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02x30 - The Nice Ones Always Die First

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "The Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp". Aired: September 6, 1955 – June 27, 1961.*
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Series is loosely based on the life of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp.

02x30 - The Nice Ones Always Die First

Post by bunniefuu »

Well, they're

Wearing g*ns, ed.

I think you ought

To wait for bat.

All I'm gonna do

Is serve him with

A subpoena.

No call to be having

A gunfight over that.

Look, they're K*llers.

Oh, wyatt.

You and bat are carrying

This thing too far.

If I go over and talk

To those fellas

In a nice way,

There won't

Be any trouble.

You know what

Your trouble is?

You're too nice.

The nice ones

Always die first.

Ah, all this talk

About dying.

Those fellas

Don't hate me.

I'll just go over and

Explain it to them

Nice and friendly.

You watch.

( Men vocalizing )

♪ Wyatt earp, wyatt earp

♪ Brave, courageous and bold

♪ Long live his fame

♪ And long live his glory

♪ And long may

His story be told. ♪

Announcer: the life and legend

Of wyatt earp...

The deadly business

Of gunfighting

Has never known

An abler exponent

Than marshal wyatt earp.

In ellsworth and wichita,

Dodge city and tombstone,

Wyatt was forced into more than

A hundred g*n battles.

But it was his shrewd

Understanding of men

Which made him the master

Of so many gunslinging

Hoodlums and outlaws.

Wyatt's ability to judge

The precise moment

A bad man had determined

To go for his g*n

Was more important than

His ability to draw faster.

Wyatt had taught

Bat masterson the secret

Of staying alive

In frontier towns,

And then bat's brother ed

Came to dodge city.

( Whistling )

Hey you!

Howdy, friend.

You the guy

That was whistling?

Yeah, that's right.

Why? Didn't

I have it right?

I was probably

A little off key.

That song's my jinx.

I'll bet that's why

I drew the wrong card--

Because you whistled.

Well now, I'm right

Sorry about that.

Well, no sense getting

Sore about it.

Here, my name's

Ed masterson.

Reckon you know

My little brother, bat.

Fixes things hunky-dory.

I've got a good mind to--

Whoa now, chum.

I said I was sorry.

Hold it, judge!

No reach.

That's my brother you're

Getting hostile with.

Well, speaking

Of a little devil.

- Boy, howdy.

- Wait, ed!

Take off

That g*n belt.

Stay out of this, boy.

Gosh bat, you got to

Calm them down.

You get on your feet!

You get out of town.

And you don't want me

To see you again.

Now we can say howdy, ed.

How's it going?

- Fine.

- It's good to see you.

I got your letter.

Come on, we'll go over

To the hotel and talk.

Boy, you ain't

Changed much.

But I never saw my brother

Act so raunchy before.

This is dodge city.

We do have

A good hotel though.

- Come on, let's move.

- Wait.

You hurt

That fellow, bat.

- Let's see if there's--

- He can take care of himself!

Come on.

Thanks, sal.

And I can't take you on

As one of my deputies.

It wouldn't look good.

Sure, I understand.

Well, didn't I say

In my letter it was just in case

You needed a hand

At the sheriff's office?

- ( Whispers )

- ( Laughs )

Forget it, brother.

Here's to our meeting

After all these months.

Huh?

It's wonderful

To see you.

- How are things?

- Aww, fine.

- Jim-dandy.

- No, they're not.

You contradicting,

Little lad?

My boy,

You have changed.

Mom wrote me.

Oh.

Can't keep a secret

In the masterson family.

And you can't

Run a hardware store

Trusting every deadbeat

In topeka, kansas.

- Well...

- You're too nice

To everybody.

Mom taught us

To be kind, bat.

She's too good

For this world.

You always did

Favor her, ed.

Oh.

I try to act the way

She'd want me to...

( Chuckles )

But I usually

Miss a mile.

Being a peace officer,

I just don't know.

