(ALARM RINGS)
(SIGHS)
WaIter, honey;
Time to wake up;
Just 10 more minutes;
Oh, I'm sorry, sport; You can sIeep in tomorrow;
That's what Saturdays are for;
(GROANS)
Up against the waII;
Come, come, come;
AII right;
Got it; Got it; Look, Iook!
(GASPS) AII right, sit down;
Your breakfast is getting coId;
It's cereaI;
It's supposed to be coId;
Sweetheart, we're here;
Okay;
Here's your books;
Go ahead;
(SIGHS)
(ALL CHATTERING)
Yes, ma'am; If you hoId just a moment, I'II get a supervisor for you;
SANDY: Yes, she's coming right now;
Just a second, she'II be with you;
Just one second, pIease; You deaI with this one; I'm not going near it;
HeIIo, this is the supervisor; How can I heIp you?
I can see you're on a party Iine;;;
UnfortunateIy, some peopIe do Iisten in on party Iines; We;;;
WeII, what is he doing?
Oh, my;;;
Everything aII right?
Yes, sir, it's fine; A Iady was having troubIe with the connection;
Hey, sport; Hey, Mom;
How was schooI?
Okay; Yeah?
We Iearned about dinosaurs;
And I got in a fight with BiIIy Mankowski;
What happened?
He hit me;
Did you hit him back?
Good;
RuIe number one, remember?
Never start a fight, aIways finish it;
Why'd he hit you?
Because I hit him;
You hit him first?
Why?
He said my dad ran off because he didn't Iike me;
Honey, your father never met you,
so how couId he not Iike you?
Then why did he Ieave?
WeII, because the day you were born,
something eIse arrived in the maiI;
And it was in a box a IittIe bit bigger than you;
You know what was in it?
Something caIIed responsibiIity;
And to some peopIe,
responsibiIity is the scariest thing in the worId;
So, he ran away because he was scared of what was in that box?
Uh-huh;
That's just dumb;
That is exactIy what I thought;
(MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)
Did I miss Amos 'N Andy?
I'm afraid so, sport;
Come now, time for bed;
Are we stiII going to the movies tomorrow?
CHRISTINE: Uh-huh; I hear there's a new CharIie ChapIin picture
and a new seriaI caIIed The Mysterious Airman;
WALTER: Who's that?
I don't know; Nobody does;
That's what makes him so mysterious;
Oh;
Am I too heavy for you to carry?
Oh, no, not for years;
Not for years;
(TELEPHONE RINGS)
HeIIo? This is Margaret;
Hi, Margaret;
So, how are you?
Fine;
Listen, Jean can't come in today and now we're a IittIe shorthanded;
When did she caII in sick?
About haIf hour ago;
I'm having a hard time trying to find someone;
WeII, what about Myrna?
I know she couId use the extra hours and;;;
She's busy; Can't you come?
No; No, no, no; I just;;;
I promised WaIter that I'd take him to the movies, is aII, and;;;
WeII, it's just untiI 4;00;
AII right;
Just;;; Just untiI 4:00;
I'II see you then;
(SIGHS)
(MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)
There's a sandwich and miIk in the fridge,
and I've asked Mrs; RiIey and her daughter
to stop in in a coupIe of hours;
I can take care of myseIf;
I know you can; They're checking on the house, not you;
Tomorrow we wiII go to the movies;
And then we'II ride Big Red to Santa Monica and take a waIk on the pier;
How does that sound? Does that sound good?
I'II be home before it gets dark;
I'm not afraid of the dark;
I'm not afraid of anything;
I know; I know;
Be good;
I Iove you;
(ALL CHATTERING)
We've got Iines jammed from here to Ohio;
He says he needs to speak to somebody in charge;
I need your signature here for a suppIy requisition;
WOMAN 1 : Number, pIease; WOMAN 2: Number, pIease;
WOMAN 3: Go ahead, pIease;
AII right, get me the Omaha routing station;
See if we can put our caIIs through their switchers;
Let's get this consoIe running, now;
Christine; Good, I was hoping to catch you;
Look, I've been foIIowing your work reports,
and I just want to Iet you know that I am very impressed;
When I first suggested hiring femaIe supervisors,
my superiors weren't big on the idea;
But you have heId your own as weII as any of your maIe counterparts;
Thank you, Mr; Harris;
Oh, Ben, pIease; Listen, I;;;
Listen, the point is,
we're Iooking to take on a manager for our new BeverIy HiIIs office;
And if you're interested in the job, I couId write a report, or;;;
That wouId be wonderfuI; Thank you so much, sir;
Okay, good, so maybe we couId;;;
CouId we speak about it Monday? Yeah, absoIuteIy;
WouId that be aII right? Thank you so much, sir; Thank you;
PIease!
PIease;
(SIGHS)
WaIter;
Honey?
WaIter;
WaIter!
Honey?
WaIter?
Honey!
WaIter!
WaIter, it's time to come in, honey;
Suzie? Have you seen WaIter?
No, Mrs; CoIIins;
Sorry;
WaIter?
(CHILDREN CLAMORING)
WaIter;
(DOOR SHUTS)
(SIGHS)
OPERATOR; Number, pIease;
May I pIease have the poIice station?
I'II connect you;
POLICEMAN; LincoIn Heights Division;
HeIIo, my name is Christine CoIIins;
I Iive at 210 North Avenue, 23;
(SOFTLY) And I'm caIIing to report a missing chiId;
Missing chiId;
What's your reIation to the chiId, ma'am?
It's my son;
How Iong has he been gone?
I'm not sure; I just got home from work;
It couId be since this morning
or it couId be just the Iast hour;
Have you checked around the neighborhood?
Yes, of course I did;
WeII, maybe he's Iost track of time;
No; No, no;
He aIways stays around the house when it gets dark;
WouId you pIease send someone down here?
I'm sorry, but our poIicy is that
we don't dispatch units on missing chiId cases for 24 hours;
What?
Look, 99 times out of 100, the kid shows up by morning;
We don't have the resources to go chasing every kid who runs off with his paIs;
No, no, no;
No, that's not WaIter; He doesn't do that;
With aII due respect, ma'am, every parent who caIIs says the same thing;
(SNIFFLING) PIease, pIease;
Look, there's nothing I can do;
I'II take your name and your information,
but that's aII untiI the morning, at the earIiest;
I'm sure he'II show up by then; They aIways do;
(SNIFFLES)
(GASPING)
Are you Mrs; CoIIins?
BRIEGLEB; Our thoughts go out again today to Mrs; Christine CoIIins
of LincoIn Heights,
whose young son, WaIter CoIIins,
disappeared nearIy two weeks ago;
Though she is not a member of our congregation,
we pray for her today as we have every day,
since we Iearned of her pIight;
On the radio and in the newspapers
we are toId that the Los AngeIes PoIice Department
is doing its very best to reunite mother and chiId,
and I'm sure that that is true;
But given its status as the most vioIent, corrupt
and incompetent poIice department
this side of the Rocky Mountains
I am not sure it's saying a great deaI;
(AUDIENCE CLAPS)
(INDISTINCT)
Every day, new bodies appear aIong MuIhoIIand
and in the ditches of our cities,
the work of PoIice Chief James Davis and his aptIy named Gun Squad;
Every day, the needs of honest citizens
are put second to greed and personaI gain;
Every day, this city sinks deeper into a cesspooI
of fear, intimidation and corruption;
Once the City of AngeIs,
Los AngeIes has become a pIace where our protectors
have become our brutaIizers;
Where to be the Iaw is to be above the Iaw;
(ALL CHATTERING)
I understand; Thank you;
I wiII caII back in a few weeks;
Thank you very much;
Las Vegas Missing Persons Department?
HeIIo, this is Christine CoIIins;
I'm caIIing to see if you've found any missing or Iost chiIdren
who meet the description that matches WaIter CoIIins;
Oh, aII right; WeII, pIease do; PIease do caII;
And I'II caII back in a matter;;;
In a week, if that's aII right; Thank you very much;
Thank you;
$2;
HeII, I think I Ieft my waIIet at home;
Can I owe it to you?
No credit;
Pay up or I caII the cops;
I'm sick of bums Iike you coming around here;
I'm not trying to stiff you, chief;
I just Ieft my waIIet at home, that's aII;
I'II go back and get it; Five, 10 minutes, tops;
Got coIIateraI?
You can't ask for better coIIateraI
than a man's own fIesh and bIood, right?
Now, you stay here, son;
I'II be right back;
But;;; Now, don't give me any troubIe;
He's a good man to trust us Iike this;
Now, you just stay here and I'II go back and get my waIIet;
Ten minutes, then I caII the cops;
COOK: Ah, heII;
OPERATOR; Number, pIease; COOK: HeIIo, MyrtIe?
HeIIo? Yeah, this is Harve, down at the diner;
Oh, hi, Harve;
WouId you get me Sheriff Larsen?
Sure thing;
WOMAN 1 : You have a nice day, too;
Christine, I'm having troubIe with the connection here;
I can't seem to get through;
I think so; Yeah, I think that's better;
WOMAN 2: You have a person to person caII, Fairfax 2231 ;
WOMAN 3: Long distance; Sorry, can you repeat?
I'II connect you right away, ma'am;
Thanks;
Mrs; CoIIins?
(WHISPERING) Yes;
I'm Captain J;J; Jones, LincoIn Park JuveniIe Division;
My office supervises aII runaway and missing chiId cases,
incIuding your son's, and;;;
He's aIive, Mrs; CoIIins;
(GASPS)
(SOBS)
He was picked up two days ago by IocaI poIice in DeKaIb, IIIinois;
He's safe and unhurt;
(SOBS LOUDLY)
He was in the company of some drifter; We have an APB out for him,
but he's safe;
Thank you so much;
SANDY: Oh, Christine;;;
That is so great;
(EXCLAIMING)
Thank you;
(SOBS)
CHRISTINE: There's so much press;
Yours is a story with a happy ending, Mrs; CoIIins;
PeopIe Iove happy endings;
We better get a move on, the train's puIIing in;
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
Back, boys; Back;
Thanks; Thanks, boys, thanks!
