Gunsmoke (1955–1975): Season 5, Episode 37 - Old Flame - full transcript

♪♪ [theme]

starring James
Arness as Matt Dillon.

Mr. Dobie.

- [bell rings]
- Mr. Dobie!

Oh. Hello, Chester.

Mr. Dobie, where's that drummer
who was in here the other day?

What drummer are
you talking about?

I'm talking about
that hat drummer,

the one that had the
gold tooth right there.

You know the one that I mean.

The one that sold
me this here hat.



[laughs] It ain't much of a hat.

Well, no, of course it
ain't much of a hat now.

Not the way that it is.
It ain't worth nothing.

What happened to it?

Well, I wore the thing
for the first time yesterday,

yesterday being Sunday and all.

I know what day it was.

You know, it come up a
rainstorm there all of a sudden,

and... and... Well,
it did... lookie there.

You oughta have sense enough
not to wear a new hat in the rain.

Well, if you can't wear a hat in the
rain, when are you gonna wear it?

I mean, that's what it's for, to
keep the water off of your head.

Now just tell me
where the drummer is.

If you insist, Chester.



His name is
Coolidge, and he's in...

Excuse me, gentlemen.

Oh, yes, yes, ma'am.

What can I do for
you, Miss Winters?

I don't want to interrupt.

Oh, you ain't interrupting
a thing, ma'am.

I mean, we was just
standing here talking.

Well, I was wondering if either of you
gentlemen might know a friend of mine.

Well, I reckon that we know just about
everybody in Dodge, don't we, Mr. Dobie?

Let her breathe, Chester.

I was just trying to help.

Who are you looking
for, Miss Winters?

He might not be in Dodge, but I did
hear he was somewhere in Kansas.

His name's Matt Dillon.

Matt Dillon.

Yes. Then you know him.

Well, yeah, I should say so.

- He's the U.S. Marshal here, ma'am.
- Yeah, right here in Dodge.

Well, fancy that.

Well, do you know
where I could find him?

I'd like to talk to him.

Well, yes, I sure do, ma'am, and
I'd only be too happy to help you.

Why don't you just stay here
and I'll go tell him that you're here.

Thank you, Mister...
Uh, uh, uh, uh, Goode.

Chester Goode.

Thank you, Chester.

Would you mind telling him that
Dolly Winters is here from Texas,

and that she'd be mighty pleased
if he could find time to call on her.

Dolly Winters from Texas, yes.

- Thank you for your kindness.
- It's a pleasure.

About that drummer,
Chester. He's in number 14.

Oh, the drummer's in 14.

By golly.

[knock on door]

Matt! Matt, how
good to see you again.

Dolly, how are you?

I'm fine. And you?

You look just great.

Been a long time, Dolly.

Yes, a long time.

It was nice of
you to come, Matt.

You're not in some kind
of trouble, are you, Dolly?

Trouble? Oh, because
you're the marshal.

I forgot.

You certainly done
yourself proud, Matt Dillon.

Just a job.

Sit down.

Thank you.

You know, it's hard to believe

I was only 18
when I last saw you.

Yeah. Yeah, we were
pretty young then.

Well, you know the old saying.

That a woman is always grateful

for her first and her last love.

What are you doing around Dodge?

I figured you to be married
and settled down a long time ago.

I am married, Matt.

I thought Chester said your name
was Winters. Same as it used to be.

I won't use his name.

But I am married to a
man named Meadows.

Rad Meadows. We
were married in Texas.

Oh, Matt, I need help so badly.

Why don't you tell
me about it, Dolly?

Well, when I was
first married to Rad,

he was everything a
husband should be.

Gentle, wonderful,

and then just
overnight he changed.

Changed?

I found out what a
cruel man he really was.

Cruel and vicious and
beating me for no reason at all.

I think he enjoyed it.

No matter what I
did, it didn't suit him.

And then he started telling me

about this other woman,

and then one morning,
he left for good.

With her?

Yes.

[sighs] Took everything I had.

Money, jewelry,
and they ran away.

