"The High Riders" aka "The Homecoming" Pilot
Directed by: Sam Wanamaker
Teleplay by Dean Riesner
Story by: Samuel Peeples
Guest stars:
Joe Don Baker as Day Pardee
Paul Fierro as Cipriano
Sean McClory as Coley McHugh
THANK YOU TO LEO FOR THE TRANSLATIONS!!
SCENE 1
Scene opens, with long shot of the ranch at night, as the credits run.
Then we see two men on horseback riding away from Lancer leading another horse. A man we will come to know as Murdoch Lancer is seen standing and firing after them.
ML yells: "Paul!"
Paul and Teresa come running out of the house.
ML shouts, "Horse thieves, they've got the stallion, come on!" Murdoch runs past them.
Paul goes after ML while telling his daughter: "Teresa, get back in the house."
Shot of the horsethieves as they ride through the Lancer arch with the stallion, then Paul and ML on horseback are seen following ter them.
Paul has dark hair and Murdoch is grey. Both men are wearing plaid shirts. (in black and white, the shirts seem to be identical, making it appear they are dressed in twin fashion.)
Dawn is breaking, and ML and Paul are tracking the thieves. Close up of tracks on the ground. They ride into Morro Coyo. The streets are deserted.
ML calls out: "Don Valdemerro? Anybody!?"
A man looks out of one window through parted curtains. Another man peeks out from a different window. ML and Paul slowly ride their horses through town. There is a nice shot of them through an archway.
Shot of the bell tower ---a man with a shot gun is up there, watching ML and Paul. They are just outside of a set of stable doors when they hear the sound of a horse. ML dismounts. There is another shot of the man in the bell tower. Murdoch opens stable door--the stallion is there.
ML: "Easy boy, we've come to take you home." Murdoch goes inside the stable, we can see through the doorway that Paul is still on his horse.
Gunshot! Paul falls to the ground. Murdoch runs out and shoots at the man in the tower----he hits the bell. The man fires back, hitting ML's hand, causing him to drop his gun. Murdoch clings to the support post, then he is shot again and falls to the ground. The stallion runs out. We see the shooter leaving the bell tower. Later we will learn that the gunman is Day Pardee.
ML is lying beside Paul. ML looks up in pain. Paul is motionless and there is a bullet hole in the back of his plaid shirt. (closer up, we can see that the plaids of their shirts are not identical.) ML starts trying to crawl forward.
SCENE 2
Bells sound we see an evening city skyline, a glimpse of a sailing ship and the word "BOSTON" appears.
Outside of a very nice house, soft music is playing. Inside, a young man reclines in a chair, facing a very attentive young blonde woman who smiles and drops an earring into a champagne glass, then leans forward and kisses her companion. There is a knock on the door.
A man's voice: "Barbara!"
The young woman reacts: "My father!"
Barbara's father: "Open this door!"
Barbara pulls the blonde man to his feet: "Please, my father!"
He is very elegantly dressed, wearing a white ruffled shirt, black jacket with boutonnière and black dress pants. She frantically tries to pull him across room and he tugs back. We will soon learn that the well-dressed young man is Scott Lancer.
SL: "My cape." SL reaches back and grabs his cape.
Barbara's father voice is heard: "There's somebody in there with you, Barbara, and I know who it is!"
Barbara goes to door; she is very elegantly dressed in a very tight,sleeveless gown. She urges Scott to: "Hurry! Hurry!" The knocking continues, but Scott takes his time, gathering up not only his cape, but a hat, walking stick and an apple from a bowl of fruit on the table.
Barbara's father: "Barbara!"
Barbara runs over to Scott, who kisses her, and then takes a bite from the apple: "Much as I hate to eat and run . . . " He heads for the balcony.
Barbara's father: "Open this door! All right men, break down the door."
Barbara watches SL. Exiting, Scott tosses the apple away and hops over the balcony just as three men burst in Barbara's room.
Barbara's father: "The window! The window!"
One man yells:"Stop!"
Barbara's father is heard: "The other way! The other way."
SL is seen down below, dusting himself off.
Barbara's father: "Well, Barbara, why don't you explain it to me then?"
Barbara: "I can't!"
Barbara's father: "Why not?"
Barbara crying says, "Because you'd think it's something..."
Barbara's father interrupts: "Because you're lying!"
Barbara's father: "All right, Barbara you can dispense with the crying."
Barbara is heard crying and the balcony doors are shut. SL picks up his top hat, and walking stick, puts the hat on and starts walking, whistling as he walks.
A man steps out of the shadows, wearing a regular suit and hat, not the evening clothes that Scott has on.
Stranger: "You're Scott Lancer?"
SL points his walking stick at the man: "And if I am?"
Stranger: "The son of Murdoch Lancer?"
SL: "So I'm told. Never met the gentleman myself."
Stranger: "Lawby's the name, Pinkerton office. We find people."
Agent Lawby hands SL a card.
SL, dismissively: "Well, I haven't lost any. So . . . . much as I've enjoyed our little conversation..." Scott starts to walk away.
Lawby: "Your father wants to see you and he's willing to pay for it."
Scott stops and listens as Lawby continues speaking behind him.
Lawby: "All expenses to California and a thousand dollars for one hour of your time."
Scott has no immediate reaction, then the scene shifts very abruptly------
SCENE 3
A blindfolded man yells in Spanish, "Viva la Revo---!" then gunshots are heard and he falls to the ground dead. The word "MEXICO" appears on the screen.
A Mexican officer, wearing a suit, a large hat and holding a cigar approaches two more men who are kneeling on the ground. One is bareheaded and he looks at the prisoner on his left, who is wearing a large sombrero-type hat. Apparently the officer is yelling in Spanish at the prisoner in the hat; telling him: "Get up, you're next, I'm telling you to get up!"
