Shield for Murder (1954) Movie Script

Barney, I'll take down for a hundred.
- For two, Barney!
- Keep going.
Well, get me off the hook, Barney!
Three hundred?
- Three fifty?
- Turn around.
Twenty-five thousand worth.
How did .. How did you know, Barney?
Word gets around.
Barney, what is all this?
Stop or I'll shoot!
Hey, dad. Come here a minute.
It's a shooting.
Go ahead. Call the police.
Come over here.
I want to show you something.
What happened down there?
Barney.
How did you make it so fast?
I shot him.
I was bringing him in. He tried to break.
Did you have to kill him?
It was an accident. The shot went wild.
Take it easy, Barney.
I'll write out the report.
Who was he?
Perk Martin. Bookmaker.
- I'll call the coroner, Barney.
- Yeah, Cooper. You do that.
Don't let it throw you, kid.
He was a crumb.
In court, maybe he'd got thirty days.
Yeah.
Too bad.
Eddie, I know it's a story.
I also know these guys.
They clam.
Once a cop pulls a trigger
it's one big secret society.
I'll try to find a weak spot somehow.
But ..
Brewster and Nolan are coming in now.
Go and pull your personal
package from the file.
Mark.
What about it?
- Ask Barney.
- I'm asking you, Mark.
No story. What's done is done.
I am sure Perk Martin
would agree with you.
I'm asking you for extenuating
circumstances, Mark.
Last year Nolan killed two hungry
wetbacks in a market burglary.
Three years ago it was that
tramp over on Sullivan Street.
Look. What do you want us
to do, use butterfly nets?
Nolan shot low. The bullet
went wild and killed Martin.
- Write it that way.
- Nolan is a pistol expert.
Okay, Mark.
Okay. I know the rules.
The story gets buried behind
the girldle ad.
Nolan's taught you well.
The others will defend him too. To me.
But not to themselves.
Cut it out.
As long as I don't write it.
Later, detective.
Brewster, I'll have your report.
Here, give me that.
- Full name?
- William Taylor.
Age?
- Twenty-three.
- Ever been arrested before?
No.
So, you saw him take a water
cooler from the bus depot?
He was loading it onto a kid's wagon.
Why did you take the water cooler?
I was thirsty.
- Alright. Give him a drink and lock him up.
- Alright. Let's go.
Who are carrying this for, Kippy?
- Tony again?
- That chiseller?
Jukebox Dan?
He's in the tank for a gang cutting.
- This could've been the knife.
- I don't see him no more.
O'Dell's desk.
Just a minute.
- Your wife.
- Yeah?
How about that boxer, Chico Moran?
Find out, fuzz.
We will.
Ethel.
I'm busy, Ethel. Don't bother me.
Snick knives are concealed weapons, kid.
You want to put in another hitch
in that nice state girls' school?
Where burglars can't break in?
You're a cop. You tell me.
Listen to me, Kippy.
I've got a daughter about your age.
Ah, blow it out you ..
- Heads.
- Heads.
- Tails.
- Again.
- This is too expensive. Let's book him.
- Yeah. What's the charge?
Gambling. What else? Come on, chum.
Nolan.
Now.
When are you going to stop thinking
with your trigger finger, Nolan?
He tried to break, Captain.
I heard.
Cop.
Most of this happened
before I came here.
Not my problem.
What happened tonight is.
Either you're going to start
using judgement, Nolan,
or you can climb back into uniform and grow a new
set of brains out in the daisy fields.
Sorry I put you in a spot, Captain.
There is no spot.
You were a police officer
acting in the line of duty.
Nobody gouges us for that
as long as I'm in this office.
We gave you a gun.
And the authority to use it.
One is no good without the other.
They don't know that out there.
So they'll scream blue murder until the
next time they need a man with a badge.
Get out. I am busy.
- How did he take it?
- True blue and sore as a boil.
And fed to the gills.
- Try and forget for a while, Barney.
- Yeah.
Look. You've been trying to teach
me to laugh off what we run into.
Go and live it up.
Thanks a lot, Mark.
I got a date with Patty.
- Have fun.
- Right.
- Hi, Cookie.
- Hi, Barney.
How are you?
- Where's Patty?
