Original subtitles

July 8, 1961.

John Canfield Warren, 38 years old, of New York City,

is arraigned in Harbor City before Superior Court Judge Lauren C. Tolliver.

The charge is armed robbery and assault with

a deadly weapon causing great bodily harm.

I move that bail be set for my client, Your Honor.

He needs his liberty to raise his legal fees.

Motion is granted.

Bail is set at $5,000, pending action by the Clay County Grand Jury. Everybody rise.

Free on minimum bail, John Canfield Warren faced the problem of

fixed money that would save him from a long term behind bars.

He knew where to look for it.

Stop that man!

The price of justice for John Canfield Warren in Harbor City was $5,000.

But what price can you put on the lives of a man and a boy who stood in his way?

I flew into Harvest City two days after John Canfield Warren

died in that supermarket parking lot,

taking two innocent people with him.

The fact that an ex-con like Warren had been released

on minimum bail was all I needed to know.

It meant corruption had reached into a courtroom and bought a killer's freedom.

Harbor City is a county seat and center of small manufacturing.

During the day, its 225,000 people worked in homes, factories, stores, and schools.

At night, they go looking for fun.

Expensive fun. High-rolling fun.

Dollars piled on dollars. Chips piled on chips.

Everything safe. Everything protected.

The sky the limit.

Anything goes. Hop on the carousel and take

your chance at grabbing off the golden ring.

My assistant, Jack Flood, arrived the following

day. It's okay, I can open my own door.

Come in.

How's the trip? It's tedious.

Washington?

About the same.

These are the crime rate figures from the FBI.

They won't issue the Harbor City report,

claim the figures received from Harbor City are inaccurate and incomplete.

I'll watch you here for a few days.

Chiefly job of checking records. I want to know the number of arrests,

arraignments, grand jury indictments, final disposition of the cases.

OK.

Seems like a harmless enough little town.

Where do you see it at night?

Hard, huh?

Wild as a payday crap game.

Syndicate action?

No, local. According to these, there isn't any crime in Harbor City.

Yeah, Jack, it's all local. Games, graft, and girls.

With the best protection in the world.

Who's that?

Lauren C. Tolliver.

A superior court judge.

People versus Grant, Supreme Court Decisions, 1943.

You'll find it in the index, Counselor. Would you care to make a motion?

Motion granted. Court's recessed until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

Recess until 10 o'clock tomorrow.

It's not for publication, Joe. Just curious, that's all. If you want the bottle,

it's in the bottom drawer. I saw it.

So now do you want a wagon or something? Or something.

Well, that's nice.

Be good to have you sober around here for a couple of days.

Maybe you can get your paper interested in something besides the Warren case.

Lauren, you can't soft-pedal a story like that. Did you try? I always try.

This time, I figured we'd lay the whole blame on some records division clerk,

claimed that he hadn't given you a report on Warren's record.

That sounds all right. What stopped you?

My editor, for one.

Why else? What's on your mind?

He's in town, and he's a real bulldog. He's got his teeth honed down for you.

A bulldog can't kill a lion.

Well, maybe he can if he keeps chewing away at you long enough.

Lauren, that Warren business was too ripe.

Marino's working the angle real hard.

He's putting pressure on the Capitol. The governor's talking about taking action.

It's cheap talk. It's a political move to clear his coattails.

Your friends downtown are talking about dumping you.

They're out of your mind.

What friends?

Turner, Connors, and a couple of others.

Thanks, Joe. Come on, I'll take you downtown.

Lauren.

Joe, will you stop worrying?

I'll let you in on a little secret.

Nobody can destroy me but myself.

I'm too smart for that.

Where do you want me to drop you? In a bar?

Anywhere you say, Lauren. But I'm not drinking.

Well, not now, please. Good evening, Your Honor. Good evening. Oh, Your Honor,

Your Honor, I have a very deserving case.

A widow in the Third Ward... Write me a letter about it.

Now, don't forget.

Turner, Chief Connors and Counsel... Judge,

we've got a welfare situation and 23rd Ward needs your attention.

