Rawhide (1959–1965): Season 6, Episode 24 - Incident of the Odyssey - full transcript

The drovers are becoming disgruntled as Favor is pushing hard to outrun hoof and mouth disease. Pan, an ex-circus performer, searching for a lady he heard singing eleven years earlier.

Guess you're finding the words
kind of hard to come by, ain't you?

Why don't you just say,

"Here lies a good man who
was driven to his grave"?

It might not even hurt to say a word
for the man who drove him into it.

I don't know, pushing them
two hours after dark every night,

six straight days in a row now,
then striking out way before dawn.

Somebody was
bound to take a spill.

Look, the men agreed
to a forced drive,

but not this blind riding.

- They're getting paid extra.
- To die? That don't make any sense.

Foot-and-mouth disease
makes a lot of sense to me.



The herd that's got that
is 150 miles south of us.

We're clean.

And we're gonna keep
it that way by pushing.

Day and night if we have to,
until we're out of this territory.

We'll keep pushing.

Yeah, well, if you're
gonna keep pushing today,

you can keep pushing without me.

I'm going to town with you.

I don't need any
help getting supplies.

- Besides, Mr. Favor wants...
- I don't care what Mr. Favor wants.

I need a bath.

Boy, I never saw an
outfit so down in the mouth.

Hasn't anybody cracked
a joke in ten days.

Something doesn't happen and happen
for the better, this outfit's gonna fold.



Giddyap.

All right, let's go.

All right, so you quit. What
else are you gonna do?

Well, ramrodding for this outfit
ain't the only job in the world.

I don't know. You're
eating regular, aren't you?

If you wanna call that food.

Well, I know you're sore,
but don't take it out on me

or I'll jam this bar of
soap down your throat.

What I'm tired of is
kowtowing to Mr. Favor.

Well, whoever you work for,
you've still gotta take orders.

Yeah, but it's plain
orneriness that I don't care for.

Every time he gets sore, he
takes it out on the men personally.

I don't know.

It always seemed to me
when Mr. Favor pushes like this,

he's got a reason.

Yeah. Heh.

Somebody stole my boots.

It couldn't have been
more than five minutes ago.

Somebody's gonna
get their neck broke.

We'd better get back before
they steal the rest of our clothes.

Oh!

Oh, uh, beautiful apple
you have there, sir.

If you smell it one
more time, you'll buy it.

Well, I wish I had the money to.

My, you play awfully pretty.

Listen...

I thought I told you yesterday we
didn't allow any vagabonds in here.

I'm not a vagabond,
mister. I'm a Greek. Ooh.

- I'll bet he's still hungry, Willard.
- Yes, I am. I am still hungry, sir.

In fact, I'd be glad to
work for a sandwich.

Anything, listen. Let
me do something for you.

I used to do a lot of tricks in
circuses. Tricks you never even saw.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

Think you can dance
with this on your head?

Oh, why don't you ask
me to do something hard?

I used to walk a
tightrope in the circus.

All right, I tell you what.

If you can dance out a
tune and not spill a drop,

- I'll buy you a sandwich.
- You're on.

Honey, pump out a new tune.

I'll bet he can do it.

- Well, I got $5 that says he can't do it.
- You're on.

All right, buster,
off with those...

Boots? I... I found
these boots, mister.

Yeah, sure, you have.

Oh. Uh, wait a minute,
mister. That wasn't nice.

All right, now break it up!

Ah. Sheriff, in there.

Now, wait a minute, sheriff, I
didn't really steal these boots.

I didn't know they
belonged to anybody.

- Oh, sure, sure, you didn't.
- See, I was actually hungry.

- You're gonna be eating regular.
- Wait a minute, now. Listen.

You're not gonna let
him throw that man in jail.

- Why not? It's no concern of mine.
- Well, the devil, it isn't.

- He's no thief.
- Yeah?

You talk about Mr. Favor
taking his feelings out on others.

Just take a look at you.

Need you men.

Hate to see you pulling out.

- Well, it's, uh...
- It's rough going, I know.

Every job gets that
way once in a while.

Hang on, Hey Soos. We
won't be pushing much longer.

I see you've put a lot of ground
between you and Charlie's grave.

That's right.

We could've done even
better with a ramrod.

Look at all those cows.

Uh, look, don't look at me.

It's somebody
Wishbone glommed on to.

We're just going
to the next town.

It sure is mighty
beautiful country.

Mm. Smell that good clean grass

and hear those crickets.

