Last Sunset, The (1961) Movie Script
I need some
horseshoe nails.
Well, I have all sizes.
Some new and
some old. Select.
How much are they?
I'm looking for a man
named O'Malley.
Fellow about your height, wears
black pants and shirt, black boots.
Carries a derringer.
He always wears a loud-colored
scarf around his neck.
Has a hole in his chin.
Here.
It's worth 50 pesos
if anybody's seen him.
They are desolate
they cannot help you.
But, 50 pesos, seor? This man
must be a very dear friend, no?
No.
Jack-boy!
You be quiet.
Good evening.
Good evening.
The name's O'Malley.
How do you do, Mr. O'Malley?
I'm Mrs. John Breckenridge.
My husband's gone to
Calvillo on business.
Sorry to hear that. I was hoping to
ask him for a night's hospitality.
Mr. Breckenridge has always
welcomed strangers to the plateau.
I'm grateful to
Mr. Breckenridge.
Won't anybody take care
of the gentleman's horse?
Mr. O'Malley,
this is Milton Wing,
Mr. Breckenridge's
ranch manager.
Howdy.
This horse's been
lathered up some.
Well, I'd say that's because
he was run some, wouldn't you?
Guess so.
This is Jose. Rosario.
My daughter.
Oh.
She favors you.
You're a lucky young lady.
This is Melissa Linda Anthony
Breckenridge. We call her Melissa.
Well, how do you do,
Melissa?
Oh.
Thank you.
Well, I'd be most grateful to
Mr. Breckenridge for my supper.
Are you a cowboy,
Mr. O'Malley?
What have I done
to give you that idea?
You don't dress like one,
so I just wondered.
No, I don't like
cows much.
And the only way I really like
a horse is when he's hitched
to a nice two-seater buggy
with good springs.
I ran into a cowboy this
morning up at the pass.
Seemed to be looking
for somebody.
Tall man?
Sure was.
I never really met
an American cowboy.
You'd be disappointed.
Was he riding a blue roan?
That's right.
What makes you think
I'd be disappointed?
Well, you see, cowboys
aren't very bright.
They're always broke
and generally they're drunk.
Did he carry his
gun on the left?
Yep... 45 on the left.
You may get the chance to meet
one in the flesh real soon.
You know this fellow?
I know of him. We've
never met, but we will.
Mrs. Breckenridge, will you
do me the honor of dancing?
No.
I dance vary rarely, Mr. O'Malley.
And then only with my husband.
He's to be envied.
Then dance with me, Mr.
O'Malley. I love to dance.
I'd be delighted.
Do you want to try it again? Sure...
It's time for bed, Melissa.
Oh, no, not yet.
Yes. Gracias, muchachos.
Are you going to sleep in
the house, Mr. O'Malley?
You know Mr. Breckenridge has a special
room in the toolhouse for guests.
Oh, well. Good night.
Good night.
I'll show him.
Never mind,
I'll show him myself.
Here's your lamp.
Your bed's up there.
Why did you
have to come back?
I ran into somebody who told me
your married name and where you were.
I started riding
that same day.
You're lying.
You came here to hide.
There's someone on my trail,
sure. There always is.
But I haven't been running away from
him, I've just been coming to you.
And now I'm here.
And I'm not hiding.
And I'm going to stay.
No, Bren.
You're leaving tomorrow
and you're not coming back.
Belle.
I can't leave you now.
I never did
leave you, really.
All these years I've remembered
you as you were that night.
A pretty girl coming down
the steps in a yellow dress.
And another boy
asked me to dance.
You began that awful whistle
and just watched for a minute.
Then you tore my flowers off
and knocked him down.
I know, but that's all in the
past. That part of me is over.
It took three men to stop
you. You were killing him.
I'm trying to tell you that I've
changed. I'm completely different now.
You'll see.
You still got
that yellow dress?
I burned it.
I'll get you another one.
Oh, Belle. Belle...
Belle, remember that night?
The music floating down
from your uncle's house,
me sitting by my campfire,
thinking of you dancing
in the arms of other men
and wanting to kill someone.
And then I looked up,
you were standing there.
Standing beside my fire in
your yellow dress like a flame.
Oh, Belle.
Belle.
Oh, please,
keep away from me.
I'm afraid of you.
Whatever you say, Belle.
Why do you wear
your gun in your belt?
Well, I like to know
exactly where it is.
In your belt, you can feel it right
up there against you all the time.
Papa says a derringer hasn't got
any range. He always wears a Colt 45.
Oh, I'm sorry
to hear that, miss.
Why?
Well, no handgun's accurate
beyond 20 feet.
And no holster gun can
draw as fast as a derringer.
My papa greases the
inside of his holster.
I'm afraid that wouldn't
do him any good.
Also, the derringer carries
a bigger slug, miss.
You can call me
Melissa, if you like.
Well, let's just compromise.
I'll call you Missy.
What's the matter?
Oh, it's only Papa.
Good morning,
child of my heart.
Rosario, come
get Papa's horse.
Good morning, my dear.
Good, I say, because it's one of the
last we'll spend on this accursed ranch.
Did you find trail hands?
Just one.
But I'm sure two or three
more will join us directly.
Not many people want to
work for a living these days.
Oh, John,
this is Mr. O'Malley.
How do you do?
Welcome, Mr. O'Malley.
Permit me to offer you the
hospitality of these poor acres.
Thank you,
Mr. Breckenridge.
We have a saying down here in
Mexico, to which I hardly subscribe.
"Everything that's
mine is yours. "
It's a fine saying.
I'll remember it.
You'll join me in coffee?
Thank you.
O'Malley...
I knew some O'Malleys
in Virginia. Tidewater?
I'm afraid they'd be lace
curtain, my people were all shanty.
After you, sir. Take that
chair right over there.
I take you for a man who's handled
quite a lot of cattle in his time.
Oh, I've done a little
bit of almost everything.
Well, I run about
I plan to trail the herd up
to Texas and sell them there.
Now if you're at
liberty, I could...
Mr. O'Malley
was trailing south.
North or south doesn't make much
difference to me, Mrs. Breckenridge.
There, you see?
I'm sure my wife echoes my sentiments in
hoping you'll join us on the trail, sir.
I don't think Mr. O'Malley
would be influenced by my wishes.
I hope you won't
always think that, ma'am.
I'm sure that's not
what she meant.
Touch up your coffee?
Thanks.
I'm willing to pay you
a dollar a day, in fact.
Plus a $25 bonus when we deliver
the herd in Crazy Horse, Texas.
Crazy Horse?
That's pretty dangerous
country you're going through.
And you need two men you haven't
got. Fast gun and a trail boss.
I don't know any more
about cows than you do,
so if I go as the gun,
where's the trail boss?
Well, I haven't got one.
I wasn't able to find anybody.
I know one. Good one.
Think you can get him?
He'll probably be
here by tomorrow.
Maybe even today.
You think he'll take the job?
He just might.
You see, this fellow and I are
kind of bound up with each other.
But with or without him, my
terms are gonna be pretty high.
Well, you just name
your terms, Mr. O'Malley.
Only two.
First I take
a fifth of the herd.
It's outrageous.
Well, I fight better when
part of the property's mine.
But that's exorbitant.
You think about it.
All right. All right,
you've got your fifth. Good.
Now, wait a minute, you said you had
two conditions. What's the second?
Oh, yes, the second.
I want your wife.
You're joking.
No.
If I get the herd through for
you, I mean to take your wife.
You? You and my wife?
You and Mrs. Breckenridge...
A dirty shirt Irishman
and a Fitzleigh from Richmond.
Yes, I'll accept your
challenge. Yes, indeed.
And you can go to work.
You can go to work at once.
Hold it, O'Malley!
They told me you'd try to circle
around to get the sun in my eyes.
You did a little
circling yourself.
Insurance.
The sun was in Jimmy Graham's
face when you killed him.
I don't remember.
Well, a lot of
people do.
I got a warrant
for your arrest.
I'm taking you back to Frio
County, Texas, to stand trial.
Will you come voluntarily
or will I have to take you?
Say, it just happens that I'm
just headed for Texas right now.
Crazy Horse. Of course,
it isn't Frio County,
but you'd die a lot closer to home
than if I had to kill you here.
All right, let's go.
I'm running these
cattle up there.
You?
Yeah.
With a drunken owner, no trail
boss, a few vaqueros and myself.
What do you want in that outfit
you're willing to risk a hanging for?
Why don't you ride over
and find out?
