(MAN SHOUTING IN SPANISH)
(POLICE SIRENS WAILING)
(SCREAMING)
BUMPY: Happy Thanksgiving!
(CROWD CHEERING)
Come here!
Yeah! MAN: Right here!
MAN: Toss me a bird, Bumpy!
WOMAN 1: Bumpy!
Yeah! WOMAN 2: Bumpy! We love you!
There you go, darling.
WOMAN 3: Over here! Over here!
Frank! Come on!
Come here.
BUMPY: This is the problem. This is what's wrong with America.
It's gotten so big, you just can't find your way.
The grocery store on the corner is now a supermarket.
The candy store is a McDonald's.
And this place, a super-fucking discount store.
Where's the pride of ownership, huh?
Where's the personal service?
You see what I mean? Shit.
(BUMPY CHUCKLING)
I mean, what right do they have, of cutting out the suppliers,
pushing out all the middlemen,
buying direct from the manufacturer?
(CHUCKLES)
Sony this, Toshiba that.
All them Chinks putting Americans out of work.
That's the way it is now.
You all right?
You can't find the heart of anything
to stick the knife.
Hey!
Anybody here?
Can I help you?
Call an ambulance.
Forget it, Frank.
There's no one in charge.
(WHEEZING)
Call an ambulance!
REPORTER: Some say Bumpy Johnson was a great man,
according to the eulogies, a giving man,
a man of the people.
No one chose to use in their remembrances
the word most often associated with
Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, "gangster,"
whose passing has brought a who's who of mourners on this chilly afternoon.
Lucchese mob boss Dominic Cattano,
Harlem crime figure Nicky Barnes.
MAN: Nicky! Nicky!
REPORTER: From the political arena,
the Governor has come down, the Mayor of New York,
and Chief of Police and Commissioner, sports and entertainment luminaries.
REPORTER 2: Bumpy Johnson, age 62 when he passed,
was a folk hero among Harlem locals for over four decades.
Regarded by some as the Robin Hood of Harlem,
by others as a ruthless criminal...
TANGO: I don't understand, you know.
I would've thought that Bumpy would put out a better spread, you know?
You want something? No, thanks.
I want chicken wings at my funeral.
MAN: All right, Nicky Barnes. NICKY: Who is that?
He didn't know what hit him, you know what I'm saying?
I just kept popping him in the face 'cause that's what I do.
(WOMAN LAUGHING)
Mmm.
I don't have a lighter. You have a light?
Oh.
(GRUNTS)
FRANK: Okay?
TANGO: That's very good.
Hey, Frank.
Go get me a light while you're at it.
Appreciate it.
Don Cattano.
Hey, how you doing, Rossi?
Good.
BARTENDER: Would you like a drink, sir?
Give him a scotch on the rocks.
Come on. Come on.
I know you're hurting, Frank.
So am I.
I'm all right.
You gonna be all right? Yeah.
I'm sure Bumpy didn't say anything to you, but he made me promise
that if anything ever happened to him,
that I should make sure that you want for nothing.
I appreciate that.
You know, half the people in this room owed Bumpy money when he died.
They think I'm gonna forget to collect, but I'm gonna get that money.
Well, that's the spirit. Go get 'em.
PROFESSOR: Mr. Roberts, taking the prosecution's side,
give us US v. Mead, subject, issues, what the determination was
and what it means to us today.
Class, you'll be critiquing Mr. Roberts, so pay attention.
RICHIE: I hate hearing my name called, you know?
It means I gotta get up in front of the class, I gotta turn around,
and I know every one of those people there, they know more than I do.
The number one fear of people, it ain't dying, it's public speaking.
I get physically ill, I wanna throw up.
And that's what you wanna do for a living.
No, I don't wanna be like that, man, I wanna beat it.
JAY: So, should I do this?
No, he'll take it from me, he knows me. I've known him since high school.
From high school? Good morning. Yeah.
He doesn't take it, just throw it in. It's good service.
Throw it in? All right. Yeah.
JAY: What's up, Susie? Hey, Jay.
How you doing, baby? All right.
All right. Ready?
(DOG BARKING)
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)
Hey! That's his head!
(GRUNTING)
RICHIE: You're supposed to be my friend, asshole!
CAMPIZl: I swear to God, Richie, I didn't know it was you.
I would never slam a door on your hand, knowingly.
You bit my fucking hand.
What are you doing serving subpoenas, anyway?
JAY: We're on loan to County. County?
How's that working out for you? RICHIE: Hey, fuck you.
Hey, I'm sorry. Consider me served. Can we leave it there?
Assault on a police officer? I don't think so.
Hey, for old times' sake. What can we do?
What do you want? What can I give you?
What do you get for assault with a deadly weapon, Jay?
Five years minimum. RICHIE: Five years.
Guys, come on. No, guys. What do you want? Who do you want?
Who do you got?
You want Big Al's bookie? You want his accountant? I'll give him to you.
CAMPIZl: Stop, stop, stop.
There he is.
That's him. That's the bookie.
RICHIE: All right, Carlo, get lost.
Get out of the car.
CAMPIZl: This is... I'd rather not. JAY: Come on. Let's go.
Take it ease.
JAY: Want to stay with him or the car?
Let's see who comes for the car.
Think he made us?
You called in the warrants, right? So, where are they?
I just called, man.
