Captioning made possible by Warner Bros.
[Horn blowing]
Stopping?
[Train brakes screeching]
Man, they look woebegone and faraway.
I'll only be here 24 hours.
In a place like this, that could be a lifetime.
[Horn blows]
Good luck, Mr. Macreedy.
Thank you. Thanks very much.
You for black rock?
That's right.
There must be some mistake.
I'm Hastings, the telegraph agent.
Nobody told me this train was stopping.
They didn't?
No. I just told you they didn't,
and they ought to.
What I want to know is why didn't they?
Maybe they didn't think it was important.
Important? This is the first time
the streamliner stopped here in four years.
Uh, you being met?
You visiting folks or something?
I mean, what do you want?
I want to go a place called adobe flat.
Are there any cabs available?
Adobe flat?
Yeah.
No cabs.
Hotel open?
Is the hotel open?
Thank you.
[Telephone rings]
[Ring]
[Ringing stops]
Pete, now, listen.
A man just got off the train
and asked for adobe flat.
Afternoon.
Anything I can do for you?
You run this hotel?
No.
Then there's nothing you can do for me.
Find Smith.
[Ding]
Hello?
Like a room.
We're all filled up.
Do you have any idea where I could...
this is 1945, mister.
There's been a war on.
Ended a couple of months ago, didn't it?
Yeah, but the O.P.A. Lingers on.
You don't know about the O.P. A?
No. You tell me.
Well, for establishments
with less than 50 rooms,
hotelkeeper got to report regularly
about... about tenants and, uh, registration.
There are penalties imposed.
You seem to have lots of vacancies.
Well, as I said...
they're every one of 'em locked up.
Uh, some are showrooms...
for, uh, feed salesmen,
cattle buyers.
The rest, they're spoken for.
Rented to cowboys, ranch hands
for when they come into town.
They pay by the month.
We provide for their every wish and comfort.
Do you understand?
No, not exactly, but while l知 pondering it,
why don't you get a room ready for me?
That will be a good one.
Like to have a bath.
Where is it?
At the head of the stairs.
Thank you.
I don't know why you're so interested,
but the name is Macreedy.
It's all in the ledger.
You look like you need a hand.
John J. Macreedy, Los Angeles.
I want to know everything he does, Pete...
phone calls, mail.
In the meantime?
In the meantime, l値l crowd him a little,
see if he's got any iron in his blood.
[Door opens]
Guess maybe you're in the wrong room.
You think so?
What else you got on your mind?
Why, nothing else, I guess.
If you had half a mind, boy,
you would have paid attention
to what Pete downstairs said.
He said this room here's for us cowboys,
for our every wish and comfort.
And this one is yours, I guess.
When l知 in town,
and l知 in town, as any fool can see.
You can see that, can't you, boy?
Yes, I guess so.
Would you mind if I sort of
grabbed my things together
and found another room?
Well, not at all,
but if you really wanted this room,
we could maybe settle your claim
without all this talk.
I believe a man's nothing
unless he stands up for what's rightfully his.
What do you think?
I guess so.
You guess so?
But you still ain't claiming this room?
No, I guess not.
You all the time guessing, ain't you, boy?
Don't you know anything?
Well, I know that, uh,
ever since I got off the train,
that everybody's been needling me. Why?
I guess I rightfully don't know.
He walks light for a big man, doesn't he?
Who?
You know who.
What do you think, doc?
Well, why ask me?
No salesman, that's sure,
unless he's peddling dynamite.
Maybe he's a cop or something.
Ever see a cop with a stiff arm?
Maybe his arm's all right.
Maybe he's just hanging onto something tight
in his pocket.
Like what, a pistol?
A stick of TNT so he can blow up
the whole mangy, miserable town?
Why are you so interested, Sam?
If I was that interested, l壇...
[door opens]
I'd ask him.
Hey. Wait a minute.
Got any cigarettes?
How long you staying?
Where, my new room?
I'm staying.
I mean in the hotel.
24 hours. Why?
Just asking.
Why, are you going to have a convention?
I was just asking.
Where could I get a car?
I don't know.
Well, now, let's put it this way...
supposing I had a car, and I wanted some gas.
Where would I go?
But you don't have a car.
You might try the garage
down at the end of the street.
Thank you.
Here we go again.
This is all I know about him, Mr. Smith.
Sit down, Coley.
I was...
sit down.
