We've got to do something about this unemployment situation.
- All bets down? - Gimme a couple of bucks.
Cardigan, how would you like to pick up an extra five grand tonight?
I'm an eight hour a day lawyer, Vinnie.
Don't give me that. I'm paying you by the year.
I'm just tossing five G in your lap.
You know, I could marry this brand.
Cardigan, you always were a sucker for the women.
That's an amiable failing, isn't it?
For some of us.
A girl who rents one of my apartments
was arrested for tapping on a window.
Can you imagine?
A girl in jail for tapping on a window.
One of my windows.
One of your windows?
It ain't the dame that worries me, they're a dime a dozen.
But can't you see
what it'll do to the rents of all my apartment houses.
What do you say? She goes to the bat at night court tonight.
You don't expect me to go to night court, do you?
For five G...
- You're wrong. - About you?
Maybe.
Hey, you!
- Yes sir. - Give me an aspirin.
- Yes sir. - Did anybody ever give you a headache?
- Good evening Mr. Tom. - Hello there.
- How are you this evening, sir? - Fine. How is business?
The business has been a little wild today.
I don't know what it's all about.
- You won't go into that, will you? - It's been...
all right today. I don't know what's wrong with them.
- Looks like you made out all right. - Oh, Mr. Powers.
I took in about seven hundred.
That's O.K. But don't forget to tell the boys where you got it.
If that's o.k., it's a police raid.
Hello Donovan, are you slumming?
- There's a fire escape outside, Mr. Cardigan. - O.K.
Here, take care of my coat, old man, I'll pick it up at night court.
And look out for the flask, it was a gift from my dying grandmother.
Don't worry, everything's gonna be all right.
Vanny Powers never lets anybody down.
- What's this case? - Gambling raid, Your Honor.
Thank you.
- Good evening, Mr. Cardigan. - Good evening.
Any Plea?
I've talked to the defendants and they all wish to plead guilty.
- Is this true? - Yes, Your Honor.
Cardigan will fix it. She'll suspend sentence.
- Good evening, Your Honor. - Good evening, Mr. Cardigan.
- Are you retained in this case? - No but
can you imagine people throwing their money away,
gambling in times like these?
Dreadful!
Fifty dollars or ten days for each defendant.
Get Mr. Cardigan's hat and coat.
Never mind, folks.
This is all on me.
Give me the check.
Quiet please!
Silence!
June Perry!
June Perry.
June Perry to the bar.
- Any counsel? - No, ma'am.
Call the Court "Your Honor".
No, Your Honor.
- Proceed. - Sit down there.
Witness in the case of June Perry?
You solemnly swear that in the testimony you'll give the Court you'll say
the truth, the whole truth. So help you God.
- I do. - Name?
- James Domino. - Take stand.
Now, Mr. Domino, tell us in your own words
exactly what happened earlier this evening.
Well, Your Honor, I was walking down the street minding my own business
when I heard that woman tapping at her window pane.
Maybe it was a woodpecker.
Quiet! Silence!
Counselor will not interject facetious remarks.
Is Mr. Cardigan acting in this case?
Might be a good idea.
- Does Counsel want a recess? - No, thank you, let him go ahead.
I don't think he could prove the right time with a watch.
Proceed, Mr. Domino.
I looked up and she gave me the come on.
- You're sure she was looking at you? - Yes, I was the only one passing.
She tapped to get your attention?
I object on the ground the witness is not competent
to judge what was in my client's mind.
Objection sustained.
Take the witness.
I will.
So you are Fingey Domino.
His name is James Domino.
What is your business, Fingey, if any?
He's special investigator for the City Prosecutor.
Yes, but before that?
Were you a garbage collector?
We object, Your Honor.
Counselor, you will not make a travesty of this case.
Nor shall police informers make a travesty of Justice, Your Honor.
Now, Fingey,
a stool pigeon is a man
who first gets the confidence of someone the police suspect
and then informs on that same person.
Aren't you a stool pigeon?
- No. - Isn't it a fact that you framed
and informed on fifty women
and testified against them in City Court?
No.
And is it not a fact that out of those fifty women
the Higher Court found thirty of them innocent
and released them after they'd served part of their unjust prison terms?
The question is improper.
The witness says he didn't testify against fifty women.
In that case, I ask that the witness be remanded on a charge of perjury.
and held for the Grand Jury.
I also ask permission to introduce records
to impeach Domino's testimony.
Denied. If you possess such evidence,
you have recourse to the District Attorney's office.
- Aren't you an ex-convict? - Objection!
You may answer.
Well, I was paroled from Reform School.
Was your parole revoked?
- I object. - Overruled.
Answer.
- Did you go back to the Reform School? - Yes.
Why did they send you back?
- I forget. - Wasn't it for torturing a dog?
- If Your Honor please... - I think we're going far afield.
