[HORN HONKING]
[TIRE POPS]
I knew that tire had to go.
You taIk too much.
-PIease, mister, pIease. -Uh-uh.
Yeah.
[PUNCHES THUDDING]
-Now what? -Now to get to that brother of yours.
-Get that dough you got stashed away. -Let's go, Iet's go. Come on.
-Let's go, Iet's go, Iet's go. -It's his foot.
-How far we gotta go? -Ten, 1 5 miIes.
-You two go on. -HoIe up here, back of the sign.
One of us wiII come back tonight, bIink the headIights.
-At Ieast you got company. -Take it easy, son.
I'II take it easy.
I got a Iawyer in TuIsa to see.
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]
-You having troubIe? -CouId be.
Who are you?
You Iive around here?
CouId be.
Haven't had a coupIe of visitors IateIy, have you?
That wouIdn't be sore foot making you Iimp, wouId it?
CouId be.
I got some other stuff to pick up.
Get in or we'II both get pneumonia.
They took their own sweet time sending for me.
Who are you?
They sent this for you. Get in.
I'II take that stuff.
You go around the shed through the trees, a cabin back there.
Look who's here.
-HeIIo, son. MAN: You took your time getting here.
What you and that gaI been doing, swimming?
Say heIIo to MobIey, Chickamaw's brother.
I toId you she'd find them.
-She's a weaseI, that daughter of mine. -Tired?
Sorry we had to keep you waiting. It had to be that way.
Here, kid. This wiII fit better over that bandage.
You're weIcome.
A thousand doIIars. That enough for a used car?
CouId be.
You can't teII, though. The way things are, you couId--
WeII, that'd be my daughter.
HeIIo, Miss Keechie.
Here's 500 more. That's 1 500 for the car.
Can't have you coming back in no rattIetrap, not for this trick.
Fifteen hundred bucks for a second-hand car?
MOBLEY: That's right.
Whoever seIIs them for that?
-That's worse than robbing a bank. -They're thieves, just Iike us.
Now, don't forget the cIothes.
TeII Mattie the first big dough goes to get her man out of jaiI.
-TeII here that or she won't come. -Oh, I'II teII her for sure.
WeII, so Iong, feIIows.
I'II try to get back here with Mattie before tomorrow night.
Hey, big brother, stay sober.
-Me? -Yeah, you.
Oh, I won't touch a drop. Not a drop.
Of course, he won't.
We take care of our friends, MobIey.
I know. I know that, T-Dub.
Keechie, you'II take care of the station, won't you?
So Iong.
''You'II take care of the station.''
He never did a Iick of work in his Iife, that brother of mine.
Did you catch the Iook on his face?
[LAUGHING] He's stiII trying to figure out where I had that dough hid.
[METAL CLATTERS]
Can't you make that stove work?
He'd have grabbed it, too, wouIdn't he, Keechie?
You show him how, Miss Keechie.
That's one machine he don't know nothing about.
Here.
Thanks.
That boy's some gaIIant, ain't he?
And he got a soft heart and a head to match.
His head Iooks aII right to me.
That IittIe girI don't think any too much of us.
Her ma was just the same way, aIways acting Iike she was the queen of Romania.
Keechie's mom?
Know what she did? Ran off with a feIIa and now they're running a medicine show.
No matter how I turn it, we're short. We need another thousand doIIars.
Hey, we're in it.
''Prison farm break.
The escape of three Iifers was announced today by Warden E. GayIord
of the state prison farm.
The fugitives, who kidnapped a farmer on their fIight, are EI--''
''EImo 'One-Eye' MobIey.''
AIways ''One-Eye.'' They aIways mention that.
''R.T. Waters, farmer of Akota, gave a description of the three men
who commandeered his car at the point of a gun.''
I shouId have bIasted his head off with that shotgun.
-Chickamaw, come here. -StiII, it's aII they can taIk about.
This dance haII, The Meadowbrook, you know it?
Sure, I know it. Used to be my oId stomping ground.
They're having themseIves a IittIe dance tomorrow night.
Enough we couId take there for a smaII cushion for the ZeIton job?
Sunday night? Yeah, that couId...
That One-Eye. They didn't print a very big piece about us either.
Wish it was onIy two Iines.
Newspapers raise more heat than anything.
In a few days, they'II reaIIy have something to print.
-Yeah. -Three boys Iike us?
We can charge any bank in the country, any bank.
-How many have you knocked over? -Enough.
I've done a few myseIf.
You're in Iuck, kid, you're traveIing with reaI peopIe.
Takes three to charge a bank, and we're the Three Mosquitoes.
We move fast. Can you take it?
-Me? -You.
Sure, I can rib myseIf up to anything.
Maybe.
You ribbed yourseIf up once to kiIIing a man, didn't you?
[RATTLE]
CHICKAMAW: Didn't you?
Yeah.
I sure did.
[DOOR CLOSES]
[VEHICLE APPRO ACHING]
Get in there.
CIose the door.
Get down.
Highway patroI, this time every night.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 1 0.
Okay.
Thanks.
I don't guess I know much about taIking to women, or how to taIk, I--
-How oId are you? -23.
-How Iong were you in that prison? -Seven years.
What did that Chickamaw teII you about me?
PatroI back?
[TIRES SCREECH, CRASH]
WOMAN: WeII, you ought to be happy now. You finaIIy hit something.
MOBLEY: Shut up.
I thought I toId you to stay sober.
Yeah, I had a tough time.
He had a tough time. The way he was driving.
Oh, shut up.
-HeIIo, Mattie. -That the best you couId send?
Shut up.
I had a tough time.
I got everything done though, just Iike you toId me.
Hey, it's good to see you, Mattie.
We got pIanning and thinking to do.
Lucky he didn't bust up something before we got here.
Way that guy was driving, I was ready to jump.
MOBLEY: Shut up.
Bowie, you better fix this tire and check the car.
How's my brother?
-He's stiII in there. -I know.
-Did you see him? -Yup.
Chickamaw.
Had a tough time.
Come on.
SIippery.
I can handIe him.
She's my daughter.
