The Rainmaker (1956) Movie Script

1
I say to you, I tell you, a tornado
I say a tornado, that's a terrible thing
A terrible thing
I saw a little town in Idaho
Pretty and green in the grass,
looked like it would live forever
Saw that same town, the same night,
after a tornado blew through that place
Why, there wasn't a single blade of grass,
or even one tired little buttercup
And everybody gone
The men ran north
and the women ran south
The dogs ran east and the cats ran west
Nobody left in that town but a little boy
calling down the main street
"Bowser" He was calling for his dog
"Bowser Where's my little dog Bowser?"
Hello, tornado Goodbye, town
We ain't never had a tornado here
That's what they said in Idaho
Said it in the morning,
tornado came at night
What do you call that there pole?
I'm mighty glad you asked me, mister
Mighty glad indeed
I call it a tornado rod
You nail it on your roof,
let that pinwheel turn in the breeze
and I warranty and I guarantee
if this here pretty little town
ever gets hit by a tornado
it'll blow through here
like a gentle spring breeze
And the thinnest little birch tree,
it'll bend over dancing
and spring right back up again
on its two little feet
- That's him, Sheriff
- Like to hold it, little girl?
You see that, folks?
Light enough for a little girl to hold on to
And now, hear me!
I want you to know that this first
tornado rod goes absolutely free
to this pretty little girl,
if she'll tell me her name
My name's Starbuck, honey What's yours?
Belinda
From me to you, Belinda
To remember me by
Now, that's the first one
The next one ain't gonna cost $100!
No, sirree, it's not gonna cost you $50
It is gonna cost you one quarter
Twenty-five cents, one-fourth part of $1
Two bits Now, who gets it?
I'll take it
Very well Pass that down
Let the money go
The next one's gonna cost you 50 cents
Hurry up Act fast The price is going up
- Fifty cents, half a dollar
- I'll take it!
- Who is it?
- Me
Right there for the gent, please Thank you
The next one's gonna cost $1
$1, $2, $3, $4
- Hurry up, there won't be no more
- Starbuck
- Your name Starbuck?
- Get him, he's a con man
There they go
Hey, he's gone
Everybody after him! Clear the square!
Don't let him get away Come on
So long, Belinda
Whoa, boy
Jimmy won the prize
- Jimmy won the prize
- Hey, Jimmy
You won it easy, Jimmy
- Is this here roadster yours?
- Sure is
- How many cylinders?
- Five
- How tall are you?
- 6'
That's pretty tall
Ain't short
It's a nice height for a fellow to be
I wouldn't be nothing else
I was watching you at the dance
You dance like you were gonna bust
Feel like I'm gonna bust
- You visiting?
- The Maguires
- They're my cousins
- Hey, Jimmy, come on
Your name's Snookie
Yours is Jim Curry
No, I seen you three times last week
and four times this week
- Seven times altogether
- Altogether
Why didn't you talk?
Didn't have nothing to say
- You always wear that little red hat?
- No law says that I can't
- Gonna wear it all your life?
- Nope
I'm gonna give it to some handsome fellow
That's when, as, and if
- Did you say five cylinders?
- Yeah
- You say 6'?
- Yeah
Like to see how she runs?
Yeah
Jim Curry!
If you're looking for your brother,
just seen him go out
and Snookie Maguire after him
- Find Jim, Noah?
- No, I didn't, Pop
Phil says he come out with Snookie Maguire
If Jim comes back, will you
tell him we went down to the depot
- to meet Lizzie's train?
- Yeah, I'll tell him
But seems to me,
if Jimmy's found a girlfriend
he ain't gonna waste no time
meeting his sister
- Let's go, Noah
- No, I'm gonna find that kid
When Lizzie gets off that train,
I sure hope she got what she went for, H C
- Like what?
- Like a husband, maybe
No offense, just friendly
- Where'd you find him?
- He was parked with Snookie Maguire
What of it?
What of it? You could have got yourself
in a hatful of trouble
- Well, what kind of trouble, Noah?
- That girl
I tell you, Pop,
her hair is so bleached blond--
- It ain't bleached
- Don't tell me
She's been in town less than a week
and Gil Denby says she's bought two pints
of peroxide
Well, what's that?
I use peroxide for a cut finger
Well, if she got cut that often,
she'd bleed to death
- What happened?
- I'll tell you what happened
They were out in the car,
so twisted up together
that I couldn't tell where he left off
and Snookie began
If I hadn't come along,
heck knows what would've happened
Heck knows I might have come home
with her little red hat
With her what?
Nothing
Do you know what trouble you can
get yourself into with a girl like that?
You think you're smart enough
to handle it yourself?
I ain't saying I'm smart
I don't mind you telling me
how to do and how to figure things out
I just wish you wouldn't holler!
There she comes
Now, remember, Jimmy,
when Lizzie gets off the train, no questions
- Well, how'll we know how she made out?
- No questions
I won't ask no dumb questions, Pop
I'll just say:
"Lizzie, which one of Uncle Ned's sons
looks like the marrying kind?"
Yeah, that'll fool her
Pop!
Lizzie!
Hiya, Lizzie
It's so great to have you back, Lizzie!
How was the trip, Lizzie?
Fine Everything was fine
- I brought you a present, Pop
- Pop means at Uncle Ned's
- How was it at Uncle Ned's?
- Fine, Jimmy Everything was fine
I brought you one, too
Don't eat it all in one night
You might get sick
Here's yours, Noah
The pen is filled with red ink
Which one of Uncle Ned's sons
looks like the marrying--
Home again It doesn't seem like a week
More like a year
Everything right where it was Every
Everything just like home
- Now, Pop Can we--
- No, not now
Looks like you made out fine, Pop
Dishes all washed,
no dirty pans on the stove
You should have seen the place
while you was gone
Filthy Dishes stacked up in the sink
that high every day
- Ain't that right, boys?
- Sure, that's right
I washed the dishes every night
What are you talking about?
Looks like the trip perked you up real good
When you left here, you were looking
all dragged out by the heat
What was it like in Sweet River?
- Hotter than hell
- Now, you quit that
I don't see nothing funny
in her talking like a cowhand
I'm sorry, Noah That's all the conversation
I've heard for a week
How's Uncle Ned, Lizzie? And Aunt Ivy?
- Yeah How's all them boys?
- Big
Well, if they take after Aunt Ivy,
I'll bet they talked your ear off
No, they take after Uncle Ned
They just grunt
Who got to be
the best looking of the boys, Lizzie?
I guess Pete
I never could get those boys straight
Which one is Pete?
- He's the one with the yellow hair
- Yellow hair? Hey, that's nice on a man
- It's honest
- Pete's honest, all right
The way you say it,
I bet you liked him the best
Yeah, I'm crazy about Pete
He asked me to marry him
- Is that true, Lizzie?
- Word of honor
Well, what'd you tell him?
I told him I would as soon as he graduates
from grammar school
Grammar school?
Well, is he that dumb?
No, Pete's not dumb He's only 9 years old
Look, Pop, let's not beat around the bush
I know why you sent me to Sweet River,
because Uncle Ned's got six boys
Three of them are old enough
to get married, and so am I
Well, I'm sorry you went to all that expense:
the railroad ticket and all those new clothes
Noah, you can write it in the books
in red ink
I'm sorry, the trip didn't work
- Lizzie, that ain't what we sent you for
- Jimmy, please
She's right That's what we sent her for
Nothing come of it
What I want to know is
why did nothing come of it?
- Let it alone, Noah
- No, Pop, an investment's an investment
If we put money in a heifer and she don't
turn out, we got to ask questions
- That's very well put, Noah
- What happened in Sweet River, Lizzie?
Nothing
That's the awful thing
Just nothing at all
What did you do? Where'd you go?
The first three or four days I was there,
I stayed in my room, mostly
Why'd you do that?
- Because I was embarrassed
- Embarrassed about what?
Noah, use your head
I knew what I was there for
and that whole family knew it, too
I couldn't stand the way
they were looking me over
So I'd go downstairs for my meals,
and then I'd rush right back to my room
I packed, unpacked,
washed my hair a dozen times
read the Sears Roebuck Catalog
from cover to cover
Finally, I said to myself,
"Lizzie Curry, snap out of this "
It was a Saturday night
and they were all going to the rodeo dance
So I got myself all decked out in my
highest heels and my lowest cut dress
and I walked down to that supper table
and those boys looked at me
as if I was stark naked
For the longest while, there wasn't a sound
except Uncle Ned slopping his soup
And then suddenly, like a gunshot,
I heard Ned Jr say:
"Lizzie, how much do you weigh?"
What did you say to that?