Or are those katydids?

No wonder you like to
take care of those cows.

Pan, uh, this is
Mr. Favor, our boss.

Mr. Favor. Excuse
my jumping in like that,

but I used to be with
the circus, you see.

Mr. Wishbone here told me
that, well, you had a lot of jobs,

odds and ends to do
around here like that,

and, well, I haven't
been working much lately,

and I thought maybe you
might be able to find a job for me.

I can do almost
anything, Mr. Favor.

- Like, uh, maybe, ride a horse?
- Ride a horse?

I thought maybe you were gonna
ask me something hard to do.

Hold that rope,
will you, a minute?

Boss, he can't do any harm.

And he might even
do us some good.

Just make sure he
doesn't hold us up any.

You know,

it's the same no matter
which way you run.

It's either good
or it's bad, heh.

You only see what
you actually wanna see.

I wanna see more than I've
seen so far, I can tell you that.

Now, how come if every
place is the same to you,

you keep drifting from
one town to another?

That's a good question.

Well, if... I hope you all
don't laugh, but I've been...

I've been searching
for a lovely lady.

We're all doing that.
What's her name?

May sound strange to you,

but I never knew
the lady's name.

Señor Pan, this pursuit of yours,
it has been going on for how long?

Oh, about 11 years now.

She's got to know
you're following her.

Maybe even longer than that.

See, I was never
brought up in a country

that was as
beautiful as all this.

I came from a
country called Greece,

and my father's house, which
was right at the base of this hill,

was made out of stones
that didn't seem to fit anymore.

Somebody said came from a
temple that was high up on a hill

that they said was older than a
fella's name who was Alexander.

We had pigs all around
the place and everything.

But you know, funny thing
about looking up there at that hill,

with all the pigs and the smell
of the house and everything,

you could look up there at
that temple, and you'd feel clean.

It was like a pair of arms
holding a beautiful woman's face.

High, proud, out of the wind,

out of the sand, with
everything decaying around it,

as if to say this should
be a lasting thing.

She was beauty.

Then my father came to
America, and we joined a carnival.

I grew up in a carnival.
My father was a clown.

He used to do an
act on a tightrope.

Until he fell one day.

And he used to point his
finger at me, see, and he'd say...

This finger. He'd say,
"Pan Life is a wonderful gift.

You should pay for it. You
should give something for it.

You should give something
of yourself to somebody else.

Or else you're never
gonna count in life."

That's what I wanna do.

I wanna count.

Oh, uh, my father. Excuse me.

My dad, I started to...

I carved a little thing of him.

Here he was. He was
a clown. You see that?

And then this was the
ringmaster with our circus.

- Looks a lot like Mr. Favor, don't he?
- Ha, ha. Yeah.

Yeah, he used to care
of all of us pretty good.

Thank you.

After I grew up,

I joined a show in New York.

And I was backstage
this one afternoon,

and I heard this beautiful
voice, and I looked onstage

and I saw the most beautiful
girl I ever saw in my life.

You know, the kind of a
girl that you wanna just give

everything that you've got good
in you, you wanna give it to her.

Well, I didn't have anything
to give her except myself,

and that wasn't good enough.

So I kept looking at her and, oh,
she didn't know anything about it.

She didn't know anything
about it, but I kept looking at her,

and then I'd sculpt this.

I'd look at her,

and then I'd sculpt.

Just look.

Would you look at that?

You know, except for
those few little gouges,

you'd be proud to
have that in your parlor.

And just about when I'd
worked up enough nerve

to show her what I'd been doing,

oh, she left.

But I'll find her one day.

No matter what that
fellow in Philadelphia said.

What man in Philadelphia?

Fellow that was gonna
give me $1,000 for this.

A thousand dollars?

Maybe you ought to cash
in on it before you lose it.

Yeah, or somebody steals it.

Maybe she's dead after all
these years, for all you know.

No.

No, she isn't dead.

You know why I
know she isn't dead?

Because throughout
all these years,

no matter where I've gone,

I can still hear her song.

Well, thanks very
much, Mr. Wishbone.

The stew was awful good.

Shucks, there ain't no man gonna
chase a woman for 11 whole years.

He ain't after that woman.

Just think, traveling
all that way and that far

just to make somebody happy.

Quince, Scarlet, on the remuda.
Rest of you can get some sleep.

- Well, hold on, boss.
- You got any complaints?

Yes, sir, I have.

