Brandon De Wilde

The story opens on the night of December 6, 1941, at a dance in the Officers' Club at Pearl Harbor. We are at first introduced to Lieutenant (j.g.) William 'Mac' McConnel (Tom Tryon) and his wife Beverly (Paula Prentiss), who can't help but notice a visibly inebriated Liz Eddington (Barbara Bouchet) dancing with an Army Air Corps major (Hugh O'Brian) - spiting her husband who is at sea on gunnery practice. When the band launches into an upbeat swing tune, Liz engages in an exotic dance that for better or for worse draws the attention of every person in the club. Mac finally asks the band to make an end and play something else, which is heeded to Liz's disappointment. Her lover escorts her from the premises and takes her to spend the rest of the night on a beach near the base. Morning breaks over the unnamed heavy cruiser commanded by Captain Rockwell 'Rock' Torrey (John Wayne), who is nonplussed to find that his executive officer, Liz's husband Paul Eddington (Kirk Douglas), has overslept reveille, the latest of a number of blemishes on his record that (along with his mounting alcoholism) can be laid to his unhappy marriage. He tells Eddington to 'fish or cut bait' and gives him one last chance to pull himself together. Eddington apologizes for his conduct, but is left wondering what Liz has gotten herself into in recent hours. In Pearl Harbor, Mac reports for duty as Officer of the Day on his destroyer, the U.S.S. Cassiday. With some consternation, he reads a radio dispatch from the destroyer U.S.S. Ward, which has depth-charged an unidentified submarine contact much too close to Pearl for comfort. Torrey's ship has received the same message; he orders alert status, then general quarters when one of his lookouts sights several large formations of planes flying over Oahu. The Japanese surprise attack is only minutes away. One formation flies over and strafes the beach where Liz Eddington and her lover are awakening, and they make a hasty escape back towards Pearl. As they hurtle around a curve, a truck barrels toward them in the wrong lane from the opposite direction, and the head-on collision sends them both plunging in flames off a cliff to their deaths. As nearly 350 Japanese aircraft descend on Pearl Harbor, an emergency sortie signal is sent to all ships; Mac, without waiting for his C.O. or further instructions, orders the Cassiday with cool-headed authority to get underway at once. The captain and executive officer give chase aboard a torpedo retriever, but Mac, knowing any attempt to stop and bring them aboard will render the Cassiday a sitting duck, ignores their shouts and plows out of the harbor at high speed. The Cassiday is one of not a dozen cruisers and destroyers to escape the harbor as the battleships and aircraft are decimated by the Japanese planes, much to the dismay of Admiral Kimmel (Franchot Tone), once he receives a situation report from his flag lieutenant. Torrey, meanwhile, gives orders for all outbreaking ships to group with his cruiser and reports his force strength to headquarters. It is a woefully small squadron of four cruisers and eight destroyers, a sneeze at a typhoon. Vice Admiral B.T. Broderick (Dana Andrews) urges Kimmel to position the force against a possible invasion, but Kimmel decides instead to have Torrey seek out and engage the Japanese. The orders are met with surprise and some anticipation by Torrey and his officers, who request underway refueling the following day. The morning of December 8 brings them nothing but an empty fleet oiler heading for home, leaving the task group without enough fuel to last half the day. Weighing his options, Torrey decides to cease zigzagging despite the known submarine threat. Not long thereafter, the American force is stalked by a Japanese submarine which is detected by the Cassiday as it approaches. Mac orders pursuit and depth-charging while Torrey orders zigzagging resumed. But the submarine gets into firing position and puts two torpedoes into the cruiser, causing severe damage in the engineering section and breaking Torrey's arm when he is thrown off his feet. Eddington goes below to take charge of damage control and finds the engineering deck a shambles of fire and out-of-control flooding. As DC parties scramble to save the ship, the Cassiday continues depth-charging, reporting a positive kill. Torrey orders all ships except the Cassiday back to Pearl Harbor, and conferring with Mac by megaphone, remembers him well from his days at the Naval Academy. Eddington reports the main damage under control as Mac complies with Torrey's request for a tow. A few days later, Torrey, his arm set and casted, reports to Admiral Kimmel's office where he is relieved of command for jeopardizing his force. He is reassigned to a desk to route convoys over his contention that the admiral's orders rendered the group 'expendable'. In the meantime, Eddington has learned of Liz's death and identifies her and her belongings at the Honolulu morgue, also learning of her companion's attachment to the Army Air Corps. In a rut of shock, he goes to a bar where he is offered a drink by another AAC officer who unwittingly rubs salt in the wound. The resulting brawl lands Eddington in the brig, where Torrey later arrives to have him released. They part ways in the sight of a new cruiser going to sea to replace their drydocked vessel - a baleful metaphor for the drydocking they both face. Three months later, Torrey's arm is pronounced healed by the X-rays of a nurse lieutenant named Maggie Haynes (Patricia Neal). His roommate, Commander Egan Powell (Burgess Meredith), a reserve intelligence officer, offers to celebrate at a social gathering in the Oahu hills. There, Torrey has a chance encounter with Maggie, who startles him with news of his estranged son - Jeremiah Torrey (Brandon