Recap / Dallas The Early Years

Dallas: The Early Years

At the Ewing Oil offices, J.R. is recounting the history of his family to a reporter. He tells the man about the reasons that led to his father, Jock, marrying Miss Ellie and wonders where he would be if Jock hadn't befriended Digger Barnes.

He concludes by claiming that he's not sure how much there is to tell...

In 1951, Digger Barnes is driving his vehicle erratically through a meadow when he swerves and flips the car over. At the same time, the annual Southfork Barbecue is taking place. Digger clambers out of the vehicle and continues to make his way towards the event, while Jock Ewing and Miss Ellie entertain guests and play with their children. Ellie calls out to "Junior", who sneaks off to the barn to start kissing a woman and reveals his nickname to be "J.R."

Digger reaches the event and brandishes a handgun, then starts walking through the crowd. One of the maids notices what's happening and alerts Ellie, who runs to stop him. Digger sees Jock standing on an awning, and aims the gun at him. Just as Ellie catches up and Jock curses, Digger fires the weapon...

In a flashback to 1933, Digger is staring at a group of trucks when he's interrupted by Ellie, who drives up and admonishes him for not being ready for an event. It's established that they're in a relationship, and Ellie explains that her father has offered a parcel of land to Digger in the event that he passes away. She then points out that everyone is hurting because of the Great Depression, but that her father has no intention of drilling on Southfork Ranch, the property he owns.

At a dance that night at Southfork, Ellie and Digger go dancing. While she's distracted for a moment, Digger slinks away and starts searching for alcohol. He eventualy climbs up on a dresser in an attempt to reach a bottle, but he falls and the furniture collapses on him. He sheepishly runs out and hides, and when Ellie comes to ask if he's alright, he admits that he loves her. She doesn't understand what he's talking about and leaves while Digger sulks in a nearby bathroom.

Digger sneaks into her bedroom in the middle of the night and attempts to seduce her, but collapses because he's so drunk. Despite his overtures, she tells him that he should go home and that they're too young to be in love. He tries to take advantage of her and she resists, but they're interrupted by her brother, Garrison, who enters the room and sees what's happening. Digger flees out of the bedroom window while Ellie restrains her brother. Digger then falls off the roof of the house and suffers a sprained wrist, while her father, Aaron, laments how quickly his children are growing up...

The next day, Ellie goes horse-riding with her father and agrees to tell Digger that he will get a piece of Southfork so that he can start drilling oil as an independent. However, when she goes to his house, she discovers that he's run away in shame.

Back in the "present day" of 1951, Digger misses his shot and the crowd goes into a panic. Jock runs downstairs and he, Ellie and J.R. confront the alcoholic, and Ellie steps in front to calm him down. Digger drops the gun and Jack tells a group to take him inside the house. Inside, Jock sits by the unconscious man and asks why he picked that day to come after him...

In 1933, Digger is stowing away on a boxcar train with a group of other people. Jock is also in the car, and watches as a man eyes Digger's injury. When the man tries to steal from and assault Digger, Jock intervenes and beats the man down, then returns the stolen belongings. Digger thanks him for his help and they strike up a friendship.

When the train reaches a station in North Central Texas, Jock tells Digger that he's getting off there to find his brother and look for work in the oil fields, and the latter asks to come along. They get off the train and stumble into the middle of a land dispute between homeowners and the local oil company, and Jock finds his brother Jason. The trio heads outside and meets with the head of the company, who tells them that he plans to start drilling in the middle of town the next day and they can work for him if they want. Digger looks at the ground and informs the others that there's no oil, and that he can "sense" it. The oilman asks them to think about it before going back inside to talk to the landowners.

Several weeks pass. At Southfork, Ellie discovers that a drought has resulted in most of the cattle dying. As she attempts to bring a dying calf back to the barn, Aaron appears and tells her not to cry. At the same time, the oil company completes their work in the nearby town and the owner thanks Jock, Digger and Jason for their help. He admits that they didn't find anything and that Digger was right before he leaves.

The trio heads east to another town and picks up work with another oil company, while Jock goes to make a personal visit to someone. When Digger asks Jason where they're going, the latter says that Jock is going to visit his wife Amanda, who is in a sanitarium because of a mental illness. Inside the building, Jock talks with her as she flits in and out of lucidity. He promises to look after her before he leaves.

As they drive back to town, their car breaks down and they get out to fix it. Digger starts wandering around their location and realizes that the land is rich with oil because it can't support crops or greenery. Jock goes to a nearby farm and meets the Porter family, who work as sharecroppers. They inform him that a man named Newman owns the land in the local area after they inquire, and they head back into town to find him. After a day of looking for him, Jason says that they wouldn't be able to do business with Newman anyway because he deals with the larger oil companies, but Jock claims that he might have a solution.

