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, 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.
How is she, Doc?
Well, she's going to be all right, ain't she?
Her wife is a sick woman, Aaron, a very sick woman.
You don't seem hardly right.
Lucy always been strong.
She don't get sick.
Well, she's sick now.
Whatever have you been giving her?
Oh, giving her a pot of herb tea, strong, real strong.
All has cured us up before.
Well, that's not going to cure her now, Aaron.
Pouring all that stuff down here has nearly killed her.
You fix her up, Doc.
It's your trade, ain't it?
It'll be a day or two before we'll know anything, before I can even do anything.
What do you mean?
She's too weak after all that stuff that you've been giving her to stand an operation.
I'll have to build her up.
Operation?
Well, there's just a chance that it'll save her.
Something's got to relieve that pressure.
You won't take a knife to Lucy?
That's the only thing I know to do it.
It may not work.
I can't promise you that it will, but she'll die, sure, without it.
Oh, no, no, no, you ain't going to take no knife to Lucy, Doc.
No, she ain't that sick.
I tell you, if you go on feeding her those herbs, she'll die.
Well, you cut into her, she'll die, sure.
No, no, Doc, get away from the door.
Doc, I'm going in there and I'll take care of it.
Are you listening to me?
You're wife's got one chance.
It isn't a very good chance, but she's got one.
And I'm not going to let you take it away from her if I have to keep you out of there
with a gun.
Oh, Doc, you've got no right to...
I've got no right to let her die, either.
I'm going to send for the marshal.
He'll stop.
That's a good idea.
That's a very good idea.
Jed?
Yeah?
Come in here.
Ma?
Is it Ma?
No, son, your mother's all right so far.
What's Doc got the gun for?
Oh, you won't let me go in there with you, Ma.
He wants to take a knife to her.
A knife?
I'm not here to hurt anybody, boy.
I just want to try to save your mother's life.
Now, I want you to go into town and bring back the marshal.
The marshal?
Yeah, that's what I said.
Somebody's got to settle this thing.
Paul?
Yeah, you go along and bring the marshal, Jed.
Law will protect a man's rights.
But what'll happen to Ma?
You go along, boy.
Go along.
Now, nothing will happen to you, Ma.
Nothing gonna happen to her.
Now, that's a fact.
Go on, Jed, you get the marshal out here.
Don't let him waste no time.
If you say so, Pa...
I say so.
Go on, now.
I'll take care of your Ma.
I aim to take care of her, gun or no gun.
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.
I don't know if you've heard of Joe Masurak or not.
If you've never worked in steel, then you probably haven't.
But he was a legendary giant whose body was made of pure steel.
It was Joe who invented riveting.
Joe would stand there shaping rivets out of a hot steel with his thumb and fingers.
And while the rivets were taking shape, he'd punch holes in the girders or plates with
his little fingers.
And he'd plug the rivets into the holes and pound them over with his knuckles.
Worked so good that they invented riveting machines to take his place on jobs he couldn't
get to.
Joe was a busy man, you bet.
But in between jobs he couldn't just stand around doing nothing, so he'd stockpile cannonballs,
making them out of white hot steel the way little children make snowballs, by rolling
them in their hands.
For entertainment, Joe used to have what he'd call a taffy pull, only he'd use steel instead
of candy.
And as he stretched it out, his fingers would be shaping it.
When he finished each long tug, he'd break it off and lay down another length of rail
to cool.
Guess half the rails of the B&O were made by Joe and his taffy pulls.
Yes, Joe Masurak was the spirit of the steel industry, the spirit of those men who worked
and sweat before the open hearts of the Alleghenies, who laughed and bragged about the strength
of their giant while they turned out the finest steel in the world.
Some of that steel was Joe Masurak himself, to hear them tell it.
It seems that during the year of the big layoff, when the steel mills couldn't get metal to
process, why Joe, he melted himself down in the flames of heart number seven, so as America
could maintain its steel supply.
Yes, old Joe was quite a legend, wasn't he?
Say, isn't it nice being citizens of a country where you can laugh and talk about things
free as a breeze, and write and read and worship too?
Yes, sir.
Maybe you don't think about it much, but you should.
You can leave your horses here.
I'll take care of them.
Ah, thanks, Thor.
All right, come on, trust me.
I'm glad you're here, Matt.
How about that?
I want you to hear me.
Matt, I tell you, he's going to let his wife die.
All right, hold on a minute, one at a time.
Well, he got no right, Marshall.
It's more than a question of right.
And I won't let him die.
I said hold on.
This...
Now, Errol, you want me to straighten this thing out?
For sure I do.
Well, I can't do it with both hands.
You're going to have to do it with both hands.
Now, you go on out on the porch with Chester while I talk to Doc.
I'll call you in in a few minutes.
Well, now, Marshall, I won't...
Go on, now, go on.
I've got to get a few things straight.
You go with him, Chester.
All right, let's go.
Come on, Errol.
Now, Doc, what's this all about?
What are you doing holding a gun on a man in his own house?