De Wilde), now a reserve ensign who has been dating Maggie's roommate, Annalee Dorne (Jill Haworth). Torrey confesses that he has been divorced and not seen Jere in eighteen years. By the time Maggie drives him home and advises him that she's on temporary assignment, they have taken an obvious liking to each other. Torrey discovers that Jere is attached to a PT boat squadron in Pearl and goes to visit him, where they have a strained reunion; Jere lets it slip that he is about to be reassigned to Admiral Broderick's staff in preparation for an upcoming offensive called 'Skyhook'. Jere will be assistant to former Congressman Neal Owynn (Patrick O'Neal), serving in the Naval Reserve as Broderick's public-affairs officer. After a couple of weeks, a cheerful Powell arrives at Torrey's office, quietly letting on that he has been in Washington for the past ten days. Torrey takes him to lunch, and seeing Jere and Owynn sitting at a nearby table, takes the opportunity to ask Powell about Skyhook. Powell immediately puts a top-secret lid on it but is not surprised to discover that Owynn has been doing too much talking on Broderick's behalf. That evening, Torrey and Jere run into each other at Maggie and Annalee's apartment; there Maggie and Torrey remain while Jere and Annalee go to dinner at Owynn's house. As the evening wears on, Maggie and Torrey open up about each other's past of failed marriages and occupations chosen or unchosen. In the meantime, Owynn, obliging Jere's wishes, slips silently away to allow Jere a subtle run to second base. Annalee, wary of Owynn's disappearance and Jere's advances, puts the date - and their relationship - to an abrupt end. Torrey returns to his office after several days to find Powell waiting with a 'private little job': the routing of three hot and heavy convoys to a former Free French naval base on the island of Toulebonne in the South Pacific. Torrey figures out the Skyhook strategy, and explains to Powell that Broderick could use one of three nearby islands as a staging base to hit at a large island named Levu-Vana, whose central plain would make an ideal roost for B-17 squadrons. Powell wordlessly covers up the charts and leaves. Torrey arrives home that night to find Maggie sitting on his front steps; he invites her inside, where she regretfully tells him that her unit is being shipped out. Torrey, knowing where she's headed, calls on Powell to bunk out for the night, whereupon Maggie slips her shoes off in a classic 'fade to black' scene. Three weeks find the convoys safe and sound at Toulebonne, where Paul Eddington has been stationed since January overseeing piers and warehouses. Pursuant to a written request from Torrey, he boards the nurses' transport and asks to speak to Maggie, and welcomes her and several other nurses with flower chains, a basket of bananas and a hidden bottle of liquor. Maggie introduces him to Annalee and he immediately takes a shine to her. He gives Maggie the unexpected news that the convoy is due to shove off again that night for Broderick's advance base on Gavabutu, as 'that's where they're gonna need nurses'. Back in Hawaii, Torrey visits Beverly McConnel at her civil air defense post to give her the unpleasant news that Mac is MIA. She tearfully reads him a letter from Mac, written with his morale at a critical low, describing incessant air attacks on the Cassiday and the overall poor quality of Broderick's command, which has stalled the Skyhook advance and riddled the morale of the troops. Not long afterward, Torrey is summoned to a dinner party at Admiral Nimitz's quarters - and is shocked but pleased to find that the party is in honor of his promotion to rear admiral. Admiral Nimitz (Henry Fonda) tells him that he was correct in his guess at the Skyhook strategy, and awards tactical command of the operation to Torrey, effectively displacing Broderick from the action (or lack thereof). Broderick is incensed, and agrees with Owynn's suggestion to place a 'liaison officer' on Torrey's staff to keep him discreetly informed on Torrey's intentions, naming Owynn as that officer. Eddington arrives at Broderick's headquarters (having spent the past few hours at a whorehouse), and himself receives a surprise promotion to captain and an appointment as Torrey's chief of staff. Torrey and Eddington reunite on Gavabutu three days later and meet the rest of the staff, along with Australian coastwatcher Clayton Canfil (Stanley Holloway) and a ready and willing battalion of Marine paratroops. Their base almost immediately comes under a Japanese air raid and they make a mad dash for the command shelter, where Torrey outlines his plan to divide and conquer Gavabutu in three sections. At the all-clear, the staff scatter to their duties, and Eddington surreptitiously dismisses Owynn and Jere to prevent them from listening in on a scheme to procure additional transport planes. Torrey goes to the base hospital to visit Maggie, promising her that they'll make time for each other out here. The following Sunday, the Marines parachute into an open meadow on the north side of the island as an amphibious force lands on a northwestern beach, and a battalion of Marines, led by Canfil, crosses the mountains on foot. Torrey accompanies the paramarines aloft, ordering his plane's commander on a 'sightseeing trip' to overfly the mountains and deliver a change of orders to the foot battalion. Back at his HQ, Broderick, having arrived in the company of a group of war correspondents from Toulebonne, demonstrates a too-concise knowledge of the details, leading Eddington to suspect that Owynn has been quietly feeding him information. When Torrey returns, he is informed by his operations officer that the operation is well ahead of schedule - the Japanese garrison abandoned Gavabutu the previous night, presumably to reinforce