Sam Bottoms

The movie begins with a funeral in a cemetery during the Vietnam War, with military rites. As the audience continues to see video from the funeral and hear bagpipes being played, a narrator reads a letter to "Sarge". In 1968 at Fort Myer, Specialist Jackie Willow arrives ready to serve. The Old Guard, an elite unit that participates in military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery, is based there. Sgt. Clel Hazard would rather be somewhere else, believing the soldiers at Fort Myer are "toy soldiers". But his requests for transfer have never been granted. While he would like to train troops to serve in Vietnam, he is opposed to the war and thinks the U.S. can't win. Willow, by contrast, would rather be serving in Vietnam. When there is a war, he believes that is where U.S. soldiers should be. Hazard has been assigned to "take care" of Willow because he served with Willow's father in Korea. Also welcoming Willow is Sgt. Maj. Goody Nelson. Willow meets with Capt. Thomas who explains Delta Company's prestige. Hazard shares an elevator with Samantha, a Washington Post reporter who lives in his building. He helps her with her bags and asks her to come to his place for dinner with friends. The friends are late, but they get to know each other before the others arrive. Hazard likes Persian rugs and has interesting books. Samantha admits to being opposed to the war. Nelson and his wife Betty Rae join them and they have conversations about various topics. Nelson and Betty Rae met when she was working for Sen. Sam Ervin of North Carolina and he needed her help. Sgt. Flanagan orders the soldiers out of bed early and tells them to prepare for inspection. Wildman, another soldier, takes abuse from Flanagan for his incompetence, but Willow tries to help him succeed. Over time, Wildman continues to mess up. From time to time, Willow, Hazard and Nelson socialize at a bar. On one occasion Willow disagrees with the other men who say Vietnam is different from other wars. Willow gets drunk and gets in a fight with others, and Hazard and Nelson have to take him out. Willow learns his beloved father died and he cries. He is given time off to grieve and attend the funeral. Hazard and Samantha go on several dates. One ends with them kissing at her door, and possibly preparing to do more than kiss. Samantha and Hazard tell each other that both are divorced, but Hazard has a son he has not seen in a long time. Willow is promoted to "buck sergeant" and goes through a hazing by the other sergeants. His objective, however, is to train at Officer Candidate School. Willow occasionally narrates, reading a letter. From time to time, the Old Guard participates in funerals. Samantha is part of the audience when the unit puts on a show for the public where the duties of various groups are described. For example, one group is dressed as soldiers would have during the American Revolution. A band plays in the style musicians might have at that time. As part of his group Wildman messes up several times. When the show is over, Wildman tells Willow a pretty girl keeps looking at him. Willow sees the girl, and it is his ex Rachel. Willow goes over to meet her and expresses interest in dating again. She has a date but he persuades her to break it. Willow introduces her to Hazard and later asks to borrow money from Hazard. Samantha says she got arrested for protesting but intends to continue to oppose the war. Willow arrives at the home of Rachel's parents. Her father Col. Feld is working on a secret project for the Pentagon and he and his wife have moved to the area. Rachel is just visiting, as she is living in Europe. Willow and Rachel go on their date and get in a disagreement when he wants to talk about the war and she doesn't. She reminds him they broke up because Willow got the impression he wasn't good enough for her father, who was apparently trying to get him into West Point. Rachel says he was gullible. She also said she never read his letters to her. Willow and Rachel end up at Hazard's place and is told there will be field exercises the next day. Willow and other soldiers go through training that will hopefully teach them what to do to survive in Vietnam. Hazard is missing but Nelson finds him, and they get in an argument. Hazard wants to teach soldiers what to do in order to survive. Nelson says Hazard is a platoon sergeant. Hazard's latest request for a transfer is denied. He won't get what he wants by acting crazy, but is told everyone who could approve a transfer will hear he is a fine soldier. Thomas yells at Nelson for embarrassing him and Nelson yells at Hazard, who is "arrested" as a prank. Willow completes officer training and returns to a celebration. He asks Rachel to marry him. There is a wedding and a reception. Willow and Wildman are among those who get their orders for Vietnam. Wildman, a newspaper says, serves honorably and receives the Congressional Medal of Honor. What appears to be actual video and audio from the war is shown several times. Nelson is told to come calm Hazard down. He is in a room breaking things. Willow's name is on a list of funerals. Willow was determined to earn a Combat Infantryman Badge. Hazard then visits Samantha. Willow's funeral takes place, with Hazard speaking. Some parts of the funeral are a repeat of scenes from the start of the movie, only now the audience knows Rachel is the grieving widow. "Taps" is played at the end.

