James Coburn: Jeff Durain

Quotes 

• Jefferson Durain : Well, are you enjoying your stay here in town?

  Michael Halliday : Well, not as much as I expected.

  Jefferson Durain : Oh. Well, I could introduce you to the federal marshal. He's a close friend of mine. In fact, he's a business associate.

  Michael Halliday : A young fellow like me learns every day.

• Jefferson Durain : I have something else in mind. Look, you handled Big Jack and you handled me. As far as I can see, about the only thing you couldn't handle was this young lady here.

  [indicates Goldie] 

  Michael Halliday : Now that's true, sir, but I intend to try again.

• Jefferson Durain : Why hesitate, Mike? You only have three choices - leave the town, stay here and probably get killed, or work for me.

  Michael Halliday : I don't like to make decisions. Besides, my mind is occupied with making money.

  Jefferson Durain : Oh, Mike, there's plenty of it here. Look, there will be thirty, maybe forty thousand men coming through this town - my town. And it will stay my town as long as there's a thin dime to be taken from these slick-haired, rainbow-chasing greenhorns.

  Michael Halliday : I'm thinking of the five hundred I started with and the three thousand dollars that was in the pot. Now anybody that plays poker like you do can just pull an ace right out of his sleeve.

  [Mike demonstrates] 

  Michael Halliday : Maybe you don't think I'm entitled to the entire three thousand dollars, but I'm sure you'll agree I'm entitled to my five hundred.

  [pulls a derringer from his pocket] 

  Jefferson Durain : Oh, Mike.

  [Jeff hands Mike five hundred dollar bills] 

  Michael Halliday : As for the rest of the money, I'll get that back, too, in cash, gold or trouble - you choose which.

• [last lines] 

  [to Goldie as Michael walks off into the night] 

  Jefferson Durain : A very interesting young man.

• Jefferson Durain : Well, what's it to be, Mike?

  Michael Halliday : Well, sir, it's like this. I don't mind that you've taken every cent I owned in the world and I don't mind that you confiscated all my supplies. I can even bear the fact that this lady has broken my heart, but I can't abide not knowin' what time it is, so if you'd give me back my watch, I would appreciate it.

  Jefferson Durain : [laughs]  You know, Mike, I've made it a practice to never give anything back to a sucker, but I'm going to make an exception this time.

• Michael Halliday : Mr. Durain, you had Miss Goldie give me knockout drops. You've stolen all my money and you got your men to run me out of town. Now that's all straight forward and good business, but you went too far when you threw that foul-smellin' bottle into Miss O'Hara's hotel.

  Jefferson Durain : Why? I authorized my men to offer her a fair price for her hotel. She just wouldn't sell, that's all.

  Michael Halliday : Mr. Durain, would it do any good for me, to ask you to leave Miss O'Hara and her hotel alone?

  Jefferson Durain : No, you should have stopped with your watch.

  Michael Halliday : I regret that, Mr. Durain.

  Jefferson Durain : Yeah?

  Michael Halliday : When I was younger, I'd have come in here spoiling for a fight, thinkin' that a hard fist against a loose mouth would take care of what I was tryin' to do. And I'm still pretty young!

  [tosses a glass bottle full of foul-smelling liquid in the air] 

  Michael Halliday : How much gold do you take into this bar, Mr. Durain? Well, multiply that by the number of days it's going to take you to get rid of this lovely smell... and that's how much it's going to cost you every time you touch Miss O'Hara.

  Jefferson Durain : What do you want me to do?

  Michael Halliday : I want all these people here to hear you say that you'll leave Miss O'Hara and her hotel alone.

  [tosses the bottle in the air] 

  Michael Halliday : Now if there's still any doubt left in your mind...

  Jefferson Durain : No doubt.