[ piano playing ragtime music ]
What exactly do you do for a living, Mr. Russell?
Thought I said yesterday.
I'm in insurance.
That's what I thought you said.
In fact, you even left your insurance license lying around
so Slade here could find it.
Trouble is, it was forged.
Oh, nice, professional job, but forged all the same.
Mr. Russell came here looking for something, Slade.
Why don't you show him what he missed.
WOMAN: Hey, Mac, hey.
On your feet.
Gent's had a little too much old-fashioned red-eye.
This man's gonna kill me!
Excuse me, ladies.
It's all part of the show, folks!
Slade, this is crazy.
You just shut your mouth.
Hey, look, we can talk.
We don't talk.
This is a joke.
You just shut up.
Come on, Slade.
I didn't see anything.
I like to give a man a fighting chance.
Pick it up.
No.
You're crazy.
This is the 20th century.
Pick it up.
Can't do this, Slade.
I'm a government agent.
We know who you are.
Make your play.
This isn't the Wild West.
[ gunshot ]
[ groans ]
[ theme music playing ]
Like young Icarus, defying gravity.
No one escapes gravity.
Totally.
The latest in space-age materials.
There's some behind the ramp.
Check 'em out.
MALE VOICE: Good morning, Jim.
The town of Pontiac is a clever re-creation
of a Western gold mining town of the 1800s,
a successful and profitable tourist resort
owned and operated by one-time U.S. Congressman
lan McClintock.
Although McClintock has retired from public life,
his influence and power seem to be undiminished.
He is wealthy, well-connected
and respected by his former associates.
This man,
Abel Russell, was an undercover FBI agent,
part of a team investigating suspected American support
for foreign terrorists.
Last month, Russell disappeared
after reporting that he was following a lead
in the town of Pontiac.
Police and FBI investigation
could find no evidence of his whereabouts.
We now believe that McClintock may be selling weapons
to European terrorists.
But his reputation and political connections make investigation
both difficult and sensitive.
Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it,
is to discover whether McClintock
is dealing with terrorists,
whether he had any part in the death of Russell;
and if he is guilty, bring him to justice.
As always, should you or any member of your IM team
be caught or killed,
the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.
This disc will self-destruct in five seconds.
Good luck, Jim.
[ rapid beeping ]
He's a cowboy?
PHELPS: Well, there's no doubt he'd like to be.
All his life, McClintock has been
fascinated by the legends of the old Wild West,
obsessed with the Hollywood image
of the hard-riding, fast-drawing cowboy.
So, creating a town like Pontiac allows McClintock to, uh,
play out his fantasies.
Are you sure he's not going through a second childhood?
[ chuckles ] Don't underestimate him, Shannon.
He's a shrewd, clever man.
A lot of power, a lot of influence.
If he's dealing with terrorists, not much morality.
Now, McClintock's other passion is gambling.
We're gonna make use of that.
What have you found out?
Well, I've been studying this surveillance film
of McClintock pretty closely.
Let's see if you guys notice anything.
He's cheating.
GRANT: And once again.
He's dealing from the bottom.
Yes, among other things, Mr. McClintock is a cheat.
But that's a game that two can play.
Where do you park these ponies?
Carter's in charge of horses.
I ain't seen you guys before.
Ain't never been here before.
Got a job with a trucker
bringing this mob down from Arizona.
Mob's delivered, job's finished.
Any chance of getting any work around here?
Doing what?
Well, whatever you guys have to offer.
We're past being choosy, friend.
Work's pretty hard to come by.
I know a job in insurance.
Well, I don't think insurance is exactly our line.
We know horses, though.
There's a rodeo in a couple of days.
You can help out till then.
Go sign on at the staff office.
You can bunk in the stables.
We appreciate that.
They don't look like they need work so bad.
Why didn't you just come right out
and tell them about the FBI man?
You're a fool, Carter.
Come on, Slade.
Th-They're just bums looking for work.
What do they know?
Bums looking for work?
I don't think so.
Gave you the papers.
Did you see his hand?
His hand?
You ever see a cowboy without calluses?
So why'd you hire them?
Because they might be here for the same reason the FBI guy was.
And might end up just the same way.
Hey, cowboy.
We may have uncovered something about Russell.
If he was posing as an insurance agent,
he may have blown his cover.
