Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
New Year!
Rolled a drunk, huh?
Hey, go roll your own. The streets are full of them.
Come on, divvy up, Tolly.
No dice.
In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty
It was there that I first met sweet Molly Malone
As she rolled her wheelbarrow
Through the streets wide and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, oh
She was a fish monger and it is no wonder
Her mother and father were fish mongers, too
They rolled their wheelbarrows
Through streets that are narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive...
There was a prize given for the world's worst old man,
your father would cop it.
He's learning you to be nothing but a punk like him.
He's learning me how to hustle.
Sure. Dodging truant officers, rolling drunks,
lying to welfare workers.
He's teaching you how to hustle all right,
right into the electric chair.
Sandy?
Yeah? Hold still.
- Sandy? - What is it?
I want to buy him a bottle of bourbon, bonded stuff.
Not from me.
Come on, Sandy. You own this gin mill.
You can do what you want.
No dice.
Then I take my business to another joint.
Go ahead.
Can I wait here for him?
You can wait here with me as long as you like.
You know that, honey.
Here, hold this.
My father told me why you collect these dolls.
How would he know?
He said you can't have kids of your own.
Well, I'm going to wait for him in the alley.
We've got a New Year's date, 12:00.
Wait a minute, Tolly. I've got something for you.
I've been trying to get it to you all week.
I don't trust these characters around here,
so I had to stash it in a real safe place.
Merry Christmas, Tolly.
Well go ahead and open it.
Yeah.
There.
It was a pretty tough break you had, being born in prison
and your mother dying there.
That was Vic Farrar.
Forget it, if you want to live.
Who's the guy?
Why you looking at me like that?
Pa!
I understand, Sandy.
Are you... Are you sure you didn't recognize any of the men?
She didn't see them. I did.
Do you know any of them, son?
I'm no fink.
You want us to get the men who killed your father, don't you?
I don't want no help from you cops.
I'm no cop.
My name is Driscoll. I work for the district attorney.
You still smell cop to me.
I'll get those punks my own way.
You Mrs. Farrar?
Yes.
I'm a friend of Vic's.
- You're a friend of Vic? - Yes, ma'am.
I got something for him.
I'm sorry, shorty, he ain't here.
They slapped him in prison today.
What for?
An old rap.
When'll he come out?
When he's dead.
Hey,
I hear Vic Farrar is in this joint. Is that right?
For life.
Mmm-hmm.
Yeah. Funny I never see him around.
He's been in the hospital for months.
Yeah? What's wrong?
Bum heart.
I used to know Vic when I was a kid.
I think I'll pay him a visit.
Not in this château, you don't.
He's in isolation.
So I get sick.
Not with Doc Meredith, you don't.
Yeah. What'll it cost me?
A pint of red juice.
What?
You mean they got a blood bank in this joint, too?
- Hey, Doc? - Yeah?
How do you get a job in this joint?
Why? So you can get your hands on a little joy powder?
I ain't no junky.
I didn't say you were.
You know, I think I would have made a good doctor,
if I only hadn't tried to make a buck the smart way.
I know you.
Sure I seen you somewhere.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Sure I seen you somewhere.
Save your wind, Farrar.
Give me the chaplain's office, please.
Hello. This is Doctor Meredith.
You'd better look in on Vic Farrar. He's going fast.
Stick close to Farrar. I'll be right with him.
Vic. You're dying, Vic.
You know why you thought you saw me before?
I'm a dead ringer for my father, Tom Devlin.
Devlin?
Yeah.
You beat him to death that night. You and your three pals.
You remember, Vic?
Forgive me.
Forgive you?
I've gotta die with a clean slate.
Who were the other guys?
I'm no fink.
You want to meet your maker with a clean slate, don't you?
Yeah, yeah, I got to.
Well, you're gonna meet him in a couple of minutes.
Now you tell me who the other guys were, and I'll forgive you.
And you'll meet your maker with a clean card.
Promise?
Sure, I promise.
Who were they, Vic? Who were they?
- Gela. - Gela, yeah?
Gunther.
Yeah, yeah, yeah?
Smith.
Gela, Gunther, Smith.
So long, Vic.
Don't do this to me. Please, you promised.
Forgive me, forgive me!
Fink!
What are you so happy about, meathead?
Tolly!
Oh, my baby.
How are you, Duchess?
I'm just great. Just great.
I didn't expect you here for an hour.
I'd have died rather than have you see me
in this deshabille and the coiffure.
Yeah.
So why didn't you write me you've been sick?
Oh.
I'm in the pink of condition now that you're here.
- Yeah? - See that?
