"Officer, can you tell me the way to Three Rivers?" "About two miles to the first main intersection, then turn left, it's about 60 miles." " Thanks." "What town is this?" " "Suddenly"." " Suddenly what?" " No, that's the name." " Ha, ha, it's a funny name for a town." " Hangover from the old days." "That's the way things used to happen here." "Suddenly." "I see." " Road agents, gamblers, gun fighters." " Well, I take it things have changed." "Things happen so slow now the town council wants to change the name to 'Gradually'." " Ha ha, thanks officer." " Pleasure, come back." "Hello there, Pidge." " Hi Tod." " Where's your mother?" "We've been shopping." "I gotta' put this stuff in the car, wanna' come?" "Yeah, sure." " Tod?" " Uh huh." "Well no." "I guess not." "She wouldn't let me." " Who's she?" " Mom of course." "Well then you'd better say Mom, Pidge." "It's kinda' not polite to say 'she', especially about your mother." "Well anyway, she wouldn't." "You know, I bet I can guess what's on your mind." "Bet you can't." "Well, now let's see." "You want an ice-cream soda?" "Um, not a bad idea, but that's not it." "You wanna' go to the movies?" "No, that's a war picture." "Mom won't let me see those." "Boy oh boy, this is tougher than I thought." " I got it, you want that baseball bat." " No, but you're awful warm." "Is that it?" "Sure that's it." "Ain't it a beauty?" "But shucks, it's no use." "Mom won't let me have it." "She doesn't like guns." "I know." "It's because of my father being killed in the war." "Look Pidge, if you had the gun, what would you do with it?" " Stick up a filling station?" " Stick up a filling station." "Heck no, I'd be Sheriff, and I'd catch all those road agents and cattle rustlers." "Just like you." "But what about Mom?" "I think we can persuade her, what with you wanting to be a peace officer." "We've got lots of time." "Mom's still in the market getting groceries." "Let's go." " Oh hell..." " I got it." "Thanks Tod." "Hello." "Hi, can I give you a lift to the house?" "Thanks, but I have the car with me." " Goin' to church tomorrow?" " Yes." "I'll pick you up about 10:45, huh?" "You never give up, do you?" "Ellen, I know how you feel, believe me I do, and I've tried to understand, but..." "I haven't asked you to understand." " That's because I'm in love with you." " Tod... you shouldn't say that to me." " Why not?" "It's true." " Don't Tod." "Ellen, you can't go on being a widow forever." "It's been over three years since Pete died." "Don't you understand?" "No one can take Pete's place." "I'm not trying to take Pete's place." "I'm trying to make a place of my own." "You've been wonderful Tod, and I'm grateful, but I can't help how I feel." "Ellen, you've got to stop doing this to yourself, because you're doing it to Pidge too, and to me." "You're digging a big pit and shoving all of us into it." "Leave me alone Tod, please." "Pidge, where did you get that gun?" " I bought it for him, Ellen." " Tod, how could you?" "We thought you wouldn't mind, cos' I'm gonna' be a sheriff, like Tod." " Take it off Pidge." " Ellen." "I can't help it, I can't stand seeing him play with a gun." "But the boy's gotta' learn sometime that guns aren't necessarily bad." " Depends on who uses them." " Tod carries one, doesn't he?" " Yes." " Well then." " Just take it off, Pidge." " Aw gee!" "That's three dollars, please..." "Thank you." "Ellen." "I know you don't want the boy to see war pictures, but it seems..." "Teaching children the art of death and destruction, the cruelties, the tortures..." "He's gotta' know that these things exist and then he can fight against them, when it's his turn." "You can't wrap the boy in cellophane." "I can try, as long as possible." "Look, when a house is on fire, everybody has to help put it out, because the next time, it might be your house." "Oh Tod, don't." " Church tomorrow, Ellen?" " No Tod, I can't go with you." "I can't go on asking you and get turned down." "I mean that." "Bebop." "Goin' over to Tilly's for a cup of java." "You can handle things." "It's a quiet day." "It's been a quiet day in this burg for the last 50 years." "For you?" " Good night shirt!" " What's the word?" "Go get the Sheriff." "Tell him to get over here fast, it's an emergency!" "Hey!" "Take it easy Pappy, 25 mile speed limit." " Where's the Sheriff?" " Try the office..." "Hey, what the...?" " Where's Tod?" " Catch your breath." "He's..." "It's an emergency!" "Ed Hawkins has gotta' see him now!" "What happened?" "I don't know, something came over the wire." "Ed wouldn't say." "Yeah, that's funny." "Well there's Tod now." "It's an emergency." "Ed Hawkins has gotta' see you right away!" " Hello Ed." " Thanks, get outta' here." "Wait a second." "I wanna' know what it's about." "It's top secret, get outta' here." " For Pete's sake, I ran my pants off..." " Blow." "Aw shucks." "What's the word?" "Listen to this." "I haven't finished typing it yet..." "Sheriff Tod Shaw, Suddenly, California." "Confidential code: 'Hangover'." "Special train number 10.19 carrying  will arrive Suddenly 5pm today." "drive to White Springs Ranch." "Will require adequate transportation." "Appreciate cooperation your staff." "arriving 1:15pm." "Carney acting chief U.S.  Secret Service." " No mistakes, huh?" " Only in typing." "5pm." "Now, can I use your phone?" "Help yourself." "Give me State Police Headquarters in Wetherby." " What's that code word again?" " 'Hangover'." "'Hangover'..." "Hello, this is Tod Shaw at Suddenly." "I wanna' speak to Captain Aaron." "There's number 20." "The 66th crossing." "Hello Captain Aaron, this is Tod Shaw." "I've got a message here;" "the code word is 'Hangover'." "I'm gonna' need five of your cars, two men and one Thompson gun to each car, and..." "Oh, you did?" "Swell." "Right, thanks." "They got the same message." "Aaron has the show on the road already." "Gee!" "Those state cops don't fool around!" "No, they don't." "Say, you didn't spill this, did you?" "It says confidential." "Let's keep it that way." "I'll run over to Kaplan's garage." "Back in a minute." " Hello Sheriff, be right with you." " That's not soon enough, Iz." " So?" " I want the black Cadillac at 4:30pm." " The limousine?" " Park it at the station, backed in." "Somebody getting married, like the sheriff?" "Don't be funny, police business." "Don't tell anyone." "I don't get it." "You're not supposed to." "4:30pm." "No slip ups." " Mr. Carney?" " That's right." " My name's Shaw." " Get my message?" " What message?" " 'Hangover'." "May