Trips.
Looks like you're running a little low
on chips there, Mr. Sutton.
Well, I'm out.
Well, I plan on getting them back.
[ piano playing ragtime music ]
[ music stops ]
You, at the bar.
I thought I told you to get out of town.
[ groans ]
Give me a whiskey.
Let's get this trash out of here.
Best hand I had all day.
Let's get him out of here.
There you go.
Truth is, he got what he deserved, didn't he?
[ cheering ]
[ piano resumes playing ]
Told me I could get a game here.
Nobody said anything about a circus.
Relax, Sutton, it's all part of the show.
Well, if your kid stuff is over, can we get on with the poker?
I think we can give you all the action you want.
As for what you call "kid stuff,"
what we do here is honor America's heritage.
The real men.
The men that made this country what it is today.
Men like Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Doc Holliday.
Seems to me, you're honoring psychopaths and killers.
Seems to me, you need to be taught a little respect.
Here, boy! Hyah! [ whistles ]
Hyah! Hyah!
Hyah!
That little old pony frighten you, boy?
I can handle it.
Hey, Carter, the boy here says
he ain't afraid of horses.
You reckon you can ride that bronc, boy?
If I had to.
Looks like we got ourselves a real live
bronco-bustin' cowboy here.
Ride anything on four legs, that right, boy?
Well, I didn't exactly say that.
Well, if you can't ride, you ain't much good around here.
And I thought you wanted the job.
Yeah... I want the job.
Well, we better find out whether you can ride or not.
Put him in the chute.
I'll ride him.
Hell, a hotshot like you deserves a real challenge.
Hey, Carter,
friend here's gonna ride Bolero for us.
[ horse neighing ]
That right, boy?
You gonna ride Bolero?
Hut-hut!
I got him!
Come on, come on!
Hut-hut! No, boy!
Hut! Come on, come on!
[ horse growls ]
[ whispering ]: There's got to be a better way to do this.
If you got one, you let me know.
Go!
Whoo!
Good ride!
Are you okay?
Yeah.
MAN: Come on. Get 'em on.
Hey! Hey! Ho! Hold 'em up. I got 'em.
Hyah! Hyah!
I rode him.
Yeah?
Yeah. Yeah, so what?
Hey, you want a Purple Heart?
[ laughs ]
[ grunts ]
Job's yours.
Carter...
you're hopeless.
You know what, Carter?
He's right.
[ piano playing upbeat music, women whooping ]
Better think it over, Mel.
It ain't that easy.
Two beers, gentlemen?
Give me a whiskey.
I need one.
One whiskey coming right up.
Tonight's my last night down that mine.
That's it.
Slade ain't gonna like that.
Slade can go to hell.
That stuff's dangerous, man.
It creeps up on you.
Well... it's your funeral.
I'm beginning to think I've finally
met my match at stud poker.
Oh, everybody meets his match sooner or later.
I'll go along with that.
Hey, girlie, let's have those two.
Here's to the past.
And the future.
[ piano music continues in distance ]
[ quiet beeping ]
Hmm. What are these?
Blank playing cards?
Well, each one of the cards
will be covered with this filament.
It's a liquid crystal display screen
that'll be patched electronically into my computer.
[ beep ]
Watch this.
King of hearts.
Nope.
Ace of spades.
You think I'm crazy, don't you, hanging onto the past like this?
Is that what you're doing?
World's rotten to the core, Sutton.
Needs to be cleaned out, started over.
Get rid of the bleeding hearts and the do-gooders.
They smell things up
with the stink of charity and weakness.
And leave what?
And who deserves to live?
Only the strong?
Yeah. Yeah.
The strong, fighters.
Like you. Is that what you're saying?
What are you here for, Sutton?
Play cards.
It isn't only cards you're playing.
[ chuckles ]
All right, Sutton, I'll play your game.
We'll see who wins.
[ door opens ]
How'd it go?
Cleaned me out.
I overheard some talk in the saloon.
One of McClintock's men was saying
how dangerous the work was.
Dangerous? They're just mock shafts
and drives for the tourists.
There's no actual mining going on down there.
Well, he said, "It creeps up on you."
Creeps up on you?
What in the hell's going on down there?
[ door creaks ]
- How's it going? - Good.
