Original subtitles

MAYNARD BARNES: You got three options.

Plead Emily Dodson out, tank the case in trial,

or get yourself disbarred.

E.B. JONATHON: There's no way you'd be

dredging up old ghosts if you had a solid case!

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

MAN: The ramifications of Sister's latest message

threatens the financial health of the assembly.

WOMAN: Half of your audience wanna

kiss your feet, the other half wanna kill you.

You have to let me protect you.

Charlie Dodson will rise again!

Blasphemy!

PETE STRICKLAND: Three guys, three stiffs.

'Cept we know there's a fourth.

You're like every amateur dick I ever met.

You think you caught a fish

all you done is hook your own ass.

E.B. JONATHON: Mr. Mason's evidence

is coming up short.

You want me to say that I'm guilty?

No, we're gonna fight.

I'm the lawyer here!

Then act like one goddammit!

♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪

(DOORBELL RINGS)

(DOORBELL RINGS)

E.B.?

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

(GAS STOVE HISSING)

(GASPS)

(CHOKING)

(HISSING STOPS)

E.B.?

E.B.?

E.B.?

E.B.?

E.B.? E.B.?

(SOBBING)

(CRIES) No.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

Boyle 23405...

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

(SOBBING)

DELLA STREET: It's funny,

you spend all these years with somebody, and...

one day, they're just gone.

And you realize...

you'll never see them again.

But I guess that's life, isn't it?

So first you found him dead, and then you called the police?

Yes.

That's exactly what I did.

I can assure you that all of us

at Century Mutual are sorry for your loss.

May I ask if you need any assistance

with funeral arrangements?

-We have relationships with-- -Thank you. No.

The body is being taken to be with his family.

Up north.

PORTER: Next stops be Atascadero, Salinas, Watsonville Junction,

South San Francisco, San Francisco.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

Not much longer now.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

♪ (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪

Mother?

Can I have 25,000 dollars?

Twenty-five thousand dollars?

SISTER ALICE MCKEEGAN: For Emily Dodson.

That is the amount of her bail, isn't it?

Are you-- Are you suggesting we-- we free her?

I want Emily sitting on stage with me.

She can take Elder Brown's seat.

That's not the wisest path to tread at this moment, Sister.

SISTER ALICE: Look at these!

This outpouring of love and charity.

Chesterfield, Missouri, two dollars.

Bangor, Maine, five dollars and...

forty-three-- 46 cents.

Tucson, Arizona.

"May God pour honey over your body

and stake you to an ant hill, you blaspheming whore.

You couldn't die soon enough."

Elder Seidel, how much did we bring in this week?

ELDER SEIDEL: Uh, enough to cover our overhead

and to keep the kitchen stocked.

SISTER ALICE: And it will be double that

when I return to the microphone.

Never in my life have I felt stronger

or more clear in my mind or more filled with inspiration.

I think it's been some time

since we've had a divine healing.

Well, it's hard to capture the true spirit

of that particular service on the radio, Sister.

The gospel will reach out through that radio

and around the world to every man, woman, boy and girl.

As the hymns say, "To answer when He calls, that is my task."

(SIGHS) You can come down off your chariot.

We're paying attention.

Bring me the weak and the sick like we did under tent poles

before we broke ground.

And if you cannot accommodate that, Mother,

then you can be relieved of your duties.

Anything else, daughter?

Just 25,000 dollars.

PETE STRICKLAND: Look, Detective,

I already been tailing Ennis for three days.

I'm asking who might have a beef with this prick.

And guess whose name keeps popping up? Yours.

-RAY ROYCE: Hey, Flint. -Yeah?

Get your nose out of her pills and go burn some coffee.

Fucking reeks in here.

You believe this shit?

What got at her face?

Goddamn cat.

Ugh. Ate her whole fucking ear off.

Look, I'm on the Dodson case. Things ain't adding up.

This guy, Joe Ennis,

he seems to be sitting in the shadow of most of them.

I was first up the day little Charlie came in.

It was my case.

That prick Ennis paid the division chief

to jump in front of me. My fucking case.

Biggest case in town.

FLINT: Hey, Sarge?

I found the kitty-cat. It's dead too.

I hope it choked on her earring.

