Summary :
Three of the seven must face up to parts of their past. Vin, Buck and Ezra must deal with unexpected visitors and their friends might not be able to help. Will the sins of the past get the better of them or will they be able to deal with their ghosts and look to the future?
Memorable Scenes :
Scene One - The Town
Ezra leaves the bank, with JD, Nathan and Josiah. He has put a down payment on the saloon and has big plans for its - and his - future.
- Ezra : You hear that gentlemen? That is the sound of opportunity knocking. Don't be slow to answer the door.
- JD : I still can't believe you did it, you slapping all that money down on the saloon.
- Ezra : Well, I've been living parsimoniously.
- JD : Parsi... what?
- Ezra : I've been saving.
Ezra is looking for investors to contribute some working capital, but he's having trouble interesting anyone in his project.
- Josiah : Money is like manure - not good except it be spread.
- Ezra : May I take that as an affirmative?
- Josiah : No.
In the saloon - renamed The Standish Tavern - all the action is in one corner. Ezra arrives in time to see old man Gunderson, owner of the hotel, lose his property in a poker game to none other than Ezra's mother Maude.
Later that evening, Vin is on his way home - a covered wagon parked on the side of the main street - when he is jumped by two men. While he's fighting them off, Chris arrives to help, but the fight is broken up by a man who introduces himself as Yates, a federal marshal. He tells Vin he's under arrest for murder in Texas and the men have come to take him to stand trial.
Scene 2 - The Town
The next day, Mary is trying to talk Yates out of taking Vin back to Texas but the marshal tells her he's only enforcing the law by bringing Vin to justice for killing a man called Jess Kincaid. When Mary and Chris talk about contacting Judge Travis, Yates reminds them that a territorial judge has no jurisdiction in this case.
Scene 3 - The Town
Maude is supervising the erection of a new sign at the hotel, renaming it The Ritz. Ezra can't believe his mother is back in town and is suspicious of her motives.
- Ezra : Why are you in town?
- Maude : Well, I just wanted to be close to my sweet little baby boy. And look at you. I never thought you'd become a bartender.
- Ezra : Oh, no. I have become a man of commerce.
Maude points out that they won't be in competition because they will be offering different services, but Ezra is not totally convinced by his mother's reassurances.
Josiah is happy to see Maude back in town and he's still smitten with her.
- Josiah : If eyes were meant for seeing, beauty is its own excuse for being.
Scene 4 - The Jail
Vin is in a cell, Chris is sitting outside. Vin is berating himself for letting himself get too comfortable with the town and the people and for letting his guard down. Chris tries to comfort his friend, reminding him how hard it is to live, always looking over your shoulder and sleeping with one eye open.
- Vin : You know me, Chris, I ain't afraid of dyin'. I just don't want to go out like that, strung up like some mangy dog.
- Chris : Well, I ain't gonna let that happen.
- Vin : Oh, no, Chris, you go messin' with the federal marshal, they're gonna string you up right along side me.
Scene 5 - The Saloon
Ezra is trying to convince Buck, Josiah, Nathan and JD of the merits of his business plan, and to convince them to invest.
- Ezra : So, what say you boys? Are you ready for success?
- Nathan : I don't know, Ezra. My daddy used to say, the best horse you ever saw is only as good as the man riding it.
Just then, Lucy enters the saloon. She's an old friend of Buck's, although he hasn't seen her for a while. He comments on the fact that she seems to have been eating well lately. Lucy announces she is pregnant and when Buck calls for everyone to toast the impending birth, Lucy tells him he's the father. She says she and Buck will have to get married because her pa will insist on it. Buck is adamant he is not the father of the baby and he has no intention of getting married, and Lucy runs from the saloon in tears.
Scene 6 - The Town
The next day, Mary has sent wires to lawyers and courthouses, but nobody is able to help Vin. Judge Travis is two days away from a telegraph office. Mary wonders why they don't go to Tascosa to try and help, but Chris tells her that as soon as Vin sets foot in Tascosa he will be hanged.
In the jail, Vin is watching his jailers while they eat and get their guns ready for their upcoming trip to Texas. He's also checking out the room. He asks for some food, which he says will make him stronger for the trip. When one of the men opens the cell door to give Vin a plate of beans, Vin tries to escape, but he's knocked down and his escape attempt is thwarted.
