Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there is just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers, and that's with the U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke.
Gun Smoke, starring William Conrad, the 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, but it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
Millions of Americans are now crowding our highways, pushing and impatient to get the most out of this weekend. The hundreds of highway deaths and thousands of highway injuries can be avoided, provided that every single motorist does his bit.
That bit means driving safely and sanely all the time. There's positively no excuse for excess speed. By observing all speed limits, you'll get to your destination almost as soon, whereas if you speed, you may never get there.
Just as important is the necessity of paying strict attention to traffic signs and those white lines on the highway. They were put there for your protection.
Never pass unless you're absolutely certain it's safe, that the road is clear ahead. Never pull out of line, slow up, stop or turn without first looking in your mirror, then signaling clearly well ahead.
And don't be afraid to give the other fellow the right of way. If you let him go, you won't crash into him. At all times, drive with caution and courtesy. You'll live longer.
It had been a long, hard ride to Fort Larned, and as it turned out, a useless one. The prisoner Colonel Matthews had been holding for me died before I could get there, so I spent the night at the fort and then started back for Dodge the next morning.
The trip back was more pleasant. A breeze from the Rockies swept across the high plains and it was cool for the first time in weeks.
And now camped for the night just a day's ride out of Dodge, I was looking forward to a bath and a shave at Mr. Teter's. I must have been asleep for some time when a sound awakened me. Somebody was standing just outside the circle of light cast from the dying fire.
All right, hold it. Now you raise your hands and you walk in here slow.
Keep coming right up to the fire.
Now just stand it.
Is there anybody with you?
No, I'm alone.
Please, mister, I didn't mean any harm.
What are you doing here?
I was hungry. Thought maybe I could get some food.
Well, I might have shot you.
I'm awful hungry, mister. I've been sitting out there watching your fire. I thought you were asleep.
Well, there's some side meat in that fry pan that's cold, but you can have it if you want.
Thank you, mister.
You really were hungry, weren't you?
Yes, sir.
What did you eat last?
This morning, just before I ran away.
Ran away?
That's right. I ran away from home.
I see. What's your name?
Trudy. Trudy Trent.
Well, where is it, Trudy? Your home.
About 40 miles from here.
What's your name?
Dillon, Matt Dillon. I'm the U.S. Marshal in Dodge.
Dodge? That's right where I'm headed.
Now look, Trudy, Dodge is a long way from here, a whole day's ride.
Don't you think you'd better ride back home tomorrow and think about this a little?
Your parents are going to be a little worried.
That's just me and Pa, Marshal. I sure ain't going back to him.
He's probably out looking for you right now.
Pa, he gets drunk almost every night.
Ain't likely he's out riding around on the prairie.
I see.
He's about the most terrible man ever lived, Marshal.
I could tell you things he'd done to me you wouldn't believe.
You want to hear?
Look, Trudy, a lot of kids don't always get along with their Pa.
I'm not a kid, Marshal. I'm old enough.
I've been old enough a long time.
Look, you're going back home in the morning,
and I'm going to ride with you to make sure you get there.
Don't you like me, Marshal?
Sure I like you, Trudy, but you're still going home.
Don't make me go back there, please.
I'll do anything you want, but please don't make me go back.
I got a blanket for you. You can sleep with the fire.
Marshal, please.
Look, Trudy, whether you think so or not,
you're still just a kid and I'm taking you home in the morning.
In the morning I awakened to a clear warm day,
but the blanket I'd given to Trudy lay crumpled and empty on the ground.
For a minute I thought she'd run off,
and then I heard splashing from the other side of the willows.
She was taking a swim.
A few minutes later she was out dressed and we were breaking camp.
It was wonderful, Marshal. You should have tried it.
You ready to ride?
You're mad at me.
Trudy, you had something to eat, you got some sleep,
you had your swim, and now you're going home.
I changed my mind.
What?
I changed my mind. I'm not going home.
I'm going to dodge with you.
Now look, Trudy.
Can you think of one good reason for not taking me to dodge?
Now, dodge is no place for a girl like you.
You still think I'm too young?
Will you just wait until you see me all dressed up?
You won't think I'm too young then.
You belong at home, Trudy. Now let's get mounted.
Marshal.
What?
If you want, you can marry me.
And you want to marry me?
It's not going to work, Trudy.
I told you, you belong at home with your paw,
and that's where you're going.
And you keep talking about how dodge is no place for a decent girl.
We're wasting time. Let's go.
Well, there it is, Marshal.
You can see we don't make out too good.
This is hard land, Trudy.
Any land's hard for paw.
He had a pretty good farm once, but he left it.
Why?
He had to.
Neighbors run him off for stealing stock.
He told me about it one night when he was drunk.
He laughed fit to kill.
Marshal, will you stay the night and think about taking me away with you?
We'll see.
Come on, let's go in and get this over with.