Levu-Vana. He reports as much to Broderick and the correspondents, who are frustrated with the limited information Torrey gives them. Jere, earlier confronted by Eddington about his role in ratting on his father, renounces it in his newfound respect for him. Eddington later confronts Owynn as well, coercing him through harsh physical contact into returning to Toulebonne with Broderick. Owynn threatens a court-martial, but Jere, the only witness, refuses to bear him out, choosing instead to be transferred back to PT boats and remain under his father's command. Canfil returns to HQ from his guidance of the Marine battalion, and is promptly asked by Torrey and Eddington to reconnoiter the Japanese positions on Levu-Vana. He volunteers to go ashore alone with his intimate knowledge of the island and map the enemy emplacements. He is put ashore by a submarine under cover of darkness, sneaking into a Japanese camp and eavesdropping on a sake party. The next morning, Jere, back on duty with the PT squadron, is delivering mail to the hospital when he meets Maggie and Annalee; the latter shows him to the mail room, and old flames between them are rekindled, leading to an engagement to marriage after the war. Elsewhere in the world, other flames are fanned - Mac McConnel and the survivors of the Cassiday have been rescued and returned to the States for a month of survivors' leave. Beverly meets him in a passionate reunion at the pier in San Francisco, where he announces his promotion to lieutenant commander and his post-leave assignment as Torrey's flag secretary. Back on Gavabutu, Annalee, who is accompanying Eddington and a group of other personnel to a beach party, is warned by Maggie to be cautious around him, but insists on having a little fun. Maggie's warning is well warranted, for when Annalee separates from the group to go for a swim, Eddington follows her and watches from the beach. When she emerges from the water and tells him she's engaged, his reaction is less than rational - he flings her clothes out of her reach and rapes her, out of sight of the others. In her desperate attempt to fight back, she leaves her mark on his face, and it is noticed by Powell a couple of days later when Torrey and his staff put out to the harbor to meet his old ship, which along with several other cruisers and destroyers has just anchored at Gavabutu. Eddington dismisses the mark as 'just a friendly wound.' Aboard their old cruiser, Torrey and Eddington brief the senior officers of the task group on the planned invasion of Levu-Vana when they are interrupted by Canfil, just returned from his recon mission. He has painted a grim picture of the stronghold under construction, from tanks and troops to pillboxes and a nearly-completed airfield. Then he delivers the grimmest report of all - the Japanese are assembling a task force of their own at their nearby Cape Titan base. Torrey discusses options with his staff, deciding eventually that their best choice is to try and get a long-range recon plane from Pearl Harbor. In San Francisco, Mac McConnel returns from fleet HQ with ill tidings for him and Beverly: he has orders to proceed immediately to his new assignment on Gavabutu, despite having spent less than half of his leave. Beverly bursts into tears, lamenting that she may not get him back this time, and asks him to leave her with a baby. The rains are hammering Gavabutu and vicinity when Maggie returns to her barracks to find a note addressed to her. It is from Annalee - who has overdosed on sleeping pills, fearing pregnancy from the rape and being disbelieved by Eddington. Maggie desperately attempts to rouse Annalee, but finding that it's too late, she calls Torrey, who is discussing with Eddington and Powell the failure to secure a recon plane from Pearl. At Eddington's query, Torrey somberly tells him what has happened, leaving Eddington guilt-stricken as he heads for the nurse barracks. Maggie, boiling with anger, tells him the gist of the note, and Torrey promises to tell Jere personally before telling Maggie that Skyhook is starting very soon. She flings a farewell embrace on him and rushes away, as Torrey returns to HQ with his personal matters now weighing almost as much on his mind as his command responsibilities. First thing the next morning, Eddington dashes to the airfield and orders a long-range naval bomber prepared for him; he lifts off without telling a soul. Meanwhile, Torrey heads over to the PT boat base on the other side of the island, where he tells a grief-stricken Jere about Annalee and bids him farewell. He then repairs to HQ, where Mac has just arrived from Toulebonne, and sends Powell in search of Eddington before taking in a weather forecast. At the airfield, Powell finds out about Eddington's flight and summons Torrey and company, who arrive just as the radio operator makes contact. Eddington reports his position southwest of Cape Titan, but stops short as he sees a large task force heading south away from the cape. Ignoring a group of nearby Zero fighters, he drops out of the clouds for a closer look, counting twelve destroyers, four cruisers, and one gigantic battleship which he soon identifies as the Yamato - the largest and most heavily armed warship in the world. The Zeroes pounce on him again, and he has no time for evasive maneuvers before he and the bomber are destroyed. With the death of his best friend now compounding his concerns, Torrey dampens all optimism by concluding that the task force is headed straight for Levu-Vana to reinforce the land garrison. He decides to proceed with the invasion and then put back to sea with his own task group to try and stop the Japanese force at all costs. McConnel asks about a recommendation for a posthumous award to Eddington, but Torrey declines it, knowing that Eddington was trying to atone