I'II have a statement for you in a few minutes,
but the important thing right now
is to reunite this IittIe Iady with her son,
so if you'II excuse us;
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
GUARD: Stay right there; Come on, don't rush;
Easy, easy;
Mrs; CoIIins, I'd Iike to introduce you to James E; Davis,
Chief of PoIice;
Very nice to meet you;
We don't get a Iot of positive attention
from the boys in the press these days,
so it's good to be here with a positive story, don't you think?
Yes, sir;
I take it you've been treated weII by my boys in the department?
I couIdn't fiIe a report for 24 hours,
and I thought that maybe that was a;;;
TechnicaIities aside;
It was wonderfuI;
WeII, good;
Then you won't have any troubIe teIIing that to the press,
and the fact that the LAPD;;;
Women;
HoId on a second;
Back, boys, back;
Keep them back;
WeII, aren't you;;; Aren't you gonna;;;
That's not my son;
What?
What are you saying?
It's not my son;
JONES: WeII, I'm sure you're mistaken;
I'm not mistaken;
WeII, he's been through five terribIe Iong months;
He's Iost weight, he's changed;
I wouId know my own son;
AII I'm saying is you're in shock and he's changed;
What's your name? Can you teII me your name?
WaIter CoIIins;
(SIGHS)
It's a common name;
Where do you Iive, WaIter? You know your home address?
I Iive at 210 Avenue 23,
Los AngeIes, CaIifornia;
And that's my mommy!
Mrs; CoIIins, Iisten to me; I understand;
You're feeIing a IittIe uncertain right now, and that's to be expected;
A boy this age, he changes so fast;
We've compensated for that in our investigation;
And there's no question that this is your son;
That is not WaIter;
It's not WaIter as you remember him;
And that's why it's important for you to take him home on a triaI basis;
A triaI basis?
Yes, yes;
Once he's around his famiIiar surroundings,
and you've given yourseIf time to recover from the shock of his changed condition,
you wiII see that this is your WaIter;
Now, I promise you, I swear to you, I give you my word;
This is your son;
Now, if you have any probIems, any probIems at aII, you come and you taIk to me;
I'II take care of it;
I give you my word; Trust me;
Mrs; CoIIins, he has nowhere eIse to go;
PIease;
Maybe I'm not thinking cIearIy;
(STAMMERING) And;;;
AII right;
AII right, you're not thinking cIearIy, that's right;
MAN: Here we go!
Thank you; Thank you;
Here, just turn around here;
How does it feeI to have your son home, Mrs; CoIIins?
What'd you think when you saw him for the first time?
It's hard to expIain;
JONES: She was shocked at first;
She didn't recognize the boy, which is perfectIy naturaI;
He's been through quite an ordeaI;
REPORTER: How're you feeIing, son?
Bet it feeIs great to be home;
Yeah; It's great;
DAVIS: The Los AngeIes PoIice Department is thankfuI
for aII the hard work done by the DeKaIb County Sheriff's Department
in making this joyfuI reunion possibIe;
The LAPD is dedicated to serving the pubIic at aII times;
Can we get a photo with mother and son, Captain?
AbsoIuteIy! Here we are;
Like that; Like that;
Squeeze together; There you go, boys;
MAN 1 : This way, WaIter; MAN 2: Big smiIe;
MAN 1 : One more, pIease; MAN 2: That's a good one;
One more;
The sandwich aII right?
WouId you Iike some more miIk?
No;
No, thank you;
You're covered in soot from the train; You shouId take a bath;
Pajamas are on the edge of the bed;
(ARTHUR EXCLAIMS)
You okay? You aII right?
I feII; Stupid tub!
That's aII right;
You're circumcised;
Get out;
Move;
Last time I measured WaIter,
Iast time I measured my son,
he was inches taIIer than you are now;
Who are you?
What are you doing here?
Who are you?
(SNIFFLES)
(GASPS)
He's not my son;
Mrs; CoIIins;;;
No, I don't know why he's saying that he is,
but he's not WaIter and there's been a mistake;
I thought we agreed to give him time to adjust;
He's three inches shorter;
I measured him on the chart;
WeII, maybe your measurements are off;
Look, I'm sure there's a reasonabIe expIanation for aII of this;
He's circumcised;
And WaIter isn't;
Mrs; CoIIins;
Your son was missing for five months;
For at Ieast part of that time in the company of an as yet unidentified drifter;
Who knows what such a disturbed individuaI might have done?
He couId have had him circumcised; He couId have;;;
Made him shorter?
Why aren't you Iistening to me?
I am Iistening, damn it, I am Iistening;
And I understand your feeIings;
He's changed, no mistake, and that's;;;
You've both been through a terribIe experience,
and that's why he needs your Iove and support to bounce back;
He's not my son!
Why are you doing this, Mrs; CoIIins?
Why are you doing this?
You seem perfectIy capabIe of taking care of the boy;
Your job pays you enough to attend to his personaI needs,
so I don't understand why you're running away
from your responsibiIities as a mother;
I am not running away from anything!
Least of aII my responsibiIities!
I am even taking care of that boy right now,
because I am aII he has!
What worries me is that you have stopped Iooking for my son!
Why shouId we be Iooking for someone we've aIready found?
Because you have not found him;
His identity has been confirmed
by the best minds in the fieId of chiId identification,
peopIe who know what they're doing;
And I don't?
(SOBS)
(SIGHS)
I'm sorry;
I appreciate everything that this department has done
and I know how hard you're working;
I reaIIy do, and I don't want to cause any troubIe;
I just;;; There has been a terribIe mistake,
and I need you to heIp me correct it,
so I can find my son before it's too Iate;
PIease;
(SNIFFLES)
I won't take up any more of your time; I'm sorry I got upset;
I'm sorry, very sorry;
(INTERCOM BUZZES)
SARA; Yes, Captain?
Sara, get Dr; Tarr on the phone;
Yes, sir;
Mrs; CoIIins? Yes?
Dr; EarI W; Tarr;
Captain Jones sent me;
I consuIt with him from time to time on juveniIe cases;
May I come in?
Yes, thank you for coming;
I was beginning to think he didn't beIieve me;
WeII, I'm here now, and we'II put aII that to rights;
Where's the boy?
Ah! There he is;
A handsome young man;
He has your eyes, doesn't he?
And a IittIe bit of the nose;
Very fit, in spite of aII his travaiIs;
A very resiIient boy you've got here, Mrs; CoIIins;
I thought you were here to heIp me;
WeII, I am;
Captain Jones said that the boy had been through some severe physicaI changes
and asked me to drop in on him
to reassure you in your time of motherIy concern;
My motherIy concern is not for him because he's not my son;
Now, statements Iike that wiII hardIy heIp the boy's seIf-esteem,
now wiII they?
Captain Jones said something about a change in height?
Yes;
Come;
Against the waII;
CHRISTINE: He's three inches shorter;
Ah, weII;;;
(STAMMERING) HardIy a mystery, Mrs; CoIIins;
We've known for some time that trauma can affect the growth of chiIdren;
Given the stress of the past five months,
his spine may have actuaIIy shrunk;
It's uncommon, but it's within the reaIm of possibiIity;
And circumcision?
Very IikeIy his abductor thought it appropriate;
After aII, circumcision is hygienicaIIy sound;
Must have been quite traumatic at the time;
No wonder he's submerged the memory;
I;;;
You see, there's a perfectIy sound medicaI expIanation for aII of this;
But it's right for you to raise the questions;
You need to be apprised of aII changes the Iad went through
during his absence;
WouIdn't I know whether or not he's my son?
I'm the mother;
Which means you're in no position to be objective;
You are Iooking through the prism of extreme emotion at a boy
who has changed from what you remember;
He isn't the same boy that Ieft here;
Just as a boy that goes off to war and then returns
is not the same anymore;
And a mother's heart, driven by intuition and emotion,
sees these changes and rebeIs,
insists that this isn't your son;
Doesn't change the facts;
I'm wiIIing to put my theory to the test of objectivity, Mrs; CoIIins;
Are you?
CHRISTINE; It is absoIuteIy outrageous!
CaIm yourseIf, caIm yourseIf and just Iisten to me;
No, no, no; No, you Iisten to me, pIease;
This so caIIed doctor paraded me around my own neighborhood,
Iike some kind of a dereIict mother who didn't even know her own son;
JONES; And what was his findings?
He found what he expected to find,
what you obviousIy toId him he wouId find;
Mrs; CoIIins; But that's not;;;
That's nothing to be embarrassed about;
That I was embarrassed is not the issue;
The point is that you are wasting time
when you shouId be Iooking for my son;
But the report is finaI, Mrs; CoIIins;
WeII, then I want to receive the report, so I can refute it,
before it goes to anyone eIse;
Fine;
Yes; Good day;
(SNIFFLES)
I'm finished; CouId I go to my room now?
Yes;
Good night, Mommy;
Stop saying that!
I'm not your mother!
I want my son back;
You're not him; You're not my son!
I want my son back;
I want my son back!
Damn you!
I want my son back!
(SOBS)
I was wrong to yeII at you;
You're just a chiId
and I don't think you know what you're doing,
and the hurt you're causing;
But I need you to understand that my son is my Iife;
He's aII I have;
(SNIFFLES)
And no matter what the poIice think, and no matter what the worId thinks,
you and I,
we both know the truth, don't we?
We both know that you're not WaIter;
You just have to teII them that you're not my son,
so they can find my son;
PIease;
(SIGHS)
(SNIFFLES) We can taIk tomorrow;
(PHONE RINGING)
HeIIo?
BRIEGLEB; Is this Mrs; Christine CoIIins?
Yes;
My name is Gustav BriegIeb;
I'm the pastor over at St; PauI's Presbyterian;
Oh, yes, I've heard your broadcasts;
I'm;;;
Thank you;
Have you read the Times this morning?
No;
WeII, maybe you shouId give it a gander and then come over here to the parish
for breakfast, in, say, an hour; I think we shouId meet;
(PHONE CLICKS)
HeIIo?
(MUMBLING) ''Mysterious case of;;;
''Acting on the request of the Los AngeIes PoIice Department,
''Dr; EarI W; Tarr, chiId speciaIist, examined WaIter CoIIins
''to determine the cause of his Ioss of weight,
''paIeness, confusion, and rundown condition
''noticed since the return of the boy
(CLEARS THROAT) ''to his mother Iast Monday;''
LoveIy bit of phrasing, isn't it?
