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Thunder Bay (1953)
Wait a minute, wait.
Hold it. Another shell? Yeah. lf you hadn't blown our mustering-out pay on this hare-brained idea, you might've had a new pair of shoes. Me, too. Two million dollars. Can't be done for a penny less. lf you can promote one Confederate two-bit piece, l'll kiss you in Yankee Stadium. You really think your man will show? He said he would. Well, if he does, he'll miss us. We're not gonna walk any 20 miles in one hour. Yeah? We'll run, then. Where you going? Only one place you can go on this road, Port Felicity. Good. We're late for an appointment. Do you think you could speed this thing up, or should we get somebody else? Please. Thanks, my friend. l'd appreciate the lift. lt's worth $5 to us if you can get us to town by 2:00. Okay? Thank you. $5 to go 20 miles in one hour. Foreigners. Entertainment. Can you juggle or anything like that? We might pick up a few bucks. l can imitate a movie star. l'd rather go hungry. Now, you go rent a boat. Take good care of the jewels. Give me that. See you in a few minutes. Nice, clean boat you got, skipper. She's good to me and l'm good to her. Yours, huh? For a long time. How is the shrimp haul this season? Some years is good, some years is bad. This year, terrible. That's too bad. Would you like to rent your boat? Rent my boat? For what? A partner of mine is in town. Wants to look around, maybe take a spin on the Gulf. We'll give you $50 for the day. This partner of yours give $50 just to look around? Oh, he's a big money man. He's interested in making an investment around here. Oh, but there's nothing here but fish. What kind of an investment? A fish cannery? That all depends upon how he reacts to the place. We have no fish cannery here. lt would be a good thing. lt would save me lot of time and money, hauling my fish and shrimp to New Orleans. l would like to meet this man. Well, that's fine, skipper. That's fine. Now, have you got some deck chairs we can put out here? Deck chairs? Yeah. Dress the place up a little bit. Make a good impression. But there's no room for chairs on a shrimp boat. Skip it. Well! Mr. Martin! Come aboard! Come aboard! See if you approve! This is your partner? Yeah. This is Mr. Steven Martin. l don't believe l got your name. l am Dominique Rigaud. Mr. Rigaud. Well, it's a pleasure. Yes, sir, l'm very glad all of us ran into each other. You know, this just might be the most important day in the history of Port Felicity. Smaller places than this have been put on the map just because some very shrewd investor comes in and, and... And... Ah, Stella! This is my daughter, my beautiful girl and the best sailor in Port. This is Mr. Martin. How do you do? l didn't get your name. Johnny Gambi. What's all this about, Dad? l have rented the boat to them. $50 just for today. And this one wants to make an investment. Where is the $50? Hmm? Well, miss, we... We haven't got to talk about the money yet, Stella. With his kind, you don't talk about money, you ask to see it. You don't talk about investments, you check Dun & Bradstreet. That's my daughter. She's got her head on her shoulders, for sure. She spent three years in Chicago. Oh. Where is the $50? Why, miss, are you suggesting we're not good for it? Yes. Uh-huh. Well... Do you hear that? Yeah. Right on time. Come on. Here he comes. There he is. He did come. There's our investor. And just in time, too. Yeah. You think this a lie? Could be loaded with them. We'll cast off the lines. You get underway. Think you can remember how to handle a stern line, boatswain? l'm more at home on light cruisers but l'll try. Yeah. Where did you get all your man-training, pigeon? ln the hardest school there is, professor. So stop trying to thrill me. Hey, give me a lift out to that seaplane, will you? Got to meet your fellow. Gambi, take her downriver, l'll bring him aboard! All clear, aft. Let's go! Hey, foreigner. Where is that $5? Nobody around here makes a promise to Teche Bossier and don't live up to it. Where is the $5? Where is the $5? When you come ashore, l'll take $10 out of your hide! What did he say? Oh, he was just wishing us luck. Mr. MacDonald? Yeah. l'm Steve Martin. Glad to see you. How are you? Climb aboard. Mr. Rawlings. Mr. Rawlings, how are you? Yes. How do you do? Where do l meet you? Why don't you anchor right here? We're going for a boat ride. Be back in a few hours. Okay. All right. Over to that boat there. This is my partner, Johnny Gambi. Hello, Johnny. Hello, Mr. MacDonald. Mr. Rawlings, my private secretary. Come aboard, Mr. Rawlings. He protects my interests. Uh-huh. Skipper, head for the Gulf. Well, Mr. Martin, your persistence has won out. Here we are. Now, what is this you couldn't discuss on the telephone? Well, Mr. MacDonald, l know your company is in a lot of trouble, and l think we can help you. Oh, you think that, do you? l know that MacDonald lndustries has invested $400,000 in an offshore oil lease, and in three months you're gonna have to put $200,000 more into it, or you're gonna lose the lease. l also know that you've invested $500,000 in a converted LST to be used as a drilling barge. You've got two air-sea rescue boats and a tug, and they're all going to waste up in New Orleans. Did you let me do all that? Why, Mr. MacDonald, l've been trying to tell you, l mean, this is precisely what the board of directors has been complaining about. How much did all this confidential information cost you, Mr. Martin? All of our mustering-out pay. Get the jewel box. Now, so far, nobody's been able to come up with a drilling platform that'll pass the specifications of the insurance company. Well, we've got one right here. Now, let's... Let's say that this is the floor of the Gulf. Now here is the platform that will do the trick for you. Prefabricated templates, built ashore and brought out to sea by barge, and put on the floor of the Gulf. Now we anchor them by these permanent pilings, driven right down through these verticals, like this. Drive them down 10, 20, 30, 35 feet, into the floor of the gulf, makes it solid as a rock. Now the insurance companies have a big worry in this thing. Storm damage. Where's that history? Here. Here's a history of the Gulf's storms from 1899 to 1945. Now my platform and the rig, they're built to stand the worst of these storms. Not the average, the worst of any of these storms. And the insurance companies have okayed the plans. You collected all these figures? You sort of took a lease on a dream of mine, Mr. MacDonald. l know that that Gulf out there is hiding enough oil to make an inland field dry up in shame. Johnny Gambi and l can get it out for you, if you'll just give us the go-ahead. What do you think, Rawlings? Mr. MacDonald, of course l'm not, but if l were in your place, l'd go along with the board of directors, take the loss, and proceed with much more caution in the future. Yeah, but why take the loss when l can turn it into a profit for you? Profit? l had Rawlings check your record, Martin. We found the word "profit" conspicuous by its total absence. Well, yes, l've had a little bad luck every once in a while. And all on offshore operations. Well, lots of times you can learn more from failure than you can from success. You ought to know that, Mr. MacDonald. You've done a lot of wildcatting in your day. Don't you agree with me? Fortunately, in my position, l can forget my failures. Let me see that list, Rawlings. l see. 1938, Mexican coast, failed. Oh, yeah, well, there's no government cooperation. There was sort of shaky financing there, too, you know... 1939, Guatemala, failed. Yeah. Well, there's... There was a revolution. How are you gonna drill oil when you got a revolution on your hands? 