[Footsteps]
Real cool guy.
Doesn't push easy, huh?
Well, that's it. That's just it.
He pushes too easy.
Maybe we ought to...
what do you want, doc?
Nothing. I was just wondering
what all you people are worrying about,
not that I have the slightest idea.
You wonder too much and you talk too much.
It's a bad parlay, doc.
I hold no truck with silence.
I've got nothing to hide.
What are you trying to say?
Nothing, man.
It's just that you worry about the stranger
only if you look at him from a certain aspect.
How do you look at him, doc?
With the innocence of a fresh-laid egg.
Keep it up, doc.
Make bad jokes, be funny.
Someday l値l have Coley
wash your mouth out with lye.
I called the circle t.
He ain't got business there,
not if they don't know him.
Right, Mr. Smith?
Send a wire to Nick Gandi in Los Angeles.
Tell him to find out everything he can
about John J. Macreedy.
Uh, what was that?
Nick Gandi, Los Angeles.
Tell him I want to know fast.
Sign my name.
Uh, who was that?
Nick Gandi...
g-a-n-d-I,
Blake hotel. You got the rest of it?
Yes, sir.
All right. Sign my name.
Who's Gandi?
Private detective.
I drive to L.A. Now and then.
This guy Gandi can get us the dope, huh?
Get us anything we want
for 20 bucks a day and expenses.
Don't get too nervous too fast, Hector.
It's just I don't like him.
Coley: Maybe he's just passing through.
Don't bet on it.
He can mean only trouble.
Hector, you're jumpy
as a stall horse.
You ought to see him,
talk to him.
About what?
What will I talk to him about?
The birds? The bees? The crops? The weather?
You tried it. What'd it get you?
It's just I thought...
you just thought?
Well, what do we do?
What will you do? You'll wait,
just like Pete. That right, Pete?
And that's all you'll do.
And while you wait, l値l talk to him.
Hey, what do you know?
Mr. Macreedy seems to be heading
for the jail.
Now, what do you suppose
he'd want to talk to the sheriff about?
Hold it, friend. Hold it.
I ain't hankering to get locked in my own jail.
Oh, l知 sorry. I thought you were a guest.
As it happens, l知 the host.
Ah.
Snort?
No, thanks.
I don't blame you. It's awful.
What are you looking at?
You tell me.
I ain't always this bad.
It was just that last night,
me and my pal, doc Velie,
we did a little celebrating.
Oh, what were you celebrating?
Well, you name it.
What do you want?
My name is Macreedy.
I came in on the streamliner.
You what?
I say I came in...
well, you ain't from around here.
Are you up phoenix way?
Tucson?
Mesa?
You ain't selling cattle nor seed corn,
nothing like that?
No, all I want from you is a little information.
I have to go to a place called adobe flat.
This ain't no information bureau.
You know, there's one thing about black rock.
Everybody is polite.
That makes for very gracious living.
Nobody asked you here.
How do you know?
What about adobe flat?
I'm looking for a man named Kamoko.
Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
Almost a disaster.
Yeah, a fate worse than death.
You move fast for a crip...
for a big man.
How about Kamoko?
If there are no further questions...
Macreedy.
That's the first pleasant word
l致e heard since l致e been here.
My name is Smith.
I own the three-bar ranch.
I want to apologize
for some of the people in town.
Act like they're sitting on a keg.
A keg? Of what?
I don't know.
Diamonds. Gunpowder.
It's nothing like that.
We're suspicious of strangers is all.
Hangover from the old days,
the old west.
I thought the tradition of the old west
was hospitality.
I'm trying to be hospitable,
Mr. Macreedy.
You going to be around long?
Could be.
How'd you like to go hunting tomorrow?
I'd be proud to have you as my guest.
Thanks. I'm afraid I can't.
Because of your arm, I suppose.
I knew a man lost his arm once
in a threshing accident.
He used to hunt all the time.
He was quite a man. He, uh...
sorry. I mean if...
there's anything I can do while you're around.
Oh, no, no.
I was just looking for...
no, it doesn't matter.
Looking for what, Mr. Macreedy?
I was looking for a man named Kamoko.
Kamoko, eh?
Sure, I remember him. Japanese farmer.
Never had a chance.
Oh?
Got here in '41,
just before pearl harbor.
Three months later,
they shipped him off to a relocation center.
Tough.
Uh-huh.