He responds in Spanish, it sounds as if he is saying "lucion," completing the words of his fallen comrade. He slowly gets to his feet. As he leans forward, the hat falls to the ground. He is a young man with dark hair, dressed in white with a necklace of some sort around his neck. His hands are tied and it appears to be his turn to face the firing squad.
Suddenly, a man in a horse drawn wagon comes riding fast down the road, yelling: "Hold up there!...Wait up there!" He reins the horse up yelling several times, "Whoa....Whoa...!"
The stranger addresses the man in charge: "I'm looking for a man named Madrid. Johnny Madrid. Your captain back in the village said he might be one of your prisoners."
The prisoner steps forward: "I'm Madrid."
Stranger, relieved: "Well, finally found ya." He gets off wagon; he is wearing a business suit, vest and tie, with a roundish hat. He has a mustache and a round face.
The stranger addresses the officer again: "Senor, it's, ah, muy importante that you not kill el Senor Madrid. Savvy?" (He takes out a billfold) "La vida of El Senor Madrid is worth muy dinero."
He shows the money, asking once more: "Savvy?"
The man in charge smiles and nods. He says "mucho gusto", indicating that he is pleased to accept the money, then holsters his gun. Several of his men can be seen standing behind him.
The man hands him some cash: "That oughta do it."
He puts the billfold away and heads for Johnny Madrid.
In the background, the Mexican officer shows his other men the money. The stranger unties Johnny.
JM: "Why are you doing this?"
Stranger: "I'm a Pinkerton Agent. Your father wants to see you."
JM: "Lancer?"
Pinkerton Agent: "Willing to give ya a thousand dollars for an hour of your time."
The Mexican soldiers are talking loudly in Spanish. They are talking about having dinero for the cantina, then the word 'fire'. Johnny realizes that they are going for their guns and he grabs the agent's weapon, pushing him down and firing back. He quickly shoots two of them while helping the agent to his wagon.
Pinkerton Agent: "Shall I tell your father you're coming?"
Johnny shoves one of the other prisoners into the back of the wagon and runs towards a saddled horse, jumping on to it.
JM: "For a thousand dollars I'd even go to hell!"
One of the Mexicans shoots at the wagon, and Johnny drops him, then rides off in the opposite direction.
SCENE 4
Opens with a road and an approaching stagecoach.
Johnny Madrid Lancer is climbing up a hill towards the road. He's wearing dark pants with silver buttons up the sides and as well as a cowboy hat and boots with spurs on them. He is carrying his saddle and a jacket. Johnny stands in the road and the driver stops the stage.
Johnny strolls over and puts down the saddle: "You goin to Morro Coyo?"
Stagecoach driver: "Unless I'm lost."
JML: "You mind if I get a lift?"
Stagecoach driver: "Sure thing. We'll take care of that gun of yours."
JML thinks a moment, takes out his guns and then tosses it up to the driver: "Sure."
Scott Lancer peers out of the stagecoach window: "Seems like we're picking up another passenger." He puts on his hat. There are other passengers on board----opposite Scott, there is an old man, with two older women seated on either side.
Johnny opens the door and looks inside, gets in and shuts the door. The driver yells at horses and they take off before Johnny sits down. He falls over onto Scott, then finally sits down in between Scott and a monk. Scott is holding a book in one hand and reaches up to adjust his hat with the other.
Johnny touches Scott's jacket.
JML: I didn't mean ta...... mess up your outfit."
Scott is wearing a suit, ruffled dress shirt and a round dress hat and gloves.
SL responds, rather tiredly: "Can't be helped."
The stagecoach passes a sign that reads: "MORRO COYO 10 MI".
SCENE 5
The stage arrives in town. A young, dark haired girl is sitting in a wagon and waiting with two men who look like cowboys/ranch hands. She smiles as if she has been watching for the stage.
The stagecoach passes by and one of the men helps the young lady down. She is wearing a bonnet with a bow tied under her chin, a dress and a jacket over it.
The coach stops and the door opens. Johnny exits first, and retrieves his gun from the driver. Scott gets out next, holding his hat in his hand. He looks around briefly, then busies himself getting his luggage from the top of the stage.
The young girl, who we will learn is Teresa O'Brien, Murdoch Lancer's young ward, approaches the stage, looking a bit puzzled. She glances at her two companions, they just shrug.
Teresa: "Ah, Mr. Lancer?"
SL: "That's me."
JML: "Yeah." They speak almost simultaneously. They look at each other.
TO: "Ah, I'm sorry. Which one of you said. . . .?"
JML and SL: "I did."
They both look at Teresa. Then SL looks back at JML, who is slightly behind him.
Teresa seems to understand, even though the two young men are confused. She points: "You're Johnny."
JML: That's right."
TO: "Then you're Scott Lancer."
Walking towards them JL shuts stagecoach door: "No, m'am. He's no Lancer. My mother only had one kid and that was me."
SL says "Likewise" in a rather harsh tone. He looks at JML and JML looks at him.
TO: "Oh, well we didn't expect you both at the same time, but...but actually you're right. It's Mr. Lancer that had two."
SL: "Two . . what?"
The two ranch hands behind Teresa look at each other.
TO: "Wives .... and sons. You two."
Scott turns very slowly to look at Johnny. He seems a bit stunned. JML grins, looking up and down at Scott, clearly amused by his attire.
SCENE 6
JML, SL and Teresa are riding along in a horse-drawn wagon, the two Lancer ranch hands ride on horseback following them. Teresa has the reins, SL is seated beside her and JML is riding in the wagon bed with their belongings,
SL: "Tell me, Teresa. (he pronounces it 'Teh-RAY-sa')You work for my father?" He glances back at Johnny, then amends his statement: "Our father."
