The Evictors (1979) Movie Script
Mr. sanford, you said
they shot at you? At me?
Damn right I'm sure. I've never been so close to
death in my entire life, and I sure don't want
to get any closer. You mean to tell me that you tried to serve notice
three times on those son of a bitches,
is that right? And then they give
us this crap? Don't you worry about
a thing, Mr. sanford. We're gonna
change all of that. I mean, we're gonna
change it all... Today. Wait, we killed three
people yesterday. We can't get away
with that. They're coming again,
Dwayne, ain't they? That's what
Todd believes. Dwayne, let's get
away from here. Le-let 'em have
the place. Shut up! Oh hell,
let's get out. Don't do anything
until I tell you, just watch that window. I swear, I depend on you.
Go on and get that ammo! Get that ammo.
Get it, get it, get it! Mr. Monroe! Todd or
Dwayne Monroe! It's me again, Benjamin sanford of the
shreveport union bank. Now I'm just doing my job. The court has ordered that
i should give you these papers and that you should vacate
these premises immediately. Do you hear me? Get back! Let him have it! Well here it is. I'll show you the inside first and then we'll head
around to the outside. Well now, here it is. I want you to remember now,
it's about 40 acres. Two bedrooms upstairs
and an inside bath. The wardrobe is good. I want you to look
at this place and think about what it could
be like with a woman's touch. Now over here's
the living room, we've even got a fireplace. - Ben, it's beautiful, isn't it?
- Yeah. Yeah. Now, there are three
barns on the property, all their fences are good.
There are three Wells that pump but unfortunately,
the mineral rights don't come with the house, they belong
to the previous owner. Yeah. Well, they don't make
'em like this anymore. I'd sure like to roll up
my sleeves and get to work on
this place. Yeah, you mean roll up
my sleeves, don't you? Come on, let me show you
the bedrooms upstairs. Alright. I'll try to push
these papers through, I figure you two want to move
in as soon as you can. Alright? Listen, why don't you
stay here a while? Maybe you want to
figure things out. Make sure you lock up and
you just drop the keys back off at my office. Alright, thank you. You know honey,
i have a feeling we'd have a great life here. Yeah. Can't you hear all those kids
running around, wrestling with the
dogs and all? Thought I'd come by
and see how you're doing. Congratulations
on your new home. You know, we're real lucky getting the financing
through that quick. I mean with the war and
everything going on these days. That was really good
of you Mr. rudd. Well you know, it's kind
of a special day for me too. I mean it's a pleasure
to have new neighbors and uh,
make them happy. Appreciate that. Oh, by the way Mrs. Watkins
i uh, found another key, thought you might want it. Great, thanks. Well, I uh, guess
i better be going. Hey, well, good luck
to both of you huh? - Thank you.
- Thanks. Well, guess we better
start unpacking. Yup. What's this? Letter. "Welcome from your neighbors
down the road. Call me, olie Gibson. 931.
Come by for coffee and cakes." - Well that's nice.
- Yeah, isn't it? Well, where do you
want to start? Well... Well you could take me
upstairs, we should set up the bedroom
first, don't you think? That's the best offer
I've had in a long time. I'll see you around 6. Okay, have a nice day.
Try not to be late, okay? Yeah, I will. I'm going into town and
get some groceries and stuff. Okay, long walk. I need the exercise. -L'll see you later.
- Okay. Listen John,
we've got ten wagons outside. Well, I know, but then you
promised me those two sixteens
for the belt two hours ago! Another two hours? Alright.
Do the best you can. - Hey Ben,
- hey, you're quite a slaughter. Looks like you've got
your hands full there, huh? Yeah, Mr. Buckner's not
going to be too pleased, that machine is falling apart. You're right, he's not
going to be too pleased. Listen, he wanted me to be sure
and invite you over to his place on Sunday,
he's having the annual picnic for the company employees. So he said to get your
wife and come on over. Tell him,
"thank you very much." I should know what's what
by then. Well, alright.
I'll see you then. Alright. - How many did you order, there?
- Four. Four? That looks like a nine. Mrs. Watkins! Real nice to see you in town. Well, you're the
first one to say so. These townspeople don't take
too kindly to newcomers. Oh, well you can't take
the townspeople seriously, see they... do you mind if i
call you Ruth? You see they're kind
of shy with strangers at first, but before
you know it... You're going to be hearing
all the gossip. Well a smile or a
nod will do for now, and thank you for yours. - You have a nice day now.
- Thank you, see you later. Bye bye. "To occupant". Well,
that's me alright. Fall is here. We're losing all the leaves. Well, how was work? Oh, it was nice enough. All the boys down there
are nice enough. There was some trouble
with the old machines, though. We got invited to an employee
picnic on Sunday by Mr. Buckner. What's the matter? Ben, can we go to church
on Sunday? Yeah. What brought that on? Well... Look at this. Where'd you get this? It was in the mailbox. I don't know if the postman
brought it or somebody
just left it, I don't know. Well, I think it makes
no difference who brought it. I don't think
it's meant for us. Looks like
some five-year-old kid wrote it. I'm sure you're right.
It's probably nothing, I just didn't think it was
real amusing. It doesn't mean anything,
they're just teasing you. I did worst things than that
when I was a kid. Is that why you had
that door locked? What're you cooking
in there? - Don't you recognize the smell?
-Ls that gumbo? - Yeah.
- Yeah? - Hello ma'am.
- Good morning. My name is Roy Lee, but everybody calls
me the traveling man. And this Sunday morning,
i hate to disturb you, but uh, I have a lot
of things in my truck out there,
pretty cheap. You interested in
buying some of them? Well okay, let's go
see what you got. Ben, I think, your tie clasp
is up on the dresser! Ma'am, you can see I got a lot
of different things over here. Pots, pans, teakettle...
That's nice, coffeepot. I want to sell you something. And there's a nice necktie
for your husband. There's another... And this is the umbrella
right here. Well, you know really
i got a lot of this stuff. I've got enough pots and pans,
I've got ties, I've got an umbrella. You don't have any fresh
vegetables, do ya? No ma'am, I can't.
