Original subtitles

♪ [ trumpet ]

ANNOUNCER: ...where Western history comes alive.

The stories of the Old West

are stories of hardships and adventure,

of dreams, and of courage.

Stories of the American pioneer

are all a part of our past, of our heritage.

It's an odd fact that the man who gave California

a billion-dollar-a-year industry

is honored only by a street sign in San Diego,

a marker beside a railroad track in the Napa Valley

where trains no longer stop,

and a plaque on a wall in Sonoma.

His impossible dream was a joke in Gold Rush days.

But let's meet...

You wouldn't know it, Count, being a stranger in these parts,

but we're over the county line.

Well, I see no sign says "keep out."

We've come to catch murderers.

As far as they run, we follow.

Maybe you do, Count. We don't.

This is as far as we go.

As your elected sheriff, I have made you my deputies.

Sure. So you can be a hero? Sell more of those town lots?

I will do my duty.

By law, you must do yours. I command you forward!

I command you again.

He'll circle around, try to beat us back to town,

and then claim that he almost surrounded the whole tribe single-handed.

[ gunshots ]

Tumbleweed must've jumped 'em from ambush.

[ gunshots continue ]

[ chuckles ]

They shoot at me. I shoot at them.

They say, "Please, don't shoot some more." [ chuckles ]

They killed a friend of mine.

You are in San Diego, not at the Warren ranch where the killing was done.

Now, you look here, Count.

We are a posse,

not a judge and jury.

We take these people to jail. We make a trial.

We have law and order in San Diego County, huh?

Then maybe I sell some more town lots, huh?

Forward march.

[ knocking on door ]

Mrs. Haraszthy?

Or should I say Countess?

In America, "Mrs." is quite enough.

Oh. My name is Ralston.

Oh?

Excuse me.

"Mr. William Chapman Ralston,

"California Agent,

New York Steamship Line."Mm-hmm.

Oh, yes. Won't you please come in, Mr., uh--Oh, thank you. Thank you.

My husband isn't here just now, but, uh,

perhaps while you wait, um, a cup of tea?

No.A glass of wine?

I'm taking the stage for Los Angeles in 20 minutes.

Oh. Oh, he'll be sorry to miss meeting you.

Oh, I-- I doubt that, Mrs. Haraszthy.

Are these what he plans getting rich on in California?

Yes, they are vine cuttings that he brought from the Old Country.

These are Zinfandel from his vineyards in Hungary.Oh.

But, uh, they're not quite ready to be planted here yet.

And--Yes, I-- I've seen what he's planted

and what came up.

You see, I'm opening a bank in San Francisco,

and somehow or other, your husband found out about it.

He, uh-- He's been writing me letters,

telling me about the big deal he has here in San Diego.

All he needed was a little additional working capital.

Oh, yes, yes. This is true, Mr. Ralston.

Oh, that he needs a new bankroll, yes.Yes.

But that he has the wherewithal to make it worth my while,

to plant my money where he plants these, and they die on the vine?

No, Mrs. Haraszthy.

Oh, but, you see, the soil here is not quite right,

and, uh, the weather conditions have not been favorable.

Oh, now, there's more to it than that, isn't there, Mrs. Haraszthy?

You see, I had the opportunity, while passing through on other business,

to check your husband's operations since you came here from Wisconsin.

Oh.

And, uh, people have been saying bad things, huh?

Yes.

Yes, they have, Mrs. Haraszthy.

They said that he's stuck with a bunch of town lots which he can't pay for,

and which he can't unload,

and that he also became sheriff because no one else wanted the job.

And he won't have that long.Oh...

There's one important thing left out.

Oh?My husband has a dream--

Oh, now, I-- I don't bet money on dreams, Mrs. Haraszthy.

Oh. Well, I'll, uh, tell my husband what you said.

Mm-hmm.

You had better hurry, Mr. Ralston,

or you may miss your stagecoach to Los Angeles.

Yes.

Uh, good day.

[ distant hoofbeats ]

One moment, gentlemen.

My dear.Oh, are you all right?

Well, you see me. [ chuckles ]

Three prisoners. I take them myself, huh?

Now I will lock them up, and then I come home.

Agoston, there was a man here.

A William Ralston from San Francisco.

Ralston? The moneyman! He came!

But not to bring money.

The people had told him bad things.

He would say such things to you?

Where is this fellow? Oh, he's gone.

He's leaving for Los Angeles on the stagecoach.

Good. Then he has not yet gone.

I am looking for Mr. William Chapman Ralston.

Yes, yes. I'm Ralston.

