Red River (1948) · 73 quotes
2nd most-quoted character in Red River (1948): in 26 of its 73 quotes
Most scenes with: Tom Dunson (16), Groot Nadine (4), Cherry Valance (4)
It was all burnin', only Indians around, just all burnin' and smokin', smellin'. They were burnin' everything. I can see it. It's plain. I can see it. It was burnin' the wagons. People was screamin'.
Matt Garth I've been wondering too. The way he looked when we left him. It all happened so fast. I hadn't...I hadn't started out...I couldn't let him hang Teeler and Laredo...I don't know. He was wrong. I hope I'm right. I hope there's a railroad in Abilene.
Matt Garth Which would you rather have? What's behind, or what might be ahead?
Matt Garth How can a man sleep with Indians out ahead and him behind us?
Don't ever trust anybody until you know 'em.
Matt I won't - after this. Thanks for telling me.
Yeah, well, it looks like we'll have to take you along. [he returns Matt's gun] Well, are you gonna use it?
Matt No, no. But don't ever try to take it away from me again.
This is it. This is where we start growin' good beef...Everything a man could want. Good water and grass and plenty of it.
Matt Who does it belong to?
To me! Some day, that'll all be covered with good beef. And I'll put a mark, a brand on 'em, to show they're mine too.
Matt What kind of a mark?
I've been thinkin' about that. There'll be two lines, like this, like the banks of a river. It'll be the Red River brand.
Matt I see a 'D' for Dunson, but my name's Matthew...I don't see any 'M' on that brand.
I'll put an 'M' on it when you earn it.
Matt That's fair enough. I'll earn it.
Matt How'd you know when he was gonna draw?
By watchin' his eyes. Remember that.
Matt I will.
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?
Yeah.
Matt That's what I figured.
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.
Matt He's afraid.
Afraid? Why you're crazy, you're looney.
Matt Am I?
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?
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.
Yeah.
Matt That's all right.
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.
We...well Matt, I'm glad you come home, cause, well, I'm glad you come home.
I said 'Brand him.'
Matt He's wearing a Meeker iron.
I can't see it.
Matt Brand him.
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.
Why not?
Matt You're gonna wind up branding every rump in the state of Texas except mine.
Hand me that iron, Teeler. You don't think I'd do it, do ya?
Matt I don't.
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.
That I'll argue with Meeker.
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!
Hey! That's very good!
Matt Hey! Hey! That's good too! Go on! Keep it going!
There they are, Matt. Fourteen years of hard work. And they say we can't make the drive.
Matt They could be wrong.
They'd better be.
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?
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...
We'd save ourselves a heap of...
We're goin' to Missouri. I've seen buyers and cash in Sedalia. [To Cherry] What have you seen in Abilene?
Not a thing. Just the girl told me...
We're goin' to Missouri. [Dunson walks off]
Matt You'll find him a handful by himself.
Matt You'd have shot him right between the eyes.
Just as sure as you're standin' there. Well, you shot him. You can take care of him.
Matt You didn't have to do that back there.
You joined in.
Matt Yeah, and I thought you were wrong.
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.
You think I'm to blame for that?
Matt Just as sure as you're sittin' there.
And so?
Matt So I'll take your orders.
Matt Well, here's your Red.
It's quite a river.
Matt Sure had a lot smaller herd the last time we crossed.
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?
We'll put 'em across now!
Matt We've got a pretty tired bunch behind us.
Tired men don't run away.
Matt We can't keep 'em this wore out all the rest of the drive.
No, but we can keep 'em this wore out until Cherry gets back. Then nobody'll want to run away.
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.
Bill Kelsey figured he'd rather fight. Made a good one of it for a while.
Laredo, Teeler, you signed on for the drive and you signed on to finish it.
Laredo That's right, we did.
You stole beans and flour, and cartridges. Besides bein' deserters, you're common thieves.
Laredo The law might see it different...
I'm the law. You're a thief! You too, Teeler. Anything more?
I know what you're gonna do to us, but first I wanna tell ya somethin'.
Go ahead.
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.
You through?
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.
You finished?
