"No matter how bad you think it is, there's nothing that's happened to you that hasn't happened to somebody else." "Hey, Ben." "Do you wanna go snake hunting?" "What can I do to make you feel better?" "Jesus!" "Mother of God!" "What in hell did you do to your hair?" "What?" "That colour is pure cow-piss." "Felix, look at her." "You're blonde." "That's right." "There ain't gonna be but one blondette in this show." "Like you're a real blondette?" "I see you naked every night." "Felix, would you talk to your daughter?" "I think she looks beautiful." "Don't pay her no mind now." "She's just out of sorts." " About everything." " She's just plain mean." "I don't know why I have to put up with it." "I'm sad, too, you know." "And what would make you happy, little girl?" "I don't know." "I'm sick of this place." "All of it." "Curly and old Jasper, they lit out last night." "I heard." "You could do that, too, you know." " Leave?" " Sure, yeah." "Just hit the trail." " Go where?" " Anywhere but Texas." " Hollywood?" " Well, maybe." "It happens all the time out there." "People go to Hollywood with nothing but a dream." "They get discovered and become big stars." "is that what you want, little girl?" "Anything is better than here." "Best start packing your bags." "Miss Iris?" "Miss Iris, there's a gentleman here to see you." "Tell him I'll be right down." "Miss Crowe?" "It's good to meet you." "I'm Tommy Dolan. I work for KZAK Radio in Los Angeles. I'm a reporter." " You said you were in the California Ministry." " l know this is a very trying time." "You were right about that." "You get out, before I... I wasn't trying to pull a fast one, I swear." "I just wanted to talk to you." "What is it you want, Mr Dolan?" "I was the last person to see your brother alive." "The man who put the story on the radio." "That's me." "Tales From The Road." "How was he?" "Unshaven, could use a bath." "But healthy." "A strong spirit." "We were passing a bottle around a campfire just outside Kingsburg." " My brother doesn't drink." " l may be wrong about that part." " Elroy, just put it there with the others." " Yes, ma'am." "Wow!" "That's a lot of mail." "People are concerned about my brother, about our ministry." "Good, Christian people." "May I?" ""Dear Brother Justin, we heard your story on the radio." ""Our family was touched by your brave struggle." ""Please accept this donation as a token of our belief in your mission." "We pray for your..."" " Sawbuck." " The Spirit of the Lord has moved His people" " to be generous in our time of need." " Amen." "Why don't we move all this into the kitchen?" "Thank you, boys." "It looks like a lot of donations - enough to get you started on a new church." " That would be up to my brother." " Of course." "But, as Brother Justin explained to me, your problems here in Mintern go beyond money." " He told you that?" " Yes, ma'am, he did." "The men who run this city, they wanted to shut us down because we minister to migrants." "There is where l can be of help." "There is nothing more irritating to a politician than a reporter." "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, Mr Dolan, but what's in it for you?" "What's in it for me is a good story." "A good story means more listeners, which means more renown, which means more money." "Which means more of everything to a lowly sinner like me." "It sounds like you need to go to church, Mr Dolan." "I'd be happy to go anywhere you'd care to take me, Miss Crowe." "I'd better go see what's going on in the kitchen." "If you'll excuse me, I'm sure you can find your way out." "I need help." "I need your help." "Please." " Why do you chase us?" " l'm not chasing you." "Where are the others?" "Listen, it is very important that you go find your parents and tell them that I'm out here." "I'm hurt very badly. I need help." " Where's your mother?" " My mother is dead." " And where is your father?" " My father is an evil man." "Wait, where are you going?" "Come back here." "Come back here!" "Come back... I'm sure snake charming pays pretty good." "Don't seem natural, folks paying to see that." "There's something about watching a woman handle a snake." "Makes a man downright percolated." "It probably goes back to the serpent in the Garden." "The Garden of Eden, you know?" "Corinthians, Ezekiel, Revelations, Matthew, Luke." " My ma read Scripture to me every day." " ls that right?" "I got a Bible, if you wanna start reading it again." "No. I had enough of that for one lifetime." "Remember now, we're looking for a hognose or a plainbelly." "But the markings can sometimes fool you." "One time, down near Fort Worth, I caught what I took to be a plainbelly." "The damn thing turned out to be a cottonmouth." "Bit the hell out of me." "I almost died." "Damn." "It was Hack Scudder who pulled me