Original subtitles

(car engine)

- One thing I like about your shortcuts, old boy,

they're so scenic.

Just look at those bubbling streams and the rolling

Texas hills.

- Okay so I goofed.

- Well let me ask you something, uh, pathfinder.

If we stay on this course for, oh say, a couple more days,

will we still be in Texas?

- Look, the map says Harcourt Juncture,

straight ahead, shortcut to Dallas.

- Mm, the map also says booming oil fields.

I don't hear any booms.

- There you are.

The trouble with you?

No faith, no vision.

Can't you just imagine one of those zingy little

boom towns with plenty of action?

Come on, go man, go.

(door crashing)

(suspenseful music)

- Okay, get him in here.

Candy, cover the road from the spot I pointed out.

- 200 miles for this?

Man it's like a tinker town.

- I mean now.

Move.

- Now you watch yourself, you hear?

(suspenseful music)

(whistling)

- Oh, doggone.

God!

- [Man] Annie, Annie!

- Doodles, I swear if anybody offers me four bits

for all this junk I'll get out of this town for good.

- Guess who's here in the courthouse?

David!

David Joe!

That's right, he's back.

- Davey?

- He's with some others.

They all got guns.

I'll get Emlyn, and the sheriff.

(dramatic music)

- Davey, Davey.

There's a car coming down the road,

like a sports car maybe.

Two passengers.

- Let 'em come.

(suspenseful music)

- Davey, it is you.

Don't look at me hard like that dearie.

Have I changed though?

I feel the same, just the same.

Heart's pounding so I can't hardly breathe.

You know it like that first night we drove

Emlyn's old car clean to the top of Town Peaks.

You and me and the main stars blinking down on us.

You remember?

I never forgot, not for one day, not for one minute.

Five years I was waiting.

Dying in this dead town just waiting for you to come.

Just waiting for a chance to come face to face with you

and tell you just once more time that I still love you.

Davey, I still love you.

- Get out of my way, Annie.

- Five years all you can say is "Get out of my way?"

- What do you want from me, Annie?

Pick up an eraser like we did in school

and wipe it across the black board, bingo, all gone?

Thank God we staked this town into our tin place

like we was hugs at a swill.

Like nothing had happened, huh?

Like none of that happened, is that what you want from me?

Is that what you want, Annie?

- Davey, Davey, I...

- Look, this isn't Davey.

You get that through your head, girl.

You see this?

This is me.

So you just get them pretty high school girl dreams

out of your head, because that never happened.

That was kid stuff and kid dreams.

Now get out of my way.

(dramatic music)

- Zingy little boom town, huh?

(honking)

(clanking)

- Well, nobody in there either.

- Something weird going on around here.

- Weird, what's weird?

Maybe everybody's out to a community sing or something.

- Let's get out of here.

- You're going nowhere.

- Hello.

- Oh, hi.

- I was thinking about Old Man Bricken.

Don't imagine you remember him.

- Oh I remember him.

- Do you now?

You were just a boy.

Mighty nice little feller, if you recall.

Well he was just about the first arrest I made

after I was appointed deputy sheriff

by Harcourt Senior.

Well, we had a permanent judge in Harcourt those days.

- Oh I remember him, too.

Judge Calwell.

- That's right.

Wore a white, pointed mustache, made him look just

like the Kaiser.

- Hank, get to it.

- Get to what?

- [Emlyn] Whatever it was made you come way out here.

Now I know you didn't come out here just to talk to me about

the town drunk of 25 years ago.

Or some judge who's been dead and gone these past 15 years.

- Matter of fact, Evie told me to invite you to dinner

tonight, she's barbecuing that side of venison you gave us.

- You tell her I'll sure be there.

And you tell Evie thanks, too.

- I'll tell her.

Well, to get back to judge Calwell and Old Man Bricken.

Seeing you working away on that cathead reminded me

of what the judge said to Bricken when he was

sentencing him to 30 days for drunk and disorderly.

Bricken says he, you're an intelligent man,

but you're stubborn.

Now if you were to put that stubbornness to intelligent

use, instead of wasting all your energy fighting phantoms,

you could be a rich man.

Least wise, a happy one.

- I ain't quitting, Hank.

Thank you for your interest, I appreciate it, but...

- Interest?

Emlyn, I've known you all your life.

It breaks my heart to see you hanging onto a dead dream.

You're still young enough to make something out of your life

Look at you, 38, you look closer to 50.

