What- Hey, wait! Wait!
- May I help you? - Why not?
Who did you wanna see?
I wanna see Lepke. Tell him Reles is here. Abe Reles.
- Is he expecting you? - It won't come as no shock.
- There's a Mr. Reles out here. - This is a high-class place.
What'd you expect, a candy store?
This is, uh-You know, this is another league here.
You know the garment industry? That's a-That's a good front.
Yeah.
- What is it? Men's suits? - Yeah, men's, men's, men's.
Just to be left alone. Is that asking too much, Lep?
To get rid of you. To never see you again.
To forget you took my business. To put it out of my mind that you ruined me.
Is that asking too much, Lep?
'Cause your goons smashed my business...
is this something that I have to spend a life hiding from?
Joe, you talk too much.
Listen, Lep. Listen.
Never- Never will I open my mouth.
I swear. I swear on my children's lives.
What's done, so it's done. I want to wipe it out of my mind.
You know what, Joe?
You should thank your lucky stars I'm so softhearted.
Things could change.
Isn't that a basic fact, Mendy?
Sure.
Now, suppose you take Joe out to the elevator...
and tell him exactly how it could change.
Lep, please? Please? I swear.
I swear on my children, not a word. Not a word.
I- I swear, Lep. Please, have a heart.
Lep, please!
- Mr. Reles? - Yes.
- Sorry to keep you waiting. - Oh, that's, uh- that's all right.
I was just, uh- just readin' the jokes.
- Um, this is Bug Workman. - Pleased to make your acquaintance.
You come in.
Hey, hold my place, huh?
So you're Reles, huh?
Yeah. Yeah, I'm Reles.
Albert Anastasia tells me you're a good man.
Yeah. Well, he oughta know.
He says you made a good hit the other morning when you got Venutti.
Now you got the whole Brownsville territory locked up.
Doin' pretty good. I mean, I got a couple of things goin' for me.
Ah. Like what?
Like slots, horse bets, shylocking-
Oh, please. Please.
Look.
We don't operate anymore like during Prohibition.
What does that mean?
What you have in Brownsville...
I have a hundred times over in the garment district...
Albert Anastasia has on the docks in Brooklyn...
and the Capone boys have in Chicago.
We're working now like a combination.
We can call on each other for help like banks...
like any sensible business.
Now, we don't like to hurt anybody.
But sometimes, things work out differently.
That's where you and your Brownsville operation come in.
Because you guys are so good at it...
the Syndicate will use you.
We'll give you the contract, and you do the job.
- Now, there's one thing- - Excuse me for interrupting. I-I-
I wanna ask you a question.
I like what you say, and I like the idea of working for you, the whole thing.
But, uh, what's it gonna come to?
You get an annual retainer equal to your Brownsville operation...
plus a fee for each contract.
Oh.
Well, that sounds interesting. It's, uh-
I'm pleased. Now, no private jobs.
You hit when we tell you to hit and who we tell you to hit.
In between, uh, we just sit?
If I tell you to sit, you sit until you get boils.
I, uh, think we could work it out.
Send Mendy in, please.
Just to make sure you don't get boils, I'm handing you your first contract.
His name is Walter Sage.
A noisy comedian.
He owns a place up in the Catskills.
He also handles the slots for the Syndicate.
Suddenly, he's a partner.
A nickel for him, a nickel for us.
Come in.
Mendy, this is Abe Reles.
- What do you say? - Kid Twist?
Yeah.
I see you boys in Brooklyn have been active.
Oh, we like to keep busy.
I'm giving Reles the Sage contract.
Uh-huh.
From now on...
you never come up here.
You never call me here.
Mendy is your contact.
Everything through him.
- You understand? - Yeah.
Mendy, get started.
Well, uh, I guess we're in business then, right?
- What's all this about, Reles? - I'll-I'll-
He didn't give you any trouble, did he?
Joey? He's a doll.
That's very good. That's very funny.
Funny boy. Make me laugh, huh?
Listen, Bug, uh, go get a car, will ya?
A good one. Good tires. You leave it at the drop, and I'll pick you up there.
So, uh, where you been, Joe?
- Around. - Oh, yeah?
'Cause, uh, you've been kind of scarce.
It's not because you owe me money?
- You're gonna get it. - Oh, yeah, sure. I mean, I know that.
I know I'll get it. What'd you borrow, 300?
When was that? That was in, uh-
Oh, I don't know, Joe.
You know, it's been two months.
I paid back 180.
Yeah, but, uh, that's only the interest.
You see, there's five more weeks interest...
plus the principal is, uh, $600.
You know, Joe, uh...
another month, uh, you're gonna be in for over 1,000.
Well, what am I gonna do? I lost that job singing with the band.
Then I got married.
You know the girl- Eadie. She used to live on Sullivan Street.
You know, her folks came from Europe.
Eadie- Oh, the refugee?
Yeah, yeah, I remember. Yeah.
Three days in the country, and they're walkin' around like a princess there.
With the blond hair to the neck.
Well, she got sick...
and then I had a pile of hospital bills, and I had to pay 'em.
You see, Joe, I don't know what to tell ya.
I mean, I can see you got problems.
I don't know. I'll tell you what I'll do with you, Joe.
Yeah. Maybe we'll work something out, a deal.
We forget the money, all right? We'll wipe out the whole debt.
Everything what you owe, that's done. Clean. Finished.
Right? But in return, you gotta do me a favor.
Uh, you used to work in the, uh, Borscht Belt.
- A joint named Ribbon Lodge? - Yeah.
I did a couple of weeks there last summer.
Yeah, that's what they tell me. They tell me you was very good there.
Did you know the owner, a fella named, uh, Walter Sage? A comic?
Well, you and me, we go up there, we pay him a visit.
Yeah?
That's all.
Well, what do I do to clean up the debt?
- That's it. That's the deal. - What do you want with Sage?
- Well, we got a little business thing. - What kind?
My kind.
Yeah?
Hey, where you goin', Joe? Where you goin', Joe?