Objection sustained.
You forget why you were sent back to reform school,
but you have an uncanny memory
of how and when innocent women tap on window panes.
If it please Your Honor,
as I stand here, I'm for a moment unmindful
that I'm in a court of law.
There were women before there were laws.
And sacred as our laws are,
women are even more sacred.
I see in my client a woman.
I see in Your Honor not merely a judge
but a woman...
It has been charged that my client
tapped with her ring upon a window pane
to attract the attention of this stool pigeon.
I...
Why, look at this ring, Your Honor.
it's a wedding ring.
You may ask why I appear in Court to defend one poor wretched woman.
I'm here to defend every woman.
Yeah, for a five thousand dollar fee.
Well, I'm glad to hear that.
Gentlemen...
One of us is a gentleman, Your Honor.
The...
man who is going to pay me my fee
wishes to make the city safe.
So that our wives, mothers, sisters may walk the streets unescorted.
I well remember another night,
long, long ago.
There was a woman who sat by a tenement window,
weary with widowhood, worn with sewing
to earn bread for the lawyer who stands tonight before Your Honor.
I?
I was then a lad in tatters.
But wherever I go,
whatever I become,
I shall never forget that little toil-worn woman
who sat by the tenement window.
For when it grew dark and she called me from my play,
she tapped with her ring against the window pane.
That woman, Your Honor,
she too wore a wedding ring.
But she was not a woman of the street.
She was my mother.
The other day he said he was an orphan and didn't know who his parents were.
- Do you live here, Mr. Cardigan? - Not exactly.
June...
- This is a nice place. - Oh, just a hide-out.
- You're hiding out? - Sure. Everybody is, more or less.
From wives, from sweethearts,
from themselves sometimes.
You're hiding from all three, eh?
Well, there's no wife.
I thought you were my sweetheart.
You think I'm not.
I could do worse.
That's what I'm afraid of.
Oh, I wouldn't be.
You have a nice mouth.
I'm glad you like it.
Wow! I need a drink. You want one?
- Got any beer? - Sure.
Canadian. Make yourself at home.
What sort of a landlord have you got ?
He's a bachelor too. Here!
Thank you.
Oh, God!
I figured you were a whiskey drinker.
Why? Have I got bourbon eyes?
Not yet anyway.
Were you...
Were you scared back there tonight?
Well, I was until you said, you know, about that... woodpecker.
I had a laugh.
It was pretty good at that.
You can hang around here, till Vanny Powers pays your fee.
Never mind! Never mind!
This is the only exercise I get.
Where are you going?
Don't be so wifely.
You'd better give me that ring. I might bump into another case.
Oh, never mind.
Keep it.
Well, I'm gonna collect your rent money.
What do you want for breakfast?
Hello, Cardigan.
Hello, sweetheart.
Just for good luck, I ought to smack you across that puss of yours.
You'll never get a better chance.
Is this your idea of a joke, leaving me flat like that last night.
I left you flat? Didn't I go to the front for that dame?
Sure, but you made me look like an awful mug to that crowd.
I like everything about you, dearie
except your face, your brain
and the way you work on that rowing machine.
You're not so hot yourself.
Now one of us is cuckoo.
Here's that five Grand you've been worried about.
Listen, I don't worry about money.
It's just as safe in your pocket that it is in the Bank of the United States.
You must be in terrific agony not to be able to reach that dough.
Hey, you better take that courage out of your back pocket
before you blow your brains out.
Your announcer, dear people, is Morris Winterbottom
And this program comes to you
through the courtesy of the Sweet Dream Mattress Company.
I wonder what radio announcers tell their mothers they do for a living?
Well, how about a little drink?
There's not a drop in the house.
I sent up a whole case of Johnny Walker.
I sent it back.
Don't you want me to have any fun?
I don't want you to be a rum-dum.
Why don't you try candy when you want a drink?
What are you trying to do? Reform me?
I could be disbarred for this.
They tell me...
They tell me candy makes alcohol in the stomach.
I hope it's true.
Say, what do you mean I'm a rum-dum?
I didn't say that, silly.
I said I don't want you to be one.
I want you to be great.
You are great now. Only...
Only what?
Who am I to tell you?
It's your home, your life.
My life? Plenty of time to fix that.
Homes? There'll be other homes.
Bigger and better ones.
And nicer girls.
I don't like nice girls.
Mr. Cardigan. What do you think of this canvas?
Mario, stick to running this speakeasy and let art alone.
It's called "winter".
Winter is not as bad as it's painted.
Who d'you like in the fight tonight?
- Tony Cancineri. - Why don't we see a wrestling match?
Wrestling! I left a dame flat for bringing that subject up.
Wrestling is usually fixed.
Women like to be fooled
by the right man.
You'll excuse me. I got to go give a dame a hair-cut.
Cancineri of course.
