Officer.
Can you tell me the way to three rivers?
About two miles to the first main intersection, then turn left. It's about 60 miles.
Thanks. What town is this suddenly?
Suddenly? What? No, no, that's the name.
It's a funny name for a town. Uh huh.
Hangover from the old days.
That's the way things used to happen here. Suddenly I see road agents.
Gamblers, gunfighters. Well, I take it things have changed. Uh huh.
Things happen so slow.
Now the town council is figuring to change the name to gradually.
Thanks, officer. Pleasure. Come back.
Mhm.
Hello there? P,
hi, Todd. Where is your mother? We've been shopping. I gotta pick this up in the car.
Want to come.
Yeah. Sure.
Todd.
Uh huh.
Well, no,
I guess not.
She wouldn't let me.
Who's she? Mom? Of course.
Well, you better say mom pig. It's kind of not polite to say she like that.
Especially about your mother. Well, anyway, she wouldn't,
you know, I bet I can guess what's on your mind. I bet you can't.
Well, now let's see,
you want an ice cream soda.
Not a bad idea, but that's not it.
You want to go to the movies. No, it's a war picture. Mama. Let me see. War pictures.
Boy. Oh, boy. This is tougher than I thought
I got it.
You want that baseball bat?
No, but you're awful warm.
Yeah.
Ok.
Is that it?
Sure that's, it,
ain't it a beauty?
But shucks, it's no use. Mom wouldn't let me have it. She doesn't like guns. I know
it's because of my father being killed in the war.
Look, pinch,
if you had the gun, what would you do with it? Stick up a filling station.
Stick up a filling station. Heck, no, I'd be sheriff and I catch all those roads
and cattle rustlers just like you.
But what about mom?
Well, I think we can talk her into it.
What would you want her to be a peace officer and all?
We got lots of time. Mom's still in the market getting groceries.
Let's go.
Oh, hell, I've got it. Oh, thanks Todd. Hello. Hi.
Can I give you a lift of the house? Thanks. Anyway. But I have the car with me
going to church tomorrow. Yes,
I'll pick you up about a quarter to 11.
Huh?
You never give up. Do you
Ellen? I know how you feel. Believe me. I do. And I've tried to understand but
I haven't asked you to understand.
That's because I'm in love with you,
Todd. You,
you shouldn't say that to me.
Why not? It's true. Don't Todd
Ellen? You can't go on being a widow forever.
It's been over three years since Pete died.
Don't you understand? No one can take Pete's place.
I'm not trying to take Pete's place. I'm trying to make a place of my own.
You've been wonderful Tard
and I'm grateful. Really? I am but
I can't help how I see you,
Ellen.
You've got to stop doing this to yourself because you're doing it to Pidge too,
as well as to me, you're digging a big black pit and shoving all of us down into it.
Leave me alone, Tom, please.
Pig. Where did you get that gun?
I bought it for him. Ellen.
Todd. How could you?
We thought you wouldn't mind mom because I'm gonna be a sheriff just like Todd.
Take it off Paige.
I can't help it, Todd.
You know,
I can't stand seeing him play with a gun but
the boy's gotta learn some that guns aren't necessarily banned.
Depends on who uses them. Todd carries one, doesn't he?
Yes. Well, then just take it off pig.
Oh, gee,
that's $3 please.
Thank you.
Tell him,
I know you don't want the boy to see war pictures,
but it seems teaching Children the art of death and destruction, the cruelties,
the tortures.
He's got to know that these things exist.
Then he can fight against them when it's his turn.
You can't wrap the boy in Cellophane.
I can try as long as possible.
Look
when a house is on fire.
Everybody has to help put it out because the next time it might be your house. Todd.
Don't
church tomorrow, Ellen.
No, Todd. I can't go with
you.
Well, I can't go on asking you and being turned down
in the meantime.
Yes.
Be
Bob
going over to Tilly's for a cup of Java.
You can handle things. It's a quiet day. Not a quiet day.
That's great for the last 50 years.
You
good night shirt. What's the word? Get out of here. Get the sheriff.
Tell him to get over here fast. It's an emergency.
Take it easy.
P 25 mile speed limit. Where's a show?
Try the office.
Hey, what's the,
where's Todd? I catch your breath.
It's emergency. Ed Walker just got to see him right away.
I
don't know.
Something came over the wire. Ed wouldn't even show me.
That's funny. Well, there's Todd now.
Thanks. Get out of here. Well, wait a second. I want to know what it's about.
Top secret. Get out of here for Pete's sake. I run my pants off
shows
what the word. Listen to this. I haven't finished typing it yet. Sheriff Todd Shaw
suddenly California confidential code hangover.
Special train number 1019 carrying the President of the
United States will arrive suddenly 5 p.m. Today,
President will de trainin and drive to White Springs Ranch will require
adequate transportation.
Appreciate cooper operation your staff with secret service
operatives arriving 115 county Acting chief US.
Secret service.
No mistakes, huh? All the typing
5 p.m.
Yeah. Can I use your phone?
Uh,
give me state police headquarters in Weatherby.
What's that code word again?
Hangover? Hangover.
Hello,
this is Todd Shaw. Down to suddenly I want to speak to Captain Aaron.
There's number 20 the 66 present.
Hello, Cap Aarons.
It's Todd Shaw. Say, look,
I've got a message here. The code word is hangover.
Now I'm gonna need five of your cars, two men to a car and one Thompson gun to each car.
And you?
Oh, you did, huh?
Swell. Right. Thanks.
They got the same message Aaron says the show on the road already.
Gee, those state cops don't fool around, do they? No, they don't
say,
uh,
you didn't spill this, did you?
It says confidential.
Let's just keep it that way.
I'll run over to Kaplan's garage. I'll be back in a minute.
Hello, Sheriff. I'll be right with you. That's not soon enough. I,
so I want the big black Cadillac at 430.
The limousine parking at the station backed in.
Somebody getting married. Like the sheriff. Don't be funny.
This is police business. Don't tell anyone
I don't get it. You're not supposed to 4:30 a.m. No slip ups,
Mr Carney. That's right. My name's Shaw.