You don't happen to remember
which one they sent him to, do you?
Who knows?
Why don't you try writing him?
I'd be glad to help you out.
No. I'm afraid you'd be wasting your time.
I've already written,
but they don't forward my letters.
They keep sending them back.
Oh, they do?
[Vehicle approaches]
Need any help?
I can manage.
Well, I need a little help.
I'd like to rent your jeep.
That will be $2.00 an hour,
gas extra, $10 for my time.
Why don't you ask him where he wants to go?
He wants to go to adobe flat.
Uh, is the road marked well?
Yeah. It's about 6, 7 miles down.
Fine, then I won't need your time.
I thought you might need a little help.
Oh, no, no. I'll get along fine.
Liz, do you have a license to hire cars?
You might get into trouble.
I won't say a word to the sheriff.
You shouldn't have done that.
Thought it'd be better
if he went out there and got done with it.
What can he find out?
I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, Reno.
You know that.
This is liable to be the hardest $10
you ever earned in your life.
[Door closes]
What did he want?
He asked about Kamoko.
Do you think he'll kick up a storm?
A storm?
What about?
Well, I don't know.
All I know is I don't want
no more trouble around here.
Never again.
You don't know anything about Kamoko, now, do you?
I do not. That's the point.
The point is,
what you don't know won't hurt you.
Maybe there's something that I ought to know.
Maybe there's something that I ought to ask you
before the stranger comes back here
and starts breathing down my neck.
Tim, you're just a lost ball
in the high weeds.
I told you a long time ago nothing happened
for you to worry about.
Thing is, I do worry.
Maybe I ain't much else,
but l知 sure a worrier.
And l知 still the law.
Then do your job, Tim.
What is my job, Mr. Smith?
Maybe I better find out
before Macreedy does it for me.
Macreedy will do nothing,
and neither will you, Tim.
Suppose I decide to try?
That might be dangerous.
Tim, you got the body of a hippo,
but the brain of a rabbit.
Now, don't overtax it.
Yes, Mr. Smith.
Tim... buy you a cup of coffee?
[Telegraph clicking]
From I. A?
Yeah. From that private detective.
What does he say? Who is this guy anyway?
Never heard of him, that's what he says.
He checked, and there's no John J. Macreedy.
No listing, no record, no information, nothing.
Where does that leave us?
I'll tell you where it leaves us. I'm sick and...
now, Coley.
I think Macreedy's a nothing, a nobody.
Is he?
There's nothing to worry about.
Isn't there?
You got brains, you handle it.
What can he find out? That Kamoko...
suppose he finds out.
A nobody like Macreedy
can raise a pretty big stink.
The point is,
who'd miss a nobody like Macreedy
if he just, uh, say...
disappeared?
Who, Coley?
Coley?
Why don't we wait?
Wait for what?
I mean, maybe he won't find anything.
Maybe he'll just go away.
Not Macreedy.
I know those maimed guys.
Their minds get twisted,
they put on hair shirts
and act like martyrs.
All of them are do-gooders, freaks, troublemakers.
Let's wait and see. There's no danger yet.
No danger, he says.
This guy's like a carrier of smallpox.
Since he's arrived, this town has a fever,
an infection,
and it's spreading.
Hastings in a sick sweat,
running around, shooting off his face,
doc getting snotty with me
for the first time in four years,
and Liz, your sister, acts like a fool.
She's only a kid!
Kid? She must have strained every muscle in her head
to get so stupid, renting him a jeep.
Tim... Tim the rumdum...
suddenly decides he's got to act like a sheriff,
and he says there's no danger.
Of course, uh...
if you want to take the chance...
not me.
All right, then.
You're mighty quick to kill.
He's not an animal.
Well, listen to little spitfire.
You miserable little toad,
l知 saving your neck.
If I don't, who will? Tim? Doc?
Your sister with the rocks in her head?
There's one thing about your sister,
she's got twice the guts you have.
You're only fit for running away.
And it's too late for that.
He's in this...
and he ain't running no place.
All right, then.
Let Smith find himself a new boy.
I can't take another day.
If you're sheriff, they got to respect you.
Otherwise, you can't do your job.
They just laugh.
I don't laugh, Tim.
Well, why don't you?
Cut it out, Tim!
You should.
You're an able, well-adjusted man.
Now, get ahold of yourself. Snap out of it.
You're gonna have a complex or something.