You'll see Briscoe down at City Hall and tell him I said it. All right,

break it up, boys, break it up. His honor is very busy. Break it up.

Good evening, Your Honor. Oh, how are you, Mr. Johnson? Yes, very nice to see you.

Judge, just give me five minutes. Make a treat.

Mr. Johnson, meet Mr. Kamaradi, Judge. Do you remember?

Precinct Captain, 23rd Ward. Oh, yes, yes, I remember you very well.

Mr. Johnson, take care of Mr. Kamaradi. He's a very dear friend of ours.

But, Judge, just give me one minute. One minute! Come now, Mr. Kamaradi.

You state the nature of your problem.

Patsy Pankow is here.

What the devil is he doing here?

He wants to talk to you.

What would you like to tell the other gentlemen? Tell them to wait.

What are you doing here?

It was my own idea.

I got some questions.

If you have any questions, you pass them on through Scheib.

I like my answers firsthand. You get one answer to one question. What is it?

There's a whisper around that the activity gets

shut down on account of the war instinct.

What about it?

I don't take a closing judge.

I got too big an investment.

And I got out of town money in the place.

They're pushing me, and I can't take that kind of pushing.

Pankow, if I say the town closes, it closes.

That goes for you too.

Now get out of here and don't come back.

You're not the only one in this setup.

You can be dumb, too.

Who are they talking about? You, Your Honor.

You like that, don't you?

Well, gentlemen.

Lauren, if you're lonely... I am not resigning from the bench.

I am not resigning from the bench. I am not resigning from the bench.

How many times do I have to say it?

If the state's attorney comes in here... I say,

if the state's attorney comes in here to investigate...

Let him investigate all he wants.

He's not going to find anything. All it would take is one slip.

You about through, Scheid?

Almost.

I'll see you tomorrow, Lieutenant.

Yeah.

All right, Chief. Good night.

Who's going to slip?

You and all of a sudden this concern about my resignation.

You think that's going to solve anything?

Judge, don't you think... Now, what about you?

You were attorney of record in the Warren case. Why don't you resign from the bar?

I was simply a lawyer doing my best for a client. You're a money-grubbing shyster.

Warren, who's talking to you? Please! Don't you please me.

Who told me it was all right to release that psychopath on bail?

I didn't know Warren was a psycho. Did you check on it?

What about you, Counselor? Either one of you ever look into anything except money?

Now, here's someone who apparently did.

Paul Marino. Listen to what he has to say about the Warren case. 23 arrests.

For assault, aggravated assault, criminal assault,

and topped by a three-year detention in a hospital for the criminally insane. Oh,

judge for the lover. Shut up. Now, gentlemen, gentlemen, this is getting us nowhere.

Well, Councilman Frisco.

What do you suggest, Martin?

Oh, that's better.

Now, you're asking me what to do instead of telling me?

That's right, Laura. We're asking.

We have the state's attorney inquiring into the Warren matter.

The governor is threatening to send in a team of state police investigators.

And even the legislature is getting into the act.

Now, what do we do?

What evidence have they got to take such an action? None.

They can't take that action without evidence.

Well, this Paul Marino.

He's a journalistic gypsy.

After the investigation draws a blank, he'll be gone.

Now, you ready to hear what I have to say?

All right.

We're going to close up the town.

Connors, I want this town closed up tight.

Pinballs, slots, bookies, gambling houses.

What about Pankow? There are no exceptions.

I want you to tell every tavern and bar owner,

no 26 games, no b-girls, no solicitations.

Nobody's going to like it.

I don't care what they like.

Come on, gentlemen, relax.

When I get through cleaning up this town,

Marino will nominate all of us for membership in the Purity League.

Nice pitch, son.

Morning, Dad.

Morning, darling.

Sleep well?

I sure did.

You look a little tired, though.

Oh, fine.

Romance getting old, that's all.

You haven't seen me in a while.

Where'd you go last night?

Oh, newspaper places mostly.

I wanted to go to Pankow's, but Joe wouldn't take me.

He's kind of showing you off.

You know, I think you're right.

