# I left a note
# On his dresser
# And my old wedding ring
# With these few goodbye words
# How can I sing
# Goodbye
# Old sleepyhead
# I'm packin' you in
# Like I said
# Take care of everything
# I'm leaving my wedding ring... #
(Woman) Ohh...
# Don't look for me
# I'll get ahead
# Remember, darling
# Don't smoke in bed #
(Man) 'I suppose it's fair to say infidelity made me what I am today.
'I know lots of investigators won't handle divorce cases.
'The truth is, not that many guys are good at matrimonial work.
'It takes finesse and experience.
'Hell, everybody makes mistakes.
'But if you marry one,
'they expect you to pay for it for the rest of your life.
'I don't care whose fault it is - his, hers or the milkman's.
'If one of them comes to me, it means they're both miserable,
'and that's my job - putting people out of their misery. '
(Woman) Oh, oh...!
# Don't worry
# I'll get ahead
# Remember, darling
# Don't smoke in bed #
(Man) Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Oh, no, Kitty. How could you?
You said you were going to the beauty parlour in Hollywood,
and now I find you here where they said I'd find you,
in room 19-H of the...
(Second man whispering) Bird of Paradise Motel.
...of the Bird of Paradise Motel in Redondo Beach...
at two in the afternoon on October 27th, 1948, with this man.
Mr Berman...
It's unnatural to discuss what year it is
when you're staring at your wife in bed with another man.
But my lawyer said to be very specific...
We'll establish the date. Just, uh... All right?
(Sighs)
(Dog barks outside)
Oh, no. Oh, no.
(Rumbling)
- It's an earthquake. - (Intercom buzzes)
Relax.
Mr Gittes? Did you feel that?
Yes, Gladys, we felt it. Everybody all right?
- Right. - Are we OK?
Relax, Mr Berman. It's just a temblor.
- A trembler? - A temblor.
Look, I know how edgy you must be, uh, Julius.
- My friends call me Jake. - Well, that makes two of us.
- That's what my friends call me. - Is that right? Is that right?
(Laughing) He's a Jake and I'm a Jake.
Yeah. How about that? Two Jakes. Now, listen, Jake.
I never lost a husband yet, but I got a golf date at one o'clock.
If I'm not ready to tee off at 12:55, they'll break every club in my bag.
You're kidding. That's terrible.
The Wilshire Country Club. I'm lucky they let me join.
I know what you mean.
Uh...
Please, Mr Berm... uh, Jake... Go ahead.
Oh, no, Kitty, how could you?
You said you were going to the beauty parlour,
and now I find you here, where they said I'd find you,
in room 19-H of the Bird of Paradise Motel in Redondo Beach
at two in the afternoon with this man.
(Woman giggling)
(Door opens)
(Berman) 'Kitty, how could you? ' (Man) 'What's going on? '
(Berman) 'You said were going to the beauty parlour... '
(Man) 'What will this prove? '
(Berman) '... in room 19-H of the Bird of Paradise Motel
'in Redondo Beach with him!
'How could you, Kitty? How could you?!
'With him?! Not with him!
'Not with him! Not with him!
'Get her out of here! '
- (Gunshots) - Ow, damn!
What the fuck... hey! What the fuck...?
(Woman sobbing)
- Damn! - (Man) Just calm down, ma'am.
(Second man) Where'd that gun come from?
(Sobbing)
Somebody call an ambulance!
(Sobbing)
(Gittes) Come on. Get pictures of everything, Larry.
(Gittes) 'Most cops' ethics are a little like the cars they drive -
'black and white. '
'Lou Escobar is different.
'I did my share of fighting in the war and even got a medal,
'but Lou lost a leg with the first Marines at Guadalcanal.
'He knows about regrets
'and how life doesn't give you a fair shake. '
'You can't trust a guy who's never lost anything. '
How's that, Lou?
Your client shot a guy right out of the saddle.
I never had anything like that happen before,
not with me in the room, anyway.
See you, Lou.
You witnessed it.
I was next door. By the time I got in the room,
Berman had him trapped in the john.
He fired two shots through the door.
- Maybe they struggled over the gun. - I'm sure they did.
Why are you so sure, if the door was closed?
You're right, Lou.
Maybe the guy shot himself three times and gave Berman the gun(!)
Jake, walk me to Homicide.
I just came from there, Lou.
I got an appointment at eight o'clock at Perino's with Linda.
I'll give you an escort.
(Lou) Now, where did Berman get ahold of the gun?
- In the bedroom. - In the bedroom.
How do you know he didn't have the gun?
I'd never frisk him before I let him walk in on his wife
while some guy was slamming her into the wall(!)
Just asking you, Jake.
Berman got the gun from somewhere in the motel room and fired it.
- Somewhere in the motel room? - That's absolutely all I know.
Then what happened?
What usually happens when somebody pulls a gun.
- Hmm? - Everybody ducks.
I guess you talked to the investigating officer,
Detective Loach.
I just came on duty, Lou.
Now, this is not a case where I want any difficulty for anybody.
It's simple. A guy gets fucked getting fucked.
Let's not get cute.
Haven't seen you in a while, Jake.
I never seem to get away from my desk.
Makes me wonder if I should've made Captain.
Well, for your 20th year, Lou,
I'll get you a pillow for your chair,
something you can sit on besides Loach.
(Phone)
Jake, there's a call for you.
This is Homicide. It ain't your office.
- (Ringing) - (Loach) Let it ring.
You're not lost, are you, Gittes?
You know the way out.
(Ringing continues)
Jesus, don't go, don't go. You're just the man I want to see.
I can't. I got asked to leave.
- Is that true? - Yes, Mr Weinberger.
(Ringing continues)
- Answer the phone, please. - Get the phone.
Homicide.
Lieutenant Loach, it's... for him. His office again.
Take your call.
He's been disruptive, Mr Weinberger.
Disrupting Homicide is not all bad.
So, we have sheets, blankets,
one shower curtain with broken rings attached, toupee...
And I do need to speak with Mr Gittes about our client.
- OUR client? - I'm counsel for Jake Berman.
We have one... two-inch Smith & Wesson revolver
registered in the name of the dead man, Mark Bodine,
on behalf of B & B Homes.
No wire recording on the police report?
His men didn't pick one up. What's B & B Homes?
You're not thinking, Jake. B & B Homes.
Bodine & Berman.
It's another of their corporations, Berman's and the dead man's.
Just remember, you have a fiduciary relationship
with our client, Mr Berman.
We'll talk about it later.
I'll be in my office.
Can I use your phone?
(Gittes) 'Cotton was right. We should have turned up B & B Homes,
'and maybe Berman's partner would still be chasing his wife
'instead of cooling his dick down at the County Morgue.
'So my client didn't level with me. Not exactly Movietone news.
'Cotton only tells one side of the story in court.
'Escobar knows I don't tell him everything.
'And when husbands and wives lie to each other,
'one of them comes to my office and lies to me.
'Frankly, if I waited for an honest client, I'd be sitting around
'until Rocky Graziano played Rachmaninoff at the Hollywood Bowl. '
(Glass shattering)
(Woman yelling)
- Lucy, what the hell's going on? - I don't know, Mr Gittes.
(Baby crying)
(Man and woman arguing)
I wouldn't go in there if I was you.
What are you doing to that woman? Let go this instant!
- Ralph! - Oh, my God!
- Ow! - (Woman) Don't you touch me!
Oh, my goodness. Oh, I'm terribly, terribly sorry.
- I know how difficult this must be. - Yeah.
- It must hurt you so. - Yeah. Yes, it does.
Everything will be fine. Just rest for a moment.
See? All right.
(Woman sobbing)
Scotch.
All right. Now, who the fuck is that?
- Mark Bodine's widow. - Who?
The wife of the guy that Jake Berman shot.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yes.
- She knows you were there. - So what? So was Mrs Berman.