They spoil too quickly. I don't sell none of them. Come around to this side,
I've got more stuff over here. This is what I have
on the other side. Sure is nice to see somebody
move into this place. Been vacant a long time. Has it? Why is that? Had a lot of strange things
happen around here. What do you mean?
What kind of strange things? Ain't you heard about the folks
that were killed here? You ain't heard about
all that killing out here, all them
people dying? What... what do you mean?
What's been going on? I believe in 1934, a lady
by the name of Mrs. mullins, a mule kicked
that woman to death. Then drug her husband all the
way in the back of the field. It was in all the newspapers, but I tell it better than
the newspapers do. Get up there! Come on! Come on, Linus! Eugene! Eugene? Eugene? Eugene? Eugene? Eugene, are you in there? Eugene? Eugene? Always been scared to
come up here, but I'm glad to see
nice folks like you living here. Ruth? We're late for service.
Find anything you like? No. I've got twelve long horn hens
out there. If you're interested in them, pay them in a day or two. Well, what's a barn
without chickens? - You bring 'em around.
- Yes, I'll bring 'em here. When you come by, well, you could chop some stove wood
for me if you want. Pay you five dollars for
the chickens and for the work. It sounds like a deal.
Be here in a day or two. Alright. Mr. and Mrs. Watkins.
How are you? Fine, thank you. I've been invited to
Mr. Buckner's picnic today, - I hope I see you there.
- You will. - See you later.
- Alright. Stop right here, Bobby. I want to say
good morning to y'all. Good morning. I'm the writer of
that mysterious note, but I haven't seen
you yet for coffee and cakes! - Oh, she meant the other note.
- Oh! Mrs. Gibson. Oh, nice to meet you. I'm sorry we haven't been able
to come over, we've just been running around
like crazy doing things. Now, no apologies
are necessary. Say honey,
if you ever get lonely and you need somebody
to talk to, you come right on over
and see me, ya hear? Yes, I will. Alright Bobby, earn your money.
Wheel me on home. 'Bye bye.
- Bye bye, see you later. Well I like that lady. Yeah, that's a nice lady. Ben, thank you for coming to
church with me today. Well, I'm glad I did. Now, let's go to the picnic. The rest of this day
belongs to you. Alright. Here comes Ben now. Come on, I'd like for you to
meet Mr. Buckner. Mr. Buckner, I'd like for you
to meet Ben Watkins and his wife, Ruth. - How do you do?
- How do you do? - Good to see you.
- Thank you. - Nice to meet you.
- Good to see you, ma'am nice to meet
you Mrs. Watkins, so glad you could make it. There are some ladies
I'd like for you to meet today. - This is Mrs. bland.
- Hello. And her little daughter,
Barbara. Now Ben,
we just don't have money to replace these machines.
But that's all there is to it. Well now, um. I might be able
to patch them up, but uh, I've got a list of
parts that I need. But the only problem is
they're down in little rock. That ain't no problem. You can leave for little rock
tomorrow and get what you need. Alright. There's something else that I've
been thinking about too. I'm working on you
at draft deferment. Now, uncle Sam needs you
right here. If you can get
this mess straightened out, you're gonna get a promotion
plus a big bonus. Well, I thank you. Mrs. Buckner,
telephone please. I'm sorry,
would you excuse me please? Looks like we're going to get
some money this evening. Hello Mr. rudd. Hi. It seems that you sold us that
house without telling us a few important things about it. Like what? I was referring to what
happened in 1934. Oh, you mean about those
accidents? Well... A lot of rumors connected
with those and... Why should I open a can of
worms like that, huh? Yeah, especially if they were
really murders, not accidents. You look real nice when you
get angry. Who'd want to put a thought
like that into your pretty little head? To answer your question, it was
the peddler who told me about it. And Mr. rudd,
I'd appreciate it if um, the next time you speak to me you remember please
that I'm a married woman. How could I forget? You know Ben, we get
around 74 bales of cotton through that old gin
the shape it's in now. That thing ain't gonna
take much... Excuse me, but Ben, can i
talk to you for a second? - Yeah. Sure.
-L'm sorry. Well, yeah. That's fine. I believe Ben's a good man,
Mr. Buckner. What's the matter, hon? Those women are talking
about the house. You know, every time I'd invite
them over for coffee, every one of them found
an excuse. Is that right? Yeah, they keep giving me
the strangest looks, Ben I don't know what it is. Kind of gives me
an eerie feeling. Well... You might be shy, you know.
Feeling shy you know, it takes time to get
to know people. Who makes time to come knocking
your door down to come get that coffee
and cake? I don't know but, do you
mind if we go? - I would like to go.
- Really? Yeah.
Do you mind? Alright. - Mr. Watkins?
- Yes ma'am? Mr. Watkins, are you
folks leaving? Yes ma'am. I wouldn't want you
to leave without taking this pie with you. - Thank you.
- Thank you. You folks come back and see us
again real soon. - Thank you, ma'am.
- We will, thanks. - Bye, bye,
139"] Bye, bye. You want a piece of pie before
we go to bed? - You tryin' to fatten me up?
- Mm-hmm. Well you know I will. Go on upstairs and get
ready, I'll bring it up to you. You don't have to do that. Well, I know I don't have to
do that Ben, but I want to. Ben, I'm sorry I was sitting
there crying the whole time you were telling me that
good news. It's your day and I want it to
end right, okay? 0k3)!- go on upstairs, I'll be
right there. Alright, you hurry it up. I will. Ben! Ben! There's somebody on the porch! Ben, he was standing
right there. Give me that flashlight. Stay inside. I didn't see anybody. Ben, look at that. And that's exactly where
he was standing too. Ben, who do you think it was? I don't know. It could have been... One of the hobos, you know? Railroad tracks out on south 40. Looking for a place to sleep,
you know, in the rain. Probably thought this place
was still vacant. Your scream probably scared him
more than he did you. Yeah I guess so. Oh, my China. Well, you want a piece of pie? No, no thanks. Ruth, come on!
