Original subtitles

Rough old bird, Will Jamison.

Had himself buried up on top of this hill

so he could sort of watch over his land.

Did he own all of this?

Yep. Controlled 100 miles of trail...

Water holes, grazing strip, the works.

One of those early land grants.

Well, he made sure people wouldn't forget him, anyway, huh?

And they won't.

Oh?

Bossed every rancher who settled here.

You either did business his way or you starved.

He was tough, huh?

I bet the Major wrapped him around his little finger

when he talked him into letting the wagon train cross this ground, didn't he?

Must have. Saves us time, and it's safe.

Hey! What are they hanging around here for?

I don't know, Charlie.

"Deliver to Beauty Jamison."

Hmm. Who's Beauty Jamison? His daughter.

What's that?

"Ed Stringer."

What do you suppose he done wrong?

For one thing, he missed.

This gun's had a lot of use.

Do you suppose he's from the Jamison ranch?

No, the old man was too good at throwing lead himself to hire a gunslinger.

That's how he kept the small ranchers in line.

But if Beauty Jamison's trying to ride herd

over this territory, that's another thing.

She'll need an army of hired guns to keep 'em in line!

As long as there's a private war going on here,

it might not be safe to bring the wagon train this way.

They're about ready to make camp.

You ride back and tell the Major to stay put until he hears from me.

Right. What about him? You read the note, didn't you?

Gonna deliver him?

You know a better way to meet a lady?

Pleasure's all yours, boy. Keep your eyes open.

I'll tell you, Ed Stringer'll never be back.

Waste of time looking for him.

Two to one one of them small ranchers done shot him.

Did you find him? Nope, not a trace.

Been combing those plains since sunup.

I told the boss when she made Stringer foreman he'd never last.

You telling Miss Jamison what to do now, Jud?

She could do a lot worse than listening to me.

Maybe you'd like a crack at being foreman. Why not?

What's so tough about keeping a lot of half-starved little ranchers in line?

All you need's a plan, what it takes to make it work.

Jud.

I don't care who hears it.

Sue Lin, you tell the boss that for me.

Just tell her what I said!

Sue Lin!

Sue Lin!

Can't rely on anybody around here.

I dry. Never mind now!

Where have you been? As if I didn't know.

You been listening to all those cowhands gripe

'cause I make 'em work for a change.

Well, did they find Ed Stringer yet?

Huh?

I know the answer to that too.

Well, he'll probably show up around here tonight, dead drunk.

Or maybe he won't show up at all.

I could have sworn he was the man for the job.

Well...

well, don't just stand there, finish me!

You know, talking to you is like talking to a sphinx.

Can't you ever say anything?

Short hair no good for a woman.

My father liked it this way, and that's the way it's going to stay.

Your father not here anymore.

Don't say that.

I should have sent you out to pasture, and I will, too,

if you don't stop treating me like a little girl.

You're not a little girl.

Also not yet a woman.

Get out.

Get out!

What does she mean?

It's not so bad!

Ohh!

You're sure you've told me all you know?

Yeah, I'm sure.

Look at him.

Isn't that a fine-looking foreman?

First shoestring rancher gets out of line sends him home feet-first.

Bury him...

far away from here.

Slim!

You know,

you could have saved us a lot of time and trouble by burying him yourself.

I didn't think your father would like to share his private cemetery.

All right. What do you want for your trouble?

Wasn't any trouble, ma'am.

You're entitled to something.

Nothing you could give me.

So that's Flint McCullough, huh?

Flint McCullough.

High and mighty for a wagon train scout, wouldn't you say, ma'am?

Be needin' a new foreman, Miss Beauty.

Now that the job's open again...

I told you before, Jud, the answer is no.

Mr. McCullough,

I'm sorry if I sounded blunt before.

Didn't matter.

Will you have supper with me?

In payment for my trouble?

How many apologies do I have to make?

I, um, take it you accept.

You knew that all along.

You have any ideas...

forget 'em.

Ideas about what?

About hangin' around, lookin' for a job, maybe.

It's a thought. Don't try me.

You frighten me.

What's going on around here, Luke?

Two of my strays wandered onto her grazing land.

