All language subtitles for Lou Grant s01e10 Psych-Out

Something here about a work slowdown at
the mental hospital out in Lakeside. You

want to send Billy?

No, she's in court on that obscenity
thing.

No kidding.

What'd she do?

Covering that clean up the smut campaign
out in the valley. Rossi! Oh, yeah,

that's the group that wants to censor
plays out there.

They're the ones who wanted to put
jockey shorts on the chimps at the zoo.

Yeah, but now this bunch has enough
clout to get an injunction against the

theater. Stop them from putting on
plays.

Check this Lakeside work slowdown.

Yeah, I liked your piece this morning on
the Wilderness Survival School. Very

good. Yes, it was. It was very
informative.

Yeah, it was, wasn't it? Maybe we should
do a follow -up, something with tips on

survival, how not to get lost in the
woods.

How to work the ice machine at the
motel, or maybe what to do if the TV in

room doesn't work.

What are you getting on me, Lou?
Everybody liked the piece. Didn't you

was good?

It was a good piece, but you didn't
really get involved in it.

What do you want? I flew all the way to
Utah.

I interviewed everybody I could.

You didn't take the course yourself.

Your piece didn't have the smell of the
forest.

You didn't make the reader taste dirt in
his morning orange juice.

I did.

Of course, our dishwasher's broken.

When I was a reporter, I really tried to
get into my subject. Charlie, too.

You remember Charlie on the Detroit Free
Press when you did that piece on the

county jail?

Oh, yeah.

I dressed in old clothes. I drank about
two quarts of muscatel. I passed out at

downtown sidewalks so the cops had to
pick me up.

Of course, sometimes I did that just for
a vacation.

Yeah, that's true.

Yeah, but look, I've got insomnia, you
know. It's hard enough trying to sleep

a civilized bed. I would have been
hopeless out in the woods.

And I couldn't have written the story.

Besides, you don't have to get launched
from a missile silo to write about

ICBMs. Don't tempt me.

A little rough on him. More to know.

Yeah, I'm rough on him. He's a first
-rate reporter.

He could be really terrific one of these
days. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.

Okay, people, let's keep those signs up
nice and high where they can be seen.

That's it. Keep the circle moving.

What's the dispute about? Pay raises?

Who are you guys, anyway?

Psychiatric technicians.

Who are you?

Joe Rossi.

Trip. Oh, the press. Great. You're part
of the problem. How's that?

Well, it makes great stories, doesn't
it? How we mistreat patients.

Stories like that come out. They fire a
couple of psych techs. The public thinks

they've solved the problem.

We're tired of being scapegoats for what
goes on inside, and that's why we're

protesting. You will admit there have
been some abuses, though.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, listen, most of
us care a lot more about those patients

than some of the doctors and nurses
doing a hell of a lot more than those.

bureaucrats in Sacramento, and for lousy
pay, too. Can I quote you on that?

What's your name, please?

Why don't you just get out of here?

Because I'm not finished.

Oh, yeah, you're finished. Bert, Sam, I
got a nosy reporter over here. Oh, gee,

I'd like to stay and chat, but I got a
deadline to meet.

Your Honor, we can't attempt to assess
the community standards on what

constitutes offensive language.

and bandied at possibly offensive words
about in the courtroom.

Therefore, we've made up a list,
numbering the words in question to which

parties can refer.

If all parties concur, the court will
accept this list as a list of reference.

I feel naked without my camera. Shh,
don't say words like that. I hate

in front of these people.

What is this word?

Number nine.

That's roughly the same as 14, Your
Honor.

Oh.

Really? I'm not offended by six through
eleven.

Number twelve here.

Then, Mrs. Belden, you do find number
twelve offensive.

Well, it's just I didn't know anyone
would do or even could.

And the other words?

Thirteen. Well, I guess I've heard my
kids say thirteen.

Would they be saying 13 if we had more
controls in this community?

It's this decadent new math.

Please, continue.

I don't know what 14 is.

It's roughly the same as number 9.

What's this?

