Original subtitles

Oh, hold your tongue, you silly old bird.

Well, no wonder you ran away.

Wanted to have your babies all by yourself, didn't you, huh?

Mary. Aren't you ashamed? Look at you.

Aren't I good enough anymore to help you have those puppies?

Making me and Mr. Whitney hunt all over half the state of creation for you.

You've been away long enough, you have. Yes, sir.

Don't you know you got shows to go to and win?

Come here, you little dickens, you. Come here.

Come on, little fella. You're going too.

My goodness.

There.

You're supposed to be a lady, a champion.

Come on, you little dickens. Come on, you little dickens, here.

You're going too.

You want to stay here, 10 miles from nowhere, turn into an outlaw, do you?

Come on. In you get, come on. Come on, Mary. Here we go.

Come on, Mary. Come on.

Oh, goodness. You'd think you wanted to stay up here.

What's the matter? You act like you don't wanna leave this place.

What's the matter with her?

Something's wrong somewhere.

Hey!

Oh, how'd you get up here?

You mustn't steal things.

Oh, don't run away. I won't hurt you.

-We got something. -A chuck, maybe.

Maybe. It ain't no dove, though.

Why, heck, it's a pup.

Yeah.

Too bad.

You think he'll die?

Yeah. I think so.

There's no use letting him suffer.

-Hey! What do you think you're doing? -Kathie, get up out of there.

-You shot him. -How'd we know he was there?

-You think it was on purpose? -This range is closed for hunting.

Come on, go home now.

You won't like this, so you better get out of here.

You can't do that. You mustn't.

Why, he's breathing. He might have a chance to get well.

-You can't shoot him, I won't let you! -You wanna pack him all the way home?

-He'll die before you get across the lake. -Maybe he won't.

I'd do anything to make him well.

He's such a wonderful dog.

There's never been another one like him.

He plays with wild animals. And a raven tells him when people are--

But you wouldn't understand.

But this is all my fault because he was running away--

I was chasing him and--

You have to let me take him.

Gosh. If you think that much of him, go ahead and take him.

Sure. Go ahead.

Mr. MacBain!

Mr. MacBain, I found a dog. He's hurt.

-Been shot. -Yes, so he has, child.

Well, what a mighty pretty little pup he is too, full of birdshot.

Poor little fella.

-Is he hurt awful bad? -I'm afraid he is. Awful bad.

Well, that's about all I can do for now.

Keep him warm, and if I'm here tonight, I'll have another look at him.

Will he live, Mr. MacBain?

Well, that's pretty hard to say just now.

But I think he has a fair chance.

You'll know if he gets up on his feet and starts acting spunky and barking...

-...why, then, maybe. -He will then. Oh, I know he will.

Thank you, Mr. MacBain.

Gosh. I wish dishes would do themselves.

I still don't see why we don't eat off paper plates...

-...then throw them away like Mr. MacBain. -Oh, Pete, you'll turn us all into hoboes yet.

-Did Kathie eat the soup? -I don't think she's gonna eat.

She's worrying over that puppy.

Kathie.

Mother, I don't want any supper, honest.

You can't go to bed without something in your stomach, now that's all.

Oh, he said you'd be all right if you got up and barked, and you did.

You did.

Oh, baby.

Mother, he's all right! He's all right!

Oh, he really is. He's even almost able to walk.

Oh, I'm glad, baby.

Oh, it was so awful to think it was all my fault.

Now, come on. Sit down and drink this now.

Mother, that's the strangest, most wonderful dog.

You know, I don't think he's been around humans before, the way he ran from me.

But animals don't run from him.

He plays with a fawn. A raven talks to him and gives warning if anybody comes.

-A raven and a dog? -Certainly.

Katherine Merrick!

He did so. He and the raven know each other because they drank together.

They drank stump water.

It's so. I saw it.

You've been lying on that raft, reading too many storybooks again.

-No, Mother, this actually-- -Kathie.

Not dogs and ravens having tea together on stumps. Now, really.

