Killer Inside Me, The (2010) Movie Script
[Sultry R&B music]
# #
# You never know how much
I love you #
# Never know
how much I care #
# When you put
your arms around me #
# I get a feeling
that's so hard to bear #
# You give me fever #
# When you kiss me #
# Fever when you
hold me tight #
# Fever #
# In the morning #
# Fever all through the night #
# Listen to me, baby #
# Hear every word I say #
# No one can love you
the way I do #
# 'Cause they don't know
how to love you my way #
# You give me fever #
# When you kiss me #
# Fever when you
hold me tight #
# Fever #
# In the morning #
# And fever
all through the night #
name of Joyce Lakeland.
Lives about four or five miles
out on Derrick Road
past the old Branch place.
- Oh, I know the old
Branch place.
She a hustlin' lady, Bob?
Well, I guess so,
but she's-she's been
pretty decent about it.
She ain't taken on
no roustabouts
or nothin' like that.
In fact,
if these preachers around town
weren't rompin' down on me,
I wouldn't bother her at all.
Well, how shall I handle it?
Tell her to lay off
awhile or...
- Oh, I don't know.
I don't know.
Just go out and size her up
and make your own decision.
I know you'll be gentle,
as gentle and pleasant
as you can be.
So go on out there,
see how she looks to ya.
All right.
Thanks, Bob.
Mornin' Miss Parker.
- Oh, hello.
- Mornin', ma'am.
The trouble with growing up
in a small town
is everybody thinks
they know who you are.
I was born here 29 years ago.
And Central City
was small enough
that my father
was the only doctor in town.
Then the oil boom came,
and the town grew
to fit its name.
The sheriff's office handles
the policing
for both the city
and the county.
We do a pretty good job of it,
to our own way of thinkin'.
We're kind of old-fashioned.
Out here, you say,
"Yes, ma'am," and "No, ma'am,"
to anything with a skirt on.
Out here, if you catch a man
with his pants down,
you apologize,
even if you have to arrest him
afterwards.
Out here, you're a man
and a gentleman,
or you aren't anything at all.
And God help you
if you're not.
[Knocking]
Yes?
I'm sorry, ma'am, uh...
Come on in.
You go on back.
I just need to wash up.
What do you think
you're doing with that?
Sheriff's office, ma'am.
What are you doing with it?
I have a permit.
Are you satisfied, copper?
Well, I reckon it's all right.
And my name's Ford, ma'am,
not Copper.
Jesus.
The only decent-looking guy
I've seen in this stink hole
and he's a boy scout
with a badge.
How much?
I don't jazz cops.
That's not very polite, ma'am.
I just came out here
for a little talk.
- And I asked you
what you wanted.
- Well, I guess I want you
out of Central City by sundown.
And if I see you
here after that...
I'm gonna run you in
for prostitution.
You lousy son of a bitch.
Don't you call me that, ma'am.
You lousy son of a bitch!
You son of a bitch,
bastard, pimp!
Get off me!
Get off me!
Let go of me, you bastard!
Get off me!
You bastard son of a bitch!
[Crying]
I'm sorry.
- I'm sorry.
- No.
Don't say you're sorry.
# I'm a tip-top daddy #
# And I'm gonna have my way #
# Keep away from the corners #
# Hear what I got to say #
# Hold one hand only #
# Get ready for a ride #
- # Give me one hand loose
and I'll be satisfied #
I went back the next day
and the day after that.
I couldn't help it.
It was like a wind had been
turned on a dying fire.
# Give me free hand, woman #
# Let it swing by my side #
# Give me one hand loose
and I'll be satisfied #
# #
# Satisfied #
- Let's pull out of this
crummy old town together,
just you and me.
What, are you crazy?
Go on.
Let me hear you say it.
Oh, no.
Go on.
Tell me what a fine ol' family
y'all Fords is.
"We all Fords, ma'am.
"We wouldn't even think of
living with one of you
miserable ol' whores, ma'am."
Don't.
- You think
you're too good for me.
Don't start that.
You do.
I'll never give you up.
Never.
And if you think
you're too good for me now,
I'll make it so you won't be.
- Oh, baby, you got your bowels
in an uproar all over nothin'.
I was just thinkin'
about the money.
I can get money.
Oh, yeah?
- He's crazy about me,
and he's dumb as hell.
I'm sorry?
Who's crazy about you
and dumb as hell?
Elmer Conway.
You know who he is, don't ya?
- I knew Elmer Conway
well enough.
We'd been in the same class
together at school.
Aw, he wasn't a bad man.
He'd just been spoiled.
Spoiled by his father,
Chester Conway.
Chester had built
half of Central City,
and he acted like
he owned the town,
and nobody had the guts
to tell him any different.
Joyce was a fool to think
she could put one over
on old man Conway.
But her plan started me
thinking about
how I could settle
some old scores of my own.
You want a refill, hon?
No, I've got to go.
All right.
So you're a deputy sheriff?
You don't even carry a gun.
No, I don't.
- What if some crook
should try to shoot ya?
Well, I'll tell you a secret.
We don't have too many crooks
in Central City.
That's good to know.
I started needling people.
I couldn't help it.
I guess it was a substitute
for somethin' else.
Thank you, Max.
- You don't have to pay.
I want to thank you for what
you've done for my Johnnie.
No one else would've done
what you did.
Thank you very much, Max.
I appreciate that.
It's made a big difference.
- You know, I figure that you
don't get any more out of life
than what you put into it.
You're right there, Lou.
- Yeah.
Well, I'm gonna push off.
I got a whole lot of
gettin' around to do,
and I don't want to rush.
Haste makes waste.
- Evenin'.
- Evenin'.
Hey, how 'bout it, bud?
How 'bout it?
Look, I've been on a hell
of a binge,
and, by God, if I don't get some
food in me pretty soon,
I'm just gonna keel over here,
you know?
- Is that right?
- Yeah.
- Need somethin'
to warm you up, huh?
Oh, anything.
Just anything at all.
Yeah.
Ah!
Jesus, bud!
Ouch. Cigar.
- What the hell are you
tryin' to do with that, huh?
See that?
That's a real-life
sheriff's badge.
- Sure.
- Beat it.
Sure, bud.
Sure, sure, I'm goin'.
I'm goin'.
You better watch it
with that stuff, bud.
You think so?
You just better watch it.
[Knocks on door]
Hello, Lou.
- Joe.
- Welcome.
Come on in.
Sorry to ask you
to come around so late.
Figure it's better
to be discreet,
you being a public official
and all.
Have a seat.
It is hot out there, huh?
What can I do for you?
Well, look, Lou,
there's something I want
to talk to you about,
and I know that it's something
that you're very sensitive
about, so...
How did you feel
about Mike Dean?
- Well, I don't know
what you mean.
He was my brother.
- Right, he was your
foster brother, right?
Your father adopted him.
- Well, Dad and the Deans
were old friends,
and when Mike's parents
passed on
in that big flu epidemic
we had a while ago,
Dad adopted him.
See, my mother died
when I was a baby and...
Dad thought that Mike would be
good company for me.
- You were the only son
and heir,
and your father
brings in another son.
Didn't that rub you
a little the wrong way?
- Well, I was only six years old
and Mike was eight,
so I don't-
So you liked Mike, then?
- Oh, I couldn't have loved
a real brother any more.
Even after he did what he did?
Just what would that be?
Come on.
The girl identified him.
That girl was five years old.
She would've identified anybody
they put in front of her.
- So you didn't feel
the slightest bit embarrassed
when he came back
to Central City?
Not at all.
I wanted him back;
so did Dad.
Dad pulled a lot of strings
to get him that job.
- You know, Lou, I mean,
that all squares.
So now let me tell you
what I know about Mike's death,
all right?
Now, he was killed
six years ago.
He was working on a girder
on a Conway Construction job.
Apparently he slipped
on a rivet.
So when he fell...
he threw himself backwards...
so he'd land inside the building
and onto the decking.
But the floors, they hadn't been
decked in properly.
So he fell...
all the way to the basement.
So what about it?
- Well, listen, I will tell you
what about it, Lou.
Conway, Chester Conway,
he didn't install the decking.
Oh, now, Joe.
You just haven't thought
this deal through properly.
See, I know you were
getting along all right
with Chester Conway,
and then he got a notion
to go non-union,
and, well,
that upset you, didn't it?
I understand that.
That's only natural.
But if you thought
that there had been a murder,
now Joe, you would've said
somethin' six years ago.
Am I right?
- Well listen, I am sorry
I troubled you for nothing, Lou.
I mean, I certainly enjoyed
our talk.
May I make a suggestion, Lou?
Certainly.
- Save the bullshit
for the birds.
All right?
Good night, Joe.
Lou.
[Groans]
Lou?
What're you doing?
[Playing somber opera music]
# #
Lou.
Amy, what're you doin' here?
Waitin' for you, upstairs.
- Somebody might've seen ya.
- No one did.
I snuck out after
my folks went to sleep.
Aren't ya glad?
Well, I wasn't expectin' you.
Well, my, such enthusiasm.
I'm sorry.
I shed my clothes for you
and my decency and...
you just say you're sorry.
Will I see you Sunday
for dinner?
Well, I can't, babe.
I told a fella
I'd do a favor for him.
I can't get out of it.
Shouldn't be too late.
Why don't you come on by
around 10:00 and wait for me.
We're gonna have a talk,
talk about why you've acted
the way you have
these past few weeks.
Understand?
Yes, Miss Stanton.
So now, sleep well.
Bye.
[Old-time music]
- # Walk five miles,
lose a hundred bucks #
# When I pardon #
# they call him luck #
# They say "Take it away,
Lucky"#
# The luckiest man in town #
# #
# Get hit by a truck
and get a busted head #
# Everybody says, "Lucky,
he ain't dead"#
# Lucky the luckiest man
in town #
I loved Joyce,
and there were times
when her voice
seemed to whisper to me,
"Forget it, Lou.
It's not too late
if you stop now."
But then I'd remember
Chester Conway,
and I knew I had to go through
with the plan.
Come on in.
Close the door behind ya.
Have a seat.
Well...
You got things all
fixed up for tonight, have ya?
Gonna wind this thing up
so it'll stay wound?
- Well, I'm not gonna
do anything.
I mean, I've done
all I'm gonna do, so-
- I don't think we better
leave it that way, Lou.
If that damn crazy Elmer
sees her again,
there's no tellin'
what'll happen.
I want you
to take the money yourself.
$10,000 in small bills.
Oh, I won't do that.
- Now, you take it,
and you pay her off,
and you bust her around
a little bit,
and you run her
out of the county.
Mr. Conway.
That's the way you do it.
You pay her, you bust her,
and you run her out.
Did you say somethin'?
- Now, look here,
Miss Lakeland insisted
that Elmer bring that money out
all by himself.
Now, those are her terms,
and l-
- I don't see what
she's got to do with it.
Well, what you don't see
is that you have
a whole lot of gall.
What'd you say?
- Well, how do you think
it would look
if it got around
that an officer of the law
had made a blackmail payoff?
Now, Elmer came to me
with his trouble,
and I came to you,
and you asked me to see
what I could do
about gettin' this done
quietly,
and I've done all
that I can think to do,
and I don't see how you can
ask me to do one thing more.
Maybe you're right, boy.
But you will see that she leaves
after she gets that money.
- If she isn't gone
after an hour,
I'll move her on myself.
- Well, I'm gonna send Elmer
over to your place
as soon as I can locate him.
And you make sure
he's got everything straight.
Understand?
- What if the old man
never cools off, hmm?
- Well, hold on, you told me
you were sure
he was gonna come around.
If that isn't the case,
I better tell Miss Lakeland.
No. Don't you do that, Lou.
Why don't you do this?
Why don't you buy a business?
Then you and Joyce
can run it together,
and when it gets goin' good,
then you get in touch
with your old man and...
he'll see you made
a darned smart move.
[Chuckles]
Yeah, I don't know about that.
- Well I'm not gonna
twist your arm.
I already stuck my neck out
about a mile and a half
to give you all a fresh start.
I know you did, but why?
Why?
Why'd you do all this
for me and her, Lou?
- I might've thought that you'd
do something for me.
Oh.
Well, hey, I can give you
a little out of that $10,000,
I guess.
Oh, don't bother.
If you don't have any money
of your own,
I don't want to take
your old man's.
I got plenty of my own money.
Come on.
Oh, hell, here.
- You sure?
- Mm-hmm.
- I appreciate it.
Thank you, Elmer.
I appreciate it.
So you're gonna be there
tonight, right?
- 10:00.
- 10:00.
- Hey, have you heard
this stuff?
Black.
[Plays jazzy tune]
# #
Yellow.
[Playing Asian-themed riff]
And red.
[Ululating]
[Laughs]
Ooh, that's good.