I said I weight 119 pounds,
my teeth are all my own
and I stand 17 hands high
That wasn't very smart of you
He was just trying to open the conversation
Well, I guess I closed it
And then about 10 minutes later
little Pete came hurrying
in to the supper table
He was carrying a geography book,
and he said:
"Hey, Pop, where's Madagascar?"
Well, everybody ventured an opinion
and they were all dead wrong
And suddenly I heard myself say:
"It's an island in the Indian Ocean
off the coast of Africa
"right opposite Mozambique "
Can I help it if I was good in geography?
What happened?
Nothing Not a doggone thing
And then I heard Ned Jr 's voice:
"Lizzie, you fixing to be a schoolmarm?"
- Oh, no
- Oh, yes
Well, from that time on,
I knew it was no go
so I didn't go to the rodeo dance
I stayed home and made up poems
about what was on sale at Sears, Roebuck
- You and little Pete, huh?
- Yeah, me and little Pete
And you know the funniest thing
The day I left Sweet River,
little Pete was crying
and he said to me:
"Lizzie, you're the beautifulest girl
I ever saw "
And he's right, you are
Yeah, I'm beautiful to you,
and I'm beautiful to Pete
- But I'm plain to the big brothers
- Because you didn't show yourself right
- I tried, Pop I tried
- No, you didn't You hid behind your books
You hid behind your eyeglasses
that you don't even wear no more
You're afraid of being beautiful
I'm afraid to think I am, and I know I'm not
I'm sorry
I let you all down I'm sorry
You didn't do anything of the kind, Lizzie
Not a sign of a cloud
No rain tomorrow
- I guess I'll go to bed
- Goodnight, Noah
- Me, too
- Goodnight, Jimmy
- Well, I think I'll go to bed, too
- Yeah
- Welcome home, Lizzie
- Thank you, Pop
Look at them cattle
Down and out
That makes 12 steers we lost out here
- And 62 in the gully
- Yeah
And nothing we can do about it
What's that?
Howdy
- Need any help?
- Who are you?
My name's Starbuck Starbuck's the name
- What can we do for you?
- That's the wrong question, mister
The question is, what can I do for you?
I don't remember we called for anybody
to do anything
Well, you should have, mister
You sure should have
What are you going to do
about them cattle?
If there's something we could do,
you think we wouldn't do it?
Well, maybe you can't
- You can, I suppose
- Maybe
What's your game, mister?
Well, I can see you're not ready for help
Not yet Giddyup
- Hey, wait a minute
- Later, boy Maybe I'll see you later
- Morning, Noah, Pop, Jim
- Good morning, Lizzie
- Morning, honey
- Morning, Lizzie
Sure is good to be home again
Yeah, just what the boys were saying
- "Sure is good to have Lizzie home again "
- Yeah
So they don't have to eat my cooking
I didn't say that, Pop
I like the way you cook
Everything sloshed on nice and greasy
- How do you want your eggs, Jim?
- Any old way
- How many?
- Five or six will do
He ain't so hungry today
I dreamed we had a rain, a great big rain
Did you, Lizzie?
A thunderstorm, rain coming down in sheets
The lightning flashed and the thunder rolled
up and down the canyon
like a kid with a big drum
And I looked up
and I laughed and I yelled
It was wonderful
Drought's drought and a dream's a dream
But it was a nice dream, Noah
And near as good as rain
Near ain't rain
No, I guess it isn't
Lizzie, me and the boys
put our heads together
and we thought we'd mention
something to you
- Do you want to tell her about it, Noah?
- Nope, it's your idea, Pop
Well, the boys and me
we figured to ride into Three Point
this afternoon
We're going to the Sheriff's office
and we're gonna talk to his deputy
- File?
- Yup Why?
Pop, that's the craziest idea
I'm just gonna invite him to supper, Lizzie
- Well, if you do, I won't be here
- Why? Don't you like him?
Sure, I like him
I like the way he looks, as if he's got
something to say but he won't say it
I like the way he tucks his thumbs
into his belt
But that doesn't mean I want you
to go out and lasso him for me
I won't do anything of the kind
We'll start talking about
a poker game, maybe
and then we'll get around to supper
Before you know it, he'll be sitting
at the head of the dining room table
No, not File
He doesn't even know I'm on Earth
- He knows, Lizzie He knows
- No, he doesn't
Whenever we drive into town,
he's got a big hello for you, Noah, and Jim
But he's got nothing at all for me
He just barely sneaks his hat off his head
He makes a point of ignoring me
When a man makes a point of ignoring you,
he ain't ignoring you at all
- What do you think, Noah?
- Don't ask him
Every time you and Jim have to scratch
your back, you turn and ask Noah
The three of us, we get carried away
- For once in your life, get carried away
- Pop, don't get mad Well, Noah?
- It's a matter of pride
- What is pride, anyway?
- Is that what it is, Lizzie?
- Pride
I ran out of that a long time ago
I just want to be a woman
You are a woman, without being married
No, I'm not, Noah
I'm a very good housekeeper
I mend your socks and I wash Pop's shirts
I'm one of the best cooks in Three Point
But that's not all there is to being a woman
- What more do you want?
- I want
I want to make somebody happy
I want somebody to be glad he found me
the way I'll be glad I found him
I want him to be able to tell me who he is
and to tell me who I am, too
Because heaven knows,
I have no idea who I am
And I want to be able to do things
for him
all kinds of things,
and he never has to say thank you
because thank you
is our whole life together
I guess it comes down to one thing,
to make somebody happy
And it might be File
So if you want to ask him,
go ahead and ask him
Okay Come on, boys
Let's go, Noah
- Will you listen to me, File?
- Now, look here, Sheriff
Look, when I was broke,
you lent me money
When I needed a job,
you made me your deputy
When I catch a cold,
you bring me a mustard plaster
Now you want to give me a dog
I don't want a dog
How do you know you don't want him
till you see him?
- I've seen dogs before
- Not this one He's different
When you see this little fellow, you'll want
to reach right out and hug him to death
- Think I will, huh?
- Yes, you will He's real loving
When you're sitting in your bare feet,
he'll come over and lick your big toe
Sounds real homey I'll do without him
File, you make me disgusted
Ain't right for you to be shacking up
by yourself
especially since once you've been married
You lose your wife, the nights get darn cold
Got to have something warm
up against your backside
Last night was 104 degrees
All right, if you don't want the dog
if you're the kind of fellow
that don't like animals
- I like animals
- You liked animals, you'd have animals
- I've had them
- I'll bet What kind?
- When I was a kid, I had a dog
- What kind was it?
Mongrel, just a kid's kind
- What'd you call him?
- Dog
- I mean, what was his name?
- Dog
- Didn't you have no name for him?
- Dog
- His name was Dog
- Ain't no fitting name for no dog
Well, he always came when I called him
You couldn't have liked him very much
if you didn't even give him a name
Sure, liked him a lot
Took good care of him, too
Lot better than he took of himself
- Why? What happened to him?
- Was always running away
Dumb little mutt run under a buckboard
You figure everything is gonna run away
or get run over
I don't know
I don't want another dog
- Sleeps on your feet, huh?
- Right on my feet
Right on my big old stinking feet
See you later, File
- 6' tall and twice as handsome
- Hey, Snookie
- Come on, Jimmy
- Howdy do?
Jimmy, come on
When he says giddyup, you've got to go?
Snookie, don't be mad
Go on, Jimmy I ain't mad
6' tall and twice as handsome
- Hi, boys
- Hi, File
- Hi, H C
- Hiya, File
Riding over, you boys see any sign of rain?
Not a spit
What's it like at Sweet River?
How'd we know?
We ain't been to Sweet River
The Sheriff said Lizzie's been to Sweet River
- Well, yeah
- What's it like?
- Dry
- How'd Lizzie like it in Sweet River?
- Fine She liked it fine
- Yeah, she liked it fine
Three barn dances and a rodeo
and a summer fair
- and larking all over the place
- Yeah
File, how's your poker?
- My what?
- Poker
- I don't care for poker very much, H C
- You don't?
Don't you like Spit in the Ocean?
Gave up playing cards a long time ago, Jim
You did, huh?
What about
Hey, File, what's that hanging down
from your shirt?
- That looks like a needle
- Yeah, it sure does
What's the matter, your shirt tore?
Well, looks like it
- Fix it yourself, do you?
- Sure do
I wouldn't say that, Jim
Been fixing my own shirts ever since
I was a widower back in Pedleyville
Lizzie fixes all of my shirts
- Sure nice to have a sister
- Or something
Yeah, Lizzie come back from Sweet River
by herself?
Sure She went there by herself, didn't she?
That don't mean anything
I went over to Leverstown
to buy myself a mare
Went by myself,
but I came back with a mare
Well, Lizzie didn't go to buy nothing
Get it, File? Nothing
Now, don't get ornery, Jim
- I just asked a friendly question
- Sure, just a friendly question
- Don't get ornery
- I always say to Jim:
"The reason you ain't got no real friends
is 'cause you're ornery "
- You just don't know how to make friends
- Sure, I do
- Sure, I do
- No, you don't
You ever ask a fellow out
to have a drink? No
You ever say to a fellow,
"Come on home and have some supper"?
Yeah, I guess you're right
I'm sorry, File I didn't mean to get ornery
- Come on out and have a drink
- Supper
- Come on home and have some supper
- I guess I'll say no to the supper, boys
I'd be glad to come out
and have a drink with you
We don't have time for a drink
but we've been thinking that we'd
have you over for supper someday
- I'd be glad to come one of these days
- How about tonight?
I haven't got time tonight
Outlaw headed this way,
fellow named Tornado Johnson
I got to stick around
You don't know he'll come this way, do you?
They say he's Three Point bound
He might be down at Pedleyville
or Peak's Junction
- He might even be over at our place
- I won't be over to your place
You said for me to be friendly I'm trying
But he don't want to be friendly
I want to be friendly, Jim
I just don't want to be married
Who says we're inviting you over for Lizzie?
You take that back
I won't take nothing back, Jim
Well, take something else
If I didn't think he had it coming
- I'd wipe you up good and clean
- He had it coming
Yeah, I guess we all did
Come on, turtlehead Let's go home
- I'm sorry I hit him
- That's all right
The only thing, you know,
you lost that fight
- What?
- Yeah
It wouldn't have hurt you
to come to supper
- It might have done you some good
- We weren't talking about supper
That's right We were talking about Lizzie
And she might have done you
some good, too
I mend my own shirts
Seems to me you need a lot more mending
than shirts
Wait a minute Don't drop a word like that
and just leave it
All right What'd you hit him for?
- Threw a punch, I got mad
- Why?
We come here and say we like you enough
to have you in our family
Is that an insult?
- I'm doing all right by myself
- You ain't doing all right by yourself
A man who won't make friends
with a whole town that likes him
and looks up to him, he ain't doing all right
- And if he says he is, he's a liar
- All right, take it easy
I said a liar, and I mean it
You talk about yourself as being a widower
We all got respect for your feelings
But you ain't a widower,
and everybody in this town knows it
I am a widower My wife died six years ago
back in Pedleyville
Your wife didn't die, File She ran out
on you, and you're a divorced man
But we'll all go on calling you a widower
as long as you want us to
Heck, it don't hurt us none
But you, a fellow who shuts himself up
with that lie
he needs mending
You want to throw any more punches?
You told File 7:00, I hope
We didn't tell him no exact time
Don't walk heavy
or the lemon cake will fold
Don't let Jimmy mess up the table
- Lizzie
- Answer the telephone, will you, Noah?
I'm changing my dress
Hello
No, this ain't Jim, it's Noah Who's this?
It's Snookie Maguire
- Hot dog
- What exactly do you mean, "hot dog"?
- Just hot dog
- What are you gonna say to her?
Well, I don't know what she's gonna say
to me
You watch out
Hello? Hello, Snookie?
How's my 6' tall and twice as handsome?
I'm fine
I'm just fine and dandy How are you?
Fine and dandy?
I'm sure glad you're fine and dandy, too
- Fine and dandy, my big foot
- What?
You mean it, Snookie?
I sure hope you mean it
Now, what's all this "you mean it" about?
She says it's a hot night and she's got
her car out and her motor's saying:
"Chug, chug, where's little Jimmy?"
Well, you tell her, chug, chug,
little Jimmy's gonna sit home
on his fat little bottom
Hello, Snookie I just can't tonight
Well, I don't know why, exactly
Anyway, I can't talk right now
Snookie, you still wearing your little red hat?
Hello Hello, Snookie?
See that?
You go out with her once,
she starts chasing you
I don't see what's wrong with that, Noah
- You don't?
- No
People want to get together, they ought to
get together Don't matter how, does it?
Now, you ask yourself it don't really matter
Go on, ask yourself, Jimmy
Well, maybe it does
Holy mackerel,
I wish I could figure things out
- Where's Lizzie?
- She's upstairs
Did you tell her?
Well, folks, how do I look?
Beautiful
- Fine, just fine
- Beautiful
You know, Pop, I really think I am
If you don't look too close
I've decided to have beefsteak
instead of kidney pie
I think men pretend to like mixtures
but what they really like
is a plain slab of beefsteak
What time do you suppose
File will get here?
Ought to know some time
we can start eating
We can start anytime you say
Anytime?
- File's not coming
- No
I see
Not that he didn't want to come
He wanted to a lot
- He did, huh?
- Well, sure
Pop said, "Come to supper tonight, File "
And when Pop said that
did you notice how his face
kind of lighted up?
- Did you notice that?
- Yeah
- Yes, sir File was real friendly
- Friendly, huh?
- What happened to your eye?
- Kind of swelled up on me
File hit him
You mean you fought
to get him to come here?
It was only a little fight, Lizzie
Why didn't you make it a big one, a riot?
Why didn't you all just pile on and slug him?
- You're seeing this all wrong
- I'm seeing it the way it happened
He said, "She might be a pretty good
cook and it might be a tasty supper
"but she's plain
She's as plain as old shoes "
He didn't say anything like that
He didn't say nothing about shoes
I'm sorry, Lizzie We made a mess out of it
If you'd have taken my advice,
it wouldn't have been a mess
I don't like being right all the time,
but for Pete's sake
Well, Noah, I'm stumped
Now, if you were Lizzie's father,
what would you do?
Who says we have to do anything?
We've been pushing her around,
trying to marry her off Why?
What if she don't get married?
Is that the end of everything?
She's got a home, she's got a family
She's got bed and board
clothes on her back, plenty to eat,
everything she needs
- She ain't got what'll make her happy
- She ain't gonna get it
- Because she's going at it all wrong
- How am I? How?
Because you don't talk to a man the way
you ought to You talk too serious
If there's anything that scares a fellow,
it's a serious-talking girl
That's the way Lizzie is
She can't be anything else
Yes, she can
She can to the social clubs
on Wednesday nights
and giggle and flirt as good as any of them
What do you want her to turn into?
Lilly Ann Beasley?
Lilly Ann Beasley gets any man she goes for
I saw her walk up to Phil Mackey
one morning
and she wiggled her hips
like a cocker spaniel and she said:
"Phil Mackey, how many toes have you got?"
And he said, "Well, naturally, I got 10 "
And she said, "Well, that's just
the right number of toes
"for a big, strong man to have "
And pretty soon he was cooked
And he started following her around,
and she got him so nervous
he bust right out with the shingles
Well, if she wants Phil Mackey,
she can have him, shingles and all
How about that livestock fellow
from Chicago?
Can I treat a man the way she treated him?
"Now, your polka dot tie
I just adore men with a polka dot tie
"Those little round dots
go right to my heart "
The poor fellow,
the blood rushed out of his face
and I thought he'd keel over
in the horse trough
I don't want to pick a man
out of a horse trough!
I want him to stand on his own two legs
and I want to stand on mine
without having to trick him
- Isn't that possible with a man?
- No, it ain't
- Yes, it is, Lizzie
- No
For once in his life,
Jim said something sensible
If it's a man you want, you got to get him
the way a man gets got
If that's the way a man gets got,
I don't want any of them
No, dang bust File and a-rattle snatch
all of them
Don't use that language
Rattle snatch, toad rump, stink drum,
clod fetch every last one of them
Who opened that door?
Must have been the wind
Wind? Did you say wind?
There's not a breath of wind
anywhere in the world
- Starbuck
- That's the name Right the first time
- Lady of the house, hello
- Hello
That's a mighty nice dress
It ought to go to a party
Thank you
Don't you knock on a door
before you come in?
- Who are you, anyway?
- We met him on the range this morning
He come up to us and he said
What did you say?
I said, "What are you gonna do
about them cattle?"
Listen, fellow
If you know we lost them cattle,
you ought to know what killed them
- Drought Ever hear of it?
- Ever hear of it? That's all I hear
Wherever I go,
there's a drought ahead of me
But when I leave, behind me,
there's rain Rain!
- I think this man's crazy
- That's what I am, crazy
I woke up this morning, and I looked
at the world and I said to myself:
"The world's gone completely
out of its mind
"And the only thing that'll set it straight
is a first-class, A-number one lunatic "
Well, here I am, folks, crazy as a bedbug
Did I introduce myself?
The name is Starbuck, rainmaker
I read about a rainmaker
I think it was Idaho
What'd you read, lady?
I can't remember whether they locked
him up or ran him out of town
Might be they strung him up
on a sycamore tree
Might be
Look, fellow, the idea is
we don't believe in rainmakers
What do you believe in, mister?
Dying cattle?
- You really mean you can bring rain?
- He talks too fast He can't bring anything
I asked him Can you bring rain?
It's been done, brother It's been done
- Where? How?
- How? Sodium chloride
Pitch it up high, right up to the clouds
Electrify the cold front,
neutralize the warm front
Barometricize the tropopause,
magnetize occlusions in the sky
- In other words, bunk
- Lady, you are right
And you know why that sounds like bunk?
Because it is bunk Bunk and hokey-pokey
And I tell you, I'd be ashamed
to use any of those methods
What method do you use?
My method's like my name
It's all mine own
- Care to hear my deal?
- We're not interested
Not one bit
- Any charge for listening?
- No charge Free
Go ahead What's the deal?
$100 in advance
And inside of 24 hours, you will have rain
- You mean it? Real rain?
- Rain is rain, brother
It comes from the sky
It's a wetness known as water Aqua pura
Mammals drink it, fish swim in it,
little boys wade in it
and the birds flap their wings
and sing like sunrise
Water, I recommend it
- Pay him the $100, Noah
- Don't be a chump, Noah
- Don't worry, I won't
- How would you do it, Starbuck?
Now, don't ask me no questions
Why? It's a fair question
How will you do it?
What do you care how I do it, sister?
As long as it's done
But I'll tell you how I do it I'll lift this stick
and take a long swipe at the sky
I'll let down a shower of hailstones
as big as cantaloupes
I'll shout out some good old Nebraska
cuss words
You turn around and there's a lake
where your ground used to be
Or I'll sing a little tune maybe
and it'll sound so pretty and sound so sad,
you'll weep
And your old man will weep
And the sky will get all misty-like and shed
the prettiest tears you ever did see
How will I do it, girl?
- I'll just do it
- Where did you ever bring rain before?
What town? What state?
Sister, the last place I brought rain
is now called Starbuck
They named it after me
Dry, I tell you Those people didn't have
enough damp to blink their eye
So I get out my big wheel
and my rolling drum
and my hat with the three feathers in it,
and I look at the sky and say:
"Cumulus " I say, "Cumulus-nimbo
Nimbulo-cumulus "
Pretty soon, way up there, there's a teeny
little cloud the size of a mare's tail
Then up there there's another cloud looking
like a whitewashed chicken house
And then I look up again,
and all of a sudden
there's a herd of white buffalo
stampeding across the sky!
And then, sister of all good people,
down came the rain!
Rain in buckets, rain in barrels,
flooding the gullies, filling the lowland
And the land is as green
as the valley of Adam
And when I rode out of there,
I looked behind me
and I see the prettiest colors in the sky
Blue, green, purple, gold
Colors to make you cry
And me? I'm riding right through
that rainbow
Well, how about it? Is it a deal?
- Well--
- Pop, no He's a liar and a con man
Yup, that's what he is all right
A liar and a con man
It hurts me to hear you say that, mister
Well, so long to you
- So long for a sorry night
- Wait a minute
- You said I was a con man
- You're a liar and a con man
but I didn't say I wouldn't take your deal
- Pop!
- I didn't say I would, neither
Pop, you ain't gonna throw away $100!
How would I write it in the books?
Write it as a gamble, Noah
I've lost more than that in poker
on a Saturday night
You get an even chance in poker
That's a crazy reason
I'll give you better reasons, Lizzie girl
Take my deal because once in your life
you've got to take a chance on a con man
Take my deal, because there's
dying cattle that might pick up and live
Because $100 is only $100
but rain in a dry season is a sight to behold
You've got to take my deal
because it's gonna be a hot night
and the world goes crazy on a hot night,
and maybe that's what a hot night is for
Starbuck, you got you a deal
I tell you, I knew I had a deal
the minute I walked in this house
- How'd you know that?
- There's four of you
and five places set for supper
And I says to myself, "Bill Starbuck,
your name's written right across this chair "
Come on, let's eat
Anything doing?
Phil Mackey said the Curry boys came by
Says he saw Jim Curry come out of here
wearing a black eye
Tell Phil Mackey to mind his own business
- And me to mind mine?
- Well
If you want to take time off
and run down to the Curry ranch
and say you're sorry or something and
I'm not apologizing to anyone
Might be a little easier on the phone, huh?
- The number's five-five-ring-three
- I'm not interested in the number
Hello? Oh, yeah
This is his deputy
We've got the description of him,
but we need a picture
No, I haven't seen him
Somebody thought they saw his wagon
Yeah, well, send us a picture
soon as you can, will you?
Okay, thanks Bye
Five-five-ring-three
Never mind, Operator
$60, $70
$80, $85
- I'm against this, Pop
- Keep counting, Noah
$90, $95, $100 There's your $100
- Thank you, Noah
- Don't thank me Thank him
I'm writing that down in my books,
$100 thrown away
No, don't write that Write it like this Say:
"On August 27
"a man came stomping
through our doorway
"We bid him time of night
"We fed him a supper fit for a king
"and we gave him 100 honest notes
"in the fair government of
these United States of America
"In return for that hospitality,
he did us one small favor He brought rain "
- You got it? Write it
- I don't see no rain yet
- I still got 23 hours to bring it
- Well, you better get busy
Yeah, Starbuck, you better knuckle down
All right What kind of rain would you like?
- You mean we can choose our kind?
- Why, sure, you can choose your kind
And there's all kinds
There's mizzling and there's drizzle
But you wouldn't want that
I give that away as a free sample
There's trickle and there's sprinkle
That's for little flower gardens
of little pink old ladies
There's rain with hail and rain with thunder
There's flash flood and storms that
roll down the shoulder of a mountain
But biggest of all, that's deluge
Don't ask me for deluge
- That takes quite a bit of doing
- What kind do we get for $100?
You choose it, I'll bring it
He brags so loud,
he gives me a pain in the neck
If you all act like she does, it's gonna
make it tough for me to do my job
because when there's suspicion around,
it's a dry season
I don't doubt it
Look, folks, making rain,
it takes a lot of confidence
If you have doubts about me,
I get doubts about myself
I see
If you don't bring rain,
you're gonna blame it on us
We didn't have confidence
What I mean is, I may need some help
Well, I'll help you So will Pop
How about you, lady? Any confidence?
- No confidence
- We don't need her, Starbuck
- Now, come on What's the first step?
- All right
What I'm gonna ask you to do,
it ain't gonna make much sense
but then what's sensible
about a flood or a hurricane?
- Nothing
- That's right
What I want you to do
you see that little old wagon of mine
out there?
On that wagon, I got me a big bass drum
Somebody is got to beat that drum
- Beat it? What for?
- Don't ask questions
- And don't get sensible
- That's right, Jimmy
- Now, who's gonna beat that drum?
- Me, I'll beat it
Jim, you're gonna be my first lieutenant
You go out there, and every time you get
the feeling, you beat that drum three times
- Low, like thunder You get it?
- Got it
- When do I start?
- Mister, you've started
Hot dog
You pay close attention In that wagon
of mine, I got me a bucket of white paint
It ain't ordinary white paint, it's special
It's electro-magnetized, oxygenated,
de-chromated white
I want you to go out there
and paint a great, big white arrow
pointing away from the house
That's so the house don't get struck
by lightning
Well, that sounds reasonable
Now, it's too bad that you don't have
a mule on the place
- We got a mule
- You have? Well, that's great
That's just dandy
Get a length of rope, go out there
and tie the hind legs of that mule together
What? Tie the hind legs of a mule?
What the heck for?
Now, please You got to do like I ask you
- I ain't gonna do it
- Come on, Noah
Well, I'll be
Tie the hind legs of a mule!
Pop, wait I've been sitting here
keeping my mouth shut
wondering how far you'll go
in letting this man make a fool out of you
He can't make me any more a fool than
I make out of myself
You're making a big fool out of yourself
Where's your common sense?
Common sense?
You mean, go along with this fellow
halfway, huh?
Well, I can't do that, Lizzie
I got to take a chance on him
The whole chance
Without being afraid of getting hurt
or getting cheated
getting laughed at As far as he'll take me
White arrow, did you say?
- A white arrow
- I'll paint it
Mister, you're gonna get
your money's worth if it's the last thing I do
- Don't get nervous, boy
- I ain't Not a bit of it
That's fine Confidence
Attaboy, Jim
Beat that drum Make it rumble
I bet you feel real proud of yourself
Kind of proud, sure
You're not satisfied to steal our money
You have to make jackasses out of us
Why'd you send them out of there
on those fool errands? Why? What for?
Maybe I sent them out
so I could talk to you alone
- What?
- You heard me
Then why didn't you say it straight out:
"Lizzie, I want to talk to you alone,
man to man"?
Man to man, Lizzie?
Excuse me, I made a mistake
You're not a man
- Lizzie, can I ask you a question?
- No
I'll ask it anyway
What are you fussing with the buttons
on your dress for?
- Fussing? I'm not
- Let them alone
They're all buttoned up fine,
as tight as they'll ever get
It's a nice dress, too Brand-new, ain't it?
You expecting somebody?
None of your business
Woman gets herself all decked out,
she must be expecting her beau
Where is he? It's getting kind of late
I'm not expecting anybody
I see You were, but now you ain't
Stand you up?
Mr Starbuck, you've got more gall--
Let go of me
When I walked into this house,
you didn't like me Why?
- I said, let go
- You didn't like me Why?
Why'd you go up on your hind legs
like a frightened mare?
- I wasn't frightened
- You were
- Of you? Of what?
- I don't know
Mares get scared by lots of things
- Fire, lightning, the smell of blood
- I wasn't scared, Mr Starbuck, I was mad
You paraded yourself in here,
you took over everything
I don't like to be to taken by a con man
- Get out of here
- No
I'm sick and tired of this
I'm tired of you queering my work,
calling me out of my name
I called you what you are,
a big mouth, liar, and a fake
How do you know I'm a liar?
How do you know I'm a fake?
Maybe I can bring rain
Maybe when I was born,
God whispered a special word in my ear
Maybe he said, "Bill Starbuck,
you ain't gonna have much in this world
"You ain't gonna have no money
and no fancy spurs
"no white horse with a golden saddle
"But, Bill Starbuck, wherever you go,
you'll bring rain "
Maybe that's my one and only blessing
There's no such blessing in the world
I seen even better blessings, Lizzie girl
I got a brother who's a doctor
You don't have to tell him where you ache
or where you pain
He just walks in and he lays his hand
on your heart
And pretty soon,
you're breathing sweet again
I got another brother who can sing
and when he's singing,
that song is there and never leaves you
I used to think,
"Why I ain't I blessed like Fred or Arnie?
"Why am I just a nothing man
with nothing special to my name?"
And then one summer comes the drought
And Fred can't heal it away,
and Arnie can't sing it away
But me, I go down to the holler
and I look up, and I say:
"Please, rain
"Please, please, bring rain!"
And the rain came
and I knew I knew I was one of the family
That's a story
You don't have to believe it
if you don't want to
I don't believe it!
You're like Noah
You don't believe in nothing
- That's not true
- Yes, it is
You're scared to believe in anything
You put on the fancy dress
and the beau don't come
So you're scared nothing will ever come
You've got no faith
- I've got as much as anybody
- You don't even know what faith is
I'm gonna tell you
It's believing you see white
when your eyes tell you black
- It's knowing with your heart
- And I know you're a fake!
Lizzie, I'm sad about you
You don't believe in nothing,
not even in yourself
You don't even believe you're a woman
And if you don't, you're not
Jimmy, quit that
Don't you feel foolish beating that drum?
Should I?
Lizzie thinks I'm making
a jackass out of you
Is that what you think?
You said beat the drum and it'd bring rain
I'm beating it
Just because I said so?
Because you said so
What was that?
Sounded like thunder
No
too regular
Why don't you take a run down
and see the Curry girl?
I don't want to go down and see her
Just stand there like a stick?
- Don't stand! Sit down! Talk!
- I don't know how to talk to her!
Make up conversations,
they all jam up in my head
Flush them out
- Get going!
- All right!
- Mind if I take an hour off?
- Take two hours!
- Take all night!
- An hour is all I can stand
Look at you, you'd think
you never painted anything in your life
- I didn't see the bush
- What bush?
I was painting backwards
and suddenly there was
that darn bush and I bumped,
and the paint
slopped all over everything
What are you limping about?
- Mule
- Kick you?
Bad or good, a mule's kick is a mule's kick!
For Pete's sake! Come in here
and quit beating that drum
- I think he enjoys it
- Sure
he got the easiest job of all of us
Holy mackerel, Pop
Your face is all over whitewash
Jimmy! Quit that!
He said to beat it every time I got
the feeling
But, Jimmy
if you'll just try to resist the feeling,
we'll all appreciate it
Holy mackerel, Pop
Your face is all over whitewash
It is?
Why don't you wash up? You look foolish
You don't look so bright, yourself,
toting that drum
What am I gonna do with it?
For the love of Mike, don't be so dumb
Don't call me that, Noah
What are you doing in Lizzie's linen chest?
Starbuck asked if he could spend
the night in the tack room and I said yes
Figured I'd get him something to sleep on
Sure stressing yourself to make him cozy,
aren't you?
Why not?
- I like him
- Funny, me, too
If he wanted to sell you a bill of goods
He didn't sell me a bill of goods
He gave me some good advice
- I'm gonna take it
- What kind of advice, Jimmy?
About Snookie
What'd he tell you?
I said to him,
"What do you think of a girl who wears
"loud clothes
and puts lip rouge on her mouth
"and always goes around in a little red hat?
Is she fast?"
And you know what he said?
He said, "Never judge a heifer
by the flick of her tail "
- Sounds like sensible advice
- I think so
I told you he'd sell you a bill of goods
I understand that crack, Noah
You mean he was trying
to make me feel smart, and I ain't
- Shut up
- I won't shut up
What the devil's got into you?
I just found something out, Noah
You know, the only time I feel real dumb?
When I'm talking to you
Now, why the heck is that, Noah?
Hello, who?
He's not here
- Who was that?
- Who else would have all that gall?
Snookie
Come on, that phone call was for me
Why'd you hang up on her?
Save you the trouble
If she calls me on the phone
you don't have to tell her I ain't here
I can do that myself
How can you, yourself,
tell her you're not here? Talk sense
Maybe it don't make sense, but
- well, you dang well know what I mean
- Listen, Jimmy
if you want to get yourself in hot water
all you have to do is lift that phone
and call her right back
That's right, Jimmy
That's all you have to do
- Stay out of this
- I'm just agreeing with you, Noah
You can call her right back, Jimmy
Go on, kid, go on
- I don't have her telephone number
- Call the operator
- Starbuck, let me alone
- Lizzie, tell him to make that call
Starbuck, we'd all thank you
not to interfere in our family
- What's this thing doing here?
- For Starbuck
Jimmy was gonna take them out
to the tack room, if it's all right
Yes, it's all right Go on, Jimmy
I don't want to now
You shouldn't have
- done that to him, Noah
- Somebody's got to do it
- I think you liked doing it
- No, I didn't!
For Pete's sake,
somebody take this family off my hands
I don't want to run it
You don't have to run the family,
only the ranch
- They're both tied up together
- There's a difference, Noah
You let them live,
people pay off better than cattle
Don't be so proud of the way
you let us live, Pop
Just look at her
and don't be so darn proud of yourself!
What does he mean, Lizzie?
I don't know
Don't pay any attention to him, Pop
Noah's hinting that I made
some big mistake with you, Lizzie
Did I?
Of course not
I'm perfect Everybody knows I'm perfect
A very nice girl
Good housekeeper, bright mind
very honest
So darned honest, it kills me
"You got to get a man like a man gets got "
That's what Noah said
Now, isn't that stupid?
It's not even good English
- Don't think about that, Lizzie?
- Think about it?
Why, I wouldn't give it another thought
You know what that Starbuck man
said to me?
What, Lizzie?
Why repeat it? A man like that
You go repeating what people like that
have to say
Can a woman take lessons
in being a woman?
You don't have to take lessons You are one
Starbuck says I'm not
If Starbuck don't see the woman in you,
he's blind
Is File blind?
Are they all blind?
I'm sick and tired of me
I want to get out of me for a while,
be somebody else
Go down to the social club
and be Lilly Ann Beasley
is that what you want to be?
Lilly Ann Beasley knows how to get along
You better call her on the telephone,
ask her to let you join up
I will You'll see if I don't
And I'm gonna get myself
a lot of new dresses
cut way down to here
And I'll paint my mouth
so it looks like I'm always whistling
Fine, go ahead
Look like a silly little jackass
Won't be me looking silly,
it'll be somebody else
You've got to hide what you are
You can't be honest
You wouldn't know how to be anything else
Wouldn't I?
You think it's hard It's easy
Phil Mackey
How good-looking you are
That curly blond hair, the pearly white teeth
Can I count your teeth?
One, two, three, four
Oh, no, don't tickle
or little Liz is gonna roll right over
and--
- Good evening
- Hello, File
Come in
Kind of late
- Hope I'm not disturbing you
- Oh, no
That's all right We were just
I don't know what we were doing
But come on in
Hello, Lizzie
- Hello, File
- No let up on the drought, is there?
Just none at all Excuse me, Pop
I got to thinking about that little fuss
I had with Jim, about his eye
- and I wanted to apologize I'm sorry
- You said that this afternoon, File
- I didn't say it to Jim
- That's right, you didn't
- He's upstairs I'll send him right down
- Oh, Jim!
- Jimmy, can you come down--
- That's all right, Lizzie
I was going up anyway
Would you
- Do you care for a cup of coffee?
- No, thank you I already had my supper
- Yes Yes, of course
- I didn't mean to mention supper
I just You know
- How about some nice cold lemonade?
- No, thank you
I make lemonade with limes
I guess if you make it with limes,
you can't
- call it lemonade, can you?
- You can if you want to
But it's really limeade, isn't it?
Yeah, that's what it is Limeade
- That's what it is, all right
- You call me, Lizzie?
- Hey, File
- Hi, Jim
My, that's a bad eye
I came around to tell you I'm sorry
Don't think nothing of it, File
Bygones is bygones
Glad to hear you talk that way
File's here, huh?
Yes, sir, he sure is
Wouldn't you like to sit down or something?
No, thank you
Guess they both knew I was lying
Lying? About what?
I didn't come here to apologize to Jim
What did you come for, File?
To get something off my chest
This afternoon, your father
Well, there's a wrong impression going
around town that I'm a widower
- but I'm not
- I know that, File
I know you know it, but I've got to say it
I'm a divorced man
I've been denying it Now I admit it
That's all I want to say
- That squares me with everybody
- Does it?
Yes, it does From here on in
if I want to live alone all by myself,
it's nobody's business but my own
Wait a minute You're dead wrong
Wrong? How?
- Well, it's everybody's business
- How do you figure that, Lizzie?
Because you owe something to people
- I don't owe anything to anybody
- Yes, you do
- What?
- I don't know
Friendship
If somebody holds out his hand
toward you
- you've got to reach and take it
- What do you mean, I've got to?
Got to
There are too many people alone
and if you're lucky enough
for somebody to want you
for a friend
it's an obligation
This isn't something
the two of us can settle
by just talking for a minute
No, it isn't
It'll take some time
Yes
- You here, File?
- I guess I'm here
I'm just going up to get my feed book
- What were you saying?
- What were you saying?
You were telling me about your divorce
No, I wasn't But I will
- She walked out on me
- She did?
For the schoolteacher
He was from Louisville
Kentucky?
Was she
- I guess she was beautiful
- Yes, she was
That's what was afraid
That's what I thought
Black hair
Black hair is pretty, all right
The schoolteacher, darn it
Ran off with a schoolteacher
What was he like?
He had weak hands and nearsighted eyes
He always looked like
he was about ready to faint
She ran off with him And there I was
Maybe the teacher needed her
and you didn't
- Sure, I needed her
- Did you tell her so?
- No, I didn't Why should I?
- Why should you? Why didn't you?
I won't ask for anything
But if you'd asked her,
she might have stayed
I know darn well she might have
The night she left, she said:
"Tell me not to go, tell me don't go "
- And you didn't?
- I tried, but I couldn't
- Pride
- If a woman wants to go, let her go
If you've got to hold her back, it's no good
- If you had to do it again
- I still wouldn't ask her to stay
Just two words, "don't go,"
and you wouldn't say them?
It's not the words, it's begging
And I won't beg
You're a fool!
Whatever am I doing
getting so serious with you, File?
Because I should have known better
because whenever I do, I put my foot in it
Because being serious, that's not my nature
I'm really a happy-go-lucky girl,
just like any other girl
- Would you like some grapes?
- No
- Thank you
- They're very good
And so purpley and pretty
We had some right after supper
I wish you'd been here to supper
I made such a nice supper
I like to cook
There's only one thing I like better
than cooking
and that's reading a book
Do you read very much?
Only the legal circulars
that come from Washington
Washington, what a great man
Don't you think
that Washington was a great man?
- Father of our country
- Yes
And when you think of all he went through,
all that suffering
when you think of it, Valley Forge,
all those bleeding feet
I don't think about it much
No
of course not
My, what a nice tie
I just die for men in black silk bow ties
- It's silk leather
- No
I wouldn't have believed it It looks so real
- It looks so real
- Real's fake
And when you smile,
you've got the strongest, whitest teeth
- Now, quit that
- What?
Now, quit it Stop sashaying around
like a dumb little flirt
- Black silk tie, strong white teeth
- Oh, no
What do you take me for?
What do you take yourself for?
- I was trying to--
- Don't be so ridiculous
Be yourself
I was only trying to--
- Holy smokes
- What's happened, Lizzie?
- Holy smokes
- Never seen a man run so fast
- Where's he going?
- What'd he do, run out on you?
Were you watching the show?
- Did you think it was lantern slides?
- What'd he say?
- What'd you say?
- Not one sensible thing
- I couldn't even speak to him
- But you were talking
No, I was sashaying around
like Lilly Ann Beasley
- I was making a fool of myself
- Now, don't blame yourself, Lizzie
- It wasn't your fault
- No, it wasn't her fault
And it wasn't File's fault
You darn well know whose fault it was
- You mean it was mine, Noah?
- Yes
She's got to face facts!
And you've got to help her face them
- Stop telling her lies
- I never told her a lie in my life
You've told her nothing but lies
She's the smartest girl in the world
she's beautiful,
and that's the worst lie of all
You know she's not beautiful, she's plain!
- You quit that, Noah!
- And you go right along with him
I'm the only one that loves you enough
to tell the truth
- You're plain!
- Noah, you quit it
Go look at yourself in the mirror
You're plain!
Stop that
- Starbuck, let me go!
- Wait outside, Jimmy
- Let me go
- Get outside!
Sure, I'll get out
I'll get out and never come back!
Next time that kid goes at me, I'll
Next time,
I'll see that he has fighting lessons
- Clear out of here!
- I won't clear out!
And you're gonna quit calling him
a dumbbell
because he's not
He can take a little hickory stick
and see magic in it
You wouldn't understand
It's not in your books
- I said, clear out!
- And don't you ever call her plain
Because you don't know
what's plain and what's beautiful
Starbuck, this is family
- It's not your fight!
- Yes, it is
I've been fighting fellows like you all my life
And I always lose
But this time, I swear, this time
I'm sorry I hit Jim And I'll tell him so
I ain't sorry for a single word
that I said to her
- That's enough
- No, it ain't enough!
You better think about what I said
Nobody is gonna come
riding up here on a white horse
Nobody's gonna snatch you up
in his arms and marry you
You're gonna be an old maid
The sooner you face it
the sooner you'll stop breaking your heart
Old maid
Forget it, Lizzie
Forget everything he said
No He's right, Pop
I've known it a long time
But it wasn't so bad
until he put a name to it
Old maid
Why is it so much worse
when you put a name to it?
- You've got to believe me
- I don't believe you, Pop
You've been lying to me
and I've been lying to myself
- Lizzie, honey, please
- Don't, Pop, don't
I've got to see things the way they are,
and the way they will be
I've got to start thinking of myself
as I am Old maid
Jim will get married
and one of these days,
even Noah will get married
I'll be the visiting aunt
I'll bring presents to their children
to be sure I'm welcome
and Noah will say:
"Junior, be kind to your Aunt Lizzie
Her nerves aren't so good "
And Jim's wife will say,
"She's been visiting here a whole week
"When'll she ever go?"
Go where?
Lizzie, you'll always have a home
- This house will be yours
- House
Oh, Lizzie, stop it
My skin's hot all over
And when I touch it, it's cold
I'm all tied up
My clothes are tying me up
I can't move in my clothes
- Lizzie
- Pop, help me!
Tell me what to do Help me!
- Who is it?
- Just me, Lizzie
Jimmy meant to give you this Here
- Well, what is it?
- Bed stuff
Jimmy meant to give it
- Take it
- Thanks
- Is that what you came out for?
- No
I came out
Go on, Lizzie
I came out
to thank you for what you said to Noah
I meant every word of it
What you said about Jimmy,
I know you meant that
- What I said about you
- I don't believe you
Then what are you thanking me for?
You scared if you stopped being
sore at me, you might like me a little?
Then stay and talk with me
It's lonely out here
What are you afraid of?
You I don't trust you
Why?
- What don't you trust about me?
- Everything
The way you talk, the way you brag,
even your name
- What's wrong with my name?
- Sounds fake
- Sounds like you made it up
- You're darn right I did make it up
- There, of course
- Why not?
Do you know what name I was born with?
Smith
Smith, for the love of Mike Smith
Now, what kind of a name is that
for a fellow like me?
