All language subtitles for Perry.Mason.S09E22.The.Case.of.the.Avenging.Angel.DVDRip.x264

- Glad to have you with us.
- Thank you.

No hard liquor, you understand.

- Mostly teenagers here.
- Of course.

I recommend the Killer Shark.

It's pineapple juice with tonic.

Sounds fine. We'll
have two Killer Sharks.

All right.

What's going on? This was
supposed to be a business appointment.

It is.

Here?

Does this look like
business? It's $5,000.

Five thousand dollars?

What's going on?

You disappear with a client
mysteriously and alone,

come back with all the cash,
pick me up, and bring me to this.

All in the line of duty.

I can't hear you.

We're doing this for my client.

Ah.

And who is this
cash-money client?

You've heard of
Cameron McBain Burgess.

Who hasn't?

The kind of a man every
girl wants as a father-in-law.

Millionaire, civic
leader, philanthropist.

What kind of a problem
could Burgess have

that would make him give
his attorney a cash retainer?

Apparently he wants
to become an angel.

You're putting me on.

No, and by the way,

Cameron Burgess' name is not
to be mentioned outside the office.

He agreed that only my secretary
and an investigator would know the facts.

Gentlemen.

Boys and girls, may I
have your attention, please?

You know how one
cat said to the other cat:

"How do I get to
Carnegie Hall, man?"

And the second cat said:

"Practice, man, practice."

Yeah!

So here's one cat you dig the
most, and he's been practicing.

So let's hear it
for Sandy Chester.

Thank you.

Sandy Chester.

He's the boy Mr. Burgess
wants to sponsor.

Thanks so much, mods.

You know, since I
came to this country,

it's been Henny what's
done everything for me.

Gave me this job
and a chance to sing.

So this song's for Henny.

I'm walking the same road
I used to walk you home

But this time, it's
different I'm walking alone

Oh, why did you leave
me To be by myself?

I feel like a millionaire
Who's just lost his wealth

Oh, how dark and lonesome
This road seems to be

It used to be sunny When
you walked it with me

Since you've been away
It has never been the same

Oh, come back, my
darling And let's start again

Oh, lonesome road,
lonesome road Why did she go?

Are you sure this is the boy
your client wants to sponsor?

Unlimited backing. Any amount.

- Why?
- I don't know, Della.

I honestly don't know.

No, Mr. Hawley. I can't
give you my client's name.

But he says you're the best
personal manager in show business.

And he wants you to
handle the boy's career.

Your guy wants him put
over, huh? Made big-time?

Well, he does wanna
give him a chance.

Now, I'd imagine that first
you'd like to hear the youngster.

Find out if he has any talent.

Ha. What's that
got to do with it?

You think it's talent puts
over these creepy kids today?

- Forget it.
- What does it take?

Two things: guts and money.

Big money.

You look down
there in that street.

Pick out a kid. Any kid.

Give me enough
dough to do the job,

and in six months, I'll have
him a national sensation.

Remember Archie and
Shel? The Tongo Trio?

I did it for them. They were
nothing when I took them.

Far as I'm concerned,
they're still nothing.

Anyway, I can do the same thing
for this what's-his-name of yours.

- Sandy Chester.
- Yeah.

America's new singing discovery.

Did I tell you my terms?

Your man picks up all expenses,
I get 25 percent and full control.

No dice without full control.

And a contract nobody can break.

I'll draw up an agreement
between you and Sandy.

When it's signed,

I'm authorized to
deliver $5,000 for a start.

That'll do, for a start.

When would you
like to talk to the boy?

Right away. After all, America
is waiting to see its new star.

It's just smashing,
Henny. Think of it.

Clete Hawley, the
Clete Hawley, calling me.

Well, it was sure to
happen sooner or later.

- Go on.
- It's true.

Besides brains, looks, personality,
there's a certain, well, quality.

Star quality.

And I've got it?

You've been drinking
too many Killer Sharks.

It's true.

If it weren't, why would a big manager
like Clete Hawley be interested in you?

There is that.

Well, let's hope you're right,

because then that 10 percent of me
that you have will be worth something.

Enough to fix this place up.

Your name's Sandy Chester?

Yes, sir.

You must be Mr. Clete Hawley.

I can't tell you
what a thrill it is...

Oh, Henny, this is
Mr. Clete Hawley.

Henny's real old-time
show business.

She was a headliner in
vaudeville for years and years.

Well, not actually a headliner,
but, uh, feature billing.

