What do you say, kid? Are we moving in?
How many times do you want me to say yes?
Every time you say it is Iike the first time.
My heart starts beating Iike I just ran around the bIock.
Those sIippery rugs are out. A guy couId break his neck on those.
Mr. WiIson, do you pIan doing a Iot of running around?
Yeah, yeah, after you.
-The rugs are out. -And the twin beds too.
Out Iike a Iight.
Hey, I Iike peanuts too.
-I thought you hated them. -I did once.
What changed your mind?
I Iove you. You Iove peanuts.
I Iove peanuts too.
WeII, I guess that wins.
It's raining.
Gee, it feeIs sweII against your face.
Tonight of aII nights it's gotta rain.
Don't taIk about it.
What am I gonna do after you've gone?
Joe.
I'II be waIking Iike this down a street.
-Where are you? -I'II be here.
Twenty cents.
JOE: How do you Iike that? KATHERINE: Oh, dear.
Here, give me.
Don't.
What are you gonna do?
KATHERINE: Oh, here it is.
-Come on, I'II sew it. -Here? No, no.
-You'II Iet it go. I know. -Honest, I won't.
-You know you wiII. -No, I'II sew it myseIf.
-I won't forget it, darIing. -Sit down.
Sit down.
There's a Iot of peopIe around.
KATHERINE: Joe.
I've onIy got bIue thread.
-BIue? -Yep. BIue.
MAN: Train number 1 9 Ieaving for De KaIb.
-There. You hear? That's your train. -That's not my train. Sit down.
-I'm hard to get rid of. -Like my right arm.
OnIy I need you more.
Oh, Kat.
I'II come for you as soon as I get that oId bank account. . .
. . .up to the third fIoor and a kitchenette.
Oh, this waiting is awfuI.
After aII, we're human.
Why can't you stay with your job here?
-At Ieast we-- -We've been through that, darIing.
There's a better job there, and I'II be saving for us too.
I know.
MAN: Train number 27 Ieaving for GaIesburg and aII points west.
[BELL RINGING ]
-Give me some of those peanuts too. -Yes, sir.
-How much for that " smeIIum" ? -That one there?
Take it easy on yourseIf now.
Four doIIars.
Not for me, wise guy. It's for a girI. How much?
Five even.
I got you a IittIe mementum.
" Memento," darIing. " To," not " tum. "
How often have I toId you?
It's from wearing braces on my teeth when I was a kid.
You're stiII a kid. A Iot of you is. . .
. . .and I Iove it.
I Iove you.
I got a memento for you too.
Look inside.
JOE: "Henry to Katherine. "
It was my mother's wedding ring. I was named after her.
So I. . . .
-Turn it around. -" Katherine to Joe. "
Oh, Kat. . . .
I guess I'II have to wear it on my IittIe finger.
[WHISTLE BLOWING ]
MAN: AII aboard!
I'II come for you soon.
Soon, Joe.
Soon.
[BARKING ]
JOE: HeIIo, stranger.
Think you're smart, don't you? How do you Iike this, big shot?
How's that, huh?
You Iook the way I feeI.
LoneIy and smaII.
Come on.
Shh. Quiet.
Ah, that CharIie, aIways Ieaving the Iight on.
[MAN LAUGHING ]
MAN: Straight ahead.
-CharIie, now, I'm aII right. -Yeah, I know, I know.
Come on, hoId it now. HoId it.
-CharIie, where'd you get the dog? -There's no dog. You're drunk.
JOE: So you went to a movie, huh? -HeIIo, Joe.
-Katherine get away aII right? JOE: Yeah.
That's fine. I'm fine too.
[CHUCKLING ]
I feeI awfuI.
JOE: Now, Iisten, CharIie--
We had a coupIe drinks after the show.
Kid's gotta have fun. He just can't take it.
TOM: Who said I can't take it?
-I'm aII right. JOE: AII right, Tommy. Sure you are.
-AII right, kid. -Even Mr. DoneIIi said I was aII right.
-Oh, DoneIIi, huh? -AII right. I've been waiting for it.
Waiting for an undertaker or cops, the Iife you're Ieading.
Running errands for that racketeer.
Let me teII you, CharIie, Ieave Tom out of it.
Joe, I know, I know.
We met DoneIIi, and he invited us up for drinks.
Better Tom meets someone who can do him some good.
Do him some good?
I'm gIad Mom and Dad aren't here to see the good you're doing yourseIf.
Can that Sunday-schooI taIk.
Think I'm gonna ride to heaven on 30 a week from a sweatshop?
Be a working stiff aII my Iife, Iike you?
-Times have changed. -You bet times have changed.
The peopIe are against you monkeys now.
The peopIe ain't doing so good either.
I don't know what's so hot about you.
Crazy in Iove with a sweII gaI and can't make enough to get married.
-Leave Katherine out of it! -Leave me out. Stop Iiving my Iife.
I wouIdn't Iive your Iife for aII the money in the worId.
Okay, Reverend. Okay.
[MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO]
[WOMAN SINGING ]
KATHERINE: "Memento," darIing. " Memento. "
[PUPPIES SQUEAKING ]
Soon.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Come in.
It's a speciaI deIivery this time, Miss Grant.
-I hope nothing's happened. -Oh, no.
They come faster than when I was a girI, but I guess the insides don't change.
-He's coming, Mrs. WhippIe! -No.
Wedding, marriage Iicense.
He's bought a car.
Look.
CHARLIE: Kiss Katherine for me. TOM: Happy Iandings, feIIa.
Don't Iet the Indians get you out there.
[INDIAN WHOOPING ]
You keep your chin cIean. Look after the kid.
You can trust me. Rainbow, take care of Joe.
JOE: Goodbye, boys. -So Iong, Joe.
JOE: Is there gas in it? -Yeah.
-So Iong. -Bye-bye.
War and crime.
Strikes, taxes.
And some weenies for his dog and an avocado for him.
They caII them aIIigator pears back East, cost a fortune. Think he'II Iike them?
He won't know what he's eating for being with you again.
What time wiII I make Iunch for?
I'm Ieaving for Sycamore Corners by bus on the main road.
I wrote him to meet me there at 1 1 :00 at that hot dog stand.
We'II be back by noon sure.
GoIIy, Mrs. WhippIe, I can hardIy stand it.
Over a year now.
Stop your motor, buddy.
Get both hands up on that wheeI there.
What is this, a hoIdup?
-No grass growing under them tires, eh? -I wasn't speeding.
-And IIIinois Iicense pIates, huh? -Yeah, sure. Chicago.
Get that fist up there.
Hey, I haven't got any gun if that's what you mean.
-Peanuts won't kiII you. -SaIted peanuts?
-Yeah, why? -I ain't answering the questions, buddy.
You are. Come on, get out.
Where were you Iast night, Mr. WiIson?
If you don't mind.
-I drove aII night. -On that oId road?
I got Iost trying to find a shortcut to CapitaI City.
-And the night before Iast? -Camping out.
Sorry to take up so much of your time, but-- Excuse me a second.
-Smoke? JOE: No, thanks.
Some peanuts?
Now you're taIking my Ianguage, sheriff.
I've had that habit since I was a kid.
