The Gun and the Pulpit (1974) - full transcript
In the days of the "Wild West", a gunslinger, with a price on his head, discovers the body of a traveling minister who has been killed in an ambush. Fearing those who are following him, he assumes the dead minister's identity.
-Ernie Parsons,
having been found
guilty by a jury of your peers--
-I didn't see any jury.
-Well, they was around.
Anyway, what difference
does it make?
You gunned down
Wendy Jones, and he
was one of our most beloved
and respected citizens.
-I heard he was the town drunk.
-Well, now that
he's dead, he's one
of our most beloved
and respected citizens.
-I don't care who he was.
I didn't kill him.
-You've got the right to hear
a few words from a preacher.
Unfortunately, our
preacher's out of town,
but luckily we got
Farley Mallard here,
and he's a feed and grain
salesman, and he owns a Bible.
-No, thanks.
-Now, what does that mean?
-I don't want any feed and
grain salesmen praying over me.
I don't want anyone
praying over me.
I don't believe in that stuff.
-You ready, Max?
-Hup.
You've got one more
inalienable right
to speak a few last words.
And I mean a few.
We don't want one of them things
where the captain takes off
with the Declaration
of Independence.
Well, go on.
-Well, I'd just like
to say that this
is the lousiest town
that I've ever been in.
Well, I've met a
better-class folk
at a San Francisco opium parlor.
A drunken pool-hall
bum would be considered
too high-toned for these parts.
And as for your system
of justice, well--
-Now, that's enough.
Do you see what I mean?
He was just one breath
away from the Declaration.
All right.
Max.
-Don't do it!
Don't do it!
Don't do it!
Don't do it!
Ed Moose just confessed.
He killed Wendy in a
drunken barroom brawl
about a pregnant Indian squaw.
Ed claims Wendy was
the father and that he
was acting as the
avenging angel.
-Wendy was going to be
the father of something?
-That's what Ed said.
-All right.
Untie him.
Give him his gun.
Now, that's the way
out of town, son.
Take it, keep on going, and
don't you never come back.
-You heard her.
I'm not guilty.
-Even so, we don't want
no fast guns in this town.
Fast guns rate
alongside with lepers
in this law-abiding community.
-Can I ride back to town
long enough to get some food?
-That's the way out, son.
Don't press your luck.
-Thanks.
Bye.
-I'm going with you.
-You don't have to.
I'll be back.
-When?
-Whatever you do,
don't leave town.
Wait.
Never give up hope.
See you.
Hup!
Ya.
-Well, if I'd have known he
was going to act like that,
I never would have lied for him.
-Lied?
-You would have never what?
-I don't care.
I thought he was cute.
There ain't a man around
here I'd have as a gift.
And he took a bath
every so often besides.
-After him!
[CALLS DIRECTING THE HORSE]
[SHOUTING]
[GUNFIRE]
-Easy, boy.
Phew.
Ya.
[SHOUTING]
-"Reverend Frank Fleming."
Well, pleased to
know you, Frank.
"Dear Reverend,
everybody in Castle Walk
is real excited about
you coming here.
We ain't had a preacher
here in over three years,
but our last one
left in such a hurry,
he didn't even say goodbye.
He was a pious man, but he had
a yellow streak down his back.
We're all looking
forward to meeting
you for the first time."
We're all looking forward to
meeting you for the first time?
Hmm.
"I don't know how long
you'll be willing to stay,
but you'll be welcome
every minute of it."
You're the preacher's horse?
[HORSE WHINNYING]
-Let's see what you got, pal.
Frank, if ever I catch
the guy who did you in,
I'll take care of him for you.
In the meantime,
I'm going to need
your clothes and your horse.
I got a posse after me
for something I didn't do.
I'd say a prayer for you,
Frank, but coming from me,
I'm afraid it's liable to
do you more harm than good.
Ha!
[GUNFIRE]
-All right.
Pull up.
This is a holdup.
Why, it's a preacher, Percy!
-Ah, sorry about that
there, Parson, but, ah,
we were a little too far off
to catch that there collar.
-Is there anything we
can do for you, Reverend?
-Either of you boys ever heard
of a town called Castle Walk?
-Well, yeah.
It's in Arizona.
-Sure ain't much
of a town, though.
-How far is it from here?
-Oh, about 150 miles.
-It's over yonder
in that direction.
-How's your church
attendance been lately, boys?
You boys see that
branch over there?
-Ah, yes, sir.
[GUNFIRE]
-That was four for
the Lord, boys.
He loves you, but he
hates your profession.
-Yeah, I can see how he would.
-I want you boys to
go and sin now more.
-Uh, we surely won't, Parson.
-Uh, as soon as we
can afford not to.
Uh, Preacher.
You being so good
with that gun and all,
how come you didn't just kill
us as we was riding up here?
-Because you boys are
children of the Lord,
just as much as I am.
-Children of the Lord, huh?
-Ya.
[ORGAN MUSIC]
-Sorry, Sadie.
Didn't have the time
to dig it no deeper.
-Well, I guess we better
just put him in the ground
and get it over with.
-All right.
-Without even a few words?
-Mr. Ross didn't say
nothing about no words.
He said we could have a burying.
Mr. Ross didn't say
nothing about no words.
-But Sam was a Christian man.
You can't just bury
him like a wild dog.
Can't we stand up to
Mr. Ross just this once?
-You're leaving here
after the burial.
We've got to stay here
and live with him.
All right.
Let's get going.
-Wait a minute.
-Is it one of Mr. Ross's men?
-Looks like a preacher.
-Well, what do we do now?
-Ah, I wrote him
myself not to come.
-Thank God you're
here, Reverend.
-I've had many receptions
in my life, ma'am.
Yours is almost unique.
-We were going to have to bury
my husband without any proper
words being said, but
now that you're here--
-You're the Reverend
Frank Fleming?
-That's right.
-I wrote you a letter
telling you not to come.
-No, you wrote me a letter
welcoming me to Castle Walk.
-I wrote you that letter.
-Yeah, but things changed.
First, Mr. Ross said
it was all right
for us to have a preacher, and
then Mr. Ross changed his mind.
-Gentlemen, what the
hell is going on here?
-Reverend!
-Hell is a word that came
straight from the Bible, folks.
And all I know is, we've got a
heartbroken little widow here.
You did say you were the widow?
-And these are my children.
-That's a child?
-She's 18.
-Oh, she certainly is.
Well, first order
of business as I
see it is to get this poor man
put decently into the ground.
-Oh, thank you, Reverend.
-Oh, I-- I don't
know what Mr. Ross
is going to say about this.
-I haven't been
here five minutes
and I'm already sick
to death of Mr. Ross.
Come on.
Let's bow our heads.
-Don't you have a
Bible, Reverend?
-Oh, I probably do
in my saddlebag.
-Here You can borrow
mine, Reverend.
-The deceased was
probably a simple man,
so I'll just say a few,
simple words of my own,
and not bother to dip
in to the Bible today.
[ORGAN MUSIC]
-As you all know, it's
ashes to ashes and dust
to dust, which may not
sound like the best
deal in the world,
but it's the only deal
you're ever going
to get, so you might
as well learn to live with it.
I didn't know the late
deceased, but some
of the works he left behind
are might impressive.
Well, what did he die of?
-He was shot in the back.
-May the full wrath
of the Lord fall
on people who shoot
other people in the back.
It's a rotten, simple
way to make a living.
Amen.
-Amen.
-Can't thank you
enough, Reverend.
I'd like to say more, but Mr.
Ross only gave us half an hour
to get out of town
after the funeral.
-You're leaving town?
You taking her with you?
-Mr. Ross said we all had to go.
-Who is this Mr. Ross?
-He's a mean, miserable,
murdering thief,
and he runs everybody in
this part of the country.
There ain't a soul
of us that had
a single, solitary happy
day since he rode in here
and took over.
-He's going to hear
every word that you said!
-Yeah, and he'll
probably kill me.
But at least I got
to say something that
should have been
said before I die.
-Why is he running
this woman out of town?
-My husband Sam was the
only man in these parts
to stand up to Mr. Ross,
so he had Sam killed.
He let us take one
wagonload of our things.
We'd better get started.
-Ma'am, the only place you're
going is back to your ranch.
I'm sure with the help of
all these fine citizens
that we can make Mr. Ross
see the error of his ways.
-Reverend, you don't understand
the situation around here.
-Mr. Ross is a
powerful, powerful man.
He's got money and influence.
-And he's got 20 top
gunfighter working for him.
-Well, I'll tell you people
what I really think of you.
I'm going to tell you
something about gunfighters.
Now, Ross doesn't have 20 top
gunfighters working for him
because there ain't 20 top
gunfighters in the whole US
of A. Now, what Ross
probably does have is
about 15 cowboys that
wear guns for ornaments.
They do just fine at
shooting up a saloon
or making some terrified
dude dance a little jig.
But Ross has probably
got about three men who
are pretty good at getting their
guns out of their holsters,
but no good at hitting
anything once they do.
Which leaves about
two or three men
that might honestly be
called "gunfighters."
Not top gunfighters.
more like second-
or third-raters.
So, you see, you folks have been
letting yourselves be rousted
around by a bunch
of two-bit yahoos.
-How come you know so much
about gun fighters, Reverend?
-The Lord's work takes one to
many places in many climes.
Matthew 31.
-There ain't no Matthew 31.
-Well, there ought to be.
Widow, I want you and your
family to get in the wagon.