I called and walked back here and 10 seconds has gone by.
I saw him with the slips, Jay.
You saw policy slips? You saw grocery bags. You don't know what's in 'em.
Yes, I do and so do you. Don't give me that bull.
What's the rush, Richie? Half an hour, the warrant will be here.
I got night school, all right? Guess you're gonna miss it.
(SIGHS)
RICHIE: Fuck this. Come on. You sure?
Yeah, I'm sure. Let's go.
Fuck.
Jay. Yeah?
Fuck.
MAN ON RADIO: WBZ, honey bunch, the show they all love!
It's the groovy sound of the Jefferson Kaye Saturday Night Show.
Dig, honey, it's coming up time for news.
Jumping on the ceiling, wallpaper peeling on WBZ.
Stick around, the Jace-man's got 10. Back in 10.
(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
(SWITCHES RADIO OFF)
It's not just a couple of bucks, all right?
It's the same thing in principle.
Oh, are we talking principles?
Richie, a cop who turns in this kind of money, says one thing.
He turns in cops who take money. We'll be fucking pariahs.
Yeah, well, then we're fucked both ways.
Not if we keep it. Only if we don't, then you're right, we're fucked.
But not if we keep it.
God damn it, man! Did we ask for this?
Did we put a gun to someone's head and say, "Give us your money"?
Cops kill cops they can't trust.
We can't turn it in, man.
Can you believe that?
How much is it?
$987,000.
Well, what happened to the rest of it?
TOBACK: What the hell are you doing
counting it out here in front of everybody?
Are you nuts?
Get it back in the bags, seal them up and down into the property room.
DETECTIVE: You fucking Boy Scout.
What? What?
Detective Trupo, sign here.
TRUPO: You guys ready to make a lot of fucking money?
MAN 1: Always. MAN 2: Hell, yeah.
TRUPO: Fucking A.
(TRUPO EXCLAIMS)
(MEN LAUGHING)
TRUPO: Oh, look at this.
There you go.
TRUPO: All right, look at this. MAN 2: Fucking beautiful.
There's three more boats.
TRUPO: Hey, don't lose any of that shit.
MAN 1: I know. TRUPO: All right, be careful.
(KNOCKING ON WINDOW)
Hey! Just enough for the reagent test.
A little less.
ROSSI: This is the French Connection dope.
Kilos of the same dope Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso took from us.
The cops seize it, arrest everyone,
then they start taking it out of the evidence room,
whacking it down to nothing and selling it back to us.
They basically control the market with it.
Mr. Rossi, I have a surprise for you.
ROSSI: They've been doing it for years now. They live off it, our dope.
What do you think?
What the fuck is happening to the world, Frank?
Those fucking crooks.
Yeah. Sad about Bumpy.
Things are never gonna be the same in Harlem.
You walk down the street, nobody bothers you 'cause Bumpy was making sure of it.
Half a key.
How is your day now?
It's chaos. Every gorilla for hisself.
(GRUNTING)
Motherfucker!
Who can live like that? There has to be order.
That would never happen with Italians.
More important than any one man's life, is order.
Frank.
Hey. Come on in, Claude. Sit down.
FRANK: How y'all doing, huh? Good.
So, you see Nate over there? Yeah?
MAN: Yeah, all the time.
Nate is everywhere. He's good. Yeah.
He's still over there? Yeah. He's got himself a club now.
Okay. Whereabouts, Saigon? MAN: Bangkok.
Bangkok? I don't think he's ever coming home.
Come on.
On the house, for our boys in uniform.
Thank you, sugar. That's very kind.
REDTOP: Thank Frank.
Thanks, Frank.
Just relax.
You have to boot this shit a couple of times.
The cops keep cutting it, selling the shit.
I don't want to say anything, 'cause the price is right,
but that shit in Nam is way,
way heavy.
Did you ain't seen the jar, Frank, hmm?
I think you walked right past it.
The money jar, Frank. What do I gotta do, put a fucking sign on it?
Hmm?
(TANGO CHUCKLES)
Look at this nigger right here. You know, Frank,
Bumpy don't own 116th no more.
Bumpy don't own no real estate in Harlem right now.
I'm the landlord and the lease is 20%.
Look, don't sell dope then, Frank. Get a real job.
You need a fucking job, Frank? Hmm? Is that what you need?
Well, you can come work for me.
Okay? You can drive me around, huh? You can open my doors.
Huh? "Yes, sir", "No, sir", "Right away, sir", "Anything you want, Massa Johnson".
Twenty percent.
Twenty percent is my profit, Tango.
If I give you that, then what do I got left? Nothing, man.
Twenty percent puts me out of business,
and every somebody you know out of business.
There's legitimate ways of doing things, Tango, and then there's this way.
Not even Bumpy took 20%.
Bumpy's fucking dead.
My man.
Twenty percent?
Twenty percent. Doc, let's go.
Out. Good job. Sit.
A leader, like a shepherd,
he sends his fastest nimble sheep, out front.
And the others will follow.
While the shepherd, he walks quietly behind it.
Here, boy! Here we go. Right here.
Bring it here. Yeah.
Now he's got the stick, and the cane, he'll use it!
If he has to.
But most times he doesn't have to.
He moves the whole herd quietly.
What right do they have cutting out the supplier?
The middleman. Buying direct.
Putting Americans out of work.
