Conductor
Man, they look woebegone and far away.
Macreedy Oh, I'll only be here twenty-four hours.
Conductor
In a place like this, it could be a lifetime.
Most-quoted character in Bad Day at Black Rock (1955): in 14 of its 34 quotes
Most scenes with: Reno Smith (5), Doc T.R. Velie Jr. (4), Pete (3)
Scenes with Macreedy
14 scenes Macreedy 
I want to apologize for some of the people in town.
Macreedy They act like they're sittin' on a keg.
A keg...? Of what?
Macreedy I don't know. Diamonds? Gunpowder?
Oh, it's nothing like that. We're suspicious of strangers is all. Hangover from the old days. The Old West.
Macreedy I thought the tradition of the Old West was hospitality.
I'm trying to be hospitable, Mr. Macreedy. You going to be around long?
Macreedy Could be.
Macreedy I was looking for a man named Komoko.
Komoko, sure, I remember him, Japanese farmer. Never had a chance.
Macreedy Oh?
He got here in '41, just before Pearl Harbor. Three months later, they shipped him off to a relocation center. Tough.
Macreedy You don't happen to remember which one they sent him to, do you?
Who knows? Why don't you try writing him? I'd be glad to help you out.
Macreedy No, I'm afraid you'd be wasting your time. I've already written him but they don't forward my letters. They keep sending them back.
You're in such a hurry, you should've never got off here.
Macreedy I'm inclined to agree with you.
Things change.
Macreedy Sure do. And Smith is the kid who changes 'em, isn't he?...What's wrong with this town of yours, Miss Wirth?...
I don't want to get involved.
Macreedy Involved in what?
Whatever you're up to. Whatever happens, I've got to go on living in this town. These people are my neighbors, my friends.
Macreedy All of 'em?
This is my town, Mr. Macreedy, like it or not.
Macreedy Well, if you don't like it, why do you stick around?
My brother Pete, he'd never leave.
Macreedy Didn't it ever occur to you that you might leave without him? You look like a pretty independent young lady. Your brother seems to me...
Weak. Yeah, I know. That's why I couldn't leave him.
Macreedy What did your brother do?
What do you care? What do you care about Black Rock?
Macreedy I don't care anything about Black Rock. Only it just seems to me that there aren't many towns like this in America. But one town like it is enough and because I think somethin' kind of bad happened here, Miss Wirth, somethin' I can't quite seem to find the handle to.
You don't know what you're talking about.
Macreedy Well, I know this much. The rule of law has left here and the gorillas have taken over.
Why would a man like you be looking for a lousy Jap farmer?...I believe a man is as big as what'll make him mad. Nobody around here seems big enough to get you mad.
Macreedy What makes you mad, Mr. Smith?...The Japanese make you mad, don't they?
Well, that's different. After that sneak attack on Pearl Harbor - Bataan
Macreedy Komoko made you mad.
It's the same thing. Loyal Japanese-Americans, that's a laugh. They're all mad dogs. What about Corregidor, the death march?
Macreedy What did Komoko have to do with Corregidor?
He was a Jap, wasn't he? Look, Mr. Macreedy, there's a law in this county about shootin' dogs. But when I see a mad dog, I don't wait for him to bite me. I swear, you're beginning to make me mad.
Macreedy All strangers do.
No they don't. Not all of 'em. Some do when they come around snooping.
Macreedy Snooping for what?
I don't know. Outsiders coming in looking for something.
Macreedy Looking for what?
I don't know. Somebody's always looking for something in this part of the West. To the historians, it's the "Old West." To the book writers, it's the "Wild West." To the businessman, it's the "Undeveloped West." They say we're all poor and backward and I guess we are. We don't even have enough water. But to us, this place is our West. And I wish they'd leave us alone.
Macreedy Leave you alone to do what?
I don't know what you mean.
Macreedy What happened to Komoko?
He went away, I told you. Shortly after he left, some kids went out there. They got foolin' around and burned his place down. That's how it was. You know how kids are. I don't believe you. There's somethin' buried up there....[He pulls the wildflowers from his pocket] That means a grave. I suppose you knew that. I saw a lot of it, you know, overseas. I figured it wasn't a human grave because it wasn't marked. Kind of a mystery, isn't it?
They're gonna kill you with no hard feelings.
Macreedy And you're gonna sit there and let 'em do it.