Breaking your back and your heart on that crazy rig.

Be reasonable.

The oil is drained dry out of this part of the country.

- Not here, Hank.

I'm an oil man.

I'd stake my life there's oil in this anytime.

- You'll never find out without money enough

to dig dipper, and Bob Harcourt ain't about to

lend it to you, he's made that plain enough.

- Alright, he can go jump then,

I'll find the money someplace else.

- [Doodles] Emlyn!

Emlyn!

- It's old Doodles.

What's he doing way out here,

him can hardly walk across the room?

(suspenseful music)

- Bess, what's the matter?

- I'm sorry dad, he said he'd come after you

and kill you if I didn't get you down here.

- Kill?

Now see here young feller, you--

- Make you happier if I knock off your little girl, pops?

- But why?

Why should you want to kill either one of us?

- You won't hurt him, promise you won't hurt him.

- Depends on you, doll.

You just stay with the switchboard as usual,

and no out of town calls.

Like maybe to the nearest ranger station.

- I won't, I won't.

- [Vince] Then you got nothing

to lose your looks over.

Just keep working the board like nothing's happening.

That way nobody gets suspicious.

- But why?

- [Vince] Sweetie pie here's your insurance.

And you're hers.

Now move it, old man.

Davey, can you hear me?

- Yes.

- [Vince] We got all three, wireless operator,

phone girl's father, sheriff's wife.

- That's fine, bring 'em on in.

Picked up a couple of my own.

- Looks like we may hear some booms after all.

- Ah hey, there, big brother.

Was wondering how long it'd take you to get here.

- David what blazes are you up to?

Who are these two?

- I'm glad you asked that question, big brother.

We're a couple of strangers just passing through.

- Yeah we'd like to keep right on passing.

- Oh hey there Sheriff Drake, welcome to the party.

- Alright Davey, put down the artillery.

- Oh just like that, huh?

Put down the artillery?

Well now I know I'm home.

Get against the wall Davey, put your hands up Davey,

put 'em down, sit down Davey, stand up, eat, don't eat?

Breathe, don't breathe?

Now listen, listen all of you,

you think I won't use this on any of you, huh?

Go on, try me, just try me.

You.

You get the sheriff's 38.

Easy.

Put it over there on that desk.

- Okay, anything else?

- Yeah, prescription strength from the doctor.

You want to stay healthy you stop looking at me like that

and cut the wise cracks.

Now get back where you were.

- Evie.

- I'm alright, Henry.

- Hold it.

- So that's it.

David Joe, you're back.

- Hello, Mrs. Drake.

You know I'm sorry to put you through this,

you always treated me human.

Have 'em sit down.

Not, not you Mrs. Drake, you just stay right there.

I want you all to take a good look at the time.

Because in about 20 minutes,

Two o'clock express from San Anton

will be making a stop here.

Now why do you suppose it's stopping?

You all know the answer to that one.

Someone's getting off.

And you know who.

Snaps his fingers at express stops.

He sneezes and you start pushing hankies in his face.

Yeah, express is making a stop for one very important

passenger.

Now I think an important man like that ought to have

a reception committee; guess who?

- What do you want with Bob Harcourt?

- [David] And I might be a tooth,

what makes you so stupid big brother?

- Davey, no don't do it.

- [David] Shut up!

You, you make me sick.

Now I'm going down to that depot and I'm going to get

big shot junior and bring him back here.

We're going to have ourselves a show.

Right here in this crummy courthouse,

and I want everybody to see it.

Every man, woman, and child that can walk or crawl.

And you, Sheriff.

You take big brother and Annie, run 'em out.

- You give all the orders you want, Davey,

that doesn't mean we'll carry 'em out.

- Oh yeah I think you will.

You know I think everybody's going to do just like I say

because it'd be a shame to get poor old Luke there

killed, and Mr. Bolling, and Mrs. Drake,

now wouldn't it?

- Davey you harm her, and so help me, I'll...

- And you'll what?

Now get a move on.

- You were right, Davey.

None of it ever happened.

I never knew anybody named David Joe.

- Now, sit down, Mrs. Drake.

And that leaves you two.

- We pass.

- You know we could be out of town long before

that train gets here.

- Well now that's real smart,

what are you a college boy?

Hm, yeah sure you are.

Smart too, smart huh?

- But not as smart as you are, huh?

You think you've got it made.

You come into a town with all that artillery,

you kidnap a lot of people,

and you didn't even have to go to college for that, did you?