You
get my message.
What message hangover?
May I see your credentials?
Mrs Wilson?
Hi,
Aine
Schulz
and Kelly.
Glad to make your acquaintance. Yeah, I got your message.
You're a cattleman. Cheryl. Not always. This seemed like a good time to be though.
We always have to be.
May I see your credentials?
I,
uh,
I've got a limousine order for 430. It'll be parked right here.
Good state police have five cars on the road from weatherby.
Excellent. I guess that's about it.
Not quite,
you can still be of help to us.
Goodness,
we'll have to check all of those stores facing the station.
Mr Kearney. I know every proprietor in this town. You can take my word for it.
I can't take your word for anything.
I'm sure they're ok.
It's just routine.
All right, boys,
we'll park a limousine between the tracks when the special arrives.
Pretty rough in there. Maybe
easier to cover
Allstate police cars and go in there too.
Uh,
who lives up there on the hill?
Pop Benson, his grandson and his daughter-in-law.
We'll check it,
Mr Carney.
If there's one place in this town doesn't need checking. It's that one.
Pop Benson used to be in the secret service himself for a bad t
retired him.
Pop Benson.
You don't mean Peter Benson? That's right.
Well,
I'll be a monkey's uncle.
What do you mean?
Oh, Pete Benson used to be my old boss.
How do you like that? Huh?
Therefore Mr Shaw, he'll be the last one in the world to object.
Pete Benson for heaven's sake.
Probably a rec fire. Probably a tube.
Would you please call Judd and have him come up and fix that thing before you wreck it,
wreck it, wreck it.
Look, I'll have you understand.
I built a television transmitter in 38 before you even knew what television was.
Yes. But did it work? I don't know. I never did get to finish the receiver.
This is a receiver and I do wish you'd call Judd.
I don't want to bother you besides a time and a half on Saturday.
Well, that'll be cheaper than what it'll cost when you get through diddling with it.
Oh, now Alan, stop taking it out on me just because you and Todd had a fight.
You haven't touched your cake. Don't want it.
P
darling. I made it especially for you.
You made it because you wouldn't let me wear my gun.
Drink your milk, darling.
Sissy.
What? That's what the guys call me.
Well, I don't care what they call you.
I'm your mother and I think I know what's best for you.
Pig
p
You shouldn't walk out when I'm talking to you. I thought you were finished.
The boys. Just disappointed. That's all Alan
dad. Please stop interfering.
First, you cancel him out on the hike with Cubs
CS and the next thing pitch. Go to your room.
I'll have this all set pregnant in a minute, son. You and me watch the ball game.
Dad. I've had this for the last time.
Helen. You're a grown up, girl,
you got a problem. You haven't worked out.
That's no reason why pitch should have your problem.
I've only done what I thought was. Right. Dad.
I read about an experiment once, kept germs away from a kid,
raised him pure and scientifically.
First time he got out on the rough, he caught cold and died of pneumonia.
What does that have to do with Pidge? The kid hadn't been exposed. He had no immunity.
There's cruelty and hatred and tyranny in the world.
You can't make believe they aren't there.
And Pidge has got to learn what is the law and what isn't the law says he can defend it,
defend it
so he can become a soldier and go out and be murdered. Like his father was,
my son was killed in the performance of his duty. Ellen duty
being blown to bits on some godforsaken battlefield.
Thousands of miles from where he was born. You call that duty?
Yes, Ellen.
Well, is that what you'd like for pig? Would that make you happy?
Pete could hear you now? I think he'd be ashamed of you.
How can you say a terrible thing like that?
When the old boys wrote those words, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,
they sounded mighty nice,
but they wouldn't have been worth a plug nickel if somebody hadn't made a mistake.
Yes.
Grandpa, grandpa, grandpa, the window, look out the window, golly
from weatherby
ramps of state troopers. See
she would cut it fine.
You couldn't possibly be surprised with all those sirens blasting.
I try to beat him.
State troopers right on time.
Yeah,
they're good
the best. All right, bye. Follow them in.
Well, there are two routes to the White Springs Ranch.
You can go over the mountains here
or you can drop down on the main highway,
go on into three rivers and the ranch is about 20 miles farther on.
We'll stick to the main highway.
Too much chance of ambushing those
models.
That's,
we use a roof watch in those stores chief beside a street check.
Look, Mr Carney, every proprietor in this town has been here at least five years.
I know them. I know their kids. Isn't that sheriff?
It's the stranger that might use one of those stores for coverage.
I'd like them to lock up at 10 minutes to five.
Stay locked up until 10 minutes after 50. And, uh, put them out on the roof too.
All right. Berg, give him the word.
No one, including the proprietors.
I don't remember those stores at locking down.
Anyone seen inside after 10 minutes of five might be shot on sight
like the man says. It's important.
Yes, sir.
Tell Wilson to keep the station clear.
Schultz will take over troopers and block off traffic approaches from 430 on.
Right.
And there's another hazard here. A house up in the hill.
Yeah, I know.
I'll check that one. Myself
answer.
It's odd what the Hades is going on in this b did some galu make a uranium strike?
No, not exactly. Now, look slim. You take over here and I'll catch up with you later
from 430 on.
I want all pedestrian traffic kept off main street between Oak and Alder.
The state boys will help you.
If anybody in town squawks while you smooth things over,
they know you. And this is all gonna seem a little strange to them.
I'm confused myself. Never have seen so many cops. What goes on?
Uh, this is Mr Carney special agent in the Treasury department. Secret service.
Carney Slim Adams, one of my deputies.
How do you do
secret service?
I get it. They're shipping the national debt through here in gold bars.
Just don't worry about it. You'll find out later.
All right. Come on,
let's go and check that car you hired.
Hey,
Buffalo Bell, you better put that gun away before your mom sees it.
You turn your hide,
dad. I do wish you'd call Judd and let him come up and fix that shock. So I
knew Owen's Law before they even passed it.
I don't want pitch to miss the ball game after missing the movie and everything.
