Original subtitles

You must be getting trigger happy in your old age.

Never did take a chance on a hired gun.

Especially one as fast as you, Davis.

There'’s no law against posting a warning

to a pack of sheepherders.

I ain'’t taking you in for posting no sign.

I'’m taking you in for murder.

♪ [ trumpet ]

Howdy, folks. I'’m the Old Ranger.

A gunman'’s reputation depended on various factors.

A fast draw, backbone, and a killer instinct.

In the fall of 1896 in Albion, Idaho,

there was a man who was known to be one of the fiercest gunslingers in the territory.

And they called him...

This here'’s Mr. Hawley, your lawyer.

If you ask me, it'’s a waste of money.

Company send you?

Yes. Name is Hawley, James H. Hawley.

Well, just get me out of here, Mr. Hawley.

I have one question I ask all of my clients.

Are you guilty?

Well, what do you think?

Don'’t fence with me, Davis.

I asked you a question.

Well,

bushwhacking a man ain'’t my style.

Then you didn'’t do it.

[ sighs ]

A man with a gun as fast as mine

don'’t need to ambush nobody, mister.

This isn'’t gonna be easy to prove.

Well, that'’s what they're paying you for.

Prosecutor thinks he has a strong case against you.

He'’s, uh, gonna hit you with everything

in the books.

Yeah?

Yeah. I'’ll bet they'll make a real big hullabaloo

about this whole thing, huh?

It'’d be all over the territory.

That appeals to you? The possibility of hanging?

Hanging?

Nobody saw the killings. Where-Where'’s their case against me?

Well, you had motive.

There was bad blood between you and Wilson.

[ grunts ]

Look. He was a sheep man.

And I work for the cattle company.

Now, that'’s what they hired me for, to run sheepers off.

It was nothing personal.

Prosecution has witnesses who can place you

in the Shoshone Basin on the night of the killing.

Well, sure, I was there.

So, what does that prove?

So, what else have they got against me?

Your reputation.

You'’re known as a gunman.

I never drew first in my life.

They can'’t hang a man

for having a reputation.

They can try.

Circumstantial evidence

has sent more than one man to the gallows.

Look, what do you want from me?

The truth.

Prosecutor is going to paint you

as a conscienceless killer.

I'’ve got to prove that you'’re not.

But I can'’t defend you unless I know

more about your background.

What'’s my background got to do with all this?

It'’s putting a noose around your neck.

That'’s what it's got to do with it.

All right.

How many men have you actually killed?

Who counts?

Where beside Albion

are you known as a fast gun?

You name the town, they all know Jack Davis.

For instance?

I can'’t remember names.

There are other ways of finding out.

Marshal? [ door opens ]

Just get me out of here

and keep your nose out of what happened before!

What'’d I tell you?

He ain'’t worth it.

I'’m paid to defend him, not to like him.

Mr. Puckett.

Well? How'’s our new charge?

Well, he won'’t win any blue ribbons,

I can tell you.

Is he guilty?

He says he isn'’t.

Do you believe him?

I don'’t know yet. He'’s a strange man.

He seems to revel in that black reputation of his.

Oh, it'’s black, all right.

Half the town'’s convinced it had to be Jack Davis.

As if it were expected of him.

Those two star witnesses the prosecution has.

Bower and Gray. What have you come up with on them?

Uh, they'’re partners in what seems to be a successful cattle ranch.

Bower, from what I was able to discern, is the boss.

Cool, tough businessman, not many friends.

His partner, however, Jefferson Gray,

is a somewhat incongruous entity.

From what I gathered,

Gray is not too bright.

In fact, he'’s, uh, somewhat unstable.

Maybe we can break down his reliability as a witness.

Another thing.

Mr. Gray seems to be some kind of a fanatic.

Fear of God, fire, brimstone, etcetera, etcetera.

It'’s all here in my report.

I'’m sure it is, William.

I want you to wire Abilene,

Tombstone, Lewiston, a couple of other cow towns.

See what they know about Jack Davis.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Hawley,

if I may venture an opinion?

This isn'’t going to be an easy case.

Murders never are.

"Never heard of Davis."

W.T. Toomey, Sheriff, Lewiston.

Abilene, Tombstone, Mandeville, none of them

have ever heard of Jack Davis.

Same with Dodge, Las Cruces, Laramie, and Lawrenceburg.

I wonder. Sir?

So, they never heard of me in those places.

So, what does it prove?

You tell me.

Well, it'’s simple.

I never drew first on a man. It was always self-defense.

They ain'’t got no records of me in those towns.

You mean you could just ride into a town,

get into a gunfight, shoot a man,

and turn around and ride out again without creating a commotion?

