Cimarron Strip (1967–1968): Season 1, Episode 18 - Knife in the Darkness - full transcript
Marshal Crown, during the course of an hauntingly foggy night, hunts for a killer who is butchering his victims. Francis tells crown about how police in London were unable to solve a similar set of killings earlier that year -- by someone who called himself Jack the Ripper.
♪♪
Hey, watch it, you
might lose your...
(laughing)
What's the matter with you boys?
You boys cool down.
This is the season for goodwill.
Now go on, get.
Have yourselves
some good, clean fun.
Hiya Josie.
You raunchy,
miserable pair of...
♪♪
This fog.
Strange weather.
A mount for a summer.
Strange weather.
Who do they think they are,
scraping like a pair of bulls?
I ain't no short line girl.
I'll show them.
♪♪
Who's back there?
Tal St. James, is that you?
I told you to forget it.
You're acting like a
liquored-up animal.
Bladgey?
Tal?
Leave me alone!
(screaming)
♪♪
If I wasn't the only one in town,
I'd swear she was killed by surgeon.
Well, not to make a big Who Struck
John out of it, but since you are the only
doctor in town, where you
been the last hour or so?
On the downhill side of
deuces wild, Mr. Crown.
Saloon.
Four witnesses.
Why a doctor?
Somebody that knows his way
around the skinny end of a knife.
Hey, I heard Josie from
Pony Jane's been stabbed.
Yeah.
No, you don't want
to go back there.
Anybody here see Josie
when she left the party?
Well, who was she with?
Let me see that knife.
Is that the way you
hand a knife to someone?
Blade first?
What are you looking at me for?
I didn't do it.
Hey, I liked her.
All the boys did.
She was a lot of fun.
Look, I wouldn't
do a thing like that.
I couldn't.
Lots of others had
their eyes on her.
And plenty knew
how to use a knife too.
What about that
Injun, Shadow Feller?
He was always hanging around,
trying to get frisky with her.
She wouldn't cotton
up to no dog-eater.
How about him?
That's something
true, Mr. Crown.
I seen that Injun
skin a rattlesnake.
Just like that.
One slice and he took
the clothes right off her.
I'll have to check that out.
You got your hands full.
See you later on.
I told you not to go back there.
I didn't know it was like that.
A couple of you men,
wrap her up in a tarp
and take her over to
the carpenter's shop.
Come on, I'll buy you a beer.
Didn't that bother
you back there?
Yeah, it bothered me.
I've seen dead before.
Probably see a lot more.
Like that?
No, not like that.
Takes a sick mind
to kill like that.
Where you going?
Going to Pony Jane's.
See who was
hanging around Josie.
Give me a bottle of liquor.
Got some deep drinking to do.
You owe me for two bottles.
Don't fret me, O'Dell!
Been on a mean job.
Where have you been?
I'll blade you...
You shut your face, St. James.
I'm gonna come
over and kick it shut.
We took her over
to the carpenter.
Some talk you didn't like the
way Josie made small of you.
You listen to me, boy.
I don't want to hear any
more of that loose talk.
I liked her and
everybody knew it.
Any time I'd go over to Pony
Jane's place, Josie and me,
we'd have a lot of laughs.
That's the truth.
Who'd want to go
do a thing like that?
You can shoot up a place,
maybe chuck a knife at somebody,
I can understand that.
But, but, but, but a woman...
Hardly enough of them
around here as it is.
I'll tell you who'd do it.
A savage would do it.
Someone who's used
to hauling off scalps.
That Injun Shadow
Feller, he'd...
He the one that hangs
around town with hides?
Yeah, same.
Hanging around.
Always hanging around,
trying to get at her.
He seemed like a nice enough
feller for a housebroke Injun.
Oh, they fool ya.
Tal, seems like you're
making a case on him.
What does that mean?
I'd like to see the man who's done
this to Josie get caught, that's all.
You boys are pretty dumb if you think a
savage like that's gonna let insults pass.
You ever hear Josie
insult Shadow Feller, Tal?
Sure, lots of times.
It was all over town.
Everybody knew it.
I'll bet he done it.
I know Crown ain't
gonna catch him.
Couple of you boys want
to take a little walk with me?
Over to that Injun's camp?
Ask him, straight up?
All right, all right, you...
If you don't want to see a
murderer like that get buckled,
I'll go over there
and I'll do it myself.
Pony Jane, isn't that a little bit coy,
you crocheting "Bless Our Happy Home"?
I tell you how
to keep it clean...
Well, I must admit it.
I have less brawls here than
I do any place else in town.
That's because we
keep an orderly place.
Something special
I can do for you?
You see anyone hanging
around Josie the last few days?
Anyone in particular?
Uh, Kallman the
gambler, you know him?
No.
Tall. Mean eyes.
Little beady eyes,
like a raccoon.
Anybody else?
Ask the girls.
Mm-hmm.
- The doc.
- Casio?
Oh, Katie, he lost
his wife last year.
He comes in here for...
Mmm.
Look, Josie didn't
like him very much.
But he came in almost every
night and had a drink with her.
Kallman, Casio.
I wonder who saw Josie last before
she went down to the clearing to dance.
Woman: I did.
Was anyone with her?
No, no one special.
She just wanted to
see the decorations.
I'd like to talk to the
ladies for a while.
Do you mind?
Sure, fine with me, but you have
to do it in the back room there.
That badge of yours
scares off business.
I'd like to talk to you first.
Oh, Maddie.
Oh, wow!
Oh, Jim Crown.
Maddie, Maddie Lenart.
What are you doing here?
I just don't believe it's you.
Oh, Jim, it's good to see you.
Last time you weren't looming
out from behind a badge.
Everybody develops
bad habits sooner or later.
I see you see have trouble
getting a good shave.
Maddie.
You here in Cimarron,
why that's impossible.
Abilene, five years.
I thought you were
gonna marry Lynn.
That turned into
a bad thing, huh?
Well, he got the gold fever
and left, so I moved on.
Oh, well, he always
was a fiddle foot.
How about you, now that
you're the pillar of the community?
I'm some pillar.
I'm the official target for
every walloper and hard case
that can't find a whiskey...
I know you.
You just got tired of running.
If I'd have found
somebody like you, Maddie,
I'd have quit running
a long time ago.
This thing with
Josie is pretty awful.
You seem to be looking.
Yeah, that's about all
I am doing is looking.
Well, I can't be of much help.
I've only been in
town a couple of days.
They told you about the one
she's been seen with lately.
Oh, Maddie, it's
so good to see you.
I didn't think anything
would make me smile.
Not tonight.
You look just fine.
I look like a sack of tired feed
and you know it, so stop that.
Now that you're here
within grabbing distance,
you and I are gonna
have to get together.
That'd be fine, Jim.
There's some beautiful
country around here.
How about tomorrow?
I'll pick you out a horse.
You bundle up
'cause it's getting cold
and then I'll show you
some glorious scenery.
I'd like that a lot.
It's so good to see you.
Yeah.
I better go hit the street.
Jim?
The way Josie got killed,
it's got us all a little scared.
♪♪
Butcher!
Don't move.
I'll blow another mouth
in the back of your head.
Blood.
What do you want?
This was Josie's brooch.
I asked what do you want.
I want to shoot you
where you stand.
But I won't. I'm going to
take you back into town.
A lot of people are going to have to
eat their words when they see this.
Go on, move!
Easy man, it's only
me, MacGregor.
They'll be putting that on
your tombstone, you do it again.
A nervous night.
So everybody in
town has told me.
No luck, I take it.
They're either
blind, deaf or scared.
I think I have the
smell of something.
Man named Pettigrew.
Only in town a few days,
been seen around Pony Jane's.
Never goes in, just stays outside,
but talked to Josie a couple of times.