Scene 7 - The Hotel
There is a crowd of people outside the hotel, along with a bunch of dusty gambling equipment. Inside, Maude is directing a clean-up crew and a bar is being set up in the lobby.
- Maude : I found those gambling tables in the hotel cellar. Am I supposed to let those lovely furnishings languish in a dark and dusty hole?
- Ezra : Don't start with me, mother. I won't sit back and watch you take my business.
- Maude : Your business! Where in the city charter does it say that only you can serve drinks and offer gambling?
- Ezra : You know what this means.
- Maude : A little war?
- Ezra : I'll run you into the ground.
- Maude : Well, we'll just see who buries whom.
- Ezra : The gauntlet is thrown.
Scene 8 - The Main Street
The marshal and his men are getting ready to take Vin back to Texas. The other six men and Mary are watching as Vin is led away. JD grabs a rifle and runs out in front of the lawmen.
- Mary : They're federal marshals, JD.
- JD : That's Vin Tanner, Mrs. Travis. You're not takin' him, marshal.
- Yates : You gonna shoot us all, boy?
- JD : No, just you.
Josiah throws JD out of the way. As the posse rides by, Josiah grabs Vin's gun out of Yates's saddle bag and hands it to Chris, who is getting his horse ready to ride. He is going to follow the men, to try and free Vin, and the others will wait until they're needed.
Outside of town, Yates pulls Vin's bandana over his eyes, supposedly so he can't try to escape again.
Scene 9 - The Town
Ezra and Maude begin a war of increasingly lower prices and dirty tricks, trying to out do each other at every turn. At the same time, Buck is busy trying to stay one step ahead of Lucy.
Ezra is busy trying to keep his few patrons happy and is doing everything that needs to be done in the saloon, including serving drinks.
- Ezra : I was not made for honest labor.
Inez arrives, offering to help build up his business. She proves her ability by serving and then shutting down a lecherous drunk.
Scene 10 - Outside of Town
With Chris following and watching from a nearby hillside, Vin has realized, even blindfolded, that they aren't headed to Texas. They pull up in a clearing where it is revealed that Yates and his men aren't really officers of the law. They are met by Vin's old foe, Eli Joe. Eli tells Yates to hang Vin and while the noose is being prepared, Eli tells Vin he hasn't been sleeping well, worrying about Vin coming after him.
- Vin : Your conscience bothering you?
- Eli : I ain't got a conscience.
- Vin : How about Jess Kincaid? You killed an innocent farmer just to frame me for murder.
- Eli : Got you off my trail, didn't it? Of course this little voice inside keeps tellin' me, Vin Tanner's gonna come lookin' for me, so I figured I'd find you first. Let's do this.
The noose is just about around Vin's neck when Chris starts shooting, laying ground fire while Vin escapes. Vin rides towards Chris's gunfire and when he arrives, Chris cuts the rope tied around his wrists, and gives him his gun and they ride away.
Scene 11 - The Saloon
Ezra has no customers, but Inez has an idea to help the business.
- Inez : I have an idea.
- Ezra : About what? A bank we can rob?
- Inez : About food. I think we should offer something to eat, like the hotel does.
She uncovers a tray of food she has prepared.
- Inez : Try it.
- Ezra : Muchos gracias, senorita, but I am drinking my dinner.
Maude arrives and she starts berating Ezra over his business tactics. She has been to the bank and discovered Ezra used his own money to buy the saloon.
- Maude : Rule number one, never run a deal on your own money. Good lord, I thought I taught you better than that. What have all my efforts been for?
- Ezra : Your efforts? Your efforts? Exactly what effort have you ever exerted that wasn't entirely self serving?
Ezra leaves Maude and Inez alone together in the saloon. Inez offers Maude some of her food, and Maude is impressed.
Scene 12 - The Town
Buck is in a room in the hotel, dreaming about his daughter. Later he finds Josiah working at the church. He talks to the preacher about whether marriage is the right thing to do. Josiah thinks it might be a good idea.
Scene 13 - Outside of Town
Chris has circled back but hasn't seen Eli Joe and his men. Vin is waiting for him under a tree.
- Vin : He ain't gettin' away this time. I'm gonna drag that murderin' sack of dirt back to Texas and he's gonna tell the jury the truth.
- Chris : I don't know, Vin. The truth and Eli Joe don't seem a likely mix.
- Vin : I lived with Kiowa and Comanches. I know a thing or two about gettin' the truth outta people.
