Original subtitles

And that just about wraps it up, Mr. Gunderson.

Uh, I'm enclosing a photostat

of the, uh, lab reports for your files.

Sincerely, etc., etc., etc.

Oh, uh, Peggy, on the Glenville thing,

tell him that... Come in!

Tell him that we do appreciate

his inquiry and his interest and we'll give

every consideration to the proposal

as outlined in his letter.

However, we...

Can I help you, ma'am?

Jean!

Well, this is a pleasant surprise.

How are you?

You look great!

And you, Joe.

How have you been?

Fine, fine.

How are things back, well, back home?

Summer Grove's just the same.

Everything's just a little older, but it's the same.

Can I fix you anything, a drink or, uh...?

No, thank you.

No?

Well, how is everything?

You and Troy and the family?

Troy's been indicted for murder.

He goes on trial in two weeks.

Troy?

Uh, is there anything I can do?

Uh, name of a good trial lawyer, money, anything?

Leo Kolligian is defending him.

But we have no case.

No defense at all.

We've tried everything we can think of

except come to you for help.

Now I'm doing that.

I don't know how much help I'd be to you.

Don't say no until you've seen him.

He-He's just outside.

Troy's waiting out there?

Has Mr. Pro Football all of a sudden gone shy?

Please, Joe.

Jean, are you telling me that they gave him bail

on a murder charge and he's walking around free?

Not exactly. Please?

All right.

Hi, Joe.

How you doing, fella?

♪ ♪

and where River Road

makes a sharp turn, remember?

Simpson's Bridge.

I missed the curve.

I got sleepy and dozed off and...

I missed it.

What do the doctors say, Troy?

Well, this guy, Radford, that we talked to today

at UCLA Medical Center seems to

have more hope than the doctors

at Summer Grove General.

That bunch seem to think I...

I'm going to be stuck in here forever.

Which just isn't true.

Uh, tell me about, uh, this man that was killed, Bo Sanders.

Bo came to Summer Grove a couple of years after you left.

He bought into our trucking firm when Ed Barkley sold out.

You remember Ed.

Remember him? I guess.

He was the greatest blocking back we ever ran behind.

I didn't know he was in business with you.

For years, until his wife went through all their money.

So, he sold out to Bo and went to work for us as our foreman.

Um, what's the, uh, State's case?

Well, somehow Bo got the notion

I was juggling the company books.

I finally convinced him to go over the accounts, and

if he was dissatisfied, we'd bring in an auditor.

He took the books along with him

down to the fishing camp and got killed.

They never found the books.

That's it? That's the prosecution's case?

No, not exactly.

Bo was killed with a fireplace shovel.

The police found it a few days later

in some underbrush.

My fingerprints were the only ones on it.

♪ ♪

I'm going to go by and have a talk with Leo Kolligian

and then I'll, uh, get back to you.

You're staying at...? The hotel.

No friends, no ties?

You've really cut the cord, haven't you?

Well, anyway, thanks for coming, Joe.

Yeah, Joe, thanks.

♪ ♪

Joseph!

New suit!

I should hope so. It's been ten years.

No!

As one Armenian to another,

don't tell people my brain is going.

Has it really been ten years... Yeah.

Since we put your

sainted mother in the ground?

Has it really been so long?

What are we going to do about that poor boy, Joseph?

Uh, Mr. Kolligian, do you think Troy is innocent?

I think Jean believes he is.

How shall I doubt such a lovely girl?

Troy filled me in on the details.

Motive, fingerprints.

The police place him in the vicinity

at the time of the crime.

Sounds tough.

Tough?

Did he tell you about the other private investigator?

Other investigator?

Right after the accident,

I told him we needed an investigator.

Finally he let me hire a man.

Oh, not you, but pretty good.

And what did he come up with?

Not much.

Jean is convinced there is a witness.

The fellow spent most of his time checking into people

who might have been around River Road that night.

He finally gave that up

and began to dig into Troy's habits... uh...

the Wednesday night poker parties, that sort of thing.

And?

Troy fired him.

The murder took place on a Wednesday night.

Did any of his poker buddies see him?

Troy didn't play that night.

He only went maybe once a month.

