Original subtitles

How do you do?

I'm Christopher Lee.

I spent the whole day looking for an honest man,

but I didn't have any more luck than Diogenes did.

Perhaps one would have to go to a place like Hadleyburg,

where the people were famous for their honesty.

That is, until the mysterious stranger arrived.

"The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg,"

a story by Mark Twain of untruths and consequences.

The people who lived there believed

that to succeed in business you had to be honest and wise.

Honest enough to keep your word once you've given it,

and wise enough not to give it.

Unfortunately, what keeps most people honest

is the fear of being caught.

The stranger who came to Hadleyburg knew that.

Who is it?

Don't let me disturb you.

I'll find a safe place for it.

But... what...?

All right, I think it'll be safe there.

I'm sure nobody will notice it back there.

Mind if I speak to your husband for a minute?

I'm sorry, but my husband's over in Brixton.

I expect he'll be coming back home tonight though.

It doesn't really matter, ma'am.

I'm gonna leave that bag in Mr. Richards' care for awhile,

'till I find out who the rightful owner is.

I think Mr. Richards is trustworthy.

Sir, the people of Hadleyburg all obey the law.

That's why I'm here, ma'am.

Perhaps you can tell me.

I'd like to know what's in the sack.

That sack that I left here?

It's full of gold bullion, Mrs. Richards, around $40,000.

Good day and thank you.

Name's not even mentioned.

And the man never even once said who he was?

And he left right away?

That's right.

You didn't give him a receipt for it.

In that case, we're both rich.

If we just burn that letter.

Stop talking nonsense.

It'll be night in a little while.

I'm worried that there'll be thieves around.

In Hadleyburg?

Full of gold, is it?

Must be a fortune.

There aren't 10 people in this town

who have that much money between them,

much less on their own.

On the other hand,

when I think how hard you work

while others, others live in the lap of luxury.

But we have a good reputation.

Yes, that's true.

We are both from Hadleyburg, dear.

Yeah, Hadleyburg, yes,

and we're Mr. and Mrs. Richards, Edward O. Richards.

Now, give me that letter.

What are you going to do?

Don't do anything stupid now.

Just give me the letter.

That's a lot of money. And he just gave it to your wife?

That's right.

For whom?

Hell, he doesn't even know the name.

It says in the letter when he happened to come to our town

on his way to some other place,

and didn't have a nickel in his pocket,

he asked for a handout,

and out of the blue comes this fellow he doesn't know,

and gives him $20.

With the money he received,

he was able to go back to the gambling place

where he'd lost all his fortune and win back everything.

Why he even broke the bank.

And now he wants to repay this man

who helped him when he needed it.

But not just give the $20 back.

The man that gave him the money said something to him.

And those words made the stranger think,

take stock of himself.

After that he quit gambling,

and the stranger's been respectable ever since.

Let me see that letter.

"I haven't the slightest idea who the man was,

but I want him to be found

and repaid at your earliest convenience,

with thanks for helping a poor man who was down on his luck.

This town is honest and trustworthy."

That's right.

"The right man must prove

that he is the man I'm looking for

by recalling what he said that night, the correct words."

But what are the words?

Besides the money,

the man also put a sealed envelope in the sack.

So the first man that says those words...

And we'll know that's the person

the stranger's been looking for.

That's right!

He gave him $20 like that?

$20.

I'd be hard put to find anybody around here

who'd be so extravagant.

How about you?

No, I'm just wondering.

I think there is one and only one man.

- Yeah? You mean... - Just a minute...

Fred, no, no, no, no.

Yeah, well?

One, two, three.

Barclay Goodson.

The one and only.

Well, of course, it has to be Barclay Goodson.

That's a problem.

Why?

Well, I'm just putting up his obituary now.

What? Barclay's passed on?

Yeah, stupid, isn't it?

A man with such a brilliant future.

The man says to publish this,

so the person can claim his just reward.

What a sensation for my paper!

I'm putting this right on Page One of tomorrow's edition.

What publicity for our town!

For the integrity of our citizens.

"Yes, I am a stranger to you people.

I'm going back to my own country.

However, I must thank an unknown friend of mine.

I'm asking him to come forward

and repeat what is inside the envelope

to prove he's the right man.

The right man will know the answer.

He must say what's there.

The one who can do this can have his reward."

If only you would've waited, Edward.

If only would've thought it over, but no,

you rushed down to the newspaper just quick as lightning.

The man said we were supposed to publish it, Evelyn.

He didn't say you had to put it in the paper, did he?

You might've used discretion.

Could've been done privately, you know?

Wait a minute.

Edward, try to remember.

Now, think carefully.

Have you never once given alms to a stranger?

Maybe the money's yours.

Think about it, Edward.

Now, who could that be at this time of night?

We won't let him in.

Mr. Richards, it's me, Cox from the paper.

Go down and open the door.

There might be somebody spying on us.

Is the bullion in there?

Yep.

That's quite a lot of money, isn't it?

What's going on?