# Well #
# I woke up this mornin' #
# And I saw my honey
layin' there #
# I said Honey #
# Go in the kitchen
and make me some eggs #
[air hissing]
[Knocks on door]
- Lou.
- Hi, darlin'.
Hi.
What are you doin' here?
- Chester wanted me to come by
and hold Elmer's hand.
[Laughs]
Well, he won't be here
for another hour, so...
[panting]
- You will join me in two weeks,
won't you, Lou?
Won't you?
- Well,
that's my understanding.
You promise?
Lou, do you suppose Elmer will,
you know,
make any trouble?
I don't see how he can.
What's he gonna do,
squawk to his dad?
I'll just tell him
you changed your mind.
I don't know, it just-
It all seems
so complicated.
Well...
I'll tell ya, honey,
it is kind of complicated.
You remember my stepbrother,
the one who died?
Mm-hmm.
Well, Chester Conway...
organized it
for him to be killed.
That's terrible, Lou.
Yeah.
- You can't do anything
to Elmer.
You mustn't, honey.
Please?
I won't let you.
They won't catch me, baby.
They won't even suspect me
for it, really.
They'll just think
he got tanked,
like he usually is,
and then you two
got to fighting,
and you both got killed.
- Well, that doesn't
make any sense.
How am I supposed to be dead?
Don't.
I have to travel.
- Baby, you aren't
goin' anywhere.
Understand?
Lou.
Lou.
Hold on.
It's almost over.
Why?
Why?
I'm sorry, baby.
I'm sorry.
I love you.
Hold on.
I love you.
Hey.
Hey.
Do you hear me?
Honey, can you hear me?
I'm sorry.
I'm real sorry.
I love you.
Good-bye.
You're gonna be all right.
All right.
Hey, Lou, ol' boy.
You got here before me, huh?
You bring the money?
What's it look like?
Where's Joyce?
Oh, she's in the bedroom.
Why don't you go on back?
Bet she's all stretched out
and waitin' for ya.
- Oh, now you shouldn't
talk like that.
You know I'm about
to be married.
[Chuckles]
Oh!
Honey!
Honey!
Oh, God.
Who did it, Lou?
It was suicide.
That doesn't make any sense.
Oh, sure it does.
You're just too stupid
to see it.
[Gunshots]
I'm real sorry, sweetheart.
But I feel anguish,
and I'm sorry.
I know you were scared.
You seemed awful surprised,
and I'm sorry.
Oh, shoot.
God damn it, Lou.
Oh.
- You tryin' to get killed
for Christ's sakes?
Well, I'm real sorry, sir.
I had to pull in there
with a flat tire,
and then I didn't see you
when l-
Come on, let's go.
We don't have time
to stand around gabbin'.
Well, it's still pretty early.
The hell it is.
It's quarter past 11:00,
and Elmer ain't home yet.
He said he was gonna come back
right away,
and he ain't done it.
Come on, you follow me.
Yeah, but don't tell me
that again.
I know how bad it is.
He's dead,
and that is that.
What I'm interested in now
is her.
Well, do it.
Get on out here
as quick as you can.
I don't want to see her die,
not this way.
I want to see her burn.
Just get that ambulance
out here now.
So, Lou, that's, uh...
That's it?
That's all you got to say?
Well, I told it five times.
I guess the only thing
I left out of it all...
I feel awful sorry.
- Well it's a bit late
for that.
- Tried to handle this
blackmail deal all by myself.
You know, I sure wish
I'd come to you, Bob, with it.
- It's okay, Lou.
- I really do.
I would have, had it been
anybody other than Chester
asking for help.
You know that.
- It's all right.
Don't fret yourself about that.
- Well, I appreciate
your understanding.
Well, get some sleep, partner.
Good night.
Good night, boss.
[Horn honks]
Here's your food.
Thank you, Max.
- Hey, Lou,
I need to ask you something.
It's about Johnnie.
He's taken a job
at Slim Murphy's and, uh...
Well, I hear bad things
about Slim Murphy.
So I was wondering-
- Would you like me
to check up on him?
Yeah, could you?
I'd be happy to.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
- I was glad to do Max
a good turn.
I knew Amy'd be waiting for me,
and I knew
she'd be mad as hell.
Fathers are funny.
They got ideas of their own.
And the good ones
get in your hair the most.
- Dad thinks he knows best
about everything.
- Slim Murphy hasn't got
a very good reputation.
Now, nobody's proved
that he's been mixed up
in any of these car stripping
jobs, but if I were you-
Yeah, I know, I know.
I won't get in any trouble, Lou.
That sounds like a promise.
I know you won't break
a promise.
- Where have you been?
- I'm sorry, baby.
- Where have you been?
- I'm sorry.
I had a whole lot
of trouble tonight.
I'll bet.
- Well, you want to hear about
it or don't ya?
- I've heard so many
of your lies and excuses,
I may as well hear one more.
All right.
Well, it started about
three months ago.
Bob asked me to check up
on a prostitute.
Yes?
[Cheerful fiddle music]
# #
How could you be so stupid?
Why did you do that?
- Well, I was doing a favor
for Chester Conway.
He wanted me to help Elmer
get out of a fix.
- Why are you always have to do
people favors?
You never do any for me.
- All right, I shouldn't have
done it.
- You shouldn't have let
that woman in this town
in the first place.
- No, I shouldn't have.
- Mm-mm.
I don't understand.
Hey.
Lou.
Stop that.
Lou, stop that.
What's the matter, huh?
- All this trouble's
just thrown me for a loop.
Forget everything but me.
I want to.
Let me pet you.
You son of a bitch!
Hey, what-
You dirty, filthy bastard!
You're dirty.
I can tell,
I can smell it on you.
I can smell
you've been screwing her.
What are you saying?
You screwed her.
You've been doing it all along.
Come here.
You don't touch me!
- Amy, listen.
- No.
Lou, stop it.
- Amy, look at me.
Look at me.
It's Lou, honey.
The same Lou you've known
all your life.
Come on, open up.
Are you crazy?
Why would I do that?
You did do it.
I know you did.
Amy, why?
Stop.
- Why would I run the risk
of losing a girl like you
by running around
with some chippy?
Oh.
No use arguing about it.
Just thank my lucky stars
I didn't catch
some terrible disease.
Hey.
Damn it, hey, come here.
Come here.
Now, you can say what you want
about me,
but don't say that the girl
I'm gonna marry
is sleeping with a guy who would
run around with whores.
You don't want to marry me.
Yes, I do.
I just didn't
want to be told when.
I wanted to propose myself...
which is what I'm doing
right now.
[Telephone ringing]
Yeah, hello?
Hey, Lou, it's Bob.
Bob, what's on your mind?
[Horn honks]
Hiya, Lou.
Sorry to bother you.
I hope we didn't
interrupt anything.
You had a date for last night?
That's right.
For what time?
- Well, supposed to be
a little after 10:00,
the time I figured
I'd be finished
with the Conway business.
Who's the girl?
Well, damn it.
Now, that I don't think
is any of your business.
- Howard, you know, you're kind
of a newcomer out this way,
but you ought to know better
than to ask a man
a question like that.
It's my job.
If Ford had himself a date
last night, then, uh...
Well, you know what I mean,
Ford.
Well, no offense, Howard,
but I figured you did
all the jawing you had to do
when I talked
to you a couple hours ago.
You're wrong, brother.
Okay, easy, Howard.
For cryin' out loud.
I know the girl.
I know her folks.
She's one of the nicest
little ladies in town.
I ain't got the slightest doubt
that Lou had a date with her.
- The more
I'm around you people,
the less I understand you.
Come on.
Let's go.
Don't be shy.
Come on.
See that track there, Ford?
You know what caused that?
I reckon so.
A flat tire.
So you admit that.
That's the sort of track
you'd get from a flat tire.
What's this all about, Bob?
You know, I really don't know,
but this is Howard's show,
so you might as well
just answer him.
Well, I already said it once.
You get that track
from a flat tire, yes, sir.
- Come see the track
your tire made.
Here we are.
The tire that made this track
wasn't flat.
- Well, I never said
I had a flat tire
when I pulled off the highway.
- Now, wait a minute.
- No, I had a puncture, sure.
Felt the car sway a little,
but I pulled off the lane
before the tire
could really go down.
I hope you boys didn't chew up a
perfectly good tire for nothin'.
Doggone it, Howard,
if this ain't
the strangest damn deal.
- Getting away
with a stupid mistake
can be a blessing twice over.
When a man's rope
slides off you once,
he's mighty cautious
about making a second throw.
Feeling twitchy, Lou?
Oh, it's just-
just a passing hunger.
- Yeah, I wouldn't mind
grabbing a bite myself.
- Joyce was bound to die
if she wasn't dead already.
As soon as things quieted down,
I'd quit my job.
I'd sell the house.
I'd leave Central City
once and for all.
Ooh, those look good.
She still unconscious?
Yeah.
Thank you.
And anything else for you?
No, I'm good, thank you.
Enjoy your food.
- Conway wants to fly her
to Fort Worth.
Says she can't get the right
kind of medical attention here.
- Yeah, well,
maybe I'll go myself.
What do you think, Lou?
Want to take a little flight
into Fort Worth?
- I've never been
on an airplane.
Wait a minute.
She hasn't even been booked yet,
let alone arraigned.
Well, Conway wasn't asking you
if he could take her
to Fort Worth.
He was telling ya.
Did he say what time?
- Oh, well, that'll give Lou
and me time
to scrub up a little
and pack a bag.
Right, Lou?
Yeah.
- What's the matter
with those eggs, boy?
Better eat 'em
before they get cold.
Don't.
I have to travel.
- Baby, you aren't
goin' anywhere.
I want to see her burn.
[Bob laughs]
First time on a plane,
and you waste the whole
damn trip sleepin'.
Take it easy.
Sheriff.
- Yes, sir?
You go with the ambulance.
Lou, come on.
You ride in the car with me.
All right.
You didn't like that, did ya?
The way I spoke
to ol' Bob Maples.
But I have a reputation,
and I'm not about to
let anybody's tender feelings
get in my way.
If she pulls through
this operation,
she's gonna be able
to talk tonight.
I want you to be there
when she comes out
of that anesthetic.
What about Bob?
- Bob Maples is too old
to be on his toes.
You can use my hotel suite.
You just come over
when I give you a call.
Let's go to the hospital.
- Conway thought
he was a big shot.
But his son
had just been killed
by a whore
he'd fallen in love with,
and he'd never be able
to live it down,
not if he lived to be 100,
and I damned well
hoped he would.
It was the first time
I'd been out of West Texas,
and I wanted to see the sights.
Instead, I had to stay
cooped up in the hotel.
It was almost like
there was a plot against me.
I had done something wrong
when I was a kid,
and I'd had my nose rubbed
in it day after day
until like an overtrained dog,
I started crapping
out of pure fright.
Hey there, Lou.
Hey, Bob.
Quite a palace.
- You know, Bob, I want you
to know that I'm awful sorry
about what happened out there
at the airport.
I didn't like it one bit,
and I-I told Conway that too.
Did you have some kind
of trouble out at the hospital?
She's dead, Lou.
She never came out of the ether.
Well, that's that.
Mm-hmm.
Hey, Lou.
Where are ya, buddy?
Lou.
What you doin'?
What you doin' sitting here?
Oh, I'm just having a smoke.
[Chuckles]
Well, you can smoke out here.
Come on.
Free booze.
I know what you are, Lou.
I know what you are.
[Chuckles]
I know.
I know you
backwards and forwards.
I knowed you since you was
knee-high to a grasshopper,
and you ain't
never done anything wrong.
Maybe I'm behind the times.
Maybe...
Maybe I'm too old for this game.
- Why don't you lay down
awhile, Bob?
- Ain't gonna skip out on me,
are ya?
Just pull up,
have yourself a drink
on Mr. Conway,
and enjoy it.
[Twangy blues guitar riff]
# #
- # I heard a Ionely coyote
a- howlin' for its mate #
# I took the blues
and packed my shoes #
# and left
the Lone Star State #
# I thought
if I should ride away #
# I would lose the blues #
# But I found out
that Texan soil #
# Was sticking to
my shoes #
# I'm headin' back #
# I've got the Texas blues #
# #
- When's the next train
for Central City?
- Well, sir, we've got one
leavin' tonight at 7:00.
Well, that'd be all right.
- All right.
- Two passengers.
Thank you, ma'am.
Bob.
Whoa.
You're gonna spill your drink.
Oh.
Boy, I'm as frazzled
as a cow's hide
under a branding iron.
- Oh, why you always do that
sly grin, spilled-milk stuff?
Well, I bet I know somethin'
you never thought of.
What's that?
It's always lightest...
just before the dark.
You got it wrong, Bob.
No, Lou, you got it wrong.
It's always lightest
before the dark.
[Humming]
[Doorbell rings]
You mind if I come in, Lou?
Not at all, Mr. Rothman.
All right.
This is very nice.
It's very nice.
