Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there is just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers, and that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke.
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Gun Smoke, starring William Conrad. The 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 chancy job, and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
Music
I had never bought these new boots off and probably rushing around like this.
Hey, where's the fire?
I'm sorry, Miss Kitty. I just ain't got time to stop and visit. I got to get over to the office and tell Mr. Dillon something.
Well, it must be off on the fourth.
Yes, ma'am. It sure is. I'm sorry, Miss Kitty. I'll see you later.
I got to be in the house.
Dear.
Mr. Dillon?
Quiet. Be quiet.
I've got 35 cents in this pot. Cards, man.
Let me see.
The doctor just going to have to hold up the game.
Yeah, I'll be honest. Give me three.
All right. One, two. There you go, man.
Mr. Dillon, I've got to talk to you.
Hold it a minute, will you, Chester? I'm about to win myself 35 cents.
Yeah, and you might be about to get killed, too.
And I'm taking one card, man.
Taking one.
Mr. Dillon, there's a fellow road in the town looking for you. I just heard him over at the Dodge House asking about you.
And I'm raising another five cents.
Raise, huh? You're losing your head, aren't you, Doc?
Over the... He's kindly young, but I think he's a gunman, Mr. Dillon.
I think he's heading over here. Now, if you ask me, I think he's coming over here to kill somebody.
Howdy.
Oh, my goodness, they're deep.
One of you fellas, Marshall Dillon?
Yeah, yeah, I am.
My name's Crowley Tobin, Marshall.
How are you, Mr. Tobin? Will you wait just a minute?
All right, Doc, I'm calling him.
Two pair, Matt. King's high.
I guess that's a matter of...
Just a minute, Doc.
Three sevens?
That'll be three... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, sneaky luck.
Thanks, Doc.
Yeah.
Uh, Chester, is this the fellow that...
Yes, yes, he is.
What can I do for you, Mr. Tobin?
Well, I'm a special deputy from California, Marshall.
No, for the...
I'm after a man who's wanted for stage holdup and murder.
I got reason to think he's here in Dodge.
His name's Jess Rickard.
Jess Rickard?
You know him?
Yeah, we know him. He's been around for a couple of weeks.
You know where I can find him?
Uh, no, not right this minute, though.
Tell you what, you leave the warrant with me, though,
and I'll pick him up for you sometime this evening.
I'll do the picking up, if you don't mind.
Oh?
All I asked you was where I can find him.
Uh, what about your authority?
You're kind of out of your territory.
I'll worry about authority after I get Ricky.
You know what he's like?
He's tough with his hands and fast with a...
I didn't come here crying for help.
How long you been a lawman?
Two months.
If it's any of your business.
Uh-huh.
Now, this your first assignment?
What difference does that make?
What are you trying to say? I ain't big enough to handle it?
Now, wait just a minute.
You think I can't bring a man in
without running to get somebody else to do my job?
Nobody's doubting your ability.
Look, Marshal, if you got the idea
there's a reward out for this fellow, you're crazy.
Why, you...
Easy, easy, now, man.
I never took any reward on a law in my life.
Well, then what's your reason for trying to horn in on this?
None that you would understand, Tobin.
All right, I don't know where Jess Ricker holds up,
but he always hits the saloons in the evening,
around nine o'clock.
Either the Lady Gay or the Long Branch.
Thanks.
I'll be there.
Good day, gentlemen.
Oh, wait a minute.
Before you go, maybe you better shake hands with Doc Adams.
Because the next time you meet up with him
you probably won't be able to.
Doc's the coroner here.
Matt.
A funny thing happened today, Matt.
I saw a green horse.
Yeah, and it had purple wings.
It was flying around up over Booth Hill.
Oh, is that so?
Yeah, it was singing, just like a metal art.
Matt, did you hear what I just said?
What?
Oh, oh, yeah, sure, sure could.
It sounds great.
Oh, come on, Matt.
What's it all about?
What?
What's what all about?
You haven't heard a word I've said since you walked in here.
What have you got on your mind?
Oh, it's that fellow over there at the end of the bar, Kitty.
You mean Jess Ricker?
Yeah.
You know him?
He comes in all the time.
I try to avoid him as much as possible.
Well, that's a good idea.
How does he figure with you, Matt?
Well, he doesn't.
Not the way things stand.
Well, then I don't see what's bothering you.