Everybody talked to Josie and I talked
to them and that's just where it lies.
Lots of people
aren't like Pettigrew.
He's a tinker.
He travels around in
a wagon fixing things.
Prides himself on his
specialty, sharpening knives.
It's a little foggy for
close work, isn't it?
For a craftsman such as myself,
it's a matter of talking to the metal.
Even in darkness, I'm...
Is that so?
I seem to detect a note of,
oh, good evening, Marshal.
When did you get
into town, Pettigrew?
A few days ago.
Uh, hear your fair town has knives
to be sharpened, so here I am.
How do you feel
about using them?
I beg your pardon?
I understand you knew a
young lady by the name of Josie.
Josie?
There was Bella and Nancy.
Rachel and... Her
name was Josie.
She lived at Pony Jane's Saloon.
Lived?
She was killed a
couple hours ago.
Knifed.
I'm sorry.
You can say your
regrets over at the...
She's lying there cold.
I want you to tell me all you
know that might have put her there.
Can't tell you anything
likely, Marshal.
Just a simple tradesman.
Where you been tonight?
Wandering around
your fair community.
Wandering around where?
Down by the, uh, uh,
farmer's settlement.
Some of the homes in
your better neighborhood.
You're lying, Pettigrew.
No, I'm not lying...
You're coming with me.
No, no, no, please.
I just can't stand
being cooped up.
I just couldn't
stand that again.
Again?
I mean...
What were you in jail for?
It is... I meant no harm.
I just like to look at
them, the pretty ones.
Even...
It's harmless.
Maybe not tonight.
No, I swear it was
nothing more than that.
I didn't harm anybody.
I couldn't harm anybody.
Marshal, you believe that.
Marshal, you do believe that!
Francis, have you
seen MacGregor?
Yeah, he was looking for
you about 10 minutes ago.
Anything special?
Uh, yeah, he found a guy that
you were looking for named Tolman.
Uh, Coleman, I think it was.
- Kallman.
- Yeah, Kallman.
And he's in a poker game
down at the Cherokee.
Funny time for you to
take up on your reading.
I'm trying to check
back on something.
Borrowed these from
Mr. Peabody down at the "Sentinel."
"London Times"?
Yeah, he collects them
from all over the place.
Likes to keep up with what's
happening in the civilized world, he says.
What's happening
with you, Francis?
Huh?
Just what are you
about, Francis?
Just a wild idea is all.
You start any more
of that... Crown,
scourge of the Cimarron
nonsense, and I'll have you drug out
of town by six jackasses.
All right.
Woman: Jim.
Don't expect a big
gang of customers.
Not tonight.
No, I've already sent
the bartender home.
You look worried, I can tell.
I'm always worried
when I work this town.
No, no, this is something special,
this girl getting killed tonight.
I told you when you first
came to Cimarron there'd
be more killing than laughing.
There's talk going 'round town.
What kind of talk?
Wild talk, frightened talk.
People heard how she was killed
and they want to know more about it.
You?
You frightened?
Not more than usual.
You always told me when I first came
to town that I'd have to learn to live
with fear and you're
right, I'm getting used to it.
This isn't the usual
kind of trouble we have.
Well, it may have unhinged
everyone else, but I'm not afraid.
You didn't see Josie.
Are you trying to frighten me?
I'm just trying to tell you that it's a
special kind of maniac loose in Cimarron.
Well, I can more than
take care of myself.
So could Josie.
Till tonight.
♪♪
Now you're gonna
talk, dog-eater.
All about that knife of yours
and about Josie's brooch.
I cannot tell you
what you want to hear.
Does not matter how
much you beat me.
I did not do what you think.
What's that?
The thing.
The thing with the girl Josie.
Look.
You are wrong about that.
It was Josie's.
Yes.
But you are wrong.
What about that knife of
yours, all covered in blood.
Am I wrong about that too?
Yes, wrong.
It was the blood
of a timber wolf.
If you'd looked, you would
have seen his fresh pelt.
Tal, you sure... Shut up!
Tell me about this brooch.
This belong to a
timber wolf too?
You better talk, boy.
Or I'm gonna mess
up your head real good.
When I heard she
was dead, I went there.
I found it in the
dirt of the alley.
You're a liar!
You killed her and you took it!
Get him up, get him up.
Why'd you leave this?
You didn't think anybody
would find it, huh?
You better kill me.
Why'd you keep this?
Why?
(mumbles)
What'd you say?
To remind me she was my woman.
Kallman, you're a cheat!
Let go of me.
You all seeing the
way he's been playing.
And bottom drawing.
I'm willing to wager them
cards is belly stripers.
I won't say it again.
You don't scare me, tall man.
They taught me enough in the
mountains to break you in half.
They teach you how to die?
Gentlemen, the game is over.
Your name Kallman?
That's right.
You're Marshal Crown.
I'd like to talk
to you a minute.
Fine.
You make a strong
point with a knife.
Product of misspent
youth, mister.
Your name has been
mentioned to me this evening.
In relation to what?
A girl named Josie.
Not in relation to knives.
That depends.
I'm a gambler, Mr. Crown.
I don't lurk in alleys.
That's reasonable.
Have you been
outdoors this evening?
Five o'clock I rose from bed.
I'm staying at the
Wayfarer's Inn.
By six o'clock, I was
bathed and dressed.
At 6:15, I had venison steak and
dumplings at Gustav's Restaurant.
7:30, had a drink with
Josie at Pony Jane's.
I arrived here at nine o'clock,
I've been here ever since.
Those gentlemen
will attest to that.
Then I guess this is a
pointless conversation.
Have you ever read an English
novelist named Arthur Conan Doyle?
No, I haven't gotten
around to him yet.
He would call this necessary police
procedure for eliminating suspects.
I'll have to talk to
those four losers over
there and see if it
took from nine o'clock
until now to clean them out.
Then I guess I can call it that.
Hey, winner.
I'm satisfied.
You can take those hands and
those aces they're dealing you
and get out of town.
I've been watching you.
You're a cheat, mister.
Jim, come quick.
Pony Jane's, quick!
Out of town inside of an hour.
Marshal, in here.
- Where's the marshal?
- In there.
Oh, Maddie.
Oh dear God.
Hey, Marshal, we hung him!
The killer, Marshal, we got him!
Honest, Marshal, we
thought he was the one.
I've never seen
nothing like that.
Oh, shut up, MacGregor.
We got a bad one loose.
Those quick rope artists back
there... Bladgey and St. James...
They're only the first.
If we don't throw leather on our boy
and soon, the whole town's gonna go up.
I already broke up two fights.
One of them was between
two cattlemen and a farm boy.
He'd have stove 'em
in, he was such an ox.
Cattlemen on..., pushing
up against the farmers.
Oh boy, that's all we need.
Well, everybody
suspects everybody else.
All you have to say is you
were at Pony Jane's tonight
and someone wants
to run up a rope.
I think I'll go over there.
To Pony Jane's?
Yeah.
You stay away from there.
On second thought, you
stay off the street entire.
But everybody's shunning
that place since it happened.
Those girls are
probably terrified.
They might need something.
I said stay off the street.
Well, anyway, you know it
could have been Mr. Pettigrew.
No, it wasn't Pettigrew.
I was with him for a while.
When I left him, he
was hard at work.
This might be kind of a weird idea,
but I been looking through some old
newspapers that...
Get me some coffee, Dulcey.
And there's a lot of similarity
between these two killings, well,
the modus operandi was the same.
The modus what?
Modus operandi. That's Latin.
It means, well, it means
the method of the murder.
The way it looked, how it
looked, how it was done.
Very similar to some killings that
took place in England a few months ago.
It's all right.
They've just come for the body.
He's in the back room.
♪♪
It's nice of you to offer, Dulcey,
but there's nothing you can do.
