The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955–1961): Season 2, Episode 13 - Take Back Your Town - full transcript

George Morris has waited until Earp, Bassett, and Tllman are all out of Dodge City to make his move. Once he receives word from Curly they are gone, his gang takes over Dodge City and start looting it. They lock up Bassett and Earp's remaining deputies but Bat initially knocked out escapes to go after Earp. Earp decides against going to the Army for help so it is left to him and Bat to return alone with the hope locals will join them. They sneak into town via a sewer drain. Bat tries to masquerade as a civilian but is spotted forcing him and Earp to fight. The Morris gang chases them and finally traps them on a roof. Meanwhile Beeson is rounding up men at the Long Branch saloon to help in the fight. When Earp and Bat are threaten with fire, they leave the roof for the Long Branch saloon. They have Beeson's men take on the bulk of the gang while they go after Morris himself. They catch him trying to leave town and wound him in the legs ending the siege.

Listen to me!

We've got Dodge City by the tail!

You people are worse than treed!

We've got your pussycat hides nailed to the wall!

Do you see around for Marshal Earp?

He's 50 miles away from here by now,

but don't worry about that. We'll send him a message.

About time we've got his town.

Let him come and try to take it back!

♪ Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp ♪

♪ Brave, courageous and bold ♪



♪ Long live his fame and long live his glory ♪

♪ And long may his story be told ♪

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,

starring Hugh O'Brian, presented by...

The western frontier town of 1876 could take tornadoes,

blizzards and even Indian raids in stride,

but there was one catastrophe

which the bravest townsmen feared.

This was an invasion by hoodlum gunfighters

bent on punishing the town for trying to maintain

strict law and order.

In all the turbulent annals of Dodge City,

the day George Morris and his men captured Dodge

is rated as the most terrifying experience



in the memory of its citizens.

Hold it!

Curly Brocius, George!

I know, but you didn't stop 100 feet from the fire.

You know the rules. Come on in.

You wanted some news in a big rush, George.

Not that big a rush, Curly.

Well, give me it.

I sent the telegram to Earp.

He should be leaving Dodge right about now.

Where's Bassett and Tilghman?

They're chasing horse thieves into Kingman County.

You dead sure?

I saw them on the north trace,

40 miles from Dodge.

Good. Earp, Bassett and Tilghman

were the only ones I was worried about.

They're the Johnny laws of the fast guns.

That only leaves a handful of deputies

for us to take care of.

But remember, we follow the plan exact.

What is the plan, Curly?

We drift into Dodge by twos and threes.

A couple of deputies will be on patrol

and a couple more at the jail.

Me and my boys will nab the outsiders,

while you take care of the jail guard.

Learned it by heart, didn't you, Curly?

But remember, as soon as we got the Johnny laws

locked in their own jail,

I'll give you the rest of the plan.

That's what I'm anxious to hear, the rest of the plan.

Oh, it's a good one, Curly.

The Morrises all own Dodge,

and that's a lot of loot to wake up,

liquor and money, and won't them

dance hall gals be glad to see us.

Did you put my saddlebags on the horse?

Yes.

You're going to take the Buntline, huh?

That's right. Might have to do

a little long-distance shooting.

Why don't you let me go to the Springs?

'Cause I owe Wells Fargo a favor.

I used to work for him, so a real personal favor.

That stage holdup crowd is going to be scattered

all over Kansas by now, and with Bassett and Tilghman gone,

you're leaving just four deputies.

Well, there's six counting Sheriff Bassett's men,

but what's really worrying you?

I don't know. I guess it's been too quiet here.

Well, that's natural enough. Santa Fe's working double time,

and the cattle drivers are just now leaving Texas.

I'll be back in about three days.

Mr. Masterson, you hold down the fort.

Yes, sir.

Good luck, Wyatt.

Argument didn't work, huh?

No. Wells Fargo telegraphed him to trail

those stage robbers as a personal favor.

You know why. He likes Indians,

and buffalo hunters and Wells Fargo, and...

And us. Shake out of it, Bat.

Those prisoners ain't been fed breakfast yet.

Come on in here. You lazy drunk.

Where's Earp?

He's out chasing stage robbers. He left Sam in charge.

Why, what's wrong?

Caught this drunk over in the Sheriff Bassett's office

tearing up a bunch of papers.

Hey, haven't you got a patrol on the street?

Put 'em up.

Hey, what is it?

Don't get rash, son.

All right, drop your gun.

Where are the keys?

Top drawer.

Put them all in cells.

What about him, he's out cold?

We'll get him later.

George is at the Mayor's office by now.

Hank, you take my advice.

You let things run along as they are for a whi...

Who are you?

Shut up, Hoover. That's the Mayor

of this mangy town. Grab him.

You'll hang for that!

Ah, don't worry about it.

Who are you?

I'm George Morris, and I just elected myself

Mayor of Dodge City. How do I look, boys?

You look awful good, George.

Take him to jail and get the officers together on Front Street.

