Violent Road (1958) - full transcript
The Cyclone Rocket Company is a military contractor building missiles for the U.S. Air Force. The company also produces the highly volatile rocket fuel used in the missiles. During a test, a missile explodes. For safety reasons, the government decides to move the company from its current location, nearby an army base and small town, to a new remote location. However, the plant's dangerous chemicals must be moved by truck to the new location via secondary unpaved roads bypassing all inhabited areas, towns and communities. Moreover, the move must be completed fast and the plant must be operational in three days, in order to maintain its government contract. Three trucks are selected to transport the dangerous rocket fuels. Short on drivers for such a dangerous assignment, the company hires a motley crew of desperate men to drive the trucks through rough terrain to the new location. Each truck has a driver and a helper. Each man is promised five thousand dollars as payment upon successful delivery of the trucks and cargo. The six men are: recently unemployed maverick trucker Mitch Barton, company representative and fuel developer scientist George Lawrence, retired Marine sergeant Frank Miller, amiable drunk Pat Farley, compulsive gambler Ben and expert mechanic Joe. On the day of departure, a drunken Pat is replaced by his younger brother Ken who is a hot-rod race car driver. After the departure, each man explains his motivation for taking the job and what he will do with his pay. As expected, the three-truck convoy runs into trouble.
Ten,
nine,
eight,
seven,
six,
five,
four,
three,
two,
one.
Thanks for the ride.
Been a million laughs.
You showed your appreciation.
Wasn?t hard to do.
Where to now?
Wherever the sun
or the road map takes me.
One place, one town,
the same as the next.
Story of my life.
You staying around here long?
Well, it depends on
what the man in there says.
And if he says no?
Well, I?ll follow the sun
or I?ll find somebody else
that?s got a road map.
Thanks again.
My pleasure.
Take care now.
Next fellow you pick up
might not have my kind of
polite manners.
It?s nice of you to have
my interests at heart.
Well, it?s not exactly that,
see? Uh...
I knew a girl one time,
all she did was go out
and park one night with a blind date.
A year later,
she had to get a divorce.
Coward.
No, the thought of something
like that happening to me
could turn me into a real
hard-type fellow to find.
Don?t lose any sleep.
Forget it.
I?m a big girl. I stopped.
I picked you up.
I gave you a ride.
Like you said, a million laughs.
Hey, wait a minute,
I don?t even know your name.
Can I help you?
Yeah, my name is Mitch Barton,
Continental Transport.
I got to see Nelson.
Nelson?s office.
Hello, Margaret?
There?s a Mitch Barton here
from Continental Transport
to see Mr. Nelson.
Yeah.
That?s right.
Right.
Right through here and turn right.
Just take care of that for me,
will you, Jack?
Sure and, uh...
you take care of this
for me too, will you, Jack?
Oh, okay.
There ya are.
Hey, where?s Nelson?s office?
Over there.
Right here?
Thanks.
Hey, Farley!
You gonna drive this stuff out
or you gonna float it?
Oh, forget it...
pigeon.
Quite a rocket.
Oh.
Mm.
Such strength, you must take
lots of vitamins.
Where do you want this?
Over there.
You, uh...
you must be Mitch Barton.
You?re marvelous.
You don?t know how marvelous.
Mr. Barton, Mr. Nelson.
Wow, so Walker changed his mind.
How are you?
Why didn?t he call and say
he was sending somebody?
You?re really taking off, huh?
Taking off? Ha.
Old plan.
Machinery, officer equipment,
personnel.
All that goes airlift,
but the other stuff...
Walker?s got to have those
trucks and drivers in here
ready to move out the second after.
Well, you?re kind of
in trouble, Mr. Nelson.
What kind of an
understatement is that?
I mean, finding somebody
to haul your cargo out of here.
Yeah, all these trucking outfits
have got me climbing
a wall, all right.
Now, look, Barton,
I want these drivers
briefed till it comes
out of their ears.
They got to know this road
like it was their own skin,
every bump, every turn,
every little...
You did say, you were from
Continental Transport...
Walker did send you?
Well, not exactly.
Not exactly what?
I mean, not exactly with Continental.
I used to be...
I was up till three days ago,
and then Walker fired me.
I?ve got my neck in a sling
for about ten million dollars
if I don?t get this plant moved
and operating in time
to meet a government deadline.
And you?ve got the gall
to bust in here
making me think Walker sent you.
Now get out before I call
security up to blast you out.
Now, you ought to
take it easy, Nelson.
I know about the troubles
you?ve been having around here.
I got a friend, see,
she?s a kind of
a close personal friend...
Walker?s secretary.
So I know about the explosions you had
and I know about that runaway rocket
that cracked up.
I know you got to move this
plant out of here, too,
before the town moves it for you.
That?s if there?s any town
left by then.
Wow, you got yourself
quite a little grapevine.
That?s right.
What else?
Well, Walker would shrink
his own mother?s head for a buck.
He?d even run the risk
of getting the insurance
canceled on his trucks
and his drivers.
So if he turns down this haul,
it must be pretty hot.
Not too hot for you?
Well, I?m not allergic
to a buck, either.
Only I got no insurance to lose...
no trucks, no drivers, no nothing.
Trucking outfit with no trucks
and no drivers.
Bargain, eh?
Right.
Now, you?ve got a deadline,
haven?t you?
You need three trucks and six drivers.
Walker was the bottom of the barrel,
and it?s too late for you
to put out a call
for wildcat drivers.
You can?t risk that anyway.
Now, I know trucks and I know drivers.
I can smell them.
You supply the trucks,
and I?ll dig up the drivers
for you right here in your own plant.
Whatever you got to haul,
I?ll haul it where it?s going.
Okay, sport.
It?s your ten million bucks.
I just came looking for a job.
You want me, I?ll be around.
What I saw of this town,
I won?t be hard to find, either.
Frank, I called you.
I heard.
Well, I didn?t want the meat
to dry out.
So, another five minutes.
Well, meat gets tough when it stands.
Well, who told you to put it on
practically after breakfast?
And who eats supper
when it?s still daylight anyway?
Let?s go to a movie tonight, Frank?
No.
Some other night, hmm?
That?s what you said the last time...
and the time before that.
Well, look, honey you know I...
I sit still so long,
I get nervous and jumpy.
It?s all right to sit in the bar
at Garnett?s and...
brag to the marine boots.
You don?t get nervous
and jumpy doing that, do you?
Knock it off, Edith, knock it off.
Frank, let?s get out of here.
Just get up and go any place.
Sell the house and go.
Once the plant moves from here,
there won?t be anything
anyway, no town.
That?s not the point.
For us, then, Frank.
Please, before it?s too late.
Please, Frank, please.
Oh, Edith, you don?t read
the papers too good.
You don?t... you don?t hear what I hear
when I visit the guys at the base.
They might need me right away.
Call me back.
They?ve had you, Frank.
The best years of your life.
The best years of my life.
Frank, I followed you
from one place to another.
Cut it out, Edith.
Been all by myself all the time...
Cut it out!
Frank.
Oh!
Oh, Frank.
If you got something like that around,
you don?t get bored on rainy days.
After next month, she?ll have you
talking to yourself.
Yup.
When this town folds,
that?s all we will be doing is
talking to ourselves.
You know, we?re in trouble, man.
Uh-uh, Ben, not tonight.