You expect me to believe that?

I don'’t care what you believe.

I'’ll tell you what I do believe.

You came carousing into this town.

And by shooting up the saloon on several occasions,

you talked your way into getting hired as a professional gun

by that cattle company.

Then you strutted around,

spouted stories about the gunfights you had.

And that was how you built yourself a reputation.

Get out.

You'’re a fraud, Davis.

Three-carat fraud.

I'’m gonna prove it in court. It'’s your only defense.

I said for you to get out.

[ crowd chatters ]

[ crowd greets Davis ]

Like to thank you all for coming over here.

Don'’t worry about anything. It'’ll be over soon.

Thanks for coming.

[ laughing ]

You hear that? I'’m somebody, mister. I'’m Diamond Field Jack.

They'’ll never convict me, never.

CROWD: Hi.Hey.

Now, Mr. Gray,

were you in the Shoshone Basin

the night the two sheep men,

John Wilson and Dan Cummings, were murdered?

Yes, sir, I sure was, and that'’s the gospel.

LAWYER: According to your statement,

you encountered one Jack Davis.

Also known as Diamond Field Jack.

In what direction was he riding?

Toward those dirty sheepherders'’ campsite.

That'’s the Lord's truth.

LAWYER: Mr. Bower, you stated you were in the basin the night of the murder

with your partner, Mr. Gray.

Yeah.

And you also encountered Jack Davis.

That'’s right. He stopped and talked to me.

Oh? What did he say?

He said he was gonna smoke out those filthy sheepherders,

run '’em off the range.

That'’s right.

Diamond Field Jack did this.

I didn'’t know him, who he was.

I never would have drawn against a man with his reputation.

Why, he could'’ve killed me.

Yes, but he didn'’t.

And isn'’t it true that you provoked the fight with him,

because you were a sheepherder and he worked

for the cattle people?

Well, I was kind of liquored up at the time.

Yes. Instead of killing you,

Jack Davis shot the gun out of your right hand.

Isn'’t that correct?

Sure. Well, killing a fellow

who'’s stony high drunk don't add to your reputation

none, you know. [ crowd laughs ]

I think this would be a good time to call a recess.

It'’s lunch time anyway.

One hour.

[ chatter ]

Why? Why do you refuse to testify on your own behalf?

That noose is as good as around your neck right now.

I told you, they won'’t convict me.

Jack, look at me.

I said look at me.

Is it really worth your life

for people to think that you'’re a fast gun, a killer?

You were born right, weren'’t you?

The right family, the right school, the right job.

My old man was a handyman.

He swept out saloons and washed dishes.

Things like that.

He was trash.

You hated him.

No. I didn'’t hate him.

I loved him.

You said he was trash.

Yeah.

They made him trash.

Dirty saddle tramps.

They made fun of Pa.

Pushed him around. They laughed at him.

He died in an alley in Evening Shade.

And that'’s when I made up my mind

I was gonna be worth my weight in diamonds.

That'’s all I talked about, man. Diamonds!

I wasn'’t more than knee high when they began to call me Diamond Field Jack.

Why did you decide to be a gunslinger?

I tried everything else.

Then one day I strapped on a .45.

And I began to talk big.

And the bigger I talked, the more they believed me.

I became somebody.

Have you ever killed a man?

No.

Go into that courtroom. Tell them.

And end up like my Pa?

In some alley?

Now, you listen to me.

If I don'’t tell the truth and they let me go,

I'’ll be living off the fat of the land from now on.

This trial'’ll be the talk of the whole territory.

You keep quiet,

you'’ll hang.

No.

They won'’t do that to me.

Not to Diamond Field Jack.

MR. HAWLEY: Your Honor, I request permission to introduce

a vital piece of evidence.

If it'’s vital, you don't need my permission.

What is it?

The state has based its entire case

on purely circumstantial evidence and on one premise.

That my client is a notorious gunman.

Now, I think I can prove that he is not.

That his reputation is wholly false.

Created by Jack Davis himself.

Mr. Hawley,

the state has based its case on facts.

And on the proven character of the defendant

from the time he came to Albion.

Now, is your evidence related directly to the crime?

Or to the character of the defendant

since he came to Albion?

No, Your Honor, but he--

Then the evidence is not admissible in this court.

Request denied.

Jack Davis.

The jury finds you guilty of murder in the first degree.

You will be held in the county jail

for not more than two weeks.

Then you will be taken and hanged by the neck until dead.

[ cheers, applause ]

They all cheered.

When the judge sentenced me.

They all turned against me.

I'’ll appeal, of course.

I'’ve got to find new evidence.

New witnesses.