They go back to the Foster farm and realize that Newman's contract has a loophole that can be exploited so that they can drill and reap profits. They convince the father, Seth, to help them, and Jason agrees to bring in a funding source who can help them start drilling. In addition, Digger borrows $100 from Jason and wins big on a bet at the local bar, although he later loses his money when he tells a waitress he spends the night with to take it all while inebriated. The next morning, Jock comes to blows with Digger after confronting him with his failings. The situation eventually escalates into a Bar Brawl between the duo and Jason, and they end up being thrown out by the management.

Jason's contact, Ed Porter, arrives by train and the trio meet with the sharecroppers to discuss drilling. Despite the tenant's concerns, Porter and Jock convince them to fight for their land and their share of profit by allowing the group to drill on their land. Seth stands up and supports them, and the rest of the group agrees to start drilling. At the same time at Southfork, Aaron agrees to put an oil well on the property and start drilling to make up the lost revenue after losing his cattle.

The first oil well is setup on Foster's farm, and although Newman attempts to stop them, his legal threats are disregarded and the group starts digging. As they continue their efforts, Aaron and Ellie find that the well they were drilling isn't producing.

Just as when it seems that the well on the Foster farm isn't producing, they suddenly discover a large pocket of oil that erupts as everyone runs for cover. The group rejoices and Newman is made to be a laughing stock for criticizing the well. Later, everyone celebrates as Porter tells them that they can share royalties and sign a community agreement.

The next day, Jock is overjoyed with the perks he gets in town for striking it rich, but he's soon pulled aside by the woman who was with Digger a couple weeks earlier at the bar, who tells him that she's learned that Jason is supporting Newman, who plans to teach the sharecroppers a lesson at the meeting the following night. Jock meets with Porter afterwards and arranges to have the meeting spot moved to a nearby field for the safety of the sharecroppers.

The sharecroppers meet that night, but are besieged by a group of white supremacists wielding torches. Jock thinks up a plan to get the sharecroppers away from the area safely by staying together and having him and Digger go out first in a show of arms. As they leave, one of the supremacists drops his torch and lights himself on fire, revealing himself to be Newman. The well blows up as a result of the fire and everyone is forced to flee the immediate area.

As the inferno burns, Jock calls Jason out for ruining everything. Jason is forced to leave town in disgrace as a result and awkwardly tries to justify his stance before driving off with his newlywed wife. Just after he leaves, a representative from another oil company greets Jock and Digger and lets them know that they'll agree to buy the leases and pay out the tenants directly if the duo agrees. They affirm their interest, and say goodbye to Seth Foster and his family before getting the money for the leases and heading back towards Southfork. Along the way, they scope out the site for a new oil well.

Ellie is still at Southfork and tells her sister that Digger's coming back home. When he arrives, Aaron congratulates him for his success and Ellie warmly hugs him. Jock also becomes smitten by Ellie and smiles at her several times when she looks at him.

That night after dinner and a conversation about how Southfork will need to be sold off in order to pay the Southworth's debts, Ellie and Digger go walking. She reminds him about the night he left and how he attempted to seduce her, and indicates that he needs to "finish what he started". Despite this, Digger passes out because of how drunk he is. As Ellie tries to rouse him, she's interrupted by Jock, who apologizes for his friend's behavior and throws him over his shoulder while making insults about her virtue. Ellie follows and rages at him, while Jock says he'll let Digger know her thoughts when he wakes up. Jock insults Ellie just before driving off with him.

Jock brings Digger back home and attempts to sober him up while pouring out his alcohol. After telling him that he wants to help him, Jock says that he'd better not screw up or else he'll take Ellie for himself.

The next day, Digger finds Jock and Porter having breakfast and rages at him for tossing out his whiskey. Jock gives Digger a blistering speech about his anger when he's drunk and how he should take his shot with Ellie, but Digger refuses to listen and says he doesn't want to be partners anymore. Despite Jock's attempts to calm him down, Digger pulls out a coin and wagers a bet on who should give the other their shares in the company they built. Jock calls heads and wins, causing Digger to lose his shares in the company. Digger storms out in a rage to find more alcohol. After he leaves, Porter's wife realizes that Jock was betting just as much for Ellie as he was for Digger's shares of the company.

Ellie goes to Jock's hotel room later and attempts to rouse him from his sleep, but quickly discovers that he's drunk. Jock walks in soon after and insults her virtue, and she slaps him in response before storming off. When she arrives back home, however, she learns that her father collapsed from a heart attack and has to be transferred to the hospital. She promises him that everything will be alright.

