Original subtitles

♪♪ [theme]

starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.

Oh howdy, Mr. Dillon.

- Chester. - Mmm. Hello, Matt.

Well, what are you reading there, a dime novel or something?

It's a book of poetry.

Poetry?

Yeah.

Oh. Well, where'd you get it?

From one of the girls.

It's a book of poems by somebody named Tennyson.

He lives over in Europe.

In England, Mr. Dillon.

You know, you ought to listen to this. It'd do you good.

Get you away from this town and the prairie for a minute, at least.

Yeah.

Well now, what's wrong with the prairie anyway?

It's a terrible place.

Wasn't meant for human beings.

It's... It's blazing heat in the summer

and screaming blizzards in the winter

and, well, it just destroys everything that's good or gentle.

That there is right, Mr. Dillon.

Now you just listen to this now:

"There is sweet music here that softer falls

Than petals from blown roses on the grass,

Or night-dews on still waters between walls

Of shadowy granite, in a gleaming pass;

Music that gentlier on the spirit lies,

Than tired eyelids upon tired eyes;

Music that brings sweet sleep

down from the blissful skies."

You see there what I mean, Mr. Dillon?

Well... - [slapping] - [woman screaming]

[Woman] No, Sam! No, not again.

Maybe that'll learn ya!

- Please... please, Sam. - [dog barking]

Hold it.

That's enough.

- You keep out of this, Marshal. - Let go of her.

If'n she'd stayed home like she oughtta, she wouldn't have no complaint.

I only came in to see that you didn't lose all the crop money

on gambling and... and drink.

You shut up before I belt the teeth out of your head.

- That's enough out of you. - I don't see it's the law's business

to come hoofin' between a man and his woman.

You hit her again, you're not gonna be able to see anything.

You can't stop a man from keeping order in his own household.

The way you keep it, I'd let him rot in jail.

Now, Mrs. Lackett, if you'll sign a complaint against him,

I'll have him brought to trial for wife-beating.

Oh no, Marshal, I couldn't do nothing like that.

Just you let me catch you.

Shut up.

Now everybody's heard these stories going around, Mrs. Lackett.

He's done it before and he'll do it again unless he learns he can't get away with it.

No, Marshal, I... I wouldn't want to sign no complaint.

I ain't heard any... Anything about any talk.

What about those fingers that Doc set for you last year?

- Didn't he do that? - She's a liar if she says so.

It was the gate of the corral, Marshal.

One of the calves was trying to get out.

Now you told Doc that you dropped a piece of firewood on that hand.

I did?

I guess I just don't quite remember.

Well, what you'd better remember is where you left the wagon.

Go find it and get back out to the place.

Just a minute, Mrs. Lackett.

Now you don't have to go through this anymore.

Judge Blunt is coming through here next week.

If you just sign a complaint against him...

No, Marshal.

It's all right.

Well, Marshal, maybe that'll learn you to keep out of a man's private affairs.

Lackett, you listen to me...

You lay a hand on her again, I'm gonna throw you in jail.

But before I do, I'm gonna beat you half to death. Do you understand?

Now you get out of here.

I was hoping that you'd just have busted his head open, Mr. Dillon.

I'd like to.

Do you remember her when she first came here five years ago?

Yeah, she came out from the East to meet him, didn't she?

Yeah. Yeah, she was kind of pretty in those days.

Well, that's sure hard to believe, ain't it?

Well, it's the prairie, Chester.

It's the prairie that takes a man and brings out all the meanness in him.

Not a man like Sam, Kitty.

He was born mean.

- Let it out. - [exhales]

Do it again and hold it.

[inhales]

- All right, let it out. - [exhales]

Well?

I suppose it is your considered opinion after all that rigmarole

that I'm as good as dead, huh?

No. On the contrary, I think you're gonna make it.

I don't understand how anybody can take a bullet that close to the lung

and six months later, not even have a wheeze to show for it.