1940, Venezuela, failed. Yeah. Well, l... l didn't know how to handle hurricanes then. l do, now. Then you stayed out of trouble the next five years, probably because you were in the Navy. Yeah, in spite of which we won the war, isn't that right? Well, yes. Now would you please just sit down and enjoy the Louisiana scenery. l got something to show you. lt won't take long. Where are we going? We're going 26 miles out to sea. Now, just... Just make yourselves comfortable. DOMlNlQUE: Mr. Martin, we're just about over the spot you wanted. All right, skipper. Hold her up here for a while. Well, this is it. Right in the heart of your lease. But why here? Come over here a minute. Mr. MacDonald... Now look down there. All you can see is water, but if you dream real hard, you can smell the oil. There. Can't you smell it? Maybe you've got a better nose than l have. Maybe you've been cooped up in that office too long. Twenty years ago l'll bet you could smell it in the middle of a wheat field in Oklahoma. Mr. MacDonald... The only difference here is 48 feet of water, and my platform will take care of that. Mr. MacDonald... This is something brand new. Nobody ever wildcatted like this before and that oil is down there waiting for us. How much would it cost? With what you've got invested already, $1 million. Another million? Why, we could drill 30 wells on land for that. There's $2 billion in oil down there. Mr. MacDonald, for your own good, you can't do this. You know what the board is saying. They're blaming you for this whole fiasco as it is, and there isn't a chance of their voting you any more money. When can you start? When? Tomorrow. Today. Mr. MacDonald, you say l protect your interests. Then why won't you listen to me? Why don't you sit down someplace? Maybe you and the board will learn something about the oil business. You heard the man, junior. Place it where it won't get kicked. As you can gather from Rawlings, the board thinks l was a little off for even coming down to meet you. l came because l had the same kind of dream you had. You've got three months, but if you don't bring in a well by then, the company will be looking for a new president. We'll keep you president. What did you see down there? The Golden Shrimp? No, no, just some dirty, old oil. Well, come on. Let's get back to port. We got work to do. Come on. l'll have $500,000 deposited in our New Orleans bank for you. lt'll be there in the morning. That's fine. Gambi and l'll be over there tonight. Get things moving in right away. Mr. Martin. Yeah? There was some mention of $50. $50? The boat. Oh! Oh, the... Yes, the... Do you have my wallet? Seem to have lost the wallet. You cheap, lying fakes. Now, wait a minute, miss. We have a... What's the matter, Stella? Did moneybags cheat you, too? Look at him and answer that. He's even run out of talk. For that l think l'll take $20 out of your hide. Did you want that advance in cash or by check, Martin? Well, l think maybe cash would save a few hospital bills. Would $300 last you until tomorrow? $300? l think we can squeeze through on that. Let's see. Five. One, two, three, four, five. Fifty for you. Ten, twenty... You ought to have more faith in people. Thirty, forty... Mr. MacDonald, l don't wish to overstep my position, but l just can't understand this. Why, these men are nothing but penniless wastrels. You've never been one, have you, Rawlings? Never had to talk yourself out of a jam. Never had the privilege of gambling your last penny on a dream. l feel sorry for you. You lost a lot of education by going to college. Well, perhaps... And l'll tell you another thing. lf this penniless wastrel hadn't called me, l would've looked him up, because l know he's the only man in the country that can lick this offshore problem. l'm going with him all the way. Thank you, Mr. MacDonald. lt's all right. l've been there myself. Yeah? Good luck. Thank you, sir. Good luck to you, Gambi. Seems to me we've already had our share. You'll need more. So long. There's a real one, pal. Yeah. But that one small point you sort of tossed away worries me. What's that? The fact that nobody can do a job like this in three months. How do you know? Nobody ever tried it. Hey, Julius, what kind of boats are those? Look like a Navy LS and a couple of crash boats. You gonna have another war already? lt's a little classier than our first arrival. New shoes and everything. A whole blasted navy. That's pretty good going for two weeks, from con man to commodore. We even got a welcoming committee. We're gonna have to have another boat for that seismograph work. You try and round up Dominique's. All right. l'll arrange for the mooring for all these things. All we need is a bigger river. Dominique! Hey, Dominique. He's not aboard. All of a sudden, l don't care. But does he have a corner on all the beautiful dames in town? What do you mean? Why, you're the second one that's popped out of that cabin. Who are you? The younger daughter, Francesca. Francesca. lt's a pleasure. l'm Johnny Gambi. Oh, the oil man. Father spoke of you. lf it was a bad report, it's a pack of lies. Do you know where l can find him? l want to rent his boat again. Payment in advance this time. That's an improvement. l was just leaving to meet him. lf you want me to show you the way. There. l don't have to answer that, do l? Where to? La Bonne Chance. The best this place can do in the way of a night club. La Bonne Chance? Honey, with you in it, it's gonna look like The Stork Club. What's he got to sing about? He sings about love. You think the whole world stops just because the shrimp go bye-bye? l have nine kids to feed and a dog. What's the matter? Doesn't your wife eat, too? Ah, that's no time for joking. No more shrimp, l gonna give it up. For what? You can't go in a monastery with nine kids and a dog. l can get job someplace. Sephalu, you don't mean what you say. Yes, l do. You would die if you leave this place. You belong here. We've had bad times before. Keep looking, Sephalu. All of us will keep looking, and one day we'll find the Golden Shrimp. This big. Oh, no. This big. And then we'll have good times. l look for them since l was this high. Now l look for job. That's enough, Sephalu, that's enough. Hey, Louis! Two more beers! You are just afraid to look at