♪ (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

(CHILDREN CHATTER)

BYRON JONATHAN: Miss Street?

Yes. Hello, Mr. Jonathan.

Let me express our deepest sympathies

to you and your family in this time of--

Thank you. You must be Mr. Mason.

It's Byron, isn't it?

BYRON: I'd like to thank you both for coming all this way.

-It really wasn't necessary. -Of course it was.

BYRON: Whatever it cost you, please send me a bill.

You shouldn't be out of pocket.

Well, the trunk has some of his things from the house.

There's still a lot to go through, I'm afraid.

Please don't trouble yourself any further.

I'll see that it all gets taken to a consignment shop.

Byron, I-- I'm sorry, I have to ask.

I mean, what-- where... where is everybody?

Your wife? The grandkids?

BYRON: At home. At school.

You-- You're telling me he actually mentioned my kids?

He-- He had pictures of them.

But did he ever talk about them or about me,

about my sister?

Did he ever mention my mother,

who's inside there with him?

PERRY MASON: Well, it doesn't--

it doesn't mean you weren't in his thoughts

or-- or that he didn't care.

He was a very private man.

BYRON: Yes.

Well, we didn't talk about him either.

And, to be honest, I don't care.

DELLA: The check from his life insurance

will be mailed directly to you.

I'll see that his will is probated as soon as we get back.

Will you be needing a ride back to the train or to a hotel?

MASON: No. Thank you.

DELLA: That was warm.

MASON: It wasn't right, Della.

It wasn't right.

He knew you'd be there in the morning.

He knew you'd-- you'd find him and...

Arrange things?

I suppose I should thank you.

For what? Helping turn his suicide

into a more insurance-friendly demise?

Forget it.

It's very easy for you to break the rules, isn't it?

Well, the way I see it, there's what's legal

and there's what's right.

You know, you can be profoundly irritating.

-All right. -DELLA: You drink too much.

Your personal habits leave a lot to be desired.

And quite frankly, I find it offensive

that you choose to mask your intelligence and decency

with cynicism and slothfulness.

Is that all?

And you never accept any help.

I'm letting you help me finish this bottle.

You come from money, don't you?

Why do you say that?

-The way you sit. -(CHUCKLES)

-Just little things. -Mm-hmm?

Your subtle and not-so-subtle judgments.

I ran away from home when I was 25.

Goodbye, arranged fiancé.

Goodbye...

father who wouldn't let me go to college.

Goodbye, inheritance.

Hello, E.B. Jonathan and Associates.

Answered a classified in the Examiner,

"Busy downtown firm seeks secretary."

I showed up.

It was just the two of them sitting behind their desks,

Lyle and... E.B.

I mean, Lyle's a shark,

-but E.B. was... -DELLA: Vain?

Short-tempered?

Self-absorbed?

MASON: He was living a lie.

Do you think that's why he did it?

(SIGHS)

Does it not even matter anymore?

MASON: Well, I think it mattered to E.B.

I think that's why he chose his own terms.

Wrote his own epitaph.

"Here lies E.B. Jonathan, defender of all the innocent,

righter of wrongs, all-around good guy."

Unless you're talking to his son.

Here's to all the shitty fathers in the world.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

DELLA: Can you ring room 18?

Perry Mason.

Mr. Mason checked out an hour ago, ma'am.

Thank you.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

MASON: Thank you.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

(KNOCKS)

MASON: Hi, Cheryl.

It's good to see you.

-Linda here-- -CHERYL ANDERSON: Linda?

-LINDA: Yeah? -Door.

What are you doing here?

Well, I was-- I was working a case in the area,

so I thought...

You look terrible. Are you drunk?

-Probably. -LINDA: Jesus, Perry.

You can't show up here drunk.

E.B. is dead, Lin.

He-- He died. He's-- He's dead.

I'm sorry.

I know when your dad passed, E.B. was--

I'm not-- I'm not looking for a hug or anything.

I just-- I just wanted to spend some time with my son.

He's out back playing.

Thank you.

LINDA: Wait.

You think you wanna come inside and clean up a bit?

I'm fine.

♪ (SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

TEDDY MASON: Daddy. Daddy!

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

Why in God's name is she in chains?

DETECTIVE ENNIS: Standard procedure, ma'am.