I'm going to drive you home.
You're going to sit next to me.
-Oh, I don't know, Reverend.
-Ma'am, you don't look
like the kind of woman that
would back away
from a little fight.
Where's your faith?
-My faith is in good
shape, Reverend.
And if you're willing to
take the risk, so are we.
Get in the wagon, kids.
Us and the Reverend
are going home.
-The lives of this family will
be on your soul, Reverend.
-Oh, Reverend!
-Yeah.
-Couple of Ross's
men are in town
and they're pretty liquored up.
-That was their first mistake.
You ride my horse, son.
-OK.
-Hey.
Let's go have some fun.
-Remember the
children, Reverend.
-Those are just two
of the cowboys, ma'am.
Hoo.
-And where do you people
think you're going?
-Where's the place that Ross
would least like us to go?
-I'd say her ranch.
-Well, that's exactly
where we're going.
-Wait'll Mr. Ross
hears about this.
-Mr. Ross is a skunk
of doubtful parentage.
Mr. Ross is so
low, he could walk
under a rattlesnake's
belly wearing a high hat.
And that's what I
think of Mr. Ross
without ever having met the man.
And that was indecisive, cowboy.
Could have very easily cost
you your unimportant life.
[GUNFIRE]
-Those could have
just as easily been
your years flying
off your heads, boys.
-Well, that's a terrible
way for a preacher to act.
[GUNFIRE]
-When the Lord wants someone
to move, he wants them to move.
Ha!
-Reverend, my husband
Sam would have
followed you to hell and back.
-Now, don't talk about
hell to a sinner, ma'am.
-You, a sinner?
-Ma'am, we're all sinners.
Or about to be.
All right.
Just as soon as we stop, I want
you to get the wagon unloaded.
I want to get this family
settled in before dark.
You don't mind if I order
your kids around a little,
do you, ma'am?
-Reverend, you can do
anything you want to.
-Reverend?
Reverend?
-Yes, ma'am.
-Reverend, this hole in
the back of your collar
looks like a bullet hole.
-Well, that'd be
my guess, ma'am.
-Your guess?
How could a man be shot in
the back and not know it?
-Well, I was carrying
that coat over my arm
when the shooting took place.
[COUGHING]
-Well, tobacco's one of the
Lord's works too, ma'am.
-I'll get my things
and fix your coat.
-Do you think Mr.
Ross and his men
are going to come down
and get us tonight?
-No, not tonight, honey.
I'd imagine that
Sunday in church
will be where he
makes his first play.
-Aren't you scared at all?
-Oh, I'm scared
all right, Sally.
But not the kind
of scared that'd
make me knuckle under to
the likes of that Ross.
-Thought of a text for your
sermon tomorrow, Reverend?
-Tomorrow?
-Tomorrow's Sunday.
-I have lost all track of
time the last few weeks.
What do you think I
ought to preach about?
-I thought you said
the sin of cowardice.
-Yeah, that's not bad, either.
-Thought you probably had some
favorite passage from the Bible
to illustrate your point.
-Oh, I do.
Several of them, as
a matter of fact.
But what's your favorite
passage from the Bible that
would illustrate
that point, ma'am?
-I think it would be Luke
12, when Christ says,
"Do you think I have come
to give peace on earth?
I came to cast fire
upon the earth,
and would it were
already kindle."
-It says that in the Bible?
-Well, I told you.
Luke 12.
-Oh, Luke 12.
Yeah, that Luke, he really
knew how to turn a phrase,
didn't he?
-Yeah.
I'll clean your clothes
up for the services.
-Well, I'd appreciate that.
You don't happen to have
a Bible around, do you?
I, um, seem to, ah, have
misplaced my glasses.
Could you turn to
that spot in Luke
that your mother
was talking about?
-It's right here.
You don't wear glasses.
-You know something,
you're right.
I don't know what got into me.
-Well, good night.
Good night.
-Night.
-Folks, ah, I'm going
to read you from, ah,
Matthew, chapter
10 and verse 34.
Although Luke says pretty
much the same thing in his 12.
"Think not that I am come
to send peace on earth.
I came not to send
peace, but a sword."
Now, I don't know what
that means to you,
but I know what it means to me.
It means that while God loves
peace, when the occasion
arises, he's not reluctant
to use the sword.
Matter of fact, when the
occasion calls for it,
he might become
downright irritated
if you don't use the sword,
or the gun, or the rope.
Or whatever's handy.
Now, you folks have had a
cross to bear here lately,
and his name is Ross.
Well, they say that people get
the kind of lives they deserve,
and I guess they do.
But when men won't fight
for their wives, women,
and children, and when their
women won't make them fight
for what's right,
then these people
don't deserve any
kind of lives at all.
That's exactly what you've got.
[GUNFIRE]
[SCREAMING]
-Get his gun.
If you've never done it,
don't think you could possibly
realize what an awful
thing it is to kill a man.
I don't know who God
must be mad at the most.
That man for wasting
his life at the altar
of some tin-horn
dictator, me for having
to do this thing
in his own house,
or you people for having quit
before the fight even got
started.
I haven't got the heart
for any more church today.
That's all.
-Mr. Ross and a couple
of his men are outside.
Take care of yourself, son.
-Every second.
Bring that body outside.
-You've had a couple of
fun days here, Preacher.
-Well, I tell you, Ross, you--
-The name is Mr. Ross.
-The name was Mr. Ross.
Now, you hear me good, Ross.
Either of those two
men go for their guns,
I'm going to go for you first.
-I think I could
take him, Mr. Ross.
-Don't think.
-Here's your chance, boys.
Either of you holding
any grudges against him?
Draw on me, and I'll
kill him for you.
-If we go together,
we can get him.
-Before or after he killed me?
-He don't look all
that fast to me.
-Shut up.
-Friend of yours, Ross?
-All right, Preacher.
You pulled yourself off a
nice, little grandstand play
for the folks.
Now, I want you out of town.
-Who killed Sam Underwood?
You or one of your men?
I'm going to find out if I have
to take the whole bunch of you
to pieces.
-Give me the word.
I'm sure I can beat him.
-No.
Go on back to the ranch.
I'll be there in a minute.
-You sure?
-Now.
-That's the way I like it.
Man to man.
Do I make the first
play, or do you?
-I just changed
my mind, Preacher.
I don't want you out of town.
I want you right
here, where I can
get you any time I want you.
-Service is next
Sunday at 10 o'clock,
and there's a four-bit
fine for being late.
[LAUGHTER]
-You wouldn't shoot me in the
back, would you, Preacher?
-Like that.
-Any of you folks think your
preacher doesn't deserve
a drink after the events
of this morning, well,
we just don't believe in
the same god, that's all.
-Some of you boys
plant him, will you?
-Don't you feel
a little strange,
having a drink with your
preacher on a Sunday morning?
-No.
-How come?
-You know, about
10, 12 years ago,
I took a trip up to Cheyenne.
I come across this altercation
between a 19-year-old kid
and one of the top
gunslingers in that part
of the country at that time.
This kid, he didn't want
no part of the fight,
but this gunny was drunk.
He kept at it, and finally
the kid had to go for his gun
or get blasted right
here in his tracks.
It was plum pitiful.
-How?
-This kid was the fastest
thing I ever seen.
Caught that gunny flat-footed.
Why, he was dead before
God got the news.
I inquired around and
found out this kid's name
was Ernie Parson.
Ernie, what are you
doing here in Castle Walk
dressed up in that
preacher's outfit?
-It's a wrong guess, Billy.
-You know, once you've seen a
top man handle himself in a gun
fight, you never forget
one little detail.
What are you wanted for, anyway?
-Doesn't matter.
I didn't do it.
They'll hang me just like
I did if they catch me.
-Did you kill Frank Fleming?
-No, of course not.
Came across his body in the
hills and he was already dead.
I was half starved,
no place to go,
so I took his clothes
and horse and came here.
All right.
I'll ride back to the ranch,
tell the widow and the kids
goodbye, and-- and I'll move on.
-Why leave?
You're the answer to
our prayers, Ernie.
-No I'm not, Billy.
Don't let these
clothes fool you.
-God moves in
mysterious ways, boy.
-Not that mysterious.
Look, Billy.
What I'd like to know is,
if I do stick around here,
how much help can I count on
from these God-fearing people?
-Almost none.
-Almost none?
-Ah, none.
-This is just God moving
in his mysterious way
to get me killed.
God will smite the
sinners of Castle Walk
just as surely as he
smote the Philistines.
Smote.
For the time is at
hand when you will
hear of wars and rumors of wars.
Be not afraid, for this
must first take place.
Nations will rise against
nations and kingdoms
against kingdoms.
Not a head out of your hair or
a hair on your head will perish,
and I quote Luke,
chapter 21, verse--
Luke chapter 21, verse 23.
"For there shall be great
distress in the land,
wrath upon his people."
[CLAPPING]
-I brought you some lunch.
I didn't know preachers
had to practice.
-Well, it's either that or
watch the collections fall off.
-Huh?
-Oh, that's-- that's
a real bad joke
I stole from the Methodists.
-Oh.
-Does your mother know
you came out here alone?
-I don't know.
Why?
-Well, ah, you're a very
attractive young girl.
Almost too young,
as a matter of fact.
-Most of the girls
around here are
married by the time
they're 13 or 14.
-13, huh?
Well, I'll have
to look into that.
-Why?