the truth. And don't complain while you drink beer on my credit. Your credit has this cuff so full there is no more room. Then buy yourself another shirt and put it on my cuff. No more shirts. No more credit. l'm a poor man, too. l think he means that. l do. But, Louis, l'm thirsty. All right. Who wants to get in the circle with me? Huh? Anybody? Loser pays for the beer. Toups, how about you? Polo, do you want to try? Campagna? Antoine, do you want to try? l think l do. All right. Antoine is going to fight Teche Bossier. Having fun? Hey, foreigner, you come back, huh? Yeah. To stay a while this time, l hope. Are you all right? Pay no attention to him! lt's just a friendly, little game that we play. Game? Knocking your sheriff around, a game? He's only half sheriff. The other half, he's bartender with no pay. He's a cousin to the owner. Come on. Father's in the back room. Hey, foreigner, you really mean you're going to look for oil out in the Gulf? Starting in the morning. Well, Mr. Gambi, you're with us again. How are you, Dominique? And l see you have met Francesca. l wouldn't have missed it for the world. We were old friends in 30 seconds. How are you, pigeon? Have you met my sister's fianc? Oh. You didn't tell me l had competition already. Down here we get engaged before we're born. Oh, one of those kind. l think we remember each other from that $5 truck ride. Let's not go through that again. Johnny... Mr. Gambi wants to rent our boat. Yeah. Same price. For a week, maybe more. No. We won't rent our boat. But, Stella, $50 a day. We don't want anything from him. Not for $100. Hey, you rent my boat, then. lt's a better one anyway. Well, Dominique's got first chance. Don't do it, Dad. But why not? They're going to cause trouble. The trouble is only in her head. l take a chance for $50 a day. l didn't come here to argue. lt's a deal, Teche. You got a good boat. And Phillipe here, a good crew. Come on, l'll buy you a drink. Hey, Louis! Three on the cuff. No more cuffs. What's the matter with her? She needs a good man, but l won't marry her until she asks me. You people sure go for marriage, don't you? Why not? lt makes it nice for the kids, don't it? Three on the cuff. l'll buy. Set them up for the house, Louis. Drinks for everybody. The oil men have come to town! How much of a job you got left? l'm almost through on this boat. Where's the one Gambi went after? l wish l knew. l didn't think anybody could get lost in a town this size. Might have found something to get lost with. Yeah. Yeah, well, it's a little early, but l'd better go and find out. l'll see you later. Come on, gusher! Set them up again, Louis! Everybody, drink! No, now, you been buying drinks all night. Now it's my turn. Louis, this round is on me. You thankless uncle. All right, l'll tell you what. l win the drinks from you. What do you think of that? Who cares? Just so we drink. All right, you get in the circle with me. ln the circle? Come on. l win, you buy the round and l save my pride. And if l win, we go dry? Don't worry, my friend. l take care of that, all right. You're liable to get hurt, Johnny. Watch me. l didn't teach judo in the service for nothing. Where do you want me to throw him? You are my friend. You ready? Ready. Are you having fun? l'm spreading good will. You look it. Did you get a boat? Sure, l did. Best boat in the river. Mine. Glad to see you back. We're not mad at each other. Just a friendly little game we're playing. Yeah, relax, sweetheart. We haven't had a night off in two weeks. Come on, come on, meet the people. lt's the finest bunch of fishermen you ever saw. And this... This is Francesca. She's pledged to Bayard, as they say down here, but l'm not so sure he's gonna get her. Come on. Come on. l've been telling her l'm gonna plaster her with mink, and set her up in a 10-mile-high penthouse. She'd outshine the Statue of Liberty. Oh, your friend is crazy, Mr. Martin. Have you ever seen a penthouse, baby? Stay away from her! What's the matter with you? lt's only in fun. Stay away from him, Fran. He'll hurt you if you don't. Stella, they are our friends. Friends. Because they feed you drinks? l thought you'd have brains enough to see them for what they really are, Teche. They're selling themselves with this party. They're buying the town. They'll spoil everything they touch. Oil crews with their filthy men and their filthy money. l thought l had a clean place to come home to, but if they stay they'll make it as filthy rotten as they are. l'm sorry. How can you talk like this? Because l know. Three years away from here taught me plenty about men like these. Buy and sell, anything you want, anything you've got. l don't want to hear any more. Well you're going to hear. l don't care what you think of me, but you must believe that l know their kind. l learned. You don't think l sent $100 a month home on secretary's pay, do you? Maybe now you'll believe me. Hey, wait a minute! Now we're not in business to break up your family. Gambi didn't mean anything in there. He just had a little too much to drink, that's all. Didn't mean anything? Well, maybe it didn't to him. But what do you think it meant to Francesca? Words she's never heard before from the kind of man she doesn't know anything about. All right, l'll keep him away from her. The only way to stop it is for you to get out of town. Well that'd only mean another crew would come in. There's oil out there, somebody's got to get it. Now you may not believe this right now, but this is gonna be good for your town and it's gonna be good for the people. Oh, listen. Why does there have to be this sort of trouble between us? Don't touch me. Don't ever touch me. That's quite a chick! Yeah. Yeah. You all set? Hey, did you get married yet? Lay off. lt was only a joke. Morning. How do you like this? Teche Bossier, the oil baron. What are those things? They're geophones. They're worth a small fortune, so take good care of them. Sure, like babies. How do you find oil with them? Well, they record the vibrations from the bottom of the gulf. You just keep listening to the radio, l'll let you know what's going on. Get your boat started and follow us out, huh? First time anybody ever told me what to do with my own boat. But for money l think l'll like it. Stella, it's not good that a father and daughter don't talk. You didn't mean what you said, Stella. About those men, about yourself. You always say things you don't mean since you were a little girl. l wish there were some way l could take it all back. Look. l think you were wrong. l think Teche will be richer than we are tonight. Teche! Teche! Hello, Dominique! All right, let it go. Mac One to Big Bossier. You have your geophones strung out? l string them out prettier than pearls. Yeah? Okay, that's fine. Mac One to Mac Two. Mac Two. We just marked our last location. How are you set now? Are you ready to drop your charges? Yeah. All right, you can go ahead anytime. Okay. Drop one. There she goes. Mamma mia! The shrimp beds. The shrimp beds! The shrimp