I am Agoston Haraszthy.

Oh, yes, yes. Well, I have no time for you.

What is said to me, if true,

I say, "Well, all right. Maybe so."

But to worry my wife when I am not there?

A gentleman does not do this.

Now, look here, Count--

We forget that I have write to you about business, huh?

I take your apology to my wife.

Wait! Driver, hold that coach!

[ chuckling ]

Now there is no hurry, huh? You have time.

Why, you cheap four-flushing show-off!

Ah, now!

Now you insult me personal!Yes!

[ laughs ] I am sheriff in this county, huh?

Sheriff cannot fight in street.

It's no good for law and order.

We take a little walk somewhere to very private, huh?

[ men shout ]

Excuse me.

We hang nobody today, Mr. Matthews.

Maybe tomorrow, but not today.

Oh, you've been kind of outvoted this time, Count.

How about it?

You want them Indians coming in for these three?

MEN: No.They won't,

if they ain't got nothing alive to get.

Maybe Indians don't count too good, huh?

Maybe don't stop at three-for-three.

Maybe Mr. Matthews gets us Indian war, huh?

[ murmuring ]

You keep your rope for catch cows with, Mr. Matthews.

I've taken about all I'm--Go in. Go in.

[ sighs ]

[ sighs ] Well,

now we will send for witnesses

who saw who kill the people

at Mr. Long John Warren's ranch.

We send also for Mr. Long John Warren.

And while you stall, the Indians think we're scared and run wild?

Maybe it is better if civilized people not run wild first, huh?

You crazy immigrant.

Immigrant! [ laughs ]

Who in California is not immigrant, huh?

I deputize you special, Mr. Matthews.

Oh, no. Not me.

Yes. Mr. Matthews will ride with the posse to bring back the witnesses.

I will, myself, guard the prisoners.

When witnesses arrive, we will have a trial.

Now, everybody, go away.

Go away. Go away.

They are waiting for you, Mr. Matthews.

Oh, my dear.

Oh, I thought-- I thought for a moment that--

Oh, I, too, my dear, but moments end and all is well.

Are you really going to stay here?

Oh, have you forgotten about the jail, huh? The cracks in the walls?

I'm held responsible, having built it, huh?

You wouldn't want it to fall down, and the prisoners run away?

Agoston, sometimes I wonder.

Mr. Ralston is also wondering.

We will see.

[ grunts ]

Oh!

I'll bring you another pair when I bring your supper.

Oh, thank you, my dear.

And a bottle of the good wine, huh?

Oh, and some shoots for these.

Why, they were not loaded?

Tsk.

Agoston?

Agoston. Agoston, wake up.

[ mutters ] Oh, my dear.

[ sighs ]

What a very long night.

I dream, I-- I hear things not there.

I walk around.

Maybe Indians in the dark, huh?

No Indians. Ah!

[ chuckles, sighs ]

Oh, and I made strudel.

Oh, well, well, well!

[ laughs ] Mm.

Mm. You have cried.

Oh, no.Yes.

Yes, I cause my wife to weep.

Oh, I am such a foolish fellow.

I will go to Mr. Ralston.

I will tell him

I fail in San Diego,

but maybe in San Francisco...

There is still time before the stagecoach comes, huh?

You're thinking "no," but you're not saying it.

You are you, Agoston.

Is this, uh, to be proud of?

Mm.

What a wife I have. [ chuckles ] [ hoofbeats approaching ]

Here.

Here.

Go home. Go. Go.

That is an order.

There are your witnesses.

Mr. John Warren.

I have heard much about you, Mr. Warren.

It is a terrible thing that happened at your ranch.

Let's see the prisoners you brought in.

Of course. I bring them out.

There is no cause for you to be afraid.

Go home, please.

Come out! Get!

[ speaking Spanish ]

They were there, all right. Two of 'em, anyhow.

So you are not sure about one.

Indians look a lot alike.

Well, certainly, you would not hang a man for "look alike."

The way I see it, Count--

I speak just now as sheriff, responsible to the law,

which requires that witnesses must testify under oath,

and in the presence of a jury.

Are you gonna put up with this after the way you talked?

"Hang 'em," you said, "and the sooner, the better."

I said, "If they're guilty."

What more do you want?

It is not what Mr. Warren wants,

it is what the law commands.

Listen to him! And he's not even an American.

I am in America 11 years!

And ya can't speak English yet!

He talks pretty plain to me.

What's your proposition?

I have already said it.

Trial by jury, or you fight the whole town.

Are you ready and able to make it stick with them?

Well, I would not like this to be necessary.

