It begins here, for me, on this road.
How the whole mess happened, I don't know.
But I know it couldn't happen again in a million years.
Maybe I coulda stopped it early.
But once the trouble was on its way
I was just goin' with it.
Mostly, I remember the girl.
I can't explain it, a sad chick like that.
But something changed in me.
She got to me.
That's later anyway.
This is where it begins for me.
Right on this road.
Come on, get off the track.
What do you think you're doin'? Get over there.
Now they're approaching the turn for the last lap.
And that's, let's see, Riley, Anderson and Hillman.
Hillman taking the tumble and Ralph George doing very well to avoid him, too.
This is the final lap coming up and still anybody's race.
Uh-oh, that's Connors in the hay.
That's a bad break for Charlie Connors. He was right up there, too.
Oh, it looks like Riley, Anderson and Al Foster.
And that is the big three. They'll go into the last lap.
Last time around coming up. They're all hot today. It's anybody's race.
They're in that order now, but anything can happen.
Come on, Al! Come on! Attaboy!
Hey! Get off the track! Get off the track!
Please don't cross the track.
"Please, don't cross the track."
Don't get hurt. Blood makes everything slippery.
What's the matter with you chowderheads? You in such a big hurry to die?
Don't words mean anything to you squirrels, or are you just looking for trouble?
None of these outlaw outfits ever want to do anything but foul things up for everybody else.
Hey, what kinda outfits? Say that again.
Outlaw outfits. Like yours.
Okay, square, right now.
You want to drag Johnny a hundred yards for beers, or are you chicken?
- Ah, the square's chicken. - Yeah, they're all chicken.
You wanna see something? You wanna see Johnny go?
Oh, he can really go. He can really screw it on.
What do you get when you win one of these scrambles? $5,000?
- Boy, I'd sure like to win me $5,000. - You dummy, ya. Come here.
If you win, they give you one of these beautiful gold statues.
- Solid gold? - Sure, solid gold, dipped.
- What do you do with it? - You take it home to your mother.
Yeah, then you throw it away.
Break it up. Put these trophies back. All of you stand back.
Hey, where can I get me one of these jazzy suits?
I want to look like a street cleaner, too.
Hey, who are you? What are you doing? You a cop or somethin'?
Come on!
- Don't push anybody. - Okay, okay, break it up.
We got enough entertainment around here.
I've seen enough of you guys to last me forever.
Now, hit the road.
I mean right now. Get goin'.
We wanna watch the thrilling races, daddy.
One more cute remark, and you won't be ridin' any cycles.
I'll put the bunch of you away for a month.
Now get goin'!
Hey, fellas, come here. Look what Johnny won.
Hey, what's the matter with ya? Second place.
So Johnny only won second place, huh?
What do you mean? First place was two feet high.
Hey, Johnny, look.
These squares are havin' a dance here in Carbonville tonight. We'll go, huh?
- No, man, that's nowhere. - Oh, come on. We can clobber it.
Come on, Johnny. Let's go someplace.
Let's get out of here. Every time you look around, there's cops.
All right, let's get rollin'.
This way.
- Where's that bunch from? - I don't know. Everywhere.
I don't even think they know where they're goin'.
Termites. Nutty.
Ten guys like that give people the idea everybody drives a motorcycle is crazy.
- What are they trying to prove anyway? - Beats me.
Looking for somebody to push 'em around
so they can get sore and show how tough they are.
Yeah.
They usually find it someplace, sooner or later.
- Hey, Johnny, where we goin'? - Let's get gas.
Yeah, give us some gas!
Hey, gas man!
Ben, business before pleasure.
Jimmy, you better put some more beer on ice.
What is this joint?
What war do you suppose this joint was left over from?
Hey, fellas, drag for beers!
Who wants to drag for beers?
Last guy in the door of that joint buys beers.
Last guy in buys.
Who is it? Who is it? Art, you all right?
It's Art Kleiner.
Hey, help this man out.
Help this man out! Help this man out!
- Help this man out! - Put me down!
