Hud (1963) - full transcript

♪ Our Eastern states
are dandies ♪

♪ So the Western people say ♪

♪ New York and Chicago ♪

♪ And St. Louis... ♪

♪ From the hills
of Minnesota, where... ♪

Okay, thanks for the lift.

Where you going
to look for him?

I don't know, but if I find

a pink Cadillac,
he'll be around somewhere.

♪ ...Birmingham
one cold December day ♪

So long.



♪ As I pulled
into the station ♪

♪ I could hear
all the people say ♪

♪ There's a gal
from Tennessee... ♪

Who's that?

It's Lon.

Hi, Lonnie.
I'm making chili.

But if you want breakfast,
I'll come out.

No, thanks.

Daisy, you seen
my Uncle Hud?

I chicken-fried him

a steak last night,
about 7:00.

Haven't
seen him since.

All right.

Daisy, I'm taking
two doughnuts.



Okay, honey.

Just leave a dime
on the counter.

All right.

It's 26 after 6:00

on a Thursday, and 71 degrees
in the good ol' summertime.

On the Bobby Don Brewer Show.

Must have had quite a
brawl in here last night.

I had Hud in here last night
is what I had.

Sure looks it.

Mr. Larker!

Hey, there,
Mr. Larker!

Hey, there, Lon!

You gonna rodeo
this year, Lon?

Not me. I ain't looking to get
my stomach stepped on.

What you doing
in town this early?

Trying to run down Hud.

Hud? Didn't I see
that big Cadillac car of his

parked right down
the street?

Pretty sure I did.

I don't know
if I'd go

disturbing him,
if I was you.

Well, I ain't dying to,
but I've been told to get him.

♪ I'm just driftwood
on the river ♪

♪ Floating down the tide ♪

♪ I don't care where
this old river carries me ♪

♪ I keep drifting just because
my heart is broken inside ♪

♪ And I'm tired of wishing
for what cannot be... ♪

Hud?

Hud?

Honcho...

I just hope for your sake
that this house is on fire.

Well, I'm sorry
to roust you out, Hud,

but we got trouble at the ranch.

Well, you've got trouble
right here, bub.

I was just getting
nicely tucked in.

You come tiptoeing
through the tulips.

Granddad wants you,
and he said right now.

Oh, he said, "right now"?

Well, do you think maybe

it would be all right
with my old daddy

if I stopped to button up
my shirt?

Oh, come on, will you, Hud?

You got me out of the wrong side
of bed this morning.

Don't go snapping at my heels.

Just liable to turn around
and bite you.

Hud?

Thank you, honey.

Hey. Hi, Joe.

Which one of you two

is coming out of my house
at 6:00 in the morning?

I asked you a question.
Which one, damn it?

Well, I hate
to have to tell you,

seeing it's
my own nephew,

but it's
this snot-nosed kid here.

Been lookin' for him
all night.

Just flushed him out
a couple of minutes ago.

I'll kill the little punk.
Oh, now, Joe...

- Just let me at that kid.
- Wait a minute.

- I'll kill him, I'll kill him.
- Now Joe, you know

you got sugar diabetes.
Just take it easy.

I'll handle this thing
for you.

I don't need any help
from you.

I can do it myself.
Now, you get out of my way.

Now, Joe, you can't afford
to get worked-up, buddy boy.

I ain't gonna let
that kid get away...

I'll lower his temperature
some, I promise you.

All right, hotshot.

You and I are gonna finish
this little discussion

behind the woodshed.

Thank you.
Thanks a whole lot.

Relax.

Be able to
charge a stud fee

by the time that story
gets around town.

Yeah, if I'm still alive.

I could have gotten hurt
back there, you know that?

So could I.

Ain't it lucky
you were handy?

Well, maybe you ought to take
me along as a regular thing.

The pace would
kill you, sonny.

And now that the
dust has settled,

what's so red-hot important

that my daddy has to drag
me back on my day off?

Wants to ask your advice about something.

Ask me?

He hasn't asked me about
anything in 15 years.

Just work out there from
the shoulders down, myself.

You gonna be able
to make it all day,

after a night
like you put in?

At a hundred years
old like him,

I don't need a week's
sleep to be fresh.

He can't help being
an old man, Hud.

Boy, you sure do drive
this thing, don't you?

That'll be Hud.

He's parked right
in my flower bed.

Good morning, Hud.

Morning.

I'm sorry to cut
into your time off.

Lonnie, close
that screen door.

We're getting
a lot of flies in here.

Well, I see the house
is still standing,

and you're pouring coffee
in your saucer, as usual.

How come you pushed
the panic button on me?

We come up with
a dead heifer in the night.

Is that what you dragged me
back here for? A dead cow?

I'm kinda worried
about this one.

She wasn't cut
or crippled-looking.

No swellin' on her.

Was there any Johnson grass
or milkweed around?

Nothing. This may be something
I ought to know about.

Jose and Jesse are out there
now, keeping off the buzzards.

Lon, stay out
of those berries.

They're going
in the pie.

Well, let's not stand
around here till dinnertime.

I got other things
to do today.

Watch that cigarette ash.

It's going in the pot.

I'll go bring the
pickup around.

How come you're always

running your car
over my zinnias?

I've been trying to get

those things to come up
for two weeks.

Don't plant 'em
where I park.

You're cheerful
this morning.

Missy, your job
is to keep house,

not worry
about my disposition.

Frying pan's still on.

Want a couple of eggs?

Or did you have
breakfast in bed?

Nope. I didn't quite
get around to breakfast.

Morning, boys.

Mr. Bannon.

Morning,
Mr. Bannon.

Pretty hard to keep
them birds away.

Had to use a flashlight
most of the night.

Ah, look at them buzzards.

They'll be back.

You couldn't scare 'em off
with artillery.

I wish you wouldn't
do that, Hud.

They keep the
country clean.

Besides, there's a law
against killing buzzards.

Well, I always say the law
was meant to be interpreted

in a lenient manner.

And that's what I try to do.

Sometimes I lean
to one side of it.

Sometimes I lean to the other.

I don't like to
break the law

on my place, Hud.

Well, she ain't gonna sit up
and tell us herself.

Well, what do
you think, Hud?

I don't know.

She looks clean to me.

Well, something
killed her.

