Original subtitles

Good evening and welcome to Sing Along with Hitch.

I have a feeling this would be much better if we could hear you singing.

As it is, it strikes me as a rather limited form of entertainment, and you

no idea how insecure one can feel when he knows that at any time he can be

replaced by a bouncing ball.

For those of you who are too shy, or for some reason have not chosen to join us,

I have an enticement.

Perhaps if you sing loud and lustily enough, you will drown out the

After which, our story.

Remember, the competition tends to become rather fortissimo.

Yes, that's right. Uh -huh.

The hearing will be held at the municipal court on the 27th.

No, Mr. Wedge will be speaking to you before that, Mr. Hamilton.

No, not at all.

Yes, bye -bye.

Please, miss, it's almost half an hour.

Couldn't you ask to make it free?

Mr. Marino is still out here.

Can you see him now?

Yeah.

I'll send him in.

I am Benji Marino's father.

Yes, I know. Do you know about my boy, about his trouble?

Well, I read about it in the paper, and I'm sorry for him, but I'm sorry for the

other kid, too, the one that was killed.

But not by Benji, that's the truth.

Not by Benji. He didn't do it. That's why I've come to you, Mr. Wedge. Because

people tell me you're the best, the best lawyer for my boy. You should go to the

juvenile authorities, Mr. Marino. They'll recommend someone for you.

That boy is dead, Mr. Wedge. And they say my Benji did it.

I went to the jail. I talked to him.

He said to me, Pop, I didn't kill that boy.

You believe me, Pop?

I said, sure, Benji. If you say so, I believe you.

I believe him.

Let me call the state's attorney's office for you in case you need to

counsel. Please, please, I have money.

The family all got together.

I run a fuel oil business. I'm selling the truck.

I can pay what you ask, Mr. Wedge.

It's not a question of money, Mr. Marino. I've got a schedule as long as

arms. The papers, they make it sound so bad. They say there were witnesses.

They say they saw him with a knife. How can they say such a thing?

Oh, I don't say he's an angel.

He runs around. He fights.

A boy without a mother is sometimes a wild, wild boy.

But what can I do?

I have a 24 -hour business.

How much time do I have to be a father?

Well, let me recommend a lawyer for you, Mr. Marino. Another lawyer. There's...

No, no, no. I don't know anybody else. I only know you. But I can't work

miracles. I only go by facts.

That's all I want.

The fact is he doesn't.

He's innocent.

What can I say to you?

I am one boy.

He's 17 years old.

He's not a grown man.

They got him down in that jail. They say he's a murderer.

But he's innocent.

He's innocent.

I swear on his dead mother's grave.

He's innocent.

He's innocent.

I'm your attorney. Your father hired me to handle the case.

Am I getting out of here? Not till after the trial, and that's if you're lucky.

Well, what about bail? Can I get out on bail? Bail's been refused.

When's the trial?

Look, don't rush the trial. We need a delay.

Why not? You think this is gonna be easy?

I didn't cut that guy. I had nothing to do with it.

You admitted to the police that you knew Kenny Archer, didn't you?

Sure, I knew him. We went to manual trades together.

They tell me that he ran with a gang called the Aces. You ever hang out with

them? Well, that bunch, that was a baron. The barons don't mix with the

All right, you were a baron and he was an ace. That makes you natural enemies,

doesn't it?

Look, Mr.

Wedge, we don't have that kind of gang.

We're not a bunch of hoods.

We've got a basketball team.

Why do you carry a knife, Benji?

Well, it's only a Boy Scout knife. They sell them all over.

I just use it for whittling.

Yeah. Who do you think you're kidding?

Look, who sides you on?

No, I didn't stick, Kenny. Somebody else did. I swear I didn't kill him.

I'm not making accusations, kid. That's the prosecution's job.

Sit down.

Sit down.

the police have got it, and then you tell me where they're wrong, huh?

At ten minutes to midnight on October 9th, you and two other guys were walking

down Thurman Street.

You'd just come out of a movie house.

Kenny Archer had just come out of an apartment building on Thurman and Avenue

You bumped into each other.

There was some horseplay, but the next thing that happened, you and the other

two guys were running away, and Kenny fell to the sidewalk and started

toward the stoop of a house.

Now, there were two people sitting on the steps of that building.

They saw you running away, and they saw Kenny die right in front of them. Then a

half an hour later, the cops picked you up in your old man's store, and you

still had the knife in your pocket. It wasn't me.

The rest of that stuff, it's true.

But I didn't hurt Kenny.

All right. Who were the other two guys?

I don't know. Don't give me that.

I tell you, I don't know.

They came out of that movie the same time I did. But I never saw them before.

One of them must have done it.

When I saw Kenny was hurt, I ran away.

That's how it was. But you had the knife.

But I didn't use it.

Look, kid, that knife is exhibit A. You know what that means?

Leave me alone. The witnesses saw you holding it. You're not here to help me.

Yes, I am, kid. The only way you can be helped. Now, you listen to me and do

what I tell you. I want you to plead guilty, you understand?

