Original subtitles

(Bell ringing)

(Joe) 'This is Wall Street.

'And today was important because tomorrow, July 4th,

'I intended to make my first million dollars.

'An exciting day in any man's life.

'Temporarily, the enterprise was slightly illegal.

'You see, I was the lawyer for the numbers racket.'

- Buck on 823. - 823, one dollar.

- Good morning, Mr Morse. - Good morning, Mr Morse.

- Morning. - Good morning, Mr Morse.

- Put a dime on 776 for me tomorrow. - 776.

How do you like that for luck, Bob?

Today's winner's 114. I had a dime on 113.

- Didn't I? - (Bellhop) Yeah, you did.

I nearly made 60 bucks except for that one little digit.

600 to 1.

- You gonna play 776 tomorrow? - Nah, 823.

This morning, I nearly got hit by a car.

And you know what the last number of the license was? 823.

I figure if I live through today, it's my lucky number.

Am I right, Mr Morse?

If you don't get killed, it's a lucky day for anybody.

- Nickel on 776. - 776? That's a nickel.

'The suckers bet on any combination of three numbers

'selected from the totals bet at some race track that day.

'20 million bettors a day in the US.'

Tell Mr Wheelock I wanna see him.

'Annual income to cheap crooks and racketeers?

'Over one hundred million dollars.

'It seemed a shame for so much good money to go to waste...'

- (Phone buzzes) - '...in other people's pockets.'

Yeah.

Oh, Mary, hold all my calls and cancel everything.

Well, make it for Friday. Thank you.

(Phone ringing close by)

Hello?

Mr Tucker?

- Well, sure. Put him on. - (Knocking at door)

One minute, Hobe.

Hello, Ben? Fine. Right. Right.

I'll be there in a few minutes. Bye.

Come in, Hobe.

- Morning, Joe. - Morning.

I wonder if you can help me out with this.

No shine today, Louie. Thanks.

You know that new Galahad, the governor appointed?

Our new special prosecutor?

(Hobe) Link Hall? (Joe) Yeah, Hall.

His father was in the class ahead of me at Harvard.

You know the son?

I gave the boy a pony for his 4th birthday,

but I haven't seen a great deal of him since.

- Since when? - Since the market fell in on me in '29.

Do you think you can manage to invite the son up for dinner soon?

- Why? - Well, I...

Louie, would you mind stepping out a moment, please?

Thank you.

If we knew which side of the street Hall was working,

our client, Mr Ben Tucker, might appreciate it.

We don't want any collisions we don't have to have.

We've got a big retainer to change the numbers racket into a legal lottery.

Joe...

...you usually know what you're doing,

but it's one thing to represent Tucker legally, as his lawyer, I mean.

I mean, it's the business of lawyers to protect a lot of people.

They, er... even teach that at Harvard.

Yes?

But the minute you start doing business for Tucker,

doing Tucker's business, it's a different thing, Joe.

Lawyers are not protected from the law.

Tucker is making me rich, Hobe,

and I'm your partner who's making you rich.

I wear his old school tie and you wear mine.

You can buy one for yourself during lunch hour off any pushcart.

Louie.

Finish his shine.

(Tucker) How much have you got here, Joe?

25,000. There's another 60 in my office safe.

Well, there's 50 more here. It will be more than plenty.

We only want to finance 12 of the banks, Joe, the big ones...

...and your brother's little bank, of course, so it makes 13.

The rest can go to the wall,

and the combination will take over their trade.

You going up to see your brother now?

Can I be frank with you, Ben?

Edna always says that to me.

She says, "I'm going to be frank, Ben."

Then out it comes, something mean and terrible about me

or something foolish about herself.

I'll be foolish, Ben.

I'm a lawyer, your clever little lawyer,

and I've taken over the formation of this numbers monopoly

to make it legal, respectable, and... very profitable for you.

- And I've done it for two reasons. - What's the second reason?

Frankly, the first is money.

But the second reason is my brother.

He's 50 years old, a man with heart trouble...

...and when 776 hits tomorrow and wipes out his capital,

it will wipe out his life.

He'll turn white and die...

...ashamed to be old and broke.

That's my problem.

He won't come into the combination unless I force him,

and I can't force him unless I tell him about 776.

You'll tell him nothing of the kind.

- It's the only way, Ben! - It's the only way to ruin us! No!

- I tell you, it's safe! - No!

You'd better not go up and see your brother at all.

Now, look, Joe, let's get the picture clear.

Tomorrow's the 4th of July,

the one day in the year when there's a superstition

to bet one number, 776.

Tomorrow, the nickels and dimes and pennies of every sucker

goes on 776, right?

That's right.

Now, we're fixing that number to hit,

and the bankers are gonna go broke

because they got no distribution on the betting.

You know, I didn't have to invest all this money, Joe.

I could have called in my ex-beer partner Ficco

with his handful of Chicago shooters and just taken all those banks.

Like I did beer in '27.

But you, you said no.

You're my smart lawyer.

- Right? - That's right.

You said you were trying to work up public sentiment

to get a law passed making numbers a legal lottery,

like lotteries are in Ireland or Cuba or like race track betting is here,

and that any rough stuff would kill the chance dead.

And I said "All right, Joe."

- Right? - Right.

I can't help it if you have a problem with an older brother, Joe.

I can't risk 200,000 dollars for sentimental reasons.

Don't worry about your brother, Joe.

He won't die of heart failure

as long as he remembers he has a rich brother.

Rich relatives are better than doctors or medicine.

- OK, Ben, OK. - And just remember, Joe,

you and I are the only ones who know about 776.

I have no reason to tell anybody.

- Don't you trust me? - Of course I trust you, Joe.

I just want you to know how worried I am.

Got a match, mister?

Keep them.

'I hadn't seen my brother Leo for years,

'and here he was, back in the slums

'where we were born.

'He ran a small numbers bank

'the way another man runs a restaurant or bar.

'These collection offices were called banks,

'and they were like banks because money was deposited there.

'They were unlike banks because the chances of getting money out

'were 1,000 to 1.

'These were the odds against winning.'

What do you want, mister?

I would like to see my brother, Leo Morse.

I'm Joe Morse.

'The banks were located behind poolrooms,

'in lofts, cellars, or hidden in slum apartments like Leo's.'