They're the lucky ones,
even if they don't
get a trip to Phoenix out of it.
-Is that the price of
marriage around here?
A trip to Phoenix?
-No, but it sure doesn't hurt.
Look, do I have to keep
on calling you Reverend?
-Oh, no.
Call me Ernie.
-Ernie?
-My full name's
Frank Ernest Fleming.
All my good friends,
they call me Ernie.
-Is there anything in your
faith against marriage?
-No.
Not in my faith.
Look, Sally, ah, sit down.
This conversation
isn't going in exactly
the direction I had planned.
I mean, you know,
marriage is just fine.
I was real glad that my
parents believed in it.
But, ah-- but there's
other things, too.
You don't know what I'm
talking about, do you?
-I know what you're
talking about?
-Let's see.
-What's the matter?
-Oh, it's these clothes
and this collar.
It's just-- I'm not going to
get anywhere dressed like this.
-I can't see that
makes much difference.
-Well, you would if you
were dressed like a nun.
It's just the wrong outfit
for what I had in mind.
-Hey, Preacher!
I've got to talk to you.
Hi, Sal.
-Hi.
-It's real important.
You know a gunfighter
named Jake McCoy?
-Yeah, I know of him.
-He's in town.
-My blessings on him.
-And he's working for Ross.
Is he really good?
-Yeah.
He's the best.
-You can take him, can't you?
-You sure he's working for Ross?
-Yeah, and he's looking for you.
Although he don't know
who you really are.
-That doesn't matter.
Or does it?
Where's he at now?
-Well, he's at the Mint
Saloon when I left town.
-You're going to have to
ride back to the ranch alone.
-We didn't get very much
accomplished today, did we?
-Can't you just feel the
ice breaking all around us?
-Well, this is your last
chance to ride on out of here.
Forget about the whole thing.
-I can't.
I don't know why,
Billy, but I just can't.
-If it's him, we'll be
honored with a table.
He's already spotted you.
-Hello, Jake.
-I was just about to
go looking for you.
-Do you ever run into
Ernie Parsons anymore?
-I've never run
into Ernie Parsons.
Any time, any
place, at all, ever.
-You have now.
-You?
You go into the church?
-Into hiding for the winter.
-Oh.
I always heard you
were kind of smart.
-I never heard that about you.
Look, are we really
going to have
to go through with this thing?
-I have $1,000 in my pocket
and a girl waiting for me
at Boulder City says I
got to go through with it.
-You all that sure
you can beat me?
-You all that sure I can't?
-If there's anything I hate,
it's a stupid, senseless fight.
Come on.
-Well, how do you
want to do this?
-Billy?
When we get in
position, flip a coin.
When it hits the ground,
we go for our guns.
All right?
-All right.
-Jake?
One of us is going
to die, and it's
not going to prove a thing.
-Sure it is, Ernie.
It's going to prove
which one of us
is a fool to call
himself a gunfighter.
-You boys ready?
[GUNFIRE]
[HORSE WHINNYING]
-Are you hit?
-You?
-Did you ever miss from
this distance before?
-Never.
-Me neither.
-Want to try again?
-No.
No, I think somebody's
trying to tell us something.
You put your gun away.
I'm going to get on my horse
and get out of this place.
I beat you.
You know that, don't you?
-Oh, no you didn't.
And you know dang
well you didn't, Jake.
You going to give
Ross's $1,000 back?
-No.
I'm late for my date.
-You folks see
those bullets hit?
-I don't think it hit
anywhere, Reverend.
-That's just plain silly.
-A whole dollar.
-This is how those stupid
legends get started.
Jake and I have an off day in
a gunfight, miss each other.
Of course there could
be 1,000 explanations.
But just because a bunch
of rummies standing around
don't see where the bullets
hit, all of a sudden you've
got the miracle of Castle Walk.
Now this whole
miserable, little town's
going to think that
God's on their side.
-Well, you got me
convinced, son.
But somehow or other,
I just don't hardly
believe that you
convinced yourself.
Now, let me point out a
couple of things to you.
-Like what?
-Well, for instance, you're
back yonder in that town
and they're about to hang you.
And right at the
last minute, in rides
this gal and saves your neck.
-She and I had been fooling
around a little bit.
-All right.
Well, then, you're out there
in the brush, a posse's
a-chasing you, and then all
of a sudden you come across
this here preacher's body, and
find this letter that brings
you right here into
this here town.
-It was supposed to lead him.
-Yeah, but you was the
one that wound up here.
Right here, where
you're needed more than
anybody's ever
been needed before.
Now, does all this
make you want to stop
and think just a
little bit more?
-No.
I don't want to talk about it.
[HORSE GRUNTING]
-Hold it!
You should have
listened to me when
I told you to get out of town.
-You shouldn't have
backed down in front
of me the other morning, either.
Now this whole town's going to
have the idea that you're just
a little less than the tin
god you pretended to be.
-Just tell me one thing.
What really happened
between you and Jake McCoy?
-I chased that bum out of town.
And he's not going to give
you your $1,000 back, either.
He said to tell you that's
the price he charges
for shaking hands
with scum like you.
-Get on with it.
--[INAUDIBLE], you drop
that rope real slow.
Drop it.
-You ain't getting out of
town fast enough, Preacher.
Haw!
-Ow!
-Get the point now, Preacher?
-You're in the
bunkhouse of our ranch.
I thought it would scare the
kids if they saw you like this.
-How'd you find me?
-When you didn't
come home last night,
I set out to look for you.
-You strip me down?
-I'm a ranch girl with brothers.
Don't make a big
thing out of it.
-You're something brand
new in my life, Sally.
-Are you strong enough
to get up and get
dressed and get out of here?
-Doesn't matter
whether I am or not.
I've got to do it.
Turn your back, Sal.
I'm not as [INAUDIBLE] of
my [INAUDIBLE] as you are.
-Will I ever see you again?
-Sure, why not?
I'm not going far.
-Well, you have to.
Oh, if they don't get
your body, Mr. Ross
will never stop
until they find you.
-Yeah.
And this is the first
place he'll look.
I want you and the kids
to go out and dig a grave.
Put some kind of a marker
on it with my name.
Tell Ross you found my body
and buried it in the hills.
-Can I turn around now?
-Sure.
Sally, I don't want anyone
to know that I'm alive.
I want it to come as a
horrible shock to Ross.
I'm going to start
giving him trouble
in ways he never dreamed of.
I'm going to need plenty of
food, water, and ammunition.
-I'll get you
everything you need.
Where will you go?
-I'll hide up in the
hills for a while.
-Well, Ernie, in this
part of the country,
if a girl undresses a man,
it's customary for the man
to make an honest
woman out of her.
-Well, I'm sure that's true
in every part of the country.
If I live through the
next little while,
well, we'll have a
serious talk about that.
-What's the matter?
-Oh, well, just look
at the way I look.
-Well, it's always
something, isn't it?
You don't like the
way you're dressed.
You don't like the way you look.
[GUNFIRE]
[SHOUTING]
-You know, I got a
hunch there's a bunch
of outlaws operating
up in these hills.
Probably scaring old Chet
and Harley half to death.
Blew up the well, too.
[GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE]
[HORSES WHINNYING]
[GUNFIRE]
[SHOUTING]
-What was that?
What was that?
[SHOUTING]
-I don't know, boss.
There must have been
15 or 16 of them.
-Or maybe there weren't
nobody there at all.
-What do you mean?
-Drag our preacher
through the cactus.
Them people don't have to
stay dead unless they want to.
-Everybody in town keeps talking
about the preacher's ghost
riding through the
hills and shooting
at every one of Ross's men
that sticks his head up.
I keep telling them, the
whole goldarn idea of ghosts--
-Sally, didn't you tell Billy?
-You told me not to tell anyone.
-Billy, I'm sorry.
-It's sure good to
see you alive, boy.
-Are you sure it's
safe for you down here?
-Honey, it's been a long time
since I've been safe anywhere.
Lately, it's been getting worse.
Isn't tomorrow Sunday?
-It sure is.
-Billy, I want you
to ride into town
and tell everyone that
we're having church
services tomorrow
morning at 10:00.
-I'll do it right now.
-Sally told you
our plans, ma'am?
-Yes.
-You have any objections?
-No.
-Ma'am, ah, has it occurred
to you that, well, Sally's
liable to end up one of the
youngest widows in these parts?
-Uh-uh.
Mary Murt's only 14, and
she's been a widow two years.
-Besides Mary Murt.
-No.
Grace Dorothy'd only been
married a week and a half
when her husband fell
down a mine shaft.
And you know how old she is.
-Sally, uh, could we
take a walk outside?
Will you excuse us, ma'am?
Sally, um, the reason
I brought you out here
is-- well, one of
the reasons-- we're
going to be husband and
wife, and you've got a right
to be in on the decisions
that affect the both of us.
You understand?
Now, if I stay here and fight
it out with Ross and his men,
chances are very good
that I'll be killed.
But on the other hand, we
could leave here tonight,
get married the very
first town we come to, go
someplace we both
like and settle down
and just have a wonderful
life for ourselves.
It's all up to you, Sally.
You just say the word.
-Well, Mama always said never to
throw yourself in between a man
and what he thinks
he's got to do.
-Well, I won't kid you, Sally.
I'm a little disappointed
in that answer.
-Oh--
-No, it's all right.
I got the strangest feeling
that I've been pointed straight
toward this shootout ever
since the day I was born,
and there wasn't a thing in
the world I could do about it.
