Original subtitles

[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]

[HORSE GALLOPING]

Lieutenant!

Coming.

Tell the major.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

You've had yourself a time here, lieutenant.

Those hills are full of Apaches.

How'd you get through?

I don't know.

Lucky, I guess.

I'm looking for a Sergeant Ryder.

I hope he's not a casualty.

No.

I'll take you to him.

Take the man's horse.

Thanks.

See if you can find some oats for him, huh?

You've got a visitor, Ryder.

Whatever you've got to say, you'd better say it in a hurry.

He's going before a firing squad.

- You answer an ad... - You're under arrest.

- You mind telling me what's... - Put him in there.

[GROANS]

Would you mind telling me what this is about?

You'll get the formal language at your court martial.

What am I charged with?

The same thing Ryder is.

The wrong man, major, you've got the wrong man.

That'll be enough, sergeant.

He's not who you think he is.

He came in here looking for you.

Why not? I ran an ad in the Denver paper.

I offered a reward for anyone who could recognize me.

He answered, that's why I'm here.

You mean you don't know who you are?

That's right, major.

Do you have a copy of that paper?

No, I ran the notice three months ago.

Have you, Ryder?

Well, I wrote him, he didn't show up, I threw it away.

We can send to Denver for a copy.

By the time that paper gets here, you'll be dead and buried.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

? Oh Shenandoah ?

? You're doomed to wander ?

? On beyond this land ?

? So lonely ?

? Oh Shenandoah ?

? You're doomed to wander ?

? So roam ?

? In search of home ?

? Across this land ?

? So lonely ??

[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]

Look, major, you've got the wrong man.

Major!

Either you're the most pig-headed officer

in this pig-headed army, or else you're deaf.

I'm not deaf, Henry.

I heard the screams of my men dying shot by our own rifles.

Oh, then how is it you didn't hear Ryder just now?

I'll make the decisions, you tend the wounded.

The years don't change you much, friend.

Then you do know who I am?

It's too bad you came to the right place

to see the right man at the wrong time.

What's my name, Ryder?

What does it matter now?

It matters a lot to me.

Well, don't rush me.

I've got to figure out what I want you to do.

[HENRY] I said, open it, lump head.

If you sit down, I'll mop up the blood.

Thank you.

And if you'll let him dig around,

you'll gain eternal glory

as a footnote in one of his books.

- Ow. - Uh, uh.

It's a purifier, it works like

whiskey in a wound.

The sting will only last a few seconds.

Open your eye.

Open it!

[GROANS]

- I can't see. - It won't last.

Now, you tell me the instant you do see.

Light.

It's beginning to get light.

And...

And now it's al... Almost all right.

Thank you.

You fellas sure have an odd way

of welcoming strangers around here.

Well, it didn't hurt you any and it helped me a great deal.

We're realists here, mister.

I experiment when a guinea pig falls into my hands.

The major executes when a traitor falls into his hands.

Are you calling me a traitor?

Yep, everything points to you

being the one Ryder was waiting for.

I don't even know what he did.

You know what he did as well as I do. He betrayed the fort.

Fifty men killed, his friends.

Well, I'm a realist too.

[SCOFFS]

I sold some rifles to Apache

and I got caught dead to right, so here I am.

- What's that got to do with me? - You're his partner.

You delivered those rifles to the Apaches

and you were supposed to come in here with the payoff money.

Then why didn't I have the money when they searched me?

I tell ya, I never saw him before until today.

At least I don't remember seeing him.

That's right, captain, he don't even remember his own name.

Can't you put that in your book?

Why, you get him a pardon, or a nice long imprisonment.

Why, he might let you study him.

Why don't you shut up?

[HENRY] Oh?

Amnesia?

Well, describe it.

Not knowing who you are, what's it like?

Does it bother you?

It bothers me to be court-martialed

for a crime I didn't commit.

Yes, doctor, it bothers me.

It's like living in murky churned up water.

And yet, sometimes I feel I'm...

I'm almost going to recognize

a place, a thing.