They numbered the nasty words in court.
You can't tell the profanity without a

scorecard.

You don't know all these words, do you?

Most of them. And if I don't know one,
I'm sure I can find someone around here

who would be glad to fill me in.

This is terrific.

Some of these words were used in the
play that the theater group wanted to

on. Something is legally obscene only if
it offends the standards of the

community. So they had to find a way to
show these words to the community to see

if they were offended without offending
them.

Actually, if every home in the country
had this list, it would make printing a

newspaper a lot easier. I mean, we could
just print the numbers. We wouldn't

have to resort to ridiculous euphemisms
like... Why nard epithet? Anglo

-Saxonism. Racy language?

Anatomical reference.

I don't see anything dirty about the
human body.

Unless it happens to be yours.

Hello?

Is this Joe Rossi?

Do you know what time it is? It's three
in the morning. I wasn't sleeping

because I can't sleep, but if I'd been
sleeping, it would have woke me up. Get

off the story.

What are you talking about?

You know what I'm talking about,
Lakeside.

The other places. We know you're poking
around, but you're not going to find

anything anyway.

Uh -huh.

Who did you say you were?

He just said, get off the story, that's
all.

What did you find out at Lakeside?

Not much. There was a dispute about some
guys being fired.

It seems that the mere mention of the
word press is like waving a red flag in

front of these guys. You figure that
they were the ones who called you last

night?

I don't know. I don't know.

But whenever anybody tells me to get off
a story, I figure it's time for me to

get on.

Good. And I assume you won't research
this one from a motel room across the

street.

Do you think I'm a pretty good reporter?

Yes.

Do you think I lack sensitivity?

Yes.

Let me get this straight.

Do you think that it's that I don't get
personally involved enough in my stories

or that they lack a degree of humanity?

Yes.

You mean I lack humanity?

Yes. Or that I don't? Yes.

You're certainly agreeable today.

Listen, I have to go interview a group
of former mental patients, and I should

be done early. I figured I'd drive out
to the beach, have some dinner.

Wouldn't mind some company. I'm buying.
What do you say?

No.

You think this is fun, don't you?

Yes.

In this country, if a guy mugs somebody
in the street, the police read him his

rights. He gets to make a phone call,
have his lawyer present, post bond, and

probably gets out the next day.

But if someone is unhappy and confused
and he goes for help, there are a lot of

places in this country where it's not
impossible. He could be locked up and

spend years, maybe the rest of his life
in an institution.

You people are out. You were patients.

Inmates.

Inmates. To us, being in a state mental
hospital is like being in jail.

The psych techs?

Well, they're not the whole problem.
They're just people trying to earn a

living.

mostly under -trained and underpaid.

The problem's much bigger than that.

We're worked up about this whole thing.
We're activists, man. Just like any

other group, we're an oppressed
minority.

Tell me, thousands of people enter and
leave mental institutions. How many are

in your group? Very few.

Why?

Because they're ashamed they were in.

You don't think that there's a stigma
attached to being inside a loony bin?

You try to tell that to someone who you
want to...

hire you for a job. Better to have been
in jail.

You're probably sitting here right now
wondering how I can believe these people

are crazy.

It occurred to me.

Craziness makes people uncomfortable.

That's why no one wants to look too
closely at what goes on in those places.

There are sane people walking around
inside our institutions right now.

Perfectly sane people.

So many inmates are so zonked on
clopromazine.

and other mind -benders that they can
hardly speak.

So there's no way of knowing whether
they're sane or not.

Here, we've written it down in our
position papers. Read some of our stuff.

I bet you're listening to what we're
telling you. You think maybe we'll fill

around the bend, don't you?

Come on.

Not if you own Stockings. You're out.

Come over to my house for dinner
tonight?

This guy I've been seeing, Doug, will be
there.

Then why do you want me?

Because I've never had you for dinner
and because Doug's an interesting guy.

He used to work at a mental health
clinic, so he could give us some deep

background.

What do you say?

What are you having?

