Daily Dialogue — January 21, 2015

Mad Dog Tannen and his gang tow Marty McFly through the town at the end of a rope, ending at the new court house construction.

TANNEN: We got ourselves a new court house. High time we had a hangin’.

Tannen wraps the rope around Marty’s neck and Marty is hauled skyward. A moment later, Doc Brown steps into the scene, takes aim and shoots the rope holding Marty. Doc cocks the rifle again and aims it directly at Tannen.

DOC: I’ll shoot the fleas off a dog’s back at 500 yards, Tannen. Have it pointed straight at your head.

Tanner motions for his gang to back down.

TANNEN: You owe me money, blacksmith.
DOC: How do you figure?
TANNEN: My horse threw a shoe. Seein’ as you was the one that done the shoe-in’ I say that makes you responsible.
DOC: Well, since you never paid me for the job I say that makes us even.
TANNEN: Wrong! See, I was on my horse when it threw the shoe and I got throwed off. That caused me to bust a perfectly good bottle of fine Kentucky Red Eye. So, the way I figure it, blacksmith, you owe me five dollars for the whisky and seventy-five dollars for the horse.
Marty: That’s the eighty dollars!
DOC: Look, if your horse threw a shoe bring him back and I’ll re-shoe him.
TANNEN: I done shot that horse!
DOC: Well, that’s your problem, Tannen!
TANNEN: Wrong, that’s your’s. So, from now on, you better be looking’ behind you when you walk, ’cause one day you’re gonna get a bullet in your back.

Tanner and his gang ride out of town.

— Back to the Future III (1990), screenplay by Bob Gale, story by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale, characters by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Threat. Today’s suggestion by Will King.

Trivia: The town was in Jamestown, California, and was, in an eerily fitting way, destroyed by lightning in 1996.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Will: “Doc steps out of his generally goofy persona and stands up to the town bully in order to save Marty, complete with a gun that makes a Kentucky long rifle jealous.”

If you have a suggestion for this week’s theme, please post in comments.

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