Maybe a word, or a phrase.

And sometimes a face seems so familiar, I...

I feel I'm right on the edge of remembering and...

And then suddenly something stirs the water up again.

It's like being blinded by that antiseptic stuff

and never seeing anything clearer than a fuzzy shape.

Like going up a dark stairway and...

finding the last step isn't there.

Enough?

That's a good, uh, description.

I'll try to talk to the major. Guard!

If you hadn't told him so much,

he might have tried harder.

You could have been a scientific necessity.

If baiting me is going to help you get through your last hours,

go ahead.

Look, you want to know your name?

I want to think.

At least agree to one thing.

That it could've been a coincidence,

his coming to the fort just at this time.

I don't want to talk about it anymore.

He didn't have the payoff money on him when he came in.

He's got it buried out there somewhere.

No one has gotten through those Apache lines for weeks.

Or would you call his safe journey a coincidence?

Won't you at least wait until he can get

that newspaper from Denver?

No, there will be no delay.

You give him time, you know what happens.

He gets the trial transferred to the east.

The newspapers pick up the cry that we're barbarians out here.

We become the villains and he becomes the victim.

Well, I say no.

The crime was committed in this territory

and it will be tried here, he killed 50 of my men

and he's going to pay for it.

I had a discharge coming up next month, and I needed

something to show for this 14 years in this rotten life.

So I made a deal with the Apaches.

I'm human.

The next guy'd done the same thing.

And none of us going down the drain either.

'Cause you're going to be my messenger boy.

I want you to take some money to my wife, $500.

Oh, it's good and clean money. It's untouched by human blood.

I saved it up on a sergeant's pay.

- And you want me to deliver it? - That's right?

- How do I get out of here? - You let me worry about that.

You want to know your name, don't you?

We were in an army hospital together.

The nurse that took care of us is now my wife.

You take her the money and she'll tell you your name.

Guard?

You go tell the major I can prove this man is innocent.

You tried pulling that with the major once, Ryder.

I've got my orders.

Look, I get mine either way.

What's 20 steps out of your life down to headquarters

to give him a chance for his, huh?

All right.

Well, I know a lot of men who'd like to lose their past.

Why, you could be paying alimony to three or four wives

and trying to raise up a bunch of kids.

If I was you, I'd leave it well enough alone.

You got some sense of humor.

All right, Ryder.

My partner's a man named Sam Dugle, he's a fat man.

He weighs about 300 pounds.

He's got a beard and a scar across his nose.

- And I swear to that. - What's the game?

You're going to have your execution, major.

I ain't got no reason to lie to you.

You're wasting my time.

It's my life you're talking about.

I know Ryder, for six years,

I've been trying to get rid of him.

Nobody would take him, he's a famous born liar.

It's the last chance to get the right man, major.

What have you got to lose?

My partner is waiting for me to signal him to come in.

I never had that chance.

If you'd allow me, I could send that signal right now.

He's less than an hour's ride from here.

What's a couple of hours, major?

What's a couple of hours?

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[MUSIC CONTINUE]

[TRUMPET MUSIC]

They don't soil the flag by having it look down

on a traitor being shot.

It's way over an hour since you signaled your partner.

He'll come in.

Now, where have I got that $500?

In your quarters, in your duffel bag

in the heel of your right boot.

Sure glad I do patrol.

I wouldn't want to watch any man's execution,

even a snake like Ryder.

Here's a letter I've written to my wife.

And in it, I've given instructions on how to find her.

I've told her that when you give her the money,

she'll tell you your name, all right?

I'll get it to her.

If I get the chance.

Here's hoping I don't see you soon.

[DRUM ROLL]

[DRUM ROLL CONTINUES]

Ready.

Aim.

Fire.

[GUNFIRE]

Fact three, more than four hours has elapsed

since the signal was given.

The alleged accomplice has not appeared.

In conclusion, the defendant has in no way proved

that he was not the accomplice of the late Sergeant Ryder.

Major, may I question the court?

