The Life and Legend
of Wyatt Earp
♪♪ Hmm ♪
♪ Wyatt Earp,
Wyatt Earp ♪
♪ Brave, courageous and bold ♪
♪ Long live his fame
and long live his glory ♪
♪ And long may
his story be told ♪
♪ Hmm ♪♪
- Marshal Wyatt Earp faced the
hatred and g*nf*re of many men
in the towns of Wichita,
Dodge City and Tombstone,
but none hated him more
than did the % Ring
and the head of all
the outlaws, Old Man Clanton.
- Well, Emperor
Clanton,
king of all the
outlaws, bushwhacked!
What were they
after you for?
- Because I got the payroll
for my outfit with me
and they don't know
who I am! That's why!
I seen 'em watchin' outside
the bank! Saddle tramps!
- It's a good thing I saw 'em
too, otherwise you'd be dead.
- From this little scratch?
They'd be dead, you mean.
Next time,
I'll thank you
to mind your own
thunderin' business!
- Hey, don't you want
your, uh, hat and coat?
- How much money
you make a month?
- Well, that's kind of a
personal question, isn't it?
- Public official,
ain't ya?
Matter of public
record, ain't it?
- Well, then you
can look it up.
- I'll give you $
a month to work for me.
- Doin' what?
- Ramroddin'!
Foreman of my outfit.
Boss of the whole
spread, next to me.
- You, uh, figure I'm
worth that much money?
- Nope, but that's my
offer. What do ya say?
- I say no.
- No?
- You steal cows to
stock your ranch,
and you hold up
stages to buy feed.
You're a thief and you got
thieves workin' for ya.
Mr. Clanton, I don't want
anything to do with your outfit.
- All right, I'll give
ya $ , a month!
- Why do ya still ask me?
- You figure you saved
my hide just now!
Well, don't ya?
- Well, I guess you
could put it that way.
- It ain't long ago you saved
my sons and now you save me!
Blamed! If it ain't more
than a man can stand!
But I'm tellin'
you right out,
you get in my way, I'll
k*ll ya just the same!
Hyah!
Hyah!
- Just who do you
think you are, Dameron?
You run a newspaper not worth
bits, the whole shebang!
- I've made the Tombstone Nugget
the best newspaper in the West!
- You made nothin'!
Our organization loaned you
the money to start the Nugget.
We supported you with county
advertising and a good salary.
- I know, but
I'm the editor!
- When I picked you up,
you were a drunken printer.
You wanna go back to wearing
patches on your pants?
- Why, no!
No, I don't!
- Then you better
shut up and listen!
We're gonna get rid of
Wyatt Earp for good,
and you're gonna help us!
- How?
- By smearing him!
Until the law-and-order
folks in Tombstone
get sick enough
to throw him out!
- Smear him?
With what?
Why, nobody in Tombstone will
believe anything bad about Earp!
He--he never does anything!
- We'll furnish
the evidence.
You just print it.
- Legal evidence?
- Certainly!
We have a dozen
witnesses who will swear
Wyatt Earp is leading
a double life.
Here! Get yourself
a cheap hotel room.
The witnesses'll
come to you.
- What if Earp sues me?
The witnesses'll
have to go to court.
- They won't change their
stories, even in court.
- Ain't you got any other
place to read the newspaper
than in my office?
- I like it here.
- The Nugget. What do ya
read that one for, anyway?
- There's a lot in
this particular issue.
- Yeah, like what?
- This official census,
the one they took last year,
for one thing.
- Yeah?
- How many people do ya think
there are in the United States?
- Oh, I don't know.
million?
- You're way off.
million.
- No! million?
- Mmm-hmm! According to
the official census.
How many people
do ya think there are
in the Arizona Territory?
- Oh, , , , .
- You're even
further off. , !
- Oh, wow!
[ Chuckling ]
That's interesting!
I always figured that Arizona
was gettin' overcrowded.
- There's another
interesting item here.
- Yeah, well, do me
a favor and read it
to the bartender over
at the Alhambra, will ya?
I got some work to do.
Gotta get at a report.
- Seems there's a girl
by the name of Audrey
who married a fella.
Two weeks later, he got
her a job at the Bird Cage.
Then he took
all her wages.
- Yeah, who was that?
- You.
- Me?
- Mmm-hmm.
Says so right here.
- Let me see that.
- You hurt my
feelings, Wyatt.
The least you could've done
is invited an old friend
to your wedding.
- Audrey Johnson!
I don't even know her!
The Nugget'd print anything.
Now, get out of here so
I can get some work done.
- How much you gonna
sue them for?
- Sue?
- The paper,
for libel.