Four years ago, if l壇 have done my job,
if l壇 have checked up
and found out what happened...
but I didn't. It was just like Smith figured.
What could you find out? They told you a story.
You had to believe it.
Would you believe it...
huh?
I don't know.
I live a quiet, contemplative life.
Me, I didn't even try to find out.
Don't you understand?
You know, when you wear this badge,
you're the law.
And when somebody does something against the law,
then you're supposed to do something about it.
Me, I did nothing.
That's what's eating me.
What kind of prescription
you got for that?
I don't know.
I haven't found one for myself,
but there's one thing, Tim... don't quit.
Why not?
Because maybe this fella Macreedy's
got the prescription.
[Wind whistling]
[Splash]
[Jeep drives off]
[Honking]
Ha ha ha!
Well, if it's not Macreedy,
the world's champion road hog.
Yeah, it's a small world, isn't it?
But such an unfriendly one.
Why'd you want to crowd me off the road?
I'm sorry if I incurred your displeasure.
Look what you did to my car.
Anything I can do to make it up?
You ought to be more careful, man.
All that one-armed driving.
I'd be glad to pay for the damages.
It's a threat to life and limb.
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
You could get yourself killed that way,
nosing all over the countryside.
Yeah, I guess that's a danger, all right.
That's pretty smart of you.
How long you intend to keep it up?
I'm pulling out right now.
Still expecting that convention?
What?
If you're expecting any extra cowboys,
my room is available.
You're checking out?
Mmm. Any trains leaving tonight?
Tomorrow morning, the streamliner.
I know about that.
Uh, uh, milk train or...
freights?
Tomorrow, after the streamliner.
Buses?
Closest stop is sand city,
32 miles away.
You're in such a hurry,
you should have never got off here.
I'm inclined to agree with you.
If you're looking for keys to the jeep,
they're not there.
Where would you suggest I look?
The jeep's not for rent.
Why, it was just a few hours ago.
Things change.
Sure do.
And Smith is the kid who changes them, isn't he?
You mind if I use this?
Yeah, go ahead.
What's wrong with this town of yours, miss Wirth?
Nothing's wrong with this town, Mr. Macreedy.
None of your concern.
Why's everybody so concerned about me then?
Am I concerned?
No, you're not concerned, but...
but what?
Well, I have a feeling you're a little bit too unconcerned.
You're so unconcerned,
you won't even rent me a jeep.
I don't run a taxi service.
I don't have a license.
Too bad everybody in this town
isn't as scrupulously devoted
to law and order as you are.
I don't want to get involved.
Involved in what?
Whatever you're up to.
Whatever happens,
l致e got to go on living in this town.
These people are my neighbors,
my friends.
All of them?
This is my town, Mr. Macreedy,
like it or not.
Well, if you don't like it, why do you stick around?
My brother Pete.
He'd never leave.
Did it ever occur to you
that you might leave without him?
You look like a pretty independent young lady.
Your brother seems to be...
weak? I know.
That's why I couldn't leave him.
What did your brother do?
What do you care?
What do you care about black rock?
I don't care anything about black rock,
only it just seems to me that there aren't many towns
like this in America.
But one town like it is enough,
and because I think something
kind of bad happened here, miss Wirth,
something they can't quite seem to find a handle to.
You don't know what you're talking about.
Well, I know this much...
the rule of law has left here,
and the gorillas have taken over.
Yeah. Yeah, and you just tried to steal
the key to my jeep.
Well, I figured that was the only way I could get it.
Was I wrong, miss Wirth?
Macreedy,
l壇 like to ask you a few questions
while you're around.
I'm around, all right.
I guess probably you've heard
that miss Wirth is no longer
in the car rental business.
Good. I wouldn't want
to see that girl get into trouble.
Wouldn't you?
What with rental permits,
gas rationing...
you know what I mean.
Yeah. I certainly admire
your sturdy sense of responsibility.
Aw, it's just that
that girl has a future.
Let's talk about my future.
You think you have the time?
I don't seem to be going anywhere.
I hear you handle a jeep real well.
Well, yes, I do have a way with jeeps...
a certain familiarity.
I think I understand.
You're an army man.
Where'd you get it?
Italy.
Aw, that's tough.
I tried to enlist myself
the day after those rats bombed pearl harbor.
What stopped you?
The physical. They wouldn't take me.