That's the way it is now, Frank.
That's the way it is.
MAN 1 ON TV: The drug problem in Vietnam is more than marijuana.
At this point, it is estimated that one third
of American troops are experimenting
with opium and heroin.
MAN 2 ON TV: The authorities say they have confiscated
large quantities of marijuana, heroin and pills.
Every person and every vehicle going through the gates
is subject to a thorough shakedown.
MAN 3 ON TV: Soldiers have access to the drugs at many rest and relaxation spots
in Bangkok, Saigon and other areas throughout Vietnam and Thailand.
Officials say the easy availability, relatively cheap cost
and high purity of heroin throughout Saigon and the Far East,
is leading to an epidemic of heroin addiction among US soldiers.
Operator. FRANK: Yeah, international.
What city? Bangkok.
You know the country code? Yeah, 376.
For the first three minutes, it'll be...
I got it, I got it. I got it.
(MAN SPEAKING THAl)
Hello?
Soul Brothers. Hey, can I help you?
Nate.
Do I know you? Yeah, it's me.
Your cousin, negro.
Go on, get yourself a new suit.
Look, I'm sorry.
Oh, please, Richie.
It couldn't be avoided. I'll take him next weekend, all right?
We're moving.
What? Where?
The St. Regis. What do you care?
To my sister's.
Your sister's? In Vegas? Yeah.
You are not moving to Las Vegas. Not with Michael, anyway.
(LAUGHS)
What am I supposed to do with him, leave him with you? There's a picture.
(BOTTLE SMASHING)
Hey, guys! Be cool.
Laurie, Las Vegas is not the kind of place that you raise a kid.
Oh, like this is a good environment? And around your friends?
When am I supposed to see my boy?
This weekend. Last weekend.
(BOTTLES SHATTERING)
God damn it.
Hey! I asked you nice to shut up, right?
Now I'm gonna have to kill you.
I swear I will pull out my gun and put a bullet in your fucking heads!
Now stop what you're doing and pick up the glass!
Calm down, man. Okay, be cool.
Fucking crazy, man.
You don't have a gun.
You sure?
You are crazy, Richie.
You don't have room for us.
I'll see you in court.
Come on, Michael.
Say bye to your dad.
Get over here. Hey, kiddo.
I'll see you next week, all right? We'll do something.
LAURIE: Let's get you an ice cream.
You have 10 minutes remaining. Ten minutes.
(PLAYING BLUES MUSIC)
MAN: Shake it, baby. Shake it, shake it, shake it.
MAN: Oh, come on, girl. Don't tell me $5 don't get me a little something.
GIRL: Can you dig that it costs money to be here?
MAN: Oh, come on, girl.
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
(SPEAKING THAl)
How much you want, Frank?
Tell him I want 100 keys.
NATE: Frank, ain't nobody I know can get you that much personally, all right?
You're gonna have to piece it together from several sources,
and it's not gonna be 100% pure.
I don't want that.
I know what you don't want, Frank,
but look, what you're gonna need is to get
to the Chiu-Chou syndicate, all right?
Cholon, Saigon. If they're gonna deal with you at all.
I understand that, but by then it's gonna be too late.
It'll be already chopped up. I wanna go get it where they go get it from.
I wanna go to the source.
So, you're gonna go get it yourself?
Why not?
Huh? I came this far.
You're gonna go into the motherfucking jungle?
I'm in the jungle. Look around.
They're eating these roaches and whatever that is.
Nigga, I'm talking about snakes, all right?
I'm talking about tigers, I'm talking about Vietcong,
I'm talking about mosquitoes that'll fucking kill your ass.
You wanna go into the jungle?
We're going.
(SCOFFS)
Fuck it. Let's go. We're going.
Why not? Let's go.
Hey, Frank.
This whole spot's locked down by the Kuomintang,
General Chiang Kai-shek's defeated army.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
How would you get it into the States?
You ain't got to worry about that.
Who do you work for in there?
You ain't got to worry about that, either.
Who are you, really?
Frank Lucas, says it right there in my passport.
I mean, who you represent?
Me.
You think you're going to take 100 kilos of heroin into the US,
and you don't work for anyone? Someone is going to allow that?
That's right.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
After this first purchase,
if you are not killed by Marseille importers,
or their people in the States,
then what?
Then there will be more, much more, I guarantee it.
And if it's all the same to you, I don't wanna have to drag my ass up here no more.
Of course not.
My man.
Soul brother, huh? Soul brother.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Fifty grand. It's gonna cover them and the pilot and the boys on the other end.
Give them a hundred.
Fifty is gonna cover it, Frank.
Give them a hundred, give them the whole thing. Here.
And look,
that's all I got. So, if that dope don't arrive for any reason...
Hey, listen, cousin or no cousin, I'm a busy man, all right?
I ain't got no time to be going to nobody's funeral.
I'll let you know when it's in the air.
My man.
(PHONE RINGING)
Fuck.
(GROANS)
JAY: Richie? Yeah.
This fucking guy made me.
I don't know how he did, but he did.
He went for his gun.
I had to do it, man.
There's 100 people out there that heard the shots.
You gotta help me. You gotta do something.
WOMAN: Baby.
Where are you, Jay?
(POUNDING ON DOOR)
That's the problem.
Dispatch, I got a 10-13. I got a 10-13.
Copy that. What's your 20?