I think I'll call
up the state vet.

He might know.

Well, what for?

This is our land.

I don't want
any government men on it--

any time, any place, anywhere.

This ain't nothing.

Just leave her lay.
Let the buzzards have her.

No, I don't believe I will.

Before I go to bed,
I'll call the government man

and ask him to come out
and take a look at her.

Yeah, that's the stuff.

Bring some jellybean in here

to tell you how to run
your own business.

Only don't ask me
what I think from now on.

I'd like for you and Lon
to stay out here for a while.

I'll take these boys
back with me

so they can snooze
a little.

Lon, you take that water bag
so you won't parch.

Honcho, why don't you sit up
with our sick friend here?

I got a healthy one in town
that won't wait.

Hyah!

Come on, hyah.

♪ Honey love,
my heart is lonely ♪

♪ Lonely as can be ♪

♪ Honey love... ♪

Hey!

Hey! Hey!

Boy, it's a good thing
you showed up.

We blew a tire
on the pickup,

and I got to get this stuff
back for dinner.

Need any help,
there, Jesse?

I'm all right, Hud. Thanks.

You think your hand
would fall off

if you opened
the door?

You pick up my beer?

Two six-packs.

That ought to see you
till tomorrow.

Keeping count on me?

I keep tripping
over those empties,

I know that.

Boy, somebody in this car
smells of Chanel No. 5,

and it isn't me--
I can't afford it.

Well, you sure
weren't riding the range

this afternoon, were you?

I sure wasn't.

No.

I just wish I knew
where some gals

get the time
during the day.

I don't know--
by the time I get through

scrubbing the kitchen floor,
cleaning out the bathtub

and hanging up
the clothes...

They just drop
everything, honey.

I suppose it does
beat housework.

Want an orange?

No.

I'll peel it
for you.

No, thanks.

H-Hey, look,
it says "Florida" on it.

We grow 'em
right here in Texas,

and then they send 'em in
all the way from Florida.

That makes sense,
doesn't it?

Yeah.

Oh, uh, the checker
at the A&P market,

he said it's Truman Peters' wife
you're seeing.

Is that what he says?

Mm-hmm.

Uh, he says she's got
a bad temper.

He says her maid quit her
'cause she hollers so much.

Well, our maid's
gonna get canned

'cause she's
talking too much.

Hey, you want
a Fig Newton?

Nope.

Just leave a
little something

for dinner, will ya?

I don't believe it.

You're still
eating bread?

After I gave you steak
and flour gravy

and hominy and fried
okra and onions

and hot rolls?

Well, it looked like a
lot when we set down,

but it sure
melted away.

Hud didn't want
any dinner?

He's prettying up.

Said he'd eat later.

What's for dessert?

You think a big
freezer full

of peach ice cream
would hold you?

Boy, I've been waiting
all winter long

for those locker-plaid
Alberta peaches.

Oh, is that what
you've been waiting

all winter for, sugar?

How 'bout
those peachy pinups

you keep hidden in
with your shorts and socks?

That's my private drawer.

You stay out
of there, Alma.

I'm a girl, honey.

They don't do
a thing for me.

I'll dish up
the ice cream, Mr. Bannon.

You have it on the
front porch. It's cooler.

That'll be
fine, Alma.

Go on, before you
wet your didie.

Alma!

Alma.

Yeah?

Alma!

Yeah!

Give me a clean,
white shirt.

Boy, you're real big

with the "please"
and "thank you," aren't you?

Please get up
off your lazy butt

and get me a clean,
white shirt. Thank you.

Had a little trouble

getting the lipstick
out of this one.

Just try the brand
you're wearing.

Maybe it'll
wash out easier.

Let's not.

Look, you ain't getting
any younger.

What are you saving it for?

The tabs are in the collar.

Hear the
whippoorwill?

I think
there's two of them.

You know, I've
never seen

one of those birds
in my whole life.

All I do is hear them
calling across the flat.

What are you
thinking about, Lon?

Oh, I don't know.

Just looking up
ahead, I guess.

You know, to
what's coming.

Thinking about your worries
and your ambitions, are you?

Yeah, that,

having a car of my own
to tear around in,

and girls.

Well, I expect you'll get
your share of what's good,

and a boy like you
deserves it.

Hey, it's
getting late.

Boy, my daddy
sure looks

like his collar
was choking him.

Those were
his Sunday best.

I don't remember him any.

I do.

You don't carry a picture

of Hud around
with you, do you?

No, I don't.

But he's your son,
same as my dad was.

Yep, he is.

What are you holding
against him, Granddad?

He knows,
and you don't need to.

Here you go.

Ah.

Thanks.

Ain't you having any?

A little too
many calories.

I'm trying to lose
a couple of pounds.

Listen, Mr. Bannon,
if you don't mind,

I'm gonna leave those
dishes till later.

I just gotta get
off these feet.

The kitchen's
your department, Alma.

Yeah, I've seen enough
of it for today.

Hud, are you
planning on

going back
to town tonight?

Well, I didn't
get washed up

to sit on the
front porch

and listen to
the frogs mate.

I'd like for you

to make it back here
before morning.

The vet'll
be here early.

All right.

It's pretty
good. Peachy.

Oh, you can't get much air
through this nylon.

Well, you ought
to go around

in a sarong, Alma,

like they do
in the South Seas.

Oh, yeah,
that'd be a lot of laughs.

You're half native already.

I haven't seen you
in a pair of shoes

since you come to work here.

Oh, I wore 'em once.

I've things to get married in--
black satin pumps.

I don't have 'em anymore
or the man either.

I'm going to get to town.

Alma, you want to blow
some foam off of some beer?

No, thanks.

I'm going to get up
out of this swing.

Set some biscuits, go to bed.

I'll settle for
half that action.

I'll go with you, Hud.

Well, what
big deal

you got lined
up, sport?

A snow cone
or something?

No, I just thought

I'd catch a ride
with you, that's all.

All right, come on,
let's make tracks.

You didn't need me for
anything, did you, Granddad?

No. No, you go on,
if you like.

Just be careful.

You drive, sport.

What was that all about?

It's a story I'll tell you
someday when I'm drunk.

Come on, gig this thing
a little, will you?

Eh, it's a lonesome old night,
isn't it?

Ain't they all.

Boy, I love that sound.

