Red River quotes

View Quote Matt: How'd you know when he was gonna draw?
Dunson: By watchin' his eyes. Remember that.
Matt: I will.

View Quote Dunson: And there as they stand, there isn't a head worth a plug three cent piece...It all happened while you were away, Matt. More cattle than a man could gather elsewhere in two lifetimes. And I'm broke. Unless we can move 'em, I'm broke...I'm not gonna take it haunch-backed like the rest around here. There's no market for cattle in Texas...Then I'll take 'em where there is a market, if it means drivin' them a thousand miles.
Matt: Missouri?
Dunson: Yeah.
Matt: That's what I figured.
Dunson: And have you two been doin' a lot of figurin'? While you were at it, did you figure out the best way to get 'em there?
Matt: Which trail to take? Yeah.

View Quote Matt: He's afraid.
Groot: Afraid? Why you're crazy, you're looney.
Matt: Am I?
Groot: Sure, sure, I'm scared too. But I've been here, watchin' and seein'...seein' a man fightin', fightin' with his soul and gut to hang onto this place. Fourteen years of it. And it cost him dear too. It cost him a woman. The only woman he ever wanted...You knew about that. It cost him the killin' of them seven graves, men who tried to take the place away from him. But that weren't hard. Not that.
Matt: No, he knows that kind of fighting. What else?
Groot: And then come the war when you was away. He learned a lot of things for hisself. He learned that a ranch ain't only beef but it's money. But the war took all the money out of the South. He didn't know about money, Matt. He never had none. He didn't know what to do.
Matt: You mean he just doesn't know who to fight.
Groot: Yeah.
Matt: That's all right.
Groot: He's just been waitin' for you to head the herd north and drive. A full drive that's never been done before. Nine, ten thousand head of cattle clear to Missouri.
Matt: We could make it.
Groot: We...well Matt, I'm glad you come home, cause, well, I'm glad you come home.

View Quote Dunson: I said 'Brand him.'
Matt: He's wearing a Meeker iron.
Dunson: I can't see it.
Matt: [To Teeler] Brand him.
Teeler: All right, but the next one up's another Diego.
Matt: Brand him. Put the iron on all of 'em, Teeler. Anything you see, slap it with a 'Red River D' and burn it deep.
Dunson: Why not?
Matt: You're gonna wind up branding every rump in the state of Texas except mine.
Dunson: Hand me that iron, Teeler. You don't think I'd do it, do ya?
Matt: I don't.
Dunson: Matt, I'm goin' to Missouri with every steer, cow, and bull that I can lay my hands on.
Matt: I think Meeker might be real pleased to see our brand on his stock.
Dunson: That I'll argue with Meeker.

View Quote Cherry: That's a good looking gun you were about to use back there. Can I see it? [Matt hands his gun over] And you'd like to see mine. [Cherry hands it to Matt] Nice! Awful nice! You know, there are only two things more beautiful than a good gun: a Swiss watch or a woman from anywhere. You ever had a good Swiss watch?
Matt: Go ahead! Try it!
[Cherry fires a shot and knocks a can into the air. Matt also hits the can in the air with a shot of his own]
Cherry: Hey! That's very good!
[Matt shoots at another can, knocking it into the air. Cherry hits it in the air with a shot of his own.]
Matt: Hey! Hey! That's good too! Go on! Keep it going!

View Quote Dunson: There they are, Matt. Fourteen years of hard work. And they say we can't make the drive.
Matt: They could be wrong.
Dunson: They'd better be.

View Quote Cherry: Why drive 'em to Missouri? Why not turn west at the Red and head 'em for Kansas?...There's a railroad in Kansas, too...I saw the one in Topeka, and there's one in Abilene...
Buster McGee: Abilene, that's further west!
Matt: Did you see it in Abilene?
Cherry: I didn't get there. I met a girl in Kansas City. She fancied she could sing. She had...
Matt: You know, if we could head west at the Red...
Groot: We'd save ourselves a heap of...
Dunson: We're goin' to Missouri. I've seen buyers and cash in Sedalia. [To Cherry] What have you seen in Abilene?
Cherry: Not a thing. Just the girl told me...
Dunson: We're goin' to Missouri. [Dunson walks off]
Cherry: [To Matt about Dunson] I suppose if I tangled with him, I'd have to take you on too.
Matt: You'll find him a handful by himself.