Hey, Joey, where you goin'? Hey, where are you runnin'?
- Joe, we ain't finished talking. - Well, I'm finished talking. Sage is a friend of mine.
All right, he's a friend of yours.
He's good to his mother. He raises poodles. But that's something else.
That's different. Listen. Hey, come here.
Hey. Sit down.
Now, look, Joe.
Listen.
All we're gonna do is work him over. That's all.
I mean, what's a little schlammin' between friends?
I guarantee you my word, the worst he gets is a fat lip.
No dice. I don't want any part of it.
Okay, Joe.
Let's talk about this here.
That $600 that was due yesterday-
You're gonna get it.
I know I'll get it, so give it to me.
- Look, Reles, as soon as I get it- - No, you look!
Don't you understand?
I don't wanna have to work you over.
I like ya. I'm lookin' to help ya.
You must be some kind of jerk or somethin'.
What do you think? I gotta come to you for the Sage job?
There's nobody else? I know other guys. But I wanna do you a favor.
But if you don't do it, somebody else will.
So, uh, you know, this way...
you don't do yourself no favor, you don't do Sage no favor.
You don't say? Well, I never-
Yeah, that's what you said the last time.
But I don't believe ya anyway. Oh, come on, now- Stop that.
- What do you say, Joe? - Hey!
- Go ahead. You can tear out the page yourself. - What's the matter with you?
- You lousy crud! - Go ahead, rip it out.
Let me out of here! What are you, some kind of nut?
What's the matter with you, ya lousy crumb? Who do you think you are-
- Hi. - Hi, Joey.
- Hi. - Well, hi. What you been doing?
- Nothing. - Is that what you call it?
- What's wrong with my dancing? - Well, you know what they say.
Love is blind. No, I like your dancing.
Well, as long as I dance better than you sing.
And my old man can beat up your old man. So what?
- So kiss me. - Hey, come here.
- You know something? - What?
- I'm lucky. - Yeah, I think you are. Why?
'Cause you can kiss better than you dance.
- Whoo! - Wait'll I get you home.
Joey, come here.
Come on.
Wait. I got good news for ya.
I just remembered, I got wonderful news for all of ya.
You ready? The Depression is practically over.
This afternoon, I saw a guy in the bread line with an electric toaster under his arm.
And another news item today said that a W.P.A. Worker fell down and broke his neck.
"Really?" Yeah.
"What happened?" Funny you should ask.
It seems that the termites ate his shovel out from under him.
Oh, there's so many things goin' on, but we have to get our show under way...
and we have a wonderful show planned for you.
I'm sorry this isn't it, but we're gonna do our best with our lovely chorus of 50.
A few of 'em are a little younger. But we have a-
One dancer? I've heard of budgets, but this is ridiculous.
We've only got one dancer, folks, but she is a beaut.
I know. She dresses in the room next to mine.
I think the walls in the joint are made of iron or somethin'. You oughta see my knife.
But she's gonna come out here and dance her little head off.
I'll take what's left.
How about it, folks? A nice, big, wonderful welcome...
for a very talented and pretty young lady, Miss Kay Patrick.
Boy, if that dancer had any talent, it must be in her grandmother's name.
You know, Joey, it's- Hey, come to think of it, what are you doin' around here?
And what's this bit of sneakin' around backstage?
- I'd like to talk to you. - Come on, Joey.
All right, I'm here. Talk to me.
- I'd like to talk private to you. - You know I can't talk private.
We got a show goin' on. I gotta hang around here.
Can we go in your office?
I don't know. You-
Boy, you look like this is a serious thing with you.
It is.
Well, I'm your friend. Okay, come on. Let's go.
You know, my office is way across the alley over there.
Gee, why do you pick a time like this to- I don't know-
It's right over here. I don't understand why...
if you've got something to ask me, you can't ask me...
when we got plenty of time instead of-
- Joey? Hey! - Hi, Walter.
- Hi. - How ya been?
- I'm all right. - It's nice seein' ya.
Okay.
Hey. Hey, Joey.
Listen, you wanna get a laugh?
Guess who popped up?
Your friend, that comic, uh, Walter Sage.
Yeah, he popped right up out of the lake.
What do you think of that?
Uh, "Despite the numerous punctures in the body...
and the heavy slot machine used as a weight...
the body did not lose its buoyancy and rose to the surface."
See, with a bum like that, you gotta be a doctor, or else he floats.
- You swore you were only gonna rough him up. - Well, that's all we did.
But, you see, the man was in delicate health. He couldn't take it.
He couldn't take an ice pick in the gut, huh?
- Shut up. - Why? Why did you kill him?
He had bad breath. Now, you listen to me.
This is it.
From this, you take no walks.
Stay in line, keep your mouth shut...
or you get killed...
and the wife too.
Huh?
- Eadie? - That's right- Eadie.
Huh? That's the whole story.
Listen, uh, where is Eadie? You know, I haven't seen her...
seven, eight years, must be longer.
- Nice girl. A little tall. - Come on. Let's go.
You know, at one time- Take it easy, will ya? What's the rush?
I just wanna talk to her, say hello.
Will ya come on?
Hey. Hey, you remember me? Abe Reles.
You remember. Kid Twist.
- The fella with the chocolate twist candies. - What is he doing here?
Nothin'. Nothin'. I just come up to say congratulations, that's all.
Joey's a friend of mine, and I'd like to congratulate you.
Come on, Reles. Let's go, huh? Come on.
Sure. Nice talkin' to you.
- That's a nice girl. She hasn't changed much. - Joey!
- What kind of business are you mixed up in? - No kind of business, honey.
- Please tell me! I want to know! - What's all the excitement here?
- I just came up to pay a friendly visit. - Get out of here!
Take it easy, Eadie. Just take it easy.
- What's your problem? - What do you have to do with Joey?
What are you worried so much about Joey for?
- He's a big man. He's a citizen. - And you're scum!
Now, wait a minute. You know, you got a big mouth.
- Come on, will you, Reles? - No, no, no. She's got a big mouth.