While I was trying to round 'em up,

Beauty Jamison's foreman spotted me.

You call Ed Stringer a foreman?!

Enforcer would be more like it.

I tried explaining,

but he just kept standing there with that smirk on his face

and his fingers itchin' to draw,

and he would have if I'd give him half a chance!

You knew there'd be trouble if you crossed Stringer.

I didn't think.

When I come out to the barn this morning, this is what I found.

What kind of a man does it take to cut a horse's throat?

The minute I saw that knife,

I knew who done it, and I went after him.

And right in front of the old man's monument, we locked horns.

I'm not much of a shot, but there are other ways to kill.

You know what you've done?

It was bad enough trying to keep the peace with the old man alive,

but now, killing a hired gun...!

What other choice did I have?

I tried to get through to the water hole this afternoon.

Her men stopped me. I didn't do anything about it.

She refuses us the right to pass. Our cattle will die of starvation or thirst.

All I want is to be left alone.

There's no chance of that now, not with Stringer dead.

She'll lay this whole blame on us.

I think you're wrong, Ralph.

I don't think Beauty ordered Stringer

to run wild like he's been doing.

What'd she expect, hiring a killer?

I don't think she knows what she's doing.

She knows what she's doing!

Well, it hasn't been easy for her,

taking over the ranch,

trying to live up to a legend.

A legend!

Will Jamison rode roughshod over this land

and all the people on it all the time he was alive.

She's no different. Matter of fact, she's worse.

I'll never believe that.

You're blinded by her. Accept the fact she's not in love with you.

I wish you hadn't said that, Luke!

It's time

somebody said it. When are you gonna wake up?

She's a bad woman!

I don't agree with you,

and I prefer not to discuss it!

Now, I do agree that she's gone too far this time.

I've written to Washington,

asking the government to investigate the Jamison land grand.

Lot of good that'll do.

It'll take months before some clerk even bothers to answer us.

Meanwhile we've got to do business her way or starve to death!

Well, I'll talk to her, try to bring her to her senses.

You've tried to talk to her before, Steve.

I'll try again.

And she'll turn you down again, like she always done. Then what?

We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

I'm sorry about your horse, Luke.

Beauty'll replace it, I'll see to it.

No matter what that woman does,

you still think there's good in her, don't you, Steve?

They belonged to my father.

Most everything around here does.

As it should.

You mind if I ask you a question?

No.

What are you trying to prove?

I don't believe I understand.

Yes, you do.

You understand perfectly.

My father left me with a big responsibility.

I'm just trying to live up to it.

You know that every tenth word out of your mouth is "father"?

He was a great man, the first to settle here.

He built this house, became rich, famous.

He paved the way for every rancher that followed,

and what's more, he taught me...

everything you know.

Especially how to hold onto

and control everything that's mine.

And do you control everything?

Everything.

You're smug, arrogant, and overbearing.

But I promised myself I wouldn't let you make me angry,

especially since you're going to work for me.

Am I?

Naturally.

Oh, I've been watching you, Mr. McCullough.

And whether you realize it or not,

you have an ability for leadership.

Which is the first thing to look for in a foreman.

Your father always said.

After you've been here a while, you'll learn

to respect the name of Will Jamison.

Oh, you two would have gotten along.

I'm sure of that.

And you'll rule those ranchers just the way he did,

with an iron hand.

Those ranchers... do you know what they're asking?

Throw open the ranges. Rights of way.

No restrictions on water holes.

What's wrong with that?

Oh, excuse me, Beauty, I...

Steve. I thought I told you I didn't want to see you again.

Steve Marshall!

Flint! Flint McCullough!

You're the last man in the world I expected to find here.

I heard you'd settled down to ranching out here.

Yeah, three years ago.

There's nothing left in Georgia for me anymore.

You look fine, just fine.

You'd be surprised how much ranching a man can do with one hand.

Oh, excuse me, Beauty. I didn't mean to be rude,

but it's just that I'm so happy to set eyes on this old boy again.

Well, you'll be seeing a lot more of him from now on.

Aren't you scouting for the wagon train anymore?

He's just agreed to become my new foreman.

Let's just say that the lady offered me the job.

Well, if I thought there was any chance of you accepting...

He'll accept.