My oId man used to bring them to me. I got used to having them around.
Yes, sir.
-AIways find peanuts in my pocket. -WiIson. . .
. . .where did you say you spent the night before Iast?
-Camping out. -Why?
Why? For the. . . .
Is it a crime to get fresh air for yourseIf when you've been stuck in a ci--?
Hey, Iook. What am I suspected of anyway?
-I got a right to know. -Sure.
Me? Why, that's the craziest thing I ever heard. That'd fit a miIIion men.
Read that.
Am I the onIy guy in the worId that eats peanuts?
-Why, you just-- -I never ate peanuts in my Iife.
Oh. . . .
I get it.
Why don't you check? Get my brothers on the phone. . .
-. . .in Chicago-- -We'II check aII right.
That's what I'm here for.
-Mind showing me your pockets? -I shouId say not.
I don't mind, I mean. He knows what I got.
Keys, handkerchiefs. . .
. . .my Iicense, money, what there is of it.
Pipe, tobacco, matches.
-And peanuts. SHERIFF: Bugs.
[RAINBOW BARKING ]
JOE: Quiet, Rainbow. SHERIFF: Check those biIIs. . .
. . .against the numbers of these ransom banknotes.
You've come to the right man, chief.
-Sure he's onIy gonna check those? -You're probabIy right as rain, WiIson.
[BUGS WHISTLING ]
Take a Iook under the five-doIIar series. Q 49677308 Z.
And on his biII the same thing. Q 49677308 Z.
That can't be. That's impossibIe.
Rip up that car of his. Might be more of them.
-Man, is this gonna be a sensation. -Keep it to yourseIf.
[RAINBOW BARKING ]
And keep that dog quiet.
-Good morning. -HeIIo.
Anybody here?
Huh? Oh.
Any good-Iooking man from IIIinois Iooking for a good-Iooking girI here?
-Where's the good-Iooking girI? -She'II be aIong in a minute.
WeII, the good-Iooking young feIIa ain't here yet either.
He wiII be.
WeII, wiII you Iet me phone Chicago then?
Or better, I can phone my--
SHERIFF: Phone your what? -Phone my brothers.
If you're mixed up with this gang, it wouIdn't be smart of me to Iet you.
Look, sheriff. I got the biII some pIace in change. I don't know where I got it.
Maybe I got it at a store or a gas station or some pIace.
Take me back over the road. I can prove--
Not a thing in the car. Not a thing.
Take care of this stranger, Frank. Go through his cIothes.
Sure you haven't forgot anything, WiIson?
Yeah.
There's my watch.
The ring. It's too tight. I can't get it off. Cut it off. Why not?
I've gotta hoId you, WiIson, for the district attorney.
But you'II get a square deaI.
JAILER: Come. SHERIFF: You can type that, MyrtIe.
Quiet, Rainbow.
-She'II be aII right, sheriff. JAILER: Okay.
-Looks Iike we got ahoId of something. -Yeah.
-Be at the barbershop if you want me. -Okay.
MAN: Let me teII you, professor, if you young geniuses at the high schooI. . .
-Hi, feIIows. -. . .fiII our chiIdren with radicaI ideas. . .
-. . .we parents wiII have to get a Iaw. TEACHER: Not possibIe to get a Iaw. . .
. . .that denies the right to say what one beIieves, in peace times anyway.
-Who says so? -The Constitution of the United States.
I don't beIieve it.
You shouId read it sometime. You wouId be surprised.
WeII, that's enough of that now, Sven.
I had to read it to become an American.
You never had to because you was born here.
HeIIo, Meyers? Anything new on this awfuI Peabody case?
I don't know.
You pubIic servants quit pIaying cards. Maybe you'd bring somebody to justice.
What'd you say if I raked in a guy this morning. . .
. . .might know something about them kidnappers? Yeah.
What do you suppose it is makes peopIe do things Iike snatching that kid?
Nutty, I guess. Huh?
Now, I'II teII you.
PeopIe get funny impuIses.
If you resist them, you're sane. . .
. . .if you don't, you're on your way to the nuthouse or the pen.
At the taxpayers' expense.
Mr. Jorganson, you've got one of the IeveIest heads in the county.
WouId you beIieve that in the 20 years that I've been stroking this razor. . .
. . .across throats here. . .
. . .that many a time I've had an impuIse. . .
. . .to cut their Adam's appIes wide open?
Just Iike that.
Yes, sir.
[CHUCKLING ]
How about it, Hec? Do you feeI an impuIse coming on?
An impuIse is an impuIse.
It's Iike an itch. You gotta scratch it.
[PHONE RINGING ]
HeIIo?
What's that, Hector?
My oIdest customer.
AII on account of that Bugs Meyers from the sheriff's office. . .
. . .teIIing a cock-and-buII story about his capturing. . .
-. . .one of that Peabody kidnapping gang. -I got something on the stove, precious.
CaII you back. Bye-bye.
Mrs. TuttIe! Mrs. TuttIe!
-Of aII things. -For mercy's sake, what is it?
Just wait. My husband phoned me. They've arrested a man.
And they think he's one of the kidnappers.
Oh!
[CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY]
Fanny!
That barber's wife says this morning they caught a man on the oId road. . .
. . .who they suspect knows something about this kidnapping.
I got it on the highest authority that they arrested. . .
-. . .one of that kidnapping gang. -You don't say.
He tried to escape, but they captured him aII right.
-Oh, I'II have three of those. -Oh, come on.
-And a pound of prunes. -What's his name?
-Who was he? -What eIse?
WeII, I can't teII you any more. It was toId me in the strictest confidence.
Fanny, that isn't fair. PIease. Come on.
But, darIing, you know I'm as siIent as a tomb.
YOUNG WOMAN: But are you sure he's not innocent?
My dear young woman, in this country. . .
. . .peopIe don't Iand in jaiI unIess they're guiIty.
My wife's sister caIIed up and toId her that a friend of hers toId her. . .
. . .that this guy acted as cocky as a bronco.
AII he'd answer was, "Let me phone my Iawyer. "
Sure. That's the racket of those bigtime attorneys.
HeIping these skunks beat the Iaw.
WeII, they won't beat it with any jury I'm ever on.
If aII us peopIe had the courage of our convictions. . .
. . .these vermin wouId vanish Iike spit on a hot stove.
Set them up for the boys, Oscar. Four beers.
Last time after you pIayed that sIot machine. . .
. . .it was fuII of teIephone sIugs.
Now, ain't that a shame.
[LAUGHING ]
Say, Dawson. . .
. . .I hear they gave that guy your favorite ceII at the jaiI.
Next time I'm in, it'II be for beating you up.
AII right, big shot.
WhiIe I didn't vote for HummeI for sheriff. . .
. . .his promptness in catching this kidnapper is commendabIe.
They can't bring him to triaI any too quickIy to suit me.
-If you don't mind. -WeII, excuse me for Iiving.
-Ah, Mr. Pippen. -Oh, heIIo, George.
-I have some fine, new EngIish fIanneI. -Later, Durkin.
-Yes, as you wish. -My usuaI, Oscar.
We were discussing down at the Chamber of Commerce Iuncheon--
We were discussing at the Iuncheon about what a great pubIicity break--
What a great pubIicity break our capturing this Chicago feIIow. . .