Tower two.
Apartment 1G.
Kent and West in the projects.
Identify yourself, please.
Detective Richie Roberts.
That's a negative. I got no units in that area.
Bullshit.
Please put the call out again. I'm gonna need assistance.
Detective Roberts, I got no units in that area.
That's a negative.
(PEOPLE CLAMORING)
I didn't mention no cops. Know what I'm saying?
You know what I'm saying?
MAN 1: I'll get the motherfucker! Kick his ass!
MAN 2: Yo, cracker, you gonna pay for this shit!
MAN 3: Where the fuck you going? Where the fuck you going?
What you gonna do, motherfucker?
Hey, hey, be cool. Be cool, all right?
I'll find out what's going on in here.
JAY: Richie.
(POUNDING ON DOOR)
MAN: Open the door!
Open the motherfucking door!
PARAMEDIC: Where's your backup?
MAN: You motherfucking cracker!
You got no backup? Why is that?
MAN: You gotta come out sometime, motherfucker!
Bandage his neck.
Richie, he's dead.
I know he's fucking dead, right.
Bandage his neck, clean up his head,
prop him up on the gurney so he's sitting and open his fucking eyes.
MAN: Open this fucking door!
All right? Let's go.
PARAMEDIC: Fuck.
All right, clean him up.
PARAMEDIC 2: Okay. Where's the solution?
RICHIE: Hey. Huh?
MAN: God damn it, open this fucking door!
Give me your gun. What?
Give me your gun.
MAN: Get your punk ass out here, man!
You have your badge? Yeah.
MAN: I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch!
You guys ready? Uh-huh.
Okay. Just keep moving forward.
You all right? Yeah.
It's okay! It's okay!
We're taking him to the hospital.
Everybody, step back! Step back!
He's all right.
He's okay. We're taking care of him.
Step back. Step back.
Everything's fine. Just stand back.
He's all right.
He's alive.
WOMAN: What happened inside?
RICHIE: We're taking him to the hospital.
(SIREN WAILING)
JAY: Thanks, man.
Fuck.
That asshole pulled a piece on me, man. Can you fucking believe it?
He pulls a piece on a cop?
I had to do it, man. Kill or be killed.
Fucking crazy world, right?
What the fuck were you doing in the projects?
Investigating stuff, man, you know,
just like you taught me. Checking on guys,
following things up, putting the pieces together.
That guy was a dealer. A fucking dealer. Scum of the earth.
That guy didn't pull a gun on a cop, Jay.
That guy pulled a gun on a junkie,
a junkie who was trying to rob him.
What the fuck you say?
What the fuck, man? What are you doing, man?
What the fuck is that?
That's my fucking money, man!
I earned this shit. That's mine!
I earned it doing good cop work! What the fuck is this?
good cop work!
You murdered a guy! I earned it getting shot at!
You murdered a guy!
You murdered him, you robbed his money,
then you called me to get you out of it.
That makes me an accessory after the fact, motherfucker.
I'll tell you the facts, man. Just write the report the way I say it happened,
and then that's the way it is, and that's how it will be.
I can't do that.
I'm a leper because I listened to you and turned in a million bucks.
No one will work with me after that.
I can get off this shit, Richie. That's easy.
Just write the report
between us, as partners.
I can't do that.
Hey!
Stop! Stop!
(PANTING) Fuck it.
(HORN BLARING)
Open the trunk.
PEOPLE ON TV: (CHANTING) Peace now! Peace now! Peace now!
LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?
Get out, get out, get out of Vietnam!
MAN ON TV: as loud as we can that the Vietnam War should stop,
and that the best way to stop it is for the United States
to simply pack up and get out of Vietnam right now.
(CROWD CHEERING)
FRANK: How we looking?
(LAUGHS)
Typically, what I see is 25% to 45% pure.
I mean, there's no adulterants, no alkaloids, no dilutants.
It's 100%.
May I?
Take it with you.
Thank you, Frank.
(LAUGHING)
(BABY CRYING)
(PLAYS PIANO)
I'll take it. No contingencies, no loans, no nothing.
Cash.
Fabulous.
I'm not talking about your proclivities, Richie. Those I only know too well.
I'm talking about being a cop.
RICHIE: You're talking about taking money?
I don't do that. It's not my thing.
What about your friends from the neighborhood?
Do you still hang out with them? Yeah.
Play baseball on the weekends.
Wise guys? That's gonna look good.
Guys I went to high school with. So what?
What about Joseph Sodano?
What about him?
Richie, I'm just trying to understand things your wife has said.
If they're not true, tell me.
Yeah, he's one of them.
Is he also your son's godfather? Yeah.
He's definitely fucking her.
Do you really care about this? Or do you just not want her to win ever?
You know, there's an interview room on the second floor.
That's what I thought. The door only locks from the inside.
All rise.
(SHEILA MOANING)
Oh, God, Richie. Richie, fuck me like a cop, not a lawyer!
(PHONE RINGING)
SHEILA: Don't answer it!
Yeah?
(SIGHING)
Richie Roberts. Hey, Norm?
Hey. Richie Roberts.
Hi. Detective Norman Reily.
Hey, Norm. How are you? Good.
So, is that him? Yeah.
Picked a nice night to come out, huh? It's like Grand Central around here.
It's been like this.