They-They really think I

gunned down those two sheepherders.

I'’m a killer.

Isn'’t that what you wanted?

They can'’t hang me for wanting to be somebody.

Tell them that.

Please, Mr. Hawley.

Tell them.

Please.

I just wanted to be somebody.

Mr. Gray.

How about a beer?

Well, this is luck, Mr. Gray.

I have been wanting to talk to you.

About Jack Davis.

You go away and leave me alone.

Why?

Cal doesn'’t want me to talk to you. Told me not to.

Mr. Gray, if you have one scrap of information

that might save an innocent man and you refuse to divulge it,

then you'’re guilty in the eyes of the law.

And in the eyes of God Almighty.

No. I did tell the truth.

I swore to it on The Good Book.

I did see Davis in the basin.

Leave me alone, do you hear? Just leave me alone.

But what does that prove?

That Bower and Gray are withholding evidence.

It was written all over Gray'’s face.

He'’s afraid of something.

He'’s probably afraid he's selling his soul to the devil.

Yes. Yes, you might be right, William.

Look, I want you to ride over to Burley

and bring back the Reverend Jedediah Spooner.

Reverend Spooner?

Not that Shakespearean actor we used in the Langley case.

The same. He'’s a preacher now, and a darn good one.

He'’s been saving a lot of souls.

This time, he'’s gonna help save a man'’s life.

William?

Oh, yes, sir.

It is the Word of the Almighty

that man love man.

You must reach your hand out

and help your brother.

Verily I say unto ye, my children,

the meek shall inherit the earth.

The truth. The truth is the hammer of the Lord.

It is the tool we use to pound the devil

out of our lives.

He uses the untruth to pound us into sin.

Sinning by deed is only one way

to fall into the everlasting pit of damnation.

There are other sins

just as great and just as damning.

The sin of thought and of word.

Woe be to the man whose tongue

is befouled with the poison of lies.

For he shall be cast

into the pit of the everlasting fires of hell.

Fight Satan

with the tool of the Lord.

With the tool of truth.

Cast out Satan with love,

charity, and truth.

Good afternoon, Mr. Gray.

You go away. I got work to do.

I want to talk to you about Jack Davis.

Listen, I promised Cal I'’d finish this fence today.

Now, you quit bothering me, you hear?

Does talking about Jack Davis bother you?

I'’ll finish the fence tomorrow. I'’ll explain to Cal. He'’ll understand.

What is it, Gray? What are you hiding?

I said I'’d told you to go away. Now, where'’s Cal? Cal! Cal!

All right, all right, all right, listen to me.

Now, maybe you did see Jack Davis in the basin that night.

What else did you see?

Did you kill those two men?

No.If you didn'’t, who did?

Let go of me.

You think the Lord will forgive you

if you let an innocent man hang?

It was an accident.

I didn'’t hurt those men. I--

Lord knows that I--

I wouldn'’t harm them.

Well, it--

We were missing some cattle.

Down at the south range and--

We thought they was rustlers.

We didn'’t know that they were sheep men.

What happened?

Well, we was up the top of this rise and,

well, uh, we saw their camp down below.

We? Yeah, Cal and me.

Cal-Cal thought they were stealing our cattle.

Well, he shot '’em.

Right there.

All right. I want you to come into town with me and tell that to Judge Adams.

Don'’t you see? Cal said I wasn'’t to tell.

[ gun cocks ] He said that we--

You ain'’t gonna tell no judge nothing, now are you, Jeff boy?

Cal?

I wasn'’t able to finish the fence today, but I'’ll do it tomorrow.

Shut up, boy.

But if you killed those men by mistake--

Sure. I thought they was rustlers, so I killed them.

But everybody knows I got no love for sheep men. They'’d hang me.

They might call it manslaughter, but not murder.

They ain'’t gonna call it nothing.

Now, Jeff boy, you get up on that rise there.

You see anybody coming at all,

you holler out, understand?

Dig.

Wide enough for you to fit into comfortable-like,

and six feet down.

This will be murder.

I said dig.

Can'’t blame you for being slow to your own funeral.

Keep digging.

Don'’t be a fool.

They'’ll hang you for sure.

Killing Wilson and Cummings was an accident, but this--

This way, I don'’t get to serve time.

Dig.

[ gunshot ]

[ grunting ]

Cal. Cal, I-I didn'’t mean to tell him.

I had to.

On January 2nd, 1911,

James H. Hawley became the ninth governor

of the state of Idaho.

And Diamond Field Jack Davis

was never in trouble with the law again.

He was struck and killed by a taxi

in Los Angeles, California,

at the age of 83.

♪ [ trumpet ]