Hey, back up. Back up.
Well, well, well.
What?
Where did you steal the horse blanket?
What do you mean, "steal it"? I made it in the pen.
- You what? - Sure. Helps rehabilitate us.
Oh.
But the tie stinks.
Well, I didn't make that.
Wait a minute, I got something for you.
Here, look.
Oops. Polka dots. Your favorite.
Polka dots.
Hey, who's tending your gin mill?
I sold it.
Yeah? You get a good price?
I had to take what Gela offered.
Did you say Gela?
That's what I said.
Yeah, it must be some other guy with the same name, I guess.
No. There's only one Mr. Gela, the dope king.
Hey, you know, they're... They're using coffee joints as fronts now.
That's what my old bar is right now, a coffee house.
- No kidding? - On the level.
What characters! You know what they do?
They just sit around and just drink coffee.
Coffee.
But they still call it the Elite.
The Elite Expresso or Espresso.
Or whatever it is, but it's still the Elite.
Remember that guy from the D. A.'s office? Driscoll?
Uh-huh.
Yeah, he tried to question you that night in the alley.
You know, when you were a kid?
Yeah, I remember Driscoll.
Now, how about you?
What?
Well, have you got anything in mind in the way of a job?
A job?
Yeah, job. It's a word.
Meaning work. You know, legitimate work.
Yeah, I got a job.
Look, if you tell me you're going to bust another safe,
I'll kick you right out of this house, so help me.
No, nothing like that.
That's what I wanted to hear.
For five years, I lost you in prison.
And for five years I've been praying that you learned a lesson,
and you finally did.
Yeah, yeah, I learned a lesson.
I learned plenty.
What do you mean?
I learned who killed my father.
I finally caught up with Vic Farrar.
Did you kill him?
Didn't have to.
He died in a prison hospital asking me to forgive him.
And he named names.
You wanna know who they were?
- No. - Yeah.
No, I don't wanna know. I don't wanna know.
There! There they are.
That's my job.
Gela, Gunther, Smith. Those are the three punks I'm gonna get.
Punks? You call them punks?
Why, they're better guarded than the President of the United States
and you're gonna get them?
Oh, stop the crazy talk, man.
Tolly, I know it's been like a disease
with you since you were a kid,
but you're a grown-up man now. Act like it.
Don't eat your heart out with hate and revenge.
Look at you.
Thirty-two years old and what have you done with your life? Nothing.
One year in one prison, two years in another, the last rap, five years.
But you're only on this earth once, so take advantage of it.
Enjoy it, live it.
All I need is one break
to get to Gela.
Yeah. And Gela uses your saloon to stash his dope, huh?
Who knows? Could be.
Hello. Is Mr. Gela there?
You'd better get word to Mr. Gela the girl backed down.
She wouldn't make the pickup.
Yeah, she's still here with me.
The key? I'll leave it on the shelf in the closet for you.
What about the girl?
Cuddles.
Cuddles!
Did...
Did he... Did he get sore?
Give me the key, baby.
Yeah, in here. Sure. Sure.
Here.
Did he get sore?
Gee, I'd rather be dead than handle that stuff.
I mean, do you know what I mean?
I went there, and when I got halfway there,
I couldn't. I...
Hey! Hey, I'll pick it up.
I'm gonna miss you, baby.
Call him and tell him I'll pick it up, and I'll deliver it.
Call him and tell him.
Come.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
Hey! Hey, I'm beat. I'm beat.
Come on, come on.
Who are you?
Narcotics.
I never pushed any of that stuff.
Yeah?
I'll tell the department to give you a soft knock if you cooperate.
Honest, I don't know enough to make a trade with the law.
You know where that fits, don't you?
This stuff uncut?
Hey, I need a doc.
What's the name of that guy I clobbered?
Give me a break. Don't push me for names.
That's where it hurts.
What place is this?
It's all right, lady, you're among friends.
Why didn't you take me to headquarters?
Well, it may not be safe there.
Well, your lover might have a pipeline to the police.
He's not my lover.
If he's not your lover, who is he?
Hey, look, I don't want no more trouble.
I done you a favor, you do me a favor.
What's his name?
Gus.
Gus what? Come on!
Cottahee.
What's his phone number?
Wilton.
- Four. - Four.
- Five. - Five. Yeah?
- Five. - Five.
- One. - One. Yeah.
- Nine. - Nine.
Thanks, Cuddles. Thanks.
I brought some warm milk. It's better than black coffee.
Here, drink this.
Who are you?
Sandy.
Thanks for letting me stay here.
Huh?
That's all right.