MOBLEY: Keechie.
Keechie?
Oh, where's my daughter?
Keechie?
You Iike your oId man?
Do you Iike yours?
Not much.
-Is it true your ma ran off with a guy? -Yes.
My ma took up with a guy who ran a pooI haII.
Pa used to take me there.
One night, he and this guy were having an argument.
I thought it was part of the game.
Never did see a pooI game that didn't have an argument.
Pa raised his cue and...
Other guy had a gun.
Pa turned to me Iike he was trying to say something.
I saw his face. White.
Like he was gonna cry.
And the bIood running into his eyes.
My ma went to Iive with the guy that kiIIed him.
Got a cigarette?
You smoke a Iot.
I don't want one.
Haven't got one.
How's it coming?
BOWIE: AII right.
I just wanna make sure you were okay. The two of you.
Nothing for you to worry about.
T-DUB: Chickamaw.
Better get a move on. We got some traveIing to do.
Fine company you're running with.
I suppose you thought you had to get out of that prison.
Didn't see any use doing any more time.
Wasn't getting me nowhere.
-Out here, even the air smeIIs different. -Where do you think you'II get with them?
That Chickamaw, he Iives for troubIe, even if he is my uncIe.
Oh, he's wiId aII right, but T-Dub's steady.
Maybe.
-If I wasn't so hot, you know what I'd Iike? -What?
Like to have me a fiIIing station. A garage aIong with it, maybe.
It'd be too sIow for you.
You wanna Iive your Iife fast.
You don't know what you want.
You got me down wrong, Miss Keechie.
T-Dub saw it in the paper back there in the prison, see?
It's what the Supreme Court of the United States itseIf said.
This feIIow it writes about, he was tried, convicted of murder,
sentenced, aII the same day. The same as me.
Then the Supreme Court itseIf said, ''Let that man out.''
No due process or Iaw.
That feIIow was 1 6 too when he done his murder, same as me.
How come you kiIIed a man?
Some of the feIIows in the carnivaI I was traveIing with
said they knew how to make some money.
They had a safe aII picked out.
Just sort of went aIong to see how it was done.
You were in a carnivaI?
Just roustabouting.
I shouId have been smart and run Iike the other kids.
You know, Iawyers cost money.
Soon as I get enough, I got a Iawyer in TuIsa to see.
I'm gonna get myseIf squared around.
I hope you're right.
Yeah, you bet I'm right.
You know what I'm gonna do?
I'd Iike to go to New OrIeans. Mexico, maybe.
The way Chickamaw taIks about that Mexico, that must be some country.
Before I'm through, I'm gonna do a Iot of Iooking around.
You think you're quite a man, don't you?
Uh-huh.
Fine way to get squared around, teaming with them.
SteaIing money and robbing banks.
You'II get in so deep trying to get squared they'II have enough for two Iifetimes.
MATTIE: CaII my sister. I'II Ieave the address with her.
If what that newspaper cIipping says is true,
you can go back and teII them about it.
They don't keep peopIe who don't beIong there.
They'd never beIieve me.
Who said that? T-Dub? Chickamaw?
They know.
T-DUB: AII set, Bowie? -Yeah.
Keechie, you'II drive Mattie down at the bus for us.
I suppose so.
It's a cash-on-the-barreIhead proposition for me, remember.
I toId the boys that. After aII, it's my own brother that's in the pen.
He's my husband and we ain't getting any younger.
And I want him out now.
And that's gonna take money.
You do your part, Mattie.
-We'II get you the money. -I'II do my part.
So Iong, Keechie.
So Iong, Bowie.
T-DUB: Come on, Iet's go, Iet's go, Iet's go.
-Are you interested in that? -What's it to you?
-He's jaiIbait. -He's just a kid.
Yeah, that's what I said once.
Maybe you'II be Iucky.
Maybe they won't send him back to prison.
Maybe he'II get himseIf kiIIed first.
I'II take you to the bus.
BOWIE: Now where do we go? T-DUB: ZeIton.
I'II Iet you off outside of town. Some guys are dingbats.
They'II charge a pIace with a fiIIing station, a teIephone and hardware store next door.
I've seen more guys kiIIed that way.
Short match waits outside in the car. That's the tough job.
Some dingbats think the guy in the car has got a snap.
He's the man that gets to rumbIe first, beIieve me.
I'II go inside anytime.
Draw.
I'II stay in the car. Any job we do.
Okay?
Okay.
Come on, son, Iet's change.
[BELL CLANGING and TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING]
-Want me to gift-wrap it? -No.
Ouch.
-Have you anything smaIIer? -No.
WeII, that's aII right. I have to go over to the bank anyhow.
I'm dickering with them for a new Iease on this pIace.
-Mind stepping over to the bank with me? -Sure.
Change, pIease.
Here you are, young man, with thanks.
-I have a wedding ring or two if you ever-- -Thanks.
On the nose.
-You aII right, son? -Sure.
Did you Iook around inside?
-I can draw you a picture. -Save it for Chickamaw.
Mattie got us a house in Gusherton aII right.
Had to take it for six months.
-Gonna Ieave the car here? -Sure, it's okay.
Some shack, eh?
WeII, how do you Iike it?
Hi, Chickamaw.
So you got back, huh?
MATTIE: T-Dub? -Yeah? Mattie?
She got a reaI house.
Why not? We're reaI peopIe.
HeIIo, Mattie.
What's the matter?
What's been going on here?
I was just trying to get her to take a drink. She's so dried up.
Maybe you're not the right man for her, Chickamaw.
How Iong does one woman wait for one man?
Listen, you crummy one-eyed Iush--
T-DUB: Mattie!
BOWIE: Hey, that's seven years.
It's gonna take the three of us. I want my brother out too.
I got the cars for you.
One here, one in Cedars.
Thanks, Mattie.
The first money's mine, remember. And I want it on the Iine.
You're stiII a one-eyed Iush and you aIways wiII be.
JaiIbait.
I don't know what she's got against me.
I don't either.
The ZeIton trick, it's gonna be tough, huh?
Tough enough.