I told you to get out!
What are you, some kind of nut?
Who are you? What are you? What do you think, you're a princess?
Can't talk English, you're tellin' me to get out. No.
This is Brownsville. And you know what?
It stinks, but I own it. And around here, nobody tells me what to do.
Now, you get smart, go back in the bedroom and do something with yourself.
- Fix your hair or somethin'! - That's my wife you're talkin' to!
- Yeah? So what? - So what? So this ain't Brownsville.
This is my house and it's my wife, and don't you forget it, you hear?
- Nah, I won't forget it. - Let's go, now.
Yeah.
You know what? I ain't even mad.
I'm gonna tell you somethin' about women.
I never met one that didn't need a rap on the head, and pretty often.
- How are you, Mrs. Corsi? - Well, how should I be?
How about a strawberry malted with-
Hey!
- Two scoops of ice cream. - You want an egg?
Uh, why not?
Mrs. Corsi, I was up the block a little while ago checkin' with your neighbors.
Lace it with rat poison.
Let me go!
Sorry I dirtied your dishes.
That's all right.
I've been lookin' for Reles. Has he been here?
This look like a hotel? You think I keep a register?
- Just asking. - Stop asking.
Every cop with a big nose end up in Staten Island shootin' Indians, ain't it so?
- It could happen. - "It could happen." Sure it can happen.
So mind your business and don't ask questions.
- I got a job to do. - A job.
Sure. You gotta do a job.
Here's a pencil. Go write tickets.
Go ask the others who got stores.
Ask Albrazzio, the shoemaker.
Ask Albrazzio what happened to him when the cops came.
They said...
"Don't pay protection, Albrazzio. We protect you."
So Albrazzio, the dumb idiot...
he doesn't pay.
Two days later, he's in the hospital, every bone in his body broken.
And Levey the tailor.
First come the cops, next come the Mob.
So they pour acid on every suit he's got hanging in his shop.
They smash his machine right in open daylight.
And where are the cops? You tell me. Where are the cops?
What are you giving me, Mrs. Corsi? We came.
- Nobody would talk. - Oh, sure.
With the teeth kicked in your mouth, who'd wanna talk?
No. Leave us alone. We don't want no cops.
- How's your malted? - Pretty good.
- I had it with an egg. - Oh, yeah?
Hey, that's good. That's nourishing that way.
Hello, Joey.
You playing in a kids' band?
I don't play in anybody's band.
Oh, that's right. You're a singer.
That's a good thing to remember.
I've been lookin' for you, Reles.
I'm takin' you in.
Hey, uh, you got a warrant?
Oh, yeah. Never without one.
Oh. In again, out again, Finnegan.
Well, here's a familiar face.
What do you say there? Keepin' ya busy?
- Do we book him? - Routine questioning.
Just a minute, Lieutenant Tobin.
Oh, you got here fast, Mr. Lazlo.
I'd like to talk with my client.
- Are you booking him? - I might.
- What are the charges? - Throwing garbage out the window.
Have you got a witness?
That's a misdemeanor. To book, you've gotta have a witness.
Now, you know that, Lieutenant.
Come on. Give me the rest of it.
Habeas corpus. You got the whole caboodle goin' for ya, don't ya?
- Signed by Judge Pearsons. - Yeah.
Pending a hearing on this application...
you can't even ask Mr. Reles if it's raining.
We can go now, Mr. Reles.
- Nice seeing you. - You'll need this for your file, Lieutenant.
Say, Mr. Lazlo, look. I didn't get a chance inside. Abe Reles.
Uh, thank Lep for sending you down.
I've heard about you for years, and you do a real nice job.
I'd like to say it's been a pleasure workin' with you.
I've heard about you too, Mr. Reles.
- I'm sure we'll be working together again. - Yeah, fine.
Look, maybe I'll buy you a drink, huh?
Thank you. I'd sooner be found dead.
Wait a minute. Uh, what do you mean by that, "you'd sooner be found dead"?
That was a figure of speech, Mr. Reles.
Don't get any ideas.
Your friends are waiting for you in the car.
Operator?
- Hello, Panto. - What, you too?
- Ah, beat it, will ya, Louie? - Ah, take it easy, Panto.
Don't get excited. You know me, Panto. I got no argument with you.
I just come over to talk, and you gotta listen to what I say.
Now, listen.
The boss says he'll stake you to a grand if you look for a job someplace not on the docks.
You tell that guy I'm makin' no deals, Louie.
Cut it out, man. Use your head.
It's for your own good, I'm tellin' ya.
- Look, how do you want me- - Now, look, you don't want no more trouble.
Neither does the boss. Now, listen to what I say.
- Look, leave me alone. - Do like the boss wants and take the thousand.
Look, leave me alone.
- Panto, I'm tellin' you, it's for your own good. - That's it. No more.
- You don't wanna do it, I don't know how to tell you. - I know how to tell you.
You go back there and tell 'em that's it. That's the-
- Panto, let me talk to you for a second. - What-
I'm coming.
All right, all right.
- What do you want? - I wanna talk to you.
I want- You know what I want?
I wanna get somethin' straight in my mind.
Now, what was that all about the other day? Why did you insult me?
- Did I ever bother you? - You better get out of here.
Get out? I just got here!
I just wanted to talk to you. What's the matter?
You're too good for me? What are you runnin' for?
- Come over here! What are you runnin' for? - Don't touch me!
Touch ya. I'll touch ya.
I'll touch ya good.
Eadie?
Eadie, where are you?
Eadie, what happened?
Reles.
His hands.
His fingers. His dirty fingers.
I'll kill him!
Don't leave me.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so, so sorry.
Oh, Eadie.
What am I gonna have to do?
Well, how- how did he get in here?
The doorbell rang.
- I thought it was you. - Well, you shouldn't have let him in.
You know he's a maniac.
Oh, what's wrong with me?
Am I just like they are?
Is there somethin' missin' in me?
I keep tellin' myself over and over again, "Stay away from those guys.