I've sure been a lucky bloke
having somebody like her.

She's taught me everything I
know about singing, how to act.

Well, maybe it's not too
late to undo the damage.

Look, kid, if you
and I get together,

you're gonna forget
everything you think you know.

You're gonna start over again
from the top and learn it my way.

If you get together?

I thought you told the
boy over the telephone...

All depends on his
situation. All depends on his...

Oh.

All right, split, kid.

The lady and I have
got something to discuss.

But if you're gonna talk about
me, I ought to be here, shouldn't I?

Look, kid, there's one thing you
ought to start learning right off.

I tell you something once.

Now split. I'll send for
you when I want you.

It's all right, honey.

There's only one thing
we three are interested in:

your career.

Mr. Hawley and I
won't have any trouble.

Now,

first thing I wanna know is
exactly where you and the kid stand.

I'll have perhaps 15 minutes
before my case is called.

- Time for some coffee?
- Sure.

Oh, what do you have
on Sandy Chester?

- Who is he?
- Nobody. Just another English kid.

His mother died about a year
ago and he came over here.

In time, he showed
up in Henny's Coop.

Why would a capable
star-builder like Hawley

wanna bother with an
unknown, untried kid like Sandy,

without even hearing him?

Surely not for the money.

Don't be too sure.

Hawley's often been
on the verge of making it.

But so far, he's
always just missed.

The, uh, rock 'n' roll business
is a bare-knuckled racket.

Some kid makes a
halfway name for himself

or hits a hit record, and
the big boys snap him up.

That would explain why Hawley
was so insistent on full control

and what he calls
an ironclad contract.

I'm afraid I haven't
been much help.

I still can't explain
Burgess' interest in the boy.

That's not all that
intrigues me, Paul.

There's also the fact that
Burgess wanted Clete Hawley

and no one else to
be Sandy's manager.

Now, why Hawley?

How would a man like Burgess
have even heard of him?

All right, all right,
once again from the top.

Go out and enter again.

Let's go, let's go.

All right. Applause,
applause. Clap, clap, clap.

Wait a minute.
Straighten your back.

And turn those feet
in. You walk like a duck.

All right, come on.

Don't grab that microphone as
though you're gonna throttle it.

Pretend it's a girl. Play
up to it. Make love to it.

And straighten that
back. You're gonna...

You're gonna be somebody,
you gotta look like somebody.

Now, go out and make
the entrance again.

Look, that's not singing.

Kid, you're so far from singing, you
couldn't reach it in a sleeper jump.

- Then what do you got me here for?
- You stay put, Riff. You stay put.

Now look, you, from the
time you get up in the morning

till the time you
hit the pad at night,

you're gonna learn to do
things the Clete Hawley way.

Catch? You're gonna learn to walk
into a restaurant, to give an autograph.

Yeah, to brush your teeth the way a
Clete Hawley product does it. Catch?

All right.

Take five, take five.
I'll round up your music.

Don't let him throw you, Sandy.

The only way to
make it in this business

is to put up with
the Clete Hawleys.

That's the sad part of it.

But that is how it is.

Did you hear what he said, though?
I mean, about signing autographs.

You think I'll
ever get that far?

I was just gonna ask
you for your first one.

It's for my daughter, Sherry.

She's getting to be
quite a fan of yours.

That's a bit of all right,
that is. I'd like to meet her.

Hey, what's that?

Oh, it's one of mine.

"Da, da, da, Surfin' Moon."

- That's real boss.
- Heh.

Cool cats are clinging
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Wild waves are winging
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Sand dunes are
swinging Yeah, yeah, yeah

Cool it.

We were just noodling.

I said, cool it. Not his style.

Sandy, after a while,
we're gonna work on these.

Right now I wanna
smooth out that entrance.

Clete, there's not
one of mine here.

And you said that we could...

You mean I'm gonna
have trouble with you?

After everything
I've done for you?

That's my boy, Riff.

All right, Sandy. Make
that entrance again.

And this time, do
it the way I told you.

Ready? All right,
applause. Clap, clap, clap.

Applause, applause. All
right, kid, make your entrance.

Come on, come on. Okay.

Bye-bye, baby
Remember, you're my baby

When they give you the eye

Although I know that you care
Won't you write and declare

That though on the loose
You are still on the square

I'll be gloomy But
send that rainbow to me

All right, kid, all right.

Take five. We got
things to discuss.

Well, I just wanted you to
see where the money goes.

