You're gonna have
To drop lanigan
Or be fighting every
One of his cowhands.
- That's ridiculous!
- No, janey, that's exactly
What I told you and your dad.
You don't understand
Gunfighting, miss janey.
Now I could disarm that fella,
But he'd still be after mitch.
You walk right
Out there and draw.
I bragged to him
About your speed,
So he'll be uncertain.
You draw as fast as you can,
But take that split
Second to aim.
Right.
- Mitch!
- Miss janey.
- That's the way it has to be.
- It doesn't.
We'll sell the ranch.
We'll move back east.
No, running out of dodge
Would haunt him the rest
Of his life.
- He won't go and he can't go.
- Stupid talk!
- You protect mitch!
You're hired to take care--
- ( g*nshots )
( 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. ♪
- ( g*nshots )
- Narrator: there's been
Much nonsense written
About gunfighting
On the frontier.
Marshal earp recognized
Only a few legitimate
Gunfighters.
"The rest," he commented,
"Got their fame by
sh**ting drunks
Or slowpoke amateurs."
As the case of young
Mitch hallam proved,
Once a man reached
The small company of top g*ns,
Other experts
Rarely challenged him.
There was no percentage
In a sh**t
Where men of equal speed
Would probably k*ll each other.
Mitch, janey and I
Wish you would
Change your mind.
It's too late now,
Mr. Travis.
You've got into
A few gunfights, you've
Been exonerated each time,
I've offered to promote you
To foreman here.
What's gone wrong?
Well, a man has his pride,
And he doesn't relish
The cowhands saying
He got promoted to foreman
Because of the boss's daughter.
Janey had nothing
To do with it.
Well, I know janey,
Mr. Travis.
She wants me to settle down
And wait for you to make me
A partner.
No hard feelings,
I just want to make it
On my own.
No hard feelings, mitch.
Good luck.
I did my best, honey.
Where is he going?
Dodge city, I reckon.
Mitch thinks he can be
A big man with a g*n.
Forget him, janey.
He'd only break your heart.
- Whiskey, double.
- Yes sir.
But you'd better
Check that g*n.
You a bartender
Or earp's deputy?
Hold it.
I want a fresh pack.
Hey, barkeep,
New pack of cards.
Never mind.
We'll play
With this one.
I said we wouldn't.
Any more last words?
( g*nsh*t )
This derringer,
Did somebody put it
In his hand?
No, he drew it,
Mr. Earp.
- He was slow.
- Well, I'm not that slow.
Give me your g*n.
I wouldn't try to draw
On you, marshal.
But isn't there a law
Of self-defense?
There's an ordinance
Against packing a g*n--
$ Fine
Or days in jail.
You got $ ?
No sir.
That's too bad.
Mr. Morgan, get some men
To help you take him
Over to doc. Let's go.
Marshal earp?
Yes'm?
I'm jane travis.
My father owns the bar "j."
They say you put
Mitch hallam in jail.
- That's right, I did.
- Self-defense, wasn't it?
And what's
k*lling a man to you?
Well, ma'am, I try
To avoid it whenever I can.
Oh nonsense.
You're a professional
Gunfighter--
Mitch's biggest hero.
I think we'd better
Go inside.
You know most of this
Is your fault.
"The notorious mr. Earp,
Fastest g*n in the west."
Look, did you come here
To lecture me
- Or to pay mr. Hallam's fine?
- I came to pay his fine,
But I also wanted
To meet a gunfighter.
Well, I'm not
A gunfighter, miss travis.
I'm the marshal
Of dodge city.
And if I do use a g*n,
It's to support the law
We're trying to evolve
Here on the frontier.
Now here's the report
On mr. Hallam's arrest.
- A $ fine.
- Bat masterson
And ben thompson
Are gunfighters.
Well, I wouldn't call
Mr. Masterson that.
Mr. Thompson is another
Friend of mine
So I guess I'm
A little bit prejudiced.
Then who are the men
Mitch wants to be like?
I'm sorry for losing
My temper, mr. Earp,
Saying those things.
Are you in love
With mr. Hallam?
And you want him to quit
Trying to get the reputation
Of a gunfighter, is that it?
Yes.
Papa and I have gotten mitch
Out of several scrapes.
Papa wants him to be foreman
Of the bar "j" and--
I said we could be married
Anytime he promised
To quit wearing a g*n.
Mr. Earp,
Why does he do it?
- Why?
- Well, maybe he likes
k*lling like wes hardin
Or clay allison.
Or maybe
He's a born criminal
Like jesse james.
Or maybe he just has
A grudge against the world
Like billy the kid.
No, mitch wants
To be somebody.