They're no good!" And that Reles!
And yet- And yet tonight, I see him...
and he gives me a couple of dollars just to drive a car up to the Bronx.
That's all. Just drive a car up to the Bronx.
Well, I'm drivin' along...
and I turn around and I look...
and on the floor is a dead man.
A dead man?
Oh, no, Joey!
He got to us both.
Let's run, Joey.
Run where? Where can we run? We're in too deep.
- They're not gonna let us go. - He'll have to find us first.
Honey, don't you understand? They will find us.
- They're gonna find us and they're gonna kill us. - He's killing us now!
Look, less than a minute ago, you said you were going to kill him.
- I know, Eadie. I know. - I'm sorry, Joey.
You're not one like them. You couldn't kill anyone.
- Thank God for that. - Eadie-
But we've got to do something. Run. Save ourselves.
- Eadie, as soon as the time is right- - There's no other way, is there?
As soon as it's right, when I think we at least got a fighting chance.
Until then?
Well, until then, we're just-
we're just gonna have to live with it.
We live with it?
What can I do, Eadie? What can I do?
- You mean anytime- - There's so many-What can I do?
- Don't you understand? - Get away from me!
- What can I do? - Get out of here! Get out of here!
Since when are you in the docking business, Lepke?
Well, I'm just doing a favor for a mutual friend.
Anastasia.
He asked me to act as an impartial mediator.
- What are you mediating? - The strike.
- What strike? - The strike that the union's going to call.
Strike against me?
Well, not against me.
Nobody told me anything about a strike.
Nobody knows about it except the union...
Albert A. And me.
But the strike will be called.
They're going to ask for a wage raise of 20 cents an hour.
- They're crazy. - They'll get it.
- I wouldn't bet on it. - Ah. They'll get it.
Unless, of course, I mediate.
I'm told that a 20 cents an hour wage increase...
will cost your company $50,000 a year.
- We can't afford it. - Naturally.
Look, it's a ridiculous demand. That's why you need a mediator.
Now, you pay me $25,000...
and there's no pay boost, no strike.
This is a shakedown...
and a pretty crude one at that.
Really?
Look, I think that my mediation is very fair.
How do I know you can deliver?
- Deliver. - I don't want any trouble.
Mr. Loughran, let's understand each other.
Who wants trouble?
Thank you.
You got a little girl in here, uh, Eadie Collins?
- She works in the chorus with the band? - That's right. She works here.
Is there anyplace where I can see her now? Is she around?
Oh, uh, she's in the dressing room for the time.
I see.
Pick me up in the apartment in half an hour.
- You got it? - Yeah. Where you goin'?
Don't worry about it.
Um, excuse me.
Can you tell me, uh, where is Eadie Collins's room?
- She's in there. - Thank you very much.
Easy! Easy.
Now, look. If you're not sore, I'm not sore.
All right? Excuse me just for a minute...
but we'd like to talk if you don't mind.
Appreciate that.
Where's Joey?
That's what I came to talk to you about.
Why don't you give him a break? What do you give him such a hard time for?
- You throw him out of the house- - Where is he?
What happened to him?
Happened? Nothin's happened to him.
Why, he's fine. I mean, he's a little worried about you. He'd like to see you.
- Have you seen him? - No, but I've been in touch with him.
I'm gonna meet him now, as a matter of fact. That's why I came here.
I thought maybe you'd come along.
I don't believe you.
I don't care whether you believe me, you know, for myself...
but I'm tryin' to help you two kids.
What can I tell ya?
Do you wanna see your husband or not?
You know, I got a surprise for you two kids. You're livin' in that dirty apartment.
But you can see- You can see right away...
that the whole apartment is beautiful, you see.
Like this sofa here. That's all velvet.
Bar- genuine marble.
And that decor- the whole thing, you know.
I mean, I don't know about you, but I happen to like it.
You take that woodwork. See all this here? This here?
They don't make stuff like that anymore.
Detail.
You see the detail there? That beautiful detail work?
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
See? It's just like in the movies.
Like in them Bela Lugosi pictures, huh? Huh?
And the whole apartment, you know...
it's all full of this special equipment.
Hey, I'll tell you why that is. You see...
we take this stuff over from the other side.
When the boys get it off the boat, they bring it here.
And this is the apartment in which they stash it. You know what I'm talkin' about?
- Dope. - Very good.
But you said it, not me.
Well, anyway, we're temporarily out of that business, and, uh-
See, the whole apartment's sittin' around doin' nothin'.
Rent's paid up in full. And what I wanna do...
is I wanna give it to you and Joey.
Chimes.
You like them chimes, don't you? Huh?
Sure. The whole place has got class.
Hey, Joe, come on in. We've been waitin' for you.
- Eadie, I'd like to talk to you. - Hey, Joe?
Listen, Joe, I was just tellin' Eadie that, uh...
you know, you're both friends of mine, and I like ya...
and what I'd like to do is, uh...
I'd like for you and Eadie to have this apartment.
We don't want it.
- What do you mean, you don't want it? - Well, just what I said.
Well, maybe, uh, maybe Eadie wants it.
- Well, she doesn't. - You read minds?
- Eadie? - Listen, what is it with you two?
What are ya doin' to me? I don't understand it.
A guy offers you a free ticket, then you freeze...
like I was offerin' you poison or somethin'.
What, do you come from some other world than I do?
Maybe they didn't teach ya to-
Hey. You see, what you can get your hands on, you take.
Don't ask questions! Take! What you want, take!
What I want, I take!
Nothin' means nothin' unless I got it!
What do you got hands for? Huh?
Take!
- What do you want? - Mendy's lookin' for you, Kid.
He's waitin' downstairs.
Make up your minds, because I don't give out any rain checks.
Eadie, I'm sorry.
Let me take you home.
Well, what are you doing?
- You said we have to live with it. - Well, not this way.
Maybe what he told us is right.
Maybe what he told us?
Why we've got hands-
to take.
It was the mid-'30s.
The country was just climbing out of the Depression.