Why not?
You know, Sheriff, this is Mexico.
Your warrant's no good here.
I'll serve it as soon as
we cross the Rio Grande.
Is that the gentleman you were
telling me about, Mr. O'Malley?
That's him.
They need a trail boss.
Mmm-hmm.
With just the two of us riding,
I can always keep you in sight.
But trailing cattle, it'd be too
easy to catch a bullet in the back.
I hope Mr. O'Malley has discussed the
possibilities of your joining up with us?
He has.
I'm not interested.
Why that's most unsettling.
I was counting on it.
You have any idea what
you're getting yourself into?
There's nothing on that trail
but rustlers and Indians.
And Johnny Rebs who crossed the border to
steal what they couldn't win in a fair fight.
I do beg your pardon.
I almost lost a leg
at Fredericksburg
in as fair a fight as
this world has ever seen.
I'm a Virginian and an officer
in the armies of the Confederacy.
I'm from Virginia, too,
except I served under Grant.
Oh, I beg your pardon.
Oh, forgive me. My dear,
allow me to present Mr...
Stribling.
Dana Stribling.
Mr. Stribling, my wife.
Almost forgot her.
I don't see how that
could be possible.
Well, bravo, you are
really a Virginian.
Why don't I show Mr.
Stribling around the place?
Might help him
change his mind.
That's a mighty
good idea, Mr. O'Malley.
It's right gracious of you.
Ma'am.
You know, I've got a nasty
feeling I've seen you before.
You were too drunk
to remember.
Bents Fort, Colorado.
So broke you were making
up rhymes for whiskey.
One free drink,
one free verse.
What's the matter?
Cost you a drink?
I'm gonna see that
you hang, O'Malley.
Ooh! Hanging's
a long-time proposition.
Well, Mr. Breckenridge, to
pull the 1,000 head of cattle,
you need two good point riders, four
swing riders, and one man on the tail.
You need a man to drive the mules, a
trail cook, a wrangler for the horses,
plus four horses in the
remuda for each rider.
I got plenty of horses
in the remuda.
My wife drove a chuck wagon
coming down here
and she's perfectly willing
to drive one going back.
And she's an
excellent trail cook.
Then she counts
for two men.
You've married well.
You ride, miss?
Oh, yes. I can even
work cattle on a horse.
Good.
She can ride herd on the remuda.
Give us another hand for the cattle.
My daughter's a lady.
A Southern lady.
If I'm trail boss,
my word goes
when it comes to running
the cattle, is that right?
Well, whatever you say.
We're ready to go.
Melissa.
We'll see how Milton's
doing with the herd.
Fine, Papa.
Mrs. Breckenridge,
it's not often I interfere
in somebody else's business,
but this is one of the
times I think I should.
O'Malley's a killer,
and as soon as he crosses the border
into Texas, I'm gonna see that he hangs.
Until then, my advice to you is to
keep your door locked when he's around.
He can't tell
one female from another.
And he don't care much,
either.
Please,
don't cause trouble.
Why did you say those things
about Mr. O'Malley?
Because they're true.
I'm not a child, Mr. Stribling. I'm
perfectly able to take care of myself.
It won't happen again.
It's a nice night,
isn't it?
Miss out on the nights,
you miss half your life.
Are you a killer?
Now, why do you
ask me that?
What they say.
Well, when you come right down to it,
all men in their hearts are killers.
But that's wrong.
Maybe it is.
I don't know.
When a man kills,
it means God let him,
because God could stop him
if he wanted to, couldn't he?
I don't understand.
Well, you asked
if I'm a killer,
I'm trying to tell you it's
not an easy question to answer,
but I have killed.
But you didn't
want to, did you?
No.
Do you like God?
Do you like God?
Well, of course, but...
I don't know him really.
Do you? Part of him.
Someday I'm going to
know all of him.
Oh, not all of him, Missy. That'd
be too much for anyone to know.
It would blind you.
Just learn to know rocks and
trees and stars and sunlight.
They're all
part of God, too.
Learn to know the sea.
I will when we
get to California.
Good. Find yourself a nice big boulder
with the waves breaking against it.
Look deep. Dream of
seahorses and they'll come.
Not many people know of it,
not many people care,
but the sea is a place where the seamen
shoe the hooves of the wild sea-mare.
Not many people have seen it,
nor caught the faintest gleam of the
ice-green cave in the deep green sea
in the heart of
the cold sea-stream,
where the sea-mare hides her young
sea-colt wrapped in a shy sea-dream.
But practically all of the
people known can absolutely say
that the foam on the sea is a sign that
you see the mare and her colt at play.
Oh, I like that.
Did you make that up?
A drunk made that up,
sitting in a saloon
in Bents Fort, Colorado.
Give him a subject, he'd write a verse.
"One free drink, one free verse. "
That must've been a part
of God, too. God in him.
Of course it was.
God has a special love for drunks
and fools and children like you.
I'm not a child.
I'm almost 16 years old.
I'm a woman.
Oh, Missy.
Put it away.
When I kill you, it'll be face-to-face
with both of us on our feet.
I'd like to believe that.
You can.
And here's something else
you can believe, too.
Never talk to me again
the way you did tonight.
The truth hurts,
doesn't it?
The truth hurts.
I'd like to know
the truth about you.
Just being sheriff isn't enough
reason to follow a man this far.
What was Jimmy Graham to you?
Hmm?
He was married to my sister.
Your sister?
Mmm.
So that's where the bear
sits, in the buckwheat.
Pretty little girl
Mr. Stribling!
You left a calf behind.
Where?
He lost his mother.
Well, we'll have to give
him a new one. Come on.
Come over here, miss.
Now, blow your breath three or
four times in each side of his nose.
Go ahead.
Keep on petting him.
That's right.
Now, stay right where you are so
you're the first thing he sees.
Get back on your horse.
See, miss, cattle
don't see very well.
The only way this little fellow can
tell his mother from any other cow
is by her smell. When he
loses that, he's an orphan.
So we give him a new smell to
follow. You're his new mama.
Now, walk away slowly,
see what he does.
Thanks for saving
that calf back there.
Why should you thank me?
Well, that calf
could have been mine.
Yours?
Sure.
You see, part of my deal with Breckenridge
was that I get a fifth of the herd.
A fifth?
Well, I delivered him the best
trail boss in the business, didn't I?
That's worth something,
isn't it?
Come on now, my fifth. Hey,
there! Come on there, boy!
Mr. Stribling, you may
make camp wherever you wish.
I'm riding on ahead
to Tres Santos.
That's a pretty rough
town, Mr. Breckenridge.
I think I can find
extra hands there.
This time you can
really count on me, Mrs. B.
I swear I'd sooner
milk a wildcat.
Come on, Jack-boy.
Come on, Jack-boy.
Jack-boy, come on. Come on.
Come on, Jack-boy.
Come on. Come on.
Come on. Come on, Jack-boy.
That's a boy.
Your husband get back
from town yet?
No. I hope he hasn't
run into any trouble.
Maybe I ought to ride in,
see how he's making out.
I wish you would.
All right.
Get me some tobacco,
will you?
I don't know your brand.
Oh, any kind will do.
Maybe you ought to come
along. Pick it out yourself.
Oh, it's not that important.
Take your time. I'll just stick
around here and keep an eye on things.
Right, Jackie-boy?
I only suggested
you come along.
Now I'm telling you to.
On your way, cowpoke.
That's an order,
O'Malley.
What did you say?
Bren, please go with him.
Don't make trouble for us.
Whatever you want, Belle,
that's the way it's going to be.
Gentlemen, our cups
are running dry of nectar.
Patron, a drink for my friends,
and everyone is my friend.
Bartender, drinks all around.
Gentlemen!
Gentlemen, gentlemen.
A toast to a great soldier,
a devout Christian.
To the bravest of the brave,
General Stonewall Jackson.
You're not fit to
speak that name, sir.
At whose side it was
my privilege to fight
during the long and tragic years
of the war between the states.
Gentlemen,
I give you General...
Reach for your gun, sir.
I decline to shed the
blood of a fellow Virginian.
You decline every kind
of a fight, don't you?
It's right nice seeing
you again, Breckenridge.
We had the privilege
of fighting alongside him
under Stonewall Jackson
at Fredericksburg.
And he ran.
That's not true.
He didn't just run,
he deserted us!
That's just not true.
I was wounded at
Fredericksburg.
Where were
you wounded?
Go ahead and show us where
you were wounded, Breckenridge.
