Voila! Finally, the The Defiant Ones
script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the Sidney Poitier movie. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly
transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of The Defiant Ones. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally
tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to
drop me a line. You won't
hurt my feelings. Honest.
Long gone
Ain't he lucky
Long gone
To Kentucky
Long gone
What I mean
Long gone Sam on a bowlin' green
Bowlin' green
Sewin' machine
Sewin' machine
Sew so fast
Sew eleven stitches
In a little cat's tail
I left my home in Nashville
A-look a-here what I got, Jack
A-twenty long years on a chain gang
A-sweatin' and bustin' rock
A judge, he come from Memphis
A-put me in the pen
If I ever see his face once more
He never get home again
That judge be long gone
To Kentucky
Long gone
Don't mean maybe
A long gone
What I mean
A long gone judge on a bowlin' green
Bowlin' green
A sewin' machine
A sewin' machine
Will you listen to him?
We oughta make him ride up front.
See how much singin' he'll do then.
In a little cat's tail
Shut up, do you hear me?! Shut up!
Long gone
Did you hear what I said? I said shut up!
Ain't he lucky
Shut up!
Long gone
To Kentucky
Long gone
You heard what the man
said, nigger. Now shut up!
You call me nigger again, Joker,
and I'm gonna kill ya!
Make your move, ni...
Look out!
(siren)(police radio)(siren)
Sheriff Muller speakin'.
No, Governor. Nobody dead.
Yes. Sideswiped.
Yes. Only two escaped.
Yes, Governor, I know
what my first obligation is.
We're still waitin' on the dogs.
Yes, Governor. Any minute now.
I got a call in to Warden Comisky.
Yes, Governor. I'm quite sure you will.
Hello, Max.
- Am I the first?
- You're the only one I called.
- Anythin' new?
- Not a thing.
Drivers are still unconscious. The men
don't know anythin', or won't say.
- Who was on the phone?
- The governor.
- Oh? Anythin' I can print?
- Sure.
He says he's gonna get
to the bottom of this.
- That's nice of him.
- It's an election year.
It's election year for you, too, Max.
Try Warden Comisky again.
We need that laundry for the dogs.
And call Marysville.
See if they located that dog man.
Here you are, Sheriff. Coffee.
Thanks.
( rock'n'roll)
Let's go, boys, let's go. Pile it out.
That's right, pile it out, will you, boys?
We have no time to lose.
Now what the devil...?
Here we are, Max.
- Who sent for you?
- I called 'em.
- What am I gonna do with 'em?
- Deputise 'em.
We can't work short-handed.
I only have six men.
Will you turn that radio off, please?
If the roadblocks don't pick them up,
we may have to fine-comb a lot
of ground before we flush 'em.
Well, watch how you play with
those guns. They're not toys.
Are you kiddin', Max, after all the huntin'
we've done? It's just like runnin' rabbits.
- These are men.
- Same thing.
Sure.
Men and rabbits... same thing.
It's not the same thing!
Well, we just want to give you
a hand, Max. Help out.
- You wanna be helpful, Lou?
- Sure, Max.
Good. Get rid of this.
All right, boys. Chow down the line.
Let's eat it up. Off we go.
Quit bein' stubborn. They really want
to help, and they can come in handy.
- I guess so.
- All right.
What about the two men who escaped?
- Sheriff, I got the warden on the phone.
- Fine.
Get the captain to show you the records.
Get everythin' you want from them.
(police radio)
Noah Cullen. Negro.
Assault and battery. Intent to kill. to .
Parole refused. Solitary. Work camp.
John Jackson. Caucasian.
Armed robbery...
- Caucasian?
- Caucasian.
Five to . Attacked guard.
Additional five. Parole refused.
Hey, Max. How come they chained
a white man to a black?
The warden's got a sense of humour.
What'd he say just now?
He said not to worry about catching 'em.
They'll probably kill each other
before they go five miles.
(birds chirping)( rock'n'roll)(dogs barking)
Hey! Max! Stop aggravatin' those dogs!
What's he so excited about?
You shouldn't be eatin' in front
of the dogs! That isn't very nice!
They've got feelings too, you know.
Shut up in there! Shut up!
Solly, we're not hurtin' their feelings.
I'm sorry, Sheriff, I shouldn't have yelled.
But my dogs are high-strung.
Now will you please...
What are those?
These beauties in here?
These are Dobermans.
- You don't know nothin' about dogs.
- Not that kind.
Well now, my bloodhounds here
won't even touch a hamburger.
But these beauties... when my
bloodhounds track 'em down,
- these'll take care of them, all right.
- We ain't gonna need 'em.
We're dealin' with a couple of
dangerous criminals, Sheriff.
How dangerous can they be,
chained together?
Look, Muller, come here.
You're new to this kind of operation.
If your views are humanitarian, you think
about the farmers and your own deputies.
Let me do my own thinkin', Captain.
It's your show, Sheriff, but I say the dogs
go along. I've got my own men to think of.
All right, but kept on a leash.
Solly? You keep those dogs on a leash.