Nothing very significant.

Unless he, uh, went someplace else on a Wednesday night.

Someplace like where?

Well, maybe he found

a good Armenian restaurant over in Fairview.

I should be so lucky.

Well...

You're not leaving before the coffee is ready?

Well, I have to check in at the hotel, uh,

rent a car, a few things like that.

Thanks, anyway.

Joseph, just one thing more.

Will you be seeing Stephan?

I'm not sure.

Do, Joseph.

I'll see, Mr. Kolligian.

I just don't see what those

poker bashes had to do with Bo getting killed, that's all.

You let me work it out, Troy.

Now, apparently, you didn't go every Wednesday night.

So, if you weren't at the poker games, Troy...

Driving around, like I said before.

I went driving.

Okay, where?

No place in particular.

Sometimes I, I'd stop and...

and look at the lights, the town.

I'd stop and try to think...

By yourself, Troy?

Are we friends, Joe?

Of course we're friends.

Just make your investigation look good, will you?

Go through the motions,

walk around, talk to people.

Don't make waves, okay?

Why, Troy?

Why no waves?

I...

I don't want Jean to get her hopes up.

We're not gonna win this one.

Oh, come on now, that's not the guy

I played football next to for three years.

He hated to lose.

What's to lose, Joe?

What are they going to do?

Put me in prison?

Why should you mind if I give this my best shot?

I mind!

Why?

Is there something worse than prison, Troy?

Something you're holding back on me?

I asked you a favor.

And I'd consider it...

if I thought you really had killed Bo Sanders.

Then consider it.

That's right, Joe.

I killed him.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Maria!

Joseph! Joseph!

How's the world's greatest housekeeper?

Love him.

Oh, Joseph, who cooks for you in Los Angeles?

You are all bones!

Well, it's TV dinners and instant coffee.

What are you doing here?

Oh, I come twice a week, straighten the house,

fix some dolmas, sometimes a little lahmajoun.

He is as skinny as you are.

Both of you should marry nice Armenian women

who cook for you, make you eat.

Well, maybe soon.

Uh, is he around?

Oh, out there somewhere in the vineyard.

Ah.

He was sick, you know?

Last winter, for two weeks.

Wouldn't see the doctors.

What was wrong with him?

You think he tells me?

I might as well be a stick.

Thank you, Maria.

♪ ♪

I hear this might be a pretty good year.

Price is up.

$156 a ton.

That's better than '67.

That was a dry year, wasn't it?

Uh-huh.

This, uh, soil seems kind of moist,

maybe too moist.

Too much rain will make the wine acidy, won't it?

You tell me.

18 year you spent with the grapes.

You tell me!

Maria said you were sick last winter.

I'm glad it wasn't anything serious.

Are you?!

Now look, you and I, we've had some problems.

Problems?

With you, it was always problems!

I will give you a problem!

Whether it is better to pick on the 18th of the month

or wait for two more days of good sun

and pick on the 20th when it may rain.

That is a problem.

Whether we should buy our fertilizer here in the town

at three dollar 97 cents a hundred pound

or go to San Francisco, buy it, ship it here

and save maybe a few cents a bag.

That is a problem.

All right! I didn't come here

to start the same old arguments.

Why did you come?!

To try and make things better between us.

You came all the way from your successful business in Los Angeles

to tell me you were wrong?

No.

You go.

Go!

Joseph, you are going already?

Good-bye, Maria.

You saw him? You talked with your father?

I saw him.

Sit down. Finish your coffee.

I still have ten minutes before visiting hours.

I understand you went to see your father.

Mm.

How did it go?

Well, if you've ever seen a Marine training film

on hand-to-hand combat, just imagine it happening

in a California vineyard.

Jean...

what happened to the other private investigator?

You mean why was he fired?

I don't really know.

He seemed to be on to something,

and then all of a sudden Troy just let him go.

It was almost...

Almost what?

Oh, I don't know, Joe.

Maybe it's the shock of the accident

or everything happening at once.

Sometimes I don't think Troy cares

whether he's found guilty or not.

Jean, can you be objective about Troy,

about the murder?

I think so.

Is there a possibility that Troy

could have killed Bo Sanders?