Why isn't she breaking her house up? It'd be more appropriate.
She wants to talk to you.
(Mrs Bodine, sobbing) You're a war hero.
You may be slick as a floorwalker,
but you and that little kike killed my husband, you son of a bitch!
Get my lawyer on the phone. Ralph.
They're not gonna get away with this.
If you were there, you would've known
that when Mr Berman saw Mrs Berman in bed with your husband,
he lost his head.
That prick never lost his head or his first nickel.
- Not only that... - Get me a handkerchief.
...there's Kitty Berman.
She's a cold-hearted, frigid bitch. She and Jake were in this together.
In what together?
Jake and Kitty Berman killed my husband and you helped.
What the hell?
I'm going home now to call the newspapers.
Mrs Bodine,
it would be highly irresponsible of me to allow you to do that.
- Give me one good reason. - I'll give you two.
You can't walk and you shouldn't drive.
All right.
Ralph, don't just stand there, call the lady a cab.
Oh, my God. She just walked right into it.
- Get her out of here. - That's kidnapping.
Not if you take her home.
Walsh!
Get the wire recorder out of the car,
and don't leave evidence laying around like that.
Larry?
Why didn't you tell me that Berman and Bodine were partners?
- He just gave us B & B Homes. - Oh, yeah, sure.
Look. When you get her back there,
take her in through the window or the side door.
Stay till she sobers up. Papers'll be jumping all over the lawn like flies.
- Like the song says, till then. - Yeah, sure.
Mr Gittes?
Your tuxedo is laid out and your private phone line is on.
- Thank you, Gladys. Good night. - Good night.
(Larry on tape) 'Bird of Paradise Motel,
'October 27, 1948, 1300 hours.
'I'm based in bedroom one...
'OK, Ralph... on the bed?
(Larry) 'Mayday. Bail out. ' (Ralph) 'What's wrong? '
'Some linen supply guys are making a delivery right outside your door. '
- (Phone) - 'They're making a delivery... '
- Yeah? - Hi, kid. Got the wire recording?
- Right here. You want to hear it? - 'Yeah. '
(Berman) 'Kitty, how could you?
'You said you were going to the beauty parlour in Hollywood... '
(Rumbling)
(Cotton) 'Jake, for Christ's sake, Jake, are you... are you there? '
Are you OK, Jake?
Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.
Hang up and put the recording back in the safe.
'I can't do that, Cotton. '
When the power comes back on,
it'll trigger the alarm for 40 blocks,
and I'll have the LAPD all over my ass.
'Stay till the power's on and put the recording back in the safe. '
I just want to go over it before the police do.
- Is that it? - 'We've done business many years. '
And we'll keep doing business
so long as you protect your client and mine, Jake Berman.
- Cotton. - 'What? '
Thank you.
- 'Fuck you. ' - Thank you, Jake.
Always a pleasure doing business.
(Click)
(Kitty giggling) 'Honey. '
(Bodine) 'Kitty, there's a... woman
'who can give... akey a bad time, and you know who.
'Honey, I think you do know. We're talking about Katherine Mulwray. '
(Kitty) 'Oh, Mark. Not again. '
(Bodine) 'Kitty, Katherine Mulwray can give Jake a real bad time. '
(Kitty) 'I don't... '
(Bodine) 'I'm telling you, she retains rights to the subdivision,
'and if I can get to her I can prove Jake has taken advantage of the land,
'we could all strike it rich. '
(Kitty) 'Just hold me. Hold me. '
(Bodine) 'Just help talk Jake into... '
(Tape rewinding)
(Man) 'Kitty, there's a... woman
'who can give... akey a bad time, and you know who.
'Honey, I think you do know. We're talking about Katherine Mulwray. '
(Kitty) 'Oh, Mark. Not again.
(Bodine) 'Kitty, Katherine Mulwray can give Jake a real bad time. '
(Kitty) 'I don't... '
(Bodine) 'I'm telling you, she retains rights to the subdivision,
'and if I can get to her I can prove Jake has taken advantage of the land,
- 'we could all strike it rich. ' - (Phone)
Hello?
I've spent half the night at Perino's waiting for you.
- Oh, my God. Linda. - 'What have you been doing? '
Uh, nothing. Uh... just an emergency.
'A nothing emergency? '
That I'd like to hear about sometime.
Maybe you'll tell me in another life.
(Kitty) 'What are you talking about? ' (Berman) 'No, Kitty. How could you? '
'You said you were going to the beauty parlour in Hollywood...
(Man) 'What'll this prove? '
(Berman) '... in room 19-H of the Bird of Paradise Motel in Redondo Beach! '
(Phone)
- Yes? - 'Hello, darling. '
I'll be right there. I can explain everything. Are you at Perino's?
Would I be answering my own phone if I were still at Perino's?
You jackass.
(Shouting and gunshots on tape)
(Kitty screaming)
(Phone)
Hello?
Honey... I'm so sorry. I'll be right there.
(Woman) 'You and that little son of a bitch. '
Who is this?
'You're going to pay for this, you Irish dick! '
(Moaning)
(Tyres squealing)
(Reporters shouting)
- Where is she? - Upstairs in bed.
- She's fine. Ralph's with her. - Ralph? Jesus Christ.
(Dog growling)
(Growling continues)
- All right, Mrs Bodine. - Hmm?
- What did you take? - Mmm.
It's enough to make you want to skeeve.
All right. Let me have this.
(Dog yapping)
Come here.
(Dog growling and barking)
- We'll do this sunny side up. - You bastard!
- Call the doctor. - You sleazy lowlife.
Hers, if you can find the number.
(Mrs Bodine) I'm going to rip your face off, you son of a bitch!
That's all right, honey. Don't worry about a thing.
(Gittes) I'm going to make sure you don't even get your hair wet.
(Mrs Bodine) No!
- (Vomiting) - (Gittes) That's right.
Chuck Newty, Mr Gittes. Mr And Mrs Bodine's attorney.
(Larry) Come on, Minnie.
- How are you? - Fine.
Mr Walsh indicates you've been trying to keep Mrs Bodine from the press.
That's fine. I have no quarrel with that.
At least until the courts arrive at some criminal charges,
then, of course, there'll be civil actions.
- Civil actions? - Mrs Bodine is not only widowed,
but she's been left out in the cold financially as well.
(Woman) Chuck.
Mr Bodine and Mr Berman did business with a San Fernando subdivision,
but it was not an association either man trusted.
In the event of either partner's death,
all liabilities are to be assumed by the surviving partner,
but, of course, all profits, as well.
Therefore, when Mr Berman shot and killed Mr Bodine,
we could be talking about a man who exploited his wife's infidelity
to the tune of a $6 million profit,
and used you, however unwittingly, as an accomplice.
Chuck, did you hear me?
Excuse me a moment.
- Who's that? - Mattie Rawley.
- She's from Pasadena. - So is General Patton.
(Newty) All right. Fine, fine.
- Here. - Hmm.
- Keep them. - Thanks.
Chuck...
What I do for a living may not be very reputable, but I am.
In this town, I'm the leper with the most fingers.
No court's going to view me as an accomplice.
Probably not.
Mr Berman will undoubtedly plead temporary insanity.
And if he's successful, you'll be sued
for allowing a crazy man to see his wife in another man's arms.
On the other hand,
if there's evidence of premeditation in the killing of Mr Bodine,
Berman's not crazy,
Mrs Bodine gets to keep her husband's money,
and she would have no need to sue you at all,
quite the contrary.
Let's keep in touch, Mr Gittes.
Does that mean he wants you to prove your own client is guilty of murder?
Yeah.
Is that ethical?
Larry, he's a lawyer.
(Chuckling) Jeez.
Bodine mentioned Evelyn Mulwray's daughter on the wire recording.
He did? What did he say?
Just her name. I couldn't hear. Right before Berman shot him.