We're gonna be late. All
passengers for the cotton line railroad
now boarding. Little rock, Memphis,
and Chicago. I brought some more cookies! Would you like some more tea? Yes please, I would. Thank you. Oh, it is so nice of you
to drop by and see me, Mrs. Watkins. Oh, call me Ruth, please. Alright, I'll do just that Ruth. I'm also gonna give you
some friendly advice about all this worrying
you've been doing, hm? Now you listen to me honey, I know exactly how you feel. Before I moved here,
i didn't see too much of my husband either. He's all the time working
the fields, and at night
he had a part time job. We had to live like that
because that's the only way we could make ends meet. Ever since he passed away I... I learned
how to live alone. Ruth... You be right thankful that
you've got a good man like Ben Watkins. Even if you don't see him
as often as you'd like to. My, it is so nice to see
that old house come alive again. You know that old place
was built back in the... 1840 I believe. Yeah, I know. I also heard
about some murders in 1934. 1934? Well, I have always thought that
that mean old mule kicked those poor folks
to death. But you ask me about 1939,
and I have got my suspicions. What in god's name happened
in 1939? Well, there are other versions
lord knows. But you see, I spoke
to Mrs. reinhart the very night that it happened. They had left for shreveport
that mornin', let's see I think it was around
Christmas time that it happened.
Yeah, that's right. Christmas. I remember that we had a couple
of cold spells already that year. I thought you left
the Christmas tree lights on. I did. I know I did. They were on when we left. We don't even have
a flashlight, do we? I don't think so. Well, come on. Hm, electricity's off. I'm going to check
these other rooms. Why don't you call Mrs. Gibson
and see if hers is still on? May I help you? Operator, give me 931 please. One moment. Hello? Mrs. Gibson,
this is Ethel reinhart. Oh, how are you dear? I'm fine, thank you. You finally finished
all that unpacking. Well, we're just
about settled in. Listen, the reason I'm calling is that our electricity
has gone off up here and we were wondering if yours
was still on. No trouble here, dear. Uh-huh. I imagine it's probably
just a blown fuse. I guess it could be a
fuse. I'll have frank check it. That's what it has to be. Now, when are you comin'
by for a visit? I'm going to try
to visit you in the next day or so. Don't you be a stranger! - Ok, thank you. Goodbye.
- Goodnight. She has electricity. Well, it's bound to be
a fuse then. Let me go to the shed and check
the fuse box. Honey? They came on for a second and
then they went back off again. Did you hear me? They came on for a
second, but they went off again. Honey, did you hear me? Honey? Frank? Frank? Frank! Let me out! Frank, let me out! Well,
that's all I know about it, and the papers printed it
that way too. Well, I know I asked you to, but I'm sorry you told me
about it. Ain't nobody here but I guess
i can get started on the wood. Hm. What'd I do with my ax? Guess it must be here somewhere. Maybe it's around there
by the house. Chick, chick, chick. Good mornin'. You lay me
any eggs this morning, huh? Okay girls, breakfast. Chick,
chick, chick, chick. Come on. Chick, chick, chick, chick,
chick, chick. Chick, chick, chick,
chick, chick. Chick, chick, chick,
chick, chick. Hello? Hi hon! I've got
great news. I got finished sooner
than I thought I would, so I'll be in there tonight. I'm gonna catch the train
in a few minutes. I should be there
early evening, alright? Listen Ben, can you hear me? I think there's somebody
in the house. Ben, listen I want you to call
the cotton gin for me, okay? What? I can't hear you. I'll see
you tonight, hon! Bye bye. Wait a second, Ben can... You say Mr. Wheeler's gonna come
by to pick up those tools? Okay, I'll be expecting him. Okay, I love you too. Bye. Come on in! Oh Ruth, what's the matter? There's somebody at the house!
They're trying to lock me in! Oh honey, now go on and sit
over there. Everything's going to be
alright. Now calm down. Where's Ben? L-i called him right before it
happened, but he couldn't hear anything
i was saying. I'll call him myself right now,
what's the number? No, no. I mean
he's in little rock. He won't be home until tonight. Now, don't you worry about
a thing, honey. You want me to call the sheriff? No-no, i-l, Ben can do that. L just... You know the best thing
for what ails you is a good stiff shot of Brandy.
I'll get you one. B-but first, I better call
the station. And... Leave word to have Ben catch
a taxi right over here. Hello, operator? Operator. The cotton line train station,
please. Wait here? Oh, that must be Ben now. I'm comin'! I'm comin'! Come in. She's here. - You can call me Ben.
- Alright, Ben. Ben... There's somebody at the house
again today, but this time he was
inside the house. - Did you get a look at him?
- No, it was too dark. But Ben, he put a two-by-four against
the back door so I couldn't get out. Ben... He wanted to kill me. You don't have a gun
i can borrow, do you? Well, my late husband had
an old single barrel, but as to whether it will still
shoot or not, I don't know. Do you have any shells? Yeah. Yeah, I think I got a box. Just-just a minute. Oh Ben, I'm so glad
you're back. We've got to let
the sheriff know about this. Ben, I had to break the glass
in the back door to get out of the house. He chased me down the road.
I had to run all the way over here. He was after me Ben,
he wanted to... Well... Here it is. Alright. Nice gun. My husband took great
pride in his guns. Been in there seven years.
Ever since he passed away. I keep that room locked up
tight and everything just the way he left it. Oh, oh. Here's the bullet
things for it. Okay, thank you. I'll bring
this back in a day or two. Oh, I don't reckon
you really need to. I'm not going to need it anyway. I mean he's not gonna bother
no cripple woman. Well, thank you for taking
care of her. I'm just thankful I could be
of some help. Alright, hon. Well, take care now. - Well, thank you again, olie.
- Thanks a lot, olie. Ben, I don't like this at all. - You want to stay on the porch?
- No. Ben, go look at the back door. Well, whoever it was is gone. Did you get a look at him? He was big, it was too dark to
see anything else. Well... We can talk to the sheriff
in the morning. Get him to patrol this area. Ben, I want to go back to
New Orleans. We're not going back
to New Orleans. We're signed up here. Can't we go back, Ben? I mean
it. I can't stand it here. We were so happy there. We go back to New Orleans, we move in with your folks
or my folks. We could get lucky, you know. I could get drafted
into the army. Ben, that's not funny. Nothing's gonna hurt you. I just don't like
this house anymore. We can move. But I want to finish
this job first. Well, I have to go
to the hardware store to pick up a few things. Going to meet back here
in twenty minutes? - Okay.
