01x03 - Prisoner at One O'Clock

[bunniefuu]

[waves crashing]

[music]

Letter to Loretta

[music]

Starring Miss Loretta Young.

[clapping]

Hello.

Tell me, did you ever hear
the town 01:00, Wyoming?

Well, the story goes that when
it was founded 52 years ago.

The honor of naming it
was given to its first settler.

He was a gold prospector.

He couldn't think of a name for it.

But he did remember
it was exactly 01:00

when he first
staked out his crane.

Yes, that's right. So
he called at 01:00.

A moment ago. I said
the answer to your letter.

I should have said letters
because I've received so

many that state in one way
or another the same question.

Am I a better wife if I stand
strongly for what I believe in

even though my husband
then stands alone?

Or do I stand at his side
no matter what I believe?

On the one hand, I desert my husband
and on the other I desert myself.

It's a good question, isn't it?

Well, let's go to the little town of
01:00 now and meet some nice people.

May Ranson, her husband
Seth, who is the sheriff.

They live in a stout little
building on the main street which

triples as residence and
sheriff's office in the town jail.

[Wistling]

Good morning, Sheriff.
Kind of like today.

You're flat again.

It's worse when I sing.

-Hello, Mr. Higgins.
-Alright.

What is it this time?

Vaguely ten days.
How's the little fella?

A year tomorrow and walking.
He'll make a great mailman.

Hey, got a light?

Thanks very much.

-Hello, Mrs. Ranson.
-Hi, Charlie.

Personal mail is light too,
Bill. Postcard, advertisement.

whenever you deliver meals to
the living quarter side it's never

just for bills and advertisement.
Come on. What's the morning gossip?

Real quiet today, Mrs.
Ranson. Matter of fact, the

only news in town this
morning is the sheriff here.

Or should I say the next mayor?

-The next what?
-Just deliver the mail, Charlie.

Try whistling again,
why don't you?

Well, sure, Sheriff. I didn't
mean to let the cat out of the

[Wistling]

You running for mayor?

What's the matter with
me? I can read and write.

But you don't like to.

Here, give me that.
You never get the backs.

Now, what's this talk all about?
Why do I hear it from Charlie?

Still there's talk.

You know, first the committee
has to approve, then I

have to be nominated, and
then I have to be elected.

And the committee's
meeting this morning?

No. I'm polishing
my boots for Higgins.

Oh, sad. I could just k*ll
you for not telling me about it.

You always said you
like surprises best.

That's when I was
younger. I shocked

too easily. Now give
me the other one.

Who's on the committee?

A bunch of guys.

Yeah I know.

What are the names
where they call one another?

Name.

Stop it Seth.

Who are they? Who's the chairman?

Mark Thatcher.

[music]

Mr. Higgins, coffee is getting cold.

Don't call prisoners Mr.

Mark Thatcher is the
only man I won't call. Mr.

[music]

Look, may he's not that bad.

He's worse, Seth, and you know it.

Darling, you don't want
to be mayor that way.

What way? What's the
matter with Thatcher?

He knows a lot of
important people.

There's nothing crooked
about this, no strings attached.

If I'm elected, I'll be
my own boss. May.

If I'm mayor, I can
do a lot of good for this town.

I know it. This
town means a lot to me.

Does it to Mark Thatcher?

I think so.

I don't.

May.

Yeah.

Prisoners don't rate truth for
breakfast. This isn't the hotel.

Will you unlock
the cell, please?

[unlocking cell]

-Here you are, Mr. Higgins.
-Thank you, ma'am.

You're welcome.

[locking cell]

I'll be back in about an hour.

Yeah, alright.

I'm sorry about the apple.

I know you are, Seth.

[keeping keys down]

[door opening]

[door closing]

You know what I like about
this boarding house man?

You have the best coffee in town.

The nicest compliment
I've had today.

-I'll get you a new apple.
-Maybe you better not, ma'am.

Oh, it's all right, Mr. Higgins.

He'd want me to.

[walking]

Hi.

Where is everybody?

Sheriff's gone out. Mrs.
Ranson is in the back.

Ain't they made you editor yet, son?

Oh, hi, Tom.

-Here you are.
-Thank you, ma'am.

