Godfather of Harlem (2019) s02e06 Episode Script
The Ballot or the Bullet
1
♪
[BUMPY] You know,
there's enough work here
to keep these men busy for years.
It's good for the both of us, huh?
[CHIN] Look at this.
Shipped directly to our doorstep.
Ellsworth Johnson is a lot more
influential than I thought.
Your father's convinced Bonanno
ordered the hit on Benny.
No! No!
He wants me to find out whichever
soldier did it and take him out.
We're family, right?
He may be the perfect patsy,
but, what, am I supposed to
pop someone out of the blue?
Yeah.
[CHOKING]
You know I can't end
the filibuster, Adam.
It's impossible.
There's a limit to what
I can do as president.
- That motherfucking Senator McClellan.
- Oh. Mercy, mercy me.
- I need you to persuade.
- You want me to play dirty?
- [MAYME] You want a honey trap.
- [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]
Isn't that a little bit hypocritical?
Yes.
Well, you got me by the
short and curlies, huh?
I am getting that bill passed
without stooping to blackmail.
What's going on?
I believe Brother Charles
has it in his mind to kill you.
Give that to Hoover.
Let him know how good a job
you're doing protecting me.
What'd you say, nigger?
This thing could fuck
up our arrangement.
You get your guy to leave
town. I-I'll handle my men.
- He ain't leavin'.
- What?
He said ain't no way the guineas
were gonna run him out of Harlem.
- [SCREAMING]
- Come on!
Send 'em over. Send them over!
- Chance!
- No!
[BUMPY] No, Chance, no!
Aah!
[GUNSHOT ECHOES]
♪
[POWELL] Where are they?
[CONGREGATION MURMURS]
It's been 15 weeks since we've heard
from these three brave young men,
these Freedom Riders
who came to Mississippi
and disappeared after being
arrested by the police.
They rode in buses from all over
Black, white, Jew, Christian
[CONGREGATION MURMURING]
to register Black voters
and show America
that we can attain equality
if we do it together.
- [MURMURING, SHOUTING]
- Amen!
- Amen!
- Amen!
They faced harassment and danger,
and some, it seems,
paid the ultimate price
- at the hands of the Klan.
- [WOMAN] Mm-hmm!
Although nobody would have
ever heard about this tragedy
if it were just three
Black men went missing.
- Amen!
- But because two white boys were involved,
the nation stood up
and has taken notice.
- Even the FBI.
- Amen!
[MURMURING]
That's all right. That's
all right. We'll take it
if it wakes this nation
from its slumber.
[CONGREGATION MURMURS]
Let us pray.
Lord, cover these boys
in the pure, white light of the Christ.
Through your eternal
love and compassion,
travel them home safely
to their families.
Amen and amen.
And as a parent of one of the
three boys who are missing,
I am making this plea to
all parents everywhere,
particularly to the
parents of Mississippi.
I want to beg them to cooperate
in every way possible
in the search for these three boys.
Two of those boys are
from New York City.
My wife helped organize
and pay for the buses
that sent them down there.
That was a suicide mission
if I ever saw one.
Those kids should have been
armed with machine guns,
not pamphlets.
One thing's for sure
they're not alive.
Bodies ain't lost either.
The Klan know exactly where they are,
but the Sheriff's Department
is the Klan, so no one talks.
Certainly not to the FBI.
I could make 'em talk.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Yeah, that you could.
But your methods wouldn't
be admissible in court.
Fuck court.
What we need is more
of that street justice.
Amen to that.
[REPORTER] east on Highway
19 about 10:30 Sunday night.
Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney
were pulled over for speeding
by Deputy Sheriff Cecil Parmenter,
reputed to be a Klan member.
Nothing scares white people
more than Black people voting.
Look at you.
You remember what I said
about the Black gangster
gaining political consciousness
and then white America
will fall to its knees?
Indeed, I do.
The FBI, local and state
authorities, and
Maybe you're getting political.
searching the area for weeks.
♪
Goddamn it ♪
[KLANSMEN CHANTING] America first!
- Love your race!
- Made me wanna grab my fully automatic ♪
Pull up, let 'em have it ♪
They won't be happy ♪
Till they see me hanging
from the bridges ♪
I'm pushin' product, that's a
product of my circumstance ♪
They wanna take me out the
game, I might take a chance ♪
They violatin' me ♪
Now violence, that's the only answer ♪
I might just catch a KKK ♪
Take the crack for race ♪
We want justice, damn it! ♪
America first!
- Love your race!
- Goddamn it ♪
- America first! Love your race!
- Goddamn it ♪
[CHANTING CONTINUES] America first!
- Love your race!
- Goddamn it ♪
- America first!
- We want justice, damn it ♪
- Love your race!