- Ah hah, Bobcat huh?

You'd like that, you and me.

You'd like that, huh?

- Come on, try me.

- I might just do that before I'm through.

Hogan, you use that if you have to.

And you shoot him first.

I'm gonna take you with 'em, Bobcat.

- [Vince] Wait a minute, Davey.

Punk will just get in the way.

- [David] Look we use your brains, lover boy,

you leave 'em together, they might be just

stupid enough to try to jump Hogan.

And you know something, they may be lucky enough to make it.

Real smart guy said once, divide and rule.

- Well that real smart guy got himself real dumb dead.

- Yeah, well so did a lot of wise guys who tried

to stand up against him, you remember that, college boy.

You too, Bobcat.

Now get a move.

I want you where I can smell what you're thinking.

(suspenseful music)

Okay Vince, get 'em outside now.

- Check.

You heard him, country boy.

Outside.

Like I told you, you want to stay alive, be nice.

Be friendly, jolly-like.

- Organization Bobcat, and a long time to think about it.

- Why tell me?

Don't you have enough of the home folk to show off to?

- Where are you from, Bobcat?

What's a hip guy like you doing in the middle of nowhere?

- Chasing a star.

- I asked a straight question, Bobcat.

- And I give you a straight answer, me and my buddy,

we're conducting a private treasure hunt.

You see it's like this, we're too old for diapers,

but too young for the slippers and fire side bit,

so we keep moving.

Place to place, town to town,

Wyoming, Montana, Pennsylvania, Texas.

The whole checkerboard.

You see, we're looking, trying to find us that star.

And when we do, we're gonna grab a piece of it

and stick it in the ground.

Then we put up a sign, "Home."

Okay?

- You mean it?

- Sure I mean it.

What are you chasing?

- Okay Bobcat, all you've got to do is sit still,

keep your business shut.

(train alarm)

- Howdy, Mr. Harcourt.

(car engine stalling)

- Hello Junior, long time no see.

- What do you want?

- You ought to know; as a starter how about 8,573 dollars?

Plus compound interest for five years.

(suspenseful music)

Well well well, here we are again.

Just like old time.

Hello Mr. Springfield, Mrs. Bartel.

You know, I haven't got time to greet each one of you

personally, but hi.

Sit down.

Suppose you're wondering what this is all about, huh?

Well this here is a court of law, ain't it?

We had a trial here five years ago, mine.

And we're just fixing to have another trial, his.

- Trial?

Where's your judge, where's your jury?

- I'm the judge, you want a jury, we pick it.

Hogan.

You're the foreman, get over there.

Vince, you're the bailiff, you get over here.

Now let me see.

12 men and women, good and true.

Alright, you four, and you, Mrs. Leftwell, Mr. Bolling.

Horace, you, Luke, Mrs. Drake.

That does it.

Well, seems like most of you served at my trial.

Alright, get in the jury box.

Okay, you got yourself a jury.

You want a defense attorney too?

Alright, you got it.

You, college boy, you're his attorney.

- You're kidding.

- Am I?

Over there.

- No, you're not kidding.

- Well are all of you just going to sit there,

let this jailbird take over the whole--

- Shut up!

You, Bobcat.

I'm going to make you Sergeant at Arms.

You make this man behave.

- Oh no, you make him behave.

(gun firing)

(gasping)

Why don't you do what he says, huh?

- Well there then now.

Everybody satisfied?

- No.

- No?

What's the objection?

- This isn't a trial, Davey, it's a kangaroo court.

- You appointed me defense attorney.

Will the court please state the charge?

- Willfully conspiring to railroad an innocent man

in prison, court's in session.

First witness, Ann O'Neil.

- Uh may I address the bench, your honor?

- You got something to say, say it.

- Who's the prosecutor around here?

- I am.

- [Defense] Both prosecutor and the judge?

- That's right, any objection?

- Well would it do any good if I was to object?

- [David] No.

Miss Ann O'Neil.

- [Defense] Okay again?

- Hey listen you, bob.

You and your buddy might think this is one big fat joke,

but you just hang around, you won't laugh.

Alright go ahead.

- My client would like a couple of minutes alone

with the witness.

- Now that's very irregular, on what grounds?

- We've had no time to prepare a defense.

- [David] Tough.

Sit down.

- What do you want from me, Davey?

- [David] The truth.

So help you, the whole truth.