TO: "I was born on Lancer. My father was the foreman here for fifteen years."
SL: "Was?"
TO: "Well, he was murdered last November. At the same time Mr. Lancer was shot."
JML looks at her over his shoulder: "Murdered by who?"
TO: "Mr. Lancer will tell you that. What he won't tell you is.... how much it means to him that.... well that you've both come here." The brothers look at each other.
They ride a little further and then Teresa stops the horses. There is a panoramic view of Lancer, with majestic mountains off in the distance and the hacienda down below. JML and SL both slowly stand up, staring.
TO: "There it is. As far as the eye can see. The most beautiful place in the whole wide world. Lancer."
JML closes his eyes briefly, then looks again. SL gives slight nod. They are clearly impressed. They both slowly sit down and the wagon continues on with the two ranch hands following them. The Lancer theme music plays and we see more of the scenery.
As they get closer to the main house, we see a man standing up on the roof, he seems to be a look-out. He's shouting in Spanish and waving his arms. One word that he repeats is "Muchachos!", "boys" or "guys" and he telling his friends that "they're coming!" He is signaling the arrival of Teresa and the Lancer sons, as we see shots of the Lancer employees reacting, hurrying about. The lookout continues calling out, we hear the name "Cipriano", followed by a shot of a large Mexican man holding a calf in his arms. We also have a shot of Murdoch Lancer as he watches the arrival through a window.
Some of the Mexican workers are hurry to move a cart out of the way of the approaching wagon, then stand on either side as Teresa drives past. Some of them remove their hats, wave, even bow.
When the wagon stops, there are hands ready to tend to the horses. We see SL jump down from the front seat and Johnny is just starting to climb out of the wagon bed when the scene suddenly cuts to---
SCENE 7
Shot of a hand holding two photographs. One is a square framed photo of a woman in a white dress, a formal pose. The smaller photo is round with an open cover, a portrait of a woman wearing a dark colored dress. Both of the women have dark hair.
The camera pulls away and we can see that it is Murdoch holding the photographs. There is a knock on the door as he sets the pictures down on his desk.
ML: "It's open."
Now we are looking across the room at a set of double doors, arched at the top, with a few steps leading up to them. Other furnishings are visible in the large room, including bookshelves lining one wall.
The doors open into the room. Scott is first, Johnny close behind.
They come down the steps. The camera shifts to Murdoch, seated at his desk in front of a large window. Murdoch gets up, using a cane. He is wearing a jacket that seems to be made of a corduroy material, over a white checked shirt, no tie. The pov moves so that we are now behind ML as he looks at the two young men.
Scott on the left, has a tan suit, ruffled shirt and cuffs, and is wearing a tie. Johnny has a trimmed bolero jacket over an embroidered shirt.
Scott is holding his hat in one hand, using the other to unbutton his suit jacket. Johnny is still wearing his hat. Both of them remove their gloves, Scott places his inside his hat.
Close up of Murdoch.
Close up of Scott.
Close up of Murdoch.
Close up of Johnny.
Silence. Murdoch studies his sons and they each look back at him. Their solemn expressions do not give much away.
Finally, Murdoch asks a question.
ML: Drink?
Scott steps forward. "No thank you," he says firmly.
Murdoch turns his attention to Johnny, pointing at him with his cane. "You drink, don't you?"
JML: "When I know the man I'm drinkin' with, yeah."
Close up of Murdoch, he has a very slight smile this time.
ML, to Johnny: "You got your mother's temper."
Johnny stares at him, slowly removing his hat.
ML to Scott: "You've got your mother's eyes."
There is a subtle reaction from SL at this, he tilts his head back a bit, but doesn't speak.
ML: "I want a drink." He turns away.
Johnny steps forward, holding his hat. "You got something to say Old Man---say it."
His voice is deceptively soft, with an edge.
Murdoch whips around at that. Close up of Johnny, followed by one of Scott. ML considers this, then abruptly turns and walks back towards his desk, leaning heavily upon his cane. His sons stand side by side, watching him.
Still with his backed turned to the brothers, Murdoch opens the cover of a leather binder on his desk and removes two envelopes, placing them side by side near the edge of the desk top.
ML: "A thousand dollars a piece."
He circles around to his chair and sits. Johnny swiftly crosses the room. Scott only takes a step or two. When Johnny approaches the desk and picks up his envelope, Murdoch tells him, "Maybe you better count it."
JML: "I plan to."
In a slightly softer tone, Murdoch addresses Scott, "Come and get your money."
Scott replies, "I'll settle for this drink," then starts towards the table, halting at ML's next words.
ML, louder and more gruffly: "You'll do as you're told."
Scott looks back at him, stopping short, and says, "Will I?" in almost the same tone.
Close up of Murdoch, then shot of Johnny as he looks up for ML's reaction.
ML: "I want no favors from either one of you."
Scott regards him with a serious expression, then slowly smiles, glancing down. "Far be it for me to spoil a family reunion," he says in an ironic tone.
Johnny is still standing in front of the desk, counting his money.
Scott approaches, puts his hat and gloves down, then reaches for the remaining envelope. He picks it up with his left hand, transfers it to his right and then slaps the envelope against his empty hand. Gesturing with the envelope, he looks across at Murdoch and says "Thanks."
Close up on Scott as a thought occurs to him. "What do I call you. .. under the circumstances, "Father" hardly seems. . . ."
ML's voice cuts him off, while the camera stays on Scott: "Call me anything you like."
Close up of Murdoch. "We're strangers to each other." (he looks away) "Maybe that's my fault, maybe it isn't."
Scott shakes his head. "Oh . . . no apology necessary." He says this in a polite, perfunctory manner, but Murdoch replies angrily.
