The Rifleman S04E29
The Rifleman S04E29
Transcript
00:00How does it feel to be home, son?
00:10Kinda good.
00:11Longest we've been away.
00:12Three weeks.
00:13Well, that's one vacation we're entitled to.
00:15Won't be another stock show in these parts like that for a long time.
00:18Mr. McCain, I take it.
00:20And that would be the young McCain I've heard so much about?
00:22Well, quite a big boy.
00:24Well, I know we haven't met, mister.
00:25Oh, I'm sorry.
00:26Judson.
00:27Ben Judson is my name.
00:28Oh, Mr. Judson.
00:31I see you're wearing the North Fork Marshal's badge.
00:33Mike out of town on business?
00:34No, he's still in town, I believe.
00:37Took the last of his personal belongings from the office less than an hour ago.
00:41Mike a-moved?
00:42Well, yes.
00:43I defeated him in the election for town marshal.
00:46Defeated him?
00:47You hadn't heard?
00:48No, I hadn't heard.
00:50But Mike has been town marshal for five years.
00:53Evidently, the town felt it was time for a change.
00:56Oh, you'll check that rifle with me while you're in town, mister.
00:59Check the rifle?
01:01Yes, I've invoked the ordinance related to the carrying of firearms while in town.
01:05Oh, Mr. Judson, that ordinance was meant to be used when trail hands came into town
01:09and they're celebrating it out of hand.
01:10I don't see any trouble around.
01:12Enforcing that ordinance is at the discretion of the marshal, Mr. McCain.
01:17Your rifle, please.
01:19The rifle stays with me.
01:21You in the habit of disobeying the law, Mr. McCain?
01:24Are you the law, Mr. Judson?
01:26In this instance, I am.
01:35Come on, son.
01:54The Rifleman.
02:03Starring Chuck Connors.
02:16That's just about it, Lucas.
02:18Like you and Mark, a lot of folks were away at the stock show.
02:22Weren't here to vote.
02:24Folks here in town, they didn't seem to care about the election.
02:28Kind of figured Micah would win hands down.
02:30But whoever heard of Mr. Judson?
02:32I mean, I've never seen him around before.
02:34Came into town a couple of weeks ago.
02:36First I noticed him, he was in the saloon buying drinks for all the boys.
02:40Up and down the street, talking to all the ladies.
02:43Letting everybody know he was running for marshal.
02:45He's got a smooth way about him, all right.
02:47Come on, son, we better go over and pay a call on Micah.
02:49See you, Nils.
02:52See you.
03:03Micah?
03:08Well, Lucas boy.
03:10You're back just in time to bury the body.
03:14Micah, if I knew you weren't going to be supported in the election,
03:17Mark and I would have postponed our trip.
03:19Oh, that's all right.
03:20It's time I retired anyway.
03:22Now I'll be able to do some shooting, some fishing.
03:26I'll be able to...
03:29You know, Lucas, I didn't even bother the campaign this time.
03:34Didn't even bother to let folks know I was happy being a marshal.
03:39I'm sorry, Micah. Real sorry.
03:42Well, that's all...
03:44Right, Mark. It's all right.
03:46I'm sorry you caught me without a shave.
03:49I've been sleeping most of the day and...
03:52Micah, what about this Judson checking everybody's guns so quickly?
03:57Well, he posted that notice this morning
04:00and then went around personally collecting them.
04:02He even took my gun.
04:05You know, Lucas, I've been dealing with men for a long time
04:10and I kind of got a nose for knowing when a man is saying one thing
04:13and thinking another.
04:15Yeah, I know what you mean.
04:17I wasn't with Judson two minutes
04:19before I had the feeling that smooth front of his was rehearsed.
04:23When they pinned that badge on him, I could feel my temper going up and up.
04:27Oh, not because I lost the election,
04:30but because I saw a man wearing a badge who maybe shouldn't be.
04:36You know, with me, a badge is a more or less sacred thing.