I'm lucky if I get home by midnight. It's like nothing we've seen before.
Something I gotta sign?
REILY: Yeah. It's right here.
I'm taking this with me. I'll register it with Essex County, all right?
REILY: All right.
America's public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse.
In order to fight and defeat this enemy,
it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive.
REPORTER: Federal authorities have announced their intention
to establish special narcotics bureaus
in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago...
A detective without the support of his fellow detectives
really can't do much.
You know why I don't have it.
Doesn't matter. You did what you had to do.
Greatest city in the world! And it's turning into an open sewer.
Everybody's stealing, dealing.
Look at you. You can't work because you did your job.
Good news is, you're not the only honest cop in town.
The special narcotics bureau in Washington is not a dog and pony show.
They are sincere. I know this because they want us to orchestrate it.
And I want you to head up things here on our end.
If it's federal, who do I answer to, the post office?
No, you answer to me,
me and the US Attorney, nobody else.
You never step foot in a police station again.
You work out of your own place, you pick your own guys,
guys that you know would not take a nickel off the sidewalk.
Well, we got the lovely transit.
600-year-old mahogany doors.
Now, look at that. Can't you just feel it?
I think it's lovely.
Watch your step.
(EXCLAIMS)
Look at these beautiful floors.
At least, I don't know, 200 years old.
And it's hard to get the cracks...
Now this was one of my favorite rooms
but we had some problems with the plumbing.
I even fixed it. I know it works.
It's not gonna leak.
Here it is.
You know, I used to be a really good
piano player when I was a kid,
but then, I don't know why I forgot.
Life goes on. Well...
How long are you gonna be?
Oh, and do me a favor, please.
Mind the doors.
Those are beautiful, ornate glass doors, you know.
Here we go, Jimmy. Come on.
Oh, yeah. Give it back.
(PHONE RINGING)
Huey's.
FRANK: Huey. What up, boy?
Yeah, who this?
Who you think it is, boy?
Frank. Frank who?
Frank your brother, negro. Frankie?
(FRANK LAUGHING)
That's right.
Hey, Melvin! Melvin, where's Ma?
What? Frank's on the phone!
MELVIN: Hey, Ma! How are you doing, Frankie?
Frank's on the phone!
Say what? Mama, Frank's on the phone!
Frank? Oh, my Lord!
Yeah, when? Well, you just say it, man, yeah.
Listen, I'm gonna call y'all back
at 6:00. I want you to get everybody together, all right? Get Mama, get everybody.
All right? Okay.
(DOG BARKING)
(EXCLAIMS)
MRS. LUCAS: Hey, Frank!
What's happening, Frank?
Hey, Frankie. How you doing, Uncle Frank?
TERRENCE: Get out the car. Get the kids, get the kids.
Look at this, baby.
(LAUGHING) Oh, my Lord! I'm so glad to see you, boy.
Oh, I'm telling you, this is some piece of land you got here!
(LAUGHING)
FRANK: I wonder what the poor people are doing here?
MRS. LUCAS: And whose house is that, Frankie?
That is your house, Mama.
Mine? That's yours.
And who else?
(ALL LAUGHING)
BOY: Now, there, that's my room right there, man. Right over there.
(TAPPING ON GLASS)
Anybody want some more collard greens?
(ALL CHATTERING)
I wanna tell you how happy I am to see all my children at the table
and the grandchildren at the same time.
My heart's so happy. Enjoy yourselves.
Right on, Grandma.
I hope you got a job, boy, the way you're eating over here.
That boy right there, he got a arm on him. I mean, a major league arm.
Oh, yeah?
Ain't that right?
Right on, Pop.
Well, we'll see after dinner. We'll see him throw it around a little bit.
No, no, you can't catch him, man.
I'm talking about... I'm talking about...
This guy throw harder than Gibson.
We're talking 95 miles an hour.
Can you catch him? He gonna...
He gonna catch the ground.
We might've played catch, I think, when I was about five years old.
Since then, he ain't been able to keep up.
This is your room. It's perfect.
Oh. Why, it's...
Will you look at this?
Oh!
Oh, it's beautiful. It's beautiful. It's just...
I...
(LAUGHING)
How did you...
I had it made.
From memory.
You were five when they took it away on me. That's right.
How could you remember it?
How could I forget, Mama?
(STAMMERING) I'll just tell you it is perfect.
It's all perfect.
I can't tell you how much I love you.
I love you, too, Mama.
It's okay.
(FUNK MUSIC PLAYING)
SPEARMAN: Both these guys, good with wires,
they got solid informants,
and they're honest and they're fearless.
They're insane, Richie, like you.
Where are they?
That's Jones with the skinny white broad.
Best I ever seen on the street.
He knows dope, but he's together, all right?
He's a stand-up guy all round.
And that's Abruzzo with the two fat black ones.
He loves a big ass, man.
He's a bulldog. He don't fuck around, all right. He's got a bit of a temper,
yeah, but you can trust this guy with your grandmother.
Listen, Richie. We work together.
You want me, you gotta take them, too.
When do we start?
The man I worked for, he had one of the biggest companies in New York City.
He ran it for more than 50 years.
Fifteen years, eight months and nine days,
I was with him every day. I worked for him,
I protected him, I looked after him, I learned from him.
Bumpy was rich, but he wasn't white man rich, you see?
He wasn't wealthy.
