From his perspective, Charles"" vision blurs as he reels and swoons dizzyingly in front of her.While holding onto her leg and fiddling with her shoe strap, he explains how he is a snake-enthusiast and an ale heir:It""s funny to be even here at your feet talking about beer? You see, I don""t like beer, bock beer, lager beer, or steam beer.[Note: Dreiser based his story upon the sensational Chester Gillette and Grace Brown 1906 murder case in the state of New York.[A reel is approximately ten to twelve minutes in length.] Although Von Stroheim cut the film down to about 24 reels (a four-hour version), Stroheim""s own director/friend Rex Ingram cut the film further to between 15 and 18 reels (a three-hour version).They reunited at a five-and-dime Woolworth""s Store in the fictional own of McCarthy, TX (about 60 miles from Marfa).H.Harriman], the mercenary organizer of the bounty hunters, with heir appointed leader Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan), Pike""s former partner.