Billy says it's God moving
in his mysterious way.
Me?
Well, I just don't know.
You very religious, Sally?
-Why do men have
to talk and talk?
Can't you be quiet
and get on with what
you're supposed to be doing?
-Yes, ma'am.
-Folks, I'm here
today as your preacher
and as God's representative.
Now, as your preacher, I've
stood up to your enemies
for you, and all it's gotten
me so far is a lot of bruises
and a bunch of cactus spines.
Now, I understand that a lot
of you thought I was dead,
and that my ghost was
raging through the hills,
wreaking my vengeance
on Ross and his men.
And I want to ask you something.
What were your feelings?
Were you scared
that you might have
an angry ghost
raging in your hills?
Or were you ashamed, because
not a single one of you
came out to see if
I was alive or if I
might not need some help?
Well, I'm warning you people.
While you're sitting around
waiting for God and me
to do your work
for you, God just
might have some
plans of his own.
Maybe he's not as angry
at Ross as he is at you.
[MURMURING]
-I'm not armed.
-Billy?
Go outside.
Take a look around.
-I came alone.
-Go on, Billy.
-I just thought it
was time that all
this foolishness came to an end.
We got a new country
to build here.
We ought to be
getting on with it
instead of indulging in
all this senseless killing.
I won't deny that you've hurt
me since you've been here.
Several of my men have
been killed or wounded.
Several more have
run off because you
scared them half to death.
-I didn't know I
was doing that well.
What do you want, Ross?
-A truce.
A chance to get
on with our lives.
-Ross, if you were sitting on
a stack of Bibles 10 feet high,
I'd bet money that you
were lying and I'd win.
-Now, just a minute, Reverend.
If Mr. Ross is
sincere-- and I believe
he is-- this may be just the
moment we've been waiting for.
-Luther, how could
you believe that?
I don't believe
him for a minute.
-Now, Sadie--
-You are going to believe this
man after all he's done to you?
-Well--
-Jehoshaphat, Reverend.
Anybody can make a mistake.
If Mr. Ross is man
enough to come here--
-Please, please, please.
I didn't mean to
create any dissension
amongst the preacher's flock.
Now, you've all heard
what I have to say.
Think it over.
-Well, I think we ought
to accept the proposition.
-Well, I think you're right.
[MURMURING]
-I have an announcement to make.
Miss Sally Underwood and I are
going to be married tomorrow
morning at 11:00.
You're all invited.
The second the ceremony
is over, my wife and I
will be leaving this
godforsaken town for good.
The ceremony won't take
place here at the church.
It'll be at the Mint Saloon.
You can say what you want
about those people at the Mint,
but they know why they're there,
and they do something about it.
[MURMURING]
[CLAPPING]
-Where's Sally?
-Oh, she's out back
getting dressed.
Her mama's with her.
-We can't take all
day with this thing.
-What's your rush, boy?
-I got one of my feelings,
and I'm never wrong,
that I should get
out of this place.
-Funny you'd say that.
-Huh?
-Oh, nothing.
Hey, yonder she comes now.
[GASPS]
-Oh.
-Oh, you're beautiful.
Come on, everybody.
-Don't you get the feeling that
maybe something's missing here?
I mean, who's going to
perform the ceremony?
You're the only
preacher around here.
-Hell, I don't know
of any law that
says I can't delegate
my otherworldly powers.
You marry us, Billy.
-Yes, Billy.
Come on.
-I'm [INAUDIBLE] the
legality of all this.
-Oh, never mind the legality.
It's the spirit that counts.
Now, I take Sally to
be my wedded wife.
You go on from there.
-Well, dearly beloveds.
We're gathered here today to
unite this couple in holy--
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
-Reverend, you were right.
Ross and his men have
bypassed the town,
and they're circling around,
and they're coming in that way.
-Oh, he's let us down again.
-Hold it down, hold it down.
How many men?
-I counted 14, including Ross.
-How long before they get here?
-Not more than five minutes.
-Well, five minutes
is plenty of time.
Go on with what you
were saying, Billy.
-I'll have to get
ready for Ross.
Otherwise, I won't
stand a chance.
Well, let's finish
this thing later.
All right, folks.
This is it.
Now you see how
much his word means.
Ross and his men are coming
into town for just one reason--
to get me.
Because he knows if
he kills me, there
won't be enough fight
left in the rest of you
to hold off a bunch
of sick, old ladies.
This thing works two ways.
Now, if I can get Ross
first, then his men
won't have any reason
to go on with the fight.
So all I'll need is some of
you to keep his men pinned
down while I take care of Ross.
-But the women
and the children--
-You don't even have to
come out in the open.
You can shoot from the
windows or from the roofs.
-You don't even have
to hit anything.
Just shoot fast and
make a lot of noise,
but keep his men pinned down.
-Can't believe it, Reverend.
I'm with you.
-Give Ma and me a
couple of rifles.
Well, you said we didn't
have to hit anything.
Just make a lot of noise.
-I just don't think I'd take
a chance with you, dear.
Come on, Billy.
Give me the keys to
the hardware store.
Barber shop.
I don't hate you people.
I guess you just can't
help the way you are.
-Well, I ain't going
to be that easy on you.
-Ernie, there's something else
that you ought to know about.
I'd have told you
sooner, but-- well, I
didn't want to
spoil the wedding.
-What?
-Well, that sheriff
that wanted to hang you?
He's here in town.
-Where?
-Over at my place.
I told him I was
the sheriff here.
It's one that I got off
our last, late sheriff.
Anyhow, I told him if
he'd wait there, well, I'd
round you up and
bring you in to him.
-How'd he find me?
-Oh, him and that posse come
across Frank Fleming's body.
One of them old boys knew Frank.
They figured that you'd
switched clothes with him.
-Yeah.
Well, if he wants
me, he's just going
to have to get in line behind
Ross and those other 13 men.
You take the barber shop.
-Ernie?
When this thing's
over with, though, you
got to get out of town.
That's all there is to it.
-Billy, what the
hell makes you think
we're going to live
through this thing?
-I want that preacher.
If he's not out
here in two minutes,
I'm going to burn this
town to the ground.
-Drop your guns, boys.
[GUNFIRE]
[HORSE WHINNYING]
[HORSE WHINNYING]
[GUNFIRE]
[HORSE WHINNYING]
[GUNFIRE]
[SHOUTING AND GUNFIRE]
-We're with you, Preacher.
[HORSE WHINNYING]
[GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE]
-You all right?
-Barely.
[GUNFIRE]
-Listen all you Ross's men.
Ross is dead.
Anyone who keeps on fighting is
going to have to stand trial.
-How do we know he's dead?
-Because I'm alive.
-All right.
You heard the man.
-The sheriff's going
to be down here
to find out what
this is all about.
-Yeah, I know.
Billy, get my horse and
meet me out back, huh?
Go over to the Mint
Saloon and tell
Sally to meet me
back at the ranch.
We'll take off from there.
-Nope.
I ain't going to do it.
I'm a dang fool for going
along with this thing as far
as I have, and I ain't
going to go no further.
-What are you talking about?
-I ain't going to let you
run away with that kid,
her not knowing who
you are or what you are
or what kind of a life she's
letting herself in for.
-Do you think if I
told her everything,
she still wouldn't
ride away with me?
-Well, of course
she would, Ernie.
Because she's 18 and--
and you're her first love.
-Well, that's good
enough for me.
-Ernie, when that sheriff
finds out you've left down,
do you suppose that he's
just going to give up?
-I can take care of him.
-Yeah.
You can take care
of him with one hand
while you take care of
Sally with the other.
Then if something goes wrong,
why, she can just stand around
with your baby in her
and watch you hang.
-You think I could just ride
off without telling her why?
-I'll tell her.
-Yeah?
Then what happens to her?
-Well, she'll be tore up for a
while, but-- but she's young.
She'll get over it
in a month or two.
-Yeah, but I won't get
over it in a month or two.
-I'll get your horse.
-I'll get it myself.
-Ernie?
This town owes you a whole lot.
But it don't owe you Sally.
-Can't make any promises.
-He's all right.
He's not hurt, and he'll
be here any minute.
-Damn it, Billy.
You're right.
-My blessings on you, Reverend.
-Well thank you, Ernie.
-Do I know you?
-No, I don't think so.
-Then how come you know me?
-Because I know every preacher
in this part of the country,
and you're not one of them.
And I've been hearing about a
gunfighter named Ernie Parsons
and some interesting goings-on
in a town called Castle walk.
-Well, don't believe
everything you hear, Reverend.
-Oh, I don't.
That's why I'm on
my way to Castle
Walk right now-- to investigate
these wonderful stories.
-Maybe you should get
them a real preacher now.
-They seemed very happy
with the one they had.
-They had a gunfighter,
not a preacher.
-God moves in mysterious ways.
-You boys sure do ham away
at that phrase, don't you?
Are you really going
to Castle Walk?
-I sure am.
-When you get there, uh, would
you give these to a girl named
Sally Underwood?
Tell her they're just from an
unknown admirer that thinks
certain girls should
have a trip to Phoenix,
even if they don't get married.
-All right.
Ernie, did you ever think that
the things that happened to you
in Castle Walk might be your
call to the kind of work
you've been destined to do?
-Reverend, um, I didn't solve
the problems of Castle Walk
by praying them away.
I did it the way I always do.
With a gun.
Now, did you ever hear of
a call coming that way?
