Mod Squad (1968–1973): Season 1, Episode 17 - Fear Is the Bucking Horse - full transcript
Al's a good double for him.
We can use that
piece just as it is.
What do you think, Mitch?
You're the director,
Les... Whatever you say.
Just as long as you take
good care of my tiger.
Seems kind of foolish,
spending good money on doubles.
I did tougher ones than that
for a dollar and a
quarter a day and found.
You want to give a whole studio
a heart attack, boy?
You know what they
got invested in you?
He's still just a
little old country boy.
Can't convince him he's
gonna be an important property.
I don't know, I...
I reckon some of them
critics don't see it that way.
Oh, a bad review here and
there is all part of the game, son.
Give it time, boy...
The series'll catch on.
Now that you
have a few days off,
I wish you'd get some rest, son.
I'd purely like to talk
you out of that rodeoin'.
Charlie Tyson's had
a bad season, Mitch.
I... I owe him.
I figure now's a
chance to pay him back.
Guess you're just
naturally a hero, boy.
Ain't no way to fight it.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
We found the sniper's
car abandoned.
It was stolen... no
prints or anything.
Say, where's Julie?
It'll take her a few
minutes to get together.
She'll be here...
you said hurry.
Pick her up on the way, huh?
On the way to where?
Far West Acres.
Far... Oh, that's
that place that's like
a western Disneyland, right?
Yeah, with a small
rodeo on the weekends.
Owned by a Charlie Tyson.
He gave Billy Kilgore his start,
so now Billy wants to help him.
So he's working there
four days on a free-bo.
On a what?
For free.
And this Mitch Bates, he's
more than just a manager,
he's a close personal
friend of Billy's.
Practically raised him.
He's terrified this
sniper'll hit again,
so he's asked for protection.
I figure it's right
up your alley.
Wait a minute, either of you
two ever been to a rodeo?
I fell off a milkman's
horse once.
That good enough?
You know, it might
be groovy to see.
What see?
How can you give him any
protection from the grandstand?
You're working the rodeo.
You're putting us on.
No.
Doing what?
Well, whatever the owner says.
He'll figure out your cover.
Well, you better get going
if you're gonna head
'em off at the pass.
Oh, man.
Come on, you'll have a ball.
Hey, listen, I fell off
that milk horse, and
it was standing still.
They went thataway.
Mitch.
Charlie! Mighty glad.
Oh, it's been a long time.
Oh, Billy boy.
This is fine, Billy, just fine.
You're looking sassy, Charlie.
Oh, just middlin', Billy.
But it's gonna be better now.
I'm beholden.
Other way around.
How's Chrissie?
She as pretty as ever?
Yeah, she is.
That's husband talk.
Hello, Mitch.
Billy.
Chrissie.
You look just wonderful, Billy.
You, too.
Charlie and I, we're
so proud of you.
Well, now, this
is like old times.
Now, step inside,
folks... The bar is open.
Chris.
♪ ♪
That guy is really something.
I wouldn't do that
for a million dollars.
Some of us work
cheaper than others.
You are looking at my cover.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Hey, you stop ridin' me.
Now, I told you I'd
make everything right.
So you told me.
Look, I can't just put my
hands on that kind of money.
Not right off.
I need more time.
You may be all out of it.
I want an answer...
tomorrow.
Now, let's talk.
What's happening?
The fat cat laid
a threat on Billy.
You got your camera?
In the room.
I think maybe the
captain would get
some mileage out of a picture.
♪ ♪
Are you ready for this?
No.
You're something.
Well, it's been nice.
Be careful.
Well, if I blow it, you
can have me stuffed
and hung over the
Captain's mantelpiece.
All right, let's go...
You think the horses
are gonna come
up there after it?
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Hoo-hoo-hoo! Come on, come on!
Ladies and gentlemen,
how about a nice hand
for Mr. Lincoln Hayes!
Now, folks, the event
you've all been, uh,
looking forward to...
Well, how'd you like it?
I'll let you know when
my hands stop shaking.
You did fine, son.
Our own boys, Mr. Billy
Kilgore, in person!
Hey, kid, take it easy.
I'm sorry.
♪ ♪
He's good, isn't he?
Say, I've, uh, got to
go over to the barn.
You want to come along? Sure.
♪ ♪
Anything wrong, Mr. Tyson?
Oh, you three are so young.
Never thought of
kids doing police work.
Somebody's got to do it.
Well...
how we doing today, Charlie?
I'll fix you up, boy.
You know, that's
Billy's old horse.
Named him after me.
Real old fella.
Billy wants him to
just live it out easy.
As it should be.
There we go, boy, there we go.
You a vet, Mr. Tyson?
Gotta be.
A show this small,
a man does it all.
You know, Billy's really
crazy about this horse.
You watch, he'll be in here
three or four times a day
and the last thing at night...
just to make sure
old Charlie is all right.
You gave Billy his
start, didn't you?
Oh, just gave him
a little help is all.