All right, boy, come on, get ready to plug this set in while I hold this screw down.
We'll see what happens.
Ok,
dad? Are you sure you know what you're doing, Ellen, please?
I know what it says on the back of that,
that there are 5000 votes and that's dangerous.
Ellen. Will you please stop being a woman
ready boy? Plug in
dad? Dad? Are you all right? Well, I guess I'm all right. Could scare the pants off me.
That's all. Golly. Look at this, I guess. Maybe you better call Judd,
huh?
Honestly,
that was a close call. Boy.
How much is 5000
pts enough to kill you?
Well, I'll probably pick you up and toss you across the room.
That is,
unless you were standing in a puddle of water and then you'd be
grounded and if you were grounded it'd kill you dead in a doornail.
Will it hurt
like blazes? You stay away from that set now and stay away from those wall plugs.
Don't monkey with electricity unless you know what you're doing.
Why did you grandpa?
You got me there, boy,
I'll get it.
Judd says he'll be up in a little while.
I'm sorry.
Honestly.
Yes, Mrs Benson.
That's right. Is your husband at home? My husband?
No, I'm a widow.
What I should have asked was, are you the owner of this house?
No, I'm not. It belongs to my father in law. What is it you want?
I'm John Barron, Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation. These are my men.
Do you suppose? I could have a few words with Mr Benson.
Well, just a moment, won't you? Come in? Dad
Oh, how are you, James
John Barron, special agent
for heaven's sake. FBI.
May we come in? Why? Sure, sure. Come right in. Come right in. Make yourself at home.
Thanks.
Not at all. I get quite a kick out of this.
Used to be with the Treasury department myself. Really
back in the old days, collective in internal revenue tax collector.
Not on your life. Secret service.
You don't say
crack was president co's
bodyguard.
You don't say? Yep. Back in 1928 youngest retirement in the service.
Kind of a
heart.
Not hard trouble. You understand, an accident. I'm one of Cal's fishing trips. A
hunter
got the
right here.
See, that's a nasty one.
How come you're still alive?
I don't know, lodged in my heart. I took it out. I had to take it easy.
So they retired me.
You're lucky.
Lucky you still, if it hadn't hit me,
I'm gonna be in the secret service some day.
I thought you was gonna be a sheriff like Todd
Squirts. Like you are supposed to grow up and be president. Name is Page Mr Baron.
Glad to meet you. Page. I ain't a squirt.
Mr Baron.
What did you want to see us about? Is something wrong. Nothing wrong yet, Mrs Benson.
But there might be, we're just checking on us
on the house. Do you mind if we have a look around? Help yourself?
But what I want to know, I have a look around with or without your permission,
Mr Benson.
It's an emergency
check. It,
there must be something the matter.
Anyone else live here besides you. Three.
No,
anyone been by here today.
No, just the usual routine. Willie Harris left the milk.
What's this all about Mr Byron?
Just being careful. I'll explain later.
Two bedrooms, one bathroom, all clear.
One here,
just like they said,
kitchen back, pantry back door stairs, go down to hold the garage under the kitchen,
cellar door and hall clear car in the garage.
Look at this for a set up.
Yeah,
I'm sorry, folks, but I'm afraid we're gonna have to hang around for a while. Why?
It's mine.
I'll be alarmed. There's nothing wrong. Of course there's something wrong.
The FBI doesn't pay us a visit for the heck of it.
Well, I won't stay, I'll take picture.
Nobody leaves the house until we do. Why not? What's happened?
Look, just go about your business like it was any other Saturday afternoon?
Read your papers. Look at your TV, anything you want
but nobody leaves the house.
Something fishy about all this.
It's official business.
What sort of official? Mr Benson is a former agent of the secret service.
You should understand
either I'm getting old and stupid or else I'm at 5 p.m. this afternoon,
the president of the United States arrives in town on a special
what?
Golly, the president.
Well, that's different.
Do you mean to say the person's gonna get off the train here. That's right.
God grabs, you gotta go down and see it. We just got the president. Why?
That's the greatest thing ever happened to this town.
We go down and see grabs. Can we? Sorry, kid?
No
Betty, bringing the gear, put the car out back.
But you see the back doors locked tight and check the cellar to be sure.
I still don't understand Mr Benson.
It should be obvious to you that if anybody wanted to kill the president,
he could do a beautiful job of it
right from this window of yours
with the love of Mike. That may be true.
But you don't think that Elliot mean of course not,
but we have to remain here to protect you
and the president from somebody else who might.
Oh,
Carney. Yeah.
Is this all routine? It seems to me to be kind of overboard.
I mean, all this checking and everything is though.
You expected this town to sheriff.
Have you noticed any strangers in town during the past week?
No. Are you sure?
Sure. I'm sure
I know everybody in this burn. The only strangers we get are tourists.
You know, we get them all the time stopping for gas by deed.
That's all we want to know from either you or your deputies.
The minute am stranger doesn't keep going through
then this isn't routine.
No, it isn't.
Can you tell me
the Los Angeles police picked up a small time.
Stool pitch the night before last shot through the lungs left for dead.
Finally bitters
before he died. He told them something was up.
What do you mean something was up
an assassination attempt?
Well, can you believe that
in our business? We can't afford not to,
I mean, the tip of a dying stool pigeon,
the stool, he seemed very proud of being an American before he kicked off.
Meaning crime is crime. But this is something else again, right?
So we can't take any chances.
Let's go.
Can we see the president or grandpa?
Can we mom? No pig. We have to stay here. You can watch him from here.
But I want to get up close. Well, use your telescope boy. Bring him right up the eye.
Uh
Sorry, page
no dice, back door lock. How about the phone in the kitchen? You want me to yank it?
No, we don't change the pattern at all. Give Benny a hand,
Mr Baron. Uh something I don't understand.
I was in the service myself. So you told me
that we made every precautionary check. We never went to extremes like this.
Unless, unless you were tipped that there was to be an attempted assassination.
You don't mean it, I mean it,
but you're FBI secret service is responsible for the safety of the president.
We're using everybody this trip, Mr Benson,
have a look down there.