- She is here.
She's trying a new job.
She's what?
Barney.
Why don't you come inside?
Who told you to do this?
- Barney, you're hurting me.
- Whose idea was this?
I asked Dave. He needed someone. He said
it may lead to me getting on the stage.
What you trying to do,
drive the customers away?
So, you haven't got enough legs around
here? Trying to put her in a peep show.
Barney!
- You asked me to give her a job.
- Not like this.
- Well, you know me, Barney. A dope.
- Get out.
Go on, Patty.
Get your clothes on.
We're getting out of here.
Go on.
Who are they?
Private detectives walking like men.
They used to be around here a lot.
Cops, huh?
No. Robbers.
Hey, Brewster.
Sergeant Brewster.
- My name is Mr. Michaels.
- I am Mr. O'Neil.
- O and M Investigation Service.
- We act in the interest of a client.
In connection with a bookmaker
named Perk Martin.
Now deceased.
Who is your client?
We are working for Packy Reed.
I tell you man.
When Martin got killed tonight,
he was carrying some of
Packy Reed's property.
What was it?
Twenty-five grand.
What?
Twenty-five grand.
Reed has it wrong.
Could be.
Except Martin had the money on
him just before he got chilled.
He phoned Reed to tell him so.
Martin had 312 dollars and 75 cents.
I was there.
Nolan was there first.
It must be a mistake after all, man.
If there was 25 Gs on him,
you couldn't have missed it,
could you, Sergeant?
You read the report.
Sure.
What's to get excited?
Your paper.
You got to give them this?
They're after a story.
Cabot, we don't know what happened.
Give me a day.
You really love that guy, don't you?
You were a kid on the streets
when he got hold of you.
Now, neither one of you can let go.
Go on, son. Tie yourself in knots.
Take your day.
What's it to me?
What is it, Barney?
What is it that makes you hate like that?
How can I work for people?
How can I keep friends when
you slap them around?
I love you, Patty.
I wish that could make everything right.
It will.
Things are going to be different.
You will see in a minute.
What?
You'll see.
You think I'm going to be a cop forever?
Like those other boneheads?
Boneheads like Mark?
You sort-of like him, I've noticed.
He is nice.
Mark's still learning his trade.
I'm finished. Graduated.
Come on, I got something to show you.
How do you like this house?
- Barney, did you...?
- Not yet.
It's not mine yet. But maybe. If you like it.
Come on.
The agent said he'd leave the key.
It's a model home.
All furnished. Ready to go.
Well?
Is this something?
Barney, it is just beautiful.
Come on. I'll show you the kitchen.
Look at this. It is the Beauty
Queen kitchen. The whole thing.
Everything is automatic.
Electric garbage disposal, dishwasher,
and up here we have an electric stove,
three burners...
- A special cooker!
- Uhuh.
And there's a refrigerator and a
deep freeze and even a rotissemat.
- Barney, it has everything.
- Sure. Come on.
I'll show you the rest of the place.
Guest bed's down there.
And this...
is the master bedroom.
Hey.
That is the worst of bad luck. Hat on bed.
Come on.
Well.
How do you like it, honey?
Barney, it's just a darling house. I love it.
This will be living, huh?
Look honey, you make yourself comfortable.
I want to check on something out back.
Excuse me.
Well.
I can see you've made
yourself right at home.
Hi.
Hi.
I love you, Patty.
I love you too, Barney.
It's as tight as a drum. Nobody will talk.
Eddie, I'm doing my best.
Let me go! You big ..
Does it bother you,
that rough stuff in there?
The subject of their attention
is one of the lowest of life.
Merely a peddler.
A salesman. A businessman.
And this is only his fiftieth offence.
Selling to school kids.
Not nearly as bad as someone
taking a bet on a horse.
You're getting old, Cabot.
I got old in this room writing a
worm's eye view of the human race.
Then you ought to know when to lay off.
I'm just a police reporter, Mark.
Now here it is, one-two-three.
These cops...
Are often tempted to break a lot of rules.
They got too much gas
on their stomachs and ..
Too little money in their pockets.
And who's to say there won't be a big
day when it's all going to be different?
But right now,
they do the best they can.
Maybe it's not so pure.