He was always
bound to get up there.
He's a good all-around hand.
Bulls, broncs, calf-ropin'.
Always high in the
national standings.
What?
All he's doing out there
is a little fancy ridin'.
The folks'll want
more than that.
And I'm afraid that crazy
kid's gonna give it to 'em, too.
I don't understand.
You see, Billy's got a bad back.
Got it from one of those
bulls you were playing tag with.
Same accident that
gave me this bum leg.
Now, I've been trying to
talk him out of calf-roping,
but that's his favorite event.
He was National
Champ two years runnin'.
You couldn't keep him
out of that with a shotgun.
Who'd want him dead?
Well... could be anybody.
Billy's on top now, but...
rodeo's a tough business.
Hard to tell who he
stepped on on the way up.
Ah, how's that, Charlie?
Better now?
♪ ♪
Yeah, it'll be in an
envelope, at the desk
with his name on it.
All right.
Okay.
He's sending a guy
to pick up the film.
For whatever good that'll do.
It should fit somewhere, man.
All I know is Billy
was scared to death.
Speaking of Billy, where is he?
He's probably
tucking old Charlie in...
his horse.
Maybe I better
just check him out.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
I wouldn't do that, he's murder.
He's in the right place for it.
The murdered man was Eddie Clay.
Armed robbery, assault,
suspicion of murder.
He did the whole
thing, didn't he?
Yeah, a gun for hire.
With Billy Kilgore
as the target.
Yeah, that's not
hard to figure out.
He waited in the
stable to brain Billy,
only Linc showed instead.
Linc was about to cool him;
get a little truth out of him.
All right, that's
why he was killed.
Now let's try "who."
Who else?
By his employer,
who likes his privacy.
Worst part of it
is, he's still got it.
Pete, you're just
not cut out for it.
Hey, did those pictures
that I took do any good?
His name is Weaver,
a Vegas gambler.
I got a pickup out on him.
Hey, listen, I want you
guys to be careful, huh?
Place like this, wide open...
anybody could put on boots
and jeans and he's a cowhand.
Almost anybody.
Uh-huh.
Well, I can see that
the honeymoon is over.
I can remember
when he would have
never started without us.
Hey, listen man, you try
baby-sittin' with that bull.
What's good for energy?
Either the bull's getting
faster, or I'm getting slower.
What's that all about?
I don't know.
He's been watching me like
suddenly I've become the enemy.
♪ ♪
Hey, Linc.
That was a wasted nickel.
It's out of sight!
There's a phone call for us.
It sounds like the Captain.
I told them to put it
through to the room.
No, no, eat.
If I can handle a bull, I
can handle a phone call.
Billy?!
Hey, what's wrong?
I think you could use
a little air. Come on.
Yes? Oh, no, Operator,
tell Mr. Greer I can't
take his call right now.
I'll call him back
in a little while.
Better?
Billy, you shouldn't drink.
Oh... You know the chance...
Billy... why?
Oh, Chrissie, I've missed you.
Ah, it's just the whiskey.
No!
No, I know what I want.
I need you, Chrissie,
like it used to be.
That was a long time
ago, Billy, a mistake.
It shouldn't have happened.
Now, don't say that.
You never were much
good at walkin' up
to the truth, were you?
Yeah.
I'm Charlie's wife,
Billy, I love him.
Oh...
You're his friend. You owe him.
Billy Kilgore, boy ower.
Man, you name somebody,
old Billy owes him!
Charlie...
Mitch... you.
It's because of
how you are, Billy.
A taker.
You take and then you run away
and you leave
all the pain behind
for other people to live with.
Why'd you come here?
Now, you know
why. To help Charlie.
No, to help Billy.
It'll read fine, won't it?
"Star works without pay
just to help old friend."
Poor Billy.
I know you so well, don't I?
♪ ♪
Yeah. Yeah, here he comes now.
Hey, don't worry about
it. We'll get back to you.
I said don't worry about it.
We'll get back to you. Later.
What's happened?
I'll fill you in later.
Was that the Captain?
Yeah.
You know that guy from Vegas?
The gambler that
I got a picture of?
His name is Weaver.
Captain had a chat with him.
It seems that Billy
likes the crap tables.
He owes this guy
$60,000 last count.
Well, guys have gotten
killed for a lot less than that.
But killing a man
doesn't get your money.
That's very true. But it
sure does discourage
other people from
welching on you.
No argument.
Weaver's a suspect.
Sounds like you got others.
Oh, let's just say Billy
Kilgore isn't exactly Pat Boone.
And that's 14
seconds flat for Gil.
Yes, sir, that's gonna
be mighty hard to beat.
And, next up, folks, is
the man who can do it...
A real good one, Billy Kilgore.
Ride into that box, Billy, and
show 'em what you can do.
Billy, I don't know
where you are, boy,
but get with it, boy, please.
The back?
Oh, Lord, I knew it.
Bucky, get out there.