- God damn it, yeah ♪
- God damn it, yeah ♪
- God damn it, yeah ♪
We want justice, damn it ♪
♪
Yeah ♪
Change ♪
Yeah ♪
Open up my window again ♪
Open up my window again ♪
I can hear death callin' my name ♪
I can hear death callin' again ♪
I swear to God,
things ain't gon' change ♪
I swear to God,
things ain't gon' change ♪
I keep a revolver with your name ♪
I keep a revolver with your name ♪
Just in case ♪
[RAPPING] Lay on my back
watchin' the ceilin' fan ♪
I had a dream to touch a kilo gram ♪
Still at odds with the Irish mob ♪
Rolls-Royce down Malcolm X Boulevard ♪
Lord, these really out here ♪
Preyin' on me ♪
Got the .40 on me and his hand on me ♪
Snow-white mink like
I'm Dutch Schultz ♪
Run the books and let me
show you how the numbers look ♪
You can't be Lucky like you Luciano ♪
The kilos slammin'
like they new pianos ♪
And Fat Boy got the big body ♪
Coast-to-coast,
I could shoot product ♪
Open up my window again ♪
Open up my window again ♪
I can hear death callin' my name ♪
I can hear death callin' again ♪
I swear to God,
things ain't gon' change ♪
I swear to God,
things ain't gon' change ♪
I keep a revolver with your name ♪
I keep a revolver with your name ♪
Just in case ♪
[SIREN WAILS IN DISTANCE]
Huh? You see what I'm doing there?
Like, I'm drawing the tic-tac-toe
thing over and over again.
You know what I mean?
And then I'm playing the game
over and over again. You get that?
I don't like that one. That's no.
- No?
- No.
You know the guy stands on the
corner of Houston and Lafayette?
- Yeah.
- Been there forever.
Looks like he's gonna cross the street.
He never goes anywhere.
He just stands there.
Pbbbbbht. Pbhhhht.
- Very good.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
So, it's like
Pbhhht. Pbht.
- Okay, let me
- That That's good.
- Let me just say something.
- Would you stop?
- Not with the fucking
- This robe smells like piss.
- I don't understand.
- And I need to get you a clean one,
- please.
- Would you stop with the
Just stop with the robe, all right?
Look, I could spend the
rest of my life in jail.
I'm about to get arrested.
For what? Since when are
you getting arrested?
Since birth! That's since when.
I got this under control.
I can handle it.
Just calm down. Where are my slippers?
Go scratch your ass with
these frickin' slippers.
You leave them all over the
goddamn house. Come on.
I had my hands out. You could
have handed them to me.
Where's our fucking Jew lawyer, anyway?
- I don't know where
- Where is he?
Where is he? Listen.
I pay that guy to be on a fucking leash.
- That's a long fucking leash.
- Those fucking Jews.
- Those fuckin' Jews.
- [POUNDING ON DOOR]
[MAN] Open up! FBI!
- [POUNDING CONTINUES]
- Pbhhhhht.
Don't you see that my
husband is a sick man?
Have some respect in front of his wife!
Vincent Gigante, I have a
warrant out for your arrest.
- Pbhhht.
- What the hell's
- Get him in the car.
- He didn't do anything!
[VEHICLE APPROACHES, TIRES SCREECH]
Pbhhht.
Hold on, Officers. Release
that man. Release him.
I'm Mr. Gigante's lawyer, Jonah Fineman.
This is a writ from Judge Sawyer.
My client is non compos mentis
and is to be remanded
to Stony Hill Sanitarium
for an immediate psychiatric evaluation.
Can't you see this man is
sick? Put your hand down.
Pbhhhht.
He didn't do anything, okay?
Judge Sawyer, huh?
Good move, Fineman. [CLEARS THROAT]
- All right, let him go.
- Yeah, "let him go" is right.
Come here, come here. Come here.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
You come to my house like this?
Ashamed!
Game's not over, Mr. Gigante.
Don't get too comfy in those slippers.
Nice fuckin' suit and
shoes, too, you prick.
- [CHIN BLOWS RASPBERRY]
- [MELLOW JAZZ PLAYS OVER RADIO]
[MAYME] It's too dangerous.
I'll send Chance, Pettigrew,
and Junie Byrd.
No, there's too many FBI down there.
It's best you stay away.
The FBI can't do shit.
Nor can LBJ's Marines.
- It's been over three months.
- Any Black man from out of town
who steps foot in Mississippi
will get lynched.
- You know that.
- Maybe I need a white guy.
Powell says it is LBJ's
number-one priority.
It is the government's
problem now, not yours.
I need you to go to Powell's office
and just ask him for a favor, all right?
[DOORBELL RINGS]
That's probably Elise.
She took Margaret to the park.
Okay, I got it.
Thank you.
Ellsworth Johnson, we have a
warrant out for your arrest.
- On what grounds?
- Trafficking 500 kilos of heroin
from Marseilles to New York City.
Cuff him.
What is happening? What's going on here?
- Call Duncan. Arrange bail.
- [HANDCUFFS CLICK]
And don't worry. I'll be fine.
On the contrary.
You should be very worried.
♪
Oh, Ellsworth.
♪
♪
[PEN THUDS]
[PAPER RUSTLES]
♪
- [GLASS SHATTERS]
- [BETTY SCREAMS]
- Betty!