Don't let 'em go unless I tell ya.
Solly, you'll find the old clothes
in the back of the squad car.
I'll have to make a big circle. Your men
been trampin' all around this here place.
Helmick! Get everybody up to the Jeep!
I'm gonna buy me a pair
of buckskin shoes,
with a brand-new suit and a silk shirt.
And I'll be Charlie Potatoes,
comin' down the street,
with a Panama hat and a good-lookin' gal.
Come on, boy, you got a free arm.
Come on, boy, hit it. Come on, boy, hit it!
- Boy, eh?
- Hit it! Hit it!
No more "Yassuh, boss."
- I'll go to Rio and never be found.
- No more "Yassuh, boss"!
- I'll never be found!
- No more "Yassuh, boss"!
It won't break.
Need a chisel and a hammer.
- Come on, let's go.
- Go where?
- Pineville.
- Pineville's south. I don't go south.
I knew a girl in Pineville.
We'll get this broke.
Then what? A strange coloured man
in a white South town.
How long before they pick me up?
Get off my back!
I ain't married to you! Come on!
You married to me all right,
and here's the ring.
But I ain't goin' south on no
honeymoon. We goin' north.
- Through the swamp?
- We go around it.
I used to work a turpentine mill
miles north of here.
There's a train come to pick up
the turpentine every day.
It come out of the swamp and cross
the line to the paint makers in Ohio.
Now we try for that train.
- How long you been in jail?
- Eight years.
And the train's still runnin'?
- I don't know.
- You don't know?
Askin' me to go miles with you
and you don't even know!
What are you invitin' me on?
A long walk off a short pier?
Nothin' doin'! Now come on!
Come on, damn you!
Come on!
- You're Charlie Potatoes, uh?
- Yeah.
You gonna dance down the street with
a gal on one arm and this on the other?
You gonna grab a boat to Rio,
pullin' your own anchor?
We can get this broke.
What you gonna do?
Bite it through with your teeth?
Maybe your head's hard enough!
The time's gonna come, Joker.
The time's gonna come.
But if you want it to be right here,
right now, that's OK with me.
You got the advantage of me -
tough to see if the light ain't good.
But you can hear me, Joker, so listen
good. Either we go north together,
or together we gonna go them miles
right back onto Dead Street!
You're right, boy. You're right.
The time is gonna come.
It's sure gonna come.
All right. Now north is up that way.
( rock'n'roll)
All right, men, we're ready to move out.
The sheriff is in charge. I'm second in
command. You take your orders from us.
You will deploy into two groups,
pivotin' around the headquarters group,
which consists of the sheriff and myself.
You. Douse that radio.
One more thing.
This may take a couple of days.
Maybe more.
So all check your gear.
Your rations. Ponchos.
You new deputies,
you check with the troopers.
Keep your lines dressed. Don't fall behind.
Just one minute.
- Anythin' you'd like to add, Sheriff?
- Negative.
Deploy.
Let's move out.
( rock'n'roll)
I almost... swallowed half that river.
Thanks.
- What for?
- For pullin' me out.
Man, I didn't pull you out.
I kept you from pullin' me in.
( rock'n'roll)
What is it?
- You didn't approve of dogs.
- I got nothin' against dogs.
They're man's best friend, aren't they?
What are you lookin' for? Lipstick?
All right, Solly, get goin'.
Sheriff, I can't run my dogs
any more today. They need a rest.
- We got an hour of daylight left!
- Never mind. Our men need a rest, too.
- OK?
- OK, Solly.
It was that last waltz that did it.
You're givin' those cons
a pretty good head start.
They have to rest, too, you know.
You don't look so good yourself.
(croaking)
Now!
Got him!
(insects chirping)(owls hooting)
Listen to 'em.
What are they?
Night birds mostly.
Bugs.
I wish they'd shut up.
Thanks.
- I keep listenin' for the dogs.
- It's too soon.
How fast do you think they can go?
Ain't no road. They gotta
come on foot, same as us.
- Animals in there?
- Some.
- What kind?
- All kinds.
- Like what?
- Like gators and...
Wild pig. Black bear.
- How come they don't make any noise?
- They animals.
They either bein' hunted or... huntin'.
Either way they don't make no noise.
I go with that.
Listen.
Must be a million of 'em. Not one of 'em
understands what the other one is sayin'.
They just bugs.
Bugs or people.
Nobody understands anybody.
Them animals, they're smarter.
You keep quiet and you hunt for yourself.
I go with that.
(distressed squeal)(owl hoots)
What was that?
Weasel.
Hoot owl musta got him.
I thought you said they
didn't make any noise.
Only when they're dyin', Joker.
That's a great way to live.
You keep quiet all your life,
and the only time you open
your mouth is when you're dyin'.
Thanks.
Why don't you cut it out?
Hmm?
You keep saying "thanks".
I hate that word "thanks".
Don't mean nothin'.
You try makin' a livin'
with that word... you find out.
I used to park cars in Natchez.
A big fancy hotel. A fella'd give me
his car and I'd say "Thank you, sir."