That's quite a change.

Uh, tot that you didn't
have potential, Sandy.

Don't you believe it.

That kid's a
product. I made him.

All right, kid, split.

Well, that's the sample.

I had to give him a new
hairdo, a bath, new clothes.

Now starts phase
two, the buildup.

Here.

Dotty Merrill,
publicity. Perry Mason.

- Hello.
- Hello.

- You got those swoon shots?
- Right here.

These are for the fan mags.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, a few months of these,

and that kid with the two
left feet we saw at the Coop

will be the dreamboat of
every chick in the country.

And that takes bread,
Mr. Mason. Money, money.

From the vouchers
you've been sending me,

I'd say you've been
spending bread like water.

Make that bread on water.

I've got a few dates lined
up for Sandy out of town.

Easy ones. When
he gets back here,

then he'll be ready for the
choicer spots, and a record.

I'm gonna get that
record into the hands

of every disc jock in the country.
See where the money goes?

You mean you have to pay
them to play his records?

Of course not. That's illegal.

But we offer incentives.

Same for the fan mags.

Clete can get you top
exposure for your dollar.

You wanted this
kid on top, Mason?

Only one way to do it. My way.

Now let's talk serious money.

I sank 50 grand
in my last project.

I'm talking the same
kind of money here.

I want it up when
we get back to town.

And no more vouchers.

I hate paperwork.

I'll report to my principal.

He'll wanna know precisely
what he's buying for his money.

Well, among other
things, he's leasing

one of the choicest collections
of skeletons in show business.

I've made kind of a
hobby of skeletons.

Oh, there's nothing like it
when you're promoting new talent

to be able to pull out a nice choice
skeleton and kind of rattle it around.

Or putting it another way, knowing
where the bodies are buried.

Oh, ho, ho, ho.

You're with it,
counselor. You're with it.

You tell your principal that.

On that, you have my word.

I think the counselor's
chickening out.

Mr. Burgess, at the moment,
Mr. Hawley has the boy on tour.

But when he gets back next week,
he wants $50,000 free and clear.

No vouchers, no accounting.

Purely on good faith alone.

By, uh, what day?

You're not actually considering
giving him the money on his terms?

Well, I was aware
when I first came to you

there'd be considerable expense
involved if we expected results.

Expense, yes, but let
me come to the point.

If you're determined
to go ahead with this,

I recommend very strongly
you do it with another manager.

You mean fire Clete Hawley?

Oh, Mr. Mason,
this is my wife, June.

A pleasure, Mrs. Burgess.

I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but
I just happened to overhear...

Uh, my wife knows all about
our arrangements, Mr. Mason.

- You can speak freely.
- Of course.

Here's a full report
on Mr. Hawley,

prepared by the Drake
Detective Agency.

This report concludes that
Mr. Hawley is less than exemplary

and hardly the person to be
entrusted with a large sum of money.

Well, the point is, I don't know
very much about show business,

but they tell me that if
you want results quickly,

you've got to go through
people like Hawley.

- And they all agree he's the best.
- At getting results quickly.

But what about lasting results?

Mr. Mason, I'm sure that Cameron
picked the best lawyer available

to draw up a contract
that would protect the boy.

The contract can only
protect Sandy financially,

it can't govern his day-to-day
relationship with his manager.

And that's what
concerns me most of all.

From our telephone
conversation this afternoon,

I gathered you're not very
happy with Hawley's attitude,

his manner of
dealing with the boy.

But discipline, I'm sure, is just
as important in show business

as it is in anything
else and if...

Well, if Hawley is
a little strict or hard,

I'm sure it's just his way
of getting the job done.

It's not only that.
It's his methods.

He suggested for instance
that in promoting the boy,

he wouldn't hesitate to
use, and I think he said:

"Skeletons in the closet."

But he meant a
form of blackmail.

In fact, although he
doesn't know who you are,

that's one of the messages
he told me to give you,

that he knows where
the bodies are buried.

Well, I'm sure you're
able to deal with Hawley

and I'm certain I am.

Now let's get on
with it, Mr. Mason.

Well, take a look
at that report.

You'll note that the
youngsters Hawley did put over

broke away from him
at their first opportunity.

And all of them, to a man, said
that Hawley did everything he could

once they'd broken
away to destroy them.

Now, is that what you
want for Sandy Chester?

Because with Mr. Hawley
as his manager,

I'm afraid that's
exactly what you'll get.

All hail the conquering hero.