But they don't kill and
beat up just for kicks.
And they don't hide behind
the tin wall of a police badge.
Only a very few do.
Is that all?
That completes my seminar on your
friend and teacher Barney Nolan.
Hello Barney.
Hiya, man.
What is your beef?
Business, chum.
I got no business with you.
Not us.
Packy Reed wants to talk
a proposition.
Get out of my way. Come on, honey.
You'll be doing yourself a favor,
if you drop around.
Right away.
- Barney, will it ..
- It's alright, honey.
I will see you tomorrow.
- Who is Packy Reed?
- A guy. A money man.
It's nothing.
Sleep tight, huh?
Dream about our house.
- What do you want?
- A few words.
- It costs you nothing.
- Talk is cheap.
- Talk to Barney.
- No. You.
We're detectives, just
like your tough boyfriend.
- Unlock the door.
- You can't come in.
Mark.
What is this little act about?
- We're friends of her friends.
- Well listen, friends.
The next time you so much
as talk to Miss Winters,
I'll hammer that private
badge into your navel.
Just another misunderstanding.
The time has come when
we are no longer welcome.
Please come in, Mark.
I want to talk to you about Barney.
I just left him.
Come on. Let's sit down.
Mark, is Barney in some kind of trouble?
I don't know. That's what
I'm supposed to find out.
Did he go home?
I think he went to see someone.
Oh? Who?
Someone named Packy Reed.
Did Barney give you
anything to keep for him?
Like what?
Oh, anything at all.
No.
He almost started a fight with
those two characters out there.
What did they want?
Oh, they are sewer rats.
Look.
Barney killed a man tonight.
He killed a prisoner. It was an accident.
That's what Barney
said and I believe him.
But some people say the dead man
was carrying a lot of money.
The money hasn't turned up.
And some people say that
Barney is a murderer.
You don't think so, do you?
I told you I believe him.
And I will, until I learn differently.
Patty, I've watched him change
over the last few years.
He's not the same man he was.
He is like concrete.
The older he gets, the harder he gets.
How can we help him?
I think he is lonely, Mark.
More than anything else
he wants to be loved.
To have someone care for him.
Like tonight. He took me to see a house.
A new little house.
He was like a kid, Mark.
A house?
He's thinking of buying it?
Maybe.
Mainly, he wants to have
something of his own.
Somebody like you.
He wants me to marry him, Mark.
Well, you'd do him good.
If you love him.
I know he is rough, strong and impulsive.
When I am with him I don't
have to think anymore.
All I have to do is feel.
I sound like a confession
magazine, don't I?
I guess I am lonely too.
Listen.
Mark, we have got to help him.
We will, Patty.
All we can.
Goodnight, Patty.
Night.
Mr. Reed, Nolan's here.
Come in, Barney. Come in.
Hiya, Packy.
Sit down.
The fight's on. It's a honey.
Manny Marks in the white trunks
from a stand-up stance,
Forcing the fight with a left and right.
With a good right hook
counter punch from Valdez.
And there's the bell for the
end of the 9th round.
A word now from our sponsor.
The main event is late tonight.
Good fight though.
Marks has got the edge.
Look, Packy. I'm a working man.
Get to the point, will you?
I want to get home and get some sleep.
Alright, Barney.
It's like this.
I hired a couple of private detectives.
Fat Michaels and Laddie O'Neil.
I wanted them to get back
some property for me.
Did somebody rob you?
You might say so, Barney.
But those boys, they are the violent type.
All they know good is hurting people.
Now this is a job for a real cop.
File a complaint.
Get a city man assigned.
Let me tell you.
This property of mine,
$25,000 cash, was supposed to
be brought here by Perk Martin.
May he rest in peace.
Ready for the start of round 10 of
a fight scheduled for 12 rounds.
Manny Marks there in the white trunks.
Perk Martin usually
carried a five grand roll.
To handle his bets.
Tonight he was fat.
25,000.
Wow.
Manny Marks' knees are wobbly.
He's trying to hold on here.
25,000.
That's a nice pot of loot.
Someone figured Perk
for an easy knock-over.
He was.
I don't care about Perk Martin.
I don't even care who cooled him.
But I do want my 25 grand back.