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Josey Wales, a Missouri farmer, is driven to revenge by the murder of his wife and son by a band of pro-Union Jayhawkers - Senator James H. Lane's Redlegs from Kansas. Wales joins a group of pro-Confederate Missouri Bushwhackers led by William T. Anderson. At the conclusion of the war, Captain Fletcher persuades the guerrillas to surrender, saying they have been granted amnesty. Wales refuses to surrender. As a result, he and one young man are the only survivors when Captain Terrill's Redlegs massacre the surrendering men. Wales intervenes and guns down several Redlegs with a Gatling gun. Senator Lane puts a $5,000 bounty on Wales, who is now on the run from Union militia and bounty hunters. Along the way, despite wishing to be left alone, he accumulates a diverse group of companions. They include an old Cherokee named Lone Watie, a young Navajo woman, and an elderly woman from Kansas and her spinsterish granddaughter whom Wales rescued from Comancheros. In Texas, Wales and his companions are cornered in a ranch house which is fortified to withstand Indian raids. The Redlegs attack but are gunned down by the defenders. Wales, despite being out of ammunition, pursues the fleeing Captain Terrill on horseback. When he catches him, Wales dry fires his pistols through all twenty-four empty chambers before stabbing Terrill with his own cavalry sword. At the bar in Santa Rio, a wounded Wales finds Fletcher with two Texas Rangers. The locals at the bar, who refer to Wales as "Mr. Wilson," tell the Rangers that Wales was killed in a shoot-out in Monterrey, Mexico. The Rangers accept this story and move on. Fletcher pretends he does not recognize Wales, and says that he will go to Mexico and look for Wales himself. Seeing the blood dripping on Wales's boot, Fletcher says that he will give Wales the first move, because he "owes him that." Wales rides off.

One morning in November 1951, Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges), co-captains of the dismal high school football team in the small dying town of Anarene, Texas shrug off insults about the team's last game of the season. Sonny relaxes with his friends, Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson), the aging but still vital cowboy who owns the small town's cafe, pool hall and movie theater, and Sam's ward, the mute, gentle, simple-minded Billy (Sam Bottoms). Sonny and Duane have breakfast at the cafe, run by salty-tongued waitress Genevieve (Eileen Brennan), and discuss their usual Saturday night plans of seeing the "picture show" and necking with their girl friends in the pickup they jointly own. Sonny goes to work and that night, while Duane and his blonde girl friend, Jacy Farrow (Cybill Shepherd), take the first turn in the pickup, Sonny joins his girl, Charlene Duggs (Sharon Taggart), in the theater. The unpleasant and bickering Charlene complains that Sonny has forgotten their one year anniversary, but Sonny is more interested in watching Jacy, the most beautiful and wealthiest girl in town, as she and Duane come into the theater and begin to kiss. Sonny and Charlene then take their turn in the pickup, but the frustrated Sonny, longing to do more than fondle Charlene's breasts, ends their stale relationship when she becomes petulant. Later at the cafe, Genevieve comforts Sonny and wonders why both he and Duane live in a boardinghouse rather than with their parents. At basketball practice one afternoon, Coach Popper offers to get Sonny excused from class the next day for driving the coach's wife Ruth (Cloris Leachman) to her doctor's appointment, and Sonny agrees. That night, Jacy is confronted by her alcoholic mother Lois (Ellen Burstyn), who does not want her daughter to waste her youth as she did. When Lois advises Jacy not to marry Duane and instead sleep with him to learn that there is "nothing magic about it," Jacy is shocked. Then next day, Sonny arrives at Coach's home to pick up Ruth, and the shy woman is disappointed to see that her husband has not come himself. During the return trip, Sonny is nonplussed by Ruth's tears, although she tells him that there is nothing seriously wrong. Afraid to be alone, Ruth invites Sonny in for a soda, but her continuing sobs unsettle him even more, although he timidly tries to comfort her. Another few days later, at the town's annual Christmas dance, Lester Marlow (Randy Quaid), one of Jacy's country club friends, asks her to come to a nude swimming party at the home of wealthy Bobby Sheen (Gary Brockette). Eager for excitement, Jacy consents, then schemes on how to end her date with Duane. Perturbed to see Lois dancing with Abilene (Clu Gulager), the oil driller with whom Lois is having an affair, Jacy lures Duane to the pickup. There, Duane gives Jacy a lavish Christmas present and Jacy, hoping to distract him, places his hand under her skirt before announcing that Lois had ordered her to attend the swimming party with Lester. Meanwhile, Sonny helps Ruth clean up and while they are outside, they engage in a passionate kiss and agree to meet soon. In the nearby town of Wichita Falls, Lester introduces Jacy to Bobby and his crowd of sexually adventurous friends, and Jacy, eager to attract Bobby's attention, strips on the diving board and finally jumps into the pool, fully naked, and joins the group. Back at Anarene, Duane suggests to the other boys that they ought to buy a hooker for Billy so that he will not die a virgin. Sonny's attempts to stop them are unsuccessful and soon Billy is in the back seat of a car with local waitress Jimmie Sue, who, angered by Billy's fumbling, bloodies his nose with a massive