Well, that doesn't mean anything.
It could have been just gossip.
Coulda.
(Man on radio) 'See the Pontiac auto show at your dealer now. '
(Native American man) 'Pon-ti-ac. Fine car. '
(Gittes) 'Time changes things.
'Like the fruit stand that turns into a filling station.
'But the footprints and signs from the past are everywhere.
'They've been fighting over this land since the first Spanish missionaries
'showed the Indians the benefits of religion, horses
'and a few years of forced labour.
'The Indians had it right all along. They respected ghosts.
'You can't forget the past any more than you can change it.
'Hearing Katherine Mulwray's name
'started me thinking about old secrets, family, property
'and a guy doing his partner dirt.
'Memories are like that - as unpredictable as nitro,
'and you never know what's gonna set one off.
'Like the clues that keep you on the right track
'are never where you look for 'em.
'They fall out of the pocket of somebody else's suit
'you pick up at the cleaners,
'in the tune you can't stop humming, that you never heard in your life.
'They're the wrong number you dial in the middle of the night.
'The signs are in all those old familiar places
'you only think you've never been before.
'But you get used to seeing them out of the corner of your eye,
'and you end up tripping over the ones that are right in front of you.
'I should have been wise to Berman's hand-wringing act from the beginning.
'It was as plain as the shoes on his feet. '
(Woman laughing)
(Man laughing)
(Berman) What do you call four drowning Mexicans? Quattro sinko.
(Laughter)
You know who Lou Escobar is?
Yeah. He's Captain of Detectives in Homicide.
You know you turned his sister down for a house?
Had to be done.
Had to be done?
Folks, here is Eucalyptus Place. And there is 17.
(Berman) With you in a moment. (Man) OK, no problem.
Jake? Jake?
I'm sure you're gonna love living in El Rancho San Fernando.
(Woman) We sure are. (Man) Thank you.
You know who else couldn't buy a house here? Me.
I can build it and I can sell it, as long as I don't move in next door.
They don't want Mexicans or Jews around.
Let me tell you something else. The customer is always right.
I got a wife to protect.
Protect? You mean divorce, don't you?
Yeah. That, too, yeah.
Your wife is a possible accessory in this.
- To what? - Come on.
You pick the one time you can murder a man and make him pay for it?
One way or the other, she helped.
You stay away from my wife or else.
I recognise that as a valid threat coming from you,
but the police will think the same thing -
you murdered your partner for his half of the subdivision
and $5 or $6 million to which you and your wife are now legally entitled.
Yeah, Ty, what's the problem? Tyrone Otley, JJ Gittes.
I know Mr Gittes from the DWP when I worked for Hollis Mulwray.
Mr Berman, it's the same problem.
These earthquakes are shaking up our water wells like soda pop.
Only it's not soda pop.
It's millions of gallons of water and gas under these homes.
- It's getting hazardous. - What do you mean, hazardous?
Could explode.
You said it was marsh gas. I thought only natural gas was explosive.
Mr Berman, whether it comes from an old marsh or baked beans,
all gas is natural-gas is gas.
- How do I get rid of it? - Call the gas company.
(Coughing)
(Spits)
- You all right? - Yeah.
How am I going to...
build homes with the gas company drilling holes in the ground?
Where were we?
Well, I was accusing you of murder, Mr Berman.
Call me Jake. Which way's your car? I'll walk you to it.
So, Jake...
Why all this Nervous Nelly horseshit you gave me in my office?
Well, I'm telling you, I was genuinely nervous.
It's upsetting when your wife's involved with a strange man.
You didn't know it was your partner?
How should I know? You didn't.
If it was my partner and my wife, I would've known.
That's your business. I'm not complaining. You did your job.
Somebody out there?
Funny thing about land.
What do you mean?
I used to know the people that owned this. Did you?
No.
How you gonna plead at the preliminary hearing?
Well, that's Cotton's job.
You think you'll get away with this?
I'm not getting away with a thing, Jake.
Tell you what I'm gonna do...
You guarantee Mark Bodine's widow her husband's share of the subdivision
so I don't worry about the police, and you won't worry about me.
Otherwise, I'll prove that you deliberately murdered the man.
You know something, Jake?
You might think you know what's going on around here but... you don't.
(Berman, echoing) 'You might think you know... '
How long have you been here?
Jake, you'd better lie back. The doctor's on his way.
Not long.
- You ever been here before? - What difference does that make?
- Yes. - Me, too.
Really?
This used to be all orange groves.
Walnut groves, too.
- How did you say you got this land? - Take it easy. I didn't say.
Mr Gittes, this isn't the time to discuss it.
- You should lie down and... - Who are you?
- K-Kitty Berman. - Oh.
Sorry, Mrs Berman, I... I didn't recognise you.
That's understandable. We've never actually been introduced.
What about you, Mrs Berman?
Do you know where Mr Berman got this land?
I've asked you nicely not to involve my wife.
Jake, please.
I think there's something you should do before you ask any more questions.
What's that?
Get your head examined. You may not be thinking clearly.
I don't like waking up with someone staring at me,
especially when I can't see their eyes.
You're lucky you're awake at all.
OK.
Mr Weinberger, Lieutenant Loach again,
Mr Novak, Mr Weinberger again...
and a Mr Oatley.
(Gittes) Oatley?
- Tyrone. - Otley.
Gosh dang it. Otley.
(Phone)
(Gladys) Gittes Investigations.
It's Lieutenant Loach. It sounds serious.
Gladys, it's only serious if it's Escobar.
- (Gladys) Mr Gittes isn't in... - You were tailing Berman.
Ralph is. I thought you were going to see a doctor.
Uh... first thing in the morning.
You just had your bell rung pretty good, Jake.
(Intercom buzzes)
- Yeah. - 'Captain Escobar. It's serious. '
Uh... take a message.
He's after the recording.
He doesn't even know we have it.
Are you going to lie to him?
Would I lie to him?
When was the last time you saw the Mulwray girl?
She must have been 14, 15 years old.
People can get in a lot of trouble in that amount of time.
I'd have heard.
She ever send a bottle of Scotch saying, "Welcome home, sailor"?
How about a fruitcake for Christmas? A postcard?
Cripes, Jake, you're not responsible for Evelyn Mulwray's death.
And you're not responsible for Katherine Mulwray's life!
Her name was on the wire recording. That's all I'm saying.
That's got nothing to do with our problems with this fellow Berman.
- How do we know? - OK.
I'll check the chain of title to the land.
I'll see if there's anything peculiar.
- You don't have to do that. - If I don't, you will.
Why don't you put that file away?
Life's been good. You're a seven handicap.
- Six. - Six.
Marrying a wonderful girl.
Why don't you go see a doctor?
Put that file away.
OK.
(Echoes of gunfire)
(Echoes of woman screaming)
(Echoes of sirens)
(Evelyn Mulwray) 'Dear Jake, I'm leaving with Katherine for Mexico.
'I couldn't wait for you any longer.
'Once we're safe, I'll get word to you through Khan.
'Please, don't try to look for us.
'My father is crazy enough to track you to us. '
'I want my daughter to believe a new life is possible.
'I know I told you I don't see men for very long.
'You seem to be that rare exception.
'I can't say goodbye to you. Evelyn.
'P.S. Katherine said that you seemed a very nice man
'and Curly concurred, ha ha. '
(Speaking Chinese)
(Khan) I see you survived the war. (Gittes) Oh, yes.
(Khan) It's been a long time,
but I read about you in the papers once in a while.
(Gittes) What can I say? Trashy publicity's part of my business.
The less you want, the more you get.
Please. I enjoy it. I'm sure many people do.
Besides, you are very successful.
Oh, I can't complain.
Does that mean you are happy?
Who can answer that question off the top of their head?
Anyone who's happy.
What about Katherine?
I'm sure she's as happy as she can be.
No problems?
