Gunsmoke (1955–1975): Season 14, Episode 17 - Mannon - full transcript

Gunsmoke, starring
James Arness as Matt Dillon.

♪ Abides in that maiden

♪ Her plea calls to me

♪ The wild ways though I roam

Howdy.

Horse took lame, did he?

Had to shoot him a while back.

Well, I can sure give you a ride
into Dodge, if you're a mind to.

Old Ruth, here, he's stout
enough to tote both of us, I reckon.

Riding double's
not too comfortable.

Oh, fiddle. It'd be my pleasure.



Not mine. Step down.

- What?
- I said step down.

Mister, I don't
especially like your tone.

Nor your words, neither.

Down.

Well, it takes all kinds to...

♪ Once more in the pine wood

♪ A brook sweetly murmurs

♪ Its song of rejoicing
♪ And welcome to me

♪ And pensive I glance in

♪ Its bright sunny waters

Well, all right, I'll
tell you what I'll do.

I'll buy a round of
drinks for everybody

for every day that
Festus stays out of town.



Matt back yet?

No, I guess he's coming
in tomorrow or the next day.

You know, asking a man to
come all the way to Ellsworth

to make deposition
in a trial is...

- Well, it's just ridiculous.
- Why?

Well, in this heat, it
could wait a day or two.

Anything can wait a
day or two. Anything.

♪ And pensive I glance in

♪ Its bright sunny waters

♪ And hosts of dear faces

♪ Gaze fondly at me

♪ The friends of my childhood

♪ Press gaily around yet

Get a pillow for old
Tanglefoot, will you?

Tanglefoot?

You men do choir work?

Here, lead 'em in singing.

You got a place to change skins?

Dodge House.

Oh.

Hey, that's Ruth.

- Well, of course, it's Ruth.
- Where's Festus?

Well, I don't know.
But who's he?

- Never saw him before.
- What's he doing on Ruth?

I'm gonna get Mr. Newly.

Welcome to Dodge.

Oh, just make your mark then.

All right.

- Name please?
- Mannon.

Excuse me. Excuse me.

It's just that, well, Mannon's a
name to remember in parts of Kansas.

- That so?
- Oh, yes, indeed.

You know I was in
Lawrence that time.

They say Will Mannon was Quantrill's
killing arm more than any of the others.

So you can see why a
name like that would...

Well, sorry. No need to
bother you with such and all.

First name, please.

Will.

Get plenty of hot
water, will you?

♪ A walk in my fancy

♪ Through pale mists of sorrow

♪ And beckons me home

♪ Once more in the pine wood

♪ The brook sweetly murmurs

♪ Its message of...

Come.

Well?

Are you the man that rode
into town on the bay mule?

Old Tanglefoot? Yeah.

Mind telling us how you
happened on old Tanglefoot?

There reason I should?

One reason's this badge.

Another reason, that
mule and the rigging on him

belongs to a friend of ours.

- Is that a fact?
- That's a fact.

And you're wondering
what become of your friend?

I do.

Well, all I can tell you in
the Good Lord's presence

is that I had me a snake-bit
horse, unfit for travel,

so I took to walking and I come
on old Tanglefoot, I call him.

Didn't you think
that a little odd,

finding a saddled mule out
in the middle of nowhere?

I mean, didn't you wonder
where the owner was,

or if there was
trouble of some kind?

Friend, I asked myself a question
once and I got the wrong answer,

so I never asked myself another.

I take things by the time, by
the hour. It's the only way of life.

Now, if you men will excuse
me, I aim to find out who I am.

Something's awful wrong.

- He's lying, and I'm gonna prove it.
- How?

First thing I'm gonna
do is backtrack on Ruth.

I'll go with you.

It's getting too
dark to track, Burke.

He's been laying
out in the sun all day.

Maybe we'd better go back.

Burke!

Oh, no.

Is he alive, Newly? Is he?

I don't know, Burke.

I don't know.

- Oh, Kitty.
- Hi, Doc.

- What you got there?
- Well, I knew you wouldn't leave Festus.

I thought you might
like something to eat.

- Well, thanks.
- How is he?

Well, uh, he's
doing pretty good.

He was mumbling a while ago
and I thought he was coming to.

Festus? Festus?

- Doc.
- Yeah, I'm right here. Right here.

It just hurts like thunder, Doc.

Yeah, I know that. Now, you just
hang on and we'll take care of that.

- Miss Kitty.
- Hello, Festus.

How'd I get here?

Last I recollect, I
was a crawling down...

Burke and Newly brought you in.

Ruth. I got to find Ruth.

You just got to do nothing
but stay right where you are.

Doc, that fish-eyed yahoo,
he just stoled old Ruth from me.

