Original subtitles

Downloaded from YTS.MX

Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX

(BOAT ENGINE STARTING)

JONSY: Hey, Wexel, give me a hand with these fish.

I don't work for y'all.

I'm just here to get these cans.

You're real useful, Wexel.

Thanks a lot. I'm busy.

Jonsy, your breakfast is ready.

Okay, Grandma.

Wexel, let me see those spinners.

Your daddy sure makes good fishing lures.

We could sell those real fast.

Gonna cost you $6 this time.

Six? We've been paying five.

WEXEL: Things is going up all over.

VADIE: Come on, eat your breakfast.

I don't want you late for school again.

Okay, Grandma. I just got to check something first.

Grandma?

VADIE: What, honey?

You suppose you could advance me a little more money?

I could work it off.

Sorry, you've spent every penny on that old wreck.

It's an investment, Grandma.

Ain't nobody gonna pay you money to ride that old boat.

Listen, Wexel, a tourist will pay for anything.

I'm not going to tell you again.

Get in there and get that breakfast

and get ready for school.

How are things at home?

Your daddy feel any better, Wexel?

No, ma'am. He's talking about sending down to Memphis

so my aunt can come and take care of him.

My auntie's the meanest woman I've ever seen.

She's a conjure woman.

And I hate Memphis.

Got these cousins down there

who want to fight every time they see me.

Bye, Grandma. You ain't had time to eat no breakfast.

You come right home after school, you hear me?

Hey, Wexel, if you're gonna charge more for spinners,

I'm gonna charge you for those cans.

A dollar a bag.

They don't cost you nothing.

Think about it.

Maybe we could work out a deal.

(DOG BARKING)

You come with the 300?

Listen, Poley, I told you I won't pay more than 250.

Hundred down right now. I'll get the rest out of Grandma.

You don't want to buy that engine, you want to steal it.

How'd you think you got it?

Now, wait just a minute!

That's legal salvage, little missy.

I dove down that wreck and fetched it up myself.

It's all beat up. It'll have to be rebuilt.

New parts and everything.

That is a first-class engine.

Belonged to some doctors from up north.

And doctors don't get nothing that ain't first-class.

Come on, Poley. Nobody wants this thing but me.

$300 cash. That's my price.

There's other people wants it that can afford it.

MAN: Biting out there today, Vadie?

VADIE: Biting real good.

(CHUCKLING) Sure hope so.

Y'all catch some big ones now.

Hi, Cal.

Jonsy got some good sauce fiddlers this morning.

I'll wrap you up a few.

Much obliged, Vadie.

How come you ain't wearing your fishing clothes, Cal?

You loafing or working today?

I got a call from Stockman Prison, Vadie.

From a Dr. Cole, about Billy.

Doctor? Has he been hurt?

Dr. Cole runs the rehabilitation program up there.

He wants me to come and tell you personal.

Billy's getting out, Vadie.

He's been paroled.

There's a lot of paperwork you'll have to go through.

Dr. Cole will be calling you.

Vadie, what's the matter?

I don't know him anymore, Cal.

He wouldn't answer my letters,

he wouldn't let me visit him anymore.

Jonsy...

She's never even seen him.

Never seen her own father.

VADIE: Welcome home, son.

He killed somebody.

He was just a kid.

Tell you how he did it?

No. He ain't told me nothing.

Just looks through me like I ain't even there.

VADIE: Ain't it a pretty evening out here?

How's the fish and hush puppies, Billy?

Taste good, Mama.

I'd better make some more.

Guess the food in that place is pretty bad, huh?

Saw this show on TV about prisons.

Guys taking dope, stabbing each other with ice picks and stuff.

Know what they said they did?

Said they raped each other.

Is that true?

Of course, it's just television.

Everything on television is a lie anyway.

When... When guys rape each other,

what do they do exactly?

(MOTOR ROARING) From now on, you come out for the trawl line.

I got enough to do getting ready for school.

You can still handle a boat, can't you?

Yeah. Good.

There's some things you got to watch out for.

Like eddies and boils.

You know about eddies and boils?

An eddy's this whirlpool thing.

Whip you right under.

See that thing over there? That's a boil.

Flip over a boat like it was nothing.

BILLY: I grew up on the river.

Yeah, well, I'm just telling you stuff in case you forgot.

What made that scar?

Knife.

You ever stick a knife in anybody?

I'm just curious about stuff like that.

You get that in prison?

You got people in there give tattoos?

Done that myself.

A broken cross.

Real weird.

That mean something in prison?

I don't mind me getting a tattoo sometime.

Look, don't touch me.

I don't like to get touched.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

BILLY: The one thing I couldn't let myself do

in there was remember.

Not you, not home...

Much less I had a daughter someplace.

VADIE: Jonsy's so much like you were, Billy.

I was glad when Joyce ran away

and I had her to raise.

