Original subtitles

Stand there.

Eh, get it up.

Now.

Get some manners.

He's bleeding.

So?

Yeah, just thought I'd bring it up,

case I was the only one who noticed is all.

You know me?

Go on. You can say it out loud.

Private eye.

At your service.

I heard she saved Lincoln.

Indeed.

When Kate came to see me

for the first time in Chicago,

I thought at first she'd misunderstood the job posting.

I wasn't looking for a secretary,

I was looking for detectives.

No woman had ever applied.

No American detective agency had ever hired

a female investigator before.

But Ms. Warren made a convincing case.

She could infiltrate places more easily

because no one would expect a woman

to be an undercover investigator.

She could befriend the wives

and girlfriends of suspected criminals.

Women have an eye for detail.

Indeed they do.

They make very excellent observers.

You got a soft spot for women's rights, Pinkerton?

Perhaps, or perhaps I'm just a shrewd businessman

that knows that Ms. Warren is going

to make me a whole lot of money.

Or perhaps you're all just a bunch of dogs

let off the leash by the railroad.

Is that right?

I came to Illinois from Scotland in '42.

I settled in a little town called Dundee

and almost immediately became infatuated with police work.

I served as deputy sheriff

in two different Chicago area counties

before becoming a special agent

for the US Post Office in Chicago.

That meant to impress me?

No, it's meant to frighten you.

What do you wanna know?

James-Younger.

The railroad hired one of my best operatives,

John Witcher, to find Jesse

and his brother, Frank.

John's corpse was discovered last week.

He'd bled out from a bullet wound to the stomach,

his head, shoulders, and face had been chewed off

by wild hogs.

Now some say Jesse isn't responsible for John's death,

but my men and I know Jesse's darn style when we see it.

This modern day Robin Hood.

I share no such romantic allusions about the man,

so much so that I have made this agency's top priority

the capture our death of Jesse James.

What do you want me to do about it, huh?

I didn't kill your man.

Tell me where I can find the James Brothers.

How should I know?

You were seen riding toward Lafayette

with them day before last.

Now, don't make a liar outta me.

Put your head down.

Raise your fingers.

Ah!

You have five fingers on each hand

and I've cleared my schedule for the evening.

So what's it gonna be?

I don't know where Jesse is, ah!

Shall we end this?

He's on his way to Clay County.

There's a farmhouse there.

Farmhouse? Whose?

How should I know?

Okay. Okay.

It's his mother, okay? Please.

That's all I know.

I believe you.

Take him outside and toss him in the back.

- Now, get outta here. - Tell the doctor

a mule ran over his hand.

What's the plan?

Kate heads back to Maryland.

Ward, you stay here with me.

We have some unfinished business to settle

before we ride for Clay County.

- What's in Maryland? - George Gordon.

Who?

Bank Teller murdered by an Alexander Pete Drysdale.

I want you to get close to Drysdale's wife.

We need a confession and location of the stolen money

And after?

You can find Clay County on a map, can't you?

Yes sir.

- Ward. - Safe travels, Ms. Warren.

Find us someplace to sleep for the night.

Got it, boss.

And then what did he do?

Us fella, he knocked down there

in the mud and he looked up to me

and he called me something I'd never heard before.

A Mexican strawberry.

Dried beans.

Yeah, kind so bad, gets you back on the trots

and passing the Mormon tea, if you know what I mean.

Odd.

Yeah.

How 'bout you, Alan?

What's the worst they ever called you?

Men like me, I've been through the mill, Ward.

I don't get called butch if I'm honest,

What of this unfinished business?

What?

- He's watching us. - Who?

That finger swell fellow we roughed up earlier.

I don't see a thing out there.

Wait.

Son

I think I'll retired for the night.

Give someone to dispose of him

and meet me at the marshal's office

first thing in the morning, will you?

Marshal?

I'll explain when we get there.

Nice suits.

Morning Marshal.

Something I can do for you, fellas.

I'm Alan Pinkerton.

This is Special Agent Ward Lamon.

Chicago.

I know who you are.

Very well.

We'll just skip to the reason for our visit then.