Old Garnett?s got us on the books
and it?s still a week to pay day.
Sucker.
Hey, Garnett, as long as
you?re carrying us,
give us two more.
Okay.
Once again.
And, uh, quick straight one
while I?m resting.
How about a little action
tonight, Bobby?
A round of Whiting and Adams?
Ben, I... I got all the action
I can handle for one night.
I?ll lay you three to one
you don?t make a pass.
Ha!
Hi.
Hi.
Whole town drops dead every night
about an hour from now.
I usually manage to stir up
a little action about then.
Friendly, you know,
just few of the boys from the plant.
I?m just waiting to hear
from somebody, Jack.
Ben.
Why don?t you to leave
word with Garnett?
You?re in love with the sound
of your own voice, aren?t you?
Just trying to be friendly.
Hadn?t seen you around before.
Well, Sarge,
come on up and join
the frontline trenches.
Win any new wars lately?
Beer.
Beer?
For a big man like you?
From the halls of Montezuma?
And a bourbon chaser.
Oh, now, what?s the matter, Sarge,
you have a hassle
with the high command?
At ease, Private.
Sorry, Sarge, sorry.
Give me another.
So, who knew Sarge was so touchy?
So you just sit and listen to him
for a long time.
Oh, now, we?ve been listening
to him for a long time.
A war and a half of listening,
ever since his first day
of semper fidelis.
Battle of the bulge.
Give me another one.
You know, your mother sure
played a dirty trick on you
giving you him for a brother.
Lay off him.
Don?t worry.
He?ll probably drown someday...
inside a bottle.
I said lay off him.
You should have seen him.
New Year?s Day...
at the Rose Bowl.
He ran a kick off
back 90 yards for a touchdown.
Made All American.
Sure going to be quiet around here.
You pulling out with the plant?
Not if I can hit me
a big enough stake, I won?t.
I hit a stake...
I go to Vegas.
Nelson can take the plant
and the rocket and shove off.
Somebody should move in,
take over the place.
Aircraft outfit.
Yeah.
Somebody.
All American.
Ha!
All American slob.
What a struggle.
You?re a real pretty sight.
Here, wipe the drool.
Get me a drink, kid.
So you can throw your guts up again?
Please.
Why?
I don?t know.
I?ll tell you why.
You?re scared.
Me?
Ken, don?t say that.
Sure, I?ll say it.
You?re the big Pat Farley,
big All American,
big man on the campus,
big with the dames,
the biggest in his class,
and most likely to succeed.
The biggest nothing.
Shh, Ken.
Shh.
Don?t say that, please.
Ken, get me a-a drink, huh?
Yeah, sure.
It?s the only way you can
stand the silence anymore.
It?s the only way you can hear
the cheers of the crowd.
"Yay, Pat Farley.
Pat Farley touchdown."
Now there?s no more cheers
and no more pats on the back.
And filling your belly
with that rotgut
morning, noon,
and night is the only way
you can stand the silence.
You?ve made a mess of yourself.
Now, Kenny...
don?t... don?t pile up on me.
Always as a kid,
all I hear about is my brother.
How I should grow up and be like him.
I had you running out of my ears.
And for me, when it came my turn,
there was no college.
Big brother, he got all the pearls.
Little brother gets the empty shells.
I?m sorry...
I?m sorry...
I?m sorry, too.
I?m sorry that anything like this
should happen to anybody.
That anyone can be
so alone and so scared.
It makes me scared.
Scared to death.
Give me another rye, will you?
Make it two.
Well, what?d you do,
lose your road map?
No, I?ve just been under a hot shower,
washing away some of the dirt
I picked up.
All right, I?m a louse.
I won?t argue that with you.
I?m sorry about what I said.
I, uh... I...
Forget it.
I just stopped by to tell you that
just because I gave you a lift,
I?m not going to sue you
for breach of promise.
Well, thank you.
It?s like you said,
I don?t even know your name.
Mitch Barton?
Yeah, what do you want?
Mr. Nelson wants to see you
down at the plant.
Oh, isn?t that nice.
Be with you in a minute.
For your information, Barton,
I called Walker long distance.
Just the mention of your name
shot his blood pressure up 20 points.
Well, he probably figured
it was a collect call.
He said you?re reckless, defiant,
have no respect for
traffic regulations or people.
I like women, dogs, cats... some cats.
Walker said I?d have to be
crazy if I ever hired you.
You bring me up here to tell me that?
Why don?t you call up
your psychiatrist?
I already did, Barton.
So what did he say?
He said to call him again
if you didn?t bring my trucks
through for me.
Oh.
Okay, what?s the haul?
Lawrence, tell him.
Three trucks.
Red fuming nitric acid,
hydrogen peroxide, hydrazine.
The three basic component parts
of our rocket testing fuel.
I drove a tank full of
hydrazine before.
On paved highway maybe,
not over roads like this.
The authorities won?t let us
through the populated section.
You?ll bypass every checking station.
Any bump, any jar,
any pebble can set this stuff
like a bomb.
Come here.
Here?s the new plant
on the other side of these mountains,
near Thunder Dry Lake.
Here?s where we are.
You start out here,
cut across this road,
takes you to the old
locked off ridge route,
the one they banned
when they finished the new highway.
There?s just you
and the trucks and empty space.
And now I lay me down to sleep.
All three trucks arrive together.
Each propellant is dependent
on the other.
One without the other is no good.
Alone, out of their
natural chemical environment
too long, well... bang.
How long is bang?
Bismark is half way,
you make that the first day.
You don?t dare risk driving at night,
so you stay over,
start out the next morning.
Well, that?s real generous.
Anything else?
Well, Mr. Nelson
just about said it,
they?re all unpredictable.
The hydrazine can explode
if even a drop touches the dirt.
The hydrogen peroxide?s
100% concentrated.
Same thing can happen.
Nitric acid goes in
three separate tanks,
installed in one truck.
Fumes are poisonous, corrosive.
This acid can burn a man alive.
Maybe Walker knew what he was doing.
Three trucks, six men.
Three divers, three helpers,
in case of mechanical or road trouble.
You round up your men
and pull out of here
within 24 hours.
Here?s the file
on personnel at Cyclone.
Now go get your men.
What hay stack?
You split $30,000
and you keep the trucks, Barton.
Payment on delivery.
All three trucks together or no deal.
You wanna be me beneficiary, too?
That?s a little too fast.
Take it easy.
How?d they get that... Look...
Don?t let it...
Don?t let it hit the other tank!
It couldn?t have been closer.
Yes, it could...
if any of that nitric acid
had broken loose.
George, I?m pulling you
off of those trucks.
I can use you
at the other end with me.
Oh, no.
You?re no driver.
I was against you
going in the first place.
Now, Barton can get along
with one less help.
Look, somebody has got to know
how to handle that stuff
in case anything goes wrong.
You forget I?m the big genius
who cooks and feeds that fuel
for your fire crackers.
Get one of them drunk in the stuff,
it goes crazy wild.
Crashes into a schoolyard of kids,
kills them off, murders them.
I?m going along.
Double check those tank caps,
make sure they?re tight.
Right.
That?s what we?re doing.
Hey, you?re late, Farley.
I told you to be
here at 5:00.
Hey.
You dirty drunked up slob.
I?m taking his place.
I?m his...