I see your credentials?" "This is Wilson." " Hi." " Haggerty, Schultz and Kelly." "Glad to make your acquaintance." "I got your message." "You're a careful man, sheriff." "Not always." "This seemed like a good time to be." "We always have to be." "May I see your credentials?" "I got a limousine ordered for 4:30." "It'll be parked right here." "Good." "State police have five cars on the road from Wetherby." " Excellent." " I guess that's about it." "Not quite..." "You can still be of help to us..." "We'll have to check those stores facing the station." "Mr Carney, I know every proprietor here." "Believe me." "Look, I'm sure they're OK." "It's just routine." "Alright boys..." "We'll park a limousine between the tracks when the special arrives." "Pretty rough in there." "Maybe, easier to cover." "All state police cars can go in there too." "Alright." "Oh, er..." "Who lives up there on the hill?" "Pop Benson." "His grandson and his daughter-in-law." "We'll check it." "Ha ha, Mr. Carney that's the one place in this town that doesn't need checking." "Pop Benson used to be in the Secret Service before a bad ticker retired him." "Pop Benson!" "You don't mean Peter Benson?" " That's right." " Well I'll be a monkey's uncle." "What do you mean?" "Pete Benson used to be my old boss." "No, how do you like that?" "Mr Shaw, he'll be the last one in the world to object..." "Pete Benson." "Probably a rectifier or a tube." "Please call Jud, and ask him to fix it before you wreck it?" "Wreck it!" "Now you listen here, I built a television transmitter in '38, before you even knew what television was." "Yes, but did it work?" "I don't know, I never finished the receiver." "Well, this is one, and I wish you'd call Jud." "I don't wanna'." "Besides it costs more on Saturdays." "It's cheaper than what it'd cost, when you're finished with it." "Stop taking it out on me, just 'cos you and Tod had a fight!" " You haven't touched your cake." " Don't want it." "Pidge darling, I made it especially." "You made it because you wouldn't let me wear my gun." "Drink your milk, darling." " Sissy." " What?" "That's what the guys call me." "I don't care what they call you, I'm your mother and I know what's best." "Pidge!" "Pidge, you shouldn't walk out when I'm talking to you." "I thought you were finished." "The boy's just disappointed, that's all." "Dad, please stop interfering." "First you take him out of the Highcliff Cub Scouts, and then..." "Pidge, go to your room." "I'll have this old set perkin' in a minute son; then we'll watch the ball game." "Dad, I've had this for the last time." "Ellen, you're a grown-up girl." "You got a problem you haven't worked out." "That's no reason why Pidge should have your problem." "I've only done what I thought was right." "I read about an experiment once." "Kept germs away from a kid." "Raised him pure and scientifically." "First time he went out, he caught cold and died of pneumonia." "What has that to do with Pidge?" "The kid hadn't been exposed, he had no immunity." "There's cruelty, hatred and tyranny in the world." "You can't ignore it." "Pidge's gonna' learn about the law, so's he can defend it." "Defend it?" "So he can become a soldier and be murdered like his father?" "My son was killed in the performance of his duty, Ellen." "Duty, being blown to bits on some god-forsaken battlefield, thousand of miles from where he was born." "You call that duty?" "Yes Ellen." "Well, is that what you'd like for Pidge?" "Would that make you happy?" "If Pete could hear you now, he'd be ashamed of you." "How can you say a terrible thing like that?" "The old boys wrote the words: 'Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. '" "They sounded mighty nice, but they wouldn't have been worth a nickel, if somebody hadn't made 'em stick." "Grandpa!" "Grandpa!" "Look out the window!" "Golly!" "What is it?" "Coming down from Wetherby, a whole lot of state troopers, see 'em?" "Sure cut it fine." "You couldn't possibly be surprised with those sirens blasting." " So I tried to beat 'em." " State troopers, right on time." "Oh, they're good." " The best, alright Bart, follow me." " Ok." "There are two routes to the White Springs Ranch:" "Over the mountains, or you can go down to the main highway, go into Three Rivers, the ranch is about 20 miles further out." "We'll stick to the main highway." "Too much chance for an ambush in those mountains." "Yes Haggerty?" "We could use a roof watch on those stores Chief, and a street check." "Mr. Carney, every proprietor in this town has been here at least five years." "I know them, I know their kids." "It's not that sheriff; it's the stranger that might use one of those stores for cover." "I'd like them to lock up at 4:50, stay locked up until 5:10." " Oh, and put a man on the roof too." " Alright Bert, give 'em the word." "No one is to remain in those stores at locking time, anyone seen inside after 4:50, might be shot on sight." " Like the man says it's important." " Yes Sir." "Tell Wilson to keep the station clear." "Schultz will take over troopers and block off traffic approaches from 4:30 onwards." "Right." "There's another hazard Sir." "A house up on the hill." "Yeah, I know." "I'll check that one myself." "Yes Sir." "Tod, what the Hades is going on in this burg?" "Did some Galoot make a uranium strike?" "Not exactly." "Now look Slim you take over here and we'll catch up later." "Keep all pedestrian traffic off the main street from 4:30 between Oak and Alder, the state boys will help 'ya, if anybody in town squawks, why you smooth things over." "They know you, and this is going to seem strange to them." "I'm confused myself, never have seen so many cops." "What goes on?" "This is Mr Carney, special agent of the Treasury Department, Secret Service." "Mr Carney, Slim Adams, one of my deputies." "How do you do?" "Secret Service." "I get it." "They're shipping the national debt through here in gold bars." "Just don't worry about it, you'll find out later." "Right come on." "Let's go and check that car you hired." "Bang, bang got 'em all." "Buffalo Bill, you'd better put that gun away before your Mom sees it, she'll tan you a hide." "Dad!" "I do wish you'd call Jud and let him come up and fix that." "Shucks, Ellen, I knew Ohms Law before they even passed it." "Don't want Pidge to miss the ball game, after missing the movie and all." "Alright, boy, get ready to plug this set in while I hold this screw down and see what happens." "Okay." "Dad, are you sure you know what you're