Ladies and gentlemen,
there's been a change.
Billy needs more time.
So, the next roper
will be Bucky Reilly.
Need a string.
Poison. Poor cowboy was dead
before he ever hit the ground.
It's fast-acting
stuff, all right.
I guess so. It was on the
rope he had in his mouth.
That, uh, one they use
to tie the calves legs with.
They call it a piggen-string.
Two days in a rodeo,
everybody's an expert.
Not everybody,
or else that cowboy
wouldn't have been killed.
It's nobody's fault.
You're all doing
the best you can.
What kind of poison was it?
Uh, doctor won't
know until tonight.
Linc, that, uh, piggen-string...
you sure it belonged to Billy?
I mean, who actually
handed it to the cowboy?
It was Charlie Tyson.
That really doesn't
prove anything, though.
All that stuff
just hangs in the tack room.
Anybody could get
to it and doctor it up.
Yeah, well it's a
wide-open ball game.
Maybe we'll know a little more
when we get a
make on that poison.
If we don't get it soon,
it may be too late.
Any ideas?
Just one.
How about trying for the truth
straight from the horse's mouth?
Hey, Charlie...
How's the leg?
Horse stealin's a hangin'
offense, Mr. Clown,
don't you know that?
You're a hard man to find.
You got a lifetime supply?
More than enough.
Looks like it's
gonna be a short life.
The way you're going at it.
You want to talk?
Want a drink?
No, thanks.
What's the matter,
Mr. Clown, don't
policemen drink?
Some do, I guess.
Me?
I'm just trying to
keep you alive.
Waste of time.
Find yourself a
girl... or a bottle.
Don't waste your
time on Billy Kilgore.
The star of Lonely Trails.
Billy always wins.
Bad guys die, not Billy.
Ever see a treed
possum, Mr. Policeman?
Lookin' down at all
them hounds a-yellin'?
Knowin' he's dead...
but not knowin' which
hound's gonna get him?
You know, it like to drive
him crazy tryin' to figure that.
Ain't funny, Billy.
Sure, it is.
Funniest thing in the world,
when you know the real joke.
Somebody tried
to kill 'ol Billy...
hittin' everybody but Billy.
And who started it all?
Billy.
What are you talking about?
That gunman tried to kill
'ol Billy back at the studio?
Friend of mine.
Whoo-ee, bam, bam.
All them bullets slammin'
into them studio walls
just like I told him to do.
You started that?
Well, why?
I purely hate rodeoin'.
And I can't even
do it anymore...
Not with this back.
Don't make sense.
You're out of it.
You've got your own TV show.
Flop show.
What do they
call 'em... ratings?
Everybody's unhappy with 'em,
they claim ain't
nobody watchin' it.
So I figured...
a little publicity might...
might help some.
I just can't lose that show.
Don't you see?
A dirt plain country
bum all those years,
nothin' but grubbin'
and... and bein' "Hey, you."
Then they turn a
camera on you, and you
and you see how it could be.
Top-of-the-hog living...
Steaks and women
and big cars and...
no more being
"Hey, you."
It's "Mr. Kilgore, sir."
You see, don't ya?
A man can't go back again.
Not after havin'...
He... can't.
Hey, Mr. Bates.
Linc Hayes.
Want to give me
a hand with Billy?
Coming.
It's insane.
Billy starts it off with
a fake publicity kill,
and somebody picks
it up with the real thing.
Anybody could've gotten the
idea, it was all over the papers.
They called in
the autopsy report,
which narrows it down.
The poison was something
called petromel acid...
Tasteless,
colorless, but deadly.
It was poured on
the rope, dried in,
and the saliva released it.
It's easy stuff to come by.
How easy?
Oh, it's used mostly
as a pesticide.
To kill rodents.
It's a stock item on a farm.
Or a rodeo.
A veterinarian would
know about it, wouldn't he?
Charlie Tyson?
That nice man?
Well, that thing between
Billy and his wife?
No man's nice about that.
But Billy's doing
the show for nothing.
So that they can
pick up some bread.
But who was it once said, "Man
does not live by bread alone"?
Well, he's helped
us at the gate.
Have to give him that.
Charlie, let me...
Uh, I'm all right, Chrissie.
Think I'll get myself a
little air before I turn in.
Charlie...
Everything's been good
between us, hasn't it?
Yeah, I thought so.
I do love you, Charlie.
Always have, even when...
Oh, Chrissie.
I'd do anything to
make that up to you.
Don't you worry, Chrissie.
Everything's gonna be
just fine, just don't worry.
You get some
rest. I won't be long.
It's a little late
for that now, isn't it?
Colorless.
What are you gonna
do, kill a rat this time?
I didn't do it, son.
I'd have to be crazy,
knowing you three are police.
It could be the smartest way.
It wasn't me.
You knew the rider
was poisoned... how?
Place this small, you
don't hide a thing like that.
There's a lot of things
that you can't hide
in a place this small...
like a motive.