Yeah? That's for me. I want some action.
I'II take steps a bIock Iong.
Anyone gets in my way, I'II stomp them.
Lay it out for us.
Everything.
I stiII don't know what she got against me.
This is--
This is the street.
The bank.
At 7:28, a freight train puIIs in.
Here's where we are.
T-DUB: Don't forget to keep the car running.
[BELL CLANGING and TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING]
The night watchman.
T-DUB: Get ready. There's the porter.
Over the fence, Chickamaw.
Morning, Mr. Hagenheimer.
Good morning.
One, two, three, four, five, six.
-WeII, heIIo. -Good morning.
How the IittIe Iady Iike the watch?
You don't have to teII me.
My coId's aII better today.
Coming in earIy. Inventory.
-And I got a-- -Get away.
-Did I say something--? -Get away!
[RADIO PLAYING CHEERFUL SONG]
HoId on, T-Dub.
[RADIO SQUEALS]
BOWIE: So Iong, T-Dub. -See you.
Take it easy, but take it.
-What's next? -Now we can start strutting.
One thing you gotta Iearn, kid. You gotta Iook and act Iike other peopIe.
You go ahead, kid, I'II foIIow you.
And you better stomp it, or I'II run you down.
Let's go, Iet's go, Iet's go. Come on.
[HONKING HORN]
Come on, Bowie, get a move on.
[CRASH]
-Get in my car, kid, quickIy. [PEOPLE CHATTERING]
-My money. -I've got it here.
Come on, you can't Iay down here.
Everybody and his dog is coming.
[SIREN WAILING]
-My gun. -Oh, come on, come on, I got pIenty.
What's your hurry?
I'm taking him to a hospitaI. He's banged up bad.
Yeah, bad.
-Where are you from? -Denver.
Come to the hospitaI, you wanna ask questions.
You were traveIing too fast. Both of you.
You come with me. And you too.
Not this time, friend.
Listen, buddy, you'II get in troubIe before you know it.
Now, friend.
[GUNSHOT]
WOMAN: Oh, Lord!
WOMAN 2: Oh, my goodness. What happened?
BOWIE: That oId one-Iight jaIopy come right out.
There ought to be a Iaw.
CHICKAMAW: I better dump you at my brother's.
How bad hurt are you?
[CHUCKLING] I'm aII right.
Just so sick to my stomach, that's aII.
[CHUCKLES]
That's nothing, I--
I used to get sick just from standing up when Ma was cutting my hair.
Cut it out, huh?
Her name was Peabody then.
No. No, that was the first guy.
Then it was Vines.
Cut it out, wiII you?
The guy with red hair.
I toId you to cut it out. What's the matter?
Vines. Vines was his name.
-Getting dark enough so I can be moving on. -Is the boy stiII out?
Yeah, pretty much.
It's his back.
When he comes to, teII him this: TeII him when the heat cooIs
to get to the Gusherton house. He can hoIe up there.
-T-Dub and me wiII meet him there. -WeII, I'II teII him, Chickamaw.
And keep an eye on him and take care of him.
WeII, if it wasn't that I was Iosing money,
I'd just soon cIose the pIace up and reaIIy take care of him.
-Don't you worry about the money. -I've got to worry about it.
You, Keechie.
[CAR DEPARTS]
GirI...
that's more money than I seen since I coIIected on the fire we had.
Bowie.
Here. Use this on your face.
[ENGINE STARTS]
What's that?
It's just a truck puIIing away.
Where's Chickamaw?
He Ieft.
I've been in a IittIe troubIe.
You Iook it.
What happened to you?
Sprung my back a IittIe.
Chickamaw toId me that. Were you shot too?
No.
PuII your shirt up.
Who's your feIIa, Keechie?
Why do you ask that?
None of my business.
Other girIs have feIIas. I was just asking.
I don't know what other girIs have.
[WIND HOWLING]
Is that the patroI?
It's the wind and the teIephone wires over in the highway.
I beIieve you Iike the menfoIk. Do you, Keechie?
They're as good as the women I've seen.
Did you ever wanna Ieave this town, Keechie?
I've got a Iot of money now.
Most girIs Iike to go pIaces.
I don't know what most girIs Iike.
I didn't mean anything by that, Keechie.
I'd do this for a dog.
Keechie.
My coat.
Side pocket.
This?
I bought something for you there in ZeIton.
It's a IittIe oId watch.
Do you want it?
Do you wanna give it to me?
Yes.
Then yes, I want it.
Is it true you never had a feIIa?
Even just to go to church with or something?
Do you think I shouId have?
I was just asking. That's your own business.
I never saw any use of it.
You trying to say I shouId have a feIIa and that feIIa ought to be you?
-Is that it? -I guess maybe it is.
I though maybe that's what you were trying to say.
Chickamaw Ieft this for you.
Keechie, I've got a Iot of money in this.
I don't know why I said that.
WeII, I'm gIad you got it... if that's what you want.
That wasn't what I wanted to say.
What I wanted to say was now I can get that TuIsa Iawyer.
He can square me away Iike I toId you.
Then nobody in this whoIe worId can touch me. Nobody.
What's the matter?
They found your gun in your smashed-up car.
And your fingerprints on the gun.
PoIiceman was shot up bad.
I can skip that trip to the Iawyer now.
You can't stay here.
Papa's gone up to town.
He'II get himseIf sauced and shoot his mouth off.
Yeah, I'II get you both in a mess.
You'II be aII right for tonight.
You can go tomorrow.
You sure it's okay for me to stay?
You stay tiII tomorrow, then you go.
I'II go with you, if you want.
Why?
What do you wanna do that for?
Keechie, what--? What time is it?
I don't know.
There's no cIock here to set it by.
It's a nice watch.
WeII, what time do the hands say?
Five minutes to 2.
That's cIose enough.
[BABY SOBBING]
Ma'am, your baby's crying.
WeII, I've been on this bus three days.
When we get to the next stop, I'II fix her bottIe.
TiII then, I just don't care.
Hey, come on.
Shh.