State troopers, your local law enforcement agencies and us.
You don't know if old Dan Connie is down there, do you?
He and I worked together in the old days.
He's chief of the presidential staff. Now,
that's confidential information.
This is a terrible thing.
That's your worry, Mr Benson. Of course, it's my worry.
I'm an American and I, it's, everybody's worry
car,
somebody's driving up to the house. Who is it?
It's time.
He's the sheriff, Mr Baron.
There's someone with him
who's with him.
Well, I don't know. I've never seen him before. Well, for the love of Mike, what?
Well, it isn't old Dan Carney Gray is an old shirt and red in the face as ever.
Hi, Pop. Got an old friend of yours here, Dan. You dirty old Irishman. Dan K
papa.
It's glad to see you. Why aren't you dead? All old buzzers like me, live forever.
Hey, old Hawkey. You getting bald? Just what do you expect after 25 years?
Come on in,
honey. Make yourself to home.
This is my daughter in law. How do you do? This is my grandson. Page
page. This is Mr K
secret service. He guards the president.
Hi, Mr Baron.
Oh,
man. Oh, you didn't know your boys got here ahead of it.
Shut
one sound from the kid. Pop and he's dead.
The
train muffled it.
Get rid of him.
Put him in a cellar
and you're gonna take a rug with you. So give away
you get the message. Brave boy.
Yeah.
Mom
pig.
You gotta be still. No noise.
You stink. Pig. Shut up.
Guts.
He's only eight.
Lots of guts.
Mom.
No trouble with you. You're all busted up.
All right.
Take care of her.
You got it. Now, let's be practical.
I don't want any more shooting around here.
I want it nice and quiet and cozy.
I'll get her up and bring her around and explain to her with
that one phony and she's got a kid with his throat cut.
Doesn't make much noise that way.
The same goes for you too. Anybody steps out of line.
The boy.
That's simple enough.
Ellen.
Ellen, listen to me, Ellen. Pay attention.
Now, listen to me. I don't look like that.
Everybody is all right.
You've got to get a hold of yourself no matter what happens. You've got to hang on.
If you scream or make one false move, he'll murder the boy.
You understand, he'll murder Pidge.
Did you hear him, lady?
Yes. Yes.
Good.
And we're all on a court.
All right. All right, inside.
We've got a long time to wait, relax.
Move the kitchen table in front of the window.
All right. Sit down, sit down, look at your TV. They're working.
Well, what came over then? Pick some up.
Don't sit there waiting to blow your car. Keep yourselves occupied. I gotta think.
Ok.
Do,
do,
are you badly hurt? Mullet? Hit the bone, broke it. I guess he's bled a lot.
We need a doctor. Look at his face.
Tell her pop,
you're the doctor Ellen. We can't have no doctor. We can't set a broken arm.
Tough.
Can you
me straighten this fracture?
You couldn't take it.
You a straight man.
Hold on. Brave boy.
Yeah.
Tie it up.
May we take him into the bedroom?
Sure.
But the boy stays here
and leave the door open.
All right. Let's go to work.
But
we got to do something.
I know. I know. But what, what they got pitch.
No, none of us count. Not even pitch. We haven't got a chance.
As long as we're alive, we got a chance. We got to find a flaw in his plan.
We'll think of something.
Oh,
haven't you got a gun?
Gun?
Yeah. Right near the door. My gun.
Is it loaded? Oh God,
I hate the car.
And the count of page.
You're a dirty lousy gangster.
Leave him alone, Benny. Do you hear what he said? Yeah, I heard what he said.
He looking at too much television. He ain't a bad squirt. Just tell him to shut up.
Sure.
This thing's metal,
steel tough chrome legs.
I figure it would
no difference.
Use the bracket,
screw them to the leg and then to the floor that way the table won't dance.
You're a couch, you're a bunch of couch
and you're getting too fresh.
So button it,
Johnny. We all in trouble. Big deal. This is a lot of work, do it, Benny.
But Johnny, I don't see work. Just do it. Benny.
Once you get the gun anchor, you got a solid base.
You'll see when we get to it,
this gun's got a heavy recoil and I won't stand still
and
we got just three seconds to nail the President.
And I don't want the table to shimmy when we get to it, a
Tommy gun would do just as good a Tommy gun stinks. No accuracy. No punch.
Might as well use a revolver.
This is the gun
when I was in the army. So I wasn't in the army
but
you played those
garages yet. Not yet.
This is quite a gun. Benny, quite a gun.
I did a lot of chopping in the war with a baby like this.
A lot of chopping.
You're wrong about me. Pitch
being a coward.
Last war I got a silver star.
Not at the casino pocket of resistance.
I killed 27 men all by myself.
I won a silver star medal.
I stole it.
They're hurting. Pinch.
All right. Take it easy. Take it easy.
The show.
Take it easy.
Johnny. Relax. So for the love, I'm like, what's a silver star? I want it.
Ok, Johnny.
Ok. You want it?
I got him.
You've been there a long time.
Yeah. Get him back in here.
What are you all trying to pull
all the inside.
Come on. Come on,
feeling better.
Yeah, you're lucky. He didn't mean the, when you're meant to blow your brains out,
it's a bad shot.
Yeah. But I'm not.
So, maybe you better sit down and stay there
that way. It'll be safer for everybody.
You got that duty. Look in your eye.
I've seen it up on the line,
the line, you up on the line some other time down.
Yeah.
But
you fool his car's out front, put it in the garage quick.
I have to think of everything.
Oh,
great. Just great. Might as well advertise.
Is it closer
hot in here?
Ok.
See what time it is.
All right.
Suppose you tell me what happens in this house
on a Saturday afternoon between four and five.
Patter.
Smart guy.
Sure. And we don't break that pattern.
We're here for a reason and if we break it, we might blow the deal. You know,
Mario slings the paper over the fence around 430 or so.
Delivery boy.
Does he come in
anywhere else? Cy Hammer went up the mountain hunting jackrabbits.
He'll be buying his way back.
Will he stop?