Why? Because if you're having liver, I
don't like it. So I'll have to eat it or

put it in my pocket. I don't want to do
that.

I'm not having liver.

Okay, I'll come.

Kidneys, too.

I'm the same way with sweetbreads. Are
you crazy?

Sweetbreads are great.

Boy.

Come into my office a minute, Lou.

Fred. It's Lou Grant.

Fred Sackler. Fred's the new man on our
legal staff.

Let me say right off, Lou, that I admire
what you're doing with the paper. I'm

an avid reader and an avid fan.

Thank you.

I guess I'm new and you're pretty new
here, so we're both sort of the new kids

on the block.

Yeah, sort of.

Just a couple of quick points here.

One, the financial posture of this
newspaper is not impregnable. We all

understand that, okay?

Two, I just want to give you gentlemen
fair warning that you're tangling with a

real wacko here. With this guy out in
the valley, Brian Foley, the mover and

shaker behind the Citizen Censorship
Board out there.

We're not tangling with him. We've just
been reporting what they're doing.

Foley is what we call litigious.

Prone to bringing lawsuits.

Yeah, we heard about him. He owns
grocery stores. He sued corporations.

government agencies in the state.

So what can he sue us about?

The losses his business could suffer as
a result of our articles.

Libel, maybe. Invasion of privacy.
Malicious gossip.

Hold on.

Hold on.

Foley can't make any of that stick.

You've heard of the First Amendment, I'm
sure.

The First Amendment does not pay court
costs.

It will cost this newspaper thousands of
dollars to fight this.

Because, frankly, they won't throw this
case out of court so fast.

Why's that?

Ms. Newman's article does make it appear
that Foley is a hypocrite, self

-serving, and something of a fool.

That's because he is.

Hey, wait a minute.

Lou, we're all on the same team here.
I'm trying to be reasonable about this.

No, you're not.

You're telling me to walk on eggshells
when I want to run a good story.

Yeah, but what would you say if I told
you that your stubbornness could bring

this newspaper a million -dollar
lawsuit?

Aren't you exaggerating a little, Mr.
Sack? You know what you are?

You're a... you're a tin.

A what?

What do you mean by that?

You want to go back a hundred years?
Fifty years. We had snake pits in this

country. Some communities sold them
mentally ill to the highest bidder.

I want to talk about now.

Now we have treatment. Now we have
medications to give people to relieve

their pain, to calm them, to make them
accessible to therapy. Now we have care.

Some serious questions have been raised
about that care.

Don't expect me to deny that there have
been abuses.

On the other hand, I'll take some credit
for effort to weed out those people who

are unfit to work in our institutions.

I'm not talking about physically abused
patients. I've heard more criticism of

the general kind of care, standard
procedures.

So you want us to have all the answers
because we have framed certificates on

the wall. Well, I don't have all the
answers.

I have seen troubled people taken away
from their life situations and improve

the routine, pressure -free environment
of an institution.

This group of former inmates...

That's what they call themselves.

They have some pretty damaging things to
say. We do have to consider the source,

don't we?

It isn't easy to admit that you've had
some serious problems, that you've been

helped. It's a lot easier to say that
the state incarcerated you.

I don't doubt that in 200 years people
will look back and marvel at how

primitive our methods were.

But do you want to live in a world
where, no matter how incomplete our

knowledge, nobody is trying to help at
all?

I don't. I'd like to visit one of these
facilities with you, talk to the people

inside. So you're going to go in, Joe,
with your expert's eyes, and in a couple

of hours' time, point out all of our
deficiencies.

I've been studying this for 20 years,
and as I said before, I don't even begin

to have the answers, so... I'm sorry,
Joe. I've got to draw the line there.

No.

Those stuffed noodles were great.

What's in it?

Liver.

Just kidding.

You want some more brandy, Lou?

No, thanks.

Do you want to tell Lou why you quit
working at Lakeside?

If you'll stop calling it quitting.

She just means why you stopped working.

You know, sitting here having a nice
dinner, you can never have the feeling

it's like there.