beds! No! Hey! Don't you know there are shrimp down there? What does it mean? Don't they know they're killing the shrimp? The town's not enough. They've got to ruin the whole bay. You blow up the shrimp! Turn around. We stay here no more. We go back to the river. What's the matter with that clown? Hey! Swing around. Catch up with that tub. Turn back! Turn back! You'll get us killed! Hey! What's the matter with you? Are you crazy? You're fouling up those cables! You didn't tell me you were going to blow up the gulf! Well, what do you think l'm recording? That bellow of yours? That dynamite will kill the shrimp. Oh, those shrimp were built to stand 50 times the force of those blasts. You think l'm ignorant enough to believe that? Huh? We're starving now because there are not enough shrimp. They hear about this in Port Felicity, you'll be lucky to get out of here alive. Come on, pull up this thing! Pull up the bow here! We'll pick up this gear! You'll pick it up, all right. Oh, you want to play rough with Teche Bossier, huh? All right. Drop it. Go fish your friend out! Charlie? How much of a job is there to fix that? That's a pretty mean job. All right, let's get all this equipment on our boat and go to work. Looks like you blew up some of that good will l was spreading last night. Yeah, maybe all of it. Teche, what do you mean helping those guys dynamite the bay? Help them, huh? You don't hear no more bombs, do you? Huh? Why? Because Teche Bossier wrecked their gear, that's why. Ask him. That's right. But they go back for more gear. We'll have the same thing tomorrow. Listen, my friends, Stella was right last night. These men are no good. They spoil everything they touch. We'll have a meeting at Louis'. We've got to stop this thing before it goes anymore. Why you get so wet? l was so mad when l see those bombs, l jumped over to cool off! l don't cool off no more. Not until we take care of the oil men. Come on! Let's go. Yeah, he fouled up all the geophone cables. Had to stop the whole operation. Come in. But we got the equipment repaired and we'll try it again tomorrow. Yeah, l'm gonna take out enough dynamite for about 40 shots, so l think... Yeah, l'll call you tomorrow night, Mac. Bye. Well, good evening. l see you're getting ready to dynamite our shrimp again. Oh, now, listen, that dynamiting doesn't do any harm. lf it hurt the shrimp, l'd stop it. Look, will you please tell me how l can get along with this town? Do you think l'm the one to do that? Yes, l think you could if you tried. l think you're doing a wonderful job all by yourself. You really kicked them in the stomach today, didn't you? Well, they can kick back. They're on their way here now. Oh? l'm surprised you came over. l wanted to bring you the news myself. l want to see what happens when somebody like you gets kicked around for a change. Say, what's your trouble? Who hurt you? You're a lot like him. You say that. You don't know anything about me. All right. Why don't you go out with your friends? l'll show you some fireworks. You aren't going to leave here without getting hurt. l've waited 10 years to get here. l think l'll stick around, if you don't mind. Thanks a lot for coming over, though. l've enjoyed it. You'd do anything, wouldn't you? Yeah, if l have to. All right, that's far enough! Stay where you are. Nobody back down! We got to stick together. We'll stop them from killing our shrimps! Come on. Keep going. Keep going. l said stay where you are! Now you've got no reason to come out here like this. Nothing we do will spoil the fish or the town. All he talks is lies. Come on! Come on! Sure, let's go. Now start backing out of here or the next one lands right in the middle of you! You kill our shrimp with your bombs. Now you want to do the same thing to the people, huh? This fuse lasts about 20 seconds. Now, go on. Don't anybody move! He won't let that thing go off! Fifteen seconds. l'm telling you, oil's gonna do good things for this place. More money in your stores. Lots of jobs for some of you, if you want them. Teche, l told you this was the wrong way. There are peaceful ways. Let's get our people out of here. Ten seconds! We've got no reason to fight each other, but if you make me, l will. Some time, l'll catch you without your bombs. Now, beat it! Do you need any help? Well, l'm not getting any from you. Say, how many times do l have to tell you to stay away from her? Now wait a minute. On company time, you tell me what to do. Not on my own. Things are bad enough as they are, Johnny. Will you please not make them any worse? Now look, miss, l think it would be better for everybody concerned if you went back to your people. l'll handle this. All right, all right. All right. Look, baby, we've evidently had a little trouble. You run along home for now, huh? All right, Johnny. Good night. Good night. We'll get along fine, as long as you don't start throwing your weight around. l need a tool-pusher with his head still on. You're gonna get yours knocked off, if you don't stay away from her. Now go home and get some sleep. l'm sorry to disappoint you. l want to thank you. You want to thank me? You have tried to keep your friend away from my sister. l said l would, didn't l? But tell me, just who are you afraid for, her or yourself? l hate to complain, but it's after 3:00. ln fact, if we hurry we might just get back in time to get up. We've still got half an hour of moonlight. Let's use it. You know, l'm getting awful sick of doing things the hard way. Well, we got two more months to go on this job. We don't have much choice. You'll have the crew down with combat fatigue if you don't give them some rest. Mr. Martin. Well, what're you doing around here without your local army? l am a peaceful man, Mr. Martin. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is Mr. Parker from the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. We just got in from the state capitol. This, Mr. Martin, is a cease-and-desist injunction against the dynamiting you've been doing in these waters. lt supersedes any permits you have. l see. You know, fish and shrimp are among Louisiana's chief natural resources. We plan to launch a thorough investigation to determine if any damage has been caused by your dynamiting. Of course, that'll take about two months. You're a little late. How're we late? l finished dynamiting at 1:00 this morning. We've picked out a drilling site. So, in the future, l hope you'll give us the same conscientious protection. Because, as l recall, oil is also one of this state's great natural resources. Hmm? There you are. Hey, Steve! Gambi, there's your crew. Hey, Gambi, what do we do first? Bail out the gulf so we can get our rig up? No, no, ain't you heard? They're using a submarine. Any likely dames in this burg, or shall we send home for our own? You mugs. Well, Mac, hello. Gambi, glad to see you. What will happen to us now? Progress is not without faults, my friend. Hey, Mac! Well, l wasn't expecting you. Kind of rough down here for an office