J W Coop (1971) - full transcript
After losing 9 years 9 months and thirteen days to prison, cowboy J. W. Coop is released to return to life as a professional rodeo cowboy in the 60's. Determined to make up for the lost 'prime' years of his career, he doggedly goes forward, and learns that not only has the business of rodeo changed during his incarceration but society as a whole has made dramatic changes as well.
[BULL KICKING]
[BULL SNORTING]
[BULL SNORTING]
[CLAPPING]
GUARD:
Play it loose, J.W.
Thank you, Bob.
Sign your name
on the three forms by the "X".
Where?
By the "X".
One-way bus ticket to Chicawa
and $25 release.
$25?
More coming, ain't there?
When I hear it,
you'll get it.
RADIO ANNOUNCER:
First place saddle-bronc,
Elwood Medcalf.
First place bull riding,
J.W. Coop.
Best all-around, J.W. Coop.
You heard it.
You got it.
Where is that cowboy?
Just went
out the door, warden.
Stop!
Where do you think
you're going?
Damn, cowboy.
You don't waste
no time, do you?
I gave you
two extra weeks already.
Oh, now, J.W.
You don't begrudge
the old warden two extra weeks
for rodeo finals, do you?
Besides, it gave you time
to let your hair grow out.
You gonna be fine, boy.
You gonna be just fine.
Nobody bothers my number one
bucking-horse rider.
Not if I got anything
to say about it,
and, you know,
I got just a little bit
to say about it,
now, don't I, J.W.?
No, sir. Nobody bothers
the captain
of Warden Morgan's
Champion All-State Prison
Rodeo Team.
Now, anything else I can do?
Anything else you want?
No, sir.
All I want is some gone
between me and here.
Okay, cowboy.
Chute's open.
Good luck.
J.W.: Hello.
Hello, Sonny Boy.
Did you have a nice time?
Your supper's gone cold.
Daddy was fit to be
tied, waiting.
I fed him.
He's in bed.
I won't wake him.
You got to learn to be
on time, Sonny Boy.
Else you'll never
hold down a job.
That day's not far off.
Of course you always
have a roof here
with your daddy and me.
But the first thing
you gotta do
is finish your schooling.
Daddy's kidneys
gotta be looked at.
Company won't help a lick.
Maybe Roosevelt.
Still, all Communists, NRA.
[MOTHER SIGHS]
I ain't hungry, Mom.
You ain't ate yet.
No, ma'am.
Well, it's going to rain,
I suspect.
And Sunday,
we'll go to the park,
and after, we'll go over
to Iona's for dinner,
if your Daddy ain't working.
Oh, that woman,
she takes the cake.
It's just wrong,
that's what it is.
It's wrong.
People like us,
your daddy and me,
we're not getting
any younger, you know?
I mean, he's still working.
Worked till we was
blue in the face, Sonny Boy,
and for what?
So our boy would have to
go on working in that
dead rodeo.
[MOTHER SIGHS]
And all those,
I don't know what,
all them gypsies.
It's just wrong, that's all.
I don't know.
It's wrong.
It's just...
Seems like all the people...
[BURNER FLARES UP]
Tsk. Oh! Stove.
Gotta get a new one.
Seems like people
who got things,
God just gives them more
than people who need things.
God just seems to have to keep
testing his holy truth.
PREACHER ON RADIO:
Brothers and sisters,
praise his name.
Praise his name.
Praise His name.
Praise God's name.
Sonny?
Is there anything
you want to tell me?
Anything you want
to tell your daddy and me?
Anything about the,
uh, envelopes?
Your poor daddy.
He'll work himself
into the grave.
I know there was
an envelope somewhere.
Daddy thought you might be
needing some spending money.
PREACHER ON RADIO: Brethren,
let's open up our hearts
to the glory of God.
God's glory. Amen, amen.
[HUMMING]
I'm okay, Mama.
Mmm-hmm.
Did you clean up your room?
Yes, ma'am.
Practice your trumpet?
Hmm.
[HUMMING]
Mama, you gonna,
you gonna be needing
that old car of Daddy's?
Does it, does it still work?
Where're you going?
Rodeo.
Well, that's nice.
You be careful playing around
in that old empty rodeo
ground, Sonny Boy.
Sonny, you hear me?
That's nice.
Give your old
mommy a nice kiss.
When did you start smoking?
I've been smoking
a long time, Mama.
Your daddy would tan
your behind good
for you if he found out,
if I was to tell him.
Mama, if you ain't
gonna be needing
that old car of Daddy's,
I'd like to use it.
Now, you know that car
is Daddy's lifeblood.
Daddy's gone, Mama.
Daddy's gone.
You need a shave.
I didn't notice it before,
but you do.
You're just so pretty, Sonny.
Got your daddy's
nose, perfect.
I'll see you in the morning.
Be a good boy.
Don't let the dark catch you.
Sleep tight, Mama.
Sleep tight.
Don't let the bedbugs bite.
PREACHER ON RADIO: And now
offer up a silent prayer.
Did you hear me?
I said, don't let
the bedbugs bite.
If they do, get a shoe...
And slap them until
they're black and blue.
Good night, Sonny.
[CHICKEN CLUCKS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
How're you doing, cowboy?
Okay.
I appreciate
you letting me
use these tools.
Appreciate?
I appreciate you
and anybody else
being in this dead town.
You think it's dead now,
you ought to have been here
when I was growing up.
You mean this town
was deader then?
Sure as hell was.
The only thing here
in those days
was Chicawa Oil Company.
And if you didn't work
for Chicawa, you didn't work.
Is that right?
That's right.
How long have you lived here?
63 days.
[CAR APPROACHING]
Be right back.
PATRON: Fill her up.
Hey.
Hector.
Goddang, is that you, J.W.?
Son of a bitch!
When'd you get back?
Oh, I got back last night.
Well, son of a bitch.
Damn. Been a long time, J.W.
Yeah.
What, six, seven years?
No, it's been nine years,
nine months, 13 days.
Goddamn. Just for
one little pissant check?
Yeah. Well, I got,
you know, three,
three for the check
and two for the sheriff.
What sheriff?
Well, that guy that
arrested me in Lone Hill.
That's right.
You beat the shit
out of that guy,
didn't you, J.W.?
Yeah.
What did you get
the other three
or four years for?
Oh, the same thing.
You know, giving
the guards a hard time.
Yeah?
Know what you
gonna do now, J.W.?
Well, pick up
where I left off.
Rodeoing?
Yep.
Where?
Oh, where I left off.
Lone Hill?
Yep.
You working?
Working for Chico.
Your brother?
That's right.
This here's his truck,
one of them.
Damn.
Tacos, huh?
Oh, yeah.
Taco stands.
He's got them
franchised.
Is that right?
That's right.
He's got
six of them.
One in Pecos,
one in Redwing,
one in Gardner,
two in Abilene,
and one right here
in Chicawa.
Damn, sounds like
he's up to his ass
in tacos, huh?
[ENGINE RUMBLING]
Six tacos,
three enchiladas,
three tostadas.
[ENGINE REVVING]
Three burritos
and one chili dog.
You owe me $2.50.
Hurry up, Maylene.
Coming when I get done
feeding them.
[ENGINE REVVING]
There's you kids' lunch,
Billie Rae.
Now, I'll see you home
for dinner.
GIRL: When's dinner, Ma?
When I get done bowling!
[ENGINE REVVING]
Damn kids.
Treat me like a slave.
Why can't they
make me dinner?
[TIRES SQUEALING]
Hey, old Chico do business
like this every day?
And night.
Of course, today is special,
it being Saturday
and the jalopy races
down street.
Oh, yeah. Jalopy races.
Where they bump
them old cars around.
Right, it's a big thing
around here.
Most every weekend,
they get one big
son-of-a-bitching
crowd out here.
That right?
That and the, uh,
drag races.
Yeah.
Well, if old Chico
does business like this
in all his other stands,
he must be one rich Mexican.
I reckon.
They made him vice-president
of the Chamber of Commerce
last year.
First Chicano ever to make it.
Is that right?
Damn. He's got it made.
Pretty soon,
I'm gonna have to
whip his ass.
Well, that's good
for the Mexicans, eh?
For the wet ones it is.
Wet?
Sure, amigo.
They all work
out in the back.
I rotate them for Chico,
and this way, we get
no trouble with the border.
Border patrol
keeps a tight rein, huh?
Yeah, what with
the pot and all.
Them kids
and their pot.
Remember when
we used to dig it out of
old Doc Haggart's vacant lot?
Because we couldn't
afford tailor-mades?
Remember that?
Not today, amigo.
These guys around here
are getting 50 cents a joint.
Son of a bitch, you've
been away a long time, J.W.
Lots of things have changed.
I guess so.
[LOUD BANG]
SHERIFF:
That's him, all right.
That's the cowboy.
How's he doing?
MAN: He's doing
good, sheriff.
SHERIFF: Let's see
if he's learned
anything in 10 years.
DEPUTY: In yonder, cowboy.
SHERIFF: Sit down, cowboy.
Well, J.W.
Long time, no see.
How'd you do, cowboy?
How much did he win, Tiny?
Uh, $50 for saddle,
$90 for bareback,
$155 for bulls.
His total of 295, $295.
Enough to cover his check.
If it's good.
SHERIFF:
But if it ain't good...
Matt did you, uh,
call Harker at the bank?
Yes, sir.
He opened an account
at the bank this morning.
It's good.
Good?
[ROCKABILLY MUSIC PLAYING]
You like them, cowboy?
You like the show?
Yeah.
Well, you gotta drink
if you're gonna look.
Well, give me a Toro.
$1.00.
For a Toro?
Honey, you're paying
for the tits.
Well, for the Toro,
I don't know.
Hey, 14 more,
and you can go
down to Rosie's.
You can get the real thing.
WOMAN: You come back
to Rosie's, you hear?
[SIREN WAILING]
Put your hands on the wheel.
You didn't see me, did you?
Huh. Tsk.
Didn't hear me
either, did you?
No, sir.
I guess it's because
of the wind.
[STAMMERING] Hey, what year is
this piece of shit
here anyway?
'49.
But, well, what is it?
A Hudson.
A Hudson?
That's right.
And I know,
I guess you've never
been stopped before either,
have you?
That's right.
Well, I'm sorry
I got to be the first one,
but, you know, uh,
we got to take care
of these things these days,
you know, pollution and all.
Pollution?
Yeah. Pollution.
You know, we gotta fight it
every way we can, you know.
Car exhaust like that of yours
is the worst offenders we got.
Especially on trash
like you're driving.
Now, if you'll just sign
right here.
Nope, the other hand.
I want your left hand.
Use the other hand.
Keep them both up.
Where do I sign?
By the "X".
Right there by the "X".
Wait a minute.
Keep one hand
on the wheel.
Other hand. Left hand.
You hand it back
with your left.
Now,
if I could just see
your driver's license,
Mr. J.W. Coop.
Damn, I, I must've...
I may, I may have
left it at home.
Yeah. Mmm-hmm. Yeah.
I think I left it at home.
Keep your hands up.
Put them back
on the wheel.
Well, I was just
gonna give you
an exhaust warning ticket,
but now
I'm gonna have to give you
a real ticket.
What's your address?
My address?
Yeah, your address.
Uh, I live
in Chicawa.
And the address?
13, 13 Luck Road.
Mmm, how do you spell that?
L-U-C-K. Luck.
L-U-C-K. Luck.
Okay.
Use your left hand as usual.
Now, if you'll meet me
at Municipal,
Municipal Building, room 218,
tomorrow morning at 9:00,
I'll make it a point
to be there with you.
Right.
Sorry I had to do this.
But that's our job.
Okay?
Now you drive slow.
Right.
Obey the law.
Right.
And get
that exhaust fixed.
Right.
See you 9:00, Mr. Coop.
[ENGINE STARTING]
Wrong.
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
Where you headed,
cowboy?
Toward Mesquite.
I'm going as far
as Redwing.
Come on, get in.
Throw them back there.
I appreciate it.
I see that.
As I see it,
it's the kids, the Commies,
worst of all, the unions.
They're trying
to ruin this country,
all of them.
Used to be a
damn good country.
When I left Oklahoma
during the Depression,
hell, we never had
no trouble with kids.