ML: "You'll get no apology from me!"
Both young men are standing in front of the desk. Johnny is still holding his envelope but Scott's seems to have disappeared. Murdoch gets up slowly and comes around the desk again.
ML: "If the air needs clearing, let's clear it."
He stands in front of Scott. We see the back and side of SL's head while ML speaks.
ML: "Your mother's family thought she was daft to marry me, not a year off the boat from Inverness. And maybe they were right. You were born, she died, I left you in their hands. Period."
Close up of Scott, who drops his eyes from Murdoch's gaze but gives no other reaction to his father's words.
Next Murdoch turns to Johnny, we see him in profile, then he slowly turns to look at ML once his father starts to speak.
ML: "A couple of years later, I met your mother down at Matamoros. (he pauses) She . . . we got married. Two years after that, I awoke one morning, found her gone, you along with her."
Close up of Johnny: "That ain't the way I heard it!"
Back to ML: "I don't care what you heard! It's past. Bad or good, right or wrong, it's passed and gone."
Shot of Johnny, then camera pulls back to show the three of them.
ML: "We're talking about now."
He walks away from them to gaze out the huge window behind his desk, gesturing at the view of the ranch. "What's happening out there, to this ranch."
Johnny has been holding the lapels of his bolero jacket; now he slips them into the waistband of his pants. Scott sits sideways on one leg on the front edge of Murdoch's desk.
SL: "The girl Teresa said you were having some trouble."
Murdoch turns back to face them. "Last fall, somebody made off with one of our horses. My Segundo and I trailed him to a place called Morro Coyo---we walked right into it. O'Brien was killed and I ended up with this leg that's gone sour on me."
Behind him, through the window, we can see workers moving about outside. Then there is a shot of the two young men listening as he continues.
"Since then, my fences have been cut, beef stolen, workers frightened off, burned out. Three months ago, I had one hundred and fifty vaqueros, now I've got eighteen."
Close up on Johnny, who lowers his eyes with a smile playing about his lips.
JML: "Well then that's the, ah, ranch you're worried about, huh?"
Murdoch gives him a look, then turns back to face the window.
ML: "I love this ground more than anything God ever created. I've got a grey hair for every good blade of grass you see out there. They're trying to run me off this place."
JML: "Who?"
Murdoch turns, resting his arm along the back of his leather desk chair.
"You'll hear 'em called 'land pirates'----that's close enough."
Johnny is still standing with his hands in his waistband, flat against his stomach, Scott is still seated sideways on the front of the desk.
SL, reacting to Murdoch's statement, gesturing with his right hand: "You mean to tell me that men can just come along and drive you off of your land?"
ML: "They're doing it. Since I was hit, they've taken three other estancias."
SL: "What about the Law?'
ML: "There isn't any." He starts to walk around his desk, towards the liquor table. "They killed two good men, Joe Carbajal from Modesto, Peterson from San Jose."
Scott turns as Murdoch moves past him, so that he is now sitting on the desk edge facing Murdoch, supporting himself with his hands on either side. Johnny moves one hand to rub at his face, then slips it back into his waistband.
ML: "The others quit, found business elsewhere." He pours himself a drink, then sits on the edge of the table. "The only Law we got here is Pack Law . . . the Big Dog gets the meat. By summer, they'll own half of this state." He takes a drink for the glass in his hand.
Johnny steps towards Murdoch. "Big Dog got a name?"
ML: "Pardee."
JML, with recognition: "Day, Day Pardee?"
ML: "You know him?"
Johnny replies as he steps closer, "Oh yes, I know 'em. He's a gunfighter and he's pretty good." JML moves closer, smiling at Murdoch, "Yeah, I'd say you have some kind of trouble."
In the background, Scott is still seated on ML's desk, listening. There is a close up of Murdoch, but before he can respond to Johnny's statement, we hear Scott's voice.
SL: "Just how many men does he have, this Pardee?"
ML: "Twenty or twenty five."
SL: "That doesn't exactly put him in a class with Attila the Hun."
Johnny glances over his shoulder at Scott, while Murdoch tells Scott: "You've got the floor."
Scott gets up to walk across the room, towards a wall with a map next to a large model of a ship sitting on a cabinet.
SL, talking as he crosses the room: "Well, it seems to me you have a very simple military problem here." (he gestures at the large map on the wall) "One, find the enemy." (Scott glances at Murdoch) "Two, engage him. Three, destroy him."
He turns towards Murdoch and Johnny as he concludes his assessment.
Murdoch glances at Johnny, who looks back at ML, then laughs.
Scott is not pleased. SL: "Something funny?"
Murdoch takes another drink, he's still perched on the edge of the table behind the sofa. Johnny sits down on the arm of an easy chair, as Scott walks towards them. Murdoch sets his glass down, then rests one hand on his knee.
ML, to Scott: "Um, he's saying it's not that kind of a fight." (to Johnny) "But you could be wrong. I've got eighteen good men, only the best stayed. You two make twenty."
Johnny snorts out a half laugh, "Now wait a minute. This is listenin' money. Now all of a sudden you're talkin 'bout gun money. Well, let me tell you somethin', that's extra. That don't come on no lunch."
ML: "I want more than your guns."
JML: "What more?"
The camera moves back and forth between them as they talk Scott can be seen standing right behind Murdoch, listening intently, although he doesn't speak.
Murdoch responds to Johnny's question, looking at him and speaking very slowly and deliberately: "I want your arms, and your legs, and your guts, if you got any."
After he says "guts", ML turns to look at Scott, then back at Johnny.
Johnny gives Scott a sideways glance, then replies: "All right, say I come up with all these arms, legs and guts you're talkin' about." ( a small smile plays aobut his lips as he recites the list) "What do you come up with?"
