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 US Marshal and the smell of gun smoke.
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, the 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.
He's sick and hurt about snow but he'll come on in, the door ain't locked.
Forever more like a body could open the door for their self.
Good morning.
Oh, come on in, mister.
I want to see the Marshal.
Well, he ain't here just now.
He rode out south of town a little piece.
Something I can do for him, mister?
Are you a good man?
How's that?
They say the Marshal's a good man.
Are you good likewise?
Well, I don't rightly know.
I can tell you one thing though.
I expect I just do about best I can.
Can you open the lock up?
Well of course I can but I don't know what that's got to do with it.
I want you to unlock it.
Why now, that just don't make sense.
Ain't even nobody in there.
I want you to put somebody in it.
Oh, well, that's different.
Where's he at?
What's he done?
I want you to lock me up.
You?
You wanted some words?
You giving yourself up, are you?
My hands are clean.
Well then what in the world?
This is mine, saith the Lord.
Well of course.
But I can't just go throwing somebody in jail without the dumbsome.
They'd probably a log in there.
There's the Lord's law.
Well I know that but what's that got to do with it?
Thou shalt not kill.
Yes, but you said yourself you ain't done nothing.
It's heavy upon me to kill a man.
I want you to lock me up to stay my hand.
Okay now, mister, you don't have to kill nobody if you just set your mind to it.
Beastway locking you up won't do no good.
What about when you come out?
It will be safe by tomorrow.
He will have left town by tomorrow.
Now I don't know that I can go around putting...
Oh, mister Dillon, you sure are a sight for sore eyes.
Hello, Chester, what's the matter?
It's him, mister Dillon.
He wants me to lock him up.
He claims he feels like killing somebody.
Anybody in particular?
Well he ain't said, I was just fixing to ask him.
Oh never mind, Chester, seat of my horse will you.
I'll take care of this.
Yes, sir.
What's your name?
Are you the Marshal?
I'm the Marshal.
I'm called Jacob Leach, Marshal.
I'm a God-fearing man.
What's this about locking you up?
It's upon me to kill a man, Marshal.
I want to be locked up till morning so I'll not be tempted.
Oh, and who would tempt you?
The man of sin.
Does he have a name?
His name is Radford.
Radford?
Olly Radford, the man of sin.
Well what's he done?
What have you got against him?
He lives with sin, Marshal.
He shall be punished with everlasting destruction.
That's not exactly your job, is it?
I pray that I may not be the instrument of the Lord's destruction.
I ask that you lock me up, Marshal,
until Radford is left town tomorrow.
All right, Leach.
I've had a hard ride and I don't feel much like arguing with you about destruction.
Yeah, I'll lock you up for the night.
Come on over here.
All right, go on.
You've acted wisely, Marshal.
Maybe.
Well let me tell you something.
After you get out of here, you go right on leaving the destruction business to the Lord.
Or to the law.
The sinner shall surely be put to death.
Yeah.
Well so shall the murderer.
You might remember that.
Now just listen a minute.
If you will.
I've got a little story to tell you.
Well, it's not so little.
It's sort of a tall tale.
It's about a military hero.
Well, at least a hero who's been in the military for a long time.
A military hero.
Well, at least a hero of the military.
Kilroy is his name.
That's about all the information there is about his vital statistics.
But since the beginning of World War II, he's been in every theater of operation from Africa to Australia.
From Kwajalein to Korea.
And all points west, as the saying goes.
And when they finally get to Mars, they'll probably find out that he's been there first too.
They all claim him as their own.
The Army, the Navy, Air Force, even the Marines.
So it's kind of hard to tell just what uniform he wears.
But there's one thing for sure.
Whatever his uniform might be, he's become a symbol of the courage and ingenuity of American men in uniform
who have accomplished the impossible wherever it had to be accomplished.
He was on Heartbreak Ridge and Water Canal.
He was out in front with Jimmy Doolittle Squadron over Tokyo.
He climbed Mount Casino, walked through Berchtesgaden, crawled through Anzio, and waded ashore at Iwo Jima.
You name a place and his mark is there.
Kilroy was here.
Paul Bunyan, Mike Fink, Pecos Bill, and all the rest of our legendary heroes
have more or less confined their activities to the boundaries of our country.
But Kilroy has been wherever our men in uniform have been.
And what's more, he's usually been there first.
Impossible? Well, you might easily think that.
If you hadn't seen his signature on the wall in a prison camp or inside a concrete bunker,
painted on a blown-up enemy tank, or chalked on the top of a bleak bomb cratered hill in Korea,
you might say impossible.
But there are those who don't, and I'm not going to argue with them because they're fellows who've been there.
This is sort of their story I've been telling you, theirs and his.
They're the ones who have made it sort of nice being citizens of our United States,
citizens with freedom to talk and laugh, and free to write and read and worship too.
Yes, sir. Maybe you don't think about it much, but you should.