- [BETTY] Malcolm!
- Are you okay?
- [BREATHING SHAKILY] Oh, God.
- Are you hurt?
- I'm fine.
Are you cut?
This is the third time.
Did you see anyone?
Who was it?
Oh, thank God the children aren't here.
They're trying to intimidate me.
They're trying to keep me quiet.
And you won't let them, will you?
I can't.
I can't back down now.
Those Freedom Riders risked their lives
just to get people to vote.
I cannot be expected
to do anything less.
Nor should you.
God, I'm just scared, is all.
Malcolm.
[SNIFFLES]
- Betty.
- [INHALES DEEPLY]
If you asked me to stop
to just be a minister,
to lead a calm, quiet life somewhere
without struggling for our freedoms,
our rights, and our equalities,
Betty, I'd do it.
I'd do it.
I'm not telling you that.
You're fighting for us.
For our children.
For the future of our people.
If anything, I want you
to fight twice as hard.
We'll get through this, Malcolm.
♪
[BREATHING SHAKILY]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[MAN] Leave me alone.
- That's mine.
- We'll put Polly right here for you.
[WOMAN ON PA] Dr. Cooper
to Room 214, please.
- Dr. Cooper to Room 214.
- I-I don't want any of those.
[MAN #2] That's check, not checkmate.
[CHIN] Could you
Could you stop it?
- Cut it out.
- Mr. Gigante, you have a visitor.
Doctor, can you get this fucking guy
to stop banging his head
against the fucking wall?
All fucking day. Come on.
If I could, he wouldn't be here.
Well, maybe you could,
you know, slice off his balls,
shove them up his ass.
You're a doctor, right?
You know, gently, and then
fssht up the wazoo.
Doctor. Doctor!
Doc!
How you holding up?
Fucking miserable.
How long I gotta be
in this fucking place?
This place is keeping you out of jail.
Unfortunately, Judge Sawyer's just
been transferred out of state,
and his writ of non compos
mentis has been invalidated.
They can do that?
Morgenthau. He's playing dirty.
He also selected a new doctor
to determine your sanity.
[SCOFFS SOFTLY]
You think they can make this stick?
I think so.
Our discovery shows
they have a deposition
from a confidential informant.
- Who?
- We won't know that
until they take the stand unless
you can find out somehow.
Let me check.
I got a couple of Feds in my pocket.
This is bad, huh?
Look, if there's some
reason you can't, uh
I've been informed Morgenthau
might be willing to make a deal.
I'm not gonna rat anybody out.
What, are you fuckin' kidding me?
Come on, you let me do what I do,
- and you just hold them off.
- Fine.
Meanwhile, you do everything
you can to stay here.
Try to convince this new doctor
that you're nuts, all right?
That shouldn't be too difficult.
All I gotta do is bang my
head against the wall
like this fuckin'
sempliciotto over here.
Look at him. Hey, a
little faster. Come on.
♪
♪
[MORGENTHAU] Thank you.
[SIGHS]
Sorry I arrested you
in front of your wife.
No, you're not. You did it on purpose.
[CHUCKLES]
You have much to lose,
which is why I am hoping
you'll listen to reason.
I don't snitch.
You and Chin Gigante are guilty
of importing hundreds
of kilos of heroin.
We're talking decades in jail.
I haven't seen any evidence yet.
Got any witnesses?
Who? Jehan?
Monsieur 98?
I know it ain't the Italians, so, uh
Obviously, that information
is confidential,
but I can assure you that
we have multiple informants.
Mm-hmm.
I have a good case, Johnson.
I urge you not to be a
martyr for a lost cause.
- What cause is that?
- This Omertà bullshit.
Stop protecting the mob.
Work with me.
The only cause that I'm interested in
is my family and their safety.
Though
I understand you donated
money for the buses
that took the civil rights
activists down to Mississippi.
What's that got to do with anything?
Schwerner and Goodman are Jews, as am I.
In Jewish law,
if two men are thirsty
and only one has water,
it's allowable for the man with water
to drink at the expense of the other.
[LAUGHS]
I appreciate you citing Jewish law
to get me to snitch.
Blacks and Jews share a
common history of oppression.
We're survivors.
Mm.
I'm offering you a lifeline, Ellsworth.
You offering Chin a lifeline, too?
Not yet.
Hmm.
But I will do whatever it takes
to see that justice is served.
For Blacks and Jews,
justice is a dish always served cold.
Hmm.
Jewish law also says
that life is precious
before the eyes of God
and before the eyes of your children.
Don't let yours have to see you
waste your precious life behind bars.
[SCOFFS LIGHTLY]
[CELL DOOR CLANKS, CLOSES]
That little fuck.
[LOCK CLICKS]
[BUMPY'S VOICE]
Six feet of chambered stone
the nation gives us for a home.
Ten feet from top to floor,
a barred-in gate serves as door.
The weak will perish where they start.
The strong will play a greater part,
and they leave behind
them when they pass
- a monument in Alcatraz.
- [DOOR CLOSES]
[GUARD] Stop right there.