Not unless he's got something to brag about
anybody else. No, worry,
anybody know that you and the other guy were coming up here.
That's an interesting question.
What's the interesting answer?
You tell him, Todd
Sheriff.
If you think I have any qualms about killing this kid, you couldn't be more wrong.
The thing about killing him or you or her or him
is that I wouldn't be getting paid for it
and I don't like giving anything away for free.
Neither do I
including information.
Your guts are showing all over the place. Brave boy.
No, no,
not me. I'm scared.
You see the way I figure it, Baron. I'm a dead man. Anyway,
so is the boy. So is Ellen. So is pop.
It's just a question an hour later
and if it gives the president a bit of an edge, why then we get it now.
They won't hurt us. They won't hurt Pidge.
He said so because it's convenient, Ellen,
you think these crumbs would kill the president and
then take off leaving us behind to identify them.
You said you wouldn't hurt Pidge? Sure. Sure. And I meant it.
Don't listen to this guy.
He's just being brave with your kid's life. I know guys like that in the army.
We're just doing a job. That's all
identifying us is not involved
by seven o'clock tonight. We'll be out of the country and you'll never see us again.
Tell him, Todd, tell him, never mind, lady.
We'll just assume that they knew he was coming up here
so that if somebody else comes up to check on him,
you can tell him the sheriff and his friend were here,
but they had to go someplace else.
That's all
I have to go to the bathroom,
go with him, mate.
I don't need any help. Come on. Come on.
Ok. Table's screwed down.
All right. Get the tripod up there. Drill a hole in each leg.
B the tripod to the table, put its center in front of the window.
I thought I told you to sit down just stretching my legs. You're a very careful man.
That's right.
Plan on everything, huh?
Sheriff, the first man,
they shoot to the moon and a rocket will
take pains too because that's never been done before.
Neither has this.
Doesn't that worry you?
I haven't got time to worry.
I just make my plans and carry them out.
That's what John Wilkes Booth thought too.
Booth.
I'm no actor busted my leg on a stage so I can yell down with the tyrants.
If Booth wasn't such a ham, he might have made it.
He got pretty far at that though.
The guy who killed Garfield didn't make it either.
Him. He didn't plan anything.
Just took a lucky shot. Strictly left tan. It just like mckinley
and
Zangara got the cheer for his dry at Roosevelt.
He had to try it in a crowd.
I hate crowds.
So nobody ever made it
up till here.
I'm just a guy making a living
and I think you stretched long enough
as you were
but take over Benny's work.
Ok, Benny.
Yeah, Jenny
go down to see what's going on down there.
Especially the station plan, leave the car here.
Why me?
Because Wheeler can fly a plane and you can't.
But me I'm expendable. Huh? No, I just don't want anything to happen to Wheeler.
Why can't I take the car?
Because if they nail you, Benny, we need the car to get to the plane.
Johnny, that place is calling. You're getting paid, ain't you?
Yeah, you can't say you ain't getting enough.
I'll be back.
J
look nice and steady, just like you wanted it.
Open the cur
trap.
Big beautiful booby trap.
Can't do this. You can't do it.
You're wrong lady.
Take a look.
Come on, take a look.
I can do it and I'm going to do it.
But you're an American citizen.
Sure.
And one minute after five, I'm gonna be a very rich American citizen.
You'll never get away with it. Shut up.
I got a stomach, take a pill. Maybe the old man's right, Johnny.
It's a terrible thing. A terrible thing. Turn it off. Will you just another man?
A man with the president?
Yeah.
Yeah. I never killed a president before.
Who's that?
It's Jud Kelly
television set went on the blank Ellen Center for him
becoming fixers so the boy could watch the ball game.
Why don't you tell me? Well, we simply forgot.
He's a harmless boy. Byron don't hurt him.
Ok? But if you crush me up, he won't, he won't.
All right pa
you got the ball,
let him in but watch it.
Tell him
we gotta keep this man talking.
Why?
Why? Because that's his weakness sooner. Or later he'll drop his gun.
I gotta find a way to get Pop's gun.
Hi, Pop. What's new? Oh,
John.
I think I better get up and fix your rig before you electrocuted yourself. Come on in
Todd. What happened to you?
Ask him the
same thing will happen to you unless you do. Exactly. As you're told.
You're kidding.
Is that real?
It's real. All right.
What's your name?
Jed Kelly. What are you doing here?
I came to fix the television set.
Drop it.
All right. Bob Case.
I don't have any dough if that's what you want.
What is this a stickup?
Yeah. That's right.
It's a sticker.
You'll never get away with it.
Go over and sit down, Buster,
take your luggage with you. You too.
I don't take it. Did they rob the bank?
What's the gun for?
What's going on?
Where's your store? Main street? Who runs it? Just me all alone.
Do you have to point that gun at me alone? Answer him.
Yeah.
You locked up when you left?
Nobody knows you were coming here.
That's right.
Just a service call.
That gun makes me nervous. Mr,
I'm not gonna be a hero.
You can put the gun away.
Sure.
But I'm telling you, Buster, like the others
one pass and the kid gets it.
That's right.
He gets it.
So, you see his life depends on you. Got it.
Yeah.
Yes. You
Wilson.
Are you back yet? No,
he's certainly been gone a long time.
Yeah.
Maybe we ought to load the gun now to be sure.
No,
that's just what the sheriff would like.
Forget about me. I've had it.
Don't con me, sheriff,
the minute this gun was loaded,
one of your brave boys might decide to go for the ride just to fire it.
And if you fired it,
that might a load a few state cops down there and the game would be over, wouldn't it?
You got any food in the house?
Of course, I have.
I want to grab a bite bod. Watch him, bring me a little glass of milk with you, Johnny.
My
is murdering me.
Just watch him bod
watch him.
I don't dig it.
Would somebody tell me, sit down,
be quiet?
Yeah.
Haven't you any feelings at all?
No, I haven't lady,
they were taken out of me by experts.
Feelings, a trap.
Show me a guy with feelings and I'll show you a sucker.
The weakness makes you think of something besides yourself.