Say, you fellas wouldn't know anything about

some outlaw shot dead last night, would you?

No.

Shame, I was so certain you might.

Mr. Ward and I required transportation to Missouri.

- What kind of transportation? - The inconspicuous kind.

What's wrong with the railroad?

There's a strike by the Steel Workers Union.

At the moment it would be wise for us

to travel off the rails.

I thought the Pinkertons were employed

by the United States government.

We'll gladly pay you for your trouble.

No trouble at all.

However, my answer is no.

- No? - That's right.

The Pinkerton agency is a paramilitary wing of big business.

We don't deal with those industrialists in this town.

Maybe this will help you reconsider your answer.

Thank you, but no.

There's got to be something we can do.

Bully Hamilton.

Come again.

The man's wanted for the robbery

of three stage coaches east of the Rocklands.

Folks say he's hiding in the trees.

If you know where he is, why have you not arrested him?

I'm busy.

We bring in this Bully Hamilton fella

and you provide us with the transportation we need

to Clay County.

And I keep that bag of coins too.

Hamilton.

He a dangerous kind?

He can be.

You got yourself a deal.

Oh, I'm curious.

What waits for a couple of men

like yourselves in Clay County?

Jesse James.

Marshal.

Why are we doing this again?

We need discrete passage into Clay County.

Yeah, why don't we just,

easier to get a order from the marshal?

That would take weeks.

James is going to Clay County now.

Let's just find this Hamilton fellow and bring him in.

Let's not waste any time.

Which way you reckon?

Smart man heads into the bush

and only comes out to rob folks

Or when he gets hungry.

Hey, that Marshal used a word earlier.

It's para but... Paramilitary.

That's, that's it.

What's that mean?

It means a group of people acting like soldiers

even when they ain't.

It's not official.

Not really legal.

It ain't the way they agency usually does things.

Let's find Hamilton.

We check it out.

It's cold.

Peculiar.

Maybe somebody tipped him off.

Unlikely.

No one knows what out here about the marshal.

Alan, look.

Afternoon, this your camp?

We don't mean to pry. We just came upon it.

All the way out here?

Dressed in your best bib and tuckers?

Yeah, can't fault a man for wanting to look his best.

Can if they're working for the law.

Oh, interesting assumption, but we work for the railroad.

Might I also make an assumption?

You are Bully Hamilton and you happen to be on the run.

Aren't you?

Your town marshal wants me

and my colleague here to bring you in on robbery charges.

Now we aren't concerned with the validity of said charges.

We're just here to do a job.

That being said, why don't we just cut to the chase though.

Ah, looks like he took that literally.

After you.

- Well. - Well.

Seen as Hamilton fired first. Keep firing.

You go around that way.

I'll go this way, we'll flank him, okay?

Don't do it.

I didn't do nothing to nobody

who didn't already have it coming.

Yeah, ain't nothing wrong with robbing

innocent people hard on belongings, huh?

And that business is between you and the marshal.

I know you detectives.

Savages. You'll kill me,

tell the marshal you found me that way.

Oh, it is insulting

that you would assume such a thing of us.

If we wanted you dead,

Mr. Ward here would've already blown your head off.

That's right.

I need a doctor before I lose my leg.

Oh, marshal first.

No, no.

No. Got... Shut up.

- No, you can't shoot me, you. - Shut up. Shut up.

Get down there.

- No. - Sit.

Here you go.

Signed, sealed, delivered.

One Bully Hamilton.

- What happened to his leg? - Ah, he slipped.

Bring him to the cell.

- Get in there. - Oh God.

A deal is a deal, Marshal.

You have your coin, now you have your man.

So I would be satisfied

with it if you held up your end of our bargain now.

Here's a trail, leads all the way into Clay County.

Stage Coach?

Horses.

Horses? Do I look like a fool to you?

You sure do.

Shut your filthy mouth.

That's right. Horses.

Safest way for you to travel into Missouri.

Horses.

Safe to say you'll never be seeing these two again.

You're all right with that?

Between Hamilton and the coin,

you fellas have more than paid for 'em.

Say, that Hamilton fella.

What do you reckon will happen to him?

He'll stay right where he's at for a long while.