The morning after pearl,
I was the first man in line
at marine recruiting in sand city.
They wouldn't take me.
Tough.
What do you do in Los Angeles, Mr., Macreedy?
I'm retired.
Well, you might say I was forced into retirement.
What were you looking for in adobe flat?
Like I told you,
I was looking for a fella named Kamoko.
And like you told me, he wasn't there.
What's so funny?
Well, nothing.
It's just I don't believe you.
I believe a man is as big as what he's seeking.
I believe you're a big man, Mr. Macreedy.
Flattery will get you nowhere.
Why would a man like you
be looking for a lousy Jap farmer?
Oh, you can't tell. Maybe l知 not so big.
Oh, yes, you are.
I believe a man is as big as what'll make him mad.
Nobody around here
seems big enough to get you mad.
What makes you mad, Mr. Smith?
Me? Nothing. Nothing.
Ah, you're a pretty big man yourself.
Yet the Japanese make you mad, don't they?
Well, that's different.
After that sneak attack on pearl harbor,
Bataan?
Kamoko made you mad.
The same thing.
Loyal Japanese Americans...
that's a laugh. They're all mad dog...
what about Corregidor, the death march?
What did Kamoko have to do with Corregidor?
He was a Jap, wasn't he?
Look, Mr. Macreedy,
there's a law in this county
against shooting dogs.
But when I see a mad dog,
I don't wait for him to bite me.
I swear, you're beginning to make me mad.
All strangers do.
No, they don't.
Oh, some do when they come around snooping.
Snooping for what?
I don't know. Outsiders coming in,
looking for something.
Looking for what?
I don't know.
Somebody's always looking for something
in this part of the west.
To the historian, it's the old west.
To the book writer, it's the wild west.
To the businessman, it's the undeveloped west.
They say we're poor and backward,
and I guess we are.
We don't even have enough blood.
But to us, this place is our west,
and I wish they'd leave us alone.
Leave you alone to do what?
I don't know what you mean.
What happened to Kamoko?
He went away. I told you.
Shortly after he left,
some kids went out there,
they got fooling around,
and burned his place down.
That's how it was. You know how kids are.
[Laughing]
What's so funny?
Nothing, nothing.
It's just that I don't believe you
any more than I believed you about the letters.
You don't seem to believe anything I say.
Oh, yes, I believe you about, uh...
what you say about the businessmen
being interested in adobe flat.
Why?
Well, I would think they would be interested...
maybe some historian...
in all that land lying fallow.
It could be used for some purpose,
like maybe a graveyard.
There's something buried up there.
I, uh...
you have wildflowers.
That means a grave.
I suppose you knew that.
I saw a lot of it, you know, overseas.
I figured it wasn't a human grave
because it wasn't marked.
Kind of a mystery, isn't it?
Kind of.
Maybe you can figure it out.
Maybe.
Why don't you give it a whirl?
Might help you pass the time for a while.
Well, uh, I got other things to do.
I'm not interested.
Hi.
Hello.
Pull up a chair.
Can I use your phone?
Yeah, help yourself.
You're one of the few people
who's been back here
I can say that to.
It's, uh, 424.
What's 424?
If I got you pegged, and I think I have,
you're calling the state police.
But if I was you...
and l知 sure glad l知 not...
l壇 look it up myself.
I wouldn't trust anybody around here,
including me.
424, please.
424?
The lines are all busy.
Don't tell me. I know.
The lines are all busy.
Be busy all day.
Heh heh heh.
Do you mind not looking at me like that?
Like what?
Like a potential customer.
Everybody is.
I get them coming and going.
First I sell them a piece of land.
You think they farm it?
They do not.
They dig for gold.
They rip off the topsoil of 10 winding hills,
then sprint in here all foggy with excitement,
lugging nuggets...
big, bright, and shiny.
Is it gold?
It is not.
Do they quit?
They do not.
Then they decide to farm,
farm in a country so dry
that you have to prime a man
before he can spit.
Before you can say "fat Sam,"
they're stalled, stranded, and starving.
They become weevil-brained and butt-sprung.
So... I bury them.
But why bore you with my triumphs?
I got a problem of my own.
You sure have.
They're gonna kill you with no hard feelings.
And you're going sit there and let them do it.
Don't get waspish with me, mister.
Oh, l知 sorry. I, uh...
well, I feel for you,
but l知 consumed with apathy.