They were too busy working.
Or they was out
looking for work.
Went out to California,
me and the missus
and the kids,
we had to live
in one of them
orchard chicken houses.
Is that right?
That's right,
chicken house.
All five of us.
Boy, we was up at daybreak
and we started picking.
Ah!
We was picking fruit all day,
way past sunset.
We was picking
for a nickel a lug,
and we was damn
glad to get it.
And any of them agitators
was sent back across
state lines or back to Russia,
or wherever the hell
they come from,
because there was
plenty of dustbowl farmers
to take their place.
Let alone the wetbacks.
Shit!
J.W., I want to tell you
something.
Fruit and fruit pickers,
they just alike.
You don't mess with them
and they do fine,
but just start to agitate
them, and they'll rot.
No, sir.
You don't agitate the fruit
and you don't agitate
the pickers.
When'd you come back?
Three years ago.
I bought myself a pig farm
six miles from
where I was born.
Were you working, uh,
picking fruit
all that time in between?
Hell, no.
I wasn't gonna bust my back
picking somebody else's
peaches very long.
Not me.
No, in 1940, I seen it coming.
I got myself into the
shipyards.
Oh, you're
a shipbuilder, huh?
Naw.
Nobody working in them yards
in them days were
shipbuilders.
Hell, we were just workers.
Well, how'd you
get your stake?
How do you mean that?
Well, your farm,
your pig farm you got now?
Oh.
War.
Which one?
All three of them.
I got to be a
master machinist.
I worked in defense plants
for 25 years.
How many pigs you say you got?
Fifteen hundred.
Damn.
Machinist pay must be good.
Damn right.
Good union.
[HORN HONKING]
Climb aboard, mate.
Where're you headed?
Mesquite.
What happened
to your horse?
Oh, the sheriff
impounded it.
You got a lot
of miles to log
to get to Mesquite.
Yeah.
You been waiting long?
Yeah, quite awhile.
Yeah, well,
when I saw you hitching,
I figured you wanted a ride.
Right.
That's the trouble with
most drivers nowadays.
They're in too much
of a damn hurry.
I mean, on the step,
and flat out all the way.
Holy Christ.
An Atlas fork 22-2.
[HORN BLOWING]
One of these days!
One of these days.
One of these days,
if the kids and the Commies
don't screw it up.
What?
The country.
I mean, what do they want?
Christ, they got everything
handed to them
on a plastic spoon.
Silver spoon.
You and me,
we gotta work for what we got.
At least I did,
I imagine you did too.
Right.
Hauling these rigs
across country,
sometimes 16 hours a day.
B.H.
You know, you can say
what you want about Jimmy,
but he did a lot of good
for a lot of drivers.
Things were damn tough B.H.
B.H.?
Before Hoffa.
I sure as hell wouldn't be
driving my Trojan today
if it weren't for Jimmy.
Trojan?
Is that the kind of truck
this is?
No, that's my boat.
Holy Mary, mother of God!
Hey, look at that.
A Twin-craft X.K. 18.
[HORN BLOWING]
You're beautiful.
DRIVER:
Hey, one of these days!
Well, you can say
what you want
about an outboard,
but when it comes
to all-around dependableness,
you still can't beat them.
You sure you don't want
to take off tomorrow
for all day
and come skiing with the wife
and me on the lake?
Well, maybe some day.
I got a lot of
ground to cover.
Gotta keep moving.
Gotta lot of time to make up.
Well, I can appreciate that.
I mean, a man's gotta do
what he's gotta do.
You gotta ride them broncs,
I gotta ride my boats.
Well, listen, I'm gonna have
to turn off for Dallas
right up here.
Now, if you want,
I can drive you
to the plant.
Maybe line you up for
a couple of days work
when you're finished.
I mean, if you need it.
Well, I appreciate it,
but I think I'll stick
to bucking horses.
Suit yourself, mate.
And you're sure
you don't want
to go water-skiing?
Oh, maybe some day.
Thanks a lot.
Good sailing, mate.
Keep her nose
to the wind.
WOMAN:
Where you going?
Which way you headed?
Oh, uh,
I'm headed north, I think.
You're not sure?
Yeah, I'm sure.
Where are you headed?
I'm headed for Mesquite.
What do you do in Mesquite?
What do you do in Mesquite?
I mind my own business,
for one thing.
I'm going to Woodlake.
Good.
You ever been
to Woodlake?
Nope.
You ever planning
on going to Woodlake?
Maybe.
Yeah, they, they got a rodeo
up there on the 12th.
Tomorrow is the 12th.
Yeah, well,
I'm going to Mesquite.
You make more money
in Mesquite?
No, you make more money
in Woodlake.
It's a bigger rodeo.
So why don't you
go to Woodlake?
Why don't you want
to go to Woodlake?
So, what's wrong
with Woodlake?
Damn hippie.
What did you make them
the victory sign for?
They didn't give you a ride.
They didn't have any room.
You want a ride?
What?
Do you want a ride?
Uh, no, I'm just waiting
for a friend.
Okay, cowboy.
Thanks.
He's just going down the road
a couple of miles.
Just, just going down the road
a couple of miles.
Hi.
Thanks a lot,
partner.
Here, you'd better
take these with you.
You might need them.
What for?
Energy.
Oh, hell, I've got
all the energy I need.
I don't need a mess
of hippie seeds.
They're not seeds.
They're soybeans
for high-protein.
High-protein, huh?
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
I'll see you around.
I hope so.
HIPPIE GIRL: Hey!
What's your name?
J.W.
Coop.
MAN:
Gosh, how've you been, J.W.?
Oh, I'm all right, Mersh.
How you been?
Oh, pretty good.
Good.
Still some old timers
hanging around.
Is that right?
Yeah, Big Ball, Case, Meadows,
even Jim Wild.
Is that right?
Even old Fred's
hanging there.
Damn.
He'll probably be
up there in his camp
this weekend.
Yeah, I sure as hell hope so.
I sure didn't see anybody
I knew in Lone Hill,
except the sheriff.
Gosh, I wouldn't be glad
to see him.
Sure.
After what happened.
No way.
It's good to see you, though,
and thanks for letting me
borrow your chaps.
Any time, J.W.
Hey, we'll have a beer
afterwards, huh?
Okay, J.W.
Hey, thank you.
ANNOUNCER: Good afternoon,
ladies and gentlemen,
this is Johnny Jackson
of Woodlake, California,
your rodeo announcer,
bidding each and every one
of you a very fond
and western welcome
to the first performance
of the Woodlake Rodeo.
The bucking events in rodeo
are bareback bronc riding,
saddle bronc riding,
and bull riding,
and each rider
is judged on his ability,
or inability,
to ride his mount till
the 10-second buzzer sounds.
Riders are judged on the
performance of both rider
and horse, or both.
Strict rules concerning the
treatment of these animals
must be adhered to.
They're under the supervision
of the American Humane
Society.
And down here on my right,
gate number one,
is Dallas Kleeton
of Burbank, California,
on Blue Care.
[CROWD CHEERING]
Down on gate number six
is J.W. Coop
from Chicawa, Texas,
on Thundermount.
Good luck, cowboys.
From
Santa Monica, California.
Now the famous suicide race,
ladies and gentlemen.
One and a half miles
through marsh, mud, and water
for $200.
Winner take all.
All right,
they're all lined up.
[GUNSHOT]
And they're off.
We've got a running start
as four horses
are leading the pack.
We're gonna have
a bunch of wet cowboys now,
because they're
all in the pond together,
and that pond is 12 feet deep
and 300 feet long.
This is a horse race.
In the lead is J.W. Coop
from Chicawa, Texas,
and right behind him,
Buzz Makarat
from South Dakota.
In third place,
looks like Greg Jackson,
number five,
and this is getting
to be a tough one,
and we have a cowboy
down in the water
and a horse coming through
by himself.
Out of the pond,
J.W. Coop coming down
the back stretch now.
And Makarat
is right behind him
as they head
towards the final gate.
Greg Jackson.
We still have
that riderless horse
coming in all by himself.
Look out, cowboys, now,
as we head into
this final round.
J.W. Coop and Makarat
right through the first gate.
And we have got a horse race,
and they're neck in neck
down the home stretch.
The winner takes all, $200.
And this is home,
and we have a winner.
It's J.W. Coop
from Chicawa, Texas.
He might help
all of our tired,
wet cowboys out now.
Coming up now
is this dangerous
rodeo event,
professional brahma
bull riding.
Winner of the suicide race,
in the clean green shirt,
J.W. Coop on My Own Choice.
I think you've got to admit,
ladies and gentlemen,
that if rodeo is rough
on anyone,
it's got to be the cowboy.
Well, J.W., maybe
you'd better go on.
What do you mean?
You know, this ain't
no rodeo bar.
Oh, bullshit. Come on.
Thank you
for the drink, J.W.
Thanks for letting me
borrow your chaps.
They brought me
good luck.
No, you brought
your own self the good luck.
You've got
a lot of try.
That one horse
was a high humper.
Yeah, that one,
humped like
a Korean whore.
Humped a few
of them, huh?
Who? Me?
Oh, yeah, years ago.
Hell, I was 16, gyrene,
shooting the gook
and dreaming the nook.
That was my first hitch.
You had two, huh?
Yeah, I had two.
I was kind of late
out of the chute.
I've got a lot of time
to make up, Mersh.
How much time
did they give you
in the pen, J.W.?
Almost 10 years.
You know,
ever since you've been gone,
rodeo is big business now.
Yeah?
The sky's the limit.
A guy like Billy Hawkins,
he's making
$50-60,000 a year.
Is that right?
He flies his own plane.
Makes two or three
rodeos a day.
It's not like the old times
when we rode rodeo,
you just had to throw 'em
down the back of the stairs.
Yeah.
J.W.: Yeah.
Yep.
Hey, Dulcie.
How about some more
spurring juice?
What about your friend?
Well, Mersh, you want
something?
The same thing, J.W.
Well, make it two.
Excuse me, J.W.
Yeah.
Hey, Miss, I don't think
he was through
with that other drink.
Yeah?
Um, where's my hooch?
No more, cowboy.
What do you mean,
no more?
There is no more, cowboy,
and if you don't like it,
talk to the boss,
don't talk to me, all right?
Hurry it up, Dora Mae.
Hurry it up.
All right, folks,
got a nice table
right down here.
Wait a minute, friend,
I'm sitting here.
Wrong.
Your friend is on the way out.
We ain't running
no NAACP tea house here.
Sit right down here, folks.
[TOILET FLUSHING]
[WATER OVERFLOWING]
What's going on
in here, cowboy?
Oh, nothing, Sheriff,
just a couple of boys
making weird advances.
What's that fellow
doing in there?
I don't know,
just washing up.
Uh, hello, amigo.
Hector?
J.W.
Yeah.
Oh, all right.
It's been a gravy lick
up to now.
How are you doing?
Good.
Oh, not bad.
It's starting to rain
a little bit up here.
Listen, uh, how's Mama?
Mmm-hmm.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, well, look,
I'm gonna send
a money order tonight,
and there should be more
next week.
Right.
Keep an eye on her,
will you, amigo?
Okay. I appreciate that.
Okay, buddy. Thank you.
Goodbye.
Hey! Hey, J.W.
Well, my lord.
How are you?
How'd you do?
Oh, I did all right.
How you doing?
Fine, fine.
I'm glad
I found you.
What you got there?
Licorice.
Oh, licorice.
Good.
Well, thank you.
What happened
to your beans?
I thought you didn't
like beans.
Oh, yeah,
I like some beans.
I like pinto beans,
chili beans,
even some human beings.
You like me?
Yeah, you're a
pretty nice bean.
Are you riding
again tomorrow?
No.
Today is the last day.
Where's your next stop?
Mmm, Angel Camp.
Do they have
a rodeo up there?
Sure do.
Are you hitching?
No, I'm driving.
Driving what?
Well, come around
tomorrow about 9:00,
I'll show you.
Where?
You see them trees
over there?
Yep.
I'll meet you
over by them trees,
right by them weeds.
[HONKING]
J.W.: Hey!
Hey there, Bean!
Hey, wow!
Hey, well,
I couldn't afford a Cadillac.
Well, I'm sure glad.
Where did you get it?
Oh, I got it
at an army surplus yard.
