Original subtitles

Does this thing work?

Yes. May I have your attention, judges and PTA volunteers, to the finals of

year's high school cheerleaders contest.

Our three schools will arrive tomorrow, along with their chaperone, Miss

McDougal. Remember, we're responsible for the safety and the morals of these

kids while they're here.

Now, if you will open your folders, we'll start with Pierce High.

It's a nice, middle -class school.

This will be its third consecutive year here.

Next is Polcott.

It's one of our tougher schools, but I'm sure these are all fine young ladies.

And

you've

all heard of Darwell High, where some of the finest families in the state send

their children.

God, my dear.

What an effort this whole thing is going to be.

Can you imagine?

A weekend in Sacramento.

Boring. Not much to look forward to, is it? A ride on a bus?

Plumbing it with that polyester double -edged cross from Pierce?

It's hell trash, eh?

Let me remind you that there is a long -standing rivalry among these three

schools, so let's hope we'll all get along like one big happy family. We

wouldn't want anything to happen.

God, here they come.

Pam, don't start anything.

Hello,

my

dear. How are

you? Um,

down in front.

My dear.

It's a mighty sad day when a Pierce girl can't beat some bloodless bitch from

Darwell. I'll take your challenge, but you go first.

Don't look, Gertrude.

Easy.

valuable lesson.

Class will always prevail.

Then why don't you show us a little of it, Lisa?

And why don't you show...

No problem, officer.

You want to step down off the bus, please?

What's going on?

What is this? I can't believe it.

Yeah, we had a little problem I talked about over here. Yes, sir.

I can't believe it. Oh, no.

Everybody sit down.

Oh, come on.

You know, we've been having real bad rain up here.

Yeah, I was reading that in the newspapers.

Hey, where's your car at?

It's right over there.

You all

set?

Yep, first and ten.

What's the problem, officer?

Nothing serious, ma 'am.

Excuse me, ladies. Can I have your attention, please?

There's no cause for alarm.

Way to take your driver off the bus.

Fortunately,

however, we have a replacement driver.

So you'll be in Sacramento before you know it.

I'll be riding with you the rest of the way.

And I'm sorry for any inconvenience.

I counted.

Well, he's too old for you, so you might as well go back to sleep.

That's another ten yards, and they haven't done it without the services of

who, but a short season ago, was the premier quarterback in the league. You

him well, Randy. I revert to a clean -limbed lad named Wayne Matthews.

You've got to be wondering right now just how old Wayne is feeling. One of

tragedies in the arena of life.

A great painter loses his talent, he cuts off his ear. A quarterback loses

throwing arm, he's cut from the roster.

Crogwell fades back. Jackson is open at the ten. Oh, he fumbled it! Which makes

one wonder, Randy, what the Monarchs were thinking when they dropped a

receiver like George Henderson.

Well, I guess old George just lost that hot temper of his one time too many. And

so we draw yet another classic lesson from the world of sport. It's the team

player who survives.

It's the loner who so often gets dropped.

Fourth down, inches to go.

Will they punch? Or will they try for the first down and risk losing the ball

their own territory?

Well, the last time the Monarchs were in this spot, they went for the down.

Big John Hunsacker tackled his own quarterback.

I remember it well. Big John was never known as the team intellectual.

I understand he's been dropped, too.

Three young athletes cut off from their only means of livelihood in the prime of

their careers.

Wonder what... They'll do now.

All right.

All right. Now, everyone, just calm down. We'll explain everything to you

you're inside the house.

Now, let's step down off the bus one at a time.

What should we do?

Any young ladies want to get to know Rufus here, just stay on the bus.

Now the rest of you can start stepping off one at a time.

Starting with you.

Okay, I want it quiet in here.

I want you to take those

mattresses.

I want you to set them on the floor.

And I want you to sit down.

Now!

Okay, now listen up, girls.

As long as you all cooperate with us, nobody's going to be hurt.

Ladies.

You're all the prisoners now of the National American Army of Freedom.

And you bitches are going to obey our orders or we're going to kick some ass

around here.

We're not going to have a lot of orders.

This is all going to be very simple.

Just in case you guys try anything crazy, we're going to have to take one

extra precaution.

Hey, uh, what's going on here?

I want you girls to think of this as a game.

You guys are going to be the cheerleaders.

We're going to be the ballplayers.