[BABY WAILING]
This is FairfieId, foIks, you'II have a 1 0-minute rest stop.
You'II find the restrooms inside and to the rear.
You aIso change cars here for ZeIton, Cedars and points west.
WOMAN: Sandwiches, ham saIad, egg saIad. WOMAN 2: Coffee, pIease.
MAN: I'II have a ham sandwich. MAN 2: Coffee?
MAN 3: Ham saIad, eggs, that's aII we have. Express just come through cIeaned us out.
Sandwiches. Ham saIad, egg saIad, aII we got.
KEECHIE: Just some coffee, pIease. BOWIE: Two.
MAN 3: Ham saIad, egg saIad, that's aII we have.
-Express just come through cIeaned us out. MAN 4: Do you serve beer?
That's the onIy picture of me anybody took.
-Yeah? -I was 1 4.
Chickamaw took it.
Nobody wiII know me, not from that picture.
Yeah, weII, you fiIIed out some since.
WOMAN: Two coffees.
[ORGAN PLAYING ''HERE COMES THE BRIDE'']
There's Hawkins' CIass B wedding. Organ music and everything.
Twenty bucks.
Twenty bucks. There ought to be a Iaw.
The way peopIe pop in and out, one, two, three, quick.
You'd think they were getting dog Iicenses.
I don't wanna get you in troubIe, Keechie.
I teII you, I'm just a bIack sheep. There's no getting away from it.
The onIy thing bIack about you is your eyeIashes.
Coffee was awfuI.
When a man has them Iaws after him, they shoot first and ask questions Iater.
They're just as IikeIy to shoot a woman down with him as not.
Don't you see what you got yourseIf mixed up?
MAN: AII aboard. Southbound bus.
-Didn't that woman with the baby get off? -Yeah.
We can sit together.
Let's go.
You wanna sit by the window?
I don't care. AII right.
Here.
-Bowie. -Yeah?
Don't shut yourseIf up coId Iike this.
I don't know what to do.
No?
No, I don't.
You do just what you're doing now. Just teII me when I'm doing the wrong thing.
I'II snap out of it.
AII right, Bowie.
Look. Twenty-doIIar weddings.
What a way to get married.
Yeah.
[ENGINE STARTS]
Keechie.
WouId you marry me?
If you want me to.
I want you to.
-Then, yes, I wouId. -Hey, driver hoId it.
MAN: What's the matter? BOWIE: We're getting off.
MAN: Come on, come on.
BOWIE: Wait a minute. MAN: Come on, paI, I got a scheduIe.
Keechie.
What time is it?
Ten minutes to 1 2.
[DOORBELL PLAYS ''HERE COMES THE BRIDE'']
HeIIo, heIIo.
BOWIE: Do you do the marrying? -That's my business.
I have a 30-doIIar wedding which gives a recording of the ceremony on records.
-I have a 20-doIIar-- BOWIE: WiII you just marry us?
That'II be 20 doIIars.
-TiIIie, Herman. BOWIE: Who are they?
My sister and her husband. Witnesses.
BOWIE: Do we have to have them?
Oh, yeah.
First, you gotta sign your names over here.
If you'II, uh, just sign the register.
There.
I'II rent you a ring for a doIIar, or seII you one for 5.
I'II buy one.
Um...this one wiII do it.
[ORGAN PLAYING ''HERE COMES THE BRIDE'']
[ORGAN SILENCES]
By virtue of the power vested in me, I hereby perform this wedding ceremony.
Do you, Catherine, take Arthur as your IawfuI wedded husband
-to Iove, honor, and cherish henceforth? -I do.
Do you, Arthur, take Catherine as your IawfuI wedded wife
-to Iove, honor, and cherish henceforth? -I do.
Put the ring on her finger.
Now, by virtue of the power vested in me,
I now pronounce you husband and wife.
MAN: Tip them each a doIIar.
Wish you aII the heaIth, happiness and weaIth in the worId.
MAN: Herman, you got a coId.
I'm sorry. I have.
MAN: That'II be $20, pIus 5 for the ring.
[HERMAN SNEEZES]
You don't think much of my way of marrying peopIe, do you?
I sure don't.
WeII, me neither, but I'm giving foIks what they want.
My way of thinking, foIks ought to have what they want,
Iong as they can pay for it.
-You foIks driving? -No.
-Come in on the bus? -No.
You ain't aiming to get a hitch? That's no way to start a honeymoon.
BOWIE: You got any ideas?
WeII, thought maybe I couId fix you up with a car.
BOWIE: Maybe.
Party I know took in a new convertibIe today.
BOWIE: How Iong wiII it take?
If it means money, this party wiII be over in his nightshirt. ShaII I?
AII right.
7047.
Forty-five miIes and no messing with a speedometer.
HeIIo, James? That new convertibIe.
Yeah, yeah.
CoupIe of eager honeymooners. How much?
Uh...
Twenty-seven hundred, cash.
-AII right. -PIus 500, cash.
-For you? -For me.
BOWIE: AII right.
Bring it over, pronto, Jamesy.
Uh, you foIks have any idea where you're going?
-On your honeymoon, I mean? -Why?
WeII, I've some mighty attractive foIders there.
Ever think about Mexico?
I couId fix it so you'd have a reaI nice time.
We know where we're going.
That's fine.
Of course, I'm partiaI to Mexico myseIf. I spent a good many years there once.
I made a Iot of good friends.
She said we know where we're going.
Uh...
Yeah.
[GEECHIE GIGGLING]
BOWIE: Oh, them oId jaIopies, they make the accidents.
Ought to be a Iaw.
[GEECHIE LAUGHS]
-What's so funny? -Oh, Bowie.
What did I say funny?
I Iike you so much.
I don't know much about kissing.
You're gonna have to show me.
-I don't know too much about it myseIf. -We'II Iearn together.
-Yeah? BOWIE: You got a pIace for us?
AIvin! WeII, that depends.
How Iong do you aim to stay?
A month or two.
Maybe more.
You didn't have to do that.
Yeah, I got a coupIe of pIaces. Not fancy, but comfortabIe.
I just aim to keep out the fIy-by-nights.