Where's Marshal Earp?

Well, he's miles away from here, and now

you're going to jail. Out with him.

Pick up that boy deputy,

and throw him in with the rest of them.

Oh, no.

Get off that horse!

Masterson! Get Bat Masterson!

Let him go!

He'll ride straight to Wyatt Earp!

That's exactly what I want him to do.

We've got his town.

I'll let him try and take it back.

Mr. Beeson, Masterson's gone after Earp.

He got clean away.

All right, so he got away.

Is this whole town going to stand around and do nothing?

Morris and his boys will calm down after a while.

Look, there's a shotgun. You go fight him.

But everybody should fight him.

We can't expect Earp to come back here

and run the Morris gang out all by himself.

They're brave, Curly.

They're going to fight us.

All of them together ain't got sand enough

to fill an hourglass.

You own this place?

He used to own it, Curly.

We want all the cash you've got and all your liquor.

Well, now that's a joke, isn't it, Mr. Morris?

I don't joke. All right, set 'em up.

Whoa! Whoa!

Come on! Hah!

Wyatt! Wyatt!

Wyatt!

Wyatt! Whoa!

Morris treed the town! Came in with 20 gunfighters!

All our men are in jail!

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

Catch your breath.

Come on, let your horse graze for a while.

Go over here and sit in the shade.

All right.

You sure Masterson got away?

Yeah. He admits it.

He says Morris wants Bat to get to Wyatt.

I hope Wyatt keeps his temper and goes to the Army.

There ought to be enough men in this town willing to fight.

Nobody to organize them, Mr. Mayor

well, Wyatt will go to the Army for help.

It's the only sensible thing.

Not if he gets sore.

Shut up! You've talked long enough.

And I reckon the only thing to do

is for us to ride to the fort.

About a half a squadron of cavalry, huh?

Don't you think they'd come?

Oh, yeah, they'd come.

Well, then why don't we get them?

Well, 'cause I don't think the folks

in Dodge City are that cowardly.

Would you want to live in a town that had to be rescued

by the Army from a pack of hoodlums?

Well, maybe the townspeople would fight.

Yeah, but you can't go back in there, Wyatt.

Why not?

Morris will have a sentry on all the roads.

Let's ride to the fort.

I'm not ashamed to ask for help.

No, but I am.

You know, not too long ago,

Charlie Bassett and I had a poker session argument

about what we'd do if something like this happened.

Worked out a little map of the City.

Let's see if I can remember it.

Wyatt, Bassett and Tilghman are in Kingman County.

Morris put the Sheriff deputies in jail.

Now, what chance are we going to have?

Now, this is the outline of the town.

Each side over here, a storm drain.

We leave the horses here.

Be dark by the time we sneak into town.

We hole up until first light.

Go against 20 men in broad daylight?

Well, night shooting's no good.

You hit too many innocent bystanders.

What's the matter, don't you want to hear the rest of it?

No, sir. I don't.

We're bound straight for boothill cemetery,

and you want to draw me a map. Come on, let's rock.

Hold her up, boys! Don't be bashful.

We've got lots of wagons and plenty more horses.

We've got all the loot that they'll carry

while we'll head for south of the line.

A little fun with the girlies!

Hey, you brave jayhawkers!

Where's your great Marshal Earp now?

He knows we're here.

Why don't he come into town?

I'll tell you why. Because he's yellow,

just like the rest of you!

Ain't we stood enough of this, Mr. Beeson?

Nobody in Dodge will fight for me.

Not having Earp here

has taken all the heart out of them.

Here. Put these shotgun shells in your pocket.

Where does this toll come out?

Near old man Richard's house, set at Front Street.

That's five blocks from the jail!

Come on. Hurry up.

You stay out of my dance hall!

I know all about you Morris men,

and you wouldn't be doing this

if Marshal Earp were here, now stay out!

Here, I'll give you a hand up.

Guess they cleared out, huh?

Light up.

I'm sure old man Richards wouldn't mind you using

his clothes. He's just about your size.

What's the idea?

It will be light in a couple of hours.

With these clothes on, you might have a chance

to sneak down to chalk beeson's saloon.

He's our best bet to organize some help.

Right.

Meanwhile, we can be memorizing our moves

in case this doesn't work.

Maybe they cleared out.

Shouldn't I take a gun?

No, I'll cover you. Go on.

Hold it, fella.

Who are you?

I just got into town. You wouldn't know me.

You law officers?

Take off your hat.

I said take off your hat.

Bat Masterson. Where's Wyatt Earp?

I don't know.

Where's Wyatt Earp?

I don't know!

Hold it.

Hit him, with your fist!

Come on out the back door.

It's Earp! It's Wyatt Earp!

He shot me with the buntline!

Him and Masterson ran out back, there in the alley!

Dave, tell George that Wyatt Earp's in town.

Rest of you in the back alley!

Open that.

Come out of there, Earp!

We've got you surrounded!

Where are we now?