You what?
I said I?m taking his place.
Right.
I can drive.
I can do it, I can do it all right.
Pick him up.
Pour some coffee in him, go.
Nothing is gonna sober him up,
not the way he?s got himself
tanked, it won?t.
I?ve told you not to worry,
I?m driving for him.
Yeah, you?re gonna drive.
I know that kid, Barton,
he drives in road races
all over the state.
This ain?t a road race.
Then who?s gonna drive his truck?
I?ll get somebody.
I can do it, I can do it.
There?s no time!
Barton, these trucks
have got to move now.
This kid?s still wet behind the ears.
Do you think I?m gonna risk our necks
any more than we have to now?
You think I want to
take a chance on that?
Would you rather risk ?em
with him behind the wheel?
What are you gonna do?
Now, kid, you get your nose
out of line once,
one time, junior, that?s all.
Sure.
Sure.
Come on.
Sarge, come on, all of you, over here.
Kenny, don?t leave me.
You ain?t going to leave me, are you?
Okay, anybody wants out,
now?s the time to talk up.
What do you say?
I like the odds, I?m with you.
Okay, listen to this.
Remember how it sounds,
?cause it might
mean your life sometime.
Anybody gets in trouble,
that?s the signal.
Lawrence, you and Sarge
are in the three tanker.
Take second position.
Ben, you and the kid take this one.
You?re in back.
Joe, you and I are gonna
lead off in the front truck.
Right.
Barton.
Yes, sir.
Good luck.
See you down the road.
I?ll be waiting at the other end.
Have the money in your pocket.
Kenny!
What are you trying to do?
Come up with box cars?
Next time, relax, take the train.
Well, we?re on our way.
Yup.
Do you think we?ll make it?
You pick a great time to ask,
don?t you?
We?ll make it.
If we don?t, there?ll
just be a loud noise
and Nelson will want to
cut our throats.
Oh, I didn?t mean it that way.
I mean, I?m... I?m talking
about my share.
The $5,000.
That buys a dream.
Don?t buy. Rent.
Saves you time and trouble,
and you hang on your freedom that way.
Well, it?s not what you think.
My dream is college, be an engineer.
MIT, Caltech.
I don?t know.
$5,000 can buy that for me.
But being just a...
grease monkey,
being what I am, where I come from,
staying the way I am...
How many lifetimes would it take
to get that kind of money.
Okay, it?s your five grand, kid.
It?s your dream.
# I?m just breezin? along
with the breeze #
# Ridin? the rails,
roamin? the seas #
# La la la la la la la #
# Livin? to please #
# La la la la #
# The sky is the only roof
I have over my head #
# And when I?m weary,
mother nature makes me a bed #
# I?m just goin? along
as I please #
# Breezin? along
with the breeze #
This thing rides like an LVT.
Better check on your side,
make sure everything?s secure.
Yeah.
Riding all right.
Nice, huh?
It?s a tight squeeze,
but I think we?ll make it.
Hope you lived a good, clean life.
Start digging, we?re liable
to cave the whole thing in.
What do you think are the chances of
bulldozing our way through, professor?
Is there another choice?
All right, we?ll go one
at a time and walk them through.
Better pull back up there...
and keep under cover
till I blow you an all clear.
Remember you?re
not driving a road race, you.
Wish me luck.
Luck.
Ben.
What have you got against him, huh?
Who said I got anything against him?
He?ll never walk that truck through.
You all right?
Beautiful.
Got a pants full of loaded dice, Ben.
Come on, let?s hit it.
Hey, you better
check those tanks back there.
Felt like an earthquake hit.
All clear.
Right.
That?s us.
Hey, kid.
Look, we get one roll.
We come out with a point,
we got to make it.
No second chances.
If we don?t make it, we?ve had it.
We?ll make it, get in.
Hey, wait a minute.
What do you mean, get in?
What I said, get in.
I don?t need a wet nurse.
I?m going on through.
Then you?re crazier than I thought.
Who?d you say had jelly for guts?
Look, kid, I?ve got more than
guts laying on this line.
I got five thousand bucks.
Five thousand bucks,
and I?m not letting you
buck those odds.
Ben.
I?ll give you the odds.
You walk out there in front of me
and there?s liable to be
a slight accident.
Or you ride with me
and take your chances.
Look, hotrod,
what are you trying to prove?
You?re the gambler.
You answer that.
Hey, kid.
How much?
Five hundred.
Five hundred for a five second ride.
I say you can?t take it.
You got yourself a bet, hotrod.
That?s 500 you owe me.
I?m sure glad your lush
brother wasn?t driving.
You shut up about my brother,
just shut up.
I just told you
this wasn?t a road race.
Now, you pull another stunt
like that, junior,
I?ll rub your head
in the sand till it?s hamburger.
Remember that.
Hey, what?s the matter?
You on a diet or something?
I don?t blame you.
The guy who made this sandwich
is trying to get even with somebody.
Hey, come on, wake up.
You look like
they used to look on Iwo.
Yeah.
Go for days with out any sleep, days.
Always be looking for them.
Liable to come from anywhere...
anywhere, never knew where or when.
Go along.
Give anything.
Give a million dollars
just to be able to close your eyes.
Doze...
doze... just to sleep.
Good morning, Cathy.
Randy, drink your milk.
You?ll be late for school.
Oh, all right.
Not in front of the children.
Why not?
We?re married, aren?t we?
Sometimes I wonder.
Here, Casanova,
you might get cold.
Mommy!
Now, you take off
and Cathy and I will pick you up
when school?s out.
Here.
Okay.
Bye, Mom.
Bye, Dad.
Bye, Cathy.
Bye-bye.
Bye.
What was that, uh,
"Sometimes I wonder"
crack all about, anyway?
Just what I said,
that other woman in your life.
Yeah, what other woman?
"Her," "she," "she was hot
as a pistol today" and "she...
"You should?ve seen her
stick her nose up in the clouds
"and waggle her tail
at the earth" and...
and "she was like a ballerina
leaping into the sky."
We ever split up, George Lawrence,
it will be her fault.
Yeah, but, um, can she cook?
Can she press my pants?
Can she...
Your ride.
Oh, Joe?
He?s kept me waiting before.
What?s that?
What?s wrong?
I don?t know,
motor?s messing, no compression.
What?
Oh, the minute I hit that last brake,
she started mushing out on me.
Well, we can?t hang up here,
we got to keep moving.
Joe, stay with Sarge.
I?ll get my tools.
You ride with me.
If you don?t pick us up
by the time we get to Bismark,
I?ll send help back for you.
You better be there.
You want us to stay behind?
What are you, crazy?
That stuff in your tank will blow
if you sneeze at it wrong.
His can?t.
Pull around him, kid, come on.
See you.
Find anything?
I can?t tell.
Maybe the injective,
maybe the fuel line,
maybe a lot of maybes.
Some day I?m gonna kill
that school pigeon dog.
Well, are you good and happy now?
Playing big hero
for all the little solider boys.
Buying them drinks
so they?ll listen to you?
Edith, I...
Big hero!
Do they know how you come
stumbling home?
How you make a mess
and I have to clean it up.
Edith, will you shut up?
No, I won?t shut up!
Shut up!
I won?t shut up!
I got to live with you, they don?t.
They get the free drinks,
I get the hangover!