Hey, I thought we was kidnapping him, Wayne.

I'm going to ask you to take off your shoes and socks, and I want you to pile

them up over there by Big John.

No.

Look, don't do it, anybody.

Hey,

you think we're fucking around here, huh?

Huh? Hey.

Hey, man, let's just stick to the game plan.

Okay, now I want you all to take your shoes and socks off.

good to me, too.

Well, it always is.

Hey, baby, you got the skill to make a playboy's love for real.

Again tonight.

Ain't nothing to it but to do it with the do it fluid.

Look, baby, I gotta go. See you at about 8 o 'clock, okay?

Ciao.

All right, now rally, rally, rally round the radio. This is your lead to Honey

Joyful Jerome as we get down to the number one sound.

The cream of the crop simply because it's at the top and I do dig it. Yeah.

Yeah, come on in.

Jerry, this is Detective Fuller and... Burns, Sergeant Burns.

Happy to meet you, gentlemen. Can I get you some coffee or something?

These gentlemen are from the police department. They want to talk to you,

Talk to me? Is your name Joy Poe Jerome?

No, Jerome Davis is my name. I'm only called Joyful Jerome on the radio.

me.

Mr.

Davis, are you familiar with the disappearance last night of that busload

teenage girls?

Yeah, those cheerleaders.

Yeah, I delivered that news break about half hour ago. What do you know about

the National American Army of Freedom?

The what?

Would you like to tell him what the note said? Or shall I? Oh, I've got a copy

of it right here. Now, you're supposed to read what's written here at exactly

o 'clock.

Greetings from the National American Army of Freedom. We have the missing

and their chaperone. Have Joyful Jerome acknowledge receipt of this note at 10 o

'clock. We want $2 million.

That shouldn't be too hard.

Details will follow.

Hitline request for Pretty Girl Shirley. Joyful Jerome playing the type of music

you want to hear.

Excuse me, sir?

Sir? Yes, what is it?

Well, I'm hungry.

Hungry?

Yeah, well, I guess we all get hungry sometimes.

You hungry, baby?

Here, I got something for you to eat.

Hey, man, don't start doing shit like this or we ain't gonna have a chance in

this camp.

Look, the lady said she was hungry.

I was just gonna give her some salami.

What does that mean?

Okay, if you guys are hungry we're gonna eat who can cook Come on let's see some

hands I Can cook wing

We

need more eggs there's more night

That's not the way you're supposed to scramble eggs.

Why not, smartass?

Because you're just not.

You're not supposed to use a wooden spoon for one thing.

Oh, la -dee -da.

Well, my mother makes them this way and they taste pretty good to me. Give me

that spoon.

Cut it out. Cool it.

Come on.

What the hell difference does it make what kind of spoon you use anyway?

No difference.

All right, now go on over there and make some coffee.

You want to give us a hand?

I think we found that driver, okay?

Yeah. Shit, I barely tapped him.

They're going to be talking to us.

I sure as hell hope you're right.

Roger Ray, we're in a punting situation.

They've got to talk to us.

What else are they going to do?

20 seconds.

And now, brothers and sisters, a very

special dedication.

This is it.

A very special dedication to all the gang down at the National American Army

Freedom.

That's it.

Okay, I'll make the first call in an hour. We'll be on our way.

Does that mean you're going to let us go?

Everything goes according to plan.

You guys are all going to be home in 24 hours.

But what if it doesn't?

It'll be over in 24 hours anyway.

Hey, Wayne, what plan?

I have a brief statement here that the governor has personally asked for. To

citizens of the state.

I know that every citizen of our state joins with me in expressing my heartfelt

sympathy to the families of the 15 girls who were so ruthlessly abducted last

night.

I know, too, that they share with me a sense of outrage at this cruel and

unprovoked act against these innocent girls.

I want to assure you that every effort has been made to locate the girls and to

bring them home.

In the meantime, our prayers are with each and every one of you.

What about the ransom?

Obviously, obviously the state cannot be a party to the payment of any ransom.

That would be illegal.

That's two million dollars. Find our daughters.

However, however, the governor has introduced...

Emergency legislation that will make it possible for you parents to borrow your

share of the ransom money from the state at a very low rate of interest.

Interest rate? What the hell are you talking about? Interest rate!

My daughter's on there! Clark, of course, you'll have to pass the standard

credit check.