Yes, sir. Show us.
We would all like to see.
Well, the wound is obvious.
I limp...
Drop your pants and
show us your backside.
You've no right to
ask me to do that.
Your pants.
Or your gun.
Show us your wound.
Oh, God,
is there no mercy?
Show us the wound!
Talking's all right,
you can say anything you want,
but no man has the right
to make another man do this.
Keep out of this.
What's he to you, sir?
Don't ask questions, mister.
Just do what the man says.
Let's get out...
Now wait a minute...
You shut up!
Let's go, Mr. Breckenridge. I
don't think we're welcome here.
How'd my papa really die?
Like we said,
some buffalo skinners
started to make trouble and...
Well, your father
waded in to stop it...
You make that up
because of Mama?
'Cause she knows.
And so do I.
Know what?
That Mr. Breckenridge was too
gentle to ever get into a fight.
Maybe that was
the good in him.
Bedtime, Melissa.
So early?
It's not early,
it's late.
Goodnight, Mr. O'Malley.
Goodnight, Missy.
Well, I'm ashamed of you,
Stribling.
Poor Breckenridge isn't even cold yet
and already you're thinking of his widow.
You might be right.
Forget it, cowpoke.
She's mine.
I'd worry about that if I thought
you were gonna live long enough.
Well, when the time
comes, you'll see.
Don't count on it.
You'll never get the chance
again to ruin a woman's life.
You're still talking
about that sister of yours?
You like the truth?
Here it is.
Your sister put more horns
on Jimmy Graham
than a porcupine's got quills.
By the time he
got himself killed,
he wasn't good for anything except maybe
to stuff and hang over the fireplace.
That sister of yours, Stribling,
was just a free drink on the house.
And nobody ever
went home thirsty.
I mean nobody.
If you two want to kill
each other, go ahead.
But at least wait until you cross
the border and fulfill your contract.
If you're not going to
stick with it, get out now.
By the way, O'Malley,
three days after you
killed Jimmy Graham,
my kid sister took a length
of rawhide and hung herself.
Now what's wrong?
Just pointing the wagon tongue
toward the North star.
Help us get our bearings
in the morning.
If that's such a good idea, why haven't
we done it before, Mr. Stribling?
Probably because I didn't need
an excuse to talk to you before.
Oh.
I just want to
tell you not to worry.
I mean to bring that herd through
in good shape, you can count on me.
Good.
There's one thing more.
If you'll pardon my saying so,
you know, sometimes
it only makes grief worse
when you bottle it up.
Thank you.
If you...
When you're feeling better,
if you need a friend to talk to
about your plans for the future,
I mean, your plans
and Melissa's,
I'd like to be that friend.
I'll remember that,
Mr. Stribling.
Good night.
Good night.
I didn't know there were any
women connected with this outfit.
Make any difference?
Not to me,
it don't.
Women like that are worth $1,500 a piece
delivered to a Dutchman in Veracruz.
That's more than
a whole herd's worth.
You're looking for somebody?
Fellow named
Breckenridge.
Hired us to go through with this
outfit to Crazy Horse, Texas.
We heard he got killed.
So we trailed you
from Tres Santos.
Figured you could really
use some more hands.
We got a paper he signed.
Show him.
Paper doesn't matter. We
need men. Have you got names?
Sure. Frank Hobbs.
This is my brother Ed,
that fellow over there calls
himself the Julesburg Kid.
All right.
Let's get to work.
Hey, kid.
You hard of hearing?
All right, we got a big herd
of cows here. All round here.
Now, bunch them up so we can
move out of here right away.
Well, now, you ought to
move over there, lady.
Let me handle
them mules for you.
I'll be right with you just as soon
as I tie my horse on behind here.
You're hard of hearing. Well, you
know, when I get through with you,
you're gonna like them cattle so
much you'll never want to leave them.
Come on, Julesburg Kid, let's go!
Let's go! That's it!
Hold on! Hold on!
Hold on, there!
Sit on your horse, that's it. Come
here, come here. Don't be that way.
Come here!
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Stay on your horse, there. Come
on, stay on that horse. That's it!
Now you got it! Come on!
Let's go again, huh? Come on!
On we go! That's it.
Isn't this fun?
Isn't this fun?
Don't you reach
for your gun again.
Now work for your dollar.
Hey, hold it, Missy.
You know a funny thing
about a horse?
He can see a gopher hole
about a mile off, and yet...
Let me show you something.
Look.
And yet he can't even see a
bird's nest right under his nose.
There's no reason
to be nervous.
I'm going to take you
alive. Remember?
What did he mean?
All he meant was you're going to have
horses scattered all over the countryside,
unless you get back
to work pronto, miss.
All right.
We may be able to use a
killer on this drive after all.
I don't think there's
any danger in here.
We better stand watch
around here, just the same.
We'll spread out
among the herd tonight.
Take your bedroll with you.
Get as much sleep as you can.
O'Malley and I
will ride herd.
If I were an Indian, I could've picked
up some mighty easy scalps just then.
I'm glad you weren't.
Come here. I want to
show you something.
Don't be afraid. You won't need
that shooting iron. Come on.
Something out there you could live
five lifetimes and never see again.
Look.
Saint Elmo's fire.
Never seen it
except on ships.
I've never seen it
anywhere. What is it?
Well, a star fell and smashed and
scattered its glow all over the place.
There, you see?
You laughed.
You're getting
used to me again.
I was really thinking that
you haven't changed a bit.
How do you mean that?
Oh, you've still got that
wildness on the tip of your tongue.
I've still got you
in my heart, too.
Look, Belle, I know this
hasn't been a good trip for you,
but, well, we're going to have
smooth sailing from here on out.
You really don't want
smooth sailing, Bren.
You carry your own storm
wherever you go.
Only when I travel alone.
Belle.
Look at me. I'm trying to
tell you how much I love you.
No, Bren.
You loved a 16-year-old girl.
In another country.
In another world almost.
And you still think
I'm that girl.
You are.
I'm not.
The girl you remember died
a long, long time ago.
But the minute I look at
you, she comes alive again.
Can't you see that,
Belle?
Don't you know what
I've done for you?
Something only
love could do?
I stopped time
from touching you.
I trapped you in my heart the very first
day I saw you, and I've never let you change.
Oh, Belle, 100 years from now, my
eyes could look at you and still see
a pretty little girl
in a yellow dress.
You've said it all.
Don't you see, Bren?
I don't want to be
loved as if I were
a frightened, shivering,
innocent little girl.
I have to be loved
for what I am.
I'm a woman
with the heart and the mind
and the flesh of a woman.
I'm not young and
I'm not innocent.
There's so much more to me
to be loved than just that.
But you don't see it.
Because you don't want to.
You're up awful early
this morning.
Why, yes, I am.
Do you think that's wise?
Walking around here unarmed?
Just wanted to see this
little church in the daylight.
Yeah.
Lots of hopes, lots of
prayers must've started here.
Or ended.
Babies being christened.
Women burying their dead.
Sometimes men, too.
Men?
I lost my wife and two
daughters in an Osage war party.
Oh.
I'm sorry.
I'm afraid I was only
thinking of myself.
To me, it's always seemed like
the women who keep on living.
Men kill or get killed.
And women bury them.
We're professional survivors.
Belle, last night...
I couldn't help seeing you
and O'Malley talking together.
And I had the feeling that you
two have met before sometime.
I mean, way before we began
this cattle drive. Have you?
I don't think you have the right to
ask me that question, Mr. Stribling.
But I give myself that right,
because I mean to marry you.
That gives me
every right in the world.
Will I have anything to say
about this marriage?
Not until I ask you.
And I can't ask until I
square things off with him.
Then you'll have
a lot to say about it.
Excuse me.
No reason
to be offended.
But you might just as well
forget you ever saw him,
because I'm the man
you're going to marry.
I mean what I say, Belle.
O'Malley!
Hold up the herd!
What did you think
you were doing?
I was protecting
my fifth of the herd.
You get on back there and get the
outfit ready to stand off an attack.
I didn't sign up
to fight Yaquis.
Well, I ain't about
to fight them, either.
Get the wagon and the remuda over here
and we'll surround them with the herd.
Get ready.
Hold it.
They've got Stribling.
All they wanted was
a little fresh beef.
You could've
got him killed.
Not yet.
How many herd
did you have to give?
One-fifth of the herd!
O'Malley's fifth.
Never did like cows
much anyhow.
Quicksand!
Watch where you ride!
Throw me a rope.