You must have a very fine physician.

Hmm. You think I'm gonna be all right, huh?

Well, when you pay your bill, I'll give you my full report on it.

Well, don't worry about that. You already told me all I need to know.

- [rustling] - What was that? Somebody at the door?

Yeah, probably one of your patients trying to bust in to pay his bill.

Well, the way collections are, I guess we'd better let him in.

- Doc! - Mrs. Lackett.

- Help, help. - Matt.

Easy now. Just lay her down, Matt, there.

- All right. - Easy.

[moans]

Would you get my bag for me, Matt?

[moaning]

Mrs. Lackett, you just rest easy. Doc will take care of you.

What do you think, Doc?

All right, you can talk to her a little while.

Mrs. Lackett?

Look, I know how you feel,

and I... I hate to trouble you,

but I want you to tell me what happened.

It don't matter, Marshal.

Nothing does anymore.

It was Sam, wasn't it?

I don't remember.

You might as well tell me, Mrs. Lackett.

I'll find out anyway.

He'd kill me if I tell. He said he would.

He won't touch you.

He'd have really killed me this time.

I know he would if... If I hadn't got away.

Mrs. Lackett, he'll never harm you again,

not if I can bring him to trial.

He was so kind and gentle, Marshal,

when we were first married.

Evenings, sometimes,

he'd want me to put on my wedding dress,

wear my brooch with the pearls.

He'd pin it on me himself.

That's what it was all about.

He wanted that brooch to bring into town to sell.

I couldn't part with it.

I wouldn't tell him where it was.

So he beat you?

What is it changes people, turns 'em bad?

I don't know, Mrs. Lackett.

Now look, where did you leave Sam? Was he out at the ranch?

I sneaked away after he finished with me.

He hurt me, Marshal.

He hurt me terrible this time.

Will you sign a complaint now?

Yes.

Yes I will.

Good.

Doc, I'll be right back.

I never been out to Sam Lackett's place.

It's only about a half hour's ride, Chester.

How in the world did Mrs. Lackett get to town anyway?

I don't know. She made it somehow.

Hey, wait a minute. Maybe we won't have to make the ride after all.

Lackett!

Wait a minute.

Hold it, Sam.

I'll kill you, Marshal.

Drop that gun and come out of there, Sam.

You stop right there, Marshal.

I come to town after my wife and I'm gonna find her.

I said throw out your gun.

You got no right standing between a man and his wife.

All right, now are you going to throw that gun out

or am I going to put a bullet in you?

No. No, Marshal, that's enough.

Look, here... here's my gun.

Throw it out.

All right, come out of there.

Hit you, huh? I thought I did.

You know where the jail is. Start walking.

You hurt bad?

I said you're going to jail.

Get going!

Get going.

[all chattering]

All right now, quiet down, you folks.

I don't have much time here.

I rode in yesterday. Riding out again tonight.

And it don't matter whether you folks have got business with this court

or whether you just come in off the street to get out of the sun,

you're gonna show respect.

Now let's see:

the first thing we've got here is a case of wife-beating...

Sam Lackett... Preliminary hearing.

I was only teaching her to heel, judge.

Shut up, Sam. You'll get your chance to make your speech later,

when we get to it. And from what I hear about you,

you're way overdue in this court now.

- That ain't fair. - Shut up, I said.

Where is Marshal Dillon?

Chester, where's Matt?

Oh, well, he ought to be here anytime now, Judge.

Well, we can't start this without him.

Well, him and Doc, you see, they was going by

and they was going to pick Mrs. Lackett up and bring her,

that is if she was able to come.

You see, Doc said that she might

lose the sight of one of her eyes.

That's a lie. She's just putting on, trying to make it hard on me.

Sam, I'm gonna tell you right now...

I don't like wife-beaters.

Now you get me mad and I'll find some way to hang you yet.

- I ain't done nothing. - Shut up, I said.

[door opens]

Sorry to be late, Judge.