Want some coffee?
No, thank you.
Would you like an egg?
Oh, no, thank you.
So very discreet newspaper
stories are correct
in their hints?
That Elmer tried to dish it out
and had it thrown back at him?
- Well, it looks that way,
doesn't it?
- I can't help but wondering how
a girl with her face caved in
and her neck broke
can land four bull's-eyes
on a guy,
I mean, even one
as large as Elmer Conway.
Well, she was shooting him
while he was punching her.
- Well,
from what I hear, she-
she was still alive
after he died,
and any one or, well, two
of the bullets
that she put into him
were enough to lay him low.
You know?
The genuine article, Lou.
No substitutes accepted.
- I don't know where you get off
in questioning me.
- Well, I know you had it in
for Conway,
and perhaps I share
some of that responsibility
for setting you against him.
I just don't want anything
to come out
that might put the union
in a bad light.
- Oh, my, well,
it hadn't occurred to me,
but now that you say it...
sure looks bad.
- Incidentally, what's the score
as of today?
A one or a two?
She's dead.
- Well, they can't
prove anything.
But then again,
if they knew what I know
about you having a motive.
A motive...
for killing Joyce Lakeland?
Why would I want to do that?
- Say she's just
a piece of stage setting.
- I can't tell you
what happened,
'cause I wasn't there.
But I know that
there are flukes in murders
just as there are
in anything else.
A woman gets her brains
blown out
and she crawls five miles.
Some fella gets hanged
and poisoned and chopped up,
and he goes right on living.
I don't know
why those things happen.
But I know they do,
and so do you.
Yeah, I guess so, Lou.
I guess so.
You know, as screwy
as things are...
you just don't fit the bill
as a killer.
Oh.
Well, what do I say to that?
- What were you trying
to pull off?
- The money was supposed
to be a payoff.
Conway was paying Joyce
to leave Elmer alone.
- So Elmer was trying
to leave with the whore.
That's right.
- Almost wish I thought
of it myself, Lou.
- Just a matter of
a will finding a way.
Better watch that stuff, Lou.
You save that for the birds,
huh?
[Sweeping orchestral music]
# #
Do you want to box?
Now you're a real boxer.
You look like a man.
Oh!
Hit harder.
Ow.
You want to be a big boy?
Look what your daddy did.
Do you want to do it too?
It's okay.
I like it when you hurt me.
[Impassioned opera music]
# #
[telephone ringing]
Lou Ford speaking.
Howard, Lou.
Got some news
on the Conway murder.
Yeah?
We got him.
What?
We got him, Lou.
Think you know him.
Who?
Johnnie Pappas.
Johnnie Pappas?
Yup.
Come on down to the courthouse.
He's been asking for you.
Sweet talk him, Lou.
Well, who am I to be telling you
what to do, huh?
- Well, you haven't told me
anything yet.
Not anything
that makes any sense.
Now, I know Johnnie's been
bucking the saddle a little bit,
but I don't see him
as a murderer.
- Elmer Conway took 10,000 bucks
around to that chippy's house.
When we counted it up,
$500 was missing.
Yeah?
- The bills were all marked,
see?
The old man had already
tipped off the local banks.
If she tried to hang around town
after the payoff,
he was gonna squeeze her
for blackmail.
That Conway,
they don't put many past him.
- Well, seems like they put
a few past me.
- Oh, come on Lou, you got
no reason to feel like that.
All right, let it go.
So Johnnie spent some
of the money, then?
$20.
Broke it at
the drugstore last night.
Traced it back to him
a couple hours ago.
Now, he could've
taken that $20 in
and paid himself with it.
But he couldn't admit to it.
And here's the kick.
From about 9:00 Sunday night
until 11:00,
his time
can't be accounted for.
We can't account for it,
and he just won't.
I know how you feel, Lou.
He's just a kid,
and you know him.
But you got to think about how
that poor woman must've felt
when he was beating her face in.
You saw what
her face looked like.
Stewed meat.
Hamburger.
Oh, for Christ's sake.
- Hey, I'm sorry, Lou,
but that's the truth of it.
All right.
Sweet talk him, Lou.
I know this one.
- Hey, Ford,
get me out of here!
He's in the back.
Want me to wait?
No, I'll be all right.
Thank you.
Hey, Lou.
How ya doin', Johnnie?
Oh, I knew you'd come.
I sent for you.
- Everything's gonna be
all right.
Sure.
You got a cigarette, Lou?
Those bastards
took all my cigarettes.
- Ah, they're just
doing their duty, kid.
Have a cigar.
I'll have one with ya.
- I don't know
how you can stand it in here.
Sure driving me crazy.
Well, it'd drive anyone crazy.
I think that's the idea.
How soon can I leave?
It won't be long now.
Say, you didn't
tell those fellas
about that $20 bill
I gave you, did you?
No.
What do you think I am, anyway?
Gosh, I know you don't
make a lot of money.
You know, if someone
should slip you a little tip,
I'm not gonna say anything.
I don't take bribes, Johnnie.
- Well, who said anything
about bribes?
- You just said something
about a bribe.
- Well, I just wasn't gonna
let 'em hit ya cold with it
until you figured out
or remembered
where you found it.
I wish you hadn't done that.
You understand?
You understand that was
the wrong thing to do.
I don't care about those guys.
You're my friend.
- I've got a foot on both sides
of the fence.
They were put there early,
and they stayed put.
I can't move.
I can't jump.
All I can do is wait
until I split
right down the middle.
You get it?
Yeah.
I killed them.
I killed both of them.
- Bet you had
a real good reason, Lou.
There's a reason.
I bet they had it comin'.
No.
Nobody has it comin' to them.
That's why nobody
can see it comin'.
Hi.
Give ya any trouble, Lou?
Not at all.
Hi, honey.
I'm sorry.
It's all right.
Where have you been?
[Moaning]
[Telephone ringing]
Yeah, hello?
Lou.
Hendricks.
- What is it, Howard?
It's late.
Johnnie Pappas.
You really put the fear of God
into the boy.
Sign a confession, did he?
Well, more than that, Lou.
He hanged himself.
Thank you for calling, Howard.
I appreciate it.
What was that all about?
Hmm?
Johnnie Pappas hanged himself.
Oh, no, Lou.
Baby, I'm so sorry.
- After Johnnie's death,
somethin' changed.
It wasn't anything
I could put my finger on,
but I got the feeling
that people were looking at me
in a different way.
Bob Maples kept on drinkin',
and he seemed to age
about ten years.
And nobody
talked about Johnnie.
But that didn't stop me
from thinking about him,
and I realized
a week had gone by,
and I hadn't paid my respects
to Max Pappas.
- And here's a look
at the weather picture.
It's gonna be the same.
Clear today,
turning cooler this afternoon.
Clear and colder tonight
and tomorrow.
- I'm sorry, Officer Ford,
we're not open for business.
Well, that's all right.
That's all right, Max.
I just wanted to-
I just wanted to come by,
and I've been meaning to come by
since that night,
and I wanted to just
tell you how sorry I am
and had there been anything
I could've done,
I would've done it.
You know that.
I'm sorry
that you're closing down.
I'm not closing.
Why should I close?
Just remodeling it.
Adding some new booths,
a new floor.
Just like Johnnie
would've liked it.
Well, that's right.
Hurry up, Reggie.
- But remember the Flick
rear window sticker
can be the only contest sticker
of its kind on your car.
[Laughs]
- Did I do this?
- Mm-hmm.
# If #
# You wait for me #
# Until #
# I come back home #
# From far #
# Across the sea #
# I'll sing you my #
# Korean love song #
# I know #
# You're Ionely too #
# The days #
# And nights are long #
# But hear #
# My love for you #
# In my #
# Korean love song #
Mind if I join ya?
Thanks.
I knew you wouldn't.
So you're visiting
the scene of the crime.
That's what they call it,
isn't it?
What do you want?
- I saw you headin' out
this way,
and I wanted to have
a little talk.
How many times you come here,
Lou?
How many times you lay her?
- I'm not so hard up for it
that I have to lay whores.
Sure.
Tail like that,
man can live without, I suppose.
But what could be substitute
for bullshit?
Where would we be without it?
Well...
I wouldn't be listening
to you now.
Okay, let's cut the bullshit.
Now, we both know
that Conway's looking
to pin Elmer's murder
on someone,
and I'm just trying to make sure
that he doesn't pin it on me.
Why would he do that?
Well, Conway hates the union
almost as much as I hate him.
Johnnie Pappas killed Elmer.
That's why he hanged himself.
- You been talking
to Max Pappas?
I was.
- Now, where do you suppose
he got the money
for that kind of remodeling?
- Not my place to consider it.
- No.
Chester Conway's jobbing
all the material.
He's paying off all the men.
I mean, no one's seen
a nickel coming from Pappas.
I mean, doesn't that strike you
as rather odd
that he'd be doing a job
for a man
whose son killed his boy?
- Conway takes all
the turnkey stuff he can get.
Cuts half a dozen profits
instead of one.
Well, I suppose so.
So you been out
to Johnnie's grave?
- No, I'm ashamed to say
I haven't done that yet.
Yeah, I bet.
You know,
he's buried on sacred ground.
You know what that means, Lou?
- I reckon the church
didn't call it a suicide.
Have any answer, Lou?
Do we have an answer?
- Well, he was so awful young,
I figure they cut him a break.
Yeah, maybe.
Maybe, maybe, maybe.
You know,
there's just one more thing.
It's the big thing.
Now, on the Sunday night
that Elmer
and the late occupant
of this cottage got it,
one of my carpenters went to
the picture show at the Palace.
Parked his car around back
at around 9:30.
When he came back,
all four of his tires were gone.
Well, that's funny.
I didn't hear anything about it.
- It'd been funny if you had,
Lou, 'cause he didn't report it.
But he did mention it
to one of the boys
at the Tuesday joiners' meeting,
and one of them, it turned out
bought two of the tires
from Johnnie Pappas.
You feelin' the chill, Lou?
Jeez, I guess I don't get you.
The birds, Lou.
Remember?
Starving sparrows.
- If Johnnie Pappas had an alibi
for the night of the murders,
then he would've told me,
and he wouldn't
have hanged himself.
He trusted you.
He liked you.
You were his friend.
I was his friend.
Okay.
That's fine.
That's fine, Lou.
But you think you're so clever,
don't ya?
But Conway, he ain't no fool.
So if I were you,
I wouldn't hang around.
- You know, I thought about
leaving town.
Yeah?
Sounds like a good idea, Lou.
That's a good idea.
[Door slams]
What?
What?
[Laughs]
Lou, why don't we-
- Amy, why-
- Bread 'n butter.
- Bread 'n butter.
Bad luck stay away
from my darlin'.
You do want to still, right?
Honest and truly?
- Didn't I just
start to ask you?
How?
When?
I mean, what were you-
- Well, I was thinking
in a couple weeks-
I was thinking the same.
Darlin', I was just
gonna say that.
What?
Well, I was gonna-
What were you thinking?
- I was thinking
that we should elope.
You want to elope?
[Playing slow piano music]
# #
[doorbell rings]
This Doc Ford's place?
Well, I'm sorry, stranger,
the doctor
doesn't practice anymore.
Oh, that's okay, bud.
It's just a little burn.
Doesn't make any difference.
Yeah, a cigar burn.
See, you and me, we got some
talkin' to do and, uh...
I'm thirsty.
You got any whisky around?
No, but I got a phone.
The jail's
about six blocks away.
- Well, why don't you go
right ahead with that, bud?
Go right ahead.
But it'll cost ya.
And it won't be just the price
of one burned hand.
All right, let's have it.
- I did a year stretch
at the Houston pea farm,
and I seen
a couple of guys like you.
Is that right?
- So I figured it might pay
to watch you a little.
I followed you that night,
and I heard some of that talk
you was havin'
with that labor fella.
- Well, I reckon that meant
a whole lot to ya, did it?
No, no, no, no,
it hardly meant anything to me
at all.
Matter of fact,
it didn't mean much to me
a couple of nights later
when you come up to that
little shack I was camping in,
and then you cut cross prairie
to that little yellow house.
Did you say
you had some whisky, bud?
Yeah, you see,
I caught up on the news.
And then them things
that you done and you said,
well, they suddenly
meant plenty.
[Sighs]
I don't have much money.
Yeah.
Well, you got this place.
Must be worth
a tidy little sum too.
Maybe I could get a loan.
- How long do you think
it would take to get this loan?
Two weeks.
$5,000.
$5,000 in two weeks.
and we'll call that a deal.
And don't worry, I ain't a hog
about money or nothin'.
I get the $5,000,
that's the last
we'll ever see of each other.
Well...
all right.
- Oh, and don't you go
gettin' no notions
about running out on me.
Do you think I'm crazy?
- You ask
an unpleasant question, bud,
you might get
an unpleasant answer.
- I went to work every
working day of those two weeks.