You see, ed,

There's more to--

( Indistinct chatter )

Every time you

Get a few drinks,

You want to fight.

Come on,

Get your g*n!

Hold it!

That's wyatt earp.

Now you watch.

You leave 'em there.

You do your fighting

Outside with fists.

Deacon earp.

Let's get him.

Now get outside

And stay there.

See what I mean?

He doesn't argue.

Well, mr. Masterson,

You sit here and drink beer

While I do all the work.

Which masterson are you?

Ed or jim?

Well, I'm ed,

But how'd you know--

Your brother's got

All your pictures.

Welcome to dodge, ed.

Well, thank you, marshal.

Draw up a chair.

Rest yourself.

Join us for a beer

Or some hard stuff?

He drinks milk.

But not now.

'Scuse us a moment, ed.

Got a personal matter.

Talk to you

In the back room, huh?

Sure.

Talk to you later.

Right.

Well...

And the whole thing is

I can't tell ed

I don't think he'd make

A good peace officer.

He's had too much

Discouragement already.

Yet you don't want to be

Responsible for hiring him.

Brothers.

Well, I can understand that.

Virg and morg have been

Pestering me for deputy jobs.

I guess it's getting

Too civilized out in california.

They're looking for

A little excitement.

Oh, ed doesn't

Care about that.

He's almost broke.

Put him on

As one of my deputies.

Yeah, I knew

You'd say that.

But ed wants to reason

With hoodlums

Instead of discouraging

Them for the moment.

Well, maybe he'll learn.

You learned fast.

It ain't right asking you

To turn teacher again.

He'd probably

Listen to me.

I'm not his kid brother.

I'll take him

On over to the office

And have a little

Talk with him.

Me a deputy marshal.

Boy howdy.

Can't tell you how much

This means, wyatt.

It's just a dangerous,

Low-paying job of work.

No-- no,

It's more than that.

See, I've always been kind

Of the old, slow-going

Member of the family.

Kind of a ne'er-do-bad

And a ne'er-do-well either.

Now it's high time I started

Making good at something.

I tell you, we'll show

Your brother what you can do.

Yes, sir.

We sure will.

Hey, ain't you

Ed masterson?

From the hardware store

In topeka.

Dooley grogan,

You old irish rascal!

Ed: well, doggone.

Hey, how'd you get out of jail?

Oh, it was easy.

I served my time.

Both: ( laughs )

Excuse me. Marshal earp,

This is mr. Grogan.

Dooly and I went

To school together.

- Dooly: howdy, marshal.

- Howdy.

Say, you make a deputy

Out of old ed?

He sure did.

And I'm on duty

So keep your distance.

Oh, sure.

How about a little

Sing-song

Up to chalkey beeson's

Tonight?

Dooley, that sounds great.

I'll be there.

- Fine. I'll see you.

- Good.

Um, dooley got put

In jail in topeka.

He set fire to the town

Last fourth of july.

He pointed some roman

Candles the wrong way.

There's no real harm

In dooley though.

Do you always greet

Friends like long-lost brothers?

Well, i--

That wrong?

In our line of work, yeah.

The best method is

To shake hands with your right

And keep your left hand

By your g*n.

That is if you're

Wearing two g*ns.

Course if you're only wearing

One g*n on your right hip

Like you do, you just don't

Shake hands at all.

Not even with

An old friend?

My advice, no.

Keep your g*n hand clear

At all times.

All right, wyatt.

I'll remember.

- (Men vocalizing )

Ed, you check

These fire barrels

On every patrol.

If they're shy of water,

You go into the store

Or the saloon.

Have the boss fill 'em.

This corner here

Marks a deadline.

South of this deadline,

Give the cowhands a break.

They can get drunk

On the streets,

Have fistfights,

But no g*n-toting.

North of here, why...

It's strict law and order

At all times.

You see those drunks come?

You go turn them

Back south.

Sure, marshal.

Whoa up, friends.

Head south

And sleep it off.

Hadn't I better

Go with them?

Find them

Someplace to sleep?