Charlie, get the number of that car.
Bring him inside. I wanna grab a phone.
Get a chair here, somebody.
- Who got you? - I'll tell you later.
- Take me to the hospital, Tom. - I'll get a taxi. Hold him up.
More coffee?
No thanks, darling. They've arrested Birdlegs Duffy
for shooting Vanny Powers.
Tom, why don't you go to law for other people?
Other people?
Not people like Powers.
The grocer takes your money and doesn't ask any questions.
A criminal lawyer doesn't cross-examine his fees.
Yes, but did you ever cross-examine yourself?
I refuse to answer on constitutional grounds.
What's that?
My answer might tend to incriminate me or to grieve me.
Hello, Vanny.
Hello, Morgan.
I want a few words with my friend.
Sure. I've got something to ask you when you get through.
- Okay. - Come on, Matt.
How are you making out?
I want you to go downtown and square Birdlegs Duffy.
- Get him out. - Why get him out?
I want him saved.
For yourself?
How would you like to be First Assistant District Attorney?
Those bullets made you feverish.
Cap. Morgan's visit here is just a stall.
You're the baby he really wants to see.
Get me?
To offer me a job under District Attorney Luke?
Sure. Be smart.
Step in and grab it while it's hot.
I get you. You...
You think I'll do more good for you being Prosecutor than defender?
Do we have to knock each other down with hints?
If you need any votes, you come to me.
If I need any favors...
Vanny... When I'm with you, I'm with you.
Hook, line and sinker.
If I go on the other side,
I'll stay there.
I got a picture of you passing up soft dough.
You can frame that picture.
x
- Hello, Cardigan. - Hello, Luke.
Mr. Ulrich, this is Tom Cardigan.
- Hello, Cardigan. - How do you do, sir.
Just been talking about you.
I thought you were above scandal, sir.
- Luke will tell you all about it. - Sit down, Tom.
- Goodbye, Luke. - Goodbye.
- Have a cigarette, Tom? - No, thanks.
That bird still wants to pin a cop badge on me?
Both Ulrich and I wish you'd reconsider, Tom.
I couldn't be of any assistance to you.
You've been a magnificent District Attorney.
You'll be my first Assistant.
After that, District Attorney.
Over your dead body.
Precisely, Tom!
Ulrich has picked me to run for Senator.
He's sending me to Congress!
You know, I always got an awful lot of fun
out of convincing a jury you're wrong.
Think of the fun you'll have convincing a state that you're right.
What do you mean by a State?
But your ability! You could look towards the Governor's Chair.
You know, somehow or other, I gag at the idea of being prosecutor.
Would you gag at the thought of being Governor?
Now that you're District Attorney, you'd better watch out for Powers.
You never did like Powers, did you?
Do you like him?
I've been trying a long while to shake him.
So why don't you?
Oh, I don't know. Long story.
Obligations. Debts have to be paid somehow or other.
He controls one hundred thousand votes.
Oh, let's forget about him.
You know, I'm thinking ahead.
They'll have me running for Governor maybe.
Would you really like to be Governor?
Sure.
Wouldn't you like to see me in a high hat?
I'd look like a distinguished chiropodist.
I'd have interviews, radio talks.
And think of all the pets I could have.
I've always wanted to own a lot of animals. A big zoo.
Monkeys, elephants.
Not the kind I've seen when I had the jitters.
They're too pink and they...
they whistle at you.
If you really want to be Governor,
you can. You could be anything.
I've put up a pretty good bluff.
I'm not so hot.
I know all about you, Tom.
And I think you're swell.
This brass band breakfast gag for Cardigan
looks to me like Ulrich is making another governor.
There's one thing sure, his daughter is making a District Attorney.
I'm so excited that you'll personally prosecute the sash weight murder.
Excited? That's amusing my day, miss Ulrich.
Most women consider me a medieval butcher
for prosecuting a woman.
I don't.
There's something thrilling about a woman killing for love.
And there's something much more thrilling about you killing for fame.
Were you a lion tamer?
Hey Ulrich.
What's this I hear about you grooming Cardigan for Governor?
Oh, nothing definite as yet. He's able but he lacks background.
A lot depends upon his conduct as District Attorney.
I'm glad I got help in the Nora Dean case.
x
You say the bandit entered the room where you were asleep with your husband,
Ralph Dean, on the morning of February 14,
and he killed him with some blunt instrument,
then as your little daughter slept in the adjoining room,
he overpowered you and bound you with a telephone wire?
Is that right?
Yes.
That's all.
Take the witness.
Look, dad. Isn't he thrilling?
What a lot of women's vote he'll get.
I'm not a citizen.
Please, stop staring at my legs,
Please!
I'm not staring at your legs, madam,
I'm looking at your soul.
If Your Honor please,
I insist at the beginning of the cross examination that
the District Attorney refrains from making this a Roman Holiday.