That's the only thing you can do. If I put this case in front of a jury, you're

going to spend the rest of your life in a cage.

If you plead guilty, the judge might give you a break. I won't do it.

I am innocent and I ain't going to stay in jail for something I didn't do. I am

talking sense to you, boy. But I didn't do it. Will you listen to me? I'm trying

to help you, son.

I'm not your son.

I got a father.

talk some sense into him.

I told him if he'd plead guilty in a second degree, the judge is bound to be

lenient. But then he goes to jail for something he didn't do.

Look, Mr. Marino, because you're his father doesn't give you the right to

the facts.

The facts are wrong.

I know.

You don't like to lose cases.

If my boy pleads guilty, you lose nothing. Your records is still good.

All right, if you feel that way about it, if you think that's my reason, get

yourself another lawyer.

Please, please, I don't know what I'm saying.

I don't know anything about the law.

Well, I do.

And I know this much, Mr. Marino. Your faith in your kid is very commendable,

but it's no defense in a courtroom.

All right, we plead not guilty.

I'll do what I can to make it stick.

Why shouldn't it?

It's the truth.

Why shouldn't it stick?

Because the prosecution has got witnesses.

Mr. Dankers, you were present at the time of Kenadacha's slaying, isn't that

That's right.

Would you please describe what happened?

Well, I was sitting on the stoop, getting a breath.

Then the kids come running up the street.

I didn't pay him no attention until they started fooling around.

Next thing I know, one of them drops to the sidewalk and the rest of them run

away.

Then the kid crawls up the loop.

Only he dies before he gets there.

How far away from the boys were you when the scuffle occurred?

Not far.

Maybe... 40 or 50 feet.

I see. Close enough for you to get a look at them.

I only saw one of them good.

Oh?

There's a street lamp near the apartment building, isn't there?

Yeah.

So you didn't have any trouble seeing the boy who stabbed Kenneth Archer?

I didn't see the actual stabbing.

But I saw the boy run away with a knife in his hand.

Do you see that boy in the courtroom now, Mr. Dankins?

Yeah, I see him.

It's that one over there.

Mrs. Archer, I'm very sorry.

I'll try to be as brief as possible, but I must ask you these questions.

You said that Kenneth was a good son.

Yes.

Yes, he was very good.

All right.

He was always helping me around the house.

Did he ever get into any trouble?

No, never, never.

Was he ever picked up by the police?

No, he never was.

Did he ever get into any fights with other boys?

No.

Would counsel care to cross -examine?

Well, what do you say, Benji?

Oh, shit. If I could work miracles, I'd work one. You can get life.

Even if you got out on parole in 20 years, you know what you'd be worth?

Are you gonna plead guilty?

Benji, will you please plead guilty?

No.

I didn't do it.

I didn't.

Not going so well, is it? Of course it's not going so well.

I wish I could figure out some way to get that old man on the stand.

He's got a fanatical faith in that kid of his that might just rub off on the

jury.

Do you think he's innocent?

That question is immaterial, irrelevant, and none of your business.

You do not look at all well.

You don't look at all well.

And I think when this is over, you ought to see a doctor.

You know, that's not a bad idea.

You remember Doc Haggerty?

But he's not the kind of doctor I mean.

I mean a good all -around GP.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm going out. I'll be at the Dugan Hospital if anybody wants me.

I don't know. I understand you, Vernon. You say the police already examined the

boy's knife for bloodstains using the standard benzidine test.

That's right, and they didn't find anything, so they claimed that the kid

wiped the blade clean.

But you told me one time there was some kind of a test that's even more

sensitive. There is. It's called a reduced phenolphthalein test.

It's a lot more sensitive in my opinion, but it's not universally accepted.

Yeah, but could you make that test now?

It's all right with me. Just give me the boy's knife.

I can't do that. It's court property, but could...

Could you demonstrate the test for me using another knife that's just like it?

I suppose so. Good. I picked this up on the way over. It's the same type that

Benji Marino carried.

Pretty cheap, too. 98 cents.

The cheaper, the better.

First, we'll put some whole blood on the blade.

And we'll wipe off all traces of the blood.

Take a look.

See any stains?

Clean as a whistle.

Now we'll try it on the solution.

And the blade may look clean, but with a cheap knife, the blade metal is usually

porous, so it retains microscopic quantities of the blood.

Changes color and gets dark, huh?

If the solution changes color, Vernon, you can be sure there was blood on the

blade.

There's only one drawback.

What's that?

This test doesn't prove whose blood was on the knife.

If your boy cut his own finger, it'll work just the same.

He'll look just as guilty.

Hello, Benji. Hello, Mr. Woods.

Now, you listen to me and listen carefully.

I thought of something that might just save you. It's a test. Now, this is a

chemical test that can determine whether or not there's ever been blood on your

knife.

Now, I'm going to make that test in court tomorrow. And if it's negative,

jury will know that you didn't kill Kenny Archer. I don't understand that

of stuff. I'm not asking you to understand anything. But if you stab

jug full of chemical is going to turn dark and you can kiss your freedom

goodbye.