punch. The group returns Billy to Sam's pool hall, and while Sam questions them, Duane hides. Upon hearing what the boys have done, Sam condemns their "trashy behavior" and bans them from entering his businesses. Duane pretends to have fallen asleep in the car, and as the weeks pass, continues to patronize Sam's establishments, while Sonny stays away and is lonesome for Sam, whom he admires deeply, as well as Billy and Genevieve. In the meantime, Sonny begins an affair with Ruth, although during their first encounter at her house, Ruth is so horrified by the loud squeaking of the bed springs that she cannot enjoy herself. Several weeks later, Sonny enters the cafe one night and Genevieve, while reprimanding him for his treatment of Billy, allows him to stay. She attempts to caution him about his affair with Ruth, which is common knowledge, but Sonny remains silent. Sam and Billy enter, and after Billy joyfully greets his friend, Sam forgives the repentant youth. Another afternoon later on New Year's Eve, Sam takes Sonny and Billy fishing and reminisces about a time 20 years earlier when he brought a young lady friend swimming at the same spot. Although he and his paramour were in love, she was already married and Sam lost her. Meanwhile, in Wichita Falls, Jacy attends another party at Bobby's, where the arrogant young man asks if she is a virgin. When Jacy admits that she is, Bobby tells her to come back when she is more experienced. Back in town, a bored Sonny and Duane decide to go to Mexico for the weekend and Sam, bemused by their exuberance, gives them some money. Upon their return a few days later on January 3, however, the boys are shocked to learn that Sam has died from a sudden heart attack during their absence. In his will, Sam leaves the movie theater to Miss Jessie Mosey, who ran the theater's concession counter, the cafe to Genevieve and the pool hall to Sonny, which stuns the young man. A few months later, the spring season arrives. The senior class attends their class picnic in Wichita Falls and Jacy plans a rendezvous with Duane at a local motel so that she can be rid of her virginity. The excitement and pressure make Duane impotent, although he is successful upon their second attempt after graduation. Meanwhile, Ruth, who has blossomed under Sonny's attention and fallen in love with him, gives Sonny a wallet for graduation. Jacy breaks up with Duane, telling him that she would rather be with Bobby. Heartbroken, Duane leaves town for an oil-drilling job. Jacy's plans go awry, however, when Bobby dallies with her, then marries his girl friend. One night, bored and lonely, Jacy is sitting at home when Abilene arrives to see Lois. Flirting outrageously, Jacy asks Abilene to take her to the pool hall, where he has sex with her on a pool table. Upon their return, however, Abilene treats Jacy coldly, and when she sees her mother, Jacy breaks into tears. As Lois is comforting her, she mentions Ruth and Sonny's relationship, and Jacy, who was unaware of Sonny's liaison, is intrigued, as she knows about Sonny's crush on her. Determined to win Sonny away from Ruth, Jacy begins to date him, and promises that eventually they will spend the night together. Intoxicated, Sonny avoids Ruth, who waits miserably for him every afternoon. Skipping forward another few months later, the summer passes until one day, Duane comes home for a visit and questions Sonny about Jacy. Sonny admits that they have been dating and as the confrontation grows more heated, reveals that Jacy told him about Duane's impotence. Furious, Duane smashes his beer bottle against Sonny's temple, nearly blinding him. While he is in the hospital, Sonny refuses to see Ruth and Duane joins the US Army. Later, when Sonny returns home, Jacy, who is thrilled to be the center of attention due to the fight over her, tells him they should elope. Eagerly anticipating having sex with Jacy, Sonny acquiesces, but after they are married and are driving home, Jacy reveals that she left a note for her parents detailing their plans. Sonny is crushed when they are stopped by a patrolman and Jacy is driven home by her furious father, who arranges for the marriage to be annulled, but Jacy, who wanted only to heighten her notoriety, is pleased. A resigned Lois drives Sonny back to Anarene, where she reveals that she was the woman with whom Sam had the affair twenty years earlier. Another month or two later in the autumn season, Sonny watches the school football team play and learns that Duane is home on leave. Both dreading and needing to see his friend before he ships out for Korea, Sonny finds Duane and asks if he wants to attend the picture show, as Miss Mosey is being forced to close it due to lack of business. Duane agrees and the boys spend a companionable evening watching the last movie. In the morning, Duane admits that if he had married Jacy, her father would have forced them to get an annulment, too. After Duane leaves on the bus, Sonny is in the pool hall when he hears the screech of brakes in the street and rushes outside to discover that Billy has been hit and killed by a trucker who did not see him, but then drove away from the scene in a hit-and-run. Grief-stricken, Sonny lashes out at the gathered men who deride Billy as a simpleton, then drags his friend's body to the sidewalk, where he carefully covers him. In the final scene, Sonny then drives to Ruth's house, where the surprised woman admits him but then upbraids him for breaking her heart. Although Ruth tells Sonny that he has ruined what was between them, when he tenderly takes one of her hands, she caresses him in return and tells him, "Never you mind, honey. Never you mind."