Inside. There's still no reason for good
people to drop out.

Drop out?

Hey, Doug, you don't have to talk about
it if you don't want to.

I'll tell you why I left my psychiatric
residency and changed to internal

medicine. All right?

It's very simple.

I experienced burnout.

Burnout? Yeah, it's like battle fatigue.

After three months under that pressure.

Only there's no program for R &R like in
the Army.

But if you really care.

Oh, come on now. It's hardest if you
care.

This brandy is really nice.

You get no support.

None.

The state has cut the mental health
budget all to hell.

And the attendance.

Number one, being an attendant on a
psych award is not one of the most

jobs around.

And then the drugs are a problem.

Why a problem?

The staff dopes the patients up to
control and make them easier to deal

that's not really handling the problem,
hmm?

No, no, it's not. But, you see, you
can't blame the staff for that either.

There's just not enough of them to do
the job.

You try, Billy, you try to deal with a
ward full of irrational, self -involved

people day after day.

And then you try to go home to family
and friends and have a normal existence.

Try being a city editor.

You're saying it's hard.

Well, that's no reason not to try.

You know, it's really easy to talk that
way, sitting here with good friends in a

nice room.

Yeah. Yeah, it's really pleasant here. I
remember when you started, you were

so dedicated.

Billy, you know, most people start out
really trying to care.

Hmm? to help, to make some change.

But how do you do therapy on somebody
whose mind is so fogged on dope he can't

speak a coherent sentence?

If you gave the same amount of
chlorpromazine to a timber wolf that

those patients are getting, he'd bring
you your slippers and the morning paper.

Look, don't get me wrong.

I'm not knocking it.

Just for me, I had to get out.

Maybe you're still not really sure you
should have left.

Listen, if you folks will excuse me, I
think I'm going to turn in. I need some

sleep.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm kind of tired, too.

Billy, that was a terrific dinner.

Really wonderful.

You're a great cook.

I mean it.

Come on, Doug. I'll walk with you out to
our cars.

I'm not going anywhere.

Oh?

Oh.

Yeah.

Good night. It's really a pleasure
meeting you, sir.

Yeah. Yeah.

Same here. Same here.

Okay.

Good night.

Good night.

Thanks.

I'm just going to order something and
eat at my desk. I'll have that sandwich,

will you? Number nine?

Lou. Hmm? Not in front of a woman.

She hasn't seen the list.

Everybody on the paper's seen the list.

You going to order anything?

No. I have a luncheon date with a woman
who on a scale of one to ten, I'd say is

one through ten.

Lou? Lou,

I have never been on an assignment as
tough as this mental health thing.

You hear our story yet?

No. No, everyone I talked to has a
different story. I went in thinking it

the psych techs, but the further you get
into this thing, the more confused you

get. Yeah, I know.

I looked into it myself.

Tough story.

Tough?

I feel like I'm clawing my way up the
side of a ship and someone has pulled in

the rope ladder.

There's just no way.

Yeah.

Sometimes stories are like that.

They're just too hard.

There's nothing to do but quit

Now

what's your

full name Woodward Carl Woodward you see
Okay, Carl

Would you like to tell me what's
troubling you?

It's the radio in my car.

Well, it's not the radio.

The voice is on the radio.

I mean, I turn the radio off, and the
voices are still coming out of the

you know?

I mean, maybe that kind of thing can
happen, a scientific thing.

Have you been doing a lot of acid, Carl?

Xylothivin, TCT?

Drugs? No, no. I don't take drugs.

Uh, this could...

Be like a radio wave gets in there, even
though it's turned off, you know?

Do the voices sound like anyone you
know?

A little like my mother, maybe.

Well, I don't exactly remember.

It's not the voices. I don't mind them.
It's what they're saying.

What do they say, Carl?

They tell me to do stuff.

What kind of stuff?

Drive my car over on the opposite side
of the road into the oncoming cars.

I mean, it's pretty crazy, I guess.

Do you think I'm crazy?

I think you're very agitated right now.

