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Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers
and the spoilers, and that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke.
Gun Smoke, starring William Conrad, the France-scrubbed story of the violence that moved West with
young America and the story of a man who moved with it.
I'm that man, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal, the first man they look for and the last they
want to meet. It's a chancey job, and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
Matt?
Huh?
Over here, Matt.
Oh, right. Well, how are you, Kitty? Where'd you get the crowd?
Oh, some trail herd just came in. Circle B, I think.
Oh.
Come on upstairs and have a drink with me. I gotta get clear here for a few minutes.
All right, let's go.
Yeah, they are kind of loud, aren't they?
They sure are.
You ever get fed up with it, Matt?
Fed up with what?
Everything.
Come on in.
Oh, make yourself at home.
Oh, thank you. What's bothering you, Kitty?
Oh, nothing special. Just a whim-wham, I guess.
Oh.
Pour us a drink.
Okay. You know, as soon as you're fed up, why don't you get out of it and go back east?
Get married and settle down. Nice, quiet bank clerk, a tub of wash and a cook stove.
And kids.
I'd like kids. Let's have a drink.
Yeah. Yeah.
I'm not getting out, and neither are you. So let's live while we still...
If that's some drunken herder, help me out.
Yes?
Sit downstairs. The marshal's up here.
I'll come in.
Matt?
What's on your mind, fella?
I thought maybe you could give me some information, marshal.
I'm looking for some folks named Crail, Mr. and Mrs. John Crail.
I understand they've got a place around Dodd somewhere.
Oh, yes. Miss Crail does. John Crail died about three years ago.
No.
Are you an old friend of theirs?
They're my folks. My ma and pa.
Why?
I'm Billy Crail. Maybe they mentioned me.
Oh, why, yeah. Yeah, your mother's always said that you'd come home someday. She's never given up hoping.
How is she, marshal?
She's not too good. She's got a big ranch on her hands. She's been trying to run it alone since your dad died.
You think she'll recognize you?
She might not at first. It's been 17 years since I run away from home.
That kid does crazy things. Maybe not right at first, but I'll convince her all right.
Yeah, you probably will. She'll even help you do it.
Where you been all these years, Billy? Just drifting. Here, there. You know how it goes.
Yeah, sure.
How do I get out to the place? I'm anxious to see you.
That's about five miles east of town. You just follow downriver. You can't miss it.
Thanks a lot, marshal.
I guess we'll see each other again since I'm going to settle down here.
Oh, sure. So long.
All right, let's have it.
What? What do you mean, Kitty?
Well, I know you meant something was wrong there. What was it?
Well, it's just this, Kitty. A few years ago, Miss Crale asked me to try to trace her son for her.
I did it, but then I didn't have the heart to tell her.
Tell her what?
I got a report back from the war office. Billy Crale had joined the Union Army at the start of the war.
He was killed in action at the Battle of Shiloh.
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I'm going to miss you, Bill. I've been through these here circulars until I'm blue in the face.
They've cutthroats, cattle rustlers, horse thieves, bank robbers, anything you can think of.
Ain't near any one of them fits the description of that Crale fellow.
Now just keep looking, Chester. Might be two or three years back, but I've seen that face of his somewhere.
And it had to be in one of these circulars.
I just don't understand how he figured to get away with it. You can't fool a man's own law.
Might in this case. She hasn't seen him since he was a boy, and she's pretty old now.
Her eyesight's failing her, and her memory's none too good.
Well, that ranch and all the money she's got put away, he sure is thin.
Wait a minute, Chester.
You find something like that?
Uh-huh. Yep, I thought so.
He sure looks like him, all right.
It is him. Three years ago. Height 6'1", weight 185", sandy complexion, so on, so on, so on.
Sure fits him.
Wanted in Lubbock for questioning and connection with a holdup of the Lone Star Bank.
Previous arrest, Pecos Crossin, cattle theft acquitted for lack of evidence.
Convicted, signed in tone eight years ago, armed robbery, served four years, paroled.
Known associates, Nate Barger and Ponca City Kid.
Reward $1,000. Calls himself Johnny Red.
Well, Chester.
Chester.
Let's go get him.
Oh.
Oh.
I don't see him nowhere he's around.
Ah, that's good. I was hoping I could talk to Miss Crale first.
Think you'll put up a fight, Mr. Dillon?
I don't know, Chester.
Who is it?
Ah, it's Marshal Dillon, ma'am.
Well, if this ends a surprise now, come on in and set us fell, Marshal.
Far as thank you, Miss Crale.
It's good to see you, Marshal. And you too, Mr. Proudfoot, isn't it?
Yes, ma'am, please.
I wasn't too sure. My eyes ain't quite...
Well, come on in, gentlemen.
Oh, glad to see you. I do like company and it seems like nobody ever comes out this way no more.
Now set yourselves down there now.
Oh, thank you.
Rest your feet and I'll get you a cup of coffee.
Oh, don't bother, Miss Crale. We don't have much time.
Time? Well, it won't take no time. I've got it already made. Just fixing to have some myself.
You might take your hat off, Chester.