Let's have a rope.
Think you might find a way
to tear up that warrant?
Not a chance.
Hold your hands
over your head.
The big guy is stuck
in the quicksand.
Don't get the wrong idea,
Stribling.
If Belle didn't need you
to get these cattle through,
you'd be on the bottom now,
alongside your horse.
That's the way I figured.
I killed Frank Hobbs.
Well, there she is.
We made it.
Sure is beautiful.
I got plenty of vaqueros
to help us make the crossing.
Crazy Horse is on the other
side, just beyond that ridge.
When do we cross over?
First thing in the morning.
You mean we're going to
have to make camp again?
When there's a town
in plain sight?
Well, it's too late
to try today, Melissa.
All right, let's get these
cattle moving towards the river.
You know, Missy, you and your
mother could make the crossing now,
and spend a comfortable
night in town. I'd like that.
We've come this far, Melissa. We
might as well spend one more night.
Well, I sure would
like a nice bath.
You know, this is our
last night in Mexico.
Let's celebrate.
Let's have a fiesta.
A fiesta? Can we get
all dressed up? Why not?
O'Malley? O'Malley?
Yes?
We're going to have a fiesta
tonight. Will you dance with me?
Sure will. Dance with
you all night long.
Oh, Mr. O'Malley, if you decide
not to cross the border with us,
I'll be glad to send your
wages after I've sold the herd.
I'll think about it.
I'm only a sham.
I haven't any slippers.
I wouldn't wear boots.
Do you like it?
Very much.
It was my mother's.
Could've been
made for you.
Melissa, where did
you find that dress?
In your trunk.
It's been torn.
Oh, yes, it is.
Did you know that, Mama?
Yes. Someone gave me
a corsage of primroses.
And a very jealous boy ripped them off
and stomped on them. Tore the dress.
I think that's romantic.
Well, some day I'll give
those primroses back to you.
Dance with me.
Pretty little girl
in the yellow dress
When are you going to give
Your heart to me?
I intend to keep on asking
Until you answer yes
Pretty little girl
In the pretty
little yellow dress
I looked and
saw you standing there
Like fire-glow
on a winding stair
So young you were,
so proud, so fair
With candlelight
to preen your hair
Pretty little girl
in the yellow dress
Your watch, O'Malley.
When you...
Hey. You're a long ways from your
wagon. What are you doing here?
Are you going to
cross over?
I don't know.
I haven't decided yet.
If you stay here in Mexico,
I'm staying here with you.
Why do you say
a thing like that?
Because I love you.
Oh, Missy, you
only think you do.
And you mustn't...
Don't say that I mustn't.
I've loved you from the
very first minute I saw you.
And now I'm all filled up
with love for you.
Have you said anything
like this to your mother?
No. Not yet.
Besides...
Besides what?
You've seen the way
she looks at Mr. Stribling.
She won't be lonely
for me for much longer.
Missy.
Look at me.
And listen to me.
Now you're young, too young... I'm not.
Girls here marry when they're much
younger than I am. In Mexico, I'm a woman.
Why is it you always make such
a ruckus over being a woman?
Because it's important.
I can sew, keep house and cook
better than any woman you ever knew.
Of course you can.
And one these days, a boy'll
come along... I don't want a boy.
I want you.
You want someone who'll fill your
heart with warmth and sunlight.
You want a young man,
not me.
All I can do is throw
a cloud over you...
I'm not afraid of clouds.
I'm not afraid of anything.
If you can see so much beauty just
by looking into the ocean waves,
why can't you see just a
little something to love in me?
Oh, Missy, I do.
I do, Missy.
I look at you and
all I see is loveliness.
Please try to get
used to me.
And if you don't love me
right now, please try to learn.
Oh, Missy.
I've loved you
all my life.
Take me with you
wherever you go?
For as long as you want,
thanking God every step
of the way that I found you.
There's Texas.
It's a lovely sight.
Hey, do we cross the border
in the middle of the river
or when we get
to the other side?
Well, I don't know.
Well, you like everything
legal, don't you?
Oh, yeah.
You still want to
serve that warrant?
That's right.
I'm not accepting it,
you know.
That's what I figured.
What's that do
to our showdown?
Maybe we ought to get
the work done first.
Gives us one more hand.
I'll come for you at sundown.
I'll be waiting for you.
Ho, there. Come on.
I'll meet you back here
as soon as I get cleaned up.
I'll be waiting!
You could stop this thing
if you didn't hate him so.
I don't hate him.
I did, at first.
It's hard to keep on hating
somebody you've come to know.
Then let him go.
Forget about him.
I was almost hoping
he wouldn't cross over.
Please.
Sorry, Belle.
Belle.
What is O'Malley to you?
Or what was he?
I knew him years ago,
when I was a girl.
I haven't seen him since.
Until he came to the ranch.
Were you in love with him?
I thought I was.
I was afraid of that.
You can't think
there's anything now?
No, Belle.
I'll meet you
back here for supper.
Oh, Dana.
Please. If you really love me, you
won't gamble your life away like this.
Remember,
it's my life, too.
Belle, I do
really love you.
Oh, then don't fight him.
There must be
a way out. Find it.
Oh, promise me you will.
Good afternoon, Mrs.
Breckenridge. You look beautiful.
I had to see you, Bren.
I have to talk to you.
All right. Let's talk.
I want to thank you for all
you've done for me and Melissa.
That's all right.
But don't you think you should get out
of the country, before something happens?
What could happen?
Well, if you
stay here, you'll...
Either you'll have another murder
on your hands, or you'll be killed.
You're not thinking about me.
You're worried about Stribling.
You love him. You don't want to
see him killed. That's fair enough.
I'm not thinking
of Stribling.
You're a real woman,
Belle.
Sorry that cowpoke won't live
long enough to know what he's got.
It's not Stribling.
It's Melissa.
She told me.
I can't let you
take her, Bren.
I won't.
Look, Belle.
Missy'll be safe with me.
Nothing bad will ever happen to her
while I'm with her. I promise that.
But it won't last, Bren.
She's so young, it can't.
It will.
You see, Missy and I need each
other. I don't know how it happened,
but she loves me in a way
she'll never love any other man.
You don't know
what you're saying.
But I do. I want Missy.
And she belongs to me.
I love her more than
I love my own life.
Don't you know why?
Bren, you must.
She's your daughter.
It's true.
You know it's true.
What're you trying
to do to me, Belle?
Do you think I wouldn't
know my own daughter?
Even if I never saw her
before, I'd know my daughter.
The minute I looked
at her, I'd feel it.
You're lying.
What a dirty thing to do.
You're lying. You're lying.
You're lying.
Seor O'Malley.
Seor O'Malley.
Missy.
O'Malley?
What's wrong?
Oh, nothing.
I was just thinking what a beautiful
girl you've turned out to be.
Beautiful, beautiful girl.
Missy, let's take a walk.
Wonderful.
Got my things all packed.
Good.
Are you going to have
to fight Mr. Stribling?
We decided on tomorrow,
but we leave today.
You know, I feel as if I've
been looking for you all my life.
Without knowing who you were
or even what you looked like.
Then I found you.
And now,
I'll have you forever.
Forever?
Mmm-hmm.
You know something, Missy?
I'm old enough
to be your father.
What difference
does that make?
Well, it means that some
day, you'll be alone.
I won't be with
you anymore,
and so you'll have to find
someone else to love.
That's silly. I couldn't love
anybody else but you. I couldn't.
There's something
wrong with us, Missy.
But why?
Because if you ever really
love, you have to go on loving.
It's like a mountain spring. If it
stops flowing, there's no more spring.
And if you stop loving, just
because something happens to me,
there's no more Missy.
You mean, you'd want me
to find somebody else?
If you really loved me, you'd
have to find someone else.
And the day you found him, and gave
him all the love you once gave me...
Oh, Missy, Missy.
On that day, all the angels
in heaven will shout for joy.
And the stars will bend low
to chime your wedding bells.
And I'll hear them.
And I'll smile.
And then I'll
go to sleep again,
content.
Missy?
Are you all through?
I'm not sure.
Because I'm
not listening.
Already I'm a bore.
No.
It's time to get
our horses.
I'll pick up your
saddlebags at the hotel.
You wait for me
right here.
You'll come right back
to me, won't you?
When that sun
goes down over there,
just below
the rim of the hills,
I'll come
right back to you.
O'Malley!
It wasn't even loaded.
He told me to give you this,
in case anything happened.
Primroses.