Later on, I learned from friends

that they'd come to Kansas,

that they settled down
somewhere near Dodge.

So you followed them here, huh?

Yes, but now that I'm here,

I'm afraid to face him.

You've no idea what a
terrible man he is, Matt.

Why, if he knew I was
in town, he'd kill me.

I know he would.

Well, Dolly, I'm
sorry to hear that,

but let me tell you something.

If he's anywhere around
Dodge, we'll find him.

I'll help you get this thing
straightened out. That's a promise.

But would you know if he settled
down in the country near here?

Well, that's pretty
difficult, Dolly.

You see, it's a big
country out there.

Now look, what did you
say his name was again?

Meadows. Rad Meadows.

That name doesn't
sound familiar.

Now look, I don't want
you to worry about it,

because I'll start
checking up on it right now,

and if he's here,
we'll find him.

You know, Matt,

I feel better than
I've felt in a long time.

Thanks.

Sure.

Matt, I know you're busy,

that you have
other things to do.

I'll try not to be a nuisance.

You won't be.

There you are.

Well, I guess you can
put this away now, Clem.

I wish I knew how much money
you're giving away calling it a loan.

I don't need it that bad. Besides, they
always pay me back when they can.

You have a lot of faith
in cowboys, Miss Kitty.

If it weren't for cowboys,
you wouldn't be working.

Now draw me a beer. I think I'm
gonna get off my feet for a few minutes.

That's the smartest
idea you've had all day.

- Thanks, Clem.
- We're gonna have to order some more beer.

All right, I will the next time
the drummer comes through.

Okay.

Miss Kitty.

How you doing, Chester?
You got time to sit down?

Well, yeah, I guess so.

Now what's on your mind?

Oh, nothing much. I just been
kind of been dogging it around town.

I was over at Moss Grimmick's.

Matched him a few pennies and
played a game of checkers with Howard.

Truth of the matter is
I'm just a little bit tired.

How about a beer?

No, I don't think so.

You sound like you're
kind of at a loose end.

Yeah, well, yeah, I
guess you could say that.

Where's Matt?

Well, uh, I think that he rode out
to Jake Wirth's place with Dolly.

I kind of figured
they'd be back by now.

The way I hear it,

she's been taking up a
good deal of his time lately.

Well, she's got a
problem, you know?

Yeah, I heard about it.

I don't think there's
anything personal there.

It's just that, well,
they've knowed each other

ever since they was
just kids practically.

And what with her losing
the money and her husband

and being so scared and all,

well, naturally she's
gonna come to him for help.

I just hope he knows
what he's doing.

I don't think that you've
got a thing to worry about.

Well, well, well.

- Mr. Dillon.
- Chester.

- See you got back.
- Yeah.

You're quite a
stranger around here.

- Oh.
- Can I sell you a drink?

Don't mind if I do.

- Clem, could you bring the marshal a beer?
- Yes, Miss Kitty.

Well, I think I'll
just mosey on back

and go to bed. I'm
kind of tuckered out.

I kind of feel like a firecracker
on the fifth day of July.

Must have been that
checker game with Howard.

- Yeah. Well, good night, Miss Kitty.
- Sweet dreams.

- Mr. Dillon.
- All right, Chester.

You may have to get
yourself a new assistant.

- Is that so?
- Chester's dying of boredom.

He may quit you.

Well, I guess things have been
a little quiet around here lately.

You've been pretty busy.

The way I hear it you've been
spending a considerable amount of time

with Miss Winters.

Well, Kitty, she's
an old friend.

I used to know her
years ago in Texas.

Has she changed much?

Everybody changes,
I guess, Kitty.

Some people change a whole lot.

They can go from white to black.

What do you mean? You think
there's something wrong with Dolly?

Could be.

She hasn't done anything
wrong around here that I know of.

Maybe she's just being
real careful around you.

Why would she want to do that?

She wants something from you.

No, I don't think so, Kitty.

Let me tell you something, Matt.

I'm a pretty good judge of men,

but I'm a mighty
good judge of women.

And I'll bet you a
barrel of whiskey

that Dolly Winters is not
what she's pretending to be.

