Gunsmoke (1955) s02e22 Episode Script

Skid Row

ANNOUNCER: Starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
Come on, Kitty.
Hold it! You dirty, filthy, yellow pig.
You ain't fit for a hog-wallow.
I'm gonna claw your eyes out! That'd be just like one of your kind.
Come on, come on, hold it, now.
Take it easy.
What's happened? Well, he was bothering Miss Kitty.
He just come up to her, and he started- What's she parading around the street for? I just stepped outside for a breath of fresh air.
But you kill all the air around here.
You ought to be strung up, bothering a woman like that.
Get outta here, Groat, before I kill you.
You mean it, don't you, marshal? You'd kill me? Good thing you're wearing that gun.
You'd better keep on wearing it too.
You all right? Yeah.
How about you? Filthy animal like that shouldn't even be allowed in town.
Come on.
We'll get you over at the office and have Doc take a look at you.
Well, for heaven's sake.
I never saw such a coward.
A coward? Well, I-I fought him, didn't I? Well, you didn't do very good.
Well, I did what I could.
Well, you didn't even lose a tooth, Chester.
Now, what kind of a sacrifice is that for saving the virtue of an innocent young lady? Thanks, Doc.
You know, for a while there, I thought I was saving Chester.
Yeah, you know, if Kitty had had it her way, I'd have had to lock her up as a public menace.
You would too.
You're all right now.
All you need is a shot of whiskey.
Matt, you take a few to- Oh, yeah, yeah.
I'm awful glad you didn't get hurt any worse than you did, Chester.
That was a real brave thing you did.
Oh, well, it- I didn't do too good, I guess.
I hardly put a lump on him.
Um, Marshal Dillon? Uh, yes, ma'am.
They told me at the station that you could help me.
My name is Ann Cabot.
I'll be glad to do anything I can for you, Miss Cabot.
Marshal, I've come all the way from Connecticut.
It seems so far.
Heh! Well, now you got three friends already.
This is, uh, Kitty Russell and Dr.
Adams, and that's Chester Goode there.
Well, uh, what can I do for you? I'm looking for Jack Shomer.
Jack Shomer? You know him? Uh, well, uh, uh, yeah.
We- We know him.
Well, then he's here.
No, I don't think, uh, right at the moment.
He's, uh- He's up north somewhere, isn't he? Hm? Oh, yes.
No, yes, north.
But he will be back? Well, uh, yeah, I- I think so.
I'm- I'm sure he will.
Um, have you known him for long? Since we were children.
I've come out here to marry him.
Oh.
Well.
Uh, well, now, I'll tell you what I can do, Ann.
Uh, I can try to get word to him that you're here.
Uh, I'm pretty sure I can do that.
Oh, thank you, marshal.
But, well, he's not expecting me.
Maybe I just better wait.
It might upset him otherwise.
Yeah.
Yeah, why don't you do that? Uh, where are you staying? Well, I haven't looked for a place yet.
My bags are still over at the station.
Well, there's, um- There's Moss Molly.
She always has an extra room over at her place.
Does she really, Miss Russell? Yeah, it's real nice and clean, and it's not far from where I work.
Thank you.
I'm very grateful to you.
We'll find somebody to pick up your things.
Think they're gonna be too busy.
Yeah, we are.
It's not too far.
You can walk from one end of this town to the other in about five minutes.
Oh, my goodness, Mr.
Dillon.
Jack Shomer.
Well, I better go out and find him.
Doc, we'll need you too.
Well, all right, I'll do what I can.
I hate to think what's in store for her.
That's the sorriest-looking shack I ever saw.
I don't see how even a man like Shomer could live there.
I don't think he cares much how he lives, Doc.
Well, to tell you the truth, I don't either.
Well, he's a human being.
Well, I don't know what kind, treat a nice girl like Ann that way.
You know, it's a funny thing.
That Shomer's been what he is for a long time.
None of us ever paid any attention to him or worried about him.
I guess you never really get to know anybody until you meet the people they're close to.
Shomer? Shomer? Who is it? It's Marshal Dillon.
Marshal? What are you doing here? How come you're here, Doc? How long has it been since you had anything to eat? Food don't seem to sit so good.
Food don't seem to sit so good.
Well, we're gonna fix that.
What do you mean? What are you doing here? I don't I don't understand.
What are we gonna do first, Doc? Well, the first thing is, Chester, you take that out and smash it.
All right.
Uh, no, no! Everything's gonna be all right.
Matt, Chester.
I'm gonna get some coffee going.
You take him out and put his head under that pump and soak him really good.
Come on, here we go.
No, what are you doing? Just get up, now.
Here we go.
Out of bed.
I don't understand.
We're just gonna take you out and soak you a little bit.
Come on, come on.
Come on.
Here we go.
Come on, you're gonna Mr.
Dillon, that liquor's strong enough to kill that boy.
Come on, there.
What are you doing? Wait a minute.
Make it easy on yourself, now.
Get your head under there.
Mr.
Dillon, I think we just might as well give him a bath all over.
