All language subtitles for The.Phenix.City.Story.1955

This is Clete Roberts
reporting from Phenix City, Alabama.

I'm here to learn the truth
about Phenix City.

Like many other Americans
and people throughout the world...

...I had heard the story
of the criminal syndicate...

...which allegedly controlled
this city for many years.

And I'd heard the tale
of the cold-blooded murder...

...of Albert A. Patterson...

...Alabama's attorney
general nominate.

The declaration of martial law
in Phenix City...

...was also well-known to me.

And like many of you,

I had read of it in the pages
of national news magazines...

...such as LIFE, TIME, Look,
and The Saturday Evening Post.

Recently, I learned that the
Columbus, Georgia Ledger Enquirer...

...was being considered
for a Pulitzer prize.

A prize later won
for the part it played...

...in unmasking the criminal syndicate
here in Phenix City.

This prompted me as a reporter
to come down here...

...to find out what really happened.

To learn how the good people
of Phenix City had triumphed over evil...

...and how democracy
had successfully asserted itself...

...over a very real dictatorship.

I learned many shocking facts...

...from the people who lived
the Phenix City story...

...the real people involved.

You will meet them in a moment
as I talk with them...

...and I warn you
that what you hear them say...

...you will find hard to believe...

...but they speak the truth.

I warn you too
that what you are about to see...

...in the picture
which follows my news report...

...will shock you too.

It is brutal, it's shocking...

...but it is based upon the actual story
of what happened here in Phenix City.

We in the news reporting profession
are agreed that this gentleman--

- How are you, Ed.
- Fine. How are you?

Fine. Come on down, Ed.

This gentleman is one of the
great reporters in the South.

He's Ed Strickland
of The Birmingham News.

Ed, will you look right straight
at the United States of America now...

...while I ask you some
questions about...

the job of reporting
that you have done...

...on the Phenix City story?

When did you first become interested
in the situation in Phenix City?

How long ago?

About 1950, Clete,
I first went to Phenix City...

...and began making some investigation
for my paper from time to time...

...and later for another organization.

I want you
to tell those people right there.

Look at them while you talk to me...

...because I want them to have
a good look at a great reporter.

How many months did you spend
or years did you spend on the story?

On the story of the
Patterson murder...

...of course it began on June 18th
of 1954.

I went there within three hours
after the murder...

...and stayed for six months
without a break...

...with more than two or three days
at a time during that time.

You mind telling us about the news break
from the point of view of a reporter...

...that you got on the news
of Mr. Patterson's murder?

I did have a wonderful news break
in that...

...I happened to be
trying to reach Mr. Patterson...

...via long-distance telephone
at the time of the shooting.

And got the word immediately from
the operator in Columbus, Georgia...

...that Mr. Patterson
had been killed.

A few moments later,
with my photographer,

I was on the way down there.

Ed, do you think that the story about
conditions that existed in Phenix City...

...has been exaggerated in any way?

It has not been exaggerated.
It could not be exaggerated.

From my knowledge of the things that
went on there prior to the shooting...

...and sometime thereafter...

...it would be impossible to
exaggerate, I would believe.

You put this all down in a book,
have you not?

Yes, I have.

Gene Wortsman of the
Birmingham Post-Herald and myself...

...have collaborated
in writing a book on Phenix City.

Another question.

Do you believe
that the so-called machine...

...the threat,
still exists in Phenix City?

I'm sorry to say that it does.

It will be some time, apparently
before it will be completely eradicated.

There is evidence
that it is trying to come back.

Thank you very much.

Ed Strickland of
The Birmingham News...

...who played one of the major roles
in bringing this story to public attention.

With me now is Mr. Hugh Bentley...

...a resident of Phenix City...

...whose life was constantly threatened
and whose home was dynamited...

...because of his determination
to fight the criminal syndicate.

Do you believe, Mr. Bentley, that
these people who blew up your home...

...knew that your family was in the house
at the time the dynamite was detonated?

Oh, yes...

...we've been dealing with a
problem here of organized crime...

...operated by the syndicate.

It was one of the acts of violence,
of about 14 or 15...

...that was perpetrated
on our people.

Mr. Bentley, after these
constant acts of terrorism...

...these threats against yours
and your family's life...

...why did you, and why do
you continue to live in Phenix City?

Well, I was born and raised here,
and this is my home.

And during this--
During the past 25 years...

...I've had an opportunity
to teach a lot of children...

...in my Sunday school class.

During that time, actually,
we won a lot of them to Christ.

And we feel like that there's more good
in the community than there is evil.

We're basing all our strength of faith
in the good of our community...

...hoping someday
that they will rise up...

...and throw off
this ugly reputation it has--

Our town has had
for the past 100 years.

I feel like it's a dirty filthy code...

...that I inherited from my father...

...that I don't wanna hand down
to my children.

Thank you, Mr. Bentley.

One of the men who worked...

...one might say fought,
side by side with Mr. Bentley...

...is a member of the
Russell Betterment Association...

...in combating the criminal syndicate
was Mr. Hugh Britton...

...also a resident of Phenix City.

We have an appointment now
to talk with him at his house.

How many honest elections
have you experienced here in Phenix City...

...in your lifetime?

Well, I'd say...

...the only honest election
that I know anything about here

in the last 43 years...

...was one that we have held here...

...it was a local election,
since we had our new sheriff...

...and police department here.

I talked with Mr. Britton
before the camera was shooting.

He told me a story about a man
who asked him once the same question.

What was that answer you gave him?

Well, I'd have to explain
that when I was a boy...

...that we, just for a pastime...

...at night, used to take flashlights
and broomsticks...

...and go down to the city dump
to hunt rats.

We killed some big ones.

And that....

That a rat, if you turn a light...

...a bright light in a rat's face...

...that he'll run for cover.

And it didn't make any difference
whether that rat is in the city dump...

...or in the city hall.

All right,
thank you very much, Mr. Britton.

This gentleman you see is Quinnie Kelly,
who was pointed out to me.

Mr. Kelly, will you come up here please?
He was pointed out to me earlier today.

- I'm Clete Roberts.
- Kelly's my name.

Happy to know you.
Look this way, will you please?

Would you mind taking your hat off
so the folks can see you?

Quinnie Kelly is a janitor here in the
Russell County court house, are you not?

Yeah, that's correct.

You are a witness, I know,
in the current murder trials...

...now under way
in Birmingham, Alabama.

And I have heard that you have
been threatened, is that true?

Yeah, I've been threatened many,
many times.

- Many, many times?
- That's right.

How did these threats come to you?

- Over the telephone.
- What did they say?

Well, the first one comes...

...he wanted me to remove my pistol
and badge, I wouldn't.

He said if I didn't remove
it I wouldn't live...

...and if I did I wouldn't live.

- If you didn't remove it?
- Yes.

And your badge is as a deputy sheriff.
How long have you been a deputy sheriff?

Well, I've been deputized ever
since Rhett Tanner has been here.

I see. All right, now,
what other threats have you received?

Well, I got a call Sunday.

Threatened and asked me had
I seen what was in the newspaper

and I told him I did.