BILLY: I couldn't let anybody see what I was in that place.

VADIE: Dr. Cole said on the phone

it'd take time for you to adjust.

We're both trying real hard to get you...

Mama, did you ever hear from Joyce after she run off?

Yes, Billy. I did.

Some letters came a few years ago.

She'd married a man down in Memphis.

They had a new family, but they were divorced.

She wanted to see Jonsy.

She had no right to see Jonsy after what she did.

I was afraid she'd try to take her away from me.

I'd already lost you.

I couldn't afford to lose her, too.

God forgive me, I told her to stay away.

I'm tired, Mama.

Think I'll get some sleep.

Good night, son.

Grandma.

Go to sleep, honey. It's late.

I don't love anybody but you, Grandma. All I want is you.

My auntie's been all night trying to heal Daddy.

Burning candles, talking this funny language.

(SIGHS)

I think I've been kidding myself about this boat.

What kind of language? Conjure language.

She threw the Doctor out of the house

and put a hex on him, too.

Pretty soon, that doctor's gonna need a doctor his own self.

I ain't never gonna get this thing finished without some real help.

Everybody tells me my daddy's gonna be well...

But they're lying.

* Well, it's one for the money

* Two for the show Three to get ready

* Now go, cat, go

* But don't you Don't you

(RECORD SKIPPING) * Don't you Don't you

* Don't you Don't you

* Don't you

* Don't you Don't you

* Don't you

* Don't you

* Don't you Don't you *

(SCRATCHING)

What'd you save that junk for? Get rid of it.

These are not your things.

They're mine.

You got no right to harm them.

Don't you know what you did to me

when you wouldn't let me see you anymore?

I loved you!

I would have stuck by you, no matter what you did.

(DOOR CHIME TINKLES)

Nothing was more important than us keeping on as a family.

And you're still shutting me out.

Me and Jonsy.

Customer outside, Grandma.

(DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES)

There's some real good stuff in here.

Nostalgia stuff's worth money these days.

People buy anything, long as it's old.

Billy...

Could you give me a hand on the River Rat?

Billy McCain!

Sure never thought I'd see you around here again.

You know, I knowed your daddy when he was this high.

And Whitey, too.

Distributor and solenoid ain't no account.

Going to have to rebuild that generator right there, too.

(SHIP HORN HONKING)

POLEY: I couldn't hardly believe it when I heard

how much money them boys robbed.

JONSY: How much was there?

Only man knows for sure is right there.

Thousands and thousands of dollars, so they said.

Not a dollar of it saved, so they say.

What do you mean, so they say?

Oh, you know how these stories get built up.

Some people said them boys

hid that money downriver before they got caught.

JONSY: Like who?

POLEY: Oh, like Whitey's mama, for one.

Said Whitey told her.

How could he tell her anything? He got killed.

Well...

Said his ghost told her. Ghost?

You're weird, Poley.

Well, I ain't saying I believe it.

Educated people know there ain't no such thing as ghosts, probably.

But Whitey's mama swore he came to her one night.

Said he come right up to the bed and said, "Mama,

"there's enough money hid downriver

"to make you a rich woman."

How about that, Billy?

They say ghosts don't lie.

That money got burnt to ashes along with Whitey.

And your engine is junk. Junk?

Well, there's a man from Paducah offered me

$400 for that engine

JONSY: Billy, it ain't that bad. I need some parts.

POLEY: Billy, that's a first-class engine.

If you knew anything about engines...

I know that engine's junk, Poley.

I know you're a goddamn liar, like you always have been.

Get in the truck.

Well, now, hey, wait a minute, Billy.

(ENGINE STARTING) I mean, look, seeing as it's you,

I can throw in some extra parts.

Come on, Billy. Let's negotiate!

JONSY: You believe Poley going on about ghosts?

Boy, he looked like a ghost

when you made that move on him. You were great.

Billy...

How did Whitey get killed?

Burned up in a car wreck with the money.

Tell me about the robbery.

I mean, I know about it and everything,

but I want you to tell me the whole story.

Like how you went down the Mississippi and all...

It ain't a story to me.

You get the toolbox out of there.

Tell me about Joyce.

Am I like her?

Wasn't much older than me when you knocked her up.

Where did it happen?

Where did what happen?

Where did you do it? Where was I, you know, conceived?

In the car, I bet. Was that it Billy, in the back seat of a car?

That ain't none of your business.

If it ain't my business, it ain't nobody's.

That's why you did the robbery, I bet.

To get the money for an abortion.

They didn't have no abortions back then.

Sure they did, Billy.

You probably just didn't know about them, that's all.

Kids today know what their options are.

I just thought...

If she had gotten an abortion,

you'd be talking to air right now.

Just listening to it.

I got to talk so much because you never ask me nothing.

Ain't you interested?

Well, how you like school?

How you like prison?