Who had time to wonder or even care...
about an assassination group in Brooklyn?
An operation that was building a name for itself.
The name: Murder, Incorporated.
The Murder, Incorporated boys were issued scores of contracts by the Syndicate...
and the business at hand was executed with neatness and finesse.
A word from the Syndicate would send the boys winging north, south or west.
So quick was the operation, so smooth the technique...
that often, before the body of the victim could be identified...
the imported killers were well out of town.
Slowly, the public became aware of this new crime conspiracy.
Their demand for action brought on the appointment of Thomas E. Dewey...
a special prosecutor.
Dewey stunned the gang lords with a steady barrage of subpoenas.
Some ran. Others decided to brazen it out before the grand jury.
Hi. I wanted to talk to you before you went in front of the grand jury.
- To tell me what to say? - I just wanted to warn you-
- Please! - The heat's on!
Please. I know how to handle this situation.
These subpoenas, they're only bits of paper.
Now, just a minute.
I have an idea. If we get the witnesses not to testify-
Oh, that's a great idea.
Now we knock off half the city.
We don't knock off anybody.
We just convince them to keep their mouths shut.
Maybe a few get shipped out of town.
I found my man, counselor.
I see you found yours.
Come on, Joe.
Let's go.
What's the matter?
Him. Joe Rosen.
That miserable nothing!
He can put me behind bars for 50 years.
- Now, look- - If they want me, they can find me.
Mendy.
Huh. A real movie star.
- These are the kids I was tellin' you about. - Uh-huh.
Reles thought it would be better if someone were living here, and I thought-
Yeah, I-I know. I know.
- What's your name? - Joey.
Don't you have another name, or were your parents stingy?
Collins.
Mm-hmm. Your name?
- Eadie. - For Edith?
It's very pretty.
I'm Lepke.
I'm going to stay here with you.
All right? I'm visiting.
- We'll go. - You just stay where you are!
- Are these bedrooms? - Yes, they are.
- Well, which is yours? - Hers is on the right.
- And the other one? - Mine.
But I'm going to have to have one of those bedrooms for myself...
so you two will have to be together.
Are you married?
We're married.
Well, that's good.
Now, I think we're going to be very comfortable here.
Tell me, can you cook?
Not very well.
You're gonna have to improve...
'cause I have a pre-ulcer condition...
and I need a very rigid diet.
I'll write it all out for you.
Now, Mendy and I have some business together.
Private business.
Go on.
It's legal. You're married.
Now!
Relax yourself.
You gotta get rid of Joe Rosen.
- All right, Lep. - Right away...
before he spills he guts to Dewey and the grand jury.
- Should we wait for Reles? - Wait for nobody.
I want you to take care of it now.
- All right. - Handle it personally, Mendy.
It's no problem, Lep. I can handle it.
It's incredible.
I make one mistake-
I take pity on one miserable schmuck!
Well, this is the result.
Can't you wear a dress like a proper young lady should, huh?
Go on. Cover yourself up. Let's have a little decency around here.
It's too hard.
I said two minutes.
Do I have to get you a stopwatch so you can tell two minutes?
What's the matter with you, huh?
What kind of a girl are you?
You can't cook.
You don't talk. I don't understand you.
What did they teach you over there in Europe?
- To be civilized. - What?
You think I don't know two minutes when I taste it, huh?
I told you a hundred times I have to be on a special diet.
I got the most delicate stomach in the world!
Now, go back and bring me another egg.
Two minutes!
Answer it.
Be careful.
- Yes? - It's Mendy.
Did you take care of Joe Rosen?
Just the way you wanted.
The back of the head.
- Rosen is dead. - He's dead.
Joe Rosen is dead?
Oh, Mendy!
You're a good boy.
Lepke on the lam became the subject...
of one of the most intensive manhunts in the history of crime.
The newspapers labeled him "Most Wanted Criminal In America."
And for the first time in its history...
the New York Police set up a special squad...
to track down one single fugitive.
Well! What are you made up for?
- When do you sail? - Albert.
- Nice of you to come and visit. - Nice to see you.
- You know where I've been? - Yeah, sure.
We had a meet in Hot Springs.
All the big guys were there.
They said to say hello for them.
- They sure miss you. - That's nice to know.
Ah, but it wasn't like the old days.
Without Lepke, the judge presidin'-
It wasn't like old times. You got a lot of friends, Lep.
Also nice to know.
Lep, we, uh- We come to a decision.
- You gotta go in. - Go in?
Lep, listen, it's your own rule.
"No man is bigger than the Syndicate."
You said that.
The heat is on all over the country.
We got word that it's not gonna let up until you go in.
I just walk into the nearest police station, huh?
And say, "Here I am. I'm Lepke."
Did you and my other good friends figure out what's gonna happen to me then?
- Listen, Lep- - You listen to me.
I know too much.
I got too much on too many people.
Big shots, politicians. I'm poison to them.
Do you think they're gonna let me live long enough to stand trial?
I don't play patsy for nobody, and that's a basic fact.
Nobody wants you to play patsy.
You don't walk into any police station.
You go into the feds. We got it all fixed.
You plead guilty to that interstate commerce thing.
Lazlo says it's a two-year rap, tops.
By that time, Dewey'll be out of business.
- Lep? - What?
Nobody's gonna find you.
You just stay here.
Albert, if I walk into the feds...
there's got to be no "ifs," "buts" or "maybes."
- It's got to be a deal! - Take my word for it.
I'm not gonna do anything to hurt you.
You know that, Lep. The fix is in.
You've got a deal.
But there was no deal.
The Syndicate had never intended to make a deal.
Dewey prosecuted Lepke in New York for extortion.
Sentence: 30 years to life.
So, by early 1940, Lepke seemed to be gone for good.
A permanent guest of the American taxpayer.
This way to the city dump.
Sorry.
Am I in your way, fella?
Oh, listen, when that new guy-
Oh, what's his name? Turkus!
When he gets here, tell him I left.
I had an appointment with him an hour ago.