Land life. If a body can't do a little something for a company, she ain't fit to have none.
Well, I guess it does get pretty lonesome out here, to heck.
Well, it did. Oh, I've got a big surprise to tell you about, Marshal.
Your son?
Oh, shucks. The way gossip flies around Dodge City, a body couldn't have a chance to get ahead of it.
Oh, here you are.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Please come home. Just like I always knew he would.
Has he changed much, Miss Crale?
Oh, good heavens, yes. He was just a boy when he went away, and now he's a grown-up man. He's fine and strong.
Uh-huh. Then there's no doubt in your mind that this really is Billy.
That's downright silly, Marshal. You can't fool a mother. She can always tell her own.
The second Billy walked up on that porch and said, How are you, ma? I knew him just like that.
I see.
You know, I've been sort of going downhill since John passed on. The work was hard.
Seemed like I'd kind of lost my reason for living. I don't think I'd have lasted much longer.
Well, now, Miss Crale...
Oh, but it's different now. The minute Billy put his arm around me, I started feeling like a young woman again.
And I still do. Why, I'm happier than I've been in years.
Yes, ma'am, you sure seem to be.
My son's come home. Could a mother ask for more?
No, ma'am, I guess not. I suppose that is all that matters.
That's all.
Well...
Oh, I'm sorry, Marshal. I've been talking a leg off you. I haven't even thought to ask what brings you out this way.
Oh, nothing, Miss Crale. As a matter of fact, we just rode out for a friendly fishing.
Well, I'm mighty glad you did, Marshal. You'd stop by just any time. And you too, Mr. Proudboy.
Oh, well, I thank you, ma'am.
Well, thank you for the coffee, ma'am, and goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye!
Goodbye.
Yeah, you couldn't have done nothing else, Mr. Dillon. Oh, it would have broke her heart if you'd have told her.
Yeah, I guess so, but she's gonna find out anyway, sooner or later, when he steals her blind and then runs out on her.
That's a bad deal, Chester, any way you look at it.
Marshal, it kinda sets you a problem, don't it?
Well, I may set a few problems for you before I'm done with you, Johnny.
Break an old lady's heart? I don't think so, Marshal. And the name is Billy, by the way. Billy Crale.
Not in Lubbock.
Lubbock? Where's that?
Don't worry, Johnny. When I send you back, there'll be somebody along to show you the way.
I don't know why you keep on calling me Johnny.
Because that's your name, Johnny Red. Bank robber, gunman, cattle thief. You fell out the list.
Maybe you could get my mother to fill it out.
Miss Crale's an old woman, and she doesn't know that her son was killed at the Battle of Shiloh.
That report was a mistake, Marshal, but I figured it was best to let it stand. See, I deserted two weeks before Shiloh.
Oh, yeah, sure you did.
I don't know where you got this crazy idea on somebody named Johnny Red.
And before you go off half-cocked, I'd say it might be a good idea to check with the sheriff in Lubbock.
Meanwhile, I figure it's like your friend there was saying, you wouldn't want to break an old woman's heart, would you?
Good afternoon, Matt. Come on in.
Oh, how are you, Doc?
Oh, terrible, terrible, Matt.
Oh, what's the matter?
Oh, lost another patient this afternoon.
Did somebody die?
Oh, no, no. You're kind of figuring that happening, but you don't count on them getting well on you.
And they don't very often. Well, who was it that pulled this mean trick on you?
Old Lady Crale.
Oh.
Mm-hmm. A month ago, I wouldn't have figured her to live through the winter.
Well, I even thought she might leave me something in her will, too, but I...
Well, Doc, I thought she was jumping around out there this morning as chipper as a young fella.
Ah, she's a young mother now.
Well, that's no joke, Matt. That's exactly what it is.
That boy of hers has been home three weeks now, and it's made a new woman out of her.
Yeah. Only he's not really her boy, Doc.
Well, now, what do you mean by that?
He's an ex-convict from Texas. I had a reward circular on him from Lubbock.
Oh, now, wait a minute, Matt. He might be able to fool other people by his own mother.
I know, I know. A mother can always tell her own, huh?
That's right, yeah.
Maybe this is the exception that proves the rule.
Well, if you really think that, and if he's wanted, well, why aren't you going out there and arresting him?
I got no charge against him, Doc. A word Lubbock seems he was wanted, but not anymore.
They already picked him up and then turned him loose for lack of evidence.
Well, if he's not Billy Crayole, then what's he up to? What's his reason?
You know how much that ranch is worth, and Miss Crayole keeps ever since she's got out there at the place because she doesn't trust banks.
What more reason would a man like that need?
You'd better come quick, Mr. Jones.
I was wrong, Chester.
Jake just brought the simmer on stage in. He got held up right outside of town. They shot the guard.
Will you let me through here, please? Please, will you stand aside and let Doc get in there? Please.
Well, they finally got to me, Marshal.
How did it happen, Jake?
The boldest thing I ever seen was about three miles out of town. They throwed some cottonwood limbs across the trail so I'd have to pull up, and that's when they jumped me.
How many of them?
