Cutter's Way

Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) is a handsome, over-aged beach bum living on a yacht in Santa Barbara, California. George Swanson (Arthur Rosenberg) wants him to sell yachts, but instead Bone makes a few extra bucks as a gigolo, sleeping with middle-age wives of prospective buyers. Bone's best friend is Alexander Cutter (John Heard), who lost an arm, an eye and a leg in Vietnam over 10 years earlier. Cutter resents Bone because while Cutter was off fighting in Vietnam, Bon had, as always, walked away form possible danger and commitment. But Cutter's real resentment is against wealthy men who sent him to fight a meaningless war. Cutter spends his nights at local bars drinking and insulting everyone around him. His neglected wife Maureen 'Mo' Cutter (Lisa Eichhorn) stays home and drinks alone. Bone would like to sleep with Mo, but she disrespects him too much. One evening after leaving a woman at a hotel (Nina van Pallandt), Bone drives home. His car stalls in an alley. A big car pulls up behind him, A figure, wearing all black clothing, sunglasses and a strange hat, gets out and dumps something in a trash bin before getting back into the car and driving away. The next morning, the police tell Bone that someone had brutally murdered a young hitchhiker named Vickie Duran. Bone says he could never really identify the person dumping the body because it was too dark. At a street parade, Bone spots oilman J.J. Cord (Stephen Elliott), known as one of the most wealthy and most powerful men in the area. He automatically says "That's him!" Later, Bone retracts his statement, still unsure if Cord was the man who was dumping the body that night. Cutter hopes to convince Bone that Cord was the killer. Cutter provides evidence that Cord often picked up hitchhikers and that he was in the vicinity where Vickie was killed. Cutter enlists the help of Valerie Duran (Ann Dusenberry), Vickie's sister, to try to convince Bone to trap Cord. When Mo finds out, she is furious at both Cutter and Bone for playing around with real danger, but she agrees to help them out. The three of them type up a blackmail note. Bone backs out of delivering it, but Cutter proceeds with the plan. If Cord agrees to pay, they will know they have the right man. Cutter reports that Cord will soon deliver a message to Bone, whose name is on the letter. After another argument between them over going after Cord, Mo throws Cutter out of the house. At a weak moment, she agrees to sleep with Bone who willingly shows up at the house and they have sex for the first time. Right afterwords, Bone leaves in the middle of the night, breaking his promise to Mo. The next day, Bone learns from Cutter that the house was blown up and Mo has been killed. Bone suggests that Mo killed herself after he left. Cutter thinks that Bone is egotistical and that Cord did it, thinking that Bone was inside the house. They discover that the bomb that blew up Cutter and Mo's house was in the message package that was supposed to contain blackmail money. At a polo match, Cutter spots Cord wearing a polo cat, in which he approaches Cord and threatens him for destroying his home and killing his wife, plus other women. Cord naturally denies committing any murder Mouring his dead wife, Cutter moves into George's guest house. He tells Bone that Cord took control of the marina by force several years ago from George's father and mother. Since Cutter lies constantly, Bone doesn't know whether to believe him. With the police unable to make any arrest of Cord without evidence, Cutter decides to take matters into his own hands by killing Cord. He is also obsessed with Cord's guilt. He gives Bone permission to back out, as Valerie has already done. But Bone goes with Cutter when they crash a party at Cord's house. Cord's bodyguards capture Bone. Meanwhile, Cutter steals Cord's horse. He eludes Cord's men and charges the house on the horse, crashing through the window of the room in which Cord and Bone stand. As Cutter lies on the floor dying from his injuries, he points a gun at Cord. Bone assures Cutter: "It was him!" Bone takes the gun out of Cutter's hand and points it at Cutter. He give Cord one last time to confess to the murders of Mo, Vickie Duran and other women by asking Cord, "Was it you?" Cord disdainfully puts on a pair of familiar looking sunglasses... thus confirming that he was the one in the alley that night and answers "What if it were?" Making a true commitment, Bone pulls the trigger.