The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday 1976

In Serendipity, Colorado, on the eve of the 1908 presidential election, Sam Longwood, a weathered frontiersman whose best days are behind him, finally locates his former business partner, Jack Colby. Colby vanished with all the gold from a mine they prospected and, even more heartbreakingly, with the woman Sam loves, Nancy Sue.

Sam, alongside his two partners—Joe Knox, an Indian companion, and Billy—meets a young prostitute nicknamed Thursday who joins their uneasy expedition. The trio’s plan to secure money leads them to kidnap Nancy Sue, hoping for a ransom, but Colby has no desire to reclaim her. After Sam and Thursday share a night together, he finds himself drawn to her, while Thursday grows fond of him in return.

The group sends Thursday into town to procure supplies and to ply her trade, hoping to raise funds. In town, she charms a man who invites her to his hotel room. They settle on a price, but the man is pulled away; left alone, Thursday rummages through his belongings and discovers that the man is Jack Colby. She pockets his money, leaving an IOU signed in Nancy Sue’s name. The next morning, she returns with the supplies and horses to the gang’s hideout.

The gang then infiltrates a prize fight being promoted by Colby and hatches a plan to recover their money by stealing all the box office proceeds. As they flee town with the box office wagon and the cash, Colby and his crew give chase. Thursday’s madam, Mike, pursues as well, convinced that Thursday is her property.

Eventually the outlaws are captured by Colby and his men, and Thursday surrenders to avoid a return to prostitution. Sam, Joe, and Billy are freed, but Sam feels deep guilt for abandoning Thursday and realizing his growing feelings for her. The gang turns back to rescue her, and a bargain is struck: a boxing match will determine who keeps the stolen money, and the winner will reclaim Thursday. The film culminates in that tense confrontation, with Sam winning not only the potential cash but the chance to rebuild the bond with Thursday.