Goes right through me.

It scares the hell
out of the cattle.

Know what trains always
make me think about?

No, but I got a strong feeling
you're going to tell me.

I guess I just like
'em, that's all.

Keys.

Well, golly.

Boy, just look at that
Las Vegas saddle.

You couldn't lift
that hunk of junk

on a horse with a crane.

Yeah, it is
pretty noisy.

Where you think
you're going?

I'm just tagging along.
Not with me, you ain't.

You go tie on a
couple of Dr Peppers.

I'll see ya.

Hey, come up here
and have a drink with us!

Come on, now!

Hi, Mr. Kirby.

Hi.

Read that one?

Yeah, twice.

It's about the best book
you ever had

on your paperback stand.

Pretty steamy, ain't it?

Oh, I don't know.

People in it seem
a lot like the ones I see.

Did you read the part

where the sergeant gets her
for the first time?

Yeah, I read that part.

Hi.

I sure have seen
an awful lot of you

for one night.

I'm just headed for
the square, is all.

Where are you headed?

Well, just to keep you
up-to-date,

I am making my way
to Mrs. Reuben Fletcher's house.

I don't think
that's a house

you're likely to have heard
very much about.

Well, I've heard some.

Iam out of my three-
cornered pants, you know.

I have been for some time.

How old are you?

Fantan-- a fast 17.

Boy, when I...

When I was your age,

I couldn't get enough
of anything.

That was the summer
you were born.

Your ma died...

and your daddy was feeling
a little wild about things.

He bought us a '27 Chevy.

Kept it tied together
with baling wire,

hit every honky-tonk
in the country.

I don't know which
we run the hardest--

that car or them
country girls

who came to them dances.

Boy! We do-si-do'd
and chased a lot

of girlish butts around
that summer.

Now, I wouldn't mind
going that route myself.

Come on along.

No, I don't think so.

All right.

Hey, wake up.

Come on, Lonnie.

Open your eyes.

You going to stay here
till dinnertime?

What do you want?

I want you to get up.

I can't stay here

rasslin' around with you
all morning.

Why not? I kind
of like it.

Yeah, I bet you do.

That's enough out of you.

Now, come on, get up.

Can't do that, Alma.

- Are you sleeping in the raw again?
- Mm-hmm.

Listen, I got two pair

of nice, ironed
cotton pajamas in there.

How come you're not
using them?

I don't know,
they strangle me.

Mm-hmm. Come on.

What do you sleep in?

In my own room,
with the door locked.

You ever wear any of those
little, uh, shorty things?

What kind of question is that?

Just wonder.

Does your mind usually run
in that direction?

Yeah, it seems to.

Boys with impure thoughts
come out in acne.

Did you know that?

Oh, that's all bull, Alma.

Keep it up, you'll see.

Hurry up.

The vet's coming
this morning.

Well, let's get away
from this stink.

I got all I need here.

Mr. Bannon...

I'm going to ask you
to get your cattle together,

all of them.

I'm going to have
to make an inspection.

An inspection for what?

Well, for what killed
that heifer.

I hope I'm wrong,
but I'm very much afraid

you got the worst kind
of trouble

a cattle man can have.

I think that cow died
of foot-and-mouth disease.

Oh, me.

I never thought
it'd be anything like that.

Well, let's have it.

What are we in for?

Well, y'all get
your herds together.

We're going to have
to take some samples.

Bring in a few
healthy calves

and a couple of
horses from outside,

infect them
artificially,

and then...

just wait and
see what happens.

I'll tell you what'll happen--

they turn up sick,
you kill them.

That's right, isn't it, mister?

If the calves turn up sick
and the horses don't,

it's foot-and-mouth--
you got to.

The last bad outbreak
in the United States,

the government had to kill
over 77,000 head of cattle,

plus that many
sheep and goats.

Even 20,000 deer.

It's a terrible thing.

I just bought me 20 head
of Mexican cows down South.

Could they be
the bad ones?

Uh, could be.

If there were, you're going
to have to get rid

of every cow that's been
in contact with them.

Well, you're talking about
all the animals I own.

I know I am.

I hope I'm wrong.

I hope it turns out
to be something else,

so we won't ever have
to talk about it again.

Looks like I landed in
the wrong place again.

Uh, you guys get on.
There's some fence to fix.

Yeah, how 'bout that?

You going to let them
shoot your cows

out from underneath you

on account of a
schoolbook disease?

You getting
that old, Homer?

I wonder if a long quarantine
wouldn't satisfy him.

You think
they'd agree to that?

Yeah, they don't have
to agree to nothing--

they're the law.

You can agree with them
till hell freezes over

for all the good
it'll do you.

Yeah, but that Mr. Burris
seemed like a reasonable man.

You think they'd come in here
and liquidate?

Hell, yeah, they'll liquidate,
you got what they say you got.

Now, you look a-here.

You've had 24
of my 34 years

working for you
on this ranch,

and, Daddy, you have had
top-grade cheap labor.

I shoveled manure
out of barns for you.

You got my calluses,
for what?

Your blessings
the day you die?

Now, damn it, I want
out of this spread

what I put into it.

Well, you got a proposal
to make to me, Hud?

You get on the
telephone tonight

and sell every
breed cow you own.

They haven't got
a chain on you yet.

Would that be your way
to getting out of a tight?

Well, I can ship
the whole herd out

before they begin the test.

You mean, try and pass
bad stuff off on my neighbors,

who wouldn't even know
what they was getting?

Eh, you don't know
it's bad stuff.

Aw, ship them
out of state,

unload them up north
before the news gets out.

And take a chance
on starting an epidemic

in the entire country.

Why, this whole country
is run on epidemics!

Where you been?

Epidemics are big business--

price-fixing,
crooked TV shows,

income tax finagling,
souped up expense accounts.

How many honest men
you know?

You take the sinners
away from the saints,

you're lucky to end up
with Abraham Lincoln.

So I say, let's us
put our bread

in some of that gravy
while it is still hot.

You're an unprincipled man, Hud.

Well, don't let
that fuss you.

I mean, you've got enough
for both of us.

This afternoon's
been a regular bitch.

You out of poop?

I'm just having a breather.

Well, why don't you go back
to the ranch

and grab yourself a nap?

No, I'll hold up my end of it.