He's told all of his friends about the school he picked out for me,

what kind of grades I'm making. You'd think I was his daughter.

I wish you'd spend your time with some nice boys your own age.

Hello?

Yeah, I'll pass the word.

All right.

It's going to mean trouble.

Something wrong, Dad?

No, nothing's wrong.

I got to run. I'll see you later.

Pass the word around.

We're shutting down the action.

Shutting down?

What is this, a squeeze? You after a bigger take? No squeeze.

Just put the lid on.

Do it yourself, or we do it for you. That's the word.

That'll be some real unhappy people.

Yeah.

Ain't that a shame?

The word was out. Shut down. The town is closed.

The gambling tables were covered.

Equipment stored.

It would come out again when the heat was off.

Thieves who had enjoyed immunity in Harbor City were bagged and run out of town.

Some operators tried to defy the heat.

The order came down, run them out, break them up.

The town was clean, the town was quiet.

But tensions were building towards an explosion.

Now, just a little, Judge. Nobody wants to open up big.

Just a little, just enough to pay overhead. No.

Judge, they're talking about opening up anyway. Clamp down on them if they do.

I can't keep it a little in this situation. It's impossible.

Then resign, and I'll get somebody who can. No, no, no, no. The town stays closed.

Judge, don't you think we should approach this with a more open mind?

I don't want any arguments from you, Turner. You're greedy.

You're just thinking about the weekly contribution that isn't coming in.

I yield to the discretion of the court.

No use, Connors.

You have your orders.

It's a lousy mess you put in my lap.

If I could have one more word with you. Yeah, what's on your mind?

It's the Bailey matter, Judge. It comes up next week.

I'm going to move for a postponement. Well, I'll deny it.

You better be prepared to go to trial.

Well, that's impossible.

And your client's going to go to jail.

I made a deal with Bailey.

Judge, he's got friends.

You never know when to stop stealing.

I'm sorry, Lauren.

Well, I'm sorry. What else do you want me to say? Say goodbye and get out.

You put me in a bad corner, Lauren.

I hear Turner's going to run to the DA's office next year. Well,

it's good to see a successful man forget about personal

gain and just look for a way to serve his community.

Aren't you laying that on a little thick?

I'm having a mood.

See, I get this thing on my shoulder. I know you don't see it, but it's there.

It's a big, black, monstrous beast perching on my shoulder and whispering in my ear.

It makes hard listening.

You need a drink?

Paul Marino's outside. He wants to talk to you.

Peter, will you, Joe?

Give me a minute.

He'll be with you in a moment.

Mary's looking good, isn't she?

Yeah, Joe, just fine.

Aren't you Joe Knight?

That's right, Mr. Moreno. Didn't you cover the Elm City schoolhouse fire?

That was a long time ago.

You won a state press club award for that job.

Lots of things have changed since then.

I was on the awards committee that year.

Judge Tolliver will see you now.

All right. I'd like to talk to you sometime.

Sure, sure, anytime.

So you're Paul Marino.

I wondered what you looked like.

You're pretty sure I'd be in. Just figured. Sit down.

Is this an interview?

Oh, just asking a few questions.

And if I don't answer the questions?

Then I'll print the questions, and you'll refuse to answer.

That could be construed as contempt of court.

Issue a warrant. All right, first question.

Last year, Harbor City Police made 1,800 felony arrests.

425 were dismissed on arraignment.

Of the remainder, only 300 got as far as the grand jury.

The rest were postponed until the complaints were withdrawn.

Now, of these 300 indictments returned by the grand jury,

this court acted on less than 200.

And of these, only 64 defendants were found guilty and punished according to law.

Question.

Why is there such a low rate of convictions in your court?

No comment. Next question.

This year, there were 800 arrests on common gambling charges.

Most of the people arrested were repeaters.

Yet the highest penalty exacted was a $25 fine. Can you explain that?

No comment. Next question.

Why is Patsy Pankow moving gambling equipment back into his club?

Is that so?

Didn't anyone inform you, Your Honor?

Thank you, Judge Sullivan.

Paul. What are you trying to do?

Bounce you into jail, Your Honor.