It's old, but it's strong.
Come on, get in.
J.W.: What was you doing
over there anyway?
BEAN: Waiting for you.
You waiting long?
All night.
All night? Well, I told you
I wouldn't be here
till now.
I like sleeping out.
What? In them weeds?
Yeah.
You like sleeping
in weeds?
Yeah, I like
sleeping in weeds.
You're loco.
Oh, go on.
You've done it.
Oh, yeah, I've done it
lots of times,
but I'm not sleeping
in no weeds
unless I have to.
Where you headed anyway?
West.
Yeah? What's West?
Oh, some things
I want to learn,
some places
I want to see.
You sound like one of
them mystery people.
Nope.
I'm a lot of people.
J. W.: Well, I don't know
about any establishment.
But my daddy worked
and gave his life
for the big man,
who never knew he existed
until he ceased.
And they covered Mama
with religion like a blanket,
gave her $800, a pin, and a
bound volume on the history
of the Chicawa Oil Company.
Their version, abridged.
BEAN: Well, what's
your version?
The Chicawa Oil Company
bought the law,
stole the land,
and rode the Depression
to World War II.
I never knew a day
in my daddy's life
that he didn't stink of oil.
Ain't been a day since then
that I haven't dreamed
of that stink,
and that company.
J.W.: It's just damn puzzling.
I don't understand it.
We never threw
the empty bottles away
because each one
was worth two cents.
Us kids used to swipe
all the empty ones
we could find,
because we needed the money.
You know, people don't
need the money anymore.
They come up with that
"no deposit, no return".
Now, you tell me to return
them even though
we don't need the money.
Hell, that just don't
make sense.
It's called "recycling".
It's one way to fight
waste and pollution.
Yeah, that's another thing.
What?
Oh, that pollution.
I mean he's gonna give me
a ticket, cost me $35,
before I even have
the damn thing put on.
Who did?
That cop.
What did you do?
Well, what
could I do?
I dumped the car,
that's what I did.
Maybe I should've had that
recycled, you think?
Right.
Damn.
This is pretty good cocoa.
What do you
call this stuff again?
Carob.
Mmm. Tastes
just like cocoa.
Yep, except it's a lot
better for you, J.W.
Yeah.
With proteins.
Right.
It'll grow hair
on your chest.
Maybe even
your upper lip.
Yeah. I think
I'd like that.
Damn.
Make a hippie
out of me yet.
I'll sleep with you,
if you want, J.W.
Do you want me to wait?
No, you go ahead.
I'll see you later.
When?
I don't know when. Later.
I want to see my friends.
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]
Hey, wake up.
Wake up,
you bunch of sage poppers.
Come and give me a hand here.
Lazy bunch of cowboys.
Hey, cowboy, come over here
and give me a hand.
Well, I'll be
a son of a bitch.
Where the hell have you been?
What you been doing?
Come here and give Big Marge
a hug, you.
[ENGINE STARTING]
MARGE: Some Texas
Siberian prison camp
give you the five-year shaft
for some $32 pissant check
you didn't write.
Where the hell you been
for the past 10 years, lover?
Honey, I tried to write.
Oh, who gives a damn.
Come on with me.
This I got to see.
Wake up, wake up,
you boozed-up
bunch of bushwhackers!
Get off your ass
and say hello to J.W.
MAN: Shut
the damn door.
Shut your snort
and look who's here.
J.W.'s back in town.
What are you jawing about?
Goddamn, look who's
come back to see us.
Man, you boys look
like you rode hard
and hung up wet.
Where've you been?
What you doing, Red?
Hey, what's happening!
[ALL LAUGHING]
J.W., have
a cold one, boy.
Well, I'll tell you one thing,
he's up to his ass
in money.
J.W.: Joe Bob?
Joe Bob Ryan?
Yeah.
How'd that dogger
make it?
He couldn't carry shit
to a dead bear
the last time
I was out here.
Still can't.
J.W.: Well,
how'd he get rich?
Well, upside down
in a car seat.
His wife's pappy
owns an oil field
that you can't
ride through
in a whole day.
She goes all over herself
every time she sees a cowboy.
You remember her, J.W.
She was, uh, Bonnie Gibbs
before Joe Bob
married up with her.
Right after you left.
Everybody knows
Bonnie Gibbs.
She's the town pump.
A real punchboard.
Well, how you doing,
old horse?
Damn, they took a little lard
off you, didn't they?
How'd they treat you
in there, anyway?
Oh, it weren't no county fair.
MARGE: No?
What brings you here?
Oh, too lazy to work,
too nervous to steal, I guess.
MAN: You got
your RCA card?
J.W.: Yep.
Signed up, paid up.
What's your event?
Bares, saddle
broncs, and bulls.
Oh. Three events
is a passel of rodeoing,
but most of the boys
just tend to sort of
specialize now.
Specialize, huh?
Well, it depends
on what you're looking for.
Well, I'm looking to get
in the national final.
Well, hell.
You're a month slow
out of the gate.
Most of the boys
have been collecting points
since the first.
Yeah, I got
a couple shows in last week.
Oh, yeah.
How'd you do, lover?
I did all right.
How's old Billy
what's-his name doing?
Lawson?
Yeah.
Oh, he's a hot one.
He won $60,000 last year,
and liked to double it
in, uh, commercial
endorsements.
You better believe it.
Goat shit.
He's just a good businessman,
like most
of the young dudes now.
He's riding for the money.
Ain't like the old days, J.W.
What'd you ride for
in the old days?
Peanuts?
Well, maybe
they did just that.
They didn't bail out
very often, I can
guaran-damn-tee you.
They didn't give up
when it got tough.
They hung in there.
You bet.
They busted their ass.
No.
You see, J.W.,
these boys,
like Hot Pistol Billy,
got this theory,
the less you hurt,
the more you're up.
And the more you're up,
the more chances
you got to win.
The more you win,
the more points
towards the finals.
Strictly playing
the percentages, J.W.
And it ain't only the rodeo.
Football and basketball.
Yeah, and some
of them others.
They're smart.
They use their head
when they ride.
I'm dumb,
I still use my ass,
but guarantee you
one thing,
I ain't bailing out
till that horn honks.
Well, you got big ones, J.W.,
but rodeo's changing.
Goat shit.
Nobody ever paid me
a nickel
for drinking
somebody's coffee
or wearing somebody's
pretty underwear.
You don't got
any underwear.
[ALL LAUGHING]
That's just what I mean.
I can't see
no difference.
You pays your fee
and you takes your draw,
and then you try to keep
from getting
your ass busted,
just like everybody else,
and for what?
So if you're lucky,
you wind up in the top 15,
and go to the national finals,
and if you ain't,
why you just holed up
some place
them two weeks
and stay drunk.
Guess, it's still money
or mud.
Naw, J.W.
Rodeoing has changed.
[MARCHING BAND PLAYING]
ANNOUNCER:
Well, he's arrived, folks.
The current defending
all-around champion,
Billy Hawkins.
Here comes Billy.
Yeah, yeah. That's him.
Is everything ready?
The horse in the chute,
ready to go?
Yeah, he's ready.
Well, you know how he is
about being kept waiting.
Yes, sir.
That's old Hot Pistol Billy,
just a'balling and a'going.
And he's cut it
to the last minute, as usual.
I declare,
that boy could plumb
wear out a steam engine.
He is a steam engine!
I tell you one thing,
you got to hand it to him.
He's a top hand.
Any cowboy wears all-around
champion buckle on his belt
is a top hand.
How come they call him
"Hot Pistol"?
Because that's the way
he comes out of the chute.
He always cut it
this close?
Nope.
Sometimes even closer.
He makes it to
two or three rodeos a day.
When do we go, man?
Right now, Billy.
Right now.
Good. I don't like
to be kept waiting.
Got to be in Sonora
in a couple of hours.
What kept you, Billy?
Ran into some weather
just north of here.
Nearly had to set her down
in a wheat field.
Plane okay?
Spinning like a top,
tickety-boo all the way.
By the way, Billy,
is there anything
I can do for you?
Listen, you can
call my broker.
Broker?
Tell him I'm sorry,
but I'm running a little late.
He'll be in the office
for another 20 minutes.
There's a three-hour
time change, you know?
There is?
Tell him I'll take his advice
on those mutual funds.
Okay, man.
[HORN SOUNDING]
ANNOUNCER: There he is, folks,
Billy Hawkins with 80 points.
That moves him
into first spot,
and that's a familiar place
for Billy Hawkins,
last year's
all-around champion.
All right, here he is.
That lanky bull rider
from Sonora, California,
"Cisco" Maye.
Give me a hand,
will you?
I got it. Go ahead.
J.W., this here's
Billy Hawkins and Larry Mahan.
Glad to know you, J.W.
Hi, Billy.
What you got
to ride, J.W.?
I don't know,
but he don't look like
whipped cream to me.
Oh, you'll be all right
when he gets out
of these boards.
What happened?
Did you hurt your hand?
Yeah, what did you say
he does again?
He's a spinner.
He'll crank you
back to the left,
but you'll be able
to mark out on him.
LARRY: He's swift
out of the box, boys.
Be sure to get the gate
open in a hurry.
Thanks, Larry.
Now, friends,
about ready to go
is a rider who has just
returned to the rodeo circuit
after a long absence.
And here he is, from Chicawa,
Texas, J.W. Coop
on a bull called "Eight-ball".
[HORN SOUNDING]
Folks, the judges
say that ride is worth a 72.
Let's hear it for the new
leader in the bull-riding
event, J.W. Coop.
Welcome home, son.
[HORN SOUNDING]
ANNOUNCER:
From Lubbock, Texas,
here's one of the world's
leading bull riders,
Myrtis Dightman.
[HORN SOUNDING]
You ride bares
and broncs too?
Yes, sir.
Damn, you'll have me
working for wages.
I doubt it.
GIRLS: Billy! Billy!
Later, girls.
The King's in a hurry.
Here's an event
you've all been waiting for,
and the prettiest riders
in rodeo,
the girl's barrel-racing
event.
Clear the decks, boys.
Hey, that's a pretty
smooth-looking tomato there.
She's gonna be
at the party tonight.
Yeah? What party?
Bonnie's daddy's throwing
a barbecue for everybody,
and there's gonna be
some finger-licking
little girls there,
and she's just one
of them.
Damn.
[COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYING]
Manuel, it looks
just marvelous.
Just divine.
Hey, everybody,
come and get your food.
Chow's on.
I really shouldn't,
Mr. Gibbs.
Ah, it's from the
horse's mouth, Billy.
Come on, come on.
Right from the horse's mouth.
You know, it isn't much.
Just a little old
country place for a
little old country boy,
but it's comfortable.
Sure is pretty,
Mr. Gibbs.
Yeah, it cost me
a half a million
before I got it fixed.
Five hundred acres,
100 thoroughbreds.
Twelve police dogs.
Billion burglar alarm system.
It ain't much.
The old lady said,
"Go ahead and shoot him,
Walter."
There was a fence
about five or six feet high
surrounding that
trailer court,
and I cleared it,
shucking clean.
Bam! Bam!
That little son-of-a-bitch
let go with both barrels.
The trouble was,
when you looked at Judy,
you couldn't tell the
difference between her
and some old boy.
But you could sure feel
the difference, I can
guarantee that. Why!
Is the green sauce
too hot, boys?
Green sauce?
Yes, ma'am.
Hello, Bonnie May.
It's just fine.
How about you, J.W.?
You like it hot?
Yeah, I do.
That doesn't surprise me, J.W.
But you did, turning up
after all these years.
It's been so long.
What's so long, Bonnie, hmm?
Why, Marjorie,
don't you look sweet,
and your hair, oh,
your hair looks real nice.
It really does.
Doesn't it, boys?
Doesn't it look nice?
What did you do to it?
Just teased
by the wind, Bonnie.
Just teased by the wind.
Well, Marjorie,
you should do it
more often.
It makes you look
so young.
Now, J.W.,
I want you to eat up,
because you're gonna need
all your strength
if you're gonna ride.
I wish I had a swing
like that in my backyard.
No, you don't, Leroy.
That's a public
playground.
Tell you what
I got in mind, Billy.
I want to get you
and all of the pros together,
all in one place.