So, if any of your friends have any problems,

you can take them up with Mr. McCullough...

without knives.

That's what I came here to talk to you about.

There's nothing to discuss.

Just like that? Now, listen to me, Beauty...

Don't you use that tone with me!

Beauty, what is it going to take to make you understand?

Now, let's get the facts straight.

If I had wanted to, I could have formed a posse

to hunt down the man who murdered Ed Stringer.

And do you know why Ed Stringer was murdered?

Because he tried to take the law into his own hands.

Well, I never told him to do that.

Deliberately, wantonly destroying a rancher's most valuable possession.

Cutting a horse's throat!

And when the owner went after him, he tried to kill him too!

Well, Stringer is dead and buried.

There's nothing we can do about that now.

You're the one I'm worried about.

All this fightin', this resistin',

this livin' in the past will destroy you.

It's the future that counts!

The West is going to change this country,

and it's up to us to change with it.

Why, you could light up the name of Jamison,

make it shine more brightly than your father ever dreamed of doing.

Don't you say that!

Sounds to me like the man's telling the truth.

I might have known you two would agree...

Little men with little ideas.

And to think I wasted my breath

offering you the chance of a lifetime!

Get out of my house, both of you!

Is everything all right, Miss Beauty?

Oh, why?

Why does it always have to be this way?

Why couldn't my father have had what he wanted...

A son to take his place?

I've failed him,

and I'll keep on failing him

because I am what I am.

Flint McCullough!

I knew he'd turn you down.

Turn me down? What do you mean?

I don't need Steve Marshall, McCullough, or anybody.

I'll manage just the way my father said I would.

I'll have what I want, and I'll do what I want!

Not alone you won't, Miss Beauty.

Nobody does it alone, especially a woman.

I remember something your father once said,

be good advice for you to follow. Want to hear it?

No! I'll tell you anyway.

Put the right man in the right job and give him his head.

That's all you need, Miss Beauty,

is the right man.

And you think you're the right man.

In more ways than one.

Must get kind of lonely out here, Steve,

living all by yourself.

It's a far cry from what I grew up with in Atlanta.

Well, I'm afraid that's dead and buried in your past.

My past is still with me.

But as you say, it's lifeless.

My books are the only exception, of course.

Whatever happened to your writing?

I still write...

not that it's of any use out here.

I suppose that's the first thing that made Will Jamison suspicious about me.

Pretty hard to talk about anything around here

without the name Will Jamison cropping up, isn't it?

Well, when a man spends a lifetime satisfying his ambitions,

the damage he does comes home to roost,

and it remains long after he's gone.

Tomorrow morning, some of the neighboring ranchers will be riding in here.

They'll want to know what I accomplished tonight,

what Beauty's next move is going to be.

And you know the answer to that as well as I do.

Another Ed Stringer... They'll not stand for it.

And they won't listen to me anymore either.

Nothing can stop this thing until the prairie has run red with blood.

Oh, I've failed, Flint.

I've failed the men that trusted me,

failed Beauty...

and myself.

Man can't fight and love the same thing.

I never said I... You didn't have to.

I knew how you felt about her the minute you looked at her.

It's been that way from the start,

even though I know what she stands for

and what her father forced her to be.

Trouble is, you're too good for her.

Too full of breeding, manners, education.

The only way to handle a woman like Beauty Jamison is to break her.

You don't understand.

Rope her, tie her, grind her nose into the dirt.

That she'll respect and understand.

I-I couldn't.

Then give her up.

I can't do that either.

That's why I'm getting out of here.

You've changed, Steve.

Steve Marshall,

the man who fought through four years of civil war,

the man who had the courage to start all over again from scratch

giving up because of a woman...

and the ghost of her old man.

You've said just about enough, Flint.

You're right.

Said enough, seen enough, heard enough.

Best thing for me to do is get back to the wagon train

and get it out of here as soon as possible.

Flint, you think I want to give up?

Then stop feeling sorry for yourself.

If you can't convince Beauty Jamison to see things your way,

you've got to fight her.

What are you going to tell the small ranchers when they get here?

Well, I'm not sure.

I am.

The problem you're facing, you know, is nothing new.