I don't think it would be a good idea
for you to drive your car.

What I'm going to do is have you stay
here with us for a while.

Stay here?

Yeah. Let's get started on filling out
these forms.

Okay.

Al, what do you have?

Well, there's that thing in the budget
about the two people lost at sea in a

small boat for 28 days.

And as soon as they got back, they
announced they were getting married.

So what's the big deal?

There have been other couples who have
been in that sort of situation before.

When the couple was two guys.

That cleanup committee is getting even
more uptight.

If they had their way, they'd censor
everything anyone says, reads, wears, or

even thinks.

Yeah, I heard they set up a dress code
for stage productions. Even Cinderella

couldn't pass.

Cinderella? She loses her slipper.

A little nudity.

Not funny.

We had a good story.

Billy nailed these guys, and his lawyer
Sackler took the guts out of them. Well,

it's nothing for page one anyway. How is
Rossi doing on mental hospitals?

He must be really digging. We haven't
heard from him for a couple of days.

Hasn't been answering his phone.

Okay, Al, you're on with your shipboard
romance.

What are you doing, Mr. Woodley?

I was just making some notes. Oh, that's
interesting.

Woodward seems to be occupying himself.

He's exhibiting note -taking behavior.

Jot it down in his chart when you get a
chance.

You're not sick. You're a doctor or a
writer doing research.

How can you tell?

I don't know. I can just tell.

Think they can tell?

No.

What about you? Are you sick?

Yes, that's why I'm here.

Do you mind talking to me about being
here?

No, I don't mind.

Do you like being here?

Have you been abused?

Abused?

No, not abused.

Why are you here

Not into television?

Uh, not too much.

I'm getting up tomorrow.

Oh, congratulations.

I think I'm starting to go really nutsy
in here.

And you know what really is getting to
me?

It's boring.

There is nothing. Nothing happens.

Most people go to sleep early.

I'm not too good at that.

I'll give you something.

No, thanks.

You want this?

What is it, doctor?

Milk.

They gave it to me.

But I don't want it. Here.

Thanks.

You must be real pleased about getting
out.

Sure.

You don't seem real pleased.

I am.

Just for me, it's a little late, that's
all.

You see, when I came here, I committed
myself voluntarily.

I didn't know I'd be signing away all my
rights.

I thought I could get out whenever I
wanted to.

It doesn't work that way.

I was pretty depressed when I came in.

I had made a half -hearted attempt at
killing myself.

I needed to come someplace, you know, to
work things out.

Then while I was here, I found out that
my little boy had been hit by a car

while riding his bicycle.

I wanted to get out, you know, to be
with him.

But what they did here, they gave me
more drugs.

Nobody was trying to be mean, you
understand.

They're trying to help, I guess.

I was so doped up that I didn't hear
about it for two days.

Nobody told me.

And then when they did, the way they
dealt with that is they gave me more

The pain was there, but I was numb.

He robbed me of my chance to be with my
child when he needed me.

And then they robbed me of my grief.

Another memo from the legal department.

Sackler objects to the objectionable
words we use in our story on the list of

words at the obscenity trial.

We didn't list the words, we used the
numbers.

Take a look.

In paragraph six, please delete
reference to the number six.

Oh, isn't this guy being overzealous? Do
lawyers in this newspaper usually get

into this?

I've never seen anything like that.

Well, I can't deal with this nonsense
when I have important things on my mind.

We're talking big numbers here, Lou.

Animal.

I want to find out where Rossi is. It's
going on three days now.

Yeah, Lou?

When you're out cruising, steer by
Rossi's apartment and check it out. He

wouldn't leave his dog this long.

That mutts the only creature he really
loves, huh?

That mutts the only creature that really
loves him.

Halsey, did you see that?

Pretty hard to miss.

Did you, Mr. Copelands?

We're men, but it's like she didn't even
see us. Like we're invisible.

No, she sees us like she sees the
furniture.

Doctor.

Doctor. What?

Since I've been admitted, I haven't seen
a doctor.

Yes, all right.