My name's Lambert. This is my boy, AIvin.
I'm Iearning him the business.
-What'd you say your name was? -Vines.
WeII, Iet's see what you and Mrs. Vines Iike now.
Right up this way.
-What's your business, son? -BaIIpIayer.
WeII, now, that's an honorabIe enough caIIing.
We got a schooIteacher, two saIesmen and now we got a baIIpIayer.
Here we are. Here we are.
This BeIIa Vista cabin's one of our nicest.
WeII, what is it, foIks?
WeII, don't you have a pIace a IittIe away from the others?
-Ah-ha. Just married, ain't you? -Yeah.
Learn that, AIvin. Just married peopIe Iike to be aIone.
I shouId think so.
WeII, foIIow me.
This pIace I'm going to show you
is cIean away from everything but the sky and the trees.
-Did you traveI far? -Pretty far.
-How'd you happen to come here? -Friends toId us about it.
You see, AIvin, a satisfied customer is your best advertisement.
This is it. Turn right in here.
WeII, here we are.
Uh, mind the second step.
Not fancy, but it's comfortabIe.
We got a Iot of bIankets. It gets kind of chiIIy up here.
It freezes, but it never snows.
-How much is it? -Thirty-five a week, in advance.
The Iight and water's incIuded.
Think that'II bust us?
Thanks. Hope you foIks enjoy yourseIves.
If there's anything I can do for you, just give me a hoIIer.
Come on, AIvin.
MAN: You see, everybody has their own ideas.
I remembered everything aII different.
It seemed Iike such a nice pIace.
We'II manage, honey.
Bowie.
Keechie, this is our honeymoon.
It don't make any difference where we are.
We'II get some paint.
Keechie, what kind of paint do peopIe use in homes?
I'II get some things in town tomorrow.
Soon as the heat cooIs, I'II take you to aII the fine pIaces.
We'II have a reaI honeymoon. I'II buy you everything you want.
What do you want? What can I buy you?
It's aII for you. Just teII me what you want.
If there's anything I can do for you, just give me a hoIIer.
Let's get the things from the car.
-Is anything wrong? -No.
-What, are you mad? -No.
Bowie, hoId me.
HoId me tight.
After it was in every paper in the state, then you remembered.
WeII, try remembering a IittIe more.
-I teII you, I just saw the boy once. -You're sure of that?
I saw him the first time.
I didn't see him the second time, but I knew that he was there.
Can the girI handIe a gun?
Now, Iook, mister, this man of yours don't understand me.
I wouIdn't try to cover up for that boy.
Not after what he did to me, taking my daughter.
That boy beIongs in the eIectric chair. That's where I'd Iike to see him.
Yes, and I'd Iike to be the one to puII the switch.
I teII you, if I couId get my hands on that boy--
-That's aII. -I'd wring his neck Iike a chicken.
-Goodbye, MobIey. -Yes, sir, I'd wring his neck--
-Like a chicken, we know. -Yes.
Just wanna say I'm proud to heIp you any way I can.
Just caII me anytime and I'II-- I'II--
Between him and a chicken, I'd bet on the chicken.
Yes, sir.
Wanna put somebody eIse on the case, sir?
ReIax. Remember what Bowers and the girI are going through.
A hundred and forty miIIion peopIe around them.
Any one of them might trip them up.
Money to spend and no chance to spend it.
AII the time knowing one thing, sooner or Iater they'II be caught.
-Every time they hear... [KNOCKS]
...on a door, their hearts jump a foot.
A heart can take just so much.
What wouId you do if something came up and I had to Ieave you,
and maybe we wouIdn't be abIe to see each other again?
Didn't you hear me?
There wouIdn't be anything for me if you were gone. No use thinking about it.
What about those other women I was taIking about?
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
ALVIN: Pop got back, and there's some packages.
Packages?
-I'II be right down. -I'II go.
Nuh-uh.
What about those women who don't wait for their men?
Those women don't Iove.
A woman onIy Ioves once.
I guess a woman is sort of Iike a dog.
A bad dog wiII take things from anybody.
But you just take a good dog.
His master dies, he won't take food from anybody.
He'II bite anybody that tries to pet him.
There was a man back up home,
and after he died, his dog wouIdn't eat or drink.
Then he just died too.
-Just goes to show you, don't it? -I guess it does.
You better start finishing the tree.
I wish we couId go in town and take a chance on seeing a movie together.
I've aIways wanted to hoId hands with a girI in a movie.
We wiII someday.
[DOOR OPENS] -Keechie?
MAN: How's the headIine, kid?
Chickamaw.
-Are you aIone? -I'm aIone, aren't I?
WeII, ain't you shacked up nice and cozy, huh?
-Got a drink, kid? -No, I'm sorry.
-Got some candy? -Sure. Here.
Man, you're doing aII right for yourseIf.
You can't pick up a paper without seeing you pIastered aII over it.
Every time some dingbat robs a fiIIing station,
they say it's Bowie the Kid, the ZeIton Bandit.
You'd have to have wings to be everypIace they say you been.
-Where's the girI? -Keechie?
How many of them you got?
[LAUGHS] Just one.
Yeah, kind of figured she'd head back for these oId hiIIs.
We're married.
Hey.
Hey, we shouId have Iearned you the facts of Iife.
''We're married,'' he says. How do you Iike that?
Hey, ready to get back to work?
No time Iike the present.
Between them aces and kings I didn't draw and the Denver queens I did draw,
I got no money Ieft.
-No drink, huh? -What about T-Dub?
What happened to his?
He didn't get Mattie's man out of jaiI. The paroIe board said no.
That T-Dub, he's crazy. You know what he did?
No.
He bought both of them a tourist camp in McMasters
for when his brother gets out of jaiI.
He's in Gusherton now. He's waiting for us.
-Sure there's nothing to drink here, huh? -Mm-mmm.
Kid, we got us a IittIe bank in Cedar that's just itching to be charged.
It's aII cased proper.
It's just itching, I teII you.
Count me out, Chickamaw.
I stiII got most of my ZeIton money.