Standard should include a certain level of decency.

I'm sure you're right about that, ma'am.

SISTER ALICE: Do you want something to eat, Emily?

-EMILY DODSON: Mm-hmm. -Maybe hot bath?

DETECTIVE HOLCOMB: That's Alice McKeegan,

-you are Birdy McKeegan. -Yes and yes.

And you agree to serve as Emily Dodson's custodians

-after posting bail? -Yes.

HOLCOMB: Number one, Mrs. Dodson is to remain

confined on these premises from dusk to dawn,

-unless otherwise directed by the court. -Yes.

HOLCOMB: Number two, these premises are subject

-to search at any time. -BIRDY MCKEEGAN: Yes.

HOLCOMB: Number three, Mrs. Dodson's not allowed

to leave the state of California.

Yes.

(SIGHS)

-It's soft. -It's mine.

I had it moved in when I knew you were coming to stay with us.

You shouldn't have. I don't need much.

SISTER ALICE: Really, I sleep standing up half the time.

Go on.

You're here for a reason. You and me both.

Sister, what you said--

what you said about Charlie...

SISTER ALICE: We've been called, Emily,

to be free of self and filled with the Holy Spirit,

to be led by the Holy Spirit, to see each other saved.

Can I be saved, Sister?

Can I?

-Those curtains are new. -Yeah.

-MASON: They're nice. -Thank you.

It's very kind of you to notice.

-Do you want more coffee? -Thanks.

So what time does Ed roll in?

He must be putting in some serious hours

down at Spreckel.

Does dinner wait on him or do you put

a plate in the oven for later?

Cher, do you mind seeing if, uh,

Teddy needs help with his homework?

He doing well in school?

You're not staying for dinner.

Now, I don't know what this is, this--

this thing you're working on.

You just drop by out of the blue sky.

You're supposed to send the checks.

You don't. Birthdays, Christmas, you screw that up.

And now you just show up here and you-- (SNIFFLES)

Do you know what that does to Teddy?

Well, I was thinking maybe he could come

spend some time with me on the farm.

It's hardly a farm.

Well, then why'd you tell him I'm a fucking farmer?

Because I don't know what to tell him you are.

Poking around people's dirty linens,

hanging out at the morgue,

getting your nose knocked in twice a week.

You're supposed to be his father.

I am his father.

No, Perry, you are not.

That ship has sailed.

ED: I'm home.

CHERYL: Hi, hon. Dinner's almost there.

Do you remember when I proposed to you?

Yeah.

-I said no. -MASON: Yeah.

The first time you said no.

Why did you ever say yes to me, Lin?

Because for the life of me I can't remember.

ED: Come on, buddy.

A-ha! I heard a rumor and it turns out to be true.

Perry Mason's in town!

How are you, Ed?

ED: Well, I don't want to jinx anything,

but I got to tell ya,

I think, uh, we're really getting to see the other side of this.

The Honey Dew label is really taking off.

Mark my words, '32 is gonna be a big year for Spreckel.

-Right? -Right. Yeah.

ED: All right. Why don't you go wash up, buddy?

TEDDY: Okay.

Well, that's great news, Ed.

So come in, sit down, uh, have some dinner.

Tell me all the big city buzz, fella.

I'm afraid I got-- I, uh,

I got-- I got to go back to work.

Don't be afraid. It's just work.

(CHUCKLES)

Still, it's your loss.

Smells good in here, Linda. What's for eats?

Oh, I've got a big spread here tonight, Ed.

-I hope you're hungry. -Thanks, as always.

I'll-- I'll be waiting on it.

DEBATER: My esteemed opponent has a view of our race

that I do not-- cannot share.

We must accept, he says, the segregation

that daily confines us to inferior schools,

inferior housing, inferior care

-if we're injured or sick. -CROWD MEMBER: That's right.

DEBATER: We must accept, he says, the humiliation

that daily denies us

the simple dignity of being human,

no more, no less.

All the while we are urged to help ourselves, right?

(CROWD AFFIRMS)

Educate ourselves.

Restrain ourselves, in hopes that one day, one glorious day,

the white man will smile upon us and say,

"Now, now I respect you."

(CROWD AFFIRMS)

DEBATER: When comes that day, friends?

Tomorrow? Next year? Next century?

