Come on!
Come on. Keep moving.
Come on.
Keep looking.
Attaboy. Attaboy, sniff it out.
Pick it up, boy. Pick it up.
Come on. Come on.
Lennie.
Get down.
Hurry up.
Get up there.
- George? - What d'you want?
Where are we going?
To get away from here.
l'm all wet.
Come on, let's take off your coat. Come on.
Just lay down and get some rest.
George?
Go to sleep, Lennie.
l'm sleeping, George.
- George, where are we going? - We're going to a ranch to work.
Come on. You get off here.
George, wake up.
You're in Soledad.
We're going to the Tyler ranch.
You gotta get off here. The ranch is down the road.
- How far? - Just down the road a stretch.
- Where the hell is it? - George?
- Yeah? - Where are we going?
Jesus Christ, you're a crazy bastard.
l forgot, George. l tried not to, then l forgot.
l spend all my time telling you things, then you forget 'em.
l remember about the rabbits.
The hell with them rabbits. That's all you can remember.
OK, listen. This time don't forget. We went into Murray and Ready's.
- They give us work cards and bus tickets. - George, l remember that now.
But George, l ain't got mine. l must've lost it.
l got both of 'em. You think l'd let you carry your own work card?
l thought l had it in my own pocket.
What did you take out of that pocket?
There's nothing in the pocket, George.
l know it ain't. You got it in your hand. Now, what you got in your hand?
George, that's just my mouse.
But l didn't kill it, George. Honest, l found it dead.
Oh, jeez.
- Give it here. - George, leave me have it.
Give it here. What do you want with a dead mouse anyway?
l was just petting it with the fingers while we was walking along.
Yeah, well, you ain't petting no mice when you walk with me.
You gonna give me that mouse, or am l gonna have to sock you?
Come on.
Blubbering like a baby, a big guy like you!
Lennie, l ain't taking it away for meanness.
That mouse ain't fresh, Lennie.
Get another mouse that's fresh, l'll let you keep him.
l don't know where there is no other mouse.
The lady used to give me some, but that lady ain't here no more.
Lady?
Don't you even remember who that lady was?
That's your Aunt Clara. She stopped giving 'em to you.
You was always killing 'em by petting 'em too hard.
l'll tell you what l'll do.
First chance l get, l'll get you a puppy.
Huh? That'd be better than mice.
You could pet 'em harder.
OK?
Huh?
Hey.
Hey! Hey!
Son of a bitch!
What did you say, George?
l said ''son of a bitch''.
The bus driver lied to us. Just too damn lazy to stop at the ranch gate.
- Son of a bitch! - Son of a bitch!
Jesus Christ, George, l said it too.
- Yeah, l heard you. - George, we wasn't supposed to say that.
Yeah, why not?
Aunt Clara don't like it.
Yeah, well, she's dead.
Lennie.
Don't drink so much.
Hey.
That's good, George. You have a drink. You have a good, big drink.
lt's nice here.
l think we'll just spend the night and go to the ranch tomorrow.
Ain't we gonna get no supper?
Yeah, sure we are. l got three cans of beans in my bindle.
l like beans with ketchup.
We ain't got any.
Go on. Go get some wood so we can build a fire.
- We got enough beans here for four men. - l like 'em with ketchup.
We ain't got any.
Goddamnit!
Whatever we ain't got, that's what you want.
George?
- What d'you want? - George, l was only fooling.
l don't... l don't want no ketchup.
lf it was here, you could have some.
George, l wouldn't eat no ketchup.
l'd leave it all for you and you could cover your beans with it.
l wouldn't touch none of it.
When l think of the swell time l could have without you, phew, l go nuts.
l never get any peace.
lf l was alone, l could live so easy.
l could get a job and work and no trouble.
And when the end of the month come, l could take my 50 bucks,
l could go into town, l could get whatever l want.
l could stay in a cathouse all night.
What do l got?
l got you.
You can't keep a job. Lose me every job l get.
Keep me shovin' all over the country, all the time.
That ain't the worst.
You get in trouble. You do bad things and l got to get you out all the time!
Crazy son of a bitch, you keep me in hot water all the time.
George, you... you want l should go away and leave you alone?
Where the hell would you go?
l could go...
l could go off in them hills there and find a cave.
Yeah? How'd you eat?
You ain't got sense enough to find nothin' to eat.
l find things. l don't need this nice food with ketchup.
