(theme music playing)
NARRATOR: Man lives in the sunlit world
of what he believes to be reality.
But... there is,
unseen by most, an underworld.
A place that is just as real
but not as brightly lit.
A dark side.
♪ ♪
Salud.
MAN (grunts): Mm...
Doll, have a little of this caviar.
Put hair on your chest.
Oh, come on, Eddie. Can't we go home and go to bed?
l don't like this.
Hey, l got a right to celebrate. This is my night.
Yeah, but people celebrate in a disco or a nightclub,
not some lousy stinkin' warehouse.
This is the way l always planned it in my head!
You know how long l been waiting for this night?
18 years.
18 years... l been dreaming about
what l would do when l reached out my hand and took it all.
lt don't seem right to celebrate, that's all.
With Paulie not even cold yet.
Paulie's feeling no pain.
He's happy wherever he is.
(door opens)
Hey, they're here.
Hey, what took you guys so long?
l was getting ready to call the police!
(laughs)
Well, Mr. De Calasuro, what a pleasure this is.
Hey, doll, l want you to meet the world's greatest puppeteer.
Did you lock the door?
Good.
You got the hooks?
l was just telling my friend here
what a great puppet act you got.
You like caviar?
Got beluga-- only the best.
No, thanks. lt-lt makes me ill.
(chuckles softly)
This man woke me up in the middle of the night.
l need my sleep.
Wh-Why have you brought me here?
Hey, l'm a big fan of yours.
Have been for years.
Caught your act in Atlantic City.
You're the greatest.
ln fact, uh, you've been kind of an inspiration to me.
Anyway, uh, tonight, l made a big killing in, uh...
in my business.
You're looking at a man who's made it to the top.
And l always thought when l made it big,
l was gonna treat myself to a private performance
of the world's greatest puppet act.
My puppet.
You-You had no right to move him.
He's very delicate.
You must have broke into the Lyceum Theatre
to get my equipment like this.
You got it right, pops.
Now start the show.
We ain't got all night, huh?
That's right.
Do it for me like you did in Atlantic City.
Oh, my baby, did they hurt you?
What have they done to you?
You all right, huh?
Come on, pops.
Let's get to work.
You'll love this guy, doll, he's the greatest.
l just want to get this over with and get out of here.
-(piano playing simple melody) -♪ l'm your puppet ♪
♪ Play with me ♪
♪ Tell me what you want to see ♪
♪ l can move my dancing feet ♪
♪ Though l'm not made out of meat ♪
♪ Watch me wiggle, watch me shake ♪
♪ Like a hootchy-kootchy snake ♪
♪ l'm your puppet, yes, it's true ♪
♪ l'll do anything you want me to. ♪
Terrific! Terrific!
l love it!
Hey, come out here; l want to ask you a question.
lsn't he great? Didn't l tell you, doll?
You told me, Eddie.
What did you want to ask?
Hey, how do you do that with such a big puppet?
Well, it's all in the rigging.
l use counterweights, so the size is no problem.
Well, how big a puppet do you think you can handle?
Oh, l don't know.
Uh, up to 200 pounds, l suppose.
Oh, l got a great idea to liven up your act.
Come here, let me show you what l mean.
Eddie, don't!
Don't go through with this.
Will you shut up and get rid of the fish eggs, huh?
Broads.
Look, um, l just happen to have here
a sensational puppet for you.
l-l don't need a new puppet.
l'm-l'm happy with the one l have.
Yeah, well, wait till you see this one.
Who was that?
That's Fat Paulie, my former business partner.
He died suddenly, of old age... about an hour ago.
Don't treat him that way!
l just gave him new paint.
He chips so easily.
You have to be delicate with him.
He's very sensitive.
This is sick, Eddie.
(dull squish)
l'm getting a creepy feeling.
Why don't you just forget the whole thing, Eddie?
l don't want to forget the whole thing.
From now on, l do exactly what l want.
Everywhere.
Okay, you, start your act again.
Only, this time, l got some new words for you.
Uh, l-l'm an old man.
l... l don't have my reading glasses.
l have to hold everything very far away.
Oh, that's okay. Uh, Nick'll hold 'em for you.
(dull squish)
l been working on these lines in my head for 18 years.
And l'm gonna hear 'em tonight, or my name ain't Eddie Minelli.
l-l... l won't do this.
You'll do what l tell you.
Pick them up.
No.
You got to do it.
