Gunsmoke (1955–1975): Season 13, Episode 1 - The Wreckers - full transcript

Gunsmoke, starring
James Arness as Matt Dillon.

Whaa. Whaa.

Whaa. Whoa.

- I help?
- Sure. Thanks.

Thanks again, injun.

Very kind.

Maybe you'll take my
place in the gallows.

Get in.

He's added so much to
the last couple of days.

Yeah.

I can't think of a nicer
way to spend a vacation.



- All set, Joe.
- Go on!

Yah!

Indio, go wrangle them horses.

Reb, help him.

Tate!

Bring that box.

You all right?

There's a lawman in there.

You know them two, Red?

Way she was carrying
on, she knows that 'un.

Who is he, Red?

His name's Matt
Dillon. He's dead.

Not yet he ain't.

Read on that.



"United States
Marshal Matthew Dillon."

Matt Dillon.

Well, howdy.

Sure make for some unhappy
folks in Dodge if he died.

They got him
standing kind of tall.

According to these here papers,
that one down there's Monk Wiley.

Ain't all that big
is what I've heard.

He's a heap bigger
than you, I'll tell you.

So that's Monk Wiley, huh?

Tate, there ain't but 800 dollars
and a bunch of papers here.

- 800 dollars?
- 800 dollars, Tate.

How about that, Tate?

Jud right here about
the marshal, Red?

What?

That Dodge City'd come
unhinged if he got killed.

Boys, I think we got
us a windfall anyways.

Get them two out of there.

Eli, see what you
can do with them two.

Who are they?

It's been a right
pleasuresome ride, ma'am.

- Don't put your hands on me again.
- Come on, Red.

- This Wiley's shoulder's popped out.
- Where'd they come from?

They were on the stage.

Likely be a couple of carcasses, though,
time you get through working on 'em.

I've saved your
bacon more than once.

- Who's he?
- Matt Dillon.

Luke.

- What did Tate bring him here for?
- Well, Tate's got plans for him, Eli.

You brother's plans only
mean more work for me.

- Gotta earn your cut, Eli.
- Earn my cut, eh?

You and your smart-mouth talk.

Earn my cut more than you do.

Never brought a
woman here before.

Get out of the way.

Eli.

How bad is he hurt, Eli?

It's hard to say.

Well, I want him alive.

Nothing much I can do about it,
Tate. He's all broken up inside.

He lives, he lives.

I said I want him alive.

Why?

I figure you'll work all the harder
to get that ransom for us, Red,

if he's still breathing.

Ransom?

That's the only reason
you're here, Red, to go fetch it.

- It figures.
- How you doing?

- My side hurts.
- Could be a broken rib.

Well, you fix it up for her.

I want her to ride.

- Let's get a look at it.
- You keep your hands off!

The lady's proper, Eli. She
can't go undressing in front of us.

Ain't that right, boys?

Jud, go outside, help
Indio with the horses.

In there.

I said get away!

Eli!

Now, you do what he says, Red,

and don't you mouth
off around here never.

Come on.

Let's get them horses unsaddled.

Do yourself a
favor, don't rile him.

He's not a man to rile.

- What are you doing?
- I'm gonna set his shoulder.

Your shoulder was out and I
set it. You're among friends.

That's right, Monk Wiley.
You're back with your own kind.

Tate Crocker's gonna greet
you like a long-lost brother.

You're gonna make a fine pair.

You're never gonna
learn, are you, missy?

I'll get you a
sling for that arm.

Tate's gonna wanna talk to you.

Kitty, what's going
on here? Are you hurt?

It's nothing, nothing.

Listen, Tate Crocker
and his gang have got us.

They robbed the stage.

They think that
you're Monk Wiley.

- Where's Wiley?
- He's in the other room dying.

They think he's you. I
pinned your badge on him.

Good.

- Where's my gun?
- They've got it.

- There's nothing you can do now.
- Kitty, we gotta get you out of here.

They're planning on sending
me to Dodge for your ransom.

All right.

Then when you get out of here,
you keep going, don't come back.

Oh, Matt.

That stage wasn't
much worth the trouble.

800 dollars.

That'll be a whole heap
more if that sheriff lives.

Brother Tate, Jud's right
about the way Dodge feels.

How much you figure
they gonna come up with?

- Ten thousand.
- Ten thousand dollars?