Well, there's just no doubt about it in my mind, Radford. It was the only thing to do.
Yes, I suppose so.
Oh, I know it was a hard move to make, but it was the only thing to do.
Whatever is right for her, Doc, I'm going to do it.
Well, you've done it, Radford. I expect living in one room at a boarding house.
Here's a little cramped after ranch living.
Oh, well, we've lived in one room before. Anyway, it won't be forever.
No, it won't. I guess about a month at the outs. Oh, oh, morning, Matt.
See, that's Marshall Matt.
Morning, Doc.
Yeah.
You're out early. You're looking for business?
Oh, I've got so much business, I don't have time to look for it.
Oh, Matt, this is Ollie Radford.
Marshall, Radford, huh? I haven't seen you around here before, have I?
No, Marshall, I don't get to town very often. I set up ranching out near Simran a few months back.
Oh, you got business in Dodge?
Well, no, Marshall. To tell the truth, I don't have no business in Dodge at all. But my wife has, don't she, Doc?
Yes, you see, I moved the Radfords into Mars Smallies for a few weeks, Matt. Mrs. Radford's expecting them.
And she's not very strong. I just want to kind of keep an eye on her.
Well, they'll be here for a while, huh?
Oh, three, four weeks if you get it. Well, yes, well, I'll see you two later. I've got to get on up to my office there.
All right, Doc.
You tell Molly what I said, Radford.
I'll do that, Doc, and thanks. So long, Doc.
Goodbye.
Radford, you know a fellow named Leach?
Jacob Leach?
Where did you run into him?
Right here in Dodge. He says that he might have to kill you.
Marshall, that man's crazy.
Yeah, maybe so, but he sounds like he might really go after you. Has he got any reason for killing you?
Four years ago, back in Missouri, I was married to his sister.
Oh, did you go off and leave her or something?
No, Marshall. She died.
I see. Leach blamed you for it, huh?
Well, you said I killed her. But she died trying to have our baby. That's why I want Doc close by this time.
Ah, Doc's a good man with babies. Does Leach know that you're married again?
If he's here in town talking about killing, he must have found out.
Oh, he'd think it was a terrible sin, Marshall, me marrying again.
Yeah. Well, he thinks you're just in town to pick up supplies and are heading back this morning.
Well, just try to keep him thinking that way.
I'd be obliged, Marshall. I've never been afraid to meet a man in a fair fight, but this don't even make sense.
You can't even reason with that man.
Yeah, I know. That's what makes it dangerous.
You know, Radford, it might be a good idea if you'd stay off the streets for the next day or two,
and I'll try to encourage Leach to go back where he came from.
Marshall.
Yeah?
I ain't a man to want to get into trouble, but I can't stay off the streets and hide from him forever.
There ain't no justice in that. I'll fight him if I have to.
Radford, I'll tell you just about what I told him.
What's that?
You let the law handle justice.
Well, that's quite a story, Matt. I haven't seen anybody like Jacob Leach in here.
Well, he might not let himself come into a sinful place like a saloon, can he?
Some of them do, to preach.
Well, anyway, you send me word if he does come in here, will you?
Yeah, sure will, Matt.
I just want to keep track of him if I can.
He's a fanatic. You can't tell which way he's going to jump.
Did he say how long he'd be in town?
Well, he's going back to Missouri in two or three days.
So if I can keep Radford out of his sight, I think we'll be all right.
Oh, Matt.
What?
Doesn't look like I'll have to send for you.
How's that?
I think that's your man coming in the door right now.
What?
Oh, yeah.
Hello, Leach. They told me you'd be here.
This is a strange place to find a good man, Marshal.
What's on your mind?
I was thinking to tell you goodbye, Marshal.
I have a call to leave this town of temptation.
Oh, that might be a good idea.
You set a sinful example, Marshal, frequenting this den of iniquity.
Why don't you let me worry about that, Leach?
With this woman, this brazen woman.
Now, just a minute.
All right, come on, Leach. I think it's about time you got out of here.
Mr. Dillon.
My word shall be heard.
Mr. Dillon? Mr. Dillon, do you know where Doc's at?
Not right now, Chester. Why, you?
Well, it's Ollie Radford's wife over at Marshal's.
Chester. All right.
She took sudden and she took back.
Okay, all right, Chester. I'll go help you look for her.
Come on.
Kitty, you listen to what Leach has to say now.
What?
Show him out, homeboy.
Sure.
Did he say Ollie Radford?
What?
I didn't hear him, Mr. Leach.
Don't you want to go on with what you were saying?
Don't lie to me, woman. They all lie. They lie and they sin.
But it's clear now.
Mr. Leach.
There's no other way. He is here.
I must seek them out and kill them. I can no longer shirk my duty.
Them? Well, no.
I must kill Ollie Radford and the Marshal.
He is no better than the others.