No, the only way to earn our place is to agitate,

organize, demand that the promise

of the Declaration of Independence

that all men are created equal is a spur to justice

and not the most galling of hypocrisies.

(APPLAUSE)

That second debater though, he was inspiring.

Yeah, but I don't think the reverend should be

supporting radical views.

Rev's just giving a chance to both sides of the argument.

The Bible says "Render unto Caesar."

-LOUISE: Mm-- -What's that got to do with it?

There's no point in fighting to change

what's not gonna change.

EDWINA: That's what he's saying.

It can't change if we don't fight.

Easy to get folks all riled up.

Then you left high and dry, and what good have you done?

Well, what do you think of it all, Officer Drake?

I think it is best to always agree with my wife.

LOUISE: (CHUCKLES) You got him well trained.

EDWINA: Mm-hmm. (CHUCKLES)

Miss Street?

DELLA: Mother McKeegan.

I'm sorry for just dropping by like this.

BIRDY: Is everything all right?

We're very sorry to hear about Mr. Jonathan.

Yes, well, thank you. He's with his family now.

As he should be.

DELLA: The reason I'm here,

first, to thank you for organizing Emily's bail.

Oh, well, Sister deserves credit for that.

DELLA: That's very generous.

And now that Emily's out of jail,

we need to work on getting her a new lawyer.

Oh, well, the court just appointed someone.

They're with him in the dining room right now.

Mm.

The prosecution is also gonna be calling your husband

who-- uh-oh.

Herman Baggerly is your-- is your father-in-law?

Yes. Sort of.

Mr. Baggerly's thinking no longer aligns with ours.

(SIGHS)

Miss Street, perhaps you could tell me

about the approach Mr. Jonathan was taking.

Did he have some big secret strategy?

EMILY: In our last meeting, he mentioned

-maybe a deal. -FRANK C. DILLON: Hmm.

DELLA: But we moved away from that.

We have promising evidence coming in.

DILLON: Evidence?

Well, these matters warrant more consideration.

I'm going to need to see the case files.

Yes. Of course. They're at the office.

DILLON: His office is still open?

It's paid through the end of the month.

Perfect. Tomorrow morning then.

Would you excuse me a moment?

I need to make a call.

Okay.

Where were we?

-My husband testifying? -Yes.

Well, that's gonna be rough.

I had my issues with the man.

There's nowhere around that but... damn it,

-last of a dying breed. -DELLA: Mm.

Had my share lately.

There's talk of a, uh, gathering down at the club.

Let the muckey-mucks say nice things about him

-for a Law Review write-up. -E.B. would have liked that.

LYLE: Darn right he would have. (LAUGHS)

Good lawyer in his day. Big ham his whole life.

Lyle, the court appointed Frank C. Dillon in his place.

LYLE: Yeah.

If I'm playing with my money, I'm betting the DA

had a hand in his selection.

So you think Frank will push Emily to plead guilty?

I think Frank will do whatever helps Maynard Barnes

ride this case to higher office.

I'm hearing governor talk lately.

Meanwhile, an innocent woman is being thrown to the wolves.

Unfortunately, wolves don't care about truth.

They only care about meat.

Which is why I need to find Emily

another lawyer immediately.

I made a list.

I was hoping you could look it over for me.

Let me look it over.

A very thorough list.

A Della Street list.

Well, Reilly, Giesler, Rogers, they're very good.

They might do it for a big fat check and the exposure.

Ferris and Kavanaugh, they'd do it for the exposure alone

but they're, uh-- well, to use the legal parlance,

they're scumbags.

Fifty-three names, including yours.

It's a preordained loser, Della.

A real career-killer.

Too risky for most, including me.

No. But-- But-- She-- She needs help.

-Lyle, she's-- -Yeah. It's not gonna happen.

Della, I'm sorry.

No. I-- I'm sorry.

I-- I'm here to get E.B.'s will probated, not to, um...

LYLE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't think twice about it.

♪ (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

Whoo!

(BOTH LAUGHING)

Whoa. Whoo!

It's a big opportunity.

More like a big pain in the hindquarters.

No, no, no. Truckers make good money.

Buy a couple of used rigs for 300 down.

Then spend 20 hours a week driving them around.