The basement of Jameson Hotel.

We go through here and climb up

to the roof of Beck's Drugstore.

Wyatt, that's no place to make a fight.

Come on.

All right, boys. Come on!

Come on, boys. Hurry it up. Come on.

The sooner we get that loot loaded,

the quicker we can get south of the line.

Remember them dance halls and them girlies.

They're waiting for you. Let's go.

Curly says to tell you Wyatt's in town.

What?

He came back. We got him and Masterson

cornered in a cellar down the street.

Cornered, you sure?

Yeah. Yeah? Well, I ain't.

We'll round up all the boys and plug every rathole.

Never mind that. Earp's back in town.

Come on, let's go and finish him!

You think it's true, boss?

Yeah. I heard that Buntline Special three times.

There ain't another gun that sounds like it.

Well, then we're going to help him?

How many fighting men you got in the backroom?

Eight or ten.

That's not enough. Go out the back way

and see if you can round up about, oh, ten more.

But boss, we'll get bushwhacked

from the doors and the windows.

No, no. They shoot too good. Go on.

Seven or eight more, at least.

Okay, boss.

Oh, no, you idiots. They know better

than to hole up in a cellar.

Curly, we've wasted a whole hour looking down ratholes.

Now let's do it systematic.

Take every building between here and the Long Branch

and really wring it out!

Right.

Why don't we try to make it

down the back way to the alley?

No, the alley's full of them by now.

Why did we come up here?

Because it's the end of the line, Mr. Masterson.

Two men can't take a town.

We make our fight here?

No. We wait for help.

If it doesn't come,

we go over the roof to the sidewalk.

What then?

Pull that wagon in here for a barricade.

That's good.

They ain't in the hotel, Curly.

Maybe they're hiding here in the drugstore.

I think they went up the alley to the Long Branch.

Are you crazy? What would they be doing at Beeson's place?

A lot of town boys have been sneaking in there.

I'll take some fast guns and...

No, stupid! It's Earp that we're after.

Now let's go look in the drugstore.

We're running short of time. Here.

You watch the skylight.

If they start coming up, let them have it.

I'll watch the stairs across the alley.

We'll wing as many as we can

and jump to the sidewalk.

They ain't in here.

Hey, maybe they're hiding on the roof.

Go on.

This is all I could find, boss.

Well, that's better but still not enough.

We'll wait and see how much fighting Earp does.

There's a ladder over here. I'd better cover it.

Jim, Charlie, up the stairs over the bootmaker's shop.

You two come on.

Up to the skylight.

All right, Earp! If you're up there,

I'll give you a chance to surrender!

All right, boys, take 'em!

Here they come.

Get out of there! Go on!

We'll have to set fire to the building.

Give me that shotgun.

They won't come up anymore. If they do, use your handgun.

Earp! I'll give you one more chance,

then we're going to burn the store!

Hold it!

Get some torches, boys. We'll burn them out!

It's Wyatt, and he didn't bring the soldiers.

He's a fool!

No, sir, a brave man.

Hey! Got a light?

Sure.

You're so scared, you can't even light a cigar.

Uh, crummy nerves, I guess.

Thanks anyway.

Brave bunch of deputies, Mr. Mayor.

Put your mug over here against the bar.

I'll light it for you.

All right, grab his gun and his keys!

Help! Help! Help!

Help! Jim! Help!

Get over here.

Get back!

No use, Sam. He can kill all of us.

Yeah. Drop that piece, shooter.

Now get back inside, all of you. Come on.

Bring me some more shells.

Reload the Buntline.

They're going to burn us off here.

There's a side ladder a few doors down.

We'll take that to the street,

and try to stampede those horses over there.

Hey, Earp!

If we burn the store, it will take out

half of the town. How about it?

Morris, come on out in the street!

I'll come down, and you and I can settle it!

We'll count to ten, then we'll start the fire!

You hear that, Earp?

You've got to count to ten!

Start counting now!

Let's stay on our feet, huh?

All right, boys. Light 'em.

There's Earp! He's headed for the Long Branch Saloon!

Yah! Yah!

Here he comes.

What are you men waiting for?

Well, nothing, Wyatt.

Just trying to get more men together.

Morris has been whittled down. It will be an even fight.

Well, what are you waiting for?

You want him to burn you out of house and home?

Of course not. We'll fight.

Well, then get at it!

Now they'll be starting to cross the street.

You mean aim low and cut him down.

I'm going after Morris.

I want to go after him!

Fine.

Draw your fire to here.

You hear me, Beeson? If you don't,

we'll come in there and get you, too!

Hold it, Morris.

All right. Go for your guns.

There's two of you.

There used to be 20 of you.

Which leg do you want?

The left one.

I'll take the right one.

We're waiting, Mr. Morris.

I'll get somebody to help you over to Doc McCarthy.

If Mr. Morris feels like doing any talking,

you can tell him we've taken back our town.

♪ 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 ♪

♪ Oh, 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 ♪