Well, it's the strangest thing.

Jackie just remembered that he was the one

that gave the stranger the money.

Well, I figured we better come over here and tell you.

That's interesting.

Mr. Cox is the one who gave the money to the stranger?

You're sure it was him?

Yes, ma'am, that's right.

Isn't it, Mary Louise?

Of course it was, my dear.

He's generous to a fault.

You were with him at the time, were you?

I, Not exactly, but he told me about it afterwards.

Remember telling me about it?

I did.

When did your husband tell you about it?

Today. Um, two years ago, I mean.

Um, right after he have $20 to the man.

I remembered the whole thing

when I heard the stranger had come to see you folks.

"Why, sweetheart," I said,

"I'm sure that must be the man you helped."

I see. You believe I'm lying about what happened.

No, no, although you'll have to prove it.

Since you remember about giving the man all that money,

you must remember what you said on that occasion.

To prove it, just tell me what's written in the envelope

that we got from the stranger.

Yeah, well, that's the problem, I'm afraid.

That, it seems I'm unable to, remember.

Jackie always forgets things.

His mind wanders.

You remember giving the man $20, all right,

but don't remember what you said.

I'm absent-minded.

Yes, he is.

That's a real shame.

Yes.

A real shame.

I'm sure I know what you're thinking.

Really?

Yeah.

Do you think that Mr. and Mrs. Richards,

might be helpful to us?

Well, of course they will, Jackie.

Of course Mr. and Mrs. Richards

will be rewarded for their assistance,

and naturally we're going to give both of them

a share in our good fortune, aren't we?

Well, of course we do wanna be fair.

Mr. Richards, I, 25 percent of,

that's, that's $10,000 for you.

Wait a minute now.

Are you saying that no one, no one at all will know of this?

Absolutely no one.

Why, we're certainly not going to mention the fact

that Jackie gave $20 to the stranger.

You can be sure of that.

And, and what about em,

that front page article?

Don't worry, I'll withdraw it now.

Yeah, put me through to The Star.

Hadleyburg Star.

Is this you, John?

Yes, Mr. Cox.

I don't want you to send out the first edition,

or any of the others.

I've already sent them out.

What'd you say, John?

Yeah, I just barely made it.

They changed the train schedule for Brixton,

and you know, if I'd been two minutes later,

I'd have missed it, but we were lucky.

Mr. Cox? Mr. Cox? Mr. Cox, are you still there?

Yeah, the fellow who gave the stranger the money

ain't shown up yet.

The citizens of Hadleyburg are modest folks.

They don't show off.

It'll be a month before the box is open anyway.

What box is that?

Well, anybody who wants the money the stranger left

is supposed to write a letter and...

Cox is hanging it over there.

Got something for you.

Wonderful.

Here you are, Mrs. Richards.

Thank you.

Be seeing you.

Evelyn, what's the matter, my dear?

I'm fine.

I was just overcome.

You must read the letter, Edward.

Read what it says, it's wonderful.

Got something for you here, Doc.

Have you?

I'll be seeing you.

Howdy, got some mail for Mr. Billson.

A letter for my husband?

My, my, I wonder what it is?

A letter for you, Judge.

Why, thank you, Felix.

Mr. Smaller.

Yeah, what is this letter?

Any mail in there for me?

I left it at your place.

Here, drink some of this.

What's the matter?

You must read the letter, dear.

It's all in there.

Here, I'd better read it.

"I suppose you are the one who helped me that time, Mr. Cox,

but for some reason you haven't claimed your reward so far.

Perhaps you haven't come forward

because you've forgotten those words.

If so, I'm taking this opportunity

to refresh your memory. They were,

'I'm giving you $20, friend,

but with it I'm giving some advice.

Go, and sin no more.'"

Now do you remember?

What?

What you said, the proof, dear.

No.

Don't you understand?

All you have to do is memorize this,

and we'll be rich, darling.

Repeat, "I'm giving you $20, friend."

"I'm giving you $20, friend."

"But with it I'm giving some advice."

"But with it I'm giving some advice." Right?

Right. "Go and sin no more."

"Go and sin no more."

Yes.

Now, I remember, of course.

Jackie, Jackie.

Now, dear, you must put your letter in the box.

All right, hold it now!

Don't move, thank you!

Now, one more, please!

Big smile, that's nice, thank you!

Just a minute, folks!

I wanna make you famous!

Yes, that's fine!

Yes, after all, Mr. Richards,

this whole thing started with you.

Now, the lady take a step forward, please,

and the gent to the right. Bravo.

My dear?

Yes?

I'm feeling very guilty about what we've done.

It's too late to worry about it now.

Thank you very much.

All right now, quiet!

I'll now officially open this meeting

on behalf of all you Hadley burgers here!

I have something to say!

Just a minute now!

You're out of order. Folks, go ahead!

I'm sorry to interrupt here, friends,

but I'm sure you'll all agree

we need a chairman here!

Someone of long-proven ability and proven integrity!

Great!