I can't quite catch your concern.
Well, is there any reason she might need money?
- I can't see why. - Well, she owns a lot of land.
- Taxes have risen since the war. - I wouldn't know.
We've had no contact for quite a while.
(Speaking Chinese)
(Gittes) Odd flowers.
Yes.
Isn't it amazing they still grow here?
It's her favourite. She bred them.
You see those purple hues?
They're caused by the burning of the seed.
This is how I remember her last.
Where did she go from here?
If she's in trouble, I just wanna help her.
No, if she is in trouble, you would not be the one to help.
Like her, you are a prisoner of the past.
You would do her more harm than good.
Such things have happened.
Wherever fate has taken her,
I'm sure that she is grateful for what you've done for her.
Isn't that enough?
I don't wanna live in the past, Khan.
I just don't wanna lose it.
You keep it. (Speaking Chinese)
(# Radio jingle)
(# Creepy whistling)
(Man on radio) 'I am The Whistler.
'And I know many things, for I walk by night.
'I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men. '
(Horn)
'I know the nameless terrors which they fear most. '
(Gittes) 'The city's different at night.
'The air smells better.
'It's harder to see that the oil rigs outnumber the palm trees
'and it's almost like the good old days.
'At least the way I'd like to remember them.
'Stay in this business long enough
'and every street leads to a place you'd like to forget.
'Every case brings back memories of what might have been,
'and every skirt reminds you of another woman.
'Or, if you've got it bad enough...
'the same woman. '
Trick or treat.
You shouldn't be breaking into people's offices, Mickey.
Not with your reputation.
And, uh... Halloween is this weekend.
Well, I guess we got the jump on everyone.
Liberty Levine, say hello to Jake Gittes.
Liberty Levine?
He can wrap his fist around a roll of silver dollars.
- What's this? - It's a hand grenade.
You ought to know that. You're a war hero.
See?
Jeez, don't let go of the handle, Jake.
You only have what, four seconds to answer your calls, nudnik?
You wouldn't have enough time. You were very popular today.
Weinberger. Escobar. Weinberger. Weinberger.
He wants to sue somebody, naturally.
Linda. Escobar. Linda again.
She's nuts about you. I wonder what she wants.
Captain Escobar, I know what he wants -
the Berman wire recording, by tomorrow.
Otherwise, he's coming after you with a court order
for withholding evidence, conspiracy...
So, Jake...
You got criminal, you got civil, you got love.
But before anything of this nature comes to pass...
you got me.
And I want you to do something for me. I need a favour.
Favour?
I think that the Berman wire recording is in your safe.
So what I want you to do is open the safe,
drop the grenade in the safe,
and then, most important of all, Jake...
close the safe.
- You're crazy, Mickey. - That may be.
But do you know a better way to stay healthy?
OK. All right.
Ow!
(Muffled explosion)
(Mickey chuckling)
I was wrong.
It's not here.
Liberty?
That was a nice show. Take a bow.
(Groaning)
Where is it? Where is it, Jake?
At my lawyer's.
Your lawyer's?
(Gittes) Ooh!
I want the Berman wire recording by tomorrow.
Be a mensch.
Otherwise, I'm going to have to give you a serious reprimand.
(Mickey chuckling, door closing)
(Woman) Oh, I'm shedding all over the place. I'm sorry.
Lie back.
(Groaning)
Mickey do this to you?
- Yeah. - I thought so.
I saw he and, uh, Liberty going down as I was coming up the stairs.
- Uh, Mrs Bodine... - Hmm?
How do you know the biggest hood in LA?
I've seen him around town.
Santa Anita. Private screenings.
The Bolanos fight at the, uh, Legion.
Jake introduced us.
- Berman? - Mm-hmm.
He and Mickey grew up together in Boyle Heights.
They're best friends.
Uh... Mrs Bodine...
What can I do for you?
Testify that Berman knew his wife was in bed with his business partner.
Just that one little thing?
And I hear you have a recording that proves Berman murdered my husband.
Well, that's what they say, but, uh, I'm not sure it proves anything.
Well, anyway, I'd like it.
- Mrs Bodine... - Lillian.
Lillian.
Ethically, I can't do that.
Ethically? Ha!
I have certain statutory obligations.
I can't use information adverse to a client...
when I acquired that information while employed by the client.
Then I'll hire you. Prove Berman planned it.
- Lillian, just listen... - No! Put the weasel in jail.
Nothing else matters.
How about five or six million bucks?
Your husband's share of the subdivision.
Berman said he'd let you have it.
- Could I make a phone call? - Please.
No.
That's what your lawyer told you to say to six million bucks?
Yes.
- You always do what he tells you? - More or less.
- And who tells him what to do? - What do you mean?
That woman at your house the other night. He listened to her.
That's Mattie Rawley. Everybody listens to her.
- He's her lawyer, too? - Her husband's.
Any reason Mr Rawley would have to be interested in Jake Berman?
He was a friend of Mark's. That's how I met Mattie.
Tell you what I'm gonna do.
You can't have the recording, but you can listen to it.
Mark and Kitty... talk on it?
Uh, mainly, yeah. Um...
Look, if you're not up to this, I'll understand.
I'm up to it.
All right?
'Adam boy charlie, adam boy charlie. Lawrence Walsh. '
(Forwards tape)
- 'Mayday, bail out. ' - 'What's wrong? '
'Some linen supply guys are making a delivery right outside your door.
'They're making a deliver... '
(Kitty moaning and squealing)
(Kitty giggling and sighing)
(Bed springs creak)
(Smack)
(Kitty giggling) 'Oh! Oh, honey. '
(Bodine) 'Kitty, there's a... woman who can give... akey a bad time,
'and you know who. '
Does that mean something to you - "akey"?
Uh, Mark called Berman Jakey sometimes.
- (Giggling) - 'Kitty, there's a... woman
'who can give... akey a bad time, and you know who. '
"There's a woman who can give Jakey a bad time, and you know who"?
- Something like that. - 'Honey, I think you do know. '
'We're talking about Katherine Mulwray. '
(Kitty) 'Oh, Mark, not again. ' (Bodine) 'Kitty, I'm telling you... '
Sounds like he thinks this Katherine could give Berman a hard time.
Did Mark ever mention that woman to you?
Mark never talked about women with me. He was a chaser.
And he never had to run very far.
(Bodine) 'If I get to her I can prove Jake has taken advantage of the land.
- 'We could all strike it rich. ' - (Kitty) 'Just hold me. Hold me. '
- See what I mean? - About what?
(Bodine) 'Did you ever hear of whipstocking? '
Whips and stockings? God damn it. That son of a bitch was...
Lillian, just calm down.
I always knew that Kitty was a perverted little snat.
- (Berman) 'Kitty, how could you? ' - Don't let it start.
- '... to the beauty parlour... ' - Don't let me hear. It's coming.
Don't let me hear. No, don't let me hear!
God damn it, you son of a bitch, don't let me hear!
I don't want to hear any more!
(Gunshots on tape)
(Screaming)
(Sobbing)
(Gunshots and screaming continue)
(Kitty sobbing on tape)
All right.
(Larry) 'Where'd that gun come from? '
All right. All right. It's over. It's over.
'Somebody call an ambulance! '
- I'm getting out of here. - Can I help you?
Stop me.
- Don't let me go back to the house. - So stay here.
I'm not responsible for one more thing. Oh!
No! No! No! No!
No! Damn you, you bastard!
All right!
All right! That's enough! That's enough. That's enough.
Oh, don't make me do it. Don't make me do it. Don't...
Oh, you're going to make me do it, aren't you?
You're going to make me. You're going to make me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I am, I am, I am. All right.
Take the rest of that goddamned thing off.
Oh!
- Oh! Ohh! - Oh!
Lillian. Lillian!
Honestly, I'm trying to be a gentleman about this.
Now just... get down on your knees. Down on your knees.