Help this man out! Help this man out!
- What are you doin'? Are you crazy? - What is all this?
We were just draggin' for beers. Broom-broom!
And this guy, bru-bru-bru-bru-bru... Boom!
- He doesn't know how to drive. - Yeah!
There's a boy hurt here.
It's his ankle. It looks pretty bad.
What's all that, Kathie?
What's all that? Somebody killed?
Crazy, you can't sleep in the street.
Look at this cycle. You really stacked up this thing.
I'll call Dr. Zeigler. Get your pickup and we'll take him over.
Harry, you seen how it happened.
Those motorcycles were coming right straight at me.
I swung my wheel over as hard as I could, but they...
- Take a look at that. - What about this, Harry?
It was an accident. I saw it.
Art got excited, that's all.
- Ain't you going to arrest anybody? - Take it easy, Art. Take it easy.
I'm not excited. I'm just telling you what happened.
I tried to miss them, and then he hit me.
My car's a wreck, and somebody's gotta pay for the damages. And I mean it.
Okay.
You the big cop in the town?
Next time tell him to look where he's going 'cause he don't know how to drive.
He oughta turn one way or the other, know what I mean?
There was guys all over the street trying to miss him.
Now, just a minute!
He's all right, but he's got one of my boys all busted up.
- Now, look here, Harry... - Forget it, Art. Forget it.
Some cop, huh?
- See Johnny back him down? - Yeah. What a screwball town.
Art Kleiner's too old to be driving an automobile.
Where was he going anyway?
Always going someplace.
Crazy, excited.
Taking a lot of vitamin pills.
Drinking.
Over-stimulated.
Oughta arrest the whole lot of them.
Call the militia.
- Do you want something? - Yeah. I'd like a bottle of beer.
The beer's just in the bar.
Oh, all righty.
Why, thank you.
Ah, look, Harry, the fender's scraping on the Tyre.
Wait a minute.
There you are. Won't scrape no more. Good as the rest of 'em, huh Pop?
Oh, no!
Harry, aren't you gonna do something about this?
- What do you expect me...? - Wait a minute.
Art, what do you want Harry to do, arrest all these boys?
All 30 or 40 of 'em, or whatever there is?
It's the principle of the thing. You let this go by and anything goes.
- That's right. Make a complaint, Art. - I sure will.
That's silly. Your car's okay, you're okay.
And it's lucky, the way you drive.
- Say, you live here all the time? - All my life.
Zow!
We've been over to Carbonville, at the meet.
A bunch on motorcycles came through this way yesterday.
They didn't stop.
Is that what they give you in those races for killing yourself?
That's right.
You want it?
No.
Go on, take it. Go ahead. Go on.
You can't do that. You won it.
You have to get your name engraved on it or whatever you do.
It's important to you. You don't give something like that away just like that.
Not unless you know a girl real well, and you liked her.
- Hey, Johnny! - Yo!
About this town.
- They got a doc here. - They're gonna rewire Crazy.
Hey, what're we gonna do, sit around and scratch ourself?
Yeah, we gonna wait for Crazy, or we gonna get out of this dump?
We're gonna wait for Crazy.
Hey, you guys!
Johnny says we're gonna wait for Crazy. They're gonna fix him up.
- What'll we do here? - Gimme a swig of this beer, will ya?
Don't fight, boys. Plenty more where this came from.
It's ice-cold, too.
- Hey, Doc? - Yeah?
Hey, er, where do we eat?
Right there. Bleeker's Café. We'll take good care of you.
- You got some steaks? - Kansas City steaks?
- Well, we serve good meat. - Uh-huh.
Where's the motel?
The hotel is right over there.
Hey, they got a hotel here.
Hey, come on, lead me to that brew, will you, man?
Hey, check the hot rod.
Hey, the fire went out!
How ya doin', Blondie? Hey, baby. Where you going?
- Climb up in there. - Sit right down.
- What'll you have, girls? - Yeah, what'll it be, girls?
- The usual. - Just one minute, please.