04:40When I see it on a man and don't belong on him,
04:43it's like waving a red flag in front of me.
04:49Micah, come here. Judson's got himself a visitor.
05:02Bob Barrett.
05:11Badge looks good on you, Marshal. Real good.
05:16Just try to hold down that perverted sense of humor of yours
05:19when Torrance comes in here to face you with charges.
05:22Gun.
05:30Judson, North Fork has a warrant posted on this man, dead or alive.
05:35Yes. Yes, so Mr. Barrett was just telling me.
05:38But he's placed himself in my custody, Mr. McCain.
05:42He's asked for an immediate hearing
05:44in the hope that the charges against him might be dismissed as unfounded.
05:48Unfounded?
05:49Micah Torrance himself was a witness that this man and his partner
05:52held up the noonday stage five months ago
05:54and killed the driver and the shotgun rider.
05:56Now, what more do you want?
05:57Well, like I was telling the Marshal here, I can understand the mistake,
06:01seeing as my brother and I were like two peas in a pod, as the saying goes.
06:05So, when I heard about North Fork wanting me, Bob Barrett instead of Harry Barrett,
06:10I decided to come in and settle the problem.
06:12Bob Barrett, Harry Barrett.
06:14Didn't your brother die in Tucson about a month ago?
06:17Yeah, it was a very sad day.
06:21We were very close.
06:22Yeah, close as thieves probably.
06:24Now, look, Barrett, you can't get away with it.
06:26You can't throw the guilt on a dead man.
06:28There's no mistaking you for your brother.
06:30McCain, please.
06:31Wild accusations, gentlemen, are going to get us no pass.
06:34Now, as I understand it,
06:36the procedure here in North Fork has been to hold a preliminary hearing
06:39in the Marshal's office with the Marshal officiating
06:41before you ask a circuit judge to come and hold a trial.
06:45Is that correct?
06:46We don't bother Judge Evans until we're sure of our ground.
06:50Well, exactly.
06:52Why don't we proceed without any delay?
06:54We have the accused here.
06:56So, Mr. Torrance, Mr. McCain, if you'd care to be seated.
06:59I don't think this will take but a few minutes.
07:01I'll stand.
07:02Barrett was identified.
07:03There's no question he should be held for trial, and you know it.
07:06Mr. McCain, every man deserves some measure of justice.
07:15Barrett, your defense, then,
07:18is that this is simply a case of mistaken identity.
07:20Yeah, yeah, that's right.
07:21I was 100 miles away in Santa Fe when that stage was robbed.
07:24That's a bald-faced lie.
07:26Mr. Torrance, please.
07:27Any comments or to be addressed to the official conducting the hearing?
07:30Now, you were a passenger on that stage, right?
07:32I was.
07:34Now, would I be wrong in assuming that both of those holed-up men wore masks?
07:38They were masked at first, yes,
07:40but after the shooting stopped,
07:42and I was on the ground looking like I was dead,
07:46Barrett here, he figured he could pull his mask down,
07:49that it'd be safe, and that's when I got a good look at him.
07:53And you got a good look at him?
07:55Yeah.
07:56Yeah.
07:59I'm curious at how you accomplished that.
08:03You were wounded,
08:05lying sprawled face down on the road.
08:08Just how?
08:09When I got a chance, I opened my eyes and seeked a look at him, and...
08:13It's true I was lying face down, but how did you know that?
08:20If you'd been lying face up,
08:22the sun would have been burning right down at you and blinding you.
08:25Now, look, Jetson,
08:27this hearing was to establish whether or not there was reasonable cause
08:30to hold this man for the circuit judge.
08:32Micah Torrance was a witness to the killing. That should be enough.
08:34Not with that kind of an identification, McCain.
08:37I just don't see it.
08:39I'm declaring Bob Barrett not a wanted man.
08:41It's free to come and go as he pleases.
08:43Now, Jetson, I don't know who you are or where you come from,
08:45but we'll see what the circuit judge has to say about this.