We're going to close down
for the night as soon as we can.
Where's Dulcey?
Dulcey!
Where is she?
Pony Jane's!
You stay here!
(screaming)
Oh my.
You startled me.
Dulcey, I told you
to stay at home.
Well, if you're beginning
to jump at shadows...
One of those shadows opened
up two women like fresh trout.
All I did was walk
across the street.
I'll take you back
across the street.
You stay inside and
keep people around you.
I'm not an infant and I don't
like to be ordered about like one.
Any more sass out of you, young
lady, I'm going to have you roped
and tied down in your own inn.
Now that's a promise.
You keep your eye on her.
I'm going to go back and
talk to Pony Jane again.
Whoever got to Maddie Lenart
must have won her confidence.
Why do you say that?
There's no sign of
a fight in her room.
She had to let him in.
Come on.
What was that all about?
I heard Dulcey scream.
This miserable fog
has everyone on edge.
You got a minute to talk?
Got all night.
Shutting down good and proper.
Who was in your place
before you found her?
Been so busy.
Well, some stopped by for a
drink and talked to the girls.
You knew her, didn't you?
Yeah.
Back in Abilene.
You know, I've been on the push and
shove side of a badge like yours so long
it feels strange
feeling sorry for you.
Save your sorry for your girls.
Oh, I got plenty
of sorry to spare.
Little bit for you,
the rest for me.
To be real honest,
Crown, I'm scared.
Who was in your place?
Uh, Doc Casio.
Another fellow,
wore dandy clothes.
Seen him dancing
in one of the saloons.
Who else?
Englishman.
Never seen him before.
Big man, mustache.
Carried a bag.
Englishman, huh?
What else did he look like?
Wore a long black coat like an
undertaker, but he talked soft.
Couldn't see his face too good.
He wore one of them
dandy hats, pulled down far.
Who else?
Young fella Shelton from back
east, looking for a place to stay and I,
well, I sent him
over to the inn.
I might as well haul
in the whole town.
Someone new is pouring in here
every day, I can't keep track of them.
Well, it might be time for me
to move on to the next town too.
This place has got a
real bad feel to it, Crown.
You better do
something now, Crown.
♪♪
Man: Marshal?
Marshal?
Over here.
- Any luck?
- Not much.
Give me a saloon brawl any time.
They weren't much
good in London either.
They didn't catch him.
Now, listen, Francis, you
been jibbering and jabbering
all night long about London.
What is it you're talking about?
On August 7, someone named
Martha Tabram was killed in London,
in Spitalfields.
A few weeks later, another
woman named Nichols was killed
very near there in Whitechapel.
By the same man?
Well, they don't know.
You see, he started sending letters
to the police and the newspapers...
He did what?
He sent letters telling the police
he was the one that did the killings
and that he was gonna do more.
He killed seven women and he
stopped early last month and vanished.
And they never caught him.
Francis, this is 1888.
It's bad enough what
he's doing to us right here.
Now I'm just a hook
and draw Marshal.
In London, they've got the Scotland
Yard and you're trying to tell me they were
stumped the same way we are?
Exactly.
And the way he did the killings,
it was the same way that Josie
and that other girl were killed.
Hey, I forgot, you wanted me to
find that Shelton fella, didn't you?
Yeah.
He's staying here.
That's him over there.
Marshal Crown,
I'm Enoch Shelton.
I understand you're
looking for me.
Mr. Shelton, I'm
looking for a haystack
so I can worry about
finding a needle.
You look pretty tired.
It's been a long night.
Well, if you'd rather talk
later, I'll be staying right here.
If you don't mind.
All right.
Now what.
And now I'm like to go upstairs
and get me some shut eye.
Why don't you?
For the last couple of hours,
somebody's been dogging my tracks.
Gonna have to go back
outside and let 'em catch up.
♪♪
♪♪
Now let's talk.
My name's Tipton.
I'm from London.
That's good for the starters.
We're both seeking the same man.
Whom might that be?
A man who fled my city
on November the ninth.
I traced him across the Atlantic,
tracked him across your country.
And I'm looking for him too?
He's the man who killed
those two unfortunate women.
Well, who might
that be, Mr. Tipton?
He calls himself
Jack the Ripper.
He killed seven women in three
months and we never caught him.
No one ever saw him, not
even Mr. Lusk's vigilance
committee to which I belong.
He prowled the alleys of Whitechapel
and cut them up with no one to stop him.
On September the 30th, he killed
two women within an hour of each other.
On November the ninth, he
killed his seventh and disappeared.
If it hadn't been for the letters
he signed "Jack the Ripper",
we might never have
known it was the same man.
Yes, he vanished, Red Jack did.
They said he'd committed suicide or
else his fine, genteel Victorian family
had found out their mad son
was a ripper and put him away.
But I knew it wasn't so.
He took an immigrant's boat.
Things were getting too
warm for him in London,
so he came to
America. I followed him.
Do you have any idea what
you have here in your streets?
Do you have any idea?
Do you understand that this one
called Jack who calls himself the Ripper,
this one must
live in fear forever.
I followed his trail
out across the world.
He's escaped all of them.
Made fools of them all.
But he shan't escape me.
Who are you, Mr. Tipton?
I told you, my name is Tipton.
I know you told me
that, but who are you?
The only one who can save you.
You believe that, don't you?
I believe that Jack is here.
That's insane.
Tipton: You have
death to prove it.
Here, in the fog.
Just like London fog.
Walking, waiting, with his
knife sharp, his eyes bright.
Here.
Tell me, Mr. Tipton,
what makes a man come
as far as you've come for this?
To stop him.
Why you?
You're not a constable
or a policeman.
I was a member of Mr. George
Lusk's London Vigilance Committee.
What's the other reason?
There is no other reason.
And if there were a million other
reasons, they wouldn't matter.
I'll be out there, Mr. Crown.
Out there looking for him.
It tells about Lusk's committee
in this "London Times."
What's it say?
It's pretty bad.
What does it say?
It's just like he was telling.
It tells about how Jack worked
and the letters he sent to the police
and to Lusk and other things.
If he keeps loose much longer,
we're gonna have more on our hands
than just a killer.
I think Tipton's right.
I think it is Jack the Ripper.
I've been watching the papers and
ever since the Ripper left England,
there have been the same
kind of killings in this country.
There was two in New York and one in
Philadelphia and one in Washington, D.C.
and two in Chicago and
then just three weeks ago,
there was one in Kansas City
and it looks like he was going west.
You know, what if he
just kept going west?
Y'all listen to me now.
The situation here in the strip is like
a herd of heifers with a storm coming.
All they're doing now is milling
around, pawing the ground.
Let a bolt of lightning strike and
we're going to have a stampede.
That Jack is the lightning.
He's got everybody
on their muscle.
Action's gonna start quick if
we don't put him under and fast.
Do you really think
it's Jack the Ripper?
I don't know, Mr. Shelton.
Right about now, I
couldn't care less.
Now why don't you sit down
so we can have that little talk
I wanted to have with you?
All right.
Francis, go down to the telegraph office
and send a wire off to Scotland Yard.
See what information you can
pick up about this Tipton fellow.
Okay, I'll just
wire George Lusk.
He ought to know.
Jim.
Still awfully cold in here.
Dulcey, it's going to take more than
a cord of wood to get rid of this chill.
I heard you went down to Pony
Jane's sometime this evening.
Much earlier, yes.
I just arrived in town, I had no place
to stay, so I stopped in there to inquire
with the lady who runs the
establishment where a good...
Might be found.
What brings you to
Cimarron, Mr. Shelton?
Well, I suppose I'm heading
west to make my fortune.
Isn't that the standard answer for
someone who's looking for a future?
Mining, farming, cattle?