Ask me something else.

What about boyfriends? You like boys, don't you?

I ain't no lezzie, if that's what you mean.

Where did you learn how to talk like that?

Like what?

Huh?

(TAPPING)

BILLY: Hold it up against that board.

That's just right.

Now we'll see what happens.

A straight line. (CHUCKLING)

(POWER TOOL WHIRRING)

Hey, y'all, come eat your sandwiches.

We'll leave that in there about 30 seconds, that's all.

(WHIRRING)

Pull it out.

Mighty fine.

Two little taps is all it takes.

Perfect.

(WHIRRING)

BILLY: Ah... Be careful.

Don't want to have to paint that thing twice.

Good.

Real good.

JONSY: Whoo! (CHEERING)

JONSY: Hey, Poley. How you like her?

Engine runs good, huh?

Didn't have to rebuild that generator after all.

Wish we could keep going.

Take a real shakedown cruise.

Why can't we? Take it down to Memphis, maybe.

It ain't that far.

That'd be great.

Sheriff Wade says you can't leave the county.

It ain't up to no Sheriff Calvin Wade.

That's right, Dr. Cole.

Memphis is just a few hours away on the river.

It amounts to a little overnight camping trip.

I talked it over with Billy's mother.

We both feel the more time he has with his daughter, the better.

Is he going to let us go? Don't know.

Thank you, Dr. Cole.

Dr. Cole says you can go.

(CHUCKLING)

Hey, Billy.

You know what we ought to do when we get to Memphis?

Go see Elvis's house.

They say it's fantastic.

All his clothes are in the closets and everything.

Listen here, Jonsy. Too bad how he ended up though.

Sad.

It ain't good to count on things too much.

That's the truth.

There he was. He had everything in the world.

Then look what happened. I ain't talking about Elvis.

You mean nobody can never count on nothing?

I already know that.

I guess you do.

JONSY: Wexel, Billy and I are having a private conversation.

What do you want, anyway?

My daddy... He died.

(DOG BARKING IN THE DISTANCE)

We're closed.

Billy, it's Dr. Cole.

Hello, Billy.

Doc.

What are you doing here?

This place is just like you described it.

Lovely and peaceful.

Is that the boat you been working on with your daughter?

Boy, that's very impressive.

Of course, I don't know a thing about boats.

Where is your family?

They went to a funeral.

What do you want?

(SIGHS)

Something's happened, Billy.

Up at the prison.

It's going to mean a change in our plans.

We got to talk.

(VEHICLE APPROACHING)

BILLY: We ain't talking here.

You get in that skiff right there.

(ENGINE STARTS)

I'm going to check the River Rat.

You change out of your good clothes first.

Who's that with Billy?

Fishing customer, probably.

(BOTH ARGUING)

Want to go back there?

I can take you back to Stockman

and put your ass right back in there.

Doc, I need more time!

DOC COLE: I got no time!

What's that noise?

No, Billy! Billy, I can't swim! No, Billy!

(ENGINE ROARING)

Wexel!

Wexel, answer me, you little Satan!

Wexel, where are you?

That bus is leaving for Memphis tomorrow.

And we're gonna be on it.

Wexel!

You come back here!

Wexel!

Wexel!

Come back here!

(ENGINE SPUTTERING)

MAN ON TV: There's a storm front moving in off the coast.

We can expect thundershowers

and a slight drop in temperature for a couple days.

But until then, there'll be plenty of sunshine,

and the mercury will stay in the 90s.

(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)

Help me.

(GROANING) Please help.

Help. Help.

(COUGHING)

(GASPS) POLEY: Hey! Where are you going?

You steal something?

(COUGHING)

(GROANS)

Help me.

Please help me.

Yes, sir. That's what I'm trying to do.

If you let go of my arm,

I'll go fetch you a doctor. No. No doctor.

No doctor. Help me.

Please help me. I'll...

I'll pay you.

I'll pay you.

JONSY: We're doing it.

I can't believe, but we're finally doing it.

Okay if I take the wheel?

Morning.

How you doing?

You feeling all right this morning?

Beck is the name. Poley Beck.

You have you an accident on the river?

Yeah, an accident. My boat went down.

Oh, where'd she sink?

Might be I could salvage her for you.

Charge you a fair price.

Anybody else on board? No.

So you're a doctor, huh?

Oh. Well...

I saw your I.D. In your billfold

when I was, uh, checking.

Saw you work at Stockman Prison.

You know McCain's boat dock?

Sure do.

You here to see Billy on prison business?

Wexel, what the hell are you doing in there?

How'd he get here? He hid out. That's what he's done.

Doggone you, Wexel. You ain't getting away with this.

I'm turning this boat around right now.

WEXEL: No, I ain't going back. I'm scared.

He's got this aunt he's scared of.

It ain't her. I've seen something.

A man. He tried to get me.