Oh, Mr. Burgess' discovery.

Or Mr. Hawley's creation.
Who knows which?

Sandy's late.

Now, if we're to believe
those newspaper clippings,

the tour was an
unqualified success.

Or Dotty Merrill is
a great press agent.

- Why, Della, you're becoming cynical.
- Heh, heh.

That's showbiz.

Well, Sandy, welcome home.

You look wonderful.
How did it go?

First-rate, Ms. Street.

The audiences all
seemed to like us.

Good to see you again, sir.

Della and I have just
been reading about you.

You've become quite a celebrity.

Not really.

Well, maybe in a
few small towns.

We're back in Los Angeles because
Clete's setting up a recording date.

Well, that's good, isn't it?

Good? I think it's
little short of a miracle.

Perry Mason's office.

Just a moment, please.

It's the police.

They're looking for Sandy.

Don't do anything foolish, now.

Just try to stay relaxed.

Stay right where you are.

Now, just take it easy
up there, young lady.

We've got the Fire Department
coming. We'll get you down.

Stay right where you are. Relax.

Don't make any moves.
Stay right where you are.

That's right. Try to relax.

We'll have you down in a
little while. Now, just be careful.

No, no, no. Don't make any
moves. Stay right where you are.

That's a girl. Hold on to...

Now you're fine.

They're on the way.

No, no. Don't move around.
Stay right where you are.

Dotty, what's going on?
Take a look at the sign.

Don't try anything up there.
Just stay where you are.

Be careful now.

Kids are crazy these days.

Why would she
pull a stunt like that?

Tell me the truth, Sandy.
Do you know that girl?

Honestly, sir, I've
never seen her before.

We've been trying to talk
her down for a half hour.

She could break her neck.

Sandy, I just hope
this isn't a stunt.

We've got to get that girl down.

Do you know the
song "Surfin' Moon"?

I think so.

- Can we use the microphone, please?
- All right.

All right, honey, if you'll just
sit still, I'm going to sing for you.

Cool cats are clinging
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Wild waves are winging
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Sand dunes are
swinging Yeah, yeah, yeah

'Neath that surfin' moon

I know how you feel, Clete.

It was a crazy shtick,
but we hit the front pages.

Well, don't blame
me, it wasn't my idea.

What did you expect Sandy to do,
just stand there and refuse to sing?

Let the doll get hurt?

Well, I don't understand
why you're so teed off with me.

Sherry, if you ever, ever pull a
stunt like that again, so help me, I'll...

Dad, I'm sorry.

It got so late, I wondered if
you were coming to rehearse.

Miss Goof-of-the-Year here and
I were detained in juvenile court.

The judge finally
released her to my custody,

which may or may not have
been a smart move on his part.

Now, Dad, you wouldn't
have let them lock me up.

You know how much
it's gonna cost me?

For those fire trucks
and the police?

Well, maybe Clete will help out.

Clete?

Well, after all, you did
get us a lot of publicity.

Oh, like, wow,
didn't we, though?

Now everybody in the country
wants to hear Sandy Chester

sing your song, "Surfin' Moon."

Everybody except one guy.

- And he's the only one that counts.
- Clete?

He's in New York,
pitching an album deal.

And you had to cut the
ground right out from under him.

How?

The only tune the record exec wants
to buy is a single called "Surfin' Moon."

Oh, tough. Dad,
did you hear that?

So that's why you
climbed out on that billboard

and had that crazy sign painted.

You don't wanna build Sandy.

You just wanna plug
your father's song.

And it worked too.

Except that Clete
didn't call the shots.

And when he doesn't, head
for the bomb shelters, baby.

This check and letter are going back
to Mr. Burgess by special messenger.

Cashier's check for $50,000.
You sure don't see many of those.

I imagine Clete Hawley may be a
little disappointed not receiving it.

He may receive it
anyway, but not from me.

You mean Burgess is
going to deliver it on his own?

Well, he says he's
paying for results,

and Hawley apparently
is getting results.

You'd think the last thing a man
with Burgess' reputation would want

would be to associate
with someone like Hawley.

Well, he hasn't actually
associated with him.

The contract is between
Hawley and Sandy.

And I've been acting for Burgess
while he remained anonymous.

But not anymore.

Once he gets that
letter, I'm through.

- I wash my hands of the whole thing.
- And Sandy Chester?

No, Paul, I can't do that.

I still feel responsible
for that boy.

- Anything I can do?
- Maybe there is.