View Quote Groot: [about his false teeth, that he lost playing cards] If you was half-human, you'd give 'em back to me. You can see I could use 'em. Besides, it would help keep the dust out of my mouth.
Quo: Keep mouth shut. Dust not get in.
Groot: Bet I ate ten pounds in the last sixteen days. Before this shenanigan is over, I'll probably eat enough land to incorporate in the Union. The state of Groot.

View Quote Matt: [after shooting Bunk in the shoulder] You'd have shot him right between the eyes.
Dunson: Just as sure as you're standin' there. Well, you shot him. You can take care of him.

View Quote Teeler: A man can't eat this kind of food. After we lost another grub wagon, we should have turned back.
Dunson: Well, we didn't turn back and we're not goin' to. And even if we had, I couldn't replace what we lost. I'm broke. Got nothin' to buy it with. So you're on short rations and bad coffee. And you're gonna be until we finish the drive. And you're gonna finish it...Like it or not, that's it.

View Quote Matt: You didn't have to do that back there.
Dunson: You joined in.
Matt: Yeah, and I thought you were wrong.
Dunson: Well then why didn't ya...
Matt: Don't try and tell me what to think. I'll take your orders about work, but not about what to think.
Dunson: You think I'm to blame for that?
Matt: Just as sure as you're sittin' there.
Dunson: And so?
Matt: So I'll take your orders.

View Quote Matt: Well, here's your Red.
Dunson: It's quite a river.
Matt: Sure had a lot smaller herd the last time we crossed.
Dunson: One bull and a cow. Well, this looks like as good a place as any.
Matt: This will take us the rest of the day and part of the night. Why not cross fresh in the morning?
Dunson: We'll put 'em across now!
Matt: We've got a pretty tired bunch behind us.
Dunson: Tired men don't run away.
Matt: We can't keep 'em this wore out all the rest of the drive.
Dunson: No, but we can keep 'em this wore out until Cherry gets back. Then nobody'll want to run away.

View Quote Groot: That's awful good, Tom. Boys did all right.
Dunson: Yeah.
Groot: Why don't you tell 'em so, Tom?
Dunson: That's their job.
Groot: They're awful tired.
Dunson: I'll bet we won't have to count noses in the morning.

View Quote Buster: He's gettin' worse every day. Sometimes, I think he's goin' plum out of his head.
Groot: You know, Matt, things ain't right. It's him. He's gotta get some sleep and if he don't, somethin's gonna happen.

View Quote Dunson: Get down off them horses. I don't favor lookin' up to the likes of you...That's better. You should be crawlin'. Cherry, I sent you out after three of 'em. You brought back two.
Cherry: Bill Kelsey figured he'd rather fight. Made a good one of it for a while.
Dunson: Laredo, Teeler, you signed on for the drive and you signed on to finish it.
Laredo: That's right, we did.
Dunson: You stole beans and flour, and cartridges. Besides bein' deserters, you're common thieves.
Laredo: The law might see it different...
Dunson: I'm the law. You're a thief! You too, Teeler. Anything more?
Teeler: I know what you're gonna do to us, but first I wanna tell ya somethin'.
Dunson: Go ahead.
Teeler: You're crazy. You've been drinkin' and you ain't been sleepin'. If you ain't crazy, you're a skin close to it.
Dunson: You through?
Teeler: No. You wanna get this herd to market. Well, so do all of us. There's a good way to Abilene, but you won't listen to that. No. You want to drive to Missouri when you got the high, low, and jack against ya. I ain't through yet. This herd don't belong to you. It belongs to every poor hopin' and prayin' cattleman in the whole wide state. I shouldn't have run away. I should've stayed and put a bullet in ya. I signed a pledge, sure, but you ain't the man I signed it with.
Dunson: You finished?
Teeler: Yeah. Now you can get your Bible and read over us after you shoot us.
Dunson: I'm gonna hang ya.
Matt: No. No, you're not.
Dunson: What?
Matt: You're not going to hang them.
Dunson: Who'll stop me?
Matt: I will.