man, isn't it? You wouldn't think so if you had to face that board every morning. They tell me you and l are ruining the company. Are we? Don't you believe it. l've got something to show you. l got something to show... All right, get them started on that pipe, Gambi. All right, boys. You asked for work, and believe me, you came to the right place. Take them down to the shack, Bob, and let them drop their gear. Hey, we're with you, Gambi! You're sure getting your money's worth out of that one. He's driven the seismograph crew day and night, and here we go again. Be honest with me, Gambi. Do you think we can do it with less than 60 days to go? Oh, l'm not gonna pull out on him. l'll stick as long as there's a chance. Well, he's fighting a lot of things in this town. lf there aren't any more delays and if he gets a few good breaks for a change, and if he doesn't kill himself, along with a few of the rest of us, he might make it. Come on, Gambi! Quit stalling! See what l mean? We got ourselves a location. Here, l'll show you what we're gonna do. Gambi seems to think you got a slim chance of making it. What do you mean, slim chance? Making it's right on the last page of this schedule of ours right there in black and white. Now, look, we're gonna start out with two 12-hour shifts. Now here's the... Hey, wait a minute there! Don't run away. l'll be right down. Gambi, come on, step it up! Step it up! Who do you think you're talking to? l've been working my heart and soul out all day. MacDONALD: l'm proud of it, Steve. You, Gambi, the whole crew have done a whale of a job. This is one time l'm gonna enjoy walking into a board meeting. This time they'll listen to me. Seems like we ought to bust a bottle over her bow or something like that. Somebody ought to break one over your head. All you've accomplished is the impossible. Don't you think we deserve a celebration? Now you listen to me. Way down below here, maybe 8,000 feet, there might be some oil. We got 26 days to find out. There's a drilling crew waiting at the dock. You go get them. l'll celebrate by watching them work. Why don't you let down for a few hours? All right, now, you know where the pay office is, but just before you resign, you get somebody else to bring that crew out, huh? l'm not too far from resigning at that, pal. Come on, Mac. You coming in? You're not losing a friend, are you? Who, Gambi? l only worry about him when he stops beefing. Have a good trip. So long, Steve. Here, Gambi. A hurricane warning. Just came in. A hurricane? Why, that's the greatest news l've had in two months. Tie her up, boys. A big wind's on the way. No shift going out. Take the night off. You're not going out for Steve? Look, if it took an act of God to get a night off on this job, l'm not gonna mess around with it. Well, but will he be all right? Why sure. Besides, do you think he'd pass up a chance to ride out a blow on that baby of his? You couldn't drag him off with a winch. Come on, boys! With an early start, we'll out-howl that hurricane! Hey, Louis! Yeah? l'll have whiskey. How does the sky look? We'll have the wind by midnight. Did you find Francesca? She wasn't at home or on the boat. What about Dominique? Doesn't he know where she is? l didn't have to ask. l know where she is all right. Teche, this year l wish we have the biggest wind in the world. Ah, don't say that! Big enough to blow those oil men and their steel and their boats right out of here. Louis! Why don't you drown yourself out in the gulf? lt would be cheaper. Hey, bartender, bring us the tallest beer you got! Phillipe, wait. He's making a cheap tramp out of her. Baby, l'll get you a drink. What do you drink? Johnny, look out! Let me through! Antoine! Antoine! Antoine! l'm ruined. Antoine! Antoine, wake up, l'm being wrecked. Come on, act like a sheriff. Don't you hear the noise? Would you let me to be wrecked forever? What's going on? What's going on? Don't you hear? Those oil men downstairs are wrecking my place up. Come on, get down there and stop them. Come on. Hey, wait, wait! Your badge. How can you be sheriff without your badge? Hey, knock it off! Here comes the sheriff! Now, l think we've had just about enough trouble from you oil people. We came in here for a drink and a little relaxation. ls there any law against that? OlL MAN: Your people started it, not ours. We didn't ever have this kind of trouble before you came. l'm holding you responsible for all this here destruction, and l'm going to keep you in jail until my cousin, here, gets his money. You mean you're gonna arrest us for this? Yes, l am. Now get marching out of here. You can't do this, Antoine. They didn't start it. Phillipe did. Keep out of it, baby. He said get marching out of here. He's losing his patience. Well, what's the matter? You guys act as though you'd never been in jail before. Let's go. Come on, let's go! You don't win all the time, huh? Foreigner! Francesca... Get away from me. l never want to see you again. l hate you, and all the rest of you. That's all right, Phillipe. She might change her mind, and if she does she won't let you drink with me anymore. Hey, Louis! On the cuff. NEWSCASTER.. And the entire coastline from Galveston to Mobile has been alerted. All shipping has been advised to avoid the area, and residents have been warned to expect winds up to 85 miles an hour. What's the matter? Nothing, l'm going to bed. Did something happen? Yes. l was born in this horrible town. That's what happened. Feels more like a prison every day. lf l can't get out of it, l might as well die! l can't stand it anymore. You had the chance. Why can't l? Yeah. l took the chance. lf you'd been my older sister three years ago l'd have probably made the same complaint to you. l know l was thinking the way you are. l hated this town and everything about it. Well, if you understand, why have you been acting the way you have? l'd do anything to keep you from getting hurt like l was. And l'd do anything to get away. Just because you made mistakes, doesn't mean l would. Johnny wants to marry me. Does he, Fran? Yes. Or has he just said so? Somebody like him asked me, too, and it made me happy until l woke up one morning, and found out it was just another lie. l know what it is to want somebody who's new and exciting. The feeling you get when he looks at you and touches you. But l'm way ahead of you. l also know what happens when it turns out to be empty. Don't take a chance. Stay with your own people. lt's too late. What do you mean? l hate them. l hate Phillipe and Teche. l hate them all and l told them so. Where are you going? You handle that boat pretty good. Afraid l can't say the same for the time and place you picked to practice. Didn't you hear there's a big wind kicking up? l heard. l didn't think l could make it back to the river. That's why l came here. lf you'll let me stay. Sure, you can stay. Right up on deck there. You probably won't believe this, after all the things l've said and done, but l'm glad the storm gave me a chance to