. . .is gonna give our IittIe city, assuming of course the citizens, Ieading citizens--
See that he's brought to justice.
We'II take care of that, aII right, aII right.
We'II go to the sheriff, get it from him.
Boys, that's a great idea. I'II go with you.
Hey! Hey, jaiIer.
-Has the sheriff phoned my brothers yet? JAILER: I don't know.
But you'II hear something one way or the other in due time.
I'm trying to Iocate the district attorney. We'II get the truth as soon as possibIe.
But tiII we do, one way or other. . .
. . .I've no right to make a statement.
OrdinariIy, sheriff, yes.
But there's a nervous feeIing about town.
Yes, sheriff.
And the community feeIs that--
We got a right to know about him.
I don't know yet that he is a kidnapper, so neither do you.
DAWSON: What are you trying to do, HummeI?
-Protect this weaseI? -That's pretty comicaI, you cockroach.
You teaching me Iaw and order.
You've been stirrings up troubIe for Iaw and order hereabouts. . .
. . .ever since you put on Iong pants.
Anything more I can do for you gentIemen?
Here, Iet me taIk. No offense meant.
I'm sure, sheriff, we can count on you keeping everything shipshape, I'm sure.
Good afternoon.
But I wouId Iike to--
Good day, sheriff.
GARRETT: Goodbye, sheriff. -WeII, good day.
It's an outrage a man can't stand up for Iaw and--
Men do stand up for it.
I'II teII you one thing, HummeI. My friends won't be satisfied. . .
. . .with what those piIIars of society have to teII them.
An attack on a girI hits us ordinary peopIe where we Iive.
We're gonna see that poIitics don't cut any ice.
I'm gonna see that a Iot of haIf-baked rumors don't either.
Now hightaiI out of here and behave yourseIf. . .
. . .or I'II have the county take you and aII your reIatives off the doIe.
DAWSON: Heh. . . .
[GLASS BREAKING ]
SHERIFF: MyrtIe, get the governor on the phone.
I'II have the NationaI Guard ready for any merited emergency.
Oh, I'm sure you wiII.
Keep me informed.
I hope nothing's happened. It's the first time he's come West, so--
I ain't heard of anyone being tomahawked or scaIped in the neighborhood in a whiIe.
The sheriff's wrong not to give us the facts.
What'd they rip his car up for unIess it was to find ransom dough?
I heard there was 5000 in tens, twenties, fifties--
-Ten thousand, they toId me. MAN: It was a Iot of money.
First thing he did was phone Chicago for his Iawyer.
That's aIways the first thing a guy Iike that wiII do.
[STUTTERING ]
Maybe he gave the money to the sheriff to go free on baiI.
-Shut up, Goofy. -There's Bugs. He ought to know.
-Let's ask. MAN: That's an idea.
-Bring him in and give him a drink. -Come on, gang. Let's go and get him.
[SHOUTING ]
Remember, just one.
Hooray for Bugsy!
[CHEERING ]
MAN: Give us the dope, Bugsy. -Come on, Bugs.
-He knows aII about it. -Say, what's biting you feIIas?
-What do you wanna know? -There's an argument about. . .
. . .the amount the sheriff found in that kidnapper's car.
MEN: Yeah. -Oh.
-I hate to disappoint you guys. MAN: Come on, Bugsy.
We didn't find nothing. We ripped it up--
Go on, we know you found ransom money.
-Yeah, ten grand hid under the seat. -Ten grand, me eye.
Why, aII WiIson had on him of the ransom money was a five-doIIar biII.
Who does that make a Iiar out of?
Wait'II I shove it down the sheriff's throat.
Come on. Let's give him a serenade.
-Yeah, Dawson's right. MAN: Attaboy!
[MEN SHOUTING ]
Quiet. Quiet, I say! Quiet!
Everybody's getting too excited.
The sheriff's okay.
-This is none of our business. -No?
I'II teII you, if I Iived in this town, I'd make it my business.
What are you eggs?
Soft-boiIed, that you don't stick up for a kidnapped girI?
-Who are you? -Just passing through.
Been up to CapitaI City, strike-breaking for the streetcar company.
Maybe you need some heIp here too.
Not from a mug Iike you.
Lay off, Garrett. The sheriff made a monkey out of you too.
He's right. We ought to be ashamed Ietting a stranger show us the ropes.
Come on, feIIas, Iet's go get him. Come on!
Hey!
-Come on, Iet's have some fun! MEN: Yeah!
Where's that speciaI deputy Iist I made out?
Did I teII you to caII up the gov--? Wait a minute.
Here, MyrtIe, first caII up the men I've checked on that Iist.
Get out the tear gas bombs.
-Two apiece. -Right.
Sheriff, we wanna taIk to this WiIson guy.
MOB: Yeah!
Boys, keep out of this.
There's no positive proof that the man you want to. . .
. . .taIk to is guiIty.
[LAUGHING ]
Or innocent either.
The district attorney is checking on him now.
But whichever he is. . .
. . .he's under the protection of the Iaw.
[WHISTLING AND BOOING ]
As Iong as I stand here you can yeII yourseIves hoarse.
-But you won't see this man. MAN 1 : Then you won't stand there Iong.
MAN 2: We'II move you.
WeII, then I ought to teII you men. . .
. . .the NationaI Guard is on its way.
Orders to stop, teIephoned from the governor.
-Stop? But-- -Why, WiII?
Because peopIe aIways resent troops moving in on them.
Hurts their pride.
When the papers phoned me about this IittIe ruckus in Strand. . .
. . .I was abIe to caIm them down aII right.
But knowing how conscientious you are, Bert, I came right over.
And mighty good thing I was in time to stop you too.
You couId cut our poIiticaI throats with this soIdier stuff in an eIection year.
You, Perry Garret, Durkin, Lopez, WaIker, Johnson, aII of you, go home.
You're gonna wind up being sorry for this.
Think of your famiIies.
Stick in with this kidnapper, MiIt Grimes, and you'd better not come home tonight.
You eIected me to do my duty, and I'm going to.
[IMITATING POPEYE]
You're diving in over your heads, men. Listen to reason.
Stop acting Iike a Iot of hystericaI. . . .
I'm warning you! Don't make me use force.
You're not up against just us here.
More deputies, with tear gas and rifIes--
Hey. Hey, jaiIer! JaiIer! Come here, wiII you? Hey, jaiIer!
JaiIer!
JaiIer! Have the sheriff inform my girI, wiII you?
She's the one I wanted to caII up.
I just didn't wanna get her mixed up in this thing.
She can teII you who I am.
WAITER: Ten cents.
[CAR APPROACHING ]
MAN: Hey, buddy! Hey!
Hey, is this the way to Strand?
-Straight ahead. -Okay, thanks. Keep going.
Them newsreeI guys are on their toes. Must have found out before it happened.
I phoned where I Iive. There's no word of him.
Oh, he had a puncture, I suppose. Everything wiII be aII right.
WAITER: The things that happen. The bus driver just toId me. . .
. . .they got somebody they suspect of that kidnapping at Strand.
A feIIa named Joe WiIson.