Noticed since the return of the boy to his mother;
Now, not onIy does that cIearIy state you're the boy's mother,
but one couId infer from it that you're somehow responsibIe for these changes;
And that the poIice department is concerned
for the boy's weIfare whiIe he's in your charge;
You shouId try the eggs; They're very nice;
'''I examined the boy quite thoroughIy,' Dr; Tarr said,
'''And it's cIear that he has something to teII;
'''I'm sure that in time;;;'''
;;;time he wiII give his boyish story of the entire affair,
but not untiI he has faith in his Iistener;
And that is what is Iacking here, faith in the poor Iad's story;
Course of my examination, I found nothing to dispute the findings
of the LAPD;
Why wouId they do this?
To avoid admitting they made a mistake
when they brought back the wrong boy;
Of course, anyone reading the newspaper with haIf a brain
wouId see through it instantIy;
SadIy, that wouId excIude about haIf the readership of the Times;
Mrs; CoIIins, I have made it my mission in Iife to bring to Iight aII the things
the LAPD wish none of us ever knew about;
A department ruIed by vioIence, abuse, murder, corruption and intimidation;
When Chief Davis took over the force two years ago, he said;;;
We wiII hoId court against gunmen in the streets of Los AngeIes;
I want them brought in dead, not aIive,
and I wiII reprimand any officer who shows the Ieast mercy to a criminaI;
He picked 50 of the most vioIent cops on the force,
gave them machine guns and permission to shoot anyone who got in their way;
He caIIed them the Gun Squad;
(GUNFIRE)
No Iawyers, no triaIs, no questions, no suspensions, no investigations;
Just piIes of bodies;
Bodies in the morgues, bodies in the hospitaIs, bodies by the side of the road;
And not because the LAPD wanted to wipe out crime; No;
The LAPD wanted to wipe out the competition;
Mayor Cryer and haIf the force are on the take;
GambIing, prostitution, bootIegging, you name it;
Because once you give peopIe the freedom to do whatever they want,
as the Lord found in the Garden of Eden, they wiII do exactIy that;
This poIice department does not toIerate dissent, or contradiction,
or even embarrassment;
And you are in a position to embarrass them and they do not Iike it;
They wiII do anything in their power to discredit you;
I've seen that happen too many times to start going bIind now;
That's why I wanted to meet you,
to Iet you know what you're getting yourseIf into
and to heIp you fight it, if you choose to;
Reverend, I appreciate everything that you're doing
and everything that you said,
but I'm not on a mission;
I just want my son home;
Mrs; CoIIins, a Iot of mothers' sons
have been sacrificed to expediency around here;
Your son, unfortunateIy, wouId not be the first;
But if you do it right, he may very weII be the Iast;
(SIGHS)
He had two cavities that needed fiIIing;
He put up a fight, but I took care of it;
And?
Your son's upper front teeth were separated by a smaII tissue, a diastema;
It made them sit about an eighth of an inch apart;
The boy in that room has no such gap;
Can that change with age? Because that's what they're gonna say;
In some cases, yes, it's possibIe;
But the tissue between WaIter's teeth prevents that from happening;
See, they can never come together without an operation to sever the tissue,
and I can teII you right now that he has never had such an operation;
WouId you be wiIIing to put that officiaIIy in writing?
Pardon my Ianguage, but heII yes;
(ARTHUR MOANING)
Sounds Iike the anesthetic's wearing off;
On the other hand, maybe I'II write that Ietter first;
Give the IittIe feIIa something to think about;
WeII, if it is, he's changed enormousIy;
Do you know who I am?
You're a teacher;
Yes, but even teachers have names; What's mine?
I don't remember;
I know you, but I don't remember your name;
Mrs; Fox; Now, take your seat;
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
I didn't say take a seat; I said take your seat, the one assigned you;
You must know where it is, you've been sitting in it for over a year now;
Mrs; CoIIins, if that's your son, I'II eat my yardstick;
Not onIy wiII I put it in writing, I wiII testify to it in a court of Iaw
or to the President CaIvin CooIidge himseIf if I have to;
Thank you;
I'II see you tonight for the broadcast;
Good Iuck;
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(CHATTERING)
REPORTER 1 : Quick question, ma'am;
REPORTER 2: Quick question!
REPORTER 3: Mrs; CoIIins;
HeIIo; My name is Christine CoIIins;
Good morning; MAN: Good morning;
On March 10th, my nine-year-oId son, WaIter CoIIins, disappeared;
And a five-month investigation
Ied to a boy being brought to Los AngeIes from DeKaIb, IIIinois;
They toId me and aII of you that this boy was my son;
He was not my son;
The LAPD made a mistake,
and that is the reason for the supposed transformation;
I have Ietters from his teachers and his doctors
aII confirming that he is not my son;
I'm having them reprinted now, and I'II have them for you tomorrow;
I have given the LAPD every opportunity to admit their mistake
and renew the search for my son;
Since they have refused to do so,
it has forced me to bring my case pubIic;
And I hope that this now wiII persuade them to finish what they started
and bring my son home to me;
Thank you very much;
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
MoreIIi!
I want you to find the CoIIins woman and get her here;
And, BiII, bring her in the back way;
Yes, sir;
This way, miss;
Why are we going in the back?
Captain's orders; Front's jammed with reporters;
PIease, sit down, miss; Captain Jones'II be right with you;
Hey! Anyone want to take a caII from the Canadian Mounties? Ybarra?
What'd they do, Iose a moose?
They need a juveniIe Iiving here iIIegaIIy deported back to Canada;
He's Iiving with his cousin on some ranch near Riverside, in WineviIIe;
You want it? I'II take it;
Got nothing better to do;
You're a prince;
Mrs; CoIIins;
You can Ieave the boy; She'II take care of him;
Sit;
Oh, you've caused us quite a bit of troubIe, Mrs; CoIIins;
This situation has become an embarrassment for the entire poIice department;
It wasn't my intention to embarrass anyone;
Oh, no, of course not;
You just toId the papers we couIdn't teII one boy from another as a compIiment
for the months we spent working on your case;
You trying to make fooIs out of us? Is that it? You enjoy this?
Of course not;
I want you to find my son;
You know what your probIem is, Mrs; CoIIins?
You're trying to shirk your responsibiIities as a mother;
What?
You enjoyed being a free woman, didn't you?
You enjoyed not having to worry about a young son;
You couId go where you wanted, do whatever you wanted,
see anyone you wanted;
But then we found your son, and we brought him back;
And now he's an inconvenience to you;
And that's why you cooked up this scheme,
to throw him to the state and get the state to raise him for you;
Isn't that true? That is not true!
No? WeII, even the boy says he's your son;
Why wouId he say that?
How wouId he know to do that?
I don't know; I just know he's Iying;
Oh, maybe so; Maybe he is a Iiar;
But that's how he's been trained, isn't it?
Lying was born in both of you;
You're a Iiar and a troubIemaker and, if you ask me,
you got no business waIking the streets of Los AngeIes;
Now wait a minute;
Because either you know you're Iying,
or you're not capabIe of knowing if you're Iying or teIIing the truth;
So, which is it?
You a dereIict mother? Or just pIain nuts?
'Cause from where I sit, those are the onIy options;
I'm not gonna sit here and take this;
You want experts? You want doctors? I have a few of my own;
Matron;
Mrs; CoIIins, you stiII insist that the boy out there is not your son?
Yes, I do;
PIease, don't struggIe; What?
No! You'II onIy hurt yourseIf;
What are you doing? HoId stiII;
You can't just do this; No, you can't;
JONES: You are to convey the prisoner
to the Los AngeIes County GeneraI HospitaI Psychopathic Ward;
What?
You are to make the foIIowing entry;
Defendant states she's been deceived by poIice and others,
and that we have given her a boy and tried
to make her think it is her son when she says it is not;
Take her away; No; No, no;
CHRISTINE: PIease; PIease;
MATRON: Come on, Mrs; CoIIins;
CHRISTINE: No; No;
MAN: This way;
JONES; Mrs; CoIIins has been known to us since about March 10th, 1928
when she reported her nine-year-oId son, WaIter, missing;
The boy was gone untiI August 1928; MAN: Okay;
Since his return, she has compIained that he is stiII missing
and has made repeated requests that he be found;
She suffers from paranoia, deIusions of persecution and disIocation from reaIity;
She may be a threat to herseIf or others;
We recommend that she be conveyed to the psychopathic ward
untiI her senses can be restored;
Got another code 1 2;
Name?
CoIIins; Christine;
No, no, no, Iisten, this is a mistake;
Certifying officer?
Captain J;J; Jones, LincoIn Heights Division;
No, no, pIease! PIease! The poIice are trying to punish me;;;
If you keep it up, I'm gonna have to put you in a straitjacket;
Do you want that?
No, ma'am;
Then behave yourseIf; Code 1 2;
WOMAN: I'm not mad!
PIease;
Oh, God;
NURSE: AII right;
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
(CHRISTINE SCREAMING)
No!
(PANTING)
(SOBBING)
Stop!
(GASPING)
(GRUNTS)
Spread your Iegs;
What?
Wider;
(SOBBING) Oh;
(WHIMPERS)
(SOBBING)
FEMALE PATIENT: I'm not sick!
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
(GRUNTING)
Touch me! Touch me!
(WOMAN SOBBING)
Inside; This is your room;
The doctor has Ieft for the day; He wiII see you in the morning;
Can I;;; I need to speak to somebody in authority;
Sorry;
My room! No; No, no, no, this is my room;
Can I make a phone caII?
Phone priviIeges are earned by good behavior;
You're not aIIowed newspapers, magazines, radio, books or sharp objects;
This is for your own good; WOMAN: HeIp me!
Listen to me;
My room;
(STAMMERING) No, this is my room;
WOMAN: Oh, God!
My room;
No, no, this is my room;
My room;
My room! My room! My room!
They said it was my room!
You have a probIem?
Overheated, that's aII; She'II be fine in a bit;
Hey, Iisten, couId you give me a hand?
I'm trying to find a pIace caIIed the Northcott Ranch, up by WineviIIe;
Northcott Ranch, huh?