No. Do you think he did?

No. No way.

I've been, uh... meaning to tell you.

I have this, um, this scrapbook.

Just some, uh, clippings and snapshots.

Do you want me to turn that off?

No, no reason to.

I still like that song.

Well, anyway, uh, this scrapbook is just some, um,

clippings of you playing football and basketball

and a picture of you in your uniform

before you went away to Korea.

I-I even have that awful telegram

that said you were missing in action.

Your mother gave that to me.

I was wondering if you had any use for it.

I've already cut out

all of the pictures of us at the prom and snapshots.

Sure, fine. I, I would like to have it.

Well, I'll get my sweater.

It's just...

something I thought you should have.

You'll be getting married one of these days,

and have children.

I'd like them to know as much about Joe Mannix as I do.

He's a pretty remarkable man.

♪ ♪

No matter what time of the night you drive by,

the lights in Troy's room are always on.

He's afraid of the power going off.

The lights seem to reassure him.

Tell Troy I'll drop in a little later, huh?

Sure.

Jean?

Uh, I'd, uh, like to talk to Ed Barkley.

Do you know where I might find him?

Try the warehouse. He usually works late.

Good night, Joe.

And the homecoming game.

Man, Joe, you would have loved it!

Leesburg High's got this big fullback,

you know, all-state last couple of seasons.

Now, just get this:

our boys held him to a net 42 yards!

42 yards, Joe!

We won the game, huh?

Why, sure, we won.

You don't follow Grove High no more?

Well, I'm a little out of touch, Ed.

Yeah, yeah, I guess.

You know, me and Louisa May follow the team even on road games?

Yeah, yeah, Coach and me are just like that.

Say, how is Louisa May? Still as pretty as ever?

Oh, yeah, great.

Just terrific, Joe.

Hair's red now, you know.

And still knows how to spend a dollar.

Hey, uh, you down here to help old Troy?

Well, I'm here to try.

It's just awful, that accident, everything.

Great athlete like that having to spend the rest of his life

in an iron lung.

Tell me, Ed, uh, this may help Troy.

Whatever happened to Lurene?

Lurene Warenski?

Mm.

Nothing, nothing at all.

She ever get married?

No. Uh, her mother died a couple of years ago.

Lurene still lives up on Wagon Road, same as always.

She and Ed went together all through high school.

Everyone thought they were going to get married.

Yeah, right.

Do they ever see each other?

Gee, Joe, I... I don't know.

Come on, Ed. Now, you work with him every day,

you heard phone calls he got.

You knew what time he left work.

No, Troy didn't run around with no one.

Well, if not with Lurene, anybody else?

No, no one else. Just... Just Lurene, huh?

Come on. Stop worrying.

That may be just the thing I need

to get Troy's murder charge dropped.

You really mean that?

Could be. Come on. Cheer up.

Hey, look, why don't you come down

and visit me some weekend in L.A.?

I'll get us a couple of tickets

to one of the Rams' games.

We'll go out and have a few laughs. How about it?

Yeah, sure, Joe.

Okay. Oh and say hello to Louisa May, huh?

Yeah, sure, Joe.

Hello, Warenski!

Joe Mannix!

How long have you been sitting here?

Well, I, uh, came by last night

and you weren't in,

so I came back this morning to wait you out.

Had a nice chat with the milkman.

I went to San Francisco for the weekend.

I have some friends there.

It's nice to see you, Joe.

Oh, let me help you with those.

All right.

Have you been to see your dad?

Yes.

And Troy McBride.

No preliminaries, right?

We're going to get right to it?

I need your help,

and you know Troy better than anyone in Summer Grove.

Oh, I knew him in high school, sure.

But since then, he married another woman, remember?

Tell me a little bit about their marriage.

Uh, was it holding together?

Oh, excuse me, Joe.

I'll just get rid of this coat.

Sit down.

So, you want to know about their marriage...

The rundown on Jean and Troy.

Well, unfortunately, I can't tell you how Jean feels.

We have very little contact.

Troy... glorious young athlete

who went as far as he could go on nerve and muscle,

reasonably smart, reasonably straight guy,

doesn't know where the salad fork goes.