He's an orphan,
A nobody in his own estimation.
Well, what do you think?
Mitch loves me
But he also wants
To be somebody on his own.
Hmmm, and he thinks
That being a gunfighter
Is somebody, huh?
Yes.
Mr. Gibbs, bring mr. Hallam
In here, will you?
Mr. Earp, isn't there
Anything I can do?
- ( Door clanking )
- That kinda depends
On mr. Hallam.
It was him
Or me, janey.
- $ .
- Oh no no.
I'll stay in jail.
Big-headed pride, huh?
Here, put this on.
What's the idea?
Mr. Gibbs and I
Just wanna see
How fast you are.
Well, I'm not
In your class, but--
- I'll get better.
- Hmm, we'll see about that.
Mr. Gibbs, you...
You holler go, huh?
- All set?
- Yep.
Draw.
You are fast.
Well, mr. Gibbs,
What do you think?
Well, he's fair
To middling, I guess.
Mm-hmm.
But he'll never
Make a great g*n?
You see, miss janey,
Only the top g*ns stay alive.
That's because they never
Draw against each other.
They know
They'll both be hit.
Now you can go on k*lling
Drunks and slowpokes,
But I'll tell you, my friend,
One of these days you're gonna
Come up against a top g*n
And that's gonna be it.
- Listen to him, mitch.
- He's just trying to scare me.
He's not.
He's telling you
The truth.
- ( Groans )
- Now wait, janey.
Now let me
Explain to y--
Mr. Gibbs,
Excuse us
For a minute, will you?
Sit down, mr. Hallam.
Now suppose you tell me
The truth, huh?
Well, the bar "j"
Is a tough outfit.
Janey and mr. Travis
Don't know how tough.
And they don't want you
As foreman, hmm?
Most of 'em like me,
But jim lanigan--
They call him "cactus."
He thinks he should
Be ramrod, not me.
He pushes you
Into gunfights.
Who told you?
Look, I just don't want a job
Because I'm going to marry
The boss's daughter.
Someday I'll sh**t it out
With lanigan.
I think it's stupid
sh**ting your way into a job.
Well, I didn't
Choose it, mr. Earp.
I just happened to fall
In love with janey.
Oh, thanks
For listening.
Look, you sign on
As a deputy.
I'm going to go have
A talk with mr. Travis.
It won't work.
Whether it does or not,
You'll have the legal right
To be wearing a g*n.
Now you either pin this on
Or you go back to jail.
I see now why you're
Good at your job.
You're tougher
Than the others
And smarter.
Let's just say
I'm a high-school boy
Dealing with second graders,
When I have to deal
With ordinary cowhands.
I'll go have a little talk
With mr. Travis.
Shotgun, you got
A new assistant!
Mr. Travis, you know
As well as I do
That running a cattle spread
Isn't just a knack you pick up
In a couple of years.
You gotta know cowhands.
True, mr. Earp, but I can't
Believe jim lanigan would
Do a thing like this.
I can. He thinks
He should be promoted
Foreman, not mitch.
All right,
That's easily settled.
- You mean by firing lanigan?
- Of course.
Sir, that'd be the worst
Thing you could do.
What would you suggest,
Mr. Earp?
Well, why don't you make him
Your representative
To the cattlemen's
Association?
The rep thinks he has
An important job
And technically
He outranks foreman.
Of course, papa,
That's it.
You see, in business
Or politics...
Well, it's called
Kicking a man upstairs.
I just hate to reward a man
For doing what he's done
To mitch.
Papa, I'm in love
With mitch.
I know.
I know, honey.
They told me when I bought
The ranch, the old days
Were gone forever.
Not yet, mr. Travis.
Changing a cowhand
Is kinda like--
Well, trying to get rid
Of longhorn steers.
Cowhands, cowhands!
Pushing a decent boy
Into gunfights.
I oughta fire
The whole caboodle.
No sir.
Mr. Hallam can't fight his way
Through lanigan and his pals.
The marshal's right, papa.
Please, promote that man
To represent you
At the meetings.
Don't say anything
About mitch.
As far as you're
Concerned he quit.
Please.
All right, honey.
I'll go back to the ranch
And get this settled.
I'm very ashamed of
All the nasty things
I said to you.
It's all right,
Miss janey.
And you'll stick by mitch
Until this is over?
I'll keep him on patrol
With me all the time.
Thank you, thank you.
- Where's mr. Lanigan?
- At the south corral.
- We're branding calves.
- Ask him to see me here
Right away.
All right.
Good morning, sir.
Oh, lanigan, sit down
For a moment.
- I've got some news.
- Taking hallam back?