He didn't own his own company. He thought he did, but he didn't,
he just managed it.
The white man owned it, so they owned him.
Nobody owns me, though. Hey.
How you doing, babe? Good.
That's 'cause I own my own company, and my company sells a product
that's better than the competition,
at a price that's lower than the competition.
Well, what are we selling here, Frank?
(SOUL MUSIC PLAYING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
How you doing, Red?
These are my brothers, just got here from North Carolina.
Everybody, this is Redtop.
Hello. How you doing?
FRANK: And the ladies. LADIES: Hey.
What wrong? Y'all niggas ain't never seen hoochie before?
TURNER: Why are they all naked?
FRANK: So they can't steal nothing.
Oh, right.
The most important thing in business is honesty, integrity, hard work,
family,
never forgetting where we came from.
Thank you, Charlene.
See, you are what you are in this world,
that's either one of two things.
Either you're somebody,
or you're nobody. Be right back.
I need these fresh. 'Cause if I have to come back here and get you,
you know what it is. FRANK: Tango.
Don't y'all play that. VENDOR 1: Yes, sir, I hear you.
You won't have to come back. There won't be no problem.
VENDOR 2: What about you, Frank? You need anything?
Where's my money? Redtop gave you the package.
You're supposed to be handing me my money.
Here's a jar right here. Twenty percent.
Oh, you got the jar? That's right.
Get the fuck out of here... Oh! What you gonna do?
(GUN COCKING)
What the fuck you gonna do, Frank? Huh? What you doing?
You gonna shoot me in front of everybody? Huh? Come on.
Shit.
There you go. Twenty percent.
So, what was I saying?
(PIANO PLAYING)
Jones.
Jonesy.
That was nice, man.
Just doing my melodious thing, baby.
Got you.
This is the newly formed Essex County Narcotics Squad.
Our mandate is to make major arrests. No street guys.
We're looking for the suppliers and the distributors.
Heroin, cocaine, amphetamines. No grass under 1,000 pounds.
No powder under 40 kilograms.
Any less than that, then somebody else can waste their time.
We gonna be handling the big shipments, the big money and the big temptation.
JONES: I heard a story about you.
That you found a million dollars in unmarked cash
and gave that shit back. Is that true?
Yeah, I did. Anybody got a problem with that?
(ALL LAUGHING)
So do I, you know? I think about it every day.
I should be down in South Florida with a 68-foot cruiser doing fishing charters.
MAN: You and me, both.
But you know, I didn't, so here I am,
and we'll be looking to land other kind of sharks.
All right? ABRUZZO: Bingo.
JONES: See that, Richie? Yeah.
And this stuff is your everyday stuff.
But this Blue Magic, twice the potency.
I mean, it's the purest thing I ever seen in the streets. It's strong enough to smoke.
And that's for those white suburban kids who are scared of needles.
ABRUZZO: I paid 10 bucks for that.
And it's everywhere. I mean, it's on every corner out there.
So, how is that possible?
Who can afford to sell shit twice as good for half as much?
(FUNK MUSIC PLAYING)
Hey, man. Frankie, baby, good to see you!
Everything's good?
Yeah, man, just got back from Europe,
over there for two months, south of France, man.
PHOTOGRAPHER 1: Look right, look right. Wonderful, wonderful.
PHOTOGRAPHER 2: Nicky!
PHOTOGRAPHER 3: Give us a smile, Nicky.
PHOTOGRAPHER 4: Show us the cover.
You know what I'm saying, man?
PHOTOGRAPHER 5: Hey, Nicky, over here.
There you go.
Nicky!
(WHOOPING)
Who is that? Look at you, my man.
All right.
LEAD SINGER: Ladies and gentlemen,
the Brown Bomber! The champ!
Mr. Joe Louis!
(BAND RESUMES PLAYING)
Who's that with Joe?
Miss Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico? Mmm-hmm.
Is she a beauty queen?
For real. The beauty queen.
Welcome. My main man. My main man.
Can you all excuse us for a minute, please?
MAN: Yeah, sure, Frank.
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
What's going on?
What you smiling about? I don't know.
What is this? Huh? What's what?
Come here.
What is that you got on?
What's what, man?
Yeah, that! What you got on.
This is a very, very, very nice suit.
That's a very, very, very nice suit, huh? That's a clown suit. That's a costume...
that says "Arrest Me."
You understand? You're too loud.
You're making too much noise. Look at me.
The loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room. I told you that.
All right? What, are you trying to be like Nicky Barnes, now?
What's your problem with Nicky, man? I like Nicky.
I ain't got no problem with Nicky. Oh, you like Nicky?
Yeah! You want to be like Nicky?
You want to be superfly? You wanna work for him?
Share a jail cell with him? Maybe cook for him?
He wants to talk to you.
Oh, so now you talking to him about me? What? You...
About what? What is it about? It ain't like that.
Then what is it like? We were talking,
your name came up. About what?
I don't know, man. I told him I'd tell you.
You know... Boy, you...
You know, if you wasn't my brother, I'd kill you. You know that, don't you?
I'd blow your motherfucking brains out.
Come on, man. Don't be like that.
I'm taking you shopping this week.
I went shopping. I can tell.
(SINGING) See deep into you
And know what you're thinking now
And if I'm what you're needing
I need some kind of sign
Let me know, 'cause I can't read your mind
Are you in or am I in this on my own?