[Judge] It's all right, Matt.

Doc here says that Mrs. Lackett wasn't in any condition to come here.

You just sit down here, Mrs. Lackett. She's not, Judge.

She ought to be in bed.

She's just gonna tell you a bunch of lies, Judge.

Now you open your mouth again and I'm gonna hold you in contempt of court.

Now let's get on with this thing.

Sorry you have to go through this, Mrs. Lackett.

I'll read the complaint and we'll see what we've got to go on.

This is a complaint charging that Sam Lackett...

- Your Honor, sir? - Yeah?

Please, sir, could I say something?

Well, it'd be kind of out of order, I reckon,

but I guess it's all right. What is it, Mrs. Lackett?

It...

- It's that complaint, Your Honor. - Yeah?

I want to take it back.

What?

I don't know what I was thinking of when I signed it.

There ain't no truth in it, Judge.

I fell off our wagon.

That's how I got hurt.

I told you it was all a pack of lies, didn't I?

Quiet, quiet. Now you people shut up.

Well, Marshal?

She's afraid of him, Judge.

She's afraid to go through with it.

Sit down, Mrs. Lackett.

Well, Mrs. Lackett, are you sure you want to do this?

Yes, sir, I'm sure.

Well, it does seem like a shame

to let a wife-beating scoundrel like Sam Lackett get off scot-free

just by intimidating a witness.

If there was some other charge...

What kind of charges you need, Judge? I've got quite a few.

Well, just anything.

Well, how about resisting arrest,

shooting firearms in the city limits?

- Oh, he done that, did he? - He did.

That'll be $30 or 30 days.

You've got a dirty rotten way of running things.

That'll be $50 or 50 days.

Look here, Judge, I ain't got no $50 and you know it.

Well, you've got 50 days.

Now get him out of here before I lose my temper.

Let's go.

[Sam] Rotten dirty crooks.

[Judge] Next case.

♪ She's got them big eyes ♪

♪ She's got them big eyes ♪

♪ She's got... she's got a ♪

♪ She's got the big... ♪

[Sam] The stew smells bad enough, Chester.

Do you have to sing?

Well, I didn't figure that a man like you

would know anything about good music anyway. Here.

I feed my pig better than this.

Pig?

Next time I'll bring it to you in a trough.

Chester.

Mr. Dillon.

That thing's smoking pretty bad, isn't it?

Yeah well, it must be in the pipe there, is all I can figure out.

The damper don't seem to do it much good.

You know, it just acts like

that some little old bird just went and built a nest up there.

Well, you'd better check it over.

It keeps on like that and you'll smoke us out of here.

Yeah. Well, I kind of thought maybe

that the thing to do was just to get a new stove.

You know, one of them long-bellied kinds?

What are you cooking up there, anyway?

Well, that there is my special... Mulligan stew.

Oh.

I'd sure like to see you try something different for a change.

Oh, Mr. Dillon, did you ever eat liver soup?

- Liver soup? - Yeah, liver soup.

Oh, I tell you, there was an old fellow down on the Canadian River

that used to make it all the time.

What he would do, you see... He'd get the calf liver

and he's squeeze it real hard.

And that there was the start of his soup.

And then he'd get them little bitty... oh...

well, them little black seeds. I don't know what you call 'em.

But he'd throw them in there.

And I'm telling you, that'd really make it taste good.

Yeah, oh, that sounds good. Yeah.

Oh yeah. Well, do you know what he would do then,

right at the last minute just before it was cooked?

Never mind. Listen, you don't have to tell me.

Well, I'm just about through, Mr. Dillon.

You see, he'd take these calf brains and dump 'em in

and just bring them to a boil. Wouldn't cook them too much.

Said that they wasn't good cooked too much.

He did?

Yeah. And I'm telling you, that feller knew what bittles is all about.

Ah.

Well, just as long as he stays down on the Canadian River.

Well, he will. He's buried there. He died last spring.