I was doin' him a favour,
but I had to say "Thank you, sir."
- The louder I said it, the bigger the tip.
- That figures.
You gotta be Charlie Potatoes,
the man with the money.
Then you don't have to
bow down to nobody.
That's the way I'm gonna live.
Even when they didn't give me a tip
I still had to say thank you.
That word got like it was stickin'
needles in me every time I said it.
That can happen with a word.
You know what I mean, boy?
Yeah. And I got a needle stickin' in me
right now. Joker, don't call me "boy".
You're just too sensitive, man.
- I'm too nothin'.
- That's right. You're too nothin' is right.
But I got a little advice for you, man,
because I like you, man.
You gotta take things as they are.
You can't keep fighting 'em.
I see you got a lot to learn, boy.
Like you livin' in that fancy hotel?
Yeah. Like me livin' in that fancy hotel.
- You think they'll let me in that hotel?
- Sure they'll let you in that hotel.
Through the back door,
if you got a pail and a mop.
And you through the front door,
just long enough to collect your tip!
What's eatin' you?
Just because I called you a ni...
Yeah.
Well, that's what you are, ain't it?
It's like callin' a spade a spade.
I'm a hunky. I don't try to argue out of it.
You can call me a bohunk. I don't mind.
You ever hear tell of a bohunk
in a woodpile, Joker?
You ever hear tell of
"catch a bohunk by the toe"?
- Depends on how you mean it.
- How'd you mean it?
Don't crowd me!
I didn't make up no names!
No, you breathe it in when you're born,
and you spit it out from then on.
That name sure bugs you, don't it?
Well, that's the way it is, and you're stuck
with it, cos I didn't make any rules.
- No, but you sure live by 'em.
- Everybody lives by 'em.
- Even them swamp animals.
- Even that weasel.
You callin' me a weasel?
No, I'm callin' you a white man.
(hooting)
What's the matter?
Nothin'.
Come on, let's get outta here.
(distant voice) Gee up! Haaahh!
- Do you think he saw us?
- I don't know.
- What is this? Where are we?
- I think it's some kind of clay pit.
Come on, let's get outta here.
Why don't you... Let go of the chain!
You tellin' me what to do?!
Come on, let's try it again!
Let me try it...
Let me try it on your shoulders.
- Give me a little slack!
- I can't!
Don't let go now! Hold on!
Hold on!
I got it! I got it!
Don't slip! Hold on!
- What are you doin'?
- Lookin' at this hand.
- What for?
- Looks infected.
What you gonna do about it?
- It needs fixin'.
- Don't do me any favours.
I ain't doin' you no favours, Joker.
That feels nice and cool.
It's a poultice.
What do you want me to say?
Want me to say thanks?
All right. Thanks. Thanks.
Thanks. Thanks!
That word sure bugs you, don't it?
Well, I been sayin' it all my life.
When I was a kid, I didn't have no shoes.
In church I'd sit with the rest of the kids
and I'd say "Thank you, Lord! Thank you!"
Well, they didn't have
no shoes either, Joker.
All God's children got shoes.
Come on.
(dogs barking)
Muller speakin'. Kill the roadblocks.
They've headed north.
No, no chance of them circlin' back.
They're already across the McHenry.
The trail is still pretty fresh.
We should have 'em in a day or two.
Max, I've got somethin' I want
to say to you. It's important.
Get down.
Call my wife, will you?
Tell her everything's OK.
Listen, Max. This is important.
I'm not lettin' my dogs
cross that water out there.
Fine.
I'm lettin' nobody make me ruin my dogs.
I hope you treat your grandmother
the way you treat those dogs.
- Oh, that's funny.
- Wasn't meant to be.
Well, I think more of these here dogs
than I do of any two old stinkin' convicts.
Good. Good.
Max, you don't care if
I use your phone, do you?
( rock'n'roll)
Got anythin'?
Well, the way I got it figured,
we'll ford it here...
(radio off)
Regroup across the river,
then backtrack and pick up the trail.
- Fine.
- That detour will cost us two hours.
- Can't be helped.
- I think it could.
Why don't we call Cumberland?
For what? Ask for a tank
and armoured divisions?
They have a -hour start,
and we're about to lose two!
- I appreciate the arithmetic.
- Catchin' men is my business.
And makin' the decisions is mine.
It don't look like much.
That the company store?
Yeah.
There's tools in there,
and food too, waitin' for us.
They'll be asleep pretty soon. We better
hunker down before somebody sees us.
(hogs snorting)
They sloppin' the hogs.
That means suppertime's over.
I used to feed the hogs
at the prison farm sometimes.
That sure was a nice farm.
Yeah. All that machinery.
You know somethin'? Fella get himself
a farm, he'd have a pretty sweet setup.
As long as a fella don't have to scratch it
out with hand tools and a mule.
Leastways you always got
somethin' to eat.
I worked acres by hand once.
My wife...
My wife helped me.
Sometimes even my little kid.
Man, we never had enough to eat.
I didn't know you was married.
What happened to your kid?
