The Great Silence (1968)

Frank Wolff: Sheriff Gideon Burnett

Photos 

Quotes 

• Sheriff Burnett : What do you want?

  Walter, Leader of the Outlaws : We just want that horse of yours.

  Sheriff Burnett : You want my horse, there's an awful lot of ya. What are you gonna do with just one horse, anyhow?

  Walter, Leader of the Outlaws : Eat it. We're gonna feed off that beast for at least a week.

• Sheriff Burnett : Hey, you. That's no way to transport the dead. Against regulations. I'm Gideon Burnett, the new sheriff of Snow Hill.

  Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : I gathered, from your star. I thought you sold horse meat. But with that on, you look more like a sheriff who sells horse meat.

• Sheriff Burnett : You ain't by some chance one of them no-good bounty hunters, are ya?

  [Silence doesn't respond] 

  Sheriff Burnett : I asked you a question, so answer. I'm a sheriff. Well? Where you come from? How long you intend to stay?

  [annoyed] 

  Sheriff Burnett : If you think you're bein' smart, just watch yourself. Now then, stranger, let's have it...

  [grabs him by the arm] 

  Pauline : He can't answer, sheriff. He's a mute.

  Sheriff Burnett : [turns to Silence, embarrased]  Well... I'll be. At least you coulda told me. I mean... you coulda let me know, ya know what I mean?

• Sheriff Burnett : Tell me something, old-timer. Are we within the jurisdiction of Snow Hill County?

  Coachman : Yep. You can arrest or hang anyone you want.

• [Loco is aiming a rifle at the sheriff as he stands on a frozen lake] 

  Sheriff Burnett : Loco! Now listen: killing a sheriff will cost you plenty. If I were you, I'd think it over!

  Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : Uh-uh, I don't need to. You're on the side of the law. We, we're on the side of the law of survival... survival of the fittest!

  [shoots part of the frozen lake, the sheriff screams as he falls in] 

• Regina : A hard-working man like you should be served by a lady like me.

  Sheriff Burnett : Yeah, I guess.

  [drinks] 

  Sheriff Burnett : Pretty good coffee... but it'd taste a lot nicer if you'd come on over, and pour it for me... regularly.

  Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : That's a big request, sheriff. She waits on the whole west territory of the U.S. and Mexico.

  [giggles as Regina leaves in anger] 

  Sheriff Burnett : I'll teach you to talk to a lady like that!

  [punches the bars of Loco's cell, hurting his hand] 

  Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : Oh, I'm sorry. I hope you didn't hurt yourself.

• [Burnett, Loco and Silence are riding the stagecoach to Snow Hill] 

  Sheriff Burnett : [referring to Loco's wanted posters and the corpses on top of the stage]  Hey, which are they? According to these posters, there ought to be four. Who are the two on top?

  Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : The second and the third... there's another one, waiting to be buried, soon as I've been paid.

  Sheriff Burnett : You know what it says here? "Dead or Alive"... I'll lay a bet you never take 'em alive.

  Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : Those are dangerous men, Sheriff. They're enemies of God and Man. The things they preach... what if one had his say in court and got acquitted? They'd be all be using the courts to spread, whatchamacallit. Nah, it's our patriotic duty to exterminate 'em.

• Governor : This manhunt is inhuman. An amnesty will end it, if that's what the voters should decide on. The old West is finished. We must learn to live with people of all races and persuasions, and unite to make a new West.

  [to his advisers] 

  Governor : Yes, use that in my next speech.

  Sheriff Burnett : [jokingly]  Yeah, a politician would promise amnesty to the murderer of his own father to win an election!

  Governor : [annoyed]  Do you infer that I do, sheriff? What do you mean, sir?

  Sheriff Burnett : [sheepishly]  N-Nothin'. Excuse me, governor. I was just thinking out loud.

  Governor : Thinking is not your business.

  Sheriff Burnett : Yes, governor, you're absolutely right, sir.

  Governor : Now, get out there, and do your job.

  Sheriff Burnett : Yessir, yessir!

• Sheriff Burnett : Set a wagon outside of town and put as much food on it as you can spare. If they eat, they'll behave. And you women, all of you, stay inside. Understand? Now let's get moving. C'mon.

  Pollicut : Fill a wagon. So now, these bandits gotta be fought with bread and butter. When are we gonna see some law and common sense in this town?

  Regina : When somebody hangs you.

• Sheriff Burnett : Listen to me, friends. Be patient. There'll be an amnesty soon, and you can all go home, so best leave Loco to the law. I guarantee ya', there's food for all of ya' at Snow Hill so go there, and feed yourselves. But take my advice: In the future, go easy on the horse meat; it's not all as tender as mine.

• Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : Can't a man provide for his old age?

  Sheriff Burnett : I don't think you're gonna make it.

• Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : It's all according to the law, you should know.

  Pollicut : Yes. You see sheriff, since our friend here has to have, er... irrefutable proof of identity, as the law requires, he, ah, shows the bodies and the reward posters when he collects. It's all quite precise.

  Sheriff Burnett : Correct, huh? But, er... what's your interest in this? You're just a banker, and all you gotta do is advance me the money to pay off this man.

  Pollicut : Oh, true, true, of course, but aside from my small percentage, all cash is required to change hands in my presence... to make sure the bounty killer has been honest. The law is quite precise, sheriff.

  Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : In this town, as in the whole United States, the law's the important thing. Am I right?

  Sheriff Burnett : All right! Pay him off and get rid of him.

• Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : [after hauling bodies onto a stagecoach]  What's wrong, sheriff? Why can't a man provide for his old age?

  Sheriff Burnett : I don't think you're gonna make it. Sooner or later, you're gonna meet up with someone faster than you.

  Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : Well, that'll be an amusing day. Mighty!

• Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : Hey, Pull up here!

  Stage driver : Whoa. What's the matter?

  Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : I've got another piece of freight to collect.

  [Trudges through snow to collect another bounty killing.] 

  Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco : Give me a hand and I'll buy you another drink.

  Sheriff Burnett : [Whispers to Silence]  How many has he got?