There are still some big,
unanswered questions in this affair.

Why was Clete Hawley is so
willing to take on an unknown boy

without ever hearing him?

And why was Cameron
Burgess so anxious

to sponsor an unknown
boy in the first place?

Well, I don't like to be
threatened, Mr. Hawley.

Well, how did you
find out about it?

What's it matter? Let's
just say I got friends.

And when I smell a double-cross,
I do something about it.

Now, nobody's
double-crossing you.

All right, then where's the
bread, the cash that was supposed

to be up for me the minute
I got back from New York?

It's ready, but my
attorney won't deliver it.

He's advised me against
going any further with you.

Now listen, Clyde, I'm
gonna level with you.

You think that kooky little girl on
the billboard got newspaper space?

What kind of coverage you
think they'd give the real story

of why Cameron
Burgess, civic leader,

is playing angel to the
career of Sandy Chester?

Think it over,
friend. Think it over.

Mr. Mason, it's urgent
that I see you right away.

Very well, Mr. Burgess.
Within the hour.

Now, calm down.

I'm sure we can find
Henny easily enough.

I don't know what's
happened to her, Mr. Mason.

When I went down to the
Coop, it was shut down.

A sign on it that it was closed
for nonpayment of taxes.

And she's moved too and
left no forwarding address.

Well, I suppose
business became slack

and she couldn't
meet her expenses.

But she had the money.

I knew she was worried
about those taxes.

That's why I told Clete to send
her the 10 percent right away.

Henny had 10
percent interest in you?

I told Clete it had to be like
that when I signed with him.

And Clete Hawley agreed to that?

Of course.

So I've got to find out what
happened, where she is.

Mr. Mason, Henny's
about the last friend I've got.

I wouldn't let her down.

We'll check the court records.

I promise you'll be able to talk
to her, certainly by tomorrow.

Good on you, sir.

Have her catch me in my dressing
room at the recording studios.

We're doing "Surfin'
Moon" tomorrow.

And Henny will get a
great thrill out of that.

Now, how about you, Sandy?

Is everything else going well?

I don't really know, sir.

It seems as if...

Well, everything's happening
just as Clete said it would.

The tour dates and now this
chance to make a recording.

You're not happy about it.

It's just that everyone around
me seems to hate everyone else

or compete with everyone
else or envy everyone else.

And I can't understand why.

When Clete Hawley came out to
Henny's and wanted to take me on,

I thought it was a whole
new world opening up.

But now that I've seen it,

I'm not sure I want to
be part of that world.

When I said "confidential,"
Mr. Mason, that's exactly what I meant.

I didn't tell Clete Hawley you
were backing the boy, Mr. Burgess.

Then how could he possibly
have found out about me?

That, I can't answer.

And you still refuse
to deliver the check.

Absolutely, and my advice
to you remains the same.

Get rid of him.

No, no, I can't do that now.
I must turn over the money.

Mr. Burgess, I have the feeling
that you're acting under duress.

If you care to tell me what it is, I might
be able to suggest a course of action.

Is Clete Hawley threatening you?

No, no.

It's my problem.

I'll have to handle it myself.

Hello?

Oh, right. Right away.

I said I'd sell you
"Surfin' Moon."

This gives you the
rights to the whole song.

Look, that sand-for-brains daughter
of yours crawling up on that billboard

cut the rug out from under me.
I don't want to buy your song.

You two are forcing it on me.

Sherry's only a kid, Clete.

She was trying to help me.

- She doesn't know about...
- Riff, Riff, baby,

there are a couple of things
she doesn't know about.

Now, do we wise her up
or do you sign that paper?

Hi, Dad.

Thanks, Riff.

You're supposed to be in school.

Oh, high school can get along
without me for one afternoon,

especially when Sandy's
taping a new hit song, our song.

Come on in.

That two-bit piano player.

What you got?

Oh, album covers.

This one's nice.

This one stinks.

Why don't you go
easy on Riff, honey?

Why don't you let me take
care of the business, honey?

We've got Burgess
right where we want him.

He's coming through with a check
for $50,000, no strings attached.

What will we do with that money?

We're gonna go places.

Okay, and reading me in two?

Two's clear. Try number three.

The wire's crossed
over here somewhere.

It's murder to locate.

Who, Mr. Hawley?

Mr. Hawley wanted an
echo chorus on the kid.

I think he went to the
chamber to set it up.

- I knew about the 10 percent.
- What did you give Henny?