The alerted Counselor has referred to a Roman Holiday,
I shall now refer to another holiday.
February the 14th.
It was not a Roman Holiday that bloody February the 14th.
It was St Valentine's Day.
- This was your Valentine for Ralph Dean. - No.
Silence in the Court please.
This Court will take a 15 minute recess.
Father! He's marvelous. He made her faint.
Come on!
Get that as soon as possible.
Have it set up, brought to the Court just before Nora Dean's call to the stand.
Don't let anyone stop you.
Well, what are you framing now?
A little surprise for Nora.
The stage is all set.
If I were defending that dame, she'd be free tonight.
- I wish you were. - I wouldn't put her on the stand,
create a reasonable doubt.
What difference does it make? She is a murderer anyway.
But, Tom, how can you send a woman to the gallows?
I don't do that, darling. The jury does that.
The rope for her and the Governor's chair for you.
You're magnificent.
Congratulations! This case is making you a national figure.
Thanks.
There seems to be a slight difference of opinion about that.
Mr. Cardigan, may I introduce signor Alvarado?
You know, the tenor.
Oh, the tenor!
Father, aren't you going to invite him to dinner?
Apparently, you're invited to dinner.
Delighted.
- Tonight. - Tonight?
Thanks very much.
I...
I don't sing, you know.
He won't be there.
That's tough, I'll miss him.
The judge is coming in, Mr. Cardigan.
Let's hurry, we mustn't miss a thing.
- Good luck, Cardigan. - Thank you, sir.
- Don't forget tonight. - I won't.
That girl is a great chance for somebody who has desires in politics,
did they tell you that?
Oh, miss Perry...
Could I help you find a seat in the court-room?
No thank you. I'll find a Governor's chair.
She's sore about something.
Was it me?
No, no. That's just the woman of it. She's emotional.
How dramatic!
That's the bed Ralph Dean was killed on.
A bed in public is very bad taste.
I could go for Cardigan in a big way.
Lilian!
If it please Your Honor, the People wish to enter this bed in evidence
as exhibit K.
I object, Your Honor on the ground that this bed in no way concerns the issue.
Furthermore I object to this case becoming a three-ring circus.
Exhibit K is competent, Your Honor,
in as much as the indictment itself refers to
the crime as having been committed on a bed.
We propose to show that Exhibit K is the death-bed.
- Your Honor please, I... - Objection overruled.
The bed will be received in evidence as People's Exhibit K.
but I warn the District Attorney
to keep within bounds of cross-examination in respect to this,
as well as other exhibits.
Exception please.
The defendant will please take the stand.
Is the...
Is this the bed on which your husband met his death?
I suppose it is.
Answer yes or no, please.
Is this the bed or isn't it?
Yes.
Thank you.
Did you...
Did you kill your husband on this bed, Mrs. Dean?
No, no.
Did you ever handle this weight?
No.
You testified
that you would not be strong enough to handle such a heavy weight.
Do you wish to change your testimony?
I never handled it.
Will you take this weight and hold it now?
No!
In order that they may determine
actually how much it weighs,
I'm going to permit the ladies and gentlemen of the jury
to examine this weight, Your Honor.
Will you take this weight, madam?
Please.
Thank you.
Will you
let it drop on the jury rail?
Just let it fall.
Your Honor, this is outrageous.
Go ahead.
Oh, I'm sorry, Your Honor.
I had no idea it would injure the jury rail.
Thank you.
Must the District Attorney imitate a blacksmith?
An iron weight.
An iron bed.
And an iron widow.
Objection!
We object to this sensational tactics.
You'll please cease tapping on the bed.
You've testified, Mrs. Dean,
that you took out a one thousand dollar insurance on your husband's life
two months before his death.
Why?
For my baby girl.
Did your little girl
come into the world on this bed?
Yes.
You gave life here.
Tell me:
did you also take life here?
Oh, please.
Did you sleep on this side or
on this side.
On the right side.
With your back toward him?
Must I answer?
What do you propose to show with this line of cross-examination?
To prove that the defendant could not have seen the alleged bandit
enter the room if she slept facing the wall with her back to her husband.
Pardon me, Your Honor.
- The defendant will answer. - I don't remember the question.
- The stenographer will read the question. - With your back toward him.
- Sometimes. - Well..
Tell us of the times when you didn't sleep
with your back toward him.
All the time I slept that way.
As far as possible from his stupid, snoring face.
You wish to change your testimony?
Yes. Yes.
He was indifferent, ignorant.
Then you hated him.
Objection. Proper question.
I wish to change that question, Your Honor.
Did you love him? Did you ever kiss him?
Objection. Same ground.
- I wish to establish a motive. - Objection sustained.
I regret to say that beneath this smooth coverlet,
and where an honest man
once dreamed such dreams as were given him,
there is evidence of a struggle.