We've pinpointed the burial vaults,
started digging towards 'em.
What about the men?
Scared.
Keep 'em at it, Slade.
I will.
They're more scared of this.
Keep it that way.
Look, I'm taking Sutton out to the ranch.
He's after something.
I'm going to find out what.
Time was, the men who worked this land could live
for a week on a can of beans and... a pound of jerky.
Now, they were real men, Sutton.
Not your pasty-face pansies that pass today.
So, that's why you built Pontiac.
So you could be like them, the Jameses and the Earps.
I am like them.
No, I don't think you are.
The way I see it, those men took risks.
They gambled every day, laid everything on the line.
You think I don't take risks?
Oh, I think you might have once.
But now you're... you're like a lot of rich men.
You're comfortable, self-indulgent.
You've got it all, and you're playing it safe.
You don't know anything about it.
Well, then you tell me.
If I did, I'd have to kill you.
I don't think you've got the guts for that.
Sutton!
You talk big, Sutton.
Suppose we play some poker, just you and I.
And we'll raise the limit.
High as you like.
What's the problem?
Got no stomach for it?
Oh, I've got the stomach for it, all right.
We'll play.
But there'll be no limit.
Pumping station.
Drawing water out of the mine.
If I could get a sample of that ore, I could analyze it.
Wait here.
Is this what you wanted?
Yeah. That's what I want.
This is my version
of an atomic absorption spectrometer.
It identifies the molecular structure of metallic compounds,
breaks them down into easily identifiable groups.
[ beeping ]
Does it tell you anything?
I can't find a trace of any mineral worth mining.
No copper, gold, silver.
Just shale and salt.
Plain, ordinary table salt.
One thing's for certain.
Something is happening in that mine.
And the only way we're going to find out
is to go down there.
I think you're right.
You'd better go with Grant.
Max and Shannon, Slade has a sidekick.
Carter... I know the one.
See if you can get close to him, find out what he knows.
[ piano playing upbeat music, women whooping ]
[ music ends, cheering ]
I don't know.
I get stomped on by horses all day and I get paid peanuts.
And you expect me to go out with you?
I hate losers.
Are you calling me a loser?
Come here.
Carter! Get this ape off of me!
Come on, buddy!
You let her alone.
Yeah, yeah. All right.
No hard feelings?
Ma'am.
Hey, there, cowboy? How you doing?
I hate losers.
You'd think someone with his size
would have a bit of authority.
Like you.
Now, you got authority.
L-I suppose.
One word from you, and he backed right off.
- [ chuckles ] - Hmm.
I like that in a man.
[ chuckles ]
[ snoring ]
Just part of the show, man.
It don't work that way, Mel.
You sign on, you're on.
MEL: You don't need me, Slade.
I did my share.
We've broken through now.
You don't need me for the rest.
It's dangerous, Slade.
The trouble is,
I just couldn't bear to see you go, Mel.
Maybe I just got to like seeing you around.
I saved my money.
Half.
I'll give you half.
Half, eh, Mel?
Well, that's real generous, you know.
Why don't we go back and discuss it.
Don't shoot me, Slade.
No, no, no, Slade!
What're you saying, buddy?
- [ sobbing ] - Come on.
Please... Please, no!
SLADE: Hey, buddy, what are you talking about?
MEL: No, no, no!
Grant, we can't let him do it.
Come on.
There's got to be a hidden door.
Some way to open it.
Well, look, I can figure out
a way to open this thing, but it could take me awhile.
And I'd like to know what we'll be walking into when we do.
Well, there's got to be survey charts, maps.
In the mine office.
It could show us the layout of the tunnels.
What about Mel? We can't just leave him.
[ gunshot ]
I think Mel's troubles just ended.
And ours could be just beginning.
These boys are cold-blooded killers.
[ piano playing ragtime music ]
Well, maybe I should talk to Slade about a better job.
Listen, if you want a better job, you talk to me.
If I say the man works, the man works.
Well, I thought Slade was in charge of the mine.
Mine?
What do you know about the mine?
You know, I get off work in about an hour.
Somehow, it just seems too early to go to bed.
I don't know.
Keep an eye out.
Let's hope McClintock doesn't miss this before we get it back.
Come on.
Hey, hey. What's the matter, partner?
Can't hold your liquor?