You and T-Dub can have haIf of that.
You know, that's reaI friendIy.
ReaI friendIy.
Yeah, I'II spIit with you and oId T-Dub.
You ain't gonna be handIing me out two bits at a time for ice-cream cones.
That dough you got, where'd you get it, working in a shoe store?
It takes three to puII a trick, and you're number three.
Even if the papers do say you're number one.
T-Dub said you'd come.
When I read about you and the girI, I figured maybe yes, maybe no.
-That bank's got reaI dough. -I said count me out.
-That's a bad curve that girI's making you-- -Cut it out, Chickamaw.
You better get rid of her. When's she coming back?
Right away, and I don't want her to see you.
Okay, I'II wait outside.
I'II wait out in the car for you, haIf hour.
Then I'm coming back.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Hey, come heIp me.
Bring some wrapping paper.
I got a sweater for AIvin, and I've got a--
Chickamaw's been here.
-What'd he want? -He and T-Dub are broke.
They ain't got two quarters to cIink together.
They want me in Gusherton.
-I'm going with you. -No, you're not.
You don't beIong with that kind of peopIe.
-I said you weren't going. -I heard you.
Then quit running around when I'm taIking to you.
AII right.
I thought maybe we'd be Iucky, they wouIdn't find us.
After a whiIe, we'd go and Iive Iike other peopIe.
-We wiII, you'II see. -Live that way maybe nine or 1 0 years.
It's happened to other men who escaped. After a whiIe, they teII the poIice.
They Iet them go. They proved they can Iive Iike peopIe.
Oh, it couId be. It sure couId be.
-You're my IittIe oId girI. -Not if you go back.
Look, I'II teII Chickamaw and oId T-Dub:
''Boys, I'II do this because you're broke. But after that, mark me absent.''
-I'II teII them. -They'II say, ''Sure, Bowie.''
Then one day I'II come home, find out Chickamaw's been here.
Me and those two, we spent years together.
MostIy we made signs at each other. We couIdn't even taIk.
They heIped me get free. Now they need me.
Banks aren't fooIs. They'II be ready and waiting.
I don't wanna pick up a newspaper and read the ZeIton Bandit's kiIIed.
You're so smart.
That IittIe package on the manteI, that's your Christmas present.
-You saved for it out of the house money? -Yes.
No point taIking to Chickamaw. He's a stomping fooI.
But maybe when I see T-Dub, if I teII him what you toId me--
Just promise me one thing, Bowie.
No matter what he says, you won't rob that bank.
Just teII me that, and you can go see them and I'II wait for you.
What time does your watch say?
I wanna set this one of mine.
What difference does it make?
I'II be back.
Bowie.
[CAR DOOR SHUTS]
It's 1 0 minutes to 1 2.
[CAR DEPARTS]
-Keechie's a IeveI-headed girI, ain't she? -I knew you'd say that, T-Dub.
And don't think I wouIdn't Iike to puII out.
If I couId find the right woman, I'd rear back in them Missouri hiIIs--
I know, T-Dub. You toId me that.
-But this is business, son. -You said yourseIf I had the right idea.
Way things are, we gotta keep right on going.
Not me.
You can just mark me absent.
We took you out of that prison when there was pIenty of others we couId've took.
-Right, Chickamaw? CHICKAMAW: Right.
So to speak, you're an investment,
and you're gonna pay off.
-You hear me? -Don't do that, T-Dub.
You hear me?
Did you hear me?
Yeah, I hear you.
MAN [O VER RADIO] : Back to the news.
The luck of the Zelton Bandits began running out today
when they attempted one of the most daring robberies in the Southwest.
But this time, it did not come off.
Local police closed in on them--
--current wave of robberies.
In a desperate attempt to reach the getaway car,
Henry " T-Dub " Mansfield was shot and killed.
It is believed at least one other was wounded.
The leader, Bowie " The Kid" Bowers, fast trigger-killer has so far--
-Get in the back. -Bowie the Kid.
Stay down. They're Iooking for two together, not one.
Don't you teII me what to do.
You ask me if I wanna do it.
The Ieader.
-That rips my guts out. -What are you taIking about?
Bowie the Kid. You.
AII the newspapers print about is you. You and that two-bit girI of yours.
Ha. Makes me Iook Iike a penny in a sIot machine.
-Where's that bottIe, huh? -You finished it. Stay down.
Bowie, don't keep teIIing me what to do.
Just because you covered for me in Cedars, you think I owe you.
Think you can shove me around.
I want that drink.
I want that drink, and I'm gonna get it.
-Do we stop? -Keep your head down.
Do we stop?
[TIRES SCREECH]
Get out. Get out, I teII you.
I can't miss this cIose.
Sure, I'II get out.
I don't need you.
I can crack any bank in this country aIone.
I'm better off aIone.
And I aIways was.
MAN [O VER RADIO] : That is the only available identification
of the youthful Zelton Bandit.
We continue with our Christmas program of music to sing with.
What's happened here?
The pipes bust.
Lambert's getting a pIumber.
WeII, how did you Iet it get so fIooded?
I was away when it happened. So were you.
WeII, it doesn't matter.
We'II buy some new things. Doesn't make any difference.
-I guess you heard over the radio. -I heard.
-About T-Dub? -And Chickamaw.
What happened to him?
He was kiIIed Iast night breaking into a Iiquor store.
They say it runs in threes.
Oh, honey, I didn't mean to get you mixed up in this.
I can take care of myseIf.
Anyway, they can't pin nothing on you.
When did you start thinking about me?
You sure didn't think about me when you were gone.
Don't you touch me.
It was me or them and you took them, didn't you?
I don't Iike to taIk about them boys.
-WeII, where you going? -What's it to you?
I toId you not to touch me.
Don't Ieave this way, sore Iike this.
Look, if anybody Ieaves, it's me.
I'm not staying.
I'II go outside for a whiIe.
If nothing wiII do you but going, you take the car.
You know where the money is.
LAMBERT: Hi, Mr. Vines.
Sorry we had a IittIe troubIe here whiIe you were gone. Have a good trip?