Yeah, I guess you would.

Granddad!

Found your longhorns
out near Idia Ridge.

Government's going
to have a hard time

trying to
inspect 'em.

Those big horns'll never
go through a chute.

There ain't many left in the
country, are there, Granddad?

No, they're dying out.

I just keep 'em
for old time's sake.

Keep 'em to remind me
of how things was.

Everything we had
come from their hides--

our furniture, our ropes,
our-our clothes, our hats.

Granddad...
let's turn 'em loose.

No, Lon, that wouldn't be
the thing to do.

They got to go along
with the rest.

Granddad.

Why, thank you, Lon.

I shouldn't have brought
you out here tonight,

not after the day
you put in.

Oh, if the picture's
any good,

I'll wake up,
don't you worry.

Looks like you're
the only one around here

who ain't got somebody
whose knee you can pinch.

Oh, I think
I can stand it.

You wouldn't think
they'd pay 65 cents

to come here and do it.

They can go up in
the hayloft for nothing.

Come on, you miners 49ers.

Let's all join in and sing
that old favorite, "Clementine."

Just follow the bouncing ball.

♪ Oh, my darling,
oh, my darling... ♪

♪ Oh, my darling Clementine ♪

♪ Thou are lost
and gone forever ♪

♪ Dreadful sorry, Clementine ♪

♪ In the cavern, in the canyon ♪

♪ Excavating for a mine ♪

♪ Dwelt a miner 49er ♪

♪ And his daughter, Clementine ♪

♪ Oh, my darling,
oh, my darling ♪

♪ Oh, my darling, Clementine ♪

♪ Thou art lost
and gone forever ♪

♪ Dreadful sorry, Clementine. ♪

♪ I don't care where
this old river carries me ♪

♪ I keep drifting just because
my heart is broken inside ♪

♪ And I'm tired of wishing
for what cannot be... ♪

You going to get your
mouth around all that?

Going to try.

Hi, Hud.

How are you, sport?

Is that Truman Peters'
wife with Hud?

I think so.

Want me to call him over?

No, no, just leave him
to his own business.

Got a half a buck?

Okay, come on on back.

Aren't you going to
give me the change?

Hey, hey.

Well, let's make
a party out of this.

Daddy, this not
too natural blonde here

is Mrs. Truman Peters.

How do you do?

How do you do,
Mr. Bannon?

"Wild Horse"
Homer Bannon, Lily.

That's what
he used to be known as.

And this kind of gangly youth
over there is my nephew Lon.

You may have just noticed,

but my daddy hasn't asked us
to sit down.

That's 'cause he doesn't
want to socialize with me.

He's a little fussy
about the company he keeps.

Yeah, you're
a married woman, Lily.

That doesn't go down
very well with him.

He's a man of high principals
and what have you.

He doesn't believe in any
loose living at all.

Isn't that right,
Homer?

Granddad.

Hey, Homer,
you okay?

Get me...
get me home, boy.

Roll down that window
a little, will you, Hud?

Ah, that's good.

The place back there seemed
a little short of air.

Maybe you just got

a little too
much sun today.

Well, whatever.

No need to pose
such a long face about it.

I feel better now.

When we get home,

I'm going to fix you
some salipadicha.

Yeah, yeah, that'll
settle me right down.

He dropped
right off.

He's beginning to look

kind of worn out,
isn't he?

Sometimes I forget
how old he is.

I guess I just don't
want to think about it.

Time you started.

Well, I know he's
gonna die someday.

I know that much.

He is.

Makes me feel like somebody
dumped me into a cold river.

Happens
to everybody.

Horses, dogs,
men.

Nobody gets out
of life alive.

I'll give you
a hand upstairs.

Lon'll take care of me.

Suit yourself.

Good night, Hud.

Thanks for the game, boys.

You can have another
shot at me next payday.

You got a cigarette?

Yeah.

Then I wish you wouldn't keep me

hanging around
on the front porch.

Makes me feel
like I'm selling something.

All right, come on in.

They're a little
squashed.

It's all right,
they'll do.

Well, I see you got
things fixed up some.

I try.

Looks pretty good.

Except your sweet potato plant
over here has got the blight.

I can't seem
to get one started.

Well, they need a lot of
tender loving care, honey.

Same as the rest
of us.

I'll keep it
in mind.

Could I have a match?

Well, what do we
got here?

"Jiffy...

portable hair dyer."

"...triple screen."

Hmm.

Automatic toaster.

What have you
been doing?

A little rustling down
at the five and dime?

I go in for
those prize contests.

"How Shiny Shampoo
changed my life,

in 20 words or less."

You know, they give free
two-week trips to Europe.

But I end up with
the fountain pens

and the Japanese binoculars.

Yeah, won me
a turkey raffle once,

but it was fixed.

I got to be pretty
friendly with one

of 'em gals picking
the numbers.

It figures.

How much you take
the boys for tonight?

20 dollars
and some change.

You're a dangerous
woman to have around.

I'm a good
poker player.

You're a good
housekeeper.

You're a good cook,
you're a good laundress.

What else you good at?

At taking care of myself.

You shouldn't have to,
a woman looks like you do.

Oh, that's what
my ex-husband used to tell me...

before he took my wallet
and my gasoline credit card

and left me stranded
in a downtown motel

in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

What'd you do
to make him take to the hills?

You wear your curlers to bed
or something?

Ed's a gambler.

He's probably up at Vegas
or Reno right now,

dealing at night,

losing it all back
in the daytime.

Oh, well, a man like that
sounds no better than a heel.

Aren't you all?

Honey, don't go shooting
all the dogs

'cause one of them's got fleas.

I was married to Ed
for six years.

Only thing he was ever good for

was to scratch my back
where I couldn't reach it.

You still got that itch?

Off and on.

Well, let me know
when it gets to botherin' you.

Hep, hep, hep,
hep, hep!

Ya! Giddy! Ya! Ya!

Ya! Giddy! Ya!

Ya! Hep, hep, hep, hep!

Hep, hep! Ho!

Now, what we're doing,
Mr. Bannon,

is injecting
these cows and horses

with specimens that are
taken from your herd.

In three to six days,

we should know
what we want to know.

Ya!

Move on in there!

Get in that chute!

Move on in there!

Ah-ha-ha-ha! Hey!