Festus, do you mean
you... you saw who shot you?

Just smack nose
to nose, Miss Kitty.

I got to find him
and get Ruth back.

Will Mannon rode Ruth into
town about five hours ago.

- Will Mannon?
- He's down at the Long Branch right now.

Will Mannon?

He's the one who done all
the burning and the killing

and the thinking
for Quantrill, Doc.

- You know that.
- Well?

You want to talk
about a fast gun hand,

if you was to take a
snake's tongue and grease it

and tie it to a
bolt of lightning,

you couldn't get nothing
as fast as his gun hand.

- You know, Matt's gonna be back soon.
- Yes, Matthew, he'll be back all right.

But I'll tell you
both something.

This Mannon is twice
as fast as Matthew is.

I know. I've saw them both.

Mannon, he's a heap faster.

Only thing we can do is to
try to keep them two apart.

Just hope that Mannon'll
ride out of town directly.

You mean you're suggesting
we just don't do anything about it.

- We just all hope that everything...
- And you'd better hope hard, too, Doc.

Elsewise, it's gonna be old Matthew
laying out yonder on that street, dead.

Like I say, a man has got to
have attention to his direction.

And I've always been of a mind

that the best way
for a man to do that

is to say flat out
who and what he is.

Makes for understanding.

In case there's a
man or two here who...

hasn't heard, or isn't sure...

I am Will Mannon.

Well, Mister Mannon,

until Festus identifies you,
there's nothing I can do about that.

But there is something
I can do about this.

Well now, there appears to
be one right here who isn't sure.

Well, come on.

It's as fine a way as any
to get the word around.

Just stand right there.

- Did you say something, barkeep?
- That whiskey is two dollars a bottle.

I'll handle this, Sam.

Friend...

I'm gonna kill that barkeep
before he can press that trigger,

and him with his finger on it.

And then I'm gonna kill you.

You'll pay up first.

Hold on now, both of you.

You figure you're
ready, barkeep?

Put the gun down, Sam.

Ma'am...

I was figuring to use these here
pilgrims as sort of an example.

Sam.

Newly.

Newly, please.

Sam.

That'll be six dollars.

It's all right, Sam.

It's all right, Sam.

You're taking an awful
chance, Miss Kitty.

And so were you. So were you.

We're all for the taking,
as far as he's concerned.

Dodge House for lodging,
Delmonico's for food.

But nobody wants to make a complaint.
I don't need one to arrest him now.

Just leave him alone
and don't make trouble.

Don't make trouble?

Marshal gave me this badge and
the responsibility that goes with it.

- Now you listen...
- No, ma'am.

Have you ever seen Matt
shoot faster than Mannon?

I sure haven't.

It doesn't make any difference.
I got to arrest that man if I can.

I'm not gonna see you get killed
over three bottles of cheap whiskey.

Now, please...

There are other
customers, girls.

I didn't know they allowed
ladies in the saloon, ma'am.

I own this one.

Figured. The
thought still stands.

What thought, Mr. Mannon?

I been hide-hunting down in
the Nations for a couple of years,

but I was raised respectful and I
know a lady when I see one, ma'am.

What brings you out of
the Nations, Mr. Mannon?

So far, it seems like all your
transactions have been on credit.

Oh, I pay, Ma'am,
come the time for it.

Did you ever pay for what
happened in Lawrence?

Well now, that was war.

War?

Ma'am, you've got to have
attention to your direction.

If you ain't got direction,
you got stampede.

Any animal can do that.

What happened at Lawrence gave
Quantrill and the rest of us direction.

What do you want here?

Nothing much.

Then why don't you just move on?

I figure Matt Dillon
is nothing much.

I'm gonna walk across him the
way you walk across short grass.

Why?

Ma'am, if it wasn't for us old
boys doing the doing in that old war,

you wouldn't have
no town here at all.

The war was over ten years ago.

It's been a time.

I ain't suggesting that nobody
bow and step off my shadow, but...

well, a little feeling of
respect sets a nice tone.

Respect?

That's what I'll have when I've got
Matt Dillon's toes pointing to the clouds.

Respect.

Here's to it.

Well, in Mannon's opinion,
he's found a home here in Dodge.

What do you mean
he's found a home?

He's come here to kill Matt.

- He tell you that?
- He did.

Well, a lot of people
have tried that.

Mannon's different.

I mean, he's...
really different.

And you know how many
times Matt has said himself

that no matter how good he
is, there just might come the day

when he might meet
somebody better.

And we're supposed to just
stand by and let it happen?

Well, all we can
do is warn Matt.

Doc?

Well, I can't think
of anything to do.