Soup's getting cold.

Yes, Mother.

But he is a beautiful dog, isn't he?

He has nice lines, all right, yes.

Well, then, there is one thing, Mother.

I've been asking you for a long time to give me a sheepdog of my own...

...and a flock.

And I've been thinking about it.

And I've decided that he's the dog I want.

So would you train him for me?

No, dear.

Well, he is a pretty pup. But he's a show dog, not a work dog.

He's just a pet.

Then you don't think he'd make a good sheepdog?

No, dear, I don't.

Come on, Bill.

-Hello, Mr. MacBain. -Well, good morning, Katherine.

-How's the pup? -Bill's fine, thank you.

Oh, it's Bill, is it?

-That's what I call him till I think of a name. -Well, isn't that a name?

Oh, no. That's just what I call him. But he has to have a name.

Like Mommy calls me Chubbin, but I'm Katherine Eleanor Merrick.

Yeah, well, whatever his name is, his health is obviously good.

Why have you got that on the roof?

Oh, that's my water tank for the shower inside the house.

You see, it's open, and the sun shines on it all day long.

Nellie. Bring them in, Nellie!

Mr. MacBain, Bill could be a sheepdog. He could help me mind sheep, couldn't he?

Why, sure, but you're a little young yet.

And Bill is too.

But that isn't to say you couldn't help before long.

-Could I truly? -Why, certainly.

My own son, Gary, was a great help to me when he wasn't much bigger than you are.

I just had a letter from him. He's in the Army.

He's over in the Philippines.

I'm going in to church tomorrow. Mrs. Davis is going to ride me in.

-But I can't take Bill. -Well, that's all right, child.

You see, a man goes to church to talk to a god he can't see.

But a dog, he can see his god that he loves...

...and talk to him and obey his commands all day long.

You're Bill's god...

...and all he wants is to love you and have you tell him what you want him to do.

You mean I'm really...what you said...

-...to him? -Yes.

It's a very odd feeling...

...to be someone's god.

You know, I think that Billy is a sheepdog.

But come on, we'll find out from Nellie. Nellie knows.

-Know better than you? -Of course.

It's the old dog teaches the pup.

And if your dog's no good for working sheep...

...Nellie won't have a thing to do with him.

Come on, Nellie!

-He's all right then, isn't he? -Well, Nellie says so.

Well, then, Mr. MacBain, will you train Bill for me?

Well, of course, child, with the greatest of pleasure.

Will it take long to get Bill taught, Mr. MacBain?

Well, good things always take long.

Come on, Bill.

Hey, Mom!

Hey, Mom! Come on. They're lambing already.

-Has Alice got the other flock in? -They're coming now.

But there's some strays already. I saw them going up the mountain.

Ahead of the storm. About 10 of them.

That's a bad loss, but we can't go there tonight.

-Maybe in the morning? -No, they'll freeze. What's strayed is lost.

We'll have our hands full here in the corral. Come on, let's go.

Bill? Bill!

Gosh. They're beautiful.

And cold and hungry too. Come on and help.

There's another one, Mom.

-Oh, Pete, get that one over there. -Okay, Mom.

Come on, junior, let's get some dinner.

Boy, breakfast is sure gonna taste good this morning.

Alice, go get Kathie up. She can give us a hand.

Okay, Mother.

We've got a long day ahead of us so this will have to be a quick breakfast.

-Think the little fellas will get along? -I've got my fingers crossed.

I think we've done pretty good so far.

-All except for the strays, doggone it. -Well, that's money we'll never spend.

Never mind, Pete. Nobody could've helped it.

Mother, Kathie isn't in her room. She's gone, and so is Bill.

Gone? Well, where could she have gone?

You don't suppose she went after the strays?

She's been trying to prove she and Bill can handle sheep.

I bet she did.

Get your coats on. We're going out to look right now.

If I get through to Jed's place, he can search on the south side.

Wait a minute, Mother. Listen!

It's Bill!

Kathie.

Kathie, baby.

