Don't Make a Scene: The Wild Bunch

The Story: Sam Peckinpah's film of The Wild Bunch has a reputation. A revisionist Western, it makes no distinctions between "black hats" and "white hats"—everyone in it is corrupt and have no qualms about crossing lines of the law or morality. Greed is the overarching motivation for both those law-abiding and law-breaking. It's gritty, it's grimy, profane, and bloody. It's violence is what it's known for, and it's depiction of violence—inspired by the final shoot-out in Bonnie and Clyde, but done on an epic scale—which Peckinpah championed for its more realistic depiction of violence, hoping that it would de-romanticize the movie's depictions of violence by firearm. If anything, it did just the opposite. Probably another reason Peckinpah drank.

 

But, those looking to see a carnage-fest in The Wild Bunch will—for the most part—be disappointed. Mostly it's a film of men talking. With an unrelenting cruel-streak running through it. Time's are changing. It's 1913, after all, and the century has heaved into being with the black smoke of the industrial revolution and was seeing the "Gilded Age" tarnish before the world cracked in 1914 with the first World War. 

 

The West had been conquered by the European White Man but still saw no signs of being "civilized." And in that context, the movie shows obstinate outlaws pondering their place in this new world—if they're pondering at all. The Bunch's leader, Pike Bishop sees the world totally corrupted, and, in his own way, tries to hold fast to certain romantic notions about loyalty and a man's word...even if that man travels outside the Law This scene crystallizes that conflict, and maybe explains why they take the actions they do. I haven't corrected the misspellings and typo's from Peckinpah's final draft. For some reason, I found all the errors charming, and I imagine it was due to having a bottle as a writing partner. Inevitable on-set paraphrasing and additions are in GREEN. But, I saved the mistakes. Authenticity.

 

One peculiar aspect while putting this one together—Peckinpah's editing, done with editor Lou Lombardo. I try to pick out the best images to show, but sometimes for a complete shot, I'll take a beginning frame and an ending frame just to show the territoy covered in that camera placement. With The Wild Bunch, I would think that the perfect end shot would be coming up, but Peckinpah had already made his edit and gone to the next shot. So, I'd rewind, get ready again and...Peckinpah had already moved on. I kept missing that last frame and it happend consistently enough that it ocurred to me that the director was in a hurry to move on

 

It may be why The Wild Bunch—both in its studio edit and in Peckinpah's original cut—the movie never, ever drags. And keeps surprising with each viewing.

 

The Set-Up: After a disastrous robbery in which their gang was ambushed (with lots of civilian casualties and only bags of washers to show for it) by a rag-tag mercenary group funded by a railroad magnate, the criminal gang led by Pike Bishop (William Holden) is on the run to Mexico, where they may have dealings with a corrupt warlord. But, the journey is long, giving the remaining members of the gang--Bishop, Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine), the Gortch brothers, Lyle (Warren Oates) and Tector (Ben Johnson), Angel (Jaime Sánchez), and Freddy Sykes (Edmond O'Brien)--a rare down-time to reflect and to fracture. Right before this scene, Pike has been speculating about what life will be like after this job. Maybe robbing an army payroll—"I'd like to make one good score and back off" "Back off to what?" asks his incredulous partner-in-crime Dutch, as if going straight was ever an option. "They'll be waiting for you," Dutch warns. "I wouldn't have it any other way" is Pike's reply.

 

Action.

 

CUT TO: 137 EXT.. PIKE'S CAMP - NIGHT 

DUTCH Damn! 

DUTCH You sure must have hurt that railroad pretty bad -- 

DUTCH they spent a lot of time and money getting that ambush set up for us. 

PIKE (smiling at the memory) Well, I caught up to them -- two or three times -- 

PIKE There was a man named Harrigan -- 

PIKE He had a certain way of doing things -- 

PIKE So I made him change his ways -- when you do that to a narrow man -- he can't live with it - from then on he's got to change you -- break you -- just to prove he's right -- 

PIKE there-'s a hell of a lot of people, Dutch -- 

PIKE ...that just can't stand to be wrong. 

DUTCH Pride, I guess 

PIKE I guess -- but they can't ever forget it -- 

PIKE that pride that being wrong 

PIKE ...or learn by it. 

DUTCH (after a long moment) And you -- and me How about us, Pike?

DUTCH --did you reckon we learn -- 

DUTCH being wrong today? 

PIKE (SOFTLY) Well, I surely hope to God we did. 

SYKES CROSSES TO PIKE, GIVES HIM a cup of coffee, 

SYKES Them's hot.

PIKE Ow!

DUTCH GOD-DAMN!

moves away, 

DUTCH Where'd in hell did you ever find him? 