Hallam?
No, he's hired as a deputy
With earp in dodge.
The news is I've joined
The cattlemen's association.
- Oh?
- With the new herd,
We qualify.
The association wants
To organize the spring drive
And bring us all into agreement
With the big texas outfits.
- Yes sir.
- The point is I've named you
As my representative.
- Yes sir.
- Aren't you pleased?
The job pays
Much more and there'll
Be travel expenses.
You're the boss,
But I'd rather be foreman,
The job you just
Talked about.
The rep job pays better.
Why would you prefer
To be foreman?
I know these big texas
Outfits, mr. Travis.
Small spread like bar "j"
Carries no weight at all
With them.
Besides I've been your acting
Foreman almost a year now.
I don't want to sound
Big headed, but you need me.
- I need a representative too.
- Any one of the boys
Could do that.
No sir, not me.
- Thanks just the same.
- Lanigan.
- One moment, if you please.
- Yes sir.
I may be a greener
At the cattle business,
But I'm trying to learn.
Just why have
You set your heart
On being foreman?
I know the hands
And they know me.
Like you say, boss,
You're new to ranching.
Cowhands take
A heap of discipline.
Of course, I appreciate
All you've done--
Then you oughta name me
Foreman official.
But you're the boss.
- What's the word, jim?
- He wants me to rep
For the bar "j,"
- Not to be foreman.
- Uh-oh.
It's just a dodge
To get me outta the way,
Put janey's boyfriend in
As ramrod.
Maybe you can guess
What that's gonna do
To our business.
- Do you reckon mitch squealed?
- No, he's not on to us yet.
Of all the dirty breaks.
I had him all set up.
We pushed him one gunfight
To another.
- Why not keep pushing him?
- I can take him.
Not as long as
He walks around
With a star.
Say, I was a boob.
I've gotta take
That rep job.
Yeah, I'll tell travis
I changed my mind.
You gonna leave us
With that herd
We stole from travis?
Just long enough
For all of us to ride
Into dodge.
Mitch'll quit earp as soon
As travis makes him foreman.
But he can't leave dodge
With us in the way.
You better get away
From the house.
So have you ever
Been drunk?
No sir.
A good thing
To remember is
That liquor makes
A cowhand ornery.
The kindest thing you can do
Is to hustle a drunk
Off to jail.
I've even had a few of them
Thank me for it.
- ( Chuckles )
- Janey: mitch!
- Mitch, it worked!
- What?
- Tell him, papa.
- You're the new foreman.
I hope you'll allow
Deputy hallam to resign
Real quick.
Your idea, marshal,
Lanigan accepted
The representative job.
- No hard feelings?
- Not after he'd
Thought it over.
He left
For the cattlemen's
Powwow last night.
Whoa, now hold on.
Just what was this deal?
I suggested to mr. Travis
That he promote
Mr. Lanigan to rep,
- Clearing the way for you.
- Lanigan doing business
For the bar "j"?
- I'm sorry.
- What's wrong, mitch?
I think lanigan's been
Stealing from your dad
For months.
- Stealing?! Oh no.
- I can't prove it, sir.
That's why
I never said anything.
Good try, mr. Earp.
- Thanks.
- Now, mitch, you wait!
No time, janey,
I've got a job to do.
I'll catch lanigan
Red-handed someday soon.
Real soon.
I'll see to it that mitch
Gets out of town safe.
But, marshal, if lanigan's
Been stealing--
Look, he knows mitch is
In town. Now you two go on
Back to the hotel.
Maybe you should have been
Honest with mr. Travis
And miss janey
Right from the start.
I couldn't prove
Anything.
Lanigan's pushed you
Into gunfights, hasn't he?
I can't prove that.
Lanigan got
Any particular pals?
Conroy, markham,
Hollister.
- Maybe a few more.
- Yeah.
Those three,
How fast are they?
Quit nursing me.
Just-- I'll explain it
To janey.
Sometimes a man
Turns gunfighter
In spite of himself
And his friends.
Man:
Hey, mitch!
You're gonna marry earp?
Where's your star?
I turned it in!
Mr. Earp, if you'd
Just stand aside,
Mitch and I are gonna
Have a friendly talk.
Let me handle it.
What do you want
To talk about, conroy?
You've been threatening
To g*n me.
- That's a lie!
- I got witnesses.
Now you just lift your hands
Or use 'em.
- He was pretty fast.
- I coulda got him!
- Gibbs: step aside!
- You give me that g*n!
Give me that.
Mr. Travis, you try
And talk him
Into leaving town.
Mr. Conroy here
Needs a doctor.
Did he come
Into town alone?