He probably ain't had one in quite a spell.
Yeah, that's not a bad idea.
Come on.
Why don't you just bend him over that fence there? All right, come on.
Wait, now.
This ought to get him.
All right, get under there.
Oh! Go on, now, have some more.
Now, Doc, I've been drinking coffee all day.
I must have had a barrel.
No, it's liquor that comes in barrels.
Now, go on and drink that coffee.
Do as I say.
I'm floating.
All right, now, you ought to be sober enough by this time, Shomer.
Now, have you made up your mind what you're gonna do? I can't face her.
I'd give anything to see her, but I can't do it.
I'm no good for her the way I am now.
I just don't understand it.
What-? What happened to you? What-? What went wrong? The land, I think.
Or me, I don't know.
Anyway, it beat me.
I was gonna start a homestead and send for Ann.
Couldn't make it.
I had to give up.
I even quit writing to her about a year ago.
Well, Shomer, you're not the first man this country's broke.
But a man can come back.
No, it's more than that, marshal.
Most men who quit find something else to do.
With me, it's like I lost everything.
Couldn't face people anymore.
Then that night I got into a fight at the Long Branch.
You were there.
Yeah, I was there.
I ran away.
I couldn't stand up to him.
I guess I'm a coward.
Everybody says I am.
Well, every man's a coward at one time or another, Shomer.
But it doesn't have to last.
Well, it's lasted with me.
How can I face Annie knowing I'm a failure? And a coward to boot.
Well, you can prove you're not a coward by just simply going to see her.
You know, women have a wonderful way of understanding these things.
I don't know, Doc.
I don't know.
All right, Shomer, look.
I'll tell Ann that you're in the horse-trading business.
And that you're, uh, up north out of town.
But if you see her, you have to tell her the truth yourself.
What would she want with half a man? I don't know, Shomer, you think on it.
And don't take too long, huh? Do my best.
Kitty.
Hello, Matt.
Ann and I were just looking the town over, such as it is.
How do you like Dodge, Ann? Well, at least it's not quite as wild as I expected.
I keep telling her that the real troublemakers don't get up until sundown.
Heh-heh! Don't let her scare you.
Now, don't worry about Ann.
She doesn't scare easy.
Marshal, you haven't heard anything about Jack? When he'll be back? Well, uh uh, he- He's pretty busy, uh, Ann.
He's, uh- He's up north, like I told you yesterday.
Uh, he's- He's a horse trader, you know.
No, I- I didn't know.
Well, uh, he'll probably be back in a day or two.
I can wait.
I'm used to waiting.
Won't be long now, Ann.
There are those bonnets I was telling you about.
Oh, they're nice.
Well, they are if Mrs.
Cullen hasn't marked them up too high.
Wait, I'll go see.
Excuse me, please.
Where is Shomer, Matt? Well, we, uh, sobered him up.
He's thinking it over right now.
In that shack of his? Yeah.
Kitty, they're a dollar and a half.
Is that too high? No, that sounds fair enough.
We'll go in in a minute and try one on you.
Good.
I wish Shomer'd hurry up, Matt.
I- I just don't like playing this kind of game with a nice girl like that.
Well, neither do I.
Well, hello, miss.
Ain't seen you in Dodge before.
Have I? My name's Hank Groat, miss.
What's yours? I'm not accustomed to meeting men this way, sir.
Matt.
Aw, now, don't act like that.
Stay here.
Don't! Get away from her.
I wasn't doing nothing, marshal.
I was just speaking to the lady.
Well, from now on, you leave the ladies alone, all of them.
And if I get any more trouble out of you, I'm gonna run you out of town for good.
Now get going.
Want 'em all for yourself, huh? Get moving.
It ain't gonna work that way, marshal.
It ain't gonna work that way.
What a brute.
Well, I'm afraid they're not all gentlemen around Dodge, Ann.
I'll tell you one thing: You've seen the worst of them in Hank Groat.
When are you gonna get around to shooting him? Well, I'm just waiting for you to beat me to it.
You ladies go on and buy your bonnets, and I'll see you later.
Now, look, if he bothers you again, you let me know right away, will you? I certainly will.
Bye.
See you later, Matt.
Well, come next year, we just gotta get us a new stove.
The door's falling off, it won't draw, it just I don't think we can afford a new one, Chester.
Well, we could get one of them hayburners, at least.
They're- They're real cheap.
Yeah, it takes two men and a boy to keep a hayburner going, you know.
What do you mean? I can't find Ann.
Can't find Ann? We had dinner at Delmonico's, and then I had to go to work.
She said she was going to her room to do some sewing, but she isn't there.
Well, did you look in her room? Yeah, she said she'd fix this blouse for me, so I took it up to her.
But she isn't there, Matt.
It just isn't like her to go out alone.
You go on back to work, and we'll go out and look for her.
Well, you better find her.
We'll find her.
Well, you'll let me know right away, won't you? Sure, I'll let you know right away.
There just can't be anything wrong with her.
There can't be.
She'll be all right.
Come on.