PIKE .(softly) That toothless old wreck was a real gun about twenty years back -- used to run with Thornton and me, killed his share and more -- 

PIKE around ----Langery -- Ambushed stages all along that old board highway.,.He had those Swede immigrants so scared theyQd starve rather than go to town and buy beans for their kids, and there wasn't a sheriff in the territory to take issue

 -- He laughs, drinks the coffee and gags.. 

PIKE (CONTINUING) DUTCH And he ain't changed -- Yeah, only now-he does his killing with a coffee cup. 

Dutch laughs and then both lean back listening as: 

139. ANGEL, WRAPPED IN HIS SERAPE LEANING AGAINST THE-WALL, 

plays the great ranchero songs of old Mexico.,

LYLE.AND TECTOR ARE ALSO AWAKE and listening. 

DUTCH (softly) - Pike, 

DUTCH I wouldn't have it no other -way aither. 

DISSOLVE TO: 

EXT. DESERT SAND DUNE. AREA - DAY 141 

PIKE AND THE OTHERS (NOW DRESSED FOR THE TRAIL) RIDE ALONG THE'TOP-OF A HIGH DUNE;. 

They are tired and dirty. Near the edge they dismount to lead their horses to the bottom.

SYKES Watch out, boys!

THE SAND IS LOOSE AND THE FOOTING EXTREMELY DIFFICULT as they start down in single file, Sykes is last, he leads his own horse, a pack animal, and three of the empties. 

LYLE Take it easy, old man!

TECTOR Pull that horse up!

SUDDENLY SYKES SLIPS AND LOSES HIS-FOOTING.

He falls FORWARD:

PULLING THE FIVE HORSES DOWN WITH HIM.. 

TECTOR Keep its head up you crazy old bastard!

LYLE What's wrong with you?

Unable to control his slide he collides with/Tector who is next in line. 

LYLE Watch him, Tector!

Tector's fall starts a p fain reaction in which all the men slide to the bottom of ttLe hill. 

PICKING UP SPEED THEY TUMBLE TO THE BOTTOM 

and land in a giant cloud of. dust. 

There. is a: profusion of coughing 

and swearing as the men and-animals struggle to their feet.. 146

PIKE Goddam son of a bitch!

PIKE Get those horses up!

LYLE What the hell is going on?

TECTOR Asshole clumsy bastard!

LYLE Get up!

LYLE Get up there now, goddamn it!

LYLE Heeyaw, get over here! Heeyaw! 

TECTOR What the hells the matter with you, old man?

TECTOR STANDS,. CURSES AT SYKES,. then picks up a. stone and throws it at.the old man who is hit and falls backward. 

PIKE GRABS TECTOR'AND SWINGS HIM AROU3D... 

PIKE Leave him...

PIKE ...alone! 

TECTOR (R'AVING) Hats goin' to get pis killed -- I'm gonna...

TECTOR ...get rid of him! 

PIKE (his anger growing) We don't get rid of nobody

PIKE we stick together -- just like it used to be -- 

PIKE when you side with ] a man you stay with him -- 

PIKE(shaking him) And If you can't do that you're worse than like some animal -- you're finished -- 

PIKE we're finished -- 

PIKE all of us! 

Tector looks at him silently. 

PIKE Mount up.

PIKE TURNS TO MOUNT THE HORSE. 

Placing his foot in the stirrup he stiffly starts to swing on.

The leather breaks and. 

he falls under the animal.

Landing on his back, he lets out a loud shriek.

THE OTHER N'EN LOOK DOWN AT HIM AS TEEM MOUNT. 

Dutch, ready to mount his horse hesitates, but doesn't move to help. 

PIKE STRUGGLES TO HIS FEET. None of them move forward to help him and he doesn't expect them to. He is visibly miserable as he recovers the reins of his animal and tears off the.broken leather. 

LYLE AND TECTOR GRIN A LITTLE. 

Sykes turns away. 

TECTOR (PIOUSLY) 'Pears 'Brother Pike' needs help, Brother Lyle. 

LYLE Riding with 'Brother Pike' 

LYLE and old man Sykes 

LYLE makes a man wonder if it ain't time to pick up his chips and-

LYLE ...find another game. 

TECTOR (suddenly yelling at Pike) How in hell are you going to...

TECTOR  ...side any- body if you can't get on a horse.

PIKE LOOKS AT THEM, THEN STEPS onto the makeshift stirrup and mounts,

concealing his pain,

taking a few seconds to gather up the reins 

and position himself.

In the b.g., Dutch swings onto his horse. 

PIKE Were about two hours from the Santa Caterinas. 

He turns and rides toward the mountains, the men following.

The Wild Bunch

Words by Walon Green, Roy N. Sickner, and Sam Peckinpah

Pictures by Lucien Ballard and Sam Peckinpah

The Wild Bunch is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Warner Entertainment.