The back of my hand. What else?

Pull these vultures
out of the gutter,

they think they got a claw on
you for the rest of their lives.

But Henny's my best friend.

She took care of me,
gave me my first break.

Kid, I thought we
understood each other.

A Clete Hawley property
is a one-man show

and nobody but nobody cuts in.

I'm not your property.

Ten minutes. Recording studio.

Sandy Chester tape.

Clete, you're going to
give Henny her 10 percent.

All the money due
her so far or... Or what?

Or you and I are through.

Right now.

Walt, you can call
it off. I'm not singing.

You little jerk. Eighty-six
me out, will you?

You do that and you'll
never work again. Never.

You can't afford to do that.

You've invested too much
money on me already.

Me, invest in you? Ha.

It's your father's
dough. He's your angel.

You're crazy. I
don't have a father.

Yes, you do, Sandy.

Sandy, allow me to introduce
your old man, Cameron Burgess.

I didn't know you existed,
Sandy, until three months ago

when I received a
letter from your aunt.

While your mother was alive,
she forbid her sister to tell me.

And I wished it would
have stayed that way.

Well, I didn't want
you to find out.

Surely not this way.

Our deal was he wasn't to know.

Deals change.

Hey, Clete, how about that echo?

We roll in five minutes,
echo or no echo.

I just wanted to help
you have a career.

I was afraid if you knew about
me, you wouldn't accept it.

Right, and whatever I have
taken without knowing it,

I want you to give back.

And you can call off all this.

The session, our
deal, everything.

Now listen, buster, you
read me loud and clear

or I'll throw you back in the
gutter where you came from.

When that tape rolls, you sing.

Because you've got
a contract with me

to sing what I say,
where I say, when I say,

or you don't sing at all ever.

- Now, just a minute, Mr. Hawley...
- Stay out.

I don't want your help.

Five minutes, punk.

Be here.

Mr. Mason.

I'm in luck. I was hoping to catch
you before you left your office.

I wanted to give you this.

Your husband is still determined
to do business with Clete Hawley?

He asked me to give this
to Clete, but I wasn't able to.

I want you to give it
back to my husband.

That would be
rather embarrassing.

I'd rather he'd be furious with
his lawyer than with his wife.

Well, I'm off to San Diego to
spend the night with my sister.

By the time I get back,
he'll have cooled off.

Well, that's the first time I have
seen a woman take three suitcases

and two fur coats
for one overnight trip.

I know you're experienced
in such things, Paul.

But maybe you just don't
know how the other half lives.

Will somebody please snag
Sandy Chester and Clete Hawley

and shoot them
down to recording?

This crew's on salary here.

Hey, we're five minutes late...

Mr. Mason, could you
help me get a seat?

Well, I'll try, Henny.

It is going to be
all right, isn't it?

I mean, how could those squares
even think a good kid like Sandy

could murder anybody?

They have a pretty
strong case against him.

I just know it's
gonna be all right.

And you'll tell him that I'm
here, and, uh, what I said.

And, uh, tell him not to
be so hard on his father.

That poor man has
been through so much.

I'll tell him, Henny.
Now, you wait right here.

I'll see about
getting you inside.

Your Honor, the
state intends to show

that this murder took place
because the defendant in this case

fell into the familiar show business
trap of believing his own press notices.

The decedent, Cletus Hawley,
was a thoroughly established,

highly proficient trainer
and manager of talent.

He took an unknown boy, Sanford
"Sandy" Chester, under his wing,

signed him to a personal contract
and then molded and trained him

into an exploitable personality

ready to be launched
on a successful career.

This boy, however,

unfortunately developed an
inflated sense of his own importance.

The star became
too big for his mentor.

And when the manager,
Cletus Hawley, now deceased,

became disgusted with
the behavior of his new star

and threatened to wreck his career
on the very threshold of success,

this boy, tragically
and willfully,

stabbed his manager to death.

Then the defendant's apparent
success, his so-called career,

was not based on any natural
inherent talent or ability to perform,

but on a carefully engineered
and completely false buildup

manufactured by you and
the deceased, Cletus Hawley.

It's routine.

And Clete was a
past master at it.

It's simple, really.

You hire a hundred screamers
like those kids outside, plant a gig,

and you can make an overnight
sensation out of a wooden Indian.

What about the girl on the
billboard? Was that part of the buildup?

It turned out to be.

And it sure kicked the
kid's career into orbit.

But it wasn't
Clete's idea or mine.