Of course... of course I can.
Just a minute, just a minute.
Who's the little lady?
Her name is, um...
My name is Sally.
Uh-huh, and you're gonna put him to bed, are you, Sally?
That's real sweet of you.
He sure as hell can't get there by himself.
Watch your money and your mouth, Carter.
What's that supposed to mean?
Carter knows what I mean.
Don't you, Carter?
Watch your mouth.
Come on, honey.
I'm gonna take you home.
I worry about Carter.
Ah, he's harmless.
He just drinks a lot.
He doesn't just drink a lot.
He drinks a lot and knows a lot.
That's a dangerous combination, Slade.
GRANT: It doesn't help with the tunnel layout.
And there's not a mining lease for 40 miles.
No minerals of any marketable value at all.
Grant, we know they're digging.
And whatever they're digging for must be behind that false wall.
What if they're not mining?
Well, we've seen them.
No.
No, no, we've seen them carrying out rubble.
If there was anything worthwhile down there,
that could mean they're mining, but since there's not...
They're tunneling.
[ sighs ]
No.
It doesn't make sense.
Look, here's Pontiac.
There's nothing around for miles.
No armament factories, no military bases, nothing.
Just this.
NICHOLAS: Government land.
But there's nothing on it.
Yes, but it's due north of Pontiac,
and that's the direction the mine is heading.
Maybe IM files can tell us what's on that land.
I can't get through.
There's got to be something very sensitive,
politically, on that land.
Or under it.
[ groans ]
Sleeping Beauty's finally waking up.
With a very sore head.
I better get out of here.
Ah, you're awake.
How do you feel, lover?
Huh?
How'd I get here?
Well...
you couldn't remember where you lived,
and I carried you about as far as I could.
Hmm.
Stable was your idea.
Huh?
Oh, we had a really good time last night, didn't we?
Hmm?
Yeah, I guess.
I wouldn't say a word to anyone, okay?
Huh.
It's our secret.
Secret?
Well, what secret?
Well, you know, that stuff you told me.
About the mine.
What stuff?
What'd I tell you?
About that man from the FBI.
What was his name, um, Russell?
Oh, my God.
Look...
I was drunk.
There weren't no FBI man.
And there ain't no rods.
You say a word to anyone, you mention the burial vaults,
and I'll kill you.
I swear, I'll kill you!
Yeah.
I've replaced the bullets in this gun
with our own knockout darts.
A little heavier than the ones we normally use.
And I've altered the load slightly
to give us good muzzle velocity and sufficient impact.
Without driving the dart through the target.
Exactly.
Well, I'd say, uh, a range of 50 yards maximum,
'cause it still has to penetrate McClintock's vest and shirt.
PHELPS: Mm-hmm.
I used to be pretty good with one of these.
[ laughs ]
I'd say you still got it.
Ah, don't tell me.
Bat Masterson.
Doc Holliday.
What'd you find out from our friend Carter?
Well, not much, Jim.
But he obviously knows what happened to the FBI man.
Well, he's terrified about something.
He said a couple of things.
He talked about burial vaults.
As in graveyard?
- Yeah. - Anything else?
Rods.
Just rods.
Mean anything?
Means a lot.
The salt in the soil analysis.
Underground salt beds are stable geological formations.
Earthquakes, tremors... they have no effect on them,
which is why they use salt beds as burial vaults.
For radioactive waste.
The rods he mentioned... nuclear fuel rods.
But if they're buried, scrapped, then what good are they?
Well, a nuclear reactor only uses 0.5% of the fuel available.
So the rods themselves, they're recyclable for nuclear energy.
Or nuclear weapons.
And that's what McClintock plans to sell to the terrorists:
The base material for nuclear bombs.
I think it's time I called Mr. McClintock out.
It's a miniature radio mic.
I'll be able to hear every bet and raise
you and McClintock make.
Good. We're about to teach Mr. McClintock
how today's card shark operates.
[ people chattering quietly ]
Well, well. Sutton.
I've come for the game you promised me.
For a while there, I thought you might have changed your mind.
McCLINTOCK [ over speaker ]: Boys, give Mr. Sutton a seat.
We got a game to play.
"Come into my parlor," said the spider to the fly.
- No limit. - No limit.
I've taken the liberty of asking the young lady
to bring us a fresh deck.