♪
There is nothing in there.
- Give me that. Give me! Give me!
- No. Please.
♪
No!
Ellsworth! Oh, God.
[THUDDING]
You get off of him!
[SCUFFLING, THUDDING]
[GRUNTING]
[BUMPY'S VOICE]
A special jail for special men
that someone hopes won't rise again.
Yet be man low or be he great,
no one controls a strong man's fate.
[MELLOW CROONER MUSIC
PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
♪
Well?
This is the most powerful
speech you've ever written.
Well, it's not quite finished yet,
but it puts the white man on notice.
And calls up civil rights leaders
and people of all faiths
from all over the world to take action.
[CHUCKLES]
Now you'll have enemies on
all four corners of the Earth.
Well, the way I see it,
"freedom" shouldn't be
a word in our vocabulary
if we aren't willing to die for it.
Like those Freedom Riders?
Those kids were on a bus ride to hell.
My speech is a bus ride
into the hearts of the Black community.
Without Black nationalism,
we will never take charge
of our political future.
[SIGHS]
What's bothering you?
This speech could get you killed,
especially if you broadcast
it on the radio.
I've dealt with threats before.
I hear the way people
talk at the mosque.
I have seen the FBI following you around
like a dog chasing a bone.
When I look into the
eyes of my children,
there isn't anything
I wouldn't do to give them
the kind of justice
that's been denied us.
I feel the same way
when I look at Margaret.
Then you understand my purpose.
♪
[SIRENS WAILING]
- Hey.
- Thank goodness you made bail.
Daddy, I was so worried about you.
[SIGHS]
Don't worry. I'm okay, little one.
Your daddy's home now.
Everything is going to
be fine. [SNIFFLES]
Will you have to go back to jail?
No.
Margaret, why don't you
go finish your homework?
We'll all sit down to dinner
later and talk then, okay?
Okay.
I love you, Daddy.
Love you, too.
Honey, don't worry.
I ain't ever going back to jail.
- Okay?
- Okay.
- Yeah.
- Ain't never going back to jail.
[LAUGHS] Okay.
- [QUIETLY] What if you do go?
- [DOOR CLOSES]
That little girl is going
to be devastated.
I will handle this, all right?
It's that goddamn drug business.
That's what gets you sent to
jail, not the other things.
The government wants to
make me their puppet.
Tie strings to my limbs
and make me dance.
I won't do it.
That's not freedom.
That's That's enslavement.
I waited 11 years for you
while you were in Alcatraz.
Bumpy.
I'm not sure I can do it again.
You won't have to.
- [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
- I promise.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
Who is that?
- That is my new lawyer.
- [PAPER TEARS]
[PEN CLACKS]
I, um I must admit,
I was surprised to get your call.
You're Chin Gigante's lawyer.
I want to make you mine.
Representing you might create
an acute conflict of interest.
Morgenthau already tried
to get me to snitch.
No doubt he'll try with Chin.
We both need to nip that in the bud.
Our interests are the same.
With all due respect,
Mr. Gigante hates your guts.
Almost as much as I hate his.
But there's something we can do
for each other of mutual benefit.
I'm listening.
I'm not talking yet.
Not until that attorney-client
privilege kicks in.
I'm very expensive.
I can afford it.
And I don't want to know
about anything illegal.
[LAUGHING]
You're joking, right?
I have to say that.
Oh, man.
Here's a $5,000 retainer.
That good enough for you?
Bumpy Johnson, I am very
happy to represent you.
Mm.
So, what do you have in mind?
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Mr. Gigante. How you doing?
What the fuck you think?
Right.
[SIGHS]
Your appointment with
the government shrink,
uh, Dr. Susan Beck, is in about an hour.
You need to convince her
that you belong here.
Yeah, I got that under control.
I forced that fucking finocchio doctor
to give me some crazy pills.
Good idea.
[SIGHS]
My mother was in a place like this.
She was never the same
after the shock treatments.
What, is that supposed to cheer me up?
Did you reach out to
my federal contacts?
I did. They confirmed
there's an informant,
one with immunity from both
the Feds and INTERPOL.
INTERPOL?
Well, then, it's gotta be
one of them frogs, no?
What are we gonna do?
[CHUCKLES]
Uh
something interesting came up.
I, uh
I recently became counsel to a man
that you hate more than
anyone in this world.
What are you talking about?
Bumpy Johnson.
And he just might be the
key to your salvation.
♪
I want to thank you for seeing me
on such short notice,
Congressman Powell.
You know, Mayme,
I would do anything for you.
Glad to hear it, because
I have a big favor to ask.
If this has anything to do
with your husband's problem
with Robert Morgenthau,
my hands are tied.
I know that.
But there might be something
your friend can do.
My friend? What friend is that?
The president of the United States.
[LAUGHS]
Oh, that friend.
The president won't have anything to do
- with Bumpy Johnson.
- Of course.
I'm talking about what Bumpy
Johnson can do for him.
You and I both know LBJ's top priority
is to find those Freedom Riders.
What the hell does that
have to do with Bumpy?