Now I realize it might come a little hard,

kinda unfamiliar-like, but you just sit down there

and give it a whirl.

- Why now, I tried to see you in prison and explain

it to you, but oh no, you wouldn't see me.

You had your mind all made up, so why now?

You got what you came after.

You and your lovely friends.

So why don't you just clear out of here?

Let the whole miserable lot of us sit here

until we just dry up and blow away

like the rest of the dust out there on the flats?

- You left out a word: Justice.

Now sit down.

- Ann, I'm warning you,

you've still got to live in this town.

- Sergeant at Arms, quiet Junior down!

- The truth?

Alright Davey, you can have it.

Sure I fell for Bob's line.

Sure I let him romance me.

Why not?

You were so busy trying to prove to everybody

what a great big rebel you were.

Working in the oil fields like your brother

and my dad.

That was good enough for you.

So what were you?

Wild kid on a hot motorcycle.

Spent half your time in Sheriff Drake's pokey,

drunk and disorderly.

You were going to lick everybody in town,

isn't that what you used to brag?

Including yourself.

Including us.

- Look, you nevermind that stuff.

- You asked for the truth, you get the truth.

But all of it, not just the slice

that makes you look good.

And the truth is, I was seeing Bob for awhile,

but I didn't sell you out.

I couldn't get up on that stand and testify.

- Why not?

- Because your own attorney wouldn't let me.

That's right, Junior bought off your attorney.

That's what I came to prison to tell you,

but you wouldn't see me.

I tried, honest, I tried.

I went to the sheriff, and I want to the

district attorney, I even went to Austin

to the state police, I told them,

I told them all that you were innocent,

that you couldn't possibly have done it,

that you were with me the night the bank was robbed.

But they wouldn't listen to me,

they wouldn't believe me, they said I was making it up,

making it up because I loved you.

And about that, they were right.

I never loved anybody but you, Davey.

So just go ahead and shoot me if you want to.

'Cause I've been five years dead anyway.

(door slamming)

- Next witness, Emlyn Joe.

- Emlyn, you still want to finish that well, don't you?

I'm offering you that chance.

- I didn't have the nerve to stand up to him for you,

Davey.

I didn't have the money.

It would have taken big money to fight the Harcourts,

don't you understand?

- Yeah sure I understand.

Does that make you feel any better?

- No, Davey, it doesn't.

I let you down.

We all let you down one way or another.

Sheriff, Annie, me.

The whole town.

What can I say?

- Nothing.

Thanks very much, big brother.

Came a little late, but thanks.

- Next witness, Harcourt Junior.

You're up, Junior.

- What court of law forces a man to testify against himself?

- Oh I'm going to force out of Junior the truth.

Now, every good frame up needs a motive, right?

Right.

Tell them yours.

The truth, Junior, you wanted me out of the way

so you could have clear field with my girl,

you wanted Annie.

The truth, yes or no?

- So I did want you out of the way.

But that still don't prove nothing.

Don't prove I framed you.

And it sure don't prove you didn't rob that bank.

- Suppose we let them decide.

Okay jury, what's the verdict?

- Are you kidding, guilty, what else?

- I didn't see 'em vote.

- Well I'm the foreman and I say guilty.

- I want the vote.

Alright get up on your feet all of you.

I want to hear it, guilty or not guilty?

- Now listen all of you!

You still live in this town,

and long after this hoodlum and his guns are gone,

you still going to be living here.

Now use your heads.

- Alright let's hear it.

- Guilty, right?

- Okay prisoner.

Step forward and face the bench.

- Alright, now you've had your fun.

What now?

- You ask a question like that?

I'm surprised at you.

We had a trial, fair legal-like.

It's a lot more than can be said for the last one.

You tell me what happens to a man when he's found guilty.

He's punished, ain't he?

In my case, five to ten, five to ten.

I served five years of that sentence, Harcourt.

Five years, five stinking long years.

Now what would you say would be a fair sentence for you?

Alright.

Let's see, I was accused of stealing something like

eight thousand?

Well we'll just set that aside.

It's even money, no use dealing with small change.

Now, we itemize this here entire amount

when we took the money out of the vault if you remember.

68,090 dollars?

Now, I feel my boys are entitled to wages.

Two grand apiece, that's what I promised them.

Compound interest for five years, then a few

assorted items such as defamation of character,

mental cruelty, unlawful imprisonment

and what do you know, that all adds up to the balance

of 68,090 dollars.

- You're crazy.