- Uh-huh.
- And he says time is running out...

...and if I didn't I wouldn't never live
to testify in this next trial.

How do you feel? Does that scare you?

We're not scared one bit in the world.

And you're gonna go down there
and tell the truth, are you?

I'm gonna tell the truth.
If I tell anything, it'll be the truth.

Has anybody--? Is any guard on you?

Anybody trying to help you stay alive
until you get to the trial?

No, sir, they are not.

- You carry a gun?
- Yeah, I carry a gun.

- You know how to use it?
- Yeah.

- Will you use it?
- Yeah, I'll use it.

Thanks. Quinnie Kelly,
ladies and gentlemen.

Janitor, right here in Russell County.

- You're not afraid?
- No.

How about your family?

Well, my wife's upset.
Been upset since they talked to her.

Been in the care of a doctor
ever since she--

- They went down there and talked to her.
- All right, thanks very much, Mr. Kelly.

I know that you're a busy man.
Pleasure meeting you.

- Glad to meet you.
- Goodbye, sir.

It is now my privilege
to take you with me...

...to the home
of Mrs. Albert A. Patterson.

Mrs. Patterson is the widow...

...of the man who was murdered
on June 18th, 1954...

...the attorney general nominate
of this state of Alabama.

She is a grand Southern woman...

...mother of four boys...

...very proud of her son, John,
who came home from the wars...

...and took over the task
that his father laid down...

...when he died
under an assassin's bullet.

John, today, her son...

...is the man who must prosecute,
indict...

...and bring to justice
the killers of his father.

Mrs. Patterson lived here
under the threat of the machine...

...and she can answer our question
as to what life was then like.

We go now to her home.

How many free elections...

...and honest elections have you
experienced here, Mrs. Patterson?

Well, I've never experienced
any free elections here...

...until this cleanup we had
in our city elections.

What about John?
Do you worry about John's future at all?

Do you think that he may be threatened
by the machine the way Mr. Patterson was?

Well, I don't think he will be
hurt in any way.

I believe he's all right.

Do you think
that there's no offer, no chance...

...of him being treated
the way your husband was?

Well, I hope there's no chance.

Mrs. Patterson, you're obviously
a woman of great courage.

You've had the strength to carry on.

Where did that courage come from?

Why, Mr. Roberts....

I suppose I got the courage
from being in this fight so long.

And we had friends
that were really doing their best...

...to try to help make our town
a clean place to live in our state.

And I have sons and, of course,
I wanted them to have a chance.

And we have good people in this town.

And they were under bondage
and they had to have freedom.

And it just took--

It took something terrible...

...to get people to wake up.

And, I think, if the good people of America
could take a lesson from this...

...to always be on the alert...

...and go to the polls and vote.

And do everything they can
to make a good America.

For the past few minutes
we have been dealing in fact...

...fact about the Phenix City story.

The people with whom we have talked
are real people.

The people involved...

...in what has been described
as an infamous and sordid chapter...

...in American city politics.

There has been no careful rehearsal
of speech.

No careful phrasing.

People have spoken from the mind, and
from the heart as they felt they should.

We have been with our microphone
and our camera...

...on the streets
of Phenix City, Alabama...

...and at the Jefferson County courthouse
in Birmingham, Alabama...

...where the second in the series
of murder trials is now under way.

This is Clete Roberts reporting.

I return you to your city.

On the banks of the
Chattahoochee River stand two cities...

...joined by two bridges
but living in worlds apart.

This is Columbus, Georgia.

Eighty thousand people live here
and work here...

...on the lathes and drill presses,
on the looms and spinning machines.

Here, thousand of boys
become soldiers every year...

...for Columbus is the site
of Fort Benning.

It isn't far from
the fort to Phenix City.

You take a bus or thumb
a ride into Columbus...

...you walk across this bridge.

Sidney Lanier wrote a poem about
the river flowing under this bridge...

...a long, long time ago.

It was much lovelier then.

This is Phenix City,
my father's town.

My town.

It has more churches than any city
of its size in the state of Alabama.

Twenty-four thousand people
live here...

...send their kids to school here,
just like they do across the river.

Decent, God-fearing people...

...most of them, who practice law
and medicine, tend store, keep house.

Not a big city.

You wouldn't think to look at it,
that until my father died...

...its income from one industry alone
was $100 million a year.

This is, or was,

the section where Phenix City's
principal industry flourished...

...and gave employment
to a part of the town's citizens.

Some worked in factories like this one,
making the industry's tools...

...dice, shaved by skilled hands,
or loaded with mercury.

Slot machines, rigged to pay off
one cent on the dollar, if at all.

Whiskey that looked like bonded stuff,
but wasn't.

Cards marked with tiny pinpricks
or trimmed...

...so the dealers could recognize the aces
and face cards.

Tools of an industry
that flourished for half a century...

...because the good men
looked the other way.

An industry run by men
I went to school with.

Their fathers ran it
and their fathers' fathers before them.

An industry that made Phenix City
the most vicious town in the United States.

That industry was vice.

I love

Your ever-loving

Loving arms

Satan's a woman all dressed up to kill

Satan's a woman
all dressed up to kill

In a honky-tonky city of sin
With a sawdust soul perfumed with gin

Satan's a woman
all dressed up to kill

Fancy women, slot machines and booze

Fancy women, slot machines and booze

With no more money in the sock
And 30 days in the Dixie dock

You wind up with those
Phenix City blues

Lose those Phenix City blues

Lose those Phenix City blues

You gotta hold me tight

You gotta hold me
Oh, so tight

In your ever-loving

Loving arms

You gotta kiss me sweet

'Cos when you kiss me
Oh, so sweet

I shiver

From my eyebrows
Right down to my feet

Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm

Got me with your
Captivating charms

Oh, t'ain't no sin

To wanna just be in

Your ever-loving

Loving
That's what I love

Your ever-loving

Loving arms

Woman's body
is made of flesh and bone

Woman's body is made
of flesh and bone

Tied together with a ball of twine
With a paper heart for a valentine

A woman's mind
That's strictly all her own

Tell me, tell me
Have you heard the news

Tell me, tell me
Have you heard the news

You can't go sinning there no more
They put a big fat padlock on the door

Now you can lose
those Phenix City blues

Lose those Phenix City blues

Lose those Phenix City

Blues
Ah

I love

Your ever-loving

Loving arms

More, more.

Make your bets, boys.

Up jumped the devil again.

And me with 20 again.

Gotta double up to beat the house.

- There's no way to beat this house.
- You're kidding, sport.

If you don't know the game, honey,
Ellie can teach you.

Well, Mr. Ed Gage's son.

What are you doing here?

Fred's a friend of mine, Cassie.

And you don't play with friends,
I suppose.

I guess I'd better put up or shut up.

Young Gage.

You'd better not let me win.

With these cards?

Wipe the dirty look off.

I can't, as long
as you work for Tanner.

Tanner's no worse than the others.

You ought to take
a look at the others.

Do you know any other place
a girl can make 200 bucks a week?

The way things are at home,
we can't get along for less.

I'll be earning money soon as I finish
law school and I pass my bar exam.