Ho!

Go over there!
Ya!

You all right, Lon?

She...

she kicked you
into the fence.

You skinned your head
a little.

Boy, you caught a lick!

Better get
back to work.

Boys'll be on you
for a week,

you quit 'cause you
dented your head a little.

No need to rush him.

You all right, Lon?

Mm...

Whoa!

Oh, you've had it, fantan.

Now, get him to bed.

All right, Jack,
back to work.

You know, all this time,
I thought you were skinny!

You weigh a ton.

Can't seem to get
my head on straight.

Get in there, cow.

Hud, I think I'm going
to lose my breakfast.

Not over me, you ain't.

You hold your fire
till we get to the house.

Sugar, you're white
as a sheet.

Alma, you're getting flour
all over me.

What happened?

Ah, one of the cows
cuddled up to him.

- Ow!
- Shouldn't a doctor look at him?

Pay five bucks

and some iodine and
aspirin, he'll mend.

Well, that's about
as far as I go.

I draw the line at bedpans.

Thanks, Hud.

You can goldbrick
for the rest of the day.

Just don't try
to stretch it into two.

Here, let's get
those boots off.

Cold lemonade.

Here.

Oh, come on.

They're only lemon seeds.

Mmm.

That better?

You ought to doze off now.

Gee, Alma, you're cool.

You smell of lemon.

Alma?

What is it, sugar?

You're really beautiful.

Oh, sure I am.

You're one of the best
people there ever was.

You're good to me, Alma.

In fact, you're good, period.

You be good, too.
Get some sleep.

Morning, Granddad.

Well, how are you today,
Lonnie?

Good, real good.

Boy, have I been
sawing wood up there.

Looks like I slept
'round the clock.

You know, I feel
almost like working,

for a change!

Well, what do
you got for me?

Patch a little fence?

Pull up some weeds?

Work a few calves?

Well, I don't guess
we'll do anything much.

I don't see any sense
in wasting work

until I find out
about my cattle.

You bet.

Yeah, we're just gonna
roll over and play dead

and let 'em shovel dirt
in our faces.

If I don't get
a clean bill of health

on my cattle,
we are just about dead.

Dead broke.

We've been breeding
and crossbreeding this beef

all our lives to get us
the best stock in the country.

We're going to end up
with the government

paying us four bits
on the dollar for 'em.

Poor but honest.

That's us.

Well, we ain't sure
of anything yet.

We're just gonna have
to sit and wait it out.

Don't get sores on
your butt doing it.

I can do without
that noise, Lon.

Now, go stretch your legs
a little, will ya?

Well, where's that bottle?

Had myself a bottle
of Jack Daniel's

stashed in that
cupboard in there.

You drank it.

When?

Instead of dinner,
Wednesday night.

Don't remember.

If you think I've
been nipping at it,

I don't drink anything
but Tokay wine.

Yeah, I bet you keep
your little finger crooked

while you're doing it.

Well, why don't you
go stick your head

in the water trough
and sober up for lunch?

Now don't you find me
in control of myself?

Hate to see you walk
a straight line.

That's easy.

I don't like setting passes.

We'll ease into it, then.

There's another one
coming up on your right.

Don't you ever ask?

Well, the only question
I ever ask any woman

is, "What time is your
husband coming home?"

What's keeping you?

You're over the age
of consent, ain't you?

Way over.

Let's get our shoelaces
untied, what do you say?

I'd say I've been asked

with a little more
finesse in my time.

Yeah...

Hmm?

I wouldn't want
to come on crude. No, ma'am.

I'll bring you a
two-pound box of candy,

maybe a bottle of perfume,
from the drugstore.

How 'bout some colored
beads and wampum?

Whatever it takes
to make you trade 'em.

No, thanks.

I've done my time with
one cold-blooded bastard.

I'm not looking for another.

It's too late, honey,
you already found him.

You hardly touched
your plate, Mr. Bannon.

Nothing to do
with your cooking, Alma.

I just ain't very hungry.

Hear anything
from the vets?

No.

They're taking their own
sweet time about it.

Well, I ain't going to sit
around here and stew.

Kiwanis are waiting
for me.

You gonna be in that pig
scramble tonight, Hud?

Yup, see if I can make

the Bannons
look good for a change.

You honchos want
to come on in,

there's plenty of room
in the cheering section.

They're letting ladies
in free tonight, Alma.

You just might
qualify.

Hey, you know,
that's the first time

Hud ever asked me to go
anyplace in his whole life.

I wonder why
he did that.

Lonesome, I imagine.

Just trying to scare up
a little company.

Hud, lonesome?

He can get more women comin'
than anybody else around.

Well, that ain't
necessarily much.

They ain't necessarily company,
neither.

Women just like to be around

something dangerous
part of the time.

Even Hud can
get lonesome

once in a while.

Well, I wouldn't mind watching
him chase those squealers.

Well, then,
we'll go on in.

I'll stay home.
I don't like pigs.

Now let's give these kids a hand.

Now, applaud for the kid
that you like the best.

That's it, ladies and gentlemen.

Looks like number ten won it.

All right, now you've all seen
one kind of twistin'.

You're about to see
another kind.

We've got ten able-bodied men
going to tie themselves in knots

trying to catch ten
of the fastest greased pigs

you've ever seen in your life.

Now the first man
that catches his pig

and brings it back
to this little square here

in front of the judges stand
is going to be the winner.

Now if you boys'll come on in,
we'll get this started, come on.

You guys got the pigs
ready down there, Marlon?

You bet!

Okay.

Let's go then.

Come on, let's go there.

Arnold, you're outside there.
Step in, will ya?

Hey, Wag, pull your hat off,
will ya?

Let's go.

All right, boys, now when
I say "three," we'll go.

One, two, three-- go!

Off they go.
Look at them go.

Well, it looks like
we got a winner-- Hud Bannon.

Hud, that pig looks
about as dirty as you do.

Towel back there?

Folks, we sure do thank you
for turning out tonight,

- and we hope you enjoyed yourself.
- Whew!

We look forward
to seeing you next year

at the annual
cotton festival.

Nice goin'.

Wish I could still get around
the way you do, Hud.

Boy, you sure do
churn up that dust.

Well, I'm going
to kick up

a little more dust
before the night's over.

Anybody interested?