through." " Really?" " Yeah, it's a fact." "He sat up with me all night during the fever." "He put his hand on my face... I've seen that look on your face before." "You don't like to be touched, do you?" "There wasn't much touching going on in my family." "That's a shame." "That weren't so bad." "Hollywood?" "And what are we supposed to do in Hollywood?" "Libby wants to get into picture shows." "She dances the cootch." "What kind of pictures you think she'll do?" "She's smart." "She'll be fine." " What are we gonna do?" " We'll find something." "You are dreaming like Libby now." "All I know is I want to get out of here, Rita Sue." "You listen to me. lf we leave here without another job lined up, we're gonna end up on the breadline, and that is a fact!" "No dreams about running off to Hollywood are gonna change that." "This family has got to keep going." "There is gonna be a show tonight." "And I'm gonna need a pally." "She ain't even two weeks in the ground." " lt's called Blondex." " l like it." "Really?" " You ain't just saying it to be nice?" " l'm not that nice." " Mama had a duck fit about it." " l'll bet." "I knew she would." "But I don't care." "I don't feel so much like being me right now." "It helps to be blonde if you want to be in the movies." " Like Jean Harlow?" " Or Thelma Todd." "She's got her own caf?" "Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Caf?" "She lives in this apartment on top." "Says she can look out her window and see the ocean." "What are you gonna do?" "Have a cup of coffee and knock on Thelma Todd's door?" "I've got what's called an icebreaker." "It was in Photoplay - how to act natural if you meet a movie star in Hollywood." "So what's your icebreaker?" "We've got the same birthday." "July 29." "That's great, but how are you gonna get all the way out to Hollywood?" "We're leaving tomorrow." "Tomorrow?" "For good?" "I can't stay here no more." "The idea of getting up and dancing again after what happened..." "Mama said she can, but I don't see how." "You'll be so much happier getting out of here." "I know." "It'd be nice to be sure, though, about how things are gonna turn out." "I was wondering..." "Maybe you could read my cards." " l know your mama don't like me and all." " Of course." "Come by tonight, bring two bits like any other paying customer and Mama won't be able to say a word." " Two bits?" " l'll loan it to you." "Looks like Ruthie is taking up her old act again." "The boy's painting up her banner real nice." "Really?" "Shall we?" "You know, Ruthie was something to see in her day." "A man could literally be hypnotised by watching the swaying of her hips." "You two sure have time to stand around and jaw." "We'll leave you to your work soon enough." "However, I'd very much like us to resume our discussions." "Could you tell your blind old granddaddy that I ain't interested, and I never will be?" "Think you can dispense with listening to old Lodz and his blind, drunken ramblings?" "Perhaps this will interest you - the truth about Scudder and Ruthie." "That got his attention." "Did she tell you the story of how she survived the bite of a cottonmouth?" "He helped her. I know all about that." "Really?" "I'm impressed." "And I take it she also told you how, as a reward for his devotion, she took him into her bed the same way she's rewarded the many who have helped her through the years." "Loverboy just found out that his snake isn't the first one charmed in Ruthie's trailer." " That was some mighty story this morning." " What?" " You and Scudder." " What about it?" " How you laid down with him." " What?" "It's true, ain't it?" "That's none of your business." "The hell it ain't!" "You take every drunk that comes along in your bed?" " l don't answer to you." " All this time, you've been lying to me." " You don't know what you're talking about." " You're a goddamn liar!" "Gabe, stop." "Gabe, put him down." "Put him down." "You're hurting him!" "Gabe!" " Break it up!" " What are you doing?" "This is Tommy Dolan with more true tales from on the road." "I'm here with Val Templeton and his lovely wife, Corrine, in the spacious living room of their lovely and well-appointed home in Mintern, California." "Val is an important man here in Mintern." "He's fast becoming one of the most important men in the San Joaquin Valley." "His reputiation spreading across the state, influence felt all the way to Sacramento." "Val Templeton stands astride the Central Valley like some latter-day Colossus." "You're too kind, Mr Dolan." "I've been talking to Miss Iris Crowe, devoted sister of Brother Justin." "She tells me things aren't going well down at the Dignity ministry." "I beg your pardon?" "Things aren't going well down at Brother Justin's Dignity ministry." " ls that a fact?" " Yes, sir." "I'm sure, like the rest of Mintern, you're