Unopened.
Suits me.
Thank you.
Happy?
If you are.
PHELPS: All right, let's see what we have here.
Jack, hearts.
Deuce.
Well, I think this is
going to be my lucky day.
Now, according to Grant,
if the locking device is electronic,
this should close the circuit...
and activate it.
[ men chattering in distance ]
McCLINTOCK: Three ladies.
PHELPS: Aces.
You got damned lucky all of a sudden, you know that?
Fortune favors the brave, McClintock.
SLADE: Yeah?
We'll see about that.
When I want the puppy to bark, I'll yank his chain.
Sit down and shut up, Slade.
I said, sit down.
His master's voice.
Listen, you...
Shut up, Slade!
I'm gonna go and get a drink.
You do that.
Take your time.
It looks like they've found what they're after.
Feeling all right, Mr. Slade?
I'm fine.
Drink this.
You'll feel better.
Better?
Yeah.
Yeah, I guess.
I'm fine.
Well, it looks like the best you can do
is jacks, tops, Sutton.
Maybe it's time to fold.
Maybe you're bluffing, McClintock.
I don't think you have anything in the hole.
I think that ace is as good as you've got.
Well, it's gonna cost you to find out, like about five grand.
I'll see your five, and I'll raise you 10,000.
Your ten and up...
20 more.
PHELPS: I'll see your 20...
and raise 20.
Like shooting fish in a barrel.
MAX: Ready?
- NICHOLAS: Help me. - MAX: Oh, my God!
Canister's broken!
Somebody help me!
- Let's get out of here! - Help me!
Help me, I'm burning!
Somebody help me!
[ men shouting ]
Somebody help me! Don't leave!
MAN: Go! Move, move!
Help me! I'm burning!
You okay?
Yeah, I'm fine.
Now... to set the explosives.
I guess I'll just have to keep you honest.
Let's see what you've got.
You know, I thought you were smarter than this, Sutton.
I guess I had you figured wrong.
I'm paying to see your card, not hear your sermon.
Don't worry, you'll see it.
PHELPS: Well, I'm waiting, McClintock. What have you got?
Pair of aces.
[ chuckles ]
I'd just like to see that second ace.
Ace of hearts.
- [ crowd gasps ] - McCLINTOCK: What?!
This was an ace, I swear.
She saw it!
Looks like a nine of spades to me.
McCLINTOCK: I had a pair of aces.
It was an ace.
[ crowd murmuring ]
Pair of jacks.
Wait a minute!
You've been cheating.
Of course I have, McClintock.
Takes one to know one, doesn't it?
Here's the way you did it: Dealing from the bottom.
My way is a little more sophisticated.
Let's show him, Grant.
You wanted an ace of hearts?
- [ crowd gasps, murmurs ] - There it is.
WOMAN: How did he do that?
There's another one.
There's another.
Here's another one.
Calling you out, Sutton.
I've played enough games for one day.
You're gonna play one more.
I want the street cleared.
Everybody off it, now!
What the hell was that?
That's your tunnel being blown, McClintock.
The tunnel to the nuclear waste vaults
you've spent so much time trying to penetrate.
The plutonium you were going to sell your terrorist friends
is buried forever.
Damn you, Sutton.
Now, you still want to call me out?
Get this man a gun!
Slade, get him a gun!
The gun under the bar, get it!
You still want to do this?
Put it on.
Kill him.
- [ women murmuring ] - I don't know.
So, you send a boy to do a man's work, McClintock?
Don't worry, Sutton.
You'll get a shot at me when you finish with Slade.
I'll show you who's a boy.
Make your play.
[ crowd gasps ]
[ groans ]
I'm waiting, McClintock.
You killed him.
So, it's your turn.
You killed him in cold blood.
Yes, just the way you had him kill Russell,
the FBI man.
The way you had him kill anybody
who wanted to quit your operation.
All right.
So I had a few people... killed.
It couldn't be helped.
I'm a powerful man.
I got friends, powerful friends.
You can have anything you want.
I've got what I want:
Your confession in front of these people.
All part of the show, folks.
[ crowd murmuring, applauding ]
I called the FBI.
They'll be here in a few minutes.
Oh, well, then it's time for us to go.
And Mr. McClintock's headed for the last roundup.