He thinks he can do it.
He just needs to know
who the FBI thinks are
the chief suspects.
Oh, he thinks that he can do
what 100 FBI agents and Marines can't?
Well, they're bound by the law.
Bumpy doesn't necessarily
have that problem.
That's right. He's a criminal.
I shouldn't be having this conversation.
Bumpy wanted to help
before he was arrested,
but I dissuaded him.
I thought it was too dangerous.
But now, maybe you can help him.
I would do anything to help my husband.
You can understand that.
[SIGHS]
♪
I-I've always thought
that justice delayed is justice denied.
And those poor boys have been
missing for over four months.
Yeah, I-I seem to recall
receiving an FBI file
on the latest leads in the case.
I just don't know where I put it.
[DRAWER RATTLING]
I seem to have misplaced it.
L-Let me look.
[SIGHS]
- [DRAWER CLOSES]
- Not there.
You know, it's not there, either.
[SIGHS]
Well, perhaps you'll let me
know when you find it.
Of course I will.
♪
♪
♪
[SCOFFS]
♪
♪
♪
♪
"Klan members Cecil Parmenter
and Sam Crawford,
both local police officers,
were part of the crew
who murdered and hid the bodies
of the Freedom Riders."
♪
[ELISE] Hello, Daddy.
I just stopped by to have a word.
Do you have a few minutes?
Elise, I always have time for you.
So, what you got, little one?
I remember the day they
took you to Alcatraz.
I think I was 12.
I said goodbye like you
were going off to dinner,
maybe a weekend vacation.
Wasn't till a whole week later
that I realized you weren't coming back.
They ain't gon' get me this time.
I promise.
I just feel like maybe my
whole world's falling apart.
I'm worried about you.
I'm worried about Malcolm.
Why Malcolm?
He showed me this
speech he wants to give.
It's brilliant
but so provocative.
You expect anything less? [CHUCKLES]
He has so many enemies.
And I tried to convince him
not to give the speech,
but he won't listen.
He's stubborn.
Yeah, like someone else I know.
Well, maybe sometimes
you gotta let stubborn
men just do their thing.
You're gonna be all right.
Everything's gonna be all right.
Promise?
I promise you.
♪
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
♪
Hello?
[MAN] The brick was just a warning.
Who is this?
Next time, we're gonna
firebomb your house.
Who is this, coward?
State your name, coward!
You'd better shut up, or
we'll shut you up for good.
- [LINE CLICKS, DIAL TONE]
- Hello? Hello?!
[RECEIVER SLAMS]
[TELEPHONE THUDS]
♪
[PAPERS THUD]
[SIGHS]
- [WIND BLOWING]
- [FENCE CREAKING]
I been told you wanted to see me.
That's right.
I asked Chin for three men.
This is all he can spare.
Besides which, he has great
confidence in this man.
Take it or leave it.
You ever been down South?
No, sir.
Won't be easy getting
these Klansmen to talk.
I wouldn't worry about that.
Hmm.
First picture you'll see in
there is Sam Crawford,
Sheriff of Neshoba County
and a Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
The other is of Deputy Cecil Parmenter.
There's a plane ticket
that goes to Mississippi.
You arrive at 6:00 p.m. tonight.
The Feds believe that these men know
where those missing kids are buried.
I'll get it out of 'em.
I don't like the fuckin' Klan
any more than you do.
Oh, yeah?
I read an article in LIFE magazine.
Nazis, Klan all the same.
Just need someone to pick on
to feel good about themselves.
Show them no mercy, then.
What's mercy?
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
Mr. Gigante wanted me
to give you a message.
♪
What's this?
We found the rat.
♪
[MAN SINGING IN FOREIGN
LANGUAGE OVER RADIO]
That smells delicious.
- [OLYMPIA] My God, it's to die for.
- Mmm.
Ah, quit it!
Ooh, that's nice.
Makin' it for your father
so he doesn't have to eat
that shitty nuthouse food.
I ate that shitty nuthouse food
- for two months, thanks to him.
- Dear God, Stella,
when are you gonna stop, huh?
Don't you have any
feelings for your father?
He's facing life in prison.
[SIGHS]
What?
What's on your mind?
You know when I was
little, I worshipped him.
He was so smart and funny.
He'd listen to me.
He'd give me quarters out of
his pocket every now and then.
- You remember that?
- I certainly do.
I thought he could do no wrong.
Clearly, I was wrong about that,
but I never stopped feeling
that way about him.
He's my dad.
That's very sweet of you, Stella.
At the same time, I can't help
feeling like him in the nuthouse
is some kind of payback
for what he did to me.
Stella, your father is
not your enemy, okay?
He just wants what's best for you.
You gotta know that.
Yeah, I want what's best for him, too.
He'll find that out soon enough.
[DR. BECK] It says here
Dr. Cooper diagnosed you
with psychotic schizophrenia.
When did you first experience
symptoms, Mr. Gigante?
[LAUGHS]
I mean, just look over
there for a second.
Can you see that?
Mr. Gigante, I asked you a question.