Wait here a minute.

(Man) Big play on 776 today.

People got a superstition to play it every 4th of July.

The old liberty number... never hits.

Mr Morse, there's a man outside to see you

who says he's your brother.

My brother? What does he look like?

Like a firecracker, you dope... like your brother.

- How are you, Leo? - What do you want, Joe?

I came to see you, Leo. Do I need a particular reason?

You wouldn't come around here if you didn't have a particular reason.

What's the difference? We're brothers.

Is it a social visit or a business visit?

I haven't seen you in an age.

What is it? I'm busy.

Leo, I've come to take you out of this air shaft

and put you in a real office in a real business

to pay you back for everything because you're my older brother.

- That's why I'm here. - Come around after I'm dead.

I had to fight to get this proposition for you, Leo.

I had to stick my neck way out. Now, you listen to me!

Something very serious is about to happen to your business.

You're one of 20 or 30 numbers banks in the city, one of the smaller ones.

Suppose a combine moves in.

Suppose it organizes and merges these banks,

eliminating the little ones, like yours.

You're listening now, aren't you?

Suppose it reduces the overhead, legal fees, bail bonds.

Supposing it reduces the cost and guarantees the profits.

A man like you would be out of business, wouldn't you?

You couldn't compete, could you?

But suppose you had a brother

and this brother made your bank the number one bank

in the combination, in the merger, in the corporation.

What corporation? Tucker?

- (Knock on door) - Come in.

I've got the tickets for the winners, Mr Morse.

And what does this corporation expect from me, brother Joe?

In return for the organization...

I have no secrets from Doris. If you want to talk, talk. If not, go.

In return for the organization and service,

in return for taking you into the combination,

the corporation gets 2/3 of the profits and you get 1/3...

2/3 for Tucker, brother Joe, and 1/3 for me, for my own business?

Do you know what that is, Joe? Blackmail!

That's what it is! Blackmail!

My own brother blackmailing me!

You're crazy! You're absolutely crazy mad!

- You're not listening to me! - I don't want it!

You know why you don't want it? I'll tell you why,

because you're a small man.

Because if it's a small thing, you're a tiger.

But if it's a big thing, you shout and yell and call me names.

"Oh, no, a million dollars for Leo?

"Oh, no, must be the wrong address.

"It must be somebody next door."

The answer is no!

You understand your "no" won't stop the merging of these banks,

yours included!

Leo, Leo, this is your chance, the one I got for you.

You take your chance, Joe, and get out of here.

I'm an honest man here,

not a gangster with that gangster Tucker!

Are you telling me, a corporation lawyer,

that you're running a legitimate business here?

What do you call this?

Payoffs for gambling. An illegal lottery. Policy.

Violation 974 of the penal code. Policy. The numbers racket.

I do my business honest and respectable!

Honest? Respectable?

Don't you take the nickels, and dimes and pennies

from people who bet, just like every other crook,

big or little, in this racket? They call this racket "policy"

because people bet their nickels on numbers

instead of paying their weekly insurance premium.

That's why policy.

That's what it is, and that's what it's called.

And Tucker wants to make millions, you wanna make thousands,

and you, you do it for 35 dollars a week.

But it's all the same, all policy!

This is my secretary, my stenographer,

my friend Doris Lowry.

She's been with me a long time. She's like a daughter to me.

And you...

I wanted to be the lawyer, and I could have been the lawyer

if I threw you out of the house when our parents died.

But, no, I worked for you like a fool.

For you! And I gave you everything!

Why do you talk this way to me in front of strangers?

She's no stranger to me! You're the stranger!

And I'll tell the whole world because you're my brother.

And I owe it to the whole world, because you're my brother,

what you are: a crook and a cheat and a gangster.

Leo, be calm.

Tucker will make you honest, Tucker will make you respectable.

He's giving me a quarter of a million dollars

to create public sentiment to make policy legal,

like bingo, bango, and the Irish sweepstakes.

I'm paying you back, Leo. I'll make you rich,

with an office on Wall Street up in the clouds!

Be calm, Leo. Be sensible.

All right. I am sensible. I am calm.

I'll give you my answer calmly and sensibly.

My final answer. My final answer is finally no.

The answer is no, absolutely and finally no.

Finally and positively no!

No! No! No!

N-O!

Bunte, this is Morse. Are you clean? Can I talk?

I want you to get a tip in to the police

so they throw a raid into my brother's bank.

I'll take the responsibility.

I want this done right away, this afternoon.

I want my brother to know that Tucker is running policy.

I wanna force him in.

I'm on the street.

Let's not make a big spiel out of this.

I want my brother kept in jail till I get him out.

Going home, Doris?

Yes, Mr Morse, but I wanted to talk to you first if I could.

About what?

Well, that's not very easy to say, Mr Morse.

It's not very easy to say.

I've been thinking about it all afternoon.

If there's something you want to say, say it, Doris.

Well, I just wanted to say that...

You know I'm grateful for everything you've done for me.

You know that, don't you?

You sound so sad. Is there something wrong?

Has something happened?

I haven't forgotten that you gave me my first job, Mr Morse.

Believe me, I haven't forgotten it.

And I haven't forgotten how, when times were bad

And you had no money to take home, I always had my salary.

I haven't forgotten that.

You sound as though you were leaving me, Doris.

No, Mr Morse, I'm not leaving you.

There's nothing I wouldn't do for you or Mrs Morse.

You've both been so kind.

But I'm leaving this job.

Something my brother said upset you.

Black sheep like to make everybody else look black.

That's right, and it's very easy when they are black.

But I'm only here to say that all afternoon

I've been thinking that's the way I feel now,

and I simply can't work here anymore, Mr Morse.

- I simply can't. I have to leave. - Then leave.

Then quit. You're young, Doris.

You'll discover as you grow older

that sometimes a man does things he'd prefer not to do.

I'm not trying to say anything about you, Mr Morse.

I'm only talking about myself and why I feel I can't stay here.

Then leave.

I'm sorry, Mr Morse.

Thanks for the tears.

That Mr Morse's brother is Tucker's lawyer,

isn't he, Mr Bauer?

He's worse. He's Tucker's brains.

(Screams)

- That's Tucker's brains. - What are you talking about?

(Knock on door)

- Who is it? - Open up. The police.

(Officer) Go on! Open up!