Do you think you can
find it for me, Barney?
Don't be cute. You know I shot Martin.
The complexion of this fight has
really changed here in the 10th round.
Now it is Manny Marks
just trying to hang on.
A tremendous right punch in there by
Valdez and down goes Manny Marks.
For one. Two, Three.
He's trying to get up but he's slipped ..
I still ask.
Do you want the job?
I don't know where your money is.
You want it bad, huh?
All that dough.
You're full if wind, Reed.
Martin was carrying small change.
You made a dumb murder, Barney.
If you've got a rumble,
call the cops.
All that city out there...
You know, Barney, if a man wanted
to hide out in all that city,
he couldn't do it.
You had your chance.
Go on home, Barney. Get some sleep.
Did you talk to Barney last night?
I don't have to tell the paper, Mark.
They already know.
- They are sitting on it.
- Who told them?
Packy Reed is putting it around.
Barney is getting hot.
His hair's on fire.
Brewster.
Let me have your notes
on that Perk Martin thing.
Nolan.
You had a phone call. Packy Reed.
You got a new case, huh?
No. Just checking a few angles
for the captain on last night.
He wants a full written report.
By all means, let me help you.
Speaking as one of the principals.
Alright, buster. Get in.
Quit your shoving. I'm going.
You dumb flatfoot.
I'll take it.
Let go. Quit it.
This beauty is all yours.
Let me go, you tin god!
Alright. Come on. Sit down.
The manager of the Save-a-Lot market on
9th Avenue caught him in the stock room.
- What's his name?
- George Washington.
How'd you like about two
years in a reform school, George?
- You coming in or off duty?
- Off.
Alright. Go home and beat your wife.
Ever been picked up before?
No.
Hungry, huh?
Yeah.
When did your father die?
A year ago.
- Say, how did you know?
- We know everything down here.
Your mother's gonna be upset
when she hears about this.
I'm Barney Nolan.
You?
- Jay Phelps.
- 'J' for what?
Just Jay.
Alright, just Jay.
You got caught. You know why?
Because you don't know
how to rob a store.
See that detective over there?
He tried it when he was your age.
He got caught. We Brought him here.
You know what I told him?
Sure.
Be good, say your prayers
and you'll go to heaven.
Look, one more crack like that and I'll
slap your kisser off you. Believe me?
Alright, Now, you know what I told him?
What?
I told him the next time he wants to rob
a store to come here and talk to me.
Cops know how it's done.
I also told him if he got caught again,
I'd personally see that he was
locked up till he was old and grey.
I'll make you the same bargain.
Here.
Take that. Pay for those
things and bring them home.
- I'll take him, Barney.
- Alright.
You owe me two years in reform school.
You know Andy Tucker
from the D.A.'s office?
- Yeah. Sure.
- Hiya, Barney.
The D.A. wants some more details
on that Perk Martin business.
- I'll talk to you later, Andy.
- Right.
I filed the facts.
Well, you know how we lawyers are.
Now.
It says here in the report...
that you were in Crab Alley
when Martin made his break.
That's right.
He took a shortcut.
What's your trouble?
Deaf and dumb, I guess.
I'll send a man later.
Huh?
How far did Martin get
before you dropped him?
A couple of paces.
Go on. Go on.
Do you have anything to add
under 'Remarks', Barney?
- Barney.
- Huh?
I say, do you have anything
to add under 'Remarks'?
Oh, no.
No. That is it.
Hi, Patty.
Hi, Mark. Day off?
Nope. I am working.
I got a few more questions for you.
Seeing me is work?
I checked all of Barney's
moves last night.
But you said you believed in him.
It was an accident.
I'm still on the city payroll, remember?
Sorry.
I met Barney at the scene of the murder.
The shooting.
We went to headquarters together.
He left there at 8:15.
What time did he get
to the Club Blackout?
About 8:20.
I had just changed into costume.
Five minutes.
That fits. I drove it.
Then you left the club?
About ten minutes later.
Where did you go first?
- Straight to the model home.
- Then?
Here.
He left a couple of
minutes before you came.
Yeah. To see Packy Reed.
He was there in 15 minutes.
The time it takes in traffic.
He was there at 17 minutes after ten.