It exists all over the West,

wherever special privileges have been handed out to one man.

What's the answer?

You've been fighting as individuals.

You've got to fight as a group, an association.

It'll never work.

Worked in Texas. Why shouldn't it work here?

Mmm.

Cattlemen's association.

Of all the men who ever worked here,

my father trusted you the most, Chris.

For good reason, Miss Beauty...

He gave the orders, and I followed them.

I should have made you foreman from the start.

Foreman?

Was a time when I wanted that job

more than anything in the world.

Well, you've got it.

No. It's too late now.

Nonsense.

You know more about this ranch than anybody on it.

I reckon I do, Miss Beauty.

Your father never let up driving from the first day he hired me.

Well, he appreciated you, just like I do.

That's why I'm offering you the job.

And I'm still turning it down, Miss Beauty.

For 20 long years your father promised to make me foreman.

He dangled that job before me like sugar before a colt.

But he never gave it to me.

He couldn't give up that much power...

Not as long as there was breath left in his body...

Not to me or any other man.

I'm not blaming him, or... I'm not complaining, but...

now I...

I just don't care anymore.

Well, Chris...

I need you.

Badly.

In a lifetime, everybody needs, Miss Beauty.

Some get. Some don't.

The strong survive, and... the weak hang on,

swept along with the tide.

Get yourself a younger man, Miss Beauty.

Somebody with get-up-and-go,

somebody who'll stop at nothing to get his way,

not even stop for the name of Jamison.

But, uh...

you don't want that kind of a man, do you, Miss Beauty?

No.

Not any more than your father did.

Of course, if you were different...

you'd have a choice.

A choice?

If you don't mind my saying,

you'll never get what you want, Miss Beauty,

driving as hard as your father.

And you were right when you said

I'd be wasting my time talking to Beauty Jamison again.

Knew it all along.

What'd she do, hire another gunslinger for a foreman?

Somebody else to push us around?

Or has she made up her mind to starve us into quittin'?

MAN: Not me, she won't!

You know, maybe Luke had the right idea to start with,

and if lead's gonna fly, I'm shootin' first.

And keep shootin', till every right-of-way,

grazing strip, and water hole is open and free!

We're not gonna get anywhere with lead and buckshot!

You got a better idea?

Flint McCullough's got a solution.

I can give it to you in two words, men...

Cattlemen's association.

Cattlemen's association?!

That's right. All of you organized for the same purpose.

What good will that do us? She'll still fight us her way.

Not if your organization is strong enough.

You can force her into joining you.

You thing Beauty Jamison would join an association with us?

MAN: Never in a million years!

MAN #2: No more than her father would!

She'd destroy us one by one.

One by one, yes...

but not if you're organized.

The time for fighting as individuals has passed.

Then if she refuses to join you,

she'll find that she's alone.

Not as long as she can hire men to fight for her.

That's not what I mean,

fighting with hired guns, men with no stake in the future.

You're the men that are building the West!

You've got something to fight for.

But you've got to be organized.

If you fight as individuals, you'll fail.

That's the way it's been, that's the way it's always going to be,

but once you're organized, mark my words,

the day'll come when Beauty Jamison'll come to you,

get down on her knees, and beg to join you.

MAN: I don't know.

What have you got to lose?

Chris.

Yeah?

I just came from the Marshall place.

Those ranchers are banding together,

forming a cattlemen's association

to break Jamison rule once and for all.

Jud, you don't know what you're talking about.

I'll tell you, I know what I'm talking about.

Tomorrow morning, not a hand working here will be safe.

They'll pick us off one by one,

just the way they got Stringer, in the back.

We know why Stringer was killed.

Maybe if he'd talked less and threw more lead, he'd still be alive.

A gunslinger for a foreman, huh?

What do we got now? Nothing.

Everybody's standing around, waiting to be told what to do.

Miss Beauty will make up her mind to do the right thing.

Ah, she doesn't know what she wants, but I do.

Either we get someone who knows what he's doing to take over here,

or I quit.

Jud, you're a troublemaker.

Leave him alone, Jud!

Jud!

You're fired!

You're wrong.

I quit.

Why do you always have to cause trouble?

I was just trying to tell them,

the ranchers are banding together,

forming a cattlemen's association.