- There's one thing.
- What's that?

- We can kill him.
- Mannon?

I mean, you wouldn't hesitate
to shoot a mad dog from cover.

Can't do it, Newly.

No, Kitty's right.

Only thing we can do
is find Matt and tell him

the man is in Dodge
and he's gonna kill him.

Well, I can do that much. I'll
head for Ellsworth right now.

Doc... I'm scared.

This time, I am really scared.

Simply and clearly,
something's got to be done.

This situation is deplorable.

It's gonna get more deplorable
unless we do something.

Well, here's the
way I look at it.

You don't go trying to bribe
the likes of Will Mannon.

In the first place, he
wouldn't understand it.

In the second place, he's weaned
on a bottle and that's all he knows.

He's only got one thought
in his head, and that's "take."

Something's got to be done.

What we got to do
is arm ourselves.

What's your name?

Name's Burke.

Burke, I could hear you all the
way across the street out there.

- Well, then you know we mean...
- No, I don't know.

Look at it like this...

I've done my living...
doing, seeing, the tasting.

Any time they dig
that old hole for me...

I'm ready.

What about you folks?

You suppose you're
really thinking clear?

I just ask you curious...

I just ask you curious, 'cause
sure as Satan knows heat,

a lot of you people are gonna
die, just as quick and easy

as your friend there could
have done, if I was of mind.

I just come here to tell
you that... I'm here to stay.

Goodnight.

There's nothing like a friendly
game of cards, is there, gents.

Everybody called?

Well, let's see 'em.

Well, I got two pair,
Jacks over fours.

Likewise, only tens over sixes.

Well, uh, happiness is
for the next world, Halligan.

Three queens.

Beat that, Mr. Mannon.

That's no trick at all.

Four aces.

You gents ever see
such a run of luck?

Can't beat hands like that.

I mean, I... I've never seen
such a run of luck, Mr. Mannon.

Well, I'm tapped.

- No.
- As a matter of fact, me too.

Yeah.

Well, a man only needs a
few bad hands to ruin him, eh?

Maybe you'll have
better luck tomorrow night.

Ten o'clock.

Thank you.

Mr. Mannon? We'd
like to talk to you.

What was your name again?

Oh, Burke. Nathan Burke.

Well, Burke, what is it?

Well, uh, Mr. Mannon, we...

We'd like to offer you
some money to leave town.

That so?

Five hundred
dollars, Mr. Mannon.

Well, that's quite
a bit of money.

We're prepared to give you 250
dollars upon your leaving Dodge,

and another 250 dollars will
be deposited to your credit

in any other town you choose.

Hmm.

Well now, Mr., uh... Burke.

Have you got the money with you?

I've got it right here.

I like that.

Then you will be moving on?

No, Burke. I won't.

♪ And pensive I glance in

♪ Its bright sunny water

♪ And hosts of dear faces

♪ Gaze fondly at me

♪ The friends of my childhood

♪ Press gaily around yet

♪ The smile of my darling

♪ Nowhere do I find

♪ How gently my cheek is

♪ Caressed by her song

♪ And there in the pine wood

♪ I find peace of mind

Go away. We're closed.

What do you want?

Pour.

Pour.

Pour.

I knew right off you
were a lady, Miss Kitty.

You're the only one in town I
haven't shrunk down to size.

What will it take, Mannon?

Well what are you
offering, ma'am?

Seven thousand dollars.

The ante's gone up.

You keep that kind of
money laying around here?

Mm-mm. No.

But I can raise it on the
Long Branch in the morning.

You'd sell this place for him?

I would.

Is he that special to you?

He must be some man.

He is.

Join me, ma'am?

Seven thousand dollars
is a whole lot of money.

You could buy almost
anything in the world for that.

Except Matt Dillon's life.

I wonder what I'll see in
your eyes after he's dead.

Miss Kitty.

Oh...

What's the matter with you?

I got a chore for you, pill-man.

Sit down over there.

How'd it happen?

I had an itch and
scratched it too hard.

I'm gonna have to sterilize
that. That's pretty deep.

And this is gonna
hurt you quite a bit.

I'll bet it will.

Claws your insides to
have to help me, don't it?

What are you fetching there?

This is laudanum.

I'm gonna have to sew that up.

I want you to take a
couple of swallows of this.

Put you to sleep and
you won't feel a thing.

Including the knife
you could stick into me.

Just wrap it.

It's your arm.

How long's it been since
you had a good night's sleep?

That concern you, does it, Doc?

Only clinically. Not
as a personal matter.

I figured as much.

I've just never quite
been able to understand

how a man like you
manages to live at all.

- With so much fear and hate around you.
- Do you hate me, Doc?