George, if you don't want me, l go off in them hills and get a cave.
And l wouldn't get no mice stole off me either.
Jesus Christ, your Aunt Clara wouldn't like you running off by yourself.
Hey!
Well, go get some wood so we can build a fire afore it gets dark.
- George? - What?
Tell me like you done before.
- Tell you what? - About the...
- About the rabbits. - Not tonight.
Come on, George. Tell like you done before. Please? Please? Please?
You get a kick out of that, don't you?
OK.
l will.
Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world.
They ain't go no family and they don't belong no place.
- They got nothin' to look ahead to. - But not us, George. Tell about us now.
Well, we ain't like that. We got a future.
We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.
lf them other guys gets in jail, they can rot for all anybody cares.
But not us, George, because l...
See, l got you to look after me, but you got me to look after.
But, George, tell about how it's gonna be.
OK.
Someday...
we're gonna have us a little house and a couple of acres,
- and a cow and a pig and chickens. - Pig and chic...
We gonna live off the fat of the land, and have rabbits.
And have rabbits.
- George, tell what we got in the garden. - OK.
Then tell about the rabbits in winter, and about the stove and, uh...
- how thick the cream was on the milk. - Yeah.
- Go ahead, tell it. - Why don't you do it? You know all of it.
George, no! George, no, it's not the same when l tell it.
That's not the same.
Tell, um, what... how l get to tend the rabbits.
We're gonna have a big vegetable patch and we're gonna have a rabbit hutch.
- And down in the flat, we'll have a... -..little field of alfalfa for the rabbits.
- And l get to tend the rabbits. - Yeah, you get to tend the rabbits.
When it rains in the winter,
we'll just say ''The hell with going to work,''
and we'll just build a fire in the stove, and we'll just sit there
and we'll listen to the rain.
Lennie, l want you to look around here.
lf you get in any trouble, l want you to come right here.
- You hide over here in the brush. - Hide in the brush.
You hide in the brush until l come for you. Can you remember that?
Sure l can, George. Hide in the brush till you come for me.
lf you do get in trouble, l ain't gonna let you tend the rabbits.
l'm not gonna get into any trouble.
OK.
l can remember, by God.
Let's get some rest.
lt'll be nice sleeping here,
just looking up at the leaves.
George?
What do you want?
l... l think we should get them different colour rabbits.
Sure.
Red rabbits and blue rabbits and green rabbits.
- Leave 'em alone. - Be quiet, dogs. Be quiet, goddamnit.
Be quiet!
Shut up, Smiley! Shut up. Smiley, down.
- You fellas looking for something? - Yeah. We come here to work.
- Where's the boss? - He's up at the ranch house.
l'm Candy. Come on, l'll take you up there.
He was expecting you last night.
He was sore as hell that you wasn't here to go out this morning.
He come in when we was having breakfast.
He said ''Goddamnit, where the hell is them new men?''
And he gives the stable buck hell too. You see, the stable buck's a nigger.
Ah! There he goes.
He got a crooked back where a horse kicked him one day.
The boss gives him hell every time he gets mad.
But the stable buck...
The stable buck don't give a damn about that.
Boss's office in here.
Come in.
These guys just came.
l wrote Murray and Ready... for two men to work this morning.
Where's your work slips?
ls my slip in there?
lt wasn't Murray and Ready's fault.
Says right here you were supposed to be ready to work this morning.
Bus driver lied to us. We had to walk ten miles.
l don't give a damn about that.
- What's your name? - George Milton.
- What's yours? - His name's Lennie Small.
- Where you boys been working? - Up around Weed.
- What about you? - Yeah, him too.
He's not much of a talker, is he?
No, no, he ain't. But he's a hell of a good worker. He's strong as a bull.
Strong as a bull?
Uh, he can do anything you tell him. He's a..
He's a good skinner. He can wrestle grain bags, drive a cultivator.
Cultivator. Ah, but...
l ain't sayin' he's bright - he ain't.
But he's a... he's a damn good worker.
Say... what you selling?
What's your stake in this guy?
Are you taking his pay from him?
Hell, no.
He's my cousin. l told his old lady l'd take care of him.
He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid.
All right.
But you'd better not try to put anything over on me.
Now catch your grain teams after dinner.
Well, l wasn't kicked in the head with no horse, George.