He's nice, for a cop.
For a what?
I'll fix up the couch for you.
Don't bother. I'm going out.
Where you going?
Look, let's have a little dose of straight talk
right now, shall we?
That Cuddles character.
Who and what?
She got in a jam.
- And you helped her out of it. - That's right.
Uh-huh.
It's the first time you ever stuck your neck out for anybody.
Well, you know me, I got a big heart.
Who is she?
Just a broad.
You're telling me.
And why did you bring her here?
It helped swing weight to fix things up.
Why did you tell her you were a cop?
I told you, it helped swing weight to fix things up.
What things?
She didn't want to make a junk pickup.
Where did all this happen?
In a back room of the Elite Espresso where they all they do
is sit around and just drink coffee.
You never handled a gun in your life.
That's right.
Then what's this box of bullets doing here?
Hello, Gus?
Yeah. Who is this?
Gus, I'll sell you back that box of bullets.
What are you talking about?
Meet me in the alley at Elite Espresso in one hour.
Hey, who is this?
Come alone and bring 50 grand cash.
50 grand...
Hey, listen, I can't...
Asking for dough like that has got to get me to Gela.
Hold it, Gus.
What'd you coldcock me with?
The phone. Where is the dough?
You hung up on me before I could tell you
that amount's tough to get this time of night.
When can you get it?
Tomorrow.
I'll call you noon sharp.
Now blow.
All right, where's the package?
A bullet won't buy that cartridge box.
I file faces and yours is familiar.
Yeah, well, I've been around.
You say you're a peteman?
Yeah, that's my trade, yeah.
Prove it.
You heard the girl tell Gus she wouldn't make the pickup.
Yeah, that's right.
So you hit Gus and took the key.
Yeah.
How'd you get her to take you to the sports shop?
Told her I was on the vice squad.
She bought that?
Yeah. Well, I had to rough her up a little bit.
Where is she now?
Who knows? Check the hospitals.
My talking stopping you from concentrating?
Yeah.
But not on this old box.
I've known this hole since I was a kid.
Close it.
So now you know I'm a peteman. What about the dough?
Gunther? Penny-ante stuff here.
Smith still there?
Yeah, he's still here.
We could've had this meeting at my place, you know.
Or mine.
Yeah. I'm leaving right now.
It's okay with him, Gus.
Take care of the transfer.
Mr. Gela, I'm sorry I called you away from your meeting.
For 50 grand, you didn't have to bother me.
Mr. Gela.
I didn't know that package belonged to you.
So now you know.
Yeah, now I know and the deal is off.
Now don't push your luck.
I may be a sentimental meathead,
but this time, this package on the house.
On the house?
Why on the house?
Tom Devlin.
Who?
Tom Devlin.
He was my father.
I'm Tolly Devlin.
Devlin? Devlin. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You used to work with him in the '30s, right?
Now I know why you look so familiar. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I used to work with him. I used to work with him.
You and him was like brothers,
till my old man got bumped off.
Who told you we were like brothers?
Vic Farrar. I met him in a prison hospital.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's from the old days, too.
Mr. Gela, you know them four gunsels that bumped my father off?
Yeah?
They got paid off.
Burned to death in a car wreck.
Who told you that?
Vic died in my arms in a hospital.
I ain't taking no package from you.
You trying to tell me that you're dumping 50 grand
just because of sentiment?
It would be like tapping my own father.
Hello.
It worked.
I scored with Gela.
Now keep that broad in the house. She's hot.
Tolly! Tolly, wait a minute!
Tolly! Tolly!
Tolly!
What do you mean, he's no cop?
He's a thief, and he just got out of prison.
He used me to get his hands on that stuff, didn't he?
Yes.
Well, I don't care.
He saved my life.
He thinks his old man and I were blood brothers.
So I put him on for a fast 75 a week as a numbers collector.
Relax, relax, he's loaded with loyalty.
Anyway, I'm running a check on him.
The name Devlin still rubs me the wrong way.
Well, I'm a sentimental slob
when it comes to loving a parent.
I wish my kid felt about me the way Tolly feels about his old man.
Hey, what's this?
What?
This report on the police chief. What is this?
Oh.
Chief Fowler.
He wants me to lay off my houses for a few months.
Why?
He thinks someone in our camp
is selling him out to Driscoll.
Well, what are you paying him?
5,000 a week.
That's a fat bonus for a police chief.
That's more than I grease my union lobbygows.
He's worth it. We're clocking 100,000 a week
in girls, numbers and distribution.
Five grand's a bargain.
Yeah, yeah, but maybe he's using Driscoll as an alibi.