Why should I mix in?
I don't know.
Maybe to save a life.
I got enough trouble saving my own.
Look, I try to live right.
I drink my milk every day,
but mostly I try to mind my own business,
which is something I advise you to do.
A little late for that.
No. You can still get out of town,
but you'd better get out like a whisper.
How?
I've got a sort of a limousine
at your disposal.
Where is it?
[Starter whines]
[Whining]
Must be something wrong.
Could be the wiring.
Yeah. It's the wiring.
Now, wasn't that a good guess?
Maybe it can be fixed.
Oh, easy,
except maybe this wire was busted or something.
Do the nice little things,
like keep your big, fat nose
out of my business.
Yeah, it was the wiring.
I'm sorry,
but you got to admit I tried.
And for that I thank you.
How much time do you think l致e got
before they, uh...
well, you got at least till dark.
They'd be afraid to see each others' faces.
Well, thanks, doc.
I can't say that it's been charming.
Where you going?
Well, I don't know, but l知 going on foot.
Oh, that's no good.
You stray 10 yards off the main street,
and you'll be stone cold dead.
That's the situation in a nut.
Maybe, uh...
maybe what?
I'll see you later, doc.
Lemonade?
No, thank you.
It's as hot as Billy-be-durned.
Don't you like lemonade?
Never thought much about it.
You notifying the state police?
That's what it says.
Sure you don't want some lemonade?
It don't have the muzzle velocity
of some other drinks drunk around here,
but it's good for what ails you.
What ails you, Mr. Hastings?
Me?
Why are you so upset about this wire?
Who, me?
Are you afraid, Mr. Hastings?
Uh... Mr. Macreedy,
l知 just a good neighbor.
To Smith you are.
What about to Kamoko?
I never seen Kamoko in my life. Honest.
All right.
Then you'll send that message
and give me the answer, won't you?
Yes, sir.
What'll you have?
What have you got?
Chili and beans.
Anything else?
Chili without beans.
If you don't like the flavor,
that's what they made ketchup for.
All right. I'll have it and a cup of coffee.
Weli...
you still around?
I thought you didn't like this place.
You mean going to or coming from?
Staying put.
No comment.
No comment, he says.
No comment,
and all the time he's got my stool.
This stool ain't comfortable.
I was afraid of that.
I think l壇 like the one you're on.
He's as changeable as a prairie fly.
Suppose you tell me where to sit.
I hope that ain't too much.
Your friend's a very argumentative fellow.
Sort of unpredictable, too.
Got a temper like a rattlesnake.
That's me all over.
I'm half horse, half alligator.
You mess with me,
and l値l kick a lung out of you.
What do you think of that?
No comment.
Talking to you is like pulling teeth.
You wear me out.
You're a yellow-bellied Jap lover!
Am I right or wrong?
You're not only wrong,
you're wrong at the top of your voice.
You don't like my voice?
I think your friend is trying to start trouble.
Why ever would he want to do that?
Well, I don't know.
Maybe he thinks that if he needles me enough,
I might crack, I might even fight back.
And then either he
or your other ape sitting over there
could beat me to death
and cop a plea of self-defense.
I don't think that'll be necessary.
You're so scared now,
you'd probably drown in your own sweat.
No, before that happens,
couldn't I pick a fight with you
if I tied one hand behind me?
If I tied both hands?
[Gasping and coughing]
Aah!
Wouldn't it have been easier
to wait until I turned my back,
or are there too many witnesses present?
You're still in trouble.
You're in trouble.
Whatever happens, you're sunk.
You got things a bit twisted.
You killed Kamoko, Smith,
and sooner or later you're gonna go up for it.
Not because you killed him,
because I think in a town like this,
you can get away with it.
But because you didn't have guts enough
to do it alone.
You put your trust in guys like this
and Hector here.
Not the most dependable of god's creatures.
And one of these days,
they're gonna catch on that you're playing for a sap,
and then what are you gonna do?
Peel them off one by one?
In the meantime, one of 'em's gonna crack,
and when they do, you're gonna go down, but hard,
'cause they got something on you, Smith,
something to use when the going gets tough.
And it's getting tougher every minute.
Man, man, oh, man.
[Slot machine spinning]
Anything come for me?
Nothin'.
Telegram, nothing?
Nothin'.
In case you're interested,
Coley will live,
l知 truly sorry to say.
Your friend's pretty tough.