(Man) Hey!

Stay where you are! Don't anybody move.

The other door!

Open up!

Open up!

(Glass shattering)

Open up!

- What's going on here? - Sorry, Mr Morse.

You did that too late.

Everybody gone crazy all of a sudden? Who sent you?

We got a warrant, violation 974.

Milletti's office.

- (Woman) What's going on, Mr Morse? - That's all right. Take it easy.

Take it easy now. It'll be all right.

(Officer) Now listen, everybody.

We're going downstairs quietly, you understand? In single file.

There's a patrol wagon at the curb.

Who are you calling, Mr Morse?

Hello! Hello! Ruddy, please. Leo Morse.

Who do you think you're pushing around here?

Ruddy? Guess what.

The whole place is full of police.

No, they dropped in for tea!

Never mind.

I'm taking it easy! Milletti, yes!

Where are your handcuffs? My lawyer will meet us with a key.

This lady was just visiting here to see a friend.

- She doesn't work for me. - That's got nothing to do with me.

Please, Mr Lieutenant, I can't ride in the patrol wagon.

It's too narrow, and it's too dark!

Don't put him in the patrol wagon. Put him in a taxi, I'll pay the fare.

Taxi? We're not going to a dance, Mr Morse.

The wagon's no good for him. He's a sick man.

- He's got a complex. - Claustrophobia.

I can't help it, I got it!

When he was a taxi driver, his cab fell in the river with him.

He got a disease under the water, a fear.

He can't stand being cramped in a small, dark space.

He should have thought of that before he began committing violations.

We'll let him ride up front in the open. Come on.

Don't give your right name so your mother won't read it in the paper.

Oh, please, Mr Morse.

Mary, what took you so long to answer?

Has my brother called yet?

Well, he will, the dumb mule.

No, I'm still at Tucker's apartment. I'll be here.

Yes.

- Nothing yet, Joe? - No, Ben, nothing yet.

But he'll call.

The spot I put him in, where else can he go for help?

- Let's get on with this. - Sit down.

I've got 25,000 dollars for you to play with, two & two.

- Will that be enough? - You'll get change.

Does he know exactly what he has to do?

I been telling him all day. He knows it like a poem.

What number do we wanna hit?

776. Don't worry, Mr Morse. It will come out 776.

One: I throw in the last layoff bet on the third race.

Johnson's lined up the tote clerks to help me there.

Two: I throw in enough of a bet to make the last three digits

on the odds pay-off come out 7, 7, and 6.

Three: all the change that's left over from the 25 you give me,

I give back to Johnson, or I'm in trouble with Johnson.

Four: the minute it's 776 on the tote board,

I check in at Mr Morse's telephone number,

bowling green 75432.

Five: I meet Johnson at his office 9 o'clock tomorrow night

and get paid.

- (Joe) And the telling. The telling. - I swear on my grave, the bible,

I tell nobody nothing and forget how I did it,

or I'm in trouble with Johnson.

(Joe) Fine.

Give me the totals on this.

784,324.

- Say that again, will you? - 784,324.

I was wondering, Ben.

Everybody downtown is walking around on tiptoe,

and I was wondering

if we couldn't ease up a little on this thing for the time being.

Look, Bunte, you look after the politics, I'll take care of the business.

It's a normal operation.

776 will hit tomorrow because Taylor makes it hit.

Tomorrow night, every bank in the city is broken,

And we step in and lend money to those we want

while we let the rest go to the wall.

We're normal financiers.

Nothing's normal downtown since the governor set Hall up in business.

(Tucker) Does he get the cigar?

Hmm. He gets the cigar.

Ben, I'll call night court again.

How do you do a thing like this?

I was born that way, like a man with two heads

or a dope with a million bucks. It's my gift.

'Oakhurst station house. Sergeant Denute speaking.'

This is Joe Morse. Is my brother there?

'Yes, Mr Morse. We have the pleasure of his company.'

- Put him on the phone. - 'It's irregular to without...'

- Well, see if you can, please. - 'One minute, Mr Morse.'

- 'Hello?' - Hello?

'He says he don't wanna talk to you.'

Tell him I wanna help get him out of there.

- Tell him I wanna talk to him. - 'One minute, please.'

Sometimes you act like a human being,

Like a person who worries.

You're wide open, Joe.

I can see into you without looking.

Don't bother. Besides, it's not nice to do.

More interesting than when you have a rock for a husband, like mine.

He's a stone, that man.

Whole world are rocks and stones to him.

Why tell me? Tell him.

Never tell him anything.

Makes me feel unnecessary.

If I make you feel necessary, then I'm making a mistake.

- 'Hello, Mr Morse?' - Well?

'Well, Mr Morse, your brother says write him a letter.'

I oughta let him rot in there.

At least a woman could tell whether you were happy or sad.

She could be happy or sad with you.

Just because I'm killing myself over that dumb brother of mine

doesn't mean I'm ready to die for anyone else.

- Where can I call home? - Right around the corner, lady.

All that Cain did to Abel was murder him.

I had nothing to do with it.

All right, you didn't, but thanks for paying my fine

and unlocking me with the same key you used to lock me up with.

After tonight, Leo, it will be too late. Too late, I tell you.

I'll tell you something more, Joe.

You opened my eyes tonight, and the police opened them further.

I'm closing up after tomorrow.

I'm taking my capital and getting out. I'm through, I'm finished.

Then get out tonight.

Close up tonight. Don't wait for tomorrow.

I'm not that big a crook.

People have bets in my bank. That's a debt.

I'll pay off what I owe tomorrow, whatever it is,

and then I'm finished.

I'll be able to look in the mirror and see my face, not yours.

Leo, I'm trying to help you.

Cup of coffee and a glass of milk.

- Coffee's cold, sir. - It's a hot night anyway.

I'll have 10, 15,000 dollars for my capital.

That's all the help I'll need,

but there is one thing you can do.

Anything, Leo, if you'll only listen to me.

You listen to me.

That girl Doris, she needs help.

She quit just before the raid.

You tipped off the police to on my bank.

And now, like the rest of us, she's got a misdemeanor

and a fine against her.

She's lost her references, and it's all your fault.

You've got fancy friends down on Wall Street.

She's a good secretary. Get her a job.

I'll thank you for that, for her, not for me.