He was just five years old when I left.
He don't even remember me that much.
Everybody winds up alone.
Not just you. Everybody.
That's the way it is.
One down, five to go.
I got an old man around someplace.
The last time I seen him
was the day I got out of the army,
and we spent half my bonus cheque
gettin' lushed up together.
Ahh, I got nothin' against him.
My old man,
he was a Bible-thumper.
- Always tryin' to teach us somethin'.
- What's there to know?
I used to work in automobiles.
Transmission man.
$ . an hour, so some fink in a Cadillac
could drive it without havin' to shift gears.
- That's pretty good pay.
- You know what it meant to me?
Saturday night in a gin mill,
bein' Charlie Potatoes with a blonde,
or maybe a redhead. Anythin' I wanted.
Then Monday mornin' there I was, back
in that pit with grease in my eyeballs.
- Somebody gotta fix them cars.
- Let somebody else fix them cars.
Me? I wanna drive 'em!
- You gotta buy 'em first.
- On a buck-eighty an hour?
That's just a stopover
for a second-hand Chevy.
Nah, not for me. I got smart.
You're a maker or a taker. Me, I'm a taker.
That's how you wound up in jail.
Because I didn't know how to be
a big enough taker. I was just a stealer.
You gotta be a big enough crook
so you can get away with anythin'.
Just a few more lights now.
What did they get you for?
Assault and battery. Intent to kill.
Oh, that's great.
Man come on my land
cos I didn't pay the note.
When I gave him an argument,
he pulled a gun on me.
- I took it away from him.
- They put you in jail for that?
I whipped his head good.
Were you gonna kill him?
Maybe.
- If they hadn't pulled me off him, I would.
- You gotta roll with them punches.
Yeah!
What are you gettin' so mad about?
I ain't gettin' mad, Joker.
I been mad all my natural life.
- I'm just tellin' you the facts of life.
- I don't wanna hear it.
I been listenin' to that stuff all my life.
From my wife: "Be nice."
They throwed me in solitary confinement,
and she said "Be nice."
A man'd shortweight me. She'd say
"Be nice, or you get in trouble."
She'd teach my kid that same damn thing.
I never could get that woman to
understand how I was feelin' inside.
All of a sudden there
was nothin' left to say.
Ain't they never goin' to sleep?
I used to think,
if I could get away someplace,
someplace where folks
weren't always so afraid,
maybe she won't be
so afraid all the time.
Well...
There you go.
Well, that buttons it up for the night.
If we leave now they'll be asleep
when we get down there. Come on.
What?
Your white face shines out
like a full moon.
- What am I gonna do about it?
- I don't know what you're...
Here.
- How's that?
- Missed a couple of spots.
- Now just the meanness shines through.
- Then we sure look alike.
Check. Come on.
(insects chirping)(dog barks)(crow squawks)
Chain.
Can't see much.
Go on.
I... I can't reach it.
(cans clattering)(dogs bark)
- I'm slippin'.
- Grab a hold of the chain.
Urgh!
Grab a hold of the chain!
(loud crash)
- How you doin', Joker?
- My wrist... My wrist...
(dogs barking)
I bet we woke up this whole town.
- Somebody's in there! I heard 'em!
- Hey! Over here!
- Do you see anybody?
- There's somebody in there!
- Where's Claude? He's got the key.
- Forget it! Let's try the back door.
They're in there, I know it.
You hang on to me, Joker, the best way
you can. We're gettin' outta here.
Hey, come on back here!
Hold it, you guys!
Here they are!
Hold it!
- Looks like you two boys are in trouble.
- Mac, they hurt Joe real bad!
Say! This one's white!
Here, Max. You look pretty beat.
I figured sure we'd grab 'em
sometime today.
Take it easy.
Here comes Captain Bligh.
( rock'n'roll)
- How about a nice hot coffee, Captain?
- No.
- I thought you'd want the casualty report.
- Go ahead.
Three men.
- How bad?
- Legs.
- Send 'em back.
- Someone's gotta go with 'em.
- Pick someone out.
- That's a lot of men outta the line.
- What about it?
- Solly says the trail'll get no fresher.
So?
So I'd like to make it a matter of record
that I requested help. You refused.
- It's your responsibility.
- It is my responsibility.
Anythin' else you'd like to remind me of?
Just this.
I happen to be civil service.
I don't have to worry about my job.
Got a point there, Max.
If I listened to him
I'd be callin' out the marines.
If they get away because you refused
to call in help, you'll look pretty foolish.
And I'd have to print it, Max.
Look, let me tell you somethin', Dave.
I got a wife and two kids. And a mortgage.
My job as sheriff pays me a year.
It comes in steady.
I don't have to work too hard.
It's a good setup and I like it.
But don't frighten me about losin' it.
I can always go back to practisin' law.
Max... no offence.
We've been friends a long time.
You never made much of a livin'
as a lawyer. Stop kiddin' yourself.
I didn't think it was possible, but
I'm beginnin' to hate those two men.
I'll get them.
Rafe, get rid of the women and children.
Come on, ladies. Let's go.