Morning, Jeff.
Howdy, Lou.
- Chester Conway came
to talk to Hendricks,
and I made it my job
to see him.
Mr. Conway.
Lou.
- I'd like to talk to you
for a second.
Mm-hmm.
What about?
- I should've gone out
with Elmer just like you said.
And if cussin' me out
will make you feel any better
or if you want my job,
Lord knows
you can have it.
I sure won't hold a grudge.
Elmer trusted you.
I trusted you.
Appreciate that.
Hey, Lou.
I think you're gonna
like this one.
Amy came to see me every day.
She always brought some cake
or pie or somethin'.
And she had to take it
kind of easy when she sat down.
We'd sit outside
and have a drink,
and I'd think how much
she looked like her.
And afterwards,
she'd lie in my arms,
and I could almost fool myself
into thinking it was her.
But it wasn't her.
And for that matter,
it wouldn't have made
any difference if it had been.
I'd just be right back
where I started.
I took her everywhere
she wanted to go,
did everything
she wanted to do.
It wasn't any trouble.
She didn't want to go much
or do much.
For the first time
in I don't remember when,
my mind was really free.
I knew I had to kill Amy.
I could put the reason
into words.
But every time
I thought about it,
I had to stop
and think why again.
I'd be doing somethin',
reading a book or somethin',
and all of a sudden,
it would come over me
that I was gonna kill her,
and the idea seemed so crazy
that I'd almost laugh out loud.
Then I'd start thinking,
and I'd see it,
see that it had to be done.
Bob, Amy and me got somethin'
mighty important to do tonight,
and I'm gonna be out
Monday and Tuesday.
Oh, well, now.
Well, now,
you don't think maybe you-
Oh, hey, hey, hey.
That's good news, Lou.
That's real good news.
I know you're gonna be
happy together.
I feel pretty lucky.
Feel like my life's
a picture show.
- They don't come any better
than little Amy.
Yes, sir.
Gonna be good.
# Gave my heart as a token #
# When returned it was broken #
- # Shame, shame on me-
you #
# Hide your face #
[laughs]
# Shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Gave my heart as a token #
# When returned it was broken #
# Hide your face #
# Shame on you #
Lou.
Honey?
Darlin'?
Well, you're not even ready yet.
Here you are
on our day of elopement-
Don't say anything, Amy.
Don't say anything.
Don't say-
- All I want to say is
how much I love you.
Oh!
[Strained breathing]
[Doorbell rings]
[Gasps]
[Dull crunching sound]
[Doorbell rings]
You're late.
You got the money?
Put that in your pocket.
I have the rest back
in the kitchen.
Oh, shit!
What-
You stupid son of a bitch.
I was gonna marry
that poor little girl.
I was gonna marry
that poor little-
no!
No! No!
No! No!
Help!
Help! Help!
Get to your mom and dad!
What's goin' on?
Hey!
Help!
Help!
Help! Help!
Murderer!
He killed Amy Stanton!
Murderer!
Help me!
He killed Amy Stanton!
- Anybody!
Somebody!
Halt!
He's a murderer!
He killed Amy Stanton!
Help!
Help!
- Halt!
[Gunshot]
Murderer!
Halt!
He killed Amy Stanton!
[Gunshots]
Stay back!
Back up.
Stay back!
Stay back!
Get an ambulance, now.
[Growling]
Please step back.
No, go home, now.
Go home.
Go on home.
We're all done here.
[Retches]
[Whistling]
- Gosh, Jeff,
how long you been out here?
- Reckon I been here
quite a spell.
Well, come on in.
I was just fixin' some-
Kind of like it where I am.
Air smells real good.
It's been smelling real good,
anyways.
Where is everybody?
I figured they'd come by.
Told 'em you wasn't up to it.
Told 'em you was all broke up
about Bob Maples.
About Bob?
- Shot hisself last night
around midnight.
Yes, sir.
Poor ol' Bob killed hisself.
And I reckon I know
just how he felt.
- Sure you don't want
a cup of coffee?
No, thank you.
- Last night's events,
these recent events,
I don't like 'em one bit.
- Well, that's only natural,
Howard.
I don't see how you could.
I mean, I don't like 'em
one bit, either.
Well, now, take this drifter,
this alleged robber rapist
that you'd have us believe
robbed and raped Miss Stanton.
We know he didn't do it.
He's a pipeline worker.
He had a pocket full of wages.
You're not gonna get away
with planting that money on him.
What money?
- The money you stole
from Elmer Conway.
The money you stole
the night you killed him
and that whore Lakeland.
- Why would I kill
Joyce Lakeland?
- 'Cause you killed
Elmer Conway.
You had to shut her up.
Why would I kill Elmer Conway?
I've known him all my life.
- You killed him;
you killed Joyce Lakeland;
you hanged Johnnie Pappas.
- Howard, you're not
making any sense.
- You killed Johnnie Pappas
to protect yourself.
You'd given him
that marked $20 bill.
How much money went missing?
$500?
You're saying that I killed
Elmer Conway for $500?
- I'm saying Johnnie Pappas
wasn't anywhere
near the scene of those murders.
I never believed that.
- He was stealing tires
at the time.
Johnnie Pappas was my friend.
That was your theory.
- You think you got it
all figured out, don't ya?
Four, five murders.
Six if you count
poor Bob Maples,
staked everything he had on ya.
And you just sit there
explainin' and smilin'.
You ain't bothered one bit.
How can you do it, Ford?
How can you just sit there
and do that?
- Well, somebody's got to keep
their head around here.
Any more questions?
Yeah, I got one.
Shoot.
- How did Miss Stanton
get those bruises on her body?
Old bruises,
not made last night.
Same kind of bruises we found
on the Lakeland woman's body.
How do you think she got them,
Lou?
- Oh, gosh Howard,
you got me there.
How would I know?
You'd been beatin' on her
just like you
beat on that whore.
- So I was beatin' on Amy,
and she kept right on seeing me?
I was bruisin' her up,
and she was fixin' to marry me?
Boy, you didn't know
Amy Stanton.
- Maybe you didn't know
Amy Stanton
as well as you thought you did.
Is that right?
This was in her purse.
Apparently she intended to
have you stop
at some restaurant down the road
and have you read it.
Now it begins, "Lou Darling."
- Let me have it.
- I'll read it.
- It's his letter.
Let him have it.
Very well.
"Lou Darling...
"Now you know why
I had you stop here
"and why I've excused myself
from the table.
"It was to allow you
to read this,
"the things I couldn't
somehow otherwise say to you.
"Lou, I beg you,
please, please,
"please not to take it
the wrong way.
"But I'm afraid.
"Are you in trouble?
"Now, I don't want to ask you
more than that,
"but I do want you to believe
that whatever it is,
"even if it's what l-
"whatever it is, Lou,
I'm on your side.
"I love you.
"Are you tired of
my saying that?
"I know you'd never knowingly
do anything wrong.
"So even if it should involve
being separated for a while,
"a long while, let's-
"well, we'll make it all right,
you and I together.
"If you'll only tell me,
if you'll just let me help you.
"I hope that when I
come back to the table
"you'll still be there.
"But if you feel
that you can't,
"then just leave my bags
inside the door.
"I have money with me,
"and I can get a job
in some other town.
"I've always loved you,
"and I always will,
whatever happens.
"Always, darling,
forever and forever.
Always and forever,
Amy."
- She was so damn talkie,
wasn't she?
I mean, just the sweetest thing,
but just talk a fencepost
right out of a field.
You dirty son of a bitch.
Don't say that to me.
No, don't say that.
Don't never say anything
about a man's mother.
To hell with that crap.
You killed that little girl.
She as good as says so.
- She wrote it down
after I killed her?
That's quite a trick, Howard.
You killed them, Ford.
You killed them all.
- Know what that thing is
right there?
Over by Jeff?
It's called a door.
Now, I can't think of a thing
to keep you
and Mr. Plummer
from walking through it.
I sure liked Bob Maples.
I sure liked
that little Miss Amy.
- Why don't you close that door
behind you real careful?
I'm still suffering from shock.
Jeff.
- You right sure
you ain't comin' with us?
You don't reckon
you could change your mind?
They put me down in the cooler
where Johnnie Pappas
had killed himself.
And they kept me there
for a week.
I guess they thought
that'd break me.
But it didn't,
just gave me time to think.
On the eighth day,
they transferred me
to the insane asylum.
I didn't see that comin'.
No one tried to push me around
or even questioned me there.
I tried to tell myself
that was a good sign.
But in my heart I knew.
I knew they must have
some evidence.
Morning, Mr. Ford.
- Will they be playing
the pictures again tonight?
Excuse me?
- Would you tell 'em
not to do it so fast?
I hardly get a chance
to see her.
Where is he!
What have you done
with that poor man?
Have you torn out his tongue?
Have you roasted his poor
broken body over slow fires?
He has come!
I've come, sir!
Have they punctured
your eardrums, huh?
You fiends!
Oh!
Oh!
Are you too weak to cry out?
Be brave, my poor fellow!
Be brave!
It's a dirty habit.
Got it young, though,
and reckon I'd keep it.
Thank you.
- You know something,
Mr. Ford,
there wasn't a damn bit of sense
to what I did back there.
No, I couldn't see it.
- I didn't get you free,
Mr. Ford.
They let me have this writ.
That's why you can be here
with me.
Oh, I know.
I figured it'd be that way.
You know who sent for me?
Joe Rothman.
That's right.
You know why?
Well, I reckon he's scared.
He figures they're gonna pin
the Elmer Conway murder on me,
and he thinks I'm gonna
drag him into it.
You're pretty smart, Mr. Ford.
They got somethin' on you?
Somethin' you can't beat?
They have got it.
- Maybe you better tell me
what it is.
- Oh, I don't think there's
anything you can do, Mr. Walker.
Just be wasting your time,
and I wouldn't want to get Joe
into a fix.
- I reckon I might be
a better judge
about some things than you,
Mr. Ford.
- I just don't want anyone else
to get hurt.
Mr. Ford...
I wonder if you might tell me
your story.
You don't have to,
you understand,
but it might be useful to me,
and I might be able
to help somebody else.
I don't think so.
- I never had any
legal schoolin', Mr. Ford.
I pick up my law by reading
in a attorney's office.
All the higher education
I ever had was
two years at
in agricultural college,
and that was pretty much
a plain waste of time.
I just learned two things
at that college, Mr. Ford,
that was ever any use to me.
One was I couldn't do any worse
than the people in the saddle
so maybe I better try pulling
'em down and riding myself.
And the other was a-
was a definition
in an agronomy book.
A weed is a plant out of place.
I find a hollyhock
in my cornfield,
and that's a weed.
I find it in my yard,
and it's a flower.
You're in my yard, Mr. Ford.
Well, it's a long story.
I don't rightly know
where to begin.
I could start with my mother
dying when I was young,
or I could start
with when I first met Joyce.
Come on in.
She'd hit me or I would hit her.
I'm sorry.
There's Amy to tell about.
So I told him how it went.
The whens and whys
and whos of it all.
What are you doing?
I bet they had it comin'.
- 5:00, two weeks from tonight,
and we'll call that a deal.
[Gunshot]
It's always lightest...
just before the dark.
- They had it
right from the beginning.
I let it go because I had to.
I reckon they knew the truth
all along.
That's the whole thing, huh?
That's it.
Would you care to have me
come inside with you
for a while, Mr. Ford?
- Well, I don't think
it'd be smart.
I got an idea that...
it won't be long now.
All right, then.
I am sorry, Mr. Ford.
I had hoped
if I couldn't do any better,
at least I'd be taking you
away from here.
You said that you didn't want
anyone else to get hurt.
You meant it?
I meant it.
Can't hurt somebody
who's already dead.
[Playing slow piano music]
# #
Oh, man.
That looks terrible.
Pants don't even fit.
It's ridiculous
I'm not wearing a tie.
Look at your-
I look-
I ought to wear a tie.
You ought to wear a tie.
You'd look better.
Hi.
[Lamenting opera music]
# #
Long time, no see.
Long time, no see.
Howdy, Lou.
Howdy, Jeff.
Hello, Lou.
Hi, sweetheart.
Howard.
The whole gang's here.
Look at you boys.
Howard Hendricks, the D.A.
Mr. Conway, the villain.
Hank Butterby.
Don't say anything, Hank.
They haven't given you
any lines.
I didn't tell 'em anything.
I just wanted you to know that.
And I wanted to see you.
I wanted to see you too.
So I could tell you.
Don't say anything.
I love you too.