Burton. Burton Turkus.
Oh, that's a great handle for an assistant D.A. In Brooklyn.
Burton Turkus.
On Pitkin Avenue it'll be Boiton Toikus.
I think I like that better.
- Hold it? - What am I supposed to do with this?
Stand up a minute, please.
Thank you.
When the crusader gets back from polishing his armor, tell him I left.
- Tell him who left? - Lieutenant Detective William Flaherty Tobin.
Oh. Oh, I'm glad to know ya. I'm Turkus.
Oh. Oh, I'm sorry.
Yeah. I'm sorry I was late.
I've been diggin' among the dead bodies.
I got 200 unsolved murders in there.
That goes back only two years.
Chief Kirk said you forgot these.
Oh, thank you. This is Miss Shaw.
Miss Shaw, this is Lieutenant Detective...
William Flaherty Tobin.
- Hi. - Hi to you, Miss Shaw.
What's that on your face?
- Blood from the files. - Ah.
I asked the commissioner for somebody who knew Brownsville.
I guess you're the expert.
I'll show you.
This is what I walked into.
Every one of those pins is an unsolved murder.
- What do I do about that? - When?
- Now. - Send out for more pins.
You seem to be a little bit cynical, Lieutenant. Why is that?
Past experience with your predecessors.
You all start out eager beaver, but when the chips are down...
when the pressure comes in, you fade.
Pressure.
Every now and then we get a hood, cold turkey.
We got everything- evidence, witnesses, the works.
And then it happens. The evidence gets lost...
the witnesses disappear, and the word comes down to lay off.
"The word comes down"? From where?
Valhalla.
- Never heard of it. - You will.
- Now, what do you want from me? - Advice.
My advice wouldn't buy ya a subway ride.
Well, then, uh, action.
You must have some ideas.
This would be a good time for you to stop griping...
and do something, if you know how.
- I know how. - Uh-huh.
- Play dirty. - Hmm?
Show the neighborhood what they are- bums, punks, hoodlums.
Drag 'em in off the streets, pile 'em in paddy wagons...
slap cuffs on 'em the minute they show their noses.
And how does that help solve those murders?
Keep up the pressure. Just keep it up. Sooner or later...
one of the weak ones'll crack, and that'll split the dam.
Now, that's a good way to start.
Lieutenant, how much help do you need?
How much help can I get?
How much help do you need?
What's Lazlo doing?
He says he can spring you, but it'll take time.
I got a million dollars.
- Why should it take time? - We're working on it.
I've been reading about this guy Turkus.
Is he for real?
Poison. He's like hell.
Mendy...
I got a funny feeling.
I want you to handle a special contract for me.
- Okay, Lep. - I keep worrying about Joe Rosen.
I made a mistake.
I got personally involved, and there are...
too many people in a position to link me up with it.
- No one's gonna talk. - Too-
Too many people.
I don't trust any of those Brownsville bums.
That's the contract.
- The Brownsville crowd. - Anyone who was near the apartment.
Reles?
Well, let's see.
There's The Bug and Alpert.
Those, uh, married kids...
Joey and his wife.
Both of them.
But there's Louie. Louie's my man.
He's okay.
For now, leave Louie. But the others...
I want you to handle them personally.
Mendy, don't miss on this one.
I got that funny feeling in my stomach again.
It's no problem, Lep.
No problem.
He's been around the neighborhood for a long time.
- This is, uh- - May I see Mr. Turkus?
I'm sorry. He's in the middle of a meeting now.
Couldn't you come back later?
- I don't think I would. - He's very busy-
- Miss Shaw, have the lady come in. - Come in.
May I help you? I'm Turkus.
Won't you sit down?
I'm Eadie Collins, Joey's wife.
Oh, he's one of the guys we picked up yesterday.
Oh. Well, Mrs. Collins, if it's about releasing your husband-
I don't want you to release him.
Well, what do you want?
I want you to hold him.
I want you to make him talk.
About what?
He is-
He never killed anyone. He couldn't kill anyone.
He just couldn't.
But he went along.
Make him tell you. You must make him tell you everything.
Mrs. Collins, do you real-
I know what I'm saying.
Joey was along when they killed.
I never knew who.
Joey never told me.
But he was with Reles when Reles killed.
And Bug Workman with Red Alpert when he killed, with Mendy Weiss.
- I want you to hold Joey Collins, Alpert and Bug Workman. - Joey was along.
What?
Sprung, the three of them.
Reles is coming on the 5:00 train from Baltimore.
Mrs. Collins, how would you know a thing like that?
- I know a lot more. - You mentioned Mendy Weiss.
- Who is Mendy Weiss? - He's Lepke's man.
How does Lepke, uh, come into this?
He came in the door like a king-
a king with a hole in his stomach.
All the time he stayed, I was his housemaid.
Two-minute eggs.
I boiled a thousand two-minute eggs...
and never did it right once.
Funny, isn't it?
Such a delicate little stomach in a monster like that.
Yes. Mrs. Collins, what was the connection...
between the Brownsville gang and Lepke?
They are Lepke's private killers.
An army of paid killers.
Don't let her out of your sight.
We picked up Reles as he stepped off the train from Baltimore.
But Lepke's contract for The Bug had already been executed.
Red Alpert. His trademark.
First The Bug, now Alpert.
Looks like somebody else is looking for the same guys we are.
Yeah, and doin' a better job of findin' 'em first.
- Too late for a cup of coffee? - Not for you, Joey.
- I won't be too long. - That's all right.
You take your time.
I don't know why I bother to close up.
I gotta be back in four hours.
Here you are, Rose. Good night.
Good night, Joey.
Oh, Rose, I need a pack of cigarettes.
Oh, so big. You got nothin' smaller? I closed my register.
I'll tell you what. You take the pack. You pay me tomorrow.
You're a good boy, Joey. You I trust.
You can at least tell me what you're holding me for.
If this is a pinch, I got a right to know, don't I?
I got a right to call a lawyer.
Well, don't I?
Aw, come on, will ya? What are you holding me for?
