Force of Evil (1948) Movie Script
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, $1.00.
Good morning,
Mr. Morse.
Put a dime on 776
for me tomorrow.
How do you like that
for luck, Bob?
Today's winner's 114.
I had a dime on 113.
Didn't I?
Yeah, you did.
I nearly made 60 bucks
Except for
that one little digit.
600 to 1.
You going to 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?
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 united states.
Tell Mr. Wheelock
I want to see him.
Annual income to cheap crooks
and racketeers?
Over $100 million.
It seemed a shame
For so much good money
to go to waste
In other people's pockets.
Yeah.
Oh, Mary, hold all my calls
and cancel everything.
Well, make it for Friday.
Thank you.
Hello?
Mr. Tucker?
Well, sure. Put him on.
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?
Link hall?
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.
Uh, 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, uh... 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 Im 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.
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, "Im 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 Ive taken over
the formation
Of this numbers
monopoly
To make it legal,
respectable, and...
very profitable
for you,
And Ive 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 going to 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 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
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 men.
O.K., Ben, O.K.
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 Leos.
Wait here
a minute.
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, Ive 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 Im here.
Come around
after Im 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?
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 want to make thousands,
And you,
you do it for $35 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 Ill 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 want to 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 Im 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,
Im not leaving you.
There's nothing
I wouldn't do
For you or Mrs. Morse.
You've both
been so kind.
But Im 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 Im 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 brain.
That's
Tucker's brain.
What are you
talking about?
Who is it?
Open up. The police.
Go on! Open up!
Hey!
Stay where you are!
Don't anybody move.
The other door!
Open up!
Open up!
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.
What's going on,
Mr. Morse?
That's all right.
Take it easy.
Take it easy.
It'll be all right.
Policeman:
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, Im 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 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 want 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 Im 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 7-5432.
Five-I meet Johnson
at his office
9:00 tomorrow night
And get paid.
And the telling.
The telling.
I swear on my grave,
the bible,
I tell nobody nothing
and forget how I did it,
Or Im in trouble
with Johnson.
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, Ill 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?
He says he don't
want to talk to you.
Tell him I want to help
get him out of there.
Tell him I want
to 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 Im making
a mistake.
Hello,
Mr. Morse?
Well?
Mr. Morse, your
brother says
Write him
a letter.
I ought to 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
Im killing myself
Over that
dumb brother of mine
Doesn't mean Im 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 Im finished.
I'll be able to look
in the mirror
And see my face,
not yours.
Leo, Im 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 $10,000,
$15,000 for my capital.
That's all the help
Ill 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.
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
from 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,
Ill give you a lift.
You're tired, Im 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 10 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 Ill remember
and know it.
Oh, Ill 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.
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 Im 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
Id 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 Im not
sorry you're through
With the gambling business.
You never listen to me, Leo.
Listen to me now.
What's your advice,
Sylvia?
You're a thief.
A thief's advice
is no good.
Listen, Leo, you go down
to your business tomorrow,
And Ill be there,
and Ill 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.
3 cents overcharge
on every gallon of gas-
2 cents for the chauffeur
and a penny for me.
Penny for one thief,
2 cents for the other.
Well, Joes 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 Im here.
To tell you
it's not so bad.
Well, Ill
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 Ive 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 Ill wine you and
dine you and dance you.
And in the early hours
of the morning,
When you're relaxed
and tired, Ill...
Ill 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 want to say yes,
And don't say yes
when you want to 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 a week
working for Leo.
I'll get you 100,
And Ill 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 want
to 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 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 Im
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...
Id like to straighten out
Whatever trouble there
seems to be here if I can.
There's no trouble.
I just want to quit.
Is that fair?
Maybe it isn't,
but that's what I want to 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
going to 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,
Im just trying to help.
What do you say?
Now, if you have
any more trouble,
Just let me know,
and Ill try
To straighten
it out for you.
That's my job.
Good night,
everybody.
Good night.
I think Im going to
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, Im going to 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.
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,
Ill 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 want
to 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 Q.T.,
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 Im 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 want to 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.
Mrs. Tucker?
What does she want?
You, apparently.
She wouldn't take
a substitute.
Handsome woman.
Have you, uh,
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.
Wait for me, Doris.
I won't be long.
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
Bens telephone.
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, Im 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.
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.
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.
You're not strong
or weak enough.
Come in.
Is there
anything else
Before I go,
Mr. Morse?
Yes.
You can show
Mrs. Tucker out.
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.
Woman's voice:
at the tone,
The time will be
7:23 and 1/4.
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'll 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 Im 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.