Billy and your wife.
It was a long time ago.
You don't know how
she's punished herself for it.
Trying to make it up to me.
I love Chrissie, don't
you understand that, boy?
If I was gonna
kill Billy for that,
I'd have done it
a long time ago.
Still, you came after that.
Well, you said it yourself.
Place this small,
sooner or later
somebody was gonna
figure me for a motive.
Can I have that?
How about this Mitch Bates?
Mitch?
Uh-uh, Mitch raised Billy.
He's always managed him.
They even had a
business together
back when Billy
was rodeo champ...
Raising horses.
No, not Mitch.
No, it'd have to
be somebody else.
Good night.
Not so hard, Julie.
I had that bottle
right in my hands.
And then... I blew it.
Well, there must be
something that we can do.
Yeah, keep shuffling the
pieces till they come up right.
Right now there's Charlie Tyson.
He has motive up to
here, and opportunity.
The same goes for Mrs. Tyson.
Yeah.
But they both need Billy.
Leaving Mitch Bates.
Who really needs Billy.
Without him he's just another
promoter in a Western hat.
Or is he?
All right, try this.
When Billy passed
out and I carried him
to Mitch's trailer, well,
there I was right outside,
Billy unconscious.
Now, Mitch knew it, he saw it,
but still he took his
time coming to the door.
He closed a drawer
and locked it first.
I heard it.
And then he came to the door.
You're saying that...
that somebody's got to
get inside for a look, right?
There's nothing much else left.
But how? He's always there.
Well, not always.
Not when Billy's working.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Thank you, Billy.
Mighty pretty ridin'.
And now, ladies and
gentlemen, our next event,
the most dangerous of all,
wild Brahma bull-riding.
♪ ♪
You all right, Miss?
Yeah, I'm so sorry, it
was so clumsy of me.
Oh, it just looked
like he spooked easy.
Ooh! My ankle.
Oh... yeah.
Watch your boot.
Oh... wow, that's
much better, thank you.
It might swell a bit.
Man, you're pretty good
at tearing a guy's heart out.
You're pretty good with logic.
Is it Mitch?
Mitch.
I found a bottle of
that poison in his file...
along with a motive.
Remember when Tyson said
that Billy and Mitch used
to be in business together?
Yeah, raising horses.
Yeah, they called
the outfit, uh,
"Champion Enterprises".
They raised cattle and
horses, thoroughbred stock.
Sure, that makes sense.
Billy's name would help.
When they started out, the
business made a lot of money,
so they took insurance
policies out on one another.
It's no big thing,
it's done all the time.
But the business folded.
The policies were kept active.
Mitch always paid the premiums.
Wait a minute.
Insurance confuses me.
Well, it's simple, angel.
Put it this way, if Billy
dies, Mitch gets $200,000.
Well, how are we
gonna prove that?
Well, I don't know. Maybe
we have one chance.
That's why I left everything
in the trailer the way it was,
all except for one thing.
But we're gonna
need a helping hand.
Howdy. Somethi"
I can do for you?
Well, no.
It's the other way around.
I thought you'd like to know,
Billy's back on the sauce again.
Drunk?
Smashed.
Like Prohibition was
coming back tomorrow.
Where?
Well, last I saw, he was
heading for the old barn.
He said he wanted
to talk things over
with that old horse of his.
I'm mighty grateful.
Billy!
Mitch... old Mitch.
Billy... Billy, why this time?
Well, I don't know, Mitch.
I get... I just get worried.
I get, uh, a-frettin'...
Sure, boy, I know how it is.
It'll be all right, boy.
Things are gonna work out.
Just let Mitch
handle everything.
Old Mitch.
A little sip for the long trail.
No, I... I had enough.
Old Mitch knows best, Billy.
This'll get you on your feet.
Come on, boy.
Yeah...
Yeah, that'll do
'er nicely, boy.
Mitch...
Mi...!
Sorry, boy.
Just wasn't...
no other way to go.
Billy...
you understand.
Promoter don't get
too many chances.
All that... back-slappin',
sellin' gets him old and tired.
But he don't mind that too much,
he don't even mind
wiping your nose for you...
findin' the gals...
bringin' the whiskey.
But then you... you
gotta do your part, too.
You gotta... you gotta
make it big for him.
You let 'ol Mitch down, boy.
The show's being dropped.
I'm flat-out broke.
I just ain't got the energy to
start building another tiger.
It's a... dog-eat-dog
world, boy.
That says it all, huh, Mitch?
It's not poison.
Mitch!
Mitch, don't!
♪ ♪
I feel so sorry for him.
What does he do now?
No TV shows.
He can't go back to the rodeo.
He's really got nothing.
He was using Mitch for a crutch.
The crutch is now gone.
If he has anything going
for himself, he'll make out.
You know, for a clown,
you make a lot of sense.
Hi. Ready?
And the first one to make
a joke about bulls is fired.
So long, Adam.