I just wondered when maybe a session or
something was scheduled.

Yes, all right.

Yes, all right.

We are having a little interdepartmental
communication problem that

I wanted to kick around.

It's about Sackler, isn't it? Hello,
look.

He's new.

He's feeling his way.

And I know that he's something of a pain
in the 12.

But, Lou, the different departments of
this paper have to talk to each other.

Are you saying I have to listen to this
super cautious lawyer telling me how to

put up the news?

I'm talking about communication, Lou.
Give and take.

Like the way it is between you and me.

I mean, no pulling a rank, just an open
exchange of ideas.

Okay.

I don't want to talk to this guy.

Okay. I heard you.

Now do it.

Have you talked

to

him?

Koblenz? He can't talk.

He can talk. That's not talking. It's
unintelligible.

Not if you listen.

Nobody listens because it takes too much
time.

I listen.

But, of course, I have a lot of time.

Can he understand me?

Yeah. He can understand me talking just
like this.

Just have to listen.

Okay, Copeland.

Go ahead. Talk. I'm listening.

I can't talk like...

like

I used to.

It's so...

For us, today... The

drugs did this?

He may have been crazy when he came in
here, but he could talk.

What if they stopped the drugs? Would he
be able to talk then?

I don't know.

They probably won't stop the drugs.

Well,

having read that piece on the obscenity
trial, there are two questions that come

to my mind. Number one, why was it
several days before this list was

my attention? And number two, what is
31?

Don't be embarrassed. They couldn't even
tell me in the composing room. That's

not why I called you here.

Gentlemen, we have heard from Mr.
Foley's lawyers.

And it's possible if we continue our
coverage of this obscenity trial, we may

hit by a very big lawsuit.

Our coverage has been very balanced.

Oh, I've read those articles, Mr. Hume.
They do tend to make Mr. Foley look like

a bad joke.

Well, he is.

I mean, he crossed As You Like It off
the list of plays the theater could put

because the title sounded dirty.

Well,

he is sanctimonious. He's holier than
thou.

And perhaps he's a little foolish, but I
don't think he's an evil man.

The fight among men is not between good
and evil, but between opposing ideas of

good.

That was one of my husband's favorite
sayings.

But the point isn't really whether we
agree with Foley.

The point is whether we can allow him to
dictate what we print by threatening to

sue us. The point is whether we can
afford to go to trial.

The New York Times has a policy of
fighting every nuisance suit brought

it so that people won't think they'll be
able to be paid off so easily.

They'll have to go to court.

May I remind you, Mr. Grant, this
newspaper is not the New York Times.

I'm reminded of it every time I pick it
up. So am I, sir. I wish we had their

resources, but the simple fact is we
don't. If you want me to back off on

I will.

Now, I didn't say that.

But I need you gentlemen to tell me that
we can win if we go to court.

I'm sure we will.

We'll win.

That's the point.

Then as long as we're on solid ground,
let him sue. I'll consider that money

well spent.

Oh, here we are.

Here we are. Number 31.

Would you explain this to Eddie in the
composing room? I promised I'd let him

know as soon as I found out.

Thank you. Thank you for letting me talk
to you. here. It took long enough.

I thought by law I had to be evaluated
by a doctor within 72 hours.

Oh, you were.

What?

It's all right here.

How come I didn't know about it? I think
the law states, Mr. Woodward, that you

have to be observed.

And you were observed.

Okay, let me lay it all out for you.
Actually, my name is not Woodward. It's

Rossi. I'm a reporter. I had myself
admitted here at this hospital. Take a

look at the situation inside of this
hospital.

Yes.

I've seen a number of what are patently
laxed in the care the patients have been

given at this hospital. I've got a list.

That's quite a sizable list.

Well, some of it is kind of subtle.

It's just the way the staff reacts
toward the patients, like they don't

recognize them as human beings.

That's disturbing.

Can you prove all that? I've seen it.

Another thing, there are patients out
there who are so stoned that they have

some sanity. I don't see how you can
reach it.