Hey, and hit us with a coupla beers.
Hey, Jimmy, put a couple more cases on ice.
- Kathie said you wanted some glasses. - That was an hour ago.
Never mind, I'll do it myself. Take over here, will ya, Jimmy?
- Yeah, come on, Jimmy! - Yay, Jimmy!
We haven't had any yet. I'm dyin' of thirst.
Please stop mumbling.
What do you hicks do around here for kicks?
- What time is it, Jimmy? - What do you do around here?
- Anything ever happen? - Oh, yes.
- Like what? - Roses grow.
Oh, roses grow!
People get married.
- Married! - Crazy as anyplace else.
Bugs get on 'em. Cause trouble sometimes.
That is, if you don't spray good.
There's no bugs on you, huh Jim?
- I mind my own business. - That's the way to be, Jim!
Listen to the radio. Music, that is.
News is no good. It excites people.
Hey, Jim, what about TV? Do you like TV?
- What? - A new thing, Jim. Television.
- Oh, pictures? - Yeah.
- No, no pictures. - Why not?
Everything these days is pictures.
Pictures and a lot of noise.
Nobody even knows how to talk. Just grunt at each other.
- Hey, where you been? - Working.
Listen, what's happening later? What are you gonna do later?
I work.
- You gotta goof off, don't you? - What?
- You're not gonna work forever, are you? - It feels like it sometimes.
I'm talking about tonight after you finish up.
I have to stay here as long as we're busy.
Sounds like we're going to be busy until you leave here.
Where are you going when you leave here?
Don't you know?
Oh, man, we're just gonna go.
Just trying to make conversation. It means nothing to me.
On the weekends we go out and have a ball.
What do you do?
I mean, do you just ride around, or do you go on some sort of picnic or something?
A picnic? Man, you are too square.
I have to straighten you out.
You don't go any one special place. That's cornball style.
You just go.
A bunch gets together after all week. It builds up.
The idea is to have a ball.
If you're gonna stay cool, you've got to wail.
You got to put somethin' down. You got to make some jive.
Don't you know what I'm talkin' about?
- Yeah, I know what you mean. - Well, that's all I'm saying.
My father was going to take me on a fishing trip to Canada once.
Yeah?
- We didn't go. - Crazy.
Hey, pops, gimme one of those crazy beers, will ya, man?
- That was real cool, daddy. - Thanks, daddy-o.
That's fine-o playing-o.
Oh, we got to get this beer-o.
Thank you, pops.
- Bop me, dad. - I bopped you, dad.
Hey, pops, thumb me, will you, daddy-o?
Come on. That's it. Thumb me.
Gimme some skin and ooze it out just nice.
Attaboy. Ooze it out.
- Now, elbow us. - Do you pick up on this jive, man?
- What? - Do you pick up on this jive?
This crazy music here. Did you dig the rebop?
- What? - The rebop, dad.
He's a square, man. Don't you get this at all?
- How 'bout a little dance? - How about you? You wanna struggle?
- Let's trot. - Attagirl! You're a daring one.
Hey, er, can I help ya?
Hey, these are keen.
- Johnny, get a load of this. - They're real bells.
- Aren't they cute? - Crazy.
Somebody tell me what that means. BRMC. What does it mean?
Black Rebels Motorcycle Club.
Isn't that cute?
Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?
Whaddya got?
Hey, Kathie, aren't they wonderful? Did you hear what I said?
I said, "What does that mean, BRMC?"
And he said, "The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club."
I asked, "Well, what are you rebelling against, Johnny?"
He said, "What've you got?" What've you got?!
What's the matter? Don't you like to dance?
I don't dance very well.
The squares are having a dance over to Carbonville. You wanna make it?
Aren't you mistaken about that?
Oh, my.
Coffee, please.
Two coffees, please.
- You wanna go? - I can't.
How come?
I can't. Besides, it's silly.
You just came from Carbonville.
Well, so what? We'll just go back over there, that's all.
Hey.
Hey, you gentlemen ordered some coffee.