You said you'd
give them to me.
horseshoe nails.
Well, I have all sizes.
Some new and
some old. Select.
How much are they?
I'm looking for a man
named O'Malley.
Fellow about your height, wears
black pants and shirt, black boots.
Carries a derringer.
He always wears a loud-colored
scarf around his neck.
Has a hole in his chin.
Here.
It's worth 50 pesos
if anybody's seen him.
They are desolate
they cannot help you.
But, 50 pesos, seor? This man
must be a very dear friend, no?
No.
Jack-boy!
You be quiet.
Good evening.
Good evening.
The name's O'Malley.
How do you do, Mr. O'Malley?
I'm Mrs. John Breckenridge.
My husband's gone to
Calvillo on business.
Sorry to hear that. I was hoping to
ask him for a night's hospitality.
Mr. Breckenridge has always
welcomed strangers to the plateau.
I'm grateful to
Mr. Breckenridge.
Won't anybody take care
of the gentleman's horse?
Mr. O'Malley,
this is Milton Wing,
Mr. Breckenridge's
ranch manager.
Howdy.
This horse's been
lathered up some.
Well, I'd say that's because
he was run some, wouldn't you?
Guess so.
This is Jose. Rosario.
My daughter.
Oh.
She favors you.
You're a lucky young lady.
This is Melissa Linda Anthony
Breckenridge. We call her Melissa.
Well, how do you do,
Melissa?
Oh.
Thank you.
Well, I'd be most grateful to
Mr. Breckenridge for my supper.
Are you a cowboy,
Mr. O'Malley?
What have I done
to give you that idea?
You don't dress like one,
so I just wondered.
No, I don't like
cows much.
And the only way I really like
a horse is when he's hitched
to a nice two-seater buggy
with good springs.
I ran into a cowboy this
morning up at the pass.
Seemed to be looking
for somebody.
Tall man?
Sure was.
I never really met
an American cowboy.
You'd be disappointed.
Was he riding a blue roan?
That's right.
What makes you think
I'd be disappointed?
Well, you see, cowboys
aren't very bright.
They're always broke
and generally they're drunk.
Did he carry his
gun on the left?
Yep... 45 on the left.
You may get the chance to meet
one in the flesh real soon.
You know this fellow?
I know of him. We've
never met, but we will.
Mrs. Breckenridge, will you
do me the honor of dancing?
No.
I dance vary rarely, Mr. O'Malley.
And then only with my husband.
He's to be envied.
Then dance with me, Mr.
O'Malley. I love to dance.
I'd be delighted.
Do you want to try it again? Sure...
It's time for bed, Melissa.
Oh, no, not yet.
Yes. Gracias, muchachos.
Are you going to sleep in
the house, Mr. O'Malley?
You know Mr. Breckenridge has a special
room in the toolhouse for guests.
Oh, well. Good night.
Good night.
I'll show him.
Never mind,
I'll show him myself.
Here's your lamp.
Your bed's up there.
Why did you
have to come back?
I ran into somebody who told me
your married name and where you were.
I started riding
that same day.
You're lying.
You came here to hide.
There's someone on my trail,
sure. There always is.
But I haven't been running away from
him, I've just been coming to you.
And now I'm here.
And I'm not hiding.
And I'm going to stay.
No, Bren.
You're leaving tomorrow
and you're not coming back.
Belle.
I can't leave you now.
I never did
leave you, really.
All these years I've remembered
you as you were that night.
A pretty girl coming down
the steps in a yellow dress.
And another boy
asked me to dance.
You began that awful whistle
and just watched for a minute.
Then you tore my flowers off
and knocked him down.
I know, but that's all in the
past. That part of me is over.
It took three men to stop
you. You were killing him.
I'm trying to tell you that I've
changed. I'm completely different now.
You'll see.
You still got
that yellow dress?
I burned it.
I'll get you another one.
Oh, Belle. Belle...
Belle, remember that night?
The music floating down
from your uncle's house,
me sitting by my campfire,
thinking of you dancing
in the arms of other men
and wanting to kill someone.
And then I looked up,
you were standing there.
Standing beside my fire in
your yellow dress like a flame.
Oh, Belle.
Belle.
Oh, please,
keep away from me.
I'm afraid of you.
Whatever you say, Belle.
Why do you wear
your gun in your belt?
Well, I like to know
exactly where it is.
In your belt, you can feel it right
up there against you all the time.
Papa says a derringer hasn't got
any range. He always wears a Colt 45.
Oh, I'm sorry
to hear that, miss.
Why?
Well, no handgun's accurate
beyond 20 feet.
And no holster gun can
draw as fast as a derringer.
My papa greases the
inside of his holster.
I'm afraid that wouldn't
do him any good.
Also, the derringer carries
a bigger slug, miss.
You can call me
Melissa, if you like.
Well, let's just compromise.
I'll call you Missy.
What's the matter?
Oh, it's only Papa.
Good morning,
child of my heart.
Rosario, come
get Papa's horse.
Good morning, my dear.
Good, I say, because it's one of the
last we'll spend on this accursed ranch.
Did you find trail hands?
Just one.
But I'm sure two or three
more will join us directly.
Not many people want to
work for a living these days.
Oh, John,
this is Mr. O'Malley.
How do you do?
Welcome, Mr. O'Malley.
Permit me to offer you the
hospitality of these poor acres.
Thank you,
Mr. Breckenridge.
We have a saying down here in
Mexico, to which I hardly subscribe.
"Everything that's
mine is yours. "
It's a fine saying.
I'll remember it.
You'll join me in coffee?
Thank you.
O'Malley...
I knew some O'Malleys
in Virginia. Tidewater?
I'm afraid they'd be lace
curtain, my people were all shanty.
After you, sir. Take that
chair right over there.
I take you for a man who's handled
quite a lot of cattle in his time.
Oh, I've done a little
bit of almost everything.
Well, I run about
I plan to trail the herd up
to Texas and sell them there.
Now if you're at
liberty, I could...
Mr. O'Malley
was trailing south.
North or south doesn't make much
difference to me, Mrs. Breckenridge.
There, you see?
I'm sure my wife echoes my sentiments in
hoping you'll join us on the trail, sir.
I don't think Mr. O'Malley
would be influenced by my wishes.
I hope you won't
always think that, ma'am.
I'm sure that's not
what she meant.
Touch up your coffee?
Thanks.
I'm willing to pay you
a dollar a day, in fact.
Plus a $25 bonus when we deliver
the herd in Crazy Horse, Texas.
Crazy Horse?
That's pretty dangerous
country you're going through.
And you need two men you haven't
got. Fast gun and a trail boss.
I don't know any more
about cows than you do,
so if I go as the gun,
where's the trail boss?
Well, I haven't got one.
I wasn't able to find anybody.
I know one. Good one.
Think you can get him?
He'll probably be
here by tomorrow.
Maybe even today.
You think he'll take the job?
He just might.
You see, this fellow and I are
kind of bound up with each other.
But with or without him, my
terms are gonna be pretty high.
Well, you just name
your terms, Mr. O'Malley.
Only two.
First I take
a fifth of the herd.
It's outrageous.
Well, I fight better when
part of the property's mine.
But that's exorbitant.
You think about it.
All right. All right,
you've got your fifth. Good.
Now, wait a minute, you said you had
two conditions. What's the second?
Oh, yes, the second.
I want your wife.
You're joking.
No.
If I get the herd through for
you, I mean to take your wife.
You? You and my wife?
You and Mrs. Breckenridge...
A dirty shirt Irishman
and a Fitzleigh from Richmond.
Yes, I'll accept your
challenge. Yes, indeed.
And you can go to work.
You can go to work at once.
Hold it, O'Malley!
They told me you'd try to circle
around to get the sun in my eyes.
You did a little
circling yourself.
Insurance.
The sun was in Jimmy Graham's
face when you killed him.
I don't remember.
Well, a lot of
people do.
I got a warrant
for your arrest.
I'm taking you back to Frio
County, Texas, to stand trial.
Will you come voluntarily
or will I have to take you?
Say, it just happens that I'm
just headed for Texas right now.
Crazy Horse. Of course,
it isn't Frio County,
but you'd die a lot closer to home
than if I had to kill you here.
All right, let's go.
I'm running these
cattle up there.
You?
Yeah.
With a drunken owner, no trail
boss, a few vaqueros and myself.
What do you want in that outfit
you're willing to risk a hanging for?
Why don't you ride over
and find out?
Why not?