Been on night guard three
straight nights in a row now.

We'll all be pulling double duty
until I can find some replacements.

- Four men cashed out today.
- Yeah.

Plus one that we
buried along the way.

Yeah. All right,
let's get going.

Look, Rowdy, for
your information,

Charlie knew that horse
was no good in the dark,

and on top of it, Hey Soos
told him it was going lame.

Just the same, it
wouldn't have happened

if he hadn't been
riding in the dark.

You'd better get used to it.
We'll be doing it again tomorrow.

Why?

The day I got to explain my
orders is the day I quit this business.

Since you had the day off,
you're due to go nighthawking.

Yeah, well, just
remember one thing.

When I decide to
cash out of this outfit,

it won't be because
you pushed me.

I was sort of counting on
you to help save the herd.

Yes, sir, he sure reminds
me of one of those ringmasters

I used to have in the circus.

It must feel good to be
needed like he needs you.

All right, come on, let's snap to
it. We've lost enough light as it is.

- Lost enough light?
- Well, that does it.

- I think I've just about had it.
- I know I have.

- What is it you're fed up with?
- Fed up with pushing cattle.

He can hire all the hands
he needs at Cedar Junction.

That town's full of idiots.

Well, what other
job would you get?

Any kind of a job where I know
why and what I'm working for.

Hey, Rowdy. ROWDY: Hmm?

Are you fixing to quit?

I haven't made up my mind yet.

Well, we've talked it
over. You throw in, we do.

What have I got to do with it?

Either you wanna quit or
you don't. It's your business.

What's the matter,
Rowdy, you afraid?

He's the one that
pushed us into it.

You say it, and we'll
stand behind you.

I thought you backed the
man that you got paid by.

You holding a beauty
contest or something?

Break it up and
get out on that herd.

Now.

Yes, sir.

You heard what the
boss said, let's go.

Mind if I wash up
with you, Mr. Favor?

There's plenty of water.

Sure don't like what
they're doing over there.

Doing what?

Well, they're packing
up their saddle rolls.

They decided with
or without Rowdy.

Who's gonna move the
cows now, Mr. Favor?

I don't know, Pan.

I don't even know if
they'll move at all now.

Ah.

It sure isn't fun feeling like
you're dumb and don't count.

- Dumb? Don't count?
- I know.

Yeah, dumb, you know.

That's when somebody doesn't
wanna explain anything to you

because they think you're
either too dumb to understand,

or they just don't care what you
think after they explain it to you.

Makes you feel bad.

Well, sometimes a man
don't explain his reasons

because others might
not understand them.

In any case, I'm the boss.
I have to give the orders.

They follow them or they don't.

Yeah. Well, they're...

They're not taking
them, Mr. Favor.

I just don't think you un...

I mean, well, you really don't
understand your men, Mr. Favor.

What I'm trying to say is they
don't really think you're dumb.

If they thought that, they
wouldn't have followed you this far.

It's just that they're dog-tired, and
they just need a reason to go on.

I'll tell you something, Pan.

I've been pushing
these men this hard

because I'm trying
to outrun a hunch.

You hear me? A hunch.

Hunch. Yes, hunches.
They're very important.

Yeah, hunches are very important.
That's if people understand them.

There was this elephant trainer
one time with the circus too,

and he'd yell at me all the
time. "What are you doing?

What are you doing?
What are you doing?"

I got tired of him. I wouldn't
work for him anymore.

He wanted to know, said,
"Why won't you work for me?"

I never told him. Heh. Because
he was yelling all the time.

We had a ringmaster.

He never yelled at anybody.

Yeah.

What are you waiting on?

No point fixing chow

till I know how many men
I'm gonna have left to feed.

I understand pushing
the way we have

hasn't made much sense to
you men, not even for extra pay.

And when I'm done talking, it
may not make a lot more sense.

I also understand that you're
killing yourselves to get the job done.

I guess you got a
right to know why.

I'm trying to beat more than
hoof-and-mouth disease.

I'm trying to beat something

that I don't quite
understand myself.

Call it a bad feeling in
my bones, call it a hunch.

Maybe the ghost of
another man on my back.

Anyways, seven years
ago on this same stretch,

the hoof-and-mouth struck
in back of us just like this time.

We start pushing.

Next thing we knew, two
men came down with fever.

Just like Carter and Wilkes,

who we dropped off in
Gurneyville ten days ago.

It was Gurneyville then too.

We started pushing harder.