Which future?
Oh, doesn't matter, really.
I don't have any specialties.
All I know is I hate the cities... the
soot, the rush rush rush and the way
they tend to turn a
man into an animal.
I've been demeaned in some of the
biggest cities back east, Mr. Crown.
It's a hard country out here.
It's a hard country back there.
The big difference is hypocrisy.
Back there, the slums and
crime flourish and the good people
pretend it doesn't exist.
Out here, the people aren't
much better, but they are, at least,
willing to admit that
things are what they are.
You sound like a
Reformer, Mr. Shelton.
No, not really.
I just want a little
peace and fulfillment.
It's a bad time to
come to this town.
Little bit of trouble
brewing now.
Well, is there anything else
you want to ask me, Mr. Crown?
No, I don't suppose so.
I hope you find what
you're after, Shelton.
I'm sure I will.
Thank you.
What do you think?
One more for the list.
I don't trust him or Tipton.
Or any of the others.
If this goes on any longer, we're
going to start looking at each other.
It isn't like catching
a bushwhacker.
And this miserable, ugly
fog reminds me of Edinburgh.
There's one thing
I can do about it.
What's that?
Close down the town.
Everyone off the streets.
Box him in.
♪♪
Two of us, Marshal,
and we know each other.
No one else out here tonight.
If a third comes,
it will be Jack.
Why haven't you people
gone back into the outlet?
We're waiting.
Waiting for what?
We're waiting.
Oh, no, wait a minute.
There's room in number
12 if you want more privacy.
Now, don't worry, there
are only men in there.
Oh hey, you've helped
my business tremendous.
The place is full, they're
practically sleeping in the hallway.
Wait a minute, I've
got a message for you.
It arrived earlier.
We'll have to stack 'em like
spoons in there if we get anymore...
What's the matter?
A letter from him.
From who?
From Jack?
Dear Mr. Crown,
I see you are wearing your
shoes out looking for me, ha ha.
Well, don't bother because
I'm too clever for you.
I like your little town and my
knives are sharp and pretty
and they want more work.
If you like my last job,
you won't have long to wait.
It'll be within the hour.
Good luck.
Yours truly, Jack the Ripper.
Francis, you ought
to wear a cowbell.
Word came in from London.
And?
And George Lusk says that Tipton
was under suspicion of being the Ripper.
He was at the scene of every
murder and he says he's dangerous.
MacGregor! MacGregor!
Up here, Jim.
It's Tipton!
He's inside.
Tipton, the Englishman.
Have you seen him?
Oh, he's upstairs in his room.
Which room?
Um, number 15.
♪♪
MacGregor, keep him out of here.
Come on, close the door.
He was telling
the truth all right.
He was close on his trail.
It couldn't have
happened very long ago.
He must still be
here inside the inn.
Go guard the front door.
Shut.
The door stays shut, right?
Right, right.
What was it?
Where are you going?
It's Jack again!
Respectfully, Mr. Shelton,
nobody goes out.
Well, I appreciate your concern,
Mr. MacGregor, but
I'm not in any danger.
Apparently it's
only certain women.
He just killed a certain man.
Really?
Just bears out a theory I have.
The man upstairs
had a theory too.
It availed him little.
But you see, I've done
a little reading on this
and I don't think he's
a woman-hater at all.
I think he's a social Reformer.
I'll grant you the man is quite
mad, his methods are deplorable,
but to dismiss him as
just a misogynist, no.
A what?
A misogynist.
That's a woman-hater.
Oh.
So at any rate, you can see
where a social Reformer would have
no reason at all to harm me.
Hm.
Well, I've enjoyed our
little chat, Mr. Shelton,
now perhaps you'd
best return to your room.
- What'd you find out?
- Nothing.
They're all straight-up.
What were you looking for?
What he did to Tipton
in there was messy.
Couldn't have
come out of it clean.
Didn't have time to
leave the building.
If he was one of the five,
he had to clean up in his room
and hide his clothes there.
You mean he's still here?
He's here somewhere
but where, I don't know.
MacGregor is down
at the front door.
You go cover the back.
You don't let anybody
out for any reason.
If he busts through you, you chop
him down and we'll talk about it later.
And you, young lady, you
lock yourself in your room.
No, I've got work to do.
Now go on, Dulcey,
don't fight me.
This isn't a game.
Marshal!
Marshal!
I barricaded the back door with
crates and bottles and furniture.
Nobody can get out without
making a racket and we can get to
the door before he
can get it unbolted.
Thought you might
need some help.
Good idea, come on.
Gonna go through his luggage.
There may be something here.
A man doesn't come all this
distance without some idea
of who he's looking for.
This might mean something.
Take a look and see
what you can find.
Hey, at least we know why
Tipton was after the Ripper.
One of the women the Ripper
killed in London was Tipton's sister.
Your linens, sir.
♪♪
Dulcey, I want you
to go to your room.
I'm going to stand right
out here till you lock it.
Please find him.
What a story this is.
I could make every
paper in the east with it.
Tipton was closer than anybody.
He was right on top of Jack.
Who is he?
He didn't know his name,
but he knew what to look for.
That's why Jack killed him 'cause it was
only a matter of time until Tipton got him.
♪♪
(gasps)
Well, Tipton's theory
was that Jack wasn't
a lunatic, he was a fanatic.
A social Reformer.
He wanted to clean up the London
slums and he felt the only way to get those
Victorians to see reality
was to shock them.
Well, that's great, Francis.
But that still doesn't tell
us who he is or where he is.
Now we know that he had
to get rid of the clothes he
had on when he killed Tipton.
And the knives.
I've searched every room
in the whole entire inn
and I haven't come
up with anything.
Every room... every
room but Dulcey's!
(screaming)
The murderer!
Dulcey.
Toward the woods!
We've lost him.
(screaming)
This is what they
were waiting for.
♪♪
Good morning.
Morning.
Oh, well, let me
put it this way.
Good morning,
Marshal Crown, sir.
I'd shoot the bluebird of happiness
if it squawked as loud as you.
People who talk to me
this early in the morning
certainly don't need
to drink my coffee.
Just have a little
bit of patience.
I won't be around for a while.
You certainly are
cranky this morning.
You'd be cranky too if you
slept as miserable as I did.
I didn't sleep at all.
You're lucky.
I slept and I dreamt.
And why don't I have to put up
with your genuinely boorish behavior,
if I may impose
upon you to ask, sir?
Because I'm going to take my horse,
put the bedroll on it and ride out of town
as far as I can go till I
can find me a quiet...
And I'm gonna
sleep for two days.
But you can't.
You know Acer Taybeck's
crowd is coming to town tonight.
I know it.
Well, you're gonna let
them shoot up the town?
I am.
And murder us in our beds?
Dulcey, I'm tired old
folks, so just let me be.
"The New York
Times", they said yes.
They want everything
I can give 'em.
About what?
As if I didn't know.
Jack the Ripper, dark nights,
murdered beauties, chilling fog.
And the fairest flower of the
inn was Dulcey Coopersmith,
stalked by a mad beast.
My reputation is made.
I'll sue if you use my name.
I don't want the reputation
of my inn besmirched.
Well, it's mostly about...
Crown's relentless tracking of the
lunatic butcher from Whitechapel.
Are you sure he
was Jack the Ripper?
Why, sure, of course he was.
Who says so?
Tipton said.
Ah, he was a
little balmy himself.
No one will ever know for sure.
It was a great story.
No verification on it.
You'll never be
able to prove it.
Oh, don't worry, Francis.
Acer Tayback's crowd will be in tonight
and the marshal will give you a real
rootin', shootin'
story if you like.
I told you I was leaving town
and I'm gonna sleep for two days.
What about my story?
You'll have your
story all right.