JAMES: We hire someone to do that.

They work for us.

Oh, okay. We already got people under us, do we?

All right. How long you wanna be walking the beat for, huh?

I mean, how are you gonna feel ten years on,

clearing alkies off the stoops and writing tickets?

I got a plan.

Smart man... bite.

EDWINA: Get up off your ass and give me a towel!

JAMES: Oh, all right. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

PAUL DRAKE: Get in here. Get in here. Get in here.

JAMES: Here I come. Here I come.

DRAKE: Come on in here, now.

-You okay? Yeah? -(SHIVERING)

DRAKE: I know my wife can move faster than that.

-EDWINA: It's freezing. -(SHIVERING)

Fool enough going in that January water.

Baby's gonna come out an ice cube. Come here.

It's supposed to make the baby strong.

Oh, is that an old wives' tale, old lady?

Uh, you watch where you're going with that now.

Oh. Oh. Okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

-Here. -Yeah.

Seems stronger.

DRAKE: I think it is.

Look at you.

♪ (MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

(INAUDIBLE)

POLICE OFFICER 1: Let's go, everybody.

Pack your belongings and go.

POLICE OFFICER 2: Get off this beach.

-POLICE OFFICER 1: Let's go, everybody. -POLICE OFFICER 2: Let's go.

What's this now?

POLICE OFFICER 1: Let's go, everybody. Let's go.

Beach is closed. Everybody off.

Well, they can't do that, can they?

DRAKE: What's going on, officer?

Closing the beach.

How come?

POLICE OFFICER 1: Overcrowding. City ordinance.

Get your belongings and go or I'll toss it in the ocean.

-He's a policeman. -POLICE OFFICER 1: What's that?

My husband's a policeman.

And where would you be a policeman?

Central Avenue. Newton Division.

-And where is that? -Los Angeles.

Well, this isn't Central.

This is Santa Monica. This beach is closed.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

Fuck.

Fuck.

Let's you and me have a talk.

-Your partner, Mason. -PETE: Associate.

ENNIS: He hands back the letters that make our case.

Now he's out and about again, making things hard for us.

Ain't we all want the same thing here?

Make things right for the baby boy?

The kid's dead. Little late to make things right.

Hey, I'm busting my ass here on this case.

When you're not shaking down whorehouses.

ENNIS: You think I have a choice in this?

Maybe you don't understand how it goes when I say,

"I don't wanna do that to the senior detective."

PETE: No. I do.

-No. You really don't. -No, I do.

I used to be in vice, out in San Berdoo.

-ENNIS: Yeah? -Yeah.

Oh, well then, between you and me, I'm--

I'm trying to get out from under him, yeah?

And this case could do it.

I bring it in right, I can call my shot.

So if there's a corner cut or the wrong guy gets arrested,

it's not 'cause there's some fourth man out there.

It's Holcomb. He's leading it, not me.

So you think Holcomb's putting his thumb on this?

ENNIS: Talk to your associate, okay?

I know he's doing a job too, but...

he's way wide on all of this.

She's on me.

(EXHALES DEEPLY)

Lucy's really squirming tonight.

I don't think she liked that cold bath much.

Edwina told me about what James was saying,

about the trucks.

What you think?

We just gonna pretend nothing happened, is that it?

I don't wanna make you angrier than you already are.

No point in fighting. "Render unto Caesar."

Okay. Okay, I deserve that.

I ain't a fucking truck driver, Clara.

-I know, baby. -I'm a fucking cop...

on a colored beach.

I ain't shit, baby.

CLARA DRAKE: I was wrong what I've been saying.

You do what you need to do, however you need to do it,

and I'll be right there next to you,

wherever, whatever.

PETE: I'm jawing with the guy.

Not more than five minutes, he's throwing shade on Holcomb.

Nothing specific. Just hinting at it, you know?

But get this, Ennis cut the line to be first at Angel's Flight.

That's one.

Then he's mighty quick to show when the Polacks get whacked.

That's two.

Three, he's at Gannon's almost before the call went out.

Gannon's is LA County.

Exactly. Ain't his division.

Ain't nowhere near his division.

You think he's sitting nearby to control the crime scenes?

Unless there's a bunch of Elks Lodges we don't know about.

But three times? That's quite the co-winky-dink.