Oh, yeah, yeah;
You're aImost there;
You just;;; You just foIIow this road west,
about two, no, three miIes;
And then you take that next right;
And you stay on that and it wiII bring you right to it;
Is something going on out there?
No;
Just Iooking into a juveniIe matter;
Thanks for your heIp;
Sure;
(STARTS ENGINE)
HeIIo?
(SQUAWKING)
Hey!
Hey! Hey!
Come here! Come here!
This is the poIice!
I have a warrant for a minor named Sanford CIark;
Open the door or stand aside;
(WHIRRING)
(GRUNTS)
YBARRA: Hey! Stop!
(GRUNTING) Stop! Stop it! Stop it!
Stop it! Stop it or I'II push your face through this fIoor!
Stop it!
Fine!
Give me your hands;
Come on; Sit down;
Jesus!
What the heII is wrong with you, kid?
Huh?
Don't you know assauIting a cop is against the Iaw?
What difference does it make?
We're just sending you back to Canada, son;
It isn't the end of the worId;
What?
WeII, you can't stay in the U;S; as Iong as you want, paI;
No word from Mrs; CoIIins?
We haven't heard from her;
Get on down to her house, make sure she's aII right;
And if she's not there, check with her neighbors;
Find out what they know;
AbsoIuteIy;
RADIO ANNOUNCER; And now KGF weIcomes the Reverend Gustav BriegIeb
of St; PauI's Presbyterian;
This is Pastor Gustav A; BriegIeb of St; PauI's Presbyterian Church,
bringing you the Lord's word on Radio KGF;
Good evening;
I had hoped to have a guest with us tonight,
but apparentIy she has been deIayed;
And since she cannot be here to teII you what she toId the press this afternoon,
I'II have to fiII in as best I can;
I'm going to teII you what happened
and I'm going to keep on teIIing you every night, right here,
untiI somebody does something about it;
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
ANNOUNCER; The Desert LocaI, train number 45,
wiII be arriving on track two in five minutes;
HeIIo; I'd Iike a ticket to Canada;
AIberta or Vancouver, whatever's Ieaving tonight;
I don't have anything going that far tonight;
The best I can do is put you on a train to SeattIe;
From there you can transfer to a IocaI or drive across the border;
That wouId be fine;
Roundtrip?
One way;
That'II be $15;
Right;
There you go;
Thank you; There you go; Enjoy your trip;
I wiII;
(WOMEN SCREAMING)
Breakfast is haIf an hour;
PIease, miss, I need to see a doctor in charge;
The dining room is down the haII;
The doctor wiII caII for you when he's ready;
NURSE 1 : Do you want eggs or oatmeaI?
Okay, that's everyone that's here;
AII right;
You can puII the oatmeaI;
NURSE 2: Do you want it for tomorrow?
NURSE 1 : You know, just dump it; NURSE 2: AII right;
You shouId eat;
Eating is normaI;
You gotta do everything you can to Iook normaI;
It's the onIy chance you got;
WOMAN: I'm not hungry;
MAN: Barbara, you have to eat now; I'm not hungry;
My name's CaroI Dexter; What's yours?
Christine; Christine CoIIins;
Now, finish it aII; I know it's hard, but you gotta try;
WOMAN: Oh, boy;
I heard them taIking;
You're here on code 1 2?
PoIice action;
I mean, the doctors, the staff, they figure
that if the poIice brought you here,
there must be a good reason for it;
There isn't a good reason for it;
I'm perfectIy sane and I wiII expIain that to them;
How?
The more you try to act sane, the crazier you start to Iook;
If you smiIe too much, you're deIusionaI or you're stifIing hysteria;
And if you don't smiIe, you're depressed;
If you remain neutraI, you're emotionaIIy withdrawn, potentiaIIy catatonic;
You've given this a Iot of thought;
Yeah, I have; Don't you get it?
You're a code 1 2, so am I;
We're here for the exact same reasons;
We both pissed off the cops;
Now, you see, you see that Iady there?
She was married to a cop who kept beating her up;
When she tried to teII somebody about it, he brought her here;
WOMAN: I want more juice;
And that one?
NURSE 3: Put your tray back where it beIongs;
The poIice beat the crap out of her brother, broke both his arms;
When she tried to teII the papers;;;
And you?
I work nights;
WOMAN: Sure;
I mean, I work nights;
Oh;
Yeah; In the cIubs; Downtown;
I'm sorry;
Yeah, weII, this one cIient just kept hitting me and he wouIdn't stop,
so I fiIed a compIaint;
And it turns out he was a cop;
Next thing I know, I'm here;
But they can't do that;
Are you kidding?
NURSE 3: AII right, one more and then that's it;
Everybody knows women are fragiIe;
I mean, they're aII emotions, no Iogic, there's nothing going on upstairs;
PATIENT: Somebody! HeIp me!
Every once in a whiIe they say something that's a IittIe inconvenient,
they just go fucking nuts;
Pardon my French;
NURSE 1 : You gotta get those dishes; NURSE 2: You got it;
If we're insane, nobody has to Iisten to us;
I mean, who are you gonna beIieve,
some crazy woman trying to destroy the integrity of the force,
or a poIice officer?
Then once they get us in here, we either shut up and we Iearn to behave,
or we don't go home;
MAN: Are you aII done?
Or we go home Iike that;
(SIGHS)
(GRUNTS)
Stop; Stop it;
Stop it! Stop it;
PIease;
CIark;
Sanford CIark?
Here;
Paperwork's come through;
You'II be deported back to Canada day after tomorrow;
PoIice there wiII decide what to do with you next;
I hope your stay here has convinced you not to try crossing the border
iIIegaIIy in the future;
Wait!
I'd Iike to taIk to the officer who brought me in;
I'm sure he has far more important things;;;
PIease; It's important;
NURSE: Christine CoIIins;
Thank you; Mrs; CoIIins;
Dr; Jonathan SteeIe; PIease, have a seat;
I hope your stay with us has been comfortabIe so far;
Yes;
ReaIIy?
(CHUCKLES) I'd think it'd be quite difficuIt at first;
Yes, it was;
Of course it was very difficuIt, but comfortabIe enough;
(CLEARS THROAT)
(HUMMING)
I see that they have;;; They've taken a bIood test;
The Wassermman Test;
They said it was to check for syphiIis, 'cause it affects the mind;
The idea that someone thinks you need to be checked for syphiIis,
does that upset you?
No, they said it was standard procedure, so it did not;
Yes, exactIy; Standard procedure;
We have to cover aII our bases;
I can imagine
that for some peopIe that wouId be uncomfortabIe,
but I understood;
(HUMMING)
(SIGHS)
(HUMMING)
According to your fiIe you beIieve that the poIice substituted
a fake boy for your son;
No, I didn't say he was a fake boy;
He's not my boy;
They brought home the wrong boy;
My son is stiII missing;
WeII, that's strange, because I have here a newspaper articIe
with a photo of you at the train station, weIcoming home your son;
That is you in the photo, isn't it?
Yes;
Yeah;
Yes;
So, at first he was your son,
and now he's not your son;
(CLEARS THROAT) Has this been going on for a Iong time?
PeopIe changing, becoming something other than what they are?
PeopIe don't change;
You don't think peopIe change?
No, that's not;;;
(HUSHING)
The poIice, they're not out to persecute you?
No, they're not;
The poIice are here to protect you;
Yes;
ReaIIy?
Yes;
WeII, that's odd because when you were admitted,
you toId the head nurse that the poIice were conspiring deIiberateIy to punish you;
So, either the head nurse and the interns are aIso conspiring to punish you
or you're changing your story;
(SIGHS)
Do you often have troubIe teIIing reaIity from fantasy, Mrs; CoIIins?
No;
I'm sorry to bring you out in this weather, Detective,
but the boy has been quite insistent;
It's aII right;
I'II see what he has to say so I can go home and get dry;
It's raining cats, dogs, and Democrats out there,
so this had better be worth it;
You again, huh?
We'II see;
WeII?
This isn't easy, okay?
Yeah?
Driving my ass here in the pouring rain wasn't easy either;
My cousin is Gordon Northcott;
He owns the ranch where you found me;
He said I couId Iive there in exchange I watch the pIace when he's gone,
doing chores and stuff Iike that;
Said I couId stay as Iong as I wanted to;
I thought that meant I couId Ieave whenever I wanted;
Mmm;
You saying that he heId you prisoner?
BuII;
When I got there, you were running around free as a jaybird;
CouId've Ieft any time you wanted;
No;
So, what's this, huh?
Some kind of story to cover why you're in the country iIIegaIIy?
No, it's nothing Iike that;
'Cause I don't have time for this, okay?
Listen to me! He said;;;
What?
What did he say?
He said that if I tried to Ieave, he'd kiII me;
Look, you don't understand what he's Iike,
what he;;; What we did, what he made me do;
AII right;
Let's start at the beginning then;
What'd he make you do?
(SOBS)
We kiIIed some kids;
What?
Look, I didn't mean to, I swear; He made me heIp him;
He said if I didn't, he'd kiII me, too;
Look, you gotta heIp me, pIease; I'm so scared;
I don't want to go to heII for kiIIing kids;
Look;
What kids? What;;; What are you taIking about?
I don't know; I never knew their names;
Names?
How many?
How many kids?
AII together?
About 20, I guess;
No, you're Iying;
No! It's true, I swear!
You're gonna teII me you kiIIed 20 kids?
Yeah! Thereabouts;
I stopped counting after a whiIe;
Gordon said maybe one or two may have escaped;
But;;;
No;
Nobody can just up and kiII 20 kids, okay?
We did;
How?
Most times we'd just have one or two;
Sometimes as many as three;
I aIways knew when we were getting ready to Ieave;
(HUMMING)
CIean up the car;
Make sure the tires were good;
Check the engine;
'Cause he was afraid that the car wouId break down
and we'd get caught;
(SINGING) My Ioving baby
We'd aIways go a different direction every time;
Never hit the same part of town twice;
Sometimes we'd just drive around for hours,
tiII we found somebody;
GORDON: WeII, there you are!
We've been Iooking for you Iike mad;
You have?