All right, I'll do that, but if anything happens, Leo...

What could happen that I would need your help?

Oh, I better see Bauer home.

- Would you like a lift, Miss Lowry? - No.

What am I around here, a leper?

Just like the rest of us, Mr Morse, only they haven't caught up with you yet.

I got you all out. I paid your fines.

What do you want of me, Mr Morse?

I've got my whole life to think about now,

- and you won't be of any help. - How do you know?

You know, everything I touch turns to gold.

It's raining out, and I promised my brother to take you home.

Well, that's a lie.

Well, it's not true, but I would have had he asked.

You know, you can't tell about your life till you're all through living it.

Come on, I'll give you a lift. You're tired, I'm tired.

What can happen to either one of us?

You tell me the story of your life,

and maybe I can suggest a happy ending.

I went to a business college for ten weeks

because my mother wanted to give me advantages.

- You have many advantages, Doris. - So did you.

I've known Leo since I was 13.

I've heard about you since then.

What did you hear?

Oh, story of the prodigal brother who never came home,

how much Leo did for you, how little you did for yourself,

the wild boy in the streets,

the wild man who said he was a wildcat in the jungle.

That's what I heard.

Your brother kept me on even when business was bad.

I guess that's why I pretended to believe

what he pretended to believe:

that running a lottery was not so bad.

Now my name's in a book, my fingerprints are in a file,

and no matter how long I live, people will remember and know it.

And I'll remember and know it.

Oh, I'll know it.

Forget it. You were just a telephone caller,

came into the police station and it was a wrong number.

How does it feel to be a wrong number, Miss Lowry?

Not very nice, Mr Morse.

Not very nice.

Blame me, blame me. Everybody does.

They do.

Keep the change.

You're a strange man and a very evil one.

And you're a sweet child and you want me to be wicked to you.

Now what are you talking about?

Because you're wicked, really wicked.

What are you talking so crazy for, Mr Morse?

Because you're squirming for me to do something wicked to you.

Make a pass for you, bowl you over, sweep you up,

take the childishness out of you, and give you money and sin.

That's real wickedness.

What are you trying to make me think, Mr Morse?

What are you trying to make me think about myself...

...and you?

Do you know what wickedness is?

If I put my hand in my pocket and gave you a ruby,

a million-dollar ruby for nothing,

because you're beautiful and a child with advantages

and because I wanted to give it to you without taking anything for myself...

Would that be wicked?

Have you got one?

No.

You know, when I was a little girl, magicians used to fool me, Mr Morse,

with their high hats and their black capes and their ruby rings

because I listened to what they said, they talked so fast,

instead of watching what they did.

But I'm a big girl now with a police record, thanks to you,

and I know it's not wicked to give and want nothing back.

It's perversion. Don't you see what it is?

It's not natural.

To go to great expense for something you want,

that's natural.

To reach out to take it, that's human, that's natural.

But to get your pleasure from not taking,

from cheating yourself deliberately like my brother did today,

from not getting, from not taking...

...don't you see what a black thing that is for a man to do?

How it is to hate yourself and your brother,

make him feel that he's guilty, that... that I'm guilty?

Just to live and be guilty.

'July 4th, Independence Day, was a normal day at the race track.

'Some horses won, some horses lost.

'The sun shone equally on the rich and the poor,

'but for Tucker and me, a million-dollar business was at stake.

'The numbers banks exploded into bankruptcy

'as the lucky players won.

'But I had a last proposition for my brother

'to save his money, to save his life,

'to clear my conscience.

'And I went up to see him and his wife.'

Hello, Sylvia. I was in the neighborhood,

so I thought I'd drop in.

Hello, Leo.

I heard what happened today, so I came up to tell you

it can be the happiest day of your life.

You lost a crooked little peanut stand, now you can open up on Fifth Avenue.

I don't know what he's got in mind, Leo, but it's not for you.

I'm sorry we've got no money,

but I'm not sorry you're through with the gambling business.

You never listen to me, Leo. Listen to me now.

- What's your advice, Sylvia? - (Sylvia) You're a thief.

A thief's advice is no good.

Listen, Leo, you go down to your business tomorrow,

and I'll be there, and I'll see to it

that you get out of the business in a couple months a rich man.

Don't have anything to do with him, Leo. You're a businessman.

Yes.

I've been a businessman all my life.

And, honest, I don't know what a business is.

Well, you had a garage, you had a real-estate business.

A lot you know. Real-estate business?

Living from mortgage to mortgage, stealing credit like a thief.

And the garage... That was a business.

Three cents overcharge on every gallon of gas,

two cents for the chauffeur and a penny for me.

Penny for one thief, two cents for the other.

Well, Joe's here now. I won't have to steal pennies anymore.

I'll have big crooks to steal dollars for me.

I've got it fixed for you the way I said because you're my brother.

That's why I'm here. To tell you it's not so bad.

Well, I'll have to go down to the office anyway.

Why?

Even a bankrupt has to put his books in order.

I'll be there, Leo, with a new set of books for you.

All right, let's eat.

If you're here, you might as well sit down and have some supper.

Thanks, I... I have a few things to attend to.

I'll see you tomorrow. Good night.

Good night, Sylvia.

Well, if it isn't Miss Lowry.

How are you, Doris?

You look fine in my roses. Where are you going?

Upstairs. I'm having dinner with your brother and his wife.

- I wouldn't go up there, Doris. - Why? I go up there all the time.

Don't you have anything better to do?

- I'm free the rest of the night. - Well, enjoy your freedom.

I wouldn't interrupt them up there. They're in the wrong mood.

You see, I dropped a million dollars in their laps

- and they're learning how to count. - They're waiting for me, Mr Morse.

I'm in a wonderful mood, Doris, happy, relaxed...

Wouldn't you like to find out how charming I am?

Why not?

- Now I've lost the elevator. - I'll get you a better one.

Wouldn't you like to celebrate on a really large scale, Miss Lowry?

What are you celebrating, Mr Morse?

- A clear conscience. - Oh? Whose?

- Now, don't be self-righteous, Doris. - I don't approve of you instinctively.

I don't approve of myself. See? We agree.

Come out with me, and I'll wine you and dine you and dance you.

And in the early hours of the morning, when you're relaxed and tired, I'll...

...I'll kiss you good night.