I think you ordered coffee over here. The young lady's waitin' for ya.
That's a good boy.
What's with him?
You won yourself something, did you?
Well, that's a nice souvenir to have.
Now, look, Johnny,
out there I think you got me a little wrong.
I've got a job to do here, but I'm not hard to get along with.
It's generally just a misunderstanding,
but if it looks like anything that might develop into real trouble, why...
It can be decided if folks just sit down and talk it over.
Dad...
Would you like me to fix you a steak sandwich?
No.
Now, what did you do that for?
Why are you trying to be so rude?
I don't like cops.
Let's get outta here.
Come on.
Hey, Johnny, did you get lined up with that chick?
No, man. Her old man is that itchy cop in there.
- How about that? - Let's get out of this town.
I'd like to get me a cop's daughter sometime. Some deal, huh, Dinky?
One beer and a sidecar for my friend.
- Like curb service, eh? - Crazy got his clutch overhauled.
- Hey, Crazy, how's the foot? - I got it.
Dig that cat, daddy-o.
Hello! What you doin' tonight? Hey!
Hey, the Rebels are here.
Hey, the Rebels! Come on.
Yeah, looks like Johnny's here.
- Come on, let's get outta here. - Johnny, this joint's wide open.
- What's the matter? This is a ball. - Yeah, man, this place is crazy!
No, man, it's a drag. Come on.
Hiya, sweetheart.
Hey, what are you doing in this miserable gully, Johnny, my love?
I love you, Johnny.
I've been lookin' for you in every ditch from Fresno to here, hopin' you was dead.
Chino's givin' him the needle, and your boyfriend don't go for that.
Ah, ha-ha-ha.
You've been havin' yourself a time, huh, Johnny?
Hey, y'know, you do look pale.
You been takin' care of yourself?
You been stayin' out too late at night?
That's mine, Chino. Take it off.
Don't do that.
That's better, Johnny.
You know, I've missed you.
Ever since the club split up, I missed you.
We all missed ya! D'you miss him?
Yeah. The Beetles missed ya. All the Beetles missed ya.
Let's you and me go inside and have a beer
and I'll beat the living Christmas outta ya.
Johnny, for old time's...
Ah, don't take that away from Chino.
It's so beautiful.
Chino needs it.
Makes Chino feel like a big, strong man.
Chino wants to be a big racetrack hero, all these girls. Pow!
Look, I didn't win it, Johnny.
I just gleeped it. But I gleeped it off a guy that didn't win it either.
Look, Johnny, you want one?
How about you go gleep one someplace for yourself, huh?
Wait a minute.
All right, this is the main event.
Now, ladies and gentlemen,
this lovely young lady over here
shall hold this beautiful object signifying absolutely nothing.
Now, watch closely.
See how the timid maiden of the hill clutches the gold to her breast.
And see how she fights back a tear while her hero bleeds to death in the street.
Come on, get up, you big hero.
What are they fighting about?
Don't know.
Don't know themselves, probably.
Let's stop this. I've seen hoodlums like this before.
If you don't get tough the minute they get outta line, you're sunk.
You are the cop, aren't ya?
If you can't boot these jerks out, we can, even if we have to bust heads.
- That won't help matters. - Now take it easy, Charlie.
Nothing but talk, talk.
I'll see if everything's all right at home.
Come on, get up, boy. Get up. Don't let him make a fool out of you.
Go get him, Chino. Go get him!
Johnny, I love ya.
Johnny,
how's about you and me, we'll go and have a...
Shut up!
Let's you and me have a beer, Johnny.
Shut up, I said!
- Get out of the way. I want out. - What's the big idea, huh?
Shut up!
- Don't you know how to drive? - Come on, I want outta here.
- You're awful noisy, ain't ya? - You get away from me.
- What'd he do? - Tried to run Meatball over.
Come on, up and over!
Heave, ho. Heave, ho.
Break it up! Break it up!
Break it up!
Chief, did you see what this guy tried to do? He tried to run Meatball over.