- Chris : I look forward to seeing that! Too bad we gotta keep ‘em alive. Since we do, we best get us some help. Come on.
Chris and Vin go back to town to get the other five men, and then they head out after Eli Joe and his gang. They finally find them on the trail and put their plan into action - split up the group, everybody takes a man. The plan works, except Eli Joe gets away, with Vin and Chris in pursuit. Vin lassos Eli Joe and pulls him off his horse, but it turns out to be Yates, wearing Eli's clothes.
- Vin : Yates! Where is he? Where is he? I got no problem killing you.
- Yates : Won't change the fact he's gone, took off early. I guess he knew you were comin'.
Scene 14 - The Town
Maude is showing a customer into the Presidential Suite, which has a view of the main street. As she leaves the room, the man takes off his hat - it's Eli Joe and he has a rifle with a long sighting scope on it - and what he's sighting is Vin's wagon.
The seven have brought Yates and the other men back to town, to the jail. Vin is going after Eli and the others are planning to go with him.
- Vin : What's this all about?
- Chris : Thought you could use some help.
- Vin : Much obliged, but my business with this man is mine, and mine alone.
- Josiah : Got no argument there, it's just... it's awful big country out there is all.
- Buck : We all ride in a different direction, one of us is bound to cross his path.
- Ezra : It's a mathematical certainty.
- Chris : You got a chance to finish this now. You may not get another one.
- Vin : Alrighty then. Meet up at my wagon in twenty minutes.
Scene 15 - The Town
Buck decides twenty minutes is enough time to make peace with Lucy. He goes to her home, flowers in hand, but when he gets there, he discovers she's not alone. She's inside with a man she obviously knows very well. Buck bursts in on them and Lucy reveals the man - Luther - is really the father of her baby. He was reluctant to accept his responsibility so Lucy decided to use Buck to make Luther jealous and convince him to marry her. Buck doesn't know what to say, but he gives Lucy the flowers and leaves to rejoin his friends.
Scene 16 - The Hotel
At his wagon, Vin is packing some supplies, in clear view of Eli Joe. As Eli takes aim, Chris walks down the street towards the wagon. As Eli pulls the lever action on the rifle, Chris hears the "click", sees the rifle in the window, and yells a warning to Vin, just as Eli fires, missing Vin but hitting the wagon. All seven men open fire on the hotel room. Vin tells them not to kill Eli and he and Chris go up to the room. Eli goes up onto the roof and Vin follows him. They fight and Vin chases him across the rooftops. They fight again and Eli falls down the roof and over the side of the building, catching himself just in time. Vin pulls him up and when Eli gets back on the roof, Vin collapses backwards. Eli pulls a knife out of his boot and is about to stab Vin when Chris arrives and shoots Eli. Eli falls backwards off the roof and lands on the ground below - dead. Vin is stunned - his best chance to clear his name is gone.
As Eli's body is loaded onto a wagon and taken away, Vin's friends are all aware of the tragedy that has occurred. They can only guess at Vin's pain.
- Chris : I know you wanted him alive.
- Vin : You did what you had to. Can't clear my name if I'm dead.
Scene 17 - The Saloon
Ezra is alone in the saloon, wiping glasses, when Maude comes in. She is leaving town and she has come to say goodbye. Ezra can't believe she is giving up the hotel, which is has turned into a booming business.
- Maude : Well, that's the whole idea. You buy a depressed property, you get it going, and then you sell it at the height of its popularity. I made a fortune.
- Ezra : Spend it in good health, mother.
- Maude : Oh, I already did. I re-invested it in another very depressed property.
Ezra realizes she's talking about the saloon. Maude is the new owner of The Standish Tavern, which she has saved from the edge of bankruptcy. She has only come to make final arrangements, to leave the property in the hands of someone she trusts. Ezra assumes she means him, and tells her he will never work for her. But Maude is actually talking about someone else. Inez appears behind the bar, with the keys to the saloon. She's the new manager.
- Maude : I came, I saw, I conquered.
- Ezra : Wait. Just tell me one thing. Why? Why here? Why me?
- Maude : Somebody's gotta keep you sharp, son. We're business people and we're the best at what we do. Don't ever forget that.
Maude leaves and Ezra watches after her with a mixture of awe and admiration.
- Ezra : Yes, indeed. An amazing woman.
Trivia :