The man I'm proposing now is...

Yeah?

Our own Judge Jones!

That's certainly the man.

Thank you, friends, thank you, but I must refuse.

You see, I'm involved personally in this affair.

Mr. Smaller, then!

Not me, I can't. No, I'm sorry!

Maybe it'd be better if we elected

somebody who wasn't from here!

I nominate this gentleman right here.

Sir, might I request you to represent

all of us here, Mr.

Stephenson.

Stephenson.

Happy to oblige you people.

Bravo!

I accept with pleasure.

All right!

Bravo!

Thank you, thank you, fine.

Edward, you know that gentleman

is the spitting image of the man who left us the money.

Evelyn, it can't be him.

There are people from the National Press

who have come to Hadleyburg from all over.

They come for the proof of your integrity.

In this bag here in front of me

is the undeniable proof of that.

Friends, one of you people

is going to be the hero of this meeting.

An envelope in the box before me

will reveal the man's identity.

Suppose we show our appreciation for the man right now?

Bravo, bravo! Wonderful! Great!

The first one out of the box and, um...

I will open now and read.

"I'm giving you $20, friend,

but with it I'm giving some advice.

Go and sin no more."

In a moment, we will know whether these words

are the same as those contained in the sealed envelope

here in this sack.

If that is the case,

and I don't doubt that it is,

a sack full of gold will go to a man of Hadleyburg.

Will our hero now stand?

Suppose you tell us why you rose, Mr. Wilson.

Certainly, but perhaps first you wouldn't mind

explaining why you got up also, Mr. Billson.

I will with pleasure.

The words which were just read, I wrote them.

He didn't write it, because I'm the one who wrote it.

Now, my name's at the bottom of that letter,

and I want it read out for all to hear!

It's a lot of hokum!

Who wrote the words?

Hold it, hold on!

"Respectfully, John Wharton Billson."

I said I'm the man, didn't I?

Now it's your turn to explain, Mr. Attorney.

I accuse you of theft!

What?

You're a liar!

You must've stolen and copied my letter,

because of all the people here,

I'm the only person who knew

what was spoken to the stranger,

and I put it in the box out there on the first day!

If Mr. Wilson really did write the letter,

then it must be here.

All right.

"I'm giving you $20, friend,

but with it I'm giving some advice.

Go and sin no more. Respectfully..."

"Binkerton."

Quiet!

Silence!

Come on, silence!

Quiet, all of you, quiet, quiet!

One question, please.

Quiet!

With respect, sir, is it possible maybe

that all three of these gentlemen

helped the stranger that day?

That's a very good question.

It's simple. Three separate people here

all spoke the same advice to him in the same words.

Of course.

There's as much chance of that

as much as a snowball in hell.

Not even that much.

Listen, folks, no one here ever gave $20 away.

Not true at all.

I'm the one.

I gave to him.

And I gave the Eiffel Tower.

Now!

Come on now!

Just a minute!

Problems have a way

of sometimes solving themselves, friends!

So I'm going to reach down in this marvelous box,

and for your benefit I'll take out yet another.

I'll bet you he reads my letter now.

This is damned embarrassing.

"I'm giving you $20, friend,

but with it I'm giving some advice.

Go and sin no more. Signed, Sheriff Johnson."

Another good Samaritan, folks!

This town is full of heroes!

All right, shut up!

Yeah, it was me.

I was the one who wrote those words.

You might've given somebody 10 cents.

That is, if he was drunk!

What scandal!

Sit down here!

Now, listen, what're we gonna do about this?

All these people are so dishonest.

Citizens!

Silence!

I shall explain everything!

When I first came here to Hadleyburg, I was down on my luck.

I went from home to home asking people to help me.

Believe you me, I went to 19 rich-looking homesteads,

and none of them was I even offered a glass of water.

That's right, nobody helped me.

I remember each one of those homes,

and who lived there.

Here, Hadleyburg's finest!

This is a disgrace!

Stop this scandal!

A scandal!

Hold on!

Folks, nobody in this town gave anybody $20 in their life.

Stop!

I wrote all the respectable people

telling them just what the words were.

Read the evidence, all the same, all of them!

Hold on, he's right!

It says the same thing. "Respectfully, Peter Wilson"!

I wanted people to know whether or not

Hadleyburg had earned its reputation,

upright and incorruptible,

or would you prefer trustworthy?

You won't get away with this!

I haven't finished!

I now leave you with a bag of sand!

There's only one possible solution!

Hadleyburg's name will have to be changed!

Dear!

Run him outta town, you varmint!

For two cents I'd punch your nose!

What name would you people

like to select for your town then?

Respectable, unblemished citizens of New York, Chicago!

Disgraceful! Shoot him! Disgraceful!

Aren't there any men around here?

Dallas!

Naples!

Get this, the next one's Tokyo.

Tokyo, San Francisco, Buffalo!

Yeehaw!

A complete stranger just sold me this sack for a dollar.

Said it was full of gold coins.

I suppose it is possible.