30min | Comedy, Crime, Drama, TV Series | Episode aired 3 November 1955
A former sheriff, Will Sonnett, known for his fast draw shows up in Mesa to see an optometrist; he's become nearsighted and badly needs glasses. Also in town is a punk gunfighter who wants to make a name for himself. Knowing Sonnett has vision problems, he challenges the lawman to a duel.
Director: Roy Kellino
Writers: Richard Carr
Stars: Dick Powell, Jean Howell, Robert J. Wilke
A former sheriff, Will Sonnett, known for his fast draw shows up in Mesa to see an optometrist; he's become nearsighted and badly needs glasses. Also in town is a punk gunfighter who wants to make a name for himself. Knowing Sonnett has vision problems, he challenges the lawman to a duel.
Director: Roy Kellino
Writers: Richard Carr
Stars: Dick Powell, Jean Howell, Robert J. Wilke
Category
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Singer Four Star Playhouse presents Dick Powell, Charles Boyer, David Niven, Ida Lupino.
00:21Tonight on Four Star Playhouse, we present Dick Powell in A Spray of Bullets.
00:31A Spray of Bullets
00:49Afternoon, Phineas.
00:51Hey, Tom.
00:52Well, are you all set for the rodeo this afternoon at Morgan's?
00:55Take a heap more on the rodeo to get me a half mile out of town.
00:59Nope, I'm going to sit right here.
01:02You'll be about the only man left in town. There'll be a big crowd there.
01:05Well, don't get too lonesome.
01:07I never do.
01:15Phineas.
01:24Will Sarnett.
01:26Yeah, I seen him in Kingston once when he was sheriff.
01:38Howdy, Mr. Sarnett.
01:40Hiya.
01:48Phineas, you better go get the sheriff.
01:50What for? Ain't no crime for a man coming in town, is there?
01:54Will Sarnett ain't sheriff no more.
01:56Besides, you know who's in that saloon? Ben Crane.
01:58Now go get Sam and tell him to keep his eyes wide open.
02:01The sheriff is out at Morgan's.
02:03Besides, I wouldn't tell him no how.
02:05And we're liable to see some real excitement with Crane and Sarnett in town.
02:09I'll go tell him myself. Maybe you'd like to see trouble if the sheriff won't come out.
02:13Yeah, sure.
02:20Oh, sorry to keep you waiting, sir. I was just having something to eat.
02:23Did you do Mason for the rodeo this afternoon?
02:25No.
02:26Oh?
02:27Should be checking out in the morning. We're going to get a bat.
02:30We have a tub right here in the hotel. Would you like to reserve it?
02:33Of course, there's an extra charge of 50 cents for the boy to bring up hot water.
02:36I want it right away.
02:37All right, I'll take care of that, sir.
02:39And I do hope you're going to enjoy your stay with us, Mr...
02:44Sarnett?
02:45That's right.
02:47Now, if there's anything I can do for you. I mean, anything at all.
02:50Anything that you...
02:51Except for the key.
02:52Huh?
02:53The key.
02:54Oh, yes, of course.
02:57That's room nine, sir.
03:21Henry!
03:42Henry!
03:43You don't have to break the door down.
03:45Lucy, is your pa inside? I tried the office.
03:47No, he's gone out to Morgan's to see if everything's ready for the rodeo this afternoon.
03:50I'm sure you can find him there.
03:51That's a fine thing.
03:52One time we need a law man and Sam's out of town.
03:55What's wrong?
03:56Nothing yet.
03:57But Mesa's got a visitor.
03:59A visitor whose gun is slung low and knows how to use it.
04:02A gunman in Mesa?
04:04And one thing's sure.
04:05Will Sarnett don't just travel around for the fun of it.
04:08Will Sarnett?
04:09Sarnett, Earp, Hickok, don't make no difference.
04:12Wherever that kind is, there's bound to be gunplay.
04:14And it's your pa's job to protect our citizens.
04:17Where is he?
04:18Checked in the hotel.
04:19Why?
04:34Come in.
04:39Hello, Will.