Stick your ass up in the air,
and don't move until I tell you.
Mmm...
Jake, I did come across some documents.
Um, you've met Mrs Bodine. Lawrence Walsh, my oldest associate.
Mrs Bodine and I have been having a lengthy consultation,
- And uh... - I see.
Yes, and, uh...
going over a number of matters and Mrs Bodine has expressed a wish
to employ us to locate the previous owner of the B & B subdivision land.
Pardon me, Jake. Can I talk to you for a minute?
Excuse us, Mrs Bodine.
This is Berman's title insurance report.
The previous owner was Mickey Nice.
Mickey Nice?
Now look at the previous title transfer.
Now, don't go off half-cocked, we don't know what this really means.
Well, you got to admit it was pretty generous of Katherine
to just give her land away.
From Katherine to Mickey to Berman, same day, same place.
- It's Ralph calling again. - I'll take it in my office.
Ralph? Hold on. He'll be with you in a minute.
Is everything all right?
Uh, fine.
Yeah, Ralph?
I'm at the Bay City Laundry, corner of Little Washington and Venice.
Somebody's following Berman besides me.
Probably the cops.
No. It's one guy in a tan Studebaker.
Not the cops?
- 'No. ' - All right.
'Stick with Berman. Get a number on the Studey. I'm on my way. '
Yeah. OK.
(Dialling tone)
Do you think Mr Walsh has any idea that we...
Absolutely none.
- They're still in the laundry. - Who?
Berman, Mickey, that hood Liberty and some blonde.
Some blonde?
What the hell is Chuck Newty doing here?
(Gittes) Is that the tail? (Ralph) Yeah.
Stay with Berman, I'll cover the mouthpiece. You got dimes?
Yeah.
(Gittes) 'Sometimes it's best to follow the piece that doesn't fit.
'Chuck Newty wouldn't do anything he couldn't charge $30 an hour for,
'so he wouldn't shadow Berman without a client.
'You know, you can follow the action, which gets you good pictures.
'You can follow your instincts,
'which will probably get you in trouble.
'Or you can follow the money,
'which nine times out of ten will get you closer to the truth.
'Earl Rawley's trademark was on Newty's matchbook,
'Lillian Bodine's lighter and half the oil wells in LA.
'Who else could afford to keep a lawyer's meter running? '
(Women on radio) # Mile High dairy store
# Mile High ice cream cones
# Mile High cones, double-dipped, very good, very good #
(Man) In 1792, a certain Jose Longuinez Martinez,
while travelling through the Pueblo de Los Angeles,
found a great lake of pitch,
with many pools in which blisters were continually rising and falling.
In hot weather, animals looking for water were seen sinking into the tar.
Their cries would attract predators.
We pulled a million specimens from two holes in the ground.
Animal after animal,
literally dying to eat another dying animal.
The greatest record of life on earth is what it is,
all caught in little seeps from the greatest lake of oil on earth.
22 miles long, 46 miles wide,
the entire LA basin, where we work and live today.
Ladies, this way.
- How many jobs you got, Mr Otley? - Call me Ty.
Wonderful speech you gave the ladies.
Thank you.
LA, the greatest lake of oil on earth there is.
Could we continue this discussion some other time?
My secretary said you called me repeatedly, Ty.
Said you made it sound like something of an emergency.
After the explosion, I was concerned.
That's very thoughtful of you, Tyrone. Now, uh...
- Who got to you? - Who got to me?
- Was it Berman? - Got to me about what?
Or was it somebody from Rawley Petroleum?
Brother... Berman...
Levine... Some woman, blonde.
This the clearest you got?
- Well, yeah. Yeah. - Did you follow her?
What for? You told me to follow Berman.
Berman had a two o'clock appointment at his lawyer's.
You don't follow somebody when you know where they're going.
But you said stay with Berman.
- Who the fuck is this woman? - Who is THAT woman?
(Gittes) Laura Teel. You remember her, don't you?
(Ralph, chuckling) Oh, rubber gloves, you bet.
Hey, hey, hey. There he goes. She's alone now.
Better hurry up and get in there.
Ah, Miss Teel, how nice to see you.
What are you doing here?
Don't tell me I'm being watched.
No, Mrs Berman.
Your husband has all the matrimonial information he needs to go to court.
Oh, yes. If only he wanted a divorce.
He doesn't?
- You've been talking to Lillian. - I have?
You have.
Lillian loves angora.
You make a big enough mess...
and you can't be ignored.
What did she call me? Aside from frigid and conniving?
- A killer. - Killer?
I enticed her husband into bed
so my husband could shoot him in a fit of jealous rage?
- That's right. - And what's the rest of the plan?
That's it. You slept with the man so he could be legally murdered,
the entire subdivision belongs to you and your husband.
Jake doesn't want Mark's money.
I'm sure he'll see Lillian gets whatever her husband's entitled to.
- All she wants is the recording. - I find that difficult to believe.
Look, you may have a worldly wise veneer but I got ties older than you.
Mrs Bodine thinks your husband ought to be in jail,
that the recording proves your husband's a murderer.
If she's right, I wanna tell the police before they tell me.
I am sure my husband did what he did because he loves me.
And suppose you're wrong, I'm wrong.
Suppose he didn't kill for love or money?
- Now what? - That's not possible.
There's got to be a reason.
I think the reason is on that wire recording.
Well, I don't know what that possibly could be.
Mrs Berman, would it surprise you to know
that your husband was seeing another woman?
Is he?
Would it surprise you?
No. Not necessarily. No.
In other words, he loves you enough to kill somebody,
but you're not surprised that he's fooling around?
What will a jury think of that?
Who is this woman?
Mrs Berman, wouldn't you like to know one way or the other?
If...
If there's a relationship...
I'd like to know about it, yes.
Then you'll tell me what I want to know?
What's that?
Exactly what Bodine was asking you on the wire.
I'll tell you what I remember,
but it may not be what you need to know.
(Knock on door)
(Kitty) Who is it?
It's the colourist.
- Come back a little later, please. - Fine.
Mr Gittes, I want to remind you that you have yet to show me anything
that proves my husband deliberately did anything to anyone.
- And if I can prove otherwise? - Then we'll talk later.
After all, first... things... first.
Mr Gittes, it was two and a half years ago these people were here.
I have very little recollection of the transaction,
and these photographs are not going to refresh my memory.
I don't wish to talk about these people.
Can you tell me this much?
Why wouldn't Miss Mulwray quitclaim the deed to Mr Berman directly?
Mr Gittes, I am a notary public, not a mind-reader.
If that's the way they want it, that's the way I do it.
This deed doesn't even mention mineral rights.
Any exception to title rights will be found in some other agreement.
- And if there is no other agreement? - Then the original owner
retains all rights not specifically granted.
Dolores, would you please show Mr Gittes out?
He's awful touchy.
How did it happen?
You don't know?
Come on. You can tell me.
- That's how it happened. He told. - What?
About three weeks ago, just after I came to work here,
somebody else was in, asking about these people.
And one of those people came back and broke his jaw.
Him, right? All right. Forget about him.
What about the guy who was asking? Can you remember what he looked like?
I'll bet he asked you out.
Oh, no. He's married.
Not any more.
Thank you.
Good of Mr Rawley to see me on such short notice.
Oh, he's looking forward to it, Mr Gittes.
He's just around the point.
- Do you like shrimp? - Sure do.
We've got some good ones.
I prefer matches, thank you. I love the smell of sulphur.
Chuck here said you want to talk to me about Mattie.
Not exactly. I was hoping you could help me with Lillian.
Well, that's up to Chuck and my wife Mattie.
That's really none of my business.
None of your business?
Well, in a sense, when you're in the oil business,
- You're in everybody's business. - That's right.
Is that why you broke into my office
and why you got Jake Berman under surveillance?
- Mr Gittes, I don't... - Just excuse us a little bit.
