Bite the Bullet (1975)

Ben Johnson: Mister

Quotes 

• Mister : God, what ain't I tried. Pony express rider, Overland Stage driver, lawman, gambler, riverman, rancher, rodeo hand, barman, spittoon man... old man. Never much to remember. Of course, there ain't much to forget, either. Nobody's got much use for an old man. I can't blame 'em much. That's why I'm going to win this here newspaper race. When I cross the finish line, I get to be a big man. Top man. A man to remember.

• Mister : Ever prospected? Ever hit pay dirt? I've dug for gold, silver, lead, mercury. I've dug more holes than a whole regiment of gophers. I ain't never dug a decent day's wages yet.

• Sam Clayton : No family?

  Mister : Him

  [indicates his horse] 

  Mister : . Oh, you know saddle tramps. They sign on, drive the beef a thousand miles, make your mark, draw your pay and move on to the next ranch. Another roundup and another drive. Hired... fired... and move on.

  Sam Clayton : Well, it's never bothered me none.

  Mister : No, me neither when I was thirty years lighter.

• Carbo : Hey, old man, thought sure you cashed it in.

  Mister : Not 'til I'm back in Oklahoma.

  Carbo : I'd rather be in Hell than Oklahoma!

  Mister : Every man to his own country.

• Mister : I've never saw a man who could hold his liquor like a bottle.

• [Matthews ignores Carbo's challenge for a gunfight] 

  Mister : You done right. A boy lookin' for a reputation is the most dangerous thing alive.

  Norfolk : It certainly wasn't worth dyin' for.

  Miss Jones : What is?

• [when the enraged Carbo starts after Matthews when the older man's back is turned, Mister intervenes with a drawn pistol] 

  Mister : My eyes ain't as good as his'n. I might miss and then you'd be dead and I'd be out of the race... for abusin' a dumb animal. Bad for you... worse for me.