We turn back, we'll lose half a day, damn it.

He come out of the bog by that flashing light.

He come after me.

JONSY: This beats anything I ever saw.

You ain't going to horn in on this trip, Wexel.

You're going home.

Get up here and sit down, boy.

What man? What did he look like?

This big man wearing white.

You're lying to me, boy. You ain't seen no man.

I seen him. I seen him. I swear I did.

He must have seen something to be that scared.

Take it easy, Wexel. It's okay.

That Mr. Poley was there, too.

I was scared of the man. And I had no place else to go.

JONSY: We got to take him back.

People will be worried about him.

We ain't going back. We're going to Memphis.

You got kinfolks there, ain't you, Wexel?

My cousins. I hate them, too.

Tough. When we get there, you're going to call them to come and get you.

We're not going to be saddled with you both legs of this trip.

(DOOR CHIME TINKLES)

(MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)

VADIE: Something I can do for you, Poley?

Uh, yes, ma'am. The Doctor asked me to pick up his car.

What doctor? What car?

Well, he said he left it here yesterday evening when he put his boat out.

That's an empty driveway out there, Poley.

There ain't been no doctor with no boat.

Billy took a man out in the skiff last night, but the man left.

What are you up to?

Took him out in the skiff, you said?

I'm busy, Poley. What do you want?

I saw Billy and Jonsy this morning on the river.

Where are they headed? To Memphis.

You ain't making no sense and I ain't got the time to fool with you.

Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry to trouble you.

(CHIME TINKLES)

(TAPPING)

Hey, when are we going to eat?

(COUNTRY SONG PLAYING)

* He'd get the fever on Saturday night

* Hotter than fat on the fire

* Let's check out the action

* At the chicken delight

* Hop in, oh There ain't no stopping

* Rock on Rock on the bayou

* Hot night

(ENGINE SPUTTERING)

* Rock on Rock on the bayou

* I'm gonna rock on forever

* I got a bottle

Hey, where we going?

* Honey, I'm yours if you want me

* Step on the throttle Turn the radio up

* Hold tight, oh We're doin' all right

* Rock on Rock on the bayou

* Hot nights on the river

* Rock on Rock on the bayou

* We're gonna rock on forever

* Forever

What the hell do you think you are doing, girl?

You get some clothes on!

Ain't nobody here with us.

What do you think that is, driftwood?

Wexel, go. Get back.

Don't worry about Wexel.

We've been going skinny-dipping since he's been walking.

Get out of that water. No! No, never mind.

What's the matter with you?

Wexel! (MUTTERING)

JONSY: I guess you're worried about incest, huh?

It's just natural.

To be worried about it, I mean.

Do you even know what those words mean?

I saw a film about it at school.

You wouldn't believe how many families got incest in 'em.

If it bothers you, the best thing to do

is just come right out in the open and talk about it.

There are things that you're not supposed to be talking about.

You don't talk about things like that

just like they was something else.

Maybe if you had, you wouldn't have got Joyce in trouble.

Engine fixed?

POLEY: Sure a run of bad luck, Doctor.

First you lost your boat.

Now your car's gone.

How far is Memphis by bus?

Oh, two, three hours.

You going after Billy, huh?

He done something wrong?

Maybe he had something to do with that boat ride y'all took last night,

when you had your accident?

I told you what happened. No, sir. You lied to me!

No, that ain't right.

Here it is, I saved your life!

You ain't told me the truth about nothing!

Not about your boat, nor your car, nor Billy.

What puzzles me is, why is Billy going down the river?

Billy ever talk to you about that money?

What money?

That money he stole.

Everybody said it was burnt up.

But I know for a fact it's hidden downriver somewheres.

What are you talking about, Mr. Beck?

Somebody who was there said there's enough money

hid downriver to make a man rich.

Of course, educated people don't believe it...

Billy told you about that money?

Yeah.

Billy told me about it.

(CHUCKLING) It's true, ain't it?

I knowed it was true!

I knew that money didn't burn up!

No, it's hid downriver, ain't it?

(CHUCKLING) And Billy's gone after it!

You know where it is, too, don't you, Doc?

And you're going to tell...

Ain't you?

(GROANS)

(GROANS)

(WHIMPERING)

JONSY: What's wrong, Billy?

You ain't said anything for miles. Ain't you happy?

BILLY: Yes, baby, I'm happy.

I want to tell you about it.

About what? Robbery, murder.

I want you to understand what happened.

It was Whitey, Joyce and me.

Fooling around, like we always did. Had us a picnic.

Whitey stole some beer someplace.

This old widow woman lived on the river.

Us kids all grew up having nightmares about her.

Everybody said her husband died,

left her millions of dollars.

She was crazy.

JONSY: Crazy how?

BILLY: She lived like a hermit.

Nobody ever saw her, except glimpses.

Come on.