Jock is shaving in his hotel room when he gets a knock at the door and opens it to find Ellie, who he lets in. She apologizes for hitting him and he attempts to tell her to go, and insults her virtue again. She attempts to hit him, but eventually breaks down crying and admits that she doesn't know what to do anymore. He kisses her in response and they consummate their feelings towards each other. Ellie smiles at him afterwards and they kiss again.

At the hospital, Ellie visits her father, who tells her that he isn't sure about her proposed plan of marrying Digger so she'll get the money to save Southfork from going bankrupt. She tells him that she has no interest in Digger anymore, and intends to stay with Jock. Despite his uncertainty, she reassures him that everything will be fine and that she has a plan...

Ellie meets Jock at the oil wells later that night and tells him that she's pregnant with his child. He reacts in shock while she tells him that they'll have to get married. He responds that she's being silly. She slaps him several times before storming off. The next day, Jock goes back to the sanitarium and sees Amanda again. As she stares out into the distance, he tells her that he'll need to get a divorce from her, but she doesn't respond. Jock tells her in sadness that even though he still loves her, she'll never get better and he needs to go with Ellie for his future.

Jock goes back to Southfork and agrees to marry Ellie, who smiles after realizing her plan worked. As they kiss, Digger is wandering around a random field drinking in despair...

18 years later, Jock and Aaron arrive at one of their wells to find Digger roaming around and insulting them. They greet each other awkwardly and Jock says that they still want to give him a small piece of Southfork for him to drill on. Digger refuses their charity and asks them to pay him out and abdicate the rights to the land. Jock agrees and buys the deed back from Digger while telling him he's hopeless...

Back at the barbecue, Jock covers Digger up with a blanket and goes back outside, where he reassures Ellie that everything's going to be alright. Digger eventually wakes up and leaves the house, wandering over to the piece of land he gave up. He realizes that it's untapped and starts crying and screaming in response...

Tropes:

• Always a Bigger Fish: Jock shows up out of nowhere to rescue Digger, who's been mugged (while sleeping) on a train car.
• Anachronism Stew: During the Armistice Day party scene, a band member can be seen playing a black electric bass guitar. The electric guitar was in its infancy in the time period where the film takes place (1951), and there were never black bass guitars produced at this point (they were all cream-colored or sunburst). Nor were they played in the fashion that is shown in this film (horizontal instead of upright).
• Babies Make Everything Better: Defied; Ellie uses the threat of being pregnant to coerce Jock to marry her just a day or so after she consummates her relationship with him.
• Bar Brawl: Happens several times throughout the film, including when Jock and Jason come to blows.
• Big Fancy House: Southfork itself, which looks far different than its incarnation in the original series.
• Bridal Carry:
  • Ellie's father carries her in this fashion after she falls asleep on the stairs at Southfork.
  • This is also averted by Jason, who (despite marrying his wife) doesn't pick her up while escorting her to a nearby hotel room.
• But Now I Must Go: Jock, when telling Amanda that he has to marry Ellie.
• The Cameo: Larry Hagman appears in the opening, as part of the Framing Device for the film.
• The Cavalry: Jock rescues Digger while the latter is being assaulted by a thief in a boxcar.
• Can't Get Away with Nuthin':
  • Digger's attempt to seduce Ellie is interrupted when her brother walks in and sees what's happening.
  • The younger J.R.'s conquest of a woman who offers to give him "lessons" is thwarted when Digger tries to shoot Jock and the barbecue goes into chaos.
  • When Ellie attempts to kiss Digger after the latter returns home with Jock, she's interrupted by the latter, who tells them that her father knows what they were doing and asked him to take Digger home. Ellie is not amused.
• Continuity Snarl:
  • Dialogue during the tenth season states that Jock, Digger and Jason founded Ewing Oil in 1930 and Jock gained sole control of the company in 1932, before he met Ellie. In the film, Jock and Digger don't even meet for the first time until 1933.
  • The ending indicates that Pam Barnes and Bobby Ewing knew each other ever since they were kids, while the original series' pilot episode indicated that Pam and Bobby only met in the first place because he and Ray encountered her in a bar near the ranch.
• Drives Like Crazy: Digger, to the point that it becomes a Running Gag. He wrecks one vehicle just before getting to the barbecue in 1951, and is said to have wrecked another off-screen in 1933.
• Chekhov's Gun: Digger's hand injury (suffered when he tries to seduce Ellie) comes back into play when he tries to shoot Jock 18 years later. Due to the fact that his wrist never properly healed, his aim is weak and barely misses Jock.
• Curse Cut Short: During the 1951 flashback scene, when Digger goes to fire his weapon, Jock yells "Stupid son of a-"
• Drives Like Crazy: A defining character trait of Digger.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Digger does it multiple times throughout the film.
• Failed a Spot Check: Somehow, Ellie misses her sister's boyfriend standing right in front of her as she looks in a closet for clothes to wear before meeting Digger and celebrating his success drilling oil wells.
• Foreshadowing: Jock catches the bouquet that Jason throws after his wedding.
• Framing Device: J.R. appears at the beginning of the film, and the history and plot shown throughout the film is framed as a tale he's telling to a reporter during the ninth season. (The movie aired between the 26th and 27th episodes of the season.)
• Gilligan Cut: The film cuts from Jock and Digger celebrating their discovery of oil on the Foster property to Ellie watching in sadness as the last remnants of the drilling crew on Southfork drive off.
• Go Mad from the Revelation: Digger loses it at the end when he realizes the piece of Southfork he sold to Jock for $1,000 is untapped and rich with oil. He starts laughing maniacally and yelling in response.
• How We Got Here: The movie largely explains how Jock and Digger's friendship was functionally ruined, and how Jock met Ellie and gave rise to the Ewing dynasty.
• Humiliation Conga: Ellie gets this near the end of the film, when she sees Digger get drunk and spurn her advances, Jock insult her virtue and her father collapse from a non-fatal heart attack in short order.
• Idiot Ball: Upon showing up at Southfork after several months away, Digger torpedoes his reputation in the eyes of the Southworth family by first admitting to crashing a new car he bought (attempting to outrace a train), falling asleep due to drunkenness when Ellie tries to have a heart-to-heart talk with him, and impulsively gambling his oil well shares away on a coin flip with Jock (even losing Ellie, to boot).
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Said verbatim by Digger after Jock pours out the former's supply of whiskey.
• Karma Houdini: Jason gets away scot-free for his actions despite supporting Newman and the supremacists.
• Lets Wait Awhile: Ellie initially holds this attitude, especially after Digger attempts to seduce her in her bedroom. This is eventually subverted when she realizes she needs to save Southfork, and seduces Jock by just going for it.
• Loophole Abuse: Jock and Digger set up their first drilling operation on the Foster land by exploiting a loophole in the contract the family had with Newman (the property manager).
• Manly Tears: Digger cries the first time Ellie rejects his attempts to seduce her.
• Morality Pet: Jock appears to consider Amanda as this, given how he goes out of his way to make semi-frequent visits to see her in a sanitarium (where it's revealed that she's suffering from mental illness and clearly not in control of her mental faculties). Towards the end of the film, he visits her one more time to give her the news that he's going to marry Ellie, even rationalizing it in the process.
• Nature Adores a Virgin: Ellie. Notably, Jock is supportive of Digger's relationship with her and attempts to get him to sober up so he seal the deal, but eventually realizes the man is so drunk that he'll never do anything, so he takes Ellie for himself.
• Never My Fault: Digger, who can't take responsibility for his problems. It isn't until he discovers that his unclaimed tract of Southfork is producing oil that he realizes how badly he screwed up.
• Oh, Crap!: Everyone in Jock's group gets this once they realize that there's oil underneath the Foster farm.
• Old Maid: Ellie practically throws herself at Digger to get him to marry her because she's fearful about growing older and not being married. When she enacts her plan to marry Jock, her family congratulates her on finally landing a man.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Jock gives Digger an epic one after seeing the latter tell a waitress he spent the night with to take all his money, while being drunk, no less.
• Shipper on Deck: Jock initially appears to be rooting for Digger to take the next step in his relationship with Ellie, even going so far as to carry his drunken form back to the apartment they're renting and attempt to sober him up. However, once it becomes clear that Digger is so far gone that he's willing to lose his own oil shares (and a prospective romance), Jock more-or-less disregards this viewpoint.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: Ellie is angered at Jock's treatment of her and Digger, and slaps him across the face after he walks in on her trying to wake Digger up (who is drunk and out cold). The next time she goes to see him, she tries to slap him again, but they both end up kissing each other.
• Spotting the Thread: Digger figures out that one tract of land is rich with oil after he realizes that no crops or greenery are growing on the land. As it turns out, he's absolutely right.
• The Stinger: As members of the Barnes family leave the Armistice Day party at the end of the film, they drag away Pamela Barnes... who waves and says goodbye to a young Bobby Ewing, who gets sad as she leaves.
• Suspiciously Apropos Music: The song Amanda is singing when Jock visits her for the last (and, in his mind, the final) time has lyrics directly relevant to his moral conundrum, such as "Don't come back, I won't cry" and "The minutes pass into hours, the hours pass into years."
• Virginity Makes You Stupid: It's implied that Ellie is (initially) this, as she doesn't understand what Digger is doing until he's right in her bed trying to get her clothes off, and even then, she remarks that he's just being silly.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Jock calls out Jason after Newman and the supremacists cause the fire that burns down the oil field in Pride.
• Whole Episode Flashback: To the start of the feud between Jock Ewing and Digger Barnes.

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