You, Joe Namath,
Mickey Mantle, Arnold Palmer,
Jack Nicklaus.
Mmm-hmm.
Willy Shoemaker.
And what's the hockey jock,
that handsome hockey jock?
What's his, what's his name?
Bobby Orr.
Bobby Hull, that's right.
With Bobby, and you,
and all of us together,
all us pros, in my jet,
and fly down to the main ranch
for a week's hunt.
Just us pros.
What do you hunt?
Why, everything.
Everything that moves.
Mountain goat,
deer, antelope, birds.
Hell, anything that moves.
I don't give a damn.
I got 100,000 acres.
BONNIE: Help! Help!
You bitch!
You been aching for a breaking
for a long time.
Antelope, deer, birds,
lizards, snake, armadillo,
wild boar, elk. Who cares?
[BELL RINGING]
Look, it's moving!
Water moccasins.
There you are, Billy.
Right from
the horse's mouth.
GIBBS: Roadrunner, sloth,
bull eagle, snake,
snipe, horn toad.
I really need to be going now,
Mr. Gibbs.
Goat, hill rat, razorback,
and anything with hair!
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
J.W.: I don't know why
I don't live in a motel
like a civilized human being,
instead of a goddamn bushes
with a college graduate.
What the hell is that?
Looks like
some kind of Indian sign.
She must be some
kind of Indian,
putting a hex on me.
[SNIFFS]
Smells like licorice.
Damn Indian sign
made out of licorice.
It's a peace sign.
It's a what?
It's a peace sign.
What kind of peace?
You know, like peace on earth.
Yeah.
I guess that's
the only kind of peace
you'd know anything about.
I'm not a virgin,
you know, J.W.
Well, how would I know?
I don't know
if I'm glad or not.
I think I'm glad.
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
Pretty good, huh?
No, just wasn't cowboying
good enough today.
That old bull
honked me pretty good.
Didn't fit the ticket.
Were you hurt?
No, just honked.
Hell, it happens to everybody,
you know the saying.
What saying?
"Never a horse
couldn't be rode,
"never a cowboy
couldn't be throwed."
Want to bring
that chart we made up?
J.W.:
Can you tell me how in hell
I'm gonna give
Billy Hawkins a race
when he can do 120
rodeos to my 78?
It's that damn
Beechcraft airplane,
that's the difference.
Well, I'll just
have to try harder
and ride faster.
How many points
did Billy score?
Last year,
according to Marge,
60,000, which is
a hell of a,
a hell of a lot more
than I've scored.
Yeah, but you still got
11 months, J.W.
J.W.: Yeah, 11 months
to make up for 10 years,
and I'm hungry.
BEAN: Money hungry?
No. Time hungry.
[LAUGHING]
BEAN: Do you like
my new addition
to the paint scheme?
J.W.: Yeah. We'll be
the laughingstock
of the rodeo, but it's okay.
J.W.: Well, I guess
I'd better stick
to bucking horses.
Sure can't hack
this golf.
BEAN: Oh,
I don't know, J.W.
You were hacking away
pretty good there.
You got
any more surprises?
Yeah, wait'll you see
the hotel we're staying at
tonight.
[BEAN LAUGHING]
Where are our bags?
Where are you
taking me?
Oh, I got a surprise
for you.
I got a surprise
for you.
Now.
What, what are you doing?
Now for dessert.
How about that?
And how about that, huh?
How about that?
Can you believe that?
That's the next thing
to flying, ain't it?
Can you believe
that, Bean?
That this
East Chicawa jailbird
has achieved these heights
from a bucking saddle?
Ain't it a wonder?
Ain't, ain't that beautiful?
J.W.: There goes
Hot Pistol Billy.
And we're not far behind.
Honey, did you give
Larry Mahan back
those chaps I borrowed?
Yeah.
J.W., you're so funny
about that borrowed-chap
superstition.
Well, it ain't funny.
Hell, it works,
don't it?
If it works,
I'm gonna do it.
Can't afford not to.
Hot damn!
Oh, you Marge, you nut!
Oh, boy.
Nice going, lover.
Boy, you gave
your A act tonight.
You're breathing hard
on old Hot Pistol Hawkins.
Oh!
He kind of showed signs
of choking tonight.
What do you think, Bean?
You did
real well, J.W.
Oh, he ain't choking.
He ain't choking.
I just lucked out.
Lucked out, my ass.
You beat him for $1,200.
Come on,
party's in my van.
Oh, listen, I gotta call home.
For permission
to have a drink?
No, I haven't called
in a couple of weeks.
I'll hook up with you
in a few minutes. All right?
See you later, honey.
Hello, operator?
Operator, I'd like to call,
uh, Chicawa, Texas, please.
Looks like J.W. is moving up
on old Hot Pistol Billy.
Yeah, old J.W.'s
got a lot of try.
How'd he get
in the pen anyway?
Bad penmanship.
I heard it wasn't
a bad check, a bad friend.
A fella promised him
to hold it for two weeks
and didn't.
[MECHANICAL CHUGGING]
Come on down, Daddy.
It's late.
Come on down, Daddy.
Mama wants you home.
[MAN SCREAMING]
Mama wants you home.
[ORGAN MUSIC PLAYING]
[CROWD GASPS]
[SIREN WAILING]
[SIREN WAILING]
GIBBS: Hell, I got
20 miles of shoreline.
J.W.: Well, what
do we fish for?
Anything. Hell, anything.
Anything that can swim.
Bass, trout,
perch, catfish,
mud tad, turtle tad, craw tad,
halibut, flounder,
flying frog.
J.W.: Flying frog?
GIBBS: I'm thinking of turning
it into a recreation center
for retired Republicans.
I'll tell you what I got in
mind for you, J.W.
Thought we'd start
an aqua-rodeo.
Get a bunch
of giant water skis
that can hold up a horse.
We'll have them bucking
on water.
Well, we're over the hump,
honey.
To the nationals.
To the nationals, champ.
Well, I don't know about that.
Still four weeks off.
Still, though, I'll say this.
It's one thing
going in one of 15,
and it's sure a hell of
a lot more comforting
going in top hole.
And coming out
number one.
I don't know.
Those cowboys are awful good
or they wouldn't be
in the nationals.
J.W.: Old Hot Pistol Billy got
$60,000, $70,000 in
endorsements alone last year.
That's a lot of money.
Sure as a pig's ass
is pork,
it's a lot of money.
Enough money
to buy the dream too.
The dream?
Ten year dream.
What's that?
Oh, not much.
Just a few hundred acres,
a few charolais,
some good bucking stock,
and a house on a hill.
That's all. Nothing fancy.
That's all?
Yeah, that's all.
Oh, maybe a few other things.
What other things?
Oh, it'd be kind of nice
to have a boat, a plane.
To herd cattle?
No. Oh, no, I don't
mean because it's gonna be
business, silly.
It's nice to have
a boat, plane.
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
Hello?
J.W.: Hello, Bean?
Yeah.
Uh, listen, I'm gonna
be a little late.
Where are you?
I'm in Hale's Corners.
Hale's what?
Corners. Corners.
Are you all right?
Yeah, I'm fine.
I just, uh, got lost
and ran out of gas.
How are you going to get home?
Well, I'm gonna fly home,
just as soon as I get some gas
back to the dairy.
J.W., are you all right?
Yeah, I told you
I'm all right.
I just gotta take some gas
back to the plane.
Well, where is the plane?
It's resting
on a field.
It's resting on a dairy field
about, uh, four
miles from here.
Well, when will
you be home?
Oh, shouldn't be
more than a couple of hours.
[DOOR CLOSES]
J.W.?
Yeah.
You all right?
Yeah, I'm all right.
Well, what happened?
What happened?
The damn cows
ate my plane.
J.W., are you sure
you're all right?
Yeah, hell, I'm fine,
but my plane ain't.
Damn cows
ate off all the fabric.
Shit!
Well, it's official, honey,
we're in the nationals.
Next stop, Oklahoma City.
GIRLS: Oh, J.W.!
J.W., will you?
Will I what?
Kiss me?
Kiss me?
[GIRLS SQUEALING]
These last 10 months have been
about the happiest time
of my life.
Not just because
I'm riding and winning,
but because I'm with you.
And you're with me,
all the way.
And I'd like
to extend that
partnership.
I'd like to extend
that happiness.
I'd like to extend
an invitation to you
to be my wife.
And I know you're a lot
younger and a hell
of a lot smarter,
but I can't help it.
I just gotta offer you
that extension.
Do you know what a loner is?
I mean, do you really know?
Me.
I'm the original loner.
At least I was,
until I met up with you.
You opened up my
head, my heart.
Now I can't make it alone.
J.W., you can make it
with or without anybody.
You've proven that.
No way.
And I don't want to go back.
A loner is a lonely man.
And I don't want to go back.
J.W., don't go back.
Nobody wants you to go back.
Just look back at this year,
and then look back
at the 10 years before that,
and what do you see?
You see a man,
a very exceptional man,
who had a dream,
and who never let go,
and who never
will let go.
You're strong, J.W.,
and you don't need anything
but your own beliefs.
You must believe that.
I believe in you with me.
[APPLAUDING]
ANNOUNCER:
For a place here
in the national finals
in Oklahoma City.
This year,
we have beauty of a race,
the all-around
cowboy championship
between the defending
champion, Billy Hawkins,
and this year's
dark horse contender,
J.W. Coop.
Coop now leads by $300,
with a total of $49,400.
Here at the national finals,
the championship
will be decided
on the reference rank
in bucking stock,
having every strain
in the United States
and Canada,
including
the infamous "Escadero",
the bull the cowpokes
will tell you
is the meanest one
they've ever seen in rodeo.
[SNORTING]
[HORN SOUNDING]
[GASPING]
[BRAKES SCREECHING]
Hey, where the hell
have you been, cowboy?
You're supposed to wait for me
in the doctor's office.
I don't like waiting
in the doctors' offices.
They all stink of Lysol.
Get your ass in this car
or Big Marge'll kick it in.
MARGE: Broke, my ass.
It's a compound fracture
you dumb-dumb.
Just like the doctor said,
if you never want
to ride again,
all you got to do
is go out there
and break it again,
and the closest you'll
ever get to rodeo
is parking cars
right here on this lot.
Now that's the truth of it.
It's just a break, Marge.
I broke it 12 years ago
in Abilene,
and it didn't
slow me up much then.
Uh-huh.
Well, it's gonna
slow you up
this time, doctor.
See you shaved
your moustache off.
Listen, J.W.
I know you're pissed off,
but you can't
let it get to you.
Sure, she's cute little filly,
but when people
aren't right for each other,
they're just not right
for each other.
Besides, you're in good shape.
You won almost $50,000.
You don't like
to be second, Marge.
This was gonna be my year.
I waited 10 years.
And I blew it.
Blew it?
You didn't blow it.
Jesus, you won
49,000 goddamn dollars,
didn't you?
You started from nothing.
In one year,
you worked your way up
to second-leading cowboy.
Second's the bottom.
Second's last.
Even if you were to go out
there and win every event,
you couldn't win.
When you were getting
your leg fixed,
Billy nailed down four firsts.
It's too late.
It's just too late.
ANNOUNCER: And now
the most dangerous event
on the American
sporting scene today,
this is cowboy's bull riding.
First and second place,
of course,
has already been determined.
Winner of this year
will undoubtedly be
Billy Hawkins
of Meadow Wells, Texas.
Second place,
the guy who came from nowhere
to get the runner-up position,
J.W. Coop from Chicawa, Texas.
On Tornado,
a great bucking bull,
all the way from
St. Paul, Minnesota,
let's watch Clyde Maye.
[HORN SOUNDING]
And again, might we suggest
a consolation round
of applause.
These bulls are really
taking the toll
on these great bull riders
in the finals this year.
Well, if he,
if he drew him, it's legal,
but I can't believe it.
Here is a guy with a broken
leg, ladies and gentlemen,
it, it's official now.
This dark horse, J.W. Coop,
suffering a broken leg
just performances ago,
has drawn legally
the greatest bull
that professional rodeo
has ever known,
the mighty "Escadero",
and tonight he's going to try
to ride him.
So in chute three,
a guy with the greatest heart
we've ever seen
in professional rodeo.
Let's watch J.W. Coop
try to do the impossible.
