Original subtitles

Everything and every man has an opposite.

The philosophy of the gunfighters

and the peace officers of the old west

were a long way apart,

but there was one thing they had in common.

That was their reliance on guns like these.

And more frequently, on handguns like these.

There was one man, though, who had a different approach.

They called him "Bear River" Smith.

And he won fame in Abeline as the West's first marshal

who wore no gun behind his badge.

I'm waitin', boy.

Givin' you first reach.

Go on. Grab for it.

Get yourself a reputation.

I ain't gonna wait more than one more minute, boy.

Chalk up number nine for Nate Bender.

Anybody here want to make it number ten?

[ laughs ] Okay, okay. We're all friends.

My friends always buying me a drink.

How about you starting it off, Mr. Prentiss?

I didn't hear you.

That's what I thought you said.

Come on!

Well, he'll try to run the town now.

Not for long, he won't.

Who's gonna stop him?

The new marshal you hired by telegraph?

Seems to me you put too much stock

in what you read in the Chicago papers.

If I made a mistake, we can hire somebody else

to take his place.

What if he doesn't show up?

Maybe we'll hang the badge on Nate Bender.

That lowdown murderer.

That's the only kind that wants to be marshal.

Charge the coffin to the Law and Order Committee.

Well, you came asking for it, boy.

Give me a hand with the body.

You get paid for it.

I don't.

MAN: Gentleman...

Drink up. It comes from a pump.

I hope I'm around when the pump runs dry.

I said drink up. That's everybody.

Now, drink.

Pardon me, ma'am.

My name is Smith,

Thomas J. Smith.

I'm Millie Cole.

Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Miss Cole.

Now, what'd you call her?

I called her Miss Cole.

Where did you drop out of?

I'm talking to her.

Ooh, a city fella, city dude.

I don't like city dudes.

You've been bothering the lady.

Lady? Her?

Oh, you don't see so good, do you mister?

Maybe I've gotta open up your eyes.

Don't let him crowd you. You shut up.

Yeah...

[ woman screams ]

Now, go get it.

I said, go get it.

And on your hands and knees.

I wanna see you crawl.

I don't intend to be your number ten.

Then start crawlin'.

I don't intend to do that either.

Why, you...

Did he come in on one of these?

That's his...

Get a hold of it.

Now, ride.

I was about to ask you, ma'am, when we were interrupted,

Could you tell me where I could find a Mr. A.C. Prentiss?

I'm A.C. Prentiss.

My name is Smith.

"Bear River" Smith?

I've been called that.

Well, I'd say the nickname fits.

Oh, gents, meet your new town marshal.

MEN: Hello. Welcome.

And from the way he operates,

I'd say he's going to be around for quite a while,

quite a while.

You dropped this.

Thank you, ma'am.

Don't you ever quit being polite?

Figure it's about the least expensive habit I know of.

[ knock on door ]

Well, good morning, ma'am.

Good morning.

My room's just down the hall.

Yes, ma'am.

Why don't you make it Mille?

Thank you, Millie.

You know it's a new experience for me,

being treated like a lady.

I guess that's why I woke up worrying about you this morning.

You're gonna look just fine at your funeral.

Next time Nate Bender pulls the trigger,

he's not going to be shooting at your hat.

What makes you think there'll be a next time?

Well, we've had three marshals in the last two months.

Sam Stede buried two of them.

And the other one had sense enough to quit and run,

while he was still able.

Millie...

I really don't think Mr. Smith needs your advice.

No, I guess not.

Don't forget to wear this when they bury you.

She gets emotional. They all do.

All who?

Her kind of women.

What kind is that?

Forget it.

This is your contract with the Law and Order Committee.

It runs for six months, as of this date.

Now, I know you've worn one of these before,

but we have a special kind of situation,

here in Abilene.

It's the end of the trail for the cattle drive from Texas.

The ranchers sell their longhorns here

and pay off their cowhands here.

Now, we want you to ride herd on them

but not too hard.

How hard?

Enough to cool them down,

but not so much to discourage them

into taking their business elsewhere.

You see, they're a wild bunch,

and you have to allow for a reasonable amount of racket and rumpus.

You haven't met these gentlemen.

Mr. Stede runs our principal mercantile establishment.