-But you left it a better place
than it was when you arrived.
-You're a nice guy,
Reverend, but no, thanks.
-I'll be seeing you, Ernie.
having been found
guilty by a jury of your peers--
-I didn't see any jury.
-Well, they was around.
Anyway, what difference
does it make?
You gunned down
Wendy Jones, and he
was one of our most beloved
and respected citizens.
-I heard he was the town drunk.
-Well, now that
he's dead, he's one
of our most beloved
and respected citizens.
-I don't care who he was.
I didn't kill him.
-You've got the right to hear
a few words from a preacher.
Unfortunately, our
preacher's out of town,
but luckily we got
Farley Mallard here,
and he's a feed and grain
salesman, and he owns a Bible.
-No, thanks.
-Now, what does that mean?
-I don't want any feed and
grain salesmen praying over me.
I don't want anyone
praying over me.
I don't believe in that stuff.
-You ready, Max?
-Hup.
You've got one more
inalienable right
to speak a few last words.
And I mean a few.
We don't want one of them things
where the captain takes off
with the Declaration
of Independence.
Well, go on.
-Well, I'd just like
to say that this
is the lousiest town
that I've ever been in.
Well, I've met a
better-class folk
at a San Francisco opium parlor.
A drunken pool-hall
bum would be considered
too high-toned for these parts.
And as for your system
of justice, well--
-Now, that's enough.
Do you see what I mean?
He was just one breath
away from the Declaration.
All right.
Max.
-Don't do it!
Don't do it!
Don't do it!
Don't do it!
Ed Moose just confessed.
He killed Wendy in a
drunken barroom brawl
about a pregnant Indian squaw.
Ed claims Wendy was
the father and that he
was acting as the
avenging angel.
-Wendy was going to be
the father of something?
-That's what Ed said.
-All right.
Untie him.
Give him his gun.
Now, that's the way
out of town, son.
Take it, keep on going, and
don't you never come back.
-You heard her.
I'm not guilty.
-Even so, we don't want
no fast guns in this town.
Fast guns rate
alongside with lepers
in this law-abiding community.
-Can I ride back to town
long enough to get some food?
-That's the way out, son.
Don't press your luck.
-Thanks.
Bye.
-I'm going with you.
-You don't have to.
I'll be back.
-When?
-Whatever you do,
don't leave town.
Wait.
Never give up hope.
See you.
Hup!
Ya.
-Well, if I'd have known he
was going to act like that,
I never would have lied for him.
-Lied?
-You would have never what?
-I don't care.
I thought he was cute.
There ain't a man around
here I'd have as a gift.
And he took a bath
every so often besides.
-After him!
[CALLS DIRECTING THE HORSE]
[SHOUTING]
[GUNFIRE]
-Easy, boy.
Phew.
Ya.
[SHOUTING]
-"Reverend Frank Fleming."
Well, pleased to
know you, Frank.
"Dear Reverend,
everybody in Castle Walk
is real excited about
you coming here.
We ain't had a preacher
here in over three years,
but our last one
left in such a hurry,
he didn't even say goodbye.
He was a pious man, but he had
a yellow streak down his back.
We're all looking
forward to meeting
you for the first time."
We're all looking forward to
meeting you for the first time?
Hmm.
"I don't know how long
you'll be willing to stay,
but you'll be welcome
every minute of it."
You're the preacher's horse?
[HORSE WHINNYING]
-Let's see what you got, pal.
Frank, if ever I catch
the guy who did you in,
I'll take care of him for you.
In the meantime,
I'm going to need
your clothes and your horse.
I got a posse after me
for something I didn't do.
I'd say a prayer for you,
Frank, but coming from me,
I'm afraid it's liable to
do you more harm than good.
Ha!
[GUNFIRE]
-All right.
Pull up.
This is a holdup.
Why, it's a preacher, Percy!
-Ah, sorry about that
there, Parson, but, ah,
we were a little too far off
to catch that there collar.
-Is there anything we
can do for you, Reverend?
-Either of you boys ever heard
of a town called Castle Walk?
-Well, yeah.
It's in Arizona.
-Sure ain't much
of a town, though.
-How far is it from here?
-Oh, about 150 miles.
-It's over yonder
in that direction.
-How's your church
attendance been lately, boys?
You boys see that
branch over there?
-Ah, yes, sir.
[GUNFIRE]
-That was four for
the Lord, boys.
He loves you, but he
hates your profession.
-Yeah, I can see how he would.
-I want you boys to
go and sin now more.
-Uh, we surely won't, Parson.
-Uh, as soon as we
can afford not to.
Uh, Preacher.
You being so good
with that gun and all,
how come you didn't just kill
us as we was riding up here?
-Because you boys are
children of the Lord,
just as much as I am.
-Children of the Lord, huh?
-Ya.
[ORGAN MUSIC]
-Sorry, Sadie.
Didn't have the time
to dig it no deeper.
-Well, I guess we better
just put him in the ground
and get it over with.
-All right.
-Without even a few words?
-Mr. Ross didn't say
nothing about no words.
He said we could have a burying.
Mr. Ross didn't say
nothing about no words.
-But Sam was a Christian man.
You can't just bury
him like a wild dog.
Can't we stand up to
Mr. Ross just this once?
-You're leaving here
after the burial.
We've got to stay here
and live with him.
All right.
Let's get going.
-Wait a minute.
-Is it one of Mr. Ross's men?
-Looks like a preacher.
-Well, what do we do now?
-Ah, I wrote him
myself not to come.
-Thank God you're
here, Reverend.
-I've had many receptions
in my life, ma'am.
Yours is almost unique.
-We were going to have to bury
my husband without any proper
words being said, but
now that you're here--
-You're the Reverend
Frank Fleming?
-That's right.
-I wrote you a letter
telling you not to come.
-No, you wrote me a letter
welcoming me to Castle Walk.
-I wrote you that letter.
-Yeah, but things changed.
First, Mr. Ross said
it was all right
for us to have a preacher, and
then Mr. Ross changed his mind.
-Gentlemen, what the
hell is going on here?
-Reverend!
-Hell is a word that came
straight from the Bible, folks.
And all I know is, we've got a
heartbroken little widow here.
You did say you were the widow?
-And these are my children.
-That's a child?
-She's 18.
-Oh, she certainly is.
Well, first order
of business as I
see it is to get this poor man
put decently into the ground.
-Oh, thank you, Reverend.
-Oh, I-- I don't
know what Mr. Ross
is going to say about this.
-I haven't been
here five minutes
and I'm already sick
to death of Mr. Ross.
Come on.
Let's bow our heads.
-Don't you have a
Bible, Reverend?
-Oh, I probably do
in my saddlebag.
-Here You can borrow
mine, Reverend.
-The deceased was
probably a simple man,
so I'll just say a few,
simple words of my own,
and not bother to dip
in to the Bible today.
[ORGAN MUSIC]
-As you all know, it's
ashes to ashes and dust
to dust, which may not
sound like the best
deal in the world,
but it's the only deal
you're ever going
to get, so you might
as well learn to live with it.
I didn't know the late
deceased, but some
of the works he left behind
are might impressive.
Well, what did he die of?
-He was shot in the back.
-May the full wrath
of the Lord fall
on people who shoot
other people in the back.
It's a rotten, simple
way to make a living.
Amen.
-Amen.
-Can't thank you
enough, Reverend.
I'd like to say more, but Mr.
Ross only gave us half an hour
to get out of town
after the funeral.
-You're leaving town?
You taking her with you?
-Mr. Ross said we all had to go.
-Who is this Mr. Ross?
-He's a mean, miserable,
murdering thief,
and he runs everybody in
this part of the country.
There ain't a soul
of us that had
a single, solitary happy
day since he rode in here
and took over.
-He's going to hear
every word that you said!
-Yeah, and he'll
probably kill me.
But at least I got
to say something that
should have been
said before I die.
-Why is he running
this woman out of town?
-My husband Sam was the
only man in these parts
to stand up to Mr. Ross,
so he had Sam killed.
He let us take one
wagonload of our things.
We'd better get started.
-Ma'am, the only place you're
going is back to your ranch.
I'm sure with the help of
all these fine citizens
that we can make Mr. Ross
see the error of his ways.
-Reverend, you don't understand
the situation around here.
-Mr. Ross is a
powerful, powerful man.
He's got money and influence.
-And he's got 20 top
gunfighter working for him.
-Well, I'll tell you people
what I really think of you.
I'm going to tell you
something about gunfighters.
Now, Ross doesn't have 20 top
gunfighters working for him
because there ain't 20 top
gunfighters in the whole US
of A. Now, what Ross
probably does have is
about 15 cowboys that
wear guns for ornaments.
They do just fine at
shooting up a saloon
or making some terrified
dude dance a little jig.
But Ross has probably
got about three men who
are pretty good at getting their
guns out of their holsters,
but no good at hitting
anything once they do.
Which leaves about
two or three men
that might honestly be
called "gunfighters."
Not top gunfighters.
more like second-
or third-raters.
So, you see, you folks have been
letting yourselves be rousted
around by a bunch
of two-bit yahoos.
-How come you know so much
about gun fighters, Reverend?
-The Lord's work takes one to
many places in many climes.
Matthew 31.
-There ain't no Matthew 31.
-Well, there ought to be.
Widow, I want you and your
family to get in the wagon.
I'm going to drive you home.
You're going to sit next to me.
-Oh, I don't know, Reverend.