08:47And if I know Judge Evans,
08:49Barrett's going to have to prove he was somewhere else during that hold-up.
08:52And you can keep that smile on your face, Barrett.
08:54You're a jury in a few days.
08:58Jetson, I've always had a respect for the law,
09:01but the sight of that badge on you sickens me.
09:03If I was 20 years younger, I'd rip it off you,
09:06and the devil would take the consequences.
09:12Micah, did you hear that slip of the tongue he made about you lying face down?
09:16You know, I'm beginning to wonder if they don't have a common cause.
09:19All this could be prearranged.
09:21I'm going to get a wire off to Judge Evans.
09:23When he gets here, he'll have Barrett behind the bars in three minutes.
09:26Come on.
09:28They're headed for that telegraph office.
09:30They're going to wire that judge.
09:33Well, the trial is the last thing in the world we want.
09:36Torrance testifies against you, Judge Evans will get you twisted up in your own lies,
09:40he'll have you on a scaffold within 48 hours.
09:42Well, I thought you told me old man Torrance would drink himself to his disgrace.
09:45I expected it. Can't you see McCain's keeping him on his feet?
09:48Hey, I got an idea.
09:50Maybe you could be my witness.
09:51Maybe you saw me up in Santa Fe during the time of that holdup.
09:54I can't place myself in Santa Fe at that time any more than you can.
09:58That's right.
09:59Because you was busy putting a bullet in that driver's head.
10:02Seemed like I was blowing a hole in that shotgun.
10:03That's right.
10:05You know, the easiest way out of this would be to gun your horse and ride north for a while.
10:08Oh, I'm not going any place.
10:11I want some place to go where I can come and go like I want to, like you do.
10:16Now, what happens to me happens to you.
10:19Don't you forget that.
10:22Okay.
10:31Well, Torrance is the only witness against you.
10:35Just get him out of the way, Judge Evans' hands will be tied.
10:38That's right.
10:40I tell you,
10:42I'll go to old man Torrance and I'll get him riled up, you know?
10:46Then we'll scuffle around and he'll get himself shot up.
10:48No wonder to me you haven't been hanged before this.
10:52Okay.
11:04You gonna make me a deputy?
11:05Yeah.
11:07When Torrance sees this badge on you, he'll blow sky high and then you can start riling him.
11:13And you rile him any way you want, just you make sure he does the challenging.
11:16You make sure we have witnesses that you were provoked into handling that gun.
11:20Oh, don't you worry about it.
11:25Well, I'll rile him all right.
11:28Because when it comes to antagonizing somebody,
11:32I guess I take top honors.
11:44Door's open.
11:51Door's open.
11:56Pa's waiting for a return wire from Judge Evans, Micah.
12:00That's good, Mark.
12:02Judge Evans will set things straight.
12:04You know, we got Barrett dead to rights, we got...
12:10You know, Mark, I suddenly feel very old and tired.
12:17I guess it's about time I quit trying to be a law man.
12:21I think you're the best marshal we ever had, Micah.
12:26How many North Fork marshals have you known, Mark?
12:30Oh, none's up to you, but... But I just know that you're the best.
12:35You know, Mark, I never really knew a bad marshal.
12:40Oh, there was times when a weak sister showed up,
12:44but all my friends, they were true and good.
12:48All my friends.
12:52It's funny how alive they all seem now.
12:57How close.
13:00All dead, but close.
13:04Like I... Like I could reach out and touch them.
13:10All my friends.
13:13Real close.
13:17Real close.
13:47Must have dozed off here.
13:50I think I'll get a fresh, fresh air.
13:52Oh, no, you didn't finish telling me about Wyatt Earp.
13:56Huh?
13:58You said that you knew him, then you fell asleep.
14:01Funny, I didn't know I was telling you about Wyatt.
14:05Well, let's see, where...
14:07Where's Wyatt Earp?
14:09Oh, there he is.
14:11Oh, there he is.
14:13Oh, there he is.
14:14Oh, Wyatt, I...
14:16Well, let's see, where...