How do you know all that?
Reed said he arrived at the end of the
9th round of a fight on TV last night.
I checked the time of the
round with the network.
You detectives!
A good one taught me.
It's Reed's money that is missing.
Barney would never have taken it there.
Look, Patty.
If there is no connection between the
missing money and Barney he'll be clear.
I'll go out and get drunk with him.
But, if on the other hand...
Saying he took the money...
Somewhere between the station
and here last night he hid it away.
But you've cleared him. You said
yourself you drove everywhere he did.
Patty, don't you follow me?
If he had the money, he must have hidden
it sometime while he was with you.
If he had it.
Patty, I'm not doing this job for kicks.
Look. He was in the
back room of the club.
Then the model home.
Then he came right here.
He left me at the door.
Patty.
What about when you were
at this model home?
What do you mean?
He showed me through the place.
He wants to buy it and carry me through
the front door with a ring on my finger.
Or is that breaking another law?
Take it easy Patty, will you.
I know you're upset. So am I.
- All I want to know is...
- All you want to know is everything.
Everything personal about a girl.
Patty.
In that house, did he leave
you alone at any time?
No. I was with him all the time.
I told you. He was like a kid
running through the place.
Okay.
Till this thing is cleared up,
don't rush into anything, will you?
Is that a warning?
Just a warning.
So long, Patty.
Keep this to yourself, huh?
This time no-one is there.
There's money, see.
Not just this. I'll give you more.
Hundreds. Hundreds, I'll give you.
Thousands.
Thousands. Do you hear me? Thousands!
Ah, you dummy.
University Precinct.
- Detective Bureau please.
- Thank you.
This is Miss Winters.
Is Barney Nolan there?
Barney went home sick.
Sick?
That's right, Miss Winters.
Any message?
No. No message.
Hit me again, will ya? Bourbon. Double.
Dave's Club Blackout.
Is Miss Winters there?
Hi, Barney. No. She phoned
she wouldn't be in tonight.
Thank you.
Again.
Do you know what's wrong
with mirrors in bars?
Men always make hard eyes at themselves.
Do you know that there is a
people in the jungle that...
believe a mirror steals your spirit away?
It may do me some good.
My mother always said
I had too much spirit.
Double bourbon three times?
Did you know you can get goggles without
a doctor's prescription that way?
Skip the lip. I'm not interested. I'm busy.
Girl business or...
business business?
You know...
You want to be tough.
But you don't know how.
Let me show you how to be tough.
There.
Now take a puff.
Shrug your shoulders.
Narrow your eyes.
Very good!
Now you are tough.
My name is Beth.
Jack Robinson.
Say, can you find us if we take a booth?
I'll tie a string on you.
Look. I'm comfortable here.
Joe.
Hi, Pat.
What did I do wrong now?
Next time you leave your keys in the
car I'm gonna let somebody steal it.
Oh thanks, Pat.
See you.
Come on. Let's take a booth, baby.
- Boy, you sure change your mind fast.
- That's me. Take me or leave me.
Well.
What do you know.
The poor guy. He was deaf and mute.
Played the accordion
on the streets for pennies.
He must have been lying here hurt bad.
Couldn't call for help.
Yeah. I guess so.
Wait here for the ambulance.
Trooper!
Don't touch anything.
What've you got?
I got a murder.
35 seconds. What kept you?
I stopped for a round of golf.
Let me leave you with this
one happy thought, Jack.
Someday we'll all be dead.
All dead.
From the feet up.
Including cops.
Why cops especially? Why?
I ought to know. I'm a cop.
Where is your uniform?
Home in the basement. In mothballs.
I'm a detective now.
All cops should be home in
the basement in mothballs.
Did you ever kill anybody?
Sure.
Anybody you want knocked off?
Me.
I love everybody.
Besides, I'm hungry.
It's about time they ate.
One more drink and they
will be climbing the walls.
Are you ready for the spaghetti now?
No. I'm not ready for the spaghetti.
Send you a telegram.
I'm hungry.
- Where'd you get this bruise?
- Huh?
I don't know.
Somebody gave it to me, I guess.
Don't you even know who it was?
What difference does it make?
It doesn't hurt.
It's somebody else?
Hello?