Ten thousand dollars?

- Come on, you gotta be kidding.
- Ten thousand!

- You gotta be kidding.
- Shut it!

Do what I tell you.
I'll think of something.

Looks like it's gonna be quite a
while before you see Dodge City.

Sorry to disappoint that
marshal friend of yours.

I just can't quite believe that.

There'll be a few other
folks disappointed,

the hangman in
Hays City for one.

- You must be Tate Crocker.
- That's right.

- I'm Monk Wiley.
- I know all about you, Monk Wiley.

Did the Ashton bank job
all by yourself, didn't you?

- Guess I'm in your debt.
- I'll collect.

- How are you feeling?
- I've felt some better.

Maybe you ought to
take it easy for a while.

Gotta get on my feet,
see if I can move around.

How's he?

No different than he
was five minutes ago.

There's grub, such as it is. Or
there's whiskey if you want that.

Whiskey's almost
gone. Only grub is beans.

You get me some meat and
greens and you'll get better meals.

We won't worry about that,
Eli. Is this woman ready to ride?

- I ain't got to her.
- Well, then, get to her.

- Nothing I can do but wrap her side up.
- Then wrap her side up.

I been riding with that woman and
this marshal friend of hers for two days.

I figure I get
first claim on her.

Well, there ain't much her marshal
friend there is gonna say about that.

How much you figure you
could've got out of that Ashton job?

I don't know. Five,
six thousand maybe.

Well, I'm gonna get
ten thousand for him.

There ain't gonna be
no sweat to it, neither.

How do you figure?

Them good folks in Dodge City
gonna come up with their life savings

when Red tells
'em the fix he's in.

That's the way I'm gonna do it.

I call and raise ten.

- What?
- I raise you ten.

I fold.

You ain't getting no
more from me, friend.

Get the beans.

Come on, somebody, deal.

Trying to rob that bank
single-handed wasn't the smartest thing.

- I've managed before.
- No doubt it showed grit.

Not much else, I mean,
getting took the way you did.

I got took cos I didn't run.

Nobody run me out
of the Dakotas, mister.

Just taking it from
what you said.

How comes it's always like you're
trying to twist what I say, huh?

When are you gonna send that
woman into Dodge for the ransom?

When the marshal comes around.

Why don't you send her now
while she knows he's still alive?

Oh, she'll go, when
she knows for sure.

All right, you're
calling the shots.

Yep, and don't you
never forget that.

- It might take some getting used to.
- You saw I draw three cards!

- You'll manage.
- Deal me out.

There's been too much
luck for one man to suit me.

- What's that supposed to mean?
- Just what do you think?

Jud, back off!

You hear me?

Go on.

Eli, get out of here.

I ain't. I'm busy.

You weasel.

You ought to be ashamed of
yourself talking to an old man like that.

You want a drink, Red?

Go crawl in a hole.

There's a town called
Spivvy a few miles up the road.

I'm gonna be sending Frankie
and Jud up there for supplies.

- Think you up to making the trip?
- Don't worry about me.

Indio's gonna be trading those stage
horses in on some saddle mounts.

I figured you'd like to go
along and pick yourself out one.

Well, I'll need a gun for that.

- Would that marshal's gun suit you?
- I said drink it.

Suit me fine.

You're gonna drink it,
lady, one way or another.

Get your hands off her.

You keep out of this or
I'll put you back to sleep.

I said get your hands off her.

I've had my fill for one day.

Jud! You hold it right there.

Nice and easy.

I'm gonna kill him.

How about that, Wiley?
Think you can handle this?

- It's up to him.
- Give him a gun.

I want you to know, Wiley, I
hand-picked every one of these boys.

- They're the best.
- We'll see about it.

- Reb!
- Yo.

- Bring me the marshal's gun belt.
- Right.

I kill him and the woman's mine.

You got to do it first, Jud.

Watch me.

OK, everybody outside.

- Take her.
- Come on.

Go on.

You know, Wiley,
you kind of on the spot.

They don't like Jud too much,
but they don't know you at all.

Come on out, Wiley!

Luke, check him.

Pretty good, Wiley.

For a second there I figured
you was sizing us all up.

Just wanted to be sure
nobody was backing his play.

What did you figure on
doing about it if they were?

He's dead, Tate.

Now all of a sudden
I'm a man short.

Doesn't look like
much of a loss to me.

