Original subtitles

[WHISTLES]

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

- What are you doing in Mexico? - Working, senor.

These bulls are yours?

No, they're prized stocked from Catapuerca.

We're being paid to deliver them.

Where?

Just south of the border to Sand Canyon.

We'll meet up with the main herd there.

Then we'll drive them north all the way to Kansas.

- You have the papers of course. - Yeah, yeah. The bill of sale here.

Who are you looking for anyways?

A man who is called El Hombre Bravo.

It's important we find him before the Federales do.

Perhaps you have seen him.

That one, he cannot speak?

I guess you're all making him just a little bit nervous.

Oh.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

FAVOR: Uh, leave him be.

I didn't see nobody, right, Mr. Favor?

Look, he's telling the truth.

The only thing we've seen in the last two days are coyotes.

And we wouldn't recognize this man you're looking for

even if we saw him anyways.

Oh, you would know El Hombre Bravo if you saw him, señor.

He is a huge man, taller than yourself.

He has the courage of a lion and the shrewdness of a fox.

Both show.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

What do you think they're looking for that El Hombre Bravo fellow for?

I wouldn't know. We're just lucky it wasn't us they were after.

[MEN WHISTLING AND SHOUTING]

Keep them in there.

Mexicans steer astray just like any others.

You figured out a way you want me to set up the chuck wagon?

I figured on finding a place to bed them down first.

Well, what's the matter with right here?

All green and growy and water down there?

We can make three or four more miles today.

Oh, you're getting just like Mr. Favor.

What's the matter with you, boy? Did you let authority go to your head?

No, it isn't that.

It's just if we don't reach Sand Canyon the same time Mr. Favor does,

I'll never hear the end of it.

Hey, look.

Don't recognize the riders but I do the steer. Come on.

Now, if you check that brand real closely,

I think you'll find that steer belongs to us.

It said he belongs to us. Now, turn him loose.

Rowdy, look up there.

I am General Valesquez.

These men, although they may not appear so,

are federal soldiers.

Now, well, that steer happens to be an American now.

Perhaps we could pay you for him.

Doesn't sound too bad.

Going price, even out here on the trail, $20 a head.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Wait a minute, this is only one peso.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

- Now, hold on just a minute. - Senor.

You are in Mexico during a time of internal strife.

When an army must be fashioned from these men of local villages,

necessity sometimes requires us

to confiscate food and supplies when we can.

- That is the nature of government. - Yeah.

Rodriguez.

One more thing, señores,

it will be necessary for us to search your wagons.

For what?

For a man, senor, known as El Hombre Bravo.

When we find him,

we intend to make him regret not being dead.

Well, suit yourself.

We haven't got anybody with us that didn't start out with us anyway.

We shall see, señor.

If there is, you will be as regretful as he is.

What...?

What you doing out here in the middle of nowheres, fella?

Walking to the border, señor.

Oh, walking to the border, huh?

It's 40 miles from here, you know.

[BOTH SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

I'll tell you what. You, uh...

You stick around for a little bit until I can decide what to do with you.

It sure is a silly looking chicken you got there.

He's not a chicken, he's a game cock.

El Numero Uno, the champion.

Excuse me.

Mr. Favor,

another one.

She's my sister, Tia.

- Hi. - Hi.

[CHILDREN SINGING IN SPANISH]

Singing.

- Where'd you two come from? - Over there.

Well, let's go see, huh?

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

If you wanna go to drink...

Oh, well, it's not the cleanest but it won't hurt any.

[CHILDREN LAUGHING]

What are you doing, anyway?

The children call me Pajarito. It means little bird.

By profession, I am a school teacher.

They call me Pajarito because I sing for them.

It comforts them when they are disturbed.

These days we sing often.

Oh, my name is Favor, Gil Favor. This here is Mushy, Mushy Musgrove.

How do you do?

The boy tells me that, uh, you're headed for the border.

Oh, just a little above.

In your country there is a mission where they will be cared for.

You expect to walk all that way with the children?

That's rough going from here to there.

I am not disturbed with what is ahead, senor,

but with what we are running from.

What would that be?

The revolutionaries were camped in our village

when they were attacked by the Federales.

Our village was burned to the ground.

I hid as many children as I could find. Now, I'm taking them to liberty.