Just
Holy shit. [LAUGHING]
Did this doctor prescribe
anything for your condition?
Just Just one second.
I'm answering the frickin'
the questions as much as I can.
- Mr. Gigante
- Just hang on one second,
because you're reading my thoughts,
and that's a little weird for me.
That's something that I
never been through before.
I It's okay. There's no
There's no problems here.
Did this doctor prescribe
anything for your condition?
Yes.
- And?
- Pills.
- What pills?
- Pills. Doop!
- What pills?
- Is it the "P"?
Is it the "P" in "pills"?
Pills. Doop.
That's weird.
Frills.
- Nothing.
- What pills?
I took what he called "acid,"
but not the kind of acid you
throw on somebody's face.
LSD?
I think so, yes.
Who gave you LSD?
Did Dr. Cooper give you LSD?
There's water.
Mr. Gigante, you
probably don't realize
- I think that you're
- LSD has many qualities in common
with sodium pentothal, a truth serum.
- How do you do that like that?
- [TEETH CLICKING]
Am I doing that now?
Do I do it as fast as you? Watch.
[TEETH CLICKING]
- That's fuckin' wild.
- Mr. Gigante, did you take LSD
to try to convince me
you are legally insane?
[SIGHS] Th
In this reality right here,
but the one over there
is different, okay?
That's different, 'cause there's a lamp.
Mr. Gigante, I asked you a question.
Did you take LSD to try to convince me
you are legally insane?
Yes. The answer to that is yes.
Thank you. I think we are done here.
That's amazing. You're so sweet.
You're such a sweet person.
♪
[BETTY SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
♪
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
[CLEARS THROAT]
Betty Shabazz, what are you doing?
It's
It's magnificent.
You read it?
Every word.
The call to unity.
The political power that
they try to steal from us.
The call to Black nationalism
I can't give this speech.
And why is that?
Broadcasting this speech
will only provoke more
violence against us.
I can't allow that for
your sake or the children.
Come here.
[SIGHS]
This is your path, Malcolm.
It would be wrong for you to deny it.
Hey.
The kids and I will be just fine.
♪
♪
[MATCH STRIKES]
[POWELL] LBJ gifted me
a box of these Cubans.
Let me know what you think of them.
I haven't smoked one yet. [BLOWS]
Not entirely sure I understand,
Congressman.
What exactly are you asking me to do?
Well, I'm not quite sure I understand
why you've wrapped Ellsworth Johnson
into this prosecution.
Well, because he's guilty
of drug trafficking.
Mm. Yes.
And that is against the law.
But the purpose of this investigation
was to loosen the hold of the
Italian mafia on this city.
Exactly.
Vincent Gigante was just deemed sane
by one of our certified doctors.
- [LIGHTER FLICKS]
- Gigante and Johnson are in partnership.
Both men are equally guilty.
- I have to follow the law.
- Of course you do.
[EXHALES SHARPLY] But,
inasmuch as the law on earth
is stamped in black and white,
the laws of heaven,
perhaps, are more fluid.
With all due respect, Congressman,
what the fuck are you talking about?
Bumpy Johnson, it seems, is
doing some very valuable work
for the federal government as we speak.
Let me be clear, Congressman.
If Ellsworth Johnson isn't prosecuted,
the case against Gigante
falls apart, too.
Well, I'm sure that Mr.
Gigante will give you
plenty of opportunities to
arrest him in the future.
Yeah, and, um
I'm a little deaf in my right ear here.
I'm not sure I I heard you correctly.
Are you saying that
you draw a distinction
between Black and white criminals?
No, just a distinction between
good and bad people.
Well, I'm not entirely interested
in judging someone's
character, Congressman.
More care about whether or
not they've broken the law.
And I am sworn to uphold the law.
All I am saying is that sometimes
there are criminals
who do good deeds.
You're protecting Ellsworth Johnson.
W-What exactly is he doing
that is so important?
I don't know. Maybe nothing.
It's a gray area.
That's all.
- [CROW CAWS]
- [COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYS NEARBY]
[PARMENTER] Are you drunk?
I ain't drunk. You're drunk.
Get a move on. The meetin'
starts in 15 minutes.
♪
[THUD]
Change of plans, fellas.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
[BLUES ROCK MUSIC PLAYING OVER RADIO]
♪
You heard that Chin Gigante
and myself were arrested?
Absolument, oui.
Which is why we're
leaving town tomorrow.
If they came after you,
it's most likely that we
were compromised, no?
How do I know you're not skipping town
'cause you cut a deal with the Feds?
You must be out of your mind.
[JEHAN] No, no, no, no,
no. He has every right
to ask us these questions.
The Sicilian will track us
down and cut us to pieces.
We're not suicidal, Bumpy,
and I'm surprised you can't guess
- who is behind this.
- Who's that?
Why, Bonanno, of course.
He hasn't forgotten that little show
you put on for him at your club.
Bonanno wouldn't snitch.
Against his own, maybe.
But which rule or code prevents him
from telling the FBI about you?