You'll never make it.

One last question, Your Honor.

Whom can you trust?

I'll only be a minute.

I thought you were taking me to dinner.

I am, but not here. I'll be right back.

Came as soon as I got your message. Trouble? Maybe.

I want you in reserve. Power of the press. Keep Pankow in line. What?

Excuse me, honey. I'll call you back later.

Good evening, Judge.

How are you, Joe? Okay.

Let's talk.

Sure. Now, let's go in the back room. It's more private.

Sure. Come into the office.

How do you like the combo, Judge? Discarded last week.

Wait here.

Who gave you the okay to open up, Patsy?

I'm losing money.

Every day, I'm losing money. I asked you.

Who gave you the okay to open up?

Nobody. You're a liar.

Who told you you could open up?

I said, nobody.

Who gave you the okay?

I don't take that from you.

I'll wreck every piece of equipment in this room.

Now, I want an answer. Who gave you the okay?

Stay close, Percy.

Judge. Look at the reputation you're building. You're respectable.

Even I'd be willing to have a drink here, now that you're that respectable.

Any time, Judge.

It's on the house.

Everything okay? Everything is just fine. Mr.

Pankow has offered us the hospitality of the house.

Come on.

If you don't need me, I'm gonna beat it. What's the rush? Come on, have a drink.

I'm still not drinking. Well, you can sit down and talk to me for a minute.

I want to ask you some things about that Marino.

He's got at least one leg, man, operating in town, but I can't find out who he is.

Oh, that's very nice, and it's all alone. She

shouldn't be in here. She's just a kid.

You know her? Who is she?

That's Harry Sharp's daughter, Mary.

Why haven't I seen her around?

Put her away at school. Let me get her out of here.

Introduce me.

Never mind.

I'm disappointed.

I expected dope things and... Joe?

Mary Mafferson, Judge Tolbert. Mary Shive.

I'm very happy to meet you.

So am I.

Well, Mary, you'd better go. No, I wouldn't think of it.

We can all have supper together. Let's find a table.

That guy, a real operator.

Anything you want. He's a very important man, judge of the Superior Court.

I'm not impressed.

But that chick sure is.

You ain't been around for a while, Joe.

You sick or something?

I've been well.

Now I'm sick.

How are you, Judge?

Sit down. I'll do an intimate.

Put this over while you're waiting.

Hope this won't take long, Judge. Busy days downtown. Busy days. Now, what's this?

This is a resignation.

Sign it.

Sign it.

What's the idea? You're through.

Resign. Keep your pension rights.

And if I don't?

Departmental trial.

Photostatic copies of your bank deposits.

Transcribe recordings of telephone conversations at your office and your home.

Hold it, Tolliver.

You blow the whistle on me, and I'll blow twice as loud on you.

Rent receipts for a four-room apartment at the Regis Arms.

Gonna have to give that up. It's too expensive.

And if I don't, everyone will find out about everything.

I guess I still love my wife enough.

You're dirty, Tolliver.

Girls who are well-bred never make up before an audience.

I'm sorry, Joe.

I didn't think of you as an... I mean... I know.

I blend well with the background.

Tell me to take you home.

No.

You mustn't see Lauren.

Joe, I want to.

Well, good evening.

Thank you, John. People sometimes offer people a drink.

What did he say? I said I'm thirsty.

Mary, good looks of you, huh?

I want to talk to Lyon for a moment.

Go on, feed it.

The man insists.

What do you want, tiger milk?

What's on your mind?

My night playing Galahad, rescuing maidens. Lauren, do me a favor.

Let me take her with me when I go, as a favor to me.

You're the funniest man in the world. I'm not being funny.

She's a good kid, Lauren, clean.

It's nice to see something clean, and you want to keep it that way. Now,

that's enough, Joe. Now, you beat it and get off my back.

What happens between Mary and me is none of your business.

I'm making this my business, Laurie. Come on.

Come on, you drunken bum. Get out of here.

Come on. Let's go.

Where's Joe?

He left.

Whose girl are you?

Nobody's girl.

Whose girl are you going to be?