come. l've wanted to. ls that so? This is more than just a job to you, isn't it? Sure it is. Sure. Yeah, this is my baby. l hope it rides out that storm tonight, like l promised it would. Do you think it will? l'll tell you after it's over. l hope this is the roughest, toughest storm in the history of the world, 'cause that's the kind l said this could beat. Why are you doing it? Will it make you rich? Not especially. Then why? Oh, it's a challenge, l guess. Nobody had ever wrestled with this particular spot in the world before l came along, so, l, you know... Maybe you don't know how oil was formed millions of years ago. lt was formed by things dying and being held in the Earth. Well now, if l can reach down there, and bring up the results of all those millions of years, and make them work for the present and the future then l've done something, haven't l? l'm going to put all time together. You understand what l mean? ls there a chance that you could tell me the rest over a cup of coffee? There isn't any more. l mean there isn't any more speech. There's plenty of coffee. Come on. Here it is. Gonna be a little strong. You know, up there, l told you why l was here. Now, why don't you tell me why you're here. All right, l'll be honest with you. What would it cost me to persuade you to fire Johnny Gambi? What would it cost... Why? Francesca's fallen in love with him. Why, what's so terrible about that? He's a top man in his field. He makes good money... He's hit and run, and you know that. He's making promises he has no intention of keeping. You're kind of mixed up, aren't you? l mean, l can see promises have been made to you that weren't worth anything, but that doesn't mean all promises are like that. l wasn't talking about myself. Well, l am. Look at you, out here trying to be tough and cheap, you can't even be that. You don't know what kind of a woman you are, do you? Stop it! You got yourself all torn apart trying to hate everybody. Why don't you stop fighting yourself? Oh, l don't want to be mixed up anymore. Maybe l wasn't really, because l knew this would happen if l ever got near you, l kept telling myself l was coming out here to help Fran, but l wasn't. l... l just wanted what she'd found. Say, where'd you go? l turn around to say something to you at the bar and you are gone. l went someplace, all right. Where'd you get that dynamite? Get it off my boat. l took all l'm gonna take, Teche. l'm gonna blast that thing of theirs right out of the gulf. You're crazy. Listen to me. You don't have to do anything but take me out. ln the morning, the platform's gone and everybody blames it on the storm. l think you had too much whiskey. Oh, that don't have anything to do with it. You're mad because you lost your girl. He can have her! What's the matter with you? You say you wanted to blast them before. Now we got the dynamite, you don't want to fight no more. They make a coward out of you. Don't say that. Go on, coward. l'll take the boat out by myself. You're drunk and you're a fool. All right, l take you out. Not because you called me a coward. But because you are my friend. l'll go cast off, and we finish this thing, huh? All right, we go. lf you want to do this crazy thing, do it fast! That storm's really kicking up now. l'm going up above and check if everything's secure. You wait right here. Phillipe! Steve! Steve. You don't care how you kill your men, do you? l've seen some cold ones in my day, but nothing will ever come close to that act you put on tonight. Teche, where is Stella? She wasn't here all night. And the boat is gone. Where is she? l don't know. Dominique, Phillipe, he's dead. Phillipe? He had some dynamite. He wanted to go out and blow that oil thing up. l tried to talk him out of it but he was drunk. All night long l look for him out in the storm. l'm going crazy, Dominique. lt wouldn't have happened if those people were not here. He thought he was doing the right thing. He wanted to get rid of that platform for us. For all of us. But then the storm came up. l should've known better. l should've known better. Where is Stella? What have you done with her? She's right in there. Just keep her away from me. Why, you people don't stop at anything, do you? l've got a good notion to prefer charges on the whole town. Stella! What're you doing with that man? l went to see him. You don't belong here anymore. Maybe you're right. Congratulations. Thank you. What was the bar bill? $500. There wasn't $500 worth of stuff in that joint. l left a large tip. lt was a great night off. Yeah, yeah. Storm do any damage? We rode it out. That rig's out there waiting for you. So l hope all you fellows had enough rest because from now on, there isn't gonna be any. We start drilling right away. Still batting 1,000. Come on, let's go! She don't feel good, Steve. We got too much weight on the bit, and we're working her too fast. You just keep her going. lf we hit a high pressure area at this speed, there won't be nothing we can do about it. Well, we haven't got time to slow down. You won't have anything but time if this thing blows out. We'll be in worse trouble if we don't come in, in eight days. You keep the weight on and keep this same speed. Okay. You're the one who'll have to explain a ruined rig, not me. That's right. You just keep it going. l'm gonna get some sleep. lf he's not gonna worry about it, l'm sure not. Yeah, that's right. He's giving the orders. We just carry them out. Hey, will you take over for me? l gotta go ashore. You gonna take on La Bonne Chance all by yourself? No, l'm not going near the place. But Martin hasn't let me out of his sight for two weeks and l gotta get in tonight. lt's worth 20 clams. Now them was the words l was waiting to hear. Take off. Thanks. Hey, l can hear the echo of Pappy's shotgun from way out here! What's the matter? Did it... Take it easy, take it easy. l guess l must've been dreaming. Yeah, l know. l've been waking up like that myself, lately. What brought you down? Well, after all, this is my baby, too, you know. How's it going? Just fine. Just fine. Hit 8,000 feet last night. Averaging 100 feet a day. l'll get some coffee in the galley. Come on. Let's take a look at the new samples. Steve, before we go... What's the matter? Nothing. You look tired. You do, too. What's the matter? Steve, we had a board meeting last night. With a week left to go on the lease, they want a safety margin against running over and having to pay the penalty. Oh, we're not gonna have to pay any penalty now. We'll flood in here before the week's out. They don't think so. ln spite of everything l could say, they voted to stop the operation tomorrow. You have no more money. You're president of the company. Can they do that? l'm a president that led the company into the biggest loss in its history. l don't know if we'll pull out. But l'm not sorry, Steve, because if nobody took a gamble, the oil business would stop. lf you have faith in us, couldn't you carry us for a week? l've been carrying you since