He's been trying to get out for months. You know that.
No, I don't think so. Look, he's very close to his family.
He's worried stiff about that daughter of his.
Besides, I warned him he'd be putting her head on the block
if he even tried to think of crossing us.
The syndicate bosses in the field command the rackets
like generals in the field command divisions.
And lording it over the syndicate wheels
is the top brass,
the underworld's combined chiefs of staff.
Each chief commands a specific department.
Gela, narcotics. Gunther, labor.
Smith, prostitution, and so on.
They all have substantial business fronts,
pay taxes, wear respectable suits.
Lording it over all of them is Earl Connors,
their chief of staff,
shrewd, warm, charitable,
an animal.
He arbitrates the disputes between the syndicate bosses,
pulls national strings,
and controls gangdom from their headquarters at National Projects,
a building only 20 minutes away from us,
a beehive of concealed activity
with a legitimate business facade,
from the basement to the penthouse executive offices.
Now,
the most vicious increase in vice
is the teenage dope addict
and the recruitment of school girls
into the ranks of prostitution.
They're using coffee houses and soda shops as fronts.
The underworld is reaching the young people of this country.
Our job is to get people to prosecute.
Getting anybody to talk is tough. Families of informers
have been butchered, burned, bludgeoned to death.
However, we have found a man who is not afraid.
He's called Menkin.
He works as a bookkeeper for National Projects, and he has agreed
to bring me evidence that Earl Connors
is paying Police Chief Fowler
$5,000 a week bribery to permit local traffic in dope and girls.
Connie, we've always leveled with each other.
I'm washed up.
What are you talking about?
I've been on the take. I've been getting $5,000 a week
for turning my back on dope traffic and prostitution.
I'm sorry, Connie.
I haven't got the stomach to face your mother.
You'll have to. I'm not going to tell her.
I don't know what you did with all that money,
but you're gonna have to tell her this yourself.
Those lectures you gave the rookies every year,
telling them that the lowest crook in the world
is a crooked cop.
Why did you do it? Why?
Because they threatened to chop your mother in a meat grinder
and send the pieces to me in a basket, that's why!
You're alive. That's all that counts to me.
You and Mother are alive.
Where are you taking him?
To the Federal Building, Connie.
Come on, Dad. Let's go.
Tell Mother I'll be down in a minute.
We'll be waiting downstairs, Mr. Driscoll.
I wish I had a daughter with her guts.
You tell your story to the world, Bill,
and a lot of frightened witnesses
are gonna crawl out from under their rocks.
Are you crazy?
Ten minutes before you get me on the stand, they'll chop her.
I know how they operate, and so do you.
No, John,
my family's dead while I'm alive.
God forgive me.
Bill!
- Devlin. - Who?
Tolly Devlin.
From here on, when you make a pickup,
bring the money here immediately.
- What? After each one? - Yeah.
We can't have our collectors walking around with a big bundle.
It's always an invite to lone-wolf hijackers.
Yeah.
What are you worried about? I got Gus with me.
Uh-uh. I've been making the rounds with you,
so the customers could get to know you.
Now you make your pickups alone.
Devlin, here's tomorrow's route.
Gus, Mr. Gela's looking for you.
Come on, I'll give you a cook's tour
of how the higher echelon works, upstairs.
Hey, what do you got? A swimming pool down there?
Yeah.
- On a roof? - Sure.
Well, let's take a swim.
Nope, it's just for the big wheels and underprivileged kids.
Once every week, National Projects turns it over to them
and every month there's a swim meet.
Well, Tolly.
Mr. Gela.
I haven't seen you all week.
- Getting along okay? - Well, yeah.
They've been keeping me on the run, you know.
Hey, that's a nice suit you got.
Gus's tailor.
Hey, that bookkeeper that dropped out of circulation?
Menkin?
Yeah, Mr. Menkin. Find him.
See you, boys.
And as I was saying, the Chamber of Commerce
gave us a plaque for sponsoring youth clubs.
I even acted as lifeguard for the kids one day.
I liked that.
Menkin's got to be the man.
He was the only one who paid the chief every week personally.
What about his family?
Not a trace.
I just gave Gus the assignment.
Send for the boys.
Ask Smith and Gunther to come to the pool.
I've been on the phone to at least nine cities in the past hour.
About Driscoll?
No, they know he's my headache.
They're disappointed in your figures.
I'm stretching the rubber band from coast to coast.
I want to hear it snap.
Now there are at least 13 million kids in this country
between the ages of 10 and 15.
Don't tell me the end of a needle has a conscience.
Put more field men to work around the schools.