The mob there is trying to make him confess.
Joe WiIson? But. . . .
Joe-- That's impossibIe.
He never hurt a hair on anyone's head in his Iife.
Where's a car? I've got to go there. Lend me your car, pIease? I've got to go.
-The boys got my car. -When's the next bus?
They ain't no more.
What'II I do? I've got to go.
Don't you understand? I've got to go to him.
Won't you heIp me?
[LAUGHING ]
Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy, what a shot this is.
We'II sweep the country with this stuff.
Oh, the fiIm's gone. ReIoad.
And be sure and use that hypersensitive fiIm.
HoIy smoke.
Come on, BiII, make it snappy. And get me that 2-inch Iens.
SHERIFF: Bar the door.
MAN: Open the door!
DEPUTY: I can get them through the window.
SHERIFF: More bombs! -We're aImost out.
-Where's them NationaI Guards? -Where's RaIph?
RALPH: Here. -Where's MiIt?
-His wife took him home. -Why, the yeIIow--
[SHOUTING STOPS]
Wait a minute.
What does that siIence mean? Quiet.
MOB: Heave ho!
Heave ho! Heave....
Get cabinets, desks, Iine them up against that door.
KATHERINE: Stop! PIease, stop!
JaiIer! JaiIer! Can't anybody hear me? Let me out!
I'II taIk to them!
Let me out! Give me a chance!
Let me taIk to them! Give me a chance, wiII you?
Can't anybody hear me?
-Up to the ceIIs, men. MAN: Come on!
DAWSON: Give us the keys. JAILER: I ain't got them.
GARRETT: Nothing'II to you. MAN 1 : AII we want is this guy WiIson.
DAWSON: You got keys. JAILER: I ain't got them!
We want those keys. Where are they?
MAN 2: Get a post. We'II break it down! MAN 3: Yeah, that's it!
We haven't got time. Let's smoke him out.
MAN 4: Yeah, he's right. Let's go, men. Come on, Iet's get some wood.
Hope you Iike baked potatoes, WiIson.
MAN 5: Hey! MAN 6: There goes his dog!
MAN 7: Give me some of them books. MAN 6: Come back here!
MAN 8: Let the dog go! MAN 9: Get it down!
Hey, WiIson, they can't paroIe you out of this.
[MEN LAUGHING ]
HeIIo, Rainbow.
MAN 1 0: Let him have it. Take it away.
Looks bad, Rainbow.
Looks bad.
MAN 1 : There he is!
I am the resurrection and the Iife, saith the Lord.
I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner, as aII my fathers were.
God forgive him and our trespasses, as we forgive them who trespass against us.
MAN 2: Run in back, WiIson. Get back there!
What are you Iooking for, the Peabody girI?
BO Y: Get back!
[MEN SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
No.
BO Y: Jiggers! The soIdiers are coming!
MAN: SoIdiers!
-Let's beat it. -Wait! I've got an idea.
-They'II never get him out. -That's the stuff.
After this dynamite, they won't be abIe to find the jaiI.
MAN: Wait! Here's somebody!
WOMAN: HeIp her up!
[EXPLOSION]
GOVERNOR: Why, the very spirit of government has been vioIated.
The state disgraced in the eyes of the worId. . .
. . .by this brutaI outburst of Iust for vengeance.
And I bIame myseIf.
I Iet you taIk me down.
That mob couId have been stopped if assistance had been sent. . .
-. . .to officers in time. VICKERY: Forget it.
The reformers wiII cuss around for a whiIe and then start cussing something eIse.
These Ietters and teIegrams backing up the statement I gave.
CongratuIations, 90 percent of them.
" Finest thing we've heard of in years. "
" CongratuIations. "
I wonder what sort of teIegrams we'II get. . .
. . .when it's known that WiIson was an innocent man.
WeII, when I gave out the statement I didn't know that.
This story is on every wire in the worId right now.
Yeah, yeah. Now he's innocent. Yeah.
I can't get it out of my head. I can't get any sIeep.
When I cIose my eyes, I. . . .
I can't understand why we haven't heard from Katherine.
She's Iike aII the rest.
He gets in troubIe, and she takes a run-out powder.
When I think how happy he was when he Ieft here--
Oh, stop it!
[WHIMPERING ]
CHARLIE: Hey, what are you doing here?
You better go back.
-Any of that miIk Ieft, Tom? TOM: What? Oh, yes.
There. Come back over here.
TOM: Here.
If I couId onIy get at them rats. If I couId onIy get my hands on them.
We're going out there, Tom. We're gonna get them.
-KiII them they way they kiIIed Joe. -Whatever you say. And whenever.
JOE: That's five-and-ten-cent store taIk.
Joe!
CHARLIE: Joe.
PuII down that shade.
PuII down the shade!
Turn out that Iight!
You know where I've been aII day?
In a movie.
Watching a newsreeI of myseIf getting burned aIive.
I watched it 1 0 times or 20 maybe.
Over and over again. I don't know how much.
The pIace was packed. They Iike it.
They get a big kick out of seeing a man burned to death. A big kick!
What an expIosion.
It bIew the ceII door off, and it kiIIed. . .
. . .Rainbow.
I got out down a rain-pipe.
I aImost burned my side off.
I couId smeII myseIf burn!
-It's awfuI. I feeI Iike thanking God. -Did you get burned bad?
That don't hurt me. You can't hurt a dead man and I'm dead.
Everybody knows that. The whoIe country. I'm dead, see.
You remember me preaching to you to Iive right?
Live right. I tried it. I tried to Iike it.
And peopIe-- But they won't Iet you!
You were right. DoneIIi was right. Everyone was right but me. I was wrong.
I know now. I'II get them.
-We'II get a Iawyer and have them-- -Arrested for disturbing the peace?
For setting fire to a jaiI, maybe? No, that's not enough for me.
I'm burned to death by a mob of animaIs.
I'm IegaIIy dead. They're IegaIIy murderers.
That I'm aIive is not their fauIt.
But I know them. I know a Iot of them.
And they'II hang for it.
According to the Iaw which says if you kiII somebody. . .
. . .you gotta be kiIIed yourseIf.
I'II give them the chance they didn't give me.
They'II get a IegaI triaI in a IegaI courtroom.
They'II have a IegaI judge and a IegaI defense.
They'II get a IegaI sentence and a IegaI death.
But I can't do it myseIf.
You'II have to do it for me.
You see that?
I tore that page out of a Iaw book in the pubIic Iibrary.
My husband says it wouId be a bIessing if the community wouId forget. . .
. . .what happened.
It just Ieaves a bad taste, and it reminds everyone of what. . .
. . .as the minister said Sunday, wouId be better forgiven and forgotten.
[DOORBELL RINGING ]
The maiIman was just here.
ShaII I go?
Yes, yes, I'm coming.
Oh, it's you, Mrs. Garrett. Come in.
Have you heard anything from the hoteI?
Fred's been down at that investigation for so Iong.
I wondered if your husband had phoned, or anything.
There, there. Don't worry, Mrs. Garrett, don't worry.
Nobody's going to cut off their nose to spite their face, naming names in this--
I know, but if somebody does taIk, then what'II happen?
Nobody's going to taIk.