I need some clue from you
It's a tax thing.
It's a mistake my lawyers are straightening out,
but for the time being...
How much do you owe, Joe?
It's nothing. It's like...
Fifty grand.
You got it.
Thank you, man.
Hey, I'm gonna pay you back as soon as I...
Joe, this ain't no loan. It's a gift. All right?
All you did for Bumpy, we owe you.
Keep your chin up. All right? Okay?
All you have which is down there. Down.
Chin down.
All right. Doc, will see you, okay?
You play it so cool
Hey!
You still owe me that dance, right?
FRANK: Doc, come on.
Frank, check this.
How you doing? Hi.
Frank Lucas.
Eva Kendo.
Nice to meet you, Eva.
Nice to meet you, Frank.
You're Frank and this is your place?
That's right. I'm Frank and this is my place.
Why is it called Small's?
Why don't you call it Frank's?
When you own something, you can call it what you want.
Small's.
Or Frank's. Frankie Small's.
Small's Frankie.
That's right.
You want to let my hand go?
Okay.
You leaving?
No, I was going to my table.
Okay. Need somebody to go with you?
Yes? EVA: Mmm-hmm.
SPEARMAN: All the cheesies.
Right here, here we go. What have we got here?
ABRUZZO: Wash your hands?
I got one print of that, don't smudge it.
MAN: Yeah. There you go.
JONES: Hey, Spearman, what about him? Who is that?
Joey Sodano. Don Cattano's nephew.
SPEARMAN: Yeah, yeah. Put him up there by the big man.
JONES: He looks like your uncle, Abruzzo.
Yeah, but he's not as handsome.
JONES: He looks more like your sister. MAN: Where's Ice Pick's mug?
ABRUZZO: Yeah, that's funny.
Maybe you guys should take that show on the road.
So we need Ice Pick Paul.
ABRUZZO: Ice Pick Paul? JONES: Yeah.
SPEARMAN: There you go. Get him up.
ABRUZZO: Ice Pick Paul, he goes way up there, up top.
No, Ice Pick Paul, he's a fucking soldier. This guy's a lieutenant.
How's that even fucking possible?
JONES: That's Benny the Bishop.
That guy is a soldier. This guy's a lieutenant. No way that guy's on top.
JONES: You thinking of Benny the Bishop.
Vinnie Two Socks is fucking Cattano's deadbeat son-in-law.
SPEARMAN: Jonesy's right.
Hey, which one of you guys has ever actually seen Ice Pick Paul selling drugs?
Actually seen it go down?
Yeah, seen it go down.
Been in his place. Seen him handle drugs.
That rat, Ricky, has told us...
He's fucking dead. About four weeks ago.
He's dead.
SPEARMAN: (LAUGHING) All right, well,
we can take him off the fucking board.
I don't think we got any solid evidence on anybody on that board.
What you saying, Richie?
This is weeks and weeks of work, man.
I'm saying, take it down.
We got to start again from the street.
(PHONE RINGING)
Hi, who's this?
Hello? Gabe? Yeah, it's Scott. Yeah.
Scotty! What's going down, brother?
Those snow tires you gave me last night.
They come in yet?
Oh, the snow tires?
Yeah. I want some more of them.
Give me one-and-a-half more.
One-and-a-half,
that's a pretty big order.
Yeah, I want the big whitewalls,
they better get at least 100,000 miles.
All right, I'll tell you what.
You come in here tomorrow morning
I'm gonna set you up real nice
with a whitewall special, all right?
Thanks, bro.
No problem.
That's considerably more than one year's salary, Richie.
If it disappears, I will not be able to get it for you again.
That's yours.
Signing my life away again, for a lousy twenty grand.
It has to be Blue Magic, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's gonna be Blue.
You can pick it up here tomorrow.
RICHIE: $20,000.
MECHANIC: Just leave it there.
How'd you do? Good.
RICHIE: Here he comes.
That's him? Yep.
(CAR ENGINE STARTING)
That was quick.
Richie, if he goes in the city, what do we fucking do?
Stay with the fucking money, that's what we do.
We stay with the money, all right?
We can't go in the fucking city.
Yes, we can. That's 20 grand in there, all right,
that I'm responsible for. I ain't losing it.
SPEARMAN: It's out of our jurisdiction!
RICHIE: Follow the money! SPEARMAN: All right, all right, all right!
RICHIE: He's pulling over.
SPEARMAN: All right, here we go.
RICHIE: Let me out here.
(HORN HONKING)
RICHIE: Don't disappear, all right?
I'll circle the block.
DRIVER: Move!
Hey! Who's the fuck? You gotta fucking move!
(TIRES SCREECHING)
Police Officer. I'm commandeering
your vehicle. Get out of the car.
Who the fuck cares about you? This is New York City, man.
Get someone else's car!
Get out of the car.
Come on, man. Can't we live in peace...
(TIRES SCREECHING)
(HORNS BLARING)
(BRAKES SCREECHING)
Frankie, Frankie! Sit down.
MAN 1: What?
Happy birthday, gentlemen. How you doing, huh?
He's about to do something, huh? He's going bowling?
Look at that. Strike.
Hey, what's between your legs? What's in the bag?
MECHANIC: Nothing. Get up, you fucker. Get the fuck up!
MAN 2: Knock it off.