Thank you.
Before Mark got killed, he became aware of Berman's other associates.
He was concerned that he might have a silent partner in this Mr Nice.
Mark was frightened.
He came to me for help purely as a friend.
- Frightened of Berman and Mr Nice. - Yes, indeed.
Not too frightened to sleep with Berman's wife.
Tell you what we'll do, John.
You tell me what the hell you think's going on,
I'll tell you if I think you're right.
Mr Rawley, I think you think there's oil under the B & B subdivision,
and you're trying to get to whoever has the mineral rights.
All I'd find under that subdivision is a lot of hot air and gas.
You want to know why? Look up and down the coast.
Summerland, Huntington Beach, Bolsa Chica-that's where the oil is.
That's where it's juicy, out there.
It ain't 6,000 feet inland,
down through 2,000 extra feet of cretaceous granite.
Have I answered all your questions?
(Boat horn)
There's one thing about Los Angeles
that makes it different than most places, John,
and that's two things.
You got a desert with oil under it,
and, second, you got a lot of water around it.
Hollis Mulwray and Noah Cross moved the water onto this desert,
and we have to move people the same way they moved the water.
Without my oil, you got no automobiles.
Without automobiles, you got no road construction,
no sidewalks, no city lights, no gas stations,
no automotive service,
and no Berman subdivision out in the tules because nobody can get there.
Then Mr Berman's out of business before he even gets in.
(Horn)
The name of the game is oil, John.
(Horn)
That don't go here, Oren. Take it up to hill 36.
Back to 36!
What's that for?
Did you ever breed any horses?
Can't say that I have, no.
It's like helping a stallion mount a mare.
Whipstocking is something you do
to coax the drilling bit in the right direction.
After you've gone to all that trouble,
you wouldn't want your big fella
to miss what he was aiming at, now, would you?
I know what your time's worth, John, and I'll take care of you.
Just don't let me down.
(Gittes) 'Old Cactus Earl probably hoodwinked quite a few city boys
'with his Will Rogers routine,
'but I knew he wasn't talking about two horses on their honeymoon.
'Whatever Rawley was mounting, it wasn't a mare.
'I just wanted to make sure it wasn't me, either, pardner. '
- Do you want to meet or not? - Anywhere you say.
'Green Parrot Bar and Grill on Cahuenga any time after ten. '
(Click)
(# Man singing lounge music)
(Gittes) Ohh...
Are you all right, honey?
Honey? What did you say?
(Music and chatter inside)
# Maybe she's dream... #
Good evening. May I help you?
- No. I'd like to sit at the bar. - Fine.
# Waiting for me
# Will I recognise the light in her eyes
# That no other eyes reveal
# Will I pass her by and never even know her... #
- Can I help you, sir? - Johnny Walker Black, straight up.
- Soda back? - Yeah, thanks.
Thank you. Thank you.
# They say
# Into your early life
# Romance came... #
Mr Gittes. I'm so glad you could make it.
Well, Tyrone, what's on your mind?
A Go-Devil underground camera tells which direction you're drilling.
- Take it easy, Ty. - This is the photo of the compass.
It'll prove Rawley's drilling east toward the Berman subdivision,
not west, out toward the ocean.
Double Scotch, soda back.
We're, uh...
We're talking about oil here, right, Ty?
Obviously.
Mr Rawley believes there's oil under the subdivision.
He's endangering lives, drilling with all the seismic activity.
He's whipstocking.
Someone has got to stop him!
Well, I can't do that, Ty. Nobody can.
Guys like Rawley don't get arrested, they get streets named after them.
In this situation, it's best to leave it alone.
Rawley stealing from Berman is the big thief stealing from the little.
Who are we to quarrel?
Did you bring my treat?
What the fuck for?
Oy.
Then why did you come here?
- What are you doing here? - I own the joint.
What's your excuse?
I got a date.
Then be a gentleman and excuse yourself.
- Hey. - Come on, nudnik.
Look around. What do you see? Strictly class.
Polite. Big tippers. And they're nice to the help.
If the cops didn't keep bumping up the payoff,
this would be the best business I got.
(Gittes) What business you got with Jake Berman?
Jake Berman is 100 per cent legitimate.
What do you call legitimate?
Take off his jacket.
I can tell you what I don't consider legitimate.
- Must be a short list. - Blackmail.
- What are you talking about? - It's a form of mental torture.
It's the worst.
Physical torture? It's not so bad.
There's only so much you can take and then eventually, you die.
It's over. But mental torture?
That's real aggravation. It goes on and on and on.
You got the wire recording.
Why are you withholding evidence from your own client
if you're not a blackmailer?
- Answer that, you putz. - Boss, I think we're in trouble.
What are you talking about?
- Smile at the birdies, ladies. - (Parrot) Smile!
Now gather your hats and your purses. The vans are in the back.
(Crowd groans)
(Man) Nice and orderly. That's it. (Parrot) Hello!
I'm telling you, Sergeant, I just stopped in for a quick drink.
Come on, Gittes. You were consorting
with a hoodlum under grand jury investigation
and known to be friendly with Jake Berman?
So what?
So either you were doing business with Mickey or, uh...
Or what?
We got a vice officer who swears you approached him
and fondled his privates in the men's room.
How was it?
You'll get a chance to tell everybody at the state board.
Either that, or, uh, prove you're not withholding evidence.
How will I do that?
Let us hear the wire recording.
Then you'll decide if it's evidence that I'm withholding?
Get your court order. It's private property.
How much are you paid to suppress it?
Bribery. Conspiracy. Conspiracy to commit murder.
- Maybe not bribery any more. - Oh?
Maybe he's back to blackmail.
- What are you talking about, Loach? - I'm talking about incest.
- Incest? - Mm-hmm.
You know, incest...
like when a father bangs his daughter,
like with dogs and squid.
I'm talking about him extorting money from the Mulwrays
to keep his mouth shut.
Loach, I don't recall anything like that.
All I recall is that your father shot an innocent woman
while their little girl watched.
And what a fine shot it was.
Well... It was a long time ago.
Besides, I wouldn't extort a nickel from my worst enemy.
That's where I draw the line.
Well, I'll tell you, Jake.
I knew a whore once. For the right money, she'd piss in a guy's face.
But she wouldn't shit on his chest. That's where SHE drew the line.
Well, Junior, all I can say is,
I hope she wasn't too much of a disappointment to you.
(Gunshot)
Get back! Get back! Get back or this motherfucking son of a bitch...
(Echoes of screams)
...will suck on this until he dies!
Now, suck it!
Suck it!
- OK. - Suck it.
You pissed your pants, Junior.
Maybe you need a change.
You're off this case and suspended for 30 days. And you!
When I get through with you, you'll wish Loach was back on the case.
Book Mr Gittes. Let him make bail.
Get him out of here. Get him out of here!
- Get him out of here! - Get your hands off me!
Get over there and sit down. Sit down.
(Larry) 'Some linen supply guys, they're making a delivery.
'Right outside your door. They're making... delivery. '
(Kitty and Bodine moaning)
(Intercom buzzes)
Yeah, Gladys?
It's Mr Weinberger. He says it's urgent.
'OK, I'll take it. '
Hello, Cotton.
- I'm here with Flynn. - 'Give him my best. '
- Jake says hello. - Hello, Jake!
'Escobar got his court order. '
- When? - 'Just now.
'And if you don't produce that wire recording, you're going to jail.
'At least let me have it, Jake. Let me worry about it. '
Yeah. I'd better get back to you, Cotton.
'Jake... '
Jake. Jake, didn't you hear? Escobar's got his court order.
- What did they deliver? - Escobar's gonna be here any minute.
The guys from Bay City Linen. What were they delivering?
It was a chair, wasn't it?
I think so. Yeah, a chair and some towels.