Well, that's enough excitement
for me, I guess.

I'll be getting back.
Lon?

Oh, I don't know.
It's still kind of early.

I might just stick around
with Hud for a while.

Well, I'll leave
the door open for you.

Yeah.

Hitch up your
pants, fantan.

I'm going to get cleaned up,
then I'll buy you a drink.

You want to put
a little kick in that?

Sure, okay.

Come on,
I can handle it.

Whoa, whoa.

Kind of pretty girl.

Don't let me
cramp you.

Oh, I wouldn't make
any kind of move at her.

Why not?

You ain't
nailed down, are you?

Well, that's what I call
a woman and a half.

You're a pretty
good-looking kid.

You dab down
that cowlick

and button your collar
up over your Adam's apple,

you... you might
just make out.

I wouldn't mind driving her
the long way home.

Well, you ought to
take a crack at that.

Get all the good
you can out of 17,

'cause it sure wears out
in one hell of a hurry.

Ah, my trouble is
I got to like a girl a lot

before I can work up
to anything.

I mean,
like her as a person.

Honcho, you're
a regular idealist.

And what's wrong with that?

I don't know, I just
ain't never tried it.

Well...

suppose you think
I'm a jerk.

What do you care
what I think?

Ah, this is probably going
to hand you a big laugh...

...but I do.

You have another
little drink,

and I'll have
another little drink,

and then maybe
we can work up

some real family
feeling here.

Well, I think I'll...

shove some change
in that juke.

Hi.

What are you gawking at?

Well, I ain't gawking.

I don't like fresh kids.

Nobody's getting fresh,
mister, that I know about.

I think I'll take you
out in the alley

and jar some of
your teeth loose.

Are you having words with this
youngster about something?

I'm about to put him
into the hospital.

Is that so?

Why, has he been
bothering you?

No. No,
he ain't bothering me.

It's her
he's bothering.

Well, you didn't, uh,

offer him any encouragement
by any chance,

did you there,
young lady?

No.

That's funny.

I was sitting way over
on the other side of the room,

and I got
a little bit encouraged.

Maybe it's the way you move
around inside that dress.

All right,
smart guy,

I'll take you
instead.

Oh, I don't want to be hoggish.

Lon, you want a piece of him?

Ah.
Whoo!

Whoo! Whoo!

Boy, that is what I call
one hell of a night.

I can do that
about six times a week.

Well, you don't win
'em all, you know.

Well, I would

if you were backing me
all the time.

Hey, that'd make quite
a combination, wouldn't it?

Nobody'd ever mess
with the Bannons,

that's for sure.

Yeah, felt like
old times there

for a little while.

Your daddy and I
used to take them all

on a Saturday night.

Yeah, he must have been
a pretty good old boy.

What, Norman?

Yeah.

He was the
kind of guy--

he used to leave
his loose change

just lying out
on the bureau

when I was a kid so I
could swipe some of it.

Let me take a girl away
from him once in a while

like I done it
on my own.

He was bigger than
you, all right.

He had a
bigger wallet,

but I'll tell
you something.

When you ain't being
a pain in the tail,

you remind me
a lot of him.

I do?
Yeah, you sure do.

Well, then how come

you and me don't hit it off
so good?

I got short arms.

Hell, there ain't never been
anybody like old Norman,

never will be.

He was one-way-out boy.

Claimed he could
hear the grass grow.

He got me to go
down to this pasture

one night to listen.

After three
or four hours

of just nipping
away at that bottle

to keep the
dew off of us,

I swore I could
hear it, too.

That's the night I
wracked up the car.

Piled up on Sampson
Creek Bridge.

He died in a
half an hour.

I didn't even
have a mark on me.

Yeah, I wonder

if your daddy's
hearing the grass now,

growing up
over his grave.

That story ought to
cool you off some.

It doesn't.

Fantan, either
you're softhearted,

or softheaded.

I don't know which.

♪ Oh, it was sad,
dear Lord ♪

♪ It was sad, dear Lord ♪

♪ It was sad
when the great ship went down ♪

♪ To the bottom of the ♪

♪ Husbands and wives ♪

♪ Little children
lost their lives ♪

♪ It was sad
when the great ship went down ♪

♪ Oh, it was sad, dear Lord ♪

♪ It was sad, dear Lord ♪

♪ It was sad when the great ship
went down... ♪

Shh, shh, shh, shh.

♪ Oh, it was shh,
dear Lord ♪

♪ It was shh,
dear Lord ♪

♪ It was shh... ♪

Hey, Granddad.

All right, he's got you drunk.

What else has he given you
a taste for?

All we had was a...

...couple of drinks is all.

I don't remember
you being a teetotaler.

I drank. I don't object
to his having whiskey.

Well, something seems
to be eating away

at your liver.

You, Hud.

Like always.

Hey, what are you
climbing on Hud for?

You think a lot of Hud,
do you?

You think he's a real man.

Well, you're being took in.

You listen to
him, honcho.

He's my daddy,
and he knows.

I know you.

You're smart.

You got your
share of guts.

You can talk a man
into trusting you

and a woman
into wanting you.

Well, then,
I got it made, ain't I?

To hear you tell it.

Oh, why don't you get it off
your chest?

You've been griping
at me all this time

as what I done
to Norman.

You were drunk and careless
of your brother.

You had 15 years
to get over it.

That's half of my life.

That's not our
quarrel and never has been.

Oh, the hell it isn't.

No, boy.

I was sick of you
a long time before that.

Well...

isn't life
full of surprises?

And all along
I thought it was...

'cause of what I'd done
to my big brother.

I took that hard,
but I buried it.

Well, all right,
I'll bite.

What turned you sour on me?

Not that I give a damn.

Just that, Hud.

You don't give a damn.

That's all.

That's the whole of it.

You still don't get it, do you?

You don't care
about people, Hud.

You don't give a damn
about 'em.

Granddad...

Oh, you got all that charm
going for you,

and it makes the youngsters
want to be like you.

That's the shame of it.

'Cause you don't value nothing.

You don't respect nothing.

You keep no check
on your appetites at all.

You live just for yourself,

and that makes you
not fit to live with.

My mama loved me, but she died.

Why pick on Hud, Granddad?

He ain't the only one.

Just about everybody
around here is like him,

one way or another.