- How much and where?
- Fifty a week in Mr. Patterson's office.

Ellie, that's enough
to keep you and me.

But there's not only you
and me, my honey.

You don't think I'd let my wife work
in a joint like this.

I'm not your wife.

You will be.

Even if I keep on working here?

Well, maybe this place
won't stay open much longer.

Fred, we--

This place has been here
since we were old enough...

...to climb up on an apple box
and reach the slot machines.

Nobody's ever gonna do anything
about it, there's too much profit.

Well,
not everybody's interested in profit.

The ones who are
throw a lot of weight.

Mr. Tanner among them.

The cards are marked!

Look at them.

You cheated me,
now give me my dough back.

Come on, you cheat, are you gonna give
me my money back? Or do I call the cops?

No, stay out of it.
Do you want to wind up in the river?

Ellie, you've gotta get out
of here right now.

I can't. You know I can't.

You can't be around this filth
and not get it all over you after a while.

- Come on, Ellie.
- And if I don't?

Mind letting go of her hands
so she can deal?

You must rate around here, chum.

Hi, Ellie.

Hello, Slim.

Where's your sidekick?

I lost him to some babe
out in the front room.

Boy, is she gonna be disappointed when
she finds out all he's got is 10 bucks.

- So long, Ellie.
- Will you be back?

Do you want me to?

You know I do.

How about a bet?

What's he got I haven't?

I don't know.

I never went to kindergarten with you.

Any extra matches, sir?

You ought to keep away
from here, sir.

Mr. Tanner might not take too kindly
to Mr. Ed Gage's boy being around.

You know, there ought to be a way...

...to make a lot of money
with these little turtles.

Huh?

Yeah, have them in a turtle race,
you know.

If I could just figure out a way
to fix the winner.

You work on that,
I got to go over and talk to Al Patterson.

- Uh, Rhett.
- Hm?

I think we ought to
get rid of Ellie Rhodes.

Well, why?

She's a nice kid. I like her.

Yeah, so does Ed Gage's boy.

Why, sure he does.
What's wrong with that?

They're both
a couple of nice healthy youngsters.

It might not be so healthy if she decided
to tell Ed Gage details of this operation.

Well, that depends on whose health
you're worried about.

Anyway, she wouldn't do a thing like that.
She's happy here.

Like quite a few others.

So you won't fire her?

Oh, now, Cassie, show some sense.

If I were to fire her,
she'd have something to beef about, huh?

Maybe something to talk about, huh?

Anyway, she brightens up the joint.

You won't get anyplace with her.

You know, it never crossed my mind.

And, Cassie, your claws are showing.

- How's it going there, Mamie?
- Very good, Mr. Tanner.

Good. Good.

- I'm good.
- Hit me.

Pay me, baby.

- Well, you having a good time, fellas?
- And how.

Now, don't go shooting your whole wad.
You know you could lose it.

I'm hot.
It's the house that's gotta worry.

Good, that's the kind
of talk I like to hear.

You know, a satisfied
customer always comes back.

Well, take good care
of them now, Ellie.

What happened to the noisy gentleman?

- The boys came and got him.
- Good.

- Well, thank them for me.
- You know it.

- Hi there, Bob.
- Hello, Ma.

Hi there.

Well, Ma Beachie. Say, how are you?

Tell me, how are things, huh?

Just fine. Fine.

Good to see you.

You know,
I swear you look younger every day.

Mr. Tanner, you do carry on.

Tell me, how are things?
And how's business?

- Just fine. Just fine.
- Good, good.

Well, nice to see you, Ma.

- Bye.
- Bye.

Hi, Mac.

- You hear from Jeb?
- Uh-huh.

It's tonight...

...but he doesn't know where yet.

Afternoon, Mr. Seymour.

Howdy, Tanner. Where were you Sunday?

Well, my dad was under the weather.
I spent the day out there.

You missed a rattling good sermon.

That new preacher puts out more fire
and brimstone than Billy Sunday.

- His text was Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Mm-hm.

I sure wish I'd heard him.

Excuse me, please.

Hello there.

Well, you're looking
as well as ever, Lucille.

You too, Mr. Tanner.

Please go right in.
Mr. Patterson's waiting for you.

Thank you.

Come in.

Well, you're taking on
a new partner, huh?

Yeah, my son, Johnny.

I read a piece in the Ledger
that he was coming home.

Him and his wife and--

- Well, two kids now, isn't it?
- Yep.

Well, the baby girl is 18 months now.

Time surely does fly, huh?

You know, I remember
when Johnny was courting Mary Jo.

Yeah, it seems just like last week.

When is he getting in?

Late this afternoon. I'm meeting him.

Well, it looks like I showed up
just about the right time, huh?

- You will be needing business.
- No, it will be enough for Johnny and me.

Now, there's never enough these days.

Kids to feed, buy shoes for,
taxes going up.

It's rough.

Even on 14th Street?

We've got a lot of people
to take care of.

- Everybody has got his hand out.
- Yeah.

If you want to stay in business,
you've got to keep those hands filled, huh?

That's just about the size of it.
No, thanks.

- Are you complaining?
- Oh, no, no, no, things are good.

But I don't have to kid you, Pat,
you know all the answers.

You ought to be with us, Pat.

I've been wondering
when you'd get to that.

No, I mean it. We'd get along fine.

Now, there's a lot to be said
for mutual respect...

...and that's something
we've always had.

Well, maybe it isn't a question
of respect, Rhett.

- Habit enters into it.
- Well, what's the matter with habit?

Half the trouble with the people
in the world today is...

...that they just don't want
to let things stay the way they are.

Meaning 14th Street
and what it represents, huh?

Gambling?

It was good enough for my father,
and his father before him.

Yours too.

Besides, a grand jury has said
there is no gambling in Phenix City.

A dictionary definition.

Meaning a gambler
is one who plays a game of chance.

They're right, there's no gambling here.
Nobody in Phenix City has a chance.

Oh, now, Phenix City's okay.

There's room enough
and there's money enough for everybody.

We're old friends, Pat,
I don't like trouble.

I despise it.
It keeps one awake at night.

Why can't those others see that?

- Others?
- Yeah.

Ed Gage, Britton, Bentley.

I'm minding my own business.

I know you are,
and I respect you for it.

But they've been trying
to get you in on their side.

Well, then I don't have to tell you
what my answer was.

No. Your answer was no.

Rhett, I'm not sticking my neck out.

Why should I?

Phenix City has been what it is
for 80, 90 years?

Who am I to try to reform it?

Who are they?

Once, I represented you boys.

I even saved a couple of you
from a murder charge.

Now, you don't think
people aren't grateful?

I don't think at all.
I don't want to.

It's more relaxing, and safer.

You'd be safe enough as our attorney,
Pat.

And it's worth 25,000 a year.

So that's why you dropped in.

Sorry, I want to sleep nights too.

Now, Pat, now look. Lots of people
don't lose any sleep on our account.

- People who go to the same church we do.
- Yeah, well...

...you keep quite a few awake.

Yeah. Gage, Britton, Bentley.

Somebody ought to tell them
to pipe down.