Nobody ran anybody over. He ran his motorcycle into my car.
Then I suppose his cycle crawled under your front wheel all by itself, huh?
- I want this man arrested. - He wants me arrested? You hear that?
- He hit me. - Hit me back, you coward.
- All right, quiet! - What are you gonna do about it?
I'm gonna take you both down and lock you up.
Both of us?!
So we can all talk without everybody yelling.
Now, quiet!
Whether I'll hold anybody or not depends on how badly this boy is hurt.
See, I'm with the chief.
You hurt, man?
- He don't feel a thing. - Harry?
- Lemme talk to ya. - You guys break it up. Move along.
- You sure you know what you're doing? - Of course I know what I'm doing.
Charlie could be part to blame, but let's get these guys out of town.
These kids will be gone tomorrow. You and I have to make a living here.
If you arrest Charlie Thomas, he'll never forgive you.
Well, okay.
- Okay, come on. - What about him?
Frog-face, dear friend, we are being parted.
Our love is being nipped in the bud.
Hey, wait a second.
What did this boy do that frog-face didn't do?
Johnny, I wanna talk to you a minute.
I've given you a coupla chances. I don't know what you're after.
- Chief, let me tell you about Johnny. - Shut up!
I'm in a spot here. You can do me a favour.
You take your boys and go on, and that other bunch, too.
Can I go, too, Chief?
Yeah, he goes, too.
I made a deal with a cop once.
Let me tell you about Johnny, daddy-o. He's okay, but don't get on his back.
He don't like nobody on his back. We had the same club once.
The Beetles got on his back all the time. He didn't like that.
You don't want to do what I say?
- Save me, Johnny. I'm goin' to the can. - Yes or no?
I said I don't make no deal with no cop.
Okay. Come on.
Hey, Johnny, write my mother a letter and tell her I'm in the can, huh?
You gonna let that phony cop get away with this?
Write my mother a letter, tell her to send me a case of beer.
Oh, the shame of it all.
- Let's give this joint the needle. - What time is it?
Where's that chick that's got my gold?
She was standing right over there.
Hi, Johnny.
Thank you.
Hey, Johnny.
Don't you remember?
Britches.
Oh, you remember. The last weekend we went out scrambling.
- Oh... - Before the club split up.
Yeah.
- How've ya been? - I'm still swingin'.
I didn't know what happened to you.
It's been a year, I didn't see you.
I thought about you.
Listen, I'll see ya later, okay?
Hey, where's my gold? I'm gonna blow this joint.
Fine. Go someplace else and cause trouble.
Listen, he put Chino in the can. Why didn't he put frog-face in the can?
He was afraid of making a mistake. He was afraid of losing his job.
He's the town joke, and I'm stuck with him.
He hasn't got any business being a cop, no more than you have with that.
He's a fake, like you.
Well, you've impressed everybody now.
Big motorcycle racer.
Why don't you take that back so they can give it to somebody who really won it?
Say what?
Who are you, some girl who makes sandwiches or somethin'?
Your father wears a hat, says he's a big important man,
you start telling me what to do?
Nobody tells me what to do.
You keep needling me, if I want to, I'm gonna take this joint apart
and you're not gonna know what hit you.
Hey, beer.
Hey Johnny, what's the pitch? We leavin'?
Not just yet.
Hey, Johnny, Johnny. C'mon, let's go spring Chino, huh?
- Yeah, one phony cop. - Let's get him out of there!
- We got this town on the ropes. Let's go. - Come on.
All right, let's go!
Hello, Dorothy, get me the sheriff's office at Elsberg.
I'll see if I can get through for ya, Harry.
Hey, look what's in here.
- Hello, baby. - How does this work?
- Can I get my mother on this? - You're too dumb to have a mother.
This is Dorothy. Help!
- Hello? - Hello, baby. How does this work?
Goodbye, Dorothy.
Go on, take the day off, Dorothy.
What is this?
What do you think you're doing here?
Get off my lawn! Get outta here!