If I had any feelings left to me at all, it would be for me.
Just me.
Don't you ever think of your mother? Your father
think of him?
I used to think of him a great deal.
My mother wasn't married.
My old man was a dipso.
They left me in a home,
a home
when I was a kid. I swore that one day I'd kill them both.
But I didn't have to,
they drank themselves to death
feelings.
The experts took care of that.
It's no use. It's no use
you stink.
Johnny Pig. Come back here.
OK? Hold it,
get him,
stick him up or I'll blast you.
Nice.
Going bot.
It's only a cap pistol. I gave it to him myself. Don't you do,
don't you?
He beat his brains out a little. What's so funny?
You should have seen your face. A cop pissed. Go ahead. Leave yourself sick.
That's a pretty good model though, isn't it? They make them real?
Are they don't they? They are piss blow his brains out.
A couple of big bold bad men getting scared to death by a six bit cap pistol.
I ought to beat that kid.
I'm not sure that he couldn't take, you.
Go put some milk on your ulcer and bring me a piece of the cake.
You know, I need some milk. Pain's pretty bad.
Where's Penny? Why don't we hear from Penny
Sit
if this isn't a stick up, what is it?
Did you come up here to fix a television set? Junior?
Yeah. Well, then fix a television set.
Todd. What's going on? They're planning to assassinate the President Judd,
which president,
the president of the United States, he arrives here this afternoon.
You're kidding?
No.
No, you're not kidding.
The president
kill the president.
They can't,
they couldn't do a thing like that.
They're stinking traitors. They're Benedict Arnolds.
Are you guys crazy? You can't do a thing like that. Sit down reckless.
Don't you realize what that means?
That's assassination.
He's your president too.
Make a deal with you. Boy,
we kill you instead of the president.
That's even Steven.
Ok. With you
thought. Not
anybody else want to take the heat off the President.
How about you? Sheriff? It's a bad joke. Baron.
Anybody else want to volunteer?
They're Commies, they're enemy agents.
All right. Who is behind it? Baron.
I haven't the slightest idea
what's in it for you.
You're curious, aren't you? Chef?
While I last?
I like you. Sheriff. You've got guts. You must have been a good soldier.
I got by,
I won a silver star. That's pretty good.
Killed 27 Jerry all by myself. You're a born killer. That's all.
Yeah.
Some guys liked it.
I know a couple.
It's a funny thing
in the war. You do a lot of chopping and you get a medal for it.
You come back and do the same thing and they fry you for it.
Hard to match up, isn't it? Baron?
Just when you get real good at something, you're a murderer.
Yeah,
over there you can knock over a whole platoon or a
guy invents a bomb and kills 100,000 people just like that.
And maybe he gets more medals
here. You put a slug in a double crossing squirt that isn't even worth burying.
And you have to take the gas.
Smiley. Bitters.
That's right.
You mean they got to him before he died. Yes, Baron, they got to him and he talked.
What do you think those troopers are doing down there?
Why do you think Carney who's Connie,
the man? You murdered
him? Murdered? Where? Right out in the hall. Knock it off, sheriff.
So they know about me.
Sure. If smiley talk, they know about me. This isn't good, Johnny.
Of course, it's good.
We not only get the loot,
we get the glory too.
Darn why do you hate the president? So I got no feeling against the president.
I'm just earning a living by treason. A
those craps don't give me that politics. Jazz. It's not my racket.
I don't even know who's paying me and I don't want to know what's the difference,
didn't it occur to you? Why they want you to do it?
Certainly, it did.
But that makes them suck. It's not me. I'm the guy who's getting it made.
Listen, Sheriff. A man can stand for so much. I know more
before the war I drifted and drifted and ran.
Always lost in a great big crowd.
I hated that crowd.
I used to dream about the crowd once in a while.
I used to see all those faces scratching and shoving and biting
and then the mist would clear
and somehow all those faces would be me,
all me and all, nothing
but the war changed everything. A baron.
I'm no traitor Sheriff.
I won a silver star
and learned how to kill.
Yeah.
Maybe I did.
Maybe that changed everything.
Maybe people began to know who I was
after the show. I hooked up with an outfit for good dough.
The finger said where and how much?
And Johnny Barron did the job. Do
you think anybody else could handle this job?
Do you think Benny or Wheeler could do without being too much Johnny?
There's nobody else can do this job because they got too much feeling
and feelings. No good.
I got nothing against the president. Sheriff.
He's just worth a half a million bucks to me. Tax-free
making my own laws about the taxes too. Pop.
The guy is goofy. Shut up, Jud.
Listen to him, Buster.
And don't ever say that again,
ever.
You heard him, Judd?
Uh, half a million dollars, huh?
Yeah,
that's a lot of scratch. Sheriff. A man could retire on that amount of scratch.
How do you know it'll ever be paid? Half of it's been paid and the rest
I'll get
it. I wouldn't be sure.
It's not just a man.
It's the president.
That's what's so funny.
The laugh is on the guys who are paying the freight,
all are loot and they don't even know what they're doing.
A half a million clams for absolutely nothing
because tonight at five o'clock I kill the president one second after five.
There's a new president.
What changes?
Nothing.
What are they paying for
nothing.
Otherwise I wouldn't have taken the job sheriff.
You'd have taken it.
You think so? Yeah. Why?
All right. Take it easy.
Who was your thought on? Everything would be fine. Answer straight, clean and plain
answer it.
Hello,
Miss Benson. Let me speak to the chief
Penny.
Yeah,
trains on time.
The car will be waiting in front of the station like you figured, facing you.
Fine. Get back as soon as you can and don't be followed. Check.
Here's the big boy's car now.
Lovely Target.
Hey, hold it mister.
Yes, officer.
What is it? What's your name?
Fred Fred Whitaker. What are you doing in town?
Just passing through? Where's your car? I don't have one. I hit, I
in from three rivers waiting for the train out. I figured I'd take the train on to L A.
What? Train?
The five o'clock, the five o'clock.
Now? That's right. Strange.