Judge won't be in town until next month.

Marshal.

What's up Sassy. What's up Sassy?

All right.

Get comfortable, Hamilton.

Screw you, Marshal.

That's usually how it starts.

Son of a bitch.

You missed it.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa.

Nice fella.

Hey.

What's this?

Marshal's payment.

How?

When?

A little slide of hand back there.

That's something I picked up in the field.

Oh, well, you must be good at it.

I had a pretty damn good teacher.

Right. Stand up.

Hold on, hold on. Come here. Come here.

Come here baby. You're okay.

Come on.

Something's got her spooked.

Come on.

I ask you something?

How come you never married?

I am married.

To the agency that is.

Well, I mean like a wife

or a family.

Like there had to have been somebody.

In Scotland.

But I made myself believe that I was going to be married,

I was going to be very married.

Nothing reminds you of what you forget

until you actually forget it.

Birthdays, anniversaries.

Forget them just once

and a woman will never let you forget it again.

Yeah.

My work was much simpler.

It was there each morning, arms wide open like the ocean.

I couldn't forget the agency even if I wanted to.

So I stopped trying to and I pushed into my work.

Yeah. Well don't you ever get lonely?

Always.

No man can claim that he is never felt lonely.

Loneliness is a state of mind

that makes you feel

empty and unwanted.

But the Pinkertons, the business affords us a feeling

of being needed.

What about you?

You got someone waiting for you back in Chicago?

Nah.

I was never brave enough to dip my toes in that cool water.

- It's as icy as the Atlantic. - Indeed.

Say, have you ever seen the ocean?

No.

Well, you ought to.

It is a sight to behold.

I remember seeing it on my trip over here.

So wide.

It's hard to see where the water ended and the sky began.

Yeah. I worry about life after all this.

After?

Ah, surely you can't be a detective forever, huh?

Perhaps.

I guess I'll just have to take it nice and slow then.

Yeah, nice and slow.

That it?

That's it.

Look.

What's the plan?

We can take her at gunpoint

and hold her in the home till Jessie and Frank arrive.

Or we can start a ruse.

So, ruse.

Wayward traveler.

Well, I heard she's pretty cross when she gets mad.

I'm up for a challenge.

Besides, it worked for that clapper fella in Santa Fe.

- Man, he was blind. - Nevermind all that.

Stay with the horses.

I'll feel the old lady out

and come find you when I know

when Jesse and Frank will arrive.

We'll be ready to swing a trap by then. Yeah?

I reckon so.

Whoa.

Easy now.

I come in peace.

You're trespassing. This here is private land.

I didn't mean to intrude.

I'm just a little lost, is all.

Lost or not, you got about 10 seconds

to turn yourself back around.

Head back where you come from or this here pistol shoots.

Alright, I'll go.

If you could just help me find my way is all, please.

- Where are you going? - Pleasant Valley.

Pleasant Valley. This here is River Bend.

You are an awful long way from where you ought to be.

Hell, I've traveled over half a state to get here.

- Not to hear you didn't. - Good point.

You alone?

My horse is about a mile or so back.

What's your business in Pleasant Valley?

I'm an Oilman.

- Oil? - That's right.

I work for the Antelope Oil and Trading Company.

Maybe you heard of it.

You mean to tell me there's oil in Pleasant Valley?

All through this area, yes, ma'am.

You got a map?

No ma'am.

What kind of oil man, don't carry a map?

A clumsy one I suppose.

Come on in, I'll get you back on your way.

Grab the bucket.

Now our property runs all along the river here to the bend

and then north and south to the hills.

They told me I had to come to Missouri and see the valley.

There were rumors that the right tools could pull

1,000 barrels a week from underneath these rocks.

That would be nearly $5,000 a month in income.

For the oil company.

Oh no ma'am. That would be in your pocket.

Oil company has to be getting rich off this somehow.

We lease the land.

How you split the royalties is up to you.

Tell me, have you ever had someone

like me scout your land for oil?

No.

I have a dozen drills in Kansas

and just walking out this way,

I can tell you I have a real opportunity here.