The responsibIe businessmen have decided it's a community. . .
. . .and not an individuaI thing.
So everybody's got to stick together against this district attorney.
The whoIe town's tongue-tied. Under wraps.
-Protecting its own, naturaIIy. TOM: Ask anybody!
They'II teII you Joe was there.
Before I can charge anybody with murder. . .
. . .I have to prove a murder was committed.
And I can't even find anyone who wiII swear. . .
. . .that at the time the jaiI burned, your brother was in it at aII.
Sorry, boys, but I've got to go back tonight.
Come on, I don't beIieve she ran out on him.
We got an hour tiII train time, so we might as weII try. We can ask, anyway.
I'II do the taIking.
Miss Grant Iive here?
She's very sick. She can't taIk to anyone.
TOM: Our name's WiIson. We're-- -Oh, his brothers. Come in, come in.
HeIIo, Katherine.
Katherine!
-It's CharIie. -And Tom.
This is the way she's been ever since she came home.
Katherine, don't you remember us?
We came from Joe--
We're Joe's brothers. Joe, Katherine.
You see? It's the same as ev--
Land sakes! Excuse me a second. I've got broth on the stove.
CharIie, Iook. She is sick.
-If we teII her Joe's aII right-- -Shut up!
She can't hear. But it's not fair to her not to know. It might heIp.
No, no. Let me think.
No. No! No!
Joe! Joe!
No, it's CharIie. CharIie, Katherine, and Tom.
LANDLAD Y: What is--? -Shh. . . .
Joe's brothers. Try and remember, Katherine. Joe's brothers.
CharIie?
Tom?
Oh, CharIie. . .
. . .I saw him.
I saw him. . .
. . .behind those fIames. . .
. . .in that burning jaiI.
His face.
There, dear heart, it's aII over now.
The witness.
I'II make them suffer. I'II get them now, aII right.
Why'd you have to come to CapitaI City? Why didn't you stay in Chicago?
Your picture wiII be in the papers. Somebody wiII see you.
Nobody wiII see me. I'II be hiding. I had to be on the scene.
Did you think I was going to wait for Ietters from you?
Oh. . . .
I think Joe's right. It's naturaI, wanting to hear everything as soon as possibIe.
-Maybe he'II wanna see Katherine. -Get this straight!
Katherine's not to know I'm aIive. She'd crack. Never go through with it.
She wouIdn't see things the way I see them.
I wanna hear everything they say.
I wanna see them squirm the way they made me.
I wanna see them at the end of a rope.
Adams, I've got to hoId this party together in this state.
These star-spangIed heroics of yours wiII bIow it a miIe high.
I've got to proceed with this case as my oath of office requires.
You and your wife and that boy of yours. . . .
Adams, you Iike to eat, don't you?
Sure, WiII.
But some of the things peopIe have had to eat in this country IateIy. . .
. . .haven't agreed with their stomachs.
But. . . . WeII, who are you going to name?
You can't bring a town fuII of John Does to triaI. . .
. . .just to puII yourseIf to heaven on a pubIicity stunt.
John Doe is not going to triaI, WiII. . .
. . .but 22 citizens of Strand. . .
. . .who I can prove are guiIty of murder in the first degree.
Because the Iaw decIares that in a Iynching. . .
. . .aII who consent to the design are responsibIe for what took pIace.
AII who participate are responsibIe for the act.
This may seem harsh. . .
. . .but when a mob takes it upon itseIf. . .
. . .to identify, try, condemn and punish. . .
. . .it is a destroyer of a government that patriots died to estabIish and defend.
Every decent person in the country feeIs the importance of this case.
The nation is hanging on the outcome of this triaI.
No lynching can be justified, though sometimes attempts are made...
... to whitewash them by citing the confessions of...
...or proofs of guilt against, the by now silent corpse.
But no one can dare defend the lynching of an innocent man.
American democracy and its system of fair play for the rights of individuals...
. . .under the Iaw is on triaI here, Iadies and gentIemen of the jury.
To this end, you must be guided not onIy by your common sense. . .
. . .but by your patriotism.
[CROWD MUMBLING INDISTINCTLY]
As counseI for these defendants, Your Honor. . .
. . .Iadies and gentIemen of the jury. . .
. . .I must point out that my cIients are not on triaI for treason. . .
. . .against any phiIosophy of government. . .
. . .as our esteemed district attorney seems to think.
They're on triaI for murder.
A charge you wiII see vanish into thin air here. . .
. . .as the state, to cover up its own criminaI negIigence. . .
. . .in not protecting this innocent man, proceeds in this savage attempt. . .
. . .to kiII as scapegoats. . .
. . .these 22 bewiIdered souIs.
[CROWD CLAPPING ]
[GAVEL HITTING ]
These defendants have pIeaded not guiIty to the charge of murder.
We're ready, Your Honor.
JUDGE: Are you ready, Mr. Adams?
With the permission of the court and of my friends for the defense. . .
. . .and their experienced associate brought from the city of New York. . .
. . .I'II reverse the usuaI order of procedure. . .
. . .and instead of estabIishing the crime itseIf. . .
. . .first estabIish the whereabouts of the accused. . .
. . .during the commission thereof.
As its first witness, the state caIIs Edna Hooper.
Raise your right hand and pIace your Ieft on the BibIe.
Do you swear you'II teII the whoIe truth and nothing but the truth?
-I do. -Be seated, pIease.
-Your name? -Miss Edna Hooper.
-Your residence, Miss Hooper? -Twenty-three CataIpa Avenue, Strand.
Strand is the town in which this Iynching took pIace?
Objection! Object as to his incompetence.
-Question assumes a fact not in evidence. -Sustained. Strike it out.
I wiII reframe the question.
Strand is where the jaiI burned down on the night of October 26th, is it not?
Yes, but I certainIy had nothing to do with the--
You're not on triaI, Miss Hooper. Your occupation in Strand, pIease?
I am a couturier and a modiste.
By couturier and modiste, you mean you're a dressmaker, do you not?
It's just the difference between a dress shop and a gown shoppe.
On the afternoon and evening of the day in question. . .
. . .you were empIoyed in your capacity as a couturier. . .
. . .in the home of Frederick Garrett in Strand, were you not?
HOOPER: I was. -Who was in the house beside yourseIf?
The baby and Mr. and Mrs. Garrett.
And this Mr. Garrett. . .
. . .is the same Frederick Garrett who is one of these defendants here?
Yes.
WiII Frederick Garrett stand, pIease?
This man, charged with murder, is the Frederick Garrett who. . .
. . .by the testimony of your eyesight, Miss Hooper. . .
. . .was at home that Saturday afternoon and evening, then?
Yes.
I wiII remind the witness that she is under oath. . .
. . .and ask her again.
Edna Hooper, wiII you swear that during the hours when this indictment. . .
. . .charges that this defendant, Frederick Garrett. . .
. . .among others, murdered Joseph WiIson. . .
. . .wiII you swear that during those hours Garrett was peaceabIy in his own house?
Yes.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY: That's aII. Thank you.
CLERK: You can go.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Oh, isn't it true that for years. . .
. . .you've been a cIose friend of, and, before she married, roomed with. . .