Pa?
Hey, Pa.
Hey, where, where did you run off to, girl?
I guess you was worried some, huh?
You sass me and I'll fit you a clout.
This is Marshal Stillen, Pa, from Dodge.
What you bringing the law out here for?
He brought me home, Pa.
You what?
I ran away yesterday morning.
Marshal brought me home.
I ought to tell you, good girl, running off that way.
You worried about who'd do the chores, weren't you, Pa?
Now, don't you talk like that, girl, because I missed you.
I missed you so fierce.
I'll bet you did.
I worried so much that I didn't hardly eat nothing.
But you sure been drinking enough, though.
Hey, Marshal, don't you pay her no mind.
She's my little girl, and I care a whole heap for her.
Listen to him.
Don't make you sick, Marshal.
I'll spend the night like you asked, Trudy.
Now I better take care of the horses.
What's this, what's this?
This about spending the night?
I asked him to, Pa.
Well, if we're, we don't need him around here.
And I'll tell you something else.
Tomorrow I'm riding the Dodge with him to stay.
You're what?
I'm leaving you, Pa, for good and all.
No, I'm not hardly leaving.
Don't you hit me, Pa.
Now look, Mr. Trudy.
Marshal, I'll tell you true.
You take her away, I'll come to Dodge.
I'll tell people what you done, young girl like that.
Why don't we wait and talk about all this later, huh, when you're sober?
Well, I don't know as I aim to get sober.
But I know one thing for sure.
You ain't taking Trudy away.
Never mind him, Marshal.
You go take care of the horses.
I'll find something for supper.
Drunk per sober, I'll say just one thing.
Just don't mess with me and my Trudy.
Just don't mess.
Music
Don't be a forest firebug.
Remember, a careless match, cigarette butt, or campfire left to spread
can do more than destroy valuable timber acreage.
It can lay waste to private property, wipe out homes, animal life, and human life as well.
One cigarette butt thrown from the window of your car if the wind is right
can lay waste to what nature took hundreds of years to build.
CBS Radio and its affiliated stations offer this reminder.
When fire saps America's natural wealth by one forest's potential value,
our nation is worth that much less in the marketplace of the world.
Don't burn out our great heritage.
Be very precautious in or near the woods.
Music
The Trent farm wasn't much of a place inside or out.
The front room where we ate was just a broken stove, a couple of bunks,
and burlap hung over the two unglass windows.
Supper was some boiled greens and sheep herders' bread,
which Asa used to sop up his plate.
You eat like a hog, Pa.
She's got a real sharp tongue, ain't she, Marshal?
Yeah, she can talk all right.
Oh, yeah, she can do everything.
Sure, cook, clean, fetch, care, feed the stock, anything.
Yeah, I taught her them things, and a lot more.
I'll bet, and it's cheaper than hiring somebody.
Even cheaper than getting married, ain't it, Pa?
Because if you married, you'd have another mouth to feed, huh?
Ah, don't talk like that.
No, you're my little girl.
We have good times together, don't we?
It's a palace of joy, Pa.
Now, Trudy girl.
You know how we celebrated Christmas, Marshal?
Pa got drunk and set me on fire.
I had to run out and roll in the snow or I'd have burned up.
And he wouldn't let me back in. I'm here frozen to death.
Well, I'm going to go out to the barn, get me another jug of whiskey.
The one under the bed's empty.
I'll get myself a...
Well, Marshal, what do you think now?
Still think I shouldn't go into Dodge with you?
Is he always like that?
Not always.
Right now, he's kind of on good behavior on account of you being here.
I see.
Dodge couldn't be worse than this, could it?
Eh, no, I guess not.
Then will you take me, please?
Yeah, I'll take you.
Honest?
Yeah, but your Pa's going to make a fuss. There's going to be trouble.
You afraid of him?
No, it's not that. I just don't want anybody hurt.
Well, ain't our words fighting for us?
Just a little?
Now, Trudy, I want you to get something straight.
I'd do the same for anybody.
Now, look, the first thing in the morning...
Pa, how long you been standing there?
Marshal, you can sleep in the barn.
Fine.
Yeah, you'll find a good spot right at the edge of the loft.
You'll like it fine there.
You'll sleep good, too.
The barn was warm and filled with a smell of sweet hay.
As I drifted off to sleep, the figures of Trudy and her father turned and twisted in my mind.
Then suddenly I was awake again.
Why awake? Because somebody was moving toward me across the barn floor.
For a moment I thought it was Trudy, and then I saw the rifle in his hand.
All the tramps die, blast you!
Hey, sir. Hey, sir.
Pa! Where are you, Pa? Marshal?
In the barn, Trudy.
What happened? Did he shoot you?
No.
I heard him get up and go out, and my father decided...
A curse. Is he dead?
Yeah.
He shouldn't have tried it.