I don't think you'd enjoy my company, Mr Morse.

Of course not, but you'd enjoy mine.

Don't say no when you wanna say yes,

and don't say yes when you wanna say no.

You're like Leo. He wanted to come into the combination all the time

but he wanted to be forced, the way you do,

in order to maintain a moral superiority over me, which doesn't exist.

Did you make him come into this Tucker thing with you?

Did you make him do that?

I pretended to make him and he pretended to be forced.

Is that what you want?

There must be something in you that's evil and corrupt.

If you're going to preach, you need a soapbox.

You're not very receptive tonight.

That's because you don't know what you want from me,

but when you come down to the office tomorrow for that job,

- I'll try again. - You'll never see me there.

I still have that ruby, Doris.

You got 35 dollars a week working for Leo.

I'll get you 100, and I'll bet you a barrelful of roses you'll be there.

Joe.

- Who are you? - It's our bookkeeper, Mr Johnson.

It's Mr Bauer.

This is a fine time to be getting in. From now on, get here on time.

(Leo) 'The rest of you, if you don't wanna cooperate, leave now.

'All right. Combination supplies the financing on the following terms:'

the capital we advance to pay off 776

is to be a prior lien on the business itself

with regular 6% interest and a 5,000 dollar bonus

for making the loan.

It's to be paid off by the week, so much a week,

as much as the business can handle.

And each banker gets a drawing account of 75 a week

till the debt's paid off, then 1/3 of the profits.

Is that clear?

You're a bookkeeper now for a big organization, Mr Bauer.

Mr Richards, I won't waste time. I've got bad news for you.

I'm getting used to it.

Mr Morse, I got to speak to you right away.

Excuse me.

Now, Bauer, what's the trouble?

Just like Doris, Mr Morse, I'm quitting.

I just wanted to tell you so you could get somebody else for tomorrow.

- Tomorrow? - This place makes me sick.

You've got eyes, Freddy.

You can see for yourself I'm not alone in business anymore.

Mr Morse, what did you put me into?

I didn't put you into anything. They put me!

Did you put me into this without my knowing or saying?

Did you do a thing like this to me?

You came to work in a racket because you wanted the extra money.

Now you'll get a raise.

You're working for a big corporation instead of a little man.

You're bookkeeper for 13 banks instead of one.

You're getting ahead in the world.

I don't want it! I'm not your slave!

Wait a minute.

- Leo, what's the trouble? - He wants to quit.

If he quits, how will I handle the merger?

All right, you go in and write off the rest of those gravestones.

- I'll talk to Bauer. - I'll tell you the truth, Joe.

I don't have the stomach for this kind of business.

What do you mean, "this kind of business"?

Every organization has to rely on its people when it needs them.

Go ahead.

Mr Bauer, will you come in here a moment?

Mr Bauer... I'd like to straighten out

whatever trouble there seems to be here if I can.

- There's no trouble, I just wanna quit. - Is that fair?

Maybe it isn't, but that's what I wanna do.

Why go out of your way to make trouble for yourself?

What do you mean?

Well, we're reorganizing the whole business now.

We need every man's loyalty at this time.

You can't make me stay, you can't. How can you make me?

What are you gonna do?

I want to be friends with all you people.

I'm looking ahead to where we can work on a nice, friendly basis.

I don't believe in an employer who has to say to his people,

"You've got to."

I like an employer whose people do things by themselves

because they like to, because they're loyal to the business.

If I go now and walk out of here, how are you gonna stop me?

How, if I say I won't stay and walk out of here,

how are you gonna stop me?

The combination will stop you, Bauer...

Stop you dead... in your tracks.

You see, Mr Bauer, I'm just trying to help.

What do you say?

Now, if you have any more trouble, just let me know,

and I'll try to straighten it out for you. That's my job.

- Good night, everybody. - Good night.

I think I'm gonna quit this job.

I don't like working in a place run by gangsters

- and where they have police raids. - See this nickel?

It belongs to Tucker, and so do we.

Well, I'm gonna quit, just the same.

It frightens me to work here.

What are you talking about?

We can't quit. They won't let us.

You heard them. They said they'd kill me if I quit.

They said they'd kill you, Mr Bauer.

You're the head bookkeeper here. They need you.

They don't need us.

Maybe we'll all be without a job soon.

I read in the papers where Hall said

he's going to raid these banks out of business.

And he could, too, if he knew where all the banks were

and where they moved each time.

Are you coming, Mr Bauer?

No, I have a few things to do yet.

- Good night. - Good night, Mr Bauer.

Hello? I want Mr Hall's office.

Hello? I want to report a policy bank, a numbers bank.

I want you to raid them right away,

tomorrow when they open for business.

And when they open again, I want you to raid them again.

Wherever they open, I'll tell you where.

I want them raided out of business.

Never mind who I am.

If you raid this bank, I'll tell you where the others are, too.

And if they move, I'll tell you where they move to.

The address is 1721 Edgecombe.

I can't talk anymore now.

Just a minute there.

I wanna talk to you. You're Bauer.

- Who are you? - I'm Wally.

I got a proposition for you, Bauer,

a chance to make a little money for yourself

on the QT, under the rose.

I'm not interested in any propositions.

Just a minute. I'm doing a job for Bill Ficco.

He used to be Tucker's partner in the beer days.

What's that got to do with me?

Ficco's going into the numbers business.

He needs a little information and I'm trying to help.

He wants a list of Tucker's banks,

the bankers, the collectors, the controllers.

He wants to arrange a meeting with Leo Morse to discuss the matter.

Why don't you ask Mr Morse?

He'd be afraid to get together with Ficco on account of Tucker.

We're the competition.

But if you could get Leo Morse to some quiet place, we'd be there.

That's all you have to do.

Just get him there, and we'll do the rest.

I don't wanna have anything to do with gangsters.

What do you mean, gangsters? It's business.

- Good night, Mr Wheelock. - Good night.

- Good night, Mary. - Good night.

- Hey! What is this, a parade? - I guess so.

Good night.

Take the rest of the day off.

Mr Morse, there's someone waiting to see you in the office.

Want that ruby, don't you?

(Wheelock) Joe, may I see you a moment?

Excuse me.

Mrs Tucker's been waiting to see you for over a half-hour.

- Good night, Mr Morse. - Good night.