Mr. Gunther.
The mister means trouble.
Real trouble.
The coast wants to know why you haven't
made any headway with the longshoremen.
Strong arm isn't helping the teamster situation.
It's the unions themselves. The locals are kicking our men out of office.
Hello, Smith.
Everybody's asking me about Driscoll.
Think he's got a pipeline to the girls?
We don't know yet, but what we do know
is that you showed a loss last month.
Saint Louis, Chicago, San Francisco, all showed drops.
Let's have another drink.
Think I like sitting on you like this?
I hate it, but it's got to be done.
But we won't stay big if we lose our grip.
Well, there'll always be people like Driscoll,
and there'll always be people like us.
As long as we don't have any record on paper,
as long as we run National Projects,
legitimate business operations
and pay our taxes on legitimate income
and donate to charities and run church bazaars,
we'll win the war. We always have.
Hello, Jenny.
Remember me?
Boy, this is a nice bike.
You're Jenny Menkin, aren't you?
Yes. How did you know my name?
I'm a friend of your daddy's.
Say, you haven't seen him today, have you?
No. He went away on important business, Mommy says.
He went away on business. Do you know where he went?
No.
Say, would you like some gum?
Uh-huh.
Go on, take it. It's all right.
I'm not a stranger. I'm a friend of your daddy's.
Thank you. Bye-bye.
Yes?
This is Gus.
I couldn't find Mr. Menkin,
but his wife and two kids are living with his cousin.
I just got through talking with his little girl.
Well, the only way to keep Mr. Menkin's mouth shut
is to teach him a lesson.
Get rid of that kid.
Bye-bye, mister.
Jenny! Jenny!
There you are. How about that? That's for you.
And I got a little something here for Cuddles.
There. There. How's that?
Hey. How is the muffin anyway?
She's gone.
- Gone? What do you mean, gone? - Out.
- Out where? - Who knows?
Well, why didn't you stop her?
I did try to stop her.
Did you ever try to grab a handful of dynamite?
Anyway, she called a little while ago and said she'd call back
and then hung up. Asked for you.
Why did she leave?
She got lonely.
Lonely? What do you mean, "lonely"?
She got a problem, so she got drunk.
Problem. Everybody's got a problem. What kind of a problem?
Yeah? Wait a minute, honey.
Yeah?
The park, the park where lovers park.
Where are you?
I got tired of wearing one dress,
and I went back to my joint to pick up some of my gowns.
Where are you?
Ace Bar.
But I'll meet you in the park.
Listen, you stupid little broad, you get over here...
What are you? Nuts?
Going back to your house like that, for Pete's sake.
Well, now, why don't you suck on some ice? Sober you up.
That's that. Come on.
Don't pull me, or I'll call the cop.
I know, I'm drunk.
But my brain's okay,
clear as ice.
Now, nobody saw me in that bar. Will you quit worrying?
Sandy told me what's eating you.
I... I once saw a movie like that,
all about revenge, ex-con's revenge.
Very touching. Close to home, huh?
Only he was smart.
Not like you. You're not smart.
You know why you're not smart, Tolly?
'Cause the day's gonna come when you want out
and the only way you're gonna get off their payroll
is on a nice, big, cold, marble slab.
You know how I know? 'Cause I got one waiting for me.
Yeah.
You think Gus was gonna polish me off
just 'cause I didn't pick up that package?
Uh-uh.
I know too much. I know names and things.
Like, for instance, I saw...
I saw Mr. Smith kill a dame.
She was a hustler.
Who was the broad?
Yeah, Tolly. I saw too much.
And that old Gus, he would have killed me if it hadn't been for you.
Sandy told me all about your old man,
how he was a nothing, a real nothing,
but to you, he was like a god.
You must have an awful lot of love in you.
Isn't there a story about a guy
all alone in a desert for years and years and then he meets an ocean?
I sure like the way you kiss.
What was the name of that broad?
What broad?
The broad that Smith got rid of?
Huh?
The broad that Smith got rid of.
Oh, brother, I really ran off at the mouth, didn't I?
Well, your story's on the level, wasn't it?
Yeah. Yeah, it was.
There's a federal man named Driscoll.
So?
So he'll get rid of Mr. Smith for good.
Is he one of the wheels who killed your old man?
That's right.
And you want me to walk the plank so you can even the score?
Mr. Driscoll will protect you like you was his own mother.
If I'm gonna have my head blown off,
it's not gonna be because you're on a revenge kick.
The last few years it seemed like
somebody else was working the house,
like it was another person, not me.
I sure... I sure like the way you kiss.