- I'm not suing anybody.
In the first place,
Dameron has no money.
In the second place,
nobody believes it.
- What I like about you, Wyatt,
beside your reckless bravery,
is your simple mind
and trusting nature.
- Very nice, Dameron!
Very nice!
A good start!
- I thought it was. I went
about as far as we can go.
- Oh no, you haven't.
Next week, you're gonna
give him both barrels. Here!
- Now, wait
a minute, Ned!
This is going too far!
- Print it!
- But a bandit!
Nobody'll believe it,
not about Wyatt Earp.
- Oh yes, they will.
If you're gonna tell a lie
about someone, tell a big one!
Tell it big
and tell it often!
If you throw enough mud,
some of it'll stick.
You'll never
wash it all off.
- Oh, there
you are, Mayor.
I stopped by your office.
You've read it, huh?
- Yes! Yes,
I have, Doctor.
Nobody's gonna
believe this stuff.
That Dameron has
no sense at all!
You wait till you see the
next edition of my paper,
when it comes out.
- But it's right here in print!
People won't stop to think
that Dameron could be lying!
- What? "Wyatt Earp the
Notorious Bandana Bandit!"
Ah, it's ridiculous!
[ Scoffing ]
That Dameron's a fool!
- Well, I think we oughta have
a Council meeting anyhow.
- What for?
There's nothing to it.
It's all a pack of lies!
- I don't know, Mayor.
The last haircut
that Earp had,
he sure had a mighty
big roll in his pocket.
- You've got
company, Wyatt.
- Where've you been,
Marshal Earp?
- He's been out collectin'
his wife's wages
and holdin' up
another stage.
- This is no joking
matter, Holliday!
- I agree!
- Now, what can I do
for you gentlemen?
- Well, Wyatt,
the Town Council has
just had a meeting.
Have you, uh, seen the
latest issue of the Nugget?
- As well as
the last one?
- Yeah, I've seen it.
- Well, Wyatt, the
Council is insistent
that I ask you
this question.
Have these allegations
any basis in fact?
- Well, everybody knows, Mayor,
that I really have wives
and that I have ,
Wells Fargo dollars
in a secret bank account.
- There you are,
Mr. Jeffries!
I told you there wasn't
anything in it.
- We can't afford to have
you slandered, Wyatt.
The law-and-order party is not
that strong in Tombstone.
- Another thing,
Brother Earp,
you must take some
action to clear your name.
- Come on, gentlemen!
You don't believe
those stories,
and neither does
anybody else!
- You have too high an
opinion of the human race!
You don't realize people
like to believe scandal.
- Not my friends!
- An honest marshal
has no real friends.
- Don't you realize
your silence is saying
the Nugget is
telling the truth?
- And what would
you suggest I do?
- Sue 'em, Wyatt!
Sue Dameron and the Nugget!
Sue 'em for damages!
- I see.
Well, I have not been
damaged, gentlemen!
Now, go on back to
your offices, will ya?
I have that horse-thief
case comin' up tomorrow,
and I have to prepare my
testimony for court.
Goodbye, gentlemen!
And thank you very much
for your support!
That means you too, Doc.
Go on, get out of here!
- Wyatt, did you
ever hear of Nero?
- Judge Timberlake's
walkin' horse?
- No, the emperor.
The fella who set fire to Rome.
- You mean the one that
fiddled while Rome b*rned?
- Do you
believe that?
- Well, it's the
truth, isn't it?
- No. That was written
by some Roman scandalmonger.
Historians have since found out
that actually is a big lie.
- Well, that's
the way I heard it.
- That's just it.
Somebody printed that lie
about poor old Nero,
and now everybody
believes it,
no matter what they
found out since then.
Once a scandal gets
started, nothing'll k*ll it.
- Oh, I see. You're talkin'
about me and the Nugget, huh?
- That's right. That's just
what I'm talkin' about.
- Well, there's just
one big difference, Doc.
Nero was a Roman emperor.
He's in the history books.
I'm just a US marshal
in Arizona Territory.
- There's no difference, Wyatt.
You'll be in
history books someday.
- Me?
[ Chuckling ]
- , years
from now,
some fellas will be writing
histories of Arizona.
When they get
to the year ,
who do you think
they'll write about?
- Well, not about me.
- Oh yes, they will!
And when they
get to Tombstone,
they'll write about
the people in it, won't they?
You, Old Man Clanton,
Johnny Ringo, the % Ring.
They might even include a
footnote about me somewhere.
Where do you think they're
gonna get this information?
From some poor old
person who's still alive
or some old copies of the
Nugget that are still around.
That's where.
- Well now, what
can I do about that?