(Gittes) 'Kitty Berman had said she wouldn't believe
'her husband did anything wrong until I delivered proof.
'Well, she was gonna get what she asked for...
'the kind of proof she could sit on. '
I don't expect you to remember where this came from.
The police report said the weapon was a.38 Smith & Wesson police special
with a 2-inch barrel, like this.
The chair was delivered to your room at the Bird of Paradise Motel
40 minutes before you arrived by Bay City Linen,
right out of the back of one of Mickey's trucks.
Well, Mrs Berman? Mrs Berman?
(Approaching car)
(Gittes) Watch it!
- Kitty? - Get away from me.
Kitty.
Stay away.
I got a new deal for you.
When you want to talk, pick a spot where nobody can sneak up on me
and nail me with Escobar's court order.
Anything else?
Tell Mickey I stole his truck before he tells the cops,
because if they stop me, they'll have enough evidence to arrest you both.
Murder one.
How do you want to play this, Jake? 20 bucks a hole?
What's the matter? Too rich for you?
Let's cut out the cute bullshit. We're here to discuss your life.
Let's wait till we get out on the course, OK?
- I'm a 14 handicap. - Nine.
What the hell. It's my club. I'll play you even. 20 bucks a hole?
- Hell, yes. - Be my guest.
(Berman humming loudly)
Hell of a shot.
(Humming)
(Stops humming)
(Starts humming)
(Berman) Good bounce.
Nice putt.
OK. What's it going to take? 100, 200, 300 grand?
If I don't give it to Escobar, he'll put me in jail.
I'll pay your legal fees. Contempt of court, big fucking deal.
More like conspiracy to commit murder.
Escobar's gonna think I'm trying to cover my ass, not yours.
Jake...
I can make the rest of your life awful easy.
You never know when you're gonna need something extra.
(Gittes whispering) Fuck.
I tell you, nothing beats bad luck, does it?
(Berman) OK. What's your deal?
Tell me how you got Katherine Mulwray to give you her land.
- She suggested it. - Bodine know that?
Is that why you killed him? Cos he was asking the same questions I am?
She's alive and well, Jake.
Put me in touch with her. That's all I ask.
I can't do that.
That's the deal.
The deal is you give me the wire at the end of this round,
or I'll have you killed.
My money or your life.
Say, Jake, ever seen my one-legged golfer?
(Chuckling)
Liberty. Liberty!
- (Liberty) You all right? - Yeah.
- Just relax. - What's wrong?
Remember what I said, Jake.
(Gittes) No sign of the wife? (Ralph) No, I haven't seen the wife.
The big guy came out, called Nice, something about Elsa, radio...
Watch your feet, buddy.
(Ralph) Got dimes?
(Berman coughing)
(Liberty) Just take it easy. You'll be all right.
You're gonna be all right, Jake.
(Woman) Please hurry. They're waiting at the hospital.
(Advertisements on TV)
Some blonde.
(Man on TV) 'OK. New Ajax cleans all bathroom surfaces of mildew faster. '
# Use Ajax, bom bom, the foaming cleanser
(# Bom bom bom bom bom) # Gets things clean just like a whiz
(# Bom bom bom bom bom bom) # You'll stop paying the elbow tax
# When you start cleaning with Ajax
# So use Ajax, the foaming cleanser (# Bom bom bom bom)
# Floats the dirt right down the drain
# Bom bom bom bom #
(Gittes) 'I'm used to seeing the intimate details of people's lives,
'but looking at a guy's x-rays is as intimate as it gets.
'It's the kind of thing most guys don't even tell their wives about. '
(Gasps)
Sorry. It has to look like nobody's home.
The DA's still trying to serve me.
Hand over the wire recording.
- Pardon me? - Give the recording to the police.
Otherwise you're in contempt of court, you'll go to jail.
Would you mind if I had a drink, please?
The preliminary hearing's tomorrow.
You've got to answer some questions.
- Scotch and soda? - Fine.
There's nothing I can tell you you don't already know.
We'll see.
Thank you.
How's your husband's health?
Fine, obviously. Anything else?
What did Mark Bodine ask you about Katherine Mulwray?
Ah...
Apparently, she retains the mineral rights to the subdivision land.
Uh, Mark thought they might be valuable.
I guess he was trying to get in touch with her.
I don't remember all that much. When you're...
with somebody like that...
Well, you can imagine.
Yes, I can.
I was honestly unfaithful.
- And with a very ambitious man. - So?
- Maybe that's why he was killed. - Over mineral rights?
Jake... Jake cared about land.
He wouldn't kill anybody over mineral rights. Believe me.
Oh, God. Linda.
Uh... Honey, there's somebody I'd like you to meet.
Please don't bother.
I can see you're hard at work. I don't need any introductions.
Don't stop for a thing.
I simply wish to say that I never want to see or hear from you again.
I'm sorry.
Not your fault.
That was your fiancée?
Used to be.
Well...
I'm sure once you explain everything,
she'll calm down and be OK.
What?
What are you looking at?
Oh, this. Jake gave it to me.
- It's stuck. - Let me.
Uh... what...
- What kind of flower is it? - A poppy.
Why is it two colours?
With wild flowers, you can change the colour.
You don't say.
The way summer fires do, you simply...
...scorch the seeds.
Of course, it's not permanent.
Wild flowers are very unstable, so you have to keep scorching them.
Sort of like dying your hair.
Exactly. Otherwise, the colour will simply...
...revert.
I don't get it.
I'm sorry.
All I ever wanted was...
All I ever wanted all these years was just...
to see that you hadn't been hurt...
and that you wouldn't be hurt.
I didn't want you to be involved.
I am involved. Your crazy husband saw to that.
I didn't want to give you any reason not to testify.
You said you'd always protect me, no matter what. I knew you would.
- What about Jake? - I don't know.
He...
I don't know about Jake.
He made me feel I could live a normal life like anybody else.
He was romantic.
He's a murderer, right?
Right.
Hand over the wire recording.
(Judge) It is the necessary nature of any evidentiary hearing
to tolerate, and even to encourage, some informality.
However, I must remind everyone that we are seeking probable cause
that a capital crime has been committed.
There can be no more serious matter before this court.
Will opposing counsel approach the bench?
Look, we're all a little new to this sort of evidence.
If something isn't clear, I want the witnesses to testify as we go.
All right. Thank you.
Will investigators Tilton and Walsh please take the stand?
Your Honour, may I respectfully request that the courtroom
be cleared of all those not directly involved with this case,
due to the delicate nature of the material we're about to hear?
This is an open public hearing.
Since there are no minors present, we shall continue as we are.
Thank you, Your Honour.
Bailiff?
I must ask for complete silence in the courtroom.
(Larry) 'Adam boy charlie. Adam boy charlie.
'Lawrence Walsh at the Bird of Paradise Motel,
'October 27, 1948, 1300 hours.
'I'm based in bedroom one... '
(Heavy breathing)
(Bodine) 'Mmm...
(Kitty moaning and squealing)
(Kitty sighing and giggling)
- (Smack) - (Kitty) Oh! Oh, honey.
(Kitty giggling)
(Door opens)
(Berman) 'Oh, no, Kitty. How could you... '
(Bodine) 'What's going on here? ' (Berman) 'You said you were going... '
It's different. He's done something to it.
- It's procedural. - It's not the same.
(Berman) 'It's just where they said I'd find you...
'Room 19-H... the Bird of Paradise Motel... Redondo Beach... '
(Ralph) 'Just take it easy. ' (Bodine) 'Don't fuck with me, Jake. '
(Berman) 'How could you? How could you? With him?! '
It's not the same.
- (Berman) 'Not with him! ' - They have changed it.
(Berman) 'Get her out of here! '
(Gunshot)
(Kitty screaming, gunshots)
(Kitty screaming)
(Ralph) 'Just calm down, ma'am. ' (Larry) 'Where'd that gun come from? '
(Kitty sobbing)
(Gittes) 'Somebody call an ambulance!