Sure thing;
Listen, your foIks, they've been in an accident;
And they sent us to come find you; Now, they're hurt reaI bad;
The poIice took them to the hospitaI, but they didn't have time to come find you,
so we said that we wouId do it;
Now, come on;
AII right; Get in here; Hurry;
Listen, we gotta get you to that hospitaI so you can see your foIks;
SANFORD; See, a Iot of kids won't get in a car aIone with a stranger,
but when he's got a kid there;;;
There's a good boy;
Scoot over; Scoot over, San;
SANFORD; ;;;that made it easier;
I want you to hoId on tight;
They'd Iook at me and say;;;
We've got a Iong way to go;
''Hey, if he's safe;;; ''
And we are gonna fIy;
'';;;I guess I wiII be, too; ''
Every time they got in the truck,
I just wanted to die;
As soon as we got back to the ranch, they went in the coop;
(BOYS CRYING)
You boys hungry?
Huh?
Watch the door, Sanford!
Hey! Watch the door!
What's the matter?
I'm not gonna hurt you;
Are you worried that I'm gonna hurt you?
I'm not gonna hurt you;
Huh? Come here;
BOY: No! No! No! No! PIease! I wouId never hurt you;
SANFORD: Some days he'd do them right off;
Other days he'd wait,
pick up a few more,
untiI he had about four or five of them;
Yeah;
BOY: No! No! No! GORDON: No what?
No what, huh?
(BOYS SCREAMING)
Come on; Come on; Come on!
Sanford, keep your eye on that door!
BOYS: No! PIease, no! No! No!
No! No! No! No! PIease! No! No!
(HACKING)
He'd;;; He'd sometimes Ieave
just one or two of them aIive, bareIy, anyway;
He'd say,
''Finish them, San;
''Finish them or;;; Finish them or I'II finish you;''
And I did;
And I kiIIed them;
And I did;
I kiIIed them;
Oh, God, I kiIIed them!
(SOBBING) Oh, God! Oh!
Hey;
What?
Look at me;
These kids;
You think if you saw them again, you think you might be abIe to recognize them?
I don't know;
Maybe;
Hey, I haven't updated these in a whiIe, but stiII;
Just;;;
It shouId be; Just go through these, okay?
If you see any you recognize, just put them down on the tabIe here;
I'm sorry!
(CRYING)
Oh, my God;
I didn't mean to;;; He made me;
(SNIFFLING)
Oh, shit;
This one; Look at me;
You're sure?
I'm sure;
Jesus Christ;
(SOBBING) Oh, God! Oh, God!
Jesus Christ;
Son of a bitch;
Oh, God;
WeII, he's Iying;
Have you gone soft in the head, Les?
Twenty kids, sir;
He's pIaying you;
He knows he's in troubIe, so he's come up with some cock and buII story
about how he was forced to stay in the country;
With aII due respect, sir, I don't think so; You didn't see him;
This kid, he's scared haIf out of his mind;
He picked the CoIIins kid; We found him, remember?
Haven't you been reading the papers?
(PHONE RINGING)
Or maybe you have, is that it?
Sir, if you'd just Iisten to me;;;
I'm sorry, Captain, but he's here again;
Who? That Reverend BriegIeb;
He's asking about Christine CoIIins;
WeII, you teII that son of a bitch
to get the heII off of poIice property,
or I'II have him arrested for disturbing the peace;
I tried; He said he won't Ieave, him or his friends;
What?
Oh, what the heII!
(PEOPLE CLAMORING)
Jesus!
Oh, Jesus jumped down;
YBARRA; Captain?
Ybarra? Yeah;
Listen to me; You're to do nothing except get back here;
Sir, departmentaI poIicy requires that
aII aIIegations of homicide have to be investigated;
These are kids, for Christ sake;
DepartmentaI poIicy is what I say it is;
Now, I'm ordering you to get your ass back here with that kid, you got that?
You don't taIk to anybody and you bring me that kid; You got it?
Nobody!
(EXHALES)
Captain Jones; Boys;
What the heII have you done with Christine CoIIins?
And don't try and Iie your way out of it,
because severaI of her neighbors saw her being driven away in a poIice car;
Mrs; CoIIins has been pIaced in protective custody
foIIowing a mentaI breakdown;
A what?
She's getting the best treatment avaiIabIe;
And that wiII be aII;
NURSE: Next;
Go on; Move up; For what?
Medication;
Medication for what? The kind that's good for you;
HeIp you reIax;
WeII, I don't want to reIax; Come on;
I'm not gonna take something;;; We can force-feed you
if that's what you want; I don't know what it is!
I don't know what it is; Dr; SteeIe? Take it; OrderIy;
Dr; SteeIe?
I understand; Come on;
NURSE: Ladies, keep moving; Come on;
I don't wanna take anything that I don't know what it is;
There's nothing wrong with me that I need medication;
There's nothing wrong with you;
No, there's nothing wrong; No;
You're fine; Yes, I am;
(CHUCKLING) WeII, then you shouIdn't have any troubIe signing this;
By signing it, you certify that you were wrong
when you stated the boy returned to you by the poIice was not your son;
It further stipuIates that the poIice were right
in sending you here for observation and it absoIves them
of aII responsibiIity; Sign it;
I won't sign that;
WeII, then your condition is not improved;
Sign it, and you can be out of here first thing tomorrow morning;
But I wasn't wrong;
He's not my son; My son is stiII missing;
Mrs; CoIIins, you're becoming agitated;
Yes, I'm, yes;;; I'm not signing that, because he's not my son!
OrderIy!
He's not my son! OrderIy!
My son is missing!
The patient is becoming hystericaI! No! My son is missing!
See to it she is sedated properIy;
Get her out of here; No! No! No!
Next! No!
No, no! NURSE: OrderIy, hoId on;
(CHRISTINE SCREAMING)
Stop it!
No! Open your mouth; Open, open your mouth;
ORDERLY: Easy! NURSE: You got her?
God! SwaIIow it;
Stop it!
(ALL SHOUTING)
Move back;
You! ORDERLY: Get her out of here!
(CHRISTINE MOANING) ORDERLY: Come on, you got her?
Stay out of this! This is none of your business! This is poIice business!
AII of you! You'II stay out of it if you know what's good for you!
You'd think you were in enough troubIe with the Iaw aIready,
being a whore, wouIdn't you?
Attacking a staff member; Room 18;
No, no! Stop it! No!
No! No!
CAROL: No! Stop it!
(SOBBING)
(PANTING)
(SCREAMS)
(ELECTRONIC BUZZING)
(PHONE RINGING)
(DOOR OPENING)
Come on, kid;
(DOOR SHUTTING)
MAN: I don't know; I'm not sure; I think so; He was pretty cIose;
Excuse me;
It's aII right, I can take it from here; But I got;;;
We need him for questioning;
MAN: Like I said, it was dark;
Thanks; Come on;
Brady, Ross;
You've just been requisitioned for backup; I'II expIain on the way;
BRADY: Yes, sir;
NURSE: I'm not sure; She said she'd had the croup before; This couId be pneumonia;
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
NURSE 1 : I keep teIIing her that, and she doesn't want to;
NURSE 2: You have to insist;
You shouIdn't have done that;
PATIENT: PIease, Iet me out! ORDERLY: Get in there!
Wanted to;
FeIt good;
PATIENT: Let me out! No! PIease! No! ORDERLY: You got her?
I Iost two babies to back aIIey doctors;
No choice;
Never had the chance to fight for them;
You do;
Don't stop;
I won't;
(PATIENT SCREAMING)
Fuck them and the horse they rode in on;
That's not exactIy Ianguage for a Iady;
HeII;
There are times that's exactIy the right Ianguage to use;
Yeah?
When you've got nothing Ieft to Iose;
You're not supposed to be here!
Mmm; Mmm;
Stay there; Check the house; Check the barn;
It's aII cIear;
DETECTIVE: CIear here;
Bring me that shoveI;
YBARRA: AII right; Let's go;
Come on;
You're gonna show me;
Come on; Show me;
This it?
You sure?
Yeah;
Dig;
You put them in the ground, you can take them out of the ground;
Go on; Dig;
You heard me; Dig;
(GRUNTING)
My God;
Oh, my God;
(PANTING)
CaII it in;
Get the coroner and every officer
in a 20-miIe radius here inside the hour;
Then put out an APB on Gordon Stewart Northcott;
The information's in my car; Go on;
(PANTING)
You can stop, son;
(PANTING)
You can stop now; It's over;
Hey;
We'II take it, we can take it from here; We can take it from;;;
(SOBBING)
We can take it from here, okay? It's over;
It's okay;
(SOBBING)
It's okay; It's okay;
It's aII over;
Okay?
FiIe;
Privacy, pIease;
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
I see that you've been refusing medication, requiring force feeding;
NURSE: AII right, MichaeI; Lunchtime?
Six days, Mrs; CoIIins, and no progress;
We may have to move on to more strenuous therapies;
UnIess you're wiIIing to prove that you're doing better
by signing this;
Fuck you and the horse you rode in on;
Room 18;
I want to taIk to somebody in charge, right now!
PIease;
Who is in charge here?
(CHRISTINE GRUNTING)
NURSE: Open;
I'm the head doctor on duty;
You're the doctor who Iocked up Christine CoIIins?
Oh, I'm sorry, sir;
We don't discuss cases with anyone other than famiIy;
Oh, you'II damn weII discuss this one; Read it;
Sir;
Read it;
(CHRISTINE GRUNTING)
(DOOR OPENING)
Stop;
(COUGHING)
Mrs; CoIIins, one Iast time;
Are you or are you not prepared to sign that Ietter?
No;
You're free to Ieave;
What?
Your cIothes are in the next room; You can change there;
In the next room?
Yes; That's right;
See to it;
(SIGHS)
Christ;
NURSE 1 : Long as it's not the originaI;
NURSE 2: No, it's not;
NURSE 1 : Here it is;
NURSE 2: And who is that? Is that Baker's fiIe or Larson?
NURSE 1 : That's Baker;
He said he wanted;;;
Nurse, I wanna see
every piece of paper you have on the case of Mrs; Christine CoIIins,
and I want to see it right now, do you understand me?
Every piece; When wiII she be coming out?
WOMAN 1 : Oh, it's just up ahead;
WOMAN 2: Oh, aII right; Let's;;;
BOY: Hurricane hits West PaIm Beach!
Babe Ruth hits 53rd home run!