That's true? It's true.

How do I know you're not lying?

Ask McCullough, and your friend Steve Marshall.

Come to my office.

You all get to work.

You heard what the boss said. Get to work.

All right, Jud, you win.

The job is yours.

Wasn't easy for you to say that, was it, ma'am?

I'm not through yet. Let me finish first.

I know what you're thinking...

Things have come to a sorry pass

when you have to turn to an ignorant hillbilly for help.

I'm proud of being a hillbilly.

I fought my whole life, just like he did.

You know why, ma'am?

'Cause I knew someday my chance would come.

That's why I'm thanking you,

telling you you'll never regret it.

Just remember this... Many a man fails

because he uses his fists instead of his brain.

Your father used both.

There was only one Will Jamison.

Never struck without reason. Never acted without a cause.

The future's up to you, Jud.

I think it's time we talked to Marshall and McCullough.

Why?

Between the two of them, they have every rancher for miles around

screaming for blood.

Cattlemen's association, remember?

Either we stop 'em right now, or I won't be responsible.

All right. I'll be right with you.

It's unanimous, Steve. You're the chairman.

I'm sure you can make it work.

I wish I had your confidence, McCullough.

You say this system turned out all right in Texas, huh?

Complete success.

And once this territory's voted into the Union,

the position the association will put you in

will be one of strength.

I hope so. The way things have been going,

this state's gonna wind up being called Jamison.

I'd even settle for that if Beauty agrees to join us.

You're gonna have your chance to talk to her.

She's outside.

Go ahead, tell the lady what we've been cooking up.

Well, uh, I...

Steve here's willing to name the territory Jamison...

That is, after it becomes a state...

Providing you join the cattlemen's association they just formed.

How generous.

Beauty, we've formed an association.

We have our terms, and we're willing to be fair,

and if you'll respect our demands,

we'll be peaceful and no one will get hurt.

And if you'll join us...

There isn't going to be any cattlemen's association, is that clear?

Not as long as there's a Jamison running the territory.

Now, either you forget this nonsense,

or I won't stop until every homesteader and rancher is driven out of here.

Just how do you plan to do that?

That'll be my job.

If you want to keep yours, McCullough,

you'd better get back to that wagon train and start traveling

before permission to cross Jamison land is canceled.

Your father gave the Major right-of-way here.

You takin' it away?

I will, unless you mind your own business and clear out of here.

Mr. Bascombe here has full authority to act in my behalf.

Beauty, you can't be serious.

McCullough's trying to help all of us.

It's all here... an honest set of rules and regulations.

Looks like somebody's gonna have to take care of one more enforcer.

If that comes to pass, it'll be my job.

Don't think it'll be easy.

Jud Bascombe!

Reminds me of a man with growing pains.

I said I'd handle him.

You'll have to do better with him than you did with his boss.

Well, I'd like to stay around for the fun, fellas,

but if I don't get back to Major Adams,

I'm gonna be in more trouble with him than you are with Beauty Jamison.

But I'll be back. Good luck.

Well, now what?

We're going ahead... just as we planned.

Wooster! Hey, you got back, huh?

Yeah, I got back all right. Where's the Major?

He's out with Hawks checking the stock, but he's been barking.

He's gonna have to bark a while longer.

The way things look on the Jamison place,

we'd be better off if we backtracked 400 miles through Indian country.

That's what the Major's been barking about.

That new Jamison foreman gave the Major a fit.

Jud Bascombe's been here? Yeah.

Let's go find the Major, Charlie.

Come in.

Wanted to see me, ma'am?

I didn't tell you to go.

Has McCullough gone back to the wagon train?

Yep.

Are they rolling?

Nope.

How do you know?

Looked for myself.

Is that all you've got to do?

I had my reasons. Flint McCullough.

I'm not interested.

Those ranchers have been awfully quiet the last 24 hours.

They're up to something, and I don't like it.

Cattlemen's association's on the move.

What are you talking about?

Meetings all over the range.

Parker, Rinaldi, and Beacham's steers

have been driven to the well near the ridge.

Half a dozen other herds grazing all over the north slope.

You've done nothing about it?

I know what I'd like to do.