Now, there's something else.

If you ever cut anybody with that knife, the chemical's going to turn dark, too.

Now, you tell me something, and I want you to tell me the truth.

Has there ever been blood on that knife?

I told you I never cut it. Do you understand my question? I want to know

there's ever been blood of any kind on that knife.

No.

It was brand new. I never cut nothing with it. You sure?

You never cut your own finger?

I said it was clean.

Mr. Wakers, if the prosecution has no further witnesses, do you wish to make

your summation?

Yes, Your Honor.

Your Honor.

Yes, Mr. Wakes.

Something has occurred which I consider to be of paramount importance to this

case.

I ask the court's permission to introduce new evidence for the defense.

Objection. The defense has had sufficient time for the introduction of

I suggest that this is a delaying tactic.

What sort of evidence, Mr. Wakes?

This is a demonstration, Your Honor, which, in my opinion, will clearly

establish the guilt or innocence of my client.

If Mr. Wedge would like a postponement... I don't want a

make this demonstration, if I may describe it.

Very well, Counsel.

You may proceed.

What is this, Mr. Wedge?

Your Honor, this is a chemical solution specifically formulated for the

detection of bloodstains.

Ladies and gentlemen, Exhibit A in this case is a knife.

The knife which presumably killed Kenneth Archer.

Now, this knife was found in the possession of Benji Moreno on the night

slay. However, not one word of testimony has been produced in this court

concerning the vital factor of blood.

Now, this knife has not left the possession of this court since my

arrest.

However, this clean, shiny blade can still tell a story of guilt or

Because as any biochemist knows, there is one infallible test which can

determine whether an object of such porous metal has ever tasted even one

of blood.

Connor, it is my intention to prove once and for all whether I'm defending a boy

falsely accused or a lying murderer.

I intend to dip the blade of this knife into a solution of reduced phenethylene.

Now, reduced phenethylene is the most sensitive of all blood detection

chemicals. If... One moment, Mr. Wedge.

You say that beaker contains what kind of solution?

Reduced phenethylene.

And how can we be certain that it contains this chemical?

Could be lemonade, for all that we know.

I have a statement from Dr. Haggerty of the Dugan Hospital.

Well, if you plan to produce expert tests... I plan only to make this test,

Wickers.

Your Honor, objection.

State your objection, Counsel.

Defense is acting improperly.

The police laboratory has already made a standard test on the weapon and has

found no bloodstains on the blade.

Prosecution has stated that the knife was obviously wiped clean.

Your Honor, the sensitivity of this test... At no time during this trial has

prosecution denied the absence of bloodstains on Benjamin Marino's knife.

Now, Mr. Wedge is trying to demonstrate something we already know.

Using a test which is not accepted as standard laboratory procedure, I

suggest... that the so -called demonstration is nothing but pure

with an intention to mislead and to confuse the jury.

Mr. Wedge, the court must agree with the prosecution.

You are not an expert in forensic chemistry.

Mere corroboration of the police laboratory report is gratuitous evidence

must be considered inadmissible.

Your Honor, my client is willing to have me make this test.

The boy is aware of the chance he's taking. I'm sorry.

This demonstration is improper.

Objection is sustained.

You may not make the test.

Mr. Wedge. Mr.

Wedge, if you'll please make your summation to the jury.

I believe that Benji Marino is innocent.

I believe he's innocent because of a test that I was not permitted to make.

This boy knew that if the results of the test were negative, he would be

condemned to prison for the rest of his life.

And no guilty person would have allowed it.

Foreman of the jury, please rise.

Has the jury reached its verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

Please read it to the court.

We find the defendant not guilty.

You can wait right here in the judge's chamber. Your attorney will be with you

in a moment.

Bless you for what you did, Mr. Wedge.

I didn't come here to be congratulated. I wanted to see you both for another

reason.

The prosecuting attorney was right, Mr. Marino. What I did out there was

theatrics, pure theatrics. I don't understand.

I mean, I didn't want to make that test.

I would have had to if he hadn't objected.

But that's a chance I took.

You didn't want to.

Look, if this stuff had turned dark, it would have been all over for your boy.

I was counting on the prosecutor's objection.

I figured on it.

I also figured that the jury would be impressed in the right way.

And that's all I could hope for.

The knife would have been all right.

I know it would.

How do you know, Mr. Moreno? Because you've got faith?

Yes.

Well, in that case, there's only one way we can find out, isn't there?

We'll make the test now, for our own sakes.

Why? What difference does it make now?

Because I want to know, that's why.

now, Mr. Welch.

Those of you with a passion for peripheral detail will be interested in

that the actual killers in this case were ultimately brought to justice.

As for this next detail, it is a television commercial.

an item for which I have a passion.

Frankly, I like them because I feel so wonderful when they're over, which is

when I shall next see you.

I hope you have enjoyed singing along with Hitch.

It is the best way I know to indulge in a community sing without actually having

to rub elbows with one's neighbors.

Next week we shall be back, myself, And all the gang.

Until then, good night.