Oh, Frank,
when are you gonna stop playing
the big soldier boy?
When are you gonna get it through that
great big thick head that
they don?t want you anymore,
they don?t need you,
they?re never gonna call you back?
Frank, you?ve had it,
you?re an old man.
You?re an old, old man.
Old, old man...
Mitch!
What happened to him?
I was fixing the motor,
he was checking under the truck.
Road bed must have
jarred the tank cap loose.
The stuff splashed all over his hand.
Sarge, he got the full treatment.
He never hollered,
never opened his mouth.
He just tightened
the tank cap on again.
He never got his hand back out.
I found him up here. I didn?t know
what to do, I didn?t want to move him.
Get a couple of blankets.
Right.
He?s in bad shape.
He?s gonna need a doctor, fast.
If we can get to Bismark before dark.
Dark?
And if we don?t, he may die.
Take a look at the sun.
You?re the one that said
no driving after dark.
It?s your deadline,
Lawrence, not mine.
Hey, Sam, are you sure
the trucks are coming this way?
No mistake, Track.
My brothe-in-law?s the deputy sheriff
of Cyclone County.
Road?s blocked there, lady.
Something we can do for you?
They said in town
that you weren?t gonna
let the trucks through.
That?s right, lady.
But my husband is with them
and I?ve got to see him.
We don?t care if you spend
the whole night with him,
long as he?s on that side of the road.
Here they come.
What goes here, man?
Not you, mister.
We got the flash on you,
you?re not driving through our town.
Look, we got to get to town.
Where?s my husband?
Where?s Frank?
Oh, you?re Sarge?s wife?
Yeah.
We say this is the end of the line.
You go that way across...
Where?s my husband?
Where?s Frank?
See, we got a sick man
back there, mister.
We got to get him to a doctor.
Frank?
Oh, no.
Please, don?t go down there,
Mrs. Miller.
Look, he?s hurt bad,
he needs a doctor now!
Frank!
Okay, but the trucks don?t budge.
Sam, park your car down here.
We better get the guy to the doctor.
Frank.
He saved a truck, ma?am.
Saved a truck?
Come on, let?s get the trucks
off the road.
Benson, car four.
Go ahead, Benson.
Get a hold of the doc,
I?m bringing someone in.
Frank?
Frank, darling?
Life with you has been good.
Deep down inside of me
it?s been so warm and comfortable.
It?s only when you weren?t with me
that I got frightened and lonely.
But I loved you.
That?s why I thought
to keep you all to myself.
Oh, Sarge, I?ve been selfish,
so selfish and jealous.
Honey, it?s gonna be all right now,
because I grew up.
Just since this morning
and now I grew up.
I wanted to tell you
so you could finish the trip in peace.
So you play soldier, Sarge,
you play soldier.
You just have the time of your life.
You have the time of your life.
Oh, God, forgive me.
Ma?am, we?ll have him in town in... Oh.
Yes, thank you, Sheriff.
He?s dead.
Uh, Mrs. Miller...
Sheriff, I?d better meet you in town,
we?ll make the arrangements.
Lawrence, you better
stay with the trucks,
these guys are gonna have
the split the driving.
They?re gonna need
all the sleep they can get.
I better go with her.
I?ll drive you, in that station wagon.
Thanks.
Everything all right, Lawrence?
Yeah, fine.
Thanks for everything, fellas.
Forget it.
Thanks.
You lead out, junior.
Pick up your reflectors.
Let?s go.
Lie down on the floor, all you kids.
Quick!
Get out of there!
Get out!
You kids all right?
All of you?
Yeah, we?re all right.
Everybody all right in there?
I never figured
we?d get through that one alive.
That fella in the other truck,
with me coming right at him.
If he hadn?t pulled off of the road...
He must have had an angel
riding on his shoulder.
I?ll get one of my boys
to check your bus out for you.
Thanks.
Nobody hurt in the bus.
How are you, okay?
I?m all right, Mitch.
It looks like a broken collarbone.
I don?t know.
Well, we better try to
set him up in the cab.
Ben, check out that bus.
If you can?t fix it in 30 seconds,
tell the guy we?ll send him
a tow truck from the plant.
Right.
I want to be rolling in five minutes.
Come on.
Easy.
I?ll go pin a good conduct
medal on Junior.
Nice going, sport.
Back her out
and follow us up the hill.
Trouble.
You blew enough oil
to bring in a well, junior.
I must have whacked that oil line
when I went off the bridge.
Pressure?s down to
ten pounds, and that temp gauge
is red hot.
How about that.
What do you think, Joe?
Ten pounds of oil pressure?
Like slow death.
Look, it?s downhill
the rest of the way
if you keep it in low gear and don?t
give it any throttle or compression,
the motor will be a break, won?t it?
Well, if you lose the rest of that oil
you might throw a rod,
burn the engine, freeze up.
After that, it?s all brakes
and a prayer.
All right, I run out of oil,
I?ll spit in the engine.
You drive my truck, junior.
Go with him, will you, Lawrence?
Button that thing up.
Keep your distance behind me.
I?ll see you down below.
He?s out of control.
He?s gonna try to slow it up
into the mountain.
Easy, Mitch, easy.
Come on, baby.
Seven eleven for Ben.
Make it a natural.
Don?t crap out now, baby.
There?s five grand waiting
at the end of the line, Barton.
Five beautiful sweet-smelling grand.
Now, now.
Ha ha!
Eleven.
Okay, kid, let?s try it.
Aah!
Well, that makes two of us now.
"If you can?t fight them, join them,"
I always say.
Well, looks like
you?re elected, professor.
Get in the middle truck. All you
got to do is hang on to the wheel.
I?ll be in front to pull
and the kid will be
in the back for a brake.
Do something
about the chain, will you?
Use your good arm.
Yeah.
You ride with the professor.
Stay on the horn.
Remember, one long blast means slow,
two short ones means fast, right?
Yeah.
The deal is three trucks
in tonight, before dark.
If we don?t make it, pop.
Hey.
What?s with you?
I can?t drive the truck.
What do you mean
you can?t drive the truck?
What I said.
Look, Lawrence, I know
what?s bugging you.
You got more reason to hate
every drop of this stuff
than any of us.
Maybe you know a little more
than you told us, too.
But this is the real time,
this whole thing can blow up, huh?
I don?t know, I?ve been watching
you, I?ve got you figured.
Look, I don?t know how...
Well, I know this much.
If we don?t get these trucks through,
if we miss the deadline now,
after all that?s happened,
tomorrow or the next day,
Nelson?s gonna start all over again.
He?s gonna get his rocket launched
with or without us
hauling in the fuel.
You ought to know that
better than the rest of us,
Lawrence.
You can?t stop this kind of thing.
No matter who gets hurt along the way.
Good boy, Barton.
You got a doctor?
Yeah, right down the other end.
Over here.
Looks like made it,
professor, here we are.
Hey, snap out of it.
What did you say?
The ride?s over.
The fuel.
We got to get it off these trucks.
Now, don?t worry about it, George,
it?s all being taken care of.
Doc, check him over, will you?
Got a couple of more
customers for you, doc,
coming up.
Take it easy.
I?ll see you two men at the infirmary
with your money.
If you ever hit Vegas, look me up.
I?ll buy you a drink.
I?ll take it now.
Thanks for everything, Mitch.