ML: "One third."
JML: "Of what?"
ML: "Everything you see out there." He points out the large window behind his desk.
Scott turns his head to look out the window as Murdoch points, while Johnny gets up and walks towards the window to look out at the 'everything' that Murdoch is talking about.
ML: "One hundred thousand acres, twenty thousand head of beef, the finest campagneros y palominos in the San Joaquin."
Johnny stands with his thumbs hooked in the front of his belt, "One third huh?" Turning back to Murdoch he adds, "You wouldn't mind putting that down on a piece of paper, would yah? No offense."
Murdoch steps over to him, pulling out a long billfold from his jacket and offers up the piece of paper to Johnny, asking, "Will this do?"
Johnny accepts the paper, as Scott approaches. Murdoch explains what the document is: "Agreement of partnership, equal shares to each of us, but I call the tune. Agreed?"
Scott smiles and nods his head in the affirmative. Johnny glances at Scott, then smiles at Murdoch, shaking his head and tries to hand the paper back to him, saying: "You didn't sign it."
ML: "Nothing for nothing. " He takes the agreement back from Johnny. "You'll get your share of this ranch when you prove to me you're man enough to hold it."
JML: "When's that?"
ML: "When you get the man that put the bullet in my back."
Johnny asks skeptically, "Pardee?"
ML: "That's the one."
JML: "Well let me tell you old man, you want a lot."
Murdoch simply says, "Take it or leave it."
A bell rings and we never get to hear Johnny's answer. Murdoch says: "Fire, come on!" The three men rush out of the room.
SCENE 8
Outside, a man is seen pulling the rope to ring the fire bell.
Dramatic music plays and we see scenes of burning fields, men and horses hurrying past. Men are working with shovels, others are using pieces of cloth to try to beat back the flames. There are some women, with buckets of water, and more than just eighteen men. People are shouting and the music continues.
Murdoch is glimpses chopping at the stalks of the plants, corn perhaps. Teresa is beside him with a bucket of water. Both brothers are hard at work.
Murdoch shouts to be head above the activity: "Let it go!" He says that the fire got too much of a head start. "Let it burn up to the ridge!"
He walks past, with Teresa following him. Scott and Johnny stand side by side. All of them are sooty and grimy. The brothers no longer wear their jackets; Johnny's shirt is untucked, Scott has his sleeves rolled up and we can see his suspenders against his formerly white shirt.
TO, to ML: "Isn't there something we can do?"
ML: "No the field's gone, darling. It'll burn itself out by nightfall."
Murdoch addresses his sons, "Take a good look at it! It's the third field that Pardee has destroyed. I told you you'd have to fight to hold on to this place. What do you say?"
There is a pause, then Scott finally speaks, "I've already given you my answer." Johnny half turns at his words.
Murdoch looks to Johnny: "What about you, Boy?"
JML: "I hate to see my property go up in flames."
SL corrects him: "Our property."
Murdoch starts to smile, but doesn't quite manage it.
SCENE 9
Cheerful music plays. We see Scott standing in front of a dresser with a mirror, shaving. He is wearing a "long john" type long sleeved shirt, with the sleeves pulled up, and has a towel over his shoulder. He is looking in the mirror as he uses a straight razor to scrape shaving soap off of his face. In the mirror behind him, we see a carved wooden door open and Johnny appears.
Johnny is wearing his same pants, but has a white shirt draped over his left shoulder. One stocking foot and he's holding a boot.
Scott looks back over his shoulder.
SL, drily: "Come right in."
He wipes the razor on the towel. In the mirror we can see Johnny lean back against the doorframe to pull on his boot. Scott folds the razor, picks up something from the top of the dresser. It looks like either a small oval box or an oval brush of some sort.
Scott turns and walks towards the other side of his large bedroom. Johnny is still near the door, starting to put one arm into his shirt.
SL: "Sleep well?"
JML: "I always sleep well."
Set up of Scott's room: against one wall, the dresser with the mirror where he was shaving. That dresser had a washbowl sitting on the top. To the right of that dresser there is another carved wood-paneled door, and further to the right there is a bureau, with a candelabra on the top and a painting hanging on the wall above it. This bureau is near the head of the bed, which has a carved headboard and another painting above it.
At the foot of the bed is a large chest with a striped cloth over it. Two of Scott's traveling cases are resting on it, one suitcase is open. His fashionable hat from the day before is sitting on the bedpost.
On the other side of the bed is a sitting area of the room, with a comfortable looking chair and a round table in the center of the space. The table has a cloth over it and several items sitting on it. We can see that this area is carpeted. Behind the chair is a large casement window with a metal grill over it. To the right of the window is another piece of furniture-it looks sort of like a desk, and has a number of small drawers in the top section. Scott walks past Johnny to open one of the drawers and deposits the item he was holding inside. He is in stocking feet and wearing his famous, form-fitting, plaid pants.
JML: "Well now, will you look at this. . ."
Johnny steps over to the small round table. It has a patterned cloth and in the close up we can see a vase, papers and a book. He takes something small off of the table and holds it up to examine it. We get a nice glimpse of his bare chest. He has what looks like a small circular medal on a chain around his neck.
Scott looks back at him over his shoulder.
JML: "They're all over the place."
SL, wiping his face with the towel: "What?"
JML: "This . .this is a twenty dollar gold piece. Found one in my room too."
He examines it. Scott comes back towards him, stops on the other side of the table.
JML: "It's like guest money, ya know. . . save's ya askin' for a loan."
Scott wipes the last traces of shaving soap from his face with the towel. Johnny is holding the coin out to him.
SL: "Nice custom." His tone is dry, disinterested.