That's a lot of whiskey to bet on
somebody you've never even met before.

Bet still goes.

All right, you're on.

[clink]

You sure you can't make a little
more noise with that wood, Chester?

Well, you want some
coffee, Mr. Dillon,

you can't have coffee
unless you got a fire.

I don't know any other
way to get the firewood in.

Did you ever think to try and
not to bring it in all at once?

You mean make two trips?

No, no, no, just kick
it in across the floor

a piece at a time.

Am I disturbing you?

Hello, Dolly. Come on in.

Good morning, Chester.

Good morning, Miss Dolly.

Chester here is about
to boil up a little coffee.

- Could you use some?
- That'd be lovely.

I'll bet you make
excellent coffee, Chester.

Well, it gets drunk.

Around here it does anyway.

Let me get some firewood.

- Would you like to sit down, Dolly?
- Thank you.

Matt, I hope I'm not
being a nuisance.

Not at all, Dolly.
What's on your mind?

What can I do for you?

Well, I just wondered if you'd
heard anything about Rad yet.

No, no, I haven't yet, but I
will if he comes to Dodge.

I told you not
to worry about it.

Matt. Excuse me.

- Hello, Doc.
- How are you?

- How are you?
- Fine. Miss Winters.

Hey, you know that Meadows fella
you been looking for? I think I found him.

Found him? Where?
Somewhere here in town?

No, no, you know
the old Becker place.

Out west of town,
they've moved in there.

I was called out there
early this morning.

- His wife got hurt.
- His wife?

She's not his wife.

She's the woman
I told you about.

Well, I wouldn't know
anything about that,

but whoever she is,
she got hurt pretty bad.

She fell off a ladder and broke
a couple of ribs and her arm

and she was
bruised up pretty bad.

Doc, thanks for telling
me. I'll get right out there.

I'm going with you.

No, you're not.

If I went with you, I
could keep him from lying.

Make him tell the truth.

Matt, don't you see?

She didn't fall off any ladder.

- Rad did that to her.
- What about that, Doc?

Did she look like she could
have been beaten to you?

Beaten?

Well, sure, I suppose
so, but good heavens.

I know him.

Whoever that
woman is, he'll kill her,

and then he'll come after me.

Don't worry about a thing. You're
gonna be safe right here in town, Dolly.

Then get him. Kill
him or he'll kill you.

Just don't give him
the chance. Shoot first.

Doc, would you walk Miss Winters
back to the Dodge House for me please?

Sure. Miss Winters.

[knock on door]

Hello.

How do? Are you Rad Meadows?

That's right. You're a lawman.

Yeah, my name's Dillon. I'm the marshal
over in Dodge City. This is Chester Goode.

- How do you do?
- How do you do?

- Won't you come in?
- Thank you.

What are you doing
way out here, Marshal?

We heard that your wife had been
hurt, and we thought we'd stop by,

see if there's
anything we could do.

That's mighty nice of you,
but she's up and around now.

Good. I'm glad to hear that.

You've fixed the place up here.

We've done a little work
since we've been here.

It sure didn't look like this
when Hy Becker lived here.

We bought it from him
a couple of months ago.

I sure never thought I'd
settle down to ranching.

Amazing what a good woman
can do for a man, though.

I'd like you to
meet her, Marshal.

I don't wanna put you out.

Mary, we got some company.

Oh. My gracious,
darling. Well, I'm a sight.

You're the prettiest
girl in Kansas. Come on.

Marshal Dillon, Chester Goode.

- Hello.
- How do, ma'am?

Doc Adams told us
about your fall, ma'am.

And I'm sorry to hear about it.

I'm afraid it was my fault.

Now, Rad, it wasn't at all.

He blames himself for the least
little thing that happens to me.

She's been after me for over a week to get
that picture hung up over the fireplace.

She finally tried
to do it herself.

The ladder slipped. I
just didn't put it up right.

We're most concerned
about the baby.

The baby?

Yes, we're gonna have a baby.

Well, congratulations.