Happy dream.
Build yourself
some good roads and bridges.
Five thousand bucks,
it?s gonna buy a lot of help
for my brother.
Send a lot of liquor down the drain.
Thanks.
Thanks for letting me drive.
Okay.
What?s happening to everybody?
Well, it?s a long story.
Don?t try to figure it out.
You know where to find
Sarge?s wife, huh?
I know.
How about these trucks, huh?
What?s the blue book on ?em anyway?
I don?t know.
I want cash, Nelson.
I?ll let you know where I?m gonna be.
What are you gonna do?
Send you a post card.
Hi.
Hi.
Where to?
Let?s try that again.
What took you so long?
nine,
eight,
seven,
six,
five,
four,
three,
two,
one.
Thanks for the ride.
Been a million laughs.
You showed your appreciation.
Wasn?t hard to do.
Where to now?
Wherever the sun
or the road map takes me.
One place, one town,
the same as the next.
Story of my life.
You staying around here long?
Well, it depends on
what the man in there says.
And if he says no?
Well, I?ll follow the sun
or I?ll find somebody else
that?s got a road map.
Thanks again.
My pleasure.
Take care now.
Next fellow you pick up
might not have my kind of
polite manners.
It?s nice of you to have
my interests at heart.
Well, it?s not exactly that,
see? Uh...
I knew a girl one time,
all she did was go out
and park one night with a blind date.
A year later,
she had to get a divorce.
Coward.
No, the thought of something
like that happening to me
could turn me into a real
hard-type fellow to find.
Don?t lose any sleep.
Forget it.
I?m a big girl. I stopped.
I picked you up.
I gave you a ride.
Like you said, a million laughs.
Hey, wait a minute,
I don?t even know your name.
Can I help you?
Yeah, my name is Mitch Barton,
Continental Transport.
I got to see Nelson.
Nelson?s office.
Hello, Margaret?
There?s a Mitch Barton here
from Continental Transport
to see Mr. Nelson.
Yeah.
That?s right.
Right.
Right through here and turn right.
Just take care of that for me,
will you, Jack?
Sure and, uh...
you take care of this
for me too, will you, Jack?
Oh, okay.
There ya are.
Hey, where?s Nelson?s office?
Over there.
Right here?
Thanks.
Hey, Farley!
You gonna drive this stuff out
or you gonna float it?
Oh, forget it...
pigeon.
Quite a rocket.
Oh.
Mm.
Such strength, you must take
lots of vitamins.
Where do you want this?
Over there.
You, uh...
you must be Mitch Barton.
You?re marvelous.
You don?t know how marvelous.
Mr. Barton, Mr. Nelson.
Wow, so Walker changed his mind.
How are you?
Why didn?t he call and say
he was sending somebody?
You?re really taking off, huh?
Taking off? Ha.
Old plan.
Machinery, officer equipment,
personnel.
All that goes airlift,
but the other stuff...
Walker?s got to have those
trucks and drivers in here
ready to move out the second after.
Well, you?re kind of
in trouble, Mr. Nelson.
What kind of an
understatement is that?
I mean, finding somebody
to haul your cargo out of here.
Yeah, all these trucking outfits
have got me climbing
a wall, all right.
Now, look, Barton,
I want these drivers
briefed till it comes
out of their ears.
They got to know this road
like it was their own skin,
every bump, every turn,
every little...
You did say, you were from
Continental Transport...
Walker did send you?
Well, not exactly.
Not exactly what?
I mean, not exactly with Continental.
I used to be...
I was up till three days ago,
and then Walker fired me.
I?ve got my neck in a sling
for about ten million dollars
if I don?t get this plant moved
and operating in time
to meet a government deadline.
And you?ve got the gall
to bust in here
making me think Walker sent you.
Now get out before I call
security up to blast you out.
Now, you ought to
take it easy, Nelson.
I know about the troubles
you?ve been having around here.
I got a friend, see,
she?s a kind of
a close personal friend...
Walker?s secretary.
So I know about the explosions you had
and I know about that runaway rocket
that cracked up.
I know you got to move this
plant out of here, too,
before the town moves it for you.
That?s if there?s any town
left by then.
Wow, you got yourself
quite a little grapevine.
That?s right.
What else?
Well, Walker would shrink
his own mother?s head for a buck.
He?d even run the risk
of getting the insurance
canceled on his trucks
and his drivers.
So if he turns down this haul,
it must be pretty hot.
Not too hot for you?
Well, I?m not allergic
to a buck, either.
Only I got no insurance to lose...
no trucks, no drivers, no nothing.
Trucking outfit with no trucks
and no drivers.
Bargain, eh?
Right.
Now, you?ve got a deadline,
haven?t you?
You need three trucks and six drivers.
Walker was the bottom of the barrel,
and it?s too late for you
to put out a call
for wildcat drivers.
You can?t risk that anyway.
Now, I know trucks and I know drivers.
I can smell them.
You supply the trucks,
and I?ll dig up the drivers
for you right here in your own plant.
Whatever you got to haul,
I?ll haul it where it?s going.
Okay, sport.
It?s your ten million bucks.
I just came looking for a job.
You want me, I?ll be around.
What I saw of this town,
I won?t be hard to find, either.
Frank, I called you.
I heard.
Well, I didn?t want the meat
to dry out.
So, another five minutes.
Well, meat gets tough when it stands.
Well, who told you to put it on
practically after breakfast?
And who eats supper
when it?s still daylight anyway?
Let?s go to a movie tonight, Frank?
No.
Some other night, hmm?
That?s what you said the last time...
and the time before that.
Well, look, honey you know I...
I sit still so long,
I get nervous and jumpy.
It?s all right to sit in the bar
at Garnett?s and...
brag to the marine boots.
You don?t get nervous
and jumpy doing that, do you?
Knock it off, Edith, knock it off.
Frank, let?s get out of here.
Just get up and go any place.
Sell the house and go.
Once the plant moves from here,
there won?t be anything
anyway, no town.
That?s not the point.
For us, then, Frank.
Please, before it?s too late.
Please, Frank, please.
Oh, Edith, you don?t read
the papers too good.
You don?t... you don?t hear what I hear
when I visit the guys at the base.
They might need me right away.
Call me back.
They?ve had you, Frank.
The best years of your life.
The best years of my life.
Frank, I followed you
from one place to another.
Cut it out, Edith.
Been all by myself all the time...
Cut it out!
Frank.
Oh!
Oh, Frank.
If you got something like that around,
you don?t get bored on rainy days.
After next month, she?ll have you
talking to yourself.
Yup.
When this town folds,
that?s all we will be doing is
talking to ourselves.
You know, we?re in trouble, man.
Uh-uh, Ben, not tonight.
Old Garnett?s got us on the books
and it?s still a week to pay day.
Sucker.
Hey, Garnett, as long as
you?re carrying us,
give us two more.
Okay.
Once again.
And, uh, quick straight one
while I?m resting.
How about a little action
tonight, Bobby?
A round of Whiting and Adams?
Ben, I... I got all the action
I can handle for one night.
I?ll lay you three to one
you don?t make a pass.
Ha!
Hi.
Hi.
Whole town drops dead every night
about an hour from now.
I usually manage to stir up
a little action about then.
Friendly, you know,
just few of the boys from the plant.
I?m just waiting to hear
from somebody, Jack.