Credit check?

Are you kidding me?

I'm sure if the governor were here himself that he would agree with me that

perhaps you should have had the foresight to save someone from a rainy

You're different from the others.

We're going to make a lot of money out of this.

I thought you guys were supposed to be some sort of revolutionaries or

something. Oh, that's George's idea.

Makes him feel tough.

What are you doing it for?

Well, see, me and Wayne, we're brothers, and we promised our folks we'd always

take care of each other. Does that include kidnapping?

Once again, that kidnapped hotline number is 650 -8660.

The governor's office does not believe that any of the girls have been harmed.

What's the matter?

I don't know.

All I know is I'm scared.

I have something to make you feel better.

Now, be nice.

I didn't mean that.

I mean... No, I... Some downers, if you want.

What kind?

Ludes. Frankie gave them to me.

Well, she's a real pill freak.

Could I have one for Jeannie, too?

She just moved into this country two months ago and she's really freaked out.

Sure have. You can have them all. I don't even use them.

Thanks, Billy.

Operator, let me have 244 -1624.

Ready? Yeah, hello.

Yeah,

that's me.

Okay, listen. I'm only going to say this once.

We got the girls and they're all in good health.

They'll stay that way as long as you do exactly what we ask.

We want two million dollars.

We want an unmarked old belt without any consecutive serial numbers.

We want it in 24 hours.

Wait a minute. How do we know you've got the girls and how do we know they're

all right?

In the meantime get the money ready. Well, wait a minute

You know, it's like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Yeah?

I never did understand that.

What? Search for a needle in a haystack.

I mean, you could just go buy another needle.

How much could it cost?

You're right, Vern.

If you ever lose a needle in a haystack, don't let anybody talk to you in the

circuit room.

Don't you worry.

I got better things to do with my time than that.

Vern. Yeah, look.

Where? This. Right here.

Wait a second.

Help! Help!

Help!

Shut up!

Don't let anybody move.

Let me turn off that goddamn radio.

Get us all killed?

At least I did something.

Instead of you just sitting around on your lazy, no -good ass.

The trouble with you, my dear, is your ass is too fucking tight to sit on.

She's awful pretty, George, ain't she?

Oh, your taste is in your ass.

Now, I got to stand up for my soul, sisters.

I'll take this one over here.

Say, Mama, come here.

Don't do it. Don't worry.

What's up? As if I didn't know.

See what I mean?

Now, this is what I call a fine, foxy frame of femininity.

Hey, Frankie, who's your favorite?

Well, I've grown quite fond of all these young ladies, George. I don't think I

could pick just one.

But if I had to... I guess this one.

Hey, that's the one I was talking about.

Don't worry about it, my good man.

There's lots more where that came from.

Hey, Billy, you got one?

Oh, I don't know.

Hey, you gotta like somebody, man.

Unless... Hey, funny, are you? Hell no.

That one.

It's you, my dear.

Hey, how about that, sports fans?

We got ourselves three schools represented.

Let's get a little recreation going on around here.

I'll tell you what.

Why don't we have a goddamn beauty contest?

And relieve some of that, uh, tension.

I'll tell you what I'm gonna do.

Now, the school that wins... Uh, gets turned loose?

No. A free phone call home.

On my bonafone.

What does a bonafone mean?

You call that a prize?

I sure do.

And I hope you win, bitch.

Well, as you heard, the governor has apparently made an offer to the parents

the kidnapped girls, together with a certain amount of sympathy.

And he did say that he'd introduce legislation that would provide loans at

moderate interest rates provided a credit check could be passed.

This is Max Wellman at the Department of Interior.

You've got to buy us a motel.

Yeah, I know.

I'm a lover and player of life, and I wish that every woman could be my wife.

Joyful Jerome with the most requested sound of the hour.

Get off the pole. Let's go.

Hurry up.

That certainly ends the personality part of a contest.

Judges, what do you think?

The hell with personality.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, judges say that they haven't seen enough to make a

judgment on.

So I guess we're going to have to start eliminating.

And I know you ladies don't want to be eliminated.

Hey, Donna! Hold everything.

We got ourselves a brand new ballgame here.

Judges, give the young lady from Polk ten points.

Polk? Now, I got a 15 -point bonus for the school who's interested in winning.

All right. Well, I'm amazed.