you started. The company took the lease, but they wouldn't finance you. Every penny l've got is in this rig of yours. Oh, l'm sorry, Mac. That's all right. l've failed before. lt's just that it's a little more expensive these days. We did the best we could. That's that. MAN ON PA.. Blowout! Blowout! We hit a salt water flow! Saltwater flow! Everybody hit the rig! All hands, hit the rig! Mudpump room, build up the mud weight! Let's go, men! It's bad, it's bad. Switch those pumps. Come on, switch them boys! MAN ON PA.. All hands, hit the rig! Hit the rig! How long's she been kicking? She just started. l got the boys checking the mud. You better stop the drill. You get the forward valve, l'll take this one. We can't build enough weight to hold her. Better get that kelly out of there. Looks like l'm gonna have to use the blowout preventer! All right, hit the preventer! Hit it! What's the matter? The valve's stuck. l can't get it open! All right! We'll go down and use the manual control. Come on! Come on, you guys! Hurry up! Come on! Come on, give me a hand. Where's Gambi? Where is he? He went into town last night. All right, boys. Well, l think we got her licked. All right, come on, l really got work to do now. First, l want to thank you for the job you just did. l'm sorry my board of directors wasn't here to see it. But they're probably sleeping late this morning. They did quite a big job themselves last night. They've decided to cut off our money. They don't believe we can bring this well in. Yeah? lf that's the way they feel about it, it's okay by me! They know what they can do with it... Now, wait a minute! Wait a minute. Hold on! Now Mac's done all he could. He's been with us all the way in this thing, and he took the rap for the whole gamble. But we still got one week to go on this lease, and l'm asking you all to go along with me. Now, maybe some of you have been mixed up in a wildcat deal like this, and come out of it broke, l know l have. Mac, there, he sure has. So what l'm doing, l'm just making the same, old tired promise to you that if we strike oil, everybody gets a $200 bonus. Now, how about it? Huh? Why should we gamble our time and money if the company won't? The company's got two million dollars in this thing already. Well, l'd risk a week if l really thought there was oil down there. But l got a feeling there just ain't. You listen! There's enough oil down here to lubricate the universe. l'm sure sorry, Steve. But l can't stay. l got a family at home and l got to send them a paycheck every week. l guess that's it, Steve. Yeah we're all sorry. That's all right, fellows. That's all right. We understand. Well, you picked a good time to take off. But l don't think you should've come back. Looks like l was right. She did blow. Why did you leave the barge? l had a date! Okay. You've been asking for this from the beginning. You knew there was a chance for a blowout! Why didn't you stay here and watch for it? You had that coming, too! You never understood it, but with me, this is no holy crusade. lt's only a job! You've been crowding the men, you've been crowding the rig, l've been telling you that. But you don't crowd me. Why did you leave the barge? l told you l had a date. l got married! All right, take him with you and get off the barge. All of you. l'm sorry, Steve. Maybe we'll have better luck next time. Next time, nothing. l'm going to finish this job if l have to do it myself. What does he mean, do it himself? We're all quitting. The main office stopped his money. None of us can afford to work for nothing, Gambi. Did he ask you to do it? Yeah, he asked for a week. Gave us the same old bonus pitch. You should have taken it. What do you mean? You know he's just liable to do it, bring it in all by himself. And l don't know whether l'm gonna let him get the last laugh on me or not! What? After all the work we did, we ought to have some of the glory of bringing in the first offshore well. Do you really think there's a chance of coming in this week? The samples are looking better every day. MacDONALD: Fellows, l'll up that bonus to $300 a man, if we come in. Look, what's one pay check? All you do is toss it into a crap game anyway. l'm for staying. Anybody else? lf you can take what he just gave you and still back him, l don't guess l got any complaints. Yeah, yeah! And l just remembered that 20 clams you owe me! So l think l'll just stick around and collect. How about the rest of you? Another week won't kill me. l'll stay. Yeah! All right, let's get up there and go to work. Hey, Steve! l hear you're looking for a crew! Hard work and low wages. That's right. Well this is it! The cheapest bunch you'll ever find! Are we hired? Let's go, boys. Let's get this mess cleaned up. Could you use another crewman, Steve? Think the board of directors will approve? Of course they won't. That's what's gonna make it more enjoyable. Okay, you're hired. Gambi, you take care of things here. l'll go into the base and get supplies and tools. We'll be drilling again by the time you get back. Oh, Steve... l'm not much of a guy for apologies... Did you really marry that girl, Johnny? Yeah, l did! All right, all right. You know, l never thought it would happen to me. l'm stuck and l love it, but maybe you don't know how it is, huh? What do you mean, l don't know how it is? Maybe l do! All right, all right. All right. All right. See you later. Stella, l don't know, maybe we should go back. You have nothing to go back to. Don't let Dad wreck your life. He has no right to. Maybe he won't. Maybe he'll get used to the marriage. No, there's no telling what he'll do. You've got to get out of here. Now, hurry. Mr. Martin! Well... You sure surprised everybody, didn't you? Congratulations. Thank you. l think it's fine. Maybe this is the first step in the oil business and the town getting together. Oh, no. No, you're wrong. lt's worse than ever. Dad won't stop until he gets the marriage annulled. He's sending me away tomorrow morning. That's why l came. To ask you if... lf you'd take me out to Johnny. ls your sister behind this? Yes. Yeah, yeah. There wasn't anything else to do. l don't have any place to go. Okay. Come on aboard. Right over there. All right, let's go. You stay here. l'll hunt him up for you. Hey, Max, where's Gambi? lnside the mudpit. An intake valve clogged up. What's up? l was hoping you'd get here for this. Now we got shrimp. They're clogging the valves. And these shrimp-chasers are complaining 'cause they can't find any. Are there a lot of them in the valves? Not too many tonight, but underneath the barge the water's thick with them. He says it's been for the past three nights, but we've never had any trouble on the day shift. Hey! l was thinking the same thing. Well, you suppose the shrimpers know about this? lt might improve relations if you told them. Oh, no, you mean getting them to listen to an oil man telling them how to catch shrimp. No, no. Things are rough enough. Say, speaking of relations, l brought you a wedding