Marks that are indelible.
What these marks are,
you ladies and gentlemen of the jury must determine.
What would you say this was, Nora Dean?
You know, it's his
his...
Oh, stop! Stop asking me questions.
I'll tell you who did it!
I did! I did! I hated him.
Take me and do what you like. Tear me to pieces.
Oh, my baby girl! My baby girl!
Silence in the court, please !
The defendant admitting her guilt, the people rest their case.
- Some hut! - Tom's expecting you?
He wouldn't answer his telephone at his office, or at his home.
So I'm calling here.
Why don't you let him alone? He's through with you.
I know. Turned over a new leaf.
Well it takes more than a high hat to fool me.
- And if he's trying... - He's over 21 and can take care of himself.
Yeah? Well, he'd better get some sense of gratitude
for the guy who put him in, or I'll put him out.
Well, why don't you tell that to him?
Don't think I won't.
And listen:
if you wanted to be smart
and play ball,
you could help me a lot.
Do you get me?
You're the last one I'd help.
Don't forget, I still own apartments
with windows.
Let me tell you something,
I'd just as soon get a dame out of my way as anybody else.
Maybe soon.
Do you get me?
Let's call a spade a spade.
Yes, and a heel a heel.
Hello, Tom.
Hello.
O.K. if that's the way you feel.
I'm not so hot about shaking hands with you either.
What do you want?
I want you to squash that indictment against my man, Decker,
- for kidnaping Birdlegs Duffy. - Yeah?
- You know Decker is my right hand. - You'll be left-handed for a while.
And your right hand is gonna have a long vacation in prison.
Lay off Birdlegs Duffy.
Listen! You've closed my breweries, raided my crap games.
I'm willing to charge that off.
But can't you do me one favor and let Decker go?
I was through doing you favors the day I took office.
Oh, nuts!
I warned you last winter: lay off me when I take office.
You ought to know better, you can't dictate me.
Nuts!
Bring Mr. Powers some nuts.
Very good, sir. Walnuts?
Any kind as long as they're nuts.
All right, wise guy.
Here's where the high hat is knocked over,
and the governor's chair with it.
Did the people of this state ever elect a burglar?
A man with a record?
Some day you're gonna slip.
If Decker am not free in 24 hours,
I'm gonna tell the world that you and me were sent up for burglary
and served a term in reform school.
- How d'you like that, baby? - You lie.
Yeah? Well get your boyfriend to tell you about Joe Noonan.
Tom?
That was me once, on the record.
Now, you know why I hate squealers.
The nuts, sir.
Never mind the nuts. Bring some cheese instead.
I mistook a rat for a squirrel.
I'd like to see the hanging.
- No you wouldn't. - I would too.
I want to see life from every side.
Well, that can be arranged.
I wish I had someone to take me real places.
I'll take you places.
Oh, I'd love to meet him.
That's easy. Come on!
You're a pretty little thing. Have you ever been in love?
Once, when I was at school.
I mean seriously.
As serious as one can be at 19.
How serious is that?
- That's what you wanted to know? - That helps a lot.
Let us go to Mace's window where we can be more private.
This is the more comfortable. You don't seem to care what people do.
Why should I?
You know, you and I could have a lot of fun.
Yeah. And cause your old man a lot of grief.
The only trouble I ever caused my father was not being a boy.
So he could make a Governor out of me.
Still, I'll probably end up by marrying one.
- Are you proposing to me? - Sure.
It is leap year.
OK, let's get the mayor out of bed.
Or Central Park Casino.
- Here we are. Congratulations. - Thank you.
Much obliged for coming around, Mr. Mayor, I appreciate it.
- It's all right, old man. - We want
- to keep it a secret, you know. - You may depend on that, Cardigan.
Well...
Do we kiss?
It's being done.
You and your secret wedding!
Listen, darling. This is an odd request
but I have something to attend to.
Do you mind if after taking you home I leave you for a little while?
Of course, I understand perfectly.
Why don't you write her a letter?
Lawyers are too smart to write letters.
All right then. I'll be waiting for you at home.
OK.
Well, June. You're still up?
I couldn't sleep.
Is everything all right?
Sure.
I just won the world championship.
What?
World champion of saps.
Standing, sitting sap.
Past everything.
That sounds dangerously like a woman to me.
Dangerously is right.
I married this one.
Don't kid me!
There's not a woman in the world who has nerve enough for that.
Now go ahead, say it!
There's nothing to say.
I accepted it. I knew you'd leave me some day.
Why now?
I suppose you hate me.
I don't blame you.
No.
You go ahead with your ambition.
You gotta have the right kind of a wife to be respected.
Well, it's all right.
Just forget about me.
I'll walk around on it. I'll leave her flat.
No.
You need her for this vote.