But bear in mind you could lose it all if you're not prudent

and it won't be long before word spreads of the oil here

and after that, every oil man

in the country will travel here promising you riches.

Like you just did.

These other men will be speculators

or men trying to get between you and the oil money itself.

- Men like you. - No ma'am.

I do my own drilling with my own team.

I know them.

They know me, men I can trust.

They work hard and they don't lose tools,

which is important in this business.

And I can start fast.

- How fast? - I could have a string

of tools here on the rail by next week.

Next week?

Well you see there won't be

many gushes here for all that long.

In two or three years these wells will run dry

and your land will be worthless.

Worthless?

This is family land.

Worthless in the eyes of the oil business.

And you can put this money up now?

$600.

A good faith offer.

This is family land.

I would have to discuss this with my boys.

Are they here now?

No.

Well, will they be here soon?

I don't mind waiting.

Day after next.

Then it's settled.

$600.

- Wait. - Here you are.

Nonsense. I'll spend the next few days surveying the land.

I'll be quiet. You won't even know that I'm here.

Then when your boys arrive you can come find me

and we can all have a little chat.

How does that sound?

What about the money

if they decide not to accept your offer?

What money?

So?

We're oil men from Antelope.

Gosh, we don't know the first thing about oil, Alan.

Yeah, doesn't matter.

Frank and Jesse will be here in two days.

We lay low until then, pretend to be survey in the land.

Then when he arrives, we'll come out guns blazing.

How was she?

Zerelda.

She's got her wits about her.

We cannot afford to let her know that something's not right.

And believe me, she'll sniff us out if we do.

How you gonna explain my being here?

Oh my apprentice from Kansas. No problem.

Put some coffee on.

We'll take shifts watching the house.

- You first. - You got it.

Boss.

- Gotta see this. - What? What is it?

What happened?

Who the hell is he?

You've got to be kidding me.

Oil speculator. What are the odds?

I didn't actually think there could be oil

under these rocks when I came up with the idea.

Well, what now?

Maybe Mrs. James will shoot him.

She nearly shot me.

Yeah, I think we ought to get ahead of this.

Agreed.

Let's go have a little chat with him, shall we?

Afternoon gentlemen. This your land?

That depends on who's asking.

Gene Rogers with the Northwest Oil and Gas Company.

How do you do?

I'm gonna have to ask you to leave.

But you haven't heard my offer yet?

No need.

You heard him, mister, get outta here.

I'm sorry. And you are?

I ain't asking you again.

He's with me and I'm afraid my answer is still no.

Besides, we already have an offer

from Antelope to drill under these rocks.

Antelope?

This far east?

Anything else, Mr. Rogers?

It says here that the home is owned

by a Zerelda James.

And your point?

Well, I haven't looked up your dresses yet,

but the notion seems odd.

Maybe your paperwork is just a little out of date.

I purchased the home from Zerelda many months ago.

I'm sure she's moved on by now.

- To? - Lafayette.

- Louisiana? - That's the one.

Time to go, mister.

Lafayette, you say.

Excuse me, gentleman.

I believe I'll have a word on my own accord.

Take one more step, it'll be your last.

My name is Alan Pinkerton.

My detective and I are conducting an investigation.

An investigation of which you are now impeding upon,

which so you know is a federal crime.

- Pinkerton. - That's right.

Now you get the hell out of here

before I allow Mr. Ward to put a bullet in your head

and tell the marshal trail thieves had their way with you.

Go on, get outta here.

You got a good reason to be welding

that pistol around here like that?

Just warden off competition is all.

- Competition? - Speculators.

We spoke of this the other night at your table.

- Who's he? - This is Mr. Ward.

He's my foreman.

Ma'am.

You fellas had any breakfast yet?

Not yet. No.

We start our work early.

Well, come on, get yourself something to eat.

Work will wait.

Coffee's ready while you wait.

I've been thinking about our arrangement.

Oh?

Now $600, that stays with me.

That goes without saying.

Of course.

But when my boys get here,

there's something about them you should know.

They despise oil men.

No, not that.

I didn't raise my children to do bad things.

I always thought of life like a book.

Good things happen and so do the bad

and us characters in this story,

well, we can all survive a few bad chapters, right?

