Sometimes a Great Notion

He's been over there a while.

Do you think he's doing any good?

I got payments to make on a Chevrolet.

God damn scabs over there.

Is that Floyd? What's he running for?

Get your buggin' ass out of here,

you buggin' socialist!

They're after him!

All of 'em. What are they up to?

You union creep, get lost!

Whoa!

I'll blow your belly right out of your dang head!

Hey, wait a minute, Floyd--

None of you live bets gonna tell me what he loves.

What are they--

They're trying to kill him!

Sands!

What about that, Floyd?

Pansy socialists!

God damn traitors!

I'll get every last one of ya! Whoo!

Hang in there!

Floyd, come on!

Easy, Floyd. Easy.

God damn, strike-breaking bastards.

I got you, Floyd.

I got you, Floyd. It'll be OK.

My God...

They could've killed me.

Did they get you? Are you hurt?

You all right?

You lousy gypo scabber bastards!

We'll get you!

We're gonna pull you down.

Look!

...with the dynamite...

Boom! I though you put it right in the boat!

God damn union freaks.

Teach you to go snoopin' around.

And then someone over there is yelling,

"Look out!"

How's he gonna look out,

if the boat's going all over the damn river?

He's screaming and yelling,

"What's happening to me? What's happening to me? "

What'd I tell you?

The holy signals are hanging over us

right now, Hank. I mean,

everything's going to be milk and honey.

We're in God's own fat pocket.

Brother Walker told us that.

He told us.

Yeah.

And he don't hand out any crap

Iike some of them other preachers do.

God damn, some people would rather talk than eat.

Ah, it's washing out down here, Joe.

Give me a hand, will ya?

Hank, Joe B.!

You boys planning on a stag party here tonight?

We got women inside.

This ain't no party, bub.

This here is Mr. Jonathan Draeger.

Pleasure to meet you both.

He's the whole works, bub. He's the president.

Not just Oregon.

The whole damn freakin' union.

Yeah, I think I know that, Floyd.

Boy, you sure picked one hell of a night

for a moonlight cruise.

Yeah, it is that.

I was working over in Portland today.

And I thought I might stop by

and chat for a few minutes before we left.

OK. Go ahead.

Well, is it asking too much of an old buddy

if we get in out of the rain?

Come on.

No sense in tracking all of this water

into the house, Floyd. We can talk out here.

Henry, it's Jonathan Draeger.

How are you?

How you do, sir?

Viv, bring out a couple of six-packs

of cold ones, will ya?

Oh, boy.

This weather up here really plays hell

with my athlete's foot.

Seems like any time I come up to Oregon,

it just crawls right up to my privates.

Yeah. Well, I hope the trip will be worth it.

Could we cut the fun and games and get to the point?

Well, you got to think I'm kind of arrogant

to barge in here to plug up the holes, Hank.

Is it all right if I call you Hank?

What do you think, Henry?

It's OK by me.

He's the boss.

Well, I was just wondering if maybe you can hold on

to everything you've got now and then sell it all later on.

Sell it to somebody else maybe.

Sure.

Sure. We'll tell the O'Connel Company

to go screw themselves.

I guess that gives us the privilege

of selling our logs to somebody else.

I get you.

Well then?

Well then what?

Can't do that, Floyd.

By God, you've got to do it.

Look, we got a contract, Mr. Draeger.

How do you handle that? I mean, that's our word.

Shouldn't have gave your word.

No, thanks. Listen, I know.

We've got nothing against you independents.

We're not out to put the family operations

out of business.

Thanks.

That clears that up.

I mean, they're your friends and neighbors.

Don't you think you owe 'em something?

That depends on what they'd owe us

if they were on the other end.

Oh, come on now. You know what I'm talking about.

See, I don't think I do know

what you're talking about.

You come on pretty folksy with that athlete's foot

and those first names and everything.

Why don't we cut through that crap and get straight on it?

That suits me fine. But what am I going to tell you?

You got a town full of people here who are hurting.

Now somebody is going to have to give up something

somewhere along the line. Don't you agree?

Henry, you answer that.

Well, now,

it just so happens, see,

we get ourselves up at 4:30 every morning,

go out and chop wood.

It's every morning but Sunday for sure.

And Saturday maybe.

We've been doing that

for a hell of a lot of years with no stink.

So when you or Floyd here

or General Motors or some Commie-pinko

or my hound dog tells us

we're not going to get up at 4:30, I tell you--

you haven't got a whisper

of a bare-ass clue what the hell this family's all about.

Not a whisper.

Nothing.

Well, that's just about as clear a statement

of 1 9th-century philosophy as I've ever heard.

Fine. Give us a look at the 20th.

Your slots and compartments you stash people away in.

You gonna tell us when to stop cutting

and when to start cutting. and who to sell to,

and pat our little bottoms

and tell us what good little boys we are.

Well, not yet, bub. Not yet you don't.

I'm only asking you to hang onto the logs you already have.

Let me tell you something. Might gladden your heart

and dry up your athlete's foot overnight.

We might not make that deadline.

We got three weeks of the worst logging coming up.

And we're liable to fall short. But let me tell you something.

We are going to bust our humps trying.

I'm really sorry you feel that way.

Every time you open up a paper these days,

you read about violence.

It's almost as if nothing gets done anymore without it.

So, if these people here--

Wait a minute.

I think we're down to the gritty, Henry.

If you're talking threats,

I think you can make them plainer than that.

Just what kind of violence do you have in mind?

I'm just pointing out the facts, that's all.

Your friends and neighbors here,

they say you're strike breaking.

You say, you're bound to honor your word.

So that's the way it stands.

Well, I only speak for the union.

We have no jurisdiction over family operations.

So the union's out of it from now on.

It's between you people.

Whatever happens from here on out, the union's out of it.

I'm glad to have met you, Mr. Stamper.

My father was a good friend of your father

many long years ago.

Ah. What was his name?

Til Draeger.

Never heard of him.

Thanks for your hospitality.

Goodnight.

Well...

Hmm?

Yeah, we better get back to work on that, Joe.

Tide'll be coming in like hell tonight.

Oh, it's always coming in like hell.