What was the name of that broad again?
He's got a wife and another child.
Their lives won't be worth two cents if Connors finds them.
Everybody on the police force
is trying to locate the Menkin family.
If only he'd try to contact us.
He evidently has no idea that they'd be safer with us
than wherever they're hiding.
With the murder of that child,
it's gonna be impossible for any of our leads to testify now.
- Yeah? - Let me talk to Driscoll.
This is Driscoll.
Hello, Mr. Driscoll. This is Tolly Devlin.
- Who? - Tolly Devlin.
Tolly who?
Tolly Devlin. Don't you remember me?
No.
My old man was beaten to death in the alley
behind Sandy's gin mill, about 20 years ago.
You remember that? I think you were with the D. A.'s office then.
Yeah.
I was the kid who wouldn't fink.
I told you I'd get those punks
in my own way, don't you remember?
Sure, I remember.
You were the kid who jumped on that morgue wagon,
the kid who wouldn't fink.
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, I've often wondered what happened to you.
Well, I'm still around.
Yeah, you said you were gonna find the men who killed your father.
Yeah, I remember, all right.
Did you ever get a lead on any of them?
Yeah. One of them was Smith,
the big wheel in prostitution.
Give me that again.
Mr. Driscoll, I know a girl who was eyewitness
to Smith knocking off a broad.
Will she testify?
That's why I'm calling you.
Well, bring her right over to my office.
No. You got to come here.
Well, where are you?
Yes, Smith shot Francie twice.
You were an eyewitness.
Well, yeah, that's what I just told you.
What prompted you to contact me?
You don't think I'd stick my neck out
just to see Smith burn, do you?
I did it for Tolly.
Would you please sign all three copies?
Yes, sir.
Now get out a murder warrant right away for Smith's arrest.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for your courage.
There aren't many citizens who will run this risk for society.
Sucker.
I want all of you to send out a dragnet for her
throughout the country.
I want every syndicate on the lookout for that girl.
What about those lawyers on Driscoll's staff?
Maybe we can reach one. You know, make a deal.
You can't trust any of them.
If there is any additional evidence, we got to get it,
even if we have to break into his files.
Gela's working on that already.
Will you get that?
Yeah. It's Gela.
Well, maybe he's made a contact.
Hello.
I got a man who will crack Driscoll's safe.
Good.
I suggest for the present
that we keep it strictly to ourselves, huh?
I agree.
Well, Tolly, if you come up with the reports we want,
it will mean an additional $1,000 for you.
Yeah.
Well, it ain't just the money, Mr. Gela.
I mean, you know, I can get 1,000 years for cracking
that government safe, you know.
But I'd like a future with your organization.
Well, I don't know, I kind of always wanted some kind of security.
That's the spirit I like. Don't let anything interfere with him.
Is he gonna tag along?
What's that?
No, nothing personal with Gus.
It's just that when I operate,
I like to operate alone, you know.
I... Well, that way I can... I can...
Concentrate?
Yeah, concentrate.
That's understandable.
Leave him alone.
Thank you, Mr. Gela.
But stick close to him.
I arranged for the guards to be off-duty tonight, all except one man.
Was your friend Gus suspicious?
No, no, no. He...
You didn't make much sense when you phoned me tonight about this job.
Did you say Gela hired you to crack my safe?
Yeah, that's right.
Listen, I've been thinking of something.
- I got an idea. - Yeah?
Remember what you said to Cuddles about getting...
- Cuddles? - Yeah, Cuddles.
The broad that's gonna sing on Smith.
You said something to her about
getting a dogfight started between the bosses.
Yeah?
What about giving me a bone to take to Gela?
You mean a phony report?
Why not?
Joseph Wilhelm Gunther...
...facts to be turned over
to committee Monday.
When you turn these reports over to Gela,
I'm counting on all hell breaking loose
against Gunther and his racket bosses.
"US District Attorney Report, file 5866. Confidential."
"Thursday, 11:00 p. m.
"Gunther agrees to deliver narcotics data in exchange for limited immunity.
"Facts to be turned over to a committee Monday."
That's the day after tomorrow.
I still can't believe it.
I thought you got a tail on Driscoll.
I have, but he must have lost it.
Mr. Gunther, please. Yes, I'll hold on. Thank you.
Your man, what's his name?
Tolly. Tolly Devlin.
Did a good job.
- Tolly. - Yes, sir?
Put this back in Driscoll's safe. Take Gus' car.
Yes, sir.
You come with me.
Gunther? Connors. Come over to my house right away.
You work with a man for 30 years,
you know him for 30 years,
it doesn't mean a thing.