[Gunshots]
[Explosion]
# Shame, shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Gave my heart as a token #
# When returned it was broken #
# Hide your face #
# Shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Ran around with other guys #
# Tried to lie
when I got wise #
# Foolish girl #
# Shame on you #
# #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Can you hold your head
up high #
# Look your friends
right in the eye #
# No, you can't #
# Shame on you #
# #
# You never know how much
I love you #
# Never know
how much I care #
# When you put
your arms around me #
# I get a feeling
that's so hard to bear #
# You give me fever #
# When you kiss me #
# Fever when you
hold me tight #
# Fever #
# In the morning #
# Fever all through the night #
# Listen to me, baby #
# Hear every word I say #
# No one can love you
the way I do #
# 'Cause they don't know
how to love you my way #
# You give me fever #
# When you kiss me #
# Fever when you
hold me tight #
# Fever #
# In the morning #
# And fever
all through the night #
name of Joyce Lakeland.
Lives about four or five miles
out on Derrick Road
past the old Branch place.
- Oh, I know the old
Branch place.
She a hustlin' lady, Bob?
Well, I guess so,
but she's-she's been
pretty decent about it.
She ain't taken on
no roustabouts
or nothin' like that.
In fact,
if these preachers around town
weren't rompin' down on me,
I wouldn't bother her at all.
Well, how shall I handle it?
Tell her to lay off
awhile or...
- Oh, I don't know.
I don't know.
Just go out and size her up
and make your own decision.
I know you'll be gentle,
as gentle and pleasant
as you can be.
So go on out there,
see how she looks to ya.
All right.
Thanks, Bob.
Mornin' Miss Parker.
- Oh, hello.
- Mornin', ma'am.
The trouble with growing up
in a small town
is everybody thinks
they know who you are.
I was born here 29 years ago.
And Central City
was small enough
that my father
was the only doctor in town.
Then the oil boom came,
and the town grew
to fit its name.
The sheriff's office handles
the policing
for both the city
and the county.
We do a pretty good job of it,
to our own way of thinkin'.
We're kind of old-fashioned.
Out here, you say,
"Yes, ma'am," and "No, ma'am,"
to anything with a skirt on.
Out here, if you catch a man
with his pants down,
you apologize,
even if you have to arrest him
afterwards.
Out here, you're a man
and a gentleman,
or you aren't anything at all.
And God help you
if you're not.
[Knocking]
Yes?
I'm sorry, ma'am, uh...
Come on in.
You go on back.
I just need to wash up.
What do you think
you're doing with that?
Sheriff's office, ma'am.
What are you doing with it?
I have a permit.
Are you satisfied, copper?
Well, I reckon it's all right.
And my name's Ford, ma'am,
not Copper.
Jesus.
The only decent-looking guy
I've seen in this stink hole
and he's a boy scout
with a badge.
How much?
I don't jazz cops.
That's not very polite, ma'am.
I just came out here
for a little talk.
- And I asked you
what you wanted.
- Well, I guess I want you
out of Central City by sundown.
And if I see you
here after that...
I'm gonna run you in
for prostitution.
You lousy son of a bitch.
Don't you call me that, ma'am.
You lousy son of a bitch!
You son of a bitch,
bastard, pimp!
Get off me!
Get off me!
Let go of me, you bastard!
Get off me!
You bastard son of a bitch!
[Crying]
I'm sorry.
- I'm sorry.
- No.
Don't say you're sorry.
# I'm a tip-top daddy #
# And I'm gonna have my way #
# Keep away from the corners #
# Hear what I got to say #
# Hold one hand only #
# Get ready for a ride #
- # Give me one hand loose
and I'll be satisfied #
I went back the next day
and the day after that.
I couldn't help it.
It was like a wind had been
turned on a dying fire.
# Give me free hand, woman #
# Let it swing by my side #
# Give me one hand loose
and I'll be satisfied #
# #
# Satisfied #
- Let's pull out of this
crummy old town together,
just you and me.
What, are you crazy?
Go on.
Let me hear you say it.
Oh, no.
Go on.
Tell me what a fine ol' family
y'all Fords is.
"We all Fords, ma'am.
"We wouldn't even think of
living with one of you
miserable ol' whores, ma'am."
Don't.
- You think
you're too good for me.
Don't start that.
You do.
I'll never give you up.
Never.
And if you think
you're too good for me now,
I'll make it so you won't be.
- Oh, baby, you got your bowels
in an uproar all over nothin'.
I was just thinkin'
about the money.
I can get money.
Oh, yeah?
- He's crazy about me,
and he's dumb as hell.
I'm sorry?
Who's crazy about you
and dumb as hell?
Elmer Conway.
You know who he is, don't ya?
- I knew Elmer Conway
well enough.
We'd been in the same class
together at school.
Aw, he wasn't a bad man.
He'd just been spoiled.
Spoiled by his father,
Chester Conway.
Chester had built
half of Central City,
and he acted like
he owned the town,
and nobody had the guts
to tell him any different.
Joyce was a fool to think
she could put one over
on old man Conway.
But her plan started me
thinking about
how I could settle
some old scores of my own.
You want a refill, hon?
No, I've got to go.
All right.
So you're a deputy sheriff?
You don't even carry a gun.
No, I don't.
- What if some crook
should try to shoot ya?
Well, I'll tell you a secret.
We don't have too many crooks
in Central City.
That's good to know.
I started needling people.
I couldn't help it.
I guess it was a substitute
for somethin' else.
Thank you, Max.
- You don't have to pay.
I want to thank you for what
you've done for my Johnnie.
No one else would've done
what you did.
Thank you very much, Max.
I appreciate that.
It's made a big difference.
- You know, I figure that you
don't get any more out of life
than what you put into it.
You're right there, Lou.
- Yeah.
Well, I'm gonna push off.
I got a whole lot of
gettin' around to do,
and I don't want to rush.
Haste makes waste.
- Evenin'.
- Evenin'.
Hey, how 'bout it, bud?
How 'bout it?
Look, I've been on a hell
of a binge,
and, by God, if I don't get some
food in me pretty soon,
I'm just gonna keel over here,
you know?
- Is that right?
- Yeah.
- Need somethin'
to warm you up, huh?
Oh, anything.
Just anything at all.
Yeah.
Ah!
Jesus, bud!
Ouch. Cigar.
- What the hell are you
tryin' to do with that, huh?
See that?
That's a real-life
sheriff's badge.
- Sure.
- Beat it.
Sure, bud.
Sure, sure, I'm goin'.
I'm goin'.
You better watch it
with that stuff, bud.
You think so?
You just better watch it.
[Knocks on door]
Hello, Lou.
- Joe.
- Welcome.
Come on in.
Sorry to ask you
to come around so late.
Figure it's better
to be discreet,
you being a public official
and all.
Have a seat.
It is hot out there, huh?
What can I do for you?
Well, look, Lou,
there's something I want
to talk to you about,
and I know that it's something
that you're very sensitive
about, so...
How did you feel
about Mike Dean?
- Well, I don't know
what you mean.
He was my brother.
- Right, he was your
foster brother, right?
Your father adopted him.
- Well, Dad and the Deans
were old friends,
and when Mike's parents
passed on
in that big flu epidemic
we had a while ago,
Dad adopted him.
See, my mother died
when I was a baby and...
Dad thought that Mike would be
good company for me.
- You were the only son
and heir,
and your father
brings in another son.
Didn't that rub you
a little the wrong way?
- Well, I was only six years old
and Mike was eight,
so I don't-
So you liked Mike, then?
- Oh, I couldn't have loved
a real brother any more.
Even after he did what he did?
Just what would that be?
Come on.
The girl identified him.
That girl was five years old.
She would've identified anybody
they put in front of her.
- So you didn't feel
the slightest bit embarrassed
when he came back
to Central City?
Not at all.
I wanted him back;
so did Dad.
Dad pulled a lot of strings
to get him that job.
- You know, Lou, I mean,
that all squares.
So now let me tell you
what I know about Mike's death,
all right?
Now, he was killed
six years ago.
He was working on a girder
on a Conway Construction job.
Apparently he slipped
on a rivet.
So when he fell...
he threw himself backwards...
so he'd land inside the building
and onto the decking.
But the floors, they hadn't been
decked in properly.
So he fell...
all the way to the basement.
So what about it?
- Well, listen, I will tell you
what about it, Lou.
Conway, Chester Conway,
he didn't install the decking.
Oh, now, Joe.
You just haven't thought
this deal through properly.
See, I know you were
getting along all right
with Chester Conway,
and then he got a notion
to go non-union,
and, well,
that upset you, didn't it?
I understand that.
That's only natural.
But if you thought
that there had been a murder,
now Joe, you would've said
somethin' six years ago.
Am I right?
- Well listen, I am sorry
I troubled you for nothing, Lou.
I mean, I certainly enjoyed
our talk.
May I make a suggestion, Lou?
Certainly.
- Save the bullshit
for the birds.
All right?
Good night, Joe.
Lou.
[Groans]
Lou?
What're you doing?
[Playing somber opera music]
# #
Lou.
Amy, what're you doin' here?
Waitin' for you, upstairs.
- Somebody might've seen ya.
- No one did.
I snuck out after
my folks went to sleep.
Aren't ya glad?
Well, I wasn't expectin' you.
Well, my, such enthusiasm.
I'm sorry.
I shed my clothes for you
and my decency and...
you just say you're sorry.
Will I see you Sunday
for dinner?
Well, I can't, babe.
I told a fella
I'd do a favor for him.
I can't get out of it.
Shouldn't be too late.
Why don't you come on by
around 10:00 and wait for me.
We're gonna have a talk,
talk about why you've acted
the way you have
these past few weeks.
Understand?
Yes, Miss Stanton.
So now, sleep well.
Bye.
[Old-time music]
- # Walk five miles,
lose a hundred bucks #
# When I pardon #
# they call him luck #
# They say "Take it away,
Lucky"#
# The luckiest man in town #
# #
# Get hit by a truck
and get a busted head #
# Everybody says, "Lucky,
he ain't dead"#
# Lucky the luckiest man
in town #
I loved Joyce,
and there were times
when her voice
seemed to whisper to me,
"Forget it, Lou.
It's not too late
if you stop now."
But then I'd remember
Chester Conway,
and I knew I had to go through
with the plan.
Come on in.
Close the door behind ya.
Have a seat.
Well...
You got things all
fixed up for tonight, have ya?
Gonna wind this thing up
so it'll stay wound?
- Well, I'm not gonna
do anything.
I mean, I've done
all I'm gonna do, so-
- I don't think we better
leave it that way, Lou.
If that damn crazy Elmer
sees her again,
there's no tellin'
what'll happen.
I want you
to take the money yourself.
$10,000 in small bills.
Oh, I won't do that.
- Now, you take it,
and you pay her off,
and you bust her around
a little bit,
and you run her
out of the county.
Mr. Conway.
That's the way you do it.
You pay her, you bust her,
and you run her out.
Did you say somethin'?
- Now, look here,
Miss Lakeland insisted
that Elmer bring that money out
all by himself.
Now, those are her terms,
and l-
- I don't see what
she's got to do with it.
Well, what you don't see
is that you have
a whole lot of gall.
What'd you say?
- Well, how do you think
it would look
if it got around
that an officer of the law
had made a blackmail payoff?
Now, Elmer came to me
with his trouble,
and I came to you,
and you asked me to see
what I could do
about gettin' this done
quietly,
and I've done all
that I can think to do,
and I don't see how you can
ask me to do one thing more.
Maybe you're right, boy.
But you will see that she leaves
after she gets that money.
- If she isn't gone
after an hour,
I'll move her on myself.
- Well, I'm gonna send Elmer
over to your place
as soon as I can locate him.
And you make sure
he's got everything straight.
Understand?
- What if the old man
never cools off, hmm?
- Well, hold on, you told me
you were sure
he was gonna come around.
If that isn't the case,
I better tell Miss Lakeland.
No. Don't you do that, Lou.
Why don't you do this?
Why don't you buy a business?
Then you and Joyce
can run it together,
and when it gets goin' good,
then you get in touch
with your old man and...
he'll see you made
a darned smart move.
[Chuckles]
Yeah, I don't know about that.
- Well I'm not gonna
twist your arm.
I already stuck my neck out
about a mile and a half
to give you all a fresh start.
I know you did, but why?
Why?
Why'd you do all this
for me and her, Lou?
- I might've thought that you'd
do something for me.
Oh.
Well, hey, I can give you
a little out of that $10,000,
I guess.
Oh, don't bother.
If you don't have any money
of your own,
I don't want to take
your old man's.
I got plenty of my own money.
Come on.
Oh, hell, here.
- You sure?
- Mm-hmm.
- I appreciate it.
Thank you, Elmer.
I appreciate it.
So you're gonna be there
tonight, right?
- 10:00.
- 10:00.
- Hey, have you heard
this stuff?
Black.
[Plays jazzy tune]
# #
Yellow.
[Playing Asian-themed riff]
And red.
[Ululating]
[Laughs]
Ooh, that's good.
# Well #
# I woke up this mornin' #
# And I saw my honey
layin' there #
# I said Honey #
# Go in the kitchen
and make me some eggs #
[air hissing]
[Knocks on door]
- Lou.