Eddie always gets his way.
No.
lt's-lt's okay, Nick.
l'll handle this.
Grab those papers.
So you want some encouragement, huh?
Well... here's some encouragement, okay?
That's more than you ever got for one performance
in your whole life.
And more than you'll ever get again.
l give you my personal guarantee.
(dull squish)
You don't understand.
Puppetry is a very ancient art.
lt's a kind of holy thing.
lt would be a profanation of that art
if l were to do this kind of thing.
lf l were to be a party to this kind of...
obscenity, who can tell what could happen?
The gods of puppetry might desert me.
l... l can't take that risk.
Don't feed me that garbage.
You're just a grown man who plays with dolls.
You think it's easy to do what l do?
To take a piece of wood and make it come alive
just by wiggling it in a certain way?
(chuckles) You try it,
if you think it's so simple!
lt's a gift!
Those who have it--
they touch the strings, and it's magic.
The people laugh, they believe.
They see themselves up there.
Why, you can make them cry.
You can make them stand up and applaud.
You can make them shout, ''Look out behind you!''
That kind of power,
the power to make people feel...
it can disappear just as soon as it came.
You don't know diddly-squat about power.
Power's there for the taking.
You just have to reach out and grab it,
and hold on and don't let go,
or else somebody else will take it away from you.
Power's just like a woman.
lt goes to the strongest man around.
l'm not gonna take this anymore!
l'm going home!
You'll never find a cab.
l'll walk.
Come back here!
Don't take another step.
Door's locked, remember?
And l got the key.
That's right, doll.
Put your behind in that chair,
and don't move again unless l say so.
Hey, Nick!
What's holding things up?
l'm doing the best l can.
The lousy hook keeps coming loose.
Ah, ya dumb jerkle.
Can't you do anything right?
Eh. Use the bullet holes, Nicky.
What do you think they're there for, ventilation?
lf you want anything done right around here,
ya gotta do it yourself.
l appeal to you, in the name of decency...
Okay, pops, let's get on with the show.
l refuse.
lf you want so badly to put on this obscene spectacle,
then do it yourself.
With the help of this half-witted moron here,
but not with Aldo De Calasuro.
You missed the point, pops.
This ain't dealer's choice tonight.
You play by the house rules, or you end up in the toilet.
(laughs) l thought you'd see it my way.
Everybody does, sooner or later.
Ain't that right, Tiff?
TlFFANY: That's right, Eddie.
(crying quietly)
What's the matter with you?
l was just thinking about Paulie.
(sighs)
He was always so nice to me.
He always asked after me.
He sent me flowers on my birthday... every year.
Flowers?
l don't know nothing about flowers.
l threw 'em away before you got home.
l knew you'd be jealous.
So what's the point?
You mean you're crying over a couple of bunches of flowers?
l'm crying about me.
You use people, Eddie.
You use 'em up and you throw 'em away like Kleenex.
l was just thinking about what's gonna happen
when you're through with me.
Got nothing to worry about.
You're fixed for life. You got the condo in your name.
You got the house at the beach, the Rolls-Royce.
So turn off the waterworks, okay?
All right, l'm ready.
Trim the counterweights.
The what?
Pull down on the handle
to lift the puppet up out of its box!
He was always so gentle with me.
Look, Tiffany, l know you used to go with him before me.
Just don't rub it in.
Before, Eddie, not after!
Before, after-- what's the difference?
lt's the same thing. Just don't bring it up.
Not tonight.
lt's a bad time to cross me.
Hey, what's the hang-up back here?
We ain't doin' Gone With the Wind.
Now let's get this show on the road
before the star is too stiff to perform.
-Okay? -Yeah!
Come on.
Go on, put your back into it!
(muffled): lf it's a trick...
(rattling)
(Eddie applauding)
Way to go, Paulie!
Now l got you just where l always wanted you.
(wind whooshing)
l thought you said the door was locked.
lt was, l swear.
lt's Paulie's soul come back.
Shut up! lt's only the wind.
(whispering): Forgive me, please.
Forgive me.
(wind whipping)
(wind howling)
Stupid! The bolt's broke!
Look, grab that piece of wood.
Look, shove it under the door.
Huh.
You should've noticed the bolt was broke.
(exhales)
l swear the door was locked.
The wind must've broke the bolt.
Well, take a hell of a wind to do that.
lt was shut tight.
l tried it myself.