Listen, you hoodlums, you've caused enough trouble.
Chino!
Hey, Chino!
C'mon Chino!
Hey, let's open it up. Where are the keys?
- Hey, look. I got the key. - Where'd you get the keys, Mousey?
- Hey, anybody see ya? - Nah, I wore gloves. No fingerprints.
Hurry up, hurry up.
- Man, I'm a regular warden. - Hey, Chino, wake up.
- Over here. Come on, in. - Let go of me.
Hey, Chino. Hey Chino! Come on, get up.
Let go of me.
Hey, leave him alone. Let him sleep it off.
You want room service? We'll leave a call for ya.
- Don't go away. - Hey, sleep well.
Won't Chino be surprised when he wakes up?
Johnny, what happened to that cop? Let's go give him a bad time.
Yeah, I'll take the cop's daughter.
Okay, okay, I was smiling.
Ask her if she's got a sister for me.
Johnny, where are you going?
Hello?
Hello? Hello?
Hello?
What's the matter, don't they answer?
- Hello? - Did you get him?
The phone's dead.
You'd better send somebody for the militia.
Oh, that's silly. Let me try.
Hello, operator? Operator? Dorothy?
Guess you're right.
Kathie, go see if you can find your dad. Tell him I need him right away!
- All right. - You better go home and stay there.
Hi, Johnny.
Where have you been?
What do you want?
Talk to me, Johnny.
Sing me a song.
- Buy me a beer. - You got a beer.
I wanna know how you've been, Johnny.
I'm singing tonight, Johnny. I'm really singing!
I'm on the Christmas tree.
You got a date?
Yeah, I got a date.
Johnny, remember the night?
The first time I went out scrambling with the Rebels? Remember?
That was the first time I ever saw you.
I haven't seen you since.
We really got ourselves hung on the Christmas tree, didn't we?
Boy, was I green.
Was I really green!
I thought I was really living it up.
I had me a guy and we were really gonna go!
But we had a lotta yaks, anyway, didn't we, Johnny?
Well, say it! Can't you say something?
Please, Johnny.
I won't get on your back.
I wouldn't do that.
But we had a lot of yaks, anyway, didn't we?
What do you want me to do, send you some flowers?
Hey, where's that girl? Where's that Kathie?
The bar's closed, counter's closed, everything's closed.
Hey, Johnny, wait a minute. Can't you stop this?
- Where's Kathie? I'm looking for her. - I don't know. I've treated you right.
- If you can stop this... - I don't stop nothing, man!
- But they're wrecking my place. - Oh, you're doing all right, man.
Oh, no. Please!
You all right, Charlie?
Let's get to work on these boys. Anybody bring a gun for me?
- Now, wait a minute, Charlie. - What for? Till somebody gets killed?
I don't go all the way with Charlie, either, Bill.
But we gotta do what we can to protect ourselves. Admit that.
I do admit it, but two wrongs never made anything right
When you start using guns...
I've got a gun and I'm gonna use it, one end or the other.
Anybody wants to stay and talk can have an ice cream social with Bill.
Anybody don't, can come with me.
Find him, bring him back to the store. We'll meet back there.
Well, we'll do what we can.
Let's try and get hold of this boy Johnny before Charlie and the others do.
Ah-hah!
Thank you.
Hey, Crazy, that's go-go-go!
Mildred gives the craziest permanents.
- Honey, let's dance. - Oh, I've been tapped.
Go, go, go, go!
Come on there, boy. Come on, Johnny, go, go!
Guys, look. New talent. Hey, fellas!
Fellas, look who it is.
Well, broom-broom!
- That's a good one! - Let's get her!
Please don't do this! Please don't! It's too expensive.
Honey, where you been? Let's dance, sweetie.
- Hey, the chick! - Johnny's girl! Let's get her!
Let's go on the motors.
Get on.
Get up.
I'm sorry, I can't fight back.
I'm too tired.
It would be better, wouldn't it? Then you could hit me.
You think you're too good for me. Nobody's too good for me!