-See, Mom, I told you she'd be okay. -He did say that, Mom.

Oh, Kathie, baby, are you all right?

-You're not hurt? -No.

Gee, Chubbin, you certainly had us worried.

-II'd better feed these lambs. -You go help him, Alice.

-All right, Mother. -Bill can help too.

-Go, Bill! Go! -Come on, Bill.

Mother, you're not angry with me for going, are you?

No, darling.

Bill found the strays and showed me the way back home.

-He is a good sheepdog, isn't he? -He's the most wonderful one I ever saw.

You're gonna have a flock of your own, you and Bill.

Oh, Mother!

Come on.

Bill, do you know it's Sunday?

We can't go in to church though. We have work to do.

The Lord won't mind if we don't go to church today.

We're watching his lambs for him.

Bill, go bring them back. Go, Bill.

-Is he dead? -No, but he's busted up plenty.

-Poor boy. -Sure is a beautiful dog, Charlie.

Gee, I didn't even see him, Casey. Those sheep were right in front of him.

This dog's hurt bad. We gotta get him to a vet.

We'll take him straight to Wilmington and find a vet.

-What about whoever owns him? -We haven't got time. He's liable to die.

-Come on. -Yeah, that's right.

Be careful. Careful.

Kathie!

Mr. MacBain!

Give me your hand, Kathie.

There, there. There we are.

Well, we gotta get you covered up.

We'll be lucky if you don't get pneumonia out of this.

My goodness, Kathie!

You know better than to keep a sail up with a squall blowing like this, don't you?

Yes, I do, but I was in a hurry to get across the cove to look for Bill.

He's gone, Mr. MacBain.

You are gonna come down with something if we don't get you home in a hurry.

-What do you mean, gone? -I kept calling him.

And I went down to where the flock was and....

He just disappeared.

I took the sheep home and I've been looking for days.

Nothing would make Bill leave me of his own doing.

-Of course not. -So something must have happened to him.

Oh, no, no, now, don't do that. You haven't seen anything happen.

-I know, but-- -Well, you just hang on to that hope.

But how do you make hope happen?

Well, suppose we figure it out the way it might have happened.

You know as well as I do that no animal around here could take Bill away...

...without you hearing plenty. Isn't that so?

All right, and if anything else happened, except one thing...

-...why, you'd have found him. -What one thing?

Stolen! Yes, sir, I've known it to happen.

Why, and particularly with a dog like Bill.

But if anybody liked him that much he'd take good care of him, wouldn't he?

So that's nothing to be afraid about, is it?

And knowing Bill, the first chance he gets, he'll break loose...

...and come galloping back to you as fast as he can, won't he?

Well, golly, that's the way it looks to me.

It seems that way to you too, doesn't it? Yes.

Hiya, Billy.

Patsy.

Hello, boy. Cheer up.

Maybe we'll find who you belong to one of these days.

Only six this time.

Some of the people who promised us dogs, last-minute change of heart.

There's no collie on here. Thought I saw a beauty.

Oh, him. Truck driver brought him in two months ago, bunged up. Okay now.

Tried and tried to find an owner. Advertised, even. No luck.

He is a beauty. I'm gonna keep him myself.

And us short of our quota here?

Oh, now, look, Tom, that's the swellest dog I've come on to.

-Okay. -We can use him, Joey, believe me.

Oh, here....

Stay! Stay! Stay down!

Come on out, Duke. Here's your grub.

Come on.

What's the matter, Duke? There's nothing to worry about.

Take it easy, Duke. Easy, boy.

Steady, steady.

Swear I've seen him or his sire or his dam in a show someplace.

I wouldn't doubt it, sir. Now, that didn't hurt, did it, Duke?

I don't know his civilian name so I just call him Duke.

Well, cheer up, Duke. The world's not such a solemn place.

Oh, he's not solemn, sir. It's just that he has something on his mind.

He's tried to tell me about it. Haven't you, Duke?

Come on, tell me. What is it, boy? Tell me.

Come on, Duke.