Trudy, I'm sorry.
Don't be. He had it coming.
You go on back to the house. It'll be dawn in an hour. I've got some work to do here.
I ain't gonna stay on this rotten farm now, Marshal. That's for sure.
You get your things together, Trudy. We'll leave for Dodge as soon as it's light.
Just as the sun was breaking over the horizon, Trudy and I rode away from her father's ranch for the last time.
He never once looked back. But I did.
The roof sagging at one end, the boarded windows, the unwatered patch of corn, the makeshift barn.
Small cross nested over a stone-covered grave.
It wasn't a hard place to leave.
In Dodge, I told Kitty about the whole affair, and she promised to give the girl a hand.
So she put Trudy to work in the long branch, so she could keep an eye on her that way.
Hello, Matt.
You're doing quite a business.
Yeah, sit down.
Thanks.
Well, how's Trudy working out?
Oh, fine, I guess.
What do you mean, you guess?
It's a little soon to know yet. That girl's got a mind of her own.
Any trouble?
With her? No, no trouble. She's over there at the bar now talking with Gar Klein.
Gar Klein?
Yeah, that nice looking kid there.
Now, who's he?
I don't know too much about him. Never used to come in here too much.
I think maybe he's in love with Trudy.
In love?
What's the matter? You jealous?
I don't start that, Kitty.
Well, I know one thing. The girl's got quite a case on you.
She's just a kid, it won't last.
I don't know about that. A U.S. Marshal's a good catch for a girl.
She meets a lot of men here. Maybe she'll forget about it.
From what I can see, Gar doesn't let her meet many men.
He's so jealous he won't let her out of his sight.
I guess they're both pretty young.
Don't underestimate young love, Matt.
Besides, this has been going on for three days now.
I saw you come in, Marshal.
How are you, Trudy?
Gar says he never met you.
Hello.
Marshal?
You new in town, Gar?
Gar hasn't been here much longer than I have, Marshal. But he's staying on.
Ain't you, Gar?
Yes, I am.
Well, that's good.
I've been promised a job of work out at Emmett Bauer's place.
Then when I'm able, I'm getting Trudy out of here.
Well, the long branch isn't that bad.
I keep an eye on her when you're not around, Gar.
I thank you for that, Miss Kitty.
But just the same girl like Trudy, she shouldn't have come here in the first place.
He's not used to being around a saloon.
I guess you're right.
Like I say, it wasn't fitting to bring her here at all.
Now, don't talk like that.
Marshal knew what he was doing.
He wanted to bring me here.
Didn't you, Marshal?
Well, I don't know as I had much choice.
But you did bring me.
And now you're responsible for me.
No, I ain't.
There's not any such thing.
I'm the one who's responsible for you and me only.
Now, you keep away from her, Marshal.
You keep away from now on.
Come on, Trudy.
Well, you see what I mean?
All I came in here for was a quiet drink.
You know, the next time you better have Sam bring a bucket of beer down to my office.
It's not that bad, Matt.
I tell you what, this time it's on the house, huh?
I guess I'm getting the old kiddie, but somehow it rubs the wrong way to be warned off by a youngster who's not dry behind the ears yet.
He's just showing off, Matt.
I hope you're right.
Well, how about that drink, huh?
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Try it, okay?
Okay.
Yeah, come in.
Evening, Marshal.
Trudy, what are you doing here this time of night?
I came to see you.
Aren't you supposed to be working?
I was giddy for a few hours off.
Said I was sick.
I see.
You haven't been to Long Branch all night.
I've been busy.
You don't seem very glad to see me.
Now look, Trudy, let's get this straight.
Marshal, I came here to tell you something.
What?
I just thought you ought to know now.
I'm going to get married.
Well, that's fine.
To you.
Now wait a minute.
I thought you were talking about Gar Klein.
Gar?
Why him?
Because he's in love with you.
He got himself a job at Emmett Bowers so he could save enough money to marry you, get you a place.
Gar's just a fence-riding cowboy, and that's all he's ever going to be.
I'm not going to marry a man like that.
Like I said, I'm going to marry you.
Trudy, you're a foolish, romantic little girl, and I'm sure not about to get married to you or anybody else, not now or anytime.
Now have you got that straight?
Little girl, am I?
You ask the question.
I'll teach you how to talk to a woman.
Stop it. Stop that.
Take it. I said stop it.
Now you just calm down.
You feeling better now?
I'll tell you how I feel.
I'm going to tell everybody in Dodge you killed my pa and then you ran off with me.
How my pa tried to stop you and you shot him dead and forced me to come with you.
Trudy, you listen to me. You don't really care about me at all.
Now you be honest with yourself. You just want to be a U.S. Marshal's wife. Isn't that right?
Trudy, Trudy, wait a minute.
You try and do good for somebody and this is what happens.
Uh, Matt, you look kind of tired.