You've done the natural thing for you.
How about that?
It won't take me long to pack.
Listen! I came here tonight instead of...
June, can't we go along together?
I'll miss you so.
No, Tom. We're quits.
Isn't it nice to quit when love dies?
Quit without fighting, screaming and calling names.
I wish you would call me names.
This thing can't last. It's bound to blow up.
Then you and I...
Married? No, Tom.
It's a little late to suggest that.
June...
It's funny.
I never realized
what a beautiful thing marriage could be. Till tonight.
That's one ceremony I'd never been through.
What a woman means to a man.
And a man to a woman.
When I looked around,
it wasn't you
standing there beside me.
Tom, I'm not one of your juries.
Oh June! Please don't be like that.
I don't know where I'm at. I feel like in a kind of a daze.
All I know is:
you're the only one I love.
I can't go on without you.
I think you'd better go now, Tom.
I'm not fooling. I mean it. Please go.
When you come here again, I'll be gone.
Just a memory.
Thanks for giving me those years of happiness.
Please, go now, Tom
I'll send back the tickets for Sunday night concert.
Let's talk about this tomorrow then.
I'll get straightened out.
Brentano's sent those books you ordered but I didn't unwrap them.
You'd better go and get some sleep.
Yeah! All right.
You look tired.
I'm all right.
Have you had anything to eat?
No.
Ah, yes. Thanks.
You've got to take care of yourself, Tom
Yeah, I will.
Goodbye, Tom.
So long.
Here you are, general.
Just a second, sir.
It is a long way to the Niagara Falls.
Take a short cut.
This is too much exercise.
Reminds me of dumbbells.
Let us try on the flat, sir.
You're less liable to rupture yourself lifting.
Give us a A, Victor Herbert.
With pleasure.
It's the best A you've got?
It's a fine fruity bass.
Yes and the world is full of them.
That's grand music, sir.
That's grand music.
That's my wedding march.
We can go to Niagara Falls, we can ride there.
On my honeymoon.
Just a minute, sir, excuse me but
where have you rendezvous with this lucky lady?
A lady?
I was lucky enough to get away.
This is gonna be the only bachelor honeymoon in History.
Well, the world is liable to be a very happy place
if the custom spreads.
- Let me in. - Oh my dear child, listen,
these are bachelor quarters.
We can't entertain ladies in our rooms.
Won't you let me come in?
- I love you. - I'm sorry I can't see your car.
Let me come in. I'm your wife. We're married.
- Oh you... - Sweetheart, my door isn't locked.
Hello!
Oh, send him up.
Oh listen, send up a bottle of citrate of magnesia, will you?
All right.
Come in!
Here I am, seņor.
It's a small world after all, isn't it?
Seņor, I'm a man of honor.
Why not?
- All night long, I walk in the park. - Protecting your honor?
I do not come to give or take the insult.
Doesn't my tongue look as though I needed something?
Excuse me a moment.
Come in.
Put it down there.
All right. Goodbye.
Seņor Cardigan,
I've come here to ask you to free your wife.
I love her. I ask for her like a gentleman.
Every time I go on the water wagon,
a great piece of luck.
You are an attorney. You Know what to do in these cases.
- I wish the answer. - My wife.
Yes, there could be an annulment.
I hate divorces but an annulment's different.
Oh, by the way, seņor,
permit me to inform you that my wife is untouched.
As far as I'm concerned, she'll always will be.
Yes, the marriage will be annulled.
But first
I must insist that you have a drink with me.
Yes.
Seņor, a toast!
To the ladies.
Give me a double brandy, will you?
- Hello, Vanny. - Hello, Mario.
If anybody calls me, I'll be in the washroom.
Having my shoelaces spread.
Miss Perry, I have missed you. Where have you been?
Doesn't make any difference.
Hello, Powers?
Birdlegs Duffy just passed by, he was walking downtown
No, nobody's with him.
Mario.
What's the difference between a big man and a little man?
Don't worry, miss Perry. Cardigan is just like a great, big boy.
Please don't tell me what's wrong with Cardigan.
What if it ain't my window-tapping baby?
You didn't see anything interesting, did you?
No, of course not.
- You sure? - Honest!
You wouldn't tell Cardigan if you did, would you, honey?
Cardigan and I split up a long time ago.
OK. You keep your trap shut or I'll croak you.
Cardigan is the next to go, get me? And get this straight because...
All right, Gray, you're my attorney.
You do my worrying for me.
Come in!
Hello, Vanny.
- I've come to get you. - Have you a warrant for his arrest?
- You know I have. - What's he charged with?
You can both read, I guess.
Are you drunk again, Cardigan?
The car's waiting outside.
Will you release him in my custody until I can see about bail?
Hardly.
You see, the people of this state are honoring your client.
They want to dedicate a memorial to the late Birdlegs Duffy.