He did his job.

Reb, help Luke bury him.

Now you gonna be a man
short going into Spivvy.

Send along a couple of
them. We can use more help.

I don't need no
suggestions from you, mister.

All right, you must have some
reason for doing things the hard way.

I don't give nobody no reasons.

Indio, gather up the horses.

Frankie, this is
for the supplies.

That's good harness stock out there
and don't let that old man cheat you.

You coming?

That's about the
fastest I've ever seen.

Except maybe yours, Tate.

Frankie, you take these three
horses, I'll take these three.

You're the wrangler,
breed, not me.

You take three head.

- What?
- You take three horses.

You don't tell me. You
don't ever tell me, breed.

Hold it. Hold it.
Back off of there.

That's enough.

I'm gonna kill him!

Don't start something
you can't finish.

Breed's crazy.

I'm bleeding.

I'm bleeding!

Tate! You tell him to stay away from
me or one of these days I'm gonna kill him!

Are you going to Spivvy?

Shh, shh, shh.

Don't talk. Just lie still.

You've been very badly hurt.

Don't move. Don't try to talk.

Shh, shh.

Shh.

Shh.

Don't you die on me, Dillon.

I swear your woman's
gonna be in a fix.

Tate, they's coming.

- Where's Frankie?
- Dead.

- What happened?
- Take care of the horses.

What happened?

Frankie shot me.

You kill Frankie?

Didn't have much choice.

He saved my life.

That makes it all right,
bringing in the old back stove?

- What are you talking about?
- That's two of my men I've lost to you.

You're liable to lose some more,
they keep pulling guns on me.

No.

I ain't gonna lose
no more men to you...

Marshal Dillon.

Drop that gun belt.

I figure the words of a dying man
ought to be true ones, don't you?

Now, you just remember, I
want that money in 48 hours

or we're gonna have to kill him.

You've made that plain before.

One thing I didn't make
plain, I want fifteen thousand.

- You said ten.
- Mm-hm.

But I figure that Jud and Frankie's
gonna rest a whole lot easier

knowing we got five
thousand dollars for their death.

Once you get the money, how
do I know you're gonna let Matt go?

Hey, you see down there?
I can see for miles around.

Anybody comes this way but you,

I mean, even a saddle tramp,
we're gonna have to kill him.

I want you to make those good folks
back in Dodge know that, understand?

Luke!

Well, hope she comes back.

She will.

All right, hush up! Hush, hush!

Be quiet! Hush, hush!

- Shut up, now.
- Listen, be still.

Wait a minute.

Listen, everybody.

I can raise six thousand
dollars on the Long Branch.

But that still leaves
nine thousand.

How can we raise that much
money at this hour, Miss Kitty?

There ain't a thousand
dollars in cash among us.

- Bank's right up the street.
- Mr. Bodkin's out of town, Doc.

Ben Paisley's here. He'll
open it up. Won't you, Ben?

- You bet I will, Doc.
- Well, you can count on me.

Me too!

All right, just bring your
money right over here to Sam.

He'll keep track of
what you've all gave

and you'll get it back when
Matthew gets out of there

and we round up Tate
Crocker and his outfit and...

- Just a minute! Just a minute!
- What?

Well, I guess most of you
know me. Anyway, I'm a rancher.

Now, if I get snake-bit
out on the prairie,

well, that's sad and all that,
but it's just one of them things

because that's my job
working out on the prairie.

Now, what I'm saying is this.

Matt knew the minute he
put that badge on his chest

that something like
this might happen.

Hold on, Clete.

Festus, I'd be willing
to give anything I got

to get the marshal out
of the spot that he's in

if I thought for one second that
Tate Crocker was gonna let him live.

But he isn't gonna let
him live and you know it.

And you know it too, Miss Kitty.

And if you're
bringing money to him,

you got about as much chance of
getting out of there as the marshal has.

- That's right.
- Yeah.

Wait a minute here!
Hold on a minute!

All right, hush up!

Just a minute
here! Thunderation!

Clete, you make me
sick. Now, listen to me.

We're all friends of
Matt's, at least I thought so,

and there's not a single
person in this room

that doesn't owe him a debt
of some kind, not one of you!

Right.

Now, there is not enough money
in the whole state of Kansas

to pay another man
to do what Matt's done,

even it they could
and they couldn't.