for his part in Annalee's death. Following the invasion, Torrey's cruisers and destroyers head for open sea to search and engage. They are unable at first to locate the enemy until they determine that the enemy is running through the narrow passage between Levu-Vana and neighboring Toko-Rota. Torrey orders the passage mined and the PT boats put in position. While waiting for a first report, he has a quiet conversation with Powell about battles at sea and the fear experienced by all men who take part in them - even admirals. All too soon, the Japanese reach the mine field, where several escorts are hit and disabled, prompting the PT boats to go in with guns blazing. The Japanese fight tooth and nail, and Jere, whose skipper is hit and killed by shrapnel, takes over command of his boat and manages to hit a heavy cruiser with two torpedoes before his boat is rammed and sunk by an enemy destroyer. The Yamato emerges from this stage of the battle unscathed. In the morning, amidst an unnervingly silent lull, Torrey receives the casualty report and is visibly devastated by the news of Jere's death in action. He is quiet but intent as he orders the destroyers to lay a smoke screen and prepare for the final engagement. The destroyers lay the screen as the cruisers turn broadside, lock and load, taking the first shots against the Japanese force. Many of the enemy escorts are hit hard; even the Yamato is lightly damaged, but presses on through the attack. Torrey orders evasive maneuvers as the Yamato opens fire. In spite of a number of hard course changes and pitched counterfire, the Americans are hopelessly outgunned, and the Yamato ultimately wrecks seven of their ships - Torrey's included. With the captain and bridge officers of his flagship killed, he attempts to take command but is hit and severely wounded by shell fragments from a magazine explosion. Mac, however, has stuck with him and gives the order to abandon ship, getting him into the water and onto a life raft. Torrey is in a coma for almost three weeks before he awakes aboard a hospital ship a day away from Pearl Harbor. His attending nurse summons Maggie, who rushes to his room to help him come around. She tells him all that transpired after he was knocked out - that he has lost his left leg and Mac is the only survivor of his staff. Torrey is all but traumatized, believing that he survived while the rest of his command was decimated to no good purpose. The next morning, with the hospital ship moored, Mac visits Torrey, telling him that the Japanese force turned tail and rushed back to Cape Titan for no fathomable reason. Admiral Nimitz comes aboard, and Torrey believes a court-martial is imminent until Nimitz sets him straight: he successfully turned back the Japanese task force and allowed Skyhook to take off, and the Japanese troops on Levu-Vana are now cornered. He further informs Torrey that he will be back in the Pacific theater on an artificial leg and commanding a new task force. Enlightened, Torrey drifts back to a well-earned sleep with Maggie watching over him.

Hud opens on a wide open Texas landscape, which turns to a highway while spare and lovely guitar music plays. We then meet Lon (Brandon De Wilde) an impressionable teenager catching a ride into town to retrieve his Uncle Hud. The driver lets him out and asks how he'll look for Hud and Lon explains he just has to find Hud's pink Cadillac.Seeing a bartender sweeping up window glass from the sidewalk, Lon asks what the trouble was, the bar owner explains his trouble was Hud being there the last night. Lon soon finds the Cadillac outside a local married couple's house. Honking on the Cadillac's horn, he manages to get Hud to come out, although Hud is clearly angry about being disturbed as he was in bed with the wife and isn't quite dressed. Lon explains that Hud's father Homer (Melvyn Douglas) needs him right away. Ready to leave he peeks in the door and says "Thank you honey." Lon and Hud are both surprised when the woman's husband, Joe, pulls up to see them leaving. He asks which of them is leaving his house at 6 in the morning. Hud claims that he found Lon there and came to take him home. Joe threatens Lon, but Hud reminds him of his diabetes, and promises to "cool his temperature." Driving away, Lon's upset, but Hud tells him "Relax, you could charge a stud fee by the time that story gets around town." Hud asks what Homer wants and Lon says he needs advice on something. Hud is surprised as Homer hasn't asked for advice in fifteen years. Hud speeds home and parks in a flower bed which Alma (Patricia Neal) the Bannon's live in housekeeper, isn't pleased about, remarking that he does it every time. Homer brings Hud and Lon out to see one a heffer who has died of unknown causes with no signs. Alma asks him why he parks on her flowers and Hud tells her "Don't plant them where I park." She offers him some eggs asking if he had breakfast in bed. Hud tells her, "Nope hadn't gotten around to breakfast." which makes Alma grin as Hud leaves. Homer has hands watching the corpse to keep the vultures away. Reaching the site, Hud starts shooting at the vultures, prompting Homer to scold him, saying "Don't do that, Hud; they help keep the country clean. Besides, it's against the law." Hud tells him "Well, I've always thought the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner. Sometimes I lean one way and sometimes I lean the other." Hud has no idea what killed it and Homer mentions wanting to call in the state vet to check it out. Hud has a problem with that and tells Homer the government shouldn't have any business on their land. Homer appears decided however, and tells Hud and Lon to stay with the steer and wait so the ranch hands can take a break. After a few minutes, Hud gets bored and takes a nearby horse back to his car, leaving