Listen, l don't carry no deadweight on my payroll.
Now, you start using your head
and pay more attention to detail,
or you're gonna end up like Paulie--
on the wrong end of a hook.
What happened?
Eh, the wind blew the door open, that's all.
You mean you forgot to lock the door, dummy.
That was a cold wind, Eddie.
Cold like the grave.
Quit trying to spook me.
lt don't work.
Okay, everybody, it's showtime!
(gentle waltz playing)
♪ l'm your puppet, play with me ♪
♪ Tell me what you want to see ♪
♪ l can move my dancing feet ♪
♪ Though l'm not made out of meat... ♪
l can't do this.
♪ Watch me wiggle ♪
♪ Watch me shake like a hootchy-kootchy snake ♪
♪ l'm your puppet, yes, it's true ♪
♪ l'll do anything you want me to. ♪
(Eddie guffawing)
EDDlE: Terrific!
l love it!
Okay, Paulie,
confession's good for the soul.
So now's your chance.
We got a couple of scores to settle, you and me.
Tell me about them.
l'm, l'm sorry, Eddie.
l never should have took your cut on the Clark Street deal.
Louder! l can't hear you, Paulie!
...of the Clark Street deal!
An-And that time l didn't cut you in
on the crack parlor with Garcia, l was wrong.
An-And when l took over the-the restaurant protection money
from the North Side, that-that was yours.
A-And when you bribed Judge McGuire
for me and l wouldn't split it...
l should've paid the whole thing.
And the South Side prostitution money--
you deserved a cut.
Eh, eh, don't stop!
You're just getting to the best part!
This is private stuff.
l shouldn't be reading this.
Go on.
Tomorrow you won't remember a thing.
l'll see to it myself.
(chuckling)
(weak chuckle)
l-l, l was a pig, Eddie.
l robbed you blind.
And-And that cop you killed for me,
l never even thanked you.
EDDlE: An-And when l told everybody
you was a punk in Joliet, that was a lie.
A-And when l said you'd never amount to anything,
l was wrong.
A-And Tiffany, she's better off with you, Eddie.
You was always better than me,
no matter what she thinks now.
And now l control all your deals.
And all your people are working for me.
And now l control your city council
and the trucking, and the West Side Bank
and the pension funds.
Everything, Paulie.
So what are you gonna do about it now, huh?
l... l... What?
Do it.
(loud smooching)
That's right, Paulie.
That's exactly what l want you to do.
(laughs)
(smooching)
(sighs)
l should have done this years ago, Eddie,
and maybe you would've let me live a little longer.
Or maybe you wouldn't.
'Cause l deserved what l got tonight.
ln spades.
(laughing)
(whooshing)
Hi, folks.
l'm back.
(laughing)
Hello, Tiffany.
(gasps)
Still hanging around with this punk?
You are a punk, Eddie, and you always will be.
Paulie?
Yeah, it's me, little goosey.
Anybody else ever know l called you that?
lt is you!
lt's really you.
Hey! What's going on here?
lt ain't funny.
l didn't do it. lt's not my fault.
l would've had you killed ten years ago,
but she begged me not to.
She didn't want to be left with just one guy.
Go ahead, ask her.
She always needed more than one guy.
Ain't that right, little goosey?
TlFFANY: No! lt's a lie!
Wasn't just me, Eddie.
There was other guys, too.
Don't take my word for it.
Ask Nick if she needs more than one guy.
l didn't do nothin'!
Mayflower Hotel.
August 12.
Room 42.
lt was her idea!
Shut up, you moron!
Nicky, put away the gun.
PAULlE: Watch out, Eddie.
They're gonna kill you. (guffawing)
Eddie, it's not true!
(Paulie laughing, gunfire)
(laughter, gunfire continue)
(laughing)
(laughter stops)
You stupid broad.
l told you not to cross me.
Hey, puppet man.
You had me going there for a minute.
How did you do that?
l didn't do anything.
Come on, the Lagretti brothers set me up.
Nicky told 'em everything l was gonna do.
-But they got to you first. -No!
-l swear! -(Eddie laughs)
Look out behind you.
You ain't gonna fool me with that twice. (laughs)
(gagging)
(squish, crack)
(Eddie screaming)
(sustained screaming)
(screaming fades)
lt's all right.
lt's all over now.
We're going home.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: The dark side is always there.
Waiting for us to enter.
Waiting to enter us.
Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight.