Will Geer

The opening scene depicts an early Rocky Mountain riverside trading post bustling with activity. Indians, trappers and traders of all stripes freely mingle. A young ex-soldier named Jeremiah Johnson (Robert Redford), fleeing civilization, equips himself with the needed foodstuffs, gear and pack mule required for life as a solitary mountain man. After a short time in the high mountains, Johnson finds himself critically short on both food and basic survival skills. While comically struggling to retrieve an elusive trout from a swift mountain stream, Johnson is startled to discover a bemused Indian brave silently watching him. The brave quietly rides downstream. After failing in his attempt to kindle a warming fire in the deep snow, Johnson comes upon a dead mountain man, frozen against a tree. A note attached to the dead man's coat identifies him as Hatchet Jack and explains that he was mauled and disabled by a grizzly bear. He bequeaths his prized .50-caliber rifle to whoever finds him. Johnson uses the gun to bag his first deer. Johnson awakens the next morning to find that his horse has died in the night. He continues through the deep snows on foot, leading his pack mule. He is soon surprised by a venerable old mountain man whose bear hunt he has inadvertently spoiled. The old mountain man, Bear Claw (Will Geer), patiently teaches Johnson the ways of the mountains. While hunting elk, Johnson and Bear Claw are surrounded by a Crow Indian party, but Johnson successfully barters their way out of trouble. The leader of the Crows is the same brave who observed Johnson's abortive fishing attempt earlier. After parting with Bear Claw, Johnson comes across a cabin where an Indian band has killed several white settlers. One child survives, along with his grieving, traumatized mother who has clearly gone mad. She frantically places her equally traumatized son in Johnson's charge, apparently intent on killing herself. Since the boy is unable to speak his own name, Johnson names the boy Caleb. As their journey continues, the pair comes across another mountain man, Del Gue (Stefan Gierash), buried up to his neck in burning sand by the same Blackfoot raiding party that attacked the settler cabin. Johnson rescues him and they track down the raiding party, intent on recovering Gue's horses and weapons. Against Johnson's wishes, Gue ambushes the Blackfoot party that night, and the Indians are killed with Johnson's reluctant assistance. Del Gue scalps the dead Blackfeet. This works to Johnson's advantage when they are subsequently surrounded by Flathead Indians, who are the Crows' blood enemies. Seeing the captured Blackfoot ponies and fresh scalps and believing Johnson to be a great warrior, the Flathead chief honors Johnson by giving his daughter to him as a bride. Del Gue goes his own way, and Johnson leads his newfound family deeper into the wilderness. Despite a mute "stepson" and a wife he cannot communicate with, Johnson finds fulfillment in his new life. They build a fine cabin alongside a mountain stream before Johnson leaves to hunt for buffalo. A few days after his return, a cavalry detail arrives at the cabin looking for a mountain guide. A small wagon party has become stranded in the high country and is in danger of starving in the freezing cold. Johnson is goaded into leading the rescue attempt. Once in the high mountains, the party encounters a sacred Crow burial ground blocking a mountain pass. Johnson explains they will have to go around, adding considerable distance to the journey. The cavalry officers are skeptical, explaining that the detour could result in many dead settlers. Against his better judgement, Johnson tells the troopers to stay quiet and follow along in single file through the burial ground. It is of no use; the Indians soon know of the desecration. After locating the wagon train, Johnson parts with the white men and traverses the burial ground again, suddenly becoming spooked. He rushes back to his cabin to find his wife and stepson dead, murdered by the Crows. Johnson is wracked with guilt and grief. After some time, he tenderly places the boy and his wife in the bed, covers them, and sets fire to the cabin. Johnson tracks down the murderous group of six or seven Crow warriors and attacks their campsite, without concern for his own life. He wipes out the entire group, becoming wounded in the process. His reprisal invites a seemingly endless series of solitary attacks upon Johnson as he travels the mountains. One by one, the Crow warriors ambush him, only to die in the process. Johnson himself is wounded many times. He becomes a living legend among the Indians and the white settlers alike. During this period, Johnson crosses paths once again with both Bear Claw and Del Gue, who are aware of his predicament. They wish him well and take their leave. After months of attacks, a weary Johnson sees one more Crow warrior approaching in the distance. He warily cocks his rifle and readies for a fight. Suddenly, the Indian raises his hand in tribute and in peace. It is over. Johnson breaks into a wide grin- it is the same Crow who watched him struggle to catch a trout long ago.

A man who returns to his hometown for a funeral may have a much larger purpose in life than those around him can see. John Kane (Sidney Poitier) always seems to know when there will be a death in his family, despite not being in touch with them, and returns to his hometown. He has come home again, to be at his sister's deathbed and funeral. There is a strike in the town, and the police think he is a labor agitator. His well-used passport and unusual book collection only fuel their suspicions. But the town's doctor has always noticed that John is different, and thinks he has a larger purpose in life.

In 1905, a train rolls into a quiet and happy Mississippi town where Lucius (Mitch Vogell), a boy of 11, is about to begin his journey to manhood as his grandfather, Boss (Will Geer), has the town's first car delivered - a yellow Winton Flier. The family's handyman, Boon Hogganbeck (Steve McQueen), immediately takes the automobile under his eager care. His friend Ned (Rupert Crosse) steals it to try to impress a woman resulting in a fun chase and resulting in an innocent accident. Lucius' other grandfather dies requiring the family's attendance out of town. Boss leaves the young boy in the care of Boon - after cautious warnings of Boon's predilections of immoral tendencies. Boon immediately teaches Lucious how to smoke, drive and lie to his other relatives so he can go on the road trip. Boon talks of the benefits and beauty of a trip to Memphis and as they start Ned talks his way aboard. They get stuck in a muddy ditch where they must pay for a farmer to use his mules to free them, then they make it to the big highway - a two-lane dirt road. They make it to their first stop, a Memphis brothel where Boon's girlfriend Corrie (Sharon Farell) works, piquing Lucius pubescent curiosities. After Lucius gets into a manly brawl with another youngster regarding the reality of Corrie's adult profession, she is determined to change her path and quits to join Boon and the boys on the road. That same night, Ned drunkenly trades the automobile for a questionable racehorse leaving them all without transportation and a racehorse that doesn't race. In order to figure out how to get the horse to run they regroup at Mr. Possum's (Juano Hernandez) farm, a black man who's mortal enemy, Sherriff Lovemaiden (Clifton James), threatens racial calamity. Some of the ladies of the evening and other friends hear about the race and show up from Memphis to root for the cause. Lovemaiden comes back with his deputies and after a barnyard brawl he arrests the lot. Corrie arranges for their release with a private liaison with Lovemaiden, causing Boon to give her a black eye. Lucius, abhorred by the realities of adulthood, wants to quit and go home but after considering what his grandfather would do decides he will finish the task. Lucius will be the jockey and if they win they can get the car back. After the first race ends with controversy he wins the second race. Grandfather Boss shows up after witnessing the win and the return of the car. Lucius, Boon, Ned, Corrie and Boss go back to Mississippi. In lieu of corporal punishment from his father, Boss interrupts with and opportunity for Lucius to learn the valuable life lesson of accepting responsibility for one's actions regardless of cause - a large lesson indeed.

A psychiatrist suddenly gets assigned to be the US president's shrink. Paranoid from the many spies tailing him in hope of kidnapping him, he runs away, and dozens of spies, and the FBI, CIA, and various agencies scramble to retrieve him. At first, Dr. Sidney Schaefer feels honored and thrilled to be offered the job of the President's Analyst. But then the stress of the job and the paranoid spies that come with a sensitive government position get to him, and he runs away. Now spies from all over the world are after him, either to get him for their own side or to kill him and prevent someone else from getting him.

Esperanza Quintero narrates this film which is loosely based on a true story. When she became pregnant with her third child, her life was hard. She and her husband Ramon had not been getting along. Ramon's union had been contemplating a strike for the zinc miners for better wages and safer working conditions. She was angered that better sanitation in the houses, which included indoor plumbing and hot water, had been dropped as a union demand. Romon forgot it was Esperanza's Saint's day, but his eldest son Luis reminded him and he threw a party for his wife. For the next few days, she had forgotten her misery. When a worker was injured, the man (both Anglos and Chicanos) went out on strike. The picked every day and their angry demeanor kept "scabs" from attempting to pass their picket line. A company representative, named Hardwell, came to plan a strategy. The local sheriff and company foreman Anderson informed him that Ramon was the ring leader of the strike. Deputies Vand and Kimbrough beat up Ramon. At that exact moment, Esperanza gave birth. They called out each other's names, although they were miles apart. Ramon was arrested and the day he got out of jail, his and Esperanza's baby, whom she named Juan, was christened. A Taft-Hartley injunction was served on the union, enjoining the men from picketing. It looked as if the strike was lost. The women at the labor union meeting, including Esperanza, insisted that they be allowed to take over the picketing. Some men laughed, other, including Ramon, were shocked. But there was a community (not a union) vote of men and woman, and the motion was approved. The women then took over the picketing. Only Ramon wouldn't allow Esperanza to join in, but Esperanza disobeyed him. The women suffered so much mental and physically abuse, but the picket line held fast and the strike continued. In desperation, the sheriff arrested several women including Esperanza. She took her baby Juan and her daughter Estelle with her to jail so Ramon wouldn't have to care for them. The sheriff and his deputies were driven crazy by the women screaming for "the formula! the formula!" for Esperanza's baby. Ramon came to the jail and took the children from her. While she served her jail sentence, Ramon did all the housework. Amazed by how difficult it was, Ramon vowed to his neighbor Antonio and sanitation would be included in the union demands. Eventually, Esperanza returned home. She looked happy from her experience. Ramon wanted her to stop picketing and resume her old role. She told Ramon that his telling her to stay in her place is like the racist bosses telling Mexican-Americans to stay in their place. She wants both of their lives to improve, and they are strong if united. The next morning while most of the men were away getting fuel, Ramon was supposed to watch the women, but in a moment of anger, he and a few men went out hunting. Esperanza's words sunk in. He told the men they must hurry back. He suspected the bosses would try something. Indeed, the sheriff and his men were evicting them, taking all the furniture from the Quintero home. Suddenly people arrived from all over the area; men, women, children, workers, union men, organizers, Ramon and his friends and they put everything back. Frightened by the large crowd, the sheriff and his men backed off. Hartell realized he must give in on the strike. The miners and their wives had won. Ramon thanked his brothers and sisters. With their victory, they have left hope for their children which they refer to as, "the salt of the Earth".

In 1876, cowboy Lin McAdam and his good friend, Frankie "High Spade" Wilson, travel to Dodge City, Kansas to participate in the Centennial Rifle Shoot, which is being held on the Fourth of July. Lin knows that his sharpshooting brother, Dutch Henry Brown, whom he suspects murdered their father, will also be in the contest, as first prize is a rare Winchester '73 rifle. Soon after their mutual arrivals in Dodge City, Lin and Dutch Henry are stopped from killing each other by the town's famous marshal, Wyatt Earp. Later, Lin narrowly defeats his brother in the rifle contest, but Dutch Henry and his friends ambush Lin and steal the Winchester. Two days later, a penniless Dutch Henry loses the rifle in a poker game to Joe Lamont, an Indian trader. Lamont is later killed by Young Bull, an Indian chief whom Lamont had hoped to cheat with defective guns and rifles. Meanwhile, Lin learns from Jack Riker, a saloon keeper, that Dutch Henry is headed for Tascosa to meet up with Waco Johnny Dean, an outlaw. That night on the trail, Lin and High Spade run into a U.S. Cavalry unit, led by Sgt. Wilkes, which has been surrounded by Young Bull's warriors. The Indians attack the next morning, but they are repelled when Lin shoots and kills Young Bull. After Lin and High Spade leave, Wilkes discovers the rare Winchester by the dead Indian chief and gives it to Steve Miller, the cowardly fiance of Lola Manners, a dance hall girl. Steve and Lola then travel to Tascosa, where they accept the hospitality of the Jameson family. Waco Johnny and his men soon arrive at the Jameson home, with a posse in hot pursuit, and the outlaw uses Lola as a hostage when Steve refuses to give him the Winchester. Waco Johnny kills Steve in a gunfight, then escapes from the farmhouse with Lola and the rifle and heads for Dutch Henry's hideout in the nearby mountains. Dutch Henry quickly recognizes the Winchester and demands it back. The outlaws then plan a bank robbery, only to have Lin and High Spade arrive in Tascosa that same day. Lin kills Waco Johnny just as Dutch Henry and his men are leaving the bank, and Lola is shot and wounded in the ensuing gunfight. Lin takes off alone after his brother, who heads back toward his mountain hideout. Though he is trapped below Dutch Henry, Lin torments his brother by calling him by his given name, Matthew McAdam, then manages to sneak behind him as he reloads the Winchester. Lin then shoots and kills Dutch Henry, finally avenging their father's death. Later, Lin returns to Tascosa with the Winchester, where his return is welcomed with open arms by both Lola and High Spade.