Lon to do the watching. Soon after getting his car Hud finds Alma with one of the ranch hands on the side of the road with a blown tire. He leaves the hand to fix it and takes Alma back home as she has groceries to get back before dinner. She teases Hud about the smell of Chanel #5 in the car saying "You sure weren't riding the range this afternoon, were ya?" Hud responds "I sure wasn't." Alma tells him she doesn't know how some women have the time for Hud in the middle of the day. He tells her "They just drop everything honey." and she tells him "I suppose it does beat housework." Alma also tells him that a checker at the grocery store told her that Hud is seeing Truman Peter's wife. Homer and Lon eat dinner with Alma serving them, and then go sit on the porch to wait for desert. Hud, meanwhile yells at Alma to bring him a shirt. Hud flirts with her when she brings it to his room although she rebuffs his comments. Lon talks with Homer on the porch. When Homer asks what he's thinking about, Lon tells him, the future, having a car, and girls. Homer tells him "You'll get your share of what's good. A boy like you deserves it." Lon takes a look at a fading picture of his deceased father, Homer's son, from Homer's wallet. Lon asks him if he doesn't carry a picture of Hud in his wallet. Homer says "No, I don't" Lon says Lon: But he's your son, same as my Dad was. Homer: Yeah, he is. Lon: What are you holding against him Granddad? Homer: He knows and you don't need to. Alma brings them desert and sits on the porch with them. Hud comes outside ready to leave and Homer asks him to try and be home for the vet in the morning. Hud asks ALma to get a drink with him, but she declines, although he flirts with her about it. Lon asks Hud if he can go along and Hud agrees to take him into town. Homer tells Lon to be careful and glares at Hud, who tells Lon to drive. Lon asks "What was that all about?" and Hud says "It's a story I'll tell you one day when I'm drunk." In town, Lon tries to get a drink with Hud but Hud tells him to get a Dr. Pepper instead. Lon heads to the corner store and looks through paperback book rentals, then catches up with Hud, who now has beer. Hud gives Lon a hard time for following him and reveals he's on his way to "Mrs. Ruben Fletcher's house." Lon protests Hud treating like a kid and and Hud asks "How old are ya, Fantan, a fast 17?" Hud tells him "When I was your age, I couldn't get enough of anything." He tells Lon that's the year he was born and tells him about going out with his father, adding "Boy, we dossie-doed and chased a lot of girlish butts around that summer." Lon is fascinated at the talk and tells Hud "I wouldn't mind going that route myself." prompting Hud to tell him to come along, although Lon declines. Alma comes into Lonnie's room to wake him the next day. She asks him "Are you sleeping in the raw again?" to avoid pulling the sheet off of him. He says he is, and asks Alma what she sleeps in. SHe tells him "In my own room with the door locked." He asks "Do you ever wear any of those little shorty things." Alma: What kind of question is that? Lon: Just wondered. Alma: Does your mind usually run that direction? Lon: Yeah, it seems to. Alma: Boys with impure thoughts come out in acne. Lon: Oh, that's all bull Alma. Alma: Keep it up, you'll see. SHe tickles him to make him jump before leaving the room. Homer and Hud are out at the dead heifer, meeting with the vet, who tells Homer to get all of the cattle together for inspection. Homer asks why and the vet explains "I hope I'm wrong, but I'm afraid you've got the very worst kind of trouble a cattleman can have. I think that cow died of foot and mouth disease." Homer is surprised. Homer realizes that the vet may have to kill every animal he owns to prevent outbreak. After the vet leaves Hud remarks, "You gonna let them shoot your cows out from underneath you on account of a schoolbook disease? You getting that old Homer?" Homer: I wonder if a long quarantine wouldn't satisfy them? You think they'd agree to that? Hud: They don't have to agree to nothing. They're the LAW. You can agree with 'em 'til Hell freezes over for all the good it'll do ya. Hud proposes that Homer sell all the cattle before the inspector comes back. Homer: Would that be your way of getting out of a tight? Hud: Ship the whole herd out before they begin the tests! Homer: You mean, try and pass bad stuff off on to my neighbors who wouldn't even know what they was getting? Hud: You don't know it's bad stuff. I'd ship 'em out of state. Load them up north before the news gets out. Homer: And take a chance on starting an epidemic in the entire country? Hud: Why, this whole country is run on epidemics, where you been? Epidemics are big business, price fixing, crooked TV shows, income tax finagling, souped up expense accounts. How many honest men you know? You take the sinners away from the saints, you're lucky to end up with Abraham Lincoln. Now I say let us put our bread into some of that gravy while it is still hot. Homer: You're an unprincipled man Hud. Hud: Don't let that flush ya. I mean, you got enough for both of us. While the cattle are rounded up, Hud notices Homer is having a tough time. He suggests Homer go take a nap but Homer insists "I'll hold up my end of it." Lon comes out to help with the round up. Lon talks about the rarity of a couple longhorn steer that Homer keeps for nostalgic reasons, and suggests they turn them loose. Homer insists that they have to go with the rest. Homer and Lon go out to see a movie and Homer keeps dozing off. After the movie they go to a diner for desert and Hud happens to walk in with Mrs. Peters. Homer asks Lon if he's with Truman Peters' wife. Lon says yes and offers to call Hud over, but Homer tells him to leave him alone. Hud walks over with her anyway, introducing