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Around Dodge City and in the territory on 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 Gun Smoke.
Gun Smoke, 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 Dillon, 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.
Her name was Rose and she was pretty, and that's all anybody in Dodge knew about the
girl.
She'd come in on the stage from the South a month before and opened a blackjack table
in the Long Branch, working on a 50-50 split with the house.
The game got a big play, of course.
A woman gambler was a new thing in Dodge, and some of the smartest and crookedest card
men in town started coming around to try their luck.
But with Rose Dillon, the house never lost.
And after a three-week run of that kind of luck, I figured it was time to look into things.
Oh, doggone it, man.
We've been sitting here for an hour and a half.
How long is it going to take to catch her cheating?
Doc, we're not going to catch her.
We're not?
The way she handles that deck, we could sit here till doomsday and never see a thing.
Maybe she's dealing on us.
Maybe.
Chester.
Oh, yeah, Chester.
Maybe he noticed something, you know, playing right there at the table with her.
That's the last place in the world to spot a crooked game, Doc.
I swear, I just don't know what you could have been thinking of, Mr. Dillon.
She's as nice a young lady as you'd ever carry to me.
How much did she let you win, Chester?
$14.20.
Yeah, but that ain't got nothing to do with it.
I watched her every second.
All right, all right, Chester.
Who was the heavy loser then?
Well, that Elko Dean must have lost about $200 before he pulled out.
But yes, by betting foolishness, Mr. Dillon, why, he didn't have no more reason to do what
he'd done.
Uh-huh.
Who else?
Well, the ones there now, I reckon young Slim Rattick got about 150 as the game stands.
He's been losing every night for two weeks, the way I hear it.
Well, he gets to making calf eyes at roles and don't pay no attention to his cards.
Oh, yeah, maybe that's how she does it, man.
He gets them so all fired up over it that they don't care if school keeps an eye.
Well, somebody like young Rattick may be, but not the professional gamblers, Doc.
You sit on for a while, Chester.
I'm going over and talk to her.
What'd you sit on?
$17 going.
Another card is down.
Hit me again.
Yeah, it is.
Six of hearts, 23 and busted.
Much obliged to you, Mr. Rattick.
I'm glad you're here.
Thank you, Rattick.
You dog gone sure ought to be.
Seems all I do.
Oh, evening, Marshal.
Hello, Slim.
You luck turning on you?
It ain't turning, no way.
It's been against me right along.
Well, then maybe you won't mind if I interrupt the game for a while, that is, with your permission,
ma'am, I'd like to talk to you.
Why not?
All right, gentlemen, the game is closed.
If you want to step over to the bar, the drinks are on me.
Well, how about it, Marshal?
Do I get a clean bill of health?
Along what lines, Rose?
Oh, running a square game.
You've been watching me like a hawk for the last hour and a half.
Every deal, every move I made.
You see anything off-color?
Well, I saw Elko Dean slip a cold deck in on you.
So did I.
But I'll give you ten to one. You didn't see me slip it right back out.
No, as a matter of fact, I didn't.
Neither did Elko.
And that mistake cost him $230.
More, eventually, because he'll be back here tomorrow night trying to get even.
So the game is crooked, huh?
Marshal, the man who taught me how to handle cards used to say,
you can't cheat an honest man, Rose, so don't bother to try.
But a crook is fair game any day.
Uh-huh.
Tell me something, Rose, how does that fit young Raddick?
Slim?
Yeah.
That's different.
Different how? He's been losing steady here at your table.
You can't all beat bad luck.
I've tried to keep him away.
I told him over and over again to stay out of it and leave me alone.
Stay out of what, Rose?
Ah, it doesn't matter.
Here, Marshal, take a look.
Go on, count it if you want it.
That's the money I've taken from Slim, $2,642.
And when I leave Dodge, you'll get it all back, every cent of it.
Can I ask you something, Rose?
What's a girl like you doing in this business anyway?
Hmm? Or in the living, for one thing.
There are other ways, you know.
None that I know as well.
Besides, it lets me cover a lot of country, look people over.
Why is that so important?
I'll tell you why, Marshal.
I've spent four years now looking for one certain man.
Now you won't quiddle your find, eh, man?
I found him. Tonight.
Oh? What happens now?
I'm going to kill him.
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You know something, Mr. Jones?
No, not what, Chester?
The doggone hand we get nowadays ain't nothing like it used to be.
Oh, is that so?
Well, just look at that.
Well, L&M, they don't even half smoke it anymore. Just put on more salt, that's all they do.
Well, it's better than side meat, anyhow.
Why, even down in Texas, we used to smoke our meat at least two days.
How are you, Marshall? Chester?
Oh, morning, Slim.
You had breakfast yet?
I'm eating two right now.
Well, pull up a chair and join us, huh?
Thanks, Marshall.
You must have made a night of it. Didn't even get back to the ranch, huh?
A ranch'll keep. I have some eggs and ham, Jeff.
Right away, Slim.
Say, maybe if you ain't tried this ham before, you ought to think twice.
I've tried it, Chester. Most every morning, out of my place.
Jeff here buys all his meat from me.
Oh. Well, it sure is a whole lot better than side meat.
How's the ranch coming along, Slim? Had a good year?
Best one yet. First time the place has brung me any hard cash.
Feels mighty good to hear a few eagles jingling in your pocket.
You know, I might jangle some lotter if you stayed clear of that blackjack table.
My luck's bound to change.
Not with Rose, Dylan. She's warned you already, I understand.
Told you to keep out of the game.
I guess I'm a stubborn man, Marshall.
Here's some coffee while you're waiting, Slim.
Oh.
Slim, what are you after?
Well, it's like this. Been five years now since I took that leased land up there on Bitter Creek.
I spent five winters out there all alone. That ain't good for me.
I need me a wife on the place.
Huh? When'd you decide that?
Three weeks ago. First time I seen Rose.
Oh. How does she feel about it?
Hard to say. She got something on her mind that won't let her think of nothing else.
Yeah, I know, Slim. She told me that she aims to kill a man.
That's so.
You wouldn't know her last name, would you?
I never asked her.
You know where she comes from?
Nope.
Any idea who the man might be?
Marshall, if I did, I'd reckon I'd up and kill him myself, just to make Rose happy.
Matt. Oh, Matt.
You're just the man I was looking for.
Oh, even, Doc.
Yes, here. Sit down. Sit down, Matt. You're just in time.
On time for what?
A poker game. We got these two drummers here, fresh off the Santa Fe from St. Louis. Oh, Matt, they're as green as grass.
So help me, Doc. If you'd sweat as hard over here than the sick as you do trying to clip some tenderfoot, well, we'd have a lot of...
This town's never been helped here, thanks to me.
Matt, you got a minute?
Yeah, sure, Kitty. I'll see you later, Doc.
Maybe later. It'll be too late, too. You'll be sorry.
I'm sorry to break in that way.
Oh, that's all right, Kitty.
Matt, I just found out.
Oh, found out what?
About Rose, who she is.
Oh?
Matt, she's Bill Prawley's daughter.
Bill Prawley?
That's right. The gambler who was killed in Libreville four or five years ago.
Oh, oh, yeah. Yeah, I remember.
Rose Prawley, her name is.
Bill Prawley's daughter.
Who told you, Kitty?
Oh, mule skinner came in tonight. He saw her dealing the table out in New Mexico last year.
Yeah, I guess that explains a lot of things about her.
It explains one thing, Matt.
I haven't told anybody, of course, but the word'll get around.
And once it does, she's through here.
Nobody's gonna buck a game run by dirty Bill Prawley's kid.
They'll know it's crooked.
Maybe the word's already out. I noticed Slim Raddocks pulled out of the game.
He's standing over there at the bar.
And she threw him out, along with all the other players except Elko Dean.
She said it was a private game.
I guess Elko wants to get back the money he lost last night.
Say, Mr. Jones.
Yeah, what is it, Tristan?
Oh, something kindly funny happened.
You know that sawed-off shotgun Sam keeps behind the bar, the one with the pistol grip?
Yeah, what about it?
Well, it's gone, and Sam thinks maybe it was Rose that took it.
Rose?
Yeah, but that don't make sense.
Her and Elko were just sitting over there at the blackjack table, looking at each other.
Neither one of them.
What's the matter, Mr. Jones?
We're about to have a killing on our hands, Chester.
Music
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Smoke L&M.
Live modern, smoke modern, smoke L&M.
Enjoy full, exciting flavor through L&M's pure white miracle tip.
L&M draws easier.
Tastes richer.
Smokes cleaner.
That's why today more people are changing to L&M than to any other cigarette.
So free up, freshen up your taste.
Live modern, change to L&M.
Make today your big red letter day and start to live the modern way.
Live, live, live modern.
Smoke L&M.
It's America's fastest growing cigarette.
Music
Matt, what are we going to do?
I don't know, Kitty.
What do you think she's planning?
Well, I can guess.
Chester, is Sam sure that Rose took that shotgun?
He says she'd come back to the bar just before he missed it.
She could have hit it in the fold of her skirt.
Elko's looking pretty white, Matt.
Yeah, just look at them sitting over there, facing each other.
You know, 10 to 1, she's got that shotgun under the table pointed at him.
Can't you slip up behind her, Matt, grab her before she can use it?
A shotgun's not like a pistol, Kitty,
all you've got to do is point in the general direction of your target.
You never thought she'd want to kill Elko.
Revenge, I guess.
Chester, did Slim Raddick hear about her having the gun?
No, sir, nobody did. Sam called me to one side.
Good.
Word got around somebody, be sure to lose his head and touch the whole thing off.
It's going to happen anyway, Matt. Elko's starting to get restless.
He's sure going to make a move soon.
It'll be his last one if he does.
Matt, oh, Matt, these plums are just ripe for the picking.
I can't hold up the game all night for you.
I'm sorry, Doc, I'm busy.
Oh, well, as long as you feel that way about it.
Doc, you don't understand.
Well, only one way to handle it, I guess.
Now you stay there, Chester.
Yes, sir.
Be careful, Matt.
Will somebody tell me what's going on here?