You know, Sheriff, this is Mexico.
Your warrant's no good here.
I'll serve it as soon as
we cross the Rio Grande.
Is that the gentleman you were
telling me about, Mr. O'Malley?
That's him.
They need a trail boss.
Mmm-hmm.
With just the two of us riding,
I can always keep you in sight.
But trailing cattle, it'd be too
easy to catch a bullet in the back.
I hope Mr. O'Malley has discussed the
possibilities of your joining up with us?
He has.
I'm not interested.
Why that's most unsettling.
I was counting on it.
You have any idea what
you're getting yourself into?
There's nothing on that trail
but rustlers and Indians.
And Johnny Rebs who crossed the border to
steal what they couldn't win in a fair fight.
I do beg your pardon.
I almost lost a leg
at Fredericksburg
in as fair a fight as
this world has ever seen.
I'm a Virginian and an officer
in the armies of the Confederacy.
I'm from Virginia, too,
except I served under Grant.
Oh, I beg your pardon.
Oh, forgive me. My dear,
allow me to present Mr...
Stribling.
Dana Stribling.
Mr. Stribling, my wife.
Almost forgot her.
I don't see how that
could be possible.
Well, bravo, you are
really a Virginian.
Why don't I show Mr.
Stribling around the place?
Might help him
change his mind.
That's a mighty
good idea, Mr. O'Malley.
It's right gracious of you.
Ma'am.
You know, I've got a nasty
feeling I've seen you before.
You were too drunk
to remember.
Bents Fort, Colorado.
So broke you were making
up rhymes for whiskey.
One free drink,
one free verse.
What's the matter?
Cost you a drink?
I'm gonna see that
you hang, O'Malley.
Ooh! Hanging's
a long-time proposition.
Well, Mr. Breckenridge, to
pull the 1,000 head of cattle,
you need two good point riders, four
swing riders, and one man on the tail.
You need a man to drive the mules, a
trail cook, a wrangler for the horses,
plus four horses in the
remuda for each rider.
I got plenty of horses
in the remuda.
My wife drove a chuck wagon
coming down here
and she's perfectly willing
to drive one going back.
And she's an
excellent trail cook.
Then she counts
for two men.
You've married well.
You ride, miss?
Oh, yes. I can even
work cattle on a horse.
Good.
She can ride herd on the remuda.
Give us another hand for the cattle.
My daughter's a lady.
A Southern lady.
If I'm trail boss,
my word goes
when it comes to running
the cattle, is that right?
Well, whatever you say.
We're ready to go.
Melissa.
We'll see how Milton's
doing with the herd.
Fine, Papa.
Mrs. Breckenridge,
it's not often I interfere
in somebody else's business,
but this is one of the
times I think I should.
O'Malley's a killer,
and as soon as he crosses the border
into Texas, I'm gonna see that he hangs.
Until then, my advice to you is to
keep your door locked when he's around.
He can't tell
one female from another.
And he don't care much,
either.
Please,
don't cause trouble.
Why did you say those things
about Mr. O'Malley?
Because they're true.
I'm not a child, Mr. Stribling. I'm
perfectly able to take care of myself.
It won't happen again.
It's a nice night,
isn't it?
Miss out on the nights,
you miss half your life.
Are you a killer?
Now, why do you
ask me that?
What they say.
Well, when you come right down to it,
all men in their hearts are killers.
But that's wrong.
Maybe it is.
I don't know.
When a man kills,
it means God let him,
because God could stop him
if he wanted to, couldn't he?
I don't understand.
Well, you asked
if I'm a killer,
I'm trying to tell you it's
not an easy question to answer,
but I have killed.
But you didn't
want to, did you?
No.
Do you like God?
Do you like God?
Well, of course, but...
I don't know him really.
Do you? Part of him.
Someday I'm going to
know all of him.
Oh, not all of him, Missy. That'd
be too much for anyone to know.
It would blind you.
Just learn to know rocks and
trees and stars and sunlight.
They're all
part of God, too.
Learn to know the sea.
I will when we
get to California.
Good. Find yourself a nice big boulder
with the waves breaking against it.
Look deep. Dream of
seahorses and they'll come.
Not many people know of it,
not many people care,
but the sea is a place where the seamen
shoe the hooves of the wild sea-mare.
Not many people have seen it,
nor caught the faintest gleam of the
ice-green cave in the deep green sea
in the heart of
the cold sea-stream,
where the sea-mare hides her young
sea-colt wrapped in a shy sea-dream.
But practically all of the
people known can absolutely say
that the foam on the sea is a sign that
you see the mare and her colt at play.
Oh, I like that.
Did you make that up?
A drunk made that up,
sitting in a saloon
in Bents Fort, Colorado.
Give him a subject, he'd write a verse.
"One free drink, one free verse. "
That must've been a part
of God, too. God in him.
Of course it was.
God has a special love for drunks
and fools and children like you.
I'm not a child.
I'm almost 16 years old.
I'm a woman.
Oh, Missy.
Put it away.
When I kill you, it'll be face-to-face
with both of us on our feet.
I'd like to believe that.
You can.
And here's something else
you can believe, too.
Never talk to me again
the way you did tonight.
The truth hurts,
doesn't it?
The truth hurts.
I'd like to know
the truth about you.
Just being sheriff isn't enough
reason to follow a man this far.
What was Jimmy Graham to you?
Hmm?
He was married to my sister.
Your sister?
Mmm.
So that's where the bear
sits, in the buckwheat.
Pretty little girl
Mr. Stribling!
You left a calf behind.
Where?
He lost his mother.
Well, we'll have to give
him a new one. Come on.
Come over here, miss.
Now, blow your breath three or
four times in each side of his nose.
Go ahead.
Keep on petting him.
That's right.
Now, stay right where you are so
you're the first thing he sees.
Get back on your horse.
See, miss, cattle
don't see very well.
The only way this little fellow can
tell his mother from any other cow
is by her smell. When he
loses that, he's an orphan.
So we give him a new smell to
follow. You're his new mama.
Now, walk away slowly,
see what he does.
Thanks for saving
that calf back there.
Why should you thank me?
Well, that calf
could have been mine.
Yours?
Sure.
You see, part of my deal with Breckenridge
was that I get a fifth of the herd.
A fifth?
Well, I delivered him the best
trail boss in the business, didn't I?
That's worth something,
isn't it?
Come on now, my fifth. Hey,
there! Come on there, boy!
Mr. Stribling, you may
make camp wherever you wish.
I'm riding on ahead
to Tres Santos.
That's a pretty rough
town, Mr. Breckenridge.
I think I can find
extra hands there.
This time you can
really count on me, Mrs. B.
I swear I'd sooner
milk a wildcat.
Come on, Jack-boy.
Come on, Jack-boy.
Jack-boy, come on. Come on.
Come on, Jack-boy.
Come on. Come on.
Come on. Come on, Jack-boy.
That's a boy.
Your husband get back
from town yet?
No. I hope he hasn't
run into any trouble.
Maybe I ought to ride in,
see how he's making out.
I wish you would.
All right.
Get me some tobacco,
will you?
I don't know your brand.
Oh, any kind will do.
Maybe you ought to come
along. Pick it out yourself.
Oh, it's not that important.
Take your time. I'll just stick
around here and keep an eye on things.
Right, Jackie-boy?
I only suggested
you come along.
Now I'm telling you to.
On your way, cowpoke.
That's an order,
O'Malley.
What did you say?
Bren, please go with him.
Don't make trouble for us.
Whatever you want, Belle,
that's the way it's going to be.
Gentlemen, our cups
are running dry of nectar.
Patron, a drink for my friends,
and everyone is my friend.
Bartender, drinks all around.
Gentlemen!
Gentlemen, gentlemen.
A toast to a great soldier,
a devout Christian.
To the bravest of the brave,
General Stonewall Jackson.
You're not fit to
speak that name, sir.
At whose side it was
my privilege to fight
during the long and tragic years
of the war between the states.
Gentlemen,
I give you General...
Reach for your gun, sir.
I decline to shed the
blood of a fellow Virginian.
You decline every kind
of a fight, don't you?
It's right nice seeing
you again, Breckenridge.
We had the privilege
of fighting alongside him
under Stonewall Jackson
at Fredericksburg.
And he ran.
That's not true.
He didn't just run,
he deserted us!
That's just not true.
I was wounded at
Fredericksburg.
Where were
you wounded?
Go ahead and show us where
you were wounded, Breckenridge.
Yes, sir. Show us.