doing?" "Ellen, please." "But it says on the back that there's 5000 volts, and that's dangerous." "Ellen, please stop being a woman..." "Ready boy, plug in." "Dad!" "Dad!" "Are you alright?" "I guess I'm alright, it scared the pants of me, that's all." "Golly, look at this." "I guess maybe you'd better call Jud, huh?" "Honestly." " That was a close call, boy." " How much is 5000 volts?" " Enough." " It would kill you?" "It would probably pick you up and toss you across the room." "Unless you were standing in a puddle of water, then you'd be grounded." "And if you were grounded, it'd kill you deader than a doornail." "Would it hurt?" "Like blazes." "You stay away from that set now, and from those wall plugs." "Don't monkey with electricity unless you know what you're doing." " Why did you, Grandpa?" " You got me there, boy." "I'll get it." "Jud says he'll be up in a little while." " I'm sorry." " Honestly..." " Yes?" " Mrs Benson?" " That's right." " Is your husband at home?" "My hus..." "No I'm a widow." "What I should have asked was, are you the owner of this house?" "No I'm not." "It belongs to my father-in-law." "What is it you want?" "I'm John Baron, special agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation." "These are my men." "Do you suppose I could have a few words with Mr. Benson?" "Just a moment, won't you come in?" "Dad!" " Oh, how are you gents?" " John Baron, special agent." " For heavens' sake." "FBI?" " May we come in?" "Why sure, come right in and make yourselves at home." " Thanks." " Not at all." "I get quite a kick out of this, used to be with the Treasury Department myself." "Really?" " Back in the old days." " Collector of Internal Revenue, eh." "Tax Collector, not on your life." "Secret Service." "You don't say?" "Grandpa was President Coolidge's bodyguard." "You don't say?" "Yep, back in 1928." "Youngest retirement in the service, account of my heart." "Not heart trouble you understand, an accident on one of Cal's fishing trips." " A hunter, got the slug right here." " Say, that's a nasty one." "How come you're still alive?" "I don't know, lodged in my heart." "They took it out." "Had to take it easy, so they retired me." " You're lucky." " Luckier still if it hadn't hit me." "I'm gonna' be in the Secret Service someday." "Thought you was gonna' be a Sheriff, like Tod." "Squirts like you are supposed to grow up to be President." " Name's Pidge, Mr Baron." " Glad to meet you, Pidge." "I ain't a squirt!" "Mr Baron, what did you want to see us about, is something wrong?" "Nothing wrong yet Mrs Benson, but there might be." "We're just checking." "On us?" "On the house." "Do you mind if we a look around?" "Help yourself, but I wanna' know..." "We're gonna' look around, with or without your permission, Mr Benson." "It's an emergency." "Check it." "There must be something the matter." "Anyone else live here, besides you three?" " No." " Anyone been by here today?" "No." "Just the usual routine." "Willy Harris left the milk." " What's this all about Mr Baron?" " Just being careful, I'll explain later." " Two bedrooms, one bathroom, clear." " One here, just like they said." "Kitchen, pantry, back door, stairs go down to the garage under kitchen, cellar door in hall, clear." "Car in the garage." "Look at this for a setup..." "Sorry folks, but I'm afraid we're gonna' have to hang around for a while." " Why?" " What's the matter?" " Don't be alarmed, nothing's wrong." " Of course there is." "The FBI doesn't pay us a visit for nothing." " I won't stay." "I'll take Pidge and go." " No Ma'am, nobody leaves until we do." "Why not?" "What's happened?" "Look just go about your business, like it was any other Saturday afternoon." "Read your papers, watch TV, anything, but nobody leaves the house." " Something fishy about all this." " It's official business." "What sort of official business?" "Mr Benson, as a former agent of the Secret Service, you should understand." "Either I'm getting old and stupid, or else I'm..." "At 5pm, the President will arrive in town on a special..." " What?" " Golly!" "The President, well that's different." "You mean the President's gonna' get off the train here?" "That's right." "Gramps, we gotta' see it." "That's the greatest thing ever to happen to this town." "Can we go down and see it Gramps?" "Can we?" "Sorry kid, no!" "Benny, bring in the gear." "Put the car out back." "Bart, you see the back door's locked tight and check the cellar." "I still don't understand." "Mr Benson, if anyone wanted to kill the President, he could do a beautiful job, right from this window of yours." "For the love of Mike, that may be true, but you don't think that Ellie and me..." "Of course not, but we have to remain here to protect you and the President, from someone who might." "Oh." " Carney?" " Yeah." "Is all this checking routine?" "Looks like you expect this town to..." "Sheriff, have you noticed any strangers in town during the past week." " No." " Are you sure?" "Yes I'm sure." "I know everybody here." "The only strangers we get are tourists." "We get 'em all the time, stopping for gas, a bite to eat." "That's all." "We wanna' know from you or your deputies, if any stranger stays!" " Then this isn't routine." " No it isn't." "Can you tell me?" "The LA police picked up a small-time stool pigeon night before last, shot through the lungs and left for dead." "Smiley Bitters." "Before he died, he told them something was up." "What do you mean, something was up?" " An assassination attempt." " Well, can you believe that?" " In our business we can't afford not to." " I mean the tip of a dying stool pigeon." "The Stoolie seemed very proud of being an American, before he kicked off." "Meaning crime is crime, but this is something else again." "Right, so we can't take any chances." "Let's go." "Can we see the President, grandpa?" "Can we Mom?" "No Pidge, we have to stay here." "You can watch him from here." "But I wanna' get up close." "Well, use your telescope boy." "Bring him right up to your eye." " Aah!" " Sorry Pidge, no dice." "Back door locked." "How about the phone in the kitchen, want me to yank it?" "No, we don't change the pattern." "Give Benny a hand." "Mr Baron, I don't understand, I was in the service myself..." "So you told me." "Though we made every precautionary check, we never went to extremes unless you were tipped about an assassination attempt." " You don't mean it?" " I mean it." "But you're FBI Secret Service is responsible for the President." "We're using everybody this trip, Mr