Why officer? Because we don't have any five o'clock train that stops here, Mr
except today
and that happens to be a special that you don't know about
except that you do
must be some mistake. You made it.
Oh, now look, officer, I,
I got identification.
I can prove who I am. I got my driver's license right here.
Come on
gunfire.
I
don't shoot.
I told you not to kill him not to kill him after he, he was our only LA.
Come on.
Yeah.
So long Benny,
you think they got him.
I only hope he's dead.
Haggerty. Yes, sir.
We got him
dead. Unfortunately,
wasn't Carney's last checkpoint the house on the hill.
That's right.
But he and the sheriff are gonna check the White Springs ranch route too.
We haven't been able to reach him. We take two troopers and backtrack him.
Start with the house on the hill. We've got to find Carney.
Now we got trouble.
Everybody except Mrs Benson down the cellar. What are you gonna do?
Nothing? I hope move.
Anybody gets brave. Kill them all. You can only hang once.
Let's stay up there.
Now, look, get a grip on yourself. I want you to look relaxed.
If you don't pull this off, everybody is dead. Do you understand
all of us dead? So be yourself. I don't know what you mean.
They'll come up here to check whether Connie and the sheriff
were here and I want you to go out front.
I don't want them in the house. I can, I don't know how, I don't know what to say.
Just go out and water the flowers, do anything you like, but keep busy.
Lipstick and rouge quick.
Now, listen to me carefully.
They'll come up to check whether Connie and the sheriff were here.
Certainly they were here.
They came up to check the house, but at three
they left here, they went out on the White Springs Ranch Road.
They took pop and the kid with them
and that's the last you saw them, you got it.
You got it. Yes. Yes.
Since you look like a ghost step on it,
pull it off, lady or everybody is dead.
Everybody,
he's getting rattle.
P
how do you mean
he didn't expect me to get shot?
Got a thing in mind.
Maybe.
Now, listen, shut up. You guys.
Mrs Benson
is my name's Haggerty.
Then you must be one of Mr Carney's men. That's right. Has he been here?
I haven't seen him since they left. They came up here about three
to check the house.
They said, I don't know why, who is they, why Mr Carney and Sheriff Shaw.
Then they said they had to check the White Springs Ranch Road.
Is your father in law Mr Benson here?
Well,
no, no, he isn't.
You see, he used to be Mr Carney's chief. Yes, I know.
So Mr Carney took him along my little boy too.
Then you're alone.
Yes.
And you haven't heard from him since they left?
No. No, I haven't.
Something's wrong. I know something's wrong. No,
no, Mrs Benson. Nothing's wrong. We're, we're just checking, that's all.
But if you see or hear from them before I do,
please have them check the detail down at the railroad station.
It's very important. Thanks.
All right, lady inside.
Come on. Come on.
Very nice.
Very nice job. Congratulations.
If you don't like me, do you,
you're an animal.
I don't like you either.
Animals kill each other to live. That's what you're doing.
How do you like your roast beef? Medium rare, well done.
I,
all right, Bob. Run them in. It's clear.
I wish you were dead.
You haven't got the guts.
Just give me a chance.
Here's your chance.
Go ahead. Take it.
But remember the squirt in the cellar.
That's right.
Think of the president first.
Let's not think of ourselves.
I
didn't give you a whole chance,
but you didn't even take a half a chance.
Ok.
Everything. Ok, Johnny.
Sure, everything's fine.
She played her part real good. It should be a television.
You
did? I tell you to fix the television set.
You told me to set, get your stuff and fix it. It'll keep you from getting patriotic.
I don't do something. I'll blow my top just sitting here.
Fix the set and shut your mouth. I don't like what you say anyway. Now, fix it.
We still got time.
What are yours?
Open it?
About
200 yards.
Baron. Isn't that a German rifle?
Yeah.
You know what?
I know it.
Where were you during the war?
All the way from the Kasserine pass.
I won a silver star. Where were you?
No.
To the el, by way of the bones.
You get up into Germany.
No,
I bet you were one of those big shot guys with the gold bar on the shoulder.
No, no, I was a corporal. How about you? Corporal?
I made sergeant
you didn't like officers,
officers, big shots.
Yes, sir. No, sir. Salute, sir.
Big shots. You don't like big shots.
Not when you're a bigger sheriff.
I killed more juries than any five officers put together.
I did some pretty good chopping in the war.
Pretty good. Like I said before, you're a born killer. That's all. Yeah,
they taught me how and I liked it.
My co used to stand there and shake like a leaf while I chopped.
If more guys like me had to tell me one thing, Baron,
how come you Miss Germany?
They sent me home.
My tour was finished your tour
in infantry. Are you kidding?
Why you finish your tour in the infantry when they plant you in a box tour?
That was for the Air Corps. Turn it off. Yeah, you probably went over the hill.
I said, turn it off. You know, Baron,
you got the yard.
Look, you look Yardbird to me. I'm telling you, sheriff, turn it off.
Big shot with the Yardbirds. Come on now, tell me, where were you court martialed?
What was it for? Rape?
No, no, not rape. Killing. That's what you like killing.
Maybe shooting down on RPWS.
Sit
on it, shut up.
But IG you got away with it. So
I got it. Section eight,
you went out on a section eight.
Section eight, psycho in charge of killing, huh?
You know, I knew guys like you
killing was sweet. Rather kill a man and love a girl. A
real kick. The thrill with a gun. Stop it, Todd, stop it.
Or maybe he didn't like your co maybe you shot him in the back that it,
maybe you killed.
Like I said,
shut up.
Do,
do,
let me
talk, please?
Oh,
it's five o'clock here.
Gonna keep your trap shut.
Yeah, it
hurts. Huh?
It hurts.
And I can keep kicking as long as you keep shooting your face off.
No
pop.
You were right and you blew the power
tube.
I have one here.
I have a perkin in a second.
You know, I was thinking Judd,
if you were to clamp the main plate lead to a good ground like that table there,
we get a better picture.
A lot of lines in it now
clamp the main plate lead to the table. Cut the static lines. Expert.
First he wrecks the set and then he tells the kid how to fix it.