He turns away, leaving Johnny standing there holding out the coin.
JML: grins: "Teachers ya something. . . ." He flips the coin into the air and catches it, then again as he continues speaking. "Teaches you to never pass up a twenty dollar gold piece."
Scott is over near the foot of the bed, folding his towel. He turns and gestures.
SL: "Help yourself, it's yours."
"Well, thank you," Johnny says very quickly and puts the coin in his shirt pocket.
SL: "A third of it, anyway." He looks at Johnny, not quite smiling, as if he is watching for a reaction.
Johnny pauses in mid motion. In close up, we can see that his white shirt with black buttons has white embroidery on it.
JML: "You talkin' about that piece of paper he showed us?" Johnny picks up another hat from the foot of the bed. It has a fur hatband and a feather on it. He blows on the feather and brushes at it with his hand as he walks towards the mirrored dresser where Scott was shaving earlier. Scott has already taken the traveling case from the chest at the foot of the bed and carried it over to the bureau.
JML: "Let me tell you somethin' about paper." He puts on the hat, sideways, and looks at himself in the mirror. "You touch a match to it, 'n (he walks away form the mirror towards Scott) it burns right up."
Scott is unpacking items from the traveling case and placing them in a drawer.
SL: "You don't give the old man too much credit, do you?"
Johnny, still wearing Scott's hat, with his shirt still unbuttoned, leans his butt against the wall, resting one hand on the edge of the bureau. Then he removes the hat and tosses it into the air. "Well, I'll tell ya. . . I don't give anybody too much credit. . (camera on Scott as JML's voice continues) saves a lot of disappointment."
Johnny tosses the hat onto the large cloth covered chest at the foot of the bed, and steps towards the bed as Scott watches over his left shoulder. Johnny picks something up off of the bed, then sits down on the edge of the bed.
JML: "Well, would ya look at that." He smiles. Close up of the framed photograph he is holding, of two men in military uniforms. Johnny points to the shorter, mustached man on the left. "Hey, who's this other officer all smarted up?'
Scott, who has been watching Johnny over his shoulder, turns back towards the bureau and continues putting things away. "It's General Phil Sheridan. I was in his unit during the War."
Close up on Johnny, he raises his eyebrows at this information. "Very pretty."
Scott turns to face Johnny, with a serious expression: "I photograph well."
Scott starts to walk around the foot of the bed. "Yeah, you are kind of a (as he is speaking, Johnny lays back on the bed and rolls so that he can drop his legs on the other side of the bed) snappy dresser at that." Johnny is now sitting on the other side of the bed, facing Scott who is headed towards the chair in front of the window. There appear to be some clothes draped over the chair.
Scott sits down, picks up a boot and flips it in the air, catches it and gets ready to put it on. Johnny asks a question: "What kind of a unit didja say that was?" just as the door on the other side of the room bursts open and Teresa offers a cheery good morning.
Scott rolls his eyes, flips the boot back the other way, dropping it to the floor as he gets to his feet. He stands with hands on hips. Johnny is leaning on his hands, still sitting on the edge of the bed and just looks at her over his shoulder.
SL, sounding testy: "Does anyone around here evah knock when they enter a room?"
Camera on Teresa, one hand on her hip. She is wearing a blouse and slacks with a belt. Her hair is gathered back in a low ponytail.
TO, dismissively: "Oh, think of me like a sister."
She steps further into the room. The bed post with Scott's round hat on it is directly in front of her; behind her, we can see that there is a painted design on the wall around the door frame.
TO: "Hey, Cipriano's cut out two horses for you."
Camera shifts to the brothers. Scott is lowering himself back into his chair, Johnny is still seated in the same position.
TO: "He's waiting in the corral."
JML: "Yeah, you tell him I'll be right down."
Shot of Teresa looking at Scott's hat. She picks it up with an unhappy expression, then places it back on the post and taps the hat with one hand. "We're going to have to buy you some new clothes for living around here," she says as she exits the room. The door shuts behind her.
Scott is annoyed by the comment, he stands and gestures at the chair with the clothes on it, then places his hands on his hips again.
SL: "What's wrong with my clothes?"
Johnny stands up. "Well, I mean, you're planning on stayin' in these parts (points at the plaid pants) well, that just ain't the style."
Scott seems angry. He picks up his things from the back of the chair. "Of course I'm planning to stay."
Music plays as Johnny walks towards the door through which he entered.
Scott is over near that door apparently putting things away in a closet or wardrobe not previously seen.
Johnny reaches the doorway and pauses. He is kind of holding the bottom edge of his still unbuttoned shirt in each hand, swinging his hands a bit as he speaks without looking at Scott. "look, I tell ya. . . um . . ."
Scott had glanced over his shoulder when Johnny paused in the doorway, but turns to face him completely once he starts speaking.
SL: "Get it said, Brother."
Johnny looks up at the harsh tone, responds in kind. "Just this. What I got in mind is pretty much of a one man deal."
Camera on Scott, as his face slowly opens up into a full smile. He becomes serious, squinting his eyes as he replies. "Now, you're gonna make me feel left out of things if you're not careful."
JL: "Better left out, than in a ditch. . . with ants crawlin' across your eyeballs. . . that don't photograph too well." A slight hint of a smile plays about his lips as he delivers this line, but he never really smiles and it never reaches his eyes.
Music plays as Johnny exits. Scott smiles and the scene changes.
SCENE 10
Suddenly we are on the back of a bucking horse, we hear people shouting words of encouragement. Johnny is in a corral riding a palomino, there are other men on horseback inside the corral as well.