- You can sue the
Nugget and stop Dameron!
- Dameron doesn't count
and it isn't worth the
time that it would take!
Look, will you
get out of here?
I've got some
important work to do.
- It's all right
with me, Wyatt,
if you want your name to go down
in history with a slur on it.
But don't say
I didn't warn ya!
- Wyatt...
Wyatt, when you're
through, uh,
will you come down
to your office?
We'd like to
talk to you.
- Let's talk right here.
- You, Doctor.
- Uh-uh!
- Wyatt, I've been
defending you in my newspaper,
but it doesn't seem
to have done any good!
The talk against you
is getting stronger.
- Get to the point, Mayor.
- Well, unless you take some
action to clear your name,
the Council feels it'll have
to ask for your resignation.
- You can't be serious.
- You're reading the paper
yourself, and yet you ask that?
- It says right there
you've been taking money
from every gambling
house in Tombstone,
and threatening to close
'em up if you don't get it!
Do you deny it?
- You're beginning to
believe this, aren't ya?
- It's right there
in print, isn't it?
- Hal, you've been readin'
the Nugget, haven't ya?
- Oh, don't get me
in on this, Marshal.
I can't cut hair
just on one side.
Not and stay in
business, I can't!
- You too, huh?
- Now, don't take it
like that, Wyatt.
Nobody wants to
believe that stuff!
- But you do, don't ya?
- We didn't say
that, Brother Earp.
- Now you want
my badge back!
Well, gentlemen,
when the Council's ready
to demand my resignation,
I'll be at the office!
- [Doc]:
Hiya, Wyatt!
- Excuse me, Doc, but
I am not in the mood
to visit with
anybody right now.
- I figured that,
but things'll get worse!
- They already have!
- Too bad!
I had something else
on my mind.
- Oh?
- How would you like to
make some big money, Wyatt?
- Doin' what?
- Well, when I was playing poker
last week, a fella got ambitious
when he was holding tens
and I had queens.
Now, I find myself in possession
of the Sally Silver Mine.
But it'll take $ ,
to get it producing again.
You put up the money,
and half the mine is yours.
- Now, where would
I get $ , ?
- You're talking to
your old friend Doc.
You're not on
the witness chair now.
- What do you
mean by that?
- I saw you collecting
that money from Mame Griffin
at the Palace last night.
- You what?
- Yes, and at half a
dozen other saloons too.
It's all right
with me, Wyatt,
but you should have
$ , by now.
- I was collectin' tax money
for the new school!
That's part of my job!
- Sure, sure!
- You believe those stories?
- Some of them seem reasonable,
and I'd be the last one
to blame you, Wyatt.
- Oh, you would,
would ya?
Well, I'd made
up my mind
that I wasn't gonna give a
newspaper like the Nugget
the satisfaction
of bein' sued,
but I see you have
to protect yourself
against your friends
as well as your enemies!
- Now, Miss Audrey, did
you make the statements
attributed to you
in the Nugget?
- Yes, sir.
- And are they true?
- Oh yes, sir.
Wyatt said we should keep
our marriage a secret.
After we were married by the
justice of the peace in Benson,
Wyatt gave me money to rent a
suite at the Cosmopolitan Hotel.
But pretty soon, he said
it was costing him too much,
so he made me go to work
at the Bird Cage!
[ All talking ]
[ Pounding p*stol ]
- And what happened
to your wages?
- Oh, I--I gave them to
my husband, Mr. Earp.
He made me!
[ All talking ]
- [Judge]:
Order in the court!
Proceed, Mr. Taggart.
- One more thing,
Miss Audrey.
Do you have
the wedding license?
- Oh! Oh yes,
I have it here!
[ All talking ]
- I was--I was riding shotgun
on the Prescott stage
when this, uh, road agent
stepped out from behind a rock
and--and got
the drop on me.
- And did you
see his face?
- Yes, sir.
When he, uh, reached down
to pick up
the Wells Fargo box,
the bandana
fell down and...
I seen him
clear as day!
- And do you see
this man now,
here in this courtroom?
- Yes, sir.
That's him, right there.
It was Wyatt Earp!
- Your Honor,
this man is lying!
[ Pounding ]
- Sit down, Mr. Earp.
- Miss Griffin, what
is your profession?
- Mr. Taggart, I own
and operate
the Palace Bar
and Gambling Hall.
You know that!
[ All laughing ]
- Uh, on or about
June of this year,
did Mr. Wyatt Earp
enter your establishment,
and make you a proposition?
- Yes, sir,
he certainly did!
- And what was the nature
of that proposition?