-Thank you, sir. -Right.

This morning we will continue with the basic exercises, consisting of "heel"...

..."sit," "down" and "stay." Detail, ten-hut!

Right face!

Now give your dogs a "sit." Move!

-Sit. -Sit.

Now give your dogs a "down." Move!

-Down. -Down.

Now give your dogs a "sit." Move!

-Sit. -Sit.

Send your dogs!

Report!

Attaboy!

Now, that wasn't so hard, was it, huh? No.

Report!

Come on, Duke! Come on, boy! Attaboy!

Come on, fella. Attaboy.

-Holcomb! -Herbert.

-Weams! -Burt.

-Dee! -Brian.

-Mayon! -George.

-Smith! -Thomas.

-McDonald! -William.

-Sarillo! -Tony.

-Tomboy! -Jeremy.

Hey, what's bothering you, huh?

Hey, what's the matter with you? Come on, down.

Down, boy.

Hey, what's bothering you, huh?

Now you hear that, now you hear that.

You have been designated a combat patrol.

In a few hours you'll land on Red Beach 5.

Your officers and noncoms have been briefed in these operations.

As you may have heard, men, this is the Aleutians, so keep your mittens on.

Combat patrol ready, sir.

-We'll be with you in a minute. -Yes, sir.

I want to you find out where they're dug in up there. Let us know in a hurry.

-Your identification is Group 4. Good luck. -Thank you, sir.

-We'll take the dog and you along this time. -Yes, sir.

Come on, let's go, men.

So long, Duke.

All the best to you, Mac. I'll be waiting for you at the CP.

Okay, Smitty. I'll be seeing you. Let's go, Duke.

CP to Battery C. Correct range, correct range.

-Have you heard anything from Group 4 yet? -Yeah, they're okay so far.

CP to Battery C.

Group 4 to CP, Group 4 to CP. Encountered enemy fire.

We're going forward to take Hill H, sir.

There's a batch of Jap mortars and machine guns on the left side of us.

Set up that gun right there! Cover our right flank!

Down, Duke! Down!

Maybe we can move up to the left, sir.

Not to the left or right. They're on all sides of us.

We've got to stay right here and sweat it out.

Okay, Duke. Take it easy, boy.

-There goes our ammunition dump, Mac. -What have we got left?

-About 50 rounds apiece, a few grenades. -Can't throw a party with that.

We gotta throw a party when those yellow-bellies come in.

We'll have to send the dog.

This is your big chance. All right, fella.

-Send him along, Mac. -Smitty wants you, boy. All right, report!

-Well, there goes the difference. -You're not kidding.

Either he gets through, or we don't.

Hey, Smitty! Smitty, your dog's in!

Over here.

Duke, you made it!

-Oh, he made it, sir. -We'll find Group 4 now.

Well, let's have it. Come on, let's have the message.

There isn't any, sir. It's been shot away. He's wounded.

Well, that's that, I guess.

-He certainly can't tell us where they are. -Well, maybe he can, sir.

What do you mean?

-Maybe I can get him to lead us back. -That dog?

Why, he can't even stand up.

Oh, he can do a lot for me, sir.

Shall I try?

I'd sure give my right arm if he could, though.

-Go ahead and try. -Yes, sir.

Come on, Duke, you gotta do this for me.

Please.

Duke.

Duke, report.

Report!

Come on, Duke.

Come on, boy!

Report!

Come on, boy, you gotta do this for your buddies.

Come on, Duke.

Come on, boy.

Report!

Come on, Duke.

Report!

Come on, Duke. You can make it.

You can make it, boy.

Come on, Duke. Report!

Report!

Hey, Mac! Look!

Hey, men! He made it!

Hooray for you, Duke.

Duke, you made it! You made it, boy.

We found them, and you did it.

What's the matter, Duke?

What's the matter, Duke?

Duke. Come here, boy.

Don't crack up now, boy.

What's the matter? Don't you know me? What's the matter, fella?

Here you are, fella. Try that.

-Everybody eating again? -Yeah.