Ben.
Why don?t you to leave
word with Garnett?
You?re in love with the sound
of your own voice, aren?t you?
Just trying to be friendly.
Hadn?t seen you around before.
Well, Sarge,
come on up and join
the frontline trenches.
Win any new wars lately?
Beer.
Beer?
For a big man like you?
From the halls of Montezuma?
And a bourbon chaser.
Oh, now, what?s the matter, Sarge,
you have a hassle
with the high command?
At ease, Private.
Sorry, Sarge, sorry.
Give me another.
So, who knew Sarge was so touchy?
So you just sit and listen to him
for a long time.
Oh, now, we?ve been listening
to him for a long time.
A war and a half of listening,
ever since his first day
of semper fidelis.
Battle of the bulge.
Give me another one.
You know, your mother sure
played a dirty trick on you
giving you him for a brother.
Lay off him.
Don?t worry.
He?ll probably drown someday...
inside a bottle.
I said lay off him.
You should have seen him.
New Year?s Day...
at the Rose Bowl.
He ran a kick off
back 90 yards for a touchdown.
Made All American.
Sure going to be quiet around here.
You pulling out with the plant?
Not if I can hit me
a big enough stake, I won?t.
I hit a stake...
I go to Vegas.
Nelson can take the plant
and the rocket and shove off.
Somebody should move in,
take over the place.
Aircraft outfit.
Yeah.
Somebody.
All American.
Ha!
All American slob.
What a struggle.
You?re a real pretty sight.
Here, wipe the drool.
Get me a drink, kid.
So you can throw your guts up again?
Please.
Why?
I don?t know.
I?ll tell you why.
You?re scared.
Me?
Ken, don?t say that.
Sure, I?ll say it.
You?re the big Pat Farley,
big All American,
big man on the campus,
big with the dames,
the biggest in his class,
and most likely to succeed.
The biggest nothing.
Shh, Ken.
Shh.
Don?t say that, please.
Ken, get me a-a drink, huh?
Yeah, sure.
It?s the only way you can
stand the silence anymore.
It?s the only way you can hear
the cheers of the crowd.
"Yay, Pat Farley.
Pat Farley touchdown."
Now there?s no more cheers
and no more pats on the back.
And filling your belly
with that rotgut
morning, noon,
and night is the only way
you can stand the silence.
You?ve made a mess of yourself.
Now, Kenny...
don?t... don?t pile up on me.
Always as a kid,
all I hear about is my brother.
How I should grow up and be like him.
I had you running out of my ears.
And for me, when it came my turn,
there was no college.
Big brother, he got all the pearls.
Little brother gets the empty shells.
I?m sorry...
I?m sorry...
I?m sorry, too.
I?m sorry that anything like this
should happen to anybody.
That anyone can be
so alone and so scared.
It makes me scared.
Scared to death.
Give me another rye, will you?
Make it two.
Well, what?d you do,
lose your road map?
No, I?ve just been under a hot shower,
washing away some of the dirt
I picked up.
All right, I?m a louse.
I won?t argue that with you.
I?m sorry about what I said.
I, uh... I...
Forget it.
I just stopped by to tell you that
just because I gave you a lift,
I?m not going to sue you
for breach of promise.
Well, thank you.
It?s like you said,
I don?t even know your name.
Mitch Barton?
Yeah, what do you want?
Mr. Nelson wants to see you
down at the plant.
Oh, isn?t that nice.
Be with you in a minute.
For your information, Barton,
I called Walker long distance.
Just the mention of your name
shot his blood pressure up 20 points.
Well, he probably figured
it was a collect call.
He said you?re reckless, defiant,
have no respect for
traffic regulations or people.
I like women, dogs, cats... some cats.
Walker said I?d have to be
crazy if I ever hired you.
You bring me up here to tell me that?
Why don?t you call up
your psychiatrist?
I already did, Barton.
So what did he say?
He said to call him again
if you didn?t bring my trucks
through for me.
Oh.
Okay, what?s the haul?
Lawrence, tell him.
Three trucks.
Red fuming nitric acid,
hydrogen peroxide, hydrazine.
The three basic component parts
of our rocket testing fuel.
I drove a tank full of
hydrazine before.
On paved highway maybe,
not over roads like this.
The authorities won?t let us
through the populated section.
You?ll bypass every checking station.
Any bump, any jar,
any pebble can set this stuff
like a bomb.
Come here.
Here?s the new plant
on the other side of these mountains,
near Thunder Dry Lake.
Here?s where we are.
You start out here,
cut across this road,
takes you to the old
locked off ridge route,
the one they banned
when they finished the new highway.
There?s just you
and the trucks and empty space.
And now I lay me down to sleep.
All three trucks arrive together.
Each propellant is dependent
on the other.
One without the other is no good.
Alone, out of their
natural chemical environment
too long, well... bang.
How long is bang?
Bismark is half way,
you make that the first day.
You don?t dare risk driving at night,
so you stay over,
start out the next morning.
Well, that?s real generous.
Anything else?
Well, Mr. Nelson
just about said it,
they?re all unpredictable.
The hydrazine can explode
if even a drop touches the dirt.
The hydrogen peroxide?s
100% concentrated.
Same thing can happen.
Nitric acid goes in
three separate tanks,
installed in one truck.
Fumes are poisonous, corrosive.
This acid can burn a man alive.
Maybe Walker knew what he was doing.
Three trucks, six men.
Three divers, three helpers,
in case of mechanical or road trouble.
You round up your men
and pull out of here
within 24 hours.
Here?s the file
on personnel at Cyclone.
Now go get your men.
What hay stack?
You split $30,000
and you keep the trucks, Barton.
Payment on delivery.
All three trucks together or no deal.
You wanna be me beneficiary, too?
That?s a little too fast.
Take it easy.
How?d they get that... Look...
Don?t let it...
Don?t let it hit the other tank!
It couldn?t have been closer.
Yes, it could...
if any of that nitric acid
had broken loose.
George, I?m pulling you
off of those trucks.
I can use you
at the other end with me.
Oh, no.
You?re no driver.
I was against you
going in the first place.
Now, Barton can get along
with one less help.
Look, somebody has got to know
how to handle that stuff
in case anything goes wrong.
You forget I?m the big genius
who cooks and feeds that fuel
for your fire crackers.
Get one of them drunk in the stuff,
it goes crazy wild.
Crashes into a schoolyard of kids,
kills them off, murders them.
I?m going along.
Double check those tank caps,
make sure they?re tight.
Right.
That?s what we?re doing.
Hey, you?re late, Farley.
I told you to be
here at 5:00.
Hey.
You dirty drunked up slob.
I?m taking his place.
I?m his...
You what?
I said I?m taking his place.
Right.
I can drive.
I can do it, I can do it all right.
Pick him up.
Pour some coffee in him, go.
Nothing is gonna sober him up,
not the way he?s got himself
tanked, it won?t.
I?ve told you not to worry,
I?m driving for him.
Yeah, you?re gonna drive.
I know that kid, Barton,
he drives in road races
all over the state.
This ain?t a road race.
Then who?s gonna drive his truck?
I?ll get somebody.
I can do it, I can do it.
There?s no time!
Barton, these trucks
have got to move now.
This kid?s still wet behind the ears.
Do you think I?m gonna risk our necks
any more than we have to now?