Well, don't look at me.

By the way, Rhett,
what are you afraid of this time?

Well, now that you're playing
hands-off, Pat...

...I'm not afraid of a thing.

I'm not afraid of a darn thing.

Flattery won't help you.
Not with Britton or Gage either.

I would not demean myself.

It's them who should worry.

You know how we're fixed.

People tried to put us
out of business before, yeah.

Last year. The year before.

They broke into our places,
destroyed our property...

...made citizens' arrests,
and what did it get them? Nothing.

Except a few of them were fined
for disturbing the peace.

Yeah, well, you've made your point.

The only thing I'd say is,
you could help this town and not hurt it.

Hurt it?

Now, where would
Phenix City be without us?

Yeah, well,
we're both wasting breath.

Yeah, but it's all in
a spirit of friendship, Pat.

I wish everybody felt
the way you did.

Give my best to
Johnny and Mary Jo, huh?

You're a good man, Pat.
You know, I like old friends.

It gives you sort of a warm feeling
just to know they're around.

But how many friends
do you really have, Rhett?

Or maybe that doesn't worry you.

Maybe I don't care to think much,
either, Pat.

Well, nice to have talked to you.

Maybe you'll change your mind
about going in with us?

I won't change my mind either way.

So long, Rhett.

Well, I'll be seeing you, Pat.

Well, I'll be seeing you, Lucille.

You be doing that, Mr. Tanner.

Well, Hugh Britton.

- This saves me a phone call.
- Does it?

Hugh, we're getting pretty fed up with
your citizen's committees, the rest of it.

We're fed up too.
Has that penetrated your mind?

Mm.

That's a nice-looking boy
you got there.

- What?
- No, Dad.

And he is smart too.

Attention, please. Attention, please.

Announcing the arrival
of Trans World Airlines...

...special chartered flight 8653...

...arriving from Germany.

John!

Mary Jo!

- Hi.
- How are you, Dad?

- Great to see you.
- How are you?

- Where's mother?
- Oh, she's home getting dinner.

- Mary Jo, you look wonderful.
- Thank you. How are you, Mr. Patterson?

Never felt better than right now.

- Shake hands with your granddad.
- Hello, Granddad.

Well, if you aren't the big one.
You're gonna be bigger than your dad.

And she, I'm happy to say,
looks more like her mother...

- ...just as sweet.
- Oh, only when she's asleep.

- Well, we're back, Dad.
- Yes, sir.

Well, I hope you haven't forgotten
how to practice law.

What do you think
I've been doing over there?

- Prosecuting people.
- War criminals who deserved prosecuting.

Well, this will be a little different.
We're going to defend people.

Help straighten out
their legal tangles.

- We?
- Sure.

Patterson and Patterson from now on.

Your name's already on the door.

So we're going to settle down
in Phenix City?

Well, why not, Mary Jo?
It's a pretty nice town.

Well, then it must have changed.

Oh, yes, in some ways.

Schools are better.

More decent people moving in
all the time.

- Three new churches.
- Yeah?

Well, that's something.

Oh, boy, is your grandma
gonna be glad to see you.

Three more churches.

I see 14th Street's still here.

We live a long way from 14th Street.

You've forgotten?

I haven't forgotten this.

All right, all right, worrypuss.

I was born and raised in this town,
remember?

I didn't turn out too bad, did I?

Do I sound like I'm bragging, Dad?

You once told me that you cut
your eyeteeth on a slot machine handle.

Well, what's the matter with that?

Getting your vices out of your system
early in life.

It doesn't look like everybody
got their vices out of their systems.

Tourists mostly, and a few soldiers
from Fort Benning, of course.

There, 14th Street's behind us.

Do they still let the children play
with the slot machines?

Sure, they always will, so long as their
fathers profit by it one way or another.

Not all the fathers profit by it.

I do, in a manner of speaking.

- Pop, get my bat and gloves.
- All right.

So does everyone else
who has his business here.

That's why nothing will ever happen
to alter matters.

- You don't mean they've given up trying?
- Oh, no.

They're having a meeting tonight.

The Russell County Betterment Association,
they call themselves.

What happened to the
Christian Layman's Association?

The Good Government League
and The Citizen's Committee?

All failed, mostly because in essence,
they were vigilante groups.

Mob violence, even in the hands
of decent people, solved nothing.

- Well, what about this new outfit?
- Same men belong to it.

Gage, Britton, Bassett.

- Do you?
- No, I don't, Mary Jo.

Oh, they've asked me,
matter of fact they've asked me to head it.

- Are you going to?
- No, I'm too old and too tired.

What's the use of banging your head
against a brick wall?

- How's the murder rate?
- It's high.

Of course, most of them are listed on
the police blotter as accidental death...

...mostly drowning.

That's what I've been trying
to tell John.

Mary Jo, way up here,
you won't even know 14th Street exists.

I'd almost forgotten it myself.

Oh, there's Ed Gage and Hugh Britton,
come to say hello, I guess.

- Welcome home, John.
- How are you, Mr. Gage?

A little bit rusty in the joints.

Well, John.

- Good to see you again.
- How are you?

Fine, how's the wife and kids?

Just fine, thanks.

- Pat?
- Good evening.

- Care for a cigarette?
- I'll just stick to the old pipe.

- Why the gun?
- Never go out without it, son.

Not as things are.

Well, not since
we started the new association.

Well, that sounds like business.

Let's call it
a means of staying in business.

You hope.

We're glad you're back, my boy. Maybe you
could help get your dad off the dime.

He's gone stubborn on us.
He won't join up.

I never did care
about carrying a gun.

But you could come along with us
tonight.

Well, just come along and listen.

I've listened for 50 years.
Uh-uh.

Saw Tanner coming out of your office.

Yeah, he wanted me to listen, too,
to his side.

You did at one time.

Well, sure,
when they needed a lawyer.

They bought my services,
but they didn't buy me.

You gentlemen can buy my services
any time you want.

Mine and John's.

We check trust deeds,
handle divorces...

...not that you'd be interested
in that, Ed...

...but you might be interested
in drawing up a new will.

I told you we'd be wasting
our time, Ed.

Better get along.

Hello.

Hello there, Mary Jo.

Hello.

Mr. Britton, Mr. Gage,
it's nice to see you again.

Good evening.

John, we're out of baby oil.

Okay, I'll go on downtown
and get some.

- Want a ride?
- Fine.

- You'll have to walk back.
- All right. I can use the exercise.

I won't be long.

Does Mr. Gage always carry a gun?

Sure, guess so. Why not?

He's got a license.

I sure do thank you. Night.

I wish you'd get your dad
to change his mind, John.

Oh, I'm afraid
that would take an act of Congress.

- How about you?
- No.

I've been through one war already.

Good night.

Do me a favor, will you?

Call my mom and
tell her I'll be late.

That's right.

Who you honking at?

You.

Do you mind asking your friends
to get out of the way?

Hey, what's with you? Cut it out.

Hey, what is this?

What?

What? Ugh!

Let's go.

Police. Hey, you, there's a fight.

They're killing him.

Do something. Stop them.

Do something.
Do something. Stop them!