Anybody thinks they're too good for me, I make sure I knock 'em over sometime.
Right now, I can slap you around to show you how good you are,
and tomorrow I'm someplace else, and I don't even know you or nothin'.
Do you want to?
I wouldn't waste my time with a square like you.
What I want to knock myself out for?
I'm gonna take you back and dump you. C'mon, where are you going?
- Johnny. - Quit that.
It's crazy, isn't it?
You're afraid of me.
I don't know why, but I'm not afraid of you now.
You're afraid of me.
I'm afraid of you?
Are you cracked?
Come on, get on.
I wanted to touch you.
I wanted to try, anyway.
Try what?
I don't know.
I wanted to make it the way I always thought it would be sometime.
With somebody.
The way I always thought it might be.
You're still fighting, aren't you?
You're always fighting. Why do you hate everybody?
I've never ridden on a motorcycle before.
It's fast. It scared me.
But I forgot everything.
It felt good. Is that what you do?
I'm gonna leave. That's what you want me to do, isn't it?
You know what I used to think about?
I used to think about it a lot after my mother died.
That somebody would come here
and stop at Uncle Frank's place,
and buy a cup of coffee or something, and...
He'd like me right away. He'd take me with him.
Johnny, you were going to give me that statue.
Will you give it to me now?
Why?
I don't know.
I just wondered if you still wanted to give it to me, that's all.
It's crazy.
Where'd you want this guy to take you, this guy had a cup of coffee?
I don't know.
Wherever he was going, I guess.
I'm shaky.
I wish I was going someplace.
I wish you were going someplace.
We could go together.
Johnny! Johnny!
Hey. Hey.
Quit it.
What's the matter, Kathie? I was only trying to...
Hey, Chino, how'd you get out?
Johnny, I love you.
Let's you and me have a beer
and I'll beat the living Christmas out of you.
Come on, get everybody together. We're gonna get outta here.
Storm the Bastille!
There he comes! That's him!
That's him! He's the one...
Dad, they've got Johnny.
They're taking him...
Have you just been sitting here?
Aren't you going to do anything?
- There isn't anything to do. - We've got to help him.
They took him in a car, Mr. Thomas and some men.
He wasn't doing anything! He was trying to stop it!
He was going to leave.
How are things at Frank's?
A fight started. I came to look for you. Uncle Frank is upset.
Well, he got what he wanted.
Business before pleasure.
Dad, listen!
They've gone crazy. Everybody!
They got Johnny. You've got to help him.
They're going to beat him up or something.
I tried to talk to him.
Don't you even care?
What can I do?
Just nothing, I guess.
But if you don't do something, you're worse than any of them!
They brought it on themselves.
I saw it coming, but what could I do?
Charlie Thomas is a bully. He was a bully in the third grade!
What am I supposed to do, shoot somebody?
Charlie, let me talk to the boy!
Bill, I warned ya to stay outta this. I mean it! Get out of our way! Go on!
- My old man hit harder than that. - Ah, shut up.
Hold on there.
Get away from that boy! Get back.
This has nothing to do with you. We've got a little job to be done.
This is my job!
You won't have it long.
We're doing something that shoulda been taken care of before this.
Pounding a little respect for law and authority into this guy's thick skull.
- That's not the way to do it. - Got a better way?
You've had a lot of time to try it.
Harry, look, you're too soft-hearted. This is no time for kindness.
- It's as good a time as any. - We're doing this our way.
We're gonna make good and sure he doesn't try anything like this soon again!
I don't know what he's tried or hasn't tried!
This boy is in my custody.
If he's done anything to deserve punishment, he'll get it.
But in the right way and not from you!
Now, Harry, take it easy. After all, we're all old friends.
Let's be calm about it and talk it over. Come on.
Yeah, let's talk this over, Harry.
Hey!
There he comes! That's him!
What's all the noise? What's going on?
Get him up!
- We'll really fix him for this! - We'll break your neck.
- He finally killed a man, huh? - Yeah!
Okay, come on, leave him alone.