Mrs Tucker? What does she want?

Well, you, apparently. She wouldn't take a substitute.

Handsome woman.

- Have you, er... seen Hall? - Yes. We're talking.

Well, what's it look like, Hobe?

I don't know, Joe. Just talking.

- Fine. Good night. - Good night.

(Joe) Wait for me, Doris. I won't be long.

(Door opens)

What's on your mind, Edna?

I couldn't telephone, so I came down in person.

Telephone about what?

Telephone you about the telephone.

What about the telephone?

Your prosecutor friend Hall has tapped Ben's telephone.

Well...

...Ben has to expect those things.

Hall is in the business and Ben Tucker is his stock in trade.

That's why Ben sent me.

So are you.

I'm an attorney.

Legally, I'm in a fiduciary relationship with your husband.

Is your telephone with Hall?

Well, you tell Ben he has nothing to worry about.

Wiretapping evidence isn't always admissible.

I'll look it up for him.

Look it up for yourself, too, while you're at it.

Ben tells me if you listen carefully, if you try it several times,

you can catch them at it.

You can hear a little click.

A little click.

That's someone lifting a receiver off the hook,

the man who listens.

Have you ever used that telephone of yours

for anything he shouldn't hear?

I use it for everything.

I'm at the disposal of my clients.

You might spend the rest of your life

trying to remember what you shouldn't have said.

What are you riding me for? If the phone is tapped, it's tapped.

Well, don't get sore just because you're scared.

Why don't you test it and see? That's what Ben did.

That's what he would do.

Did Ben tell you to come here,

or did you offer to deliver the message?

I offered.

Why are you always offering to deliver bad news to me?

What do you want? What are you waiting to see?

What kind of a man you are... you really are.

Try it on your own man.

I'm trying you.

What are you afraid of, to show you're afraid?

If you need a broken man to love, break your husband.

I'm not a nickel. I don't spend my life on a telephone.

If that's what you want for love, you can't use me.

But you're not strong or weak enough.

(Knock on door)

Come in.

Is there anything else before I go, Mr Morse?

Yes. You can show Mrs Tucker out.

(Door closes)

'I had expected a certain amount of trouble from Hall,

'I'd figured on it.

'But it was a little shocking to find out that he'd moved in so fast.

'It was something to worry about and something to take care of

'and something to remember.

'Conversations over the phone aren't much use

'as legal evidence,

'but they tell a smart lawyer where the evidence can be found,

'what it might be.

'It was the first step in making a case against the combination,

'and the combination was Ben Tucker and myself.

'When you make a living, you accept the risks,

'but I had taken an extra risk because of Leo

'to give him confidence.

'I had shown my face to the bankers that morning.

'I had been tough with Bauer to make it easy for Leo.

'People can be made to talk.

'Was my phone talking, too?

'A man could spend the rest of his life

'trying to remember what he shouldn't have said.'

(Click)

(Operator) 'At the tone, the time will be 7:23 and 1/4.'

(Intermittent signal)

'I had forgotten Doris for a moment,

'and then I was glad she was there, waiting.

'She was someone to talk to.

'We walked down Wall Street to Trinity Church,

'and she kept watching me,

'wondering what had happened there in that office of mine.

'I think she had made up her mind to fall in love with me.

'And I wouldn't have minded at another time.

'It would have been a change from the kind of women I knew.

'She wanted me to talk, to tell her, to convince her

'that I didn't realize what I was doing,

'that I didn't understand the business I was in,

'but I enjoyed the idea of convincing her that I did.'

When was it, Mr Morse, that Tucker walked in?

I'll tell you.

I will tell you, Doris, how the boom was on,

and I could feel money spread all over the city like air,

like perfume from those flowers I gave you.

I could breathe the smell of money.

And was that when Tucker walked in?

Yes. And I'm a man.

What have I got to do with Tucker?

But he opened his pocket, and I jumped in headfirst.

I sat there and measured my strength.

I had so much, Doris,

that's the way I figured, so much strength,

and it all worked out this way.

I didn't have enough strength to resist corruption,

But I was strong enough to fight for a piece of it.

I see.

And now you want to get out.

Is that what your trouble is?

My trouble is, Miss Lowry, that I feel like midnight,

and I don't know what the morning will be,

except, for a little while, I felt pretty easy here,

talking to you, liking you.

You're the only one I ever talk to, Doris.

You're the only one I ever talk to,

and I don't know why, except that you caught me tonight

when I would have talked to the devil.

But I... thank you.

It's the truth, Doris.

A man doesn't tell lies at midnight,

but now I talk to you because you're Doris.

You see how lovely that makes you?

What are you now?

Someone to say, to fool himself or me, that...

...that you love me?

Not so soon. I won't tell you that,

but it would be such a comfort to me to kiss you.

Is that strange?

No.

No, that isn't strange.

Are you from the bus company?

Why? Would you like to buy a bus?

You look like somebody I used to know

in the downtown detective office.

- I do? What's his name? - I didn't know him that good.

I just used to see him around.

I'm a bus inspector.

If you have a complaint to make about the service, I'll take it.

- Hello, Mr Bauer. - Hello, Doris.

You leave early today?

No. I wasn't feeling so good today,

so I didn't come in, and then I decided to come in,

but now I don't feel so good again.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I'm just going up to say goodbye and get my things.

I'll tell Mr Morse for you.

No. It'll look better since I got so far to tell him myself.

All right.

Step lively. Let's go.

Say, Miss, you forgot your hat.

- No! I can't ride in a patrol wagon! - All right, come on.

- I'm not going in... - Come on!

Let me go! Let me go!

I don't work here! I don't work here!

Our case is up next, Ben.

I just told the district attorney's office we'll plead guilty.

It'll be top fines all around.

Anybody can pay fines.

If someone can buy a raid on one of my banks for a nickel phone call,

I want my 50,000 dollar-a-year politician to tell me why.

Why and how is what I want to know, why and how and who.

- It's one of those things. - It's one of those things I don't like.

This is Goodspeed, Ben. One of our bankers.

Well, let's hear.

I was taking my dog out for a walk when they picked me up in this car.

It was Ficco. You remember Ficco from the beer days?

What is this with Ficco, Ben?

Well, go on. Don't make a book of it.