Now, we built this town
and we've seen it grow,

because Matt gave us
the security of knowing

that Tate Crocker and a
hundred others like him

can't come in here and burn it to the
ground every time they think about it.

All right, Clete, you
say that's his job.

All right, maybe it is.
I'll go along with that.

But who else'd do
it? Or who could?

And what about the
other debts you owe him?

And I'm gonna call your attention to a
few of 'em I just happen to know about.

Ted Banks, not too long ago
your boy ran away from home

and he spent three days and
nights looking for him and found him

and brought him
back to you safe.

I don't think you
could pay him for that.

Jim Taylor, how many times has
he put up with your viciousness

every time you had a silly
argument with your wife?

I don't think you could call
that exactly in the line of duty

of a United States marshal.

Molly Brooks, how about the time
he rode up to Hays City all the way

just to be a character witness
for your boy when he got in trouble

and then took him on as his own
responsibility to keep him out of jail?

Now, those are the kind of
debts you just can't pay back.

That is unless... the opportunity
comes to you like it has right now.

Nobody says we don't owe
him, Doc, but, like Clete said,

hand out all that money and
we know they're gonna kill him.

We know they'll kill him if
they don't get the money.

And we know they might
kill him even if they do.

I don't know about
the rest of you,

but I'm not willing to
live the rest of my life

knowing that I passed up the one
chance in a thousand might've saved him.

Now, you're all friends of
his and I just can't believe

there's a single one of you that
wants to live with that on his conscience.

Now, Ben, you open up that bank,

and every penny I got in there,
you write a check for it and I'll sign it.

- Now, how about the rest of you?
- I'll do it, Doc. I'll do it.

All right, let's get with it.

All right, folks. The bank doors
are opening right now. Come on.

Come on, Kitty, let's
have a look at you.

- You gotta let me do it, Miss Kitty.
- Do what, Louie?

You know I ain't got nothing
to give to help the marshal.

That's all right, Louie. We
know you'd help if you could.

You don't understand.

There's something I can do.

- What?
- I can take the money to Crocker.

If it's like Clete said, whoever
takes it ain't coming back,

so it can't be you.

Oh, Louie.

Don't you see, you, the marshal,
are the only real friends I got.

You gotta let me do
it, Miss Kitty, you gotta.

Louie, I can't.

If they saw anybody but me,

even if they saw anybody
with me, they'd kill Matt.

Thank you, Louie.

I gotta go myself.

Tate, she's a-coming!

Whoa!

Come on, come on,
get out. Come on.

Come on.

Kitty, I told you, you
shouldn't have come back.

Oh, Matt.

If you think
they're not grateful,

if you think they don't care,

there's ten dollars on that table
for every man, woman and child

in Dodge City.

That's the most money I ever
seed lumped together at one time.

- Looks like it's all there, boys.
- That means three thousand a piece.

You did real good, Brother Tate.

Well, cut it up even,
boys. We're pulling out.

You running again, Crocker?

Just figuring out
what to do with you.

You'll have half the
state of Kansas after you.

Well, Kansas is
a big state, Red.

How'd you like coming
along with us, huh?

Let her go.

No, Marshal.

It's too good a way to settle up with
you for them two men you cost me.

There's another way if
you got the stomach for it.

I don't wanna
bother shooting you.

You figure you're that much
better than your friend Jud, do you?

Is that a desperation
bid, Marshal.

You may think you're better,

but this way you'll never
know for sure, will you?

I ain't never met the man
yet I can't take in a gunfight.

I whupped you good and I
ain't gonna bother trying now.

I dumped you hard, I bled your town
and now I'm gonna take your woman.

Come on, Red.

Let's ride, boys!

Move.

- Luke.
- Yeah?

- Burn it.
- What are you talking about?

I said burn the house.

Reb, you and Indio
go help him burn it.

That old weather-beaten
place, all it needs is a start.

You had to figure.

Beating him wasn't enough, Red.

Matt offered you
another way to settle up.

He's got to die.

You're afraid to face him.

Would you rather I go in and
put a bullet in his head? Hmm?

Why not the back? You've
already got him handcuffed.

Let me tell you something.

He'll die a better man
than you'll ever live to be.

Ha!

Hold it!

Give me that gun.

Back off.

Tate!

Drop the gun belt.

Stay tuned for scenes
from next week's Gunsmoke.