Here he is on "Escadero".
He's gonna make it.
[LOUD BUZZING]
He's done it.
Get off, J.W.!
[ESCADERO SNORTING]
[NO AUDIO]
[BULL SNORTING]
[BULL SNORTING]
[CLAPPING]
GUARD:
Play it loose, J.W.
Thank you, Bob.
Sign your name
on the three forms by the "X".
Where?
By the "X".
One-way bus ticket to Chicawa
and $25 release.
$25?
More coming, ain't there?
When I hear it,
you'll get it.
RADIO ANNOUNCER:
First place saddle-bronc,
Elwood Medcalf.
First place bull riding,
J.W. Coop.
Best all-around, J.W. Coop.
You heard it.
You got it.
Where is that cowboy?
Just went
out the door, warden.
Stop!
Where do you think
you're going?
Damn, cowboy.
You don't waste
no time, do you?
I gave you
two extra weeks already.
Oh, now, J.W.
You don't begrudge
the old warden two extra weeks
for rodeo finals, do you?
Besides, it gave you time
to let your hair grow out.
You gonna be fine, boy.
You gonna be just fine.
Nobody bothers my number one
bucking-horse rider.
Not if I got anything
to say about it,
and, you know,
I got just a little bit
to say about it,
now, don't I, J.W.?
No, sir. Nobody bothers
the captain
of Warden Morgan's
Champion All-State Prison
Rodeo Team.
Now, anything else I can do?
Anything else you want?
No, sir.
All I want is some gone
between me and here.
Okay, cowboy.
Chute's open.
Good luck.
J.W.: Hello.
Hello, Sonny Boy.
Did you have a nice time?
Your supper's gone cold.
Daddy was fit to be
tied, waiting.
I fed him.
He's in bed.
I won't wake him.
You got to learn to be
on time, Sonny Boy.
Else you'll never
hold down a job.
That day's not far off.
Of course you always
have a roof here
with your daddy and me.
But the first thing
you gotta do
is finish your schooling.
Daddy's kidneys
gotta be looked at.
Company won't help a lick.
Maybe Roosevelt.
Still, all Communists, NRA.
[MOTHER SIGHS]
I ain't hungry, Mom.
You ain't ate yet.
No, ma'am.
Well, it's going to rain,
I suspect.
And Sunday,
we'll go to the park,
and after, we'll go over
to Iona's for dinner,
if your Daddy ain't working.
Oh, that woman,
she takes the cake.
It's just wrong,
that's what it is.
It's wrong.
People like us,
your daddy and me,
we're not getting
any younger, you know?
I mean, he's still working.
Worked till we was
blue in the face, Sonny Boy,
and for what?
So our boy would have to
go on working in that
dead rodeo.
[MOTHER SIGHS]
And all those,
I don't know what,
all them gypsies.
It's just wrong, that's all.
I don't know.
It's wrong.
It's just...
Seems like all the people...
[BURNER FLARES UP]
Tsk. Oh! Stove.
Gotta get a new one.
Seems like people
who got things,
God just gives them more
than people who need things.
God just seems to have to keep
testing his holy truth.
PREACHER ON RADIO:
Brothers and sisters,
praise his name.
Praise his name.
Praise His name.
Praise God's name.
Sonny?
Is there anything
you want to tell me?
Anything you want
to tell your daddy and me?
Anything about the,
uh, envelopes?
Your poor daddy.
He'll work himself
into the grave.
I know there was
an envelope somewhere.
Daddy thought you might be
needing some spending money.
PREACHER ON RADIO: Brethren,
let's open up our hearts
to the glory of God.
God's glory. Amen, amen.
[HUMMING]
I'm okay, Mama.
Mmm-hmm.
Did you clean up your room?
Yes, ma'am.
Practice your trumpet?
Hmm.
[HUMMING]
Mama, you gonna,
you gonna be needing
that old car of Daddy's?
Does it, does it still work?
Where're you going?
Rodeo.
Well, that's nice.
You be careful playing around
in that old empty rodeo
ground, Sonny Boy.
Sonny, you hear me?
That's nice.
Give your old
mommy a nice kiss.
When did you start smoking?
I've been smoking
a long time, Mama.
Your daddy would tan
your behind good
for you if he found out,
if I was to tell him.
Mama, if you ain't
gonna be needing
that old car of Daddy's,
I'd like to use it.
Now, you know that car
is Daddy's lifeblood.
Daddy's gone, Mama.
Daddy's gone.
You need a shave.
I didn't notice it before,
but you do.
You're just so pretty, Sonny.
Got your daddy's
nose, perfect.
I'll see you in the morning.
Be a good boy.
Don't let the dark catch you.
Sleep tight, Mama.
Sleep tight.
Don't let the bedbugs bite.
PREACHER ON RADIO: And now
offer up a silent prayer.
Did you hear me?
I said, don't let
the bedbugs bite.
If they do, get a shoe...
And slap them until
they're black and blue.
Good night, Sonny.
[CHICKEN CLUCKS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
How're you doing, cowboy?
Okay.
I appreciate
you letting me
use these tools.
Appreciate?
I appreciate you
and anybody else
being in this dead town.
You think it's dead now,
you ought to have been here
when I was growing up.
You mean this town
was deader then?
Sure as hell was.
The only thing here
in those days
was Chicawa Oil Company.
And if you didn't work
for Chicawa, you didn't work.
Is that right?
That's right.
How long have you lived here?
63 days.
[CAR APPROACHING]
Be right back.
PATRON: Fill her up.
Hey.
Hector.
Goddang, is that you, J.W.?
Son of a bitch!
When'd you get back?
Oh, I got back last night.
Well, son of a bitch.
Damn. Been a long time, J.W.
Yeah.
What, six, seven years?
No, it's been nine years,
nine months, 13 days.
Goddamn. Just for
one little pissant check?
Yeah. Well, I got,
you know, three,
three for the check
and two for the sheriff.
What sheriff?
Well, that guy that
arrested me in Lone Hill.
That's right.
You beat the shit
out of that guy,
didn't you, J.W.?
Yeah.
What did you get
the other three
or four years for?
Oh, the same thing.
You know, giving
the guards a hard time.
Yeah?
Know what you
gonna do now, J.W.?
Well, pick up
where I left off.
Rodeoing?
Yep.
Where?
Oh, where I left off.
Lone Hill?
Yep.
You working?
Working for Chico.
Your brother?
That's right.
This here's his truck,
one of them.
Damn.
Tacos, huh?
Oh, yeah.
Taco stands.
He's got them
franchised.
Is that right?
That's right.
He's got
six of them.
One in Pecos,
one in Redwing,
one in Gardner,
two in Abilene,
and one right here
in Chicawa.
Damn, sounds like
he's up to his ass
in tacos, huh?
[ENGINE RUMBLING]
Six tacos,
three enchiladas,
three tostadas.
[ENGINE REVVING]
Three burritos
and one chili dog.
You owe me $2.50.
Hurry up, Maylene.
Coming when I get done
feeding them.
[ENGINE REVVING]
There's you kids' lunch,
Billie Rae.
Now, I'll see you home
for dinner.
GIRL: When's dinner, Ma?
When I get done bowling!
[ENGINE REVVING]
Damn kids.
Treat me like a slave.
Why can't they
make me dinner?
[TIRES SQUEALING]
Hey, old Chico do business
like this every day?
And night.
Of course, today is special,
it being Saturday
and the jalopy races
down street.
Oh, yeah. Jalopy races.
Where they bump
them old cars around.
Right, it's a big thing
around here.
Most every weekend,
they get one big
son-of-a-bitching
crowd out here.
That right?
That and the, uh,
drag races.
Yeah.
Well, if old Chico
does business like this
in all his other stands,
he must be one rich Mexican.
I reckon.
They made him vice-president
of the Chamber of Commerce
last year.
First Chicano ever to make it.
Is that right?
Damn. He's got it made.
Pretty soon,
I'm gonna have to
whip his ass.
Well, that's good
for the Mexicans, eh?
For the wet ones it is.
Wet?
Sure, amigo.
They all work
out in the back.
I rotate them for Chico,
and this way, we get
no trouble with the border.
Border patrol
keeps a tight rein, huh?
Yeah, what with
the pot and all.
Them kids
and their pot.
Remember when
we used to dig it out of
old Doc Haggart's vacant lot?
Because we couldn't
afford tailor-mades?
Remember that?
Not today, amigo.
These guys around here
are getting 50 cents a joint.
Son of a bitch, you've
been away a long time, J.W.
Lots of things have changed.
I guess so.
[LOUD BANG]
SHERIFF:
That's him, all right.
That's the cowboy.
How's he doing?
MAN: He's doing
good, sheriff.
SHERIFF: Let's see
if he's learned
anything in 10 years.
DEPUTY: In yonder, cowboy.
SHERIFF: Sit down, cowboy.
Well, J.W.
Long time, no see.
How'd you do, cowboy?
How much did he win, Tiny?
Uh, $50 for saddle,
$90 for bareback,
$155 for bulls.
His total of 295, $295.
Enough to cover his check.
If it's good.
SHERIFF:
But if it ain't good...
Matt did you, uh,
call Harker at the bank?
Yes, sir.
He opened an account
at the bank this morning.
It's good.
Good?
[ROCKABILLY MUSIC PLAYING]
You like them, cowboy?
You like the show?
Yeah.
Well, you gotta drink
if you're gonna look.
Well, give me a Toro.
$1.00.
For a Toro?
Honey, you're paying
for the tits.
Well, for the Toro,
I don't know.
Hey, 14 more,
and you can go
down to Rosie's.
You can get the real thing.
WOMAN: You come back
to Rosie's, you hear?
[SIREN WAILING]
Put your hands on the wheel.
You didn't see me, did you?
Huh. Tsk.
Didn't hear me
either, did you?
No, sir.
I guess it's because
of the wind.
[STAMMERING] Hey, what year is
this piece of shit
here anyway?
'49.
But, well, what is it?
A Hudson.
A Hudson?
That's right.
And I know,
I guess you've never
been stopped before either,
have you?
That's right.
Well, I'm sorry
I got to be the first one,
but, you know, uh,
we got to take care
of these things these days,
you know, pollution and all.
Pollution?
Yeah. Pollution.
You know, we gotta fight it
every way we can, you know.
Car exhaust like that of yours
is the worst offenders we got.
Especially on trash
like you're driving.
Now, if you'll just sign
right here.
Nope, the other hand.
I want your left hand.
Use the other hand.
Keep them both up.
Where do I sign?
By the "X".
Right there by the "X".
Wait a minute.
Keep one hand
on the wheel.
Other hand. Left hand.
You hand it back
with your left.
Now,
if I could just see
your driver's license,
Mr. J.W. Coop.
Damn, I, I must've...
I may, I may have
left it at home.
Yeah. Mmm-hmm. Yeah.
I think I left it at home.
Keep your hands up.
Put them back
on the wheel.
Well, I was just
gonna give you
an exhaust warning ticket,
but now
I'm gonna have to give you
a real ticket.
What's your address?
My address?
Yeah, your address.
Uh, I live
in Chicawa.
And the address?
13, 13 Luck Road.
Mmm, how do you spell that?
L-U-C-K. Luck.
L-U-C-K. Luck.
Okay.
Use your left hand as usual.
Now, if you'll meet me
at Municipal,
Municipal Building, room 218,
tomorrow morning at 9:00,
I'll make it a point
to be there with you.
Right.
Sorry I had to do this.
But that's our job.
Okay?
Now you drive slow.
Right.
Obey the law.
Right.
And get
that exhaust fixed.
Right.
See you 9:00, Mr. Coop.
[ENGINE STARTING]
Wrong.
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
Where you headed,
cowboy?
Toward Mesquite.
I'm going as far
as Redwing.
Come on, get in.
Throw them back there.
I appreciate it.
I see that.
As I see it,
it's the kids, the Commies,
worst of all, the unions.
They're trying
to ruin this country,
all of them.
Used to be a
damn good country.
When I left Oklahoma
during the Depression,
hell, we never had
no trouble with kids.
They were too busy working.
Or they was out
looking for work.
Went out to California,
me and the missus
and the kids,
we had to live
in one of them
orchard chicken houses.
Is that right?
That's right,
chicken house.