Hurry.

They aren't hurting each other.

Well, if it ain't my old school chum.

What goes on here?

Let go of me.

Don't be so darn smart.
You want me to run you in?

- Yeah, why don't you?
- Some more of your lip, and I will.

Let's get you inside
and wash some of that blood off.

Oh, I'm all right, but see how Ed is.

Better get a doctor. Here.

They play rough.

So let's us play rougher.

My name's Bassett.

This is Pat's boy, John.

Oh, glad to know you.

Looks like you got more fight in you
than your dad has.

- My dad's done his share of fighting.
- Sure, I know that.

I just wish he'd go along with those of us
who believe in direct action.

Now, me, I'm for going down
to 14th Street right now...

...and putting the torch to it.

I'm not. I don't like vigilantes
any more than my dad does.

As soon as I get through
talking over old times...

...with an old school chum,
I'll check back with you.

Hey, buddy, how about a drink, huh?

- Fred. Fred Gage.
- When did you get back?

What are you doing
in this neck of the woods?

- Waiting for my girl.
- You better get out of here.

Clem Wilson and a couple of other guys
just beat up your dad.

- They what?
- He's over in Gunter's office.

Are you looking for someone important,
or will I do?

I'm looking for Clem Wilson.

Oh.

Behind those drapes.

Thank you.

I've beat up lots of soldiers.

This is my first chance at a major.

- Judy.
- John.

Judy, put the floor show on.

Put the floor show on.

Leave him alone.
Keep the civilians out of this.

Fred, get out of here,
this fight is none of your affair.

Yes, it is, Ellie.
Go on back and trim your suckers.

Keep those civilians
back in there, all right?

Hey, everybody, come on,
you're gonna miss the strip.

Floor show on. Striptease starting.

- Rhett, aren't you gonna stop him?
- Nope.

Why not?

That's young Patterson.

Do you want to invite his dad
to go in with Gage's bunch?

Rhett, I think you ought to stop him.

Relax, Cassie.

Nice work, major.

Good work, major.

John, John, that was wonderful.
Are you all right?

I thought I told you
to get out of here.

We'd better get out of here,
Mr. Patterson.

Zeke.

Yeah, I reckon we'd better.

Thanks again, Zeke. We'll find you a job,
so don't go back to 14th Street.

I sure won't.

- And thanks, sir, good night.
- Good night.

- That goes for you too.
- I know, I won't go back.

I--I've made up my mind to that.

I made up my mind to something too.

Let's go.

Dad?

- John, what have they done to you?
- It's all right, looks worse than it is.

- You're all bloody.
- I caught one on the nose.

- Who did it?
- An old school chum.

What's the matter?
Walk into the drugstore door?

- We're going to that meeting.
- Do no such thing.

Go on back to bed, now. Go on.

John, we ought to get out
of this awful town.

Why? Why should we?

It's my town and Dad's.
We'll do something about it.

- What's that?
- I'll tell you on the way.

You go on, go on back to bed.
I'll see you later, good night.

John, I don't want you to go.

- It's Pat.
- Yeah, it's Pat.

- Dad, you all right?
- I'm okay.

If you've come to deliver that
lecture about mob violence,

you're wasting your breath.

We got a plan of action.

Yeah, well, I haven't.
It's John that wants to talk.

So you got it too?

You--You should have seen what he did
to Clem Wilson.

I just wanna say this.

You've underestimated the intelligence
and the decency of the voters in this state.

How long since
you visited the state house?

Or city hall?

All right, all right, I'm naive,
but I still have faith in that ballot box.

Next election day,
just watch them being stuffed like turkeys.

Let me just tell you something.

Let me just give you the first quotation
my dad ever taught me.

To wit:

"The only thing necessary for the triumph
of evil is that good men do nothing."

This doesn't apply to any of you,
heaven knows you've tried.

But it does apply
to the Alabama voters.

They're the ones we've gotta turn to
to clean this mess up.

Go on, tell us how.

All right, who's the most powerful
law enforcement officer in this state?

I know who's supposed to be,
the attorney general.

So let's concentrate on that office.

Let's find a man that we can elect
and trust him to do that job.

Oh, if you're thinking of running me,
stop right now.

I'm too poor a risk.

Campaigning across 67 counties
is too big a job for a man of my age.

You're not old, Pat.

No, not as men go.

But I'm stiff in the joints,
I got a bum leg.

I can't even put on
my own pants and shoes.

You'll have plenty of help
to put them on.

Yeah, but what about the voters?

Most of them don't know
what goes on here.

Even in Phenix City, they don't.

You tell ordinary people like the man
on the corner...

...or the housewife in the market.

You tell them that a
one-block bunch of honky-tonks...

...represents one of the most powerful
vice organizations in the States...

...they'll laugh in your face.

The voters sent you to the Senate,
didn't they?

In spite of the organization.

Yeah, and that same organization
beat me on two other occasions.

They're richer.
They'd spend a fortune to beat me again.

- But things can't go on as they are.
- Can't they?

You and your dream world, Jeb.

What's the use of starting
a fight you can't win?

Why, of course we can win.

How? By appealing to the courts?

By asking the state house
to send out the militia?

It's like shouting at a whirlwind,
nobody listens.

There are enough decent men here
to wipe 14th Street off the map...

...if you'll tell them to.

Ed, I won't.

- But you saw what they did to these two?
- Sure I did, what's new about it?

People have been beat up before,
they've been killed, tossed in the river.

Going on since we were born,
it will go on after we're dead.

- Why that's defeatist talk, Dad.
- Sure it's defeatist, I am defeatist.

I started talking reform
back as far as '48.

I fought and I lost.

- And I'm not gonna fight again.
- Well, I will.

I'm sorry, Dad, but I don't agree
with one word you've said.

We're gonna win if it kills us.

Yeah, it could do just that.

Well, good night.

- Hi, Mr. Tanner.
- Hi.

- Barton inside?
- Yes, sir.

Hi, Barton.

- Jim, Harry.
- Hello, Rhett.

Well, what's the dope?

Hey, where's...?

Hello, Jeb.

- Well, did they tell you?
- I just came in.

Well, who was there?

- That Gage, of course.
- Mm-hm.

Britton.

Bentley.

Al Patterson.

- Pat?
- He came with his son.

- So Pat's gone in with them, has he?
- That's just what he hasn't.

He said he wouldn't join in a fight
he couldn't win.

Well, Pat's a good boy.

But maybe it was a good thing I did have
that little talk with him yesterday.

Been better if
you'd talked with the boy.

- With John?
- He has gone in with them, Rhett.

Could be he'll even head the group.

- Young Patterson?
- He's a fighter, Rhett.

And the Patterson name means more
than all the rest of them put together.

- There could be trouble.
- We don't want trouble.

It does not make me happy...

...nor anyone else.

It won't make anyone else
happy up top, either.

Do you wanna know something?

That boy's no crumb.

It's my bet he'll work
on his dad till Al Patterson runs

for attorney general.

Attorney general?

Why, do you think Pat would have
a chance of winning if he did run?

I'm not doing the thinking.

Oh, if people
would only mind their own....