Good evening, Rose.
How sorry, Marshal.
Table's closed.
Oh?
It's not closed to Elko, then.
Marshal, she said...
Shut up.
Elko and me have a personal game going, Marshal.
Yeah, I know.
Better hand over the gun, Rose.
Sit down.
Sit down and put your hand flat on the table, Marshal.
Same as Elko's got his.
Good. Now keep him there.
I guess you know this is a shotgun I'm covering you both with.
Underneath the table.
Yeah, I know that.
But why'd you come over here if you knew that...
Keep your voice down, Elko.
Why didn't you shoot her from where you were standing?
She's aiming to kill me, Marshal.
Yeah, I figured that was about the way things stood.
I knew I'd find him someday if I just kept traveling and kept on running.
Someday if I just kept traveling and kept on dealing cards.
And last night it happened.
I recognized him the minute he sat down at my table.
I knew he'd be back tonight, and I was ready for him when he'd come.
Now you mean to kill him, huh?
She's crazy, Marshal.
She's out of her head.
Keep your hands on that table.
I mean to kill him.
Why, Rose?
If you knew me, if you knew who I am, you'd understand why.
Don't know, Rose. You're Bill Prolly's daughter.
That's right.
Dirty Bill's daughter.
Look, Rose...
Oh, I know what they call him.
Dirty Bill Prolly.
All the cheap little tin horns that tried to cheat him and lost their shirt doing it.
They're cowards.
That's the only way they could hit back.
Give a dog a bad name and shoot him for mad.
Take her, Marshal. She's gone clean out of her mind.
Shut up, Elko, before you get us both killed.
My father was a fine man, and anybody that says different is a liar.
Marshal...
That night he was killed, I was upstairs asleep, and the shots woke me up.
I looked out of my window and I saw a man run out the front door with a gun still in his hand.
I saw him for just a second in the light from the door, but I never forget his face.
Elko here, huh?
That's him.
Don't listen to her, Marshal. She's lying.
It's a job for the law, now, Rose.
Now you walk away from this table, Marshal.
Stay clear of this. I got nothing against you personally.
I want your gun, Rose.
Sorry. The hand's played out.
No, not yet, it isn't. I got a hold, Cardin.
Hey, Slim! Slim Raddock!
Marshal!
Yeah, Marshal?
Come here a minute, will you?
What do you think you're doing now?
Marshal, you can...
Hold it, Elko. Keep your hands on the table.
What's going on?
Get away, Slim. Stay back.
We're right here, Slim, between me and Elko, huh?
No.
That's right.
What's the matter, Rose?
Are you...
All right, Rose, you were planning to give him back his money,
so he must mean something to you.
And he's in it now, too.
The way a shotgun works, it's all three of us and none of us.
Now you hand over that gun.
No.
Oh, Slim, why didn't you stay clear?
Now what's this all about?
Rose, I want that gun and I want it now.
You knew I couldn't. You knew I couldn't, not with him in it.
I was sure hoping you couldn't.
Just...
Here, put this in the back of the bar, will you?
Yes, Mr. Young.
It wasn't fair, Marshal. It was cheating. It wasn't fair.
Sometimes you have to cheat, Rose.
Get her out of here, Slim.
And if you take my advice, you'll keep her out of here.
Don't you worry about that.
Come on, Rose.
Madden, if that wasn't the doggoneest thing I ever saw.
Hey, Elko!
What?
Wait a minute.
No.
I said wait a minute. You're under arrest.
You're not taking me in, Marshal.
Look out! He's got a gun!
Drop it! Drop that gun!
Yes!
Oh, man, I guess a man's luck can't last forever.
Yeah, it sure didn't, did it?
In a moment, our star, William Conrad.
Now a public service message from CBS Radio.
What is America really like?
Thousands of men, women, and young people all over the world want to know the truth.
There's proof of it in the flood of mail received by the volunteer group called Letters Abroad,
which gets mail from people everywhere in the free world who are eager to be in correspondence with someone in the United States.
They want to know all sorts of details about our everyday life.
Anyone who is over 15 years of age who would like to write to someone overseas in Europe, the Middle East, or the Far East,
should send his or her name in a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Letters Abroad, 45 East 65th Street, New York, New York,
together with information about age, occupation, and interests, which will make possible selection of a suitable correspondent.
That address again is Letters Abroad, 45 East 65th Street, New York, New York.
Everyone who does enter into such a correspondence is sure to find it greatly rewarding,
a contribution to better understanding among peoples of the free world.
And now, William Conrad.
You know, when they buried a man out on the high plains, they usually wrapped him in his saddle blanket and forgot about him.
But next week, a man dies and leaves a will that keeps the whole of Dodge from forgetting him.
And that was the West.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
The script was specially written for Gunsmoke by Les Crutchfield, with editorial supervision by John Mezpin.
The music was composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Sound patterns by Ray Kemper and Bill James.
Featured in the cast were Virginia Christine, Vic Paran, and John Danaer.
Harley Bear is Chester, Howard McNear is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty.
Join us again next week for another specially transcribed story on Gunsmoke.
Thank you.