We would all like to see.
Well, the wound is obvious.
I limp...
Drop your pants and
show us your backside.
You've no right to
ask me to do that.
Your pants.
Or your gun.
Show us your wound.
Oh, God,
is there no mercy?
Show us the wound!
Talking's all right,
you can say anything you want,
but no man has the right
to make another man do this.
Keep out of this.
What's he to you, sir?
Don't ask questions, mister.
Just do what the man says.
Let's get out...
Now wait a minute...
You shut up!
Let's go, Mr. Breckenridge. I
don't think we're welcome here.
How'd my papa really die?
Like we said,
some buffalo skinners
started to make trouble and...
Well, your father
waded in to stop it...
You make that up
because of Mama?
'Cause she knows.
And so do I.
Know what?
That Mr. Breckenridge was too
gentle to ever get into a fight.
Maybe that was
the good in him.
Bedtime, Melissa.
So early?
It's not early,
it's late.
Goodnight, Mr. O'Malley.
Goodnight, Missy.
Well, I'm ashamed of you,
Stribling.
Poor Breckenridge isn't even cold yet
and already you're thinking of his widow.
You might be right.
Forget it, cowpoke.
She's mine.
I'd worry about that if I thought
you were gonna live long enough.
Well, when the time
comes, you'll see.
Don't count on it.
You'll never get the chance
again to ruin a woman's life.
You're still talking
about that sister of yours?
You like the truth?
Here it is.
Your sister put more horns
on Jimmy Graham
than a porcupine's got quills.
By the time he
got himself killed,
he wasn't good for anything except maybe
to stuff and hang over the fireplace.
That sister of yours, Stribling,
was just a free drink on the house.
And nobody ever
went home thirsty.
I mean nobody.
If you two want to kill
each other, go ahead.
But at least wait until you cross
the border and fulfill your contract.
If you're not going to
stick with it, get out now.
By the way, O'Malley,
three days after you
killed Jimmy Graham,
my kid sister took a length
of rawhide and hung herself.
Now what's wrong?
Just pointing the wagon tongue
toward the North star.
Help us get our bearings
in the morning.
If that's such a good idea, why haven't
we done it before, Mr. Stribling?
Probably because I didn't need
an excuse to talk to you before.
Oh.
I just want to
tell you not to worry.
I mean to bring that herd through
in good shape, you can count on me.
Good.
There's one thing more.
If you'll pardon my saying so,
you know, sometimes
it only makes grief worse
when you bottle it up.
Thank you.
If you...
When you're feeling better,
if you need a friend to talk to
about your plans for the future,
I mean, your plans
and Melissa's,
I'd like to be that friend.
I'll remember that,
Mr. Stribling.
Good night.
Good night.
I didn't know there were any
women connected with this outfit.
Make any difference?
Not to me,
it don't.
Women like that are worth $1,500 a piece
delivered to a Dutchman in Veracruz.
That's more than
a whole herd's worth.
You're looking for somebody?
Fellow named
Breckenridge.
Hired us to go through with this
outfit to Crazy Horse, Texas.
We heard he got killed.
So we trailed you
from Tres Santos.
Figured you could really
use some more hands.
We got a paper he signed.
Show him.
Paper doesn't matter. We
need men. Have you got names?
Sure. Frank Hobbs.
This is my brother Ed,
that fellow over there calls
himself the Julesburg Kid.
All right.
Let's get to work.
Hey, kid.
You hard of hearing?
All right, we got a big herd
of cows here. All round here.
Now, bunch them up so we can
move out of here right away.
Well, now, you ought to
move over there, lady.
Let me handle
them mules for you.
I'll be right with you just as soon
as I tie my horse on behind here.
You're hard of hearing. Well, you
know, when I get through with you,
you're gonna like them cattle so
much you'll never want to leave them.
Come on, Julesburg Kid, let's go!
Let's go! That's it!
Hold on! Hold on!
Hold on, there!
Sit on your horse, that's it. Come
here, come here. Don't be that way.
Come here!
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Stay on your horse, there. Come
on, stay on that horse. That's it!
Now you got it! Come on!
Let's go again, huh? Come on!
On we go! That's it.
Isn't this fun?
Isn't this fun?
Don't you reach
for your gun again.
Now work for your dollar.
Hey, hold it, Missy.
You know a funny thing
about a horse?
He can see a gopher hole
about a mile off, and yet...
Let me show you something.
Look.
And yet he can't even see a
bird's nest right under his nose.
There's no reason
to be nervous.
I'm going to take you
alive. Remember?
What did he mean?
All he meant was you're going to have
horses scattered all over the countryside,
unless you get back
to work pronto, miss.
All right.
We may be able to use a
killer on this drive after all.
I don't think there's
any danger in here.
We better stand watch
around here, just the same.
We'll spread out
among the herd tonight.
Take your bedroll with you.
Get as much sleep as you can.
O'Malley and I
will ride herd.
If I were an Indian, I could've picked
up some mighty easy scalps just then.
I'm glad you weren't.
Come here. I want to
show you something.
Don't be afraid. You won't need
that shooting iron. Come on.
Something out there you could live
five lifetimes and never see again.
Look.
Saint Elmo's fire.
Never seen it
except on ships.
I've never seen it
anywhere. What is it?
Well, a star fell and smashed and
scattered its glow all over the place.
There, you see?
You laughed.
You're getting
used to me again.
I was really thinking that
you haven't changed a bit.
How do you mean that?
Oh, you've still got that
wildness on the tip of your tongue.
I've still got you
in my heart, too.
Look, Belle, I know this
hasn't been a good trip for you,
but, well, we're going to have
smooth sailing from here on out.
You really don't want
smooth sailing, Bren.
You carry your own storm
wherever you go.
Only when I travel alone.
Belle.
Look at me. I'm trying to
tell you how much I love you.
No, Bren.
You loved a 16-year-old girl.
In another country.
In another world almost.
And you still think
I'm that girl.
You are.
I'm not.
The girl you remember died
a long, long time ago.
But the minute I look at
you, she comes alive again.
Can't you see that,
Belle?
Don't you know what
I've done for you?
Something only
love could do?
I stopped time
from touching you.
I trapped you in my heart the very first
day I saw you, and I've never let you change.
Oh, Belle, 100 years from now, my
eyes could look at you and still see
a pretty little girl
in a yellow dress.
You've said it all.
Don't you see, Bren?
I don't want to be
loved as if I were
a frightened, shivering,
innocent little girl.
I have to be loved
for what I am.
I'm a woman
with the heart and the mind
and the flesh of a woman.
I'm not young and
I'm not innocent.
There's so much more to me
to be loved than just that.
But you don't see it.
Because you don't want to.
You're up awful early
this morning.
Why, yes, I am.
Do you think that's wise?
Walking around here unarmed?
Just wanted to see this
little church in the daylight.
Yeah.
Lots of hopes, lots of
prayers must've started here.
Or ended.
Babies being christened.
Women burying their dead.
Sometimes men, too.
Men?
I lost my wife and two
daughters in an Osage war party.
Oh.
I'm sorry.
I'm afraid I was only
thinking of myself.
To me, it's always seemed like
the women who keep on living.
Men kill or get killed.
And women bury them.
We're professional survivors.
Belle, last night...
I couldn't help seeing you
and O'Malley talking together.
And I had the feeling that you
two have met before sometime.
I mean, way before we began
this cattle drive. Have you?
I don't think you have the right to
ask me that question, Mr. Stribling.
But I give myself that right,
because I mean to marry you.
That gives me
every right in the world.
Will I have anything to say
about this marriage?
Not until I ask you.
And I can't ask until I
square things off with him.
Then you'll have
a lot to say about it.
Excuse me.
No reason
to be offended.
But you might just as well
forget you ever saw him,
because I'm the man
you're going to marry.
I mean what I say, Belle.
O'Malley!
Hold up the herd!
What did you think
you were doing?
I was protecting
my fifth of the herd.
You get on back there and get the
outfit ready to stand off an attack.
I didn't sign up
to fight Yaquis.
Well, I ain't about
to fight them, either.
Get the wagon and the remuda over here
and we'll surround them with the herd.
Get ready.
Hold it.
They've got Stribling.
All they wanted was
a little fresh beef.
You could've
got him killed.
Not yet.
How many herd
did you have to give?
One-fifth of the herd!
O'Malley's fifth.
Never did like cows
much anyhow.
Quicksand!
Watch where you ride!
Throw me a rope.
Let's have a rope.