Then why don't you quit while you're ahead?

We, uh...

We will need 12 men for a jury!

I pick you and you, you.

Also you. And you.

We have American justice in San Diego,

not by mob and rope!

Come, everybody. See.

Look, you people heard the sheriff.

I'd, um, like to buy you a drink.

You need one.

All right, Mr. Ralston.

You know who I am?

Sure.

You're the moneyman who's been checking up on Count No-account.

I could tell you plenty about him.

Yes, I imagine you can.

Come on.

[ knocking on door ]

Good evening. I, um--

I came to offer my apologies.

I had no right to add to the load that you carry.

Oh, I carry no load, Mr. Ralston.

Oh, yes. Yes, you do. And a very heavy one.

You're still in San Diego, hmm? Yes.

Yes, I just witnessed a piece of brag and bluff

that beats anything I've ever seen.

So I stayed to see the showdown.

I think you stayed, Mr. Ralston,

because you wondered if you were wrong.

And Mr. Ralston, the moneyman, cannot afford to be wrong.

It is not good for business.

Please go away now.

Excuse me.

[ pot shatters ]

Is it over?

No, not yet.

Must you guard the prisoners again tonight?

No. Mr. Warren will take my place.

Oh, why, it sounds as if you found a friend.

Oh, uh-- Tsk. I was clumsy. I...

No matter.

The witnesses were not sure about one of the prisoners.

He will go free.Oh.

The others-- guilty.

They must hang in the morning.

I ask myself, "Why do I want to be sheriff? Why?"

Because I'm always trying to be big. I am not big.

I fail and fail again.

Still, I do not learn that I am a small man!

No, Agoston. Yes!

In the morning,

the sheriff must take charge of the hangings.

Why, they're murderers!

[ sighs ] They're also failures in life.

Like me. No. No. No more, Agoston.

No more. You will go and sit down.

You will rest. I will fix your supper.

And you'll eat, and then you'll sleep.

And in the morning?

Tomorrow, we'll take care of tomorrow.

Someday, I will plant this somewhere,

and it grows.

Your breakfast is ready.

Mmm.

[ chuckles ]

Agoston!

What?

Your hat.Oh.

[ both chuckle ]

[ sighs ]

You know, I've been thinking.

There is so much land in California.

Everybody digs for gold. Nobody plants, huh?

Where there is no gold, the land cost little.

Ah, so I said in Wisconsin.

Then we move to California.

Now you hear me say we move again, huh?

And you-- you never say, "Will this always moving never stop?"

Well, we will find the right place, and then we'll stay.

I will build you a house. A big house.

A house with vineyards, like in the Old Country.

Vineyards growing all around, huh? [ knocking on door ]

Now-- Oh, finish your breakfast.

This is an order.Ah. [ sighs ]

[ knocking ]

Mr. Ralston.

Good morning.

I have already apologized to your wife.

Mr. Ralston was here last night.Why?

I make it my rule to get the plus and minus straight before I strike a total.

This is banker talk.I am a banker,

which means I plant my money where it's most likely to grow.

You put on a show to keep me here in San Diego.

Well, I stayed to see the rest of it.

You already had enemies here. Now you have more.

They want you out of San Diego.

And I see no reason for you not to leave.

Hmm. There is a reason, Mr. Ralston.

I am still sheriff.

You're not a lawman, you're a promoter! Well, so am I.

Other people think, "Get rich quick."

We look ahead.

Sometimes we make mistakes, sell the wrong article.

Ah, well, maybe we learn by our mistakes, huh?

I make as few as possible.Well, what, then?

I think you should come on up north.

We'll work out a deal.

Oh, you mean, uh, we'll plant grapes.

Yes, that is exactly what I mean, Count.

Well, that depends.

Yes, I know what it depends on.

You'll ask for more money than you need.

I'll refuse.

It won't be easy for either one of us.

Will I see you in San Francisco?

Mm.

[ door opens ]

[ door closes ]

Ahh.[ giggles ]

Not cold, but the other one is all right.

[ chuckling ]

To you, my dear.

Uh, do you trust him?

I trust me and you.

And, yes, I think we trust him, too, hmm?

In 1857, backed by William Chapman Ralston,

Agoston Haraszthy planted vineyards

in California's Valley of the Moon,

and his impossible dream began to come true.

In 1861,

he obtained additional vine cuttings of European grapes,

resulting in a great expansion of the wine industry.

Now, over a hundred years later,

grapes occupy almost a half-million acres in California,

and California wines have gained a distinctive place in the markets of the world.

Next week, another chapter from the true history of the Old West.