-Ma'am, you don't look
like the kind of woman that
would back away
from a little fight.
Where's your faith?
-My faith is in good
shape, Reverend.
And if you're willing to
take the risk, so are we.
Get in the wagon, kids.
Us and the Reverend
are going home.
-The lives of this family will
be on your soul, Reverend.
-Oh, Reverend!
-Yeah.
-Couple of Ross's
men are in town
and they're pretty liquored up.
-That was their first mistake.
You ride my horse, son.
-OK.
-Hey.
Let's go have some fun.
-Remember the
children, Reverend.
-Those are just two
of the cowboys, ma'am.
Hoo.
-And where do you people
think you're going?
-Where's the place that Ross
would least like us to go?
-I'd say her ranch.
-Well, that's exactly
where we're going.
-Wait'll Mr. Ross
hears about this.
-Mr. Ross is a skunk
of doubtful parentage.
Mr. Ross is so
low, he could walk
under a rattlesnake's
belly wearing a high hat.
And that's what I
think of Mr. Ross
without ever having met the man.
And that was indecisive, cowboy.
Could have very easily cost
you your unimportant life.
[GUNFIRE]
-Those could have
just as easily been
your years flying
off your heads, boys.
-Well, that's a terrible
way for a preacher to act.
[GUNFIRE]
-When the Lord wants someone
to move, he wants them to move.
Ha!
-Reverend, my husband
Sam would have
followed you to hell and back.
-Now, don't talk about
hell to a sinner, ma'am.
-You, a sinner?
-Ma'am, we're all sinners.
Or about to be.
All right.
Just as soon as we stop, I want
you to get the wagon unloaded.
I want to get this family
settled in before dark.
You don't mind if I order
your kids around a little,
do you, ma'am?
-Reverend, you can do
anything you want to.
-Reverend?
Reverend?
-Yes, ma'am.
-Reverend, this hole in
the back of your collar
looks like a bullet hole.
-Well, that'd be
my guess, ma'am.
-Your guess?
How could a man be shot in
the back and not know it?
-Well, I was carrying
that coat over my arm
when the shooting took place.
[COUGHING]
-Well, tobacco's one of the
Lord's works too, ma'am.
-I'll get my things
and fix your coat.
-Do you think Mr.
Ross and his men
are going to come down
and get us tonight?
-No, not tonight, honey.
I'd imagine that
Sunday in church
will be where he
makes his first play.
-Aren't you scared at all?
-Oh, I'm scared
all right, Sally.
But not the kind
of scared that'd
make me knuckle under to
the likes of that Ross.
-Thought of a text for your
sermon tomorrow, Reverend?
-Tomorrow?
-Tomorrow's Sunday.
-I have lost all track of
time the last few weeks.
What do you think I
ought to preach about?
-I thought you said
the sin of cowardice.
-Yeah, that's not bad, either.
-Thought you probably had some
favorite passage from the Bible
to illustrate your point.
-Oh, I do.
Several of them, as
a matter of fact.
But what's your favorite
passage from the Bible that
would illustrate
that point, ma'am?
-I think it would be Luke
12, when Christ says,
"Do you think I have come
to give peace on earth?
I came to cast fire
upon the earth,
and would it were
already kindle."
-It says that in the Bible?
-Well, I told you.
Luke 12.
-Oh, Luke 12.
Yeah, that Luke, he really
knew how to turn a phrase,
didn't he?
-Yeah.
I'll clean your clothes
up for the services.
-Well, I'd appreciate that.
You don't happen to have
a Bible around, do you?
I, um, seem to, ah, have
misplaced my glasses.
Could you turn to
that spot in Luke
that your mother
was talking about?
-It's right here.
You don't wear glasses.
-You know something,
you're right.
I don't know what got into me.
-Well, good night.
Good night.
-Night.
-Folks, ah, I'm going
to read you from, ah,
Matthew, chapter
10 and verse 34.
Although Luke says pretty
much the same thing in his 12.
"Think not that I am come
to send peace on earth.
I came not to send
peace, but a sword."
Now, I don't know what
that means to you,
but I know what it means to me.
It means that while God loves
peace, when the occasion
arises, he's not reluctant
to use the sword.
Matter of fact, when the
occasion calls for it,
he might become
downright irritated
if you don't use the sword,
or the gun, or the rope.
Or whatever's handy.
Now, you folks have had a
cross to bear here lately,
and his name is Ross.
Well, they say that people get
the kind of lives they deserve,
and I guess they do.
But when men won't fight
for their wives, women,
and children, and when their
women won't make them fight
for what's right,
then these people
don't deserve any
kind of lives at all.
That's exactly what you've got.
[GUNFIRE]
[SCREAMING]
-Get his gun.
If you've never done it,
don't think you could possibly
realize what an awful
thing it is to kill a man.
I don't know who God
must be mad at the most.
That man for wasting
his life at the altar
of some tin-horn
dictator, me for having
to do this thing
in his own house,
or you people for having quit
before the fight even got
started.
I haven't got the heart
for any more church today.
That's all.
-Mr. Ross and a couple
of his men are outside.
Take care of yourself, son.
-Every second.
Bring that body outside.
-You've had a couple of
fun days here, Preacher.
-Well, I tell you, Ross, you--
-The name is Mr. Ross.
-The name was Mr. Ross.
Now, you hear me good, Ross.
Either of those two
men go for their guns,
I'm going to go for you first.
-I think I could
take him, Mr. Ross.
-Don't think.
-Here's your chance, boys.
Either of you holding
any grudges against him?
Draw on me, and I'll
kill him for you.
-If we go together,
we can get him.
-Before or after he killed me?
-He don't look all
that fast to me.
-Shut up.
-Friend of yours, Ross?
-All right, Preacher.
You pulled yourself off a
nice, little grandstand play
for the folks.
Now, I want you out of town.
-Who killed Sam Underwood?
You or one of your men?
I'm going to find out if I have
to take the whole bunch of you
to pieces.
-Give me the word.
I'm sure I can beat him.
-No.
Go on back to the ranch.
I'll be there in a minute.
-You sure?
-Now.
-That's the way I like it.
Man to man.
Do I make the first
play, or do you?
-I just changed
my mind, Preacher.
I don't want you out of town.
I want you right
here, where I can
get you any time I want you.
-Service is next
Sunday at 10 o'clock,
and there's a four-bit
fine for being late.
[LAUGHTER]
-You wouldn't shoot me in the
back, would you, Preacher?
-Like that.
-Any of you folks think your
preacher doesn't deserve
a drink after the events
of this morning, well,
we just don't believe in
the same god, that's all.
-Some of you boys
plant him, will you?
-Don't you feel
a little strange,
having a drink with your
preacher on a Sunday morning?
-No.
-How come?
-You know, about
10, 12 years ago,
I took a trip up to Cheyenne.
I come across this altercation
between a 19-year-old kid
and one of the top
gunslingers in that part
of the country at that time.
This kid, he didn't want
no part of the fight,
but this gunny was drunk.
He kept at it, and finally
the kid had to go for his gun
or get blasted right
here in his tracks.
It was plum pitiful.
-How?
-This kid was the fastest
thing I ever seen.
Caught that gunny flat-footed.
Why, he was dead before
God got the news.
I inquired around and
found out this kid's name
was Ernie Parson.
Ernie, what are you
doing here in Castle Walk
dressed up in that
preacher's outfit?
-It's a wrong guess, Billy.
-You know, once you've seen a
top man handle himself in a gun
fight, you never forget
one little detail.
What are you wanted for, anyway?
-Doesn't matter.
I didn't do it.
They'll hang me just like
I did if they catch me.
-Did you kill Frank Fleming?
-No, of course not.
Came across his body in the
hills and he was already dead.
I was half starved,
no place to go,
so I took his clothes
and horse and came here.
All right.
I'll ride back to the ranch,
tell the widow and the kids
goodbye, and-- and I'll move on.
-Why leave?
You're the answer to
our prayers, Ernie.
-No I'm not, Billy.
Don't let these
clothes fool you.
-God moves in
mysterious ways, boy.
-Not that mysterious.
Look, Billy.
What I'd like to know is,
if I do stick around here,
how much help can I count on
from these God-fearing people?
-Almost none.
-Almost none?
-Ah, none.
-This is just God moving
in his mysterious way
to get me killed.
God will smite the
sinners of Castle Walk
just as surely as he
smote the Philistines.
Smote.
For the time is at
hand when you will
hear of wars and rumors of wars.
Be not afraid, for this
must first take place.
Nations will rise against
nations and kingdoms
against kingdoms.
Not a head out of your hair or
a hair on your head will perish,
and I quote Luke,
chapter 21, verse--
Luke chapter 21, verse 23.
"For there shall be great
distress in the land,
wrath upon his people."
[CLAPPING]
-I brought you some lunch.
I didn't know preachers
had to practice.
-Well, it's either that or
watch the collections fall off.
-Huh?
-Oh, that's-- that's
a real bad joke
I stole from the Methodists.
-Oh.
-Does your mother know
you came out here alone?
-I don't know.
Why?
-Well, ah, you're a very
attractive young girl.
Almost too young,
as a matter of fact.
-Most of the girls
around here are
married by the time
they're 13 or 14.
-13, huh?
Well, I'll have
to look into that.
-Why?
They're the lucky ones,
even if they don't
get a trip to Phoenix out of it.
-Is that the price of
marriage around here?
A trip to Phoenix?
-No, but it sure doesn't hurt.