We did not betray you.
Not "we."
You.
[LAUGHS] You're insane.
I've known this man for years.
We fought in Algeria together.
- He would never betray us.
- He gave you up pretty quick
when I cut his face.
Maybe that's the reason.
You want to get back at me for that?
If I thought he was doing
that, I'd kill him myself.
I have it on good information
that your man here
is cooperating with Robert Morgenthau.
That's a lie.
Well, what proof do you have?
You can't accuse a man without proof.
According to my lawyer,
Morgenthau's informant
cut a deal with the Feds
and with INTERPOL
so that he could get immunity
here and in Marseilles.
You said you'd kill him yourself, right?
Hold on.
♪
[MORGENTHAU] Ellsworth
Johnson's behavior is immoral.
If we're being religious now,
morality is the key to
mishpat, or Jewish law.
Jesus was a rabbi, so I've
made a study of your religion.
And in Judaism,
morality relates to man's
inner consciousness,
not only his deeds.
Mm.
Unless he is importing heroin.
Congressman, let me ask you.
Have you ever stopped to consider
that the man who you're protecting
is destroying this city?
[BUMPY] Go on.
Pick it up.
Pick it up.
Pick it up, or Chance is gonna
put a bullet in your fuckin' head.
Pick it up!
[SIGHS] I'm sorry.
I never thought that you'd betray me.
Forgive me.
♪
- [DRY CLICK]
- [GUNSHOT]
♪
♪
Your boss was a rat.
And don't worry. The gun wasn't loaded.
Just wanted you to see
what kind of man he is.
What is this?
He was willing to kill
you to cover himself.
He's got warrants in
two different countries.
That's why he cut a deal,
the little piece of shit.
♪
What do you want?
I want you to come work for me.
[MALCOLM] 1964 threatens to be
the most explosive year
America has ever witnessed.
Why?
Well, because it's
also a political year.
This is the year when all
of the white politicians
will be back in the so-called
Negro community
jiving you and me for some votes.
Now, you never see 'em
until election time.
You can't find 'em until election time,
but this is the year when all
of the white political crooks
will be right back in
the Negro community
building up our hopes for a letdown
with their trickery and treachery
and their false promises which
they don't intend to keep.
Now, as they nourish
these dissatisfactions,
it can only lead to one
thing an explosion.
[CRAWFORD] What the fuck do you want?
[ERNIE] All's you gotta do is tell me
where the Freedom Rider
boys are, dead or alive.
You just don't know who
you're messing with, boy.
[SCOFFS] Yeah, I do.
A couple of fuckin' hillbillies
dressed in bedsheets.
[PARMENTER] You're a dead man.
Sieg Heil, motherfuckers.
[MALCOLM] I'm no politician.
I'm not a Democrat nor a
Republican nor an American,
and I got sense enough to know it.
I'm one of the 22 million Black
victims of the Democrats,
one of the 22 million Black
victims of the Republicans,
and one of the 22 million
Black victims of Americanism.
And when I speak, I don't speak
as a Democrat or a Republican.
I speak as a victim of America's
so-called democracy.
Why, you and I, we've
never seen any democracy.
All we've seen is hypocrisy.
We don't see any American dream.
We experience only the
American nightmare.
[ERNIE] Bet this is
what a Negro feels like
when you got 'em all tied up, huh?
[GRUNTING]
If I had a ladder, I'd
have lynched you both,
but this'll have to do.
- Where are they?
- We don't know nothin'
about no fuckin' Jewboys
or niggers from New York.
[MALCOLM] It's time for us
to submerge our differences
and realize that we all
have the same problem
a problem that'll make you catch hell
whether you're a Baptist or a Methodist
or a Muslim or a Nationalist.
We all in the same bag,
we all in the same boat,
and we all gon' catch the same
hell from the same man.
That man just happens to be an
old blue-eyed, blond-haired,
bad-smelling white man.
And when he get ready
to wring your neck,
why, he's not going to stop to inquire
about your religious beliefs.
No, he's gon' hang you
'cause you're black.
Now, in speaking like this,
it doesn't mean that we are anti-white.
No.
But it does mean that
we are anti-oppression,
anti-degradation, and anti-exploitation.
Now, you're startin'
to get me pissed off.
I'm gonna ask you again.
Where the fuck are they?
- I don't know.
- All right.
You take your time, boys.
I got all fuckin' night.
[LIGHTER CLICKS]
[MALCOLM] So, if the white man
doesn't want us to be anti-him,
then let him stop socially degrading us,
politically oppressing us,
economically exploiting us.
Every time there's an election,
the races are so close that
they have to have a recount.
They had to recount over in
Massachusetts, it was so close.
Same thing with Kennedy and Nixon
when they ran for president.
What does this mean? Well,
it means that every time
these old, white politicians
are evenly divided
and Black people have a
bloc of votes to their own,
it's left up to you and me to decide
who's going to sit in the White House
and who's going to be in the doghouse.