Mrs. Peters to Homer, who shakes her hand and then looks at his plate. Hud points out that Homer hasn't asked them to sit down, explaining that her being married offends Homer's "high priciples and what have you." WHile Hud is talking Homer suddenly slumps and looks ill. Hud and Lon get him to the car right away to go home. Lon reasons that he must have got too much sun. Homer falls asleep and Hud and Lon talk. Lon: I forget how old he is. I just don't want to think about it. Hud: It's time you started. Lon: I know he's gonna die someday. I know that much. Hud: He is. Lon: Makes me feel like somebody dumped me into a cold river. Hud: Happens to everybody, horses, dogs, men. Nobody gets out of life alive. Lon helps Homer into the house and Hud sees Alma come home. He goes to her room to visit her, looking through items she's won in contests to make conversation. He tells her "You're a good housekeeper, a good cook. You're a good laundress. What else you good at? [sitting down and leaning on her bed] Alma: [sitting on the other side of the bed] Taking care of myself. Hud: Shouldn't have to, a woman that looks like you do. Alma: That's what my ex husband used to tell me before he took my wallet, my gasoline credit card and left me stranded in a downtown hotel in Albequerque New Mexico. Hud: What'd you do to make him take to the hills, wear your curlers to bed? Alma: Ed's a gambler. He's probably up at Vegas arena right now, dealing at night, losing it all back in the daytime. Hud: A man like that sounds no better than a heel. Alma: Aren't you all? Hud: Hony, don't go shooting all the dogs because one of em's got fleas. Alma: I was married to Ed for six years. The only thing he was eve good for was to scratch my back where I couldn't reach it. Hud: You still got that itch? Alma: Off and on. Hud: Well, let me know when it gets to bothering ya. Alma smiles and Hud makes his exit. The next day the vet starts injecting fresh cows with specimens taken from Homer's herd. From there they have to wait 6 days to look for symptoms to develop. Lon ends up getting kicked in the head by one of the cows, passing out when he tries to get back to work. Hud carries him to the house and puts him in bed. Alma suggests they call a doctor but Hud insists they don't need one. She checks on him in bed and he tells Alma how beautiful she is. She encourages him to go to sleep. The cattle are penned in for quarantine and signs put up around the property. Lon wakes up the next day ready to work, but Homer tells him there isn't anything to do until the quarantine is over. Hud takes exception, telling Homer they're just letting the government throw dirt in their faces. He mockingly refers to the family as "poor but honest." Hud asks Alma where his Jack Daniels is, although he already looks drunk. She tells him he already drank it. He comes up behind her and nuzzles her neck. She tells him she "doesn't like sudden passes." He warns here that "there's another one coming up on your right." before moving to the other side of her neck. She says "Don't you ever ask?" Hud says "The only question I ever ask any woman is 'What time is your husband coming home?'" He suggests they "get their shoelaces untied." ALma says she's "been asked with a little more finesse." She doesn't tell him to stop, but Hud quickly moves away and says "I wouldn't want to come on crude." He offers to bring her some perfume and she adds a few items to the list, including colored beads and wampum. Hud says "Whatever it takes to make you trade." Alma replies "No thanks. I've done my time with one cold blooded bastard. I'm not looking for another." Hud replies, "It's too late honey. You already found him." The next morning Hud invites everyone to watch him at the "pig scramble." making a dig at Alma in the prcess saying "They're letting ladies in free. You might just qualify." She doesn't answer the remark but Lon tells Homer it's the first time Hud's ever asked him to go anywhere and he wonders why. Homer says "Lonesome I imagine, just trying to scare up a little company." Lon: Hud, lonesome? He can get more women coming in than anyone else around. Homer: That ain't necessarily much. It ain't necessarily company neither. Women just like to be around something dangerous part of the time. Even Hud can get lonesome once in a while. Alma listens to the conversation silently while washing dishes, but when Homer and Lon decide to go, she says "I'll stay home. I don't like pigs." At the pig scramble, Hud joins a contest to catch greased pigs and wins. Afterwards Hud invites Lon and Homer to go out with him. Homer declines but Lon takes him up on it. Hud offers to buy Lon a drink. The two sit in a diner together and Hud offers to spike Lon's drink with whiskey, which he eagerly agrees to even encouraging Hud not to be sparing about it. Lon notices an attractive woman. Hud encourages him to approach her, but Lon says he wouldn't make a move at her. Hud asks "Well why not? You ain't nailed down, are ya?" He encourages him more saying "Get all the good you can out of 17 because it sure wears out in one hell of a hurry." Lon: My trouble is I need to like a girl a lot before I can work up to anything. I mean like her as a person." Hud: Honcho, you're a regular idealist. Lon: What's wrong with that? Hud: I don't know. I just ain't never tried it. Lon: I suppose you think I'm a jerk. Hud: WHat do you care what i think? Lon: This is probably gonna hand you a big laugh... but I do. Hud: Then have another little drink, and I'll have another little drink. Then maybe we can work up some real family feeling here. Lon gets up to put change in the jukebox, and while he's doing that he makes a point of looking at the lady they were admiring. This isn't appreciated by her boyfriend, who starts threatening him. Hud gets involved and ends up sucker