- Hi, darlin'.
Hi.
What are you doin' here?
- Chester wanted me to come by
and hold Elmer's hand.
[Laughs]
Well, he won't be here
for another hour, so...
[panting]
- You will join me in two weeks,
won't you, Lou?
Won't you?
- Well,
that's my understanding.
You promise?
Lou, do you suppose Elmer will,
you know,
make any trouble?
I don't see how he can.
What's he gonna do,
squawk to his dad?
I'll just tell him
you changed your mind.
I don't know, it just-
It all seems
so complicated.
Well...
I'll tell ya, honey,
it is kind of complicated.
You remember my stepbrother,
the one who died?
Mm-hmm.
Well, Chester Conway...
organized it
for him to be killed.
That's terrible, Lou.
Yeah.
- You can't do anything
to Elmer.
You mustn't, honey.
Please?
I won't let you.
They won't catch me, baby.
They won't even suspect me
for it, really.
They'll just think
he got tanked,
like he usually is,
and then you two
got to fighting,
and you both got killed.
- Well, that doesn't
make any sense.
How am I supposed to be dead?
Don't.
I have to travel.
- Baby, you aren't
goin' anywhere.
Understand?
Lou.
Lou.
Hold on.
It's almost over.
Why?
Why?
I'm sorry, baby.
I'm sorry.
I love you.
Hold on.
I love you.
Hey.
Hey.
Do you hear me?
Honey, can you hear me?
I'm sorry.
I'm real sorry.
I love you.
Good-bye.
You're gonna be all right.
All right.
Hey, Lou, ol' boy.
You got here before me, huh?
You bring the money?
What's it look like?
Where's Joyce?
Oh, she's in the bedroom.
Why don't you go on back?
Bet she's all stretched out
and waitin' for ya.
- Oh, now you shouldn't
talk like that.
You know I'm about
to be married.
[Chuckles]
Oh!
Honey!
Honey!
Oh, God.
Who did it, Lou?
It was suicide.
That doesn't make any sense.
Oh, sure it does.
You're just too stupid
to see it.
[Gunshots]
I'm real sorry, sweetheart.
But I feel anguish,
and I'm sorry.
I know you were scared.
You seemed awful surprised,
and I'm sorry.
Oh, shoot.
God damn it, Lou.
Oh.
- You tryin' to get killed
for Christ's sakes?
Well, I'm real sorry, sir.
I had to pull in there
with a flat tire,
and then I didn't see you
when l-
Come on, let's go.
We don't have time
to stand around gabbin'.
Well, it's still pretty early.
The hell it is.
It's quarter past 11:00,
and Elmer ain't home yet.
He said he was gonna come back
right away,
and he ain't done it.
Come on, you follow me.
Yeah, but don't tell me
that again.
I know how bad it is.
He's dead,
and that is that.
What I'm interested in now
is her.
Well, do it.
Get on out here
as quick as you can.
I don't want to see her die,
not this way.
I want to see her burn.
Just get that ambulance
out here now.
So, Lou, that's, uh...
That's it?
That's all you got to say?
Well, I told it five times.
I guess the only thing
I left out of it all...
I feel awful sorry.
- Well it's a bit late
for that.
- Tried to handle this
blackmail deal all by myself.
You know, I sure wish
I'd come to you, Bob, with it.
- It's okay, Lou.
- I really do.
I would have, had it been
anybody other than Chester
asking for help.
You know that.
- It's all right.
Don't fret yourself about that.
- Well, I appreciate
your understanding.
Well, get some sleep, partner.
Good night.
Good night, boss.
[Horn honks]
Here's your food.
Thank you, Max.
- Hey, Lou,
I need to ask you something.
It's about Johnnie.
He's taken a job
at Slim Murphy's and, uh...
Well, I hear bad things
about Slim Murphy.
So I was wondering-
- Would you like me
to check up on him?
Yeah, could you?
I'd be happy to.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
- I was glad to do Max
a good turn.
I knew Amy'd be waiting for me,
and I knew
she'd be mad as hell.
Fathers are funny.
They got ideas of their own.
And the good ones
get in your hair the most.
- Dad thinks he knows best
about everything.
- Slim Murphy hasn't got
a very good reputation.
Now, nobody's proved
that he's been mixed up
in any of these car stripping
jobs, but if I were you-
Yeah, I know, I know.
I won't get in any trouble, Lou.
That sounds like a promise.
I know you won't break
a promise.
- Where have you been?
- I'm sorry, baby.
- Where have you been?
- I'm sorry.
I had a whole lot
of trouble tonight.
I'll bet.
- Well, you want to hear about
it or don't ya?
- I've heard so many
of your lies and excuses,
I may as well hear one more.
All right.
Well, it started about
three months ago.
Bob asked me to check up
on a prostitute.
Yes?
[Cheerful fiddle music]
# #
How could you be so stupid?
Why did you do that?
- Well, I was doing a favor
for Chester Conway.
He wanted me to help Elmer
get out of a fix.
- Why are you always have to do
people favors?
You never do any for me.
- All right, I shouldn't have
done it.
- You shouldn't have let
that woman in this town
in the first place.
- No, I shouldn't have.
- Mm-mm.
I don't understand.
Hey.
Lou.
Stop that.
Lou, stop that.
What's the matter, huh?
- All this trouble's
just thrown me for a loop.
Forget everything but me.
I want to.
Let me pet you.
You son of a bitch!
Hey, what-
You dirty, filthy bastard!
You're dirty.
I can tell,
I can smell it on you.
I can smell
you've been screwing her.
What are you saying?
You screwed her.
You've been doing it all along.
Come here.
You don't touch me!
- Amy, listen.
- No.
Lou, stop it.
- Amy, look at me.
Look at me.
It's Lou, honey.
The same Lou you've known
all your life.
Come on, open up.
Are you crazy?
Why would I do that?
You did do it.
I know you did.
Amy, why?
Stop.
- Why would I run the risk
of losing a girl like you
by running around
with some chippy?
Oh.
No use arguing about it.
Just thank my lucky stars
I didn't catch
some terrible disease.
Hey.
Damn it, hey, come here.
Come here.
Now, you can say what you want
about me,
but don't say that the girl
I'm gonna marry
is sleeping with a guy who would
run around with whores.
You don't want to marry me.
Yes, I do.
I just didn't
want to be told when.
I wanted to propose myself...
which is what I'm doing
right now.
[Telephone ringing]
Yeah, hello?
Hey, Lou, it's Bob.
Bob, what's on your mind?
[Horn honks]
Hiya, Lou.
Sorry to bother you.
I hope we didn't
interrupt anything.
You had a date for last night?
That's right.
For what time?
- Well, supposed to be
a little after 10:00,
the time I figured
I'd be finished
with the Conway business.
Who's the girl?
Well, damn it.
Now, that I don't think
is any of your business.
- Howard, you know, you're kind
of a newcomer out this way,
but you ought to know better
than to ask a man
a question like that.
It's my job.
If Ford had himself a date
last night, then, uh...
Well, you know what I mean,
Ford.
Well, no offense, Howard,
but I figured you did
all the jawing you had to do
when I talked
to you a couple hours ago.
You're wrong, brother.
Okay, easy, Howard.
For cryin' out loud.
I know the girl.
I know her folks.
She's one of the nicest
little ladies in town.
I ain't got the slightest doubt
that Lou had a date with her.
- The more
I'm around you people,
the less I understand you.
Come on.
Let's go.
Don't be shy.
Come on.
See that track there, Ford?
You know what caused that?
I reckon so.
A flat tire.
So you admit that.
That's the sort of track
you'd get from a flat tire.
What's this all about, Bob?
You know, I really don't know,
but this is Howard's show,
so you might as well
just answer him.
Well, I already said it once.
You get that track
from a flat tire, yes, sir.
- Come see the track
your tire made.
Here we are.
The tire that made this track
wasn't flat.
- Well, I never said
I had a flat tire
when I pulled off the highway.
- Now, wait a minute.
- No, I had a puncture, sure.
Felt the car sway a little,
but I pulled off the lane
before the tire
could really go down.
I hope you boys didn't chew up a
perfectly good tire for nothin'.
Doggone it, Howard,
if this ain't
the strangest damn deal.
- Getting away
with a stupid mistake
can be a blessing twice over.
When a man's rope
slides off you once,
he's mighty cautious
about making a second throw.
Feeling twitchy, Lou?
Oh, it's just-
just a passing hunger.
- Yeah, I wouldn't mind
grabbing a bite myself.
- Joyce was bound to die
if she wasn't dead already.
As soon as things quieted down,
I'd quit my job.
I'd sell the house.
I'd leave Central City
once and for all.
Ooh, those look good.
She still unconscious?
Yeah.
Thank you.
And anything else for you?
No, I'm good, thank you.
Enjoy your food.
- Conway wants to fly her
to Fort Worth.
Says she can't get the right
kind of medical attention here.
- Yeah, well,
maybe I'll go myself.
What do you think, Lou?
Want to take a little flight
into Fort Worth?
- I've never been
on an airplane.
Wait a minute.
She hasn't even been booked yet,
let alone arraigned.
Well, Conway wasn't asking you
if he could take her
to Fort Worth.
He was telling ya.
Did he say what time?
- Oh, well, that'll give Lou
and me time
to scrub up a little
and pack a bag.
Right, Lou?
Yeah.
- What's the matter
with those eggs, boy?
Better eat 'em
before they get cold.
Don't.
I have to travel.
- Baby, you aren't
goin' anywhere.
I want to see her burn.
[Bob laughs]
First time on a plane,
and you waste the whole
damn trip sleepin'.
Take it easy.
Sheriff.
- Yes, sir?
You go with the ambulance.
Lou, come on.
You ride in the car with me.
All right.
You didn't like that, did ya?
The way I spoke
to ol' Bob Maples.
But I have a reputation,
and I'm not about to
let anybody's tender feelings
get in my way.
If she pulls through
this operation,
she's gonna be able
to talk tonight.
I want you to be there
when she comes out
of that anesthetic.
What about Bob?
- Bob Maples is too old
to be on his toes.
You can use my hotel suite.
You just come over
when I give you a call.
Let's go to the hospital.
- Conway thought
he was a big shot.
But his son
had just been killed
by a whore
he'd fallen in love with,
and he'd never be able
to live it down,
not if he lived to be 100,
and I damned well
hoped he would.
It was the first time
I'd been out of West Texas,
and I wanted to see the sights.
Instead, I had to stay
cooped up in the hotel.
It was almost like
there was a plot against me.
I had done something wrong
when I was a kid,
and I'd had my nose rubbed
in it day after day
until like an overtrained dog,
I started crapping
out of pure fright.
Hey there, Lou.
Hey, Bob.
Quite a palace.
- You know, Bob, I want you
to know that I'm awful sorry
about what happened out there
at the airport.
I didn't like it one bit,
and I-I told Conway that too.
Did you have some kind
of trouble out at the hospital?
She's dead, Lou.
She never came out of the ether.
Well, that's that.
Mm-hmm.
Hey, Lou.
Where are ya, buddy?
Lou.
What you doin'?
What you doin' sitting here?
Oh, I'm just having a smoke.
[Chuckles]
Well, you can smoke out here.
Come on.
Free booze.
I know what you are, Lou.
I know what you are.
[Chuckles]
I know.
I know you
backwards and forwards.
I knowed you since you was
knee-high to a grasshopper,
and you ain't
never done anything wrong.
Maybe I'm behind the times.
Maybe...
Maybe I'm too old for this game.
- Why don't you lay down
awhile, Bob?
- Ain't gonna skip out on me,
are ya?
Just pull up,
have yourself a drink
on Mr. Conway,
and enjoy it.
[Twangy blues guitar riff]
# #
- # I heard a Ionely coyote
a- howlin' for its mate #
# I took the blues
and packed my shoes #
# and left
the Lone Star State #
# I thought
if I should ride away #
# I would lose the blues #
# But I found out
that Texan soil #
# Was sticking to
my shoes #
# I'm headin' back #
# I've got the Texas blues #
# #
- When's the next train
for Central City?
- Well, sir, we've got one
leavin' tonight at 7:00.
Well, that'd be all right.
- All right.
- Two passengers.
Thank you, ma'am.
Bob.
Whoa.
You're gonna spill your drink.
Oh.
Boy, I'm as frazzled
as a cow's hide
under a branding iron.
- Oh, why you always do that
sly grin, spilled-milk stuff?
Well, I bet I know somethin'
you never thought of.
What's that?
It's always lightest...
just before the dark.
You got it wrong, Bob.
No, Lou, you got it wrong.
It's always lightest
before the dark.
[Humming]
[Doorbell rings]
You mind if I come in, Lou?
Not at all, Mr. Rothman.
All right.
This is very nice.
It's very nice.
Want some coffee?
No, thank you.