14:18Where was I?
14:20Oh, the first time you saw him.
14:22Oh, oh, yeah.
14:29What are you doing with that gun, Barrett?
14:31Did you get the wire off of the judge all right?
14:44Oh, he... He had his faults.
14:47But... But he was a brave man.
14:51He brought law to some of the most forsaken parts in the territory.
14:55I remember when the...
15:04He put a badge on him?
15:07A North Fork Marshal's badge on Barrett?
15:10Must be a mistake, Micah.
15:12Yeah, a mistake.
15:15A mistake, yeah.
15:17I'm not asking your advice on whom I deputize.
15:20Barrett's a good man with a gun.
15:22I'm sure he is. There's enough notches on the wood he's wearing.
15:24I run the Marshal's office as I see fit.
15:26What are you looking for in this town, Judson?
15:29A chance to get your friend Barrett off the hook?
15:31Pa, Micah's getting himself into some trouble.
15:37I'll say it again, Barrett.
15:39You aren't fit to wipe a Marshal's boots.
15:41You better go back to that bottle, old man.
15:42I think you'll find it safer than drinking yourself to sleep.
15:45Micah, your turn will come tomorrow.
15:47You've got a big mouth and you do a lot of talking.
15:50But you're not wearing a gun, so I guess you feel kind of safe, huh?
15:53Well, I'll face you any day, with or without a gun.
15:56Micah, he's not worth losing your temper over.
15:58You sure it's not the liquor talking?
16:00Liquor talking?
16:02I'm asking if he's throwing a challenge in my face or a bottle of red eye.
16:04You can take it anywhere you like.
16:06Micah.
16:07I wouldn't be much of a man if I backed down from a challenge, would I?
16:09You weren't challenged, Barrett.
16:10Well, Taun's here, now he can back down if he wants to.
16:13I can understand that.
16:15So can everybody else.
16:17Well, I said goes.
16:19There'll be no backing down.
16:21All right.
16:23I'll give you a couple of hours to sober up.
16:25Then any time you say.
16:27Barrett, we don't allow gunfights in North Fork.
16:29We, Mr. McCain?
16:31Now, much as I dislike seeing a gun battle in the street,
16:34it's been my experience that gives each man a fair chance.
16:37You mean you're going to allow this gunfight, Judson?
16:39Other than have these men meet somewhere out of town
16:41where one can take advantage of the other, yes.
16:43Judson, I'm just beginning to...
16:45Never mind, never mind, Lucas.
16:47This is my fight.
16:49When the first lights go on in town.
16:52I'll be waiting.
16:54Yeah.
16:56You know, Judson, we got something to talk about.
16:59If Taun's doesn't die tonight,
17:01then I want you to jump in with both feet.
17:03You figure these townspeople
17:05are going to just stand by idly
17:07while I shoot Taun's down, huh?
17:09I mean, I want you to put enough bullets in him
17:11so we can bury him.
17:14Because if he's alive tomorrow,
17:16then I'll have to kill him myself.
17:18I'll have to kill him.
17:20I'll have to kill him.
17:22I'll have to kill him.
17:23Because if he's alive tomorrow,
17:25then I'm finished.
17:27That's why you're going to back me all the way tonight.
17:29Don't you forget that.
17:43Go ahead and light it, Nils.
17:45It's getting about that time.
17:47Yeah, we can do without light for a while.
17:49All you have to do is walk out there
17:51and tell Barrett you don't want to fight.
17:53And after I do, in what town do I hold my head up?
17:56You're not going to have any head
17:58if Barrett draws a gun on you
18:00and you're completely ignoring that trick arm of yours.
18:02That's why I have to go out there tonight.
18:05This trick arm of mine.
18:09You know,
18:11maybe this arm isn't as disabled
18:13as I and some other folks think.
18:19Go ahead and look at me.
18:21None of you ever had to wear a badge
18:23in a desert hoodlum-filled cow town.