I guess it looks crazy, Matt, but it was the only thing I could think of.
Well, he threw a gun at me.
I'm not going to let him die.
Well, he's got to have care, Matt, whether Aaron agrees to it or not.
What's this business about a knife?
Well, I've got to operate, Matt.
There's something inside there causing a terrible pressure.
And if it isn't relieved, it'll kill her.
Have you done this before?
Are you sure that you can save her?
No, Matt, I'm not.
I haven't done it before either.
But I've read about it.
And I can tell you this.
She's got no chance at all if I don't try it.
Now that's all I'm sure of.
It's pretty chancey, isn't it?
Will the husband refuse on his permission?
Maybe so.
I'd rather have his permission, of course.
I'd like to have you with me too, Matt.
But I'll tell you, I'll find some way to do this, whether you stand behind me or not.
I can't let that woman die because of a lot of fear and superstition.
Well, Doc, I don't know.
Can she talk?
Is she conscious?
She's just barely.
Can I see her for a minute?
I guess so.
Only a minute, though.
All right.
Mrs. Middleton?
Yes, sir.
Mrs. Middleton?
Lucy, this is Marshal Dillon.
He wants to see you for a minute.
Marshal?
Mrs. Middleton?
I want to ask you, you know what's going on here?
You know what Doc wants to do?
You know your husband's against it?
I know.
Well, can you tell me, do you want Doc to go ahead?
Yes, Marshal.
Are you sure about that?
Yes.
Anything's better than this.
I can't stand it.
It's all right, Lucy.
Don't you worry.
Come on, Matt.
That's enough.
Yeah.
Well, Matt?
I sure hope you're right, Doc.
How can I help?
Well, I want you to get her into my office.
She can help me with that.
Well, isn't that going to make things even worse, carrying her out of here away from her
husband?
I can't help that.
I've got to build her up for a couple of days.
If I leave her here, Aaron will go right on pouring that witch's brew into her.
She can't stand to get any weaker.
All right, Doc.
I got Chester to hitch up a wagon.
And I'll tell Aaron.
Thanks, Matt.
Well, Marshal, you going to clear him out of here?
No, Aaron, I'm not.
Your wife needs help, and Doc's the only man to give it to her.
And I've got to take his word for it.
You've got no right to force him.
I'm taking the right, Aaron.
Now, Doc says he's got to take care of her in his office for a couple of days.
He can't take her away.
Yes, he can, Aaron, and I'll tell you how it's going to be.
You can stay right here calling us all names, or you can come along and help us move her.
Now, that's up to you.
Lucy, you need any carry, and I'll do the carrying.
All right, then.
Come on, Chester, let's get a wagon.
Another drink.
Sam, pour me another one.
You sure, Aaron?
I'm sure.
I never saw you take more than one, two drinks before.
I got cause to drink.
Now, you just go on, pour it.
You're the boss.
You got cause to drink.
I'm the man to drink with you.
That's good, mister.
Man ought to have somebody drink with him.
Oh, yeah.
Nanny, it's all right if Sam pours me one, too?
Pour him one, Sam.
You sound like you've got big trouble, mister.
I'm always ready to listen to a man's troubles when he's buying my drinks.
He won't even let me see her.
My wife, Lucy.
Oh, keeping a man from his wife.
That ain't right.
No, it ain't, mister.
It sure ain't, is what I say.
Ain't right.
The way they got her.
Got her up to Doc's for two days.
Can't even see her.
Boy, that's a terrible thing.
That's a terrible thing.
Oh, say, my glass is empty.
Sam, fill him up, Sam.
All right, Aaron.
It's a terrible thing, that's what it is.
All right.
Oh, sure.
Tomorrow, tomorrow Doc's gonna cut into her.
Cut into her?
Are you gonna let him do that?
Well, to your woman?
No.
No, I ain't gonna let no butchering Doc do that.
Well, we can go right up there and get her away.
We got plenty of help around here.
You just buy these boys a drink, you got plenty of help.
Hey, you fellas there.
Hey, Doc, down the end of the bar.
Come here.
This man's buying.
Buying.
You got it right, mister.
That's right, I'm buying.
He buying.
Come on, Sam.
Pour it all out for everybody.
Catch him now.
Listen, Doc, Doc has got this man's wife locked up in his office.
Are we gonna stand for that?
Well, come on, then.
Yeah, come on.
I'll buy more drinks after, but right now we're gonna get my Lucy away from that butchering Doc.
Right?
Come on now.
Hey, hold on there, Aaron.
What's your hurry?
We're gonna take Lucy away from that butcher and Doc.
Now, you just stand back there.
You're gonna leave Lucy alone.
Doc's the only chance she's got.
We're gonna get that butcher and Doc and all these men are gonna help me.
They say go and get Doc.
Now, he's standing out of the way, Marshal.
Not likely.
Hey, what are you doing here?
Pick him up, Sam.
All right, Marshal.
Hey, I guess you figured you'd be siding with Doc.
Are you listening to me, all of you?
There's some excuse for Aaron acting the way he did.