The little chick
ad-libbed the whole bit.

All right, now, according
to your previous testimony,

it was that stunt that
precipitated the final argument

between the defendant and
the decedent, is that right?

The teeners were screaming for a
disc of Sandy doing "Surfin' Moon."

On the recording date,

Sandy told Clete that he wouldn't
sing under his management.

You just didn't do
that to Clete Hawley.

Split on Clete and
after that, nowheresville.

Clete would just pull the rug.

And Sandy Chester
knew that, didn't he?

Knew that Clete was about to
pull the rug from under his career?

Objection. Mr. Burger
is leading the witness.

I'll withdraw the
question, Mr. Mason.

Your witness.

I have no questions
at this time.

You say you overheard
part of the conversation

between the decedent
and the defendant?

How was that possible if
you weren't in the same room?

Uh, the engineers were having
some trouble with crossed wires.

What sort of trouble?

Perry, I checked with
the studio electricians.

With those wires crossed,
there were only two places

Riff could have overheard that
conversation over the monitors.

Sandy's dressing room
and the echo chamber.

- Where Clete was murdered?
- Right. Here, take a look at this.

And this conversation took
place only a few minutes

- before the body was discovered?
- Yes, sir.

Thank you.
Cross-examine, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Lawler,

your daughter told the court

that in all the years you
worked for Mr. Hawley,

he paid you a meager salary.

You wrote songs, turned them
over to your employer for nothing,

to be published under his name.

Now, why, Mr. Lawler?

It was a job. Steady.

I, uh, show you this paper.

State's exhibit F.

A paper found in the
pocket of the deceased.

An assignment of all rights to
the song entitled "Surfin' Moon"

to the benefit of Cletus Hawley,
for good and valuable consideration.

What was the good and valuable
consideration Cletus Hawley paid you?

- Nothing. MASON:
You gave him the song?

Why, Mr. Lawler?

What was the hold that Clete
Hawley had over you all those years?

I refuse to answer the question

on the grounds that my answer
may tend to incriminate me.

You're taking the
Fifth Amendment?

You're afraid of incriminating
yourself in Clete Hawley's murder?

- No.
- Then answer the question.

- I refuse to answer on the grounds...
- Now, one moment.

Mr. Mason, in view of this surprising
turn in the witness' testimony,

I'm going to adjourn this
court until 2:00 this afternoon

to give Mr. Lawler opportunity
to obtain advice of counsel.

This court stands adjourned.

You sure put that
guy over the jumps.

Has to be done,
Paul, to get at the truth.

Yeah, but does it
have to be done?

Perry, I've searched
a lot of records.

I've had my people check
old friends and relatives of Riff.

I've gone through
old newspaper files.

It's clear to me what
Hawley had on Riff.

It's all in the report
I handed you.

A combination of circumstances.

Some people never
learn to face the truth.

It all started at
a drinking party.

On the way home Riff had an
accident. His wife was killed instantly.

He wasn't arrested?

Clete was the first
one on the scene.

It's my guess he told the
police the wife had been driving.

Riff wasn't even held.

But the worst he might have
faced was involuntary manslaughter.

Yes, but how could
he face his daughter?

Well, she wasn't
really his daughter.

She was born before
Riff met her mother.

Then Riff must have lived
in dread of Sherry finding out

how he'd killed her mother,

turning against him,
probably leaving him.

You can see why he'd do
almost anything to keep it quiet,

work for next to
nothing, give away songs.

Or commit murder.

Good evening.

Maybe it's better to live with our
mistakes than to try to correct them.

It was a wartime marriage,
matter of a legal affair.

Sandy's mother knew it wasn't
any good as quickly as I did.

She wrote me in France
that she'd had it annulled.

Of course, the boy
never knew about me

so I was trying to help him
anonymously through you.

- Mr. Burgess?
- And now... Yes.

- Your office is on the telephone.
- Oh, thank you.

Well, it seems as if everyone
who's come in contact with Hawley

- has suffered in some way for it.
- That's right, Paul.

You know, I wanna help that boy.

But the only way I can do
it is to implicate his father.

What do you mean?

I'd have to put him on the stand.
- You can't do that.

Put me on instead.

For what purpose?

Because I was the one that brought
him together with Clete Hawley.

Clete and I were...

Well, we were very close. It
was before I met Cameron.

Then you told Clete that
Sandy was Burgess' son?

- Why?
- Well, the truth is,

Clete and I were
going away together.