A nice new gallows with a yellow rope for the unveiling.
Take him along.
And to think I made that mug District Attorney.
Yeah, and now you gonna hang and make me governor.
It's a great world. Duffy's on the slab.
You defended him once. Then you defended Powers.
Yeah! Now I'm gonna hang him.
Let's not try the case in the autopsy chamber .
Seven Wounds. One in back of the skull.
Six in torso, front.
What kind of a deal can we make, Cardigan?
None. Powers is rat.
I won't even let him have bail.
Powder marks. Hair singed at back of skull.
Head wound was cause of death.
Could we get together on a manslaughter plea?
No chance.
I told Powers to lay off Birdlegs Duffy.
Body wounds were made after death.
- So that's where we stand. - Exactly.
Remember the old days, Tom?
This would have been an open and shut case of self-defense.
Remember when I used to send to Milwaukee for the eye-witnesses?
Yeah.
X
x
- Send in this tramp. - Yes, sir.
Hello.
That's all.
What are you doing here?
I'm that tramp, your material witness.
Sit down, June.
Seems like a long while.
How's the world been treating you?
All right. I'm not tapping on windows yet.
Oh please, don't talk like that.
June, when I look at you,
it seems that everything that happened is like a lie,
a terrible lie.
June, couldn't we patch things together somehow?
I don't go in for patches.
I know I've got an awful lot to answer for,
but apart from else,
you did love me once.
- Didn't you? - That's ancient history.
My wife's getting an annulment.
Did they arrest me so you could tell me that?
I didn't know who they were going to bring in here.
It was some woman. I didn't know it was you.
Why didn't you give your real name?
To protect you.
Tom, please.
Let's get this over with.
Get through with your questions so I can go back to jail.
I'm getting used to it.
Did you see Powers kill Duffy?
No.
The arresting officer heard Powers threaten to kill you, too.
Why don't you help?
I thought your father-in-law was helping you.
Why don't you admit you saw this murder?
What murder?
You know you never liked Powers. At least I never thought you did.
I don't like squealers of any kind.
It isn't squealing. Everybody knows Powers killed Duffy.
Well, let me out then.
You know, June,
if I put you on the witness stand,
I'll find out everything I want to know.
Yes, and a lot of things you don't want to know.
Let's not kid each other.
You and I have fought cops all our lives and now you turn out to be one.
Well, do I go back to jail?
No, not you.
I think you'd better clear out of the state while the trial's going on.
Sign this lady's release.
Yes, sir.
Goodbye, June.
So long.
And now if it please Your Honor,
I would like to call a new and important witness.
Miss Perry, would you please take the stand?
Raise your right hand
Listen, sister, if I let you on a big story,
- can I have a date tonight? - Anything for a story. Shoot.
Then grab hold of your chair.
She's the girl that Cardigan...
If you two want a visit, go out and get married.
Your Honor,
we propose to show that this witness saw the slaying,
and that the survivor of the principal's acted in self-defense
Why don't you claim suicide?
The jury will disregard the Prosecutor's remark.
Where were you at one thirty o'clock the morning of October 4?
I was coming around the corner of West 14h street and 7th Avenue.
What, if anything, did you see or hear at the scene of the alleged crime?
I saw two men.
One of them walked fast.
The other one came out of a doorway and followed the first one.
Did you know either of them?
I didn't pay much attention.
Mr. Powers. Will you please stand up?
Is this one of the men you saw early morning on october 4?
I wouldn't say he was.
Miss Perry,
are you testifying voluntarily for the defense, or are you reluctant?
Is this court too reluctant to interfere
with the reluctant Mr. Gray's improper question?
I consider that an impertinence, Mr. Prosecutor.
The witness may answer.
Miss Perry,
did you appear here of your own accord,
or in response to a subpoena?
In response to a subpoena.
What is the purpose of this line of questioning, Counselor?
To show that it was necessary for us to seek and find the witness.
And to show that whatever testimony she may give in regard to
the identity of the principals in this slaying is given reluctantly.
If the court please,
we object to the continued statement
that the defense is going to submit such-and-such testimony.
The jury is not asked to consider what anyone is going to do.
They will base conclusions on what is actually done.
If it will be any help to the counsel for the Defense,
I will gladly head a subscription list
to finance him through any good law school.
Denied. Proceed!
On the early morning of October 4,
the streets were well-lighted? You had a clear view?
- Yes. - But despite all the light,
the clear view, you cannot now say the defendant did the shooting?
No.
What happened when the man came out of the doorway?
I didn't see the man in the doorway until he came out suddenly.
Then I heard a shot. One of the men fell.
The other man laughed.
Which of the men did the shooting?
The man in the doorway, or the man who was walking fast?
I suppose it was the man who was walking fast.
Then what happened?
I ran into a police officer and he arrested me.
- As a material witness? - Yes.