04:40Lucy.
04:41It's been a long wait. I'm glad it's over.
04:44You mind my rushing here?
04:46I know I'm meeting you more than halfway.
04:48No, no.
04:49I'm glad you did.
04:50Have I changed much in a year?
04:52Well, if anything, you're prettier.
04:54It's good to see you, Lucy.
04:58Oh, I know.
04:59When Dad and I left Kingston, I was mad.
05:01I was so mad I thought I never wanted to see you again.
05:04You told me, remember?
05:05I'm so glad you've come.
05:07Glad you've changed.
05:09Is that why you think I came, Lucy?
05:11Is that why you think I came, Lucy?
05:13Because I've changed?
05:14Well, isn't it?
05:16Lucy, nothing could make me happier than seeing you,
05:20but I have to be honest with you.
05:22I didn't know until you walked in the door
05:24that you were even in Mesa.
05:27I see.
05:32But it shouldn't make any difference, really.
05:35I'm grateful to see you.
05:36Very grateful.
05:37Well, I'm afraid it makes a great deal of difference, Will.
05:40I come rushing in here and throw myself into your arms
05:42and tell you how glad I am you came for me
05:44and you hadn't come for me at all.
05:47Lucy, Lucy...
05:48What did you come for, Will?
05:49Well, I...
05:51I have some business to take care of.
05:54Guess I made quite a fool of myself, didn't I?
05:56No, no.
05:58Will, I told you a long time ago
06:01that if you were ever willing to quit wearing a gun,
06:03I'd be waiting for you.
06:05But you haven't changed.
06:06You're the same man and...
06:08You've even got the same gun.
06:11Don't worry.
06:13I won't interfere with your business.
06:34Mr. Sonnett, my name is Phineas.
06:37Phineas Turner.
06:38I seen you when you gunned down Rich Long in Tucson four years ago.
06:42Fastest draw I ever seen.
06:43Faster than lightning.
06:44We'll talk about it some other time, huh?
06:46Yeah, sure, sure.
06:47You got business now, right?
06:49That's right, yeah.
06:51He's in the saloon.
06:53Oh, you don't have to worry about me.
06:55I ain't gonna interfere.
06:58I'm afraid you lost me, old-timer.
07:00Look, you can level with me, Will.
07:02I know that you got to play it cagey,
07:04but you got nothing to worry about.
07:06The sheriff is out of town, and you got plenty of time.
07:09Plenty of time for what?
07:11Ben Crane.
07:13What about Crane?
07:15Well, Crane come into town just about an hour before you did.
07:18Took his horse with the blacks in the shop.
07:20Said he's got to stay around until his horse is reshot.
07:22So?
07:23So, I believed him.
07:25Until I see you come riding in.
07:27Then things add up.
07:28Tough gunman, Ben Crane, just happens in town.
07:31And then, Will Shunt comes moseying in.
07:35That's just like putting a wolf or a wildcat in the same stall.
07:39You got a great imagination.
07:41You mean to tell me you didn't come to town to meet Ben?
07:44We've met before.
07:46Sorry to disappoint you.
07:48Hey, Sonnet.
07:50Will Sonnet in a hick town like this.
07:54Strange world.
07:56Yeah, sure is, Ben.
07:58You just passing through town, Will?
08:00Maybe.
08:01How's about yourself?
08:02Maybe.
08:03I ain't seen you in a long time,
08:05but I heard about you giving up your sheriff's job over in Kingston.
08:08Oh, you did?
08:09Yeah.
08:10Darn if I'll ever forget the time you locked me up on a drunk charge.
08:13Remember?
08:15You didn't think you were so funny at the time.
08:17That was a couple of years ago.
08:18A man changes.
08:20Take a gunman.
08:21He can get a lot faster in a couple of years.
08:24I guess he can.
08:25Practice makes perfect.
08:27I wouldn't say I was exactly perfect,
08:29but I have been getting a lot of practice.
08:31So I hear.
08:32Funny us running into each other like this.
08:35I was a little clumsy with a six-shooter back in my Kingston days.