- Alright? Good morning. Good morning. Can you fill this for me? I certainly can. How's your bacon today,
is it fresh? Bacon's good. Fresh.
We got it this morning. Good. We'll be out twice a day
and twice a night. I can't do much more than that. You've got what you need
right there to protect yourself. Yeah, sure do. Well, I thank
you for that, I appreciate it. - I just hope you can come out.
- Alright, we'll be by. Alright. Did you get everything? Uh-huh. Richard Higgins
says "hello". What'd you find out
from the sheriff? Well, he said he'd start
patrolling the area. Okay.
Well, what'd you buy? Ooh, never thought I'd be glad
to see one of those things. They scare me to death. Wait a second. Why don't you come up here, hon?
Give you a break. Room that house,
over twenty feet. - Alright?
- Yeah. I like this better for you. Ok. - Alright, just on your own now.
- Okay. Now hold steady. Whenever you're ready, -just fire.
- Okay. Hey! Now listen, I got you a box of shells.
I want you to -come out here every day...
- Okay. ...'til you feel secure
about it, alright ? Okay. - Mmhm?
- Mmhm. Hello? Hi honey. Yeah,
i have to work late. Oh no, Ben. Yeah, well i-l called olie
and I thought you could stay over there. She says "alright".
I'll pick you up after. Well, try not to be
too late, okay? You know olie likes
to go to bed early and... Ah, okay.
I love you. Bye bye. Olie? Olie? Olie? Yes ma'am. 508. Thank you. Yes ma'am. Well, I guess there's
nobody home, thank you. Wheeler! I called my house again,
and I called Mrs. Gibson again and there's no answer. I'm worried sick. I think
I'm gonna get over there, -will you take over for me?
- Sure. But Ben, do you want me to
go with you? No, that's alright.
I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, my god. Get away from here. Ben! Oh, my god, Ben!
God! Ben,no! No! No! Be quiet. Just be quiet.
I'm not gonna hurt you. Please, don't. Don't. Be quiet and I won't
hurt you. Please. Please. Police are coming. Please. I think someone's
gonna be here-- please don't.
Don't. No. Ruth! Ben! Ben, just hold on Ben. I'm going
to get you to the hospital. Paging Dr. Williams. Paging Dr. Williams. Ruth, here comes the doctor now. Mrs. Watkins, I'm sorry. We
did everything we could. Dearly beloved, we are
gathered here to return the body of this our neighbor, our friend and this loved one,
back to the earth of which it came. Let us be reminded that death
is only the golden key to the door to the kingdom
of god. The Bible says, "oh death,
where's thy sting. Oh pray, where's thy victory." Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. Let us pray.
Kind, heavenly father, we beseech thee to watch over
this family and the dark days to come, through their sadness
to sorrow. Give them strength and courage
to go on. We thank thee also
for the privilege of knowing this young man for such a short time. May his
peace be with thee always, amen. What are you doing? You put that knife down
you son of a bitch! Dwayne, you hear me? You went to his funeral. Damn you, Ann. You went to his funeral.
That bastard wanted to kill me. Dwayne. Now you put
that knife down. Dwayne, it's part of our plan. That plan has always worked.
Ever since the police thought that them
court bailiffs, that we hid in the shed was us. Let's get away from here.
Let's let 'em have the place. Todd! I see 'em Todd,
here they come. The court has ordered that i
should give you these papers. And that you should vacate
these premises immediately. Do you hear me? When Todd slipped us
away from the house that night, I knew we would have
our revenge. And I've had to pay the price
all these years. Sitting in this wheelchair. Nobody's every gonna live
in our house. Honey you know that. I've always seen to that. And honey, I've always taken
good care of you, haven't I? Ever since we was first married. It's not gonna work
this time, Ann. You keeping me locked in here
like some animal. All these years. Lettin' me out just to kill
those people and then locking me up again. I ain't gonna be locked up
again. Never. - Never.
- No! No! No! No! No! Jake... I'd like to stop over by
olie's on the way back. Do you mind? I'd like to say
goodbye to her before I go back to the house and get
my things. Would that be ok? - Sure thing.
- Thanks. Olie? Olie? Olie? In here dear. I just wanted to come by to say
goodbye to you before I leave. And to thank you for being so
good to me during this time. Olie um... I came by the other day but
the house was... Help! Jake! Jake! Jake! Help me! Please! Ruth. Open up, Ruth.
It's me Jake. Everything's alright, Ruth. Ruth open... Everything's alright. Well come on. - Come on in.
- Morning. Sit down. Well, what did you think of
those two properties you looked at? Well, not fit for a dog. Wilbur, go ahead and tell him
about it. - Huh?
- Tell him about it. Oh, uh, yeah. Well, like the wife said. Those
two houses we looked at, they just, you know,
they weren't fit for stray dogs to live in. Anyway, we were comin' back
on route 2 and we stopped and we looked and we looked. Bless you. We say this house, it just,
i tell you, it's just something we wanted. It's got-the ground's fertile,
and we just kept looking at it and finally we just... We drove in. House looked like it hadn't
been lived in for years. No, there wasn't
nobody around. And... It's the kind of house we want. - Route 2?
- Yeah, it was right down there
on route 2. Let's see here now. This the house
you're talking about? That's it!
Ain't it, wilbur? Yes sir. Yes sir, Mr. rudd,
that's it. That's the house we want. And we're prepared to pay cash
for it too. Alright. Asking price is $10,000.
I want to make sure that you have the right paper. I want you to study
these contracts, and you look them over tonight and be here first thing
in the morning. Come on, wilbur. I'm gonna read this over with
a magnifying glass. I'd like you to meet Mrs. rudd.
These are the bumfords. Hello, nice to meet you. - How do you do, ma'am?
- Nice to meet you. They're gonna buy
the Monroe house. - Nice to have met you.
- Nice to have met you. Ruth. Ruth. Time to go home. Jake you know I,
never wanted anybody to live in that house again.
You promised me. On Tuesday June 3rd, 1948, Mrs. bumford was found
in an old well at the back of the house.
Death ruled accidental. Three months later on September
the eighth, Mr. bumford was found hanging in
the front room, coroner's office ruled suicide. Today, this house
remains vacant.
they shot at you? At me?