Worth staying on him?

Try stopping me.

Yeah. Pete, look, I...

I got no way to pay you.

Fucker rolls on his partner, tries to buy me off with pussy?

I'll pay you.

Pete Strickland burned on a tail job?

I never thought I'd see the day.

Fuck you.

♪ (CHOIR SINGING) ♪

There. Right there.

Yes, you. Yes, you, brother.

Bring him to me. Brothers, bring him up.

-WOMAN: Raise him up. -SISTER ALICE: Yes.

Come forward, brother.

ELDER BROWN: Sixty-seven days till Easter Sunday,

gentlemen of the press.

Sixty-seven days

till Alice McKeegan's grievous revelation.

And may this placard remind the deceived going in

and coming out, what their satin-robed leader

promised twice now.

Twice. Twice.

What's with all the baby dolls, deacon?

It's a campaign to denounce and dethrone,

and you can let your readerships know that we,

of the Reformed Radiant Assembly of God,

will not set foot in our glorious temple again

until the heretic McKeegan and her enablers

surrender the pulpit and restore the Church

to its noble white Christian origins.

(CROWD CHEERING)

And there came a sound from heaven,

a sound that The Good Book says came like a mighty wind.

And it was this wind that filled the house

where they were sitting.

There you are, brother. Yes. Yes, come.

You don't need that chair.

And there appeared before them cloven tongues made of fire.

And what happened next? Who can tell me?

WOMAN: The Holy Spirit.

Yes. Yes, brothers and sisters.

Their lungs were flooded with the Holy Ghost.

And they began to speak in different tongues,

as the Spirit gave them utterance.

That chair's an excuse.

And it was quite a party

because there were all sorts of people there.

Jews, Romans,

Arabians, Elamites, Mesopotamians.

But... (SHUSHING)

But everyone could understand everyone else because now,

now they were speaking in divine tongues,

the works of God.

(CROWD CHEERING)

Get up. He's got your legs. Where's your faith?

-What's your name, Brother? -It's Robert.

SISTER ALICE: Get up, Robert.

You don't need that chair if you have faith, Robert.

You don't need that chair if you feel the fire of Christ

inside you, Robert.

-Can you feel it? -I feel it.

SISTER ALICE: You do feel it? Yes. He feels it.

The age of miracles is here again.

What was truth in the Bible is truth again.

(SPEAKING IN TONGUES)

♪ (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

(SPEAKING IN TONGUES)

(SCREAMS)

(CROWD CHEERING)

♪ (CHOIR SINGING) ♪

Do you believe in miracles?

MAN: We believe!

SISTER ALICE: I can't hear you!

Yes, yes, yes. Yes, I believe.

SISTER ALICE: Do you believe?

Do you believe?

Yes! Yes, Robert.

Look how strong you are, Robert. Look at you. Beautiful, Robert.

Yes. Yes.

You can do it, oh, because you are filled

with the Lord's love. Yes. Feel it.

♪ (CHOIR SINGING) ♪

Well, it's certainly not without compensation.

You're gonna have every newspaper in the country

printing your firm's name.

You can't pay for the kind of advertising

the Dodson case will...

-DILLON: Miss Street! -I'm on the phone!

Well, no one would expect you to.

-DILLON: I need you in here! -Just a second!

Can you-- Can you think of anyone else

who might consider-- Hello?

DILLON: Miss Street!

Did you need something, Mr. Dillon?

Miss Street, these case files,

is-- is this-- is this everything you had?

As far as I know, Mr. Dillon.

DILLON: Because there isn't a whole lot here,

aside from some photographs and a stack

of illegible notes from Mr. Mason.

DELLA: Well, I think you'll find some motions in there as well.

Yeah. You mentioned yesterday, you said something

about new evidence?

Oh. Yes.

Right. So where is it?

Gee, Mr. Dillon, if it's not there...

It's not.

Well, I suppose I could dash by Mr. Jonathan's tonight

and see if he took anything home.

DILLON: That'd be wonderful. Thank you.

Miss Street, is there a trick to using these phones?

DELLA: It's a phone, Mr. Dillon.

You pick it up and tell the operator

what number you'd like to call.

Right. Bit more complicated than what we have

at the public defenders-- Hello, operator?