My boys grew up outlaws.

We deal with many different types

of people in our line of work.

Not like my boys. You don't.

Please go on.

Robbing banks, stealing money from trains.

No one has a child hoping they'll grow up to be Jesse James.

Yeah.

Just because you share the same last name

with an infamous outlaw, that doesn't make you as bad as he.

Well now that is true.

That don't help the fact none that I'm his mother.

Your son is Jesse James, the outlaw.

- And Frank. - His older brother.

He's smart.

He don't take as many risks.

You think your boys will agree to lease us the land?

I don't know.

They're not too trusting of strangers.

Much less businessmen.

Maybe you should have a little talk with them first.

Grease the wheels, as we say in the oil business.

After all, you trust us, right?

No one can know about this.

No one.

I will sign the lease in alias.

Precisely.

No one has to know your true identities.

- No one. - Not a soul.

Except for Mr. Ward and myself.

And it would behoove us for obvious reasons

to keep our mouths shut.

You stay in hiding until I send word for you.

Frank and Jesse shouldn't know that you're here

until I present the idea to them.

Mrs. James, you're speaking

as if our lives are in danger.

They are.

What the hell you think you're doing?

Pinkerton.

I think that's a lie.

Oh?

That's right.

You fellas from Antelope are just trying

to scare me off the lease is all.

Put your gun down right now.

I don't think I will.

I don't see why you should get

in the way of me leasing this land.

I think there's been a big misunderstanding here.

Oh no, I understand quite clearly, oil man.

So tell me,

what is it that makes the house on the hill so special?

The mother of Jesse James lives there.

- Alan! - It's all right Mr. Ward.

Mr. Jean here will be dead in a matter of minutes.

Is that so?

That's right.

Do you know what we're doing here?

No?

We're setting a trap, an ambush.

We aim to kill the outlaw,

Jesse James, when he arrives here tomorrow.

Now in a matter of minutes, this forest will be surrounded

by Kate Warren and 20 of my most deadly secret agents.

And as you can imagine, they will not hesitate to shoot

and kill you when they see your weapon drawn

in my general direction.

- Prove it. - All right.

If you will allow me to remove my billfold,

I have an official writ from the governor

of Missouri himself containing the details of this mission.

Go on.

Well. She probably heard that.

Well if she asks, we're warding off wild cats.

Get rid of the body in case she comes wandering out

this way quickly.

Ah, man.

Mama.

Lemme look at you.

You're looking so thin.

Ain't anyone feeding you?

Where's your brother?

He couldn't make it.

Business.

Couldn't take the time to see his own mother?

Oh, it's not like that. Somebody had to stay behind.

- How you been? - Good, mama.

Everybody sends their love.

So you wanna tell me why we're meeting all the way

in the woods like this and not back of the house?

A man come to see me.

First just the one and, and then his foreman too.

What men?

Oil men. Antelope Oil company.

And they proved this to you?

Mama, there's a lot of bad men after me, okay?

Frank too.

He said there might be 10,000 barrels

of oil beneath our feet.

He gave me $600 just to look around.

He said we can make up

to $5,000 a month if they find a gusher.

And what if there's no oil on the land?

Then what?

We get to keep the 600.

Jesse, this could be a way out

of all them things you do.

You don't think I like what I do?

You ever stopped to think about that?

You're too busy trying to get me to settle down.

I like who I am.

And no amount of money,

certainly not no $600,

is gonna send me to the front porch

for the rest of my days.

I only want the good things for you and your brother.

I know, mama.

This thing with the oil, that what you want?

Change my life, our lives.

Then that settles it.

Take my coach, go back to the house, I'll meet you there.

- Where are you going? - And I'll go get Frank.

We'll return to meet this oil man together.

I ain't gonna let no one make a fool out of my mama.

Frank's keen on business. You know that.

All right.

There's a coach out front.

Coach?

Their mother's got company.

Are you sure it's Jesse's?

I didn't see him for certain. No.

Well then you don't know.

We have to be positive.

Who else is gonna be out here, Alan?

Well, I don't think it's wise

to arrive without an invitation.