And then you spoke to the District Attorney?
Yes.
And he let you go
because he found that you would be of no use a prosecuting witness?
Need I cite my reasons for objecting to that question?
Question is improper, Mr. Gray.
Strike it out.
You may cross-examine, Mr. Prosecutor.
I waive the right to cross-examine this witness, Your Honor.
She may stand down.
You've got to cross-examine her.
- That's my look-out. - If you break her down,
Powers is as good as hanged by tonight.
Mind your own business.
If the Court please,
the State wishes to recall its waiver of cross-examination.
I now wish to question this witness.
At some length.
This laugh is gonna cost you your neck.
Silence.
You testified that the man who fired the shot laughed?
- Are you quite sure he laughed? - Yes.
In this courtroom, a moment ago, a man laughed.
Is that the same laugh you heard on the night of October 4?
We object, Your Honor. Improper cross-examination.
Objection sustained.
Now you said the man that was walking fast
fired the shot that felled the man who was standing in the doorway?
Do you wish to change that testimony?
- Why should I? - All right, I just wanted to be sure.
Which way did the man travel
who was walking by the doorway? Up or downtown?
- Downtown. - Thanks.
And which way was the man headed who'd been standing in the doorway?
- Up or downtown? - In the same direction.
Did the men scuffle or fight at all?
- No, there was just a shot. - Thanks.
And you're sure the man who was walking fast fired that shot?
- You're trying to mix me up. - Answer the question. Yes or no?
I can't answer a question like that "Yes" or "No".
You could if you knew.
I refuse to answer.
The witness must answer.
I refuse to answer on constitutional grounds.
What are your constitutional grounds?
That my answer might tend to incriminate or degrade me.
Now, listen carefully.
You say both men were walking in the same direction.
There was no quarrel. No word of any sort prior to the first shot.
- Is that right? - Yes.
One man came from a doorway and followed the other?
- Yes. - Did the man who was in front,
who was walking fast, turn around at any time before he was shot?
- No. - It was the man in front who was shot
- not the man from the doorway. - You have me confused.
You testified not ten minutes ago
that the man in the doorway was the one who was shot.
Now you say it was the man in front, the one who was walking rapidly.
I asked you if you wanted to change your testimony.
You said: why should I?
Why don't you come right out and admit that a man lurked in the doorway,
sneaked out and shot the other man in the back of the head?
- I won't answer. - Didn't the man who shot
recognized you and spoke to you?
- Yes, he spoke to me. - What did he say?
He said... I won't answer.
As he passed, didn't he call out:
If you open your trap, I'll croak you and Cardigan is the next to go?
- Yes, he said that. - Who said it?
The man who did the shooting.
- You mean Powers? - Yes.
- I mean... - Never mind what you mean.
You said "yes".
- You tricked me. - The truth tricked you.
That's all. You may stand down.
All right, now go ahead and be governor.
Your Honor,
ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
much has happened in this court
and during this trial,
to affect me as I never before have been affected.
To begin with, I wish to say that Vanny Powers
is one of the most colorful characters
that has ever flashed across my horizon.
As you all know, I was once his attorney.
He gave me his political support.
We were both ambitious
and to achieve success,
we both killed those things
that should be dear to every man.
To further his ambition,
Powers took money from unfortunate women.
To further mine,
I took money from Powers.
So no doubt his counsel will assure you
- and I'm sure with the most touching eloquence-
that I have double-crossed him.
If prosecuting a murderer is double-crossing,
I'm afraid I must plead guilty.
I'd do the same thing tomorrow.
Whether or not Vanny Powers killed Birdlegs Duffy
is for you Jurors to determine.
The evidence is conclusive.
Because of this alleged double-cross,
the defense will undoubtedly place before you for your delectation
an interesting fact,
connected with my own past.
Without taking too much of the court's valuable time,
I'm going to beat them to it
and reveal a fact
I have concealed most carefully.
The fact
of my own criminal record.
Cardigan, you're not on trial.
Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
the eminent State Attorney that today stands before you
was once in reform school with the defendant, Vanny Powers,
where we both served a term for burglary.
I realize this will unquestionably cost me the governor's chair.
Strangely enough at the moment,
it's a matter of small interest to me.
My reason for this confession
must remain locked within my own spirit.
Or that small corner of it that has remained unsullied.
I leave Mr. Powers's case
in the extremely competent hands of my assistant.
This is the last time I will ever stand as Prosecutor
before this or any other jury.
I shall return to the defense of those unfortunate
who like myself were reared in the gutter.
Powers like myself
had the right kind of mother.
The trouble is our mothers had the wrong kinds of sons.
Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
I wish you a very good afternoon.
Tom...
Tom, I heard it.
And I think you're swell.
Where are you going?
Back where I belong.
So am I.
Transcript and subtitles: cinephage/shakill