Come in, Mrs. Collins.
Hey, what are you doin' here?
Hey, what's the big idea? What'd you pick her up for?
Well, come on, you guys. What'd you pick her up for?
No matter what she tells you, it won't do any good, 'cause she doesn't know anything.
Look, if she told you anything, it'd be a lie.
- Why would she lie, Joey? - How do I know why she'd lie?
- What did she tell you? - She told us about Lepke.
Well, she doesn't know anything about Lepke.
- I dreamed it. - Yeah, she dreamed it.
Look, Mr. Turkus, let me tell you something.
You can't believe a thing she says. She's had a terrible experience.
She wakes up in the middle of the night, and she's shaking all over...
and cryin' and- and sometimes screamin'.
She dreams crazy, wild things. Why-
Why, I think she's really sick.
My poor, scared, little Joey.
- The photo lab just sent these over. - Thank you.
- Your office called, Lieutenant. No word yet on Mendy Weiss. - Thanks.
Well, it's been a big night in Brownsville.
Have a look. Two friends of yours.
Red Alpert and The Bug.
Who did it, Joey?
- I don't know. - No idea?
It's too bad...
'cause whoever did it to them is gonna do it to you.
Why?
I don't know.
We've got Reles.
We're holding him.
I wanna see him.
Hey, Joe.
- What'd they pick you up for? - The Bug's been hit.
- What? - Red Alpert's been hit too.
No.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
- Somebody's connin' ya. - No, nobody's connin' me.
I saw pictures of ‘em. They're both dead.
No, no.
Somebody hit from the ring.
No. Oh, no.
I wanna tell ya somethin', Reles. I've been waitin' for this.
- I'm gonna put you where they are. - You're gonna what?
For what you did to Eadie, I'm gonna put you in the chair...
I'm gonna turn the juice on, and I'm gonna watch you fry!
Take it easy. You're losin' your head. You gotta take your time.
- Oh, no, I- - You dirty rat!
I'm gonna get you, Reles!
I'm gonna watch you fry!
All right, all right, all right.
Turkus.
- Thanks. - Oh!
It worked.
Looks like we got ourselves a canary.
Joey?
Bigger.
- You wanted to see me. - You're Turkus?
Well, you don't look like no hotshot.
This time of day, who does?
You don't look so tough.
- Well, in here, who does? - Mm-hmm.
- What did you wanna see me about? - I thought, uh...
we'd talk over our little deal.
We don't have any deal.
Yeah, but I thought maybe we could work one out.
- You think so? - Yeah.
'Cause I got plenty to say you wanna hear.
What about? Murder?
Could be.
Lepke?
- Could be. - Well, what's the deal?
A simple deal. I'll sing.
I'll testify in court. I'll give you the whole works.
You guarantee me protection, then I walk outta here clean...
then you give me six months to get outta the country.
I can sing pretty good.
I got a cage full of canaries who sing pretty good.
What, that Eadie?
Why don't you talk serious?
She ain't seen nothin'.
She got a big mouth, but what comes out, that's nothin'.
Well, I've got Joey. He sings pretty good.
I wanna ask ya somethin'.
- You think I'm a dope? - No.
Because that would be a big mistake if you thought I was a dope.
'Cause I know a lot.
You know, you'd be surprised how much I know about your business.
- Tell me about it. - All right.
You take Joey. He testifies. All right.
He's singin' in court that he drove the car the night I hit, uh...
Dick Tracy- somebody, right?
- You can't touch me on that. - Why not?
'Cause you got no corroboration.
Joey's what you call an accomplice, and you can't convict...
on the testimony of an accomplice, right?
You gotta have corroboration from somebody...
that wasn't in on the deal, and that ain't Joey.
Huh?
He never went to any college.
Well, you're not gonna get out clean.
On nothin' that happened have you got corroboration.
And I'm the guy who can tell you where to get it.
But first, I gotta have a deal.
We'll let you plead second degree murder.
We'll ask the court for consideration.
No, no. No.
No plea to murder two or any other kind of murder.
Well, we're not gonna do any business here.
Hey, Mr. Turkus, wait a minute.
Wait a minute. Take it easy.
Reles, you can walk out that door right now...
and you'd be dead in 24 hours.
Guarantee me two things. You protect me and no murder one.
You got a deal.
When Reles started to sing, he sang a full-length opera.
He had an extraordinary memory.
He could recall minutely every detail of a murder...
that had taken place a half dozen years before.
- Once he started, he astonished us...
With an account of vicious lawlessness that covered the entire country.
Then we learned that in these United States...
major crime was organized...
was controlled by a Syndicate.
For the first time, the lid was lifted...
on the government within a government...
in which killings and rackets worked hand in hand...
in a national combine of crime.
He went on for six days without a break.
He confessed the incredible total of 25 notebooks full.
He was a phonograph that played the long, long-playing record...
of “Murder, Incorporated."
Uh, relax a minute, Reles.
I-I've gotta ask you something.
Reles, didn't your- Did your conscience every bother you?
Didn't you ever feel anything?
Well, let me ask you somethin'.
The first time you went to court, like the first time you tried a case...
did you feel, uh, a little nervous?
Yes, the first time, but, uh, I got used to it.
I got used to it.
Reles, how do you get used to murdering people?
What are you talkin', murder? You don't understand.
Let me tell you somethin'. Any punk we hit deserved to be hit.
What do you think, we just went around shootin' people?
You think it was like a two-bit hoodlum or some maniac-
he goes into a liquor store- $20 heist- right away we take out the guns?
No, you see, any guy that we hit...
he asked to be hit, not we wanted to hit him.
We had to hit him. Let me tell you.
As long as you stayed in line...
nobody ever went after you.
Why are they after you?
See, your mind isn't logical.
It's diseased.
All right. Uh, let's get back.
I guess you're saving the pièce de résistance for last, huh?
- The what? - The, uh, main thing.
- Lepke. - Oh.
Oh, Lep. Yeah.