I'm sorry I had to hit him, but the rest of you standing around here working him up to it...
Doc's got no call.
I'm gonna tell you something.
There's not one of you that has the right to say anything about Doc anyway from Sunday.
You got some rotten whiskey burning in your bellies and you're ready to take off like a pack of coyotes on the best man in this town.
He's been patching you up and saving your skins, drunk and sober, for money or for free ever since you can remember.
For the first time you get a chance, you're a howling of his heels.
Now, you listen to me, good!
Any one of you makes another move, I'll sell it with my gun, not my fists.
Now go on, get out of here, all of you.
That was quite a speech, Matt.
You want to have a beer and simmer down?
No, thanks, Kitty.
I better get up to Doc's, draw some case.
Matt, are you sure Doc's right about all this?
You sure this is the right thing to do?
No, Kitty, I'm not sure.
Better man's gotta take his stand.
And I've got it back, Doc.
I sure hope it proves out.
I guess we'll know tomorrow.
Yeah, we'll know tomorrow.
Music
Well, here we are again.
This is Myron J. Bennett with a little-known item of American military history.
If you're a television watcher, you've probably figured the United States Cavalry
must have spent most of its time shooting up Indians and rescuing wagon trains.
Well, as a matter of record, that's almost right.
From 1865 to 1898, the Army regulars, horse and foot,
fought no less than 943 engagements against the Indians
to pave the way for our population explosion westward.
And one of them proved the old strategy that it's sometimes better to run away
if you want to fight another day.
A Sioux chief, Crazy Horse, had been on the warpath for months with thousands of braves
when five troops of the 7th Cavalry caught up with him at the Little Big Horn River
on June 25, 1876.
Instead of waiting for two other columns to arrive and encircle the Red Men,
General George A. Custer attacked the vastly superior forces
and was killed in the fighting with all his men.
In the official inquiry that followed, one officer, Captain F.W. Bentine,
suggested that Custer might have fled the field and saved part of his command,
adding his famous footnote to the tragedy.
I think discretion would have been the better part of valor if he had.
Mr. Dillon, what do you suppose is going on up in Doc's office?
We've been sitting on these steps here an awful long time.
You can't do things like this in a hurry, Chester.
I reckon not.
Awful hot out here in the sun, though, ain't it?
Not as hot as it feels up in Doc's office.
Yes, you're right.
Mr. Dillon, how come Miss Kitty's up there helping Doc?
I mean, wouldn't it be some neighbor lady?
No, Chester, there wouldn't be.
The neighbor ladies don't approve of the operation, or at least their husbands don't.
It sure does beat all.
You notice Aaron there, waiting across the street?
Yeah, I see him.
He ain't took his eyes off Doc's window all morning.
How would you if it was your wife?
No.
Well, ladies, well, of course not.
I would.
Oh, there's Miss Kitty.
It's over, Matt. Doc's finished.
Lucy, what happened to Lucy?
She's alive, Aaron. That's all I can tell you.
You'll have to wait for Doc. He said he'd be out in a minute.
Kitty, you look all done in.
Yeah, I sure am.
Is she gonna pull through, Lucy? Is she gonna pull through?
I understand. I'd tell you if I knew. You'll just have to wait for Doc.
Could I get you something, Miss Kitty? Some coffee or a drink, maybe?
No, thanks, Chester. I'll just go along now.
Aaron'll fix me up.
Poor Miss Kitty.
Oh, Doc.
Doc, Doc, how is she?
Well, Aaron, it's too soon to tell for sure, but I think she came through very well.
She's got a lot of courage.
Well, is she gonna make it, Doc? Is she gonna get well?
I think she is, Aaron, with time. A lot of time.
Yes, I think she's got a good chance.
Can I see her now?
Just for a minute. And don't expect too much. She's been through a lot.
And don't talk to her. Just stand by there for me.
Yeah, all right, Doc.
Oh, say, Doc.
Yes, Aaron?
Doc, I wasn't no help to you, I guess.
Doc, I was afraid.
Oh, I know, Aaron. Fear does terrible things to a man.
But now, I want to thank...
Oh, it's all right, Aaron. You go on up there. Go on, you get up there and see her.
All right.
Here, Doc, sit down. Looks like you could use some doctoring yourself.
Yes, I was... I was a hard thing, Matt. It was a very hard thing.
Except for Kitty. Didn't have much help, did you?
No, not much. Just you and Chester. And I thank you.
Yeah, nobody was making it easy for you, that's for certain.
Oh, most of them didn't know any better.
Yeah, that's no help.
No, it isn't. I just wish we had some kind of an operation that would take care of it.
What do you mean, Doc?
I mean some kind of an operation that would cut out the fear and the ignorance and the superstition.
So that a doctor wouldn't be fighting two battles.
Whenever he tries to save a life.
Yeah. Had to be some knife that would cut all that out of a person.
Yes, man, it would. Sure would. But it's one knife that I wouldn't mind using.
Gun Smoke, 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 Gun Smoke.
This is the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
The U.S. Department of State