About a daredevil hell-bent for leather
lawman who took on 80 drink-crazed
cowboys and tamed 'em.
What lawman?
Francis Wilde, the
scourge of Cimarron.
(laughing)
♪♪
Hey, watch it, you
might lose your...
(laughing)
What's the matter with you boys?
You boys cool down.
This is the season for goodwill.
Now go on, get.
Have yourselves
some good, clean fun.
Hiya Josie.
You raunchy,
miserable pair of...
♪♪
This fog.
Strange weather.
A mount for a summer.
Strange weather.
Who do they think they are,
scraping like a pair of bulls?
I ain't no short line girl.
I'll show them.
♪♪
Who's back there?
Tal St. James, is that you?
I told you to forget it.
You're acting like a
liquored-up animal.
Bladgey?
Tal?
Leave me alone!
(screaming)
♪♪
If I wasn't the only one in town,
I'd swear she was killed by surgeon.
Well, not to make a big Who Struck
John out of it, but since you are the only
doctor in town, where you
been the last hour or so?
On the downhill side of
deuces wild, Mr. Crown.
Saloon.
Four witnesses.
Why a doctor?
Somebody that knows his way
around the skinny end of a knife.
Hey, I heard Josie from
Pony Jane's been stabbed.
Yeah.
No, you don't want
to go back there.
Anybody here see Josie
when she left the party?
Well, who was she with?
Let me see that knife.
Is that the way you
hand a knife to someone?
Blade first?
What are you looking at me for?
I didn't do it.
Hey, I liked her.
All the boys did.
She was a lot of fun.
Look, I wouldn't
do a thing like that.
I couldn't.
Lots of others had
their eyes on her.
And plenty knew
how to use a knife too.
What about that
Injun, Shadow Feller?
He was always hanging around,
trying to get frisky with her.
She wouldn't cotton
up to no dog-eater.
How about him?
That's something
true, Mr. Crown.
I seen that Injun
skin a rattlesnake.
Just like that.
One slice and he took
the clothes right off her.
I'll have to check that out.
You got your hands full.
See you later on.
I told you not to go back there.
I didn't know it was like that.
A couple of you men,
wrap her up in a tarp
and take her over to
the carpenter's shop.
Come on, I'll buy you a beer.
Didn't that bother
you back there?
Yeah, it bothered me.
I've seen dead before.
Probably see a lot more.
Like that?
No, not like that.
Takes a sick mind
to kill like that.
Where you going?
Going to Pony Jane's.
See who was
hanging around Josie.
Give me a bottle of liquor.
Got some deep drinking to do.
You owe me for two bottles.
Don't fret me, O'Dell!
Been on a mean job.
Where have you been?
I'll blade you...
You shut your face, St. James.
I'm gonna come
over and kick it shut.
We took her over
to the carpenter.
Some talk you didn't like the
way Josie made small of you.
You listen to me, boy.
I don't want to hear any
more of that loose talk.
I liked her and
everybody knew it.
Any time I'd go over to Pony
Jane's place, Josie and me,
we'd have a lot of laughs.
That's the truth.
Who'd want to go
do a thing like that?
You can shoot up a place,
maybe chuck a knife at somebody,
I can understand that.
But, but, but, but a woman...
Hardly enough of them
around here as it is.
I'll tell you who'd do it.
A savage would do it.
Someone who's used
to hauling off scalps.
That Injun Shadow
Feller, he'd...
He the one that hangs
around town with hides?
Yeah, same.
Hanging around.
Always hanging around,
trying to get at her.
He seemed like a nice enough
feller for a housebroke Injun.
Oh, they fool ya.
Tal, seems like you're
making a case on him.
What does that mean?
I'd like to see the man who's done
this to Josie get caught, that's all.
You boys are pretty dumb if you think a
savage like that's gonna let insults pass.
You ever hear Josie
insult Shadow Feller, Tal?
Sure, lots of times.
It was all over town.
Everybody knew it.
I'll bet he done it.
I know Crown ain't
gonna catch him.
Couple of you boys want
to take a little walk with me?
Over to that Injun's camp?
Ask him, straight up?
All right, all right, you...
If you don't want to see a
murderer like that get buckled,
I'll go over there
and I'll do it myself.
Pony Jane, isn't that a little bit coy,
you crocheting "Bless Our Happy Home"?
I tell you how
to keep it clean...
Well, I must admit it.
I have less brawls here than
I do any place else in town.
That's because we
keep an orderly place.
Something special
I can do for you?
You see anyone hanging
around Josie the last few days?
Anyone in particular?
Uh, Kallman the
gambler, you know him?
No.
Tall. Mean eyes.
Little beady eyes,
like a raccoon.
Anybody else?
Ask the girls.
Mm-hmm.
- The doc.
- Casio?
Oh, Katie, he lost
his wife last year.
He comes in here for...
Mmm.
Look, Josie didn't
like him very much.
But he came in almost every
night and had a drink with her.
Kallman, Casio.
I wonder who saw Josie last before
she went down to the clearing to dance.
Woman: I did.
Was anyone with her?
No, no one special.
She just wanted to
see the decorations.
I'd like to talk to the
ladies for a while.
Do you mind?
Sure, fine with me, but you have
to do it in the back room there.
That badge of yours
scares off business.
I'd like to talk to you first.
Oh, Maddie.
Oh, wow!
Oh, Jim Crown.
Maddie, Maddie Lenart.
What are you doing here?
I just don't believe it's you.
Oh, Jim, it's good to see you.
Last time you weren't looming
out from behind a badge.
Everybody develops
bad habits sooner or later.
I see you see have trouble
getting a good shave.
Maddie.
You here in Cimarron,
why that's impossible.
Abilene, five years.
I thought you were
gonna marry Lynn.
That turned into
a bad thing, huh?
Well, he got the gold fever
and left, so I moved on.
Oh, well, he always
was a fiddle foot.
How about you, now that
you're the pillar of the community?
I'm some pillar.
I'm the official target for
every walloper and hard case
that can't find a whiskey...
I know you.
You just got tired of running.
If I'd have found
somebody like you, Maddie,
I'd have quit running
a long time ago.
This thing with
Josie is pretty awful.
You seem to be looking.
Yeah, that's about all
I am doing is looking.
Well, I can't be of much help.
I've only been in
town a couple of days.
They told you about the one
she's been seen with lately.
Oh, Maddie, it's
so good to see you.
I didn't think anything
would make me smile.
Not tonight.
You look just fine.
I look like a sack of tired feed
and you know it, so stop that.
Now that you're here
within grabbing distance,
you and I are gonna
have to get together.
That'd be fine, Jim.
There's some beautiful
country around here.
How about tomorrow?
I'll pick you out a horse.
You bundle up
'cause it's getting cold
and then I'll show you
some glorious scenery.
I'd like that a lot.
It's so good to see you.
Yeah.
I better go hit the street.
Jim?
The way Josie got killed,
it's got us all a little scared.
♪♪
Butcher!
Don't move.
I'll blow another mouth
in the back of your head.
Blood.
What do you want?
This was Josie's brooch.
I asked what do you want.
I want to shoot you
where you stand.
But I won't. I'm going to
take you back into town.
A lot of people are going to have to
eat their words when they see this.
Go on, move!
Easy man, it's only
me, MacGregor.
They'll be putting that on
your tombstone, you do it again.
A nervous night.
So everybody in
town has told me.
No luck, I take it.
They're either
blind, deaf or scared.
I think I have the
smell of something.
Man named Pettigrew.
Only in town a few days,
been seen around Pony Jane's.
Never goes in, just stays outside,
but talked to Josie a couple of times.
Everybody talked to Josie and I talked
to them and that's just where it lies.
Lots of people
aren't like Pettigrew.
He's a tinker.
He travels around in
a wagon fixing things.