MAN 3: Shut the fuck up! What did I tell you?
MAN 4: Keep your fucking head down.
MAN 3: Shut up! Whose bag is this?
WOMAN: What're you doing? MAN 3: Sit down and shut up!
MAN 4: Don't you move!
Hey, guys? Guys! Officers!
Hey, I'm Richie Roberts, from Newark.
That's my money.
What the fuck? What money, huh? What money?
The bills are sequenced, right?
They're registered with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Just check them out.
They all start with CF3500. Have a look.
Fucking registers.
I thought I had a fucking Chris-Craft sitting in my driveway.
Honest mistake. I'll just get the money.
This time. All right.
There it is. RICHIE: All right. Thank you.
When was the last time I was in Jersey? Let me think.
Never.
What're you doing, coming over here unannounced?
You don't think you could get hurt doing that?
You got your fucking money, Richie.
And never, ever come into this city again unannounced.
You come in to see a fucking Broadway show,
you call ahead first, see if it's okay with me.
No problem. All right.
MAN: Let's go, hit some balls.
RICHIE: Great suits, pal.
Is that your car?
That's a fucking great car.
Have a nice fucking trip back to Jersey.
RICHIE: All right.
Come on, I got a tee time. Let's go.
(ENGINE REVVING)
What were you doin' there?
Well, that's where this dope is coming from.
Blue Magic, it's coming out of New York.
What do you expect me to do, ignore it?
The cab driver has filed aggravated assault and grand theft charges
which he may reconsider
depending on how much the State of New Jersey offers to settle.
I showed him my ID. I told him I was a cop.
(CHUCKLING) You stole his cab and you knock him out.
I was chasing the 20 grand, all right?
Next time, knock him out before you show him your badge.
Look, I don't want to hear about you going into New York again.
Well, then this investigation's over.
You're not listening to me.
I said, "I don't want to hear about you going into New York again."
You do whatever you have to do.
You go wherever you have to go
to figure out who's bringing this shit into the country.
Just don't tell me about it.
FRANK: There's your girl, right there.
Hey, how'd you do? Hi.
I didn't keep you waiting long, did I? No. Fine.
Good. A woman as beautiful as you shouldn't have to wait.
For anything.
Thank you, ma'am. You as pretty as ever.
Hey, Doc.
Tommy!
Heard your boy scored two touchdowns last week.
Sure. Sure do make father proud.
All right.
This is your father?
That's Martin Luther King.
It is not. It is. It is Martin Luther King.
You know, "I have a dream"?
Of course.
No, that's...
He was just as important as Martin Luther King to me.
What did he do?
A lot of things. He was a friend
and served New York. New York served him.
He was my boss.
My teacher.
What did he teach you?
He taught me a lot of things. He
taught me how to take my time.
Taught me that if I was going to do something, to do it with care, with love.
Anything else?
He taught me to be a gentleman.
That's what you are?
That's what I try to be. Come here.
Come here. Sit right here.
Look at me.
I own about five apartments in Manhattan.
Homes all over the East Coast, I could have taken you to any one of them, but I didn't.
I brought you here. MRS. LUCAS: Frank,
I was looking for you, boy.
Because I wanted you to meet my mother.
How you doing, Ma?
Is this her?
Eva, this is my mother. EVA: Hi, Eva.
Oh!
Nice to meet you.
She's beautiful! FRANK: Yeah?
Look at her, Frank. She's an angel come down from heaven.
EVA: Thank you.
Mr. Roberts? I'm here for our appointment.
Morning. Morning.
Sorry. Our appointment?
Child Social Services.
(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
She did mention your name, though.
The stewardess?
No, not the stewardess.
The lady from Child Services. She mentioned your name.
Right after she asked me if I associated with any criminals.
BOY 1: All right, go! Go, go!
BOY 2: Yeah! You wanna see this?
RICHIE: Hey, boys.
JOEY: Joey. Hey, Joey!
Get in the pool. Go on.
Come on. Come on.
So, how'd she get my name?
Laurie. Hmm.
She's been saying a lot lately.
A lot.
You know, when you asked me to be your son's godfather,
I took it very seriously.
I know. I know and I appreciate that.
And I said yes, I would take on this responsibility.
Take care of your son, if God forbid, something happened to you.
Joe, the kind of things she's saying to Child Social Services
made me look really bad, all right. You know,
out at all kinds of hours at night time, lowlife informants around, women.
Old friends like me.
Old friends like you, yeah.
Uncle Joey, watch me, okay?
(GIRL WHOOPING)
(WATER SPLASHING)
Okay, I understand.
They ask me, I'll tell them what you want me to tell them. I'll lie for you.
No, don't lie. You don't have to lie.
Just, omit certain details.
Sure. All right.
You know, there's something else I was gonna ask you.
Something else.
You don't have to answer if you don't want.
Blue Magic. Anything?
Just a lot of sorrow, misery from guys getting put out of work, that's all.
What, your guys?
Just guys.
You thinking about where it's coming from?
Guys down south. That's all I heard.
Cubans? I don't know.
Not Mexico.
I don't know.
You're telling me, it's coming in from South America?
I don't know.
All I can tell you is whoever it is, they're upsetting the natural order of things.
And that's all there is.
(PHONE RINGING)
What's up?
FRANK ON PHONE: My man, how we looking?