Adam?
That's his name, so sue me.
Come on.
♪ ♪
We can use that
piece just as it is.
What do you think, Mitch?
You're the director,
Les... Whatever you say.
Just as long as you take
good care of my tiger.
Seems kind of foolish,
spending good money on doubles.
I did tougher ones than that
for a dollar and a
quarter a day and found.
You want to give a whole studio
a heart attack, boy?
You know what they
got invested in you?
He's still just a
little old country boy.
Can't convince him he's
gonna be an important property.
I don't know, I...
I reckon some of them
critics don't see it that way.
Oh, a bad review here and
there is all part of the game, son.
Give it time, boy...
The series'll catch on.
Now that you
have a few days off,
I wish you'd get some rest, son.
I'd purely like to talk
you out of that rodeoin'.
Charlie Tyson's had
a bad season, Mitch.
I... I owe him.
I figure now's a
chance to pay him back.
Guess you're just
naturally a hero, boy.
Ain't no way to fight it.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
We found the sniper's
car abandoned.
It was stolen... no
prints or anything.
Say, where's Julie?
It'll take her a few
minutes to get together.
She'll be here...
you said hurry.
Pick her up on the way, huh?
On the way to where?
Far West Acres.
Far... Oh, that's
that place that's like
a western Disneyland, right?
Yeah, with a small
rodeo on the weekends.
Owned by a Charlie Tyson.
He gave Billy Kilgore his start,
so now Billy wants to help him.
So he's working there
four days on a free-bo.
On a what?
For free.
And this Mitch Bates, he's
more than just a manager,
he's a close personal
friend of Billy's.
Practically raised him.
He's terrified this
sniper'll hit again,
so he's asked for protection.
I figure it's right
up your alley.
Wait a minute, either of you
two ever been to a rodeo?
I fell off a milkman's
horse once.
That good enough?
You know, it might
be groovy to see.
What see?
How can you give him any
protection from the grandstand?
You're working the rodeo.
You're putting us on.
No.
Doing what?
Well, whatever the owner says.
He'll figure out your cover.
Well, you better get going
if you're gonna head
'em off at the pass.
Oh, man.
Come on, you'll have a ball.
Hey, listen, I fell off
that milk horse, and
it was standing still.
They went thataway.
Mitch.
Charlie! Mighty glad.
Oh, it's been a long time.
Oh, Billy boy.
This is fine, Billy, just fine.
You're looking sassy, Charlie.
Oh, just middlin', Billy.
But it's gonna be better now.
I'm beholden.
Other way around.
How's Chrissie?
She as pretty as ever?
Yeah, she is.
That's husband talk.
Hello, Mitch.
Billy.
Chrissie.
You look just wonderful, Billy.
You, too.
Charlie and I, we're
so proud of you.
Well, now, this
is like old times.
Now, step inside,
folks... The bar is open.
Chris.
♪ ♪
That guy is really something.
I wouldn't do that
for a million dollars.
Some of us work
cheaper than others.
You are looking at my cover.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Hey, you stop ridin' me.
Now, I told you I'd
make everything right.
So you told me.
Look, I can't just put my
hands on that kind of money.
Not right off.
I need more time.
You may be all out of it.
I want an answer...
tomorrow.
Now, let's talk.
What's happening?
The fat cat laid
a threat on Billy.
You got your camera?
In the room.
I think maybe the
captain would get
some mileage out of a picture.
♪ ♪
Are you ready for this?
No.
You're something.
Well, it's been nice.
Be careful.
Well, if I blow it, you
can have me stuffed
and hung over the
Captain's mantelpiece.
All right, let's go...
You think the horses
are gonna come
up there after it?
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Hoo-hoo-hoo! Come on, come on!
Ladies and gentlemen,
how about a nice hand
for Mr. Lincoln Hayes!
Now, folks, the event
you've all been, uh,
looking forward to...
Well, how'd you like it?
I'll let you know when
my hands stop shaking.
You did fine, son.
Our own boys, Mr. Billy
Kilgore, in person!
Hey, kid, take it easy.
I'm sorry.
♪ ♪
He's good, isn't he?
Say, I've, uh, got to
go over to the barn.
You want to come along? Sure.
♪ ♪
Anything wrong, Mr. Tyson?
Oh, you three are so young.
Never thought of
kids doing police work.
Somebody's got to do it.
Well...
how we doing today, Charlie?
I'll fix you up, boy.
You know, that's
Billy's old horse.
Named him after me.
Real old fella.
Billy wants him to
just live it out easy.
As it should be.
There we go, boy, there we go.
You a vet, Mr. Tyson?
Gotta be.
A show this small,
a man does it all.
You know, Billy's really
crazy about this horse.
You watch, he'll be in here
three or four times a day
and the last thing at night...
just to make sure
old Charlie is all right.
You gave Billy his
start, didn't you?
Oh, just gave him
a little help is all.
He was always
bound to get up there.
He's a good all-around hand.
Bulls, broncs, calf-ropin'.
Always high in the
national standings.
What?
All he's doing out there
is a little fancy ridin'.
The folks'll want
more than that.
And I'm afraid that crazy
kid's gonna give it to 'em, too.
I don't understand.
You see, Billy's got a bad back.
Got it from one of those
bulls you were playing tag with.
Same accident that
gave me this bum leg.
Now, I've been trying to
talk him out of calf-roping,
but that's his favorite event.
He was National
Champ two years runnin'.
You couldn't keep him
out of that with a shotgun.
Who'd want him dead?
Well... could be anybody.
Billy's on top now, but...
rodeo's a tough business.
Hard to tell who he
stepped on on the way up.
Ah, how's that, Charlie?
Better now?
♪ ♪
Yeah, it'll be in an
envelope, at the desk
with his name on it.
All right.
Okay.
He's sending a guy
to pick up the film.
For whatever good that'll do.
It should fit somewhere, man.
All I know is Billy
was scared to death.
Speaking of Billy, where is he?
He's probably
tucking old Charlie in...
his horse.
Maybe I better
just check him out.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
I wouldn't do that, he's murder.
He's in the right place for it.
The murdered man was Eddie Clay.
Armed robbery, assault,
suspicion of murder.
He did the whole
thing, didn't he?
Yeah, a gun for hire.
With Billy Kilgore
as the target.
Yeah, that's not
hard to figure out.
He waited in the
stable to brain Billy,
only Linc showed instead.
Linc was about to cool him;
get a little truth out of him.
All right, that's
why he was killed.
Now let's try "who."
Who else?
By his employer,
who likes his privacy.
Worst part of it
is, he's still got it.
Pete, you're just
not cut out for it.
Hey, did those pictures
that I took do any good?
His name is Weaver,
a Vegas gambler.
I got a pickup out on him.
Hey, listen, I want you
guys to be careful, huh?
Place like this, wide open...
anybody could put on boots
and jeans and he's a cowhand.
Almost anybody.
Uh-huh.
Well, I can see that
the honeymoon is over.
I can remember
when he would have
never started without us.
Hey, listen man, you try
baby-sittin' with that bull.
What's good for energy?
Either the bull's getting
faster, or I'm getting slower.
What's that all about?
I don't know.
He's been watching me like
suddenly I've become the enemy.
♪ ♪
Hey, Linc.
That was a wasted nickel.
It's out of sight!
There's a phone call for us.
It sounds like the Captain.
I told them to put it
through to the room.
No, no, eat.
If I can handle a bull, I
can handle a phone call.
Billy?!
Hey, what's wrong?
I think you could use
a little air. Come on.
Yes? Oh, no, Operator,
tell Mr. Greer I can't
take his call right now.
I'll call him back
in a little while.
Better?
Billy, you shouldn't drink.
Oh... You know the chance...
Billy... why?
Oh, Chrissie, I've missed you.
Ah, it's just the whiskey.
No!
No, I know what I want.
I need you, Chrissie,
like it used to be.
That was a long time
ago, Billy, a mistake.
It shouldn't have happened.
Now, don't say that.
You never were much
good at walkin' up
to the truth, were you?
Yeah.
I'm Charlie's wife,
Billy, I love him.
Oh...
You're his friend. You owe him.
Billy Kilgore, boy ower.
Man, you name somebody,
old Billy owes him!
Charlie...
Mitch... you.
It's because of
how you are, Billy.
A taker.
You take and then you run away
and you leave
all the pain behind
for other people to live with.
Why'd you come here?
Now, you know
why. To help Charlie.
No, to help Billy.
It'll read fine, won't it?
"Star works without pay
just to help old friend."
Poor Billy.
I know you so well, don't I?
♪ ♪
Yeah. Yeah, here he comes now.
Hey, don't worry about
it. We'll get back to you.
I said don't worry about it.
We'll get back to you. Later.
What's happened?
I'll fill you in later.
Was that the Captain?
Yeah.
You know that guy from Vegas?
The gambler that
I got a picture of?
His name is Weaver.
Captain had a chat with him.
It seems that Billy
likes the crap tables.
He owes this guy
$60,000 last count.
Well, guys have gotten
killed for a lot less than that.
But killing a man
doesn't get your money.
That's very true. But it
sure does discourage
other people from
welching on you.
No argument.
Weaver's a suspect.
Sounds like you got others.
Oh, let's just say Billy
Kilgore isn't exactly Pat Boone.
And that's 14
seconds flat for Gil.
Yes, sir, that's gonna
be mighty hard to beat.
And, next up, folks, is
the man who can do it...
A real good one, Billy Kilgore.
Ride into that box, Billy, and
show 'em what you can do.
Billy, I don't know
where you are, boy,
but get with it, boy, please.
The back?
Oh, Lord, I knew it.
Bucky, get out there.
Ladies and gentlemen,
there's been a change.
Billy needs more time.
So, the next roper
will be Bucky Reilly.
Need a string.
Poison. Poor cowboy was dead
before he ever hit the ground.
It's fast-acting
stuff, all right.
I guess so. It was on the
rope he had in his mouth.
That, uh, one they use
to tie the calves legs with.
They call it a piggen-string.
Two days in a rodeo,
everybody's an expert.
Not everybody,
or else that cowboy
wouldn't have been killed.
It's nobody's fault.
You're all doing
the best you can.
What kind of poison was it?
Uh, doctor won't
know until tonight.
Linc, that, uh, piggen-string...
you sure it belonged to Billy?
I mean, who actually
handed it to the cowboy?
It was Charlie Tyson.
That really doesn't
prove anything, though.
All that stuff
just hangs in the tack room.
Anybody could get
to it and doctor it up.
Yeah, well it's a
wide-open ball game.
Maybe we'll know a little more
when we get a
make on that poison.
If we don't get it soon,
it may be too late.
Any ideas?
Just one.
How about trying for the truth
straight from the horse's mouth?
Hey, Charlie...
How's the leg?
Horse stealin's a hangin'
offense, Mr. Clown,
don't you know that?
You're a hard man to find.
You got a lifetime supply?
More than enough.
Looks like it's
gonna be a short life.
The way you're going at it.
You want to talk?
Want a drink?
No, thanks.
What's the matter,
Mr. Clown, don't
policemen drink?
Some do, I guess.
Me?
I'm just trying to
keep you alive.
Waste of time.
Find yourself a
girl... or a bottle.
Don't waste your
time on Billy Kilgore.
The star of Lonely Trails.
Billy always wins.
Bad guys die, not Billy.
Ever see a treed
possum, Mr. Policeman?
Lookin' down at all
them hounds a-yellin'?
Knowin' he's dead...
but not knowin' which
hound's gonna get him?
You know, it like to drive
him crazy tryin' to figure that.
Ain't funny, Billy.
Sure, it is.
Funniest thing in the world,
when you know the real joke.
Somebody tried
to kill 'ol Billy...
hittin' everybody but Billy.
And who started it all?
Billy.
What are you talking about?
That gunman tried to kill
'ol Billy back at the studio?
Friend of mine.
Whoo-ee, bam, bam.
All them bullets slammin'
into them studio walls
just like I told him to do.
You started that?
Well, why?
I purely hate rodeoin'.
And I can't even
do it anymore...
Not with this back.
Don't make sense.
You're out of it.
You've got your own TV show.
Flop show.
What do they
call 'em... ratings?
Everybody's unhappy with 'em,
they claim ain't
nobody watchin' it.
So I figured...
a little publicity might...
might help some.
I just can't lose that show.
Don't you see?
A dirt plain country
bum all those years,
nothin' but grubbin'
and... and bein' "Hey, you."
Then they turn a
camera on you, and you
and you see how it could be.
Top-of-the-hog living...
Steaks and women
and big cars and...
no more being
"Hey, you."
It's "Mr. Kilgore, sir."
You see, don't ya?
A man can't go back again.
Not after havin'...
He... can't.
Hey, Mr. Bates.
Linc Hayes.
Want to give me
a hand with Billy?
Coming.
It's insane.
Billy starts it off with
a fake publicity kill,
and somebody picks
it up with the real thing.
Anybody could've gotten the
idea, it was all over the papers.
They called in
the autopsy report,
which narrows it down.
The poison was something
called petromel acid...
Tasteless,
colorless, but deadly.
It was poured on
the rope, dried in,
and the saliva released it.
It's easy stuff to come by.
How easy?
Oh, it's used mostly
as a pesticide.
To kill rodents.
It's a stock item on a farm.
Or a rodeo.
A veterinarian would
know about it, wouldn't he?
Charlie Tyson?
That nice man?
Well, that thing between
Billy and his wife?
No man's nice about that.
But Billy's doing
the show for nothing.
So that they can
pick up some bread.
But who was it once said, "Man
does not live by bread alone"?
Well, he's helped
us at the gate.
Have to give him that.
Charlie, let me...
Uh, I'm all right, Chrissie.
Think I'll get myself a
little air before I turn in.
Charlie...
Everything's been good
between us, hasn't it?
Yeah, I thought so.
I do love you, Charlie.
Always have, even when...
Oh, Chrissie.
I'd do anything to
make that up to you.
Don't you worry, Chrissie.
Everything's gonna be
just fine, just don't worry.
You get some
rest. I won't be long.
It's a little late
for that now, isn't it?
Colorless.
What are you gonna
do, kill a rat this time?
I didn't do it, son.
I'd have to be crazy,
knowing you three are police.
It could be the smartest way.
It wasn't me.
You knew the rider
was poisoned... how?
Place this small, you
don't hide a thing like that.
There's a lot of things
that you can't hide
in a place this small...
like a motive.
Billy and your wife.
It was a long time ago.