Yeah. All except him.

Yeah.

Here, Mike.

Their eyes get me when they look like that.

Some fellas down at sick bay got that same look. You know?

Don't care about nothing, don't know nothing, nothing matters.

Gets you, don't it?

Well, war's war.

I don't know how you can take it so calm.

You're a cold-blooded monkey, I think, Smith.

Yeah, yeah, that's right. That's right.

Not me.

It gets me.

I got some good grub for you, Duke.

Come on now, Duke. You got to eat this, fella.

Come on, Duke. Try and eat this, huh?

Listen, Duke, I can't go back to the hospital with you...

...because I gotta go back and train some men...

...but they're gonna help you there.

Now, you don't want to be afraid.

You remember me, don't you? Huh?

Boy, he's a bad hombre.

Thinks the world's his enemy.

And I thought he was gonna have a good, long sleep.

Your whistling, that's what upset him.

Come on, fella. Let's get out of here.

Time I paid some more attention to you anyway, isn't it?

Better get the muzzle.

Poor guy. He must have taken plenty.

Holy smoke!

Well, he's gone.

Forty miles from nowhere out here.

-What are we gonna do now? -Nothing. Nothing we can do.

Heaven help anything he runs into, the condition he's in.

So long, soldier.

Pa! Pa!

A coyote just bit Spot and hurt him, and Spot ran away.

Then the coyote stole a piece of your venison, and he took off with it.

Well, that's no coyote. It's a dog.

Oh, Gil, what is it?

Same dog got into Curly's and Martin's places last week.

Just turned killer, I guess.

Been raiding every place around here.

Pa, down there!

There he is, Pa!

There he goes.

Quiet. They'll hear you, Bill.

It's all right. They've gone.

Don't you remember me anymore, Bill?

Oh, Bill.

Oh, Bill. I knew you didn't mean it.

-Hello, Mr. MacBain. -Hello, Kathie.

Well, you and Bill have a nice sail?

-Oh, yes. We went for miles. -Well, that's fine.

Mr. MacBain, it's awfully nice of you to keep Bill here for me.

Not at all, child. I was glad to do it.

Well, you better get Bill on into the house now.

-It's about time you were hurrying home. -Come, Bill.

-Hello, sheriff. -Hello, Harry.

-Hello, Perry. -Hello, MacBain.

Well, I'm happy to see you gentlemen. That is, if this is just a social visit.

Well, not quite, Harry.

We're looking for a vicious dog that's been raiding ranches lately.

A big collie, like the one the Merrick girl had, remember?

Oh, yes. Yes, I remember him.

Well, he must be around here someplace.

Got an order from Judge Payson to destroy him.

Well, have you looked at the chicken ranches...

-...and places across the lake? -Yeah.

You haven't seen him around here, have you, Harry?

Mr. MacBain!

That's him. That's the dog.

No, but that dog's not vicious. I'll swear to that.

You got three days legally to protest this order, if you want to.

I'm sorry, Harry.

I'll have to take the dog in.

Mr. MacBain.

Next complainant:

Ernie Elson.

Raise your right hand.

-Swear to tell the truth, the whole truth? -Sure do.

Sit down.

RFD-7, Oak Township.

Now, Ernie, I want you to look around the courtroom...

...and see if the animal that raided your livestock is here.

Yes, sir. That's him, right there.

Now, Ernie, a lot of animals look alike.

Now, take your time and figure it out.

Well, is there any doubt that this is the one?

-No, sir. None. -All right. That's all.

Stand down.

Next complainant:

Perry Crews.

Perry, you've got to take the stand.

Raise your right hand.

-Swear to tell the truth, the whole truth? -I do.

Sit down.

Now, I'm not gonna bother with all the questions.

Everybody knows you're Perry Crews, what your RFD is, and how many sheep you raise.

Now, Perry, you claim this dog is the one that raided your place?

I certainly do. Five different times and no doubts about it.

Any particulars you want to add to the complaint?

Well, nothing much.