Kitty, I want to ask you something.
How do you keep somebody from making a fool of himself
when he's dead set on doing it?
That's easy.
You don't.
Yeah.
Who is he, Matt?
Oh, a deputy from California.
He's awful green, Kitty.
He's on his first assignment.
He's going around with his back up.
He's touchier than a bear with a boil.
Oh, and Jess Ricker's his first assignment?
Yeah, so he says.
He won't even show me the warrant.
I'm afraid that'd be asking for help.
Without him, I'm tied.
There's no charge against Ricker here in Dodge.
Not so far, anyway.
Mr. Dillon?
Oh, yeah, what is it, Chester?
He's on his way over here, Mr. Dillon.
He got tired of waiting at the Lady Gay.
The fellow you were talking about, Matt?
Yeah.
Chester's been keeping an eye on him.
Well, what are you going to do?
Nothing much I can do.
There he is.
Here he comes.
Good evening, Marshal.
Ah, how are you, Tobin?
You know, I've been waiting across the street
there for an hour.
He didn't show.
Tobin, the two of us could take him without much trouble,
you know.
We already been through that, Marshal.
Yeah, I know, Ed.
All I want to know is where I can find him.
And you got any idea?
Yep.
He's standing over there at the end of the bar.
Which one is he?
The big fellow with a scar across his jaw.
But listen, Tobin...
I got a warrant to serve, Marshal.
Thanks, anyway.
I don't know what his trouble is.
He's just plain too big for his britches.
Good evening, Jess Ricker.
What's it to you, mister?
Well, you're under arrest for robbery and murder.
Arrest?
You hear that, boys?
This little sawed-off prairie dog says I'm under arrest.
I mean it, Ricker.
You're bothering me, mister.
Put out your hands.
Bracelet, huh?
And you really aiming to put them on me?
I am?
All right.
I'll put out my hand one at a time.
You're going to arrest somebody, was you?
All right, I'll teach you.
All right, hold it, Ricker.
Now, you put your hand on that gun,
it'll be the last move you ever make.
I was...
I was just...
Now, keep those boots to yourself.
You kick him and I'll drop you.
I wasn't doing nothing, Marshal.
I was standing here minding my own business,
and you jumped me.
Shut up.
Tobin.
Chester, get some water and throw it on him.
That's my little Sam.
Will you hand me a bucket of water?
Hey, Marshal.
How come he's trying to arrest somebody here in your town?
I told you to shut up.
All right, stand back, folks.
You all right, Tobin?
Yeah.
I'm all right.
You want me to serve that warrant for you now?
What warrant, Marshal?
Give it to me, Tobin.
If I got a warrant to serve,
I'll serve it myself.
Is that what you're aiming to do?
I'll get you if it's the last thing I ever do.
Either dead or alive.
I don't care which.
Now, Marshal, he threatened my life.
You heard it.
Yeah, I heard it.
Find a law-abiding citizen like me
that ain't got a single charge against his name here in Dodge City.
A man like me has got to protect himself.
For instance, if he was to come walking up the street toward delivery stable
about 10 o'clock tomorrow morning,
I might figure it was hostile,
seeing as how he just threatened my life.
I'll be there, Ricker.
And so will I, mister.
Bring your handcuffs.
I want to pin them through your hair.
You know something, Tobin?
You're a stubborn fool.
My little man, Mr. Dillon, if I was you, I wouldn't fret myself about it.
He's a grown-up man, ain't he?
Now, he's old enough to be.
That's what I mean.
And so he ain't, then, whose fault is it?
I don't know.
Chester is on, I guess.
And I just keep thinking I could have made the same full mistakes
when I started out as a lawman.
Morning, Matt.
Well, we sure couldn't have better weather for it.
Better weather for what, Doug?
Well, for the shooting, of course.
Don't tell me you're heading toward the delivery stable just by accident.
I wouldn't try to tell anything to an old ghoul like you.
Old ghoul?
Oh, no, man.
I'm here on an errand of mercy.
I got my tool kit and everything.
Yeah, sure.
And it's probably stuffed full of blank forms for your coroner's report.
Well, I did bring a couple, just in case.
Maybe Tobin won't show up.
You're wrong, Chester.
He's already showed.
He's coming out of the Dodge house now.
You don't have to sound so joyful about it, Doug.