Prides himself on his
specialty, sharpening knives.
It's a little foggy for
close work, isn't it?
For a craftsman such as myself,
it's a matter of talking to the metal.
Even in darkness, I'm...
Is that so?
I seem to detect a note of,
oh, good evening, Marshal.
When did you get
into town, Pettigrew?
A few days ago.
Uh, hear your fair town has knives
to be sharpened, so here I am.
How do you feel
about using them?
I beg your pardon?
I understand you knew a
young lady by the name of Josie.
Josie?
There was Bella and Nancy.
Rachel and... Her
name was Josie.
She lived at Pony Jane's Saloon.
Lived?
She was killed a
couple hours ago.
Knifed.
I'm sorry.
You can say your
regrets over at the...
She's lying there cold.
I want you to tell me all you
know that might have put her there.
Can't tell you anything
likely, Marshal.
Just a simple tradesman.
Where you been tonight?
Wandering around
your fair community.
Wandering around where?
Down by the, uh, uh,
farmer's settlement.
Some of the homes in
your better neighborhood.
You're lying, Pettigrew.
No, I'm not lying...
You're coming with me.
No, no, no, please.
I just can't stand
being cooped up.
I just couldn't
stand that again.
Again?
I mean...
What were you in jail for?
It is... I meant no harm.
I just like to look at
them, the pretty ones.
Even...
It's harmless.
Maybe not tonight.
No, I swear it was
nothing more than that.
I didn't harm anybody.
I couldn't harm anybody.
Marshal, you believe that.
Marshal, you do believe that!
Francis, have you
seen MacGregor?
Yeah, he was looking for
you about 10 minutes ago.
Anything special?
Uh, yeah, he found a guy that
you were looking for named Tolman.
Uh, Coleman, I think it was.
- Kallman.
- Yeah, Kallman.
And he's in a poker game
down at the Cherokee.
Funny time for you to
take up on your reading.
I'm trying to check
back on something.
Borrowed these from
Mr. Peabody down at the "Sentinel."
"London Times"?
Yeah, he collects them
from all over the place.
Likes to keep up with what's
happening in the civilized world, he says.
What's happening
with you, Francis?
Huh?
Just what are you
about, Francis?
Just a wild idea is all.
You start any more
of that... Crown,
scourge of the Cimarron
nonsense, and I'll have you drug out
of town by six jackasses.
All right.
Woman: Jim.
Don't expect a big
gang of customers.
Not tonight.
No, I've already sent
the bartender home.
You look worried, I can tell.
I'm always worried
when I work this town.
No, no, this is something special,
this girl getting killed tonight.
I told you when you first
came to Cimarron there'd
be more killing than laughing.
There's talk going 'round town.
What kind of talk?
Wild talk, frightened talk.
People heard how she was killed
and they want to know more about it.
You?
You frightened?
Not more than usual.
You always told me when I first came
to town that I'd have to learn to live
with fear and you're
right, I'm getting used to it.
This isn't the usual
kind of trouble we have.
Well, it may have unhinged
everyone else, but I'm not afraid.
You didn't see Josie.
Are you trying to frighten me?
I'm just trying to tell you that it's a
special kind of maniac loose in Cimarron.
Well, I can more than
take care of myself.
So could Josie.
Till tonight.
♪♪
Now you're gonna
talk, dog-eater.
All about that knife of yours
and about Josie's brooch.
I cannot tell you
what you want to hear.
Does not matter how
much you beat me.
I did not do what you think.
What's that?
The thing.
The thing with the girl Josie.
Look.
You are wrong about that.
It was Josie's.
Yes.
But you are wrong.
What about that knife of
yours, all covered in blood.
Am I wrong about that too?
Yes, wrong.
It was the blood
of a timber wolf.
If you'd looked, you would
have seen his fresh pelt.
Tal, you sure... Shut up!
Tell me about this brooch.
This belong to a
timber wolf too?
You better talk, boy.
Or I'm gonna mess
up your head real good.
When I heard she
was dead, I went there.
I found it in the
dirt of the alley.
You're a liar!
You killed her and you took it!
Get him up, get him up.
Why'd you leave this?
You didn't think anybody
would find it, huh?
You better kill me.
Why'd you keep this?
Why?
(mumbles)
What'd you say?
To remind me she was my woman.
Kallman, you're a cheat!
Let go of me.
You all seeing the
way he's been playing.
And bottom drawing.
I'm willing to wager them
cards is belly stripers.
I won't say it again.
You don't scare me, tall man.
They taught me enough in the
mountains to break you in half.
They teach you how to die?
Gentlemen, the game is over.
Your name Kallman?
That's right.
You're Marshal Crown.
I'd like to talk
to you a minute.
Fine.
You make a strong
point with a knife.
Product of misspent
youth, mister.
Your name has been
mentioned to me this evening.
In relation to what?
A girl named Josie.
Not in relation to knives.
That depends.
I'm a gambler, Mr. Crown.
I don't lurk in alleys.
That's reasonable.
Have you been
outdoors this evening?
Five o'clock I rose from bed.
I'm staying at the
Wayfarer's Inn.
By six o'clock, I was
bathed and dressed.
At 6:15, I had venison steak and
dumplings at Gustav's Restaurant.
7:30, had a drink with
Josie at Pony Jane's.
I arrived here at nine o'clock,
I've been here ever since.
Those gentlemen
will attest to that.
Then I guess this is a
pointless conversation.
Have you ever read an English
novelist named Arthur Conan Doyle?
No, I haven't gotten
around to him yet.
He would call this necessary police
procedure for eliminating suspects.
I'll have to talk to
those four losers over
there and see if it
took from nine o'clock
until now to clean them out.
Then I guess I can call it that.
Hey, winner.
I'm satisfied.
You can take those hands and
those aces they're dealing you
and get out of town.
I've been watching you.
You're a cheat, mister.
Jim, come quick.
Pony Jane's, quick!
Out of town inside of an hour.
Marshal, in here.
- Where's the marshal?
- In there.
Oh, Maddie.
Oh dear God.
Hey, Marshal, we hung him!
The killer, Marshal, we got him!
Honest, Marshal, we
thought he was the one.
I've never seen
nothing like that.
Oh, shut up, MacGregor.
We got a bad one loose.
Those quick rope artists back
there... Bladgey and St. James...
They're only the first.
If we don't throw leather on our boy
and soon, the whole town's gonna go up.
I already broke up two fights.
One of them was between
two cattlemen and a farm boy.
He'd have stove 'em
in, he was such an ox.
Cattlemen on..., pushing
up against the farmers.
Oh boy, that's all we need.
Well, everybody
suspects everybody else.
All you have to say is you
were at Pony Jane's tonight
and someone wants
to run up a rope.
I think I'll go over there.
To Pony Jane's?
Yeah.
You stay away from there.
On second thought, you
stay off the street entire.
But everybody's shunning
that place since it happened.
Those girls are
probably terrified.
They might need something.
I said stay off the street.
Well, anyway, you know it
could have been Mr. Pettigrew.
No, it wasn't Pettigrew.
I was with him for a while.
When I left him, he
was hard at work.
This might be kind of a weird idea,
but I been looking through some old
newspapers that...
Get me some coffee, Dulcey.
And there's a lot of similarity
between these two killings, well,
the modus operandi was the same.
The modus what?
Modus operandi. That's Latin.
It means, well, it means
the method of the murder.
The way it looked, how it
looked, how it was done.
Very similar to some killings that
took place in England a few months ago.
It's all right.
They've just come for the body.
He's in the back room.
♪♪
It's nice of you to offer, Dulcey,
but there's nothing you can do.
We're going to close down
for the night as soon as we can.
Where's Dulcey?
Dulcey!
Where is she?
Pony Jane's!