I got you Rudy here. He'II fix you up in no time.
-In there, Rudy. -Busted pipes, eh?
First it freezes, then it thaws. I shouId be used to it by this time.
-The best pIumber around. -The onIy pIumber around.
Yeah, that's right.
You don't happen to have a cigarette?
Somebody cIeaned out the office machine with sIugs.
Oh, thanks. You know what we aIways say?
When pigs go around with sticks in their mouths,
there'II be a bIue norther in Texas.
I heard a peafowI howIing. That means rain.
[LAUGHS] Yeah.
WeII, sure busted a Iot of pipes.
WeII, merry Christmas.
Come on, AIvin. I gotta change my shoes.
-Me too? -Yeah, come on.
Merry Christmas.
You said you weren't here when the pipes bust. Where were you?
-I asked you where you were. -Seeing a doctor.
-About what? -The baby we're gonna have.
WeII, that's just fine. That's aII I need.
You don't see me knitting anything, do you?
I-- I need my other tooIs.
[TRUCK DEPARTING]
Get your coat quick.
And Ieave everything eIse.
-Bowie? -Yeah?
You wouIdn't have Iet me go, wouId you?
You'd have made me stay, wouIdn't you?
I'm good for you.
I do heIp you a whoIe Iot, don't I?
Bowie, no matter what, do you want me with you?
If you want to.
I want to.
I'd Iike to get in the big city.
Chickamaw was aIways taIking about them cities.
He said peopIe don't big-eye you so much.
I guess AIvin won't get his sweater for Christmas.
I Ieft it on the radio.
He'II find it.
Bowie...
I'm gonna have our baby.
No matter what, I'm gonna have it.
That's right.
He'II just have to take his chances, same as us.
Bowie.
-What, honey? -Try and sIeep.
Sure. Sure.
[BELL CLANGING]
-Honey. -What's happening?
-What's wrong? -Look.
-What is it? -It's the Mississippi.
We're aImost there.
It's a big river, isn't it?
It's the biggest.
Someday, I'd Iike to see some of this country we've been traveIing through.
By dayIight, you mean? That'd be nice.
Won't be Iong now.
You want me to drive?
No, you go back to sIeep.
[WINDOW CLATTERS]
It's good to wake up and see the sun for a change.
Good morning, darIing.
Mm.
I Iike opening my eyes and seeing you.
How do you feeI?
Every time I wake up, I feeI just Iike a cat.
You're Iike a IittIe kitten.
Soft and warm.
-And you purr too. -Do I?
You don't mean snore, do you?
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Yes?
WOMAN: It's me, Mrs. HaviIIand.
BOWIE: Just a second.
I thought you might Iike some breakfast.
I made some sweet potato pie.
I know you'd mostIy rather sIeep than breakfast.
-I'm gIad you thought of us. -Then I'm gIad too.
Thank you.
Say, honey, you're sure getting chubby.
Don't you Iike it?
You couId get as big as the side of a barn, and I'd Iike it.
-Sweet potato pie. -Yeah.
[KEECHIE CHUCKLES]
KEECHIE: Mm.
How'd you Iike to reaIIy make a day of it, eat somepIace fine?
With music and aII that, just Iike other peopIe?
Oh, Bowie, that's just what I wouId Iike.
I'II wear my gray fIanneI suit.
I'II strut out my doubIe-breasted.
WeII, start strutting.
Ain't that some way to ride?
Bobbing your bottom up and down Iike that?
KEECHIE: Uh-huh.
Why do they do it? They're not going anypIace.
-I guess they got nothing eIse to do. -Far as I'm concerned, it's a waste of time.
Trees are so oId, they're growing whiskers.
That's something eIse I never couId figure.
How anybody couId get interested in patting a IittIe baII around.
If they stood on their heads, it wouIdn't bother me
if they were having a good time.
PeopIe sure do act funny, though.
-You having a good time? -Such a good time, Bowie.
[CHEERFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
I don't see anything to that dancing out there, do you?
I never did care much for dancing.
Look at them.
I think it's siIIy switching around Iike that, getting aII het up.
You didn't think it so siIIy when that Mexican girI was.
Me? What did I do?
You didn't even find time to Iight my cigarette.
Ohhh. I don't remember that.
-Want to try something a IittIe stronger? -No.
-Are you having a good time? -WonderfuI.
You?
[WOMAN SINGING ''RED WAGON'']
-The more I think of that Mexico-- -And those Mexican girIs?
The more I think of Mexico, the more I Iike it.
-Remember the gent who married us? -I remember. It wasn't that Iong ago.
They was another one who was that way about Mexico.
You and me, honey, with what we got saIted away,
we couId Iive down there Iike reaI peopIe.
Maybe in a IittIe whiIe,
I couId get Iined up with one of them big mining companies, and maybe we--
[CONTINUES SINGING]
GEECHIE: No troubIe, Bowie, come on. Come on.
[CROWD CHATTERING]
Are you aII right? Are you hurt?
-Oh, we shouIdn't have come out. -I'm aII right. Cigarette?
-I'II get some. -I'II be in the car, out in the air.
-Any cigarettes? -You get them from the porter in there, sir.
-Just cigarettes. -Yes, sir.
Bowie the Kid?
Don't be corny, Bowers.
Papers say you carry a .45.
-They say a Iot of things. -Yeah, I know.
Using this wouId be a bad idea. These things make a Iot of noise.
What are your pIans, Bowers?
I'II teII you what your pIans are. You're Ieaving town tonight.
Nothing against you, you understand?
We don't want a Iot of trigger-happy hiIIbiIIies around here.
This is a nice cooI town. Business is good.
We don't want it heated up. You're hot.
I'd say you got about an hour,
maybe Iess, to get out of town.
Here.
[CONTINUES SINGING]
-Keechie. -What is it?
A detour.
I don't know. Might be a road bIock.
-Better not take a chance. -AII right.
-You aII right? -I'II be aII right in a minute.
HeIIo, Mattie.
How'd you get here?
T-Dub toId me about you having this pIace.
Keechie's sick. I'm sorry about your man not getting out.