My closest sidekick, ready to sell me out.
What happened? What's the matter?
Why the SOS this time of the night?
If I hadn't seen the proof with my own eyes,
I'd never have believed it.
What proof? What are you talking about?
I'm talking about the fat bulk of double-crossing blubber
who made a deal to save his own fat skin.
You must be crazy.
Give me a light.
Come here. Come here, turn around.
Turn around. Sit over there.
Well?
I'm gonna set you up in an apartment.
Why?
'Cause you stuck your neck out for me, that's why.
I wouldn't be kept by you if you gave me $1 million.
Wait a minute, honey.
I don't mean walk the streets or work a house.
I'm talking about giving you a break. I'm gonna set you up...
You know what you can do with that break?
Wait a minute.
Hey, you are a mixed-up broad.
All right, I'm a mixed-up broad. So what?
So don't fly off the handle when somebody's trying to do something for you.
Do something for me? Do what?
You don't have to con me. I made my pitch, you didn't buy it.
How do you know what's inside me?
'Cause I know what's wrong with you.
And I don't care. You hear me?
I don't care. I know.
The day will come when you won't get your kicks from me anymore,
and you'll want to go out and get yourself a new...
That was kind of a low blow. I'm sorry.
You like your way of turning a buck.
I was wrong needling you.
No, no. You're right.
All my life it's been near misses with every guy,
until I met you.
You're more than that now.
Now I know something I never thought I'd know.
We got a right to climb out of the sewer and live like other people.
We could start from scratch,
make every minute count twice for the one we lost.
I want your kids.
What?
We could quit our way of turning a buck.
I want your kids, Tolly.
I want you for my...
My husband.
You must be on the needle.
Marry you?
No woman can tell the whole truth about herself to a man,
but that broad did.
What is this with marriage and kids?
Are you kidding? With her? Come on, for...
Why don't you take a good look at yourself?
Look, Sandy, don't start. Don't...
What do you see? A doctor? A scientist? A businessman?
You see a scar-faced ex-con, a two-bit safecracker,
a petty thief who don't know when he really made the big time.
Where do you come off to blast her?
No matter what she's been, what she's done,
she's a giant.
And you want to know why? Well, I'll tell you.
Because she sees something in you worth saving.
If only one-tenth of one percent
of all the good in her could rub off on you,
you'd be a giant, too.
But you're a midget, in your head, in your heart,
in your whole makeup, you're a midget.
I never felt like this before.
How do you feel, Cuddles?
Well,
some women, when they kiss, blush,
some call the cops,
some swear, some bite, some laugh, some cry.
Me?
I die. Die.
I die inside when you kiss me.
Connors wants me to deliver any reports to him first, not to let Gela know.
Good.
Now there's no one he can trust.
Are they ready?
No.
For the next few nights, tell him you found nothing in my safe.
What?
Make him sweat.
Yeah, but we ought to get Gela as soon as possible.
We'll get him. We'll get him.
I got to figure out a different angle.
Repeating the same frame-up so soon might make him suspicious.
You see what I mean?
Yeah, leave it to Uncle Sam.
Meeting...
Meeting with Gela.
Yeah, meeting with Gela.
"Confidential from Driscoll.
"Wednesday, 2:00 a. m., meeting with Gela.
"Saturday, 10:00 p. m., meeting with Gela.
"Sunday, 4:00 p. m., meeting with Gela. Monday meeting with Gela."
You brought this report directly to me first, is that right?
Yes, sir.
You say your name is Tolly?
That's right.
Tolly Devlin, sir.
Good work, Tolly.
Put this back in Driscoll's safe.
Tell Barney to tail Gela around the clock.
And make sure he personally gives me
an hour-to-hour report on Gela.
Well, maybe he was too drunk to know what he was saying.
What did he say?
I'm at the pool, all right. Gela's in the pool with one of his punks.
You got the picture?
Gela's in the pool with one of his punks.
No, not in the pool. He's too drunk to be in the pool,
- but he's at the pool. - All right.
- Gela's at the pool. - Yeah.
I hear him say to this punk that if he thought
he could get a short sentence,
he'd make a deal with you as long as nobody knew he did the singing.
- Gela said that? - That's what I heard him say.
Call off your cannibals. I won't bruise you, not here.
Relax, Danny.
Okay, Mr. Gela.
What are you prowling around here for?
I wanted you to know I understand your feelings.
Now get out of here.
I've got to be sure.
When I drove past him, my lights picked up his face.
It was big as life, close to my car.
That guy was Driscoll, all right.
Find Gus and send him here.