All five of us.
Boy, we was up at daybreak
and we started picking.
Ah!
We was picking fruit all day,
way past sunset.
We was picking
for a nickel a lug,
and we was damn
glad to get it.
And any of them agitators
was sent back across
state lines or back to Russia,
or wherever the hell
they come from,
because there was
plenty of dustbowl farmers
to take their place.
Let alone the wetbacks.
Shit!
J.W., I want to tell you
something.
Fruit and fruit pickers,
they just alike.
You don't mess with them
and they do fine,
but just start to agitate
them, and they'll rot.
No, sir.
You don't agitate the fruit
and you don't agitate
the pickers.
When'd you come back?
Three years ago.
I bought myself a pig farm
six miles from
where I was born.
Were you working, uh,
picking fruit
all that time in between?
Hell, no.
I wasn't gonna bust my back
picking somebody else's
peaches very long.
Not me.
No, in 1940, I seen it coming.
I got myself into the
shipyards.
Oh, you're
a shipbuilder, huh?
Naw.
Nobody working in them yards
in them days were
shipbuilders.
Hell, we were just workers.
Well, how'd you
get your stake?
How do you mean that?
Well, your farm,
your pig farm you got now?
Oh.
War.
Which one?
All three of them.
I got to be a
master machinist.
I worked in defense plants
for 25 years.
How many pigs you say you got?
Fifteen hundred.
Damn.
Machinist pay must be good.
Damn right.
Good union.
[HORN HONKING]
Climb aboard, mate.
Where're you headed?
Mesquite.
What happened
to your horse?
Oh, the sheriff
impounded it.
You got a lot
of miles to log
to get to Mesquite.
Yeah.
You been waiting long?
Yeah, quite awhile.
Yeah, well,
when I saw you hitching,
I figured you wanted a ride.
Right.
That's the trouble with
most drivers nowadays.
They're in too much
of a damn hurry.
I mean, on the step,
and flat out all the way.
Holy Christ.
An Atlas fork 22-2.
[HORN BLOWING]
One of these days!
One of these days.
One of these days,
if the kids and the Commies
don't screw it up.
What?
The country.
I mean, what do they want?
Christ, they got everything
handed to them
on a plastic spoon.
Silver spoon.
You and me,
we gotta work for what we got.
At least I did,
I imagine you did too.
Right.
Hauling these rigs
across country,
sometimes 16 hours a day.
B.H.
You know, you can say
what you want about Jimmy,
but he did a lot of good
for a lot of drivers.
Things were damn tough B.H.
B.H.?
Before Hoffa.
I sure as hell wouldn't be
driving my Trojan today
if it weren't for Jimmy.
Trojan?
Is that the kind of truck
this is?
No, that's my boat.
Holy Mary, mother of God!
Hey, look at that.
A Twin-craft X.K. 18.
[HORN BLOWING]
You're beautiful.
DRIVER:
Hey, one of these days!
Well, you can say
what you want
about an outboard,
but when it comes
to all-around dependableness,
you still can't beat them.
You sure you don't want
to take off tomorrow
for all day
and come skiing with the wife
and me on the lake?
Well, maybe some day.
I got a lot of
ground to cover.
Gotta keep moving.
Gotta lot of time to make up.
Well, I can appreciate that.
I mean, a man's gotta do
what he's gotta do.
You gotta ride them broncs,
I gotta ride my boats.
Well, listen, I'm gonna have
to turn off for Dallas
right up here.
Now, if you want,
I can drive you
to the plant.
Maybe line you up for
a couple of days work
when you're finished.
I mean, if you need it.
Well, I appreciate it,
but I think I'll stick
to bucking horses.
Suit yourself, mate.
And you're sure
you don't want
to go water-skiing?
Oh, maybe some day.
Thanks a lot.
Good sailing, mate.
Keep her nose
to the wind.
WOMAN:
Where you going?
Which way you headed?
Oh, uh,
I'm headed north, I think.
You're not sure?
Yeah, I'm sure.
Where are you headed?
I'm headed for Mesquite.
What do you do in Mesquite?
What do you do in Mesquite?
I mind my own business,
for one thing.
I'm going to Woodlake.
Good.
You ever been
to Woodlake?
Nope.
You ever planning
on going to Woodlake?
Maybe.
Yeah, they, they got a rodeo
up there on the 12th.
Tomorrow is the 12th.
Yeah, well,
I'm going to Mesquite.
You make more money
in Mesquite?
No, you make more money
in Woodlake.
It's a bigger rodeo.
So why don't you
go to Woodlake?
Why don't you want
to go to Woodlake?
So, what's wrong
with Woodlake?
Damn hippie.
What did you make them
the victory sign for?
They didn't give you a ride.
They didn't have any room.
You want a ride?
What?
Do you want a ride?
Uh, no, I'm just waiting
for a friend.
Okay, cowboy.
Thanks.
He's just going down the road
a couple of miles.
Just, just going down the road
a couple of miles.
Hi.
Thanks a lot,
partner.
Here, you'd better
take these with you.
You might need them.
What for?
Energy.
Oh, hell, I've got
all the energy I need.
I don't need a mess
of hippie seeds.
They're not seeds.
They're soybeans
for high-protein.
High-protein, huh?
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
I'll see you around.
I hope so.
HIPPIE GIRL: Hey!
What's your name?
J.W.
Coop.
MAN:
Gosh, how've you been, J.W.?
Oh, I'm all right, Mersh.
How you been?
Oh, pretty good.
Good.
Still some old timers
hanging around.
Is that right?
Yeah, Big Ball, Case, Meadows,
even Jim Wild.
Is that right?
Even old Fred's
hanging there.
Damn.
He'll probably be
up there in his camp
this weekend.
Yeah, I sure as hell hope so.
I sure didn't see anybody
I knew in Lone Hill,
except the sheriff.
Gosh, I wouldn't be glad
to see him.
Sure.
After what happened.
No way.
It's good to see you, though,
and thanks for letting me
borrow your chaps.
Any time, J.W.
Hey, we'll have a beer
afterwards, huh?
Okay, J.W.
Hey, thank you.
ANNOUNCER: Good afternoon,
ladies and gentlemen,
this is Johnny Jackson
of Woodlake, California,
your rodeo announcer,
bidding each and every one
of you a very fond
and western welcome
to the first performance
of the Woodlake Rodeo.
The bucking events in rodeo
are bareback bronc riding,
saddle bronc riding,
and bull riding,
and each rider
is judged on his ability,
or inability,
to ride his mount till
the 10-second buzzer sounds.
Riders are judged on the
performance of both rider
and horse, or both.
Strict rules concerning the
treatment of these animals
must be adhered to.
They're under the supervision
of the American Humane
Society.
And down here on my right,
gate number one,
is Dallas Kleeton
of Burbank, California,
on Blue Care.
[CROWD CHEERING]
Down on gate number six
is J.W. Coop
from Chicawa, Texas,
on Thundermount.
Good luck, cowboys.
From
Santa Monica, California.
Now the famous suicide race,
ladies and gentlemen.
One and a half miles
through marsh, mud, and water
for $200.
Winner take all.
All right,
they're all lined up.
[GUNSHOT]
And they're off.
We've got a running start
as four horses
are leading the pack.
We're gonna have
a bunch of wet cowboys now,
because they're
all in the pond together,
and that pond is 12 feet deep
and 300 feet long.
This is a horse race.
In the lead is J.W. Coop
from Chicawa, Texas,
and right behind him,
Buzz Makarat
from South Dakota.
In third place,
looks like Greg Jackson,
number five,
and this is getting
to be a tough one,
and we have a cowboy
down in the water
and a horse coming through
by himself.
Out of the pond,
J.W. Coop coming down
the back stretch now.
And Makarat
is right behind him
as they head
towards the final gate.
Greg Jackson.
We still have
that riderless horse
coming in all by himself.
Look out, cowboys, now,
as we head into
this final round.
J.W. Coop and Makarat
right through the first gate.
And we have got a horse race,
and they're neck in neck
down the home stretch.
The winner takes all, $200.
And this is home,
and we have a winner.
It's J.W. Coop
from Chicawa, Texas.
He might help
all of our tired,
wet cowboys out now.
Coming up now
is this dangerous
rodeo event,
professional brahma
bull riding.
Winner of the suicide race,
in the clean green shirt,
J.W. Coop on My Own Choice.
I think you've got to admit,
ladies and gentlemen,
that if rodeo is rough
on anyone,
it's got to be the cowboy.
Well, J.W., maybe
you'd better go on.
What do you mean?
You know, this ain't
no rodeo bar.
Oh, bullshit. Come on.
Thank you
for the drink, J.W.
Thanks for letting me
borrow your chaps.
They brought me
good luck.
No, you brought
your own self the good luck.
You've got
a lot of try.
That one horse
was a high humper.
Yeah, that one,
humped like
a Korean whore.
Humped a few
of them, huh?
Who? Me?
Oh, yeah, years ago.
Hell, I was 16, gyrene,
shooting the gook
and dreaming the nook.
That was my first hitch.
You had two, huh?
Yeah, I had two.
I was kind of late
out of the chute.
I've got a lot of time
to make up, Mersh.
How much time
did they give you
in the pen, J.W.?
Almost 10 years.
You know,
ever since you've been gone,
rodeo is big business now.
Yeah?
The sky's the limit.
A guy like Billy Hawkins,
he's making
$50-60,000 a year.
Is that right?
He flies his own plane.
Makes two or three
rodeos a day.
It's not like the old times
when we rode rodeo,
you just had to throw 'em
down the back of the stairs.
Yeah.
J.W.: Yeah.
Yep.
Hey, Dulcie.
How about some more
spurring juice?
What about your friend?
Well, Mersh, you want
something?
The same thing, J.W.
Well, make it two.
Excuse me, J.W.
Yeah.
Hey, Miss, I don't think
he was through
with that other drink.
Yeah?
Um, where's my hooch?
No more, cowboy.
What do you mean,
no more?
There is no more, cowboy,
and if you don't like it,
talk to the boss,
don't talk to me, all right?
Hurry it up, Dora Mae.
Hurry it up.
All right, folks,
got a nice table
right down here.
Wait a minute, friend,
I'm sitting here.
Wrong.
Your friend is on the way out.
We ain't running
no NAACP tea house here.
Sit right down here, folks.
[TOILET FLUSHING]
[WATER OVERFLOWING]
What's going on
in here, cowboy?
Oh, nothing, Sheriff,
just a couple of boys
making weird advances.
What's that fellow
doing in there?
I don't know,
just washing up.
Uh, hello, amigo.
Hector?
J.W.
Yeah.
Oh, all right.
It's been a gravy lick
up to now.
How are you doing?
Good.
Oh, not bad.
It's starting to rain
a little bit up here.
Listen, uh, how's Mama?
Mmm-hmm.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, well, look,
I'm gonna send
a money order tonight,
and there should be more
next week.
Right.
Keep an eye on her,
will you, amigo?
Okay. I appreciate that.
Okay, buddy. Thank you.
Goodbye.
Hey! Hey, J.W.
Well, my lord.
How are you?
How'd you do?
Oh, I did all right.
How you doing?
Fine, fine.
I'm glad
I found you.
What you got there?
Licorice.
Oh, licorice.
Good.
Well, thank you.
What happened
to your beans?
I thought you didn't
like beans.
Oh, yeah,
I like some beans.
I like pinto beans,
chili beans,
even some human beings.
You like me?
Yeah, you're a
pretty nice bean.
Are you riding
again tomorrow?
No.
Today is the last day.
Where's your next stop?
Mmm, Angel Camp.
Do they have
a rodeo up there?
Sure do.
Are you hitching?
No, I'm driving.
Driving what?
Well, come around
tomorrow about 9:00,
I'll show you.
Where?
You see them trees
over there?
Yep.
I'll meet you
over by them trees,
right by them weeds.
[HONKING]
J.W.: Hey!
Hey there, Bean!
Hey, wow!
Hey, well,
I couldn't afford a Cadillac.
Well, I'm sure glad.
Where did you get it?
Oh, I got it
at an army surplus yard.
It's old, but it's strong.
Come on, get in.
J.W.: What was you doing
over there anyway?
BEAN: Waiting for you.
You waiting long?
All night.