Good morning, Marshal, Chester.

- How are you, Mrs. Lackett? - 'Morning, ma'am.

Well, wouldn't you like to sit down?

Oh, thank you kindly.

How you feelin', ma'am?

Oh, as good as an old body can expect, I guess.

What are you doing in Dodge?

I kind of thought you'd be out at your place resting.

Oh, I... I couldn't get used to it, Marshal.

Didn't seem proper,

no more than it does to come visiting at a jailhouse.

How's Sam, Marshal? How's he taking to it?

Pretty mean. But I hope maybe we can take some of that out of him

before the 50 days is up.

Marshal, as near as I recollect it,

the judge said $50 or 50 days.

That's right.

Then if the fine was to be paid,

you'd turn him loose.

Well yes, why?

I want to pay his fine, Marshal.

That's what I come for. I got the money right here.

But I thought you said you didn't have any money.

I got it.

I sold my brooch with the pearls.

You mean the one that he beat you for not giving him?

Mrs. Lackett, the last time Sam beat you,

he almost killed you, didn't he?

You want him to do that again?

Oh, he won't kill me, Marshal. I'm sure he won't.

- Why won't he? - Well, I...

I don't know exactly, Marshal.

I guess it's just that a woman goes on

hoping that things will change.

The only thing that's going to change Sam

is to have a good long time in that cell to think it over.

Maybe when he knows what I'm doing it'll make him think.

I gotta hope that, Marshal.

I gotta hope things will be different.

Nothing is going to be any different, Mrs. Lackett.

Marshal, I'm doing the only thing I can.

All right, there's nothing I can do to stop you legally.

But there's one thing I want you to understand.

From this point out, it's in your hands.

There's nothing anybody can do to help you, Mrs. Lackett,

if you're not willing to help yourself.

- What's going on here anyway? - Come on out of there.

I'll take the money, Mrs. Lackett.

Hester, what do you think you're doing here?

Come around to gloat, did you?

No, Sam.

I just paid your fine.

Oh. Well, so you finally come to your senses, huh?

And you, Marshal, maybe this will learn you

not to interfere between a man and his wife from now on.

Here's your receipt. Here's your gun.

Now get out of here.

Where'd you get the money? Did you sell that brooch?

- Yes, I sold it. - Well, it's about time.

But why'd you let me lay in there a whole nine days first?

I couldn't get up, Sam.

I ain't been well.

That's no excuse.

You ain't being smart with me, are you?

No.

No, Sam, I ain't being smart with you.

Then you just watch what you're saying.

Ain't you done no thinking, Sam?

You had nine days.

Ain't you sorry at all for what you done to me?

You keep your mouth shut or I'll knock it sideways.

And just you remember, what I done to you ain't nothing

to what'll happen to you if you try lawin' against me again.

You... You'd beat me again?

Is that what you're trying to say, Sam?

I'll beat you twice a day, you don't toe the line.

Uh, I may even throw you clean off the place.

I can't see much reason to keep somebody around

as ugly and busted up as you.

Then it's still the same.

And it'll go on being the same.

You haven't changed a bit.

What are you talking about? Why should I change?

I just hoped for it was all, Sam...

The last little piece of hope I had.

Oh, why don't you stop whining?

Did you bring the wagon?

- Yes. - Well, go get in it.

I'll be along after I've had a drink or two.

I got mighty dry sitting in that cell.

- How much you get for the brooch? - Not a whole lot.

Give me the rest of it.

- Oh, Sam, don't. - Eh.

What's the matter with you,

pointing a gun at your own husband?

I'm just as strong as you are now, Sam,

And I ain't a bit afraid.

I'll make you afraid, woman.

I'll beat you till you'll wish you was dead.

You've done that, Sam, lots of times.

Give me that gun.

He's dead.

Then he won't beat me no more.

I don't have to suffer no more.

He can't hurt me ever again.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Lackett.

Let's go.