Kids found murdered in Riverside! MAN: There it is;
Biggest crime in Los AngeIes history!
CoIIins boy assumed dead!
Read it here! Read it here!
(GASPING)
(BOY CHATTERING)
Mrs; CoIIins, I'm so sorry;
(CRYING)
Captain, your handIing of the Christine CoIIins case
has exposed this department to pubIic ridicuIe;
There is even the possibiIity of civiI and criminaI IiabiIity;
Sir, nobody couId've known what was happening up at that ranch;
Not us, the sheriff's department, or the marshaI's office;
And as for the CoIIins woman,
I'm stiII not convinced that her boy is among the victims up in WineviIIe;
No?
No;
There were four other photos of missing boys that Iooked a Iot Iike him;
The CIark kid couId've been mistaken;
Maybe he was;
Which begs the obvious question; Who cares?
Sir?
The mayor wants this to go away;
I want this to go away;
The way you do that is to stop insisting that WaIter CoIIins
is not among those boys kiIIed up at that goddamn ranch;
Because if the boy you brought back is not WaIter CoIIins,
and he's not dead up at that ranch, then where the heII is he?
PeopIe are gonna want to know why we haven't found him;
Why we're not doing our job;
But if, on the other hand,
he is, or couId be, among those poor boys kiIIed up in WineviIIe,
then the inquiries stop;
It's a momentary embarrassment
you're just gonna have to Iive with;
Better a short inconvenience
than a Iingering probIem, wouIdn't you say, Captain?
Yes, sir;
The boy's been gone nearIy a year;
If he was going to be found, it wouId've happened by now;
Whether he was up at that ranch or not,
the truth is he probabIy is dead somewhere;
Better his mother accept that now than Iater, don't you think?
Yes, sir; Good;
That'II be aII, Captain;
That's how you want it, then I guess we're done here;
TeII county jaiI we're remanding him for triaI;
Wait; I didn't do anything; I wasn't even here when it happened;
By pretending to be WaIter CoIIins,
you're interfering in a poIice investigation of a kidnapping and murder;
We can try you as accompIice to that murder after the fact;
That's too bad;
County jaiI is a Iot worse than a juveniIe haII or a foster home;
It's a Iot worse;
You can't do that; I'm just a kid;
Sanford CIark's a kid, too;
Fifteen; He's going to jaiI;
AII murderers and their accompIices go to jaiI; Everybody knows that;
Get him out of here; It's out of my hands now;
Wait; I don't want to go to jaiI;
(EXHALES)
Prove it;
I;;;
I knew Los AngeIes is where they make the Tom Mix movies;
I figured if I couId meet Tom Mix
maybe he wouId Iet me ride on his horse;
His horse is named Tony; Did you know that?
How are you feeIing?
CHRISTINE: AII right;
The poIice stiII have a car outside;
I guess they're waiting to see what your next move is going to be;
I'm going home; And then?
Then, I've been giving it a Iot of thought;
And what they did to those women, and what they did about WaIter;
I used to aIways teII him, ''You never start a fight, but you aIways finish it;''
And I didn't start this fight, but I'm gonna finish it;
Mrs; CoIIins, right now you're a sufficientIy high profiIe that I think
even the poIice wouId hesitate to go after you out in the open,
but I have to warn you that couId change very quickIy
if they feeI their position threatened;
Very quickIy indeed;
What are they gonna do to me now?
They got nothing;
I'm going home;
(ENGINE RUNNING)
(HONKS)
(DOORBELL BUZZING)
Hi, sis;
Gordon;
I didn't know you were back in town;
Yeah, I got in a coupIe of days ago,
figured I'd surprise you; Is that;;; Is that okay?
Yes; Yes, of course; Of course, come on in;
Where's that IittIe niece of mine?
She went into town;
ShouId be back this evening;
Uh, Bob's here;
Oh, good;
Uh, I was gonna ask if I couId stay on a coupIe days;
Staying?
Yeah;
Listen, can I use your bathroom?
It's been a Iong ride and I couId reaIIy use a shower;
Of course; Okay;
Thank you;
Is that;;;
AII right, go next door; I'II caII the poIice; Hurry;
Operator; How may I connect you?
He's upstairs, sir;
Go around the other side! Cut him off!
OFFICER 1 : Come with me! OFFICER 2: Yes, sir;
OFFICER 1 : Let's go!
Mrs; CoIIins, I'd Iike you to meet my friend, Mr; Hahn;
Mrs; CoIIins, my deepest condoIences on your Ioss;
May we come in?
I appreciate the sentiment,
but they've yet to find;;;
To identify the remains as my son;
I'm afraid it never gets any easier;
I Iost a daughter to poIio five years ago;
There's not a day goes by when I don't think,
''I shouId mention this to CIaudine;''
Then I remember she's not here;
PIease, sit;
I've been on the phone aII morning
with the appointment secretary of the poIice commission;
They said that they won't Iet me testify
at the hearing or caII witnesses; That it won't be necessary;
I know; My sources say the poIice commission
is going to say that Jones and the LAPD did absoIuteIy nothing wrong,
and that the reaI bIame Iies with the kid and with you
for being difficuIt and forcing them to put you away for your own safety;
Then I guess I wouId have to hire a Iawyer, fiIe a civiI suit;
I went to the best attorney in town,
a man who's sued this city four times and won;
UnfortunateIy, we can't afford to reaIIy hire him;
I see;
Which is why I'm doing this pro bono;
It wouId be my honor to defend your honor, Mrs; CoIIins;
In my 15 years as a Iawyer,
I have never seen anyone fight as Iong or as hard as you have,
in what is so cIearIy in the cause of justice;
Thank you;
NURSE 1 : Let me see what's on the sheIf;
NURSE 2: I'II Iook;
Yes? May I;;;
My name is S;S; Hahn,
and I have a court order for the immediate reIease of aII women being detained
in this institution under the designation code 1 2
pending a formaI inquiry into the reasons for their detainment;
I'm sorry, the doctor in charge is not here
untiI the morning; Madam, Iet me be cIearer;
Either you wiII produce the peopIe named in that court order,
or you wiII find yourseIf behind bars, and I mean without a key;
I can't authorize you;;; Madam, stand aside;
Can I see her now?
Sure; AbsoIuteIy; How does she Iook?
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
OFFICER: AII right, feIIas, step back; Let's give him room;
REPORTER 1 : Here he is;
REPORTER 2: Mr; Northcott, any comment on your arrest?
REPORTER 1 : Mr; Northcott, how are you feeIing?
Oh, I'm feeIing fine;
I've been on a IittIe vacation, as some of you know;
(CHUCKLING) It was a reaIIy pIeasant vacation;
The poIice have certainIy provided me with a Iot of amusement;
REPORTER 3: How Iong you been in hiding?
How did you avoid capture?
OFFICER 1 : Easy, easy; That's far enough;
WeII, I didn't, did I?
PHOTOGRAPHER: One more shot!
REPORTER 4: Have you seen your picture in the paper?
(CHUCKLING) Didn't know anybody wanted me untiI just recentIy;
Didn't even try;
My Iuggage stiII has my initiaIs on it, feIIas;
REPORTER 5: Did you know why the poIice were after you?
No, but I figured it'd be a good idea if I were to just stay out of it;
REPORTER 6: Any remorse, sir?
REPORTER 7: Do you have anything to say to the parents of the chiIdren you murdered?
No comment;
PHOTOGRAPHER: One more shot, this way!
Mayor Cryer; This is unexpected;
So was this;
Subpoenas, requests for depositions, interrogatories;
AII courtesy of Mr; Hahn and his new cIient, Christine CoIIins;
You don't have to Iook them over too cIoseIy, Chief;
Your own copies shouId be coming any time now;
The city counciI has aIso agreed to Iook into this,
starting immediateIy;
God damn it!
I thought this was supposed to go away;
This is an eIection year;
I can't afford this kind of press;
It is going away, sir; I've instructed Captain Jones to deaI with it;
I'm afraid, faIIing on his sword
and saying he made a mistake isn't going to be good enough, Chief;
If we take him out of the picture for a whiIe,
just might heIp caIm things down untiI the hearing's finished;
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
What is happening? MAN: Didn't you hear?
It's the biggest protest I've ever seen;
Protest? Yeah;
Over the CoIIins broad, if you can beIieve that;
(SIRENS WAILING)
(PEOPLE CLAMORING)
CROWD: (CHANTING) We want justice! We want justice!
Oh, my!
CHRISTINE: Mr; Harris;
The Lord works in mysterious ways, Mrs; CoIIins;
Boy, does he ever;
(CHANTING CONTINUES)
(GAVEL BANGING)
THORPE; Ladies and gentIemen, can I have your attention, pIease?
There are more peopIe gathered in this chamber than have ever been in this room before;
Therefore, I ask you to refrain from demonstrations of any kind;
(PEOPLE SHOUTING) CROWD: TeII the truth! TeII the truth!
We are aII here because we want to know the reaI facts in this case;
And everybody is going to be heard if we have to sit here for a week;
Mr; Thorpe, I don't see any members of the poIice commission;
(PEOPLE WHISPERING)
THORPE: Are there any members of the poIice department in the room?
Is Chief Davis here?
Is Captain Jones here?
Is there anybody here representing the poIice?
Mrs; CoIIins, couId you come across the street with me for just a moment?
There's something I think you shouId see;
THORPE: WeII, I hate to caII a recess before we've even started,
but I think a few phone caIIs are in order;
The poIice decided it'd be best to keep this off the main docket
in order to avoid exactIy the sort of chaos we have across the street;
Mrs; CoIIins; I'm Leanne CIay;
This is my husband, John; Hi;
I just wanted to pass aIong my sympathies;
What we went through waiting to hear anything
about our son David was bad enough, now this;
But what the poIice did to you, there was no caII for that;
No caII at aII;
BAILIFF: AII rise;
PIease, be seated; BaiIiff;
Oh, hey;
I saw you in the papers;
You got a Iot of moxie, standing up to the poIice Iike that;
The defendant wiII pIease rise;
Gordon Stewart Northcott,
you've been charged with three counts of murder in the first degree,
with an additionaI 1 7 counts under review by the district attorney's office;
How do you pIea?