08:39Think you're any better now?
08:41I'm not sure, Will.
08:43It pays to be sure.
08:44Stakes pretty high if you lose.
08:46You know, I reckon I'd rather have your reputation than anyone else's.
08:50You got a good bluff and you're fast enough to back it up.
08:53Reputation doesn't mean much.
08:55It's a matter of opinion.
08:56Some people kill for a reputation.
08:58Take you.
08:59If I was to kill you, people would call me a big man.
09:02Is that what you want to be?
09:04Like you said, it pays to be sure.
09:07And I ain't exactly sure if I'm fast enough.
09:10Yet.
09:11Care for a drink?
09:13No, thanks.
09:15Maybe some other time, Will.
09:17Maybe.
09:22Oh, Mr. Charlotte, just a minute.
09:24I want you to meet our sheriff.
09:26Hi.
09:27Any way to greet an old friend?
09:30Sam.
09:34The old son of a gun.
09:35Son was in my eyes.
09:36I couldn't see it.
09:37Fine way to treat your old deputy.
09:39I'm glad to see you.
09:41Talked to Lucy a little earlier.
09:42She didn't say anything about you being sheriff here.
09:44I'm surprised she'd let you take this kind of a job.
09:46Well, it's a pretty quiet town.
09:47That is, when there ain't men like you around.
09:50I heard you give up the badge in Kingston last month.
09:52Yeah.
09:54Been wondering when you'd come back for Lucy.
09:56Always figured you two could make a go of it.
09:59Well, that, uh...
10:01That isn't why I came here.
10:03Oh?
10:04No, I came here...
10:10To have a little business here.
10:13I see.
10:15Will, I hope you won't cause any trouble.
10:17I didn't come here for that.
10:18There won't be any trouble unless someone else starts it.
10:21Like to talk?
10:22Maybe later.
10:23Should be through with my business by the half an hour.
10:25All right.
10:26My office is down the street.
10:28I'll be waiting for you.
10:29Fine.
10:46Dr. Sanders.
10:47I wonder what's ailing him.
10:48He ain't that kind of a doc.
10:50He's an oc, uh, something.
10:52An eye doctor.
10:53An eye doctor?
10:54Why do you figure a fellow like Sonnet
10:57traveled all this way just to see an eye doctor?
11:01Kind of funny, ain't it?
11:03Yeah, mighty funny.
11:13Here he comes, Ben.
11:20Appears like he's heading to the sheriff's office.
11:23Are you sure that doc he went to see is an eye doctor?
11:26Of course I'm sure.
11:33Ben, finish your business?
11:36Just about.
11:37I'll be all set by tomorrow morning.
11:40Just what are you doing here in Mesa, Will?
11:44You asking as a friend?
11:46I'm asking as a sheriff.
11:47That's what I'm paid to be.
11:49Folks get edgy when a man with your reputation
11:52comes to a town like this.
11:54They want to know why.
11:55They want to know if there's going to be trouble.
11:57So my job is to find out.
12:00I see.
12:02You didn't come here to meet Ben Crane, did you, Will?
12:05No, no.
12:06Ben and I met by accident.
12:08He's a pretty fast boy.
12:10Ben's fast, but he couldn't outdraw you.
12:13Look, Sam, I told you I didn't want any trouble.
12:16I could whip Ben easy, up close.
12:18What do you mean, up close?
12:21Well, that has to do with the real reason I came to Mesa.
12:24Now, if I'm through talking to the sheriff,
12:26I'll be glad to tell my friend why I'm here.
12:32Start talking, friend.
12:34You know something, old man?
12:35I feel like I'm getting a case of eye strain.
12:38I think maybe I better go up and see that doc.
12:52Howdy.
12:53You the doc?
12:54Yes, sir.
12:56I understand you're an eye doctor.
12:57Is that right?
12:58That's right.
12:59Well, you working on something now?
13:01Well, it's a pair of spectacles for a new patient.
13:03How long does it take to make up a pair?
13:05Well, these will be finished by tomorrow morning.