He lied to me. He protected a sinner.
Mr. Leach, do you want to help save a sinner?
Woman, it is my cross to bear to seek out sinners and save them.
I must find my way to this Marsmollys.
I must ask my way and seek them out.
Mr. Leach.
What?
How can I be saved?
Saved? I'm afraid it's too late for you.
But if I helped you, if I helped you find them, if I showed you the way?
A Jezebel come to repent?
Why not?
Yes. Jacob Leach is indeed the instrument of the Lord.
Well, then let me take you there. You won't have to ask your way.
Yes, woman. You lead the way.
Lead the way and we will save the sinners.
Come on then. We'll go out the back way and come up behind them.
I sure want to help save those sinners.
This land is your land. This land is my land. This land was made for you and me.
Some of us think Connecticut is a suburb of New York City, but it isn't really.
It just seems that way because so many people working in the city commute daily between their jobs
and the grassy country-like atmosphere of Stamford, Greenwich, or Larchmont.
Those who don't commute preferring to work where they live, May 9 to 5 at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics in New London,
selling insurance in Hartford or making clocks in Bristol.
But regardless of where they work, both groups of people have a great deal in common.
They don't share merely the Nutmeg or Constitution State,
for the place of their residence is shared with others such as P.T. Barnum, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Nathan Hale, Noah Webster.
People in Connecticut today share the yearly excitement of the Yale-Harvard crew races,
the beauty of the Mount and Laurel Blossom in late spring, pride in their state's early Yankee peddlers,
and more than anything, the true meaning of their state motto, He Who Transplanted Sustains.
I'm much obliged as you both for finding Doc and coming here to warn me.
It's all right, Radford. You just stay here and Doc will fix her up.
We'll handle Leach. Sure, Marshal. Good night. Good night. Come on, Chester.
This kiddy sure moved right in and took over with old Leach, didn't she?
That kiddy's a smart girl, Chester.
You got a plan about him, Mr. Dillon?
Well, I just hope I can start an easy amount of time.
If you push that kind too hard, they're likely to go wild on you and people get hurt.
I declare I don't know why. I didn't have no more sense than to just blurt out Radford's name like I did.
Well, maybe he didn't hear you.
No, but what if he did?
We just have to hope that the kiddy can handle it.
Hurry, woman. Time is running out.
I'm going as fast as I can, Mr. Leach. There's not much farther to go.
We've already come quite a way. Are you sure you know the house?
Oh, yeah, of course. Just down there. You see it? It's off the road to the left. Over there.
Judgment approaches. The sinner shall be punished. We shall not fail.
I hope not.
I see no lights. Are you sure of why you're leading me?
Well, Mars Mollie doesn't encourage callers this time of night.
There'll be lights in the back room where Mollie is.
And the Marshal? The Marshal must be there too.
I hope you'll be there too, Mr. Leach. Just as much as you do.
Where do you reckon me went, Mr. Dillon?
Sam says Kitty seemed to go with him over on a court.
Well, why would she do that?
To keep him from following us. One thing's sure, she's not leading him to Mars Mollie's.
But if we don't know where she went, how are we going to find her?
I don't know.
Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, I'm Chester.
This Leach, would he kill Miss Kitty?
Yeah, Chester, I think he would.
Isn't this the house you pointed out?
Well, yeah, it is, Mr. Leach.
I just thought we might wait for some sign that they're in there.
Why do you doubt it all of a sudden? You promised me you'd lead me to the sinners.
Oh, I've led you to them, all right, Mr. Leach. It's just that...
We'll go in.
Well...
Come, and go up the steps with me.
Open the door.
Yeah, yeah.
Isn't it strange that there are no lights?
No, Mr. Leach. Marlbring a light in it. She doesn't believe in waste. She believes wastefulness is a sin.
It's a small sin. There are many others of greater importance. We'll get a strike of light.
It's empty. This is no rooming house. This place is deserted. Woman, you have led me astray.
I must have been mistaken.
It was no mistake. You are indeed a Jezebel. Now, I must punish you, too. Stand still.
The light went out.
I need no light to see you to carry out your punishment.
You lay a hand on me. I'll scratch your eyes out.
Woman of sin, you're going to die.
Not likely, Mr. Now, you keep away from me. You don't want to get blown in half.
You took my gun.
I sure did, Mr. You come near me, I'll shoot you, sure.
Woman without shame, you shall not escape. No gun will protect you.
Keep back. I warn you. Keep back.
You cannot escape me.
I shot him. I shot him.
Kitty, kitty, you all right?
I'm all right. I shot a man, Matt.
He's dead, Miss John.
Matt, Matt.
Kitty.
It's an awful thing to kill a man.
Yes, it is, Kitty. Even when a man's nothing but a killer, it's always bad.
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 Waltz speaking.
Join us again next week for another specially transcribed story on gunsmoke.
This is the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
The United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.