You expect the Federales to harm a bunch of children?

Oh, yes.

I have seen children shot dead in the streets.

Our herd's headed for the border.

When we meet them, you can go with us.

Oh, senor, we would be no trouble.

Look, I've got more than enough to worry about already,

without adding them. Hmm.

We could help take care of them.

The children will each light a candle for you tonight, senor.

Yeah.

[CHILDREN & PAJARITO SINGING IN SPANISH]

Whoa, whoa!

Senor! Senor Favor.

Senor, the children, they need to rest.

Oh, we'd better make those hills up ahead first.

They need to rest now.

Looks like they're holding up pretty good.

Oh, they would never let you see how they really feel.

Look, you see those twin buttes up ahead side by side?

PAJARITO: Yes.

We're in what you might call like a funnel.

This wind keeps coming up,

it'll blow us right back to where we started out this morning.

Senor, are you concerned for the bulls or for the children?

I'm more than concerned about both.

El Numero Uno, El Numero Uno.

[ROOSTER CLUCKING]

PAJARITO: Pepe!

You wait here, I'll go get him.

He sure is a slippery chicken, ain't he?

There. Now, you hang onto that bird for all you're worth, understand?

I got better things to do than chasing a bird.

- Thank you, Senor Favor. - Yeah, well, you're welcome.

[CHILDREN SINGING IN SPANISH]

You think Mr. Favor would let him get away with that?

Yep.

It's two dozen men there,

who knows how many more they got in these hills.

Sorry to have troubled you, señores.

[VALESQUEZ SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Boy, if those are soldiers, they're the sorriest lot I ever saw.

Yeah, well, in our present position, how they look doesn't really matter.

[PLAYING FLUTE]

- Jose? - Yes, sir.

Not sure which of those two forks lead to Sand Canyon.

I'm gonna go ahead and check them out

and I want you to keep an eye on things, right?

Sure, Mr. Favor.

My mother, she cook so much better.

When's the last time you saw your mom?

Many day.

Well, yesterday, me and Mr. Favor, we saw a bunch of riders

and they asked us if we seen a man called El Hombre Bravo.

You ever see him?

Oh, si, but they will never catch him, not El Hombre Bravo.

- Why not? - Senor Mushy,

if you could see him, he is a giant.

His clothes are white and he is very brave.

He has a long mustachio to here and he wears two silver guns.

- Does he know how to use them? - Sure. One, two, three.

[CHILDREN CHEERING]

[GRUNTING]

MUSHY: Hey, Pajarito.

- Mushy! MUSHY: Mr. Favor.

Is this how you keep an eye on things?

I didn't see any harm in it.

That creature is breeding stock.

He's worth more than $400.

Now, you get him all upset and he's just libel to run away.

And just how long do you think it'll take you

to pay for him out of your $30 a month? Huh?

[BULL GROWLING]

Look out.

You all right?

You lost your serape.

I would save us a lot of trouble, senor. I have never denied it.

I am the one called El Hombre Bravo.

Right now I've got a bull to chase down.

You can save us both a lot of trouble by not being here when I get back.

Senor Favor,

I know this seems very strange to you. I would like to explain something.

I am a simple village school master.

Just an ordinary man

who teaches children how to read and write and figure.

In my village there was an old printing press.

There are very few books in a little village.

How can one teach children to read without books?

So I learned how to use the printing press.

And then when my friends, the revolutionaries,

wanted pamphlets,

what was more natural than for them to come to me

and what was more natural

than for me to write the pamphlets for them?

But men, like children, need heroes.

So I signed all of the pamphlets, "El Hombre Bravo."

It was a phrase, a symbol.

I don't even remember when I thought of it.

A hero's name, El Hombre Bravo.

Three words at the end of a pamphlet.

How could I guess it would become a legend?

"It" meaning you.

Senor Favor, look at me.

I do not pretend to be anything other than what I am.

I swear I did not mean that I was El Hombre Bravo.

No, it just happened.

Senor, I do not even ride a horse well.

The gun that I carry, I have scarcely used it.

Only a very few know me to be El Hombre Bravo.

What are people gonna think when they find out

that El Hombre Bravo is Pajarito, a little school teacher?

They must never find that out.

I am not important, El Hombre Bravo is.