I know you ain't afraid.

No. I'm too old for that.

You know Marshal Dillon, do you?

Yes, I know him.

Is he a friend of yours?

I want you to keep
this bandage on for...

about a week.

That's a good job. How
much do I owe you?

You're starting to pay
your way now, are you?

You tell me how much
it is and I'll pay you.

About twenty cents.

Fair enough.

I'm going to send lots
of business your way.

Doc...

If you'd take a look
into the Long Branch,

you might find Miss
Kitty could use you.

Kitty.

Doc.

- Oh.
- Kitty, just be still.

I'm all right.

I'll be the judge of that.

Doc, help me upstairs, please.

- All right. Take it easy.
- Please help me.

- Easy now. Easy.
- Oh.

All right.

Figured I'd find you on the
Ellsworth Road, Marshal.

- Well, I took the Vinegaroon turnoff.
- They told me that at the stage depot.

- What's wrong?
- Will Mannon's in town.

- Will Mannon?
- Marshal, I know guns.

And I've never seen
anybody, begging your pardon,

anybody faster
than the likes of him.

He's wolfing up Dodge, taking
what he wants, doing what he wants.

He shot Festus.
Wounded him real bad.

- Help me get my stuff together.
- Marshal, he could kill you certain.

- Morning.
- Hello.

She been sleeping like that?

Yeah, she slept well.

That's fine. You go on
home and get some rest.

Doc, listen.

You can't sit up all night with
Festus and all day with Kitty.

Now, I'll stay and you go.

I'm the boss here.
You do what I tell you.

You go get some rest.

What kind of a man
would do a thing like that?

Don't take any
kind of a man at all.

That's a good point, Doc.

Well. Morning, how are you?

Oh, I'm all right.

I want to see him.

You want to see who?

Mannon.

Mannon?

I want to talk to him.

Heaven's sakes,
you must be delirious.

Doc, I want you to go find him.
And tell him that I want to see him.

- You sound serious.
- I am.

Well, let me tell you something.
You'd have to do some explaining

and an awful lot of convincing
before I'd do a thing like that.

Do you think I'd go and get
him and let him come in here

and work you over
again like he did?

He won't.

- No kind of an answer for me.
- Doc...

There's no way for Mannon and
Matt not to face each other, is there?

No, I don't think there is.

Well, don't you think that...

we ought to give Matt some
kind of an edge if we can?

Of course I do.

Well, if you'll just trust
me, I think I know a way.

You think? Would you
mind explaining it to me?

Oh, Doc.

If I tried to explain it to you,

you wouldn't understand
because you're a man.

I know Mannon.

I know him probably in a
way that very few people do.

But it just might be the
edge that Matt needs.

If I didn't try...

and he did kill Matt...

Well, I...

Please, please, Doc.

Go get him.

Well, I don't like this at all.

Please?

Miss Russell says
she wants to see you.

Thank you, old man.

Tell her I'll be right there.

Come in.

Morning, Red.

Mannon.

I knew you'd make up your mind
once we come to know each other.

Look what I brought you.

I've made up my mind.

Good.

That'll make it easier,
me staying and all.

You're staying all right,
'cause it's here you're dying.

Oh?

That's right.

- How'd you come by that?
- I know men.

I know how they think.

And I know how they
act around their own kind.

Aside from the way
they act around women.

Well, what's that got to do?

Matt Dillon's a man.

But he's dead.

Uh-uh, you are.

You really believe that?

You'll believe it too,
when you see him.

Woman, you are a wonder.

And as sure as there's
a sun and a moon...

he's gonna kill you.

Red, it's been lots of
years and I've never lost.

You did with me.

Again.

Throw.

Throw it, rummy.

Most amazing
thing I've ever seen.

Amount he's been drinking
and still able to shoot like that.

Again.

Throw.

Grab a whole handful.

Throw them.

Hello, Louie.

I've been praying, in my
fashion, you wouldn't...

- You're alone, Marshal?
- That's right, Louie.

Well that ain't so good,
Marshal. That ain't so very good.

That Mannon's here.
He's something fast.

- Nothing's ever been quite like him.
- I know.

Now, Louie, I want you to
go down to the Long Branch

- and tell him to meet me in the street.
- No, Marshal!

You go on.

I ain't had too much, Marshal.

I could get me a rifle
and climb a roof and...

Louie, I thank you.

But you go on now.

Marshal wants to
see you outside.

If I were just younger, I'd...

You'd still be talking.

Get out of town, Mannon.

Come the time I want.

Your time's now.

Now, there's a man.

A good man.

Mannon!

Yeah.

He is a good man.

Stay tuned for scenes
from next week's Gunsmoke.