13:08But if you're in a big hurry, suppose we run a test.
13:12Well, let's do it.
13:13Well, let's do it.
13:14Well, let's do it.
13:15Well, let's do it.
13:16Well, let's do it.
13:17Well, let's do it.
13:18Well, let's do it.
13:19Well, if you're in a big hurry, suppose we run a test,
13:21see just what's wrong.
13:22Sure, why not?
13:23All right.
13:24Sit right down here.
13:25Funny how I found out about you.
13:27I just run into my old friend Will Sonnet.
13:29We got to talking, he told me about you.
13:31Oh.
13:32It seems like Will and I both got about the same ailment.
13:35Oh, you mean everything over 20 yards is all blurred?
13:38Yeah, that's right.
13:39Oh.
13:43That's a pretty miserable thing to happen to a man.
13:46So that's why you quit as sheriff, hm?
13:48What else could I do?
13:50First, I thought it was sun blindness.
13:52I'd been trailing a man out in the desert.
13:55Then when the blurring didn't go away, I got scared.
13:58I thought I was going blind.
14:00Good thing you heard about the doc here.
14:02Yeah, he's kind of hard to find in the West.
14:05Travel around a lot.
14:08So your eyes have been bad for over two months, eh?
14:10Yeah.
14:12What about an old tharp?
14:14What about him?
14:15We heard you had a fight with him just two weeks ago in Silver City.
14:18You gunned him down from a distance of about 30 yards.
14:22Luck.
14:23Nothing but luck.
14:25Tharp had a big mouth.
14:26I judged his position by the sound of his voice.
14:29Fanned my gun, set a spray of bullets, and one of them hit him.
14:33That's not the kind of luck I want to push.
14:35I think not.
14:39Will, did you tell Lucy about this?
14:41No.
14:42Why not?
14:44When I saw Lucy this morning, I didn't know where I stood.
14:47She still loves you.
14:48That's not what I mean.
14:50I didn't know what was happening to my eyes.
14:53Maybe in a few weeks or months, I'd go stone blind.
14:57I just didn't want to burden Lucy with that.
14:59Lucy's no baby.
15:01Chances are you're being too considerate.
15:04I don't think so.
15:06Anyway, there's nothing seriously wrong.
15:08Doc tells me I'll be all right.
15:10I want to talk to Lucy now.
15:12You know where she is?
15:14Well, she hasn't brought my lunch yet,
15:16but she's probably on her way out to the rodeo.
15:19I have to be there, too, so how about riding along?
15:22Why not?
15:23I'll get my horse and be right back.
15:43You better beat it, old man.
15:49How about that drink now, Will?
15:52I'm still not fisty.
15:53That's too bad.
15:54We'd have the whole bar to ourselves.
15:56Seems like everyone's going to the rodeo.
15:58Do you like rodeos?
15:59Yeah, they're good ones.
16:01Yeah, me, too.
16:02You see some nice stock at rodeos these days.
16:04Some nice horse flesh, too, like that pinto over there.
16:13Yeah, nice horse.
16:16It sure is.
16:17You going to be in town long, Will?
16:19I'll be around.
16:20So will I.
16:21Maybe we can have that drink later.
16:23Maybe.
16:31What's the matter with you two fellas?
16:32Are you crazy?
16:33Why?
16:34That ain't no pinto over there.
16:36That's Jim Lewis, the stallion.
16:38No.
16:39That ain't no pinto over there.
16:40That's Jim Lewis, the stallion.
16:42No kidding.
16:59Lucy brought my lunch after all.
17:01She's inside.
17:02Must have talked to you.
17:03I'll go over to the house and eat.
17:05If you still want to go to the rodeo, stop by.
17:10Come on.
17:18Lucy.
17:20Dad told me about your eyes.
17:24There's a question I'd like to ask you.
17:27I think I know what it is.
17:30When I get my eyes fixed up, am I going to go back to being sheriff?
17:35Mm-hmm.
17:37It's been a bad year for me, Lucy.