Patty?
Barney. Where- where...?
They told me at the
precinct you were sick.
No. I'm alright. Where you been all day?
Trying to find you.
Are you sure you're alright?
I'm so glad.
Barney. Last night those two
men came back after you left.
They what?
They came back and grabbed me and tried
to force their way into my apartment.
They touched you?
Lucky for me, Mark came just then.
Mark?
He was looking for you, Barney.
Oh.
Alright, Patty. I'm alright.
You forget about me. Go to bed and get
some rest. I'll talk to you tomorrow.
- Alright.
- Right, honey.
Say, you should eat.
Jack, why aren't you eating?
Hiya, Barney.
I thought you said your name was Jack.
Hi.
Hi.
- You got a match?
- Sure.
- Did you bring the loot?
- Yeah.
Well, let's split a bottle of wine.
Don't you touch her again.
Somebody call the police.
Call the police.
Somebody call the police.
You had the police.
Hi, Mark.
Hi, Barney.
I'm taking you in.
You got a charge?
Homicide. First degree.
You murdered Perk Martin.
So, you've joined the club
at the precinct, huh?
The 'Hate Nolan' club.
- I'm doing my job.
- Can't you spot a simple frame?
Martin was one of Packy Reed's boys.
Packy's out to scalp me.
Packy's got it in for me.
Uhuh, Barney.
Alright.
Martin made a break. So I shot him.
He was loaded and I made a touch.
It's the first time, Mark.
The first time in sixteen
years that I ever took.
Look, kid. We are pals.
We don't make trouble for each other.
I drew a deaf-mute's case tonight.
They thought he'd died in an
accident falling down stairs.
What do they think now?
I haven't filed my report yet.
You murdered Martin deliberately
for the wad he was carrying.
I don't think you can prove that.
The deaf-mute proved it.
A dead witness is no good in court.
How did you know he was a witness?
You shot Martin in the back.
Then you went through his pockets.
Then you fired two shots in the air.
Before the deaf-mute died, he wrote
those facts on a pad. What he saw.
Listen. The guy was deaf. He was
a dummy. Maybe he was blind too.
Yeah. Maybe he was part of
Packy Reed's frame. That fits.
I came down here to get your
reasons from you first.
I got them.
Let's go see Gunnarson.
You really mean it, kid?
About taking me in?
Come on, Barney.
Come on. Give me a day, will you?
Just one day. Give me a break.
Uhuh.
Alright.
Alright, come on. Stand up.
Up against the wall. Hands high.
Feet apart. You know the routine.
You said the dummy wrote
all that on a piece of paper.
Which pocket is it in?
It is at the precinct.
Like you always said.
Evidence should be filed away safe.
You got one big
hole in your case, son.
The dough.
It's stowed.
Well stowed.
You'll never guess.
And you'll never find it.
Who is it?
It's me. Barney.
Barney?
Just a minute.
Listen. Get dressed.
We're going away. Tonight.
What?
- Do as I tell you. Start dressing.
- Barney!
There's no time to lose, Patty.
Start dressing.
Alright, Barney. But...
You scare me so.
What's the matter?
You heard me mention
Packy Reed last night?
The big wheel who runs the rackets.
He's trying to frame me over
an accidental shooting.
So, I'm going away until
things simmer down.
You are going with me.
It's too fast, Barney.
I can't think this fast.
You got to trust me, Patty. Please!
Barney. Stay here.
Fight back. It's the only way.
You don't understand.
I'm being railroaded.
Packy Reed and his gunners
are out to get me.
And all my buddies at the precinct are
out to catch a goat for Packy Reed.
And I'm in the middle. One or the
other will nail me for sure.
Barney, this is crazy.
Clear your name. Why run away?
For sixteen years I've been a cop, Patty.
For sixteen years I've been living in dirt,
and take it from me, some of
it is bound to rub off on you.
You get to hate people.
Everyone you meet.
I'm sick of them.
The racket boys. The strong-arms.
The stoolies. The hooligans.
I'm through with them all.
Believe me. After this jam I'm trying
out for the best after all, Patty.
You and I. We'll go away.
Get a fresh start somewhere.
I got the money.
I had some saved.
Please, Patty. Hurry, will you?