You stay here!
(screaming)
Oh my.
You startled me.
Dulcey, I told you
to stay at home.
Well, if you're beginning
to jump at shadows...
One of those shadows opened
up two women like fresh trout.
All I did was walk
across the street.
I'll take you back
across the street.
You stay inside and
keep people around you.
I'm not an infant and I don't
like to be ordered about like one.
Any more sass out of you, young
lady, I'm going to have you roped
and tied down in your own inn.
Now that's a promise.
You keep your eye on her.
I'm going to go back and
talk to Pony Jane again.
Whoever got to Maddie Lenart
must have won her confidence.
Why do you say that?
There's no sign of
a fight in her room.
She had to let him in.
Come on.
What was that all about?
I heard Dulcey scream.
This miserable fog
has everyone on edge.
You got a minute to talk?
Got all night.
Shutting down good and proper.
Who was in your place
before you found her?
Been so busy.
Well, some stopped by for a
drink and talked to the girls.
You knew her, didn't you?
Yeah.
Back in Abilene.
You know, I've been on the push and
shove side of a badge like yours so long
it feels strange
feeling sorry for you.
Save your sorry for your girls.
Oh, I got plenty
of sorry to spare.
Little bit for you,
the rest for me.
To be real honest,
Crown, I'm scared.
Who was in your place?
Uh, Doc Casio.
Another fellow,
wore dandy clothes.
Seen him dancing
in one of the saloons.
Who else?
Englishman.
Never seen him before.
Big man, mustache.
Carried a bag.
Englishman, huh?
What else did he look like?
Wore a long black coat like an
undertaker, but he talked soft.
Couldn't see his face too good.
He wore one of them
dandy hats, pulled down far.
Who else?
Young fella Shelton from back
east, looking for a place to stay and I,
well, I sent him
over to the inn.
I might as well haul
in the whole town.
Someone new is pouring in here
every day, I can't keep track of them.
Well, it might be time for me
to move on to the next town too.
This place has got a
real bad feel to it, Crown.
You better do
something now, Crown.
♪♪
Man: Marshal?
Marshal?
Over here.
- Any luck?
- Not much.
Give me a saloon brawl any time.
They weren't much
good in London either.
They didn't catch him.
Now, listen, Francis, you
been jibbering and jabbering
all night long about London.
What is it you're talking about?
On August 7, someone named
Martha Tabram was killed in London,
in Spitalfields.
A few weeks later, another
woman named Nichols was killed
very near there in Whitechapel.
By the same man?
Well, they don't know.
You see, he started sending letters
to the police and the newspapers...
He did what?
He sent letters telling the police
he was the one that did the killings
and that he was gonna do more.
He killed seven women and he
stopped early last month and vanished.
And they never caught him.
Francis, this is 1888.
It's bad enough what
he's doing to us right here.
Now I'm just a hook
and draw Marshal.
In London, they've got the Scotland
Yard and you're trying to tell me they were
stumped the same way we are?
Exactly.
And the way he did the killings,
it was the same way that Josie
and that other girl were killed.
Hey, I forgot, you wanted me to
find that Shelton fella, didn't you?
Yeah.
He's staying here.
That's him over there.
Marshal Crown,
I'm Enoch Shelton.
I understand you're
looking for me.
Mr. Shelton, I'm
looking for a haystack
so I can worry about
finding a needle.
You look pretty tired.
It's been a long night.
Well, if you'd rather talk
later, I'll be staying right here.
If you don't mind.
All right.
Now what.
And now I'm like to go upstairs
and get me some shut eye.
Why don't you?
For the last couple of hours,
somebody's been dogging my tracks.
Gonna have to go back
outside and let 'em catch up.
♪♪
♪♪
Now let's talk.
My name's Tipton.
I'm from London.
That's good for the starters.
We're both seeking the same man.
Whom might that be?
A man who fled my city
on November the ninth.
I traced him across the Atlantic,
tracked him across your country.
And I'm looking for him too?
He's the man who killed
those two unfortunate women.
Well, who might
that be, Mr. Tipton?
He calls himself
Jack the Ripper.
He killed seven women in three
months and we never caught him.
No one ever saw him, not
even Mr. Lusk's vigilance
committee to which I belong.
He prowled the alleys of Whitechapel
and cut them up with no one to stop him.
On September the 30th, he killed
two women within an hour of each other.
On November the ninth, he
killed his seventh and disappeared.
If it hadn't been for the letters
he signed "Jack the Ripper",
we might never have
known it was the same man.
Yes, he vanished, Red Jack did.
They said he'd committed suicide or
else his fine, genteel Victorian family
had found out their mad son
was a ripper and put him away.
But I knew it wasn't so.
He took an immigrant's boat.
Things were getting too
warm for him in London,
so he came to
America. I followed him.
Do you have any idea what
you have here in your streets?
Do you have any idea?
Do you understand that this one
called Jack who calls himself the Ripper,
this one must
live in fear forever.
I followed his trail
out across the world.
He's escaped all of them.
Made fools of them all.
But he shan't escape me.
Who are you, Mr. Tipton?
I told you, my name is Tipton.
I know you told me
that, but who are you?
The only one who can save you.
You believe that, don't you?
I believe that Jack is here.
That's insane.
Tipton: You have
death to prove it.
Here, in the fog.
Just like London fog.
Walking, waiting, with his
knife sharp, his eyes bright.
Here.
Tell me, Mr. Tipton,
what makes a man come
as far as you've come for this?
To stop him.
Why you?
You're not a constable
or a policeman.
I was a member of Mr. George
Lusk's London Vigilance Committee.
What's the other reason?
There is no other reason.
And if there were a million other
reasons, they wouldn't matter.
I'll be out there, Mr. Crown.
Out there looking for him.
It tells about Lusk's committee
in this "London Times."
What's it say?
It's pretty bad.
What does it say?
It's just like he was telling.
It tells about how Jack worked
and the letters he sent to the police
and to Lusk and other things.
If he keeps loose much longer,
we're gonna have more on our hands
than just a killer.
I think Tipton's right.
I think it is Jack the Ripper.
I've been watching the papers and
ever since the Ripper left England,
there have been the same
kind of killings in this country.
There was two in New York and one in
Philadelphia and one in Washington, D.C.
and two in Chicago and
then just three weeks ago,
there was one in Kansas City
and it looks like he was going west.
You know, what if he
just kept going west?
Y'all listen to me now.
The situation here in the strip is like
a herd of heifers with a storm coming.
All they're doing now is milling
around, pawing the ground.
Let a bolt of lightning strike and
we're going to have a stampede.
That Jack is the lightning.
He's got everybody
on their muscle.
Action's gonna start quick if
we don't put him under and fast.
Do you really think
it's Jack the Ripper?
I don't know, Mr. Shelton.
Right about now, I
couldn't care less.
Now why don't you sit down
so we can have that little talk
I wanted to have with you?
All right.
Francis, go down to the telegraph office
and send a wire off to Scotland Yard.
See what information you can
pick up about this Tipton fellow.
Okay, I'll just
wire George Lusk.
He ought to know.
Jim.
Still awfully cold in here.
Dulcey, it's going to take more than
a cord of wood to get rid of this chill.
I heard you went down to Pony
Jane's sometime this evening.
Much earlier, yes.
I just arrived in town, I had no place
to stay, so I stopped in there to inquire
with the lady who runs the
establishment where a good...
Might be found.
What brings you to
Cimarron, Mr. Shelton?
Well, I suppose I'm heading
west to make my fortune.
Isn't that the standard answer for
someone who's looking for a future?
Mining, farming, cattle?
Which future?
Oh, doesn't matter, really.
I don't have any specialties.
All I know is I hate the cities... the
soot, the rush rush rush and the way
they tend to turn a
man into an animal.