Except that dog's just plain not good for anything, Steve.

He's got bad blood, and there's only one thing you can do--

No opinions, Perry.

You give the facts. I'll draw the conclusions.

That's all. You can stand down.

Any other complainants I haven't questioned yet?

Well, let's see.

Count them over, there seems to be one, two, three, four....

Fifteen people saw this dog causing trouble.

You want to question any of them?

No, sir.

All right. I'll hear the other side of this after lunch.

Two-hour recess.

Judge Payson...

...I don't have to swear with the Bible to ask you something, do I?

Why, of course not, Kathie. What is it?

When you decide what to do, can you only decide on what people saw?

That's the law, Kathie.

There's other things that count too, things you know are true even if nobody saw.

Things you feel inside are true, and they are.

Now, you go right back to your ma.

I don't want you to pop another question, do you hear?

I don't want to hear even another word.

You don't know how hard it is to be impartial.

-But, judge-- -Now, I don't want to hear even one word.

Do you understand?

-Yes, sir. -That's a good girl.

Oh, Bill!

l.... I think it'd be better if Kathie didn't come back.

So you think he'll decide against us?

Well, I think it'd be much better if you and Kathie didn't come back again.

We can't deny the evidence.

Well, let's go get some lunch, huh?

-Yes. I'll be along in a minute. -All right.

I don't understand.

Why did you do those things?

Steve-- Your Honor...

...we've got something to say in this case, if it's all right.

Sure, Harry. Go ahead.

You'll probably say that what I tell you has nothing to do with this dog's crimes...

...that he's guilty.

But he can't speak for himself.

He can't explain why he did them like a man could...

...so somebody has to speak for him.

What I'm trying to tell you, Your Honor, and my good neighbors...

...is that this is no ordinary dog.

You bet not. He's a menace.

Order.

Begging your pardon, madam, he's a soldier.

At noontime today...

...I found that he had an Army identification number stamped in his ear.

Here, you can see it here for yourselves.

Yep. He's got the Army number, all right.

So I...I called the Army War Dog Training Center...

...and I got Bill's record from the lieutenant there, and here it is.

"A year ago last October 11th, he was accepted by the Army...

...trained at the War Dog Center, and attached to a combat unit.

On September 11th, overseas, he was cited for conspicuous bravery...

...in an action in which he saved an advance platoon of men from the Japs.

He was sent home September 25th, suffering from complete exhaustion.

After leaving Seattle, he escaped from the soldiers...

...who were bringing him to an Army rehabilitation hospital.”

Well, that's it.

Something, some instinct, led him to Kathie...

...who had brought him up from a puppy...

...and who he knew loved him as much as he loved her.

This letter that I made my notes on is from my boy, Gary.

He's in an Army hospital in New York...

...and from what he writes...

...l guess that he's going through something like what Bill here went through.

And it just occurred to me that perhaps a lot of our boys will be coming back...

...not quite ready to take up where they left off.

They'll have gone through more than most of us could ever think of...

...and they're going to need patience and love and understanding from us.

And most of all, perhaps, they'll need time.

You know, they didn't become soldiers in a day...

...and we can't expect them to become civilians in a day, either.

And Bill here, he went through the fight too...

...and he's no less a soldier because he can't talk.

But he found a big love and a big understanding from a little girl...

...and he's come through his bad time.

Your Honor, I know dogs...

...and I can swear here that Bill here is a good citizen now.

And so I ask you...

...on his record as a first-class soldier, to give him a break.

Let me take him back to the little girl who is his god...

...and who loves him so much.

Your Honor, good neighbors, he's earned it.

Well, Harry...

...you'd better...

...take Bill home.

Case dismissed.

Thank you, Harry. You saved me a mighty unpleasant duty.

-I'm glad, Harry. -Fine. Thank you.

Come on, Bill. Come on, Bill.

Come on.

Yes. Oh, Bill.

Well, Bill. Go. Go find Kathie.

Go on. Find Kathie.

Oh, Bill!

[ENGLISH]