Well, that's no cause
for rejoicing, is it?

Lonnie, little by little,
the look of the country changes

because of the men we admire.

I still think you
nailed him pretty hard.

Did I?

Maybe.

Old people get as hard
as their arteries sometimes.

You're just going to have

to make up your own mind
one day

about what's right
and what's wrong.

Where's that cotton-picking
housekeeper of ours?

I want something to eat,

and I don't want any
hesitating about it.

It's late, Hud.

She's asleep.

Well, ain't
that just keen?

Paying her good money to sleep,
and I'm starving to death.

Well, maybe I can fry you up
an egg sandwich.

Forget it.

Oh, get your butt
out of here.

I can't think
with you standing around.

Knock some people on
their tails around here.

You just might
be one of 'em.

Go on, get
out of here!

Whoa, there.

Boy, they mean trouble.

Kind of wish I'd have stayed out
of bull riding.

Well, from the look of them,

you ain't gonna be riding
very far.

Well, thanks, buddy.

I better go check
my gear.

Never mind your gear.

You ought to go check your head.

That bull's gonna eat you up.

How are you, hotrod?

Hi, Hud.

Got a good seat for the
show this afternoon?

They're getting two bucks
for those bleachers over there.

Be my guest.

Well, this is ten dollars, Hud.

It's good.
I didn't print it.

Well, thank you.

Stick with me, honcho.

Your jeans will be
full of change.

How come?

Well, I'll tell you.

I put on a clean, white shirt
this morning,

and I saw me a lawyer.

There's a law that says

when old folks can't
cut the mustard anymore,

you can make 'em let go,
whether they like it or not.

What are you pulling
on Granddad now?

Something pretty raw, kid.

Yeah. It sounds like it.

You take your dough.
I don't want it.

Hey, hey, hey, hey.

Don't look down your nose
at me, sonny boy.

I'm gonna get old, too.

And I don't aim
to end up on county relief

with a bowl of soup
and two cigarettes a day,

if I behave myself.

I want what I worked for.

I got a right to it.

You know something,
honcho?

You don't look out
for yourself,

and the only helping hand
you'll ever get

is when they lower the box.

Now you have fun,
you hear?

Hud.

You're up awful late.

I got a lot on my mind.

Come on in.

Take a load
off your feet.

Talked to the vets today?

I talked to 'em,

but I didn't
get a whole lot

of information
out of 'em.

Yeah, you didn't expect to,
did you?

The government man wants you
to know something,

he'll call you
or send you a telegram.

They said they was watching
the test animals pretty close,

but they had nothing
showed up yet.

Hud?

Yes, sir.

What's this tricky
deal you're up to?

Lon tells me

you're gonna pull the
rug out from under me.

That's right.

I haven't got all
the rough edges ironed out yet,

but I can give you an idea.

The main thing is you, old man.

You're getting too old
to make the grade.

Whether they liquidate us or not
when this thing is over,

you just better get yourself
a rocking chair

and get out of my way.

What in the hell do you mean?

When an old man goes off

and buys himself a bunch
of sick Mexican cows,

it means he's over the hill.

You got the incompetence,
Daddy,

and the hotrod's too young
to take things over.

Just might get the court

to appoint me guardian
of your property.

I don't know.

If I don't get it one way,
I'm gonna get it another.

Well, you're badly
mistaken about all this.

I'll be the only one
to run this ranch

while I'm above ground.

After that, you may
get part of it.

I don't know.

But you can't get
control of this place.

No way in the world.

Don't go making any bets
on that.

Maybe I treated you too hard.

I don't doubt
I made some mistakes.

A man don't always do
what's right.

Ah, Daddy,
you ain't never been wrong.

Been handing out
the ten tablets of law

from whatever little hill
you could find to climb up on

since I was a kid.

Shape up or ship out.

That's the way
you runs things around here.

Wild-eyed Homer Bannon

passing out
scripture and verse

like you wrote
it yourself.

So I just naturally
had to go bad

in the face of
so much good.

Hud, how did a man
like you come to be a son to me?

Well, that's easy.

I wasn't

no bundle left

on your doorstep.

Wasn't found in no bulrushes.

You've got the same feelings
below your belt

as any other man.

That's how you got stuck
with me for a son,

whether you like it or not.

He was just
so drunk, Alma.

Did he hurt you?

Should I take you to town,
get you a doctor?

Go on out of here.

Well, what are
you looking at?

I'm looking at you, Hud.

Oh, climb off it.

You've been wanting to do
pretty much the same thing.

And wanting to wallow her
from the day she got here.

Yeah, I been wanting
to do it.

But not mean like you.

Here comes Mr. Burris.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Your timing's off.
You missed breakfast.

Thanks, but I've eaten.

I guess you got something
to tell us,

or you wouldn't be here.

I guess the tests are done.

Yes, sir,
they're done.

You got the worst thing
you could have.

And there's no cure
at all?

None we know of.

It's like a bolt of lightning--

it won't hurt you till it hits,
then it hurts a lot.

Your cows are
public enemies now.

You gotta handle
this thing fast

before it spreads.

Well, what do I do?

Just drive them into a pit
and shoot 'em?

I can't abide that.

I know it's a terrible
thing even to think about.

I've seen it
during the Depression.

It's a sight worse to see
than it is to think about.

Look here, Mr. Bannon,
you're getting up in years.

You can afford
to slow down.

The rest won't hurt
your grass any.

You might even sell
a few oil leases.

My daddy thinks that oil

is something you stick
in your salad dressing.

If there's oil down there,
you can get it sucked up

after I'm under there with it.

But I don't like it,
and I don't aim to have it.

There'll be no holes
punched in this land

while I'm here.

They ain't going to come in
and grade no road

so the wind
can blow me away.

That's all to me.

What can I do with
a bunch of rotten oil wells?

I can't ride out every day
and prowl amongst them,

like I can my cattle.

I can't breed them
or tend them or rope them

or chase them or nothing.

I can't feel
a smidgen of pride in them.

'Cause they ain't
none of my doing.

There's money in it.

I don't want that kind of money.

I want mine to come

from something that keeps a man
doing for himself.

We're much obliged to you for
coming out in person to tell us.

Start shootin'.

Didn't take long.

It don't take long
to kill things.

Not like it does to grow.