I'd like to talk to you.

Bring your drink. Let's sit over there.

What do you want?

You know what I want. Oh, yes.

You want Lauren Tolliver.

He's behind everything rotten in this town.

A superior court judge running a big-time vice operation.

It's rotten, Joe.

You used to be a pretty good reporter. I don't know what happened to you.

I'm not sure I want to know.

But if you've got the guts, I think you have. No, you don't.

That's the wrong approach, Marino.

I'm the original gutless wonder.

It took real courage to cover that Elm City fire the way you covered it.

Sure, it took courage. A lot of courage.

All the courage that I had.

Afterwards, the only way I could get the sight of it out of my

head was to crawl in a bottle and pull the cork in after me. I almost succeeded.

Larian Tolliver saved me.

Saved you. How?

He showed me.

But a man doesn't need to feel the pain that

other men suffer. All he needs is himself.

I don't believe you.

You can't be that far gone.

Not gone. Not gone. Arrived.

Every morning.

I stand in front of my mirror with my razor in my hand, and I say,

I pledge allegiance to myself and to the ugliness for which I stand.

All right, Tulliver saved you.

How many more people is he going to save before he's stopped?

Can you really say you don't care?

I thought I could.

You thought you could, but now you're not so sure.

Tolliver saved you. That's a lie, and you know it.

I don't think you would have drunk yourself to death.

I think maybe you'd hit bottom, sure.

But you would have fought your way back like a lot of other people do.

Tolliver caught you at your weakest moment.

And what he's done to you is nothing short of murder in my book.

Stop him, Joe.

Don't let him ruin anybody else.

All right.

Now stop him.

I guess I'm the only one that's... Excuse me.

You guys asked me to meet you here. What's on your mind?

Tolliver, we're shaking loose.

We're putting together a new organization, and we want you.

There's only one way to shake loose from Tolliver.

He's got to be hit.

You know the ropes.

Make a contract. Is that okay with you?

Yes, it's okay.

I'll make an out-of-town contract.

I'll tell you guys when.

Maybe it's better we're all out of town when it happens.

We've got nothing more to talk about. Let's go.

Are you all right?

I changed my mind, Marino. Thanks for the drink.

I came back, Lord.

You picked a great time to call.

I guess you kind of burned at me.

You didn't have to come back up here to say you're sorry. Well, don't stop me,

and don't rush me, because I've got a lot of things to say.

I've got a lot of things to say.

Okay, make it brief.

Lauren, do you remember the first time we saw each other?

I spent a week in that That drunk tank downtown, and you,

just fresh out of law school, you came down and you bailed me out.

What is this, all anxiety? Ever since then, I've tried to figure out why you did it.

You haven't picked up a stray since then. It's your honest face,

don't you know that? Of course I know.

It doesn't mean anything to you that you saved my life.

For a while, I thought you just wanted somebody to talk to.

Somebody you didn't have to lie to or push around or someone too weak to count.

What's this all about? Lauren, I almost sold you out today.

I almost blew the whistle on you.

I made a deal.

Sold out to whom?

Paul Marino.

You miserable, drunken bum. What did you say to him?

What did you tell him?

What did you tell him?

Nothing.

Why didn't you?

Something changed my mind.

I said to myself, if I go to Loren and tell him

what's in my heart and mind, he'll listen to me.

What are you babbling about?

Loren resigned. Get out of Harbor City. Don't be ridiculous.

It's not too late to start again.

Think of the way you used to talk, all the things you were going to do,

the heights you were going to climb.

Now, Joe, you listen to me.

Everything you say is the truth, but look beneath the surface.

I built an organization.

An organization takes money, but it's a means to an end.

I'm moving up. I'm going to be governor of the state within 10 years.

I'll be a national power within 15. But to do that, I need a machine.

And I need the money to run that machine.

What happens when you get there?

Then I can afford to be honest.

Where are you going? I don't know.

Marino?

Joe.

An accident could happen, even to you.

I'm weak, Lauren, but I'm not afraid.

Good night.

I almost forgot.

Pankow, Connors, some other characters downtown think you're in the way.