- What you men fixin' to do?
- Old-fashioned prayer meetin', ma'am.
Let's go now. Come on. Let's go.
Prayer meetin'. That's pretty funny.
Give us a break, buddy, uh?
I ain't your buddy. You got your buddy.
Which one of you did it?
Did you do it?
Why did you do it?
- How is he, Sam?
- He ain't come to yet.
- He oughta be all right.
- He oughta be.
Did he do it?
Are you protectin' your buddy?
It don't matter. You're both gonna hang.
You can't do anythin' to us.
We're escaped cons.
- So?
- So they're lookin' for us.
What you gonna do when they find us?
You gonna be crow meat
when they find you.
Well, you ain't gonna get away with it.
Nobody's gonna know
who pulled the rope.
Don't you know there's a reward
for escaped convicts?
Rewards always say "dead or alive".
Don't you understand?
You can't go lynchin' me.
I'm a white man!
You are?
I'll tell you the kind of white man you are.
- Spit on him.
- For God's sake...
- Go on! Spit on him.
- Mac...
Let me alone, Sam!
We're just havin' a little fun, huh, boys?
Come on, you heard me.
Wait!
Outta my way, Sam,
or you'll have trouble, too.
- I told you. Joe's gonna be all right.
- You told me. Fine!
You just don't give a damn, do ya?
All right. The rest of you big men,
you wanna lynch 'em, huh?
You, Glover.
You look anxious. Go ahead.
Tie it around their necks. Go on!
You want blood, huh?
Well, here. Go ahead! Chop 'em up!
Go on!
Or do you wanna burn 'em?
Do you wanna burn 'em, huh?
You wanna burn 'em?
Or do you wanna burn 'em?
Go on! Burn 'em!
Mac!
Go on! Burn their eyes out!
Now,
any more big men?
Joe's all right.
Took six stitches, but he's OK.
All right. Lock them two up.
I'll take 'em back in the mornin'
in the wagons.
Put Mac in the shack where he belongs.
The rest of you go to bed.
Long gone
Ain't he lucky
Long gone
To Kentucky
Long gone
What I mean
Long gone Sam on a bowlin' green
Bowlin' green
Sewin' machine
Little kitten sittin'
On a sewin' machine
Sewin' machine
Sew so fast
Sew eleven stitches
You musta been crazy
to do a thing like that.
They might've beat us to death.
They still might.
What you got to live for, Joker?
You wanna spend the next years
on some chain gang, bustin' rock?
It's better than bein' dead.
You ever seen a lynchin'?
Why?
Cos anybody as scared as you was, man,
they... they got to have seen a lynchin'.
Yeah, I seen a lynchin'.
I seen what they do to a guy,
how they drag him outta jail in the middle
of the night, like that mob out there.
They start drinkin'.
Then they start thinkin'.
And Big Sam, he falls asleep somewhere.
Then that mob comes in here
and they get us. Then what?
That's mighty easy for you, Joker.
You just tell 'em you're a white man.
(lock being forced open)
Wait a minute. What are you doin'?
I didn't hear any wagon bein' hitched up.
I'm lettin' you loose.
What do you mean,
you're lettin' us loose?
I already told you. I'm lettin' you loose.
Wait a minute.
How about lettin' us have that crowbar?
Don't go to pressin' your luck too far, boy.
Come on.
Wait a minute.
If you get caught,
wasn't nobody let you loose.
You broke out yourselves. Understand?
Yeah, yeah. Thanks.
Run, chicken.
Run.
( rock'n'roll)
Hold on, man. Wait. Wait.
I gotta rest.
We musta run a million miles.
How far do you think we run?
Man, you sure can run. You'd have killed
us both if I didn't make you stop.
Why don't you say somethin'?
What have you got to squawk about?
We got away, didn't we?
You got nothin' to say, huh?
You oughta be thankin' me.
You didn't put up any fight.
I had to do all the talkin'.
Look, man, don't gimme that look.
You shoulda got what was comin' to ya,
after spittin' in that guy's face.
Why, you...!
You afraid of catchin' my colour?
- You pickin' a hand to me?
- To you? The bigshot taker?
You're just a talker!
Tell me all about Charlie Potatoes, when
the chain's off and nobody's chasin' ya!
Come on.
You can't, can ya?
You can't, because you're nothin'. Not
even a man! You're a monkey on a stick!
That cracker mob back there -
they pulled the string and you jumped!
You said one day
we were gonna tangle, Joker.
You said the time was gonna come,
and that time is now!
- I'm gonna kill you!
- That's right, white man.
You kill me.
Only it ain't so easy to kill me, is it?
(kid) Put up your hands!
Come on up here!
- Let's get outta here!
- Wait a minute.
- Cullen, there may be people around!
- Wait a minute!
- He bumped his head.
- Come on.
Let me go!
Keep him away from me!
Don't let him hurt me!
- He ain't gonna hurt ya.
- Where you live, kid?
- Go on, answer him.
- Over the hill.
That way?
- Tell him.
- Yeah.
- What you doin' out here?