Might have been all-pro, but he was way out of her league,

and he knows it.

For years that poor jerk has been terrified

that she's going to leave him.

She's sleek, sophisticated, bright-bright...

He's crazy about her.

And, uh, where does Warenski fit in?

Warenski waits.

But you did talk, you and Troy?

On Wednesday nights?

Good-bye, Joe.

If you can tell me anything about the Wednesday night

Bo Sanders was killed, it may save Troy.

From the iron lung?

From a possible life term in prison.

Troy won't go to prison.

Why?

Don't you think a jury would convict a man in an iron lung?

What if I told you that a specialist in L.A.

thinks Troy has a chance of recovering?

Is that true, Joe? He may recover?

It's possible.

He didn't think he had a chance.

He said... He said what?

Please, Joe, please don't ask me any more questions.

Lurene, if Troy does get out of that tank, do you want him

to spend the rest of his life in another prison?

You know better than that! All right, then help him!

Can you prove where he was that night?

Now maybe we can clear this up.

But Troy made me promise!

Troy didn't kill Bo Sanders.

I want to know who did.

You awake, boy?

H-How's Lurene?

She hurt, Joseph.

They took her to surgery.

Now, now, if that hurts, Joe,

it is because something is broken.

This is what I expected.

You walk around this earth with a gun,

a gun is what you get.

Pa, I didn't get shot.

Don't argue with your father!

Haven't I been sitting here?

Haven't I been hearing you shouting

while you were unconscious?

I know about the brakes.

I know someone is trying to hurt you.

You think I don't see your name in the Los Angeles papers, huh?

Joe Mannix, beaten by criminals;

Joe Mannix, shot in the shoulder.

And with pictures!

What kind of a life is this?

Joseph, this is dignity?

You go away to that big, godless city

with no family, no friends to take

care of you when you are sick or hurt.

Pa, I don't mean to worry you.

I'm sorry.

Worry?!

Heh-heh!

I should spend my time worrying?

No, as far as you're concerned, anything I do

that doesn't include working your land is wrong.

My land?

You think I spend 40 years working that land for me?

For myself? No, for you I did it.

For your children and your children's children.

So they will have land,

a life worth respect.

But no, you are headstrong.

You fight back your own father!

Okay, Pa. Okay.

You're doing it for me.

I appreciate it.

But you're doing it for yourself, too.

Don't you understand, Pa?

You're doing what you want with your life;

I'm doing what I want.

I wasn't cut out to listen to the frost warnings

on radio every night.

I don't like chopping weeds.

There is something wrong working with the hands!?

Yeah, if it makes you unhappy,

if you're not suited to it.

Pa, I like working with people.

I was miserable in the vineyards.

You gave it no chance.

No chance!

No, you... you go to war,

and this girl, she marries a football player,

so you don't come home again.

That was only part of it, Pa.

The part is, you don't like dirt underneath your fingernails!

Pa! Yes!

They told me you were hurt.

It's nothing serious.

"Nothing serious."

Heh-heh!

No, this time, thanks to the Lord,

he wasn't killed.

You're a smart man, Joe.

You understand what he's trying to say to you.

He loves you. He misses you very much.

He's got a strange way of driving that point across.

I go out there every once in a while.

He's given up hope of you ever coming back to Summer Grove to stay,

but he sure would like to have you come visit him

once in a while.

He say that?

Of course he didn't say that.

When do people ever s...

say what they really mean?

He's proud.

Please keep trying.

Try to understand.

I'm-I'm trying, Jean, believe me.

I'll keep trying.

Joe...

does Lurene Warenski have anything to do with your case?

I'm not sure, uh...

I, uh, can't tell yet, Jean.

Hello?

Yeah, this is Joe Mannix.

Who?

Sheriff who?

Cisco, Joe. Cisco Madeiros.

You're the sheriff?

Isn't that a kick in the head?

Yeah, it seems like only yesterday

you were throwing the morning paper on people's roofs.

Well, after I did my thing in Vietnam I needed a steady job.

This was as close as I could come to one.

When can we get together on the accident?

Anytime. What have you got?

Not much... a few pictures.

Well, no proof of tampering, Joe.