You think I want to
take a chance on that?
Would you rather risk ?em
with him behind the wheel?
What are you gonna do?
Now, kid, you get your nose
out of line once,
one time, junior, that?s all.
Sure.
Sure.
Come on.
Sarge, come on, all of you, over here.
Kenny, don?t leave me.
You ain?t going to leave me, are you?
Okay, anybody wants out,
now?s the time to talk up.
What do you say?
I like the odds, I?m with you.
Okay, listen to this.
Remember how it sounds,
?cause it might
mean your life sometime.
Anybody gets in trouble,
that?s the signal.
Lawrence, you and Sarge
are in the three tanker.
Take second position.
Ben, you and the kid take this one.
You?re in back.
Joe, you and I are gonna
lead off in the front truck.
Right.
Barton.
Yes, sir.
Good luck.
See you down the road.
I?ll be waiting at the other end.
Have the money in your pocket.
Kenny!
What are you trying to do?
Come up with box cars?
Next time, relax, take the train.
Well, we?re on our way.
Yup.
Do you think we?ll make it?
You pick a great time to ask,
don?t you?
We?ll make it.
If we don?t, there?ll
just be a loud noise
and Nelson will want to
cut our throats.
Oh, I didn?t mean it that way.
I mean, I?m... I?m talking
about my share.
The $5,000.
That buys a dream.
Don?t buy. Rent.
Saves you time and trouble,
and you hang on your freedom that way.
Well, it?s not what you think.
My dream is college, be an engineer.
MIT, Caltech.
I don?t know.
$5,000 can buy that for me.
But being just a...
grease monkey,
being what I am, where I come from,
staying the way I am...
How many lifetimes would it take
to get that kind of money.
Okay, it?s your five grand, kid.
It?s your dream.
# I?m just breezin? along
with the breeze #
# Ridin? the rails,
roamin? the seas #
# La la la la la la la #
# Livin? to please #
# La la la la #
# The sky is the only roof
I have over my head #
# And when I?m weary,
mother nature makes me a bed #
# I?m just goin? along
as I please #
# Breezin? along
with the breeze #
This thing rides like an LVT.
Better check on your side,
make sure everything?s secure.
Yeah.
Riding all right.
Nice, huh?
It?s a tight squeeze,
but I think we?ll make it.
Hope you lived a good, clean life.
Start digging, we?re liable
to cave the whole thing in.
What do you think are the chances of
bulldozing our way through, professor?
Is there another choice?
All right, we?ll go one
at a time and walk them through.
Better pull back up there...
and keep under cover
till I blow you an all clear.
Remember you?re
not driving a road race, you.
Wish me luck.
Luck.
Ben.
What have you got against him, huh?
Who said I got anything against him?
He?ll never walk that truck through.
You all right?
Beautiful.
Got a pants full of loaded dice, Ben.
Come on, let?s hit it.
Hey, you better
check those tanks back there.
Felt like an earthquake hit.
All clear.
Right.
That?s us.
Hey, kid.
Look, we get one roll.
We come out with a point,
we got to make it.
No second chances.
If we don?t make it, we?ve had it.
We?ll make it, get in.
Hey, wait a minute.
What do you mean, get in?
What I said, get in.
I don?t need a wet nurse.
I?m going on through.
Then you?re crazier than I thought.
Who?d you say had jelly for guts?
Look, kid, I?ve got more than
guts laying on this line.
I got five thousand bucks.
Five thousand bucks,
and I?m not letting you
buck those odds.
Ben.
I?ll give you the odds.
You walk out there in front of me
and there?s liable to be
a slight accident.
Or you ride with me
and take your chances.
Look, hotrod,
what are you trying to prove?
You?re the gambler.
You answer that.
Hey, kid.
How much?
Five hundred.
Five hundred for a five second ride.
I say you can?t take it.
You got yourself a bet, hotrod.
That?s 500 you owe me.
I?m sure glad your lush
brother wasn?t driving.
You shut up about my brother,
just shut up.
I just told you
this wasn?t a road race.
Now, you pull another stunt
like that, junior,
I?ll rub your head
in the sand till it?s hamburger.
Remember that.
Hey, what?s the matter?
You on a diet or something?
I don?t blame you.
The guy who made this sandwich
is trying to get even with somebody.
Hey, come on, wake up.
You look like
they used to look on Iwo.
Yeah.
Go for days with out any sleep, days.
Always be looking for them.
Liable to come from anywhere...
anywhere, never knew where or when.
Go along.
Give anything.
Give a million dollars
just to be able to close your eyes.
Doze...
doze... just to sleep.
Good morning, Cathy.
Randy, drink your milk.
You?ll be late for school.
Oh, all right.
Not in front of the children.
Why not?
We?re married, aren?t we?
Sometimes I wonder.
Here, Casanova,
you might get cold.
Mommy!
Now, you take off
and Cathy and I will pick you up
when school?s out.
Here.
Okay.
Bye, Mom.
Bye, Dad.
Bye, Cathy.
Bye-bye.
Bye.
What was that, uh,
"Sometimes I wonder"
crack all about, anyway?
Just what I said,
that other woman in your life.
Yeah, what other woman?
"Her," "she," "she was hot
as a pistol today" and "she...
"You should?ve seen her
stick her nose up in the clouds
"and waggle her tail
at the earth" and...
and "she was like a ballerina
leaping into the sky."
We ever split up, George Lawrence,
it will be her fault.
Yeah, but, um, can she cook?
Can she press my pants?
Can she...
Your ride.
Oh, Joe?
He?s kept me waiting before.
What?s that?
What?s wrong?
I don?t know,
motor?s messing, no compression.
What?
Oh, the minute I hit that last brake,
she started mushing out on me.
Well, we can?t hang up here,
we got to keep moving.
Joe, stay with Sarge.
I?ll get my tools.
You ride with me.
If you don?t pick us up
by the time we get to Bismark,
I?ll send help back for you.
You better be there.
You want us to stay behind?
What are you, crazy?
That stuff in your tank will blow
if you sneeze at it wrong.
His can?t.
Pull around him, kid, come on.
See you.
Find anything?
I can?t tell.
Maybe the injective,
maybe the fuel line,
maybe a lot of maybes.
Some day I?m gonna kill
that school pigeon dog.
Well, are you good and happy now?
Playing big hero
for all the little solider boys.
Buying them drinks
so they?ll listen to you?
Edith, I...
Big hero!
Do they know how you come
stumbling home?
How you make a mess
and I have to clean it up.
Edith, will you shut up?
No, I won?t shut up!
Shut up!
I won?t shut up!
I got to live with you, they don?t.
They get the free drinks,
I get the hangover!
Oh, Frank,
when are you gonna stop playing
the big soldier boy?
When are you gonna get it through that
great big thick head that
they don?t want you anymore,
they don?t need you,
they?re never gonna call you back?
Frank, you?ve had it,
you?re an old man.
You?re an old, old man.
Old, old man...
Mitch!
What happened to him?
I was fixing the motor,
he was checking under the truck.
Road bed must have
jarred the tank cap loose.
The stuff splashed all over his hand.
Sarge, he got the full treatment.
He never hollered,
never opened his mouth.
He just tightened
the tank cap on again.
He never got his hand back out.
I found him up here. I didn?t know
what to do, I didn?t want to move him.
