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 the U.S. 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.
That's the last stick of wood. Ben? Ben?
Quit hollering, Ma, I hear you.
Well, if I'm going to keep this stove going, I'll need some more wood.
There's some in the wood box.
No, you didn't fetch any today. Now go on out the wood shed and bring me some.
Ma, I was just fixing to leave for town.
Ben Redgate, you fill my wood box, and there'll be no going to town tonight.
Ma, you can't keep me here like a tethered calf.
Why, you're living in my house, you'll do as I say.
I'm a man grown, Ma. Pa says I ought to...
Pa says you want to go to town so you can be like your Pa?
Now Ma...
Ben, Ben, it's going to town that's turned him the way he is.
He's still my Pa.
Well, you're not going to town. That's the end of it. One man in this family hanging around saloons is enough.
Where's the horses? I thought I told you to get the horses, Ben.
Ma says I can't go.
Well, I say you can. Go on now, get the horses.
The boy isn't going, Horatio.
Don't stand in the way, Libby. He's big enough to go to town with his Pa. Ain't you, Ben?
I sure am, Pa.
He's not to go. You're not to take him in there and start him on the road you took.
Well, now, Ben don't think it's such a bad road, outweigh your...
Sure not. All them sights I never seen.
The time you saw them, boy.
I mean what I say, Horatio. Ben is not to go.
I can't stop you from going. It's too late for you anyhow.
The whiskey hasn't been off your breath for five years or more.
That's no concern of yours.
It's my concern that I had to keep this place going so my boy and I'd have a roof over our heads.
Oh, ain't you had it hard, though?
I've done what had to be done.
And I'm not going to have you coming back whenever the spirit moves you, stirring up things, filling the boy with wild tales.
He's my son, too.
He's your son like I'm your wife. It hasn't meant much for a long time.
You can't come back now and start taking over the boy's life.
I should have known. You ain't stopped reading me out since the last time.
I don't know why I keep coming back.
Well, whether you come or go means nothing to me.
But mark my words. You leave that boy alone.
You mind you said that, Livy. You will have cause to rue this day.
Paul, where are you going?
Any son of mine can find me in Dodge.
I won't be hiding.
You sure don't favor his daddy standing there, do you?
No, sir. Horatio Redgate never spills a drop.
Why, he'd lick it right up off in the bar if he had to.
Why don't you leave me be?
Why, sonny, we figure you need somebody to look after you. That's all, isn't that right?
That's right. The way I get it is ma don't like him out of her sight.
Somebody's got to watch over him.
Come on, now. Leave me be or I'll just...
Or you'll do what, sonny?
All right, boys. All right, boys. You've had your fun.
You the Redgate boy?
My name's Ben Redgate and I'm man-grown.
Sure you are.
Is that your pa lying across the table back there?
Sure, that's him.
Look, Ben, why don't you call it quits for now and go on home, huh?
You sound like my ma. She don't think I can get along out of her sight.
I don't think you're out of her sight right now.
What do you mean?
Isn't that your ma standing there at the door looking in?
She's got no call to follow me.
Maybe not, but you sure are doing it.
Well, I guess... I guess I have to see it to believe it.
Come on home now, Ben.
I ain't gonna go. I ain't gonna listen no more of your lectures.
This is no way for you, Ben.
Come home now and we'll say no more about it.
We'll say no more about it because I ain't coming.
And I ain't gonna listen no more.
Mind your tongue, Ben.
It wasn't easy for me to come into a place like this.
Don't you cause me trouble now.
Ben, don't follow me.
And if I want to take a drink out of this bottle, I'm gonna do it.
Not while I'm here to stop you.
You may be too big to whip, Ben,
but I can still knock a bottle out of your hand.
You can't bust all the bottles in the saloon.
I would if I could right now.
I still ain't coming, ma, no matter what you do.
All right, Ben, all right. I can't drag you.
But I tell you this, if it had do and he could,
if it had keep you from turning out like your pa,
I'd as soon see every saloon and can just burn to the ground.
I'd even help strike the matches.
Your ma sure speaks her mind, boy.
She said some mean things there.
Mighty mean.
She smashed that bottle full of whiskey just like it was nothing.
And a terrible thing.
Wasting whiskey like that is terrible.
Can we buy you a drink, boy?
No, I've had enough of this place.
You going home like she told you?
No, I ain't going home.
I'm gonna hunt up a place to get drunk where ma can't find me.
The shoveling started at the little town of Rome in New York State
back in 1817.
And on July 4, 1967,
the post office released a special Sesquicentennial stamp there
in honor of the big ditch they dug,
which it says on the stamp in my album here was the Erie Canal.
Now, in case you don't know,
that canal went all the way from Buffalo on Lake Erie to the Hudson River,
connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean.