BILLY: They said she had all that money hid in the house,

in the walls, and she'd shoot anybody come near it.

Whitey and me thought it'd be fun to give Joyce a good scare.

She said that she'd do anything we'd do.

So we decided to break in the house.

Hadn't nobody ever been in there.

We weren't looking to steal anything.

Just maybe take something to prove to the other kids we'd been there.

(LAUGHING)

Hey, come here. Let's go upstairs. Come on. Come on.

I'm not going up there.

You said you'd do anything we do.

Not me. I'm not gonna go up there. Uh-uh.

BILLY: Being there wasn't enough for Whitey.

He had to see that old woman.

He always had to push things to the limit.

He liked trouble the way some people like fishing.

(MEOWING)

She just looked like a pile of rags laying there.

It was just a game. That's all.

It was just something to do.

Hey, Whitey.

Look at this.

We couldn't believe it.

There couldn't be that much money in the whole wide world.

Not doing anybody any good, except her cats.

(CATS SCREECHING) He didn't even think.

He just snatched that gun...

He said she'd have killed us if he hadn't.

(SCREAMING)

Billy! Come on!

I was too scared to think.

I just left her there, screaming.

I never will forget how he looked.

Like it was the best game we ever played.

Like there was nothing wrong.

We headed off down the Mississippi.

Now, we knew if they caught us, they'd be out for blood.

But the more we drifted,

the more it was like nothing had happened.

Like it was a dream or something.

Something about that river seemed to make everything all right.

If we'd have stayed on the river, maybe we'd have been safe.

We went ashore, though, and stole a car.

And the cops got you.

Yeah.

Whitey died, the money burned.

Joyce made a deal.

Or her daddy did.

She was a witness against me.

And they gave me life.

But Whitey killed her, not you. You were just there.

Yeah.

(SHIP HORN HONKING)

JONSY: Is that Memphis? It is!

Billy, it's Memphis!

I hate Memphis.

(MUSIC PLAYING) JONSY: Come on, Wexel.

WEXEL: Where's the music coming from?

There must be a band up there.

JONSY: Where there are tourists. The place is swarming with them.

There's a telephone booth standing over there.

Want you to call those cousins of yours and tell them to come get you.

I ain't got no money.

You worry people enough already.

Tell your cousins to call your aunt and tell her you're okay.

Why come I can't stay with y'all?

(MAN CHATTERING OVER P.A.)

What are we gonna do first?

We're going to see your mother.

(PLAYING TRUMPET)

(INDISTINCT MUSIC PLAYING)

(EXHALES)

Go on.

I'm looking for Joyce.

Hey, Ma, some guy's here.

* Take no prisoners

* Take no prisoners

* We're gonna take no prisoners *

(MUSIC CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY) (DOOR CLOSES)

Jonsy?

BILLY: I've come to see you, Joyce.

I'm out.

What do you want?

To talk.

To talk in there.

I had to testify, Billy. (DOOR CLOSES)

I had no choice. They were gonna send me to jail, too.

I ain't here about that.

Who are you guys?

Uh, I guess I'm your sister...

Sort of.

Your half-sister.

I already got a half-sister.

She lives with Daddy.

BILLY: I've been thinking about you every night for the last 13 years.

How come you run off, Joyce?

There wasn't any word or no letters.

There wasn't nothing.

You went to prison for life.

I had a baby. I was barely 16 years old.

What'd you come here for?

In prison, you get to thinking that if you could just get out of there,

ain't nothing you couldn't do.

I come to see if there's a chance.

You got to go.

Somebody's going to be here any minute.

You got a man.

I got a lot of men.

I ain't asking you to just pick up and run off with me.

I just want you to think about it.

What's that guy want with Ma?

BILLY: There's something else, too.

That money we took is still there, most of it.

I'm going after it for us.

Money?

BILLY: It's our money, free and clear.

I paid for it with 13 years out of my life. (SONG STOPS PLAYING)

We could have a life together.

I don't know you.

You're just something that happened a long time ago.

You ruined my life for a stupid kid's joke!

(DOOR OPENS) JONSY: Billy.

Billy, we got to get out of here.

Jonsy, wait.

Don't leave.

I've got to talk to you.

To explain.

It wasn't all my fault.

Jonsy.

Please, talk to me.

It's okay.

Maybe I would've run away, too, if I'd been you.

(DOOR SHUTS)

Why didn't you tell me about the money?

I couldn't tell you.

You couldn't tell me, but you told her?

Shouldn't have told her. I shouldn't have told nobody.

That's what this is all for, weren't it?

Building the boat, the trip.

Everything was for the money and Joyce.

Why did they let you out? Why didn't they just keep you in jail?

You think they let me out of there?

I bought my way out of there with that damn money.

Everything in Stockman is for sale, honey.

Dr. Cole is the one who fixes who gets out and who don't.