'Come on. Get pictures of everything, Larry. '
This isn't it! They've done something to it!
Bastards! Those... Son of a bitch!
- Was that it, Mr Gittes? - Yes, Your Honour.
Was that Mr Bodine's voice at the end
saying, "Oh, no, you're not, Jake, I'm going to..." something?
Yes, Your Honour.
(Judge) In what context was that statement made?
Having his photos taken by my associate.
And the "I'm going to..." something?
Your Honour, I believe that's when Mr Bodine drew the gun
and tried to stop us.
(Newty, whispering) What? He wasn't even in the room.
He's lying through his teeth.
Isn't it a fact that you weren't even in the room?
Objection, Your Honour.
To give Mr Gittes time to invent something to say?
If you have something to say, address the court. Objection overruled.
You may answer the question, Mr Gittes.
I'm certain that I was in the room.
I'm not positive where I was when the shots were fired.
- Were you, Larry? - Well, Jake, I was under the bed.
I thought Berman had the gun first, but I didn't know where he got it.
Your Honour, I object to the witnesses engaging in this colloquy.
- They weren't even sworn in. - I might add,
I find it distracting to see the DA getting his objections from Escobar.
Gentlemen, please.
Can we at least agree that there was a gun?
- I agree. - I hope so, Your Honour.
Very good.
Now, to whom was the gun registered?
To the, uh, deceased. Mr Mark Bodine.
Green Parrot Bar and Grill.
Isn't it a fact you're out on bail,
having been arrested at the Green Parrot Bar and Grill?
Wait a minute. Your Honour,
the witness has been charged, not convicted.
- What's the charge? - The charge?
- Yes. The charge. - Well, that, uh...
Mr Gittes was fondling the private parts of a vice officer
in the men's room of the Green Parrot.
- Objection, Your Honour. - I'm with you, Mr Weinberger.
I have no idea what you thought you could do
with this kind of evidence, Mr Hannah.
It has no place in my courtroom. Do yourself a favour.
The next time, you be sure you've got a case.
That's about it for this hearing.
Bailiff, we'll have a short recess before the next matter.
(Gavel pounds)
(Gittes) 'Maybe I didn't tell the whole truth at the hearing.
'There's one thing I've learned about the truth -
'a little bit goes a long way.
'And splashing Katherine Mulwray's past all over the LA Times
'wouldn't do anybody any good.
'That's one truth Jake and I had in common.
'Berman's x-rays said more than a couple of missing words
'on a wire recording.
'What's the difference who passes the sentence, a doctor or a judge?
'This way, Katherine can deal with her ghosts in private.
'And I can try to tell myself I kept my promise.
'But that's the problem with the past.
'There's always plenty more where that came from. '
- (Berman) You want to see it again? - (Mickey clears throat)
What's new?
(Baby cries)
We'll be in the model, keep customers out.
(Mickey) Sure.
(Baby crying)
Believe it or not, I thought I was doing something here,
giving Gls and couples their first home.
They're the only tract homes in the Valley, GI or not,
with lath and plaster and hardwood floors.
Is that right?
They're built to last.
For a while, anyway. (Laughs)
There was a time a few years ago, when Kitty and I had a cash problem.
For us to own our own home was a dream.
I figured you got hold of those.
Mark Bodine have any idea how sick you are?
I didn't know myself till a few days ago.
Elsa told me the radium - She's the doctor -
...the radium implants weren't working.
Vay iz mir. Months of aggravation
with my skin breaking out and itching,
and trying to keep it from Kitty...
And I'm still riddled with this drek.
So Bodine was only blackmailing you about Katherine Mulwray?
How did he find out who your wife was?
He was checking out the mineral rights on the land,
found the quitclaim to Mickey and got hold of the notary public.
He threatened to expose her
if I didn't have her sign over the mineral rights,
dump the subdivision in his lap.
Knowing that vantz, I figured he'd do it after I was dead anyway.
Well...
he was in it for a lot more than that.
(Door opens)
Everything OK?
Yeah.
How much do you want for those?
How much do you think I want for those?
- Kitty tell you who she was? - No.
- Then how did you find out? - I just did my job.
She couldn't tell you, Jake.
And she didn't know what I was doing.
I was too afraid to tell her I was sick.
If she had known, none of this would have happened.
It's my fault.
I didn't want to undress in front of her, I slept in the den.
She thought...
She thought I'd lost interest in her.
(Berman sobbing)
Jake.
We wanted to have a baby.
She was devastated, Jake. You know our Kitty.
She was looking for assurance from somebody
and as it happened, Mark was there looking for her.
Well, you took a hell of a chance hiring me.
Nothing like the chance Bodine would talk about Kitty.
- Besides, there was something else. - What's that?
He was fucking my wife.
(Rumbling)
Come on, Jake!
Jake! Come on, Jake!
Jake!
(Rumbling stops)
Are you all right, Jake?
Yeah.
Come on, Jake. Let's get out of here.
Wait a second. Better check...
(Rumbling)
Look at the crapper.
There's stuff coming out of the toilet, the sink, the shower.
I don't know. Just take a look.
(Rumbling)
Jesus, he's right. There's shit everywhere.
That's expensive shit.
Yeah, I'll have more lawsuits than Carter has liver pills.
That's oil.
It's oil. That's what Rawley and Bodine have been after.
They're drilling under your subdivision to get it, Jake.
My oil?
Not for long if we don't get out of here. Come on, Jake.
- Then it's Kitty's? - Come on, Jake.
I'm gonna stick around and have a smoke.
What?
Would you want an autopsy if you were me?
That wouldn't be so good for Kitty, would it?
Got a light?
Go ahead. Give him the light.
Get out of here. Go on.
Get out of here. Get out.
(Birds twittering)
(Berman) 'Dear Kitty, I can't face you with this.
'I guess from the day we met,
'all I ever really wanted was to know I could take care of you
'and that you would love me and think well of me.
'So naturally, I haven't liked being reminded
'I can't take care of you or protect you much longer.
'You remind me about that more than anybody.
'AII you have to do is walk into a room
'or look like you need help opening up a can of soup
'or buttoning the back of your dress.
'If I hurt you, honey...
'try and forgive me, it's been rough...
'knowing I wouldn't be able to keep anybody from hurting you.
(Sobbing) 'I love you, Kitty. '
That son of a bitch.
What the hell does he mean,
he doesn't feel he could face me with this?
- I think he means... - Why didn't you tell me?
I thought he should tell you himself.
Could you...
What?
Could you...
What? Anything.
...open the window?
Yeah. I can do that.
Thank you.
Jake...
Mrs Berman, if you want to talk to him,
sometimes I think that's the best thing.
- I don't have to listen. - Jake.
Mrs Berman?
Does it ever go away?
- What's that? - The... past.
Well...
I think you have to work real hard on that one.
I can't do it alone.
I don't suppose you'll have to.
That's wrong.
Don't be too sure.
That's your problem, kid. You don't know who you're kidding.
You take too good a care of me, Mr Gittes.
Well, it's a tough habit to break.
Think of me from time to time.
Katherine!
It never goes away.
# In the night
# Though we're apart
# There's a ghost of you
# Within my haunted heart
# Ghost of you
# My lost romance
# Lips that laugh
# Eyes that dance
# Haunted heart
# Won't let me be
# Dreams repeat
# A sweet but Ionely song to me
# Dreams are dust
# It's you who must belong to me
# And thrill
# My haunted heart
# Bestill
# My haunted heart
# In the night
# Though we're apart
# There's a ghost of you
# Within my haunted heart
# Ghost of you
# My lost romance
# And thrill
# My haunted heart
# Bestill
# My haunted heart
# Dreams are dust
# It's you who must belong to me
# And thrill
# My haunted heart
# Bestill
# My haunted heart #
English SDH