Name plate blade.
That's right, Judd. All it needs is a high potential ground.
We're a long way from the broadcasting station.
What are you guys? Yapping about? Technical talk, Mr,
I'm no radio man. Battleship New York. World War. I
brat beat the German single handed. Not exactly, son, but I was there at
Schapper
flow
when the German fleet surrendered. All right. All right.
Stop the bulling and fix that set, will you? Yes, sir.
Oh,
dad,
dad.
What is it?
It's as hard he has a bad heart.
My pills stop drawing the bureau.
I'll get him, stay put.
The kid will get him.
Paige put down that gun and get some water for your grandfather. But mom, listen,
you heard me pinch.
How
you,
you know what I think? Pop,
I got a feeling your heart attacks are phony.
Pain's bad.
I'm warning if you're trying to pull something, you better watch it.
Baron.
I've been thinking, you've been thinking you'd like to take a crack at this rifle.
Do you think I want to get myself killed? Yes.
Frankly, sheriff, I don't think you'd mind getting yourself killed.
Nobody wants to die. Do we have to talk about it? Why don't you shut up? No guts nerves.
That's all it gets on my nerves. Now, why would I want to get myself killed?
Because it's five minutes to five and a shot might bring those
state troopers storming all over the joint before the president arrives.
But sheriff, I can put you away in two seconds by twisting your arm again.
That weighs no noise.
So don't go in on any postmortem medals.
I wouldn't enjoy winning a post mortem medal any
more than you're gonna enjoy that post Mortem money.
What'd you say? What did he say?
I said nobody ever made it.
You won't either.
You don't think so?
So you got a plane,
you'll never reach it ahead of the police and if you do,
you'll never make it to the border.
You ever hear of the jet fighter?
You know how many airstrips there are between here and the border?
You know, a fella could get an education just listening to this guy.
But maybe he's right, Johnny,
you said half the money had already been paid.
A smart guy would hit the road right now. Fly out of here.
Skip the President spend the money in South America alive.
He's right, Johnny,
why take the risk? We can lamb now, we can make it.
We don't have to fool with this thing.
It's too big. Johnny. There's something wrong with it. Chicken chick.
All right. So call a chicken who wants to be rich and dead.
They'll get us. They never missed yet. Johnny,
the guy's right. You've got the loot. Let's take off and get out of here for good.
Once we were across the block, those crabs. So Benny wasn't chicken.
They didn't waste any time on him.
I tell you, we haven't got a chance.
Turn it off bar.
You're embarrassing me in front of the sheriff. Put Johnny. Even if we swing it.
He's the president, they'll never give up.
And you don't figure that the guys who are paying off are just gonna let you fly away.
Do you? They'll be after you just like the secret service.
I thought of that too. Sheriff.
It might be an internationally embarrassing situation if the
feds happen to catch up with us first.
So bart,
you just got to realize that everybody's gonna be on
your tail from five o'clock until the day you die.
There's a hole in your argument. Sheriff, what is it?
We're already wanted for murder.
So you can only take the gas once they'll get us, Johnny,
they won't get us
but
not us.
You sure Johnny?
You leave it to me.
You're a sick man. You're sick.
I don't like that.
Don't play God just because you've got a gun.
But you see sheriff, that's the way it is
when you've got a gun, you are a sort of God.
If you had the gun, I'd be the chump and you'd be the God.
The gun gives you the power of life and death.
It's a funny sort of feeling to have control of life and death.
You must have had it during the war.
You could miss a man if you had a mind to
or you could kill him dead in his tracks.
And that made you kind of God.
And I liked it
without the gun or nothing.
And I never had anything before. I got one
first time. I got one on my hands and killed a man. I got some self-respect.
I was somebody
like this kid over here.
If that cap pistol was a real gun and I didn't have a gun,
he'd be a kind of a God too.
And if I wanted my life, I'd worship the ground. He walks on
and I'd pay him the half a million dollars for my life
because life is all I have.
But the squirt doesn't have the gun I have and I can loose the lightning
in
the scores all tied up. 5 to 5.
No noise. Just pictures. First time this season
going like this, they're gonna have that pennant two years in a row.
Now, we
briefly for our station,
you're wrong about guarding the gun sheriff
without the gun. You would never have spit at me.
You would never have even noticed me.
But because of the gun you'll remember me as long as you live.
Where is it now?
Blowing for the 66 crossing outside town?
All right,
nobody moves. This is it. You over there,
Johnny, let me see what we're gonna do it, Bob. This is my me.
We're gonna do it just to see
we turn for
bird
and
it didn't stop.
It didn't stop,
it didn't stop.
Ok,
please.
No,
don't.
No,
please though.
No,
no.
Are you sure you're gonna be all right, Mr Benson.
Oh, don't worry about me, Mr Wilson. I'll be all right. I don't need any noise made.
We're certainly grateful to you.
How come the train went right through the station? We simply canceled the stopover.
We couldn't take a chance on the president's safety.
Once it was proven the assassins were in town, the president went on to Los Angeles,
Mrs
Fisher.
I'm afraid so. Someday those guys are gonna stop taking you for. Am
I, is that Mr Wilson?
I hope not.
Well, thanks again, Mr Benson. I don't know.
You too young man. Well, that's all right.
Someday I'm gonna be a bodyguard just like you nonsense.
Boy, you're gonna grow up to be president.
Presidents have bodyguards and grandpas and grandpas,
especially grandpas.
Ellen.
How's jud?
He didn't make it
and slim critical, but they think you'll be all right.
I guess somebody had to make the mistake.
What
something dad said this morning
about principles.
Get in Todd. I'll drive you home.
Well, thanks. I've got to go over to the office.
Can I pick her up at church tomorrow?
Yeah.
And he's, well,
sir.
Yeah. Could you tell me the way to three rivers?
Uh, you go down to the first intersection, you turn left. It's about 60 miles.
Thanks.
What's this town? Suddenly?
Suddenly? What?
Now, that's the name?
That's a funny name for a town.
Well, I don't know,
I
don't know about that.