The camera shows Teresa sitting on top of the corral fence cheering him on, a handsome young Mexican man is sitting beside her, equally enthusiastic. Next there is a shot of an older man who is waving his sombrero type hat. Everyone is calling out to Johnny by name. There are other hands sitting or standing along the fence and a few seated on horseback outside the corral as well, all watching Johnny.
Next we glimpse Murdoch Lancer who is driving a wagon pulled by a team of horses. The camera moves back and forth from shots of Johnny to images of people who are watching him, including Murdoch. ML is wearing a light colored cowboy hat, a white shirt with a criss-crossing line pattern and a vest over it. He has a serious, unreadable, expression as he watches the proceedings inside the corral.
Scott is seen approaching on foot, walking past some milling cows. More shots of Johnny riding, the vaqueros cheering. Scott gets closer, we can see Murdoch in his wagon in the background of the shot. The young man seated beside Teresa jumps down inside the corral, then climbs back out to stand along the fence with one of the older Mexican men.
Teresa seated astride the fence, addresses Scott: "He's really something, isn't he?"
She's clapping her hands and her pony tail whips back and forth as she looks from one brother to the other.
Scott leans on the top rail of the corral fence: "The horse?"
TO, emphatically, as if her meaning should have been evident: "No, Johnny!"
Scott's reaction is to nod his head and say "Oooh." He's not very impressed, or at least is determined not to show it. Scott is wearing the hat that Johnny tried on, the one with the animal print band and the feather, also a jacket with leather lapels over what looks like a turtleneck shirt.
Teresa sits with her hands on her knees for a moment. Then she gestures behind her towards a very sedate looking horse standing beside a distant fence.
TO: "Your horse is over there!" She sticks her nose up in the air.
Scott steps up on a lower rail, turns to look. There is a shot of "Scott's horse". Two women standing next to it are watching the activity in the corral, the animal appears oblivious to its surroundings.
Scott turns back, he seems to be trying to hide his dismay, but Teresa isn't looking at him any more, instead she is calling out to Johnny.
TO: "Hey! Good, Johnny, you broke 'im!"
Johnny rides over. Scott is now seated facing Teresa, also astride the fence.
TO: "That was wonderful!"
JML: "Well, that's a good animal." Johnny lifts his left leg over the palomino's neck, then drops to the ground on the side of the horse closest to the fence. He's breathing hard from the exertion of riding.
JML, to SL: "See that one over there--- that one's yours, Boston."
Teresa looks back over her shoulder towards where we know the horse is standing. Johnny is holding his hat, he slips the cord over his head and lets it hang down his back.
SL, to JML: "Yah, I saw it. I saw this one as well."
He jumps down inside the corral. Scott takes the palomino's reins and walks around to the far side of the horse.
JML: "Now what d'you think you're doin'?"
Scott doesn't answer him, he just mounts the horse.
JML: "Hey, I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Scott turns the animal around, then urges it into a canter. He rides away, picking up speed. There is a quick shot of three vaqueros who all "bail out" from their seats on the top rail of the corral fence, then a side view of Scott on horseback jumping out of the enclosure.
Murdoch is seen in his wagon, rising to his feet. Scott circles around as dramatic music continues to play. Johnny and Teresa are watching intently. Johnny says "Well . . .". He's standing with his hands on his hips, smiling, and seems openly impressed, turning back to look at Teresa for her reaction. She is smiling also.
Scott jumps the horse over an unattended cart. Shot of two older vaqueros who are standing by the corral. They turn and look at each other, one says something, the other starts clapping his hands. (we can see "Scott's horse" in the background here, it still hasn't moved)
Scott rides back, jumps back inside the corral, as a cowboy stands looking on. There is another shot of Johnny and Teresa watching him, then the camera is on Murdoch again. He seems to be wearing something of a smile now. Teresa's young friend is seen standing next to an older Mexican man, who nods and says "Muy bien."
Scott rides over to Johnny and Teresa, the horse snorts a couple of times.
SL, to JML: "You're right, he is a fine animal. And in answer to your question earlier, it was a cavalry unit I was in." He dismounts in the normal fashion.
JML, not looking at him at first: "Well, I'll say one thing, Boston, (now he looks up and smiles) you sure do know how to ride."
Johnny reaches for his gun belt. "You scared the pants off those cowhands. Didn't he?" He addresses this question to Teresa, who is shown biting her lower lip, smiling and nodding her head in agreement. She is impressed.
As Johnny buckles his gun belt, his smile fades. "But that don't make you ready for Day Pardee. You gonna end up with a bullet in your back."
SL: "There's an awful lot of back shooting going on around here. " He tosses a rope up over the horse's neck. "What ever happened to the Code of the West?"
Scott rests his arm along the top rail of the corral.
JML: "Well, you see, that's it. You gotta do it to them before they do it to you." He looks rather pleased to be relaying this information.
Johnny has his jacket in his hand. He mounts the horse.
JML: "I'm gonna.. . see ya." He starts to ride out of the corral.
Teresa rises up: "Where should I tell Mr. Lancer you're going?"
JML: "Tell him I've gone to town to break up one a them gold pieces." He smiles and rides away.
Scene ends with a shot of Teresa looking not very happy astride the fence. Scott is inside the corral, resting both arms on the top rail. Two vaqueros are outside the corral, leaning on the fence sideways, all watching as Johnny rides away.
SCENE 11
In town. An old man with a white beard is walking along with a yoke over his shoulders. Ropes attached to each end enable him to carry two buckets of water. He's singing in Spanish.
"Camaron, camaron te yeva la corriente" which in English is: "Scorpion, scorpion the current takes you."
Suddenly, a bullet creases the ground alongside him. He stops, bends over. We hear loud laughter off screen. Following his gaze, we see a group of seven men sitting and standing around a stoop. It seems to be the entrance of the saloon; several of them are drinking.