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
good-Bye 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-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 Ill see you all
in the gutter,
And Ill 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 O.K.
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.
The people versus Leo Morse...
I think we're on now.
Doris Lowry,
Frederick Bauer, Edgar Ryan...
She's in there,
Mr. Morse.
Can't you see Im busy
talking to someone?
I want
to talk to you, Doris.
Just send me a bill.
I'll pay your fee.
So Ill 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 Ill 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 Im
speaking to you.
I'm speaking to you
as your older brother
Who slaved for you.
You stop now.
Stop now, Joe,
Because Im 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 want to 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 going to 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 want
to 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.
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's 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 3:00
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,
And 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 want to 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!
Joe, Im
not going to eat
If you don't eat.
Come on, now.
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,
Or why don't you
go home?
Just why don't you
do something-
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 going to 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,
That 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 Im 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.
Oh, Joe!
Oh, Joe, I want to
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.
Go on, play.
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 Im gonna spend
the rest of my life in jail.
I'm leaving, Doris.
I'm running away
with a pocketful of money.
You want to 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.
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 you 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,
Im taking you in
On my terms, Ficco,
not yours.
Any way you say, Ben,
as long as Im in.
All right.
Here's the situation.
All the legal Charlies
From the corner cop up
to hall and the governor
Are going to 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 going to want
to 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,
And nobody quits.
Understand?
Not even the janitor.
It's a deal, Ben.
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 is tapped
right down to hall.
You'll get in touch with me
through Joe Morse.
You'll report
to him personally
Every day, everything.
He'll 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.
These shysters
scare easy.
Besides, he won't want
to 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.
Joe! Are you crazy?
Are you crazy,
coming here like this
In the middle
of the night?
Tucker: Ive 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 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!
Tucker:
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.
And 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: we'll let him
stay there.
I 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!
Like you had Bauer killed.
Like Bauer!
Like my brother.
Yeah, like
your brother!
Tucker: shut up, Joe.
I'll give it to you
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're going back
to your old trade.
You made a deal with Ficco
to run the racket with a gun,
And Im in the way.
Is that it?
You killed before, and now
you want to kill again.
But Im not going to end up
On the rocks in the river
like my brother.
I'll walk out of here alive
to hang the both of you.
This is Joe Morse.
Tell Mr. Hall
and the police
I'll be down to see them
in an hour.
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 had 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.
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, $1.00.
Good morning,
Mr. Morse.
Put a dime on 776
for me tomorrow.
How do you like that
for luck, Bob?
Today's winner's 114.
I had a dime on 113.
Didn't I?
Yeah, you did.
I nearly made 60 bucks
Except for
that one little digit.
600 to 1.
You going to 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?
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 united states.
Tell Mr. Wheelock
I want to see him.
Annual income to cheap crooks
and racketeers?
Over $100 million.
It seemed a shame
For so much good money
to go to waste
In other people's pockets.
Yeah.
Oh, Mary, hold all my calls
and cancel everything.
Well, make it for Friday.
Thank you.
Hello?
Mr. Tucker?
Well, sure. Put him on.
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?
Link hall?
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.
Uh, 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, uh... 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 Im 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.
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, "Im 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 Ive taken over
the formation
Of this numbers
monopoly
To make it legal,
respectable, and...
very profitable
for you,
And Ive 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 going to 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 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
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 men.
O.K., Ben, O.K.
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 Leos.
Wait here
a minute.
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, Ive 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 Im here.
Come around
after Im 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?
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 want to make thousands,
And you,
you do it for $35 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 Ill 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 want to 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 Im 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,
Im not leaving you.
There's nothing
I wouldn't do
For you or Mrs. Morse.
You've both
been so kind.
But Im 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 Im 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 brain.
That's
Tucker's brain.
What are you
talking about?
Who is it?
Open up. The police.
Go on! Open up!
Hey!
Stay where you are!
Don't anybody move.
The other door!
Open up!
Open up!
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.
What's going on,
Mr. Morse?
That's all right.
Take it easy.
Take it easy.
It'll be all right.
Policeman:
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, Im 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 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 want 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 Im 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 7-5432.
Five-I meet Johnson
at his office
9:00 tomorrow night
And get paid.
And the telling.
The telling.
I swear on my grave,
the bible,
I tell nobody nothing
and forget how I did it,
Or Im in trouble
with Johnson.
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, Ill 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?
He says he don't
want to talk to you.
Tell him I want to help
get him out of there.
Tell him I want
to 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 Im making
a mistake.
Hello,
Mr. Morse?
Well?
Mr. Morse, your
brother says
Write him
a letter.