Damn right I'm sure. I've never been so close to
death in my entire life, and I sure don't want
to get any closer. You mean to tell me that you tried to serve notice
three times on those son of a bitches,
is that right? And then they give
us this crap? Don't you worry about
a thing, Mr. sanford. We're gonna
change all of that. I mean, we're gonna
change it all... Today. Wait, we killed three
people yesterday. We can't get away
with that. They're coming again,
Dwayne, ain't they? That's what
Todd believes. Dwayne, let's get
away from here. Le-let 'em have
the place. Shut up! Oh hell,
let's get out. Don't do anything
until I tell you, just watch that window. I swear, I depend on you.
Go on and get that ammo! Get that ammo.
Get it, get it, get it! Mr. Monroe! Todd or
Dwayne Monroe! It's me again, Benjamin sanford of the
shreveport union bank. Now I'm just doing my job. The court has ordered that
i should give you these papers and that you should vacate
these premises immediately. Do you hear me? Get back! Let him have it! Well here it is. I'll show you the inside first and then we'll head
around to the outside. Well now, here it is. I want you to remember now,
it's about 40 acres. Two bedrooms upstairs
and an inside bath. The wardrobe is good. I want you to look
at this place and think about what it could
be like with a woman's touch. Now over here's
the living room, we've even got a fireplace. - Ben, it's beautiful, isn't it?
- Yeah. Yeah. Now, there are three
barns on the property, all their fences are good.
There are three Wells that pump but unfortunately,
the mineral rights don't come with the house, they belong
to the previous owner. Yeah. Well, they don't make
'em like this anymore. I'd sure like to roll up
my sleeves and get to work on
this place. Yeah, you mean roll up
my sleeves, don't you? Come on, let me show you
the bedrooms upstairs. Alright. I'll try to push
these papers through, I figure you two want to move
in as soon as you can. Alright? Listen, why don't you
stay here a while? Maybe you want to
figure things out. Make sure you lock up and
you just drop the keys back off at my office. Alright, thank you. You know honey,
i have a feeling we'd have a great life here. Yeah. Can't you hear all those kids
running around, wrestling with the
dogs and all? Thought I'd come by
and see how you're doing. Congratulations
on your new home. You know, we're real lucky getting the financing
through that quick. I mean with the war and
everything going on these days. That was really good
of you Mr. rudd. Well you know, it's kind
of a special day for me too. I mean it's a pleasure
to have new neighbors and uh,
make them happy. Appreciate that. Oh, by the way Mrs. Watkins
i uh, found another key, thought you might want it. Great, thanks. Well, I uh, guess
i better be going. Hey, well, good luck
to both of you huh? - Thank you.
- Thanks. Well, guess we better
start unpacking. Yup. What's this? Letter. "Welcome from your neighbors
down the road. Call me, olie Gibson. 931.
Come by for coffee and cakes." - Well that's nice.
- Yeah, isn't it? Well, where do you
want to start? Well... Well you could take me
upstairs, we should set up the bedroom
first, don't you think? That's the best offer
I've had in a long time. I'll see you around 6. Okay, have a nice day.
Try not to be late, okay? Yeah, I will. I'm going into town and
get some groceries and stuff. Okay, long walk. I need the exercise. -L'll see you later.
- Okay. Listen John,
we've got ten wagons outside. Well, I know, but then you
promised me those two sixteens
for the belt two hours ago! Another two hours? Alright.
Do the best you can. - Hey Ben,
- hey, you're quite a slaughter. Looks like you've got
your hands full there, huh? Yeah, Mr. Buckner's not
going to be too pleased, that machine is falling apart. You're right, he's not
going to be too pleased. Listen, he wanted me to be sure
and invite you over to his place on Sunday,
he's having the annual picnic for the company employees. So he said to get your
wife and come on over. Tell him,
"thank you very much." I should know what's what
by then. Well, alright.
I'll see you then. Alright. - How many did you order, there?
- Four. Four? That looks like a nine. Mrs. Watkins! Real nice to see you in town. Well, you're the
first one to say so. These townspeople don't take
too kindly to newcomers. Oh, well you can't take
the townspeople seriously, see they... do you mind if i
call you Ruth? You see they're kind
of shy with strangers at first, but before
you know it... You're going to be hearing
all the gossip. Well a smile or a
nod will do for now, and thank you for yours. - You have a nice day now.
- Thank you, see you later. Bye bye. "To occupant". Well,
that's me alright. Fall is here. We're losing all the leaves. Well, how was work? Oh, it was nice enough. All the boys down there
are nice enough. There was some trouble
with the old machines, though. We got invited to an employee
picnic on Sunday by Mr. Buckner. What's the matter? Ben, can we go to church
on Sunday? Yeah. What brought that on? Well... Look at this. Where'd you get this? It was in the mailbox. I don't know if the postman
brought it or somebody
just left it, I don't know. Well, I think it makes
no difference who brought it. I don't think
it's meant for us. Looks like
some five-year-old kid wrote it. I'm sure you're right.
It's probably nothing, I just didn't think it was
real amusing. It doesn't mean anything,
they're just teasing you. I did worst things than that
when I was a kid. Is that why you had
that door locked? What're you cooking
in there? - Don't you recognize the smell?
-Ls that gumbo? - Yeah.
- Yeah? - Hello ma'am.
- Good morning. My name is Roy Lee, but everybody calls
me the traveling man. And this Sunday morning,
i hate to disturb you, but uh, I have a lot
of things in my truck out there,
pretty cheap. You interested in
buying some of them? Well okay, let's go
see what you got. Ben, I think, your tie clasp
is up on the dresser! Ma'am, you can see I got a lot
of different things over here. Pots, pans, teakettle...
That's nice, coffeepot. I want to sell you something. And there's a nice necktie
for your husband. There's another... And this is the umbrella
right here. Well, you know really
i got a lot of this stuff. I've got enough pots and pans,
I've got ties, I've got an umbrella. You don't have any fresh
vegetables, do ya? No ma'am, I can't.
They spoil too quickly. I don't sell none of them. Come around to this side,
I've got more stuff over here. This is what I have
on the other side. Sure is nice to see somebody
move into this place. Been vacant a long time. Has it? Why is that? Had a lot of strange things
happen around here. What do you mean?