Am I going too fast for you?

No.

You've observed someone who you feel has
been overdrugged. Someone?

Several people, numerous. Uh -huh.

Boy, it is a relief to talk to someone
who isn't uptight about some criticism.

Well, we're always looking for areas
where we can perhaps make some

I'm not talking about perhaps.

I'm going to write this article, and I'm
going to mention all these

inadequacies. Mr. Woodward, Mr. Rossi, I
can understand your strong feelings

about this.

Look, Dr. Stanford, one of the things
you learn as a reporter is how to read

upside down. Now, you haven't been
writing down what I've been saying.

still making notes about me for that
patient chart, aren't you?

Oh, boy, am I going to be glad to get
out of here.

Mr. Woodward, releasing you would be
contraindicated at this time.

Rossi. The name is Rossi. I told you I'm
a reporter, and what's on that chart

about some non -existent person named
Woodward is a lot of nonsense.

Here, look. Look at the chart. I'll show
you how I faked it. See the stuff?

Look here. See the stuff about the
voices?

I made that up.

And look, the first dot, the admitting
dot, wrote down schizophrenic.

I mean, that first dot, put that label
on me.

Schizophrenic.

Oh, now, now, wait a minute.

Now, don't you see? You put that label
on me. Schizoid. Now, no matter what I

do, it's schizoid.

It's wrong!

I work for the Los Angeles...

Come down for the night.

Increase Mr. Woodward's medication.

I'll make sure that he gets it.

I checked out Rossi's apartment.

What'd you find out?

The lady next door is taking care of his
dog for him.

He told her he was going to be away a
while.

Everything was like he was going on a
trip. She's picking up his mail, his

newspaper.

The place was neat.

By your standards?

I found this in Rossi's desk. Kind of
interesting.

Kind of hard to read.

Looks like a bunch of doctor's phone
numbers.

Brick wall, hard to get past.

What's that?

Some kind of note to himself, maybe.

Half cup kibble, can of liver chunks,
teaspoon mineral oil.

That must be for his dog. Or his recipe
for meatballs.

Look at this.

Same people in insane places.

That's some quotation from somebody.

Here he wrote a date and a phone number.
2 .30 on the 18th.

That was two days ago.

Call the number. See if he kept the
appointment.

I think it's starting to add up.

I think I know what he's doing.

In order to get his story, Rossi went
inside a mental hospital.

It's a crazy thing to do. I'm calling
for Joe Rossi.

Yeah. No.

Well, when he's got his story and comes
out, he'll tell us about it.

Maybe he can't get out.

He had an appointment, all right. They
said he didn't show.

You think he would have called to
cancel? He wouldn't cancel if he

be there.

We'll try to track him down. Get some
guys on this.

Run down every hospital, public or
private, in the state.

Call Driscoll at the cop house. See if
he can learn anything.

I think I know what made him do this.

I was writing him too hard. I even said
something to him about not phoning in

this story from the motel down the road.

But I didn't mean this. Lou, you didn't
know he'd take it this way.

Getting down on ourselves instead of
getting on it isn't going to help.

Then why don't you get on it?

If you want to get out of here, you have
to play the game.

What game?

Let them think you're sick so you can
improve.

But, um... You have to go along with
their idea of you. You have to let them

think that they're helping you.

After all, they're human.

They have feelings, too.

So, if you act sane, they think you're
crazy.

And if you act crazy, they think you're
crazy.

That's right.

So you have to act... crazy.

That's what they call it, isn't it?

Acting crazy.

They say somebody is acting crazy.

I've seen it.

You give a convincing performance, you
can be out of here in a month.

A month?

Why don't you do it?

Why don't you play the game and get out?

I do.

I always come back.

We checked all the hospitals. He's not
on any admissions list. Maybe he's just

traveling.

He probably used a phony name when he
checked in so he wouldn't recognize his

byline. He's not that well known.

He thinks he is. How can we find him
unless he dropped a trail of

Maybe he wrote down that name he's using
in those notes of his.