I try to live right. I drink my milk every day. But mostly, I try to mind my own business - which is something I'd advise you to do.
Macreedy Are you afraid, Mr. Hastings?
Hastings
Mr. Macreedy, I'm just a good neighbor.
Macreedy To Smith you are. What about to Komoko?
Hastings
I never seen Komoko in my life, honest.
Macreedy All right. Then you'll send that message and give me the answer, won't you?
Hastings
Yes sir.
Coley
I'm half-hoss, half-alligator. You mess with me and I'll kick a lung outta ya. Whaddya think of that?
Macreedy No comment.
Coley
You know, talkin' to you is like pullin' teeth. You wear me out. You're a yellow-bellied Jap lover. Am I right or wrong?
Macreedy You're not only wrong - you're wrong at the top of your voice.
Coley
You don't like my voice?
Macreedy [To Smith]
I think your friend is trying to start trouble.
Why ever would he want to do that?
Macreedy Well, I don't know. Maybe he thinks that if he needles me enough, I might crack. I might even fight back. And then either he or your other ape sittin' over there could beat me to death and cop a plea of self-defense.
I don't think that'll be necessary. You're so scared now you'll probably drown in your own sweat.
Coley
No, before that happens, couldn't I pick a fight with you if I tied one hand behind me...?
Macreedy Wouldn't it have been easier to wait until I turned my back? Or are there too many witnesses present?
You're still in trouble.
Macreedy You're in trouble. Whatever happens, you're sunk.
You got things a big twisted.
Macreedy You killed Komoko, Smith, and sooner or later you're gonna go up for it. Not because you killed him, because I think in a town like this, you can get away with it. But because you didn't have guts enough to do it alone. You put your trust in guys like this - and Hector here - not the most dependable of God's creatures. And one of these days, they're gonna catch on that you're playin' 'em for a sap. And then what are ya gonna do? Peel 'em off, one by one? And in the meantime, one of 'em's gonna crack and when they do, you're gonna go down - but hard. 'Cause they got somethin' on ya, Smith. Something to use when the goin' gets tough. And it's gettin' tougher every minute.
My memories are so pleasant as it is...
Macreedy It's gonna take an awful lot of whiskey to wash out your guts. Go on, go on! Swill it! What is there left for you to do? You're as dead as Komoko and you don't know it....
You don't have to remind me. I've never forgotten.
Macreedy Oh, isn't that noble of you. You haven't forgotten. And you're ashamed. That's really noble of you. I suppose four years from now, you'll be sittin' around here tellin' people you haven't forgotten me either. That's real progress. In the meantime, I'll be as dead as a - WHY DON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED? [To Doc] What happened?
Why did you come here, Mr. Macreedy?
Macreedy Did Komoko have any other family besides his son Joe?
Son? Nobody around here ever knew he had a son.
Macreedy Yes, he had a son. He's dead too. He's buried in Italy...Why, this Komoko boy died trying to save my life. They gave him a medal. I came here to give it to his old man. I figured the least I could do was give him one day out of my life.
Smith owned Adobe Flat. He leased it to Komoko. He figured he had cheated him because you gotta have water to raise anything. There never was any water on Adobe Flat. Komoko dug a well. He must have gone down sixty feet.
He got plenty of water. That made Smith pretty sore. He didn't like Japs anyway. The day after Pearl Harbor, Smith went to Sand City.
Macreedy Yeah, he got turned down, trying to enlist.
Well, when he got back, he was pretty sore. Around ten o'clock, we all started drinking.
Macreedy Ten in the morning.
Yeah. Smith, Coley, Sam, Hector, and me - we were all drunk. Patriotic drunk. We wanted to go out to scare the Jap a little and have a little fun. Well, when we got there, he heard us comin' and he locked the door. And then Smith started a fire. And the Jap - he came running out. His clothes were all burning. And then Smith shot him. I didn't even know he had a gun.
Macreedy Then you got scared and buried him, and kept your mouths shut, hmm?
Yeah.
Macreedy Well, go ahead and have your drink now. You're gonna need it.
Maybe we need it [the medal]. It would give us something to build on. This town's wrecked, just as though it was bombed out. Maybe it can come back.
Macreedy Some towns do and some towns don't. It depends on the people.
That medal would help.
Conductor
What's all the excitement? What happened?
Macreedy A shooting.
Conductor
Thought it was something. First time the Streamliner's stopped here in four years.
Macreedy Second time.