-Looking at the sheriff?
-Yes, ma'am.

Mr. Curry said I should
give the sheriff this paper and

tell him the call as soon as
you read the front page story.

He'll be about an
hour. I'll give it to him.

-Okay, Ms. Ranson. Bye.
-Bye.

-It's long, Mr. Higgins.
-Hold on son.

Well, what do you know?

What is it, Mrs. Ranson?

The man who k*lled
Miss Jesse Mitchell last

fall. They caught him in
South Dakota yesterday.

Well?

[music]

Wandered for the
robbery. m*rder of

Miss Jesse Mitchell
at 01:00, Wyoming.

Height five foot ten, weight
approximately 165, aged 25.

Work handyman. Escaped from
sheriff's office 01:00, Wyoming.

Just seemed possible. It
was only six months ago.

I don't think I'll
ever forget that day.

[music]

[door opening]

[door closing]

What? They're not here yet?

Mr. Thatcher. That's no way for a
gentleman to announce his arrival.

This is no time
for nonsense, Mrs.

Ranson. Jesse
Mitchell's been m*rder*d.

-Jesse?
-She's dead. Rob and m*rder*d.

But they got him. The
sheriff's bringing him in now.

-Who did it?
-The hired man.

You mean that young
fellow will?

Gains, Will Gains.

Just where do I get my
hands on him? That's the

name that every man,
woman and child estate is going

to know as good as they
know their own name before

I get through with him.
Where's that sheriff?

Think it easy, Mr. Thatcher?

Seth's never lost a
prisoner yet, you know.

No? Well, he
might lose this one.

[door opening]

[music]

You know what that is? That's blood.

They found Jesse
Mitchell, a nice old

lady, in a pool
of it this morning.

Now, what happened?
Why did you do it?

He's surprised you
stealing the money, isn't it?

No, I swear I didn't
k*ll her. I didn't rob her.

Then, why did you run away?

-Well.
-Why?

I'm a stranger here. Nobody
knows me. I was afraid.

I found her last night when I
came in from the field. The cupboard

was open and...and the jar where
she kept her money was broken.

You know where she keep her money.

Yes, but I didn't take
it. I swear I didn't k*ll her.

-You're a liar.
-No.

This is his.

$75.

Hey, stop it Thatcher.

Whoever heard of a farm
man with that kind of money

in his pocket? You're
wasting your time, Sheriff.

I'll get the truth.

I said get out of here.

Listen to me.

Jesse Mitchell was like a
mother to me. I loved her.

Do you know what it's like
to see the body of someone

you've loved lying m*rder*d
and then see be the m*rder*r?

I'll still do the questioning.

Who answers
questions? This is an eye

for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth.

Wait.

Please water May.

Yeah.

why not? Make it whiskey.

[door closing]

Come on, set up.
You're not hurt that bad

Seth he frightens me.

Oh, he talks big.
Don't worry about it.

Yeah.

Go ahead drink it.

Thank you.

How old are you?

Twenty five years old.

Where are you from?

Illinois.

I was born a small town there.

How long have you
been here at 01:00?

Only a month.

I went to work for Miss
Jesse the day I got in.

She was very kind to me.

All the time?

All the time.

What was your salary?

Keeping $20 a week.

And you managed to
save $75 in four weeks?

You only spent $5 on
yourself. Don't you ever go out?

-No, I don't.
-Why not?

Don't you ever get lonesome?

A lot of times.

Ma'am, I didn't k*ll Miss Jesse.

Look, Gaines

Jesse Mitchell was
m*rder*d last night.

Whoever m*rder*d
her did it because she

surprised him in the act
of stealing her money.

You knew where that
money was hidden.

You had no alibi for where you
were at the time of the m*rder.

You ran away. You had
a lot of money in your

pocket. You Gaines
everything points to you

I didn't k*ll her. I
don't know who did.

Seth.

Open the cell, will you?

[opening drawer]

I have to get out to
the Mitchell place right

away. May, will you make
out an arrest for money?

Yeah.

-Seth.
-Yeah.

Careful who you listen to.

You, too, May.

[music]

Gaines. Is it spelled G-A-I-N-E-S?

First name will?