Ficco wanted to know the whole who's who on the banks,

where they were, who the bankers were,

the facts and figures on the combination.

I told them I didn't know because I don't.

Then they kicked me around a little, took a century out of my pocket,

and dumped me.

Is that all?

We never had anything like this before you came into the picture, Ben.

- What'll I do? - Sell your dog.

What is it, Ben? What's happening?

I know what Ficco wants and he's not going to get it.

He was up last night asking for it.

He knows about Hall, too, and he thinks a little rough stuff

will scare us into bringing him in.

I told him to his face, Hall or no Hall,

if he wants to make a deal with us, he'll make it with a gun.

- Now's the time to be sensible, Ben. - I am sensible.

But I'll see you all in the gutter, and I'll see myself in the gutter,

before I lose one nickel of the money I've invested in this combination.

I didn't bring Leo into the combination to take a beating,

but that's what it's going to be from now on in.

I can smell it in the air, and I want him out.

I want him paid off and out. I want him out tonight.

That's a fine way to talk to me, Joe,

after we establish him in the trade as the number-one bank.

I'll take over instead then.

I'll pay off Leo and take over myself personally.

That's OK with me, Joe.

The minute you start working out of the banks,

meeting a hundred people a day, handling details,

you won't be able to say you're just Tucker's attorney.

You'll be Tucker's partner.

- But suit yourself about your brother. - I think we're on now.

(Officer) 'The people versus Leo Morse, Doris Lowry,

'Frederick Bauer, Edgar Ryan...'

She's in there, Mr Morse.

Can't you see I'm busy talking to someone?

I wanna talk to you, Doris.

Just send me a bill. I'll pay your fee.

So I'll be right home, Mother. Don't worry.

I don't have time to argue with you.

I wanted to say how sorry I was for all this, but it doesn't seem necessary.

I'm perfectly all right. You'd better worry about Leo,

and you'd better worry about yourself.

When you make a living, you accept the risks,

but that has nothing to do with you.

I kept watching you in the courtroom, and I...

And what, Joe?

If I ever thought of loving you,

it was to love something rotten and corrupt in myself.

I don't wish to love you or see you or know you,

And I'll try not to remember you.

I didn't ask you to go down there.

- You forced Leo to stay in the business. - He wanted it.

You tempted him, the way you try to tempt me now

to forget what's so plain here in front of me.

Well, you'll see. Leo's not like you, he'll die of this.

Oh, you'll make him rich... in his death.

Well, I don't wish to die of loving you.

Leo, I arranged with Tucker for you to quit tonight.

- I'll pay off your investments. - I don't want it, Joe.

The money I made in this rotten business

is no good for me, Joe. I don't want it back.

And Tucker's money is no good, either.

The money has no moral opinions.

I find I have, Joe. I find I have.

And now I'm speaking to you. I'm speaking to you

as your older brother who slaved for you.

You stop now. Stop now, Joe,

Because I'm getting old, and old people die.

There will be nobody to cry for you.

I'll get you the money, and you're out.

Freddy. You come along with me, Freddy.

I wanna get a glass of water.

I'm going down to my office.

Mr Morse, I just want you to know something.

I want you to know that every time a tip comes over the phone,

you're gonna get a raid,

whoever you are and whoever you know.

Go ahead and raid, Mr Detective. You're talking to a retired man.

And next time, Mr Bauer, next time you call,

just ask for Egan, the bus inspector.

You'll get personal service.

You, you, you... do you wanna kill yourself?

To get yourself killed?

Hello? This is Wheelock.

Got everything else, but I can't get into the safe.

He must have changed the combination.

All right. I'm leaving now.

(Puts receiver down)

(Door opens and closes)

'I knew I would never come back to this fancy office again.

'I could see the cobwebs on the walls

'and a sign: "Office for rent for a smart young lawyer

'"trying to get ahead in the world."'

Go in and get your rolls. I'll wait for you.

Freddy!

Dumb, rotten dog.

Freddy!

Freddy!

Freddy. Freddy!

You stupid fool!

- Do you know what you're doing? - Let me alone.

What do you think you're doing?

Do you want to make a butcher of my brother? A murderer?

You want to live, don't you? You want to live to eat these, don't you?

- Let me alone, please. - Don't say that to me.

I'll kill you with my own hands

rather than let you put the mark of Cain on my brother.

Remember me, Bauer? I'm Wally.

Now is the time to set up that meeting between Ficco and Leo Morse.

- Tonight. - I can't do a thing like that.

Come on, Bauer, I'll show you how you can get out of this jam.

Alive.

Your friend didn't show yet.

What's the matter? You in a hurry for the table?

Did I say that?

There's no one here. You're not losing any tips letting me sit.

It makes no difference to me. I'm here till 3 o'clock anyway.

I thought maybe you might want to order.

It's getting late, Mr Bauer.

He said he'd come.

I thought you'd never come.

My car was put away. I had to find a taxi.

I'm glad you called me, Freddy.

I'm glad you thought it over to listen to me.

To calm down and listen to me so I can help you.

Coffee.

I know how bad you feel, Freddy.

It was a wicked, foolish thing to do to put a gun in my brother's hand

for him to kill you.

That's what you wanted to do. That's what it was.

I know how it feels to try to find someone to kill you,

to finish you off,

to take the crimes of your life on his head, in his hands.

Please, Mr Morse, all I want is to quit. That's all, nothing else.

They won't let me quit, and I wanna quit. I'll die if I don't quit.

I'm a man with heart trouble. I die almost every day myself.

That's the way I live. It's a silly habit.

You know, sometimes you feel as though you're dying.

Here and here.

Here... You're dying while you're breathing.

Freddy, what have you done?

Freddy, what have you done to me?

- Take it easy, Pop. You won't get hurt. - You're coming with us, Pop. Come on!

You can't take all night. Stand up and walk!

Stop him! Stop him! He knows me!

Kill him! Kill him! He knows me!

(♪ Jazz)

Joe, I'm not going to eat if you don't eat.

Eat something, you'll feel better.

I'm eating and I feel better.

Why don't you do something that's good for yourself?

Why don't you stop drinking and eat? Why don't you go home?

- Just why don't you do something right? - Hey!

Tell them to play louder. I have something private to tell the lady.

Yes, Mr Morse.

It's true. It's something private and I don't want the whole world to hear.