Yeah, he's wicked.
He defends himself when he's attacked.
You going to sit there and let time run out?
Waiting for an answer from the state cops.
Send it through Hastings?
Just don't expect an answer
if that's the way you sent it.
Oh?
I guess that's probably for me.
Where's my answer?
You expect an answer
from a wire that was never sent?
What's so funny?
I just had a thought.
A thought that is dazzling in its purity.
You're in a lot of trouble.
You gave my message to Smith, didn't you?
Why, you little wart, that's a federal offense.
You're in this deep, too.
Like I say, it's getting tougher and tougher.
Maybe you'd better do something about this, sheriff.
I reckon that's right, Mr. Smith.
You're not supposed...
don't be a jerk, Tim.
Divulging information?
There's a law that says you...
Smith: Tim!
You're pathetic.
Well, maybe so, but l知 still sheriff.
That's the point.
You're not sheriff anymore.
You're so pathetic, you just lost the job.
Ok, sheriff...
take over.
Doc: You can't do that!
I can't?
Well, I put him in the job,
and now l知 taking him out.
Now, you want to register a complaint, boy?
To register a complaint,
you got to have evidence, boy.
You got evidence?
You got a big mouth, boy.
Making accusations, disturbing the peace.
We got a law in this county
protecting innocent folks
from big mouths like you.
I'd hate to...
Hector!
Never mind, Tim.
We're not licked yet.
Ain't we?
I am.
There comes a time, Tim,
when a man has just got to do something.
Not me.
I'm useless, and I know it.
No man is useless
so long as he's got a friend.
I'm your friend, Tim.
Well, then,
why don't you let me alone?
Because he's going to need you
before the night's over.
And all the useful men are on the other side.
Let me alone, I tell you!
I can't let you alone!
I can't let myself alone!
Don't you understand that?
Four years ago something terrible happened here.
We did nothing about it.
Nothing!
The whole town
fell into a sort of settled melancholy,
and all the people in it closed their eyes
and held their tongues and...
failed the test with a whimper.
Now something terrible's going to happen again!
In a way we're lucky,
because we've been given a second chance.
I got such a headache, l知 bewildered.
I hurt all over.
Yeah, pain is bewildering. I know.
I was bewildered when I came here,
full of self-pity
that your friend Smith tried to kill me.
It's strange how a man will cling to the earth
when he feels he isn't going to see it again.
There's a lot of difference between clinging to it
and crawling on the earth.
Are you going to stand by and watch forever?
I ain't going to watch.
And I ain't going to get into it either.
I'm getting out.
I'm sorry, Mr. Macreedy.
You'd be smart to get out, too, doc.
There's too many smart guys around here.
I'm glad l知 a dummy!
You're a troublesome dummy.
You're liable to end up on your own slab.
I expect to be in a lot more trouble before I die.
Go home, doc. He's all washed up.
You think so?
I was washed up when I got off that train.
You shouldn't have got off.
I had to.
I had one last duty to perform
before I resigned from the human race.
I thought you were going to Los Angeles,
that hotbed of pomp and vanity.
Is that what you call
resigning from the human race?
Good jumping-off place
for south America, the islands.
Why?
I don't know.
I guess I was just looking for someplace to get lost.
Why do you want to get lost?
Because I was afraid
I couldn't function any longer.
Luckily, your friend Smith changed my mind.
Yeah, sure.
You're a man of action.
You know, I know what your trouble is, son.
You'd like me to die quickly, wouldn't you,
without wasting too much of your time?
Or quietly so I won't embarrass you too much,
or even thankfully
so your memory of the occasion
won't be too unpleasant.
My memories are so pleasant as it is.
Well, it'll take an awful lot of whiskey
to wash out your guts.
Go on! Go on! Swill it!
What is there left for you to do?
You're as dead as Kamoko, and you don't know it!
Take it easy now, Macreedy. Sit down.
Sit down? Why don't you tell me to kneel down
and beg his pardon
for bringing up an unpleasant subject?
You don't have to remind me.
I've never forgotten.
Well, now, isn't that noble of you?
You haven't forgotten, and you're ashamed.
That's really noble of you.
I suppose four years from now
you'll be sitting around here telling people
you haven't forgotten me, either.
That's real progress.
In the meantime, l値l be as dead as a...
why don't you tell me what happened?
Yi... yi...
what happened?
