The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955–1961): Season 1, Episode 9 - John Wesley Hardin - full transcript

♪ Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp ♪

♪ Brave, courageous, and bold ♪

♪ Long live his fame and long live his glory ♪

♪ And long may his story be told ♪

When Wyatt Earp as Marshal of Wichita

ran Manning Clements out of town,

he overlooked one dangerous fact:

Clements, a notorious killer in his own right,

was first cousin to John Wesley Hardin.

In the West of 1875, Hardin was known

as the deadliest gunslinger of them all,



and Wes Hardin was now on his way to Wichita.

Well, there's Wichita, hon.

Right around that bend.

Do we have to go to Wichita?

We have to sell the horses.

That's not the only reason.

You listened to Manning Clements.

Oh, he's kinfolk, hon.

A stupid, ignorant yahoo.

Why don't you let him settle his own quarrel?

'Cause Wyatt Earp's too smart for him.

But he ain't too smart for me.

More trouble.

Oh, why, Wes?



We're out of Texas. The law's not after you here.

Why don't we just push on to Nebraska and get clean away?

Because I owe it Manning.

Owe? I do owe him, hon.

Manning, Joe... Why, the whole Clements branch of the family

helped me in that Sutton-Taylor fight.

I hate and despise the Clements.

No man gonna tell no kin of mine to get out of no town.

So you just let me handle this my own way, Janey.

Manning asked me to do a chore for him,

and I'm going to do it.

Gunning Wyatt Earp?

That's a chore.

Might be real pleasant.

Giddy-up.

Come on.

Why weren't you down at the rail yard?

Lucky I wasn't.

Figured that Snake River outfit real quick.

An extra deputy would have made it easier.

Then who would have seen John Wesley Hardin come into town?

Hardin? Yep.

Him and his wife.

They came in with a string of trade horses.

Put up at the Texas Hotel, saucy as you please.

Oh.

Wes is first cousin to Manning Clements, you know.

Yeah.

If I was you, Mr. Earp,

I'd get the jump on his fast.

I don't have any warrant for Hardin.

There's plenty of warrants for him down south

and about 10,000 in rewards.

You want scalp money, Sam?

I could use some.

But mainly I'm thinking of you and Wes in an tangle.

I know that.

Well, Hardin might not be aiming to pick up Clements' quarrel.

He's been running a long time.

Could be he's tired of it.

Well, there's only one way of finding out.

How's that?

I'll go ask him.

Hello, Mr. Earp. Hiya, Ben.

John Wesley Hardin registered? Yep.

His wife went up to their room.

He's in the bar.

He check his guns?

Right nice about it. No argument.

Thanks, Ben.

And there was Wild Bill Hickok

all duded up for the women

and ready to make a big showoff play.

He stepped up to me and he said,

"Mr. Hardin, I must ask you for your guns."

What'd you do, Wes?

Mr. Earp.

Well, don't let me interrupt, Mr. Hardin.

You Wyatt Earp? Mm-hmm.

Why, you ain't much older than I am.

Well, you're quite an old man from experience, Mr. Hardin.

I sure am.

I ought to be gray-headed by now, Mr. Earp.

Wes, tell us what happened when Hickok asked you to hand over your guns.

Well, it wasn't much.

Just a little trick I invented.

Would you like to see it, Mr. Earp?

Well, Mr. Hardin, I'm always interested in new gun tricks.

Well, I'll have to get my guns. Don't bother.

You can use one of mine.

I, uh... I've seen a few accidents,

fellows doing tricks with loaded guns.

I've seen a few myself.

Hey, that's a right good gun.

Good balance.

Say, you must have had a good gunsmith work over that sear.

I did it myself.

No foolin'?

That's right slick.

I experiment around with guns myself.

So I hear.

Hey, Wes, you said you'd show us.

Yeah.

Well, uh, Hickok was marshal of Abilene at the time, Mr. Earp.

He asked me turn over my guns to him, so, uh...

I handed them to him grips first...

and then I...

The road agent's spin, huh?

Well, that's what they call it now.