Benson, have a look down there." "State troopers, your local law enforcement agencies and us." "Do you know if old Dan Carney is down there?" "We worked together in the old days." "He's chief of the presidential staff now." " That's confidential information." " This is a terrible thing." "Not your worry, Mr Benson." "Of course it's my worry;" "I'm an American ain't I?" "It's everybody's worry." "Car." "Somebody's driving up to the house." " Who is it?" " It's Tod." "He's the Sheriff, Mr Baron." " There's someone with him." " Who is it?" " I don't know, never seen him before." " Well for the love of Mike!" "What?" "It's old Dan Carney, greyer than an old shirt and redder in the face as ever!" "Hi Pop, got an old friend of yours here." " Dan, you dirty old Irishman!" " Hello Pop, how are you?" " Hey, why aren't you dead?" " Oh, Buzzards like me live forever!" "Hey old Hawkeye, you're getting bald." "What do you expect after 25 years?" "Come on in, make yourself at home." "This is my daughter-in-law." " This is my grandson, Pidge." " Hi 'ya Pidge." "Pidge, this is Mr. Carney, Secret Service." "He guards the President." " Like Mr Baron." " Who?" "Baron." "Oh, you didn't know." "Your boy's got here ahead of you." "Sheriff!" "Mom!" "One sound from the kid, Pop, and he's dead." "Train muffled it..." "Get rid of him." "Put him in the cellar." "And you'd better take the rug with you, it's a give-away..." "You get the message, brave boy?" "Mom!" "Mom!" "Pidge, you've gotta' be still, no noise." " You stink!" " Pidge shut up!" " Guts." " He's only eight." "Lots of guts." "Mom." "No trouble with you, you're all busted up." "Alright, take care of her." "You got it now, let's be practical." "I don't want any more shooting around here." "I want it nice and quiet and cosy." "Now get her up and bring her around and explain to her that one phoney and she's got a kid with his throat cut." "Doesn't make much noise that way." "The same goes for you too." "Anybody step out of line..." "The boy!" "That's simple enough." "Ellen, listen to me." "Pay attention." "Now listen to me and don't look like that." "Everybody's alright." "Get a hold of yourself." "No matter what happens, you've got to hang on." "If you scream, or make one false move, he'll murder the boy." "You understand, he'll murder Pidge." "Do you hear him, Lady?" "Yes, yes." "Good, then we're all in accord." "Alright, alright, inside." "We've got a long time to wait." "Relax..." "Move the kitchen table in front of the window." " Alright, sit down." "Look at your TV." " It ain't workin'." "Well, work him over then." "Fix him up." "Don't sit there waiting to blow your cork." "Keep yourselves occupied." "I gotta' think." "Tod, Tod, are you badly hurt?" "The bullet hit the bone, broke it I guess." "He's bled a lot." "We need a doctor, look at his face." "Tell her Pop." "You're the doctor, Ellen." "We can't have no doctor." "We can't set a broken arm." "Tough." " Can you?" " Me?" " Straighten this fracture." " You couldn't take it." " You straighten it." " Hold on brave boy..." "Tie it up." "May we take him into the bedroom?" "Sure, though the boy stays here..." "And leave the door open." "Alright, let's go to work." "Pop, we gotta' do something." "Well I know, I know, but what?" "What?" " They've got Pidge." " None of us count." "Not even Pidge." " We haven't got a chance." " As long as we're alive, we've got one." " We've got to find a flaw in his plan." " We'll think of something." "Pop, haven't you got a gun?" "Gun..." "Here in this drawer." "My gun." " Is it loaded?" " No." "I hid the cartridges on account of Pidge." "You're a dirty lousy gangster!" " Why you." " Leave him alone, Benny." "Did you hear what he said?" "Yeah, I heard." "He's been watching too much television." " He ain't a bad squirt." " Just tell him to shut up." "Sure, sure." " This thing's metal." " Steel top, chrome legs." "I figured wood." "No difference, screw the brackets to the legs, then to the floor, that way the table won't dance." "You're a bunch of cowards!" "You're getting too fresh." "So button it." "Johnny, why all the trouble?" "This is a lot of work." "Do it Benny." " But Johnny, I don't see why we..." " I said just do it, Benny..." "Once you get the gun anchored, you've got a solid base." "You'll see when we get to it." "This gun's got a heavy recoil and won't stand still." "We've got just three seconds to nail the President and I don't want the table to shimmy when we get to it." "A tommy gun would do just as good." "A tommy gun stinks." "No accuracy, no punch." "Might as well use a revolver." "This is the gun." " When I was in the army." " So I wasn't in the army." "Tighter, tighter." "Pop find those cartridges yet?" "Not yet." "This is quite a gun, Benny." "Quite a gun." "I did a lot of chopping' in the war with a baby like this, a lot of chopping'." "You're wrong about me Pidge, bein' a coward." "Last war, I got a Silver Star, north of Casino, pocket of resistance." "I killed 27 men, all by myself." "I won a Silver Star medal." "Ah, you stole it." " They're hurting Pidge." " Alright, take it easy." "Johnny, take it easy, relax, for the love of Mike." "What's a Silver Star?" " I won it." " OK Johnny, OK, you won it." "I got 'em." " They've been in there a long time." " Yeah, get 'em back in here." "What are you all trying to pull?" "All of you inside..." "Come on, come on." " Feeling better?" " Yeah." "You're lucky, he didn't mean to wing ya, he meant to blow your brains out." "He's a bad shot." "Yeah, but I'm not, so maybe you'd better sit down and stay there, that way it'd be safer for everybody." "You've got that duty look in your eye." "I've seen it up on the line." " The line?" "You up on the line?" " Some other time." "Down!" "Bart, you fool." "His car's out front." "Put it in the garage, quick..." "I have to think of everything." " Oh great, just great." " Might as well advertise." "That was a close one." "Hot in here..." "See what time it is?" "Alright, suppose you tell me what happens in this house on a Saturday afternoon, between four and five." "Pattern." "Smart guy." "Sure, and we don't break that pattern." "We're here for a reason and if we break it, we might blow the deal, you know?" "Mario slings the paper over the fence, around 4:30." "Delivery boy, does he come in?" "Anyone else?" "Cy Hammel went up the mountain hunting jack rabbits." " He'll be by on his way back." " Will he stop?" "Not unless he's got something to brag about." "Anybody else." "Nobody." "Anybody know that you and