I made a deal to get the money for him.

But they were about to catch up with him,

and something bad happened. What happened?

He showed up threatening to take me back to jail

if I didn't get the money for him right then. He put a gun on me.

Thought I'd killed him.

I didn't aim to or nothing.

That man's crazy, baby.

He's a killer.

Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you.

Can't nobody help me.

I got to get away by myself.

I am putting you on a bus for home.

(SHIP HORN HONKING)

Doggone you, Wexel, you were supposed to call your cousins.

Wasn't nobody home.

It don't matter. You and me are taking a bus up home anyway.

WEXEL: It's him. It's that man!

Well, Billy.

You let us all down.

I'll get that money for you, Doc, without any tricks.

Just let them children go.

And they're gonna keep all those secret, is that it?

Now look, Billy, I got to have that money.

And so do you.

I'll make a deal with you, I'll split it with you equally.

That way we'll both have a stake

in getting there safely.

But I'm warning you, Billy. One more betrayal...

Well, children,

we're going to have ourselves an adventure.

We're going to go on a good old-fashioned treasure hunt.

We're gonna find the treasure,

go our separate ways, and we're all gonna live happily ever after.

It's going to be fun.

Hold it, boys. Don't get near the body.

COP: Thought you was all finished with him, Sheriff.

I am. It's you boys I'm thinking of.

COP: What do you mean, Sheriff?

This place is full of poison ivy.

DOC COLE: * Row, row, row your boat

* Gently down the stream

* Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

WEXEL: * Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream

DOC COLE: Come on, Jonsy!

* Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream

* Merrily, merrily merrily, merrily

* Life is but a dream

Ha-ha! * Row, row, row your boat

* Gently down the stream

DOC COLE: That's it, Jonsy, sing!

* Down the stream...

* Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream

* Merrily, merrily merrily, merrily... (THUDDING)

(SCREAMS)

(GASPING)

You got to stop! He's gonna drown!

(TURNS OFF THROTTLE)

You ain't a killer, baby.

BILLY: Come on!

(COUGHING)

Get us back to shore.

It's easy to be a murderer, isn't it, Jonsy?

Wasn't nobody murdered.

I always said, life is full of surprises.

Right, sport?

I ain't murdered nobody.

Good for you, sport. Good for you.

(TOOLS RATTLING)

* There we were

* Tryin' not to break it

* In the end

* I guess we couldn't take it

* Still, you know I miss you so

Hey, dude, wait up.

* Maybe next time

* We'll be ready for love

* And we'll never have to say goodbye

* Maybe next time

* If we're ready for love

* We won't have to cry

* And our love is gonna shine *

How long do we have to stay here?

All night.

We ain't rigged for night running.

Damn these mosquitoes, obnoxious music.

All right. Everybody stays on the boat.

Don't talk to nobody.

We're out of food. If we want to eat tonight,

somebody has to get some.

(SIGHS)

That hot dog stand right there will be just fine.

You go get it, Billy,

and you keep in sight.

I'll just stay here with the children.

How far to the money, Billy?

How long?

Okay.

Okay. Play it your way.

The power of environment.

That's what makes men criminals, Jonsy.

I suppose I'm proof after 20 years at Stockman.

But now you, Billy,

you grew up in an idyllic environment, huh?

Full of sunshine and love,

and yet you murdered that old woman.

He didn't! He was just there.

Whitey did it all!

Is that what he told you?

You kind of changed your story, didn't you, Billy?

You're lying.

I never knew a con yet that wasn't innocent.

BILLY: You know you're lying.

DOC COLE: There's always somebody else to blame.

Go after her. Bring her back.

(SLOW MUSIC PLAYING)

Jonsy!

* There's so many teachers

* And too many liars

* I've made some mistakes

* And Lord knows I've tried

* To make it right

* There's so many reasons why

* Here in the darkness

* I see it so clear

* And if there's a heaven

* It has to be here

* It's got to be wherever you are *

You lied to me again.

No, I didn't, baby.

I swear, Doc's the one that's lying.

He's trying to play us off against each other.

I don't believe you.

Hell, ain't nobody ever has believed me.

I don't guess you're any different.

I don't care if you killed nobody.

It doesn't matter.

Baby, it matters a lot.

It matters a whole lot.

I believe you.

I believe you didn't do it.

We got to stick together, okay?

When we get the money,

we'll just keep going together.

I'll help you and things.

But you got to promise me

that you'll take me with you when you get the money.

It okay if I dance with your girl?

Leave us alone.

Dance with him if you want to.

I don't want to. Why not?

I don't know how. What do you mean, you don't know how?

Every kid knows how to dance.

Not me.

I used to know how to dance.

If I ain't forgot, I'll show you.

You got dancing in prison?

We got everything in prison. Look here now.

Step down a little.

Now come back this way.

Now step up a little.