All night? Well, I told you
I wouldn't be here
till now.
I like sleeping out.
What? In them weeds?
Yeah.
You like sleeping
in weeds?
Yeah, I like
sleeping in weeds.
You're loco.
Oh, go on.
You've done it.
Oh, yeah, I've done it
lots of times,
but I'm not sleeping
in no weeds
unless I have to.
Where you headed anyway?
West.
Yeah? What's West?
Oh, some things
I want to learn,
some places
I want to see.
You sound like one of
them mystery people.
Nope.
I'm a lot of people.
J. W.: Well, I don't know
about any establishment.
But my daddy worked
and gave his life
for the big man,
who never knew he existed
until he ceased.
And they covered Mama
with religion like a blanket,
gave her $800, a pin, and a
bound volume on the history
of the Chicawa Oil Company.
Their version, abridged.
BEAN: Well, what's
your version?
The Chicawa Oil Company
bought the law,
stole the land,
and rode the Depression
to World War II.
I never knew a day
in my daddy's life
that he didn't stink of oil.
Ain't been a day since then
that I haven't dreamed
of that stink,
and that company.
J.W.: It's just damn puzzling.
I don't understand it.
We never threw
the empty bottles away
because each one
was worth two cents.
Us kids used to swipe
all the empty ones
we could find,
because we needed the money.
You know, people don't
need the money anymore.
They come up with that
"no deposit, no return".
Now, you tell me to return
them even though
we don't need the money.
Hell, that just don't
make sense.
It's called "recycling".
It's one way to fight
waste and pollution.
Yeah, that's another thing.
What?
Oh, that pollution.
I mean he's gonna give me
a ticket, cost me $35,
before I even have
the damn thing put on.
Who did?
That cop.
What did you do?
Well, what
could I do?
I dumped the car,
that's what I did.
Maybe I should've had that
recycled, you think?
Right.
Damn.
This is pretty good cocoa.
What do you
call this stuff again?
Carob.
Mmm. Tastes
just like cocoa.
Yep, except it's a lot
better for you, J.W.
Yeah.
With proteins.
Right.
It'll grow hair
on your chest.
Maybe even
your upper lip.
Yeah. I think
I'd like that.
Damn.
Make a hippie
out of me yet.
I'll sleep with you,
if you want, J.W.
Do you want me to wait?
No, you go ahead.
I'll see you later.
When?
I don't know when. Later.
I want to see my friends.
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]
Hey, wake up.
Wake up,
you bunch of sage poppers.
Come and give me a hand here.
Lazy bunch of cowboys.
Hey, cowboy, come over here
and give me a hand.
Well, I'll be
a son of a bitch.
Where the hell have you been?
What you been doing?
Come here and give Big Marge
a hug, you.
[ENGINE STARTING]
MARGE: Some Texas
Siberian prison camp
give you the five-year shaft
for some $32 pissant check
you didn't write.
Where the hell you been
for the past 10 years, lover?
Honey, I tried to write.
Oh, who gives a damn.
Come on with me.
This I got to see.
Wake up, wake up,
you boozed-up
bunch of bushwhackers!
Get off your ass
and say hello to J.W.
MAN: Shut
the damn door.
Shut your snort
and look who's here.
J.W.'s back in town.
What are you jawing about?
Goddamn, look who's
come back to see us.
Man, you boys look
like you rode hard
and hung up wet.
Where've you been?
What you doing, Red?
Hey, what's happening!
[ALL LAUGHING]
J.W., have
a cold one, boy.
Well, I'll tell you one thing,
he's up to his ass
in money.
J.W.: Joe Bob?
Joe Bob Ryan?
Yeah.
How'd that dogger
make it?
He couldn't carry shit
to a dead bear
the last time
I was out here.
Still can't.
J.W.: Well,
how'd he get rich?
Well, upside down
in a car seat.
His wife's pappy
owns an oil field
that you can't
ride through
in a whole day.
She goes all over herself
every time she sees a cowboy.
You remember her, J.W.
She was, uh, Bonnie Gibbs
before Joe Bob
married up with her.
Right after you left.
Everybody knows
Bonnie Gibbs.
She's the town pump.
A real punchboard.
Well, how you doing,
old horse?
Damn, they took a little lard
off you, didn't they?
How'd they treat you
in there, anyway?
Oh, it weren't no county fair.
MARGE: No?
What brings you here?
Oh, too lazy to work,
too nervous to steal, I guess.
MAN: You got
your RCA card?
J.W.: Yep.
Signed up, paid up.
What's your event?
Bares, saddle
broncs, and bulls.
Oh. Three events
is a passel of rodeoing,
but most of the boys
just tend to sort of
specialize now.
Specialize, huh?
Well, it depends
on what you're looking for.
Well, I'm looking to get
in the national final.
Well, hell.
You're a month slow
out of the gate.
Most of the boys
have been collecting points
since the first.
Yeah, I got
a couple shows in last week.
Oh, yeah.
How'd you do, lover?
I did all right.
How's old Billy
what's-his name doing?
Lawson?
Yeah.
Oh, he's a hot one.
He won $60,000 last year,
and liked to double it
in, uh, commercial
endorsements.
You better believe it.
Goat shit.
He's just a good businessman,
like most
of the young dudes now.
He's riding for the money.
Ain't like the old days, J.W.
What'd you ride for
in the old days?
Peanuts?
Well, maybe
they did just that.
They didn't bail out
very often, I can
guaran-damn-tee you.
They didn't give up
when it got tough.
They hung in there.
You bet.
They busted their ass.
No.
You see, J.W.,
these boys,
like Hot Pistol Billy,
got this theory,
the less you hurt,
the more you're up.
And the more you're up,
the more chances
you got to win.
The more you win,
the more points
towards the finals.
Strictly playing
the percentages, J.W.
And it ain't only the rodeo.
Football and basketball.
Yeah, and some
of them others.
They're smart.
They use their head
when they ride.
I'm dumb,
I still use my ass,
but guarantee you
one thing,
I ain't bailing out
till that horn honks.
Well, you got big ones, J.W.,
but rodeo's changing.
Goat shit.
Nobody ever paid me
a nickel
for drinking
somebody's coffee
or wearing somebody's
pretty underwear.
You don't got
any underwear.
[ALL LAUGHING]
That's just what I mean.
I can't see
no difference.
You pays your fee
and you takes your draw,
and then you try to keep
from getting
your ass busted,
just like everybody else,
and for what?
So if you're lucky,
you wind up in the top 15,
and go to the national finals,
and if you ain't,
why you just holed up
some place
them two weeks
and stay drunk.
Guess, it's still money
or mud.
Naw, J.W.
Rodeoing has changed.
[MARCHING BAND PLAYING]
ANNOUNCER:
Well, he's arrived, folks.
The current defending
all-around champion,
Billy Hawkins.
Here comes Billy.
Yeah, yeah. That's him.
Is everything ready?
The horse in the chute,
ready to go?
Yeah, he's ready.
Well, you know how he is
about being kept waiting.
Yes, sir.
That's old Hot Pistol Billy,
just a'balling and a'going.
And he's cut it
to the last minute, as usual.
I declare,
that boy could plumb
wear out a steam engine.
He is a steam engine!
I tell you one thing,
you got to hand it to him.
He's a top hand.
Any cowboy wears all-around
champion buckle on his belt
is a top hand.
How come they call him
"Hot Pistol"?
Because that's the way
he comes out of the chute.
He always cut it
this close?
Nope.
Sometimes even closer.
He makes it to
two or three rodeos a day.
When do we go, man?
Right now, Billy.
Right now.
Good. I don't like
to be kept waiting.
Got to be in Sonora
in a couple of hours.
What kept you, Billy?
Ran into some weather
just north of here.
Nearly had to set her down
in a wheat field.
Plane okay?
Spinning like a top,
tickety-boo all the way.
By the way, Billy,
is there anything
I can do for you?
Listen, you can
call my broker.
Broker?
Tell him I'm sorry,
but I'm running a little late.
He'll be in the office
for another 20 minutes.
There's a three-hour
time change, you know?
There is?
Tell him I'll take his advice
on those mutual funds.
Okay, man.
[HORN SOUNDING]
ANNOUNCER: There he is, folks,
Billy Hawkins with 80 points.
That moves him
into first spot,
and that's a familiar place
for Billy Hawkins,
last year's
all-around champion.
All right, here he is.
That lanky bull rider
from Sonora, California,
"Cisco" Maye.
Give me a hand,
will you?
I got it. Go ahead.
J.W., this here's
Billy Hawkins and Larry Mahan.
Glad to know you, J.W.
Hi, Billy.
What you got
to ride, J.W.?
I don't know,
but he don't look like
whipped cream to me.
Oh, you'll be all right
when he gets out
of these boards.
What happened?
Did you hurt your hand?
Yeah, what did you say
he does again?
He's a spinner.
He'll crank you
back to the left,
but you'll be able
to mark out on him.
LARRY: He's swift
out of the box, boys.
Be sure to get the gate
open in a hurry.
Thanks, Larry.
Now, friends,
about ready to go
is a rider who has just
returned to the rodeo circuit
after a long absence.
And here he is, from Chicawa,
Texas, J.W. Coop
on a bull called "Eight-ball".
[HORN SOUNDING]
Folks, the judges
say that ride is worth a 72.
Let's hear it for the new
leader in the bull-riding
event, J.W. Coop.
Welcome home, son.
[HORN SOUNDING]
ANNOUNCER:
From Lubbock, Texas,
here's one of the world's
leading bull riders,
Myrtis Dightman.
[HORN SOUNDING]
You ride bares
and broncs too?
Yes, sir.
Damn, you'll have me
working for wages.
I doubt it.
GIRLS: Billy! Billy!
Later, girls.
The King's in a hurry.
Here's an event
you've all been waiting for,
and the prettiest riders
in rodeo,
the girl's barrel-racing
event.
Clear the decks, boys.
Hey, that's a pretty
smooth-looking tomato there.
She's gonna be
at the party tonight.
Yeah? What party?
Bonnie's daddy's throwing
a barbecue for everybody,
and there's gonna be
some finger-licking
little girls there,
and she's just one
of them.
Damn.
[COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYING]
Manuel, it looks
just marvelous.
Just divine.
Hey, everybody,
come and get your food.
Chow's on.
I really shouldn't,
Mr. Gibbs.
Ah, it's from the
horse's mouth, Billy.
Come on, come on.
Right from the horse's mouth.
You know, it isn't much.
Just a little old
country place for a
little old country boy,
but it's comfortable.
Sure is pretty,
Mr. Gibbs.
Yeah, it cost me
a half a million
before I got it fixed.
Five hundred acres,
100 thoroughbreds.
Twelve police dogs.
Billion burglar alarm system.
It ain't much.
The old lady said,
"Go ahead and shoot him,
Walter."
There was a fence
about five or six feet high
surrounding that
trailer court,
and I cleared it,
shucking clean.
Bam! Bam!
That little son-of-a-bitch
let go with both barrels.
The trouble was,
when you looked at Judy,
you couldn't tell the
difference between her
and some old boy.
But you could sure feel
the difference, I can
guarantee that. Why!
Is the green sauce
too hot, boys?
Green sauce?
Yes, ma'am.
Hello, Bonnie May.
It's just fine.
How about you, J.W.?
You like it hot?
Yeah, I do.
That doesn't surprise me, J.W.
But you did, turning up
after all these years.
It's been so long.
What's so long, Bonnie, hmm?
Why, Marjorie,
don't you look sweet,
and your hair, oh,
your hair looks real nice.
It really does.
Doesn't it, boys?
Doesn't it look nice?
What did you do to it?
Just teased
by the wind, Bonnie.
Just teased by the wind.
Well, Marjorie,
you should do it
more often.
It makes you look
so young.
Now, J.W.,
I want you to eat up,
because you're gonna need
all your strength
if you're gonna ride.
I wish I had a swing
like that in my backyard.
No, you don't, Leroy.
That's a public
playground.
Tell you what
I got in mind, Billy.
I want to get you
and all of the pros together,
all in one place.
You, Joe Namath,
Mickey Mantle, Arnold Palmer,
Jack Nicklaus.
Mmm-hmm.
Willy Shoemaker.
And what's the hockey jock,
that handsome hockey jock?