- Well, after drinkin' a whole
bottle of my whiskey,
which he didn't pay for,
he said I'd have to make
him a silent partner.
If I didn't, he'd close me up
and run me out of town.
[ Pounding p*stol ]
- And what share of
ownership did Mr. Earp demand?
- %!
I've been payin'
him $ a week,
as his share of the profits.
Besides what he, uh, shook
out of the girls, that is.
[ All talking ]
- Now, Mayor Clum, you've
been saying that Marshal Earp
is one of the most honorable
men you've ever known.
- That is absolutely
right, sir.
- Yet in spite of that opinion,
is it not possible
that Marshal Earp
could have married the
young lady, Audrey Johnson,
and even have put her
to work in the Bird Cage?
- Well, that is hardly probable.
- Answer yes or no, sir!
- Oh, it's possible, yes.
[ All talking ]
- And therefore, is it
not also possible
that Marshal Earp is
the Bandana Bandit
and a half-owner
of the Palace?
Is it not, Mayor Clum?
- Well, I suppose anything could
be possible, yes. But that--
- That will be all!
Thank you!
- Wait a minute!
Anything could be possible
the way you put that question!
- Court will adjourn till
: a.m. tomorrow morning.
- Yes, I know.
I know, Wyatt.
But let's face it, things
are goin' badly for you.
Look what happened
to me on the stand!
- I just don't understand
how they can tell such lies!
Me married
and takin' her wages!
- Lies or not, you
are up a dry gulch!
Now, you better
do something!
- Do what?
I took your advice.
I sued the man.
Look what happened!
- Yes, I know.
But there's got to be
some way to stop Dameron.
[ Door opening ]
- Outside, Clum!
This is personal and
private with Earp.
- You stay here.
What's on your
mind, Mr. Clanton?
- Well, nothin'
social, Earp.
- Then state
your business.
- Why ain't you defendin'
yourself at that trial?
Them documents is forgeries,
every one of them.
Even I know that, and
I ain't no friend of yours.
- Knowin' it is one thing,
provin' it is another.
Nothin' I can do.
- Well, hang my hide!
A couple more days of
that kind of testimony,
we'll have a new
marshal around here.
- Well, that shouldn't
bother you any.
- Hmm! Typical
John Law!
You, sonny, I can
figure out every time.
I don't want no new marshal
in here gummin' things up!
- Mr. Clanton, your
solicitude for Marshal Earp
is very touching!
- Never mind!
If you could prove that all
that testimony's a heap of lies,
you'd be in the
clear, wouldn't ya?
- Yeah.
- Now for instance, that Audrey
girl said she's married to you.
If you could produce her real
husband right there in court,
that'd mean winnin' your whole
case, maybe, wouldn't it?
- Yes, very neatly!
- If she's got a husband.
- She's got one!
Just last week he was
in jail in Tucson,
but he ain't now!
Bring him in!
Now, you done me
what you thought
was a favor
a few days ago.
You figured you saved my life
and made me beholden to ya.
You even figured
I couldn't k*ll a man
what I owed my life to.
Well, by thunder,
you're paid!
- Mr. Clanton.
I thank you.
- Hmm!
- Get inside.
- Mr. Dameron, in view of the
testimony now proved fraudulent,
it is the opinion
of this court
that you have abused
the freedom of the press
to slander
an honest man.
Now, the court orders you
to cease and desist
from libeling Mr. Earp
in your newspapers.
Mr. Earp is dropping the suit
for damages against you,
because he considers
the testimony
adduced in this hearing to
completely vindicate him.
However, any
repetition of libel
will force me to
hold you in contempt.
Do you understand?
- Yes, sir.
- This case
is dismissed!
[ Cheering ]
- Wyatt, I'll ask
you one more time.
Won't you please reconsider
and take your badge back?
You're...
You're not gonna like
it in California.
- Oh yes, I will.
Goodbye, Mayor Clum.
- Doc.
- Wyatt, what's this
I hear about California?
- That's where I'm goin'.
- Don't you realize
if you leave
you're playing into
the hands of the % Ring?
That's what they
wanted all along.
- Probably.
- Not probably.
They'd love to have you leave,
California or anywhere.
- Well, that suits me!
There'll be a lot more
saloons in California
for me to take
money from.
I--I don't belong here.
- Deacon...
Don't be a fool!
Sometimes you gotta
get a friend mad
before he'll
protect himself.
- Well, you got
me mad, all right.
[ Chuckles ]
Thanks, Doc.
- It's all
right, Deacon.
Come on over
to the Alhambra.
I'll buy ya
a glass of milk.
♪♪ 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 ♪
♪ Oh, 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 ♪
♪ Hmm ♪♪