Think you might find a way
to tear up that warrant?
Not a chance.
Hold your hands
over your head.
The big guy is stuck
in the quicksand.
Don't get the wrong idea,
Stribling.
If Belle didn't need you
to get these cattle through,
you'd be on the bottom now,
alongside your horse.
That's the way I figured.
I killed Frank Hobbs.
Well, there she is.
We made it.
Sure is beautiful.
I got plenty of vaqueros
to help us make the crossing.
Crazy Horse is on the other
side, just beyond that ridge.
When do we cross over?
First thing in the morning.
You mean we're going to
have to make camp again?
When there's a town
in plain sight?
Well, it's too late
to try today, Melissa.
All right, let's get these
cattle moving towards the river.
You know, Missy, you and your
mother could make the crossing now,
and spend a comfortable
night in town. I'd like that.
We've come this far, Melissa. We
might as well spend one more night.
Well, I sure would
like a nice bath.
You know, this is our
last night in Mexico.
Let's celebrate.
Let's have a fiesta.
A fiesta? Can we get
all dressed up? Why not?
O'Malley? O'Malley?
Yes?
We're going to have a fiesta
tonight. Will you dance with me?
Sure will. Dance with
you all night long.
Oh, Mr. O'Malley, if you decide
not to cross the border with us,
I'll be glad to send your
wages after I've sold the herd.
I'll think about it.
I'm only a sham.
I haven't any slippers.
I wouldn't wear boots.
Do you like it?
Very much.
It was my mother's.
Could've been
made for you.
Melissa, where did
you find that dress?
In your trunk.
It's been torn.
Oh, yes, it is.
Did you know that, Mama?
Yes. Someone gave me
a corsage of primroses.
And a very jealous boy ripped them off
and stomped on them. Tore the dress.
I think that's romantic.
Well, some day I'll give
those primroses back to you.
Dance with me.
Pretty little girl
in the yellow dress
When are you going to give
Your heart to me?
I intend to keep on asking
Until you answer yes
Pretty little girl
In the pretty
little yellow dress
I looked and
saw you standing there
Like fire-glow
on a winding stair
So young you were,
so proud, so fair
With candlelight
to preen your hair
Pretty little girl
in the yellow dress
Your watch, O'Malley.
When you...
Hey. You're a long ways from your
wagon. What are you doing here?
Are you going to
cross over?
I don't know.
I haven't decided yet.
If you stay here in Mexico,
I'm staying here with you.
Why do you say
a thing like that?
Because I love you.
Oh, Missy, you
only think you do.
And you mustn't...
Don't say that I mustn't.
I've loved you from the
very first minute I saw you.
And now I'm all filled up
with love for you.
Have you said anything
like this to your mother?
No. Not yet.
Besides...
Besides what?
You've seen the way
she looks at Mr. Stribling.
She won't be lonely
for me for much longer.
Missy.
Look at me.
And listen to me.
Now you're young, too young... I'm not.
Girls here marry when they're much
younger than I am. In Mexico, I'm a woman.
Why is it you always make such
a ruckus over being a woman?
Because it's important.
I can sew, keep house and cook
better than any woman you ever knew.
Of course you can.
And one these days, a boy'll
come along... I don't want a boy.
I want you.
You want someone who'll fill your
heart with warmth and sunlight.
You want a young man,
not me.
All I can do is throw
a cloud over you...
I'm not afraid of clouds.
I'm not afraid of anything.
If you can see so much beauty just
by looking into the ocean waves,
why can't you see just a
little something to love in me?
Oh, Missy, I do.
I do, Missy.
I look at you and
all I see is loveliness.
Please try to get
used to me.
And if you don't love me
right now, please try to learn.
Oh, Missy.
I've loved you
all my life.
Take me with you
wherever you go?
For as long as you want,
thanking God every step
of the way that I found you.
There's Texas.
It's a lovely sight.
Hey, do we cross the border
in the middle of the river
or when we get
to the other side?
Well, I don't know.
Well, you like everything
legal, don't you?
Oh, yeah.
You still want to
serve that warrant?
That's right.
I'm not accepting it,
you know.
That's what I figured.
What's that do
to our showdown?
Maybe we ought to get
the work done first.
Gives us one more hand.
I'll come for you at sundown.
I'll be waiting for you.
Ho, there. Come on.
I'll meet you back here
as soon as I get cleaned up.
I'll be waiting!
You could stop this thing
if you didn't hate him so.
I don't hate him.
I did, at first.
It's hard to keep on hating
somebody you've come to know.
Then let him go.
Forget about him.
I was almost hoping
he wouldn't cross over.
Please.
Sorry, Belle.
Belle.
What is O'Malley to you?
Or what was he?
I knew him years ago,
when I was a girl.
I haven't seen him since.
Until he came to the ranch.
Were you in love with him?
I thought I was.
I was afraid of that.
You can't think
there's anything now?
No, Belle.
I'll meet you
back here for supper.
Oh, Dana.
Please. If you really love me, you
won't gamble your life away like this.
Remember,
it's my life, too.
Belle, I do
really love you.
Oh, then don't fight him.
There must be
a way out. Find it.
Oh, promise me you will.
Good afternoon, Mrs.
Breckenridge. You look beautiful.
I had to see you, Bren.
I have to talk to you.
All right. Let's talk.
I want to thank you for all
you've done for me and Melissa.
That's all right.
But don't you think you should get out
of the country, before something happens?
What could happen?
Well, if you
stay here, you'll...
Either you'll have another murder
on your hands, or you'll be killed.
You're not thinking about me.
You're worried about Stribling.
You love him. You don't want to
see him killed. That's fair enough.
I'm not thinking
of Stribling.
You're a real woman,
Belle.
Sorry that cowpoke won't live
long enough to know what he's got.
It's not Stribling.
It's Melissa.
She told me.
I can't let you
take her, Bren.
I won't.
Look, Belle.
Missy'll be safe with me.
Nothing bad will ever happen to her
while I'm with her. I promise that.
But it won't last, Bren.
She's so young, it can't.
It will.
You see, Missy and I need each
other. I don't know how it happened,
but she loves me in a way
she'll never love any other man.
You don't know
what you're saying.
But I do. I want Missy.
And she belongs to me.
I love her more than
I love my own life.
Don't you know why?
Bren, you must.
She's your daughter.
It's true.
You know it's true.
What're you trying
to do to me, Belle?
Do you think I wouldn't
know my own daughter?
Even if I never saw her
before, I'd know my daughter.
The minute I looked
at her, I'd feel it.
You're lying.
What a dirty thing to do.
You're lying. You're lying.
You're lying.
Seor O'Malley.
Seor O'Malley.
Missy.
O'Malley?
What's wrong?
Oh, nothing.
I was just thinking what a beautiful
girl you've turned out to be.
Beautiful, beautiful girl.
Missy, let's take a walk.
Wonderful.
Got my things all packed.
Good.
Are you going to have
to fight Mr. Stribling?
We decided on tomorrow,
but we leave today.
You know, I feel as if I've
been looking for you all my life.
Without knowing who you were
or even what you looked like.
Then I found you.
And now,
I'll have you forever.
Forever?
Mmm-hmm.
You know something, Missy?
I'm old enough
to be your father.
What difference
does that make?
Well, it means that some
day, you'll be alone.
I won't be with
you anymore,
and so you'll have to find
someone else to love.
That's silly. I couldn't love
anybody else but you. I couldn't.
There's something
wrong with us, Missy.
But why?
Because if you ever really
love, you have to go on loving.
It's like a mountain spring. If it
stops flowing, there's no more spring.
And if you stop loving, just
because something happens to me,
there's no more Missy.
You mean, you'd want me
to find somebody else?
If you really loved me, you'd
have to find someone else.
And the day you found him, and gave
him all the love you once gave me...
Oh, Missy, Missy.
On that day, all the angels
in heaven will shout for joy.
And the stars will bend low
to chime your wedding bells.
And I'll hear them.
And I'll smile.
And then I'll
go to sleep again,
content.
Missy?
Are you all through?
I'm not sure.
Because I'm
not listening.
Already I'm a bore.
No.
It's time to get
our horses.
I'll pick up your
saddlebags at the hotel.
You wait for me
right here.
You'll come right back
to me, won't you?
When that sun
goes down over there,
just below
the rim of the hills,
I'll come
right back to you.
O'Malley!
It wasn't even loaded.
He told me to give you this,
in case anything happened.
Primroses.
You said you'd
give them to me.