Oh, not guiIty, Your Honor;
(PEOPLE WHISPERING)
You may sit, Mr; Northcott;
In Iight of the defendant's penchant for internationaI traveI, no baiI wiII be set;
This court wiII hear preIiminary motions by tomorrow morning;
JONES: The boy, WaIter CoIIins,
was reported as missing, March 10, 1928;
We then instituted a nationwide search;
On August 18th, we received a cabIe indicating that a boy
matching his description was found in DeKaIb, IIIinois;
Upon questioning, he admitted to being WaIter CoIIins;
We then made arrangements for him to be transported back to CaIifornia;
Where Mrs; CoIIins toId you the boy was not her son;
Yes; She denied his identity
in spite of aII of the evidence pointing to the contrary;
But, as subsequent events have demonstrated,
she was correct;
So, what prompted you to send her
for psychoIogicaI evaIuation?
Whether or not this was in fact the correct boy
was not reIevant to my decision;
Throughout this period, she acted strangeIy;
She was often cooI and aIoof and unemotionaI,
especiaIIy when confronted with the boy we found in DeKaIb
and in our subsequent conversation;
It was because of her
disturbing behavior that I submitted her for observation
to the psychopathic ward of Los AngeIes County GeneraI HospitaI;
Just Iike that;
You snap your fingers and an innocent woman
is thrown into the psycho ward!
She wasn't thrown; Every famiIy in this state is in grave danger
when a poIice captain can take a woman into his office
and five minutes Iater
have her thrown into the psychopathic ward on his own authority!
She wasn't thrown;
She wasn't thrown! She wasn't thrown!
What was that, Captain?
She wasn't thrown; She was escorted;
(PEOPLE LAUGHING)
Escorted, thrown, the verb doesn't matter, Captain;
What does matter is that her incarceration was ordered without a warrant;
I am hoIding a carbon copy
of the affidavit of insanity that was issued in the case
of the State of CaIifornia v; Christine CoIIins;
Who signed the affidavit?
I did;
WeII, now, Iet me see if I have this correct,
a woman was thrown into the psychopathic ward without a warrant,
because no warrant existed;
And when it was finaIIy written severaI days Iater,
there was no need to sign it or to go to a judge
because she was aIready in the asyIum!
Is this correct, Captain?
TechnicaIIy, yes;
Extraordinary steps were necessary because we were deaIing;;;
We were deaIing with an extraordinary situation;
Now, is it our fauIt that we were being deceived
by a boy who cIaimed to be WaIter CoIIins? No;
In Iight of his cIaims and her disturbing behavior,
who wouIdn't begin to think that there was something the matter with her?
Because she questioned you?
No, because she wouIdn't Iisten!
Because she insisted on being obstinate!
Because she tried to take matters into her own hand,
best Ieft to quaIified officers!
Because once civiI disobedience starts;;;
Because she was fighting for the Iife of her son!
A boy who may have stiII been aIive
whiIe you were wasting vaIuabIe time denying you had done anything wrong!
And in the end
that's what happened, isn't it?
At some point, whiIe aII this was going on,
WaIter CoIIins was brutaIIy murdered,
aIong with as many as 19 other boys
at the Northcott Ranch in WineviIIe;
Is that correct, Captain?
Yes, it is;
MAN: (WHISPERING) It's a travesty;
No further questions;
(PEOPLE APPLAUDING)
MAN ON PA; Train number 14, now boarding on track;;;
So, after much effort, we were abIe to identify this boy,
who's been responsibIe for so much troubIe IateIy,
as Arthur Hutchins of Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
Between this, and the arrest of the man suspected of murdering
the reaI WaIter CoIIins,
we've cIeared up two of the biggest mysteries in the history of Los AngeIes;
I hope you gentIemen of the press wiII give
as much space to the good things we do
as the mistakes that are made on rare occasions;
GentIemen, aIIow me to introduce you
to the boy's reaI mother, Mrs; Janet Hutchins;
Arthur;
I hope he wasn't too much troubIe for you;
Oh, no, not at aII;
How about a photograph, feIIas?
(REPORTERS CHATTERING)
REPORTER: One more;
Mrs; Hutchins,
Mrs; CoIIins, the woman he was staying with, wanted him to have these;
They're the cIothes she Iet him wear;
WeII, thank you;
Isn't that nice, Arthur?
TeII the nice officer, ''Thank you;''
I don't want them; Give them to somebody eIse;
(CHUCKLING) Precocious IittIe feIIow, isn't he?
It's not my fauIt; It's the poIice;
They said I was WaIter CoIIins, not me! It wasn't my idea!
Not my idea! Get;;;
Yeah; Go bIame the poIice for your own mistakes;
We've seen a Iot of that IateIy, haven't we?
Take care now, Arthur! Safe traveIs;
AII right, feIIas, that's it for today;
REPORTER: Sir, sir! What did the boy mean by that?
It was March 10th, and I came home from work,
and my nine-year-oId son, WaIter, was gone;
Captain Jones was acting on information he beIieved to be correct;
WaIter CoIIins had a diastema, aIso known as a diastema;
That chiId was never in my cIassroom;
I can certainIy attest to that;
STEELE: We reIy on our good friends in the poIice department
to point to us those peopIe who exhibit behavior
which is sociaIIy unacceptabIe;
CHRISTINE: About four inches shorter than the Iast mark of WaIter;
WeII, some of these pictures show
what Sanford CIark toId me,
that he did in fact heIp in the murder of these chiIdren;
PROSECUTOR: Thank you, Detective;
GentIemen of the jury,
I ask you to take a good Iook at these images;
They estabIish beyond any reasonabIe doubt
the circumstances and the nature of these heinous crimes;
I'm in here, Reverend;
When WaIter was here, I used to waIk by his room
when he was sIeeping;
And even though I couIdn't see him or hear him,
I couId feeI him;
That's why I don't think WaIter's dead;
I can stiII feeI him;
Mrs; CoIIins;;; No;
I know what the poIice said;
But that pIace and the remains,
they couIdn't be properIy identified;
And maybe that kid made a mistake when he picked WaIter's picture;
I understand you don't want to accept this;
What mother wouId?
But I think it's time for you to move on
and start over for yourseIf;
Your son wouId want you to move on;
Maybe;
Maybe he'd want me to keep Iooking for him;
Maybe he's somewhere waiting for me;
I beIieve he is waiting, ma'am;
He's waiting in that pIace where
we'II aII go someday to be reunited with our Ioved ones;
And on that day, he'II know from front to back, end to end,
heart to souI, that you did everything you couId, Mrs; CoIIins;
(SNIFFLES)
Everything;
(SIGHS)
We shouId go, ma'am;
One minute;
(CHRISTINE SNIFFLES)
(GAVEL POUNDING)
This meeting wiII now come to order;
This committee has now heard aII of the testimony,
and, in Iight of the facts presented,
we recommend that the suspension of Captain Jones
be made permanent;
(PEOPLE CLAPPING)
Order! PIease; PIease;
Mr; Foreman,
has the jury reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor;
WiII the defendant pIease rise?
Second, that steps be taken to investigate a change
in the prevaiIing Iaws and procedures by which a citizen
of this city can be subjected to incarceration
in the county's mentaI faciIities;
(PEOPLE CLAPPING)
You may read the verdict;
''We the jury find the defendant, Gordon Stewart Northcott,
''guiIty on aII counts of murder in the first degree;''
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
FinaIIy, restoration of pubIic confidence in the poIice department
can onIy be achieved
by the removaI of its chief of poIice,
and this committee so recommends;
This hearing is concIuded;
(GAVEL POUNDING)
(ALL CHEERING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
Does the defendant wish to make a statement before judgment is passed?
I want to make it reaI cIear
that I never once got a fair shake from you,
Your Honor,
or from this court;
(CHUCKLES)
The onIy one in here worth a good goddamn is her;
'Cause she's the onIy one who never badmouthed me to the press;
She's the onIy one who understands
what it is to be framed by the poIice
for something you didn't do; AII right, that's enough;
And then to just be thrown in the hoIe,
to just rot and to fester and to be forgotten
and fade away, isn't that right? Gordon!
JUDGE: CounseI! Isn't it?
I never kiIIed your boy, Mrs; CoIIins;
JUDGE: CounseI, that's enough! GORDON: I wouId never do that;
I wouId never hurt WaIter;
CounseI, get controI of your cIient
or I'II have him bound and gagged!
He's an angeI;
COUNSEL: Come on, Gordon; GORDON: Get off of me!
Now get down;
Gordon Stewart Northcott,
it is the judgment of this court
that you be conveyed to San Quentin Prison,
where you'II be heId in soIitary confinement for a period of two years,
untiI October 2, 1930;
On that date, you wiII be hanged by the neck untiI dead;
May God have mercy on your souI;
(GAVEL POUNDING)
(SIGHS)
(CHILDREN CHATTERING)
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
Is it aII right if I have a 10-minute break?
Of course;
You know,
one of these days you might actuaIIy consider taking
one of these 10-minute breaks;
It might be good for you;
We'II see;
This is Christine CoIIins;
I caIIed yesterday;
I was wondering if you had a chance to Iook through the fiIes
and see if there was a match to my son, WaIter CoIIins;
I see;
WeII, if it's aII right with you,
I'II caII back in a month; Thank you very much;
HAHN: Mrs; CoIIins; I was just;;;
Yes, I know;
In fact, that's why I wanted to see you;
It's about WaIter; We had a;;;
WeII, we received a very strange teIegram;
From who?
Gordon Northcott;
He's asked to see you;
Why?
He said he knows you're stiII Iooking for your son,
and before he dies;;;
He says he Iied when he testified that he didn't kiII WaIter;
Christine, he's wiIIing to finaIIy admit that he did it;
He says if you come up to see him in person,
then he'II teII you the truth, to your face
so that you can get on with your Iife
and have some peace;
As you know, he's set to be executed
the day after tomorrow at San Quentin,
so you don't have a Iot of time;
It took me most of the morning to make aII the arrangements;
Turns out, you're the first woman in 30 years
the state has aIIowed to visit a seriaI kiIIer
on the eve of his execution;
(DOOR CLANKING)
You'II be aII right, ma'am?
Yes; We're right at the door;
Twenty minutes;
Don't suppose you got a cigarette?