concerned about the whereabouts of Brother Justin." "Am I right?" " Keenly." " Miss Crowe tells me they haven't begun to rebuild the church." "They have neither the funds nor the capacity for such an undertaking." "I'm gonna have to cut this interview short." "I've got some very important city council business..." "How is the arson investigation going?" "The what?" "The investigation into who burned down the ministry and killed six innocent children." "You are investigating it?" " Yes." " Can our listeners be assured that you will not rest until those responsible are found and punished?" "Justice will be served." "How much will the city council be contributing to the rebuilding?" "Contributing?" "With the entire state praying for Justin's safe return to his ministry, surely Mintern could do its part to right the monstrous wrong that was done within its city limits." "A church was burned." "I'm sure that we're going to be able to come up with a modest contribution." "There is a depression on, after all." "I'm sure." "Anything more than 3,000 would be greatly appreciated." "Bless you, Val." "Likewise, Mr Dolan." "You're a bad man." "My father sent you to kill us." "No, I just want to find some help." "You lie." "As he told us you would." "That we could not trust anyone but men of God." " l am a man of God." " You lie." "There's somebody over there." "You brought them here." "They're assassins!" "What are you talking about?" "Hey, over here!" "Over here!" " The Fool." " The Fool?" "That ain't good." "It ain't bad. lt means you're a person who's light-hearted and carefree." "People think you got wild notions but that's just cos they got no imagination of their own." "The Chariot." "I like the sound of that." "Why is it upside down?" "No reason. I dealt it wrong." "The Chariot means... you're destined for fame." " Really?" " Yeah." "Thank you." "You can come out and visit me someday." "We can swim in the ocean." " And have coffee with Thelma Todd." " Yeah." "I'm gonna go pack." "Because you're wrong." "She's not gonna dance the cootch the rest of her life." "You don't know anything about her." "She's the only one in this place that thinks about what life is like on the outside, who has dreams." "My dreams are none of your business." "Damn, woman." "You still got it in you." "Two hours." "All by yourself!" "Did you see Felix out there?" "No, too many paying customers." "Rita Sue, I got to hand it to you." "You really saved us tonight." "We're in the clover." "I bet you Stumpy's got you booked solid tonight." "I ain't seeing any gentlemen callers tonight." "Felix and I need some time." "Got any room in there for me?" "What are you doing up?" " Ma put the red pig out again." " Red pig?" "It's a signal." "Means she wants to get porked." "Come on." "So sorry." "I wonder if you got the same birthday as anybody famous." " Probably not." " When is it?" " l don't know my exact birthday." " How can you not know your own birthday?" "The day Mama had me was the day she took sick." "And all she remembers is the cherry trees were blooming." "So I pick a different day every year." "Always in the spring." "You ain't like anybody else, are you?" "What's wrong?" "I just can't believe it." "I waited this long to get to know you and now you're leaving." " Come with us." " l can't." "Why?" "is it your ma?" "Listen, they'll take care of her." "Besides, you can always send for her later." "Sofie, you gonna be a carny the rest of your life?" "Going from one shit-hole town to another, barely making ends meet?" "This ain't no life." "It's raining alcohol!" " What are you doing up there?" " l climbed up." "Now I can't seem to climb down." " Let me help you." " All right." " Come on." " Grab my hand." "Jesus, you almost broke your damn neck." "You are cork high and bottle deep." "That's not fine and drunk, my friend." "You care to join me?" "As soon as I get started, you're gonna have to race me to the bottom of that bottle." "The race is on." "Giddy-up." " Red-eye?" " No, that's regular." "I got coon dick here too." "Which do you prefer?" "Your druthers is my ruthers." "Every which way I turn... I see my little girl." "Every which way." " l'll be right back, sweetie." " OK, Mama." "How is he?" "Took a while to move the bone back into place but it was a clean break." "Should heal fine, as long as infection don't get in." "I'm sorry." "That means exactly less than nothing to me right now." "You were right." " That was none of my business." " l don't answer to no man." "Never have." "And ain't gonna start now." "Besides... there's things I don't know about you and things you don't know about me." "You're just gonna have to accept that." "OK." "Anything more than 3,000 would be greatly appreciated." " Bless you, Val." " Likewise, Mr Dolan." "He is going to donate money to our church to help rebuild." "That's what he said." "Live, on the air." "It'll be hard for a politician to take it back now." "That's truly remarkable." "Mr Dolan... I want to thank you for bringing over the recording this evening." "I'm sorry I missed it live but I was in prayer." "Not at all. I told you I wanted to help." "Have some more." "No, please. I'm not used to drinking." "Jesus turned water into wine." "That's quite an endorsement, in my book." "I feel decadent." "That's not a bad feeling, is it?" " So tell me about you." " There's not much to tell." "Something tells me you're a complicated woman." "I'm actually very simple." "I live my life trusting the Lord." "Can I tell you a story, one that I have heard?" "Please." "There were two children." "A boy, a girl." "lmmigrants from Russia." "And they were travelling with their mother by train." "One night, there was a terrible accident." "A bridge collapsed and the train went down into the water." "There were no survivors except the boy and the girl." "My mother's dead." "By God's divine mercy, they survived, washed up on a riverbank." "They were pursued." "Why do you chase us?" "A man was sent to kill them." "You brought them here." "They're assassins!" "The girl fought to protect her brother." "And then the day came when the boy had to protect his sister." "Do you understand English?" "Yes. I need your help." "The girl, your sister." "She's your sister, right?" "Your sister is being very bad." "She's getting both of you in a lot of trouble." "When people find me, I will tell them what you have done, and you will be punished." "You'll be beaten." "But you're a good boy." "I can see that. I know you want to do right." "I know you want to help me." "No, don't worry about her." "You're the man of the family." "Be the man, take charge." "Irina!" "You get help now." "Alexsei!" "Come on, mister." "Step down." "Nothing's worth this." "I killed him." "You all right, mister?" "This is not visited upon me." "This is my birthright." " What's that?" " This is my birthright." "Yeah, sure it is." "Get him up." "They were the only survivors." "That's quite a story." "More of a parable, really." "In Russia, there's a saying " ""Pray to God, but row for shore."" "Faith and action." "That's how I live my life, Mr Dolan." "Write up an ad to post in the billboard." " What kind of ad?" " For a new cootch girl." " What are you talking about?" " We need another dancer." "I can't go solo forever." "Even when Libby gets back in the game, we're still set up for a three-girl show." "We won't find anyone in these cow towns." "So you're gonna write us an ad to bring in a professional." "We're leaving today." "No, we're not." "I am." " l'm taking my daughter with me." " No, you won't." "You ain't gonna leave me, Felix." "You don't even know how to begin to leave me." "Come on. lt's OK." "You're gonna have to trust me now." "I trust you, Ben." "You can't tell nobody about this." "OK?" "Nobody." "It's a secret." "OK, let's see, move it around." "Move it around." "I thought you were leaving." "You thought wrong." "I see Stumpy packing up." "It don't matter." "You sure?" "He seemed pretty set on going." "I know him." "I've been meaning to say something for a while." "I didn't want to go to Babylon." "But we did, cos l had my orders." "Maybe I should have stood up." "It's my fault, what happened to Dora Mae." "You're the one who said don't do the blow-off." "It was me that made that decision." "If I had it to do over again..." "The thing that tears me up... is knowing that bastard who killed her is still out there walking around." "No, he ain't." "You can only know a man so much." "It's my chance." "Goodbye, Mother." "Here we go now." "Here we go. I can't believe it." "We're on our way." " California, here we come." " Hollywood!" "Daddy, please, let's go." "What's going on?" "Please, let's go." "I think tomorrow will be better, baby." "Daddy, we had a plan." "I know, baby." "Tomorrow." "Daddy, we're gonna be in the movies." "The card said so." "Tomorrow, baby." "Daddy." "You promised." "You promised, you son of a bitch!" "Libby, we can still do this." "I can drive, we can..." "Daddy don't like no one else to drive his car." "Put it back in the sling." "Put it back." "You might have known that but... I'll tell you something, Mother." "You don't know everything." "Guess who I just saw?" "I have a headache, dear." "Please, no games." "Gabriel and Ben, walking through the midway." "Fascinating." "Gabriel's wing is all fixed up." "Just like new." " Like new?" " Like it had never been broke." "On his own, he did?" " He did it on his own?" " Young pup." "Thinks he can go off and do his tricks without bringing you in?" "You'll show him, won't you?" "Hello." "Alexsei." "Justin, where are you?" "You always knew what was inside of me."