Question: In the scene where they cross the bridge with the train, and Allison French is being held by those two guys with a rope around her neck, so that if they would shoot the guys, the horse would run off and break her neck, suffocate her or whatever... They were with 4 against 2, so why didn't one of 'em just shoot that horse?
Question: Something I've always wondered about trains in the old west on these unfinished railroads, and this movie brought it to my attention again. It shows the track still being built, and it's a single track for one train, no second track along side it. That being said, before the track was finished there is a train going down it one way at the beginning of the movie with passengers. When the train is taken over and forced to steam ahead out of control, it goes off the end of the track and crashes. Well if this hadn't happened, how would the train have gotten back? It is a one way train, on an incomplete track and stopping at a station to drop of passengers and supplies. How would the train have turned around to go the other way again?
Answer: There are stations in between the ends of the line that allow the train to unload passengers, unload cargo, hitch new cars, and turn to go in the opposite direction.
Question: Who dragged Richard Boone into the cabin after Paul Newman shot him? Mrs. Favor? Was she in on it?
Answer: Mrs Favor.
Question: When Ranse confronts Liberty and reaches for the dropped gun, there appears to be something written at Ranse's feet in the dirt. What is it?
Answer: At first glance, it looks like the word "LEFT" in large, widely-spaced lettering. It's very unlikely that this would be a blocking cue, telling Jimmy Stewart to move left (which he does from that point). That's not the way blocking cues are done, for one thing, and a seasoned actor such as Jimmy Stewart wouldn't need such a cue. It's also very unlikely that it's a warning message from John Wayne who is hiding in an alley across the street, on Stewart's right. John Wayne didn't want anyone to know that he actually killed Valance, so he wouldn't alert Jimmy Stewart with any messages scrawled in the street. All hypothesis aside, it's probably just footprints in the dirt, an illusion of light and shadow.
Question: Francisco 'Pancho' Villa was photographed on many occasions, and always had a full head of hair (as well as a moustache). Yet the film cast Telly Savalas as Pancho Villa, who shaved his head, and was always very proud of and conscious of being a Greek-American. The year after Pancho Villa was released Telly Savalas began to play the titular character of the police drama series, 'Kojak', which transformed him into the world's most recognisable Greek. So, my question is, given a film about Pancho Villa was made in Spain, where the producer and director had an unlimited number of actors of Hispanic ancestry to call on, why cast one of the world's most famous bald, Greek actors (sporting an unconvincing moustache) to play the hirsute Mexican Pancho Villa?
Answer: Hollywood, especially in that era, frequently would cast white actors to play people of color The studio knew Savalas would bring in a lot of viewers, while an unknown from Spain might not.
Question: When the train is put into reverse, Bronson and the major jump off. The Indians get into the box car then the train stops. Who stopped it?
Answer: Ben Johnson and Charles During. Their characters had guns pointed at them, they stopped the train suddenly to knock them off balance. As soon as Bronson and the Major jumped off the train, Johnson and During took control of the engine.
Question: What happened to Doc's girlfriend from the first film? She risked her life to be with him at the end of Young Guns, so its a little odd that there's no mention of her in this film.
Answer: Doc says in the movie he is married with kids. So you have to assume he married her.
Question: This movie takes place around 10 years after the show and was filmed around 12 years after the show ended. Why then do so many of the characters look like they have aged 20 years in that time? I understand a hard lifestyle can age a person, but could it be that drastic?
Answer: The actors are over a decade older, and older people age at an increasingly faster rate than when they were young. The film may also have been been filmed differently opposed to how the TV series was made. Different technology and types of film produce variations in color, shadowing, sharpness of detail, etc. that may show the actors' physical features in higher definition. Different make-up and lighting can also change the actors' appearances. This may or may not have been a deliberate choice, but it's the result. If the movie was intended for theatrical release (possibly for overseas markets) and not only to be aired on TV, it would have higher-quality production.
Question: At the end, who was part of the travelling circus that Mattie didn't like?
Answer: It was Frank James, brother of Jesse. He didn't stand up as she approached. She was offended by his lack of manners.
Answer: Rooster Cogburn. She considered him a legendary lawman, like Wyatt Earp. She felt bad that he was reduced to being a sideshow attraction in a circus.
Question: The Missouri Breaks starred Jack Nicholson (as Tom Logan, a rustler) and Marlon Brando (as Robert E Lee Clayton, a "regulator" tasked with eliminating him). Yet they never appear together. Brando is absent from over half the scenes featuring Nicholson, and vice-versa. When they do meet, there is a close up of Nicholson speaking to Brando, followed by a close up of Brando replying to Nicholson, and so on. Why do Nicholson and Brando never appear on screen together?
Answer: At this point, Brando used cue cards for his dialogue and liked to improvise lines. Nicholson found this difficult and distracting because Brando continually shifted his gaze to the cue card behind the cameraman and went off script. Although Nicholson said Brando was exceedingly cooperative and "gentle as a lamb" on the set, the two actors took an instant dislike to one another. Each actor was filmed separately while reciting their lines.
Answer: There's no explanation. It could be that no one thought of this. Also, even if they shot the horse, the girl could still be injured or killed. If the horse was only wounded, it could have bolted, reared up, or fallen and then rolled on top of the girl. There's many different scenarios that could have played out.
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