How intelligent.

How quick with it.

How fast on the pickup these young ladies are this year.

Judges, give the young lady from Darwell 15 points.

George, I got one worth 20.

All in good time, my man. All in good time.

And here's our first contestant from Polk.

And what is your name, honey?

Michelle Thomas.

Oh, come on. You can do better than that.

You've been doing good so far.

Now give it the old try.

Now, what is your name?

Sally.

Sally Lou Simpson.

Sally Lou Simpson.

I'm from Biloxi, Mississippi.

And my hobby is throwing a baton.

And I do believe in family planning.

Ladies and gentlemen, our judges.

Miss Sally Lou Simpson.

Leading our contestants out on the runway.

And into your heart.

Judges, ladies and gentlemen, here they are.

If I'm the one, I attain sociability.

If I'm the one, I accept notoriety.

thousands of girls eligible for the same honor.

Brought to our state at a cost of two million dollars.

Now let's give these young ladies a nice warm welcome.

And now for our judges, our audience, and you folks at home,

the final viewing of this year's contestants.

And now we'll have to rely on...

Here, let me do some measuring.

Shit.

Oh, shit, nothing.

Get your clothes on.

Come with me.

And I'll give you a bath.

You'll feel a lot better.

I'm a school nurse.

And I know exactly what you need.

Be careful now. Take it easy.

I'm walking a hallway.

I've always cared about my students.

My girls have always been able to talk to me.

Trust me.

You feel better?

Yeah.

But you can't spend your whole life living other people's lives.

I don't know.

You say anything about this to anybody, I'll cut him off.

Understand?

It is

now five o 'clock, and to the National American Army of Freedom, I dedicate

Little Lost Ladies.

Express the hope that you have at least 15 proof.

That's right.

Only 15 proof will do.

But in the meantime, here's the sound of Little Lost Ladies.

Shit.

They ain't gonna get that money for us, man.

Yeah, just political bull.

They'll get the money.

They gotta have food.

Fuck him, man. It's a trick. He's just trying to stall for time.

Yeah, I'll have to take one of the girls with me. I'll make my next call.

That's fucking risky, man.

And I ain't letting any of these bitches out of here.

Just keep your mind in the game and leave this to me, huh?

Hey, I am getting sick and tired of taking my orders from you.

Look, George.

Don't do this to us, man.

We got the momentum.

Listen, they want proof that you girls are all right.

So I want you to come with me. Why me?

Oh, poor dear.

I can't let her do it. Take me.

He asked for me.

Okay. Well, when do we have to go?

Right now.

Just pilot over there by Rufus.

Won't he bite me?

Sure, he wants to bite you, but he'd never bite you unless George says so.

But no funny business.

No kidding.

Sir, excuse me.

What is it?

May I go to the bathroom?

Yeah, go ahead.

Listen, thanks for helping me out, okay?

That's okay.

It's nice to be outside for a while.

You know what you said before?

About me not being like the others?

Mm -hmm.

Did you really mean it?

Mm -hmm.

Listen, I'll tell you the truth.

If things were different, I really wouldn't mind.

But not like this.

Come on, do you wanna play or not?

Alright, I'll play if you're leaving right now. Alright, go ahead, you can go

first.

Do you know how to play? I know you can't spell, but do you know how to

Who am I?

See if you make the squad next year.

Clean out your argument, honey.

Okay. I'll be voted on the way you decide.

Like I told you before, I'll kill you.

I'm gonna take my hand off your mouth.

Don't you holler, okay?

I'll be right outside this door.

So don't try anything foolish.

What's the matter?

You keep an eye on things. I'll be back.

Jericho Jerome?

Go ahead, tell him.

Um, this is Deborah Williams.

I'm the daughter of Jarman and Myron Williams of 943 Ventura Boulevard.

I have a small brown mole on my right shoulder blade.

Everybody calls me Debbie.

Except my dad.

He just calls me Debs.

Everyone is okay, except that we all want to come home. Please, give them

whatever they want.

Please, so we can come home.

Well, there's your proof.

I'm going to be talking to you tomorrow at noon.

You got that money ready by then? Because that's all the time you're

Hey, relax, relax.

It's over.

It's all over.

Were you able to trace it? We got a 6 -8, Lieutenant, but that could be any

exchange. You're talking about a radius of more than 50 miles.