Well, where are we gonna look? Well, I guess we might as well try the boarding house first.
That's where Kitty said Ann went after she ate.
Kitty sure is upset, ain't she? Yeah.
If she takes a likeness to somebody, she's a real tiger about 'em.
Maybe Miss Ann just went for a walk or something.
Maybe.
You know, she ought not to do that, not at night and alone.
Nope.
Might get lost or something.
Yeah.
She ought to stay indoors, unless she's with somebody.
It's just too dangerous in Dodge.
You never know what might happen, do you? Boy, you sure are talky tonight, aren't you? There's a side door, Mr.
Dillon.
Maybe she's in the kitchen.
Mr.
Dillon? Ann? Ann? My goodness, Mr.
Dillon.
What do you think coulda happened? I don't know, but she's still alive.
Let's get her up to Doc's.
Come on.
By golly, I don't understand this at all.
She's just not showing any sign of coming to.
Well, you don't have any idea what's happened? No, I don't.
She- Bruise there on the cheek, Matt, and her hair's mussed up, but that coulda happened when she fell.
I'm just gonna have to keep a close watch on her.
I better let Kitty know, I guess.
Well, I'll do it, Mr.
Dillon.
Doc? I don't know, Kitty.
She just hasn't been able to tell us anything.
Well, I'll stay with her.
Could you do that? Well, of course I could.
Well, then, uh, Matt.
Maybe you and Chester ought to get a little rest so you can spell us if we need you.
Yeah, all right, Doc.
We'll be over at the office.
Yeah, all right.
You better get yourself some rest too.
I think I will.
Yeah.
Can't understand why we ain't heard from Doc or Kitty, late as it is.
Yeah.
You know, I've heard tell of people going to sleep and just staying that way practically forever.
You think maybe that's what she's done? What, you mean sleeping sickness? I never heard of it around Dodge, Chester.
Well, maybe she got it back east and brought it with her.
I don't know about back east, but Ah, it could happen, I suppose.
Yeah, uh, maybe.
Well, what do you know? Hello, Shomer.
It's no use, marshal.
No use? What do you mean? I came to tell you I can't do it.
I can't face Ann.
I'm going away.
Maybe you can tell her I got killed or something.
Have you been? No, I haven't been drinking.
I haven't touched a drop since Since the three of you come down, there.
Ah, Shomer, look, y-you- Matt? Hello, Doc.
It's a good thing you're here.
No, he doesn't know about her yet, Doc.
Oh? Know about what? Well, we found Ann unconscious last night over near where she's staying.
Well, she came to.
She- She came to a few minutes ago, Matt.
What's the matter with her? Did she say anything? Well, yes.
Not much though.
But I found out that Hank Groat was waiting for her, and something happened, then she slapped him, then he hit her.
And she's got a bad concussion.
A bad one.
Hank Groat hit Ann? Yeah.
Let's pick him up.
You wait'll I get my shirt, Mr.
Dillon.
He's at the Long Branch.
Who? Groat.
Oh.
Oh, well, Matt.
I-I'll be in my office.
I'll be up there with Ann.
All right.
Mr.
Dillon, did you take a shotgun? No, uh-uh.
I'll bet you Shomer's got it.
Shomer? Well, what on earth would he want with it? Go after Hank Groat with.
Come on.
Are you serious, Mr.
Dillon? Jack Shomer going after Groat? Well, he said he saw him going to the Long Branch, Chester.
The Long Branch? Well, then that's the last place in the world that I'd expect to find Jack Shomer.
You're a coward.
And everybody knows it.
Maybe I've been a coward long enough.
Sure.
You say that with a shotgun in your hands and me unarmed.
I'll get rid of the gun.
Now will you fight? You were a fool to do that.
Now I'll kill you.
I'll kill you with my bare hands.
Come on, come on, I'm not afraid.
Groat.
Stay out of this, marshal.
This is my fight.
Not anymore it isn't.
You're under arrest, Groat.
What are you talking about? You coming? Yeah.
Sure.
I'm coming.
All right, when he comes to, take him over, lock him up.
Yes, sir.
How are you, Shomer? You all right? Yeah.
All right, let's go.
Come on.
I'm gonna stop by the office, and then I'm gonna take him up to Doc's.
Maybe after this, he's ready to talk to Ann, huh? Yeah.
Well, hello, Doc.
Matt.
How's Annie? Is Kitty with her? No.
No, Kitty went home.
Can I go see her? Shomer Annie died about ten minutes ago.
She wanted to see you.
She She- She wanted to talk to you.
I shoulda gone to see Annie first, instead of going after Groat.
I didn't prove anything, did I? Why did you stop the fight? Well, because he was killing you, Shomer.
That's what I wanted.
I went to kill him then I wanted it the other way around.
Don't you understand? That way I I would never have had to tell Annie the truth about me.
It was her I couldn't face.
I think she knew all the time.
I don't- I don't think we fooled her very much.
Shomer, I I'm gonna get me a drink.
Well? Well, we tried, Doc.
It just wasn't there.
No it just wasn't there.

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