What kind of strange things? Ain't you heard about the folks
that were killed here? You ain't heard about
all that killing out here, all them
people dying? What... what do you mean?
What's been going on? I believe in 1934, a lady
by the name of Mrs. mullins, a mule kicked
that woman to death. Then drug her husband all the
way in the back of the field. It was in all the newspapers, but I tell it better than
the newspapers do. Get up there! Come on! Come on, Linus! Eugene! Eugene? Eugene? Eugene? Eugene? Eugene, are you in there? Eugene? Eugene? Always been scared to
come up here, but I'm glad to see
nice folks like you living here. Ruth? We're late for service.
Find anything you like? No. I've got twelve long horn hens
out there. If you're interested in them, pay them in a day or two. Well, what's a barn
without chickens? - You bring 'em around.
- Yes, I'll bring 'em here. When you come by, well, you could chop some stove wood
for me if you want. Pay you five dollars for
the chickens and for the work. It sounds like a deal.
Be here in a day or two. Alright. Mr. and Mrs. Watkins.
How are you? Fine, thank you. I've been invited to
Mr. Buckner's picnic today, - I hope I see you there.
- You will. - See you later.
- Alright. Stop right here, Bobby. I want to say
good morning to y'all. Good morning. I'm the writer of
that mysterious note, but I haven't seen
you yet for coffee and cakes! - Oh, she meant the other note.
- Oh! Mrs. Gibson. Oh, nice to meet you. I'm sorry we haven't been able
to come over, we've just been running around
like crazy doing things. Now, no apologies
are necessary. Say honey,
if you ever get lonely and you need somebody
to talk to, you come right on over
and see me, ya hear? Yes, I will. Alright Bobby, earn your money.
Wheel me on home. 'Bye bye.
- Bye bye, see you later. Well I like that lady. Yeah, that's a nice lady. Ben, thank you for coming to
church with me today. Well, I'm glad I did. Now, let's go to the picnic. The rest of this day
belongs to you. Alright. Here comes Ben now. Come on, I'd like for you to
meet Mr. Buckner. Mr. Buckner, I'd like for you
to meet Ben Watkins and his wife, Ruth. - How do you do?
- How do you do? - Good to see you.
- Thank you. - Nice to meet you.
- Good to see you, ma'am nice to meet
you Mrs. Watkins, so glad you could make it. There are some ladies
I'd like for you to meet today. - This is Mrs. bland.
- Hello. And her little daughter,
Barbara. Now Ben,
we just don't have money to replace these machines.
But that's all there is to it. Well now, um. I might be able
to patch them up, but uh, I've got a list of
parts that I need. But the only problem is
they're down in little rock. That ain't no problem. You can leave for little rock
tomorrow and get what you need. Alright. There's something else that I've
been thinking about too. I'm working on you
at draft deferment. Now, uncle Sam needs you
right here. If you can get
this mess straightened out, you're gonna get a promotion
plus a big bonus. Well, I thank you. Mrs. Buckner,
telephone please. I'm sorry,
would you excuse me please? Looks like we're going to get
some money this evening. Hello Mr. rudd. Hi. It seems that you sold us that
house without telling us a few important things about it. Like what? I was referring to what
happened in 1934. Oh, you mean about those
accidents? Well... A lot of rumors connected
with those and... Why should I open a can of
worms like that, huh? Yeah, especially if they were
really murders, not accidents. You look real nice when you
get angry. Who'd want to put a thought
like that into your pretty little head? To answer your question, it was
the peddler who told me about it. And Mr. rudd,
I'd appreciate it if um, the next time you speak to me you remember please
that I'm a married woman. How could I forget? You know Ben, we get
around 74 bales of cotton through that old gin
the shape it's in now. That thing ain't gonna
take much... Excuse me, but Ben, can i
talk to you for a second? - Yeah. Sure.
-L'm sorry. Well, yeah. That's fine. I believe Ben's a good man,
Mr. Buckner. What's the matter, hon? Those women are talking
about the house. You know, every time I'd invite
them over for coffee, every one of them found
an excuse. Is that right? Yeah, they keep giving me
the strangest looks, Ben I don't know what it is. Kind of gives me
an eerie feeling. Well... You might be shy, you know.
Feeling shy you know, it takes time to get
to know people. Who makes time to come knocking
your door down to come get that coffee
and cake? I don't know but, do you
mind if we go? - I would like to go.
- Really? Yeah.
Do you mind? Alright. - Mr. Watkins?
- Yes ma'am? Mr. Watkins, are you
folks leaving? Yes ma'am. I wouldn't want you
to leave without taking this pie with you. - Thank you.
- Thank you. You folks come back and see us
again real soon. - Thank you, ma'am.
- We will, thanks. - Bye, bye,
139"] Bye, bye. You want a piece of pie before
we go to bed? - You tryin' to fatten me up?
- Mm-hmm. Well you know I will. Go on upstairs and get
ready, I'll bring it up to you. You don't have to do that. Well, I know I don't have to
do that Ben, but I want to. Ben, I'm sorry I was sitting
there crying the whole time you were telling me that
good news. It's your day and I want it to
end right, okay? 0k3)!- go on upstairs, I'll be
right there. Alright, you hurry it up. I will. Ben! Ben! There's somebody on the porch! Ben, he was standing
right there. Give me that flashlight. Stay inside. I didn't see anybody. Ben, look at that. And that's exactly where
he was standing too. Ben, who do you think it was? I don't know. It could have been... One of the hobos, you know? Railroad tracks out on south 40. Looking for a place to sleep,
you know, in the rain. Probably thought this place
was still vacant. Your scream probably scared him
more than he did you. Yeah I guess so. Oh, my China. Well, you want a piece of pie? No, no thanks. Ruth, come on!