A big burly man with a graying beard, Coley, is seated in a chair with his foot up against the support post. Another man, wearing a black hat, dark suit and string tie, sits on a barrel to the left of Coley, smoking a cigar. An Indian wearing a hat with a feather on it sits on the steps. There is a man standing on the right, wearing a light colored hat and vest, he's doing the shooting. There are three other men standing or sitting behind these four.
Coley, to the shooter: "See, I told ya, you couldn't even hit the side of a barn."
Man in the vest: "I'll bet ya two more silver dollars!"
Coley: "You're on!"
The man in the vest fires, hits one of the old man's buckets, causing it to spring a leak. The old man says something in Spanish, the translation of which is "Oh my God! I'm going to lose my water." He then turns and starts to walk in the opposite direction.
The camera is on the group of men again, and Coley raises his weapon to shoot. Sound of gunfire and a hole appears in the other bucket, water flows out. The old man turns around, still speaking in Spanish, sounding more distraught.
There is a shot of the street behind the old man, and Johnny is seen approaching on his palomino. He rides closer, ducking under n archway. We hear the sound of his horse's hooves as well as the old gentleman still speaking. . . "Por favor, Senor. . ." he says, then continues in Spanish with "Oh my God what am I going to do?"
The other men keep shooting and laughing, the old man keeps talking.
Johnny pulls up beside him and dismounts. The old man asks Johnny in Spanish, to tell the men not please not to shoo this water. Johnny replies, but his answer seems inaudible. The old man lets the yoke drop from his shoulders. Johnny is holding one bucket and he reaches for the reins of his horse with the other hand. The old man thanks him, "Gracias." Johnny turns and walks down the street towards the group of men who are still laughing loudly. We hear Coley exclaim something about a "lucky shot!"
The man wearing the white vest fires and puts another hole in the bucket in Johnny's hand. The palomino horse isn't happy and shies away. JML pulls it along. Behind him the old man can be seen and heard telling his story to a couple of cowboys on horseback, we hear something about those "hombres." In Spanish, he tells the other bystanders: "They are mean."
Johnny wraps the palomino's lead around a nearby post and keeps walking slowly towards the "hombres," still carrying a bucket in his left hand. He is wearing his hat and his bolero jacket.
The Indian seated on the step picks up a shotgun. Coley has his arms folded, and is still seated in the chair. "Vest" stands with his thumbs in his pants pockets. The other men watch intently as well. Johnny stops a few paces away. He has not spoken to them.
The men silently regard him. The camera pans over them. First the man in the dark suit seated on the barrel. He clenches his cigar in his mouth, has dark eyebrows, though his hair seems lighter. The bearded man next to him leans on the post, also smoking a cigar, dressed in typical cowboy attire. Next is Coley, still seated with his arms folded across his ample girth. There is a lot of grey in his beard. The camera slides down to the Indian, still pointing the shotgun at Johnny. He has blunt-cut, chin- length straight hair and wears a neckerchief knotted around his neck. Finally, the camera settles upon the man with the white vest and light colored hat. He breaks the silence, addressing Johnny in an unfriendly tone.
"Vest": "Just what do you want?"
JML: "You got bad manners."
Vest laughs. The camera shifts to the man in the dark suit, who removes the cigar from his mouth to ask: "You gonna teach us some good ones?"
Johnny's eyes shift to him. He waits a beat. JML: "Maybe."
The camera returns to the man in the suit, but it is Coley's voice that we hear.
Coley: "Well, well, well, . . ." "Suit" looks at him, and the camera shifts to Coley.
Coley: "I do believe we got us a hard one here, uh?"
Vest: "Lt's see how long it takes to make a good dog outta you."
JML, agreeably: "Okay."
Vest: "That's my water. . . bring it here."
Johnny just looks at him. Camera shifts to Vest, then Johnny, then Coley. Vest chuckles, turns to Coley, who laughs. Camera pulls back so that we are behind Johnny and can see all of the men.
Vest: "Dog won't fetch, he's gotta be taught."
He steps down and walks forward until he's just a few paces away from Johnny.
Vest: "Now hand me that water, Mister, I mean to have that for my tub."
JML: "I doubt it."
Vest: "Oh, do you now?"
JML: "If they got bath tubs in Hell. . ."
Vest, angrily: "What's that?"
Dramatic music as Johnny suddenly flings the bucket of water at Vest, who catches it as he staggers back. Johnny points his gun at him, saying: "You're dead."
Coley: "So are you, Sonny." He has a gun leveled at Johnny.
More dramatic music. Johnny glances down, then up at the sky. "Well . . I picked a good day for it."
Coley: "You'd better believe me, Sonny Boy."
JML: "I do, I do. Only question now bein' how many a you goin' with me."
Vest: "Take him down, Coley!"
Coley seems ready to do just that, when a voice off camera says: "I wouldn't."
Coley turns. There is a mustached man in a dark hat and fringed leather jacket standing in the doorway behind the group of men. Coley looks at Johnny, then back at the newcomer, who is studying Johnny.
JML, smiling and nodding: "Day."
Day Pardee: "Long time, Johnny Madrid." He does not seem unhappy to see Johnny.
JML, smiles, looks own and laughs a little: "Yeah, long time."
DP: "Care for a drink?"
JML: "Yeah, sure." He walks towards Pardee. Vest backs out of his way. Pardee is still in the doorway, gazing down the street. "Madrid." Johnny pauses in the entrance and they are face to face. "Were you lookin' for me?"
JML: "No, but I had a feelin' I'd find ya."
Camera pulls back to show the group of men watching. The Indian is standing, still holding the shotgun. "Suit" gets up off of the barrel, throws his cigar to the ground. The Indian follows Pardee and Johnny inside.
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