Then it really happened.

Man got killed in a freak fall,

just like Charlie Morgan.

We had to bury
him less than 40 feet

from where we dug
the grave for Charlie.

That's when I made my mistake.

I stopped pushing. I eased up.

Sure enough, every
herd in the territory

was frozen for inspection.

Fever struck,

and we were stuck
in this rotten stretch

with nothing for miles around.

Being shorthanded,
the herd spooked.

Couldn't control
them. Lost a ramrod.

The chuck wagon went down,

and you couldn't even find little
pieces of the cook and his helper.

Now, call it what you
want, sense or no sense.

I just don't like coincidences
that are this close,

and everything in me tells me to
get out of here as quick as I can

anyway I can at
whatever it costs.

Sort of like when an animal
turns on you for no reason at all.

This just ain't
my stretch of dirt.

Well, it's funny, but I don't
like the smell of it here either.

The territory line
can't be too far.

Anybody's appetite can't
stand it till we get safe across?

We make a run for it, we can have
breakfast and dinner at the same time.

All right, let's move them out.

- This Gil Favor's outfit?
- Yeah, I'm Favor.

I'm afraid I have bad
news for you, Mr. Favor.

The territory governor is freezing
all the herds in the territory.

- Marshal, you got a map on you?
- Yes, I have. Naturally.

Well, if you check it, I think you'll
find you've overridden yourself a mite.

You're over in
Colorado territory now.

Border's back over by
those chimney rocks.

Yeah, marshal,
I've just got a hunch

you're out of your
governor's jurisdiction.

This is your lucky
day, Mr. Favor.

Lucky day.

You'd better believe it, mister.

Mr. Wishbone, it could
turn out to be a horse.

Looks like it's got
two tails to me.

Well, it don't take any
Michelangelo to know the difference.

You notice whatever Pan looks at,
he finds something to smile about?

Ah. Here's what I'm looking for.

The Odyssey by Homer.

Now, the fella in this
story was always looking

for peace of mind
and contentment.

And they make the point that you
don't have to drove a million miles

for to find happiness.

It's always right
there in front of you.

Now, Pan, he knows that.

It don't matter to him if
he ever finds that woman.

Just makes him happy
thinking maybe he'll find her

around the next corner.

Keeps him going.

Where did you learn that tune?

This song?

Yeah. Yeah. That was her song.

I don't know. I don't even
know the words to this darn thing.

Oh, if you had
heard her sing it,

you'd have remembered
those words, I'll tell you, heh.

I remember that.

It was on a Saturday
night at the Purple Slipper

in that little town of, uh...

No, no, Wishbone. It wasn't
the Purple Slipper at all.

It was a place called...

Well, that place where
I got my nose broken.

Joe, you remember the redhead?
The one that hit me with a spittoon?

Yeah, we were all
there on a real tear.

No, no, it was Portersville, and
they had that blind piano player

that kept playing the song over and
over again until somebody hit him.

Yeah. Well, I remember that.

You're in luck. You know, Portersville
is only about 15 miles from here.

Fifteen miles?

Oh, maybe she's gone by now.

Hey.

You know, the piano player would
probably know where she went.

Well, Mr. Favor, piano players,
they amble on too, you know.

There ought to be plenty
of other people in town

who know where she went to.

After 11 years, you can't
throw in the towel now.

I wouldn't even know
how to get to Portersville.

Don't worry about
that. I'll get you there.

And like you say, Pan, you
kind of sort of owe it to her.

Oh, she...

She might think that I'm
being silly or something.

Hey, now, what's the matter?

Don't tell me you're worried
about looking dumb now.

Are you sure, Mr. Favor?

There's nothing sure,
not even hunches,

but they're
important to all of us.

- You think so?
- Don't worry about it. He thinks.

Let's go.

I sure hope his odyssey
isn't a wild-goose chase.

Ah, now, Wish, it never was.

One thing's sure, I'm glad he
came with us instead of going to jail.

Say, I'll bet you didn't know that I
can play a flute with one hand, huh?

- Don't give that horse his head.
- Ah.

Hey, grab the reins.

- You all right?
- Yeah. I guess I fell off.

Here.

After 11 years.

Well, maybe I waited too long.

Maybe we just better
ought to head back.

When we've come this
far? You're this close?

Well, I can't give
her anything like that.

Look, we can get
it glued together.

Then nothing will show
except this little crack here.

I know, but she deserves
something pretty.