Or is it William or Wilbur?

[crying]

Here take this.

The first name is just will.

My father was Wolver

And grandfather was Willie.

Kind of got shorter with
these generation, didn't it?

-I never thought of that.
-Yeah.

What else you want to know?

Where were you born?

Chelsea Illinois.

Never heard of that.

Must be about the size of 01:00.

Smaller, but

it's nicer.

I didn't mean that.

It's alright will.

Everybody thinks their
hometown is the nicest

place in the world.
Didn't you know that?

-I guess so.
-Sure.

Your parents living?

No.

Any living relative? I mean,
someone we could notify about this.

No.

Some close friend, maybe?

I had a close friend once.

That was a long time ago.

We used to go

You wouldn't be
interested in all that.

Yes I am.

Go on.

We used to go fishing together.

In Chelsea.

No, in upstate New York.

Father worked for the
railroads. We moved a lot.

This was near Terrytown,
near the Hudson River.

Tarrytown.

That's Rick Van
Winkle country, isn't it?

Yeah. The headless horseman.

Yeah.

This friend, he took me
to the churchyard with it.

People said the headless
horseman still rode.

Oh, sure.

The church is a legend
of the Sleepy Hollow.

At Night.

I wish you were scared.

Your headless horseman appear?

I don't know.

Had my eyes closed all the time.

Friend took me back
there the next day.

The spring day.

That was beautiful.

[music]

You ever see dogwood
trees and bloomed?

Oh, sure.

Yeah. I was born in New
England. Connecticut.

Dogwood blossoms are beautiful.
And lilacs, huh? You like them? Yeah

Nelm trees and maple.

Oh, yeah, Maples in the floor.

I miss all that.

Don't have it out here.

Well, no.

Now, this country is too brutal.

There's no place for
fragile flowers and trees

or people.

But there is a beauty here.

Kind of a majestic beauty.

Huge mountains and
towering pines and vast skies.

Don't misunderstand me.
I like things like that, too.

My friend used to tell me
that it was very important

that you liked as much of
what you saw as possible.

He said you live longer that way.

No matter how short your life is.

Your friend was very smart.

How long did you live in
New York? Terry telling me.

Only a year.

Father d*ed, and we moved away.

And your friend?

What happened to him?

He was my father.

Well, look at me.

You didn't k*ll Jesse
Mitchell, did you?

Oh, no. No, I wouldn't do
a thing like that. I couldn't.

I went outside and got sick
to my stomach after I found her.

Mrs. Ranson, you
got to believe me. I

didn't do it. I
swear I didn't do it.

Yes I.

[door closing]

Seth, he's innocent. I know
he is. He couldn't k*ll. It

isn't in him. He's good and
he's clean and he's honest.

And had a dirty liar.

Seth.

Oh, stop it. And stop coddling
him. He's a liar, I tell you.

about what?

About all that nice,
friendly relationship

between he and Jesse Mitchell.

You said it was all sugar and
spice, but I found out difference.

You and Jesse Mitchell
had a fight, a violent

fight, 4 hours before
she was m*rder*d.

A neighborhood every word of it.

Well, is that true?

Yes. But I didn't k*ll
her, Mrs. Ranson. I didn't.

Then why did you lie?

Why did you lie about being such
good friends with Jesse Mitchell?

We were only sometimes it was
hard to get along with. Got cranky.

Started arguments over nothing.
This was one of those arguments.

I wanted to tell you.
Sheriff thought I was

afraid to make things
look black for me .

hedgebloy. And I'm not
the only one who thinks so.

What do you mean? Who
else are you talking about?

I'm talking about.

Mark Thatcher and
Brown and Wadell and

a lot of people who
like Jesse Mitchell.

Didn't like what
happened to her.

Take it easy, man. They pin
the badge on me, remember?

-You can't let in.
-Get out of the way.

That's far enough.

You'll get him at a
regular trial and not before.

The people want them now.

That isn't the people
out there. That's riff wrap.

Alright. I'll tell them
that they're rifraff.

And I'll tell them it's
them against a sickly hired

hand that murders nice
old ladies for their money.

And a sickly hired
hand's noble protector.

[door closing]

[door closing]

Seth, what are we going to do?