Why did you come here, Mr. Macreedy?
Did Kamoko have any other family
besides his son Joe?
Son? Nobody around here ever knew he had a son.
Yes, he had a son.
He's dead, too. He's buried in Italy.
I asked you before, why did you come here?
Why, this Kamoko boy died trying to save my life.
They gave him a medal.
I came here to give it to his old man.
I figured the least I could do
is give him one day out of my life.
Well, are you going to tell, or have I got to?
I'll tell him.
Smith owned adobe flat.
He leased it to Kamoko.
He figured he'd cheated him
because you got to have water to raise anything.
There never was any water on adobe flat.
Kamoko dug a well.
He must've gone down 60 feet.
He got plenty of water.
That made Smith pretty sore.
He, uh, didn't like Japs, anyway.
Day after pearl harbor,
Smith went to sand city.
He got turned down. Tried to enlist.
Well, when he got back, he was pretty sore.
Around 10:00 we all started drinking.
10:00 in the morning?
Yeah.
Smith, Coley, Sam, Hector, and...
me.
We were all drunk.
Patriotic drunk.
We wanted to go out
to scare the Jap a little
and have a little fun.
When we got there, he heard us coming,
and he locked the door.
And then Smith started a fire,
and the Jap, he came running out.
His clothes were all burning.
And then Smith shot him.
I didn't even know he had a gun.
Then you got scared and buried him
and kept your mouths shut, hmm?
Yeah.
Well, go ahead and have your drink.
You're going to need it.
Hello, Liz. Pete.
Now, listen, l知 getting Macreedy out of town.
I would call the police,
but all the outside lines are cut.
Well, let him try it.
I might as well be dead.
Yeah, I told him everything.
Will you never mind about that?
I'm asking you because I need your help.
You'd be saving two lives, Liz...
Macreedy's and mine, if that means anything to you.
All right. Now, here's what I want you to do.
Wait till it's dark...
[coyote howls]
[Coyote howls]
Hector.
Huh?
I've been looking for you. Come here.
What do you want?
Macreedy... he went up to bed.
So?
You want me to tuck him in?
No, but I thought
maybe you ought to tell Smith.
Smith don't want to be disturbed.
He'll be here at midnight, he said.
Why are you so nervous?
What do you mean? I'm not nervous.
You got a match?
No. I got some in the lobby.
What did you do
to get Pete to change his mind,
beat him up?
No, no muscle.
Not with brains, either.
He's a pushover for a muscleman.
I'm beginning to think it runs in the family.
I'd sure like to have seen you tangle with Reno Smith.
He didn't happen to be there when I left.
Maybe I will yet.
What's this?
Need water.
[Gunshot]
Smitty?
Smitty.
Liz, you're a fool.
If he gets me, he's got to get you.
Smitty.
I'm here, honey.
Just head for the car.
So long, Macreedy.
Just a few more steps, honey.
Get him.
Get him now.
First things first, honey.
Help me up, Smitty?
You were going to help me, Liz.
I still need your help.
I did everything you said.
You two started out in the car,
and that's the way you're going to end up...
over a cliff, burning.
You can blame Macreedy for that.
He said I had too many witnesses.
Why me?
Why start with me?
I got to start with somebody.
[Gunshot]
[Coyote howls]
[Engine cranks]
[Noise from engine stops]
Aah!
Save me!
Get me...
get me... get me...
uh! Ooh!
Oh!
Am I going to have trouble with you?
Nope, but I sure thought
the situation was going to be, like, reversed.
I thought that I was going to have trouble with him.
I'll take care of him.
The gang's all here, all right.
Thought l壇 take one last whack at my job.
Your sister's out in the car, Pete.
She's dead.
You want me to tell you who killed her?
I know who killed her.
About that medai...
can we have it?
Can we have it? Who's we?
We. Us.
Why?
Oh, I guess maybe we need it.
Maybe give us something to build on.
This town's wrecked,
just as though it was bombed out.
Maybe it can come back.
Some towns do, and some towns don't.
Depends on the people.
That medal would help.
Thanks, Mr. Macreedy.
Thanks for everything.
What's all the excitement? What happened?
A shooting.
Thought it was something.
First time the streamliner's
stopped here in four years.
Second time.
[Horn blows]
Captioning made possible by Warner bros.
Captioned by the national captioning institute - www.ncicap.org...
Corrected by: SkyFury