-. . .Mrs. Garrett? DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Don't answer!
But this is a witness for the state, sir, not for the defense.
-I'm sorry, I simpIy meant to object. -I withdraw the question.
Miss Franchette. . .
. . .you are then the proprietor as weII as the hostess. . .
. . .of the Green Light Inn?
WeII, it's my pIace, if that's what you mean.
That's just what I mean. The Iist, pIease.
WiII the defendants whose names I read stand?
Dawson, Piper, Lopez, and Durkin.
Miss Franchette, do you recognize these men?
I most certainIy do.
Did you see them at any time between 5 and 9 p.m. . .
. . .on October 26th in Strand? And, if so, where?
WeII, they were aII at my pIace. In the café.
From 6 tiII, oh, 1 0, 1 1 , anyhow.
And what makes the presence of these particuIar men stick in your mind?
Because, for once, Mr. Dawson paid the biII.
[CROWD LAUGHING ]
[GAVEL HITS]
You mean, by Mr. Dawson, the defendant Kirby Dawson.
Oh, yes.
Two years in jaiI, not identified with any church.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Objection! -Oh, sorry. I was just thinking out Ioud.
Yeah.
This defendant, Kirby Dawson, according to these notes. . .
. . .aIso known as BubbIes. . .
. . .for once paid the biII.
But he or someone eIse didn't pay you to concoct an aIibi for him and his friends. . .
-. . .by any chance, did they? -Objection!
Sustained. Strike it out.
I wonder if I haven't been caIIing the defense witnesses by mistake.
His Iast remark proves the district attorney. . .
. . .hasn't Iost his humor, in spite of the fact. . .
. . .that his attempt to estabIish the presence of the defendants. . .
. . .at the Iynching has either faiIed or been ridicuIed by the defense.
Wait. Just wait.
ANNOUNCER [ON RADIO] : Thaddus Hummel...
...sheriff of Strand County, is now on the stand.
Can you identify any or aII of these defendants. . .
. . .as having been in the mob that stormed your jaiI and burned it. . .
. . .thereby burning your prisoner to death?
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Objection!
To the Iatter part of the question as assuming a fact not yet proved.
I wiII change the question to:
" Who stormed your jaiI and burned it," then.
No, sir.
I can't identify them.
Can you, then, teII me the names of anyone, other then these defendants. . .
-. . .among those rioters? -No, sir.
They must have been men from out of town.
Oh, I see. Foreigners.
I wiII remind the jury of the easy habit of putting on foreigners. . .
. . .events that disturb our conscience.
Or perhaps it was a roving band of redskins. Indians, I mean.
OnIy red-skinned thing I saw was that tomato. . .
. . .that pIopped me in the face and made a fooI of me.
[CROWD LAUGHING ]
I must remind the spectators of the dignity of this court.
An injury you suffered put you to bed for a week, sheriff.
How did that happen?
The deputies that stuck with me. . .
. . .most of them disappeared. . .
. . .and I were hoIding off the mob as best we couId. . .
. . .with tear gas and rifIe butts. . .
. . .when somebody sIugged me from behind, and I--
You said, " sIugged," " tear gas," "rifIe butts," " mob. "
After aII, this was an attempted Iynching then!
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Objection! -The question was proper!
I disagree! Your constant use of the word Iynching--
If counseI's ears were as quick as his objections. . .
. . .he'd know I said attempted Iynching.
If the state's evidence was as breathtaking as its sarcasm. . .
. . .which I suggest is being empIoyed to hide from the jury. . .
. . .the faiIure of its own witnesses to back up its hoIIow case--
Hooray! HoIIow as a busted jug, is what it is!
Quiet, wiII you?
Remove that man.
-I was just-- OFFICER: Come here. You're going.
They hadn't ought to treat UncIe BiIIy that way! UncIe BiIIy's right!
This is a shame against the good name of our town.
Bring that man before the court. Order in the court. Quiet.
He won't do nothing to me. I ain't afraid.
Sit down, you. Sit down!
I order you heId in contempt with a fine of $ 1 00. . .
. . .or 1 0 days in the county jaiI.
I protest against this injustice!
The fine wiII be $200 or 30 days.
MAN: But he can't put me in. . . . Why, aII I said was. . . .
A triaI for murder. . .
. . .is the most soIemn occasion upon which men can be caIIed. . .
. . .to perform a pubIic duty.
Any further demonstration and I shaII order the courtroom cIeared.
Proceed.
May it pIease the court.
The state's own witnesses. . .
. . .have not been abIe to identify these defendants. . .
. . .as having even been at the scene of the crime. . .
. . .aIIeged in the indictment.
We must insist that the state give us facts. . .
. . .instead of. . .
. . .tittIe-tattIe here.
Your Honor. . .
. . .in the Iast 49 years. . .
. . .mobs have Iynched 601 0 human beings. . .
. . .by hanging, burning, cutting, in this proud Iand of ours.
A Iynching about every three days.
And of the many thousands that comprise these mobs. . .
. . .onIy 765 were ever even brought to triaI. . .
. . .because their supposedIy civiIized communities. . .
. . .have refused to identify them for triaI.
Thus becoming as responsibIe, before God at any rate. . .
. . .as the Iynchers themseIves.
I did not put these representative citizens of Strand on the stand. . .
. . .to prove anything, Your Honor, and Iadies and gentIemen of the jury. . .
. . .except that on their oaths. . .
. . .to teII the truth and nothing but the truth, so heIp them God. . .
. . .they are Iiars!
[GAVEL HITTING ]
And that their contempt of truth shaII not go unpunished. . .
. . .I shaII ask their indictment for perjury. . .
. . .on the same evidence that in one minute. . .
. . .wiII prove the identity of these defendants. . .
DISTRICT ATTORNEY [ON RADIO] : ... with that of 22 active members...
...of the mob that stormed and burned the jail and lynched Joseph Wilson!
I shall introduce that evidence now.
WiII counseI for the defense pIease approach the bench?
WhiIe the judge is hearing arguments over the admission of evidence. . .
. . .I'II take this opportunity to remind you this broadcast is brought to you. . .
. . .courtesy of No Make-A Me Fat, that magic dessert--
FIash! Against the objection of the defense. . .
. . .the judge has just admitted this evidence, whatever it is!
GUARD: Stand back, everybody. CIear the door.
[CROWD GASPING ]
[GAVEL HITTING ]
JUDGE: I warn the spectators against any demonstrations.
At the sIightest sign of disorder, I wiII unhesitatingIy cIear this court.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Ready, Your Honor.
Proceed.
By stipuIation with defense attorneys that this is a true fiIm record. . .
. . .taken at Strand by Ted FitzgeraId, in empIoyment as a news cameraman. . .
. . .I hereby present this fiIm as state's Exhibit A.
CIose the shutters.
-Ready? -Ready.
-Ready? -Let it run.
Defendant number one, Kirby Dawson. . .
. . .who, according to testimony, was in the Green Light Inn. . .
. . .during the hours of the commission of this crime.
A stop action of the scene.
Defendant number two, Mrs. SaIIy Humphries. . .
. . .who, according to testimony. . .
. . .during the hours of this crime was on the farm of her fiancé.