Oh, batshit.

What are you doing it for, anyway?

For the money.

Well, at least you're honest.

Is it worth it?

If it works, it's worth it. And if it doesn't?

Things always work out for me.

I was Allstate High School, All -American College.

I had leased cars, paid for apartments, full scholarships.

And I ended up making money doing what I like to do.

So what happened?

I busted my arm in three places.

Kind of like a racehorse that can't run anymore.

Only this is one horse that's not going to stop running.

Not this.

But that's the whole point. You're going to have to be running for the rest of

your life.

Look, the way I figure you make one big play at the right time, it'll change

your whole life.

Pretty risky play.

I like taking chances.

So would you take a chance with me?

What do you mean?

Look, I'm not going anywhere.

Do you think you could undo this?

I couldn't do that. You might try something funny on me.

No, I wouldn't. Yeah, you would. No, I wouldn't.

No, I wouldn't. Would you?

I might.

Hey, I can't let you do that.

Why not?

You might try something funny.

No, I wouldn't. Yes, you would. No, I wouldn't. Yes, you would.

No, I wouldn't. Would you?

I might.

Cool it down.

The little bitch must have jumped out of the window.

I'm going to finish you right here. You asshole.

You want to look for us the rest of our lives?

real stupid things she did.

Now, for your sake and for our sake, let's not try any more of these crazy

stunts.

And by this time tomorrow night,

we're

all going to be home with our families.

So just lay back and try to get some sleep.

Thank you, Dad, for a shift.

And you, Billy.

What happened out there? They caught Afton in the woods. Is she all right?

I think so, but she's scared to death.

Who is it?

We gotta get out of here.

But we've all got to stop fighting each other and work together for a change.

Here you are.

You set?

I'm ready. Let's go.

Guys, make sure you don't forget where we live, huh?

Joyful Jerome?

Have you got the money? Yeah, I've got it.

Okay.

Put the money in a Safeway shopping bag and staple it shut at the top.

Bring the bag of money to the Warwick Hotel at 12 o 'clock.

Come alone.

You bring anybody else with you, this deal's off.

Wait in the lobby by the pay phone.

Uh -huh. I'll be talking to you at 12 o 'clock. Well, now, how about... Oh, rat

shit.

Worth that.

I'm going to the bathroom, all right?

Yeah, this is Jerome.

Have you got the money with you?

Yeah, I've got the money.

Okay.

Take the bag of money and put it on the elevator.

Once you get to the elevator, put the bag on the elevator and push the button

the eighth floor.

Go back to the same phone you're on now.

And wait for me to call.

No tricks.

They want the money brought up to the eighth floor on the elevator.

Okay, now hang up.

And go.

He's leaving the phone booth.

He's on the way to the elevator.

He's near the elevator.

He's pushing the button.

The door opens.

He puts a bag on the elevator.

Now.

George? What is it?

Can I talk to you?

Is it important?

Sure is.

But not here.

In there.

This better be good, bitch.

Uh, Lieutenant, this is Bates. The bag got to the 8th floor, all right, but...

Nobody picked it up. It's still on the elevator.

I think there's something you should know.

But not right now.

Yes. Okay.

Pass your first test.

Now take the money to the Meridian train yard depot.

Put the bag on the bench by the passenger platform.

You got ten minutes.

Okay, bring it back down. They want us to bring the money over to Meridian

depot. And I want everybody over there on the double.

Yes, sir.

I've just seen this chick I was with last night. She was dynamite.

You've got to get him out of there.

You did some shopping, huh?

You know, this is just like a TV show I saw a couple of months ago.

Yeah. Yeah.

See, these guys did this kidnapping.

And they pulled the same thing. You know, having somebody bring the money to

lobby the hotel and all.

Yeah. Yeah. You know, put the cash on the elevator the same way.

Only they did one thing that was different.

What was that?

Well, they had a guy on top of the elevator.

And when the bag was in there all by itself, he slipped down, grabbed the

slipped back up through the trapdoor, and his partner was waiting for him all

the while right there in the lobby of the hotel.

God damn it.

Shut that back.

stream.

are, Billy.

I shot my foot.

I shot my fucking foot.

Hey, you count the money. I'll drive.

Now, that's what I call a winning season.

I can't believe that.

Bet you George will.

Oh, wow.

Get up!