punching the man. Both Lon and Hud end up getting into it and get the bar into an uproar. The two head home afterwards and Hud tells Lon it felt like old times mentioning Lon's dad. Hud tells Lon "When you ain't bein' a pain in the tail, you remind me a lot of him." Hud starts talking about Norman (Lon's dad) remembering an episode where they got drunk and Norman convinced him that he could hear the grass grow. He tells Lon that was the night he crashed a car, killing Norman and walking away without a scratch himself. Hud expects the story will change Lon's opinion of him, but it doesn't. The two of them walk into the house singing loudly. Homer hears them and can tell they're drunk. He asks Lon "What else has he give you a taste for?" Homer tells Hud he doesn't have a problem with Lon having a drink, but Hud Hud asks what's bothering him. Homer: You, Hud. Like always. Lon: Hey, waht are you climbing on Hud foor? Homer: Yo think a lot of Hud, do ya? You think he's a real man. Well, you're being took in. Hud: You listen to him honcho. He's my daddy and he knows... Homer: I know ya. You're smart. You got your share of guts. You can talk a man into trusting ya, and a woman into wanting ya. Hud: I got it made ain't I? Homer: To hear you tell it. Hud: Why don't you get it off your chest. What's been griping ya all this time is what I dne to Norman, Homer: You were drunk and careless of your brother. Hud: You had fifteen years to get over it, that's half of my life. Homer: That's not our quarrel and never has been. Hud: The hell it isn't. Homer: No, boy. I was sick of you a long time before that. Hud: Well, isn't life full of surprises? All along, I thought it was because of what I done to my big brother. Homer: I took that hard, but I buried it. Hud: Well alright I'll bite. What turned you sour on me? Not that I give a damn. Homer: Just that Hud, you don't give a damn. That's all. That's the whole of it. You still don't get it, do ya? You don't care about people Hud. You don't give a damn about em. You got all that charm going for ya and it makes the youngsters want to be like ya. That's the shame of it, because ya don't value nothin'. You don't respect nothin'. You keep no check on your appetites at all. You live just for yourself and that makes ya not fit to live with. Hud: My Momma loved me, but she died. Hud leaves and Lon tells Homer he shouldn't pick on Hud, as everyone around is like him in some way. Homer tells him "That's no cause for rejoicing. Little by little the look of the country changes because of the men we admire" Lon: I still think you nailed him pretty hard. Homer: Did I? Maybe. Old people get as hard as their arteries. You're just going to have to make up your own mind one day, about what's right and what's wrong. Lon goes to check on Hud who's upset that Alma's asleep when he wants to eat something. Lon offers to cook something but Hud yells at him to leave while he has another drink. The next day Lon is out watching the rodeo. Hud stops by and finds him offering Lon ten dollars to get himself a good seat, and promises there's more money to come. Hud reveals that he's talked with a lawyer who told him "There's a law that says when old folks can't cut the mustard anymore, you can make them let go, whether they like it or not." Lon is disgusted with the idea and tries to return the ten dollars. Hud tries to explain that he just wants what he's worked for for years and says "You don't look out for yourself, the only helping hand you'll ever get is when they lower the box." Later on, Hud sits in his room drinking and watching TV. Homer comes in and confronts him about Lon has told him.Hud is proud to tell Homer that when the cattle situation is over, whatever happens "you better get yourself a rocking chair and get out of my way." Homer tells him there's no way he can get control of the property while he's above ground. Homer admits he might have made some mistakes and been too hard on Hud. Hud tells him "You ain't never been wrong." painting Homer as uncompromising and holier than thou, and the concluding "So I just naturally had to go bad in the face of so much good." Homer wonders how a man like Hud can be his son and leaves the room. Hud follows him yelling "You've got the same feeling beneath your belt as any other man, that's how you got stuck with me for a son." Lon hears the yelling and comes out of his room but Hud runs past him and heads to Alma's room when he sees her outside. SHe sees he's in rare form and runs inside, locking the door as fast as she can, but Hud kicks the door open and grabs her and starts kissing her forcibly, escalating as she struggles, meaning to rape her. Lon interrupts before that happens. Hud easily bests him, but can't bring hiself to punch Lon, so leaves instead. The next day the vet tells them that it is foot and mouth disease which means all of the animals have to be killed and quickly. The vet tries to cheer up Homer telling him he might sell some oil leases anyway. Hud speaks up about it saying "My Daddy thinks that oil is something you stick in your salad dressing." Homer says "If there's oil down there, you can get it sucked up after I'm under there with it. But, I don't like it and I don't aim to have it. There'll be no holes punched in this land while I'm here. They ain't gonna come in here and grade no road so the wind can blow me away. What's oil to me? What can I do with a bunch of rotten oil wells? I can't ride out every day and prowl amongst 'em like I can my cattle. I can't breed 'em or tend 'em or rope 'em or chase 'em or nothing. I can't feel a smidgen of pride in 'em 'cause they ain't none of my doing. Hud says "There's money in it." Homer answers "I don't want that kind of money. I want mine to come from something that keeps a man doing for himself." They then have a big pit dug to