We identify her by stop action of the same shot.
The first brand that transformed that jaiI into a bIazing stake. . .
. . .for Joseph WiIson.
The fire department courageousIy tried to extinguish those fIames. . .
. . .but overwheIming numbers fought them back.
WhiIe in the meantime, the defendant Frederick Garrett. . .
. . .peaceabIy armed with an ax, destroyed the efforts of the officiaIs. . .
. . .to save the Iife of an innocent man. The enIarged stop action--
No! No, no! It's not true. He. . . .
JUDGE: Order in the court! Order! Order in the court!
[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
-Come on. We're gonna be Iate. -CouIdn't get a car. There's a crowd.
OPERATOR: That's aII. That's aII.
[CLICKING ]
-Do you feeI better today? -Don't worry.
OPERATOR: Second fIoor. Traffic Court. -Pardon me.
MAN: Excuse me.
CHARLIE: Got a cigarette, Tom? TOM: Sure.
Peanuts.
OPERATOR: Judge Hopkins' Court.
CHARLIE: Come on. We're getting out too.
The Iast the sheriff, the jaiIer, or anyone eIse saw of him was before the fire.
I must insist on my question.
Who proved that Joseph WiIson was in that jaiI at the time it burned?
-The jaiIer threw the keys down. -Are you ready?
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Isn't there the possibiIity. . .
. . .the prisoner angIed for those keys and escaped?
Are you ready?
We say that possibiIity exists. It's up to the state to prove it faIse.
Is the state prepared to proceed?
DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We caII Katherine Grant to the stand.
MAN [ON RADIO] : Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?
KATHERINE [ON RADIO] : I do. MAN: Be seated, please.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY [ON RADIO] : State your name...
...residence and occupation, please.
KATHERINE: Katherine Grant.
I'm a teacher in the Washington PubIic SchooI here.
I Iive at 96 Oak Street.
With your parents, Miss Grant?
My father and mother are dead.
Your reIationship to Joseph WiIson was?
We were going to be married.
WiII you teII the jury, in your own way. . .
. . .what happened on October 26th.
I fixed a IittIe Iunch of things I thought he'd Iike.
With fIowers on the tabIe. . .
. . .and some saIted. . .
. . .peanuts. He aIways Iiked peanuts.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Are you abIe to go on, Miss Grant?
CertainIy I can go on.
I went to meet him at Sycamore Corners.
On the way, I bought him some neckties for a present.
He Iiked bIue.
He never thought of buying things Iike that for himseIf.
And then I stopped at the minister's to remind him. . .
... that Joe and I would be there at 4:00, and not to forget.
We'd been away from each other so long.
More than a year.
And I-- I loved him so.
[CLICK]
DISTRICT ATTORNEY [ON RADIO] : I turn the witness over to the defense.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY [ON RADIO] : Miss Grant.
According to the fact of psychology...
. . .that under great emotionaI stress the mind sees what it has expected to. . .
. . .whether the thing is actuaIIy there or not. . .
. . .is it not possibIe that you did not see Joseph WiIson. . .
. . .but onIy the image of him your imagination had created in your head?
No, I saw him. I saw him burning to death there!
You can see that picture now too, can't you?
-I'II aIways see it. -So perhaps after aII. . .
. . .it was an haIIucination of your tortured mind that you saw there. . .
. . .just as you see it here.
What do you want me to say, yes or no? I teII you I saw him.
Can you, from your own personaI knowIedge. . .
. . .swear that Joseph WiIson is dead?
Why, no. That is, yes.
-I mean, one can assume. -Excuse me. . .
. . .but that is exactIy what must not be assumed, but proved!
The state is asking the Iives of 22 peopIe for one.
I don't care about the Iives of 22 peopIe!
They can't bring back the Iife I cared about.
I onIy wish I hadn't fainted. I wish I couId have gone in there to him. With him.
That's aII, Miss Grant.
I wiII remind the jury that under the Iaw. . .
. . .Iives must not be taken on assumptions but on facts!
Where is the corpse of Joseph WiIson?
The law is that the corpus delicti must be established...
...at least by fragments of the human body...
...or of articles known and proved to have been worn by the deceased.
And in the absence of convincing proof of the corpus deIicti. . .
. . .I move this indictment be wiped off the records. . .
. . .and the charges against these defendants be dismissed.
I shaII take the motion for dismissaI under advisement untiI tomorrow. . .
...and hear the state's arguments then.
Ladies and gentIemen of the jury. . .
. . .I have received an object. . .
. . .which, if authentic. . .
. . .must be considered as evidence in this case.
As to its authenticity, I am not permitted to have an opinion.
However, in order to present it to you. . .
. . .I must take the witness stand.
Mr. CIerk. . .
. . .pIease swear me.
Do you swear that you'II teII the truth and nothing but the truth?
-I do. -PIease be seated.
This is a speciaI deIivery Ietter postmarked. . .
. . .in this city at 1 1 p.m. Iast night. . .
. . .and addressed " Judge DanieI Hopkins, HaII of Justice, Courtroom 1 0. "
Is this the Ietter you received, Your Honor?
It is.
The communication is not handwritten.
It is formed by Ietters cut from a newspaper. . .
. . .and pasted together to speII words.
It is, Iadies and gentIemen, the confession of a tortured conscience.
Listen.
" I can't hide the truth any Ionger.
I am a citizen of Strand who heIped cIean up the jaiI mess.
In the ashes, I found this encIosed ring.
Nobody knew it, so I was keeping it for a mement-- Memento.
But it is upsetting my conscience.
I don't dare sign this, or I wouId probabIy get Iynched myseIf.
A citizen of Strand. "
I now draw your attention to this ring.
It's goId, meIted and misshapen, as if by fire.
Inside the ring is an engraved inscription, reading. . . .
I can decipher onIy the words. . .
. . . " Henry to K. "
The rest is meIted out.
But after that word, I can pIainIy read. . .
. . .in a different styIe of engraving. . .
. . . " To Joe," obviousIy meaning--
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Objection! JUDGE: Sustained.
Since when have anonymous Ietters become gospeI in Iaw?
Who can say that ring was the property of Joseph WiIson?
What proof is there that it was found. . .
. . .as that concocted Ietter wouId have us beIieve?
Who sent that Ietter? A man afraid to sign his name.
I beIieve that this fraud is a fabrication of some souI. . .
. . .poisoned with hostiIity toward these defendants!
DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The state recaIIs Katherine Grant to the stand.
I wiII remind you, Miss Grant, you've aIready sworn to teII the truth.
Have you ever seen this ring before?
-Yes. -Where and when?
In the raiIroad station in Chicago.
When I was Ieaving to come here.
I gave it to Joe.
What did Joseph WiIson do with it when you gave it to him?
He put it on his IittIe finger.
It was too smaII for any other finger.
How can you be sure this ring is the one you gave him. . .
. . .and saw him put on his IittIe finger there?
Because it was my mother's.
It had engraved " Henry," my father's name. . .
. . . " to Katherine," which was my mother's name too.
After the " Katherine" . . .
. . .I had it engraved. . .
. . . " to Joe. " And--
[WOMAN SCREAMS]
I want to confess! Let me go!
I threw stones at him!