I specialize in guns and coffins.

Gets 'em before and after.

And, Mr. Whalen is our biggest cattle buyer.

Who else am I working for?

You're talking to the ones that count.

Come on, we'll show you around,

help you get started.

You're forgetting something, Marshal.

Your gun, or guns, as the case may be.

According to the papers,

you threw a lot of lead up in Wyoming.

That's right, Mr. Stede. I threw a lot of lead.

Some of it hit the wrong man.

Well, sometimes that can happen.

I don't want any more "sometimes."

They hung a badge on me,

up in the "Bear River" country,

because I used to be a cop in New York.

Then I forgot what I had learned,

walking the beat and the Bowery.

I don't care whether you call them a cop or a marshal.

a man who's hired to protect the public

has no right to elect himself judge or jury.

Well, this is a gun town, Marshal.

And it will be,

as long as you hire guns and hang badges on them.

We didn't send all the way to Wyoming

to hire a fist fight.

Nothing in this that specifies a gunslinger.

I'll show myself around town,

save you gentlemen the trouble.

I'm not polite, Mr. Smith,

I listen to hear what's none of my business.

You be a big, brave, no gun marshal,

but you're gonna get yourself killed.

You're a fool, Mr. Smith.

♪♪ [ piano music plays ]

[ men chattering ]

Go away, boy.

Who are you tellin' go away?

I'm tellin' you!

Wait a minute. Come on.

I'll buy you both a drink.

Wait a minute!

You've got nothing against him. He's as--

Oh, get out of the way!

[ glasses clink ]

You picked him.

He's all yours.

Are you all right?

Why wouldn't I be?

You could have gotten shot by accident.

When it happens to you, it won't be any accident.

Look, why do you suppose everybody's leaving?

Get out of the line of fire when the lead starts flying at you.

Those trail tramps won't be back.

They didn't want a gun fight.

They just wanted somebody to give them an excuse to call it off.

But it comes easier after the first few times?

Nate Bender's up to number ten.

Well, he's not gonna fatten his reputation

killing an unarmed man.

He might even get hung.

He'll think about that.

You marked him with your fists.

You knocked out all he had to brag about.

That's what he'll think of.

And if he doesn't get you,

somebody else just like him will.

Won't you please stop trying to prove

whatever you're trying to prove

and go get yourself a gun?

[ sighs ] No, I guess you won't.

I'm a fool for even asking.

Going back to your beat, officer?

I mean, Marshal.

Good luck.

[ door closes ]

Mr. Prentiss decided we might as well close up for the night

since you scared off all the customers.

I gather Mr. Prentiss is disappointed in the man from "Bear River."

Anything that cuts his profits disappoints Mr. Prentiss.

You know, I was in the war a few years go.

They taught us that a moving target

is harder to hit.

Shall we walk while we talk?

Don't tell me you're starting to do a little worrying on your own.

Well, I worry. Any cop does.

But you're not a cop.

This isn't the Bowery in peaceful, little old New York.

Whoever told you that it was peaceful on the Bowery?

Well, it must be a lot more so than Abilene.

Look, I wouldn't want you to get in any trouble with Mr. Prentiss,

on my account.

Never mind about him.

Mind about you.

Why?

Your job.

Oh, I hate my job.

I hate myself for even working at it.

Well, we all do what we have to do.

It's what it does to us that makes the big difference.

Well, what do you get out of wearing a badge?

Well, I'll never get rich at it.

Then, why?

Well, a girl asked me that once.

She's the reason I quit walking my beat in the Bowery.

At least you listened to her.

I listened, but she didn't.

She couldn't understand that once a man learns, he was born to be a cop,

that's what he's going to be from there on out.

And back to why again.

Well, when you wear a badge, it marks you with a brand

that won't come off.

She married a fellow with a nice, safe business,

selling shoes.

Nice fellow.

You're always so polite.

Don't you ever get mad at anything or anybody?

I get mad.

When a man gets mad with a gun in his hand,

[ gun fires ]

Just stand there and be a target.

Just stand there!

That could have been one of those trail tramps

or Nate Bender

or some gun-slinger you'll never even live to see.

And you won't even wear a gun.

You're gonna wind up dead,

Just trying to prove that you're right,

and the whole world is wrong.