- Huntin'.
- Your pa let you out huntin' by yourself?
- He ain't here no more.
- Who you live with?
- My ma.
- Just you and your ma?
- Uh-huh.
How come you're chained together
like that? Are you takin' him to jail?
Well, somethin' like that.
You must have a lot of friends,
a smart kid like you. A lot of neighbours.
Uh-uh. Just Ma and me.
We work the farm.
Sometimes on Sunday we go over to
Cumberland, to visit my Uncle George.
- What's your name, boy?
- Billy.
Billy, uh? Come on,
we'll get you home, Billy.
What's the matter?
Nothin', Ma. I'm all right.
What do you want?
Don't get excited, lady.
All we want is somethin' to eat.
Come on.
Kid, come here.
- Where you goin'?
- You wanted somethin' to eat.
- You got a chisel and a big hammer?
- In the shed, if I can find 'em.
- Is it OK, Ma?
- Go ahead.
Where's his? Get him some.
Go on!
You ain't feelin' so good, eh, Joker?
I'm feelin' fine. Don't worry about me.
I ain't worried about ya.
- I got some coffee.
- Thanks.
Him too?
What are you lookin' at?
Where you from?
You can talk to me.
You don't have to be afraid to talk to me.
Gets lonesome here.
That's a nice picture.
- I made it myself.
- Oh, yeah?
It ain't so much. You buy 'em in the store.
It's got numbers on it where you're
supposed to put the colours, you know.
It's all right.
I like pretty things.
Did you paint that one, too?
That?
No.
No, I cut that out of a magazine.
What is it?
"A scene of gay revelry at the
Mardi Gras in Old New Orleans."
Where's that kid?
He'll be back.
Relax, Cullen. He'll be back.
Uh...
I've been to the Mardi Gras.
Yeah? Is it really like what it says?
It's all right.
You mean it ain't like what it says?
No, it's fine. It's very nice.
A lot of music and a lot of dancin'.
Good-lookin' women.
Oh, I...
I must look awful. I...
I been doin' the washin'.
Are you gonna be stayin' long?
No?
They comin' after you?
There's a train.
Tomorrow. Hits the ridge about
one o'clock in the afternoon.
It's a good place to catch it, too.
It goes slow up the ridge.
How come... how come you know
so much about the train?
My husband used to work for the line.
I found 'em.
- You got enough room for a swing?
- You just hold that chain, Joker.
Now me.
Here, hold that.
We cut loose now.
What's the matter with him?
He's sick. He got poison in his system.
- Heat some water!
- Stay where you are, kid.
Do like I told you!
Well, you get in there with him.
All right, they hit you. Then what?
What did you do to them?
I don't know. The next thing I know,
the doctor is fixin' me up.
Do you know what happened last night?
No, huh?
You, lady?
You? Were you deaf and blind
last night, too?
They sent us women away.
Why?
Ask them.
Sam, what did you do with 'em?
Like I told you before, Sheriff.
We caught 'em, locked 'em up.
They broke out and ran away.
Those jimmy marks are
on the outside of the door.
They didn't break out. Somebody
broke in and got them. Who was it?
I wouldn't know about that, Sheriff.
I run a turpentine camp, not a jail.
Who came for them, Sam?
Who came and got them?
Sam, if you lynched 'em,
you'd better tell me now.
The dogs are gonna find 'em anyhow.
Why'd we wanna kill 'em? Appears to me
like you're better rigged for that than us.
All right, that's enough.
Solly, get goin'.
You've been rushin' my dogs since
early this mornin'! They're bushed!
I'm tired of your complaining
about your dogs!
Will you get goin'!
Wait, Max. How about us?
We're dead tired on our feet.
- Max, have a heart.
- It'll be dark soon.
You wanted to be deputies, didn't you?
Well, you're under orders,
so get ready to move out!
Come on, come on.
Call Cumberland. Tell them
I want every man they can spare.
These men better be field-equipped.
It'll be dark before they can get started.
I don't care when they start!
You get them movin'!
All right, Sheriff.
All right.
You know that's the first time
I seen him smile?
Yeah.
- Where is he?
- Shh!
- How long I been asleep?
- Couple of hours.
- Where's the kid?
- In the other room.
- I'd better wake Cullen.
- No.
Don't go yet.
- You're feverish. You got plenty of time.
- What time is it?
About two o'clock.
- You been sittin' here all night?
- Mm-hm.
Why don't you go and get some sleep?
I want to stay.
What is it?
I was thinkin' of the last time somebody
sat up all night takin' care of me.
Your wife?
No.
A skinny old man with a moustache.
He had red eyes and a torn T-shirt.
He was an orderly in the prison hospital.
I had a sunstroke from
workin' on the road gang.
I ain't married.
What's it like?
- What's what like?
- You know. Prison.
How you gonna explain it?
Is it lonesome?
Yeah.
What happened to your old man?
He run off... eight months ago.
I been stuck here.
Must get pretty lonesome for ya.
It's like that in jail, ain't it?
Yeah. It's like that.
- Does it ever get really bad?