Barney.
The money.
Did it belong to Packy Reed?
- Mark said...
- Mark?
- What's he got to do with this?
- Barney.
Why was he hanging around here last
night? What'd he tell you about me?
- He's trying to help you.
- Help me?
Ten minutes ago he tried to take me in.
What's been going on between you two?
Barney, wait!
He's turned you against me, hasn't he?
Tell me, what did he say?
Tell me. Tell me!
Oh, Barney.
Car 17.
At the corner of Santee
and Koch Boulevard,
in front of the liquor store,
a 390. Down.
Sheriff's car 76.
At the Samson Grammar School.
I thought maybe you'd joined the navy.
I got a murder for you, Captain.
Fine.
I've got plenty of murders.
All I'm interested in is murderers.
The killer's name is Barney Nolan.
Look, sonny-boy,
I've heard that Perk Martin
story eighteen times,
and so has every other
man in the precinct.
A known underworld boss nails
an accusation on a cop.
What are we supposed to do?
Turn handsprings and lock him up?
Nolan killed Martin in
the line of duty. Period.
Unless there's evidence to
the contrary, and there isn't.
The guy that wrote that is dead.
What he wrote is exactly how
Barney Nolan killed Perk Martin.
How'd you get that?
Barney. I tried to bring him in.
Alone?
You've still got lots to learn.
I've been lucky.
Nine years as precinct captain.
This is the first time I've
been pulled into the drain.
Everybody in here.
Everybody.
Barney Nolan's gone sour.
He deliberately shot Perk Martin.
And when a witness showed up,
a deaf-mute, he put him out of the way.
What about him?
I want him to hear this.
They call us servants of the people.
Well, our bosses are entitled to know we've
had a maniac wearing a city shield.
When this story breaks, all of
you are gonna be the goats.
Every police officer in the country.
Will get dirty looks and dirty words.
And the funny stories about policemen
aren't going to be so funny.
We gave Nolan the same edge we
give each other. We believed him.
If he gets away, he'll laugh at us.
If we nail him they will hate us.
Go out and rub your faces in the mud.
Hunt him down before he kills again.
You can phone in your story.
I'll need a picture, captain.
Yep.
Run it on page one.
All cars out of University Precinct.
Call your station.
About a homicide suspect at large.
All cars out of University Precinct.
Call your station.
About a homicide suspect at large.
Come in, traffic car 5.
This is Kowalski.
University Precinct car 10.
The homicide suspect at
large is Barney Nolan.
A Detective Lieutenant attached
to University Precinct.
He may be driving
Precinct Detective car 8.
His description.
5 feet 11, 200 pounds, male Caucasian,.
36 years of age.
Wearing a brown suit, brown shoes
and possibly a tan top coat.
A brown hat. This man
is armed and dangerous.
Probably psycho. Use caution.
Captain Gunnarson, University Precinct.
Hey. Wait a minute.
- Are you the beat cop?
- That's right. This is Nolan's house.
I was just checking the cellar.
No sign of him.
We are on a stakeout.
There is a code 5 in this area.
Better get back to your beat.
We'll take over.
Right.
Blockades on all main roads. If he gets
out of the city, he'll have to use a fix.
Look, this guy was our man and I want us
to get him before Central HQ takes over.
That was Gianno.
The stakeout at Patty Winters' house.
She's disappeared.
I was counting on her for bait.
That Nolan was overboard for her.
She's his whole life.
And probably gone to meet
him wherever he is.
I don't think so, captain.
I bet you a week's salary.
Yours or mine?
Mine against yours.
That will be Manning. He's the only
one who's got a key. Relax, man.
That's quite a deal.
A detective in a patrolman's uniform.
It gets me around.
You're nervous, Barney.
It's kinda quiet here.
Doesn't your friend know how to talk?
I'm paid to hide you, not entertain you.
I got an examination tonight.
Night school at my age isn't easy.
It's tough.
Business administration is
a very difficult subject.
Okay, businessman.
Go and administrate me a sandwich
and leave us alone to talk.
The price of a sandwich is 10 dollars.
You said 500 dollars a
day covers everything.
It will still cost you 10 dollars.
So it will cost me. Go get it!