Now step back.

Now step back. Now turn sideways one time.

Now step back. Step back here.

Now step up here.

Step up. Step back.

Step down.

Life is full of surprises, huh, sport?

How about some dessert?

(CHUCKLES) Dessert?

You got room for dessert after all that popcorn?

Yeah...

How about ice cream?

You like ice cream?

Let's get some ice cream. Maybe it'll cool us off.

He couldn't have done it, Cal.

The police was here after they'd already gone.

We don't really know where they went when they left here.

I called the authorities in Memphis. They'll talk to Joyce.

The Coast Guard'll be looking for them on the river.

Vadie, that's evidence.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

My auntie say

thunder means the devil's walking,

looking for souls to catch.

You shut up about your auntie.

You're as crazy as she is.

She says she seen the devil up in St. Louis.

Sure. Where else?

My daddy used to say this old river had one ghost a mile.

He'd tell us about pirates and soldiers, Indians.

He'd say, "Look yonder, there goes one of them right now."

(CHUCKLES) I never did look in time.

Why do we try to frighten our children

with stories of the supernatural?

The natural world is far more terrifying.

(THUNDER CRASHING)

Come on, Wexel, let's get inside.

What's the matter with you?

I don't know. I'm sick.

Got an infection.

Allergic reaction to the sun

or the mosquitoes or this damn river.

Billy, we got to get off this river.

We're staying on this river.

Why? So that another accident can happen?

Now, I'm warning you, Billy. I'm warning you. One more trick...

I saved you back there, now didn't I?

Billy.

Something happened upriver, Billy.

A man was murdered.

A fat, dirty, little man named Poley Beck.

You killed Poley Beck?

I didn't kill him, Billy. Why would I kill him?

I didn't even know the man.

No, you see...

There was this little gold necklace found on the body.

An Elvis Presley necklace with your initials on the back.

So you see, Billy.

You see, you're going to need me now more than ever.

Billy!

Billy, be careful!

(EXPLOSION)

What is it?

What is it?

I don't know.

Lightning must have struck something.

All right, inside.

Get inside. Everybody inside!

All right.

All right, we've all been telling ghost stories.

Now you tell a story, Billy.

You tell me where that money is. Now.

We left the river about a day from here.

I hot-wired this Cajun's car. Skip the details.

Just tell me where the money is.

I'm telling you how to get there, Doc.

BILLY: We passed through a little crossroads

called Devil's Head, Louisiana.

(TIRES SQUEALING) Our luck had run out.

I went speeding right past this cop.

(SIREN BLARING)

Whitey said if they caught us, they'd burn us both.

He brought them all down on us.

DOC COLE: I'm warning you, Billy. Quit stalling.

BILLY: The road dead-ended at this Cajun cemetery.

There was a funeral just letting out.

(PEOPLE SCREAMING)

Whitey looked dead.

I figured they'd kill me, too, if they got me.

So I run.

But you took the money with you.

Huh?

You hid the money after the accident, not before.

Where?

Okay, get back. Get away from the car! Move!

BILLY: I couldn't let them catch me with that money.

I had to get rid of it.

(LAUGHING)

I'm betting you hid the money in a coffin.

That's perfect.

All right now, Billy,

what was the name of the cemetery?

BILLY: The Cajuns called it La Croix Cassee.

"The broken cross."

DOC COLE: Good.

Now, what's the name on the grave?

Tell me the name, Billy.

JONSY: Don't tell him, Billy. He'll kill us.

Tell me the name on the grave!

I'll tell you! Just leave her alone, Doc.

Take it easy. I'll tell you.

Billy.

Billy, look.

Lightning struck a barge! That's a runaway!

Start the engine! Put it in reverse!

We got to get out of here. That thing is going to blow up.

Billy, the barge. We've got to see if anybody's alive!

There's nothing we can do, baby.

If Doc hasn't been killed, he'll be right after us.

Besides, this place is gonna be crawling with Coast Guard. We can't stay here.

(GASPS)

It's all right, baby.

We'll be there soon. It'll all be over.

I don't want it to be over.

(PANTING)

You ought to let me get you to a doctor, mister.

No, that's all right. I'll take care of it.

I've been eaten up by mosquitoes, I must be allergic to them.

(CHUCKLES) That ain't no mosquito.

That's poison ivy.

Poison ivy?

You must have laid down and wallowed in it.

I had it worse than that when I was a kid.

Eyes swollen shut.

Whole body swole up like a tomato.

My own mama didn't recognize me.

I'm serious, mister.

That's gonna get a whole lot worse unless you get help.

(CHUCKLING)

(SHIP HORN HONKING)

Think she'll be safe here? Oh, yeah.

Maybe we'll find a way to get her back home.

Guess we can do anything once we get the money.

When are we gonna eat?

Better find something.

First thing we gotta do is find a way to get Wexel back home somehow.