The idea of El Hombre Bravo must not be destroyed.

And neither must the children.

I ran into a bunch of Federales about an hour ago.

Seems like they're looking for you.

What was their leader like?

He's riding a big black stallion, had on some kind of an overcoat.

General Valesquez.

- You know him? - Only by reputation.

He has sworn that he will bring in El Hombre Bravo

to be disgraced before the people.

And what happens to the children when they find them with you?

Senor Favor, I promise you, if my presence is discovered

I will surrender myself to him.

I will not endanger the children.

Mushy is good with children.

I think you are much the same, only you do not like to show it.

The thing I don't like

is these kids being out in this kind of country,

caught up in your fighting

when they should be home somewhere safe in bed.

Yes, they should, but they insisted that if I must go, they will go with me.

Stop trading on those kids.

Senor Favor, they do have an illusion that must not be destroyed.

Oh, I'm not gonna tell them if that's what you're afraid of.

Thank you.

All right, the kids will go along with us.

All the way to the border and through to the mission.

And you can go along but only on one condition.

If those wolves come howling after you,

I'm gonna throw you to them. Out you go, understood?

You have my word, senor.

[PAJARITO WHISTLING]

[PAJARITO LAUGHING]

They're almost done.

- How can you tell? - Just by feeling it.

When the ground, it gets real hot right above the bean pot.

It's all-of-a-sudden like.

Then when it's good and warm, that means they're ready.

Good, I will help you dig them up.

It's warm.

That's the way the soldiers cook their food

when they crossed the desert with Juarez.

Really?

Yes, they could build the fire in the daylight.

Then put their food in the pots and put their pots in the ground

with the hot coals all around, and cover it with dirt

so the soldiers of Maximilian could not find any fires at night.

That was clever of them.

The idea came from Benito Juarez

because he was a good man who would do things for his people.

Like your Benito Lincoln.

They are just alike, all right.

Did Benito Lincoln soldiers ever do this?

Sure, many times, that's how I heard about it.

When did they do it? Tell me.

Well, when they were crossing the Delaware, this big river.

I mean, he figured his men would get hungry

so he got this idea to cook the food like this

so the redcoats couldn't spot him at night.

- We both had very good teachers. - We did.

I had Pajarito, and you?

Oh, I had a teacher like Pajarito, a Mr. Riggs.

Did he teach you about heroes?

Oh, sure, that was his favorite subject.

Well, he was always telling us about knights hunting dragons

and, uh, these kings using their crossbows

and these mountain men way up in the Hudson Valley.

They were always grabbing these wildcats by the neck

and throwing them all around the forest.

But he never had any blankets like, uh, Pajarito.

Hey, it's warm. Warm, huh? I think it's time.

There it is. Watch out now, don't touch it.

- I can smell it. - It's hot.

Whoo.

Here, take this.

Okay?

Beautiful frijoles.

A little dirt got in here.

That won't hurt it.

[HOWLING]

Senor Favor, Senor Favor.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

- El Numero Uno. - Numero--?

You woke me up in the middle of the night for a crawny chicken?

Oh, all right, all right, I'll take a look at him, come on.

He don't look too good.

He probably ate some peck berries, afraid there's nothing we can do.

All right, all right. Here, Mushy.

MUSHY: What? - Come here.

Go get some water, huh?

- Get some what? - Get some water, the bird is sick.

Well, don't you worry.

He's just probably tired and hungry and thirsty.

Get some water in him, some grain and a little bit of luck,

he'll be as good as new in the morning.

Yeah, it's been a long, hard day for everybody.

He's a pretty scrawny little thing to begin--

Give him the water.

[CHILDREN SINGING IN SPANISH]

Look, we've got to get going now.

Senor, are these few moments that precious to you?

I'm afraid so, we've got a long, hard ways to go yet today.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Hey, Pepe, we've gotta go now.

Senor Favor, El Numero Uno, he never made a sound.

Yeah, well, that means he never suffered then, doesn't it?

Yes.

[MEN SHOUTING AND WHISTLING]

Rowdy, there's some men on ahead. I think you'd better talk to them.

All right.

He is the one.

I understand you bring your cattle this way.

Yeah, that's right.

You, of course have the signed right of way.

No, I didn't know anything about one.