Well, there's
a couple we missed.

I'll get 'em.

Where do you think
you're going, mister?

To finish this job.

Somebody needs to.

Well, you just
close that gate.

I'll kill them
two myself,

seeing as how
I raised 'em.

Something wrong
with you, mister?

There's no guarantee
you'll do it.

He just said
he would.

You get in the car.

We're going down and finish
buying those carcasses,

and then we're leaving.

Mr. Bannon can handle
the rest of this

without us
bothering him.

You just get along,
Mr. Burris.

I know none of this
here ain't your doing.

You see about the burying,

and then get that fellow
there off'n my ranch.

All I can say is
I'm sorry.

I'm sure sorry.

He ain't such
a bad fella.

Just got a cruddy job.

Boys...

I don't plan to
have any work

around here
for some time.

I can't afford
to keep you on

till things get
better, so...

...I'll just have to let you go.

Give me the rifle.

Lord, but I've chased
'em longhorns many a mile.

I don't know
if I can kill 'em.

But I guess I can.

Guess this is the worst thing
that ever happened to you.

Oh, I'll get over it,

if my health don't
go to failing me.

Lon, you go away someplace.

Well, them old bulls
are hard to kill.

Drag 'em away and bury 'em!

Bury 'em quick!

Go on!

Did you call
about the bus for me?

Yeah, it leaves
at 10:26.

And can I buy my ticket on it?

Yeah. They said
that'd be okay.

Alma?

I got $200 calf money,

if you're short.
You just keep it.

Well, I'm ready.

Wish you weren't going
off and leaving us, Alma.

You look after
your grandpa.

He's getting old and feeble.
He's your job now.

We need you around here.

I sure do.

You'll get along just fine.

I wish you'd stay.

Well...

I been all over
this cow country,

looking for
the exact right place

and the exact right people,
so once I got stopped,

I wouldn't have
to be movin' again.

And it just hasn't worked out.

Good-bye, honey.

You take care of yourself.

Don't you be lazy, now.

How are you, Peewee?

Looks like
we're losing a good cook.

Maybe we should, uh...

boosted your
salary a little.

You ain't letting that
little ruckus we had

run you off, are you?

As far as I can get
on a bus ticket.

You saying that
I'm the first guy

that ever stuck his
foot in your door?

Oh, no.

The first one that
ever got rough, huh?

Well, I'm sorry.

It ain't my style.

I don't usually get
rough with my women.

Generally don't have to.

You're rough on everybody.

So they tell me.

You want to know
something funny?

It would have
happened eventually,

without the roughhousin'.

You look pretty good
without your shirt on, you know.

Sight of that through
the kitchen window

made me put down
my dish towel more than once.

Well, why didn't
you speak up sooner?

I'll remember you, honey.

You're the one
that got away.

Come on, there, boy, git!

Stupid knucklehead,
what'd you hit the brakes for?

You got your life's work
in front of you

paying for this car.

Granddad's out here.

He's crawling in the road!

Grandad, what happened?

Are you hurt?

I wanted to...
take a look around the place.

I fell off my horse.

This old man's
hurt pretty bad.

Let me up.

A man ain't to crawl.

Take it easy.

Lonnie, take my car,
get to the ranch,

call an ambulance,
tell 'em to get here quick.

And tell 'em we got
an awful sick man here.

It won't start!

All right,
forget it.

Forget it!

There's a bottle of whisky
in the dash.

Bring it over.

Come on, easy,
easy, old man.

Don't make me drink
that stuff.

Lonnie, go on down
to the main road,

try to flag a car down,
get some help up here.

Go on, move.

Don't send him away, Hud.

I'm right here, Grandad,
don't you worry.

I feel kind of cold.

Everything's going
to be all right.

I don't know
if I want it to be.

Don't talk like that.

You're going to
be just fine.

I feel like...

throwing in the sponge.

Like giving up.

You've never quit on
anything in your whole life.

Hud there is waiting on me...

and he ain't a patient man.

He isn't gone, is he?

Yeah.

I meant to buy him

a brand-new,
blanket-lined jacket...

and give it to him
sometime or other.

Lonnie...

Hey.

It was the best thing.

Man, he was wore out,
and he knew it.

He didn't seem so bad.

He didn't seem
so bad off at all.

Well, he was.

Trying to get up,
hurting himself.

He couldn't have made it.

Lonnie,
any way in this world,

he couldn't have made it
another hour.

He could if he had wanted to.

You fixed it so he
didn't want to anymore.

You don't know the whole story.

Yeah, him and me fought many
and many a round together.

But I guess you could say
that I helped him

about as much
as he ever helped me.

How did you help him, Hud?

By trying to sell him out?

By taking the heart
out of him?

By making him
give up and quit?

Is that how you helped him?

He ain't in any
loaf-around eternal life.

He's the way he always was--

enjoying his good horses,
looking after the land,

trying to figure out

ways to beat the dry
weather and wind.

You better settle down, boy.

You still got the
graveyard in front of you.

I know what you're
feeling, my boy,

but look at it
this way--

he's gone
to a better place.

I don't think so.

Not unless dirt is a
better place than air.

Well, we took him
to the graveyard

and put him down.

It's all over with now.

What have you got there?

My gear.

You going someplace?

Yeah.

Traveling kind of light,
ain't ya?

Got everything I need.

Planning to go for good?

That's right.

What about your half
of the spread here?

Well, you can put
my share in the bank.

I'm going somewhere else
and work for a while,

if I can happen
onto a job.

Ain't you a little bit green
to go cutting loose on your own?

Well, we'll see.

I was about your age
when I went in the army.

Granddaddy had bought me a Mars
candy bar down at the station,

and he said to me,
"Character's the only thing

I got to give you
to be a man."

Well, I guess he
was kind of worried.

You're trying so hard to
get out of the draft and all.

Honcho!

I just wanted you
to know that...

if you don't make
your million,

you can always come back
here and work for me.

I won't be back this way.

Well, I guess you've come to be
of your granddaddy's opinion

that I ain't fit to live with.

That's too bad.

Yeah, we might have whooped it
up some, you and me.

That's the way
you used to want it.

I used to.

So long, Hud.

You know
something, fantan?

This world is
so full of crap,

a man's going to get
into it sooner or later

whether he's
careful or not.