All right.

Why is a sergeant

and a lieutenant sitting on this tribunal

and not Dr. Crowell, who is a captain?

As commanding officer of this fort, it is within my power

to select the panel, the defendant will be seated.

But military precedent dictates that ranking officers

will sit on such a tribunal.

You are on trial here, Mr. Shenandoah, not this court.

And I have a right to speak in my own defense.

I request permission to question this court.

Granted.

We're all aware of the contents of the bill of rights.

Do they apply in a military court?

They do.

- You believe in them personally? - I do.

Including the section that states

that a man is innocent until proven guilty?

You speak as though you were a lawyer, Mr. Shenandoah.

- Were you? - I don't know, maybe I was.

No-no, not that again.

This is a court martial, not a game of hide and seek.

I'm well aware of that, major.

And I have a right to call a witness

in my defense.

Granted.

Dr. Crowell.

From what I've told you and from your observation of me

in the guard house, would you say that it was possible

that I was suffering from a...

loss of memory?

Yes, it is medically possible.

But it is also possible, isn't it, doctor,

that this man could just be pretending

to have lost his memory?

If it is true, there is no positive proof.

That will be all, Mr. Shenandoah.

- If I had a way to... - You've had your say, captain.

Major, why won't you let the doctor talk?

Time has passed for talking. Be seated.

What is your verdict?

Guilty.

The verdict of this court is unanimous.

The defendant will rise.

This court martial, with the power and authority

vested in me as commandant,

hereby sentences you, to be executed before a firing squad

one hour after sunrise tomorrow.

Take him away.

The evidence submitted in this tribunal

is purely circumstantial.

Take him away.

A man is innocent until he's proven guilty.

If you execute a man just because your revenge

couldn't wait a week for a newspaper,

be sure that revenge is just

or your conscience will never leave you alone.

You're dismissed.

You know what infection is?

It's when the cells in the body are eaten away by disease

cell by cell until there's nothing healthy left

and then you have to amputate, an arm

or a leg, or a chunk of flesh.

It's too bad we can't amputate the head.

The evidence doesn't, doesn't warrant your position.

The evidence leaves lots of room for doubt.

And if you don't have any doubts,

then you're sick in the head.

I was trained for decision, not doubt.

There is nothing sick about that.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

Well, for what it's worth, it's something inside him

he's not fond of executions?

But, uh, men a long time in the army,

they hate mass death somehow,

more than individual death.

Fifty of his soldiers.

Crooks some of them, cowards,

a few fine men.

A lot of greedy ones like Ryder.

Those 50, his 50 against you.

He needs to execute two traitors.

Understanding the major, doesn't make my execution any easier.

Your wound is healing nicely.

That's comforting.

Guard!

Sorry, doc.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

You have a wasted sense of courage.

- Do I? - Obviously.

- So, I was right all along. - Were you, major?

Nobody wants to die for a crime they didn't commit.

Wouldn't you try to escape?

Is that what you intend to do?

What do you think?

Go ahead, major, it's loaded.

Have your own private execution.

Or maybe we should call it murder.

You really think this cavalier gesture is going to convince me?

I could have blown your head off.

So you could.

I hate to disappoint you.

But I'm now going to march you right back to the guard house

and one hour after sunrise tomorrow,

you will stand against the wall

and you will be shot as sentenced.

[GLASS SHATTERS]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

You'll go on looking, eh?

Yeah, to Ryder's wife.

I promised him I'd get her the money

and that's a promise I can't afford not to keep.

Why don't you stay here, maybe I can help

bring back your memory.

But you're not sure.

And she knows.

I hope so.

I do hope so.

Thanks, doctor.

If I do find out about myself, I'll try and get word to you.

It might make another chapter for your book.

Thanks for the provisions, major.

You're welcome.

[MELLOW MUSIC]

We all have our battles, huh?

The major has his and I've got mine.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

Oh, uh...

I hope I didn't hit you too hard.

No.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

[THEME MUSIC]

[ROARS]

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