- I don't wanna give her that.
- Pan, I know what I'm talking about.

She'll appreciate it more

just because you went to all the
trouble of putting it back together.

We want you to
give it to her, Pan.

"We"? What do you mean, "we"?

Mr. Favor, all the
boys. We owe it to you.

Do you think we could find her?

If she's alive, we'll find
her, I promise you that.

I'll tell you one thing.

I'll never play my
flute on a horse again.

See, I told you they'd
fix it. It's as good as new.

Come on. She's
either there or she ain't.

Let's go.

- Yes, sir?
- Well, I might have a beer.

I don't care for
anything, thank you.

Say, does a blind piano
player still work here?

Oh, he died way last summer.

Uh, was there a girl that
used to sing with him?

Is she still around here?

If you wanna call her a singer.

- Uh...
- She's out back.

You wanna talk to her?

Yeah, maybe like to
take a look at her, anyway.

You're supposed to
entertain the customers.

Now, get out front or
pack. I don't care which.

If I had any place
to go, I'd pack.

There she is.

There she is.

Oh, ain't she beautiful?

There. I've thrilled
every man in the house.

How about a lemonade?

Come on. All you gotta
do is say hello to her.

- You... You give it to her.
- Me? That's crazy.

It's your gift. Now,
come on, go ahead.

- Uh...
- Come on.

Hey, who do you
think you're poking?

I've got a surprise for you.

Nobody pays me
to entertain that.

Maybe if you ain't gonna buy a
drink, you'd better wait outside.

My friend and I will leave
when we're ready, mister.

Here, you wait
at the table, Pan.

Hey, where you going?

To give a lady a present,
unless you've got some objection.

Since when do you knock?

Oh, I thought you were
the boss. Get out of here.

You sure make it hard

for a man who's been
looking for you for 11 years.

- What are you talking about?
- I'm talking about that man out there.

Eleven years, lady.

Eleven long years he's been
searching for you just to give you this.

Go ahead, open it.

He was working backstage
in a theater in New York,

and you came on and
started singing one night.

Right then and there,
he started carving that.

But you quit before he had
a chance to give it to you.

Oh, I didn't quit. I got fired.

- You know, this is lovely.
- Yeah, I agree.

You know, I used to
wear my hair that way.

I can't imagine why he'd
do such a thing like this.

Why don't you ask him?

It's something more
than flattering, isn't it?

- I mean, what he's done.
- Yeah, I'd say so.

How could he find me,
Mr... What is your name?

Rowdy Yates.

How could he have
found me, Mr. Yates?

What I am, a nobody
in a nothing world.

I never was a singer.

And every time I knew, I ran.

I ran from one town to the next.

Through so many towns I
can't even remember, Mr. Yates.

Yeah, well, what
were you running from?

Myself, I guess.

I just wanted to get as far
away from everybody I'd known

and the town I grew up in.

To get lost. That's
what I wanted.

And I found it here.

Here, Mr. Yates, where
nobody expects you

to knock the world
over, and nobody cares.

And if I wanna sing, I
can always sing to myself.

Pan out there says
you've got a beautiful voice.

Hmm. I wish that were true.

How can you possibly thank a
man for doing a thing like that?

Well,

it might be worth it for
him if you'd just sing.

Well?

What did she say, Mr. Rowdy?

Why don't you play that
tune for her and find out?

Play? No, maybe the bartender
wouldn't like it if I played the piano.

No, he won't mind.

- Well, the way he acted...
- No, come on, Pan. Go.

You were very thoughtful
to do what you did.

Wish I was a red rosy bush

On the banks of the sea

Every time my true
love would pass

He'd pick a rose off of me

Wish I lived in a
lonesome holler

Where the sun don't never shine

If your heart belongs to another

Then it can't never be mine

If your heart belongs to another

Then it can't never be mine

Marvelous. Wonderful.

How do you like the way
she decorates my place now?

I think somebody should've
stayed in New York.

Pardon me.

I own the Golden Spur in Virginia
City. Any time you're interested.

- Oh, thank you.
- The Golden Spur, that dump.

Heh. It couldn't hold a stick
to what we got right here.

Now, look, honey, if
you're worried about money,

don't you worry
about a thing. Ha, ha.

Thank you.

- Pan?
- Well, he found her, boss.

You know, I guess
that's all he really wanted,

was just to find her.

So now it starts all over again,
huh? Another face to bring to life.

I guess he'll always be looking.

Head them up!

Move them out!