The biggest waterway ever built in the United States at the time.
And it was done mostly by the Irish just over from the old country.
Who did their digging with spit and mussel?
Made lots of money for years on tolls.
And the traffic and freight and people through the canal
was mainly responsible for building up the Midwest
and keeping business in the East busy doing it.
Well, of course, the Erie Canal ain't what she used to be
because the railroads do most of the job now.
But the big ditch is still there.
And so is all the history that went through it.
["The Star Spangled Banner"]
Ah, now what's your excuse this time, Chester?
Oh, hmm?
I just took all your men. The game's over.
Oh, well, now, Mr. Donner, I don't think checkers is a very good game to play so late at night.
What's the matter? Can't you keep your eyes open?
Oh, no, sir, it ain't that.
Some colors, they get kindly blurry,
kindly hard to tell they're red from the black.
Did you ever notice that?
That doesn't make much difference to me.
How's that?
I wind up with all the checkers anyway, whatever color they are.
Oh, now, Mr. Donner.
What in the world's going on?
I don't know. Come on.
Look, down at the end of the street there, see?
Yeah. I don't think they're going to put that one out, either.
Oh, them flames sure got a hold, all right.
That's the new saloon, the prairie wagon.
Now, there's no hope for that place.
It'll be enough of a job to keep the fire from spreading.
I'll go help with the buckets, Mr. Donner.
I'll go around back, see which way it is spreading.
Yes, sir.
Marshal! Marshal!
Yeah, what?
We got him, Marshal! Caught a red-handed!
Marshal, I don't know.
He done it, Marshal. Just as plain as can be.
What's she done?
Well, come on, quick, mister, we got a fire to fight.
That's just it, Marshal. She set the fire.
This red gate?
No, Marshal, but you better go fight it before it spreads through the whole town.
You can't let her go.
I'm not going anyplace. I'll wait for you, Marshal, right here.
You can do more than that, Miss Red Gate. You can pass empty buckets back.
All right, Chubat, let's get to work.
We were sure lucky there wasn't no wind.
Yeah.
Now, you sit here, Miss Red Gate.
Thanks to her, the whole town didn't burn up.
You men got facts to back you up on this.
Sure, Marshal, everybody's got a point.
I'm going to go back to the town.
Youеры back in town.
Here climb up to this space, sir,不是這條路嗎?
You're smart.
Never heard that stuff ran through Olympia,
but on the other side, there's this little hole right there
out back and out there,
and look, I got it.
Let's go.
Now, they're going to open it up.
You men get out. I'll send for you tomorrow if I need you.
But, Marshal, we could...
I said get out!
Miss Redgate, I think maybe you'd better tell me what you were doing out in the alley.
I didn't set that fire.
You were heard talking about burning saloons.
And the saloon burns. You were found right out back.
Now does that sound very good to you?
No, Marshal, it don't.
I'm going to have to hold you until this thing gets straightened out.
Mr. Dillon.
Oh, excuse me.
That's all right, Chester.
Well, Mr. Dillon, this fellow out here says he's got to see you right now.
I'll bring him in.
Well, yes sir, but I just thought maybe it might be better for you to come out and see him for just a minute.
If it's all right.
All right, all right, Chester. You stay here with Miss Redgate.
Yes, sir.
I want to see you, Marshal.
Oh, it's you, Redgate.
What do you want?
I come to do my duty.
Is that so?
That fire, that terrible fire, Marshal.
What about the fire?
I know.
You know what?
I know who done it.
I know who burned down that new sluice.
That terrible thing.
All right, tell me, who did it?
You won't believe me.
Well, you tell me anyway, huh?
You are a hero woman too good for her own good.
Oh, come on, Redgate, tell me your story.
Too good for her own good.
Redgate.
Well, that's her name, Marshal.
Ravini Redgate.
You're saying that she set that fire.
I seen her, Marshal.
I seen her just as nice as...
You're telling me that you saw your wife start that fire?
Sure, sure as you can.
Then why didn't you stop her?
Huh?
I said why didn't you stop her?
Why, Marshal, I couldn't.
I couldn't get there in time.
I was still across the street when I seen her.
Across the street?
That's it. That's it, yeah.
I was across there when I seen her standing in front of the sluice with a big torch.
Great big torch.
Did you say in front of the sluice?
That's right, Marshal.
And she threw the torch.
Then what did she do?
Well, she just stood there watching right there.
And I want you to go get her, Marshal, arrest her.
She's too good for her own good.
I don't have to arrest her, Redgate.
You don't? Why not?
Just tell me why not.
She's already in my office.
Really? In the jailhouse?
Oh, that's good, Marshal. Ah, that's good.
I want to see that, Marshal. I want to go inside.
Yeah, I think maybe you better. Come on.