I ought to 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
Im killing myself
Over that
dumb brother of mine
Doesn't mean Im 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 Im finished.
I'll be able to look
in the mirror
And see my face,
not yours.
Leo, Im 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 $10,000,
$15,000 for my capital.
That's all the help
Ill 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.
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
from 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,
Ill give you a lift.
You're tired, Im 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 10 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 Ill remember
and know it.
Oh, Ill 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.
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 Im 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
Id 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 Im not
sorry you're through
With the gambling business.
You never listen to me, Leo.
Listen to me now.
What's your advice,
Sylvia?
You're a thief.
A thief's advice
is no good.
Listen, Leo, you go down
to your business tomorrow,
And Ill be there,
and Ill 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.
3 cents overcharge
on every gallon of gas-
2 cents for the chauffeur
and a penny for me.
Penny for one thief,
2 cents for the other.
Well, Joes 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 Im here.
To tell you
it's not so bad.
Well, Ill
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 Ive 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 Ill wine you and
dine you and dance you.
And in the early hours
of the morning,
When you're relaxed
and tired, Ill...
Ill 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 want to say yes,
And don't say yes
when you want to 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 a week
working for Leo.
I'll get you 100,
And Ill 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 want
to 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 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 Im
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...
Id like to straighten out
Whatever trouble there
seems to be here if I can.
There's no trouble.
I just want to quit.
Is that fair?
Maybe it isn't,
but that's what I want to 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
going to 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,
Im just trying to help.
What do you say?
Now, if you have
any more trouble,
Just let me know,
and Ill try
To straighten
it out for you.
That's my job.
Good night,
everybody.
Good night.
I think Im going to
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, Im going to 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.
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,
Ill 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 want
to 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 Q.T.,
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 Im 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 want to 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.
Mrs. Tucker?
What does she want?
You, apparently.
She wouldn't take
a substitute.
Handsome woman.
Have you, uh,
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.
Wait for me, Doris.
I won't be long.
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
Bens telephone.
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, Im 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.
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.
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.
You're not strong
or weak enough.
Come in.
Is there
anything else
Before I go,
Mr. Morse?
Yes.
You can show
Mrs. Tucker out.
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.
Woman's voice:
at the tone,
The time will be
7:23 and 1/4.
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'll 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 Im 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.
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
good-Bye 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-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 Ill see you all
in the gutter,
And Ill 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 O.K.
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.
The people versus Leo Morse...
I think we're on now.
Doris Lowry,
Frederick Bauer, Edgar Ryan...
She's in there,
Mr. Morse.
Can't you see Im busy
talking to someone?
I want
to talk to you, Doris.
Just send me a bill.
I'll pay your fee.
So Ill 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 Ill 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 Im
speaking to you.
I'm speaking to you
as your older brother
Who slaved for you.
You stop now.
Stop now, Joe,
Because Im 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 want to 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 going to 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 want
to 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.
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's 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 3:00
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,
And 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 want to 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!
Joe, Im
not going to eat
If you don't eat.
Come on, now.
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,
Or why don't you
go home?
Just why don't you
do something-
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 going to 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,
That 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 Im 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.
Oh, Joe!
Oh, Joe, I want to
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.
Go on, play.
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 Im gonna spend
the rest of my life in jail.
I'm leaving, Doris.
I'm running away
with a pocketful of money.
You want to 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.
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 you 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,
Im taking you in
On my terms, Ficco,
not yours.
Any way you say, Ben,
as long as Im in.
All right.
Here's the situation.
All the legal Charlies
From the corner cop up
to hall and the governor
Are going to 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 going to want
to 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,
And nobody quits.
Understand?
Not even the janitor.
It's a deal, Ben.
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 is tapped
right down to hall.
You'll get in touch with me
through Joe Morse.
You'll report
to him personally
Every day, everything.
He'll 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.
These shysters
scare easy.
Besides, he won't want
to 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.
Joe! Are you crazy?
Are you crazy,
coming here like this
In the middle
of the night?
Tucker: Ive 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 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!
Tucker:
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.
And 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: we'll let him
stay there.
I 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!
Like you had Bauer killed.
Like Bauer!
Like my brother.
Yeah, like
your brother!
Tucker: shut up, Joe.
I'll give it to you
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're going back
to your old trade.
You made a deal with Ficco
to run the racket with a gun,
And Im in the way.
Is that it?
You killed before, and now
you want to kill again.
But Im not going to end up
On the rocks in the river
like my brother.
I'll walk out of here alive
to hang the both of you.
This is Joe Morse.
Tell Mr. Hall
and the police
I'll be down to see them
in an hour.
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 had 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.