Yeah, well, here's the story on Lep. I'll give you that one. Uh-
See, there's a little schnook named Joe Rosen.
He had a trucking business...
and Lepke took over the trucking business, and-
Of course, you remember what happened with Joe Rosen.
Rosen was gonna testify before the grand jury...
so Lep figured the man had to be hit...
and, uh, he handed out a contract.
You see, Lep got so worked up...
over this Rosen thing that he made a mistake.
And I'll tell you. Lep didn't make many mistakes...
but on this one he made a beaut.
How?
Well, when Mendy come back to the apartment after the hit...
Lepke was so anxious to hear the details...
that he made Mendy tell him all about it.
So? So?
So someone heard it...
and that's, uh- that's corroboration.
- Who heard? - Joey.
- And then Joey told me. - Where were you?
I think I was, uh- I was out of town.
Listen, don't let that worry you, because, uh...
I could swear I was there and I heard the whole thing, and that's the whole story.
Well, we can live without that.
Okay, but, uh, if you want Lepke...
and Joey don't testify, you're up a creek.
We'll worry about that.
Listen, Tobin-
Now we had something no prosecutor ever had before-
the chance to bring a gang lord, the powerful Lepke...
- before a jury of his peers.
The charge would be first degree murder.
We would ask the federal authorities to release Lepke...
to us for trial in New York.
It was taking a chance, going into court without Joey’s testimony...
but it was a chance worth taking.
As we knew that every gunman in the Syndicate...
would now have an open contract for our two witnesses...
we kept them under wraps in a carefully guarded suite...
at the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island.
Joey was there, silent, and giving no sign of cracking...
and Reles, our star boarder.
Get me some water, will ya?
Come on. Get off your butt, bud, and get me some water.
Give me that medicine up there too, will ya?
Well, what are you waitin' for? Move it.
Like hell I will. I'm here to guard you, not to be a wet nurse.
You're a two-bit cop. You make 50 bucks a week.
And on a bad day, I buy you at an auction. Now move it!
You do what I say! Move it!
- What's the big noise? - He don't get me no water.
I'm through running errands for this bum.
There are guys out there with big guns waitin' to bump me in the head.
Do you wanna make a pigeon out of me? I can't walk past that window.
Who knows who's after me?
The biggest guys in town are after me.
Name names. Names I can name.
I can name names of politicians this guy'd be happy to drive the car.
So what does he know? He's never been around the block with a blue suit.
I don't know. I don't feel good again. I got a lot of heat.
Do something with this guy, will you? Get rid of him.
Do somethin'. Put him in the Harlem Tunnel or somethin'.
Get him some water.
And let it run.
Abe, it might help you to know...
that the feds picked up Louie and Mendy in Kansas City.
It don't help.
I'll be with you in a minute.
Hobb.
You look pooped.
- Are they bringing Mrs. Collins over? - Yes.
- I didn't see you in court today. - I was there, in the back.
Oh, that Lazlo is a cutie, but you'll get in your licks.
Maybe I went into the whole thing too fast.
It was the chance of getting Lepke...
on the stand for first degree murder.
I couldn't let that go.
You couldn't.
If only I had Joey.
Then-Then I could put the king where he belongs-
off his throne, into the chair.
If I had Joey.
- Hi. - Hi.
- Oh, Eadie, I've missed you so much. - So have I.
It feels like it's been a million years.
Yes, I know.
Joey, what do we do?
There's nothing we can do.
Can't you talk?
It would make it so much easier.
Why would it be easier?
Turkus says he'll ask the judge to be lenient.
Honey, don't you understand? I can't testify against him.
If I do, they're gonna kill you. That's how they get to me- through you.
That's how they operate.
No, I won't talk.
So, same question, Joey.
What do we do?
I've had a lot of time to think about it.
I've done a lot of things I had no business doing...
and they've locked me up, and they're gonna keep me locked up for a long time.
And the only thing that does make sense...
is for you not to sit around waiting for me.
You gotta forget about me. You're still pretty enough and young to-
- But, Joey- - No, honey. Let me finish, please.
You're still young enough and pretty...
to start a whole new life for yourself.
- Don't you see? - Please, Joey.
- I'm just trying to be sensible. - I don't care about being sensible.
What new life are you talking about without you?
Joey, I don't want to live without you.
Honey, please, after all the rotten things I've done to you...
let me do one good thing.
Please, honey.
I don't know.
I'll tell you something funny.
You remember how I used to tease you about your dancing?
Well, every night I dream of you...
And you're dancing.
Hey, Tobin. Hey.
Don't forget. You're gonna bring me them cigars, right?
Mrs. Collins is in with her husband. Would you tell her we're leaving?
- Mrs. Collins? She's already left. - Mmm.
- She what? - She left about a minute ago.
I think she went downstairs.
Joey...
Eadie's dead.
Oh, no.
She's dead.
Well, how? You-You had enough protection. Wha-
She ran away.
But it's almost as though she wanted it to happen.
Like she was trying to tell you something.
- Oh! - Uh-
I'm sorry.
Beats me how he figured to reach the ground...
with only 10 feet of bedsheet.
Do you believe it?
Why would he want to get out? It's the one place in the world he was safe.
- Well, it certainly doesn't figure. - Nothin' figures.
Every cop on the floor asleep?
All at the same time. There must have been a struggle.
Nobody hears anything, nobody sees anything.
He doesn't fall straight down like a normal body.
Manages to land 20 feet from the building wall.
He either flew out or, uh, somebody threw him out.
Who, Burton?
Nominations are wide open.
Where do we go from here?
All I got's one dead canary.
He can't sing. He can't fly.
My whole case against Lepke flew out the window with that.
- How did they get to him? - Mr. Turkus...
Joey Collins wants to see you.
Maybe the pieces are gonna fall into place.
Lepke was the first of the gang lords...
- to pay up in full in the electric chair.
The first, and to date, the one and only.
But his execution proves that it can be done...
and that the kingpins and their rackets can be brought to justice.
It can be done. It must be done...
again and again and again.