Hometowns in America have a lot in common, yet they're each one of a kind.
Take, for example, Pulaski, Virginia.
Every day is another day of sawdust in the air at Pulaski, but it's clean and fine and white.
And besides, the Pulaski and Coleman furniture companies are mostly what make Pulaski go.
If you're driving down from Washington on U.S. Highway 11, you'll pass right through Pulaski,
and you can stop at Don Keester's Gap Restaurant for that good Virginia country ham sliced thick.
Fair weather finds Piedmont Airlines touching down at New River Valley Airport,
nearly two hours closer than the old Roanoke Terminal.
If you're in Pulaski at the right time, you can catch a ballgame between Pulaski and Dublin.
Or, if you're staying longer, a season ticket to the concerts in Blacksburg at VMI are just the thing.
And those Civil War cannons still need a nice-sized park.
But if your hometown is Pulaski, you already know this.
We only wanted to remind you, it's still early.
The Pulaski and Coleman
What?
She ain't locked up at all, Marshal. She's just sitting there.
Horatio, where's Ben?
Go on now, Marshal. Lock her up. Lock her up, Marshal.
Oh, sit down, Redgate. Sit down.
We just wanted to see her locked up.
I don't think that's going to be necessary.
Why not, Marshal? She done it. She said she was going to. I seen her.
I'm not so sure about that.
Anybody will tell you she said that she'd soon see all the saloons burned.
She'll tell you herself, won't you? Won't you, Livy?
What have you done with Ben?
You're in a fix for sure, ain't you, Livy? Your boys run off, ain't they?
Because you didn't want him to see his pa.
Send him home, Horatio. Give him a chance to grow up decent.
You've been out looking for him, ain't you, Livy?
You couldn't sit there at home and wait for him, could you?
Yes, I've been looking.
Is that what you were doing in the alley, Miss Redgate?
Yes, Marshal, I... I'm ashamed to tell you it was.
I was feared someone would tell him if they saw me out front, so I was going along the back way.
I've got my hindsight now. I can see it was wrong.
Yeah, I hear that, Marshal. Vinnie Redgate admits he was wrong.
Lock her up, Marshal. Lock her up.
Let her sit there, spell, and repent.
You got it backwards, Redgate.
What's that?
You're the one who's going to sit there and repent.
What?
Your wife never was out on Front Street. Two witnesses saw her around back.
Your story doesn't make any sense at all.
Marshal, I swear...
Don't bother.
You sure wanted to get at her, didn't you?
Now, wait a minute...
I'd watch what I was saying if I were you.
Matt? Say, Matt.
Yeah, Doc, what is it?
Oh, well, um, I'll come back later.
No, it's all right. It's all right. What's on your mind?
Well, it'd be better if I came back later.
Just speak up, Doc.
Well, Matt, it's, uh, it's about that fire.
Did somebody hurt?
Somebody's dead.
Well, who was it?
Well, Matt...
Doc...
It's Ben, isn't it?
Yes, Mrs. Redgate. It's Ben.
I had a feeling about tonight.
I had a feeling that's why I kept going after him...
looking for him.
You say...
that my boy was in that suit?
Yes, Rachel. He must have been...
asleep back at the bar.
I'm sorry. I'm real sorry.
Oh...
Ben's dead?
What?
I didn't mean nothing like this.
I didn't mean to hurt nobody.
Just to get living a fix for a day or two.
You set the fire, didn't you?
Yes, Marshall.
I said it.
But...
I didn't mean to burn my boy.
Just him.
Take him back and lock him up.
Yes, sir.
I'm sorry, Mrs. Redgate.
There was something I could do to make it easier for you.
If you like, ma'am, I'll have Chester take you home.
Home?
I drove Ben away from home.
What did I do wrong, Marshall?
I only wanted him to be a good boy.
What did I do wrong?
Maybe it's not what you did wrong, Mrs. Redgate.
Maybe you just tried too hard to do right.
The
When it comes to political terminology,
I guess that old character, Elijah Cuddlestone, has used it all, for instance.
And I say that all of them, every man Jack and nominated to run against me,
is cast in the same mold, poured out of the same bottle,
chipped off of the same political stump.
I mean, there's no choice among them, that is.
The fact is, it's a fact that you'll see them ring in a dark horse candidate.
Dark horse, that is, because they can't make up their minds otherwise, is what I mean.
Dark horse in the political sense in which Elijah used it means pretty much as he explained it.
An unexpected nominee brought in to break a deadlocked balloting for a candidate
from among the leading nominees.
Presidents Polk, Pierce, Garfield, and Harding were dark horses.
Originally, dark horse was a racing term for a horse whose abilities were kept in the dark
until displayed in the race.
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 United States Army, the United States Army, and the United States Army.