Oh, don't worry about them.

They are rif raff.

They'll mill around till dark, and
it's time to go home for dinner.

And then they'll tell their wives
what great heroes they are.

And their wives will know
they're cowards, not heroes.

They'll be afraid to see it.

They'll become cowards
themselves. Seth. I know.

Seth the window.

No.

[g*n f*ring]

Lock the shutters near the shelf.

You go them in there.

[window closing]

[window closing]

What are you going to do?

Even up the sides a little.
Call the sheriff at Rock spring.

It'll only take him
about an hour to

get here. It's only
about 50 miles away.

Yeah.

-What's the matter?
-Phone's dead.

We got to the outside. What?

Oh, no.

[people shouting]

Turn off the lights.

You get a log of battering ram.

Hey, Ranson, can you hear me?

What do you want?

Will gaines

Either you hand them to us,
or we'll come and get them.

We got a batter and ram
here, and we mean business.

Do we got gaines?

Well, you're going to give him up?

No. It'll cost me my
job if I did, Thatcher.

If you don't, it may
cost you your life.

You got just five minutes to decide.

All right, man, let's get a ram.

Alright, May. Turn him on.

May, go down to the
basement. Remember that

hole in the wall and
back to the water heater?

You can get out that way
now. Go on, get out of here.

Oh, no, seth if you can stay
here and defend him, so can I.

Who said anything about staying?

I just want you
to get out first.

But you've got to stay.

We both do.

Why?

So we can get k*lled
protecting the m*rder*r.

Seth.

Sound like that?

I'd rather sound like Thatcher
than make no sound at all.

Now, listen to me, May.

Maybe he's guilty and maybe he isn't

but you and I are not going
to get k*lled because of him.

You're going. Understand?
I'll go check that back door.

[opening door]

This rents me. You
got to do what the sheriff

says. You got to leave.
They might k*ll you.

Well, you're worrying about
what they might do to me.

Don't you know what
they're going to do to you?

[trying to break door]

That door won't hold
out very long. Better get

started. May hear about
your g*n, just in case.

- Oh, yeah.
- Oh, I forgot the money.

Will, get out of there.

Get over behind this door. When
he comes out again, hit him.

-No, I couldn't do it.
-Go on. You got to.

There's some money in that desk.
We need everything we can get.

Oh.

There. Take this. You
may need it. Now go on, run.

No, not without you.

They'll k*ll you when he finds out
what you've done.They'll k*ll you.

No.

I'll tell him that I
walked too close to your

cell and and you got
the g*n away from me.

And you made me
open the cell, see?

And after you att*ck the
sheriff, then you knock me down.

And you know how to get
away because you overheard

the sheriff tell me how he
wanted me to get out, see?

Now, remember, you go
through our basement, into the

junkyard next door, and then
on through the woods beyond.

Head north, will
keep close to the river

beds until you get
to the railroad track.

Tell them I I think you went south.

Now, go on.

Run.

[people shouting]

[music]

Thinking about gaines huh?

Yeah.

Any calls while I was out?

no.

But the Gazette sent a copy
of the paper over. They want

you to call him after you
read the story in the front page.

Seth, an old landlady
was k*lled in South Dakota.

They caught the man
who m*rder*d her.

His name was John
Calder. He confessed.

What is all that to do with me?

He also confessed k*lling Jesse
Mitchell here at 01:00 6 months ago.

May.

Well, then Will
Gaines is innocent.

Yeah.

What about this guy
from South Dakota?

Oh, man. Thank God
he broke out of here. I'm

so glad he had the
courage to do what he did.

So am I, my darling.

So am I.

You were right, May.

No mayor for me if
Thatcher goes with it.

Oh, Seth.

Oh.

[music]

There's a post trip
to the Ranson story.

The next day, they got
some more good news.

A telegram from Will Gaines.

He'd read the news in a San
Francisco paper. He was fine.

I think the thing that I
like best about the story is.

There were no I told
you so is from May.

Very unusual a woman.

Oh, there are many wise words that
can be said from a's common sense.

Shakespeare said some of them.

Listen,

to thy known self be
true and it must follow his

night to day. Thou canst
not then be false to any man.