- Mm-hm.
No. No, I mean...
I mean so bad that you just feel
kinda empty inside. You know?
Like a big empty thing, and all you
wanna do is fill it up with tears.
I'll tell you somethin'.
You fill it up with tears and you're a goner.
What can you do?
I fill it up with dreams.
You gotta know about somethin'
before you can dream about it.
No, you don't.
Look, I was born miles from here.
And I just don't know nothin' else.
You don't have to know.
All you have to do is want.
Then you make up a million pictures
in your own head.
- Pictures?
- Mm-hm.
- What kind of pictures?
- All kinds of pictures.
Different things, different places,
different people.
All the things you ever wanted,
but you ain't gonna get.
Sometimes it's music and
bright lights and paper streamers,
and I'm dancin' in the streets.
Like the Mardi Gras?
Mm-hm. Just like the Mardi Gras.
And sometimes...
Sometimes I'm on a boat, a long boat,
and... I'm goin' far away.
I'm goin' to places
that I never seen before.
White sand.
Hot sun.
And tall buildings.
All tall buildings...
reachin' way up into the sky.
Tall buildings made of glass.
And there's always somebody waitin'.
Somebody clean,
and warm,
and nice.
Is she beautiful?
I better get Cullen.
Is she prettier than me?
It's been so long.
I get the dreams mixed up
with the real thing.
It's real now.
Don't go away.
I ain't goin' anywhere.
Don't go away.
(insects chirping)(birds singing)
Hi.
- Mornin'! You're up early.
- Uh-huh.
- I'll change your dressin'.
- It's OK.
That's great.
Thank you.
- I made you some breakfast.
- Fine.
- What's that? That your old man's?
- Mm-hm.
You're just about the same size.
You're a good-lookin' woman.
He must've been crazy to leave.
Oh, this place is no good. It needs a man.
- He'll be back one day.
- Yeah? Well, I won't be here.
- Where you figure on goin'?
- Where do you?
- I'm bound for Rio.
- Listen...
- I ain't got time.
- Wait a minute.
- You like me, don't you?
- Yeah, I like you. I like you a lot.
Take me with you.
- Law's on my tail. I'm runnin' scared.
- I don't care. Take me with you.
- You gonna ride the freights with me?
- We don't have to. I got a car.
- A car?
- In the shed, in back.
Wait a minute! It's busted! It won't start!
- Get in and try it!
- Well, it won't start.
- How long's it been here?
- Three weeks.
All right, hit it.
- Try it again. Try it again!
- I am!
- It's the battery. You got a crank?
- I don't know. Do I?
- Put it in neutral.
- It's in neutral.
OK?
(engine starts)
- I gotta get Cullen.
- We can't take him!
- Why not?
- They'll recognise you!
- They're gonna spot us anyway.
- No, we'll travel as man and wife.
What about Cullen?
What's the difference if they're
followin' one or two of you?
What about Billy?
We can drop him off at my brother's,
then go south.
We're goin' too fast. I gotta think.
Honey, there ain't no time to think.
Will you come on?
All right. All right, get packed.
We'll leave in a couple...
(engine still running)
Nice shirt.
We're goin' south.
- We?
- Me and her.
- In this?
- Yeah, it runs.
Yeah? You're wastin' your gas.
(engine off)
They'll be watchin' the roads.
They'll be watchin' where
the dogs are goin'.
That kinda makes me the bait, don't it?
Cullen, travellin' together we're like
a sign that says "come and get us".
He's too weak to travel on foot anyway.
You got the same chance alone.
Maybe better.
I'll fix you somethin' to eat.
You got it all figured out.
Hey, you better go and get washed, Billy.
How far is it to that railroad?
About miles,
if you go through the hills.
I'm fixin' sandwiches.
There's coffee there.
If I go through the hills?
Or you can short-cut through the swamp.
Swamp?
Save you a couple of hours.
Make it harder for the dogs.
You can find it easy.
Which way is that?
Go right up here by the shed.
You'll see a path.
Follow that till you get to the swamp.
You'll see a great big cypress over on
your left about half a mile. Follow that.
Then what?
Then nothin'. The rest is easy.
Just head for the railroad, that's all.
Thanks for the grub.
Hey, Cullen.
Yeah?
So long.
So long, Joker.
Here, I'll burn that.
Not now, honey, please...
We got plenty of time. Suppose...
We're goin' on a trip to Cumberland.
- Now?
- Now.
- Go and take your clothes off the line.
- Cumberland? With him?
Yeah.
You like him, don't you?
Sure. He's all right.
Well, go on.
You better talk to that kid.
On the way. He's a smart kid.
I wonder what they'll do
to Cullen if they catch him.
Don't worry, they won't.
- What makes you so sure?
- Look, will you quit worryin'?
They ain't gonna catch him, cos he ain't
never gonna get out of that swamp alive.
What? Didn't you tell him right?
There ain't no right.
It's all bogs and quicksand.
Why'd you do it?
Well, suppose they caught him?
What if he told 'em?
What if he told 'em what?