Well, there's nothing I can do about it, Matt.
You neither, for that matter.
Yeah, I know.
My ding, the street chore is deserted, ain't it?
Good morning, gentlemen.
I hope you're not planning to interfere, Marshal.
Looks like the only way I could have been to jail you, Tobin.
You wouldn't do that.
Don't be too sure.
I've thought about it.
Oh, no, you're too much of a lawman, Marshal.
And it's too bad you're not half as concerned about the law
as you are about your own half-baked pride.
If Ricker gets me, you'll get him, so the law wins either way.
Good day, gentlemen.
Nice talking to you.
I hope he's better with a gun than he was with his fist.
He's not good enough for just Ricker.
But if I horned down on it, it'd probably
make him some money to go from me.
What are you going to do, Mr. Dillon?
Just watch him die, I guess.
Mr. Dillon, you've got to stop him.
He's not my responsibility.
That's right, man.
How I don't blame you a bit.
What am I supposed to be, his nurse?
Oh, no, no, of course not.
Nobody can expect it.
Yes, Ricker.
Just come down to the labor stable, I see.
Tobin's a fool.
It's his own fault.
Oh, you're absolutely right.
There's no way I'm going to let him go.
I'm going to have to get him out of jail.
It's his own fault.
Oh, you're absolutely right.
Oh, yes, he's bringing the whole thing on himself.
For two cents, I'd go back to the office and forget about it.
That's exactly what you should do.
Oh, yeah, if you'll glance down the street there,
you'll notice they're not more than a hundred feet apart.
What of it?
Doc, if you think for one minute I'm going to take any part in this,
you heard him, didn't you?
He doesn't want any help.
But that's true, Matt.
Yeah, that's true.
Oh, my, yes, yes.
I'm going to be shooting any second now.
Ask him three times and that'll be enough.
Oh, come on, let's get down there before it's too late.
Matt, now wait a minute, Matt.
It's none of your responsibility if that young idiot wants to die.
Oh, shut up, Doc.
A man doesn't mean everything he says.
So I've noticed.
Ricker will try to make him draw first,
so it'll make itself the fence and keep me out of it.
Tobin's just stupid enough to fall for it.
It's too late, Matt.
Tobin's seen you coming.
Hey, Tobin, hold up!
He walked right into it.
It's the self-defense, Marshall.
He's gone, Army. You've seen him do it.
Yeah, I saw him.
All right, put away your gun, Ricker.
Tobin.
Here, here, let me see him.
Stand back, Matt.
Open his shirt here.
Yes.
Well, that guy caught him high in the shoulder, Matt.
He'll pull through it all right.
Tobin, can you hear me?
Yeah.
All right, then listen to me.
You had your show and it fell in on you.
Now you give me that warrant and I'll serve it for you.
No, Marshall.
Look, you've already proved yourself if that's what you had to do.
I'll... I'll get over this.
I'll get him yet.
There may not be another chance.
He's too tight on his saddle and he's fixing to ride out.
Now, you say he's a murderer.
You gonna let him get away?
I'll catch up with him.
I'll find him again.
Yeah, I suppose you don't.
It's my job, Marshall.
It's the law's job and you're only part of it.
Now, what are you gonna be?
A stubborn kid or a lawman?
I don't know what you mean.
Make up your mind, he's on his horse.
What are you, two, a boy or a man?
Warrants.
Inside my vest.
All right.
Look after him, Doc.
Now, you be careful, Mr. Dillon.
Hey, Ricker!
Get off that horse!
What's the trouble, Marshall?
I thought we agreed it was self-defense.
Got nothing to do with that.
I got a warrant here for your arrest on the charge of murder.
So they hollered for help.
Marshall, I don't think I cotton to you serving that warrant
any more than I did for him to.
I don't much care what you cotton to, Ricker.
You shouldn't have tried it, Ricker.
You broke my leg.
Now, don't worry about it.
You and Tobin can get well together.
And I think he'd like the pleasure of taking you back to California.
He'll never get me there.
I'll get you there, all right, Ricker,
if I have to drag you by the hair.
You know something, Ricker?
He's just stubborn enough to do that, if he has to.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman MacDonald,
stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Featured in the cast were Parley Bear as Chester,
Howard McNear as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty.
George Walsh speaking.
Join us again next week for another specially transcribed story on Gunsmoke.
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