herd the cattle into. Homer gets all of the help together with guns and they shoot all the cattle from above until they're all dead while Homer forces himself to oversee it. Lon remarks "That didn't take long." And Homer says "It doesn't take long to kill things, not like it does to grow." Bulldozers start filling in the hole with dirt. Homer still has his two Longhorn steer and is watching them and one of the government guys notices them as well and moves to enter their pen. Homer tells him he's going to kill them himself, but the man says "There's no guarantee that you'll do it." The vet hears the argument and calls the man off, willing to take Homer's word. He apologizes to Homer who remarks "He ain't such a bad fella, just got a cruddy job." Homer next lets all of his ranch hands go and asks for his rifle. He tells Lon "I've chased them Longhorns many a mile. I don't know if I can kill 'em, but I guess I can." He tells Lon to go somewhere else and shoots them both, needing a couple shots for each. Hud listens a little ways away and tells Lon "Them old bulls are hard to kill." Alma is packing her things to leave. Lon gives her a ride to the bus station and tries to talk her into staying. She tells him to take care of his grandfather and not to be lazy and gives him a hug. Hud happens to be passing the bus stop and sees her there. He apologizes saying "Looks like we're losing a good cook. Maybe we should've boosted your salary a little. You ain't letting that little ruckus we had run you off?" Alma: As far as I can get on a bus ticket. Hud: You telling me i'm the first guy who ever stuck his foot in your door? Alma: No. Hud: First one who ever got rough huh? Well, I'm sorry. It ain't my style. I don't usually get rough with my women. I generally don't have to. Alma: You're rough on everybody. Hud: So they tell me. Alma: You want to know something funny? It would've happened eventually without the roughhouse. You look pretty good without your shirt on you know. The sight of that through the kitchen window made me put down my dish towel more than once. Hud: Why didn't you speak up sooner? The bus pulls up and Alma gets on. Hud calls after her :I'll remember you honey. You're the one that got away.The bus takes off. Lon is driving home in the dark and Hud comes up speeding behind him. Hud bumps into Lon's car to nudge him. Lon sees Homer crawling across the road and slams his brakes sending his car off the road. Hud doesn't know what happened and yells at Lon telling him he'll be paying to fix the car for a long time. Lon tells him he saw Homer in the road and Hud rushes out to check.Homer is still conscious and tells them he fell off his horse. Hud tells Lon to take his car and go call for an ambulance, but when the car won't start Hud tells him to bring the whiskey. Homer tells them he feels like giving up. He tells Hud "They're waiting on me. And he ain't a patient man." Hud tells Lon that Homer's gone. Hud tells Lon that "he couldn't have made it another hour, any way in the world." Lon answers "He could've if he'd wanted to. You fixed it so he didn't want to anymore." Hud: You don't know the whole story. Yeah, him and me fought many and many a round together, but I guess you could say that I helped him about as much as he ever helped me. Lon: How did you help him Hud? By trying to sell him out? By taking the heart out of him? By making him give up and quit? Is that how you helped him? We next see Lon and Hud at Homer's funeral service. One of the mourners tells Lon "Look at it this way, he's gone to a better place." Lon says "I don't think so. Not unless dirt is a better place than air." Lon walks away. We then see Hud pulling into their property with his car still damaged. He sees lon walking around and tells him they buried Homer. Lon is carrying his things and Hud asks him where he's going.Lon tells Hud he's going somewhere else to work for awhile. Hud expresses concern that Lon's too green to make it on his own. He tells Lon a story about his grandfather giving him a Mars bar when he joined the army and telling him, "Character's the only thing I got to give you. Be a man." Lon answers "Well I guess he was kind of worried, your trying so hard to get out of the draft and all." Hud tells Lon that if he isn't succesful he can come back and work for him, but Lon says he won't be back. Hud tells him " I guess you've come to be of your Granddaddy's opinion that I ain't fit to live with. That's too bad. Yeah, we mightta whooped it up some, you and me. That's the way you used to want it." Lon: I useta. So long, Hud. Lon starts walking again and Hud yells after him "You know something Fantan? This world's so fulla crap, a man's gonna get into it sooner or later whether he's careful or not." Hud walks into the empty house and gets a drink. He lights a cigarette, looking out the open door in thought. He then waves and closes the door behind him as he goes back in the house.

An ex-gunfighter defends homesteaders in 1889 Wyoming. Shane rides into a conflict between cattleman Ryker and a bunch of settlers, like Joe Starrett and his family, whose land Ryker wants. When Shane beats up Ryker's man Chris, Ryker tries to buy him. Then Shane and Joe take on the whole Ryker crew. Ryker sends to Cheyenne for truly evil gunslinger Wilson. Shane must clear out all the guns from the valley. —Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu> Enigmatic gunslinger Shane rides into a small Wyoming town with hopes of quietly settling down as a farmhand. Taking a job on homesteader Joe Starrett's farm, Shane is drawn into a battle between the townsfolk and ruthless cattle baron Rufus Ryker. Shane's growing attraction to Starrett's wife, Marian, and his fondness for their son Joey, who idolizes Shane, force Shane to realize that he must thwart Ryker's plan. —Jwelch5742