the other guy were coming up here?" " That's an interesting question." " What's the interesting answer?" " You guess." " Tell him Tod." "Sheriff, if you think I have any qualms about killing this kid, you couldn't be more wrong." "The thing about killing him, or you, or her, or him, is that I wouldn't be getting' paid for it... and I don't like giving anything away for free." "Neither do I, including information." "Your guts are showing all over the place, brave boy." "No, not me, I'm scared." "You see the way I figure it Baron," "I'm a dead man anyway, so's the boy, so's Ellen, so's Pop." "Just a question of now or later, and if it gives the President a bit of an edge, well then, we get it now." "They won't hurt us, they won't hurt." "Pidge, they said so." "Because it's convenient Ellen." "You think these crumbs would kill the President and then take off, leaving us behind to identify them." "You said you wouldn't hurt Pidge." "Sure, sure, and I meant it." "Don't listen to this guy, he's just being brave with your kid's life." "I knew guys like that in the army." "We're just doing a job that's all, identifying us is not involved." "By 7 o'clock tonight, we'll be out of the country and you'll never see us again." "Tell him Tod, tell him." "Never mind lady, we'll just assume that they knew he was coming up here, so that if somebody else checks on him, you can tell him that the sheriff and his friend were here, but they had to go someplace else." "That's all." "I have to go to the bathroom." "Go with him Bart." " I don't need any help." " Come on, come on." "Okay, table's screwed down." "Alright, get the tripod up there, drill a hole in each leg, bolt it to the table put it centre in front of the window..." "I thought I told you to sit down." "Just stretching my legs." "You're a very careful man." "That's right." "Planned on everything, huh?" "Sheriff, the first man they shoot to the moon on a rocket will take pains too, 'cos that's never been done before." "Neither has this." "Doesn't that worry you?" "Haven't got time to worry, I just make my plans and carry 'em out." "That's what John Wilkes Booth thought too." "Booth!" "Ha, I'm no actor busting my leg on a stage, so I can yell "Down with the tyrants!"" "If Booth wasn't such a ham, he might have made it." "He got pretty far at that, though." "The guy who killed Garfield didn't make it either." "Him!" "Ha, he didn't plan anything." "Just took a lucky shot, strictly left-handed." "Just like McKinley." "And Zangara got the chair for his try at Roosevelt." "He had to try it in a crowd, I hate crowds." "So nobody ever made it." "Up till here..." "I'm just a guy makin' a livin' and I think you've stretched long enough." "As you were." " Bart take over Benny's watch." " Okay." " Benny?" " Yeah Johnny." "Go down town and see what's goin' on, especially the station plan." "Leave the car here." "Why me?" "Because Wheeler can fly a plane, and you can't." "Oh, but I'm expendable, huh?" "No, I just don't want anything to happen to Wheeler." "Why can't I take the car?" "Because if they nail you, we need the car to get to the plane." " The place is crawling' with cops." " You're getting' paid, ain't ya?" " Yeah." " You can't say it ain't enough." "I'll be back." "Johnny." "Look." "Nice and steady just like you wanted it." "Open the curtain." "Trap." "Big beautiful booby-trap." "You can't do this." "You can't do it." "You're wrong lady..." "Take a look..." "Go on take a look." "I can do it and I'm going to do it." "But you're an American citizen." "Sure." "And at 5:01, I'm gonna' be a very rich American citizen." " You'll never get away with it." " Shut up." " I got a stomach ache." " Take a pill." "Maybe the old man's right, Johnny." "It's a terrible thing." "Turn it off, will 'ya." "Just another man, a man." "But the president." "Yeah, yeah, I never killed a president before." " Who's that?" " It's Jud Kelly." "Ellen sent for him to come and fix the television, so the boy could watch the ball game." "Why didn't you tell me?" "We simply forgot." "He's a harmless boy, Baron." "Don't hurt him." " OK." "But if you cross me." " He won't, he won't." "Alright Pop, you've got the ball." "Let him in, but watch it." "Ellen, we got to keep this man talking." "Why?" "Because that's his weakness." "Sooner or later he'll drop his guard." "We've gotta' find a way to get Pop's gun." " Hi Pop, what's new?" " Hello Jud." "I'd better fix your rig, before you execute yourself." "Come on in." " Tod, what happened to you?" " Ask him?" "Same thing that'll happen to you, unless you do exactly as you're told." " You're kiddin'." "Is that real?" " It's real, alright." " What's your name?" " Jud Kelly." " What are you doing here?" " I came to fix the television set." "Drop it." "Alright Bart, case him." "I don't have any dough, if that's what you want." "Is this a stick-up?" "Yeah, that's right, it's a stick-up." "You'll never get away with it." "Go over and sit down, buster." "Take your luggage with you." "You too sit down." "I don't dig it." "Did they rob the bank?" "What's the gun for?" "What's goin' on?" " Where's your store?" " Main Street." " Who runs it?" " Just me." " All alone?" " Do you have to point that gun at me?" " Alone?" " Answer him." "Yeah." "You locked up when you left?" "Nobody knows you were comin' here?" "That's right." "Just a service call." "That gun makes me nervous, Mr." "I'm not gonna' be a hero, you can put the gun away." "Sure, but I'm telling you, buster, like the others, one pass and the kid gets it." "That's right, he gets it." "So you see his life depends on you." "Got it?" "Yeah." " Wilson?" "Carney back yet?" " No, he's been gone a long time." "Maybe we ought to load the gun now to be sure, huh?" "No, that's just what the sheriff would like." "Forget about me, I've had it." "Don't con me, sheriff." "The minute this gun was loaded, one of you brave boys might decide to go for the ride, just to fire it and if you did, it might alert a few state cops down there and the game would be over." " You got any food in the house?" " Course I have." "I'm gonna' grab a bite, Bart. Watch 'em." "Bring me a little glass of milk will you, Johnny?" "My ulcer's murdering me." "Just watch 'em Bart. Watch 'em." " I don't dig it, will somebody tell me..." " Sit down, be quiet." "Haven't you any feelings at all?" "No I haven't lady, they were taken out of me by experts..." "Feelings are a trap." "Show me a guy with feelings and I'll show you a sucker." "It's a weakness." "Makes you think of something