Look, do I have to keep
on calling you Reverend?
-Oh, no.
Call me Ernie.
-Ernie?
-My full name's
Frank Ernest Fleming.
All my good friends,
they call me Ernie.
-Is there anything in your
faith against marriage?
-No.
Not in my faith.
Look, Sally, ah, sit down.
This conversation
isn't going in exactly
the direction I had planned.
I mean, you know,
marriage is just fine.
I was real glad that my
parents believed in it.
But, ah-- but there's
other things, too.
You don't know what I'm
talking about, do you?
-I know what you're
talking about?
-Let's see.
-What's the matter?
-Oh, it's these clothes
and this collar.
It's just-- I'm not going to
get anywhere dressed like this.
-I can't see that
makes much difference.
-Well, you would if you
were dressed like a nun.
It's just the wrong outfit
for what I had in mind.
-Hey, Preacher!
I've got to talk to you.
Hi, Sal.
-Hi.
-It's real important.
You know a gunfighter
named Jake McCoy?
-Yeah, I know of him.
-He's in town.
-My blessings on him.
-And he's working for Ross.
Is he really good?
-Yeah.
He's the best.
-You can take him, can't you?
-You sure he's working for Ross?
-Yeah, and he's looking for you.
Although he don't know
who you really are.
-That doesn't matter.
Or does it?
Where's he at now?
-Well, he's at the Mint
Saloon when I left town.
-You're going to have to
ride back to the ranch alone.
-We didn't get very much
accomplished today, did we?
-Can't you just feel the
ice breaking all around us?
-Well, this is your last
chance to ride on out of here.
Forget about the whole thing.
-I can't.
I don't know why,
Billy, but I just can't.
-If it's him, we'll be
honored with a table.
He's already spotted you.
-Hello, Jake.
-I was just about to
go looking for you.
-Do you ever run into
Ernie Parsons anymore?
-I've never run
into Ernie Parsons.
Any time, any
place, at all, ever.
-You have now.
-You?
You go into the church?
-Into hiding for the winter.
-Oh.
I always heard you
were kind of smart.
-I never heard that about you.
Look, are we really
going to have
to go through with this thing?
-I have $1,000 in my pocket
and a girl waiting for me
at Boulder City says I
got to go through with it.
-You all that sure
you can beat me?
-You all that sure I can't?
-If there's anything I hate,
it's a stupid, senseless fight.
Come on.
-Well, how do you
want to do this?
-Billy?
When we get in
position, flip a coin.
When it hits the ground,
we go for our guns.
All right?
-All right.
-Jake?
One of us is going
to die, and it's
not going to prove a thing.
-Sure it is, Ernie.
It's going to prove
which one of us
is a fool to call
himself a gunfighter.
-You boys ready?
[GUNFIRE]
[HORSE WHINNYING]
-Are you hit?
-You?
-Did you ever miss from
this distance before?
-Never.
-Me neither.
-Want to try again?
-No.
No, I think somebody's
trying to tell us something.
You put your gun away.
I'm going to get on my horse
and get out of this place.
I beat you.
You know that, don't you?
-Oh, no you didn't.
And you know dang
well you didn't, Jake.
You going to give
Ross's $1,000 back?
-No.
I'm late for my date.
-You folks see
those bullets hit?
-I don't think it hit
anywhere, Reverend.
-That's just plain silly.
-A whole dollar.
-This is how those stupid
legends get started.
Jake and I have an off day in
a gunfight, miss each other.
Of course there could
be 1,000 explanations.
But just because a bunch
of rummies standing around
don't see where the bullets
hit, all of a sudden you've
got the miracle of Castle Walk.
Now this whole
miserable, little town's
going to think that
God's on their side.
-Well, you got me
convinced, son.
But somehow or other,
I just don't hardly
believe that you
convinced yourself.
Now, let me point out a
couple of things to you.
-Like what?
-Well, for instance, you're
back yonder in that town
and they're about to hang you.
And right at the
last minute, in rides
this gal and saves your neck.
-She and I had been fooling
around a little bit.
-All right.
Well, then, you're out there
in the brush, a posse's
a-chasing you, and then all
of a sudden you come across
this here preacher's body, and
find this letter that brings
you right here into
this here town.
-It was supposed to lead him.
-Yeah, but you was the
one that wound up here.
Right here, where
you're needed more than
anybody's ever
been needed before.
Now, does all this
make you want to stop
and think just a
little bit more?
-No.
I don't want to talk about it.
[HORSE GRUNTING]
-Hold it!
You should have
listened to me when
I told you to get out of town.
-You shouldn't have
backed down in front
of me the other morning, either.
Now this whole town's going to
have the idea that you're just
a little less than the tin
god you pretended to be.
-Just tell me one thing.
What really happened
between you and Jake McCoy?
-I chased that bum out of town.
And he's not going to give
you your $1,000 back, either.
He said to tell you that's
the price he charges
for shaking hands
with scum like you.
-Get on with it.
--[INAUDIBLE], you drop
that rope real slow.
Drop it.
-You ain't getting out of
town fast enough, Preacher.
Haw!
-Ow!
-Get the point now, Preacher?
-You're in the
bunkhouse of our ranch.
I thought it would scare the
kids if they saw you like this.
-How'd you find me?
-When you didn't
come home last night,
I set out to look for you.
-You strip me down?
-I'm a ranch girl with brothers.
Don't make a big
thing out of it.
-You're something brand
new in my life, Sally.
-Are you strong enough
to get up and get
dressed and get out of here?
-Doesn't matter
whether I am or not.
I've got to do it.
Turn your back, Sal.
I'm not as [INAUDIBLE] of
my [INAUDIBLE] as you are.
-Will I ever see you again?
-Sure, why not?
I'm not going far.
-Well, you have to.
Oh, if they don't get
your body, Mr. Ross
will never stop
until they find you.
-Yeah.
And this is the first
place he'll look.
I want you and the kids
to go out and dig a grave.
Put some kind of a marker
on it with my name.
Tell Ross you found my body
and buried it in the hills.
-Can I turn around now?
-Sure.
Sally, I don't want anyone
to know that I'm alive.
I want it to come as a
horrible shock to Ross.
I'm going to start
giving him trouble
in ways he never dreamed of.
I'm going to need plenty of
food, water, and ammunition.
-I'll get you
everything you need.
Where will you go?
-I'll hide up in the
hills for a while.
-Well, Ernie, in this
part of the country,
if a girl undresses a man,
it's customary for the man
to make an honest
woman out of her.
-Well, I'm sure that's true
in every part of the country.
If I live through the
next little while,
well, we'll have a
serious talk about that.
-What's the matter?
-Oh, well, just look
at the way I look.
-Well, it's always
something, isn't it?
You don't like the
way you're dressed.
You don't like the way you look.
[GUNFIRE]
[SHOUTING]
-You know, I got a
hunch there's a bunch
of outlaws operating
up in these hills.
Probably scaring old Chet
and Harley half to death.
Blew up the well, too.
[GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE]
[HORSES WHINNYING]
[GUNFIRE]
[SHOUTING]
-What was that?
What was that?
[SHOUTING]
-I don't know, boss.
There must have been
15 or 16 of them.
-Or maybe there weren't
nobody there at all.
-What do you mean?
-Drag our preacher
through the cactus.
Them people don't have to
stay dead unless they want to.
-Everybody in town keeps talking
about the preacher's ghost
riding through the
hills and shooting
at every one of Ross's men
that sticks his head up.
I keep telling them, the
whole goldarn idea of ghosts--
-Sally, didn't you tell Billy?
-You told me not to tell anyone.
-Billy, I'm sorry.
-It's sure good to
see you alive, boy.
-Are you sure it's
safe for you down here?
-Honey, it's been a long time
since I've been safe anywhere.
Lately, it's been getting worse.
Isn't tomorrow Sunday?
-It sure is.
-Billy, I want you
to ride into town
and tell everyone that
we're having church
services tomorrow
morning at 10:00.
-I'll do it right now.
-Sally told you
our plans, ma'am?
-Yes.
-You have any objections?
-No.
-Ma'am, ah, has it occurred
to you that, well, Sally's
liable to end up one of the
youngest widows in these parts?
-Uh-uh.
Mary Murt's only 14, and
she's been a widow two years.
-Besides Mary Murt.
-No.
Grace Dorothy'd only been
married a week and a half
when her husband fell
down a mine shaft.
And you know how old she is.
-Sally, uh, could we
take a walk outside?
Will you excuse us, ma'am?
Sally, um, the reason
I brought you out here
is-- well, one of
the reasons-- we're
going to be husband and
wife, and you've got a right
to be in on the decisions
that affect the both of us.
You understand?
Now, if I stay here and fight
it out with Ross and his men,
chances are very good
that I'll be killed.
But on the other hand, we
could leave here tonight,
get married the very
first town we come to, go
someplace we both
like and settle down
and just have a wonderful
life for ourselves.
It's all up to you, Sally.
You just say the word.
-Well, Mama always said never to
throw yourself in between a man
and what he thinks
he's got to do.
-Well, I won't kid you, Sally.
I'm a little disappointed
in that answer.
-Oh--
-No, it's all right.
I got the strangest feeling
that I've been pointed straight
toward this shootout ever
since the day I was born,
and there wasn't a thing in
the world I could do about it.
Billy says it's God moving
in his mysterious way.
Me?
Well, I just don't know.
You very religious, Sally?