Would you like an egg?
Oh, no, thank you.
So very discreet newspaper
stories are correct
in their hints?
That Elmer tried to dish it out
and had it thrown back at him?
- Well, it looks that way,
doesn't it?
- I can't help but wondering how
a girl with her face caved in
and her neck broke
can land four bull's-eyes
on a guy,
I mean, even one
as large as Elmer Conway.
Well, she was shooting him
while he was punching her.
- Well,
from what I hear, she-
she was still alive
after he died,
and any one or, well, two
of the bullets
that she put into him
were enough to lay him low.
You know?
The genuine article, Lou.
No substitutes accepted.
- I don't know where you get off
in questioning me.
- Well, I know you had it in
for Conway,
and perhaps I share
some of that responsibility
for setting you against him.
I just don't want anything
to come out
that might put the union
in a bad light.
- Oh, my, well,
it hadn't occurred to me,
but now that you say it...
sure looks bad.
- Incidentally, what's the score
as of today?
A one or a two?
She's dead.
- Well, they can't
prove anything.
But then again,
if they knew what I know
about you having a motive.
A motive...
for killing Joyce Lakeland?
Why would I want to do that?
- Say she's just
a piece of stage setting.
- I can't tell you
what happened,
'cause I wasn't there.
But I know that
there are flukes in murders
just as there are
in anything else.
A woman gets her brains
blown out
and she crawls five miles.
Some fella gets hanged
and poisoned and chopped up,
and he goes right on living.
I don't know
why those things happen.
But I know they do,
and so do you.
Yeah, I guess so, Lou.
I guess so.
You know, as screwy
as things are...
you just don't fit the bill
as a killer.
Oh.
Well, what do I say to that?
- What were you trying
to pull off?
- The money was supposed
to be a payoff.
Conway was paying Joyce
to leave Elmer alone.
- So Elmer was trying
to leave with the whore.
That's right.
- Almost wish I thought
of it myself, Lou.
- Just a matter of
a will finding a way.
Better watch that stuff, Lou.
You save that for the birds,
huh?
[Sweeping orchestral music]
# #
Do you want to box?
Now you're a real boxer.
You look like a man.
Oh!
Hit harder.
Ow.
You want to be a big boy?
Look what your daddy did.
Do you want to do it too?
It's okay.
I like it when you hurt me.
[Impassioned opera music]
# #
[telephone ringing]
Lou Ford speaking.
Howard, Lou.
Got some news
on the Conway murder.
Yeah?
We got him.
What?
We got him, Lou.
Think you know him.
Who?
Johnnie Pappas.
Johnnie Pappas?
Yup.
Come on down to the courthouse.
He's been asking for you.
Sweet talk him, Lou.
Well, who am I to be telling you
what to do, huh?
- Well, you haven't told me
anything yet.
Not anything
that makes any sense.
Now, I know Johnnie's been
bucking the saddle a little bit,
but I don't see him
as a murderer.
- Elmer Conway took 10,000 bucks
around to that chippy's house.
When we counted it up,
$500 was missing.
Yeah?
- The bills were all marked,
see?
The old man had already
tipped off the local banks.
If she tried to hang around town
after the payoff,
he was gonna squeeze her
for blackmail.
That Conway,
they don't put many past him.
- Well, seems like they put
a few past me.
- Oh, come on Lou, you got
no reason to feel like that.
All right, let it go.
So Johnnie spent some
of the money, then?
$20.
Broke it at
the drugstore last night.
Traced it back to him
a couple hours ago.
Now, he could've
taken that $20 in
and paid himself with it.
But he couldn't admit to it.
And here's the kick.
From about 9:00 Sunday night
until 11:00,
his time
can't be accounted for.
We can't account for it,
and he just won't.
I know how you feel, Lou.
He's just a kid,
and you know him.
But you got to think about how
that poor woman must've felt
when he was beating her face in.
You saw what
her face looked like.
Stewed meat.
Hamburger.
Oh, for Christ's sake.
- Hey, I'm sorry, Lou,
but that's the truth of it.
All right.
Sweet talk him, Lou.
I know this one.
- Hey, Ford,
get me out of here!
He's in the back.
Want me to wait?
No, I'll be all right.
Thank you.
Hey, Lou.
How ya doin', Johnnie?
Oh, I knew you'd come.
I sent for you.
- Everything's gonna be
all right.
Sure.
You got a cigarette, Lou?
Those bastards
took all my cigarettes.
- Ah, they're just
doing their duty, kid.
Have a cigar.
I'll have one with ya.
- I don't know
how you can stand it in here.
Sure driving me crazy.
Well, it'd drive anyone crazy.
I think that's the idea.
How soon can I leave?
It won't be long now.
Say, you didn't
tell those fellas
about that $20 bill
I gave you, did you?
No.
What do you think I am, anyway?
Gosh, I know you don't
make a lot of money.
You know, if someone
should slip you a little tip,
I'm not gonna say anything.
I don't take bribes, Johnnie.
- Well, who said anything
about bribes?
- You just said something
about a bribe.
- Well, I just wasn't gonna
let 'em hit ya cold with it
until you figured out
or remembered
where you found it.
I wish you hadn't done that.
You understand?
You understand that was
the wrong thing to do.
I don't care about those guys.
You're my friend.
- I've got a foot on both sides
of the fence.
They were put there early,
and they stayed put.
I can't move.
I can't jump.
All I can do is wait
until I split
right down the middle.
You get it?
Yeah.
I killed them.
I killed both of them.
- Bet you had
a real good reason, Lou.
There's a reason.
I bet they had it comin'.
No.
Nobody has it comin' to them.
That's why nobody
can see it comin'.
Hi.
Give ya any trouble, Lou?
Not at all.
Hi, honey.
I'm sorry.
It's all right.
Where have you been?
[Moaning]
[Telephone ringing]
Yeah, hello?
Lou.
Hendricks.
- What is it, Howard?
It's late.
Johnnie Pappas.
You really put the fear of God
into the boy.
Sign a confession, did he?
Well, more than that, Lou.
He hanged himself.
Thank you for calling, Howard.
I appreciate it.
What was that all about?
Hmm?
Johnnie Pappas hanged himself.
Oh, no, Lou.
Baby, I'm so sorry.
- After Johnnie's death,
somethin' changed.
It wasn't anything
I could put my finger on,
but I got the feeling
that people were looking at me
in a different way.
Bob Maples kept on drinkin',
and he seemed to age
about ten years.
And nobody
talked about Johnnie.
But that didn't stop me
from thinking about him,
and I realized
a week had gone by,
and I hadn't paid my respects
to Max Pappas.
- And here's a look
at the weather picture.
It's gonna be the same.
Clear today,
turning cooler this afternoon.
Clear and colder tonight
and tomorrow.
- I'm sorry, Officer Ford,
we're not open for business.
Well, that's all right.
That's all right, Max.
I just wanted to-
I just wanted to come by,
and I've been meaning to come by
since that night,
and I wanted to just
tell you how sorry I am
and had there been anything
I could've done,
I would've done it.
You know that.
I'm sorry
that you're closing down.
I'm not closing.
Why should I close?
Just remodeling it.
Adding some new booths,
a new floor.
Just like Johnnie
would've liked it.
Well, that's right.
Hurry up, Reggie.
- But remember the Flick
rear window sticker
can be the only contest sticker
of its kind on your car.
[Laughs]
- Did I do this?
- Mm-hmm.
# If #
# You wait for me #
# Until #
# I come back home #
# From far #
# Across the sea #
# I'll sing you my #
# Korean love song #
# I know #
# You're Ionely too #
# The days #
# And nights are long #
# But hear #
# My love for you #
# In my #
# Korean love song #
Mind if I join ya?
Thanks.
I knew you wouldn't.
So you're visiting
the scene of the crime.
That's what they call it,
isn't it?
What do you want?
- I saw you headin' out
this way,
and I wanted to have
a little talk.
How many times you come here,
Lou?
How many times you lay her?
- I'm not so hard up for it
that I have to lay whores.
Sure.
Tail like that,
man can live without, I suppose.
But what could be substitute
for bullshit?
Where would we be without it?
Well...
I wouldn't be listening
to you now.
Okay, let's cut the bullshit.
Now, we both know
that Conway's looking
to pin Elmer's murder
on someone,
and I'm just trying to make sure
that he doesn't pin it on me.
Why would he do that?
Well, Conway hates the union
almost as much as I hate him.
Johnnie Pappas killed Elmer.
That's why he hanged himself.
- You been talking
to Max Pappas?
I was.
- Now, where do you suppose
he got the money
for that kind of remodeling?
- Not my place to consider it.
- No.
Chester Conway's jobbing
all the material.
He's paying off all the men.
I mean, no one's seen
a nickel coming from Pappas.
I mean, doesn't that strike you
as rather odd
that he'd be doing a job
for a man
whose son killed his boy?
- Conway takes all
the turnkey stuff he can get.
Cuts half a dozen profits
instead of one.
Well, I suppose so.
So you been out
to Johnnie's grave?
- No, I'm ashamed to say
I haven't done that yet.
Yeah, I bet.
You know,
he's buried on sacred ground.
You know what that means, Lou?
- I reckon the church
didn't call it a suicide.
Have any answer, Lou?
Do we have an answer?
- Well, he was so awful young,
I figure they cut him a break.
Yeah, maybe.
Maybe, maybe, maybe.
You know,
there's just one more thing.
It's the big thing.
Now, on the Sunday night
that Elmer
and the late occupant
of this cottage got it,
one of my carpenters went to
the picture show at the Palace.
Parked his car around back
at around 9:30.
When he came back,
all four of his tires were gone.
Well, that's funny.
I didn't hear anything about it.
- It'd been funny if you had,
Lou, 'cause he didn't report it.
But he did mention it
to one of the boys
at the Tuesday joiners' meeting,
and one of them, it turned out
bought two of the tires
from Johnnie Pappas.
You feelin' the chill, Lou?
Jeez, I guess I don't get you.
The birds, Lou.
Remember?
Starving sparrows.
- If Johnnie Pappas had an alibi
for the night of the murders,
then he would've told me,
and he wouldn't
have hanged himself.
He trusted you.
He liked you.
You were his friend.
I was his friend.
Okay.
That's fine.
That's fine, Lou.
But you think you're so clever,
don't ya?
But Conway, he ain't no fool.
So if I were you,
I wouldn't hang around.
- You know, I thought about
leaving town.
Yeah?
Sounds like a good idea, Lou.
That's a good idea.
[Door slams]
What?
What?
[Laughs]
Lou, why don't we-
- Amy, why-
- Bread 'n butter.
- Bread 'n butter.
Bad luck stay away
from my darlin'.
You do want to still, right?
Honest and truly?
- Didn't I just
start to ask you?
How?
When?
I mean, what were you-
- Well, I was thinking
in a couple weeks-
I was thinking the same.
Darlin', I was just
gonna say that.
What?
Well, I was gonna-
What were you thinking?
- I was thinking
that we should elope.
You want to elope?
[Playing slow piano music]
# #
[doorbell rings]
This Doc Ford's place?
Well, I'm sorry, stranger,
the doctor
doesn't practice anymore.
Oh, that's okay, bud.
It's just a little burn.
Doesn't make any difference.
Yeah, a cigar burn.
See, you and me, we got some
talkin' to do and, uh...
I'm thirsty.
You got any whisky around?
No, but I got a phone.
The jail's
about six blocks away.
- Well, why don't you go
right ahead with that, bud?
Go right ahead.
But it'll cost ya.
And it won't be just the price
of one burned hand.
All right, let's have it.
- I did a year stretch
at the Houston pea farm,
and I seen
a couple of guys like you.
Is that right?
- So I figured it might pay
to watch you a little.
I followed you that night,
and I heard some of that talk
you was havin'
with that labor fella.
- Well, I reckon that meant
a whole lot to ya, did it?
No, no, no, no,
it hardly meant anything to me
at all.
Matter of fact,
it didn't mean much to me
a couple of nights later
when you come up to that
little shack I was camping in,
and then you cut cross prairie
to that little yellow house.
Did you say
you had some whisky, bud?
Yeah, you see,
I caught up on the news.
And then them things
that you done and you said,
well, they suddenly
meant plenty.
[Sighs]
I don't have much money.
Yeah.
Well, you got this place.
Must be worth
a tidy little sum too.
Maybe I could get a loan.
- How long do you think
it would take to get this loan?
Two weeks.
$5,000.
$5,000 in two weeks.
and we'll call that a deal.
And don't worry, I ain't a hog
about money or nothin'.
I get the $5,000,
that's the last
we'll ever see of each other.
Well...
all right.
- Oh, and don't you go
gettin' no notions
about running out on me.
Do you think I'm crazy?
- You ask
an unpleasant question, bud,
you might get
an unpleasant answer.
- I went to work every
working day of those two weeks.
Morning, Jeff.