- How do you figure it, Barton?
- I don't like it.

Young Patterson's a smart lad.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

I'm just wondering how smart.

well...

...let's give him the full test.

Ain't you Zeke Ward's kid?

Mommy, Mommy!

Mommy!

Hey, Dad,
see if that kid's all right.

There on the lawn, Mommy.

There it is, there it is.

John!

Mommy.

Mommy.

Who is she?

Zeke's baby.

Did they kill her just for this?

They've killed for less.

- Mommy.
- Don't cry, Johnnie, just don't cry.

Everything is gonna be all right.
It's got to be.

I said, get out here and get here quick,
or I'll be down there with a gun.

- Now, I mean it.
- Okay, I'll send somebody right over.

Somebody just threw a dead nigger kid
on Patterson's lawn.

Go out and have a look.

Okay.

All right, darling, now just--

Please, just calm down.
It's gonna be all right.

John, help me,
we gotta get out of here.

All right, sweetheart,
just take it easy.

- Will you listen to me?
- I'm through listening.

Help us get the rest
of our things packed.

We'll take the children
to your mother's for a while--

For a while?
What do you mean for a while?

Do you think I'm coming back here?
No, not me, not my children.

Stop it.
Look what you're doing to the children.

I'm scared, Daddy,
I wanna go with Mommy.

You go see your grandma
for a few minutes.

- But I'm scared.
- Go on, all right, just go to Grandma.

Come on, honey,
now, calm down, no more tears.

No, no more tears.

What's there to cry about?

Rockabye baby, go to sleep.

- Go to sleep forever.
- Now, stop it, Mary Jo.

- Are you gonna stay with us?
- Honey, I can't.

- There's a war on, I can't run away.
- Well, then fight it out without us.

Honey, the kids will be perfectly safe
at your mother's.

Safe? They were safe in Germany.

We should've stayed
there like I wanted to.

All right, why were we safe?

Because we fought and we won.

The good people didn't turn their backs.

Well, you won't win here.

It's been like this since you were born
and it's gonna be like this forever.

So we're leaving.

But you won't leave.
No, you're so brave.

- Don't we mean a thing?
- Yes, honey.

Yes, you mean the world to me, but--

Well, then take your choice,
right now.

Well, Mother's not leaving,
she's staying with Dad.

Well, your mother's not me.

So you can just take us to Georgiana
and leave us there.

But you just remember...

...I waited for you through one war
I'm not waiting through another.

Oh, please, don't say that.
I love you, darling.

Well, not enough. Not enough.

John.

John.

I love you too.

But why did we come here?

Why did we have to come here?

- Where's Fred?
- I don't know.

When you drove up
I thought it might be him.

His car's down on 14th Street,
there's a ticket on it from this afternoon.

- Dear God.
- What happened?

He chased a car.

It's the car they threw
Zeke Ward's baby out of.

- I've checked everywhere he could be.
- The police?

They know nothing,
that's what they say.

Go away.

- Go away.
- No, Ellie.

If anything's happened,
it isn't Ellie's fault.

Yes, it is.

Wait. We'll look for him together.

We've looked everywhere,
but there's no sign of him.

I've got news.
I was gonna call your house.

- We've just found the boy.
- Where?

Laying in a ditch,
just outside of town.

- Is he--?
- No, Miss Rhodes.

He's unconscious, but still alive.

Pretty bad shape.
Looks like he's been in an accident.

But how could he be,
if he didn't have the car?

He could've been in someone else's car.
We'll find out as soon as he talks.

They've located him
over to the hospital.

Ellie. Oh, Mr. Gage.

I'm so glad you came in.

We've been trying
to get in touch with you.

I just can't understand how such
a thing could happen to that boy.

Neither can we.

- We want to see him as soon as possible.
- Of course you do.

There's just one formality.

You know the red tape in a hospital.

Where do you want us
to send the body?

To what mortuary?

Oh, I'm terribly sorry.
Forgive me, I thought you knew.

You see, he was dead on arrival.

I tell you, it was murder,
no question about it.

They killed that boy
because he saw the car.

You could be right, John.

Well, all right, do you still say
we shouldn't stick our necks out?

Well, I've been a lawyer all my life.
I guess I'm still one.

You may proceed, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Coroner.

All right, it was you who
found Fred Gage's body?

That's right, sir.

It's the coroner's opinion that
Fred Gage died of a fracture of the skull...

...caused by a fall
from a speeding car.

- Do you agree with that opinion?
- Yes, sir.

What was the nature of the ditch
in which you found him?

Well, it was just a roadside ditch,
like any other ditch.

Well, would you say
it was a rough, rocky ditch...

...in which a violent fall could cause
a fracture of the skull?

I sure would, sir.

Here's a photograph of that ditch.

Do you recognize it?

Why, yeah, I guess I do.

Why, you need glasses.

It borders the
Coulter Sawmill property.

And as you can see, it's filled
with sawdust, not a rock within a mile.

As soft as any bed in town,
softer than most.

Gentlemen, Fred Gage's skull was fractured
before he was flung into that ditch.

I conclude you believe you can prove
this assertion, Mr. Patterson?

I'm not given to wasting breath, sir.

I'd like to call Clem Wilson.

Clem Wilson.

- Verdict in?
- Not yet, Mr. Tanner.

- You're Clem Wilson?
- I sure am, sir.

You work at the Poppy Club
on 14th Street?

Yeah.

Did you know Fred Gage?

I've seen him around.

When did you see him last?

That'd be four nights ago.

When you were fighting with my son?

When your son come in the club
and slugged me.

- Do you have a car?
- Yeah.

Did you drive that car by my house
and throw a body from it?

Not me.

I got nothing against niggers,
as long as they behave.

Then you didn't see Fred
following that car?

I did not.
How would I, if I wasn't there?

Yesterday you missed
a rear seat cushion from your car.

Yeah, somebody stole it.

Is this it?

I don't know.

The cover has been identified
by the man from whom you bought it.

Yeah, I reckon that's it.

You can charge me with the theft.
I instigated it.

If it please you, Mr. Coroner,

I'd like to call one more witness,
Mr. James Kirby.

Mr. James Kirby.

You're dismissed, Wilson.

Will you please tell the coroner's jury
who you are?

James Kirby, in charge of the laboratory
of the Birmingham Police Department.

Did you analyze the stains
on this seat cover?

- I did, sir.
- What are they?

It was human blood, sir.

- Could you name the blood type?
- Yes, sir.

It is type B positive.

Is that the same type of blood
that stained the clothing of Fred Gage?

It is, sir.

Thank you, Mr. Kirby.

- No more witnesses, Mr. Coroner.
- You're dismissed.

- You have reached your verdict, gentlemen?
- Yes, sir.

What is your verdict?

After due deliberation, our verdict is that
the death of the deceased was accidental.

They were scared to death.

Can you blame them?

Let's get out of here.

Pat.

Well, looked like you had a point
there for a minute about Clem Wilson.

Except Clem never left the club,
I remember it.

You have a convenient memory, Rhett.

Too bad about young Gage.

I was thinking,
we could get up sort of a fund.

