Ben Johnson was a family friend and an extra "uncle" to my brother and I. In many, many ways, Ben pretty much played himself in almost every movie he was in. As he said, more than once, "There are hundreds of actors in Hollywood who are better actors than me, but nobody plays Ben Johnson better than me".

No yelling or shouting, his solemnity coveys effortlessly. A poignant performance.

I love the the way Ben dresses down these punks.. "I've been around that trashy behavior all my life". One of the great lines of all time. This town might of had a sheriff, but Sam The Lion was it's heart and soul. No wonder the town was so busted-up when he died. Great movie, great performances.

I loved everyone and everything in this movie but Ben Johnson was hands down the best thing in it.

This reminds me of my grandpa. He ran a pool hall in winnsboro,tx in these days.He had three rules. No Chewing Gum, No Gambling,No Fighting.And he was very well Known! Last of the good Guys..A true Texan my grandpa!

The world has a pitifully short supply of Sam The Lions.

I remember when my own father(who grew up in Texas in a town like that) did something like that to me and my friends when I was 17. I sure learned my lesson and now that I am 67, I still remember this scene and his words.

One of my all time favourite scenes. Great acting.

I always loved Sam's Monologue here.

Very painful scene to watch - he quietly made those boys look about 2 feet high.

Doesn't matter if they do. Speaking as an Oklahoman, Ben Johnson was OURS! And tell Texans to stop quoting Will Rogers, as though he was theirs as well. Lol.

I always envisioned having a sagely, ol' cowboy like Sam the Lion as a neighbor whom I could go to for advice when things weren't working out in the home-- or go fishing by the creek with ... A great man who can elucidate all the troubles I may have been going through in my adolescence. A man who would march up right to school and confront the bully to his face who was giving me a hard time and watch him scurry away nervously as I watched assuredly confident that he damn sure wouldn't pick on me again.And as I got older maybe he would teach me how to drive in his 'ol unpretentious pick-up, then when I turned 21 he'd take me to his pool hall and buy me my first drink as we'd play a game of pool ...

Sam is the man. Decent.

Billy is Bottoms real brother. "He was sweeping"

Sam The Lion is the kind of man I strive to be in my older age. Kind and principled and strong.

Easily one of my all-time favorite movies. The actors had a great story to tell.

I didn't know until recently while researching this movie,that Sunny and Billy meaning Timothy Bottoms and meaning Sam Bottoms were brothers in real life,no wonder why they had such chemersty!

It's no wonder Ben Johnson won an Oscar. He was a great actor.

Such a great scene!

Sam was called the Lion for good reason, he protected his own eloquently and fiercely, nobody but Ben Johnson could've played him better.

I couldn't have said it better myself, Sam.

He didn't get angry or yell, he just cut them to pieces with his words.

I've always loved this movie

Ben Johnson didn't want to do the roll of "SAM THE LION" because of the cursing..Finally he told Peter Bogdanovich if "YOU LET MY PEOPLE WRITE THE SCRIPT WITHOUT THOSE CUSS WORDS...I"LL DO YOUR FILM"..and still he wouldn't allow his family or friends to see the movie..."IF I CAN'T TAKE MY MOTHER TO IT..IT"S NOT SUITABLE'..One of Johnson's relatives said she was 32 years old before she ever saw "THE LAST PICTURE SHOW"..Won him an OSCAR...

If you haven't read the book you should!

Thanks and yes on Alameda. It was the 50s & 60s west coast version of Anarene, Tx.

Such an underrated scene in what is an amazing movie. Ben steals every scene hes in.

When the 'boys' hurt Billy.

this is my favorite movie wth Remains of the day 2nd.

Ain't that the truth

Ben Johnson did not need to fake an accent like some these folks although he was an Okie it was close enough to Texan......

Sam the lion.

That’s is his Oscar winning scene. Leachman’s is the last scene this is Ben’s .

Duane hiding in the backseat.

We reserve the right to refuse service! Back in day this was not always used as a racist act, just as this scene displayed by the business owner. Now it's an illegal act to do so. Progress is often a mixed bag as everyone knows. RIP Larry McMurtry, Thanks for all the great Texas characters and Texas stories. The good and decent, the bad, the outrageous. No one did it better.