-Why do men have
to talk and talk?
Can't you be quiet
and get on with what
you're supposed to be doing?
-Yes, ma'am.
-Folks, I'm here
today as your preacher
and as God's representative.
Now, as your preacher, I've
stood up to your enemies
for you, and all it's gotten
me so far is a lot of bruises
and a bunch of cactus spines.
Now, I understand that a lot
of you thought I was dead,
and that my ghost was
raging through the hills,
wreaking my vengeance
on Ross and his men.
And I want to ask you something.
What were your feelings?
Were you scared
that you might have
an angry ghost
raging in your hills?
Or were you ashamed, because
not a single one of you
came out to see if
I was alive or if I
might not need some help?
Well, I'm warning you people.
While you're sitting around
waiting for God and me
to do your work
for you, God just
might have some
plans of his own.
Maybe he's not as angry
at Ross as he is at you.
[MURMURING]
-I'm not armed.
-Billy?
Go outside.
Take a look around.
-I came alone.
-Go on, Billy.
-I just thought it
was time that all
this foolishness came to an end.
We got a new country
to build here.
We ought to be
getting on with it
instead of indulging in
all this senseless killing.
I won't deny that you've hurt
me since you've been here.
Several of my men have
been killed or wounded.
Several more have
run off because you
scared them half to death.
-I didn't know I
was doing that well.
What do you want, Ross?
-A truce.
A chance to get
on with our lives.
-Ross, if you were sitting on
a stack of Bibles 10 feet high,
I'd bet money that you
were lying and I'd win.
-Now, just a minute, Reverend.
If Mr. Ross is
sincere-- and I believe
he is-- this may be just the
moment we've been waiting for.
-Luther, how could
you believe that?
I don't believe
him for a minute.
-Now, Sadie--
-You are going to believe this
man after all he's done to you?
-Well--
-Jehoshaphat, Reverend.
Anybody can make a mistake.
If Mr. Ross is man
enough to come here--
-Please, please, please.
I didn't mean to
create any dissension
amongst the preacher's flock.
Now, you've all heard
what I have to say.
Think it over.
-Well, I think we ought
to accept the proposition.
-Well, I think you're right.
[MURMURING]
-I have an announcement to make.
Miss Sally Underwood and I are
going to be married tomorrow
morning at 11:00.
You're all invited.
The second the ceremony
is over, my wife and I
will be leaving this
godforsaken town for good.
The ceremony won't take
place here at the church.
It'll be at the Mint Saloon.
You can say what you want
about those people at the Mint,
but they know why they're there,
and they do something about it.
[MURMURING]
[CLAPPING]
-Where's Sally?
-Oh, she's out back
getting dressed.
Her mama's with her.
-We can't take all
day with this thing.
-What's your rush, boy?
-I got one of my feelings,
and I'm never wrong,
that I should get
out of this place.
-Funny you'd say that.
-Huh?
-Oh, nothing.
Hey, yonder she comes now.
[GASPS]
-Oh.
-Oh, you're beautiful.
Come on, everybody.
-Don't you get the feeling that
maybe something's missing here?
I mean, who's going to
perform the ceremony?
You're the only
preacher around here.
-Hell, I don't know
of any law that
says I can't delegate
my otherworldly powers.
You marry us, Billy.
-Yes, Billy.
Come on.
-I'm [INAUDIBLE] the
legality of all this.
-Oh, never mind the legality.
It's the spirit that counts.
Now, I take Sally to
be my wedded wife.
You go on from there.
-Well, dearly beloveds.
We're gathered here today to
unite this couple in holy--
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
-Reverend, you were right.
Ross and his men have
bypassed the town,
and they're circling around,
and they're coming in that way.
-Oh, he's let us down again.
-Hold it down, hold it down.
How many men?
-I counted 14, including Ross.
-How long before they get here?
-Not more than five minutes.
-Well, five minutes
is plenty of time.
Go on with what you
were saying, Billy.
-I'll have to get
ready for Ross.
Otherwise, I won't
stand a chance.
Well, let's finish
this thing later.
All right, folks.
This is it.
Now you see how
much his word means.
Ross and his men are coming
into town for just one reason--
to get me.
Because he knows if
he kills me, there
won't be enough fight
left in the rest of you
to hold off a bunch
of sick, old ladies.
This thing works two ways.
Now, if I can get Ross
first, then his men
won't have any reason
to go on with the fight.
So all I'll need is some of
you to keep his men pinned
down while I take care of Ross.
-But the women
and the children--
-You don't even have to
come out in the open.
You can shoot from the
windows or from the roofs.
-You don't even have
to hit anything.
Just shoot fast and
make a lot of noise,
but keep his men pinned down.
-Can't believe it, Reverend.
I'm with you.
-Give Ma and me a
couple of rifles.
Well, you said we didn't
have to hit anything.
Just make a lot of noise.
-I just don't think I'd take
a chance with you, dear.
Come on, Billy.
Give me the keys to
the hardware store.
Barber shop.
I don't hate you people.
I guess you just can't
help the way you are.
-Well, I ain't going
to be that easy on you.
-Ernie, there's something else
that you ought to know about.
I'd have told you
sooner, but-- well, I
didn't want to
spoil the wedding.
-What?
-Well, that sheriff
that wanted to hang you?
He's here in town.
-Where?
-Over at my place.
I told him I was
the sheriff here.
It's one that I got off
our last, late sheriff.
Anyhow, I told him if
he'd wait there, well, I'd
round you up and
bring you in to him.
-How'd he find me?
-Oh, him and that posse come
across Frank Fleming's body.
One of them old boys knew Frank.
They figured that you'd
switched clothes with him.
-Yeah.
Well, if he wants
me, he's just going
to have to get in line behind
Ross and those other 13 men.
You take the barber shop.
-Ernie?
When this thing's
over with, though, you
got to get out of town.
That's all there is to it.
-Billy, what the
hell makes you think
we're going to live
through this thing?
-I want that preacher.
If he's not out
here in two minutes,
I'm going to burn this
town to the ground.
-Drop your guns, boys.
[GUNFIRE]
[HORSE WHINNYING]
[HORSE WHINNYING]
[GUNFIRE]
[HORSE WHINNYING]
[GUNFIRE]
[SHOUTING AND GUNFIRE]
-We're with you, Preacher.
[HORSE WHINNYING]
[GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE]
-You all right?
-Barely.
[GUNFIRE]
-Listen all you Ross's men.
Ross is dead.
Anyone who keeps on fighting is
going to have to stand trial.
-How do we know he's dead?
-Because I'm alive.
-All right.
You heard the man.
-The sheriff's going
to be down here
to find out what
this is all about.
-Yeah, I know.
Billy, get my horse and
meet me out back, huh?
Go over to the Mint
Saloon and tell
Sally to meet me
back at the ranch.
We'll take off from there.
-Nope.
I ain't going to do it.
I'm a dang fool for going
along with this thing as far
as I have, and I ain't
going to go no further.
-What are you talking about?
-I ain't going to let you
run away with that kid,
her not knowing who
you are or what you are
or what kind of a life she's
letting herself in for.
-Do you think if I
told her everything,
she still wouldn't
ride away with me?
-Well, of course
she would, Ernie.
Because she's 18 and--
and you're her first love.
-Well, that's good
enough for me.
-Ernie, when that sheriff
finds out you've left down,
do you suppose that he's
just going to give up?
-I can take care of him.
-Yeah.
You can take care
of him with one hand
while you take care of
Sally with the other.
Then if something goes wrong,
why, she can just stand around
with your baby in her
and watch you hang.
-You think I could just ride
off without telling her why?
-I'll tell her.
-Yeah?
Then what happens to her?
-Well, she'll be tore up for a
while, but-- but she's young.
She'll get over it
in a month or two.
-Yeah, but I won't get
over it in a month or two.
-I'll get your horse.
-I'll get it myself.
-Ernie?
This town owes you a whole lot.
But it don't owe you Sally.
-Can't make any promises.
-He's all right.
He's not hurt, and he'll
be here any minute.
-Damn it, Billy.
You're right.
-My blessings on you, Reverend.
-Well thank you, Ernie.
-Do I know you?
-No, I don't think so.
-Then how come you know me?
-Because I know every preacher
in this part of the country,
and you're not one of them.
And I've been hearing about a
gunfighter named Ernie Parsons
and some interesting goings-on
in a town called Castle walk.
-Well, don't believe
everything you hear, Reverend.
-Oh, I don't.
That's why I'm on
my way to Castle
Walk right now-- to investigate
these wonderful stories.
-Maybe you should get
them a real preacher now.
-They seemed very happy
with the one they had.
-They had a gunfighter,
not a preacher.
-God moves in mysterious ways.
-You boys sure do ham away
at that phrase, don't you?
Are you really going
to Castle Walk?
-I sure am.
-When you get there, uh, would
you give these to a girl named
Sally Underwood?
Tell her they're just from an
unknown admirer that thinks
certain girls should
have a trip to Phoenix,
even if they don't get married.
-All right.
Ernie, did you ever think that
the things that happened to you
in Castle Walk might be your
call to the kind of work
you've been destined to do?
-Reverend, um, I didn't solve
the problems of Castle Walk
by praying them away.
I did it the way I always do.
With a gun.
Now, did you ever hear of
a call coming that way?
-But you left it a better place
than it was when you arrived.
-You're a nice guy,
Reverend, but no, thanks.
-I'll be seeing you, Ernie.