What's the idea?
Let's go.
Harry, how did all this get started, anyway?
Sheriff, we had all this stopped when he stuck his nose in...
- There's a little more to it than that. - All right! All right!
We'll find out what happened.
Round up everybody on a motorcycle.
Pick up all the witnesses you can find.
The old man is dead. Dishwasher down the street.
- That makes it a manslaughter charge. - We'll see, we'll see.
Let's pick up everything and sort it out inside.
Let's go.
Twenty years is too good for him.
I spotted him for the ringleader the first five minutes.
I knew somebody was gonna get killed.
I couldn't get anybody to listen to me.
You killed Jimmy with a lot of talk
just as surely as this boy killed him with a motorcycle.
- Now, wait a minute! - Ah, you're always talkin'...
Okay, that's enough. Now, stop it.
That's all.
Well, son, you've got yourself somethin' here.
Real important trouble.
Just shows you what a boy can do if he'll work at it.
Well...?
Haven't you anything to say?
I didn't kill nobody.
There was some guys comin' up the street after me and I just took off. That's all.
Maybe something hit my cycle or something. I don't know what happened.
I did a big Brodie and I went out and that's all.
Yeah.
Well.
Okay, let's go.
I located my daughter, Stew. She went home. You wanna talk to her?
- No, bring her in later. - I think you better talk to her now.
Oh, you do? Well, I don't!
I've been up half the night with this thing.
I've got a long drive home before I can get this joker booked.
But she was with the boy...
- He knows that. Art Kleiner's... - Shut up, Frank.
All right, come in. Sit down.
That'll be all.
Kathie's my niece. I think I have a right to stay.
All right, but keep quiet.
Well?
- It's crazy. - Yeah, I know.
I've got one fact. A man's dead. And our boy here is stuck with it.
I don't think it was his fault.
Do you know one way or the other?
No.
You haven't fallen for this fella, have you?
No. No, I couldn't.
Let's go.
They beat him up! I saw them! He wasn't doing anything.
I know he was leaving. He just wanted to go when...
Yes!
I know.
Sheriff, listen!
Wait, please.
Kathie! She's upset. She didn't mean that.
Regardless of what happened to Jimmy, that boy deserves everything he gets.
Art saw her run out of the park, fighting him off.
No, no. Listen. Uncle Frank's all wrong. He helped me.
They were after me on motorcycles...
She was crying, trying to get away from him.
I wasn't trying to get away from him. I was trying to get away!
Maybe we better tell him, Frank.
Tell me what?
Art and I were coming up the street.
Now, we didn't see who threw it,
but the Tyre iron either hit the boy or the motorcycle and it went wild.
Who threw what?
The Tyre iron, you know. It's a kind of...
The thing to take the Tyre off the rim.
Yeah. Somebody threw it and it landed at our feet.
Why didn't you say so before?
Sit down.
John Strabler.
You got any friends, Johnny?
You picked up a few here last night, strange as it seems.
A couple anyway.
They got you off the hook for a while.
I don't get you.
I don't get your act at all, and I don't think you do either.
I don't think you know what you're trying to do or how to go about it.
I think you're stupid, real stupid and real lucky.
Last night you scraped by, just barely.
But a man's dead
on account of something you let get started,
even though you didn't start it.
I don't know if there's any good in you,
I don't know if there's anything in you,
but I'm gonna take a big, fat chance
and let you go.
There'll be a hearing on this Tyre iron business, you'll get a summons.
And you'd better show up.
Put him on the road.
Er, is that yours?
- Yeah. - Go ahead.
Don't you want to say anything to these people?
What's the matter, you been hit over the head so often,
you don't know when you're getting a break?
You could at least say "Thank you".
It's all right.
He doesn't know how.
Okay, hotshots, the fun is over.
Every one of you monkeys is down in my book,
and every stick of damage will be paid for.
You've got ten minutes to clear out.
Just stick your nose back in this county, any of ya,
and you'll never see daylight again as long as you live. Now, get!
Some coffee.