18:25None of you ever had to wake up every day
18:27wondering what saddle tramp was coming to town
18:29spoiling a match's draw against yours.
18:3330 years wearing a badge.
18:37All right, call me a coward if you like,
18:39but maybe I needed something to stay alive.
18:42To have those trigger-filled boys
18:44play their games with somebody else.
18:46Nobody's calling you a coward.
18:4830 years.
18:50Nobody can walk a tightrope that long.
18:53Nobody.
18:55A man needs something.
18:57A barrier, a shield.
19:00So 25 years ago,
19:03when it was hurt,
19:05people began to accept my bad arm.
19:09Nobody figured to use me to let off steam
19:12when they knew I'd be coming out of that office
19:14with a shotgun in my hand.
19:16Every marshal has a lawful right to carry a shotgun
19:18and you know it.
19:20That may be true,
19:21but tonight I've got to prove something to myself.
19:26Whether this arm is...
19:29Is bad as I think it is.
19:33I've got to prove
19:35that I was using that shotgun to live like a lawman
19:38and not to live like a coward.
19:40Micah, everyone knows you're not a coward.
19:45I don't know it, Mark.
19:46It's been bothering me for a long time
19:50and at my age,
19:52I'd kind of like to know the truth about myself.
19:57Lights are starting to go on.
20:16Give me a match, Nils.
20:26Takes a lot of man to walk away from a challenge.
20:29Have you ever walked away from one, Lucas?
20:47Pa, Micah can't beat a gunfighter.
20:50I know it, son.
20:52Well, aren't you going to do something?
20:54There's nothing I can do.
20:56If I stood alongside him or interfered,
20:58I'd only shame him.
21:00Lucas,
21:02both those fellows out there wearing guns.
21:04Both?
21:05Judson and Barrett.
21:16Let's go.
21:33Mr. McCain,
21:35you remember my instructions regarding guns?
21:43I see you brought some help, Torrance.
21:44Lucas McCain will not interfere.
21:52You're wearing your gun on your right side.
21:55I always heard you favored that arm.
21:57I'm ready for you, Barrett.
22:10Take him out, Judson!
22:12Take him out!
22:15I warned you.
22:17If I'm going downhill, I'm going to take you with me.
22:20You want to know who my partner was on that stage? Hold up!
22:24Well, there he stands!
22:37Sadly, yourself, with a fool,
22:39you deserve whatever you get.
22:41Well, it makes you think you're any less of a fool.
22:52Here, Micah.
22:54This belongs to you.
22:58I just voted you back into office.
23:11Oh, Lucas.
23:13Well, don't you think you better hang up that gun belt
23:15and go back to your shotgun?
23:17Oh, no.
23:19You saw me beat Barrett to the draw.
23:21You know, this bad arm of mine was all in my head.
23:23Just a psychological thing, like a doctor would say.
23:26Well, one, you didn't beat Barrett to the draw.
23:28Two, you were slower than a banker agreeing to a cash loan.
23:32And three, the only thing you did beat him with, old friend,
23:34was a barrel full of courage.
23:36Something you were born with,
23:38something you're going to die with.
23:41Well, I, uh...
23:43I got to admit, my arm has been aching
23:45ever since I started yanking this gun.
23:48You know, I guess maybe I will go back to my shotgun.
23:52I'll still be able to look people square in the eye.
23:55Good.
23:56Hey, Paul, look at this.
23:59I got a real good paragraph for ending my essay with.
24:02Well, good, let's hear it.
24:04When people take the right to vote for granted,
24:07or when they leave it up to the people,
24:08or when they leave it up to the other fellow
24:10to see they got good government,
24:12they're going to get what they deserve.
24:14Maybe bad government.
24:16Well, it sounds fine, son,
24:18except how many times have I told you to say
24:20going to and not gonna?
24:23Oh, but Paul, it means the same thing.
24:26Well, I guess you're right.
24:28I ain't going to argue about it.
24:30Ain't?
24:32Paul, that's worse than gonna.
24:33Paul, that's worse than gonna.
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