It's really the Hardin spin.

Well, that's the fastest I've ever seen it done.

Well, he's John Wesley Hardin.

Show us another trick, Wes.

Here's one I bet you ain't never seen before.

That's real magic stuff, Wes.

You ever seen that one before, Mr. Earp?

No, I haven't,

but I imagine it comes in might handy for you, Mr. Hardin.

That's called the Hardin Switch.

Them rangers copied it.

They call it the Border Switch.

The man who pioneered it never gets the credit.

Well, that's very often true.

You do any gun tricks, Mr. Earp?

No, Mr. Hardin, I, uh...

just draw when I have to and shoot.

Why don't you and Wes draw against each other,

see which is the fastest, huh?

Oh, come on!

Well, that wouldn't be much of a contest.

Oh, I don't know about that, Mr. Earp.

My cousin, Manning Clements, tells me you're pretty quick, too.

Well, Manning wouldn't know.

He never drew against me.

I don't take a bluff like Manning does.

Well, you're a lot smarter than he is.

He is pretty stupid, ain't he?

He got scared by his name on a grave.

I know. I heard about it.

And speaking of tricks, Mr. Earp,

that was a right good one.

How about let's have a drink on it?

Well, no, thanks. I, uh...

I don't care too much for that stuff.

But, uh, I'm very happy to have met you, Mr. Hardin.

Well, same here, Mr. Earp.

I'll see you around.

Hey, bartender.

Set 'em up for everybody.

Hardin, you're a dirty liar.

What did you say?

I'm a friend of Parrot Beak,

and nobody calls him Parrot Beak and lives but his friends.

James Butler Hickok, that's his name.

The word's fastest gunman.

And you never ran into him in Abilene or any other place.

You're just a no-good dirty liar,

and I'm gonna...

He dead? He sure is.

Well, how'd you guess?

You didn't invent the shoulder rig, Mr. Hardin.

Used by gamblers in the Mississippi steamboats.

Oh, not this rig.

That spring clip holds it.

It's my own idea.

Well, I'll see if the judge can give you a patent.

Judge? Are you arresting me?

That's right.

Well, it was a clear case of self-defense.

All these men will testify he drew on me first.

That's right, Mr. Earp.

This man had a gun in his hand when Wes drew and fired.

I'm not too sure about that.

To jail, Mr. Hardin.

Well, just when I was commencing to feel sorry for you.

Wes! Wes, what have you done?

Nothing to worry about, hon.

I had to shoot a man, that's all.

No!

Are you Mr. Earp?

That's right, ma'am.

Not for a minute...

It was self-defense, wasn't it?

Why, sure.

Let's let the judge decide that, ma'am.

Can I go with him?

No, no, you stay right here, hon.

This won't take 30 minutes.

Oh, now don't fret yourself, hon.

They can't hold me.

Judge, the man he killed, Mr. Atwell,

had been drinking by himself for several hours.

Well, it just doesn't seem logical to me

that after seeing Hardin here do his tricks,

he'd want to draw on him.

He talks like a lawyer, don't he? He sure does.

Order.

Marshal Earp, these men have testified

that the deceased did draw a gun.

And you have said that when you found Mr. Atwell,

he had a gun in his hand when he was lying on the floor.

That's true, Your Honor,

but Hardin and anybody else here could have

put that gun in his hand after he was shot.

That is only your theory, Earp.

Yeah. Where's your proof?

Order!

For lack of evidence to the contrary,

the court must rule that you shot in self-defense.

But I'm fining you $100 for carrying this gun

in violation of our city ordinance.

Fair enough.

Your Honor, I think this man ought to be in jail.

I'm not satisfied it was self-defense,

and I'd like to work on the case.

You mean you'd like to enjoy life for a few days.

Are you threatening Mr. Earp?

Oh, no, sir. Nothing like that.

Your Honor, I withdraw my objection.

Fine him and turn him loose.

Very well.

But I'd advise him to leave town.

50...

and 50.

Are you telling me to leave, Judge?