- That's a shame. ROWDY: Yeah?

This is Senor Garcia.

He is the owner of this land from here to Tres Rios.

Senor Garcia is a farmer.

Yeah, well, tell me what does Senor Garcia got to do with me?

He would like a simple toll charge.

One peso for each of the animals that crosses his land.

You can tell Senor Garcia

that he isn't gonna get a peso from me ever.

And if I have to, I'll take the herd around his land.

You know where the Tres Rios sits?

No, and I don't care too much.

You cannot go around his land without turning back

and going around the entire mountains.

Senor Garcia is a big farmer.

Yeah, well, let me put it to you this way.

We got about 2000 head of cattle back there

and I sure as heck don't have 2000 pesos.

And even if I shook down all 20 of the men on the crew,

we couldn't come up with $50.

Then perhaps a compromise can be reached.

- Like what? - Beef, senor.

I've already gone over this whole thing with some General

- What's-his-name back there. - Valesquez.

ROWDY: Yeah, something like that.

- Where? - I don't know.

Around 10 miles back in a river bed.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Well, senor.

- How much cattle? - Enough to feed my people.

Well, I can let you have three yearling.

That's all my boss has ever let me get away with.

Six yearling, senor. These are very hungry people.

All right, six.

- Rowdy? - Don't say it, don't say a word.

I was just thinking.

Yeah? That'll be kind of new for you, won't it?

[BOTH SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Shh, shh.

[SNEEZES]

Again, I thank you. I'm grateful,

for if we had been discovered, I would have kept my word.

That's right, I would have seen to that.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Mushy, hold them up.

Thank you. Thank you, Senor Favor,

for everything that you've done for the children and for me.

Who are they anyway?

They're my compatriots. I will be pleased for you to meet them.

- Mushy, hold onto things here. - Sure, Mr. Favor.

[BOTH SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

We've already met.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Did you ever get to see El Hombre Bravo?

He knows.

Valesquez knows we are here.

We are short of ammunition. We outnumbered five to one.

We gotta get to the border immediately.

I'm taking the children that way.

I cannot risk the children's safety.

There are almost 60 Federales, and well-armed.

We can only last a few minutes here, a half hour at most.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

MAN: Valesquez!

It seems that I have come a long way for this.

- I don't know what I can say. Sorry. - I'm sorry too.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

It's not so much dying I mind,

but then when we have fired our last bullet.

I don't see how I could prevent you from being captured alive.

There is a way out.

VALLINO: To the border? - No.

- Well, make up your mind. - I have.

But I cannot do it myself. Maybe you'd do it for me.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Senor Favor, will you?

- Will I what? - Shoot me.

Please try to understand.

In a few minutes at best, I will be killed.

At worst, I will not be dead. I will be taken prisoner by Valesquez.

Then the people will see that El Hombre Bravo is nothing

but a poor weak teacher,

saying that everything he ever wrote was a lie.

The only way to keep El Hombre Bravo alive

is for Pajarito to die.

I understand but I'm just not the person to do it.

Look, it isn't my war. Maybe I could help you some other way.

Senor Favor,

you go with the children to the border.

Mushy could do that.

Senor, you must keep your promise, I will keep mine.

I'll take the kids.

Vallino...

I'll tell the men we stay and fight.

Go.

- What are you figuring on doing? - I will make my enemy

do what my friends would not.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

FAVOR: Keep them back.

What are they? Why are they shooting?

You know what I just saw? I saw El Hombre Bravo.

You did? How tall is he?

Oh, about the tallest man I ever did see.

- Big mustachio and silver guns? - Shiny silver.

Pajarito, where is Pajarito?

Look, Pepe,

Pajarito is dead, but he died saving El Hombre Bravo.

He died a hero.

Look, Pepe, can you keep a secret?

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Don't bother to tell the other children that Pajarito is dead.

They wouldn't understand.

You just tell them that he's a big hero

and you tell them too that I saw El Hombre Bravo.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Is everything all right? What's all the shooting?

Everything's all right, let's get going.

[SHOUTING AND WHISTLING]

Mushy, can you do something?

I guess so, Mr. Favor.

[SINGING IN SPANISH]

No, senor.

[SINGING IN SPANISH]

Head them up, move them out!