You are a very hot commodity, my friend.
- I told you I can pay the price.
- I'm sure, Barney.
Money buys a lot, huh?
How bad do you want Argentina?
Bad enough to deal with you.
Ten grand.
You are cracked!
Ten grand.
Plus expenses.
Alright.
A U.S. passport. Charter plane to Cuba.
Airline tickets, Havana to Buenos Aires.
Fifteen grand.
The complete package.
I said fifteen grand.
Let's have it.
You think I am crazy
enough to bring it here?
Then I think you'd better get it. Fast.
- I'll need a car to get the money.
- That can be arranged.
There'll be a car outside at 6 o'clock.
Get the money and I'll have a
man to hand over the tickets.
Where?
There's wrestling tonight.
Gate B at The Arena.
Look, I've got a uniform. I've still
got a face. I'll come back here.
Once in, once out. That is all.
Couldn't we find an alley somewhere?
Perk Martin got killed
in an alley. Remember?
Professor.
How about this night school of yours?
Possible.
Union High School has
many potentialities.
For a meeting involving such high intrigue,
may I suggest the men's locker room?
The men's locker room at Union
High School. Will that suit you?
Best we can do, I guess.
Alright then. Between 8 and 9 tonight.
How will I know your man?
You won't.
He'll know you.
8-7-4-2.
8-7-4-2.
Patty.
They have an APB out on you.
Looking all over for you.
Sit down.
Where did you disappear last night?
I went to stay with a friend.
Mark...
Barney came late last night to see me.
He wanted me to go away with him.
It was sudden, just like that.
He was acting crazy.
I wouldn't go.
I went away to think.
Mark, he told me he was in trouble but I...
I didn't know it was this bad.
Mark, I...
I came here to help you.
Any way I can.
I've been going over Barney's file.
We've got stakeouts on
all his known hangouts.
Patty.
If we find the money, we find Barney.
Think now.
The other night, when he picked
you up at the Club Blackout,
was he with you all the time
till he took you home?
All the time except...
Maybe five minutes at the model home.
Patty.
Why didn't you tell me that yesterday
when we were talking on the roof?
I was all mixed up.
I thought you were being too nosy.
That's where the money is. The model
home. It couldn't be any other place.
Where is this model home?
Out toward Burnwood, I think.
Hilly Ground?
Castle Heights.
What was the house like?
Nicely furnished.
And modern.
Was there... A sign, like who furnished it?
I think it was from...
Kling.
Jim. Mark Brewster.
Kling Furniture Company.
Call the night number.
Find out the street address of a new house
they decorated out in the Castle Heights subdivision.
- Barnes.
- Yes, sir?
This man is Officer Barnes.
Watch out for her until I get back.
I mean she's a guest. Not a suspect.
Yeah, Jim?
Thanks a lot.
I'll be back for you.
- You 8742?
- That's right.
I'm from Manning.
- Where's the pay-off?
- I'll check those first.
Hold it, Nolan.
Freeze.
Check it, Deb.
Packy Reed figured right.
Okay, Nolan. You're gonna
take us to the dough.
Hey, what's going on?
Operation Tin God.
Repeat. Operation Tin God.
May be headed for Castle
Heights Tract model home.
Address: 466 South Camden Drive.
I'm heading that way now.
Brewster. Sergeant of detectives.
Clear.
This is Captain Gunnarson.
Relay to all police cars University Precinct in
the vicinity of Castle Heights subdivision.
Operation Tin God.
Suspect now wearing patrolman's uniform.
Driving 1953 brown Ford 2-door sedan.
May be headed for
466 South Camden Drive.
Dragnet the area. Code 21.
Use caution.
Let's go, Code 3 for a while.
Attention.
All units out of University.
Homicide suspect at large.
Address.
466 South Camden Drive.
Use caution. Captain Gunnarson.
University Precinct.
What's the model house
got to do with it?
I don't know yet. Unless that's
where he stashed the dough.
Tonight at the gymnasium
Nolan tried to make a fix.
Ended up by knocking off Reed's goon.
He still has Reed's money.
The house?
How do you suppose
Brewster found out about it?
The girl. Who else?
There goes a week's salary.
- What?
- Oh, never mind!
Write his story good.