don't be a fool, mister.
He's no more afraid of me than I am of him.
He can't make an exception.
You break the rule for one man, you have to break it for everybody.
It's a bad rule, Mr. Proctor. Can't you see that?
Are you going to take this man's gun?
No.
All right.
I'm sending a telegram to Washington.
We need a new marshal in Dodge.
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Chesterfield, made by exclusive Accu-Ray, has an open, easy draw that unlocks all the pleasure of fine tobacco.
Now Accu-Ray ensures an even distribution of tobacco from one end of your Chesterfield to the other.
Chesterfield is firm and pleasing to the lips, mild, yet deeply satisfying.
Chesterfield packs more pleasure because Chesterfield's more perfectly packed.
To the touch, to the taste, Chesterfield packs more pleasure because it's more perfectly packed.
By Chesterfield, mild, yet they satisfy the most.
Mr. Dillon? Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, what is it, Chester?
They've come around and they've got Proctor.
What? Who's got Proctor?
Down the street there. They're gonna tar and feather.
Tar and feather?
That trail boss, Stroud, him and some other fellas, they're gonna tar and feather and they caught him just as he was going into telegraph office.
Now that was to get me fired. Now they'll probably think I had something to build this.
Well, he's taking it real good, Mr. Dillon. He ain't saying a word to look, see? They got a fire going under that pot and everything.
Yeah.
All right, let me through here, man. Let me through.
Hello, Stroud. I hate to spoil your fun.
You ain't gonna spoil it, Marshal.
Yes, I am.
We know the whole story. We get rid of this meddler here and things will be all right again.
Little hot tar ain't gonna hurt us.
I can't let you do it, Stroud.
You can't stop us, Marshal.
All right, you're meant for our out here.
All of you.
You see, ain't about to move.
You heard me.
What are you gonna do, Marshal?
Shoot us?
If I have to.
Ain't you forgetting them little signs you put up about not carrying guns and dodge?
Marshal, ain't the man here that's got a gun on him.
You ain't gonna shoot no unarmed man.
You can't take us no other way. There's too many of us.
By golly, he's right.
Of course I am.
All right, let's get on with the party, boys.
We start stripping our friend from Washington there.
The car's about to cook.
All right, hold it.
Hold it! Wait a minute.
Well, you're pretty smart, Stroud.
You win.
You know something? I'm glad of it.
What?
Chester.
Yes, sir?
Go tear down every sign we put up and be sure you find all of them.
Yes, sir. I'll do it, Mr. Dillon. I'll do it.
All right, men, you can go pick up your guns. The game's over.
Marshal?
Yeah, what, Stroud?
No hard feelings?
You'll get to know me better.
I think I'd like to.
Well, you haven't said much, Mr. Proctor.
There's no use in my talking, Marshal.
You were taking this tar and feather business pretty well.
Man tries to face things as they come.
You were facing it like a man.
Thank you, Marshal.
Coming from you, I consider that a compliment.
Coming from me?
I've learned my lesson, Marshal.
Now I'm going back to Washington to make my report.
Well, that's fine.
And you'll know how well I've learned it, Marshal, when you get your copy.
Thank you, Mr. Proctor.
Thank you.
In a moment, our star, William Conrad.
Chesterfield packs more pleasure because Chesterfield's more perfectly packed.
Chesterfield, made by Exclusive Accu-Ray, packs more pleasure because it's more perfectly packed.
Unlocks all the pleasure of fine tobacco.
Chesterfield packs more pleasure because Chesterfield's more perfectly packed.
Firm and pleasing to the lips, Chesterfield.
Mild, yet they satisfy the most.
You know, to build a home on the prairie, men often dug up squares of turf and made sod huts.
Well, next week our story centers around such a place and the two men who died there.
But that was the West.
Good night.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman MacDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Our story was specially written for Gunsmoke by John Meston, with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey.
Sound patterns by Tom Hanley and Bill James.
Featured in the cast were Vic Perrin, John Danaer, and Harry Bartel.
Harley Bear as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty.
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Join us again next week for another specially transcribed story as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal,
fights to bring law and order out of the wild violence of the West End gunsmoke.
Music