What's his, what's his name?
Bobby Orr.
Bobby Hull, that's right.
With Bobby, and you,
and all of us together,
all us pros, in my jet,
and fly down to the main ranch
for a week's hunt.
Just us pros.
What do you hunt?
Why, everything.
Everything that moves.
Mountain goat,
deer, antelope, birds.
Hell, anything that moves.
I don't give a damn.
I got 100,000 acres.
BONNIE: Help! Help!
You bitch!
You been aching for a breaking
for a long time.
Antelope, deer, birds,
lizards, snake, armadillo,
wild boar, elk. Who cares?
[BELL RINGING]
Look, it's moving!
Water moccasins.
There you are, Billy.
Right from
the horse's mouth.
GIBBS: Roadrunner, sloth,
bull eagle, snake,
snipe, horn toad.
I really need to be going now,
Mr. Gibbs.
Goat, hill rat, razorback,
and anything with hair!
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
J.W.: I don't know why
I don't live in a motel
like a civilized human being,
instead of a goddamn bushes
with a college graduate.
What the hell is that?
Looks like
some kind of Indian sign.
She must be some
kind of Indian,
putting a hex on me.
[SNIFFS]
Smells like licorice.
Damn Indian sign
made out of licorice.
It's a peace sign.
It's a what?
It's a peace sign.
What kind of peace?
You know, like peace on earth.
Yeah.
I guess that's
the only kind of peace
you'd know anything about.
I'm not a virgin,
you know, J.W.
Well, how would I know?
I don't know
if I'm glad or not.
I think I'm glad.
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
Pretty good, huh?
No, just wasn't cowboying
good enough today.
That old bull
honked me pretty good.
Didn't fit the ticket.
Were you hurt?
No, just honked.
Hell, it happens to everybody,
you know the saying.
What saying?
"Never a horse
couldn't be rode,
"never a cowboy
couldn't be throwed."
Want to bring
that chart we made up?
J.W.:
Can you tell me how in hell
I'm gonna give
Billy Hawkins a race
when he can do 120
rodeos to my 78?
It's that damn
Beechcraft airplane,
that's the difference.
Well, I'll just
have to try harder
and ride faster.
How many points
did Billy score?
Last year,
according to Marge,
60,000, which is
a hell of a,
a hell of a lot more
than I've scored.
Yeah, but you still got
11 months, J.W.
J.W.: Yeah, 11 months
to make up for 10 years,
and I'm hungry.
BEAN: Money hungry?
No. Time hungry.
[LAUGHING]
BEAN: Do you like
my new addition
to the paint scheme?
J.W.: Yeah. We'll be
the laughingstock
of the rodeo, but it's okay.
J.W.: Well, I guess
I'd better stick
to bucking horses.
Sure can't hack
this golf.
BEAN: Oh,
I don't know, J.W.
You were hacking away
pretty good there.
You got
any more surprises?
Yeah, wait'll you see
the hotel we're staying at
tonight.
[BEAN LAUGHING]
Where are our bags?
Where are you
taking me?
Oh, I got a surprise
for you.
I got a surprise
for you.
Now.
What, what are you doing?
Now for dessert.
How about that?
And how about that, huh?
How about that?
Can you believe that?
That's the next thing
to flying, ain't it?
Can you believe
that, Bean?
That this
East Chicawa jailbird
has achieved these heights
from a bucking saddle?
Ain't it a wonder?
Ain't, ain't that beautiful?
J.W.: There goes
Hot Pistol Billy.
And we're not far behind.
Honey, did you give
Larry Mahan back
those chaps I borrowed?
Yeah.
J.W., you're so funny
about that borrowed-chap
superstition.
Well, it ain't funny.
Hell, it works,
don't it?
If it works,
I'm gonna do it.
Can't afford not to.
Hot damn!
Oh, you Marge, you nut!
Oh, boy.
Nice going, lover.
Boy, you gave
your A act tonight.
You're breathing hard
on old Hot Pistol Hawkins.
Oh!
He kind of showed signs
of choking tonight.
What do you think, Bean?
You did
real well, J.W.
Oh, he ain't choking.
He ain't choking.
I just lucked out.
Lucked out, my ass.
You beat him for $1,200.
Come on,
party's in my van.
Oh, listen, I gotta call home.
For permission
to have a drink?
No, I haven't called
in a couple of weeks.
I'll hook up with you
in a few minutes. All right?
See you later, honey.
Hello, operator?
Operator, I'd like to call,
uh, Chicawa, Texas, please.
Looks like J.W. is moving up
on old Hot Pistol Billy.
Yeah, old J.W.'s
got a lot of try.
How'd he get
in the pen anyway?
Bad penmanship.
I heard it wasn't
a bad check, a bad friend.
A fella promised him
to hold it for two weeks
and didn't.
[MECHANICAL CHUGGING]
Come on down, Daddy.
It's late.
Come on down, Daddy.
Mama wants you home.
[MAN SCREAMING]
Mama wants you home.
[ORGAN MUSIC PLAYING]
[CROWD GASPS]
[SIREN WAILING]
[SIREN WAILING]
GIBBS: Hell, I got
20 miles of shoreline.
J.W.: Well, what
do we fish for?
Anything. Hell, anything.
Anything that can swim.
Bass, trout,
perch, catfish,
mud tad, turtle tad, craw tad,
halibut, flounder,
flying frog.
J.W.: Flying frog?
GIBBS: I'm thinking of turning
it into a recreation center
for retired Republicans.
I'll tell you what I got in
mind for you, J.W.
Thought we'd start
an aqua-rodeo.
Get a bunch
of giant water skis
that can hold up a horse.
We'll have them bucking
on water.
Well, we're over the hump,
honey.
To the nationals.
To the nationals, champ.
Well, I don't know about that.
Still four weeks off.
Still, though, I'll say this.
It's one thing
going in one of 15,
and it's sure a hell of
a lot more comforting
going in top hole.
And coming out
number one.
I don't know.
Those cowboys are awful good
or they wouldn't be
in the nationals.
J.W.: Old Hot Pistol Billy got
$60,000, $70,000 in
endorsements alone last year.
That's a lot of money.
Sure as a pig's ass
is pork,
it's a lot of money.
Enough money
to buy the dream too.
The dream?
Ten year dream.
What's that?
Oh, not much.
Just a few hundred acres,
a few charolais,
some good bucking stock,
and a house on a hill.
That's all. Nothing fancy.
That's all?
Yeah, that's all.
Oh, maybe a few other things.
What other things?
Oh, it'd be kind of nice
to have a boat, a plane.
To herd cattle?
No. Oh, no, I don't
mean because it's gonna be
business, silly.
It's nice to have
a boat, plane.
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
Hello?
J.W.: Hello, Bean?
Yeah.
Uh, listen, I'm gonna
be a little late.
Where are you?
I'm in Hale's Corners.
Hale's what?
Corners. Corners.
Are you all right?
Yeah, I'm fine.
I just, uh, got lost
and ran out of gas.
How are you going to get home?
Well, I'm gonna fly home,
just as soon as I get some gas
back to the dairy.
J.W., are you all right?
Yeah, I told you
I'm all right.
I just gotta take some gas
back to the plane.
Well, where is the plane?
It's resting
on a field.
It's resting on a dairy field
about, uh, four
miles from here.
Well, when will
you be home?
Oh, shouldn't be
more than a couple of hours.
[DOOR CLOSES]
J.W.?
Yeah.
You all right?
Yeah, I'm all right.
Well, what happened?
What happened?
The damn cows
ate my plane.
J.W., are you sure
you're all right?
Yeah, hell, I'm fine,
but my plane ain't.
Damn cows
ate off all the fabric.
Shit!
Well, it's official, honey,
we're in the nationals.
Next stop, Oklahoma City.
GIRLS: Oh, J.W.!
J.W., will you?
Will I what?
Kiss me?
Kiss me?
[GIRLS SQUEALING]
These last 10 months have been
about the happiest time
of my life.
Not just because
I'm riding and winning,
but because I'm with you.
And you're with me,
all the way.
And I'd like
to extend that
partnership.
I'd like to extend
that happiness.
I'd like to extend
an invitation to you
to be my wife.
And I know you're a lot
younger and a hell
of a lot smarter,
but I can't help it.
I just gotta offer you
that extension.
Do you know what a loner is?
I mean, do you really know?
Me.
I'm the original loner.
At least I was,
until I met up with you.
You opened up my
head, my heart.
Now I can't make it alone.
J.W., you can make it
with or without anybody.
You've proven that.
No way.
And I don't want to go back.
A loner is a lonely man.
And I don't want to go back.
J.W., don't go back.
Nobody wants you to go back.
Just look back at this year,
and then look back
at the 10 years before that,
and what do you see?
You see a man,
a very exceptional man,
who had a dream,
and who never let go,
and who never
will let go.
You're strong, J.W.,
and you don't need anything
but your own beliefs.
You must believe that.
I believe in you with me.
[APPLAUDING]
ANNOUNCER:
For a place here
in the national finals
in Oklahoma City.
This year,
we have beauty of a race,
the all-around
cowboy championship
between the defending
champion, Billy Hawkins,
and this year's
dark horse contender,
J.W. Coop.
Coop now leads by $300,
with a total of $49,400.
Here at the national finals,
the championship
will be decided
on the reference rank
in bucking stock,
having every strain
in the United States
and Canada,
including
the infamous "Escadero",
the bull the cowpokes
will tell you
is the meanest one
they've ever seen in rodeo.
[SNORTING]
[HORN SOUNDING]
[GASPING]
[BRAKES SCREECHING]
Hey, where the hell
have you been, cowboy?
You're supposed to wait for me
in the doctor's office.
I don't like waiting
in the doctors' offices.
They all stink of Lysol.
Get your ass in this car
or Big Marge'll kick it in.
MARGE: Broke, my ass.
It's a compound fracture
you dumb-dumb.
Just like the doctor said,
if you never want
to ride again,
all you got to do
is go out there
and break it again,
and the closest you'll
ever get to rodeo
is parking cars
right here on this lot.
Now that's the truth of it.
It's just a break, Marge.
I broke it 12 years ago
in Abilene,
and it didn't
slow me up much then.
Uh-huh.
Well, it's gonna
slow you up
this time, doctor.
See you shaved
your moustache off.
Listen, J.W.
I know you're pissed off,
but you can't
let it get to you.
Sure, she's cute little filly,
but when people
aren't right for each other,
they're just not right
for each other.
Besides, you're in good shape.
You won almost $50,000.
You don't like
to be second, Marge.
This was gonna be my year.
I waited 10 years.
And I blew it.
Blew it?
You didn't blow it.
Jesus, you won
49,000 goddamn dollars,
didn't you?
You started from nothing.
In one year,
you worked your way up
to second-leading cowboy.
Second's the bottom.
Second's last.
Even if you were to go out
there and win every event,
you couldn't win.
When you were getting
your leg fixed,
Billy nailed down four firsts.
It's too late.
It's just too late.
ANNOUNCER: And now
the most dangerous event
on the American
sporting scene today,
this is cowboy's bull riding.
First and second place,
of course,
has already been determined.
Winner of this year
will undoubtedly be
Billy Hawkins
of Meadow Wells, Texas.
Second place,
the guy who came from nowhere
to get the runner-up position,
J.W. Coop from Chicawa, Texas.
On Tornado,
a great bucking bull,
all the way from
St. Paul, Minnesota,
let's watch Clyde Maye.
[HORN SOUNDING]
And again, might we suggest
a consolation round
of applause.
These bulls are really
taking the toll
on these great bull riders
in the finals this year.
Well, if he,
if he drew him, it's legal,
but I can't believe it.
Here is a guy with a broken
leg, ladies and gentlemen,
it, it's official now.
This dark horse, J.W. Coop,
suffering a broken leg
just performances ago,
has drawn legally
the greatest bull
that professional rodeo
has ever known,
the mighty "Escadero",
and tonight he's going to try
to ride him.
So in chute three,
a guy with the greatest heart
we've ever seen
in professional rodeo.
Let's watch J.W. Coop
try to do the impossible.
Here he is on "Escadero".
He's gonna make it.
[LOUD BUZZING]
He's done it.
Get off, J.W.!
[ESCADERO SNORTING]
[NO AUDIO]