What?
I say you look tired.
Oh.
Well, just like I've always told you, Chester, you can't burn the candle at both ends and not have it show.
Oh, she must be a handful all right, huh, Doc?
She's got Matt going all right.
It's a sure sign something's in the wind when they won't even talk about it.
Yeah. Well, it even happened to me one time, Doc.
Yeah?
Back in Texas it was. And this little old gal, bless her heart, just wouldn't give me a minute to speak.
She must have been a ridge-running beauty.
Well, now she wasn't too bad, Miss John.
Say, you better get married, Matt. It's a whole lot easier in a man than all this court.
I just hate to do this to you gentlemen, but I'm going to have to leave.
Don't forget my check when you leave, huh? Steak, eggs, and coffee. Thank you.
Matt, John.
Marshal.
Oh, Gar.
I've been looking for you.
Oh, what's the trouble?
I heard all about it.
All about what?
Trudy told me last night. She told me everything.
You been drinking?
Last night I was, but not now.
I see.
Last night Trudy told me how you shot her paw so she could run off with it.
Now wait a minute, Gar.
Now you got to hear her dodge and you don't want her no more.
Gar, will you listen to me? Trudy's lying to you. You're a fool to believe all that talk.
I love her, Marshal, and she loves me. And I ain't going to have you make sport of her.
I'm not trying to hurt her. I haven't said anything against her. Can't you see? This is what she wants.
She's trying to make you jealous, trying to get back at me for turning her down.
I'm going to kill you, Marshal.
You better just go along, son. We can talk about this later.
Not hardly, Marshal.
Gar, don't be a fool.
This is for Trudy and what you've done to her.
Gar.
Why don't you finish me off? Why don't you?
You're not hurt bad, son. You're going to be all right.
What in the world happened, Mr. Gar? Are you all right, Matt?
Yeah. Dark seat of this boy here. And the Chester can take him over to the jail until he cools off.
Where are you going?
Down to the Long Branch. I'm going to have a talk with Trudy Trent.
I heard the shooting, Matt. What was it?
Gar Klein. But I'll tell you later. Right now, we're going to find Trudy.
It won't be too easy, I'm afraid.
Well, easy or not, I'm going to find her and I'm going to run her out of town.
Trudy's caused all the trouble she's going to around here.
She's already gone, Matt.
What?
What happened to Gar? Did you shoot him?
Yeah, but he'll be all right. What's this about Trudy?
Well, last night, he was shot.
He was shot?
Yeah.
He was shot?
Yeah.
He was shot?
Yeah.
He was shot? He was shot?
He was shot?
No, he was shot.
All right, anyway.
All right, all right. What's this about Trudy?
Well, last night Gar was in here with Trudy and she got him pretty drunk.
And from what I could tell, they were talking about you.
Later, Gar passed out and I had Sam put him in the back room to sleep it off,
and that's when Trudy met the gambler.
Gambler?
Yeah. From St. Louis.
together just half an hour ago in the morning stage.
I see.
I guess maybe he was a better catch than Gar Klein.
Well, he looked like he was pretty rich, fancy clothes
and all, so I suppose she figured he was.
Better than you two, since she finally figured out
she'd never get you.
That's too bad about Gar.
I guess he was trying to do the right thing, at least
the way he saw it.
Yeah.
Trouble is she never really cared for him at all.
He was fighting for just a lot of shadows.
Well, maybe that's better than not
fighting for anything at all.
Yeah, I guess you're right, Kitty.
I guess you're right.
["The Star-Spangled Banner"]
["The Star-Spangled Banner"]
Next time you refresh, enjoy a frosty, ice-cold Pepsi-Cola.
Sociability, Charlie.
All right, Kay, how's this?
Pepsi is light, refreshes without filling.
You like to refresh?
Have a Pepsi right now.
We'll offer it to everybody, Charlie.
I will.
Enjoy Pepsi at the fountain.
It's delicious at home, too.
Have one at lunch or with a snack.
Charlie.
At the beach or at dinner, wherever you go,
wherever you're thirsty, Pepsi is there.
It's here, too, in our Be Sociable song.
Be sociable, not smart.
Keep up to date with Pepsi.
Drink like refreshing rum, please.
Stay young and fair and get an air.
Be sociable, have a Pepsi.
For the weekend, have plenty of Pepsi around.
Pick up an extra carton today.
C.K., I'm sociable.
With Pepsi, everyone is.
["The Star-Spangled Banner"]
Gunsmoke.
Produced and directed in Hollywood by Norman McDonald,
it stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, US Marshal.
The story was specially written for Gunsmoke by Norman McDonald
with editorial supervision by John Mexton.
Featured in the cast were Eve McVeigh and Sam Edwards.
Harley Bear is Chester.
Howard McNear is Doc.
And Georgia Ellis is Kitty.