Yeah. Now you can get your Bible and read over us after you shoot us.
I'm gonna hang ya.
Matt No. No, you're not.
What?
Matt You're not going to hang them.
Who'll stop me?
Matt I will.
Give me that gun. Somebody give me - I'll kill him. Let me go! He was gonna kill me! He wasn't gonna give me a chance - [Matt slaps him]
Matt Turn him loose. Cherry, give me that gun. Here's what you've been trying for. All right, use it! Go on, you got what you wanted. What are you waiting for? If you don't want to live, all you have to do is - You're a lucky man, Teeler. This is how close it came.
Matt, we're gettin' as crazy as he is. [Teeler returns the gun to Matt]
Matt Keep it. You want to finish the drive?
Where are we goin'?
Matt Abilene.
Who's headin' it?
Matt I am.
Buster What about Dunson?
Matt He stays here. We're takin' the herd.
That's good enough for me.
Matt Groot? How about you?
You was wrong, Mr. Dunson. I've been with ya a lot of years. And up till now, right or wrong, I've always done like ya said. Got to be kind of a habit with me, I guess, 'cuz that's why I'm stayin' with ya.
Go on with 'em.
Thanks. Thanks for makin' it easy on me. All right, men, I'll be comin' with you.
Matt Throw 'em on the trail, start driving. Buster, you wait here till I get back. [He rides off to help round up the herd]
If you come lookin' for me, Mr. Dunson, I'll be in Abilene.
Matt If there's any chance at all, we'll get your herd to Abilene.
Cherry was right. You're soft. You should've let him kill me, 'cause I'm gonna kill you. I'll catch up with ya! I don't know when, but I'll catch up. Every time you turn around, expect to see me. 'Cause one time you'll turn around and I'll be there. I'll kill ya, Matt.
Why does he [Dunson] think that way?
Matt Because he got to a place where, see, he'd taken empty land used for nothin', made it the biggest ranch in the state of Texas. Fought to keep it...one bull and one cow, that's all he started with...After he'd done all that, gotten what he'd been after for so long, it wasn't worth anything...So he started this drive. Everybody said, 'you can't make it. You'll never get there.' He was the only one believed we could. He had to believe it. So he started thinking one way, his way. He told men what to do and made 'em do it. Otherwise, we wouldn't have got as far as we did. He started 'em for Missouri and all he knew was he had to get there. I took his herd away from him.
You love him, don't you? He must love you. That wouldn't be hard. [She kisses Matt on the lips] Did you like that?
Matt I've always been kind of slow in making up my mind.
Maybe I can help. [They kiss again]
Matt I don't need any more help but will you do that again? [They kiss again]
Matt We can't take her with us, can we?
Well we could, uh...
Matt What?
No, no, I don't suppose we could.
Melville You gonna wait for Dunson, huh? I've been talkin' to some of your men. Isn't that check and the fact that you got here, isn't that gonna make any difference?
Matt I don't think so, Mr. Melville.
Melville I suppose I'm crazy but...
Matt You want me to run away?
Melville No, of course not. Couldn't, couldn't I talk to him?
Matt I still have to talk to him after that.
I know you've only a few hours, but listen for just a minute, that's all, and then I won't talk about it anymore. Just a minute. He hasn't changed his mind, Matthew.
Matt I didn't think he would.
We saw the railroad and I thought, I thought it might make a difference, but it didn't. Nothing would. He's like something you can't move. Even I've gotten to believe it's got to happen - your meeting. I was gonna ask you to run but, no I'm not, I'm not. It wouldn't do any good. You're too much like him. Oh, stop me, Matthew! Stop me! God bless you, Matthew. [He kisses her]
You'd better marry that girl, Matt.
Matt Yeah, I think I...Hey, when are you gonna stop telling people what to do?
Right now. At least as soon as...
Matt When?
...as soon as I tell ya one thing more.
Matt What?
When we get back to the ranch, I want ya to change the brand. It'll be like this, the Red River 'D' and we'll add an 'M' to it. You don't mind that do ya?
Matt No. [They smile affectionately toward each other]
You've earned it.