Be a damn good thing if you was. Save everybody a hell of a lot of trouble.
You... you said l was your cousin.
Well, that was a lie. lf l was a relative of yours, l'd shoot myself.
Come on, l'll show you the bunkhouse.
Come on. Come on, boy.
Come on, come on. You can take these two bunks right here.
That's a hell of an old dog.
Yeah.
And he's getting older too. l had him since he was a pup.
God, he was a great sheepdog when he was younger.
Hey... what the hell is this?
Says ''Positively kills lice, roaches and other scourges''.
What the hell kind of beds are you giving us?
Now, wait a minute there, young fella. Wait a minute.
Let me see what you're talking about.
Oh, yeah, yeah. Now l remember.
Last guy that had this bunk was a blacksmith.
He'd squirt this stuff around even if there was no bugs.
He used to... he used to wash his hands even after he ate.
Candy!
- You seen my old man? - Yeah, he's up at the house.
- You the guys the old man's waiting for? - Yeah, we just came in.
- Let the big guy talk. - Suppose he don't wanna talk?
What the hell you gettin' into this for?
We travel together.
- Oh. Oh. So it's that way. - Yeah, it's that way.
And you won't let the big guy talk, is that it?
We just come in.
Yeah, well, next time you answer when you're spoken to.
Say, what the hell...? Lennie didn't do nothing to him.
That's the boss's son. Curley's pretty handy with his fists.
- Done a lot of fighting in the ring. - What's he got against Lennie?
Well, l'll tell you what.
Curley's like a lot of little guys.
Hates big guys. Kinda like he's mad at 'em cos he ain't a big guy.
Yeah, yeah. Well, he better make no mistake about Lennie.
Lennie ain't handy. This Curley's gonna get hurt if he messes around with Lennie.
Yeah, well.
Hey, come here. l wanna show you something. Come on.
Come on, boy. Come here, come here. l wanna show you something.
- You see that glove on his left hand? - Yeah.
- Well, that glove's full of Vaseline. - What the hell for?
Curley says he's keeping that hand soft for his wife.
That's a real nice thing to tell around.
Come on, boy. Come on.
Lennie.
- Look. See that guy? - Yeah.
- The one that was just in here? - Yeah.
He figures he got you scared. He's gonna take a sock at you first chance he gets.
George, l don't want no trouble. Don't let him sock at me.
Just try to keep away from him, will ya?
lf he comes in the bunkhouse again, move to the other side of the room.
George... George, you ain't mad at me, are you?
No, l ain't mad. Just try to keep away from Curley. Don't let him pull you in.
Sure. George, l wasn't gonna say a word.
You get in any trouble, you remember what l told you.
lf l get in any trouble, l don't get to tend them rabbits.
No, that's not what l mean.
Remember where we slept last night, down by the river?
l'm looking for Curley.
He was here a minute ago, but he went.
Oh.
Sometimes Curley's in here.
He ain't now.
Well, if he ain't, l guess l better look someplace else.
lf l see him, l'll tell him you was lookin' for him.
Nobody can't blame a person for looking.
See ya around.
- She's pretty. - Lennie...
- Don't you think she's pretty? - Listen to me, goddamnit!
- Don't you even look at her. - But...
l don't care what she says or does, she's a rat-trap.
But l wasn't doing nothing.
When she was shoving her legs around, you weren't looking the other way neither.
Keep away from her.
l don't like this place.
- You the new guys? - Yeah.
l'm Slim. You're gonna be on my team.
l'm George Milton. This here's Lennie Small.
- You travel around together? - Yeah.
There ain't many guys travel around together. l don't know why.
Maybe everybody in the whole damn world's scared of each other.
Maybe.
So, you ever bucked barley before?
Hell, yes. l ain't nothin' to scream about, but... Lennie's strong as a bull.
Good.
l got a pair of punks on my team, they don't know a barley bag from a blue ball.
These guys just came.
l meant to ask you, Slim. How many puppies your bitch have?
Well, she slung eight of 'em. l drowned four right off.
She couldn't feed that many. l just kept the biggest.
Candy's dog is old and no good.
You oughta get Candy to shoot that dog. Then you could give him one of the pups.
All right.
George, ask that man, can l have one of his pups?
Yeah, l will. Don't worry.
Come on, get up.
You done real good today, Lennie.
You done real good.