Yes. Uh, DA's office, please.

♪ (JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

MAYNARD BARNES (ON PHONE): Nothing in the files?

DILLON (ON PHONE): Well, I'm still looking

through the notes from the detective.

A real unsavory character with some shoddy penmanship.

BARNES: Bring me whatever notes he left tomorrow.

DILLON: Say your office, noon?

BARNES: Not my fucking office.

The place we met the other time.

DILLON: Of course. Sorry.

Stashing evidence, hidden secrets.

This is like when I covered Myrna in The Black Watch.

"It is sweeter to be a woman to one man

than goddess to thousands."

I could help, you know?

You're a klutz.

And Myrna would never forgive me.

Three more trips.

HAZEL PRYSTOCK: Should I be worried about you?

I mean, just how illegal is this?

Well, the way I see it,

there's what's legal and there's what's right.

EMILY: The officers said that I'm supposed to be indoors

by nighttime.

I don't see any officers around, do you?

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

(SOBBING)

Sister Alice?

Will you have to dig up Charlie when you do it?

DIANNE (ON PHONE): Message exchange.

-MASON: It's Mason. -DIANNE: He lives.

-MASON: What do you got for me? -DIANNE: A lot.

Just give me today's.

DIANNE: Mr. Strickland. Miss Street. Miss Street again.

Miss Street a third time.

She leave a message?

DIANNE: She says the court has appointed--

(LAUGHS)

DILLON: What's funny?

Oh, you are. Endlessly, Frank.

May I ask what you're doing?

Well, you are really making yourself comfortable here,

aren't you?

It's paid through the end of the month, so...

A good man sat behind this desk. A good man.

You are not him.

Glass houses, Mr. Mason.

And I'm the lawyer in charge here.

These reports on the Dodson case are all incomplete,

and I need you to decipher your notes.

MASON: I know. My penmanship's a fright.

Oh! Tolstoy. "If you want to be happy, be."

What do you want with my notes, Frank?

-Is that alcohol? -MASON: Mm-hmm.

That's illegal.

MASON: Only the production, transport, and sale.

The part where I pour it down my throat is not only comforting

given your presence here, but a-okay with Johnny Law.

As an officer of the court, I must insist.

Mm-hmm. Hmm.

Damn it.

You ever read a book, Frank?

I tell my son it's important to learn.

Goddammit, Mason.

To go to school.

To get on in life with understanding, compassion.

What chance does he have, Frank? What chance does any of us have?

Someone call the police!

What if I just popped your head, Frank,

like a shiny pussball full of rot?

Just squeeze and squeeze, until... (POPS)

I have friends downtown, Mason! Downtown!

(BLOWS RASPBERRY)

MASON: Fair to assume that Barnes knows everything

-we do at this point? -Not everything.

I gave Frank your notes, which are illegible

and a bunch of stuff we already filed.

Stashed the rest of it here.

MASON: Brilliant, but what does it matter?

The court will make sure that Frank gets everything

at some point, then the DA gets it the day later.

-What is the DA's case so far? -Love letters and bias.

MASON: Exactly.

I mean, do they got bloodied baby clothes? No.

Do they got an operator listening in

as George and Emily plot their escape?

No.

MASON: Do they got her vacationing in Milwaukee

-where the kidnappers come from? -I'm gonna venture no.

MASON: I'm gonna guarantee a no.

So Barnes is gonna load the jury with twelve teetotalling,

high-Christian assholes and hammer away on Emily

for being a cheat and take every opportunity to show

photographs of Charlie on the morgue table.

You know why?

'Cause they don't have a shred, a fucking sliver

of physical evidence.

This standard of behavior of what? Of--

-Of-- -Personal ethics?

Yes! Because if you walk out of that door

and think for one second that you're entering

into a nation of laws, you are a complete

fucking idiot.

I'm not even talking about the monster that stitched

those eye sockets open. He just wanted the cash.

I'm talking about the cops who are, at best,

covering their asses.

And that-- and that fucking Matthew

who said, "Fuck you, Emily."

I'm just gonna go with a dad that denied me.

And Barnes here, you know this is all he's got.

Unless the mayor's talked to him and said,

"No. No. This is how we make the sausage.

This is how we keep the order."