Naw, they're good drunks.

Couldn't you tell

The difference?

- Drunk's a drunk, ain't he?

- No.

All right.

Guess you mean, I should pick

Out the friendly ones

From the hostile ones, uh?

That's right.

Might save your life

Sometime, ed.

You see,

Mean bad drunks

Are usually

Just K*llers at heart.

You got to be awful careful

How you approach 'em.

Now there goes jake stevens

Into the lone star.

He's a bad drunk and

He's carrying his . .

I told him to check it

This morning.

I guess he didn't.

Better pick him up fast.

You make the arrest.

- I'll back you up.

- Jake stevens?

Say, didn't he used to be

An officer in abilene when

Bat was there?

That's right.

Drunk himself

Out of the job.

Now he's just a hoodlum

With a pretty fast g*n.

You watch yourself.

Howdy, mr. Stevens.

- Who are you?

- I'm ed masterson.

I think you knew

My brother in abilene.

Bat? Yeah.

Ed: I'm sorry we have to meet

Like this sir,

But I've got

Orders to arrest you.

What for?

Ah, come on now,

Mr. Stevens.

You've been

A peace officer.

You know there's

An ordinance here

Obliging you

To check that g*n.

I'll have to ask

You for it.

Oh sure.

( g*nf*re )

Take his g*n quick.

He was just gonna

Hand me his g*n.

No, he wasn't.

You go and sit

Over at that table.

Put a tourniquet

On his arm.

I'll do that.

Come on, mr. Stevens.

Lucky for you earp was here--

All you mastersons

Need k*lling.

Come on.

Mr. Stevens

Sure has changed.

Now what's this

All about, earp?

Jake tried to draw

On one of my deputies.

Another masterson, I hear.

- That's right, friend.

- Don't call me "friend."

Me either.

Look, I don't

Understand this.

What have I ever

Done to you two fellas?

Ed, there's no sense

In arguing

With mr. Wagner

And mr. Walker.

Come on, jake.

Now you two settle

Your court judgment?

It's none of your

Business, is it?

I'm just

Trying to warn you.

Don't go playing rough

With mr. Masterson.

He'll g*n ya'.

Go on, ed. I'll explain

This over at the office.

The worst thing that

A peace officer can do, ed,

Is to, well,

Say too much,

Or act too kind,

Or be too reasonable

In making an arrest.

The K*llers, they just don't

Give him credit.

They think he's scared.

I can see that point of it.

But I still can't believe

That jake stevens

Had any reason to hate me

Enough to try to k*ll me.

Well, bad drunks

Hate everybody.

You can make up

Your mind to that.

( Sighs ) all right.

You know a heap more

About this job than I do.

Now, there's just

One more thing.

Your brother and I

Have a lot of personal enemies

Around town.

You take those two fellows

Down at the lone star.

Wagner and walker?

That's right.

See, they don't pay

Their debts.

So the bank has got

A judgment against them

And they know that

Your brother as sheriff

Has to either collect

Or close 'em.

And they hate bat just because--

- That's right.

Well, I know,

But hoodlums don't reason, ed.

If they could reason,

Or had brains enough to,

Why, they wouldn't be criminals

In the first place.

Well, I guess so.

Boy, I sure have

Learned a lot today.

It took me

A long time to learn.

Oh, here comes

Your brother.

- Now you get out of here.

- Huh?

Well, I want to

Make a report on you.

Kind of talk

Behind your back.

Oh, sure, wyatt.

See you later.

Right.

Oh, hi, ed.

How'd it go?

Uh... You better check

With wyatt.

Well, say it.

Say what?

You had to sh**t jake stevens

To save ed from getting k*lled.

Well, didn't you?

He's a greenhorn

In this business.

Give him a little time.

How 'bout alf walker

And jack wagner?

Well, they took ed into

Their quarrel with you.

I warned them what to

Expect if they got rough.

They know I'll help

You do it.

Thanks, wyatt.

Maybe I ought

To ask ed to quit.