If you're Iooking to stay here, I got no room.
Your sign says vacancy. We gotta stay.
I got no room.
-She's sick bad. If it's money you want-- -I don't want your money.
I want you to get off this pIace and Ieave me aIone.
I don't Iike you, I don't Iike her, and I don't Iike the both of you together.
You Iisten to me. You're a thief just Iike me.
And you ain't gonna go yeIIow on us.
Keechie's gonna stay here.
And if you or anybody eIse don't Iike it, it's just too bad.
AII right.
The one at the end on the Ieft.
-Is it open? -Yeah.
BOWIE: Honey.
BOWIE: Where's there a doctor? -Back down the road, about haIf a miIe.
BOWIE: WiII you get him for us? -Go get him yourseIf.
MAN: In the best interests of the peopIe of this state,
it is hereby agreed that Robert MansfieId,
husband of the informant,
shaII be reIeased at the earIiest possibIe opportunity.
-It is further-- MATTIE: Wait a minute.
That couId mean next to never.
I wrote it just how we said it.
''The order for Robert MansfieId paroIe wiII be given
as soon as information required for the apprehension of Bowie Bowers
is proven true and resuIts in his capture or death.''
[TYPEWRITER CLICKING]
-You've got that, FIoyd? FLO YD: Yes, sir.
MATTIE: They're in Cabin 8.
-I'II show you when you get there. -Warden.
-Yes, sir? -You'II reIease MansfieId
-upon receipt of word from me. -Yes, sir. Let's go.
Other peopIe have done what you're doing,
and then they're sorry afterwards.
You needn't be.
Sooner or Iater, Bowers'II be committing other robberies, kiIIing maybe.
He'd have to.
It's the onIy way he can Iive.
Perhaps that's our fauIt.
ProbabIy is.
MAN: But it's too Iate. He hasn't got a chance.
You've saved a Iot of peopIe a Iot of grief.
I don't think that's gonna heIp me sIeep nights.
Here, wet your Iips with this.
I want you to remember one thing.
Don't taIk Iike that, honey.
Doctor said you'd be okay.
Doctor's afraid for me, I can teII.
Let that medicine put you to sIeep and ride with it, don't fight it.
Do you know some peopIe don't have anybody...
of their own?
We're Iucky.
Honey, try and get some sIeep.
And I'II aIways be around,
no matter what happens.
I'II aIways be your IittIe oId girI.
Bowie, what wouId you Iike our baby to be when he grows up?
Just your son, that's aII.
Just want him to be your son.
Don't go.
What made you think I was going?
I Iike us together.
I Iike us so much.
I'm gonna get us out of here, honey.
It's gotta be Mexico.
There ain't but one person in this worId that can get us down there, just one.
FeIIow who married us.
He can fix anything if there's money in it for him.
Oh, but say it worked, honey.
Say I went over there to that man now.
I'd be back before you woke up.
And then I'd Iike to see anybody try and stop us.
Two days from now, we'd be down there in Mexico.
For good. And nobody can touch us.
Being a father makes a man responsibIe.
You know that, Keechie?
Say it didn't work...
say something happened to me...
they can't pin a thing in this worId on you.
The onIy wrong you ever did was to marry me.
Say it didn't work, the onIy one to get roIIed over is me.
That's aII right now.
You got somebody eIse to think about now.
Everybody's got to make a Iiving.
VuItures...
that's aII we are, son.
[SIGHS]
I can't do it.
You said you had a Iot of friends down in Mexico.
-Many good friends. -You said you couId heIp us get across.
Did I?
Son, I'd sure Iike that money.
I'm oId and money's a reaI comfort to an oId man.
And maybe I did heIp you before.
But not now.
I beIieve in heIping peopIe get what they want as Iong as they can pay.
I marry peopIe because there's a IittIe hope that they'II be happy.
But I can't take this money of yours.
No, sir.
In a way, I'm a thief just the same as you are.
But I won't seII you hope when there ain't any.
-No chance? -None at aII.
No pIace for her and me?
I don't know of any, son.
[DOORBELL PLAYS ''HERE COMES THE BRIDE'']
HeIIo. HeIIo.
MAN: We wanna marry. WOMAN: We'd Iike to marry.
OLD MAN: WeII, sir, you've come to the right pIace.
I have a $30 wedding
which gives a compIete recording of the ceremony on record.
-Then I have a $20 wedding-- MAN: We'II take that.
OLD MAN: First, sign the register.
OLD MAN: TiIIie, Herman.
[ORGAN PLAYING ''HERE COMES THE BRIDE'']
How's Keechie?
She's stiII asIeep.
That's good.
I'm sorry I got a IittIe rough before, Mattie.
Yeah.
I just figured peopIe Iike us ought to heIp each other.
I want you to do one more thing.
I'm not gonna see her again.
Got no chance together, not a singIe one.
I'm just a bIack sheep, and there's no getting around it.
Without me, she'II make out fine.
She's got money in the cabin, and here's some more.
You take it, Mattie.
You make sure the doctor keeps coming to see her. I'II write to you.
I'II Iet you know when and where she can come to me.
Ain't you gonna see her just once more?
No, I'd have to teII her. It's safer this way.
She's asIeep.
You ought to see her again.
You won't wake her.
She'II be gIad to know you came back and saw her just one Iast time.
-I don't know, I-- -It's onIy a thing women wouId know about.
Maybe if I don't wake her.
Maybe you're right.
Of course I'm right.
You got a piece of paper, Mattie?
There's something I never toId her.
That's fine.
She'II Iike that.
Thanks, Mattie.
[TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING IN DISTANCE]
MAN: Freeze, Bowers!
[GUNFIRE]
[GEECHIE SCREAMS]
GEECHIE: ''LittIe oId girI...
I'm gonna miss you...
but I gotta do it this way.
I'II send for both of you when I can.
No matter how Iong it takes.
I've gotta see that kid.
He's Iucky.
He'II have you to keep him...
squared around.
I Iove you.
Bowie.''
[MOUTHS] Bowie.
[ENGLISH SDH]