Ed Gage doesn't need money.

But he was a nice kid.

Used to come into the club.

I remember thinking he was kind
of sweet on one of our helpers.

Rhett, you may as well know
something now as later.

I've changed my mind.

- About what?
- I'm gonna fight you.

I'm gonna put you and all those others
out of business.

Wait a minute, you're upset, Pat.
You're saying more than you mean.

I'm running
for attorney general of Alabama.

I wonder why my bum leg always twitches
when I make up my mind.

The decision had been made.

From here in it was war.

I took Mary Jo and the children to safety
at her mother's home in Georgiana.

You go to sleep.

Well, I'll call you every night.
You keep smiling, huh?

- Can't I come with you?
- No.

No, somebody's gotta
look after your mama.

Now, don't you worry about a thing.

John, for the last time,
please won't you stay here?

Now, change your mind.

Honey, I can't do that.
I've got a job to do.

But I'm so afraid for you.

You know I came through one scrap
where they played for keeps.

That's what I mean, John.
These men play for keeps too.

Don't you worry about it.

In a year's time,
we'll have forgotten all about this.

So I'll be seeing you and you--

You just keep your fingers crossed
and everything will be fine.

Okay?

Bye. Bye.

John.

Wait for me, I'm going with you.

Why, you can't do that.

Do you really think
I'd let you go back there alone?

You can't come back with me.
You know how rough those boys play.

Then it will be rough for both of us,
I don't care.

But at least we'll be together.

Right now I love you more
than I've ever loved you before.

I'd said they'd play it rough.

Well, that was the
understatement of all time.

For this is how Dad's campaign began,
to get more violent every day.

Men who had the courage to defend him
were beaten half to death in broad daylight.

No, no!

No.

And they didn't stop with men.

When the free press cried out,
they tried to silence it.

When a parson raised his voice,
they tried to drown it out.

But they didn't stop Dad.

He limped across
the state of Alabama...

...telling the bitter truth in the cities
and villages of 67 counties.

He was no spellbinder.

His speech
was that of a plain and simple man.

But the people listened.

Because they were sick of lies.

Now, it's not easy
and it's not pleasant...

...to tell people such things exist
right in one's own hometown.

For many years...

...my friends and I
have been gathering evidence...

...that will convict and condemn
the murderers of Phenix City.

As well as other peddlers of vice.

That night in Phenix City,
they tried to destroy the evidence...

...by a fire of unknown origin,
to quote the police report.

The rule of the mob regarding evidence
is simple: If it's human, kill it.

If it's on paper, burn it up.

But we still had friends even then.

There was Ellie Rhodes.
Still working at Rhett Tanner's Poppy Club.

Her bright eyes always watching.

Only Dad and I knew that she'd kept on
with her job in the hope of helping us.

Then there was Hugh Bentley.

My friends,
I bring you news from hell.

On election day,
the will of the people will decide...

...if corruption or law and order
is to rule our lives.

For though this thing began
in the city I call my home...

...it could not exist
without the secret support of men...

...in our state government.

The shame of it is unparalleled
in the history of our country.

The only way to keep that plague
out of your home--

Mom, I wonder if Dad
thinks we're watching.

--and destroy it at its evil source.

The men who are responsible for this evil
are efficient because they are organized.

They are effective...

...because you and I have failed
in our duty as citizens.

We need the help
of every decent citizen...

...to save our state
from this deadly danger.

I'm glad to see
some of you had the guts...

...to come out here tonight
and listen to me.

It needed guts too.

After what they did
to Hugh Bentley's home.

Now, I chose this place...

...because I wanted you
to face the cesspool...

...that has given your city the name
of Sin Town, U.S.A.

I wanted you to smell
the stench of it.

On more than one election day,
you could have cleaned it up.

By voting against the candidates
that were sponsored by the mob.

But you wouldn't take
the trouble to vote.

So now you can blame yourselves
for gambling...

...prostitution...

...dope peddling, rape.

Men, women and children murdered.

Offices burned and homes bombed.

And where does this happen?

In some dictatorship across the sea?

No.

It's right here, in your town.

In our Alabama, our America.

Did I say your town?
Well, that's a laugh.

Phenix City is owned,
body and soul...

...by Tanner, Jenkins, Drew,
and the rest of the mob.

They hold the power of life and death
over you and your families.

Many of them are here tonight.

There's Rhett Tanner,
the big boss, right there.

There's Jenkins,
Clem Wilson and Rupe.

They're here to find out
who's against them.

So now's your chance to speak out.

And let them know where you stand.

Or are we gonna wait
till all of us are blown sky high?

Tell them. Tell them now.

Tell them where you stand.

Go, go get out of here. Go.

This was Phenix City on election day.

My dad asked the state house
to proclaim martial law.

And others asked,
but there wasn't any answer.

So the day was like all other
election days all over the years.

Strong-arm boys were out in force
to keep in line citizens...

...who thought they had a right
to vote for whom they pleased.

While votes were bought and sold,
and sex was often used in lieu of money.

But it was no guarantee
you could vote.

No one who voted for Albert Patterson
was guaranteed that right.

And where were the police?

On duty.

keeping a sharp eye on things.

Come on, let's go.
Come on, everybody.

When the polls closed,
the mob celebrated.

For once, in every joint,
the good alcohol was on the house.

But they should have waited
to hear from the rest of Alabama.

What do you know?

A bare thousand votes.

He won that rerun
with a little more than a thousand.

That's still enough.

Well, he hasn't been sworn in yet.

If he is, come January...

...there will be so many indictments
flying around, we'll think it's snowing.

Mm-hm. If he is sworn in.

You talk
like you know something we don't.

I'm not talking. I got a hunch
there's been too much talking already.

And you know something?
You're right, Jenkins.

He hadn't been sworn in yet.

I could be wrong,
but I've had a feeling all evening.

It's like something's going on.

People have been coming and going
into Mr. Tanner's office.

Some even came in the back way.
I couldn't see who they were.

Well, who did you see?

I saw Mr. Jenkins and Drew
and Clem Wilson, of course.

Anyone else?

Oh, yeah, Rupe was here.

He's coming back right now.
He's going to Mr. Tanner's.

Probably nothing to worry about.

- Just keep those bright eyes open.
- Yes, Mr. Patterson.

You'd better get off that phone.
They can see you too.

- Yes, Mr. Patterson.
- Thank you, Ellie.

- Anything wrong?
- No.

No. What should be?

- Where you going?
- Over to the office.

Be back in an hour or so.

Dad, I heard about your speech
to the Ladies' Club last night.

You said you didn't believe you stood
a chance in a hundred to be sworn in.

Oh, did I say that?

It's just that they looked
so darn pleased with themselves.

I'll see you.

Okay.

Okay, miss, want my bank roll before
they button up this joint for good?

Hey, wait a minute.

Get ready.

He's got them all with him.

Well, they shouldn't have come here.

Hey, Rhett.

Why couldn't you have
talked to me on the phone?

Not this, I couldn't.

It's gotta happen tonight.

All right, it's gotta be tonight.

Ellie.

There are customers at your table.
What are you doing at that window?