We're gonna be late. All
passengers for the cotton line railroad
now boarding. Little rock, Memphis,
and Chicago. I brought some more cookies! Would you like some more tea? Yes please, I would. Thank you. Oh, it is so nice of you
to drop by and see me, Mrs. Watkins. Oh, call me Ruth, please. Alright, I'll do just that Ruth. I'm also gonna give you
some friendly advice about all this worrying
you've been doing, hm? Now you listen to me honey, I know exactly how you feel. Before I moved here,
i didn't see too much of my husband either. He's all the time working
the fields, and at night
he had a part time job. We had to live like that
because that's the only way we could make ends meet. Ever since he passed away I... I learned
how to live alone. Ruth... You be right thankful that
you've got a good man like Ben Watkins. Even if you don't see him
as often as you'd like to. My, it is so nice to see
that old house come alive again. You know that old place
was built back in the... 1840 I believe. Yeah, I know. I also heard
about some murders in 1934. 1934? Well, I have always thought that
that mean old mule kicked those poor folks
to death. But you ask me about 1939,
and I have got my suspicions. What in god's name happened
in 1939? Well, there are other versions
lord knows. But you see, I spoke
to Mrs. reinhart the very night that it happened. They had left for shreveport
that mornin', let's see I think it was around
Christmas time that it happened.
Yeah, that's right. Christmas. I remember that we had a couple
of cold spells already that year. I thought you left
the Christmas tree lights on. I did. I know I did. They were on when we left. We don't even have
a flashlight, do we? I don't think so. Well, come on. Hm, electricity's off. I'm going to check
these other rooms. Why don't you call Mrs. Gibson
and see if hers is still on? May I help you? Operator, give me 931 please. One moment. Hello? Mrs. Gibson,
this is Ethel reinhart. Oh, how are you dear? I'm fine, thank you. You finally finished
all that unpacking. Well, we're just
about settled in. Listen, the reason I'm calling is that our electricity
has gone off up here and we were wondering if yours
was still on. No trouble here, dear. Uh-huh. I imagine it's probably
just a blown fuse. I guess it could be a
fuse. I'll have frank check it. That's what it has to be. Now, when are you comin'
by for a visit? I'm going to try
to visit you in the next day or so. Don't you be a stranger! - Ok, thank you. Goodbye.
- Goodnight. She has electricity. Well, it's bound to be
a fuse then. Let me go to the shed and check
the fuse box. Honey? They came on for a second and
then they went back off again. Did you hear me? They came on for a
second, but they went off again. Honey, did you hear me? Honey? Frank? Frank? Frank! Let me out! Frank, let me out! Well,
that's all I know about it, and the papers printed it
that way too. Well, I know I asked you to, but I'm sorry you told me
about it. Ain't nobody here but I guess
i can get started on the wood. Hm. What'd I do with my ax? Guess it must be here somewhere. Maybe it's around there
by the house. Chick, chick, chick. Good mornin'. You lay me
any eggs this morning, huh? Okay girls, breakfast. Chick,
chick, chick, chick. Come on. Chick, chick, chick, chick,
chick, chick. Chick, chick, chick,
chick, chick. Chick, chick, chick,
chick, chick. Hello? Hi hon! I've got
great news. I got finished sooner
than I thought I would, so I'll be in there tonight. I'm gonna catch the train
in a few minutes. I should be there
early evening, alright? Listen Ben, can you hear me? I think there's somebody
in the house. Ben, listen I want you to call
the cotton gin for me, okay? What? I can't hear you. I'll see
you tonight, hon! Bye bye. Wait a second, Ben can... You say Mr. Wheeler's gonna come
by to pick up those tools? Okay, I'll be expecting him. Okay, I love you too. Bye. Come on in! Oh Ruth, what's the matter? There's somebody at the house!
They're trying to lock me in! Oh honey, now go on and sit
over there. Everything's going to be
alright. Now calm down. Where's Ben? L-i called him right before it
happened, but he couldn't hear anything
i was saying. I'll call him myself right now,
what's the number? No, no. I mean
he's in little rock. He won't be home until tonight. Now, don't you worry about
a thing, honey. You want me to call the sheriff? No-no, i-l, Ben can do that. L just... You know the best thing
for what ails you is a good stiff shot of Brandy.
I'll get you one. B-but first, I better call
the station. And... Leave word to have Ben catch
a taxi right over here. Hello, operator? Operator. The cotton line train station,
please. Wait here? Oh, that must be Ben now. I'm comin'! I'm comin'! Come in. She's here. - You can call me Ben.
- Alright, Ben. Ben... There's somebody at the house
again today, but this time he was
inside the house. - Did you get a look at him?
- No, it was too dark. But Ben, he put a two-by-four against
the back door so I couldn't get out. Ben... He wanted to kill me. You don't have a gun
i can borrow, do you? Well, my late husband had
an old single barrel, but as to whether it will still
shoot or not, I don't know. Do you have any shells? Yeah. Yeah, I think I got a box. Just-just a minute. Oh Ben, I'm so glad
you're back. We've got to let
the sheriff know about this. Ben, I had to break the glass
in the back door to get out of the house. He chased me down the road.
I had to run all the way over here. He was after me Ben,
he wanted to... Well... Here it is. Alright. Nice gun. My husband took great
pride in his guns. Been in there seven years.
Ever since he passed away. I keep that room locked up
tight and everything just the way he left it. Oh, oh. Here's the bullet
things for it. Okay, thank you. I'll bring
this back in a day or two. Oh, I don't reckon
you really need to. I'm not going to need it anyway. I mean he's not gonna bother
no cripple woman. Well, thank you for taking
care of her. I'm just thankful I could be
of some help. Alright, hon. Well, take care now. - Well, thank you again, olie.
- Thanks a lot, olie. Ben, I don't like this at all. - You want to stay on the porch?
- No. Ben, go look at the back door. Well, whoever it was is gone. Did you get a look at him? He was big, it was too dark to
see anything else. Well... We can talk to the sheriff
in the morning. Get him to patrol this area. Ben, I want to go back to
New Orleans. We're not going back
to New Orleans. We're signed up here. Can't we go back, Ben? I mean
it. I can't stand it here. We were so happy there. We go back to New Orleans, we move in with your folks
or my folks. We could get lucky, you know. I could get drafted
into the army. Ben, that's not funny. Nothing's gonna hurt you. I just don't like
this house anymore. We can move. But I want to finish
this job first. Well, I have to go
to the hardware store to pick up a few things. Going to meet back here
in twenty minutes? - Okay.