present. Huh? Yeah, a kind of original present, too. Your wife. You can have my quarters. Are you leveling? Yeah, l eloped for you. She's right outside in the boat. l'll thank you later. Oh, darling! Come on. l'll show you our new home. We're making history. First honeymoon on first offshore drilling barge. Listen to me, my friends. All of you, listen to me. You all know that from the beginning of all this trouble with the oil men, l have talked of peace. Everything l have done has been legal and honorable. But tonight that is finished. What has happened? They have taken Francesca. Taken the last thing l have. My two daughters have turned against me. My family is gone. And what has happened to me will happen to others. Unless we go out, the whole town, every man, every boat, to bring Francesca back to show these people they can't do that to us. Julian, you have four daughters. What about them? Maurice, your Evangeline is 18 years old. We're with you, Dominique. Yes, we're with you. What are we waiting for? They've killed our fish. They will take everything from us! lt must be the whole town. Tell every man. Go home, get weapons. Every man. Every boat. You're through fighting the oil men, Teche? Yeah. We know now that our people are acting like children. That fighting's going to bring more trouble and more trouble. We finally learned that, didn't we? l don't think about trouble anymore. l only think about Phillipe. That was the end of the fighting for me. Then why don't you do the rest of the town a favor? Go out and tell Steve what's happening. Me go out there? They'll throw me to the fish. Maybe you can stop it, Teche. l know something! Steve Martin's an understanding man when he has the facts straight. l think you could be friends. Friends? What are you talking about? Well, he said from the beginning that he wanted to be. Well, he could've had you arrested but he didn't. What do you think that means? That he doesn't care about anything else but his oil! No, Teche. That he doesn't want enemies. Nobody does. Look what hate did to Phillipe. To the crazy men who just left here. Look what it did to you. Why don't you go out to the rig? Show him that at least one person around here knows the difference between right and wrong. You were the first one to know, Stella. All right, l'll tell him. l'll tell him about Phillipe, too. What about you? l love him, Teche. You know, l don't think l'll marry you, anyway. My kids are going to be fishermen, not oil drillers. Friend of yours wants to see you. Uh-oh. Take over, will you? Well? You're going to have more trouble. What did you have in mind this time? l have nothing to do with it. l came to tell you about it. lt's about Francesca. Dominique has talked the whole town into coming out. You better get your men away from here. You came out here to warn me? Sure. These people are like children. Stella and me, we have brains enough to know what's right from wrong. She know you're here? Yeah. She talk to me about that night. Yeah, l'll bet! What's the matter with you? She didn't know Phillipe and l were coming out. You got no time to dream now, Mr. Moneybags. You better get your men away from here quick. Hey, come with me a minute. l want to ask your advice about something. Come on! All of you! Come on! We're having some trouble with the pumps here, l just wanted to show you. Let's see. Here. You ever see one as big as that? What is that? Are you crazy? That's the Golden Shrimp. The Golden Shrimp? Do you know how we can get rid of them? Get rid of them? What're you talking about? We've been looking for these shrimp for years. We know they're around here, but we can never find them. Well, l wish you could locate them for us. You see, they keep fouling up these intake valves of ours every night. Of course, if they start showing up in the daytime, we got a real problem on our hands. But they don't do that. They're just at night. Not in the daytime. l just thought you'd be interested. See what you can do for me, will you? What a dumb oil man. Quite a task force! l guess you might call this our wedding reception. Yeah. They are like crazy men! You are going to have plenty of trouble, all right. Why don't you and l leave, Johnny? We could stop it if we did, Steve. Now, don't worry about it. You just stay right here. Stay here. Max. Call the men on the barge. Get them up here! Johnny, get up this ramp here. Be sure the men watch both ladders. Right. Whatever happens, keep drilling. Keep drilling, Johnny. Okay. l'll go down, and try to talk to them. Come on, boys. Hurry up! Get up on the platform. All right. Take up the ramp. Come on. Come on. All right. Come up with this one. Get off the barge, Rigaud. This is private property. We're prepared to defend it. Put Francesca off and we'll go. lf you keep her, we'll tear this platform apart to get her back! She's here to stay and so are we. l thought you were a peaceful man, Dominique. l want my daughter. Your daughter's safe and sound right here where she belongs with her husband. There'll be no marriage. There's been a marriage. lt's a good marriage and a happy one. We came for Francesca. Now, l know you've had hard times, but we won't hurt you. We never will. You and l ought to be friends, Dominique. We have the same kind of a job. You look for one thing here in the Gulf. l'm looking for something else. That's the only difference. That's the only difference. All right, now. You may put me out of business, all of you. But that isn't important. The important thing is that there's oil under this gulf, and we need it. Everybody needs it. You need it. Without oil, this country of ours would stop! And start to die. And you'd die. Now, it doesn't make any difference what you do to me. Dominique, you can't stop progress. Nobody can. GAMBl: Just keep on drilling. You heard what Steve said. Just keep her going. Why, there's going to be hundreds of... There's gonna be hundreds of rigs, just like this, all over the Gulf. Pull up that kelly, she's gonna blow! This is gonna be the richest oilfield in the world! There she blows! There she blows! There she is! Hey, Steve! Get a load of this! There she is! lt's a good thing this town has one fisherman with brains. Teche Bossier will teach you how to catch the Golden Shrimp. You come out with me tonight, l'll show you something. There are thousands, millions, enough for all of us. But it took Teche Bossier to find them. Francesca. Father. l'll do my best to make her happy. So you found your oil at the bottom of the ocean. l hope we've found friends, too, Dominique. Hey, Moneybags. You better hurry. Stella left. She's waiting for the bus. l told her l didn't want to marry her so she's on her way to New Orleans. My truck is over there. Here is the key. You better hurry up before l change my mind. Do you have any particular place to go or are you open to suggestions? l don't have any place to go. Yes, you have. l promise it'll be better this time, too. Come on. |
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