Thank you. Sit down. Let
me fix you a cup of coffee.

We don't wanna put
you to any trouble.

- You're not at all.
- Come on, sit here.

Thank you.

Tell me something, Meadows.
Have you ever been married before?

Me? Never.

Did you ever know a girl by
the name of Dolly Winters?

Yeah, why?

She's been in Dodge
for the past few days,

and she's been telling a lot
of stories around about you.

I wouldn't doubt it, but I
wouldn't guarantee any truth of it.

She says you were married to her

and that you ran off with her
money and another woman.

That's a lie.

Dolly's been chasing
me halfway around Texas

asking me to marry her.

And I never felt
that way about her.

She told me she'd fix me real
good if I married another woman.

Marshal, I never felt like
I wanted to marry Dolly,

and I sure never
stole her money.

Here it is. Nice and hot.

- Here you are.
- Thank you, ma'am.

Marshal, why don't you
and Chester come out

some Sunday as soon
as I get this arm back,

and I'll fix you up some dinner.

We'd be mighty proud to, ma'am.

All right. In the meantime,
I'll get you some cookies.

Thank you.

[knock on door]

Matt, come in.

- You all right?
- Yeah.

- Did you kill him? Did you shoot him?
- Nope.

No? Why not?

'Cause you lied to me, Dolly.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

Don't you? As far as I can see,

Rad Meadows is a
happily married man.

I see.

So you let him talk you into
believing he's married to that woman?

That's right.

And I don't think he
stole your money, either.

What's the matter, Matt?
Are you afraid of him?

All right, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean that.

But, Matt, you've
got to help me.

We are married.
I swear it's true.

I know Rad Meadows.
He can put on quite an act.

I fell for it myself once.

Matt, believe me. He'll kill me.

You've got to help me.

You've got to stop
him, Matt. You've got to.

I know a real easy
way to stop him, Dolly.

What? How?

Leave town.

Leave town?

- Me?
- Yeah.

You.

[Chester humming]

- Good morning, Mr. Dillon.
- Chester.

- You had your breakfast yet?
- No, no, I haven't.

Well, just don't have no eggs
down there at Delmonico's.

- Why not?
- They're just awful.

They're so old, and
they just taste terrible.

If they're that bad,
what did you eat 'em for?

Well, I j... Well, you gotta
have eggs in the morning.

I see.

Why didn't you go with Miss
Dolly Winters this morning?

Go where?

When I was on my way to
breakfast, I seen her driving a buggy.

She's headed out
west of town there.

- She was? Alone?
- Yeah, she seemed to be.

I guess she must have rented
a buggy from Moss, huh?

We better have a ride
out to the Meadows place.

- That's her buggy, all right.
- Yeah.

You didn't really think you
could get away from me, did you?

You're no good,
Dolly. You never were.

I followed you a
long way for this, Rad.

And I'm going to enjoy it.

No man walks out on me.

I didn't walk out on you. Can't
you get that through your head?

I've got it.

And I've got you, too.

No, Dolly, no.

Hold it, Dolly.

Gimme that.

Take it easy, Meadows.

All right, where
you hit? Let's see.

Somebody has to
dig the bullet out.

I'm sorry I didn't kill you,

but I will next time for sure.

You heard what she said.

What am I gonna do?

I don't know. Leave her up to me.
Come on, let's get you in to Doc's,

get that arm taken care of.

- You're really gonna do it, aren't you?
- I am.

Must make you feel real
proud locking a woman up.

Dolly, nothing about any
of this makes me proud.

Especially being
taken in by an old friend.

Yeah.

You really weren't.

You didn't do my
shooting for me, did you?

Inside.

What are you gonna do with me?

Nothing.

Not till Rad Meadows
signs a complaint.

Then it'll be up to the judge.

Matt.

You're not really
gonna leave me here.

Well, it's kind of bad when
you have to lock up somebody

that's been an old
friend, Mr. Dillon,

especially if it's a woman.

Yeah.

You going out?

Yeah, Chester, I'm going
over to the Long Branch.

I owe Kitty a barrel of whiskey.