You're crazy, I always said you were crazy

and I'll say it again.

Now tell me something.

Just how far do you expect to get with that money?

- Oh just far enough, Junior boy, just far enough.

Hold it!

I ain't through.

- What do you mean you ain't through yet?

You got your money, you made a monkey out of me

in front of the whole town.

Now what more do you want?

- I just guess I ain't getting through to everybody.

The money is just a fine, I still have to pass

a sentence.

- What sentence?

- [David] Yours.

I used a word awhile ago.

Justice.

I don't guess it registered.

Robert Harcourt Junior, it is the considered opinion

of this here court that you be executed.

In plain words, I'm gonna take you outside

and blow your head off.

(murmuring)

(dramatic music)

- Annie, Annie!

Come on, open up, I know you're in there, Annie!

- Oh for the love of pink fish and Santa's whiskers,

Doodle, don't you know when you're not wanted?

- I figured you didn't know about it,

you walked out there too soon.

That crazy David, he--

- Oh I don't want to hear about David!

- Now Annie, wait!

Davey's fixing to kill Bob Harcourt.

- He's fixing to what?

- I said he's fixing to kill him right now.

Says he's going to blow his head off.

That's what he says.

(suspenseful music)

- Okay Junior.

Come on, let's hear you beg.

Crawl.

- That, you'll never see.

- Crawl.

- Davey, in the name of all that's decent.

- [David] Shut up.

- David, it'll be first-degree murder, in this--

- You, too!

Come on.

- Hey tiger, why don't you admit it?

You don't have any heart for this.

Even in five years you couldn't build up enough hate

to kill a man in cold blood.

- Shut up.

- Oh you're a big man with a gun.

- Hey look, I'm warning you.

- What are you getting so excited about?

He's not going to kill anybody.

- Hey, you know something,

you're pushing your luck and I'm warning you.

- I don't think so.

- Yeah well you just keep talking.

- Some tiger, yellow stripes as wide as a barn.

- Look I'm going to take care of you

right after I finish with him.

- Now, what are you going to do?

Are you going to kill him right in front of the town

in cold blood, just to show the big man you are?

I'll make you a deal.

I'll fight you for him.

I win, he's mine.

If you win, you can have him.

- He's mine anyway.

- I told you you were yellow.

(dramatic music)

(grunting)

- Davey!

Davey, please!

- Come on.

- What hit me?

- After about 30 lefts?

A hundred rights, I stopped counting.

- Give me that, Hogan.

Get out of the way Emlyn.

- You're going to have to shoot me first, Davey.

- What do you care about him?

He never gave us the time of day, any of us.

Him and his old man, all they did was bleed those hills dry.

And now that the town's dead, all he's going to do

is puff his big fat mouth.

He's going to blow us back to the dust we all come from.

Come on, get out of the way.

I'll be doing all of you a favor.

- No.

- What do you care about him?

- I don't care about him.

I care about you, Davey.

It's like the sheriff says.

This is first-degree murder, they'll hang you for it, Davey.

Now put the gun down.

Go on, Davey.

Put the gun down before it's too late.

- [Ann] Listen to him, Davey.

It's for you, you got what you came after.

Vindication, isn't that what you really wanted?

You showed him up for what he really is.

You showed us all up for what we are.

A lot of spineless boot-licking nothings.

So leave us something that we can hang onto.

Something that we can be proud of.

You.

The only one who was ever man enough to stand up

to the Harcourts.

No matter what it cost.

But don't dirty yourself up now.

'Cause if you do, there's nothing left.

Nothing at all.

- Hey Vince.

- Yeah Davey?

- Gimme that.

Hey Oliver.

You get the dough out of the car.

- Now wait a minute Davey, we all got a slice of it coming.

- Move.

I wouldn't try that.

Get over there.

You too.

Get the suitcase.

Okay now drop your guns out here.

- You're giving us a bum deal, Davey.

- You got 30 minutes, then I'm going to turn

this chapter over to the sheriff.

- You ain't coming.

- No, what have I got out there?

Maybe there's nothing for me here either,

but I'm going to find out.

Go away.

(dramatic music)

- You okay?

- Yeah.

- So what made you think he was yellow?

- I didn't, I was just trying to buy some time

hoping something would happen.

- Something did.

(car starting)

(upbeat music)

- [Announcer] This has been a Screen Gems film presentation

from Columbia Pictures.

Herbert B. Leonard, executive producer.