-You want coffee? -I've got coffee.

-DELLA: That's whiskey. -MASON: Oh, yes, it is.

You know what? Maybe there is a God.

Maybe there is a God with a big white stupid beard

that says "This is how it's gonna be."

But, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we have a system

that says you 12 fuckers can make things right.

Emily Dodson doesn't have to eat the sins of Los Angeles.

She doesn't have to die for us sinners.

But they're not gonna do that, 'cause they were raised

in the same city as the rest of these gutless

fucking attorneys who won't take this on.

Is that my Underwood?

DELLA: Sorry, June. Emergency.

There are people upstairs trying to sleep.

Perry, would you be kind enough to offer Miss Pitlick a drink?

Oh, well, I...

I'd be honored.

Occasionally, I, uh...

-Purely for medicinal purposes. -Oh, me too.

-What, uh, what's the emergency? -Finding our lawyer.

Now, we just got to get him in front of Emily

before Dillon gets to her.

No fucking way.

George didn't kill himself?

MASON: No.

Does that mean that George is innocent?

No.

But what it does mean, Emily, is that you need

new representation, and you need it now.

And you want her to engage Mr. Mason?

He's done all the significant work on this case.

He knows more about it than anyone in this city.

And he's committed to making sure the truth

comes out in court and that your name

and reputation are restored.

-But he's not a lawyer. -DELLA: Actually...

Mr. Mason has been under an apprenticeship

with Mr. Jonathan for the past two-and-a-half years.

There's a bar examination in two weeks,

which will certify him with plenty of time

before our trial is set to begin.

You're being railroaded, Emily, and it's wrong.

But I can help you.

We can see that you mean what you say, Mr. Mason,

but it's hard to believe that you're the right person

for the job.

MASON: Well, I'm the only person for this job

because we've called everyone.

And you can too. But no one wants this case.

I'm all you got.

But I will prove your innocence, Emily.

And I will find Charlie's killer.

The choice here is Mrs. Dodson's.

Emily?

I want you to represent me, Mr. Mason.

You won't regret this.

MASON: What have we done, Della?

We gave our client a fighting chance.

Client? I have a client? How the fuck do I have a client?

-What do I know about the law? -DELLA: More than you think.

-Or nothing. -Somewhere in the middle.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Wh-- Where are you going?

This is our hour of great regret.

You have an appointment.

I hear you need some legal advice.

I don't know you.

That's good, 'cause I'm not here.

Oh, hot tea. Um... slice of lemon.

The suits in City Hall are scared of something

about the Dodson case.

You probably know more about why that is than I do.

Right. So what do you have that I don't?

A law degree from Yale,

22 years of trial experience, and an office

one floor below Maynard Barnes.

That it?

(LAUGHS) Della said you were a hard-ass.

Just a little guarded about tea drinkers

peddling free legal advice.

The bar exam has not changed since 1923.

Do you have something to write on

or do you expect to remember the whole thing?

Why don't we start with who you are.

-Hamilton Burger. -I've heard of that name.

Deputy District Attorney Hamilton Burger.

Oh, you're gunning for Barnes' job.

Miss?

You forgot my slice of lemon.

John operated a successful fishing shop.

He needed a new bait cooler, which had to be in place

by May 1 for the opening day of,

you guessed it,

the fishing season. Write this down.

On, uh, February 1, John entered into a valid written contract...

LAWYERS: "I do solemnly swear

I will support the Constitution of the United States

and the Constitution of the State of California.

I will employ such means only as are consistent

with truth and honor.

I will maintain the confidence and preserve inviolate

the secrets of my client.

I will abstain from all offensive personality

unless required by the justice of the cause

with which I am charged.

I will never reject the cause of the defenseless or oppressed."

So help me God.

"So help me God."

MAYNARD BARNES: A trial is society's way of finding the truth.

If I make a mistake... someone dies.

Then don't make a mistake.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

All they've got is innuendo and circumstance.

There's gotta be something we missed.

WOMAN: Wait till you see what I got you.

-I could kiss you, Della Street. -Please don't.

PERRY MASON: My client's fighting for her life...

and you're hell-bent on covering this up!

MAN: Do you swear that the testimony you shall give,

shall be the truth, the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth...

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

...so help you God?

♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