I need a name with the whole sky in it
and the power of a man
Starbuck
- Now, there's a name and it's mine
- No, it's not
You were born Smith and that's your name
You're wrong, Lizzie
The name you choose for yourself
is more your own
than the name you were born with
And if I was you,
I'd sure choose another name than Lizzie
- Thank you I'm very pleased with it
- No, you ain't
You ain't pleased
with anything about yourself
And you sure ain't pleased with Lizzie
- Why, it don't stand for anything
- It stands for me
I'm not Lady Godiva,
I'm not the Queen of Sheba
I'm not Cinderella at the ball
Would you like to be?
- Starbuck, you're ridiculous
- What's ridiculous about it?
Dream you're somebody Be somebody
But Lizzie, that's nobody
There are so many millions
of wonderful women with wonderful names
Leonora, Desdemona
Annabella, Pauline, Florinda
Christina, Cordelia, Diane
Lizzie
Goodnight, Starbuck
Just a minute, Lizzie
I got the greatest name for you
The greatest name
Now, you just listen
- Melisande
- I don't like it
But that's because you don't know
anything about her
Lady, when I tell you who she was
- Who?
- Why, she was the most beautiful
she was the beautiful wife of King Hamlet
- You ever hear of him?
- Go on, Starbuck
He was the fellow who sailed
across the ocean
and brought back the Golden Fleece
And do you know why he did that?
Because Queen Melisande,
she begged him for it
I tell you, that Melisande
what a queen That Melisande
she was so beautiful,
and her hair was so long and curly
why, every time he looked at her
he just fell right down and died
And King Hamlet, he'd do anything for her,
anything she wanted
So when she said:
"Hamlet, I've got a terrible hankering
for a soft Golden Fleece "
Why, he just naturally sailed right off
to find it
And when he came back
torn and bleeding
he took that fleece of gold
and he laid it at her pretty white feet
And she picked up that fur piece,
and she wrapped it around
her pink naked shoulders and she said:
"I've got the Golden Fleece
and I'll never be cold no more "
Melisande, what a woman What a name
Starbuck, you silly jackass
You take a lot of stories that I've read
in a hundred different places
and you roll them up
into one big, fat ridiculous lie
- I wasn't lying I was dreaming
- It's the same thing
If you think it's the same thing,
then I take it back about your name
Lizzie, that's just right for you
I'll tell you another name
that would suit you Noah
Because you and your brother,
you've got no dream
You think all dreams have to be your kind
Golden Fleece and thunder on the mountain
But there are other dreams, Starbuck
Little quiet ones
that come to a woman when
she's shining the silverware
and putting moth flakes in the closet
Like what?
Like a man's voice saying:
"Lizzie, is my blue suit pressed?"
And the same man saying,
"Scratch between my shoulder blades "
And kids laughing and teasing
and setting up a racket
And how it feels to say the word "husband "
There are all kinds of dreams, Mr Starbuck
Mine are small ones like my name, Lizzie
But they're real, like my name
Real
So if you can have yours,
then I'll have mine
- Lizzie
- Please
- Stop crying
- I can't
- I'm sorry, Lizzie I'm sorry
- It's all right Let me go
I hope your dreams come true
I hope they do
They won't They never will
- Believe in yourself and they will
- I got nothing to believe in
- You're a woman, believe in that
- How can I when nobody else will?
You've got to believe it first
Lizzie, let me ask you, are you pretty?
No! I'm plain
There's no such thing as a plain woman
Every real woman is pretty
They're pretty in a different way,
but they're all pretty
Not me When I look in my looking glass
- Don't let Noah be your looking glass
- He's not
My looking glass is right on the wall
It's in the wrong place
It's got to be inside you
- No
- Don't be afraid Look
Then one day, the looking glass
will be the man who loves you
It'll be his eyes, maybe
And you'll look in that mirror,
and you'll be more than pretty
- You'll be beautiful
- It'll never happen It'll never be
Make it happen
Lizzie, why don't you think pretty?
- And take down your hair
- No
- Please
- No
Nobody sees you Nobody but me, Lizzie
Now, close your eyes Close them
Now say:
"I'm pretty "
- I can't
- Say it, Lizzie Say it
- I'm pretty
- Say it again
- Pretty
- Say it, mean it
I'm pretty
Why did you do that?
Because when you said you were pretty
it was true
Lizzie, look at me
- I can't
- Stop crying and look at me
Look at my eyes
What do you see?
I can't
- believe what I see
- Tell me what you see
Is it me?
Is it really me?
Thank you, Howard
I'm sorry I woke you up
If you hear from Jimmy,
you call me right away
No, nothing's wrong Thanks, Howard
- Jimmy get home yet?
- Nope
Goofy kid
After midnight
Go back to sleep, Noah
- Don't worry about him
- I ain't worried about him
- I don't give a darn what happens to him
- Okay, fine
If you'd have seen my side of this,
it wouldn't have happened
I see your side, Noah
I just ain't on your side
- Good evening
- Where the devil you been?
Out
- What's wrong with you? You drunk?
- No, big brother, I ain't drunk
But if I cared to be drunk
- I'd be google-eyed
- Jimmy, where did you get that stogie?
This ain't no stogie, Pop
It's a Havana panatela
- 85 cents And it's a present
- Who the sam hill gave it to you?
I the sam hill gave it to me
for being a big boy
- You didn't say where you've been
- No, and I don't have to
But I will
I've been out with my favorite gal, Snookie
- You crazy, dumb little--
- Don't say dumb no more, Noah
Or I shall take this 85-cent Havana panatela,
and I shall squash it
- right in your mean old face
- What happened, Jimmy?
Can't you see what happened?
He went riding with that Snookie Maguire
she got him all het up, and she trapped him
- Big brother, you got it all wrong
- Don't lie to me, Jimmy Curry
The minute I stop looking after you,
you got yourself into trouble
When I tell you what really happened,
you're gonna split your britches
We went riding
That's right
We opened that old roadster up
and we went 40 million miles an hour
And then we stopped that car
and we got out
and we sat down under a great, big tree
And we could look up through
the branches
and see the sky all full of stars
And I turned around and I kissed her
I kissed her once,
I kissed her a hundred times
And while I was doing that,
I knew I could carry her anywhere
right straight to the moon
And all the time, I kept thinking:
"Noah's gonna come along
and he's gonna say, 'Whoa ""
But Noah didn't show up,
so I kept right on kissing
And then something happened
She was crying and I was crying
and I thought any minute now
we're gonna be right up there on the moon
And then
without Noah being there
all by my smart little self
I said, "Whoa!"
- Yippee!
- Thank you, Pop
- Your yippee is accepted
- I don't believe a word of it
Why did she give you the hat?
For the same reason
I gave her my elk's tooth
- We're engaged
- So I was right
- She did trap you
- Don't listen to him, Jimmy
- Congratulations
- Thanks, Pop
Thank you very kindly
I got to tell Lizzie Where's Lizzie?
Where the blaze you think she is?
She's asleep
- I'll wake her up
- Wait, Jimmy
- Lizzie's not up there
- Where is she?
- Yeah, where is she, Pop?
- She's out in the tack room
- You mean with Starbuck?
- Yup
Well, boy, that's great!
I got another cigar for Lizzie
Wait a minute
You mean you let her walk in on that fellow
when he's sleeping?
- You didn't even try to stop her?
- No, I didn't
You called her an old maid
You took away the last little bit of hope
she ever had
And when you left,
she took those bed covers and ran out
I didn't ask her where she was going,
but I'm glad she went
'Cause if she lost her hope in here,
maybe she'll find it out there
Yeah, I think it's great them being
out there together
They might get real serious
about each other
and before you know it,
I got me a new brother
And boy, I'd swap him for you any day
You won't have to swap him
'cause he ain't the marrying kind
- Not that faker
- I bet he is the marrying kind
- I bet he is
- All right, suppose he is
- What do you think a rainmaker makes?
- Rain
What's that?
- Hi, H C
- Hiya, File
- Hey, File
- Hi, Jim, Noah
Kind of late to be visiting, ain't it, File?
Ain't exactly visiting
- How's Lizzie?
- You come calling on Lizzie?
- No
- Then what can I do for you?
I tell you, we've been getting a lot of calls
from Peak's Junction, all along the state line
Seems they're looking for a fellow
He's kind of a con man,
name of Tornado Johnson
- She asleep?
- Who, Lizzie?
Yeah, I guess she is
- You get any wind of him?
- Who?
- Tornado Johnson
- No
Come here, I'll show you
Tornado Johnson
alias Bill Harley, alias Bill Smith
He's wanted in the State of Kansas
Drummed up a lot of excitement about
what he called
a spectacular eclipse of the sun
Peddled about a thousand pairs
of smoked eyeglasses to see it with
No eclipse
About a year ago,
he sold 600 wooden poles
said they were good against tornadoes
The town he sold them to
town got hit by every kind of a blow
you could imagine
Hailstorm, rainstorm, windstorm,
a hurricane
Moved the tornado poles right of the roof
Blew the town off the map
- Did it ever get hit by a tornado?
- No, it didn't
That's all he guaranteed
That it wouldn't get hit by a tornado
- and it didn't
- Yeah
Don't sound to me
like he done anything criminal, File
- Does sound like a con man, don't it?
- Maybe, if you say so
But I'm sorry, I can't help you
Whose drum is that there?
Mine
I'm figuring to be a drummer
- Who painted the arrow
- I did
- Any particular reason?
- No, just like to paint arrows
Whose wagon's there?
I'll have a look at that wagon, H C
Noah, where you going?
- Noah, what are you doing?
- Why'd you do that?
Why didn't you tell him,
"He's in the tack room with my daughter?"
- Because he's with my daughter
- All right
I didn't tell on you or lie
and I stood by you, but not anymore
I'm going out to the tack room
and bring her in
- And I'm gonna bring him in, too!
- No, wait!
Put that down
You want Lizzie out there with him?
He's a swindler and a crook,
and I don't know what else
I'll tell you what else, Noah He's a man
Pop's right
Getting married is getting married
You always say the smart thing
at a dumb time
I'm all for her getting married
I don't care who the fellow is
- Is that the way you think?
- You know it's not
- Then I'm going
- Stay here!
But it ain't right, Pop! It ain't right!
Noah, you're so full of what's right,
you can't see what's good
It's good for a girl to get married, sure
But maybe you were right
when you said she won't ever have that
She's got to have something
Lizzie has got to have something
Even if it's only one minute
with a man talking quiet
and his hand touching her face
And if you go out there
and put one little dark shadow
over the brightest time of Lizzie's life
I swear, I'll come out after you with a whip!
Now, you give me that gun
Did nobody ever kiss you before I did?
Yes, once I was about 13
There was a boy
with freckles and red hair
and I thought he was
the beginning of the world
but he never paid me any mind
One day, he was standing around
with a lot of other boys
and suddenly he shot over to me
and he kissed me hard
right on the mouth
And for a minute, I was so stirred up
But then he ran back to the other boys
and I heard him say,
"I'll kiss anything on a dare
"even your old man's pig "
So, I ran back home,
and I looked at myself in the mirror
and from that day on, I knew I was plain
Are you plain, Lizzie?
- No, I'm beautiful
- You are
And when I leave, don't you ever forget it
I'll try to remember everything
you ever said
You think I'll ever get what I'm after?
I don't really know what you are after
I'm after a clap of lightning
Why is it the things you want
are only there for the blinking of an eye?
Why don't nothing stay?
Some things stay forever
Like what?
You fall in love with somebody
Not me I don't expect it'll be me
just somebody
And you get married and have kids
And if you do, you'll live forever
Sure would like to live forever
Maybe you don't take the time
to know things
Always on the run Here, there, nowhere
Running away Keeping your own company
Maybe if you'd keep company
with the world
- I'd learn to love it?
- You might
If you saw it real
I ain't got the time
Then you ain't got
no world except the one you make up
in your head
So you've got to be satisfied with that
I got something to tell you
You were right
I'm a liar and a con man and a fake
I never made rain in my life
Not a single raindrop, nowhere
- Not anywhere at all
- I know
All my life,
wanting to make a miracle Nothing
- I'm just a great big blowhard
- No
No, you're all dreams
And it's no good to live in your dreams
It's no good to live outside of them
Somewhere between the two
Yes
I'd sure like to live forever
Lizzie, would you
Would you like me to stick around
for a while?
- Did I hear you right?
- Not for good, you understand
Just for a few days
- You're not fooling me, are you, Starbuck?
- No, I mean it
Would you stay? Would you?
- A few days, yes
- Oh, my goodness
I can't stand it I just can't stand it
You look up in the sky
and you long for a star
And you know you'll never get it
Then one night, you look down
and there it is, shining in your hands
I'm going in
- I'm gonna tell them you're staying
- I'll go with you
No I want to tell my father by myself
- I think I saw a wisp of a cloud
- You're seeing things
No, just the smallest wisp of a cloud
floating across the moon
- no bigger than a mare's tail
- You're talking like Starbuck
Yes, I am
- Where is he?
- In the tack room
Why don't you comb your hair?
I like it this way
I've got no more pins
- But I've got something else
- What, Lizzie?
Pop, I've got me a beau
Have you, honey?
Not an always-beau,
but a beau for meanwhile, until he goes
Pop, the world's turned clear around
Why don't you tell her, Pop?
Tell me what, Pop?
Tell me what?
You were right about that fellow
- He's a liar and a con man--
- There's nothing bad about him, he's good
He's good, and he's so alone
He's so terribly alone
- Lizzie, come here
- What?
Look
What's he here for?
What's he doing on that wagon?
- Pop
- He's getting evidence, Lizzie
- He's here to lock him up
- No
- Stay here, Lizzie
- He has no right to arrest him
- I'm afraid he has
- We've got to help him
Now, Lizzie, quit it
There's nothing we can do for him
- Not for him, for me
- For you, Lizzie?
I don't think he knows who you are
I think he just dreamed you up in his head
No
He sees me as real as you do
Do you believe that, Lizzie?
Do you think he sees you real?
Answer me
Yes, he does
All right, then you better help him get away
No, Lizzie, no
I'm not gonna let you do that
- Let me go
- Let her go, Noah
- You're awake
- Hello, File
- They told me you were asleep
- Did they?
- Excuse me
- Where you going?
- Nowhere
- Wait, what are you rushing off for?
I was just wondering
what you were doing on the wagon?
Where you going, Lizzie?
On the wagon
I don't want this family mixed up in trouble
- Now, tell me where that fellow is, please
- He left about an hour ago
- Where'd he go?
- Pedleyville
- How'd he go? The wagon's still here
- He took Jim's horse
That's it, he took my horse
What's going on here?
I ask you questions,
you tell me a pack of lies
And for what?
A stranger, a man
who don't mean anything to you
Or does he?
Maybe you better answer that question
Wait a minute They said you were asleep
and you weren't Why were they lying?
Where were you?
It's got nothing to do with you
It's got a lot to do with me Now, tell me
Starbuck! Go away!
- Run!
- Lizzie, stay here
Starbuck, run
What's going on?
Sheriff You're under arrest
If you hadn't have been singing,
you'd have heard me
I never regret singing
All right, get in the car
- Wait a minute Let him go
- What?
- Let him get away
- I can't do that, Lizzie
Here, look at that bulletin
We don't have to look at that
We've been looking at him
- It's all I got to go by
- You've got us to go by, File
We spent the evening with this fellow
We took a chance with him
You take a chance with us
Give up, folks
A sheriff's a sheriff,
and he can't see any further than his badge
Is that true, File?
Let him go Please
Ain't heard a word from you, Noah
Be a lot of people around here
who'd think I broke the law, right?
Nobody I know of
All right, get going Get out of here
- Well, I'm a son of a gun
- Go on
Lizzie, it's lonely as dying out there
Will you come with me?
- Starbuck
- I'm talking to you, Lizzie
- Come on
- Lizzie, don't go!
What?
What did you say?
I said, don't go
- What'll I do?
- Hurry up, Lizzie, please
What am I going to do?
Pop, what am I going to do?
Whatever you do,
remember you've been asked
You don't never have to go through life
a woman who ain't been asked
I'm sure asking, Lizzie Lizzie, listen
You're beautiful now
But you come with me
and you'll be so beautiful,
you'll light up the world
- Don't say that
- You'll never be Lizzie no more
You'll be Melisande
- Starbuck, you said the wrong thing
- Melisande?
What the devil does that mean?
Her name's Lizzie Curry
It's not good enough Not for her
- It's good enough for me
- Come on
No
I got to be Lizzie
Melisande is a name for one night
But Lizzie can do me my whole life long
Sorry about the rain, boys
But then, I didn't stay my full time
So here's your $100
Another day, maybe, in a dry season
So long, folks
Starbuck, wait!
Thank you, File
Thank you
You got your hair down
Yeah, she sure has changed
Jimmy, for Pete's sake,
stop beating that drum
I ain't beating no drum
It's lightning
Lightning!
- It's raining
- Yes, it is
Rain!
Rain! Yippee!
He said 24 hours!
Hey, it's Starbuck!
Rain, folks! Rain!
For the first time in my life, rain!
- Give me my $100
- Give him his $100, Noah!
- Thanks, Starbuck
- So long, beautiful!
Rain!