On your husband's $50,000?

You realize, don't you, if
I do put you on the stand,

it'll destroy your marriage?

But I may be able to
save my husband's son.

Now, Mr. Lawler, I presume
you've had opportunity

to consult with counsel on your
desire to plead the Fifth Amendment?

Yes, sir.

All right, Mr. Mason, you
may now repeat your question.

Your Honor,

I wish to withdraw the question.
I'm finished with the witness.

Very well. Witness
may stand down.

I have nothing
further, Your Honor.

I'm satisfied that the
state has proved its case.

The prosecution rests.

Defense calls as its first
witness Mrs. Cameron Burgess.

Thank you.

Raise your right hand.

Do you swear to tell the truth,

the whole truth and
nothing but the truth?

State your name, please.

Then you pretended to be in
sympathy with your husband's desire

to finance his son's career,

but actually this was only a
means of getting money from him?

That's true, yes.

What did you intend
to do with that money?

Clete and I were planning
on running away together.

When you asked your
husband for the cashier's check

ostensibly to deliver to Hawley,

you intended to go
to the recording studio,

pick him up and
never return home?

Yes.

Did you go to the studio?

Yes.

But I got there too late.

Clete was dead.

And she'd killed him.

- Who killed him?
- Objection.

That little publicity woman who had
been making such a big play for him.

She must have found
out about Clete and me.

Order. I will have order.

You maintain under oath that
it was you and not Mrs. Burgess

with whom Clete Hawley
was planning to run away?

That's right, as soon as he got
the money from her husband.

It's clear enough now,

as soon as she found out
that Clete was using her,

that it was Burgess' money he
wanted, not his wife, she killed him.

Mr. Mason, I'm not going to allow
these unsubstantiated charges.

It must be as obvious
to you as it is to me

that one of these
witnesses is lying.

Do you have any
evidence to offer

that would assist the
court in discriminating?

Your Honor, there is a witness
now present in the courtroom

who may be able to throw
some light on the question.

Now, would you
tell the court, please,

which of these ladies
was telling the truth?

How should I know?

Didn't you hear Clete Hawley talking
to one of them at the recording studio?

Well, uh...

Weren't you in Sandy's dressing
room waiting to talk to him

when the technicians
got the wires crossed

and fed the microphone signal into
part of the public address system?

You must have been, Henny.

Otherwise how would you have known
that Mr. Burgess was Sandy's father?

Well, I, uh, heard
it here in court.

But you mentioned it to me in the
lobby before court opened, remember?

Hasn't the time come
for the truth, Henny?

When you heard over the PA

what Clete Hawley was
going to do to Sandy,

destroy his
career, his future...

Clete Hawley told me nobody cuts in
on a piece of a Clete Hawley product.

So for Sandy's sake,

I gave him my 10 percent.

I said I wouldn't tell Sandy.

But I warned Clete, if he
ever did anything to hurt him,

he'd have to answer to me.

That day in the studio,

when I heard Clete
talking so vicious,

I went looking for Clete.

Clete was in the echo chamber.

I went in and...

I killed him.

Sandy's like a son.

If you hadn't been
able to get him off,

I wouldn't have let
anything happen to him.

Honest.

I'm leading my own one-man
war against primitive noise

by organizing the society for the
preservation of my kind of music.

And just what is
your kind of music?

Good old sentimental
ballads like "Flat Foot Floogie"

and "Beat Me Daddy
Eight to the Bar"?

Clay's hit parade is made
up of Strauss waltzes,

the two-step and Irish ballads.

And what's wrong with that?

Sandy?

- Hello, Mr. Mason, Mr. Drake.
- Hi, Sandy.

Sandy is the best
busboy I ever had.

Well, don't give him
compliments, give him a raise.

Sandy, I understand
you're keeping busy.

Well, let's see. In the morning, I
take voice, dancing or acting class.

I work here all day,
and when I've finished,

I'll go down to Riff Lawler's new
club, maybe do a couple of songs.

Oh, Riff's opened a club?

Come on now, Mr. Mason.

I know you're supposed to act like
it's a secret, but Sherry already told me.

You talked my fa... Mr. Burgess
into advancing Riff the money.

Well, that's not
entirely true, Sandy.

I made the arrangements,
but it was your father's idea.

Well, if you're going to do
any of that caterwauling tonight,

you better take off that
jacket and get moving.

Thank you, sir.

Good night.

Shame about that boy.

Heart of gold and a tin ear.