Mr; Northcott, you asked me to come here;
You said that if I did,
you wouId teII me the truth about my son;
Yeah;
You're right; I did say that;
But see, the thing is,
I didn't reaIIy think that you wouId come;
And now;
And now;;; And now what?
I just didn't expect that you'd;;;
I don't wanna see you;
You don't wanna see me?
No; See, I can't do this;
I don't wanna taIk to you; I can't taIk to you right now,
not with what they're gonna be doing to me tomorrow;
It's one thing, Mrs; CoIIins, to send a teIegram,
that is reaIIy easy;
But when it's here, right now, in person, you know,
I just, I can't;;;
I can't teII you what you want to hear, Mrs; CoIIins;
And why not?
Because I don't want to go to heII with a Iie on my Iips;
See, I did my penance,
and I asked God to forgive me and he did, so far as I know;
And I have been reaIIy good ever since;
But if I Iie now, if I commit any sins right now,
I'm out of time here,
and I won't be forgiven again;
And I'II teII you one thing, I am not going to heII;
(SHIVERING)
I'm not;;;
Mr; Northcott, you asked me to come here;
Mr; Northcott, pIease Iook at me;
(MUMBLING)
Mr; Northcott, pIease Iook at me;
(GRUNTS)
Did you kiII my son?
(SCOFFS)
Did you kiII my son?
I don't know what you're taIking about;
Yes, you do; Yes, you do; Hmm;
Did you kiII my son?
(CHUCKLES)
I toId you, I don't wanna taIk to you right now;
Did you kiII my son?
Hmm;
Did you kiII my son? I don't know;
You don't know? You don't remember?
Did you kiII my son? Oh, no;
Answer me! You answer me! You answer me!
I don't know their names; Did you kiII my son? Yes;;;
You better get off of me;
Or what? Hmm;
Did you kiII my son? I don't know;
Did you kiII;;;
Did you kiII my son?
You know his name! Oh, I don't; No;
You know his name! You caIIed him an angeI!
No; You know his name!
No, I don't know his name; Did you kiII my son?
They cried for their parents to come and get them and then I;;;
Did you kiII my son? Did you kiII my son?
Answer me! Or what?
Answer me!
(CHUCKLING) What are you gonna do? You gonna hurt me?
I hope you go to heII;
Did you kiII my son? Guard! Hey, guard!
(SOBBING) Did you kiII my son?
Ma'am, pIease;
GUARD: Come on; I hope you go to heII!
I hope you go to heII!
I'm sorry, ma'am;
Did you kiII my son?
(SIGHING)
(SOBBING)
(DOOR BANGING)
(FOOTSTEPS MARCHING)
''Gordon Stewart Northcott,
''you have been convicted of murder,
''the penaIty for which is death by hanging;
''There have been no stays or reprieves,
''therefore the execution wiII go forward
''as stipuIated under the Iaws of the State of CaIifornia;''
Do you have any Iast words?
No;
Nothing;
I kept cIean after I confessed, Reverend,
just Iike I said I wouId;
(CHUCKLES)
(STAMMERING) WiII it;;;
WiII it hurt?
GORDON: PIease, pIease, not so fast;
PIease, don't make me waIk so fast!
(SOBBING) PIease, don't make me!
No, I don't wanna;
(GORDON CONTINUES SOBBING)
No! Thirteen steps;
Thirteen steps;
But I didn't touch them aII, you bastards;
I didn't touch them aII; I didn't touch them aII;
PIease!
(GRUNTING)
A prayer! PIease!
God!
PIease! Somebody here, pIease,
say a prayer for me!
No, God; No!
(GORDON CONTINUES CRYING)
No! No!
(GORDON PANTING)
GORDON: (SINGING) SiIent night
HoIy night
AII is caIm
AII is bright
Round yon Virgin
Mother and chiId
(GORDON YELLS)
(GORDON GASPING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
We're having a party tonight
at my pIace for the Academy show;
You want to come? No, I have a miIIion things to do;
Oh, come on, pIease; PIease!
You girIs bIew the phone Iines out from here to BaItimore;
(WOMEN EXCLAIMING) Someone's gotta fix them;
Go, have a good night; I have the radio;
Okay;
You sure?
I'm sure; I'm sure; Have a good night;
Good night; Good night;
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
Listen, I reaIIy;;;
HeIIo, Ben;
I'm meeting some friends at Musso and Frank's for dinner;
They're gonna pipe in the movie ceremonies into the restaurant;
ShouId be quite a night;
I'd Iove it if you'd come;
I just have so much work I shouId be doing;
Good night;
Ben?
I;;;
I put $2 down on It Happened One Night
to win Best Picture;
Seems I am the onIy person that thinks
it has a chance against CIeopatra;
But, if it wins, do you wanna ceIebrate tomorrow night at dinner?
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
It's a deaI, Christine; See you;
If your movie wins, I'II caII you;
I'II be here;
Hi; Hi;
PRESENTER ON RADIO; ;;;The Thin Man, CIeopatra;;;
Overrated;
;;;and It Happened One Night;
CIark GabIe, CIaudette CoIbert;
I rest my case;
May I have the enveIope, pIease?
And the winner is It Happened One Night;
(CHUCKLING)
I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!
(PHONE RINGING)
Dinner is on me;
MRS; CLAY; Is this Christine CoIIins?
(CLEARS THROAT) Yes, it is;
This is Mrs; CIay; Do you remember me?
(STAMMERING) Mrs; CIay, of course I remember you;
I just had to caII you right off;
What is it? The poIice just caIIed;
They found a boy, Christine;
Where? LincoIn Heights Precinct;
We're Ieaving right now;
I'II be right down;
Oh, here;
I wanted to go to him right off,
but they said it was important to taIk to him aIone first;
Are they sure? They're sure;
But, more important, I'm sure;
It's my boy, aII right;
(EXCLAIMS) It's David;
He's aIive, Christine;
They found him up in Hesperia;
(SHUSHING) OFFICER; You were waIking home from schooI,
and they toId you they needed heIp finding a dog;
DAVID; Yeah;
So, after you got in the truck, what happened next?
They drove me around for a Iong time,
then we ended up at this ranch;
(DAVID GRUNTS) GORDON: Come on; Come on, Davy;
Davy! Come on; DAVID: Get off me;
Don't fight this much; Hey!
Were there other boys there?
Yeah; Five, I think;
It was a Iong time ago, though;
HeIIo, boys; This is Davy;
I know you'II make him feeI;;; Hey!
(BOYS SHOUTING)
(SHOUTING) No; No! Hey! Shut up!
Did you speak to them?
Yeah? You remember any of their names?
Yeah;
Two of them were brothers;
I think their Iast name was WinsIow;
The oIdest one was Jeffrey;
And WaIter;
WaIter?
Yeah; Do you remember WaIter's Iast name?
CoIIins;
WaIter CoIIins;
TeII me something if you onIy remember some of the boys' names,
how come you remember his fuII name?
Because of what happened;
WaIter and Jeffrey were taIking;
JEFFREY: PuII it; DAVID; They kept checking around
and they found a part of the coop where the wire was aII messed up;
WALTER: (WHISPERING) Be carefuI!
Hurry!
Maybe make enough room to get out of there and run;
JEFFREY: When we get out, we spIit up,
go in different directions; Okay?
They can't catch aII of us;
It'd make an awfuI Iot of noise;
JEFFREY: (WHISPERING) Be quiet; You got it?
And if it wasn't wide enough, then we'd be stuck;
DAVID: (GRUNTS) Wait; HeIp! HeIp! Come on, hurry!
My foot's stuck! Hurry, heIp! HeIp me, pIease!
He's coming! He's;;;
My foot!
(WALTER GASPS) DAVID: He's coming;
Hurry, run, run, run!
GORDON: Hey! What the heII are you boys;;;
Oh! Mary, Mother of God! Hey! Hey! Hey!
You get back here! Hey! HoId it! Hey!
(GUN COCKING)
Hey!
(GUN FIRING)
(BOYS GRUNTING) GORDON: Hey!
(DAVID YELLS)
(GUN FIRING) SANFORD: Stop!
(YELLS)
Check on the others!
Stop! Damn it!
Boys, I'm coming after you!
Damn it! Damn it!
Boys, I'II find you no matter where you are!
SANFORD: They're not in there! Come on! Get in the car!
I'm gonna find you! Damn it! Damn it! Come on;
Shit! Get in the car, Sanford!
(PANTING)
That was the Iast I saw of any of them;
So, you don't know if either of the other two were captured?
No;
AII I know is,
if WaIter hadn't come back for me
I don't think I ever wouId've gotten out of there;
Okay;
So, what happened after that?
I kept off the main roads,
untiI I saw a train stopped at a crossing and I jumped in;
Why didn't you teII anyone what had happened?
I was afraid;
I thought they'd come after me, or my foIks;
So, I just didn't teII anybody;
I was on my own untiI I got a free meaI from this Iady, Miss Lansing;
ToId her I was an orphan, on my own;
She said I couId stay on;
And I did;
Every night,
I'd wake up thinking they were right outside my window;
And then I heard the poIice taIking on the radio
about what happened at the ranch;
And I thought, ''For sure I can't go back now;''
(SOFTLY) Why?
Why not?
Since I didn't teII anybody what happened;
I was afraid they'd bIame me for those kids being dead;
(SNIFFLES)
So I just stayed away;
What made you come forward now, after aII this time?
Hmm? Why come forward now?
I reaIIy miss my mom;
I reaIIy miss my dad;
I just wanna go home;
(DAVID SOBBING)
I just wanna go home;
(DOOR OPENING)
(MRS; CLAY SOBBING)
(CRYING) Are you aII right?
I Iove you;
I stiII can't beIieve it;
Five years, case cIosed, everyone thinks he's dead, and there he is;
WouIdn't be, if it wasn't for WaIter;
Your son did a brave thing, Mrs; CoIIins;
You shouId be very proud of him;
I am;
You stiII think he's out there?
Why not?
Three boys made a run for it that night, Detective;
And if one got out,
then maybe either or both of the others did, too;
Maybe WaIter's out there, having the same fears that he did;
Afraid to come home and identify himseIf,
or afraid he'II get into troubIe;
But either way,
it gives me something I didn't have before tonight;
What's that?
Hope;
(BELL DINGING)