Howdy, Lou.
- Chester Conway came
to talk to Hendricks,
and I made it my job
to see him.
Mr. Conway.
Lou.
- I'd like to talk to you
for a second.
Mm-hmm.
What about?
- I should've gone out
with Elmer just like you said.
And if cussin' me out
will make you feel any better
or if you want my job,
Lord knows
you can have it.
I sure won't hold a grudge.
Elmer trusted you.
I trusted you.
Appreciate that.
Hey, Lou.
I think you're gonna
like this one.
Amy came to see me every day.
She always brought some cake
or pie or somethin'.
And she had to take it
kind of easy when she sat down.
We'd sit outside
and have a drink,
and I'd think how much
she looked like her.
And afterwards,
she'd lie in my arms,
and I could almost fool myself
into thinking it was her.
But it wasn't her.
And for that matter,
it wouldn't have made
any difference if it had been.
I'd just be right back
where I started.
I took her everywhere
she wanted to go,
did everything
she wanted to do.
It wasn't any trouble.
She didn't want to go much
or do much.
For the first time
in I don't remember when,
my mind was really free.
I knew I had to kill Amy.
I could put the reason
into words.
But every time
I thought about it,
I had to stop
and think why again.
I'd be doing somethin',
reading a book or somethin',
and all of a sudden,
it would come over me
that I was gonna kill her,
and the idea seemed so crazy
that I'd almost laugh out loud.
Then I'd start thinking,
and I'd see it,
see that it had to be done.
Bob, Amy and me got somethin'
mighty important to do tonight,
and I'm gonna be out
Monday and Tuesday.
Oh, well, now.
Well, now,
you don't think maybe you-
Oh, hey, hey, hey.
That's good news, Lou.
That's real good news.
I know you're gonna be
happy together.
I feel pretty lucky.
Feel like my life's
a picture show.
- They don't come any better
than little Amy.
Yes, sir.
Gonna be good.
# Gave my heart as a token #
# When returned it was broken #
- # Shame, shame on me-
you #
# Hide your face #
[laughs]
# Shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Gave my heart as a token #
# When returned it was broken #
# Hide your face #
# Shame on you #
Lou.
Honey?
Darlin'?
Well, you're not even ready yet.
Here you are
on our day of elopement-
Don't say anything, Amy.
Don't say anything.
Don't say-
- All I want to say is
how much I love you.
Oh!
[Strained breathing]
[Doorbell rings]
[Gasps]
[Dull crunching sound]
[Doorbell rings]
You're late.
You got the money?
Put that in your pocket.
I have the rest back
in the kitchen.
Oh, shit!
What-
You stupid son of a bitch.
I was gonna marry
that poor little girl.
I was gonna marry
that poor little-
no!
No! No!
No! No!
Help!
Help! Help!
Get to your mom and dad!
What's goin' on?
Hey!
Help!
Help!
Help! Help!
Murderer!
He killed Amy Stanton!
Murderer!
Help me!
He killed Amy Stanton!
- Anybody!
Somebody!
Halt!
He's a murderer!
He killed Amy Stanton!
Help!
Help!
- Halt!
[Gunshot]
Murderer!
Halt!
He killed Amy Stanton!
[Gunshots]
Stay back!
Back up.
Stay back!
Stay back!
Get an ambulance, now.
[Growling]
Please step back.
No, go home, now.
Go home.
Go on home.
We're all done here.
[Retches]
[Whistling]
- Gosh, Jeff,
how long you been out here?
- Reckon I been here
quite a spell.
Well, come on in.
I was just fixin' some-
Kind of like it where I am.
Air smells real good.
It's been smelling real good,
anyways.
Where is everybody?
I figured they'd come by.
Told 'em you wasn't up to it.
Told 'em you was all broke up
about Bob Maples.
About Bob?
- Shot hisself last night
around midnight.
Yes, sir.
Poor ol' Bob killed hisself.
And I reckon I know
just how he felt.
- Sure you don't want
a cup of coffee?
No, thank you.
- Last night's events,
these recent events,
I don't like 'em one bit.
- Well, that's only natural,
Howard.
I don't see how you could.
I mean, I don't like 'em
one bit, either.
Well, now, take this drifter,
this alleged robber rapist
that you'd have us believe
robbed and raped Miss Stanton.
We know he didn't do it.
He's a pipeline worker.
He had a pocket full of wages.
You're not gonna get away
with planting that money on him.
What money?
- The money you stole
from Elmer Conway.
The money you stole
the night you killed him
and that whore Lakeland.
- Why would I kill
Joyce Lakeland?
- 'Cause you killed
Elmer Conway.
You had to shut her up.
Why would I kill Elmer Conway?
I've known him all my life.
- You killed him;
you killed Joyce Lakeland;
you hanged Johnnie Pappas.
- Howard, you're not
making any sense.
- You killed Johnnie Pappas
to protect yourself.
You'd given him
that marked $20 bill.
How much money went missing?
$500?
You're saying that I killed
Elmer Conway for $500?
- I'm saying Johnnie Pappas
wasn't anywhere
near the scene of those murders.
I never believed that.
- He was stealing tires
at the time.
Johnnie Pappas was my friend.
That was your theory.
- You think you got it
all figured out, don't ya?
Four, five murders.
Six if you count
poor Bob Maples,
staked everything he had on ya.
And you just sit there
explainin' and smilin'.
You ain't bothered one bit.
How can you do it, Ford?
How can you just sit there
and do that?
- Well, somebody's got to keep
their head around here.
Any more questions?
Yeah, I got one.
Shoot.
- How did Miss Stanton
get those bruises on her body?
Old bruises,
not made last night.
Same kind of bruises we found
on the Lakeland woman's body.
How do you think she got them,
Lou?
- Oh, gosh Howard,
you got me there.
How would I know?
You'd been beatin' on her
just like you
beat on that whore.
- So I was beatin' on Amy,
and she kept right on seeing me?
I was bruisin' her up,
and she was fixin' to marry me?
Boy, you didn't know
Amy Stanton.
- Maybe you didn't know
Amy Stanton
as well as you thought you did.
Is that right?
This was in her purse.
Apparently she intended to
have you stop
at some restaurant down the road
and have you read it.
Now it begins, "Lou Darling."
- Let me have it.
- I'll read it.
- It's his letter.
Let him have it.
Very well.
"Lou Darling...
"Now you know why
I had you stop here
"and why I've excused myself
from the table.
"It was to allow you
to read this,
"the things I couldn't
somehow otherwise say to you.
"Lou, I beg you,
please, please,
"please not to take it
the wrong way.
"But I'm afraid.
"Are you in trouble?
"Now, I don't want to ask you
more than that,
"but I do want you to believe
that whatever it is,
"even if it's what l-
"whatever it is, Lou,
I'm on your side.
"I love you.
"Are you tired of
my saying that?
"I know you'd never knowingly
do anything wrong.
"So even if it should involve
being separated for a while,
"a long while, let's-
"well, we'll make it all right,
you and I together.
"If you'll only tell me,
if you'll just let me help you.
"I hope that when I
come back to the table
"you'll still be there.
"But if you feel
that you can't,
"then just leave my bags
inside the door.
"I have money with me,
"and I can get a job
in some other town.
"I've always loved you,
"and I always will,
whatever happens.
"Always, darling,
forever and forever.
Always and forever,
Amy."
- She was so damn talkie,
wasn't she?
I mean, just the sweetest thing,
but just talk a fencepost
right out of a field.
You dirty son of a bitch.
Don't say that to me.
No, don't say that.
Don't never say anything
about a man's mother.
To hell with that crap.
You killed that little girl.
She as good as says so.
- She wrote it down
after I killed her?
That's quite a trick, Howard.
You killed them, Ford.
You killed them all.
- Know what that thing is
right there?
Over by Jeff?
It's called a door.
Now, I can't think of a thing
to keep you
and Mr. Plummer
from walking through it.
I sure liked Bob Maples.
I sure liked
that little Miss Amy.
- Why don't you close that door
behind you real careful?
I'm still suffering from shock.
Jeff.
- You right sure
you ain't comin' with us?
You don't reckon
you could change your mind?
They put me down in the cooler
where Johnnie Pappas
had killed himself.
And they kept me there
for a week.
I guess they thought
that'd break me.
But it didn't,
just gave me time to think.
On the eighth day,
they transferred me
to the insane asylum.
I didn't see that comin'.
No one tried to push me around
or even questioned me there.
I tried to tell myself
that was a good sign.
But in my heart I knew.
I knew they must have
some evidence.
Morning, Mr. Ford.
- Will they be playing
the pictures again tonight?
Excuse me?
- Would you tell 'em
not to do it so fast?
I hardly get a chance
to see her.
Where is he!
What have you done
with that poor man?
Have you torn out his tongue?
Have you roasted his poor
broken body over slow fires?
He has come!
I've come, sir!
Have they punctured
your eardrums, huh?
You fiends!
Oh!
Oh!
Are you too weak to cry out?
Be brave, my poor fellow!
Be brave!
It's a dirty habit.
Got it young, though,
and reckon I'd keep it.
Thank you.
- You know something,
Mr. Ford,
there wasn't a damn bit of sense
to what I did back there.
No, I couldn't see it.
- I didn't get you free,
Mr. Ford.
They let me have this writ.
That's why you can be here
with me.
Oh, I know.
I figured it'd be that way.
You know who sent for me?
Joe Rothman.
That's right.
You know why?
Well, I reckon he's scared.
He figures they're gonna pin
the Elmer Conway murder on me,
and he thinks I'm gonna
drag him into it.
You're pretty smart, Mr. Ford.
They got somethin' on you?
Somethin' you can't beat?
They have got it.
- Maybe you better tell me
what it is.
- Oh, I don't think there's
anything you can do, Mr. Walker.
Just be wasting your time,
and I wouldn't want to get Joe
into a fix.
- I reckon I might be
a better judge
about some things than you,
Mr. Ford.
- I just don't want anyone else
to get hurt.
Mr. Ford...
I wonder if you might tell me
your story.
You don't have to,
you understand,
but it might be useful to me,
and I might be able
to help somebody else.
I don't think so.
- I never had any
legal schoolin', Mr. Ford.
I pick up my law by reading
in a attorney's office.
All the higher education
I ever had was
two years at
in agricultural college,
and that was pretty much
a plain waste of time.
I just learned two things
at that college, Mr. Ford,
that was ever any use to me.
One was I couldn't do any worse
than the people in the saddle
so maybe I better try pulling
'em down and riding myself.
And the other was a-
was a definition
in an agronomy book.
A weed is a plant out of place.
I find a hollyhock
in my cornfield,
and that's a weed.
I find it in my yard,
and it's a flower.
You're in my yard, Mr. Ford.
Well, it's a long story.
I don't rightly know
where to begin.
I could start with my mother
dying when I was young,
or I could start
with when I first met Joyce.
Come on in.
She'd hit me or I would hit her.
I'm sorry.
There's Amy to tell about.
So I told him how it went.
The whens and whys
and whos of it all.
What are you doing?
I bet they had it comin'.
- 5:00, two weeks from tonight,
and we'll call that a deal.
[Gunshot]
It's always lightest...
just before the dark.
- They had it
right from the beginning.
I let it go because I had to.
I reckon they knew the truth
all along.
That's the whole thing, huh?
That's it.
Would you care to have me
come inside with you
for a while, Mr. Ford?
- Well, I don't think
it'd be smart.
I got an idea that...
it won't be long now.
All right, then.
I am sorry, Mr. Ford.
I had hoped
if I couldn't do any better,
at least I'd be taking you
away from here.
You said that you didn't want
anyone else to get hurt.
You meant it?
I meant it.
Can't hurt somebody
who's already dead.
[Playing slow piano music]
# #
Oh, man.
That looks terrible.
Pants don't even fit.
It's ridiculous
I'm not wearing a tie.
Look at your-
I look-
I ought to wear a tie.
You ought to wear a tie.
You'd look better.
Hi.
[Lamenting opera music]
# #
Long time, no see.
Long time, no see.
Howdy, Lou.
Howdy, Jeff.
Hello, Lou.
Hi, sweetheart.
Howard.
The whole gang's here.
Look at you boys.
Howard Hendricks, the D.A.
Mr. Conway, the villain.
Hank Butterby.
Don't say anything, Hank.
They haven't given you
any lines.
I didn't tell 'em anything.
I just wanted you to know that.
And I wanted to see you.
I wanted to see you too.
So I could tell you.
Don't say anything.
I love you too.
[Gunshots]
[Explosion]
# Shame, shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Gave my heart as a token #
# When returned it was broken #
# Hide your face #
# Shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Ran around with other guys #
# Tried to lie
when I got wise #
# Foolish girl #
# Shame on you #
# #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Shame, shame on you #
# Can you hold your head
up high #
# Look your friends
right in the eye #
# No, you can't #
# Shame on you #