I've been demeaned in some of the
biggest cities back east, Mr. Crown.
It's a hard country out here.
It's a hard country back there.
The big difference is hypocrisy.
Back there, the slums and
crime flourish and the good people
pretend it doesn't exist.
Out here, the people aren't
much better, but they are, at least,
willing to admit that
things are what they are.
You sound like a
Reformer, Mr. Shelton.
No, not really.
I just want a little
peace and fulfillment.
It's a bad time to
come to this town.
Little bit of trouble
brewing now.
Well, is there anything else
you want to ask me, Mr. Crown?
No, I don't suppose so.
I hope you find what
you're after, Shelton.
I'm sure I will.
Thank you.
What do you think?
One more for the list.
I don't trust him or Tipton.
Or any of the others.
If this goes on any longer, we're
going to start looking at each other.
It isn't like catching
a bushwhacker.
And this miserable, ugly
fog reminds me of Edinburgh.
There's one thing
I can do about it.
What's that?
Close down the town.
Everyone off the streets.
Box him in.
♪♪
Two of us, Marshal,
and we know each other.
No one else out here tonight.
If a third comes,
it will be Jack.
Why haven't you people
gone back into the outlet?
We're waiting.
Waiting for what?
We're waiting.
Oh, no, wait a minute.
There's room in number
12 if you want more privacy.
Now, don't worry, there
are only men in there.
Oh hey, you've helped
my business tremendous.
The place is full, they're
practically sleeping in the hallway.
Wait a minute, I've
got a message for you.
It arrived earlier.
We'll have to stack 'em like
spoons in there if we get anymore...
What's the matter?
A letter from him.
From who?
From Jack?
Dear Mr. Crown,
I see you are wearing your
shoes out looking for me, ha ha.
Well, don't bother because
I'm too clever for you.
I like your little town and my
knives are sharp and pretty
and they want more work.
If you like my last job,
you won't have long to wait.
It'll be within the hour.
Good luck.
Yours truly, Jack the Ripper.
Francis, you ought
to wear a cowbell.
Word came in from London.
And?
And George Lusk says that Tipton
was under suspicion of being the Ripper.
He was at the scene of every
murder and he says he's dangerous.
MacGregor! MacGregor!
Up here, Jim.
It's Tipton!
He's inside.
Tipton, the Englishman.
Have you seen him?
Oh, he's upstairs in his room.
Which room?
Um, number 15.
♪♪
MacGregor, keep him out of here.
Come on, close the door.
He was telling
the truth all right.
He was close on his trail.
It couldn't have
happened very long ago.
He must still be
here inside the inn.
Go guard the front door.
Shut.
The door stays shut, right?
Right, right.
What was it?
Where are you going?
It's Jack again!
Respectfully, Mr. Shelton,
nobody goes out.
Well, I appreciate your concern,
Mr. MacGregor, but
I'm not in any danger.
Apparently it's
only certain women.
He just killed a certain man.
Really?
Just bears out a theory I have.
The man upstairs
had a theory too.
It availed him little.
But you see, I've done
a little reading on this
and I don't think he's
a woman-hater at all.
I think he's a social Reformer.
I'll grant you the man is quite
mad, his methods are deplorable,
but to dismiss him as
just a misogynist, no.
A what?
A misogynist.
That's a woman-hater.
Oh.
So at any rate, you can see
where a social Reformer would have
no reason at all to harm me.
Hm.
Well, I've enjoyed our
little chat, Mr. Shelton,
now perhaps you'd
best return to your room.
- What'd you find out?
- Nothing.
They're all straight-up.
What were you looking for?
What he did to Tipton
in there was messy.
Couldn't have
come out of it clean.
Didn't have time to
leave the building.
If he was one of the five,
he had to clean up in his room
and hide his clothes there.
You mean he's still here?
He's here somewhere
but where, I don't know.
MacGregor is down
at the front door.
You go cover the back.
You don't let anybody
out for any reason.
If he busts through you, you chop
him down and we'll talk about it later.
And you, young lady, you
lock yourself in your room.
No, I've got work to do.
Now go on, Dulcey,
don't fight me.
This isn't a game.
Marshal!
Marshal!
I barricaded the back door with
crates and bottles and furniture.
Nobody can get out without
making a racket and we can get to
the door before he
can get it unbolted.
Thought you might
need some help.
Good idea, come on.
Gonna go through his luggage.
There may be something here.
A man doesn't come all this
distance without some idea
of who he's looking for.
This might mean something.
Take a look and see
what you can find.
Hey, at least we know why
Tipton was after the Ripper.
One of the women the Ripper
killed in London was Tipton's sister.
Your linens, sir.
♪♪
Dulcey, I want you
to go to your room.
I'm going to stand right
out here till you lock it.
Please find him.
What a story this is.
I could make every
paper in the east with it.
Tipton was closer than anybody.
He was right on top of Jack.
Who is he?
He didn't know his name,
but he knew what to look for.
That's why Jack killed him 'cause it was
only a matter of time until Tipton got him.
♪♪
(gasps)
Well, Tipton's theory
was that Jack wasn't
a lunatic, he was a fanatic.
A social Reformer.
He wanted to clean up the London
slums and he felt the only way to get those
Victorians to see reality
was to shock them.
Well, that's great, Francis.
But that still doesn't tell
us who he is or where he is.
Now we know that he had
to get rid of the clothes he
had on when he killed Tipton.
And the knives.
I've searched every room
in the whole entire inn
and I haven't come
up with anything.
Every room... every
room but Dulcey's!
(screaming)
The murderer!
Dulcey.
Toward the woods!
We've lost him.
(screaming)
This is what they
were waiting for.
♪♪
Good morning.
Morning.
Oh, well, let me
put it this way.
Good morning,
Marshal Crown, sir.
I'd shoot the bluebird of happiness
if it squawked as loud as you.
People who talk to me
this early in the morning
certainly don't need
to drink my coffee.
Just have a little
bit of patience.
I won't be around for a while.
You certainly are
cranky this morning.
You'd be cranky too if you
slept as miserable as I did.
I didn't sleep at all.
You're lucky.
I slept and I dreamt.
And why don't I have to put up
with your genuinely boorish behavior,
if I may impose
upon you to ask, sir?
Because I'm going to take my horse,
put the bedroll on it and ride out of town
as far as I can go till I
can find me a quiet...
And I'm gonna
sleep for two days.
But you can't.
You know Acer Taybeck's
crowd is coming to town tonight.
I know it.
Well, you're gonna let
them shoot up the town?
I am.
And murder us in our beds?
Dulcey, I'm tired old
folks, so just let me be.
"The New York
Times", they said yes.
They want everything
I can give 'em.
About what?
As if I didn't know.
Jack the Ripper, dark nights,
murdered beauties, chilling fog.
And the fairest flower of the
inn was Dulcey Coopersmith,
stalked by a mad beast.
My reputation is made.
I'll sue if you use my name.
I don't want the reputation
of my inn besmirched.
Well, it's mostly about...
Crown's relentless tracking of the
lunatic butcher from Whitechapel.
Are you sure he
was Jack the Ripper?
Why, sure, of course he was.
Who says so?
Tipton said.
Ah, he was a
little balmy himself.
No one will ever know for sure.
It was a great story.
No verification on it.
You'll never be
able to prove it.
Oh, don't worry, Francis.
Acer Tayback's crowd will be in tonight
and the marshal will give you a real
rootin', shootin'
story if you like.
I told you I was leaving town
and I'm gonna sleep for two days.
What about my story?
You'll have your
story all right.
About a daredevil hell-bent for leather
lawman who took on 80 drink-crazed
cowboys and tamed 'em.
What lawman?
Francis Wilde, the
scourge of Cimarron.
(laughing)
♪♪