Get a couple of blankets.
Right.
He?s in bad shape.
He?s gonna need a doctor, fast.
If we can get to Bismark before dark.
Dark?
And if we don?t, he may die.
Take a look at the sun.
You?re the one that said
no driving after dark.
It?s your deadline,
Lawrence, not mine.
Hey, Sam, are you sure
the trucks are coming this way?
No mistake, Track.
My brothe-in-law?s the deputy sheriff
of Cyclone County.
Road?s blocked there, lady.
Something we can do for you?
They said in town
that you weren?t gonna
let the trucks through.
That?s right, lady.
But my husband is with them
and I?ve got to see him.
We don?t care if you spend
the whole night with him,
long as he?s on that side of the road.
Here they come.
What goes here, man?
Not you, mister.
We got the flash on you,
you?re not driving through our town.
Look, we got to get to town.
Where?s my husband?
Where?s Frank?
Oh, you?re Sarge?s wife?
Yeah.
We say this is the end of the line.
You go that way across...
Where?s my husband?
Where?s Frank?
See, we got a sick man
back there, mister.
We got to get him to a doctor.
Frank?
Oh, no.
Please, don?t go down there,
Mrs. Miller.
Look, he?s hurt bad,
he needs a doctor now!
Frank!
Okay, but the trucks don?t budge.
Sam, park your car down here.
We better get the guy to the doctor.
Frank.
He saved a truck, ma?am.
Saved a truck?
Come on, let?s get the trucks
off the road.
Benson, car four.
Go ahead, Benson.
Get a hold of the doc,
I?m bringing someone in.
Frank?
Frank, darling?
Life with you has been good.
Deep down inside of me
it?s been so warm and comfortable.
It?s only when you weren?t with me
that I got frightened and lonely.
But I loved you.
That?s why I thought
to keep you all to myself.
Oh, Sarge, I?ve been selfish,
so selfish and jealous.
Honey, it?s gonna be all right now,
because I grew up.
Just since this morning
and now I grew up.
I wanted to tell you
so you could finish the trip in peace.
So you play soldier, Sarge,
you play soldier.
You just have the time of your life.
You have the time of your life.
Oh, God, forgive me.
Ma?am, we?ll have him in town in... Oh.
Yes, thank you, Sheriff.
He?s dead.
Uh, Mrs. Miller...
Sheriff, I?d better meet you in town,
we?ll make the arrangements.
Lawrence, you better
stay with the trucks,
these guys are gonna have
the split the driving.
They?re gonna need
all the sleep they can get.
I better go with her.
I?ll drive you, in that station wagon.
Thanks.
Everything all right, Lawrence?
Yeah, fine.
Thanks for everything, fellas.
Forget it.
Thanks.
You lead out, junior.
Pick up your reflectors.
Let?s go.
Lie down on the floor, all you kids.
Quick!
Get out of there!
Get out!
You kids all right?
All of you?
Yeah, we?re all right.
Everybody all right in there?
I never figured
we?d get through that one alive.
That fella in the other truck,
with me coming right at him.
If he hadn?t pulled off of the road...
He must have had an angel
riding on his shoulder.
I?ll get one of my boys
to check your bus out for you.
Thanks.
Nobody hurt in the bus.
How are you, okay?
I?m all right, Mitch.
It looks like a broken collarbone.
I don?t know.
Well, we better try to
set him up in the cab.
Ben, check out that bus.
If you can?t fix it in 30 seconds,
tell the guy we?ll send him
a tow truck from the plant.
Right.
I want to be rolling in five minutes.
Come on.
Easy.
I?ll go pin a good conduct
medal on Junior.
Nice going, sport.
Back her out
and follow us up the hill.
Trouble.
You blew enough oil
to bring in a well, junior.
I must have whacked that oil line
when I went off the bridge.
Pressure?s down to
ten pounds, and that temp gauge
is red hot.
How about that.
What do you think, Joe?
Ten pounds of oil pressure?
Like slow death.
Look, it?s downhill
the rest of the way
if you keep it in low gear and don?t
give it any throttle or compression,
the motor will be a break, won?t it?
Well, if you lose the rest of that oil
you might throw a rod,
burn the engine, freeze up.
After that, it?s all brakes
and a prayer.
All right, I run out of oil,
I?ll spit in the engine.
You drive my truck, junior.
Go with him, will you, Lawrence?
Button that thing up.
Keep your distance behind me.
I?ll see you down below.
He?s out of control.
He?s gonna try to slow it up
into the mountain.
Easy, Mitch, easy.
Come on, baby.
Seven eleven for Ben.
Make it a natural.
Don?t crap out now, baby.
There?s five grand waiting
at the end of the line, Barton.
Five beautiful sweet-smelling grand.
Now, now.
Ha ha!
Eleven.
Okay, kid, let?s try it.
Aah!
Well, that makes two of us now.
"If you can?t fight them, join them,"
I always say.
Well, looks like
you?re elected, professor.
Get in the middle truck. All you
got to do is hang on to the wheel.
I?ll be in front to pull
and the kid will be
in the back for a brake.
Do something
about the chain, will you?
Use your good arm.
Yeah.
You ride with the professor.
Stay on the horn.
Remember, one long blast means slow,
two short ones means fast, right?
Yeah.
The deal is three trucks
in tonight, before dark.
If we don?t make it, pop.
Hey.
What?s with you?
I can?t drive the truck.
What do you mean
you can?t drive the truck?
What I said.
Look, Lawrence, I know
what?s bugging you.
You got more reason to hate
every drop of this stuff
than any of us.
Maybe you know a little more
than you told us, too.
But this is the real time,
this whole thing can blow up, huh?
I don?t know, I?ve been watching
you, I?ve got you figured.
Look, I don?t know how...
Well, I know this much.
If we don?t get these trucks through,
if we miss the deadline now,
after all that?s happened,
tomorrow or the next day,
Nelson?s gonna start all over again.
He?s gonna get his rocket launched
with or without us
hauling in the fuel.
You ought to know that
better than the rest of us,
Lawrence.
You can?t stop this kind of thing.
No matter who gets hurt along the way.
Good boy, Barton.
You got a doctor?
Yeah, right down the other end.
Over here.
Looks like made it,
professor, here we are.
Hey, snap out of it.
What did you say?
The ride?s over.
The fuel.
We got to get it off these trucks.
Now, don?t worry about it, George,
it?s all being taken care of.
Doc, check him over, will you?
Got a couple of more
customers for you, doc,
coming up.
Take it easy.
I?ll see you two men at the infirmary
with your money.
If you ever hit Vegas, look me up.
I?ll buy you a drink.
I?ll take it now.
Thanks for everything, Mitch.
Happy dream.
Build yourself
some good roads and bridges.
Five thousand bucks,
it?s gonna buy a lot of help
for my brother.
Send a lot of liquor down the drain.
Thanks.
Thanks for letting me drive.
Okay.
What?s happening to everybody?
Well, it?s a long story.
Don?t try to figure it out.
You know where to find
Sarge?s wife, huh?
I know.
How about these trucks, huh?
What?s the blue book on ?em anyway?
I don?t know.
I want cash, Nelson.
I?ll let you know where I?m gonna be.
What are you gonna do?
Send you a post card.
Hi.
Hi.
Where to?
Let?s try that again.
What took you so long?