I don't want the whole world to know what you know.

That Hall, Link Hall, my partner's friend,

is gonna take my life away in the morning.

Why are we sitting here, then?

If it's so serious, if it's so bad,

what are you doing here getting drunk and talking so crazy?

I'm celebrating. I'm celebrating.

It's a holiday. A holiday is when you celebrate something that's all finished up

and happened a long time ago

and now there's nothing left to celebrate but the dead.

- You talk as if you were dead. - That's what I am.

Dead, disbarred, done for, finished, kaput.

When did this happen, Joe?

The day I was born.

And I'm sorry for you, that I got you into this.

A girl with advantages trying to make a living.

But I was a man, a boy with advantages trying to make a living.

Let's dance.

Joe, I wanna help you if you'll be serious.

I'm serious.

- Joe, please. - Don't be afraid.

You don't know what it is to have real fear in you.

You don't know what it is to wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night,

and eat your lunch and read the papers,

and hear the horns blowing in the streets,

and the horns blowing in the clubs.

And all the time, wherever you are, whatever you're doing,

whatever you're seeing, wherever you are,

you're afraid in your heart. Is that what life is?

Joe.

Play louder. Come on, play.

(♪ Jazz)

Is that what life is?

Joe, you didn't know what was right for you.

A person has to know what's right for them and do it, no matter what.

I took a risk to make a million. Wasn't that right for me?

I lost, but Hall is wrong

if he thinks I'm gonna spend the rest of my life in jail.

I'm leaving, Doris. I'm running away with a pocketful of money.

You wanna come?

The money is for you, too, if you want it.

Oh, Joe, I don't want this money. Nobody wants it.

I want somehow to get you, Joe. To save you for yourself and myself.

Somehow you're wild and crazy and stuck in a trap.

And somehow you won't fight to get out.

And somehow I love you.

Thanks.

Sam.

(Music stops)

Joe!

- You make up your mind yet, Ficco? - I'm thinking it over, Ben.

It's only going to be one way, Ficco, and no other.

You took that gun of yours and jazzed up the town.

You killed one man. And kidnapped another.

I was on the outside, Ben, with a gun and broke.

You was on the inside with the money and the organization.

- I wanted in. - All right, I'm taking you in.

On my terms, Ficco, not yours.

Any way you say, Ben, as long as I'm in.

All right, here's the situation.

All the legal Charlies from the corner cop up to Hall and the governor

are gonna be screaming for action after what you did tonight.

They'll raid my banks up and down the line, night and day.

And everybody working for me is gonna wanna quit.

I want you to take your boys and hold those people in line.

Do what you have to do. Go as far as you have to go.

No matter how tough Hall gets, those banks are going to operate.

I want that money coming in. No matter what.

An nobody quits, understand? Not even the janitor.

It's a deal, Ben.

(Phone ringing)

(Tucker) Phone's no good to us. Hall's got it tapped.

It's a direct wire, right to the special prosecutor's office.

And another thing, Ficco. No phones.

Nobody talks over the phone about anything.

Everything's tapped right down to Hall.

You'll get in touch with me through Joe Morse.

You report to him personally. Everyday, everything.

You know where I am.

I don't think I can do business with Joe Morse.

What do you need him in this for anyway, Ben?

Blow him off, get rid of him.

He won't be worth a dime when the going gets tough.

The shysters scare easy.

Besides, he won't wanna do business with me on account of his brother.

I'll handle him. You just turn his brother loose.

- I'll take care of Joe. - We got a problem there, Ben.

(Knock on door)

Joe, are you crazy?

Are you crazy, coming here like this in the middle of the night?

(Tucker) I've been waiting for you all night, Joe. Where have you been?

Where's my brother, Ben?

Where's my brother? Where's my brother?

Where's my brother? Where's Ficco? Where did Ficco take my brother?

This is Ficco.

I made all my arrangements, Joe. He's coming in with us

to help us hide this mess from Hall's glory boys.

Joe!

Settle down.

I've had enough of you, Joe.

I've had a bellyful of you and your brother right from the beginning.

- Where's my brother? - I'm running this combination.

And you're working for me. Just like Ficco. Is that straight?

I'll have Ficco turn your brother loose in the morning.

You see to it that he keeps his mouth shut

when Hall works him over.

Leo Morse won't talk. He's dead.

- Why didn't you tell me? - You weren't interested.

Where is he?

I had him dumped on the rocks near the river,

by the lighthouse, under the bridge.

(Tucker) Well, let him stay there.

(Phone ringing)

I'll tell you what, Ficco.

I'll take Joe out of town for a while.

I don't want him here when the police find his brother's body.

(Ficco) Why don't you leave town alone, Ben?

Morse ain't no good for the combination.

Sure, Ficco is better for the combination.

He's a killer.

He wants to kill me. Don't you, Ficco?

(Ficco) I will. (Joe) Like you had Bauer killed.

(Ficco) Like Bauer. (Joe) Like my brother.

(Ficco) Yeah, like your brother. (Tucker) Shut up, Joe.

I'll give it to straight, Ben. I'm not going to my own funeral.

You're no better than Ficco.

You were a gunman and a killer before we became partners.

And I showed you how to hide your business from the police.

Now you are going back to your old trade.

You made a deal with Ficco.

To run the racket with a gun. And I'm in the way, is that it?

You've killed before and now you wanna kill again.

But I'm not gonna end up on the rocks in the river, like my brother.

I'll walk out of here alive to hang the both of you.

(Gunshot)

(Gunshot)

(Gunshots)

This is Joe Morse.

Tell Mr Hall and the police I'll be down to see them in an hour.

(Drops receiver)

'Doris was waiting for me downstairs and we left before the police came.

'I wanted to find Leo, to see him once more.

'It was morning by then, dawn.

'And naturally I was feeling very bad there,

'as I went down there.

'I just kept going down and down there.

'It was like going down to the bottom of the world.

'To find my brother.

'I found my brother's body at the bottom there,

'where they'd thrown it away, on the rocks, by the river.

'Like an old dirty rag nobody wants.

'He was dead.

'And I felt I had killed him.

'I turned back to give myself up to Hall,

'because if a man's life can be lived so long

'and come out this way, like rubbish,

'then something was horrible and had to be ended one way or another,

'and I decided to help.'