OK, l'll ask him now.
- Slim. - Yeah?
George, can l have this white one?
Well, if that's the one you want.
Can he stay here and hold it awhile?
Sure.
Lennie, you can't take that pup out of here.
- lt's too young to leave the mother. - l ain't going to, George.
Come on.
Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma.
That's it, take it easy.
- You talking today? - Nah, he ain't. He's too busy working.
- ls he a good worker? - Best l ever had.
- What about his partner? - What about him?
ls he a good worker? My old man wants to know.
Yeah, he's a good worker.
Ha! Giddap.
Come on, Violet. Come on, girl.
George, this mule has a sore foot. Lead her back to the stable
- and ask Crooks to give you another one. - Sure.
- Go on, girl. - Come on, girl. Come on.
Go on, now.
Jake!
Come on, girl. Come on.
Attagirl. Come on.
Come on, now. Come on.
Come on. Come on!
Crooks!
Can l help?
No.
l'm looking for Crooks. This mule's got a hurt foot.
He ain't here.
Nobody's here but me.
And now you.
l feel so lazy today.
You feel lazy?
No.
l could take a nap right here.
lt's nice and cool here in the barn, and quiet.
Everybody out in the fields working in the hot sun.
Here we are in a cool barn.
l got a hurt foot too.
l got mad at Curley last night, kicked at him and missed - kicked a chair instead.
Let go of that old mule and talk to me.
Are you from far away?
Pretty far.
How far is far away?
What's the town you came from?
You wouldn't know it if l told you.
You got a sweetheart back there?
No.
Did you ever have a sweetheart?
No.
You never had a sweetheart?
No.
You're kidding me.
A good-looking guy like you must have had a million sweethearts.
Your name's George, ain't it?
- What the hell you doing out here? - Nothing. Just trying to keep cool.
- l ain't talking to you. - Who you talking to?
- l'm talking to him. - His name's George.
l know what his name is.
What are you doin' out here?
- Minding my own business. - Yeah.
The last guy l caught out in the barn,
l beat the hell out of him and kicked him off my ranch.
- Get on back to the house. - You don't own me, Curley.
Shut up.
Get back in the house.
..very high. About 10,000, 12,000 feet.
How do you like your pup, Lennie?
l like that puppy. lt's white, like l wanted.
- Lennie. - Yeah.
- l told you not to bring that pup in here. - George, l ain't got no pup in here.
George, give... give... Give it to me!
George, give it to me. George, l didn't mean no harm.
George, please, l'll take it back to the barn.
l just want to feel him a little bit.
All right.
Don't you take him out no more.
Jesus.
He's still just like a kid, ain't he?
Either of you guys got a slug of whisky?
- l got a gut ache. - l ain't. l'd drink it myself if l had.
l ain't got no gut ache.
Come here.
God Almighty, that dog of yours stinks, Candy.
He's got no teeth. He's all stiff from rheumatism.
He ain't no good to ya. Hell, he ain't no good to hisself.
Why don't you just shoot him, Candy?
Well!
l couldn't do that.
l had him too long.
l herded sheep with him.
That poor old dog just suffers hisself all the time.
No. No.
Look.
Take him out and shoot him right in the back of the head.
Right there.
Hell, he'd never even know what hit him.
Aw...
l couldn't do that.
l had him too long.
l'll shoot him for ya. Then it won't be you that done it.
- No. - Slim's bitch has got a litter right now.
l'll bet you Slim would give you one of her pups to raise.
Sure. You can have any one of them pups you want.
No, no, no.
Carlson's right, Candy.
That dog ain't no good to hisself.
Hey, Slim. Read this.
''Dear Editor, l read your magazine for six years. lt's the best in the market.''
''l like stories by Peter Rand.''
- What you want me to read that for? - Go on. Read the name at the bottom.
- ''Yours for success, William Tanner.'' - You met Bill Tanner?
Yeah. Bald-headed guy, drove a cultivator.
That's him.
Candy, if you want me to, l'll put that old dog out of his misery right now.
Won't hurt him at all.
- Let's wait till tomorrow. - l don't see why. Let's get it over with.
We can't sleep with that stinking dog in here.
All right.
Take him.
Come on, boy. Come on.
He won't even feel it.
Come on, boy. Come on.
Carlson...
- Get a shovel. - Yeah.
Candy.
You can have any one of them pups you want.