The car rental agency said that the brake fluid line was deliberately cut,

but the rest of the car was so badly damaged...

Yeah, it all adds up, Cisco.

Somebody besides Troy wants me off the case.

Adds up, but it's not proof.

Here's the fingerprint report from Sacramento on Troy.

I don't know what you expect it to tell you.

Just doing my homework.

If Lurene doesn't make it,

what's Kolligian gonna tell the jury?

Hey, Cisco, this says 1948.

Did Troy have a juvenile record?

Well, if he does, it's in, uh, Leesburg.

No record here in town.

If he got into trouble, he went 35 miles away to do it.

Well, how do we find out what the original charge was?

Sally, get me the sheriff in, uh, Leesburg.

You remember old Dick Liggett?

Yeah.

He got me out of more scrapes than...

Uh, Sheriff Liggett, please.

This is Madeiros in Summer Grove.

He was sheriff in '48 and '38 and...

Buenos dias to you, too, Uncle Dick.

Yes, sir.

Just fine.

Yeah, family, too.

Listen, Uncle Dick, I need some help.

Could you read me the booking slip on Troy McBride?

It was in '48.

Your card number is, uh... J-U-V-32-58.

Sure, take your time.

Your dad was kind of sick a while back, did you know?

Yeah, I heard yesterday.

I found him pulled over in his car.

Took him to the hospital, had him looked at.

Yeah. Great.

Go ahead, Uncle Dick.

Grand theft auto.

Was booked but later released at request of car owner.

Uh, l-listen, just a minute, Uncle Dick.

Joe, this is weird.

In '48, Dick was maybe, uh...

40 years old and weighed about 200 pounds.

Troy was, what, the fastest quarterback

Summer Grove High ever had.

Does that make sense that Dick could catch him?

No, it doesn't.

Okay, Uncle Dick, muchas gracias.

Uh, the owner.

Oh, hey, you don't happen to have the name

of the owner of that stolen car, do you?

Yeah. I got it.

Thanks, Uncle Dick.

Well, who owned it?

Your father, Joe.

Finish telling me about the Troy McBride business, Pa.

The boy took the car, he went to Leesburg... what's to finish?

Well, auto theft in Summer Grove's a pretty big deal.

You never mentioned it before.

These are things people don't need to know

about a foolish 15-year-old boy.

Did you, uh, ever mention it to Troy?

Yes. He denied taking the car.

He said he had not been in Leesburg that night.

Did you believe him?

A boy gets in trouble, he makes excuses.

The punishment is for the father to decide.

You really think you can fix this?

Sure. Now, you had the charge dropped.

Why would Troy lie to you?

The washer.

What washer?

There, the washer.

Well, that doesn't need a washer, Pa.

It needs a washer... don't argue with your father!

I always use a washer there.

I'll do it myself.

Now, look, Pa, will you listen to me for once?

Don't turn your back on me and just tune me out.

Ever since I left here, I've driven racing cars,

I've rebuilt racing motors... Now, I have a right

to have an opinion about a washer in a carburetor.

You say, "Put a washer there because I always put a washer there."

That doesn't make it right... It makes it right

as long as I am the father and you are the son!

Excuse me.

You want to talk with him, go up to the house.

I have work.

Well, I wanted to talk to you, Mr. Mannix.

Not now.

I guess I was a little late.

I was going to give him the same lecture I gave you.

What we need is not so much a Pollyanna...

As a referee.

You know, there used to be a picture of me up here.

Trophies, Mama on one side,

Joe on the other.

I guess that ought to tell me how things are.

How's Troy?

Fine.

I stopped by to see Lurene.

She's still unconscious.

Is she your witness, Joe?

What would you say if I told you

that I just went by to see her for, uh, old times?

Well, I guess that would be your privilege.

I've, uh, got a couple of stops to make,

then I'll drop in and see Troy.

If things go right and I'm lucky,

I'll be out of Summer Grove by midnight.

Troy.

Hi, Joe. Where you been?

Freddie, go buy yourself a cup of coffee, okay?

Oh, sure, Mr. McBride.

Just call if you need me, Mr. McBride.

Did you see Jean?