I don't wanna spook herl

What if this opportunity passes?

We can't afford to miss our chance.

And Jesse ain't gonna be back here

before we gotta make for Maryland.

I'm aware of the stakes, Ward.

Now please, your constant talk has giving me a headache.

Stakes.

Speculators.

We saw a pair of them earlier,

but don't worry, we scared 'em off.

Told them Mrs. James is only interested in doing business

with the Antelope Oil and Trading company.

You know I find it peculiar,

two of you show up outta nowhere

and all of a sudden I got

other oil men showing up as well.

Word travels fast in the oil business.

Bunch of savages that we are.

Would you like some supper?

Well, we appreciate the invitation,

but we really should be headed back to camp.

No, I insist that you come.

We have business to discuss.

He's here.

How you know?

She's playing the game.

She doesn't want us to know that he's here,

but he most definitely is.

Follow me.

You know, I was wondering.

It's such a nice evening out.

Would it be too much trouble

to have our meal out here on the porch?

You wanna eat your food outside?

Truth be told us oil men are used

to living life in the wilderness.

- Is that right? - Sometimes being

inside can feel a bit foreign to us.

What about you? You wanna eat out here too?

- Yes ma'am. - Suit yourselves.

I'll be back.

- I gotta look inside. - Go that way.

Check the windows.

Meet back here before she arrives with the meal.

Well?

I didn't see nothing.

Did you get to look at the coach?

It's still out there.

Dammit.

What now?

If we're wrong, we could hang for this.

Zerelda James, my name is Alan Pinkerton.

My agency has sent me here for the capture of your sons,

Frank and Jesse James.

If either or both of them are inside, have them step outside

so my agent and I could take them in.

You will not be harmed.

I repeat. You will not be harmed.

Just have your boys come on out.

We don't want to have to force our way into the home.

No one has to die.

'Cept maybe Jesse and Frank.

How 'bout we just go in?

Last chance.

We started shooting in five seconds.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

Anybody in there still alive?

Come on out.

You won't be here for much longer, I can assure you that.

Go check inside.

Careful.

- Come here. - Get your hands of me.

Get out of here.

Stop it. Don't start struggling.

- No. You're lying. - You idiot.

- You'll get shot. - Foolish going easy.

You son of a bitch. - You're gonna get shot again.

- Get off me. - Hey, stop.

You get off me.

Get out.

Oil man, you sons of bitches.

Where is he?

Where is Jesse?

He knew not to trust you.

- Yeah. - He was never here.

He warned me about you.

What do you mean he isn't here?

His coach is out front.

Idiots.

Jesse's always been a step ahead of you Pinkertons.

What are you gonna do now?

We're not gonna kill this woman.

We're not gonna save her life either.

So let me get this straight.

You two shot up Zerelda's home

thinking the James brothers were inside

and come to find out they're not.

That about sums it up. Yeah.

What happened to the old lady?

- Who cares? - Who cares?

You're gonna have to answer to the agency for this cock up.

It's my agency, Kate.

I don't have to answer to anyone.

Anyway, I took care of that case for you. Drysdale.

- Oh? - Yeah.

It was fairly simple too.

The wife basically led me straight to him.

Where?

Where what?

Where'd you put him down?

Inside of his home.

I think I'll start the long ride back to Maryland.

What you want us to do now?

Chicago.

Wait for me there.

I'll send word when I get there.

Alan,

are you all right?

I'll be fine.

Safe travels.

I'll see you soon.

Do you really think he's okay?

After coming that close to Jesse James and missing,

would you be?

- Easy. - You crook.

I know you stole that bag of coins.

Better?

You and your men have until the sun goes down

to ride out of town.

Or what?

You're gonna toss me in a cell back there with Hamilton?

Hamilton's gone.

Front of a judge?

Gallows.

Justice.

Anyway, I only came to return to you

what was yours in the first place.

You won't be seeing me again.

Wait, the Pinkertons,

I heard the agency was hiring.

You own a good suit?

Matter of fact, now I do.

Mama?

Mama?

Ma.

Mom.

Mama.

Mama.

Mama.

Mama.

Ma.

Frank.

Get the horses.