I wonder what name Rossi would use.

How about Charles DeGaulle?

Rossi? DeGaulle?

DeGaulle was six foot four.

In his heart, Rossi is six foot four.

I don't think there's any use checking
that one. There's probably dozens of

Charles de Gaulle's in the institutions.

Yeah? What happens when two of them meet
each other?

Usually they're both able to arrive at
the truth.

They realize the other guy's crazy.

I'm sorry Mr. Grant's busy right now.

Yes, but I really wanted to see him.

He's quite busy.

You could wait if you want.

Take a seat over there.

Thank you.

Rossi is not by now. Maybe he is in
trouble. It's going on four days.

Yeah.

You know, it isn't quite the same
without him around.

It's true, you know.

Sometimes he could really get on your
nerves, but he wasn't really a bad guy.

And he was a good reporter.

Will you two cut it out? You're talking
like he's dead or something.

We have here the resources of a major
metropolitan newspaper trying to track

Rossi down, and we're getting nowhere.

Some investigative reporters.

Mr. Grant?

What?

Oh, I understand you're busy. I can come
back later.

What?

I'll come back later.

No, no, no. Wait a minute. Wait a
minute. What is it?

I'm sorry I kept you waiting.

See, we have a little problem here of a
reporter missing.

Mr. Rossi. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Here, please sit down. Sit down. There
you go. I just talked to him.

Oh, and where is he? In the hospital. In
the hospital? What hospital is that?

Glenview. He's in there, and I want him
out, and I want him out now.

Okay, listen. No, it's not okay. And I
don't want any bureaucratic backtalk. I

want action. I want it now.

I want to see our reporter in this room
in five minutes, so get on it. Can I ask

you one question? No, you can't ask one
question.

And if you don't get him in here and
fast, I'll have half the lawyers in this

state swarming all over this room.

I need to know one thing.

What?

What's his name?

Rossi.

Ow!

Rossi. We found you.

We'll have you out of here in no time.

Hi, guys. Hey, Rossi, I didn't mean for
you to go inside like this, but I have

to admit, it took guts.

Yeah. Did they give you something?

A little. The green ones are really
nice, Lou.

Uh -huh.

So I've got the release forms all taken
care of.

Okay, come on, Rossi. We're going to go
home.

You're going to see your doggie.

That's nice, Lou.

Come on, let's go get your clothes.

Yeah, it's too nice.

I wonder if we can get another bottle of
whatever he's taking.

It's terrific reporting.

It's great stuff.

Okay, that's it.

That's work.

You really hit the problem right here
where you talk about labeling.

I mean, once you hang a sign around
somebody's neck, paranoid, manic,

oppressive, that's what it is.

It isn't fair, but as the piece points
out, we do it all the time in daily

In fact, we even do it in this newsroom.

Dennis!

Yeah, Luke?

That was a nice photo on page three
today, Dennis.

We're assigned to work together this
afternoon, Dennis.

Why aren't you guys calling me animal?

You mad at me or what?

Sackler, he's having trouble with
Rossi's story.

He is.

Well, I guess I better go communicate
with him.

I was just going to knock a little
racquetball around. You play? We'll have

play. I don't play. I appreciate you
getting back to me so quickly. The

got back to you quickly is because this
story is going in tomorrow's paper, and

I wanted to discuss the trouble you're
having with it.

I just saw the first paragraphs, but I
think we're going to get into a costly

fight if we go with this one.

We don't have to print it. I mean, the
writing's pretty good, but, you know,

it's just another story out of hundreds,
and... Yes.

We have to print it.

But if you have problems, we'll go over
the story and work out the problems,

line by line.

Now, I take it you have a copy on your
desk?

Uh, yeah, just the, uh, first two
paragraphs.

Okay, I have the rest of it right here.

Now, sentence one.

Any problem there?

No, that's okay.

Good.

Sentence two.

Well, no.

Okay, very good.

We only have nine more pages to go.

Okay, that takes care of page three.

Now, page four, line one.

Anything there?

No. Line two.