No, I'm suggesting, Mr. Hardin.

And you might be grateful to me someday.

I ain't shown Earp the real trick yet.

He is threatening you.

Yes, sir, he is.

Then go and get him.

I'll send him to jail for 30 days.

I didn't think it'd be a good idea to put Hardin in jail, sir.

Word would get around that I was scared of him.

Well, we can hold him for the Texas officers.

Well, that wouldn't be good, sir,

because then they'd say I was after the reward money.

Hang it all, Earp.

The man is one of the worst killers in the Southwest.

You'd be smart to get this man out of town.

Well, Judge, there are two things a marshal can't do.

One of them is you can't show fear for any gunslinger,

and the other is you can't trade in a man's life for reward money.

Besides, Hardin's got me curious.

I'd like to find out what that trick is he has up his sleeve.

Good day, sir.

I'm sorry I'm late, hon.

You said 30 minutes.

Oh, that Wyatt Earp tried to hang me on a murder charge.

Then he asked the judge to put me in jail for carrying Sweet Betsy.

I ought to gun him for that if for nothing else.

Isn't one man enough for you in this town?

I had to drop Atwell. He was reaching.

You don't have to gun Earp.

No.

Not tonight.

Not anytime.

Look, Wes, I didn't unpack.

Let's get out of here now.

Oh, please?

You can go if you want.

Just hitch up the team and go.

You've said that to me quite a few times lately.

I say it again.

You're too good for me, Janey.

You never should have married me or stuck with me the way you have.

I tried to quit this kind of life.

We ran to Alabama. We ran to Florida.

We took up horse trading.

Why, we even changed our names.

It's done. It was my decision.

I love you.

One thing always happens.

Some fellow with a tin star following me out.

Got greedy for the rewards.

Now it's Earp.

He's young, and he's smart.

Awful smart.

He's a big hero in Wichita.

Killing me... Don't say that.

I say killing me would be a big thing to Earp.

Oh, no.

He ain't gonna let me get out of town without a fight.

You can bet on that.

No, Wes.

You don't want to leave.

If I can get him to let us go, will you?

I'll go right now. I'll talk to him.

He didn't looks so mean and terrible to me.

I'll go right now. Where will I fid him?

Oh, you'll find him somewhere downtown,

not too far from the hotel.

He'll be keeping his eye out for me.

I'll ask people.

You'll see, Wes.

He'll listen to me.

You won't leave.

You'll be here when I get back.

You think you can fix it?

Of course I can.

How soon, Mr. Earp?

Just as soon as you can.

That's my good coat, you know.

For you, I mend it right away.

It was good I was working tonight, huh?

Thanks.

Well, good evening, Mrs. Hardin.

Good evening.

Where can we talk?

Well, we can...

You talk right here.

I go to my workroom in the back.

Sit down, Mrs. Hardin.

Thank you.

Wes thinks you won't let him leave town.

Is that so?

There's nothing to stop Mr. Hardin from leaving town if he wants to.

Oh, he does want to.

Why do you say "if"?

Manning Clements talked your husband into coming here to gun me

because I drove him out of town.

But Wes has changed his mind.

All he wants now is to leave town

before there's any more trouble.

He's not gonna show me the big trick, huh?

Trick?

I don't know what you mean?

Well, it's some kind of new gun trick he's invented, Mrs. Hardin.

But if Wes has really changed his mind, it suits me fine.

Oh, he has changed.

He gave me his word.

This is the only real chance I've ever had to clear Wes and me.

We aim to go to Nebraska.

Change our names and start in a respectable business.

Is that your idea or his?

Both of us.

Mrs. Hardin, I think your husband has a trick up his sleeve

to use in a gunfight with me,

and I think he gave his word to Clements,

and that's stronger than any promise he's made to you.

No, you're wrong.

All right.

All Wes has to do to prove it is leave town.

You won't try to stop him

or fight him or ambush him with deputies?

He'll have no trouble unless he asks for it.

I believe you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Earp.

Not at all, Mrs. Hardin.

Wes? It's Janey.

In a second, honey.

We can leave.

I told you.

I told you Mr. Earp's not after you.

Oh.

Oh, he wasn't stringing me.

I could tell by the way he talked.

We're out of it, Wes. Out of it.

Let's leave now.

Tonight, this very minute.

I'll help you hitch up the team and...

Well, uh...

Wes, what's the matter?

Not tonight, hon.

Why not? Tell me why not?

It's just common sense, hon.

Now Earp may be telling the truth, but...

Why, he's got his deputies.

I ain't gonna risk getting us bushwhacked in the dark.

No, I guess it is more sensible to wait for daylight.

But you will leave?

I promised you, didn't I?

Of course you did.

I'm sorry.

Just kind of twitchy nerves, I guess.

Uh, where'd you find Earp?

He was in a tailor shop down the street having a coat mended.

A very decent man I thought.

That gun!

Oh, you want me to keep it here, then.

I'll close it up good and neat.

That's my Janey.

Real neat.

Keep one more promise.

Huh?

Don't drink in the bar tonight.

Stay here with me.

Then we can get some sleep and an early start.

Is that such a difficult promise?

Oh, that's a real easy one.

Oh. Good morning.

I'm a little late. I don't sleep so good.

No great rush. I just want to buy a coat.

Oh, yes, sir.

Tailored or ready-made?

Right off the rack, friend.

Oh, I got some nice coats that will fit you.

First, we'll get a little light in here...

Never mind the light. What did you say?

I'm Hardin. John Wesley Hardin.

You are Hardin?

All right, shut up!

You just be quiet and listen to me.

You go out and find Wyatt Earp.

Tell him to come here...

if he's got the nerve.

I won't wait long.

If he don't come, I'll go after him.

While I'm waiting, I'll pick out a coat.

To be buried in?

Pardon me. Have you seen Mr. Hardin?

Why, yes, a little while ago.

I think he went out back to hitch a team, Mrs. Hardin.

Thank you.

Wes?

Wes?

Tony, what's up?

Mr. Earp. Hardin.

He's waiting for you at my shop to make gunfire.

Oh, excuse me! I hurry too fast.

Do you have any idea why he wants it there? No.

Yes.

Oh, I am so stupid!

He had a bundle.

It must be his guns.

At first he said he wanted to buy a coat.

A coat? What was he wearing?

Trail jacket, short, about like this.

Maybe he wanted a longer coat to cover his guns.

I don't know, Mr. Earp. I don't know.

Maybe the gun shoots from the bundle.

It's a trick like you say.

I talk smart.

I say maybe he will be buried in the coat.

But maybe it is you who will be.

I am afraid.

Please don't go there.

Send your deputies to surround my shop.

They will kill him.

The law can't do that, Tony.

Have you got your keys to the backdoor?

Keys? Yes, I have the keys.

Here.

Hardin! I'm coming in!

All right, Earp. Come in.

I got no guns, Earp.

I thought your wife said you wanted to leave town!

Stupid trick!

He had it on a swivel.

Too slow, huh?

No, he was to inaccurate.

He got off the first shot, but he missed.

Put your hands on the table!

You break his wrists, huh? Good.

I didn't break anything,

but he won't be able to use his hands for a couple of weeks.

Wes!

Oh, Wes.

Where was he hit? How bad is he hurt?

He's not hurt much. Oh, thank God.

He's got a sore head and sprained fingers.

You should thank God that Mr. Earp didn't kill him dead.

When he comes to, you better load him on your wagon

and drive out of Wichita.

Yes. Mr. Earp.

Good day, Mrs. Hardin.

Good day.

♪ Well, he cleaned up the country ♪

♪ The old Wild West country ♪

♪ He made law and order prevail ♪

♪ And none can deny it ♪

♪ The legend of Wyatt ♪

♪ Forever will live on the trail ♪

♪ Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp ♪

♪ Brave, courageous and bold ♪

♪ Long live his fame and long live his glory ♪

♪ And long may his story be told ♪

♪ Long may his story ♪

♪ Be told ♪