- Alright? Good morning. Good morning. Can you fill this for me? I certainly can. How's your bacon today,
is it fresh? Bacon's good. Fresh.
We got it this morning. Good. We'll be out twice a day
and twice a night. I can't do much more than that. You've got what you need
right there to protect yourself. Yeah, sure do. Well, I thank
you for that, I appreciate it. - I just hope you can come out.
- Alright, we'll be by. Alright. Did you get everything? Uh-huh. Richard Higgins
says "hello". What'd you find out
from the sheriff? Well, he said he'd start
patrolling the area. Okay.
Well, what'd you buy? Ooh, never thought I'd be glad
to see one of those things. They scare me to death. Wait a second. Why don't you come up here, hon?
Give you a break. Room that house,
over twenty feet. - Alright?
- Yeah. I like this better for you. Ok. - Alright, just on your own now.
- Okay. Now hold steady. Whenever you're ready, -just fire.
- Okay. Hey! Now listen, I got you a box of shells.
I want you to -come out here every day...
- Okay. ...'til you feel secure
about it, alright ? Okay. - Mmhm?
- Mmhm. Hello? Hi honey. Yeah,
i have to work late. Oh no, Ben. Yeah, well i-l called olie
and I thought you could stay over there. She says "alright".
I'll pick you up after. Well, try not to be
too late, okay? You know olie likes
to go to bed early and... Ah, okay.
I love you. Bye bye. Olie? Olie? Olie? Yes ma'am. 508. Thank you. Yes ma'am. Well, I guess there's
nobody home, thank you. Wheeler! I called my house again,
and I called Mrs. Gibson again and there's no answer. I'm worried sick. I think
I'm gonna get over there, -will you take over for me?
- Sure. But Ben, do you want me to
go with you? No, that's alright.
I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, my god. Get away from here. Ben! Oh, my god, Ben!
God! Ben,no! No! No! Be quiet. Just be quiet.
I'm not gonna hurt you. Please, don't. Don't. Be quiet and I won't
hurt you. Please. Please. Police are coming. Please. I think someone's
gonna be here-- please don't.
Don't. No. Ruth! Ben! Ben, just hold on Ben. I'm going
to get you to the hospital. Paging Dr. Williams. Paging Dr. Williams. Ruth, here comes the doctor now. Mrs. Watkins, I'm sorry. We
did everything we could. Dearly beloved, we are
gathered here to return the body of this our neighbor, our friend and this loved one,
back to the earth of which it came. Let us be reminded that death
is only the golden key to the door to the kingdom
of god. The Bible says, "oh death,
where's thy sting. Oh pray, where's thy victory." Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. Let us pray.
Kind, heavenly father, we beseech thee to watch over
this family and the dark days to come, through their sadness
to sorrow. Give them strength and courage
to go on. We thank thee also
for the privilege of knowing this young man for such a short time. May his
peace be with thee always, amen. What are you doing? You put that knife down
you son of a bitch! Dwayne, you hear me? You went to his funeral. Damn you, Ann. You went to his funeral.
That bastard wanted to kill me. Dwayne. Now you put
that knife down. Dwayne, it's part of our plan. That plan has always worked.
Ever since the police thought that them
court bailiffs, that we hid in the shed was us. Let's get away from here.
Let's let 'em have the place. Todd! I see 'em Todd,
here they come. The court has ordered that i
should give you these papers. And that you should vacate
these premises immediately. Do you hear me? When Todd slipped us
away from the house that night, I knew we would have
our revenge. And I've had to pay the price
all these years. Sitting in this wheelchair. Nobody's every gonna live
in our house. Honey you know that. I've always seen to that. And honey, I've always taken
good care of you, haven't I? Ever since we was first married. It's not gonna work
this time, Ann. You keeping me locked in here
like some animal. All these years. Lettin' me out just to kill
those people and then locking me up again. I ain't gonna be locked up
again. Never. - Never.
- No! No! No! No! No! Jake... I'd like to stop over by
olie's on the way back. Do you mind? I'd like to say
goodbye to her before I go back to the house and get
my things. Would that be ok? - Sure thing.
- Thanks. Olie? Olie? Olie? In here dear. I just wanted to come by to say
goodbye to you before I leave. And to thank you for being so
good to me during this time. Olie um... I came by the other day but
the house was... Help! Jake! Jake! Jake! Help me! Please! Ruth. Open up, Ruth.
It's me Jake. Everything's alright, Ruth. Ruth open... Everything's alright. Well come on. - Come on in.
- Morning. Sit down. Well, what did you think of
those two properties you looked at? Well, not fit for a dog. Wilbur, go ahead and tell him
about it. - Huh?
- Tell him about it. Oh, uh, yeah. Well, like the wife said. Those
two houses we looked at, they just, you know,
they weren't fit for stray dogs to live in. Anyway, we were comin' back
on route 2 and we stopped and we looked and we looked. Bless you. We say this house, it just,
i tell you, it's just something we wanted. It's got-the ground's fertile,
and we just kept looking at it and finally we just... We drove in. House looked like it hadn't
been lived in for years. No, there wasn't
nobody around. And... It's the kind of house we want. - Route 2?
- Yeah, it was right down there
on route 2. Let's see here now. This the house
you're talking about? That's it!
Ain't it, wilbur? Yes sir. Yes sir, Mr. rudd,
that's it. That's the house we want. And we're prepared to pay cash
for it too. Alright. Asking price is $10,000.
I want to make sure that you have the right paper. I want you to study
these contracts, and you look them over tonight and be here first thing
in the morning. Come on, wilbur. I'm gonna read this over with
a magnifying glass. I'd like you to meet Mrs. rudd.
These are the bumfords. Hello, nice to meet you. - How do you do, ma'am?
- Nice to meet you. They're gonna buy
the Monroe house. - Nice to have met you.
- Nice to have met you. Ruth. Ruth. Time to go home. Jake you know I,
never wanted anybody to live in that house again.
You promised me. On Tuesday June 3rd, 1948, Mrs. bumford was found
in an old well at the back of the house.
Death ruled accidental. Three months later on September
the eighth, Mr. bumford was found hanging in
the front room, coroner's office ruled suicide. Today, this house
remains vacant.