You want me to keep on Gela's tail tonight?
No, it won't be necessary.
I just got your note. What's up?
Phone Gela at home right now.
Tell him you got some reports out of Driscoll's safe.
He'll ask you to bring them over right away.
It's about 11:00 now. He'll expect you at 11:30.
Only you won't be there. I'll be there for you.
Yeah?
Mr. Gela, this is Tolly.
Hello, Tolly.
Good, good. Bring them right over.
Take you about a half hour. I'll let you in myself.
You got the reports for me?
Mr. Gela, when I was a kid, I seen a messy thing.
I seen four shadows on a wall kill a guy.
You know, I never could rub that out of my mind,
'cause the guy was my old man.
Huh?
That's right.
You know, it took me 20 years
to find the faces of them shadows, but I found them.
The first guy, he conked out at a hospital, asking me to forgive him.
Vic Farrar.
The second one, he's getting the chair. Smith.
The third one, he got barbecued. Gunther.
There's one punk left, Mr. Gela. That's you.
You wrap up the package.
- That's Gus. - No.
I set you up for a hit.
It's the only way I could even up.
What's the matter, don't you pay the light bills around here?
How you doing?
You're not the only one with ideas, you know.
I got ideas, too.
You made your point.
Quitting our way of turning a buck, I buy.
But I don't buy the lawn. I got to have a partner.
Like Sandy said, the only good partnership is between a man and wife.
What are you getting at, Tolly?
I want you to be my wife and all,
everything that goes with it.
There's a man outside that wants to see you. His name is Tolly Devlin.
He's here?
He wants to see you alone.
Well, tell him to come on in.
All right, everybody, let's take a 10-minute break.
Hello, Mr. Driscoll.
I stopped by your house. They told me you were working late.
Are you crazy? What are you doing here?
Gela's dead.
- Did you kill him? - No.
Who did?
How do you know he's dead?
He's dead.
And you set him up, didn't you?
What difference does that make?
Mr. Driscoll, it's been a good partnership,
but with Gela on ice, that wraps it up, and you're on your own.
Come on, our job isn't finished yet.
Mine is.
Tolly, you've got a perfect pipeline to Connors.
Connors. What do I care about Connors?
That's your headache.
Well, what are you going to do now?
I'm going to get married.
I'm going to get married, and I'm going to dump my trade.
What about Connors?
I'm going to dump him, too.
I'm going to start from scratch, me and my broad.
Oh.
What? Don't you think I can turn a buck the right way?
Of course you can, and I'll help you get started,
but right now, don't run out on me, Tolly, until we get Connors.
You got cops, you use them, all right?
You can't quit him, not while he's top butcher, and you know it.
I know one thing, I'm getting out of this.
He'll never buy it.
Tolly, you'll never be able to start from scratch
unless you help us put Connors out of the way.
He'll buy it.
I'll tell him I'm hot, he'll tell me to get lost.
Then tell your bride to wear black.
Yeah?
Come over here.
And please, please hurry.
Yeah. Right after I see Connors.
Listen to me.
The best time to check out is right now.
He's always relaxed when he's in the pool.
You got to listen to me.
Love you, doll.
Tolly. Tolly.
What's up?
Here. That's for you. I got my own.
What's this for?
You know that bookkeeper Menkin who bribed the police chief?
Yeah.
His kid was killed by a hit-and-run.
Yeah, I read about it.
I ran her down.
I just found out where he's holed up.
So what's the gun for?
Connors wants me to break you in and see how you operate.
We're going to wipe out Menkin, his wife and his other kid.
And Cuddles.
Mr. Connors tells me she's the broad that sang on Smith.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Driscoll's got her stashed away somewhere,
but she'll get it like Gunther got it, like Gela got it.
A man like Connors, everything goes.
After these hits, there won't be a rubber lip
left in the country who'll sing to Driscoll.
And if you show any professional ability tonight,
Mr. Connors may give you the crack to polish off Cuddles.
Who knows? Let's go.
That's Connors's car and Gus's car right behind it.
We're crazy to be in this neighborhood.
Hello, Tolly.
Hello, Barney.
Hello, Mr. Connors.
Hi, Tolly. Didn't Gus reach you?
What's the matter with you?
Barney!
Maybe he's already up there.
- Tolly! - Cuddles, wait!
- Tolly! Tolly! - Cuddles, wait, don't be a fool!
- Tolly! - Cuddles!
Tolly!
If they find you here, they'll kill you, too.
You've got a job to do.
You got to sing on Smith.
I don't care about Smith.
You've got to finish the job for Tolly, or he died for nothing.
Come on.