besides yourself." "If I had any feelings left in me at all, they'd be for me." "Just me." "Don't you ever think of your mother?" "Your father?" "Think of 'em?" "I used to think of them a great deal." "My mother wasn't married." "My old man was a dipso." "They left me in a home." " You stink." " Johnny!" "Pidge!" "Come back here." " The kid." " Hold it." "Pidge, Pidge." "Get him." "Stick 'em up, or I'll blast you." " Nice going, Bart." " It's only a cap pistol." " I gave it to him myself." " Don't you touch her, don't you." "I oughta' beat his brains out." "The little..." "What's so funny?" "You should've seen your face, a cap pistol." "Go ahead, laugh yourself sick." "That's a pretty good model, they make 'em real today, don't they?" "Here you are, Pidge, blow his brains out..." "Couple of big, bold, bad men, getting' scared to death by a six-bit cap pistol." "I oughta' beat that kid." "I'm not sure that he couldn't take 'ya." "Go put some milk on your ulcer and bring me a piece of the cake." "I need some milk;" "the pain's pretty bad." "Where's Benny?" "Why don't we hear from Benny?" "Sit." "If this isn't a stick-up, what is it?" "Did you come up here to fix a television set, junior?" " Yeah." " Well then, fix the television set." "Tod, what's going on?" "They're planning to assassinate the President, Jud." "Which president?" "The President of the United States." "He arrives here this afternoon." "You're kidding!" "No, you're not kidding." "The president?" "Kill the president?" "They can't, they couldn't do a thing like that." "They're stinking traitors." "They're Benedict Arnolds." "Are you guys crazy?" "You can't do a thing like that." " Sit down, reckless." " Don't you realise what that means?" "That's assassination;" "he's your President too." "Make a deal with 'ya boy." "We kill you instead of the President." "That's even steven." "Okay with you?" "Thought not." "Anybody else wanna' take the heat off the President?" " How about you sheriff?" " It's a bad joke, Baron." "Anybody else wanna' volunteer?" "They're commies;" "they're enemy agents." " Alright, who is behind it Baron?" " I haven't the slightest idea." " What's in it for you?" " You're curious, aren't you sheriff?" "While I last." "I like you sheriff." "You've got guts." "You must have been a good soldier." "I got by." " I won a Silver Star." " That's pretty good." " Killed 27 Jerries all by myself." " You're a born killer, that's all." "Yeah." "When you get real good at something, you're a murderer." "Yeah, over there you can knock over a whole platoon, or a guy invents a bomb and kills 100000 people, just like that and maybe gets more medals." "Here you put a slug in a double-crossing squirt that isn't even worth burying and you have to take the gas." "I got no feeling against the President;" "I'm just earning a living." "By treason." "Ace shoots craps." "Don't give me that politics jazz, it's not my racket." "I don't even know who's paying me and I don't want to know." "What's the difference?" "Didn't it occur to you why they want you to do it?" "Yes, but that makes them suckers not me." "I'm the guy, who's gettin' it made." "Listen sheriff, a man can stand only for so much." "Before the war, I drifted and drifted and ran, always lost in a big crowd." "I hated that crowd." "I used to dream about the crowd once in a while." "I used to see all those faces scratchin' and shoving' and biting' and then the mist would clear and somehow all those faces would be me." "All me and all nothin'." "But the war changed everything, eh Baron?" "I'm no traitor, sheriff." "I won a Silver Star." "And learned how to kill." "Yeah, maybe I did." "Maybe that changed everything." "Maybe people began to know who I was." "After the show, I hooked up with an outfit for good dough." "The finger said where and how much and Johnny Baron did the job." "You think anybody else could handle it?" "Like Benny or Wheeler without me?" "You're talkin' too much, Johnny." "Nobody else can do this job, because they've got too much feeling and feeling's no good." "I got nothing against the President, sheriff." "He's just worth half a million bucks to me, tax-free." "Makin' my own laws about the taxes too, Pop." " The guy is goofy." " Shut up, Jud." "Listen to him, buster." "And don't ever say that again." "Ever!" "You heard him, Jud." "A half million dollars, huh?" "Yeah, that's a lot of scratch, sheriff." "A man could retire on that amount." " How do you know it will ever be paid?" " Half of it's been paid." " And the rest?" " I'll get it." "I wouldn't be sure." "It's not just a man; it's the President." "That's what's so funny." "The laugh is on the guys who're paying the freight." "All this loot and they don't even know what they're doing." "Half a million clams for absolutely nothing, because tonight at 5pm," "I kill the president and at 5:01 there's a new president." "What changes?" "Nothing." "What are they paying for?" "Nothing." "Otherwise I wouldn't have taken the job, sheriff." "You'd have taken it." "You think so?" " Yeah." " Why?" "Alright, take it easy." "Come on, lady." "Do as you're told and everything will be fine." "Answer straight, clean and plain." "Answer it." "Hello." "Mrs Benson, let me speak to the chief." "Benny?" "Yeah, train's on time, the car will be waiting in front of the station like you figured, facing you." "Fine, get back as soon as you can and don't be followed." "Check." "There's the big boy's car now." "Lovely target." " Hey, hold it Mister." " Yes officer, what is it?" " What's your name?" " Fred, Fred Whitaker." " What are you doing in town?" " Just passing through." "Where's your car?" "I don't have one." "I hitch-hiked in from Three Rivers, waiting for the train out." "I figured I'd take the train on to L.A." " What train?" " The five o'clock." " The five o'clock." "Now that's strange." " Why Officer?" "Because we don't have any 5pm train that stops here Mister, except today and that happens to be a special, you don't know about." " Except that you do." " Must be some mistake." "You made it." "Oh, now look officer, I got identification." "I can prove who I am." "I got my drivers licence right here." "Come on." "Gunfire!" "Hold it, don't shoot him..." " I told you not to kill him." " Not to kill him?" "After he..." "He was our only link." "Come on." " So long, Benny." " Do you think they got him?" "I only hope he's dead." " Haggerty." " Yes sir." "We got him." "Dead unfortunately." "Wasn't Carney's last checkpoint the house on the hill?" "Yes, he went there with the sheriff to check the White Springs ranch about 2." "We haven't been able to reach them." "Take two troopers and back track 'em." "Start with the house on the hill." "We've got to find Carney." "Right." "Now we got trouble." "Everybody except Mrs Benson, in the cellar." " What are you gonna' do?" " Nothing, I hope." "Move." "Anybody gets brave, kill 'em all." "You can only hang once." "Pidge, stay up there." "Now look." "Get a grip on yourself." "I want you to look relaxed." "If you don't pull this off, everybody is dead." "Understand?" "All of us dead." "So be yourself." "I don't know what you mean." "They'll come up here to check whether Carney and the sheriff were here and I want you to go out front." "I don't want 'em in the house." "I can't." "I don't know how." "I don't know what to say." "Just go out and water the flowers." "Do anything you like, but keep busy..." "Lipstick and rouge, quick." "Now listen to me carefully, they'll come up to check whether Carney and the sheriff were here." "Certainly they were here." "They came up to check the house, but at three o'clock they left here." "They went out on the White Springs ranch road." "They took Pop and the kid with 'em and that's the last you saw of them." "You got it, you got it?" "Yes, yes." "You look like a ghost." "Step on it..." "Pull it off lady, or everybody is dead, everybody." "He's getting rattled, Pop." "How do you mean?" "He didn't expect Benny to get shot." "Got anything in mind?" "Maybe, now listen." "Shut up you guys." "Mrs Benson?" "Yes." "My name's Haggerty." "Then you must be one of Mr. Carney's men." "That's right, has he been here?" "Haven't seen him since they left." "They came up here about three o'clock, to check the house, they said." "I" " I don't know why." "Who are they?" "Why, Mr Carney and Sheriff Shaw." "Then they said they had to check the White Springs ranch road." "Is your father-in-law Mr. Benson here?" "Well no." "No he isn't." "You see he used to be Mr. Carney's chief." "Yes, I know." "So Mr. Carney took him along." "My little boy too." "Then you're alone?" "Yes." "And you haven't heard from them since they left?" "No, no I haven't." "Something's wrong." "I know something's wrong." "No, no Mrs Benson, nothing's wrong." "We're, we're just checking that's all." "But if you see or hear from them before I do, please have them check the detail down at the railroad station, it's very important." "Thanks." "Alright lady, inside..." "Come on, come on." "Very nice, very nice job." "Congratulations." "You don't like me, do you?" " You're an animal." " I don't like you either." "Animals kill each other to live, that's what you're doing." "How do you like your roast beef?" "Medium rare or well done?" "Alright, Bart, run 'em in." "It's clear." " I wish you were dead." " You haven't got the guts." " Just give me a chance." " Here's your chance." "Go ahead, take it, but remember the squirt in the cellar..." "That's right think of the President first." "Let's not think of ourselves." "I didn't give you a whole chance, but you didn't even take a half a chance." "Everything okay, Johnny?" "Sure, everything's fine." "She played her part real good." "She should be on television." "You, didn't I tell you to fix the television set?" "You told me to sit." "Get your stuff and fix it." "It'll keep you from getting patriotic." "If I don't do something, I'll blow my top just sitting here." "Fix the set and shut your mouth." "I don't like what you say." "Now fix it, we've still got time..." "All yours..." "Open 'em..." "About 200 yards." " Baron." "Isn't that a German rifle?" " Yeah." "You know it?" "I know it." "Where were you during the war?" "All the way from the Kasserine Pass." "I won a Silver Star." "Where were you?" "Normandy to the Elbe by way of the Bulge." "You get up into Germany?" "No." "Bet you were one of those big shot guys with the gold bar on the shoulder." "No, no I was a corporal." "How about you?" " Corporal?" "I made sergeant." " You didn't like officers?" "Officers, big shots." "Yes sir, no sir, salute sir." "Big shots." " You don't like big shots?" " Not when you're bigger, sheriff." "I killed more Jerries than any five officers put together." "I did some pretty good chopping in the war." "Pretty good." "Like I said before, you're a born killer." "That's all." "Yeah, they taught me how and I liked it." "Ha, my C.O. Used to stand there and shake like a leaf while I chopped." "If more guys like me had to..." "Tell me one thing, Baron." "How come you missed Germany?" "They sent me home, my tour was finished." "Your tour?" "In the infantry?" "Are you kiddin'?" "You finish your tour in the infantry when they plant you in a box." " Tour!" "That was for the air corp." " Turn it off." " Yeah, you probably went over the hill." " I said, turn if off." "You know, Baron, you got the yard look." "You look yard bird to me." "I'm tellin' you, sheriff." "Turn it off." "Big shot with the yard birds, eh?" "Come on now, tell me." "Where were you court-martialled?" "What was it for?" "Rape?" "No, not rape." "Killing, that's what you like, killing." "Maybe shooting down unarmed PW's." "Sit down and shut up." "Ah, but by golly you got away with it." "So..." "I got it." "Section eight." "You went out on a section eight." "Section eight." "Psycho in charge of killing, eh?" "You know, I knew guys like you." "Killing was sweet." "Rather kill a man than love a girl." " A real kick." "A thrill with the guts." " Stop it, Tod." "Stop it." "Or maybe you didn't like your C.O. Maybe you shot him in the back." "That it?" "Maybe you..." "Aaagh!" "Like I said, shut up." " Tod darling, it's hopeless." " No, no it's not five o'clock yet." "Gonna' keep your trap shut?" "Yeah." "Hurts, huh?" "It hurts." "Well I can keep kickin', as long as you keep shootin' your face off." "I know." "Pop, you were right when you blew the power tube." "I have one here." "I'll have it perkin', in a second." "You know, I was thinking Jud." "If you were to clamp the main plate lead to a good ground like that table there, you'd get a better picture." "A lot of lines in it now." "Clamp the main plate lead to the table." "Cut the static lines." "Expert." "First he wrecks the set, then he tells the kid how to fix it." "Main plate lead..." "Yeah." "That's right, Jud, all it needs is a high potential ground." "We're a long way from the broadcasting station." "What are you guys yapping about?" "Technical talk, mister." "I'm an old radio man." "Battleship New York, World War One." "Gramps beat the Germans, single-handed." "Not exactly son, but I was there at Scapa Flow when the German fleet surrendered." "Alright, alright, stop the bulling and fix that set will ya." "Yes sir." " Oh!" " Dad, Dad what is it?" " Pain, bad." " What hit him?" "He has a bad heart." "Pidge, my pills, top drawer of the bureau." " I'll get 'em." " You stay put." "The kid'll get 'em." "Pidge, put down that gun and get some water for your grandfather." "But mom, listen." "You heard me, Pidge." "OK." "You know what I think, Pop." "I got a feeling your heart attack's a phony." "Pain's bad." "I'm warning you, if you're trying to pull something, you'd better watch it." "Baron, I've been thinking." "You've been thinking you'd like to take a crack at this rifle." "Do you think I'd wanna' get myself killed?" "Yes." "Frankly, sheriff I don't think you'd mind getting yourself killed." "Nobody wants to die." "Do we have to talk about it?" "Why don't you shut up?" " No guts." " It gets on my nerves, that's all." "Now why would I want to get myself killed?" "Because it's five minutes to five and a shot might bring those state troopers stormin' all over the joint before the President arrives." "Sheriff, I can put you away in two seconds by twisting your arm again." "That way there's no noise." "So don't go winning any post-mortem medals." "I wouldn't enjoy winning a post-mortem medal any more than you're gonna' enjoy that post-mortem money." " What did you say?" " What did he say?" "I said nobody ever made it." "You won't either." "You don't think so?" "So you got a plane." "You'll never reach it ahead of the police and if you do you'll never make it to the border." "You ever hear of the jet fighter?" "You know how many airstrips there are between here and the border?" "You know a fella' can get an education just listening to this guy." "Well, maybe he's right, Johnny." "You said half the money had already been paid." "A smart guy would hit the road right now." "Fly outa here, skip the President, spend the money in South America." "Alive." "He's right, Johnny." "Why take the risk?" "We can lam now, we can make it." "We don't have to fool with this." "It's too big, there's something wrong with it." "Chicken." "Chicken!" "Alright, fine." "Who wants to be rich and dead?" "They'll get us." "They haven't missed yet, Johnny." "The guy's right." "You've got the loot." "Let's take off and get outa here for good." "Once we're across the border..." "Hate those craps." "Benny wasn't chicken, they didn't waste any time on him." "We haven't got a chance." "Turn it off, Bart. You're embarrassing me in front of the Sheriff." "But Johnny, even if we swing it, he's the President." "They'll never give up." "You don't figure that the guys who're paying off, are just gonna' let you fly away, do you?" "They'll be after you, just like the Secret Service." "I thought of that too, sheriff." "It might be an internationally embarrassing situation, if the feds happen to catch up with us first." "You've gotta' realise Bart that everybody's gonna' be on your tail;" "from five o'clock until the day you die." "There's a hole in your argument, sheriff." "What is it?" "We're already wanted for murder." "So you can only take the gas once." "They'll get us, Johnny." " They won't get us Bart. Not us." " You're sure, Johnny?" "You leave it to me." "You're sick, mate." "You're sick." "I don't like that." "Don't play God, just because you've got a gun." "But you see sheriff that's the way it is." "When you've got a gun you are a sort of God." "If you had the gun, I'd be the chump and you'd be the God." "The gun gives you the power of life and death." "It's a funny sort of feeling to have control of life and death." "You must have had it during the war." "You could miss a man if you had a mind to." "Or you could kill him dead in his tracks." "And that made you a kinda' God, and I liked it." "Without the gun I'm nothing, and I never had anything before I got one." "First time I got one in my hands and killed a man, I got some self-respect." "I was somebody." "Like this kid over here." "If that cap pistol was a real gun and I didn't have a gun, he'd be a kind of a God too and if I wanted my life," "I'd worship the ground he walks on and I'd pay him the half a million dollars for my life." "Because life is all I have." "But the squirt doesn't have the gun, I have and I can loose the lightening." "No noise just pictures." "Oh, butterfingers!" "And now follows station identif..." "You're wrong about God and the gun, sheriff." "Without the gun you would never have spit at me." "You would never have even noticed me." "But because of the gun you'll remember me as long as you live." "Where is it now?" "Blowing for the 66 crossing, outside town." "Alright, nobody moves." "This is it." "You, over there." "Johnny, let me see, once." "We're gonna' do it, Bart. This is my meat." "We're gonna' do it." "Just to see." "Return Fire." "Hold your Fire." "It didn't stop." "It didn't stop." "It didn't stop!" "No..." "Don't." "No!" "Please, no!" "Are you sure you're going to be alright, Mr. Benson?" "Oh!" "Don't worry about me Mr. Wilson, I'll be alright." "I don't need any nurse maid." "We're certainly grateful to you." "How come the train went right through the station?" "We simply cancelled the stopover." "We couldn't take a chance on the President's safety once it were proven the assassins were in town." "The President went on to Los Angeles." "Missed the station, huh?" "I'm afraid so." "Some day those guys are gonna' start taking you for amateurs, Mr. Wilson?" "I hope not." "Thanks again, Mr. Benson." "You too, young man." "Oh, that's alright." "Someday I'm gonna' be a bodyguard, just like you." "Nonsense boy." "You're gonna' grow up to be President and president's have bodyguards." "And grandpops?" "And grandpops." "Especially grandpops." "Ellen." "How's Jud?" "He didn't make it." "And Slim?" "Critical, but they think he'll be alright." "I guess somebody had to make them stick." "What?" "Something dad said this morning, about principles." "Get in Tod;" "I'll drive you home." "No thanks;" "I've got to go over to the office." "Can I pick you up for church tomorrow?" "Yeah, that'll be swell." "Say officer." "Yeah." "Could you tell me the way to Three Rivers?" "Ah, you go down to the first intersection, you turn left, it's about 60 miles." "Thanks." "What's this town?" ""Suddenly"." "Suddenly, what?" "No that's the name." "That's a funny name for a town." "Oh, I don't know." "I don't know about that."