Millie!

Oh, Mr. Smith,

Marshal.

What was all the shooting about last night?

Why? Did it spoil your sleep?

I got up and took a look.

Come on inside,

Marshal.

You're causing quite a stir around town.

Now, is that good or bad?

That depends on who you ask.

What's your opinion?

I think the one in the corner is just about your size.

It looks pretty comfortable.

Looks pretty comfortable, he says.

I like a man that's got a sense of humor.

Thanks.

But you want to be interested in before, not after.

What do you mean, before?

We had a gambler here in Abilene a while back.

He died suddenly,

lead poisoning.

And this was the extra ace he had up his sleeve,

that he didn't play quite quick enough.

Now, you can go right on being the no-gun marshal,

as far as anybody's concerned,

but when the chips are down,

somebody will get an awful shock.

You mean he'll get killed?

He won't stay healthy.

Take off your coat, try it.

Well, with that badge on it's all legal.

Oh, sure, it's legal all right.

Then what's your objection?

Well I thought I made that clear to you and Mr. Whalen,

and Mr. Prentiss.

Made what clear, Mr. Smith?

That you're determined to be a hero,

instead of what you were hired for?

I think I'm doing my job in accordance of the terms of the contract.

You're not being paid to chase cash business out of town.

Well, that's making it plain, all right.

You don't want law and order?

I didn't say that.

What did you really do up in Wyoming, fight

or just talk yourself up to the newspapers?

Can you even handle a gun?

Would you step back, Mr. Prentiss?

There's about to be another crooked gambler coming along

you can sell that to.

Well, you hired him.

Now, you can't fire him.

Oh, he'll quit.

No man's that anxious to be a hero.

No, no. He won't quit.

But maybe he could be got rid of.

How?

I had a candidate for the job once.

You wouldn't listen. He was too expensive.

But he's still available.

Well... You let me handle it.

This is the gentleman I told you about,

just got in from Dodge.

Sit down.

I've explained the situation.

There's our no-gun marshal now.

I don't imagine you allow yourself to take a drink

when you're walkin' your beat,

and you're always walkin' your beat.

No wonder that girl in New York wouldn't marry you.

Millie. I've got a beat of my own to walk.

[ laughter ] Say, hi, men.

Well, looks like you need a little company to help you spend your money.

I'm your company.

Let's start spendin' it.

Marshal.

I think it's time we got something settled.

I admire a man who has the courage of his convictions,

but I refuse to take any further responsibility

for your full-headed foolishness.

You mean I'm good for the law but bad for business.

I'm not in business to go broke.

However, that's not the reason I want to call off our deal.

You'll be paid for your time and trouble.

Who's the two-gun stranger at your table?

Why, he's an old friend of Mr. Stede's.

I'll tell you what we'll do.

We'll pay you for the full six months,

that your contract calls for.

No, thanks.

Now, look here, Smith.

I like it in Abilene.

You mean you like a certain little lady.

She's no good for you, Smith,

and you're not right for us.

Now, why don't you use your head before you get it blown off?

Because you will, I promise you.

Smith!

Hold it right there.

I said, hold it.

I told you,

I don't intend to be your number ten.

And I told you to crawl,

and this time you'll do it.

That badge don't mean a thing to me.

You're wrong.

The next one goes right through that badge.

Look out!

[ Millie screams ]

Help me!

Well, you wanted to get rid of him.

This wasn't my doing.

He just wouldn't listen.

You just wouldn't listen.

You didn't have to die.

It just wasn't worth it.

Oh, take your hands off of him.

You know, maybe he was right.

Just a little bit too soon.

Who are you?

Why, ma'am, I reckon I'm the new town marshal.

I'm kind of generally known as, Wild Bill Hickok.

Wild Bill Hickok.

Nobody knows how many men his guns cut down

before and after he took the marshal's job at Abilene,

the day they buried "Bear River" Smith.

We know how Wild Bill Hickok died--

shot in the back at Deadwood in the Dakotas.

In Abilene, in 1904, citizens put up a monument

to "Bear River" Smith, inscribed, "To A Fallen Hero."

As Wild Bill Hickok said, "Bear River" Smith was right,

just a little bit too soon.

See you again next week.