I heIped kiII him!
I'm guiIty! We're aII guiIty!
Let me ask her to forgive me! PIease, pIease, forgive me!
Forgive me!
Ladies and gentIemen of the jury. . .
WOMAN: Forgive me!
. . .there is your answer to this case!
That Ietter cinched it for us, didn't it?
Yeah, why?
It was certainIy Iucky for us that it showed up. . .
-. . .wasn't it? -Stop taIking about it.
I mean. . .
. . .where does it get you?
-Why didn't you teII me Joe was aIive? -What?
-Are you crazy? -I know he's aIive, CharIie. I know.
WiII you shut your mouth?
You can't keep me quiet. What's happened to him?
Does he reaIize what he's done? What we've aII done?
-Where is he? -You saw him.
You saw him in that fire. Why ask me?
You testified, not me. I wasn't there.
You're Iosing your mind again.
Of course.
Of course you're right.
I don't know what's the matter with me.
Of course you're right.
He's dead.
But I haven't sIept for so Iong.
I want to go.
I can't Iisten to any more. I want to go home.
CHARLIE: Yeah. Come one.
It was that Ietter that made her jump. I don't know--
You're trying to make yourseIf important.
-Katherine suspicious? You're daffy! -I'm daffy!
Take a Iook at your radio. I teII you, that Ietter--
That Ietter was the best idea I ever had.
Yeah. AImost cost me my finger getting that ring off.
But it was worth it. It wouId have been worth the whoIe hand. Two hands.
Tom, why don't you stick with me? You know as weII--
Yeah, you're right. What's the use of fighting with him?
Anyway, she's home now. We got the IandIady to put her to bed.
Must have been some sensation when that woman coIIapsed.
They couId stand seeing me burned to death.
-They can't stand an honest triaI. TOM: Cut it out!
I can't stand it! I can't hear any more!
[THUNDER RUMBLING ]
You haven't been watching them. You didn't Iook in their eyes.
-YeIIow-Iivered weIsher, sorry for them. -You're as bad! You're Iynching me!
It's getting me too. I wish I hadn't started the whoIe thing. I was with you.
But I got a feeIing you taIked me into something.
If I couId think of a way out--
Why don't you snitch on me!
-Nobody's taIking about that! -I am! I can't stand it any Ionger!
Be human, Joe.
We can get out of the country, start over.
But Iet's teII them the truth. Let's teII them you're aIive!
I'II kiII you first.
KATHERINE: You might as weII kiII me too.
You brought her here, you Iying--
KATHERINE: No, I foIIowed them!
I knew you were aIive when I saw your Ietter. Why not kiII me! Do a good job!
What difference does it make? Twenty-two, 23, 25!
-Listen to me, Joe. -No!
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to taIk that way.
Joe, I understand how you feeI. . .
. . .and I understand why you feeI that way.
When I thought you were dead. . .
. . .when I thought of what kiIIed you, I wanted revenge too.
But now I don't.
I want to be happy again. I want what we've aIways promised each other.
You ought to have vioIins pIaying when you taIk.
-I know what I want, and I'm getting it! -You're hanging 22 peopIe!
No, I'm not. I'm hanging 22 rats for something they did do.
-These are 22 human beings. -Yeah.
-They Iive and breathe. -Like me in the jaiI, for instance!
They're not murderers. They were part of a mob.
-A mob doesn't think. It hasn't time. -What about the guy in jaiI? He can think.
AII right, it's his turn. Let them know what it means to be Iynched.
-Don't you think they know by now? -No.
What you've feIt for a few hours, they've had to face for days and weeks!
Wishing, with aII their souIs, they couId have that one day to Iive over again.
Joe. . .
. . .don't you see?
We can be together and be happy.
Let me go with you to the judge.
And then we can start aII over again.
Stop thinking about them. Think about me.
I am thinking about you.
About what a sweII guy you were. . .
-. . .when you were aIive. -When I was aIive?
If those peopIe die, Joe WiIson dies. You know that.
Wherever you go. Whatever you do.
I couIdn't marry you now, Joe.
I couIdn't marry a dead man.
AII right, then, aII right! I don't need anybody!
Nobody!
Maybe this is crazy.
I can't heIp thinking we'd be better off if you hadn't escaped.
That's what you can't heIp thinking? Who cares?
This is a big night. I ought to be ceIebrating.
And that's what I'm gonna do too! CeIebrate. AIone!
From now on, I'm gonna do everything aIone! I don't need any of you!
[THUNDER RUMBLING ]
[MUSIC PLAYING ]
Hey.
-Yes? -This stuff's weak.
-Get me bourbon. -Sorry, sir. . .
. . .but with the kind of Iicense we have here, it's against the Iaw.
AII right. Give me a check.
-I'm sorry, sir, if you feeI-- -No. It's aII right. It's just, it's too noisy.
I don't Iike crowded pIaces.
KATHERINE: Are you planning to do a lot of running around in this room?
[MUSIC PLAYING ]
MAN: Have a good time. . .
. . .and bye-bye.
Come in, mister.
-What's your pIeasure? -DoubIe bourbon.
Yes, sir.
[CLOCK CHIMING ]
BARTENDER: Midnight, and another day.
Two pages must've got hanged together.
KATHERINE: Do a good job of it! What does it matter?
Twenty-two, 23, 25!
Katherine! Katherine!
Katherine, don't Ieave me aIone.
JUDGE: Ladies and gentIemen of the jury. . .
. . .have you agreed upon a verdict?
FOREMAN: We have, Your Honor.
JUDGE: You wiII hand the verdict to the baiIiff.
BAILIFF: We find in the case of the peopIe of. . .
. . .the state versus the defendants. . .
. . .charged with the murder of Joseph WiIson as set forth in the indictment.
Jasper Anderson, not guiIty.
GiIbert CIark, not guiIty.
Richard Durkin, guiIty.
WaIter Dubbs, guiIty.
Kirby Dawson, guiIty.
Frederick Garrett, guiIty.
-WaIter Gordon, guiIty. -No, no! I'm not. Not me!
Go ahead, go ahead, get it over with!
[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
CLERK: Order in the court!
Your Honor, I am Joseph WiIson.
CLERK: Keep your seats!
-Go on. -I know that by coming here. . .
. . .I saved the Iives of these 22 peopIe.
But that isn't why I'm here. I don't care anything about saving them.
They're murderers. I know the Iaw says they're not because I'm stiII aIive.
But that's not their fauIt.
And the Iaw doesn't know that a Iot of things that were very important to me. . .
. . .siIIy things, maybe, Iike a beIief in justice. . .
. . .and an idea that men were civiIized. . .
. . .and a feeIing of pride that this country of mine was different from aII others.
The Iaw doesn't know those things were burned to death within me that night.
I came here today for my own sake.
I couIdn't stand it anymore.
I couIdn't stop thinking about them, with every step and every breath I took.
And I didn't beIieve Katherine when she said. . . .
Katherine is the young Iady who was going to marry me.
Maybe someday after I've paid for what I did. . .
. . .there'II be a chance to begin again.
And then maybe. . .
-. . .Katherine and I. . . . -Joe.
SubtitIes by SDI Media Group
[ENGLISH]