17:41I never thought I'd miss you the way I did.
17:43It was a wasted year.
17:45For you too?
17:46Yes, Will.
17:48Well, then I guess there's only one way for me to answer your question.
17:52Tomorrow my eyes won't be a problem anymore, and I could get my job back.
17:57But I won't.
17:58I'll find something else.
18:01Oh, Will.
18:03I'm so glad.
18:05Do you understand now?
18:07I love you so much, I just couldn't stand you being a sheriff.
18:11Never knowing when you might be brought home hurt or dead.
18:18My dad's been a lawman all his life.
18:21I've seen what it's done to him and the mother.
18:24Always worrying.
18:27Always worrying.
18:29I know, I know.
18:32How do you like your husband wearing glasses?
18:36Oh, I like it fine.
18:38As long as he's not wearing a gun belt.
18:40Bet you won't even let me hunt rabbits.
18:44Go tell Dad.
18:45Yeah, we better tell him everything's all right.
18:47He'll be worried about me, knowing your temper.
18:57Sonnet!
18:59Who's that?
19:04Sounds like Ben Crane. What does he look like?
19:08Oh, he's wearing a dark hat, green shirt.
19:11Tall.
19:13Is he a friend of yours?
19:15No friend.
19:16Sonnet!
19:17You better send your girlfriend back inside!
19:20That's Ben Crane, all right.
19:22What does he mean?
19:25I changed my mind.
19:27I think I'm fast enough now.
19:30Maybe I'd like to be a big man.
19:32Get back inside, Lizzie.
19:34No.
19:35Do as I say.
19:36But, Will, you can't even see him.
19:38Get back in there.
19:40That's better.
19:42I never figured you to be one to hide behind a woman's skirts.
19:46You've been drinking, Ben. You wouldn't make this play earlier.
19:50No, I'm sober, Will.
19:52I never pick a fight when I'm drunk.
19:54I don't see too good when I'm drinking.
19:56And you gotta see good to fight. Ain't that right?
20:02It's a full play, but if you want it, let's make it close.
20:05Sure, Will. Come on.
20:07There's about 60 places between us, and that's no joke.
20:10I'm not going to let you get away with it.
20:12I'm not going to let you get away with it.
20:14I'm not going to let you get away with it.
20:16There's about 60 places between us, and that's no distance to fight.
20:33You want it closer?
20:35Come on, Will. I'm waiting.
20:47Forty yards. That's better.
20:49Keep coming.
21:01About 30 now, Will.
21:03That's a good distance.
21:06Hold it, Will.
21:10Come on.
21:16Come on.
21:27Thirty yards is just fine by me, Will.
21:30Of course, you might like it closer.
21:34Say 20?
21:36But I'm calling this play.
21:38The old man here's been itching to see us tangle all day.
21:41Suppose we let him in on it.
21:46It's a five, old man.
21:50When he reaches five, you make your place on it.
21:56All right, old man. Count.
21:59One.
22:03Two.
22:07Three.
22:11Four.
22:14Five.
22:37All right, old man.
22:39You wanted a fight.
22:41From now on, do your own.
22:47You all right, Will?
22:48I'll be in the office with Lucy.
22:52Sheriff, you should have seen him.
22:54Quick as flashlights, and he emptied his whole gun.
23:00Get him off the street, boys.
23:04Well, I guess I shouldn't have left you alone.
23:07I was lucky, Sam.
23:09You two better go on at the house. There'll be a crowd here soon.
23:35Sheriff, you should have seen him.
23:37I figured that the first shot got him.
23:39Ben never even shot once.
23:41I've never seen anything like it before.
23:43Where was Lucy when it happened, Phineas?
23:45In there?
23:47That's what I figured.
23:48Why the rifle, Sam?
23:50No .45 slug makes the hole the size of the one in Crane.
23:54No.
23:56I taught Lucy how to shoot when she was a little girl.
23:59Looks like she didn't forget.
24:01Will said he was lucky.
24:03He sure is.
24:06He's getting quite a girl, Phineas.
24:09Quite a girl.
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