Well, what's stopping you?

That an order?

When you took this job, I told you to think for yourself.

I remember.

I'll start at daybreak tomorrow.

Don't talk, act.

Is that all, ma'am?

That's all.

Burn that hay!

Get some buckets, Mother!

Hurry, Mother.

I saw them headed this way.

I tried to round up some of the ranchers.

Worse now than it's ever been.

I've had enough of that Jud Bascombe!

Steve, wait!

He doesn't have a chance by himself.

Stop it!

Stop it!

That's enough!

Just get him out of here!

Hey! Hiya! Hey!

Sometimes it takes more than brains.

You're the one I'm worried about.

What are you trying to prove?

Also not yet a woman.

That's all you need, Miss Beauty.

The right man.

If you were different, you'd have a choice.

You're the one I'm worried about.

Nothing you could give me.

Also not yet a woman.

You're the one I'm worried about.

Get out of here.

I'm good for everything else around here.

You touch me again and I'll kill you.

Steve.

What happened to you?

Jud Bascombe.

I should have finished him.

I could have, at the start of the fight.

Well, why didn't you?

Killing's not in me.

And after the way he ran roughshod over us,

killing cattle, burning ranches...

Why, he practically ruined us.

I'm sorry, Steve. That's my fault.

This is not your fight, Flint.

Take that wagon train and get on out of here.

I can't. Bascombe's seen to that too.

We've no right-of-way unless we pay a toll,

and $20 a wagon is more money than the people can afford.

As bad as Will Jamison was, he never demanded a toll.

What are you gonna do?

Talk to Beauty.

If we have to backtrack, it's a 400-mile detour.

That takes us through Indian country,

costs us time we can't afford to lose.

Beauty's men got to you too.

She knew what she was doing when she put Bascombe in charge.

That's some of your ranchers.

They said they'd be back.

I'm afraid I'm not gonna be much help.

You just stay right where you are.

I hope they stick together. It's the only chance they've got.

Glad you're here, McCullough. We could use you.

Use me for what? We're paying Beauty Jamison back.

Ralph, Luke, listen to me.

Steve, don't worry, we'll take care of everything.

We'll report to you. We'll be at my place later.

I'll catch up with you.

It had to come, Steve.

I still wish you wouldn't enter into this, Flint.

They'll fight anyway, whether I'm with 'em or not,

and they can use an extra gun.

Flint...

I know this is gonna sound ridiculous to you,

but see that nothing happens to Beauty.

I love her.

Light the torches! Get that man out of there!

I said light the torches!

Jud, I've had enough. I'm not gonna stand for it!

You wanted to see me.

Not through choice.

It's hard to believe that one woman could cause so much trouble.

If you think I'm gonna stand here while you...

Shut up and listen!

To think that Steve Marshall

is still willing to put up with you.

He shouldn't have fought with Jud.

It's not Jud Bascombe he's fighting, it's Jamison...

Everything your name stands for,

the proud heritage your father left.

My father is dead.

But you won't admit it,

and so he goes right on telling you what to do

because you're afraid to live without him.

Why do you think Steve is fighting?

To try to make you open your eyes, to make you realize...

because he loves you, and it's too bad,

because you don't even know the meaning of the word.

Are you finished?

No.

But before the night is over, Jamison rule will be.

And not one rancher striking back

will know one moment of regret.

Striking back?

Just the way Jud Bascombe did, following your orders...

Destroying property, persecuting people,

even demanding a toll from the wagon train.

I never told him to do that.

Miss Beauty, Mr. Steve's ranch on fire!

What?

Mr. Steve's ranch on fire!

No!

Wait!

Don't let him get out.

Go ahead, Bascombe, draw.

No gun.

Knife?

Ohh!

Take care of these men!

Bascombe's already dead!

That's one less to worry about.

How's Steve? I'm all right.

The rest of the ranchers are coming in from all sides.

We'll surround the place. We'll burn it to the ground.

MAN: Burn the name Jamison out of the country!

Hold it, men, wait a minute. There's no need for that.

BEAUTY: What are you waiting for?

Burn it!

Burn it to the ground!

Burn this place and all it stands for out of my life,

once and for all!

I don't care anymore!