Will you give

Him a chance to learn?

All right.

But if he does

One more stupid thing,

I'm gonna put

My foot right down.

Well, I may do that,

But you won't.

Now come on,

Sheriff masterson.

Just take it easy.

Ed may turn out

Real well.

Howdy, mr. Wagner.

Got here as fast

As I could.

g*ns working, kid?

Sure.

What's the deal?

Mr. Walker and I have been

Trying to convince

Bat masterson

That he shouldn't

Foreclose on us.

Today his friend earp

Said that bat was

Gonna g*n me and alf.

You want me to get

Masterson and earp both?

- You're loco.

- You think I'm scared

Of them?

They're the best

Two gunfighters in dodge city.

I can take them.

Later, kid.

Later.

Right now I got

A more important job to do.

More important than

Earp and masterson?

Yes. Yeah.

It's another masterson.

Bat's brother, ed.

- But--

- Now do you want to argue,

Or do you want

To get bucks?

Now, you gotta be

Across the street

At the hotel

Pretty quick.

You wait for him

At the lobby.

It's been a long day, ed.

You go ahead

And turn in.

Oh, boy. Will i.

I thought all

A peace officer had to do

Was sit around saloons

And wait for gunfights.

Well, now you're

Learning fast.

I'll see you

In the morning.

Bright and early.

Good night, wyatt.

Good night, ed.

You ed masterson?

Yeah.

That's right young fella'.

I'm gonna g*n ya'.

Want it here?

Or out in the alley?

Nope. We'll fight

In a couple years.

- When you grow up.

- Hold it.

Right here and now.

Start for your g*n.

You drunk or something?

You don't want to--

( g*nf*re )

I had to hit you, sonny.

Somebody go for a doctor,

Would you?

You all right, ed?

Why, sure, wyatt.

I had to clout this boy.

He was sh**ting at me.

He got you

In the shoulder.

Doggone. I guess he did

Scratch me some.

I'll take care

Of this little brat.

You were pampering this kid

And he had another g*n?!

Why'd you let him

Draw on you in the first place?

I just didn't

Think he'd do it.

Do you think he'll

Be all right?

- I whacked him pretty hard.

- Never mind about him.

You just go on over

To doc mccarty.

Let him patch that up.

Go on!

Yes, sir, marshal.

Yes, sir.

Gosh, ed, are you hurt?

It's nothing

But a scratch.

It ain't even

Bleeding much.

Marshal earp's kind of

Concerned about it though.

So I'm going over

To the doctor.

Obeying orders.

Pete, take this little

Buzzard on over to jail.

Couple you men,

Help him.

- I want to

Talk to you upstairs.

- Yeah, I know.

So you were right

In the first place

And I was wrong.

Just not cut out

To be a peace officer.

Well, is he?

No, I guess not.

Do you know what ed was

Doing when I got there?

He was mopping this kid's scalp

Before he disarmed him.

This kid could have

Been playing possum

And your brother'd

Be dead now.

Yeah.

I'm sorry,

But it's his life

We've been

Experimenting with.

I can either fire him

Or transfer him over to you,

But I think the honest thing

For you to do

Is just to tell him

He's not cut out for this

Kind of job.

All right.

I'll tell him.

Wyatt, I can't do it.

He's my brother.

Mom would think

I let him down.

He just can't

Take more failure.

We'll trade deputies, huh?

All right.

I just hope you know

What you're doing.

Thanks.

Well, how you feel

This morning, ed?

Oh, shoulder is

A little stiff.

- Don't hurt.

- Good.

Wyatt,

Did bat tell you

He wants me

To work for him?

Well, yeah, he's been

Having a little trouble

With one of his deputies,

Pete loring.

I told him I'd take pete.

I getting the worst of the deal.

That's the way it was, huh?

Yeah, officially,

But just between

You and me--

Why, I think your brother

Wanted you from the start.

What do you know?

I was scared you were both

Sore at me about last night.