- What is it?
- It was Ellie Rhodes.

I think she saw you with Jeb Bassett.

She sure got out of here real fast.

- Hello?
- Hello, is Mr. Patterson there?

- I've gotta speak to him quickly.
- No, I'm sorry he's not here.

John, it's someone for your father.

Hello? Who is it?

It's Ellie, John.
I wanna speak to your dad.

Oh, he just went down to the office, Ellie.
He should be there in about five minutes.

- I can give you his number if you want.
- Thanks, thanks, I'll go there.

She sounded a little upset.

No, no!

Hey, that's Mr. Patterson.

Who shot you, Mr. Patterson?

Who shot you?

Yeah, yeah, Ellie Rhodes.

So you get off your fat behind
and have your boys pick her up.

- We'll find her, Rhett.
- Yeah.

You'd better find her.

Killed him?

They killed him.

Oh, God.

- I should have gone with him tonight.
- John.

- John.
- I know I should have gone with him.

- How were you to know?
- I should have gone with him.

Stop.

Oh, God.

They're taking him across
to the funeral parlor, John, I--

I think we'd better get over there.

This is the end of the line.

- Life won't be worth living in this town.
- Has it ever been?

We've gotta drive them out.

The guts, murdering a man in cold blood
without giving him a chance.

They'll kill us all
if we don't do something now.

- Heard the news, where's Johnnie?
- Inside.

- Can't believe it, who killed him?
- Who'd know?

Somebody ought to.
They say a girl saw it.

- What girl?
- So, what are we gonna do?

Let the law take its course?

- Is that the answer?
- What law?

Up to now
they have killed with impunity.

And the only penalty they've ever paid
is lawyer's fees.

But suppose the man
who killed Pat is caught?

Indicted, convicted?

- That will never happen.
- But suppose it does?

What will he get from a jury
packed with his own kind?

A prison term, huh?

On a plea of self-defense
till he buys himself a pardon.

You think that's impossible?

The only law
the Phenix City mob respects...

...comes out of the muzzle of a gun
and rips them wide open.

And we know the ones to go after.

- Sure we do.
- Yeah.

So I say give them a taste
of their own medicine.

Clean them out, as Pat would say,
"From stem to stern."

- Let's do it now, tonight.
- Let's go.

Stop it, stop it.

Do you think
that mob isn't waiting for you?

Every dive in town has its gunmen,
you know.

They're just waiting
for what you suggest.

- They killed your father, John.
- Yes, and they'll kill you too.

Innocent people will be shot down
and what good will it do?

The days of the vigilantes are over,
my dad said that.

What we need is the good opinion
of decent people all over this state.

But we won't get it
with riots and bloodshed.

Oh, no, you're wrong, John.
You're wrong.

Just a minute.

There's not a man here who wants
the killer of my father more than I do.

And if the law doesn't find him, I will.

And if the law doesn't take his life,
I promise you I'll do it myself.

Now, God knows I'm grateful.

But this is my job, not yours.

John's right.

Mr. Patterson,
you're wanted on the telephone.

She says it's urgent. Miss Rhodes.

All right, I'll be right in.

Thank you.

- Hello?
- Hello, Mr. Patterson?

Ellie?

I saw it, John,
I saw them kill your father.

- Did they see you?
- Yes, I'm sure they did.

Then they'll be after you.

- Where are you?
- At Zeke Ward's place.

I just ran out to telephone.

Get back in there
and don't show your face.

They'll have the police after you,
and heaven knows who else.

- I'll be right down.
- Yes, John.

Right away,
but you get back in there.

It's Ellie Rhodes,
she saw the murderers.

I'm going to Zeke's.
Bring Bentley and the others, follow me.

- Sure thing, Johnny.
- I'll see you at Zeke's.

Hello?

- Rhett, it's Jeb.
- Yeah, yeah, Jeb?

Rhett, John's on his way
to Zeke Ward's house.

You're nearer,
you can get there first.

Who cares about Zeke Ward?
I want Ellie Rhodes.

That's just it, Rhett. She's there.

She's at Zeke Ward's.

Ellie?

Ellie?

Zeke?

Ellie.

Ellie. Where's Ellie?

Down below.

- Mr. Tanner went there.
- Where?

Back porch cellar.

No, Zeke!

- You killed my dad.
- No.

- It was you.
- No, no.

You're lying. You gave the orders.

No, I killed Ellie. John, I--
I didn't kill your dad.

No, Mr. Patterson.

Don't do it, Mr. Patterson,
please don't do it.

If your father was here now,
he'd say the same thing.

You can't take the law
into your own hands.

- He Killed Ellie.
- That don't make it right to kill him.

Listen, back there a few minutes ago,
I was gonna beat a man's brains out.

I was gonna take his body,
throw it out of a car like he did my girl.

But my wife, she took my arm,
and she said, "No."

Get away.

Please, Mr. Patterson.
No, don't do it.

Listen to me, she said,
"The Lord said not to kill.

'Thou shalt not kill,'
the Lord said."

Mr. Patterson, please.
Please, Mr. Patterson.

"Thou shalt not kill," the Lord said.

And I stood there looking at her.

She was crying
and all bloody where he'd beat her.

And I was gonna do it anyway.

But she said, "No, Zeke, no.

We been fighting
against things like this.

All our lives we been
fighting against people

taking the law
into their own hands."

So I--I handed her the gun.

And I come out here.

Thanks, Zeke.

Don't kill anybody.

Come on, Mr. Patterson.

John, what goes on? Where were you?

What?

John, why? What happened?

I'll tell you what happened,
but there's something else first.

Hello? Give me the State Capitol,
it's an emergency.

Now, look, don't--

Just a minute now,
don't give me any more arguments.

This is an emergency.

I want him on there
and I want him on fast.

All right, hold it.

You just hold it.

Now, just hold it.

Come on up here.
Come on in close, I need your voices.

Now, before you say no again,
I want you to listen.

You've got to listen.

You want this city cleaned up?

Well, let the State Capitol hear
the voice of Phenix City.

Shout so he can hear it.

By tomorrow morning,
when they hear about my father's death...

...you'll hear 10,000 times that sound,
the voice of Alabama.

Now, will you send us help?

Yeah, yeah!

Thank you.

They're sending the militia.

Tomorrow Phenix City
will be under martial law.

The law came to Phenix City at last.

It took my father's death to bring it.

It wasn't the kind of law
my father fought and died for.

But it was the only law
the men who killed him could understand.

The law with
a loaded gun in its hand.

The gamblers' men obeyed it.

They had no choice but to obey.

The doors through which the suckers
thronged were locked.

The devices that cheated them
were broken up and burned.

But how long would it last?

The evil men who had ruled our lives
for so long were still out there.

Waiting their moment to come back.

We'd won a battle,
but had we won the war?

That is the question that I,
John Patterson,

and all of our good friends
had to consider.

The people of Alabama elected me
attorney general in my father's place.

With two sacred duties to perform:

To seek out and bring to justice
the murderers of my father...

...and to keep the gambling hells
of Phenix City firmly closed forever.

With God's help, I shall not fail.