A couple of hours ago.

Did she ask about Lurene?

Yeah.

She wondered how Lurene was involved in Bo's murder.

Did you...? I didn't tell her.

That's a better break than I deserve, Joe.

Warenski's a nice girl.

She deserves better than a Wednesday night life.

Did she tell you the whole thing?

No, but then neither did you.

You told me to cool the investigation, remember?

You said you were guilty.

You were very close

the first time you came into this room, Joe.

You asked me if I thought there was anything worse

than going to prison, right?

Something to do with Lurene?

No, Jean.

If Jean left me, they could just turn this thing off.

I, I wouldn't care.

If Jean found out about Lurene...

You know, there's, uh... one obvious question.

Why did I see Lurene?

Yeah.

Once in a while, a man has to be himself, Joe.

There comes a time in every man's life when

he's got to have someone to... to be a failure in front of.

I'm just an ex-pro quarterback, Joe.

That won't even get me a free seat in the bleachers anymore.

Jean knew all about Louis XIV furniture...

politics, art... But with Lurene,

I was on my own dead level.

I could tell her my personal troubles,

stupid mistakes I'd made.

I could be me.

Couldn't you say the same things to Jean?

No, she wouldn't...

What if, uh, what if Warenski doesn't make it?

You going to find yourself another dead-level-type girl

to tell your troubles to?

No.

So talk to Jean.

You admit she's bright. Give her credit for knowing

that life isn't always gonna be

a four-column photo of you in a football jersey.

Take it from me, Troy,

I'm great at solving other people's problems.

Joe, c-can you keep this quiet

till I have a chance to tell Jean in my own way?

You can tell her whenever you like.

Not yet.

Why? There's no pressure on you anymore.

I'm still up on a murder charge, remember?

It's been dropped.

What?

I just came from Cisco's office.

How about the prints on the shovel?

They weren't yours.

They checked the Sacramento files,

and came up with some prints taken in '48,

with your name on them.

My name? I... I don't understand, Joe.

Those prints were made when a 15-year-old kid

was picked up in Leesburg for auto theft.

It happened to be my father's car.

The kid was scared and, uh, he gave your name.

He was released before it was checked out,

and it stayed on the books.

Yeah, yeah, I remember.

Your...

Your old man asked me if I'd learned my lesson.

I didn't know what he was talking about.

He thought you were covering up.

Well, then... then the kid who stole the car in '48

is the... is the man who killed Bo Sanders?

Looks that way.

And as long as you're willing to take the rap, he's safe.

Look, Troy, is there anything I can do for you before I leave...

A glass of water, turn off the lights?

No, thanks, the lights stay on.

So long, Troy.

Thanks, Joe.

Freddie?

Fred?

Fred, dial the phone, will you?

Prop it up here for me. I...

I want to talk to Jean.

Who's there?

Who-Who's there?

I... I'm-I'm in a lot of trouble, Troy.

I never planned getting you blamed for what I done.

That just happened, the fingerprints and all that.

Everything just snowballed, you know?

But I had to do it.

Money's the only thing Louisa May understands.

It's the only reason she stays with me.

Now, I... I gotta do this, Troy.

Do what?

If they think it just happened... You know, an accident...

Maybe it'll get me off the hook.

It really isn't that bad, is it?

I mean, 'cause, well, you're already dead,

aren't you, Troy?

Stay down.

Stay down, Ed.

You all right, Troy?

Joe, I breathed by myself.

I breathed... on my own.

Well, if I leave now, I can get to the hospital

and see Warenski for a few minutes.

Good. Good, good.

I want to thank you for everything,

what you've done for Troy, what you told him last night.

He told me.

You should be very proud of your son, Mr. Mannix.

What good is he for fixing carburetors?

Now remember, Pa, you promised to come to L.A.

for a few days and visit.

Maybe, I said.

Maybe, if the rains hold back and the wind stays down, maybe.

Oh, Joe, where's your scrapbook?

I, uh, I must have left it in the house.

I'll pick it up another time.

But I wanted you to have it.

I'll get it... I'll get it.

♪ ♪

I just couldn't find it, Jean.

Next time, huh?

Good-bye, Pa.