What if he told 'em what?
What could he tell 'em?
So they wouldn't come lookin'.
So we could have time.
- Time for what?
- Time! Time for us to get away!
To get to a city - a big city,
so big they could never find you!
Oh, look! Look, I got $
insurance money saved up.
We could live good.
Do all those things you was talkin' about.
We could go dancin', and eat
in restaurants, and go to shows.
You could start a whole new life.
And when we needed more money
I could sell the farm...
- What should I do with these?
- You'll think of somethin'.
- Drop 'em down the well.
- Like you dropped Cullen in the swamp.
What are you gettin' so excited
about that Negro for? I did it for you!
- You don't even know me!
- For us! For the two of us!
- You don't even know my name.
- Well, I don't care what they call ya!
They call me Johnny. That's what
they call me. They call me Johnny.
Johnny. Oh, Johnny...
You don't even know me.
Please, we don't have time. You said so
yourself. They're comin' after ya.
You don't know anythin' about me.
No! Where you goin'?!
- Get outta the way!
- What'd I do wrong?!
Please, what'd I do wrong?
Listen to me, Johnny. Please listen.
All my life I've been waitin'
to get away from here.
From the mud gumbo, and the loneliness.
I'd only see my husband two times
a week, and he didn't come back.
I don't blame him, but I don't
wanna stay here either.
Oh, Johnny, I'm beggin' ya!
Oh, please take me with ya!
Don't leave me here, Johnny, please...
( rock'n'roll)
- Charlie, bring in that water, will you?
- Here. Take your full ration.
- Kid, what'd they talk about?
- I don't know.
You don't know, uh? OK, beat it.
They're not around here.
Everything's clear.
All right, so they ate. Then what?
They must've taken somethin' with 'em!
- Nothin' you could put 'em in jail for.
- Lady, you're not cooperatin'.
Let's not waste any more time, Frank.
OK, let's go.
Look, ma'am, I don't know what
you've been thinkin' or why.
Whatever it is, it can't work. Cos,
so help me, they're goin' back in jail.
Cullen!
Cullen!
Where are you?!
Cullen!
Cullen!
Cullen, where are you?!
Cullen!
Cullen!
Cullen!
Cullen, where are you?!
Cullen!
What do you want?
- Cullen, I been lookin' all over for you.
- They catchin' up?
Yeah.
How come you're here?
What you want with me?
That woman told you wrong.
Why'd she do that?
She said if they caught you you'd squeal.
- What happened to your shoulder?
- Kid shot me.
If we hit high ground,
we can still make it. Come on.
- Cullen, I can't make it.
- Come on!
Cullen, I can't make it!
Come on, man, you draggin' on the chain.
That dame.
Why would she do a thing like that?
- She was just tryin' to help ya.
- She sure helped, all right.
Can't blame a body
for what they don't know.
I blame her.
I blame her, all right.
( rock'n'roll)
Halt!
- Sweetheart picked up the scent, all right!
- They can't be far away.
Solly, bring up the Dobermans.
- Wait a minute.
- What's the matter?
- No dogs.
- Do we have to go all over that again?
No killer dogs, Frank!
Look, Max, we crossed
the county line this mornin'.
You're out of your jurisdiction.
Take off the muzzles, Solly.
- Wait, Solly.
- You're wastin' time, Max.
We're supposed to find 'em,
not execute 'em.
I'm givin' the orders. Go ahead, Solly.
Just a minute, Solly. If you make
one move, I'm goin' to shoot them.
- For the love of Mike, Max!
- Are you gonna listen to me?
Hold everythin', Solly.
Come on, boy.
All right, I'll take those trackers. When
we close in, I'll go on ahead by myself.
If anythin' happens to me,
let the other dogs loose.
- I don't like it.
- You don't have to.
(train whistle)(train whistle)(train approaching)
Cullen... Cullen...
Come on, Joker.
- Cullen...
- Run! Come on!
I can't make it! I can't make it!
Hold it, Joker.
How you doin', Joker?
OK.
- You hurt bad?
- I feel fine.
Sure you do.
You gonna make somebody
a fine old lady one day.
Ain't it the truth.
(dogs barking)
Them the dogs?
Just rest easy, Joker.
- Cullen...
- Yeah?
We gave 'em a helluva
run for it, didn't we?
Yeah.
(barking)
Charlie Potatoes.
I'm mashed potatoes now.
So are you.
We're doin' all right, Joker.
Yeah...
Long gone
Ain't he lucky
Long gone
To Kentucky
I left my home in Nashville
Look a-here what I got
Twenty long years on a chain gang
Sweatin' and bustin' rock
Judge he come from Memphis
Put me in the pen
If I ever do see his face once more
He never get home again
That judge be long gone
To Kentucky
Long gone
Don't mean maybe
Long gone
What I mean
Long gone judge on a bowlin' green
Bowlin' green
Sewin' machine
A little kitten sittin'
On a sewin' machine
Sewin' machine
Sew so fast
Sew eleven stitches
In a little cat's tail
Bowlin' green
Sewin' machine!