( Laughs )

That little brother of mine's

A horse-trading scamp.

Ain't he?

Yeah, he's a shrewd one,

All right.

By the way where is he?

Is he still sleeping?

Oh no. Not him.

He's talking to that kid

I had trouble with.

There.

Moved from deputy marshal

To deputy sheriff.

Is that up or down?

It's a promotion, ed.

No fooling?

Well, boy howdy.

I've always jumped

From the frying pan

Right into the fire

Up to now.

Say, I got a present

For you.

Figure a man should show

His appreciation.

Well, there's

No need for that, ed,

But I do like presents.

Well, silver rosettes.

They're mighty handsome, ed.

Figure they'd dress up

The bridle

On that horse of yours.

They sure will.

Tell you, candy thanks you

And I thank you.

You know, we've been looking

Kind of seedy lately.

That kid was hired

To g*n ed.

I just got the truth

Out of him.

Who hired him?

Jack wagner for $ .

Sounds like wagner.

Well, today I'm

Gonna close the lone star.

Those fellows

Weren't texans anyway.

Disgraceful they should

Use the name "lone star."

Walker and wagner can--

Oh, hold up brother.

I don't get this.

Huh?

Well, why would

Those fellows hire a g*n

To k*ll me?

No, bat...

It don't make sense.

Now there you go.

I swear, ed--

Let me try and

Explain it, will you?

See, ed, it's

Typical hoodlum thinking.

If the kid had got you,

Then wagner and walker,

They could claim that your

Brother was trying

To close 'em

For personal revenge.

But he has court order

To collect what they owe

Or put the saloon

Up for sheriff's sale.

No more talk.

I'll get the papers

And a couple of deputies.

Bat, wait a minute!

You and bat figure to be

sh**ting over this?

- Maybe.

- Why?

Those fellows know they

Can't resist a court order

And they ain't a match

For you in a gunfight.

We'll talk about it

Later, ed.

Wyatt, if you'd only cool

Off and listen,

Maybe you could talk--

sh**ting over a saloon.

No. No, not

If I can stop it.

( Men vocalizing )

Masterson and earp

Have gone over

To the sheriff's office.

They coming here?

Nobody would

Tell me anything.

Set him up.

Right.

What's your hunch, alf?

Maybe the kid talked.

I don't know.

Well, it's either

Run or fight.

Horses are out

In the back.

Let's run for it.

Let's wait and see

Who we're running from.

Wyatt: wait a minute.

Now look,

I know this is your fight,

But I'm asking you

Not to lose your temper.

All right.

I don't think

Wagner and walker

Got the sand to fight.

Hey, where's ed?

I left him with you.

Pete, you ride

By the jail

And pick up

Ed masterson.

Pretend like you got

Some kind of errand to run

That'll keep you

Away from the lone star.

And if he's not at

The jail, you find him.

Watch the office, sam.

Well, look who he sent

To close us up.

His big brother, ed.

I want to talk to you

Man to man.

There's no sense to be sh**ting

Over this foolish quarrel.

It's my brother's sworn

Duty to--

( g*nf*re )

Look!

( g*nf*re continues )

Ed. Ed!

They k*lled him.

They k*lled ed!

No! You can't

sh**t him again.

If he gets well,

He'll pay for what he did.

I'll take him on over

To doc mccarty's.

You got some weeping to do.

Go on in the back room

Where nobody can see you.

Yes, sir.

Ed was too decent

And nice.

Nice ones die first...

But they die for kindness.

That's almost worth

A man's life.

( Men vocalizing )

♪ Well, he cleaned up

The country ♪

♪ The old wild west country

♪ He made

Law and order prevail ♪

♪ And none can deny it

♪ The legend of wyatt

♪ Forever will live

On the trail ♪

♪ Wyatt earp, wyatt earp

♪ Brave, courageous and bold

♪ Long live his fame

♪ And long live his glory

♪ And long may

His story be told. ♪

♪ Long may his story

♪ Be told.

( Beeping )