Memorable Quotes from Jack Elam
9 quotesIntervening in a Conflict
Jason McCullough
Break it up!
[the various mud-covered townspeople stagger apart and stare at him as the water is turned off]
Jake
Whattaya think you're tryin to do?!
Jason McCullough
Stoppin a fight.
Jake
Who're you?
Jason McCullough
Ah, I'm the new Sheriff.
[gestures to his badge]
Jake
Oh- we got a new Sheriff! Let's see if he scares as easy as the last Sheriff.
[grins; the townspeople laugh]
Jason McCullough
Now, I want all you people to quit disturbing the peace, and clean up this mess.
Jake
Uh, yes sir. Anything else?
Jason McCullough
You got a name?
Jake
Jake.
Jason McCullough
All right, now Jake, I want you to go down to the men's saloon. There's a fellow in there by the name of Joe Danby. You tell him I remember his name, and he's under arrest for murder. I'll be around to pick him up in about twenty minutes.
Jake
...You talking to me?
[looking horrified]
Jason McCullough
You hard of hearin'?
Jake
You want me... to go tell Joe Danby... that he's under arrest for murder?! What are you gonna do after he kills me?!
[McCullough nods]
Jason McCullough
Then I'll arrest him for both murders.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Impact of Greed on Relationships
Jason McCullough
Hey Jake! How do you think we ought to split whatever we find? Sixty-forty?
[Relaxing against a tree]
Jake
Sixty for who, and forty for who?
[With backpack filled with dynamite and equipment on his back and a wet fish in either hand]
Jason McCullough
There you see? See what gold does to men? We haven't even found anything, and already we're arguing about it!
Jake
Sixty for who, and forty for who?
Jason McCullough
I just wish you could see the greed in your face.
Jake
What you mean is sixty for you, and forty for me!
Jason McCullough
Well thank you Jake. That's very generous of you.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Conversation About Origins in the West
Jake
How long you been out West?
Jason McCullough
About four years.
Jake
From where?
Jason McCullough
...the East.
Jake
I was raised up in ]!
[[w:Indiana|Indiana]
Jason McCullough
Well, that could be either good or bad.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Consequences of Choices in a Small Town
Pa Danby
Whattaya mean, you helped set in them bars?!
Joe Danby
Well, I didn't have nothin else to do! And they was gonna set the bars in, whether I helped them out or not!
Pa Danby
Yeah, well, they'll hang you, whether you help them out or not!
Joe Danby
Oh, Pa, I don't think they're gonna hang me. I mean, they joke and they laugh about it, but I don't think they're really gonna do it!
Pa Danby
Ah, you'll soon see whether they'll hang you or-
Jake
Don't move! What's going on back here?
[comes around the jail with a shotgun]
Pa Danby
Well, that's all I need: some stable-bum orderin me around! Now, this is my saddle, and I'm takin it with me.
[retrieves his saddle]
Jake
I know it ain't mine, so go ahead.
Pa Danby
In just a few days now, I'm gonna take care of you!
[pokes Jake's chest; leaves]
Jake
What was he tryin to do- bust you out of here?
Joe Danby
Yeah. And you know Pa. Got a heart as big as the whole outdoors... but he don't have one brain in his poor old head.
[Jake looks bewildered]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Confrontation Between Pete Harris and Joe Rolfe
Pete Harris
Okay wise guy, you found me. Now what?
Joe Rolfe
What's eatin you?
Pete Harris
You been giving me the fisheye all night.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Sheriff and His Deputy Discuss Jail Conditions
Pa Danby
That's a lousy jail you got back there.
Jason McCullough
Oh, we're just getting started.
Pa Danby
What's he supposed to be?
Jason McCullough
Oh, that's my deputy.
[Jake shows his badge]
Pa Danby
Why, just last week he was shovelin horse- he was workin around the stables!
Jason McCullough
Well, he's been promoted.
Pa Danby
...I'm gonna find out what's happenin to this town!
[storms out]
Jake
... What'd Danby want?
Jason McCullough
Oh, he came in, we talked a little while, he went in to see Joe, he came back out, we talked a bit more, then he left. You know... he strikes me as bein a lonely man.
[Jake nods]
Jake
Lonely? Danby?! Why, he's a mean, low-down no-good bushwhacker!
Jason McCullough
There, you see? No wonder he's lonely.
[Jake looks confused]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Town's Despair and Shared Responsibility
Prudi Perkins
Well, you might as well forget gettin any help outta this town! Or from any town, from about a hundred miles around!
Jason McCullough
Well, that covers just about everyone, doesn't it?
Prudi Perkins
They can throw an unarmed girl out of a courtroom, but they can't even defend their own town against a bunch of cutthroats like the Danbys! Well, what are we gonna do now?
[Jake enters]
Jason McCullough
We?
Jake
Don't turn down any help you can get.
Jason McCullough
How's Joe?
Jake
Oh, he figures he's gonna be out by tomorrow, and we're all gonna be dead.
Jason McCullough
Did he seem to feel any... sorrow, over the fact that we might all be killed?
Jake
No, it's more like he planned to dance and spit, all over our graves.
Jason McCullough
Sounds like Joe.
Jake
That- that sure was a good idea you had about leavin town.
Jason McCullough
Well, you don't have to stay.
Jake
Oh, yes I do. I have to stay if you do, because I took the job!
[firmly]
Jason McCullough
So did I.
[smiles]
Jake
I tell you what: I'll even go to Australia with you, if we leave right now!
Jason McCullough
Oh, we'll get to Australia all right, but right now there's some things for us to take care of. Prudi, you really want to help?
Prudi Perkins
Sure!
Jason McCullough
Well, then: I've got a couple of ideas, and if they work, we might just live through this!
[leaves]
Jake
...I sure did like his idea about leavin'.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Qualifications for an Unexpected Sheriff Role
Jake
You ever been the sheriff of a town that needed cleanin up before?
Jason McCullough
No, I haven't.
Jake
You ever been the sheriff of any kinda town?
Jason McCullough
No, not that either. But, the mayor seemed to think that my qualifications suited the job perfectly.
Jake
Yeah, well, he'd've thought that if you was blind in both eyes, and crippled in both legs!
Jason McCullough
I think you've got the situation pegged, Jake.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Job Offer and Uncertainty in Sheriff Role
Jake
How much money am I makin at this job?
Jason McCullough
Well, let's see: I'm the sheriff, they're payin me about a hundred and fifty dollars a month, so that would put your salary at about half that, plus room and board? Plus all the ammunition you'd need to carry out the job. Of course, I haven't checked out your employment with the mayor and the town council yet...
Jake
You mean there's a chance they might turn me down?
[eagerly]
Jason McCullough
...no, I don't think so. No, I think their attitude is gonna be, "if we found somebody cra--willing to take the job, don't rock the boat.
[Jake looks crestfallen]
Jake
] You can bet that's what their attitude's gonna be.
[grumpily]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.