They're going to hit you.

Barry, get your things. We'll take you home.

Hello?

This is Joe Knight.

I haven't time to play any more games with you. Good night.

Don't hang up.

Mr. Reno?

I'm not playing games.

I'm making a deal.

Where are you?

Around the corner from your hotel.

All right, come on up.

Make it in five minutes.

Dad? Hi, Dad.

You! Dad! Get in the house!

Dad! I know what you were. What are you doing?

I saw you when you went in there and when you came out three hours later.

Now tell me, what were you doing? Don't talk like that. Tell me!

Don't make it sound that way.

How else can it sound with a man like Tulliver?

I love him.

Your mother died. I had you to take care of.

I had to have someone to look after you when you were little.

You needed clothes.

There were schools.

How do you think you got all those things?

How do you think I paid for them on a policeman's

salary? $3,600 a year, Mary. $3,600 a year.

How did you get them, Dad?

I stole.

A little bit here, a little bit there.

Doing favors.

Every favor was another day of schooling for you.

Every little bit I stole was another pair of nylon stockings.

Or a dress.

Or a visit to the hairdressers.

All for you. And who started me stealing?

Who got me in so deep that I had to steal big?

Tolliver.

It couldn't be.

Don't you tell me what couldn't be.

The only things I had to be proud of, you, my honesty.

Tolliver took them both.

You don't see him again. Ever!

I can't help the way I feel, Dad.

I love him.

Lieutenant Harry Scheib.

He's Lauren's court attendant. He's also the bag man and collector.

There are at least half a dozen local attorneys in on the fix of criminal cases.

I'll give you their names.

Will you repeat this before our legislative committee?

Or a grand jury, or a bar association, anything you want.

If I called Tulliver up here right now, would you say it to his face?

Must I?

Sooner or later.

Call him.

What's his number?

Central 4-2-5-6-7.

Operator, I want Central 4-2-5-6-7.

Just a minute. Now, I'm not making any deals with you. I don't want anything,

and I don't expect anything.

Why are you doing this?

I just want to keep Lauren alive.

He doesn't answer. Any idea where he is?

Yeah.

I think I do know where he is.

If I'm right, he's gonna need help.

The place is closed, sir.

Your boys make one move, and you get it.

Relax. Good evening, Judge.

Patsy, I hear you're thinking of having me put away.

Somebody kidding you, Judge.

That's a big joke.

Yeah, somebody having some fun.

You know something?

Somebody else said that you were selling out and leaving town.

I'll tell you what's really funny about that.

He was right.

That ain't no joke, Judge. No, no joke. You're through.

Judge, it ain't hard to hit you. Believe me, it ain't hard.

I got enough solid evidence in my safe deposit box to fry you a dozen times.

Anything happens to me, they open it.

Now, what's it gonna be?

Judge, I guess I'm selling out.

Made a very wise decision. You've got a week to clean up your affairs.

Judge.

I wasn't the only one.

Connors.

Taken care of.

Good night, Judge.

Your Honor.

Scheib, what are you doing here?

Put that thing away.

Scheib.

Scheib.

This is for Mary, Judge.

This is for me.

It was all over.

The dams of silence were broken.

One after another, they came to the stand to reveal

their part in Lauren Tolliver's conspiracy.

Police Lieutenant Scheib awaiting trial for Tolliver's murder.

Pankow accused of operating an illegal gambling establishment.

Chief of Police Connors called on to explain how,

on a yearly salary of under $8,000,

he had amassed nearly $100,000 in savings and properties.

And Turner, accused of conspiracy, facing disbarment, a ruined man.

All of them ruined men.

All rise.

August 17th, 1961.

Judge Thomas F. Patterson was appointed by the governor to fill out

Loren Tulliver's unexpired term as judge of the Superior Court.

Judge Patterson's record had been exemplary,

but now he would be exposed to a new kind of pressure, the big favor-asking,

big money-paying kind of pressure.

Can a man dependent upon the electorate for

his position remain unsullied and untouched?

This was a question that only Thomas F. Patterson could answer in time.