Then we can go anyplace we want.

Listen, baby... How far's the cemetery?

It's a few miles that way.

WEXEL: Do we have to walk all that way?

JONSY: How else we going to get there?

JONSY: Look at what they've done.

Figure it'll still be there?

What's the matter, Billy. Why are you stopping here?

BILLY: I was just wondering what kind of man

would take children into a place like this.

JONSY: It's only a graveyard.

BILLY: Yeah.

There's so many tombs.

You know which one it is?

Yeah.

Lying on a body all those years.

Will we still be able to spend it, won't we?

Let me tell you something, darlin'.

This ain't no damn game we're playing.

Doc didn't kill Poley Beck. He made it look like I did.

They out there looking for me right now.

Doc killed Poley? Yeah.

I ain't gonna let them send me to jail for it either.

I'll die first.

I can tell them about Doc. They'd believe me.

Yeah, they'd believe you'd lie for me.

We ain't gonna have no life together, baby.

I ain't meant to have a life.

All I can do is run.

No, Billy. Listen, maybe if you turned in the money,

they'd believe you.

If we just went back with the money together,

they'll know we were telling the truth about Doc.

I'd make them believe us.

It's all over, baby.

Quit dreaming.

It doesn't have to be over, Billy.

We'll go to Sheriff Cal with the money, he'll believe us then.

Billy, it'd be all right if we just turned in the money.

Don't touch it.

Don't.

(GRUNTS) (GASPS) No!

Billy!

DOC COLE: Children!

Where are you, children?

(PANTING)

Don't run away from me, children.

Jonsy?

Jonsy?

Wexel.

Where are you, children?

I'm not going to hurt you.

(STAMMERS) I just want to talk to you.

I want to explain things to you.

Jonsy? Sport?

Come on, now. This is old Doc.

Come on, now. Come on out.

I can see you in there, children.

Come on now. I know you're in there. Come on out.

Come on out and talk to me.

You know, I'm gonna get angry, children.

(GROANS)

Billy!

Don't die, please! Don't die.

Please! Mr. McCain.

Billy, Billy...

He's coming back.

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

WEXEL: Then this barge come and blowed up, man.

Then we come to this graveyard.

And he chopped open that grave.

I seen them cat food boxes laying on that dead skeleton.

Then here come Doc. He looked just like a big monster.

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

(SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE)

My cousins see me coming this time.

Man, they better watch out.

(SPEAKING FRENCH) WEXEL: How come you talk like that?

I can't understand a word they're saying.

All right, you're ready to talk to me now?

Did you call Sheriff Cal?

Getting a plane. Be here this afternoon.

All right, no more tall tale.

What the hell were you doing in that graveyard at the middle of the night?

You know tourists.

They'll do anything.

I got to see Billy now.

Don't worry, chere. He is not hurt real bad.

He's a pretty lucky fella, your papa.

You're a long way from home, huh, chere?

We came down the river together.

Daddy loves the river.

He loves taking me places with him, too.

When we get back home and get settled and everything,

we're going to plan another trip somewhere.

We're just going to keep traveling.

See the whole country, maybe.

Baby...

Whatever happens,

whatever they do to me in here,

you're my daughter, and I love you.

Ready to answer my questions now?

Keep away from him!

He didn't do anything. It was Dr. Cole.

Everything was for the money.

Money? What money?

What money you talking about?

What's going on around here?

Look, look over there.

Look! There's more.

Look!

Easy, Jonsy.

Cal.

It's just poison ivy.

I found Poley Beck dead in a patch of it.

That's where he must've got it.

He's covered with it, Sheriff Cal.

Doc is. Dr. Cole.

That proves he killed Poley.

You got to believe me.

I know all about Dr. Cole, Jonsy.

(DOOR RATTLES)

JONSY: What's going to happen to Billy?

We'll keep him home.

DOC COLE: I'm sorry, sport.

I guess after what you've been through,

you'll be glad to stay in your own backyard a while, eh?

Our backyard's the Mississippi river.

* Follow me

* Whispers the river's song

* Come back to me

* Softly she sings

* Gently she brings me home

* And the tears are washed away

* On the tide of a slow-movin' dream

* Where she rocks me to sleep

* While she sings the river's song

* Stay with me

* Whispers the river's song

* Come away with me

* Follow your heart

* Reach out your hand and hold on

* The wind begins to rise

* As it carries my soul on its wings

* Above the shimmering water that sings

* The river's song

* Secrets run deep

* And she hides them beneath her smile

* She's as silent as sleep

* Till the rain and the thunder

* Rise up and drive her wild

* Oh, won't you follow me?

* Whispers the river's song

* Come back to me

* Softly she sings

* Gently she brings me home

* The tears are washed away

* On the tide of a slow-movin' dream

* Where she rocks me to sleep

* While she sings the river's song *