Just two. A couple I'd never seen before. Brassiest sin. Didn't even bother to wear masks. And they hauled off and shot Barney there without even giving them a chance.
What did they get, Jake?
A cash box. I don't know how much was in it.
Oh, man.
Yeah, Doc.
There's nothing I can do for him, Matt. Two bullets right under the ribs. I doubt if they even knew what hit him.
Well, take charge of it, will you, Doc?
Matt, somebody said Barney got shot.
Yeah, he's dead, Kitty.
Jake, would you recognize either of those men?
Oh, sure. Like I say, they didn't worry none about being seen. One of them was a tall, skinny fella, and the other one was kind of a kid. Tall one called him Ponca.
Ponca?
They were strangers, though. They ain't from around here.
Sounds like a couple of fellas I saw on the long branch today talking to Billy Crale.
Oh?
Billy finally left, but they stayed for another hour or so. Talking real serious together.
Those two gunmen, Jake, what'd they head for when they left you?
Well, it was a funny thing. I figured they'd make a run south. Instead, they rode east, downriver. That trail don't lead nowhere.
Yeah. Except to the Crale Ranch.
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No sign of life, Mr. Jones. Looks real quiet. Yeah. Too quiet, maybe. No lights, neither. Pull up, Chester. Let's walk from here. Yes, sir.
Yes, sir. All right, now watch yourself. I am. Now when I jerk the screen open, I'm going to go in fast. I'll keep you covered, Mr. Dillon.
All right, Chester, come on in. See if you can find a lamp, huh? Well, I think there was one over here on the table the other day. Yes, here it is. Well, light it and bring it over here. Yes, sir.
Come on, come on. Here you are, Mr. Dillon. Oh, my. Hold the lamp down. Mr. Dillon? Yeah, she's dead. She's been beat bad, too. Well, it's not questioning he's wanted for now. It's murder.
Rach, both of you. Oh, it's you, Marshal. Who are you expecting, Johnny? Nate Barger and the Ponca City Kid? That's right. They're down there. They're digging by the riverbank, but they'll be back. They won't find what they were.
Johnny, who shot you? I don't know which one of them it was. It don't matter, though. I'll ask till they get back. But not long enough for a murder charge, Marshal. Don't try for your gun, Marshal.
Not that much of a fool. Not with yours on my back. I wouldn't want to shoot you. I got nothing personal against you, but your way of handling this ain't the way I put out that lamp. They're coming back. They're out there now. Stay where you are and stay quiet. I got to get to a window.
All right, Chester, let's ease out the back way. Come on. Yes, sir.
Here, over here.
Now stay close to the house. They'll walk toward the porch. We'll have a chance to take them from the side. Yes, sir.
Tell you one thing, you're still alive. She's showing all my butt this time. Hot brandon iron might help. All right, hold it. You're covered. Right over there at the corner, punka. I'll get him. I warned you, punka.
All right, drop the gun, Barger. Go on, drop it. All right, I did. I dropped it. I give up. Don't shoot. You keep your hands high. That's right, Nate. Keep them up high.
Johnny? Johnny, no. Say hello to punka for me. No, Johnny. No.
Johnny, I had my hand.
All right, drop your gun, Johnny. Sure, Marshal. I'm through with it now.
He had his hands in the air. He had no call to shoot him. You, you would have took him in alive. He might have got out of it.
This way it works out better. More sure.
Johnny? Yeah, Marshal.
Well, I guess you know how you stand. You don't have a chance. It don't matter. I'll last it till it was finished.
What started it? An argument over the split? No split. I wasn't in with them. They, they followed me here from Texas. That's right, Marshal. I'm Johnny Red.
I never doubted it. They thought I was double-crossing them. They laid for me out here at the ranch. Thought they'd killed me.
And her, they beat up Marshal, trying to find out where she kept her money. But she wouldn't tell. She lied to him. Said it was buried down by the riverbank.
Where is it buried, Johnny? No place. I took it into the bank for her last week. You what? I figured it wasn't safe for her to keep it here.
Been a lot easier to get your hands on it though when you were ready to leave, huh? So you still think a mother can't tell?
Sure, Marshal. I've been called Johnny Red for years now. But my real name is Billy Crale. I wasn't lying about that. She was my mother. Huh? She was my mother.
Well... He was Billy Crale after all. Yeah. If he'd have just stayed away, hadn't come back home, she'd still be alive. It was her own son, you might say, that caused her death.
Why? Doc says she wouldn't have lived through the winter anyway. And Billy made her happy for a month at least. I don't know, I trust her. I don't know.
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Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman MacDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal. The special music for Gunsmoke was composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Sound patterns by Tom Hanley and Bill James.
Featured in the cast were Sam Edwards, Virginia Gregg, Vic Perrin, Lawrence Dobkin, and Paul Dubov. Harley Bear is Chester, Howard McNear is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty.
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Remember, listen again next week for another Trans-Fried Story of the Western Frontier when Matt Dillon, Chester Proudfoot, Doc, and Kitty, together with all the other hard-living citizens of Dodge, will be with you once more.
It's America growing west in the 1870s. It's Gun Smoke, brought to you by L&M Builders.