You don't know how
she's punished herself for it.
Trying to make it up to me.
I love Chrissie, don't
you understand that, boy?
If I was gonna
kill Billy for that,
I'd have done it
a long time ago.
Still, you came after that.
Well, you said it yourself.
Place this small,
sooner or later
somebody was gonna
figure me for a motive.
Can I have that?
How about this Mitch Bates?
Mitch?
Uh-uh, Mitch raised Billy.
He's always managed him.
They even had a
business together
back when Billy
was rodeo champ...
Raising horses.
No, not Mitch.
No, it'd have to
be somebody else.
Good night.
Not so hard, Julie.
I had that bottle
right in my hands.
And then... I blew it.
Well, there must be
something that we can do.
Yeah, keep shuffling the
pieces till they come up right.
Right now there's Charlie Tyson.
He has motive up to
here, and opportunity.
The same goes for Mrs. Tyson.
Yeah.
But they both need Billy.
Leaving Mitch Bates.
Who really needs Billy.
Without him he's just another
promoter in a Western hat.
Or is he?
All right, try this.
When Billy passed
out and I carried him
to Mitch's trailer, well,
there I was right outside,
Billy unconscious.
Now, Mitch knew it, he saw it,
but still he took his
time coming to the door.
He closed a drawer
and locked it first.
I heard it.
And then he came to the door.
You're saying that...
that somebody's got to
get inside for a look, right?
There's nothing much else left.
But how? He's always there.
Well, not always.
Not when Billy's working.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Thank you, Billy.
Mighty pretty ridin'.
And now, ladies and
gentlemen, our next event,
the most dangerous of all,
wild Brahma bull-riding.
♪ ♪
You all right, Miss?
Yeah, I'm so sorry, it
was so clumsy of me.
Oh, it just looked
like he spooked easy.
Ooh! My ankle.
Oh... yeah.
Watch your boot.
Oh... wow, that's
much better, thank you.
It might swell a bit.
Man, you're pretty good
at tearing a guy's heart out.
You're pretty good with logic.
Is it Mitch?
Mitch.
I found a bottle of
that poison in his file...
along with a motive.
Remember when Tyson said
that Billy and Mitch used
to be in business together?
Yeah, raising horses.
Yeah, they called
the outfit, uh,
"Champion Enterprises".
They raised cattle and
horses, thoroughbred stock.
Sure, that makes sense.
Billy's name would help.
When they started out, the
business made a lot of money,
so they took insurance
policies out on one another.
It's no big thing,
it's done all the time.
But the business folded.
The policies were kept active.
Mitch always paid the premiums.
Wait a minute.
Insurance confuses me.
Well, it's simple, angel.
Put it this way, if Billy
dies, Mitch gets $200,000.
Well, how are we
gonna prove that?
Well, I don't know. Maybe
we have one chance.
That's why I left everything
in the trailer the way it was,
all except for one thing.
But we're gonna
need a helping hand.
Howdy. Somethi"
I can do for you?
Well, no.
It's the other way around.
I thought you'd like to know,
Billy's back on the sauce again.
Drunk?
Smashed.
Like Prohibition was
coming back tomorrow.
Where?
Well, last I saw, he was
heading for the old barn.
He said he wanted
to talk things over
with that old horse of his.
I'm mighty grateful.
Billy!
Mitch... old Mitch.
Billy... Billy, why this time?
Well, I don't know, Mitch.
I get... I just get worried.
I get, uh, a-frettin'...
Sure, boy, I know how it is.
It'll be all right, boy.
Things are gonna work out.
Just let Mitch
handle everything.
Old Mitch.
A little sip for the long trail.
No, I... I had enough.
Old Mitch knows best, Billy.
This'll get you on your feet.
Come on, boy.
Yeah...
Yeah, that'll do
'er nicely, boy.
Mitch...
Mi...!
Sorry, boy.
Just wasn't...
no other way to go.
Billy...
you understand.
Promoter don't get
too many chances.
All that... back-slappin',
sellin' gets him old and tired.
But he don't mind that too much,
he don't even mind
wiping your nose for you...
findin' the gals...
bringin' the whiskey.
But then you... you
gotta do your part, too.
You gotta... you gotta
make it big for him.
You let 'ol Mitch down, boy.
The show's being dropped.
I'm flat-out broke.
I just ain't got the energy to
start building another tiger.
It's a... dog-eat-dog
world, boy.
That says it all, huh, Mitch?
It's not poison.
Mitch!
Mitch, don't!
♪ ♪
I feel so sorry for him.
What does he do now?
No TV shows.
He can't go back to the rodeo.
He's really got nothing.
He was using Mitch for a crutch.
The crutch is now gone.
If he has anything going
for himself, he'll make out.
You know, for a clown,
you make a lot of sense.
Hi. Ready?
And the first one to make
a joke about bulls is fired.
So long, Adam.
Adam?
That's his name, so sue me.
Come on.
♪ ♪