No, came in with a couple
Of other cowhands.
They're over at
The long branch saloon.
If he doesn't leave town,
Put him in jail.
I'm going over
To the long branch.
Here.
You, go get the doc
And bring him down here.
Conroy made a mess of it,
So now it's your turn.
I'm going through the alley
And over to the hotel
Just in case
He starts to run.
I'm looking for a couple
Of cowhands, bar "j" outfit,
- Hollister and markham.
- That might be them, marshal.
Hold it.
- What have we done, earp?
- We're just leaving town.
Your names' hollister
And markham?
That's none
Of your business.
- Now where's mr. Lanigan?
- Cactus lanigan?
Oh, he went to mobeetie
Last night.
He's the new rep
For mr. Travis.
Well, we'll see
About mr. Lanigan.
Pick up his hat.
Now we'll go
Over to my office
And join mr. Conroy.
Let's go.
It'll take me
Two minutes to pack.
Rest yourself, mitch.
- So I can run faster?
- That's childish.
You don't understand
Any of this, do you, sir?
I think I do.
It's your suspicion that
Lanigan's been stealing
My cattle, right?
The cattlemen's association
Employs detectives
To deal with thieves.
It's not your personal
Responsibility.
And conroy wasn't?
When he started a gunfight
And mr. Earp had to--
Aw, everybody in dodge
Must know by now
What happened.
Mitch, your pride
Is ridiculous.
Papa isn't hiring you
To be a gunfighter, mitch.
- You're to be foreman.
- I don't know, janey.
I'm hungry.
We'll have some lunch here
And then we'll hit the trail.
And, mitch, I want you
To sit down and start
To think like an adult.
Yes sir.
I'll try.
All right, now I want
To know where lanigan is
- And I want to know right now!
- Or else?
Mr. Conroy here goes
To jail for attempted m*rder
And the two of you get
The limit for conspiracy.
Too soft, wyatt!
If it was me,
I'd lock 'em all up
In a box stall with roscoe.
- Who's roscoe?
- He's my mule.
And he don't like
Hoodlums.
Mr. Conroy,
You take jail?
No.
Lanigan's holed up
In a room in the dodge hotel.
Well, we were supposed
To get mitch,
But if we didn't,
Lanigan would g*n him down.
Go ahead and try it.
I ain't in your class
And you know it.
But you can take
Mitch hallam, huh?
Yeah, I can.
I don't know, mr. Hallam's
Pretty fast.
He got mr. Conroy
Before he even got
A grip on his g*n.
Are you joshing me?
They told me in the saloon
You got conroy.
I didn't have to.
Mr. Hallam got him.
( Laughs )
Hallam ain't that fast.
You tell him I'll be waiting
For him in the street.
Where would you like
To be buried, mr. Lanigan?
You-- you ask hallam that.
Yeah, I will.
( Knocks )
- Who is it?
- It's wyatt earp.
Sir, i...
I'd like to talk
To miss janey and mitch.
They're planning
A little surprise.
I'll wait
Down in the bar.
Janey:
Lanigan, wearing g*ns!
Why didn't you take them
Away from him, mr. Earp?
You're gonna have
To drop lanigan
Or be fighting every
Bar "j" cowhand.
- That's ridiculous!
- No, janey,
That's exactly what I told
You and your dad.
You don't understand
Gunfighting, miss janey.
Now I could disarm that fella,
But he'd still be after mitch.
You walk right
Out there and draw.
I bragged to him
About your speed,
So he'll be uncertain.
You draw as fast as you can,
But take that split
Second to aim.
Right.
Mitch, stop!
Miss janey, it has
To be that way.
- Why?
- Mitch doesn't like gunfighting
Any more than you do.
But lanigan pushed him
Into a corner and mitch
Has to fight him.
He doesn't!
We'll sell the ranch.
We'll move back east.
- Mitch and I can go--
- Look!
Running out of dodge
Would haunt him the rest
Of his life.
- He won't go and he can't go.
- Now you protect mitch.
That's what
You're hired to do!
Mitch!
Oh, mitch!
- It's just my leg.
- Hold still.
I'll k*ll him.
I'll k*ll him myself.
He's already
Been k*lled.
There. Lanigan was
A top hand.
You can put your g*n
Away now
And nobody will invite
You to buckle it on.
Mitch:
You hear that, janey?
Ohh.
I hope you're right.
I've had over
Gunfights, mitch.
Welcome to the list
Of top hands.
- ( Sniffling )
- No sense in crying,
Miss janey.
All those stupid gunfighters
Will be afraid of mitch now.
You can raise cattle
And kids in peace now.
♪ 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. ♪