The time is long overdue for you and me
to become more politically mature
and realize exactly what
the ballot is for
what we're supposed to get
when we cast a ballot
and that if we don't cast a ballot,
it's going to end up in a situation
where we going to have to cast a bullet.
♪
[ERNIE] Last chance. Where are they?
Fuck you.
♪
Oh, shit! No! Aah!
[SCREAMING]
[MALCOLM] There's a
new type of Black man
on the scene in America today
one who doesn't intend
to just sit around
and turn the other cheek.
It'll be a ballot, or it'll be a bullet.
It'll be ballots, or it'll be bullets.
It'll be liberty, or it'll be death.
The only difference with
this kind of death
is that it'll be reciprocal.
Now, if you never hear from me again,
if you never see my face
another time in your life,
if I happen to die in the morning,
why, you better believe
I'll die saying one thing
the ballot or the bullet.
- [WAILING]
- The ballot or the bullet.
Where are the Freedom Riders?
No!
Aah! No!
[SCREAMING]
[REPORTER] Ending four
months of speculation,
the bodies of James Chaney,
Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner
were found underneath an earthen dam
on Burges Farm in Neshoba
County, Mississippi.
The activists were found
after an informant
discussed in FBI reports
only as "Mr. X"
passed along a tip to
federal authorities.
- The focus shift
- I was hoping they would find them alive.
when their burned-out
station wagon
We all were, honey.
Thank God for Mr. X.
Mr. X did a good job, right?
I'm gonna get ready for school.
In the process, the
remains of eight other
[SIGHS]
So?
The Feds just dropped the
case against you and Chin?
For now.
The witness disappeared on 'em
from what I understand.
But I don't think we can rest easy.
There might be more than one of them.
garner sympathy for
the Civil Rights Movement.
Listen, my case has fallen
apart for the time being.
As soon as I can, I'm gonna re-file.
But next time, you're
gonna need to testify.
I already told you everything I know.
Don't you ever call me again.
- [SIGHS]
- [DOOR OPENS]
[OLYMPIA] We're home!
[CHIN] Stella!
[DOOR CLOSES]
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
[BUMPY] You know,
there's enough work here
to keep these men busy for years.
It's good for the both of us, huh?
[CHIN] Look at this.
Shipped directly to our doorstep.
Ellsworth Johnson is a lot more
influential than I thought.
Your father's convinced Bonanno
ordered the hit on Benny.
No! No!
He wants me to find out whichever
soldier did it and take him out.
We're family, right?
He may be the perfect patsy,
but, what, am I supposed to
pop someone out of the blue?
Yeah.
[CHOKING]
You know I can't end
the filibuster, Adam.
It's impossible.
There's a limit to what
I can do as president.
- That motherfucking Senator McClellan.
- Oh. Mercy, mercy me.
- I need you to persuade.
- You want me to play dirty?
- [MAYME] You want a honey trap.
- [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]
Isn't that a little bit hypocritical?
Yes.
Well, you got me by the
short and curlies, huh?
I am getting that bill passed
without stooping to blackmail.
What's going on?
I believe Brother Charles
has it in his mind to kill you.
Give that to Hoover.
Let him know how good a job
you're doing protecting me.
What'd you say, nigger?
This thing could fuck
up our arrangement.
You get your guy to leave
town. I-I'll handle my men.
- He ain't leavin'.
- What?
He said ain't no way the guineas
were gonna run him out of Harlem.
- [SCREAMING]
- Come on!
Send 'em over. Send them over!
- Chance!
- No!
[BUMPY] No, Chance, no!
Aah!
[GUNSHOT ECHOES]
♪
[POWELL] Where are they?
[CONGREGATION MURMURS]
It's been 15 weeks since we've heard
from these three brave young men,
these Freedom Riders
who came to Mississippi
and disappeared after being
arrested by the police.
They rode in buses from all over
Black, white, Jew, Christian
[CONGREGATION MURMURING]
to register Black voters
and show America
that we can attain equality
if we do it together.
- [MURMURING, SHOUTING]
- Amen!
- Amen!
- Amen!
They faced harassment and danger,
and some, it seems,
paid the ultimate price
- at the hands of the Klan.
- [WOMAN] Mm-hmm!
Although nobody would have
ever heard about this tragedy
if it were just three
Black men went missing.
- Amen!
- But because two white boys were involved,
the nation stood up
and has taken notice.
- Even the FBI.
- Amen!
[MURMURING]
That's all right. That's
all right. We'll take it
if it wakes this nation
from its slumber.
[CONGREGATION MURMURS]
Let us pray.
Lord, cover these boys
in the pure, white light of the Christ.
Through your eternal
love and compassion,
travel them home safely
to their families.
Amen and amen.
And as a parent of one of the
three boys who are missing,
I am making this plea to
all parents everywhere,
particularly to the
parents of Mississippi.
I want to beg them to cooperate
in every way possible
in the search for these three boys.
Two of those boys are
from New York City.
My wife helped organize
and pay for the buses
that sent them down there.
That was a suicide mission
if I ever saw one.
Those kids should have been
armed with machine guns,
not pamphlets.
One thing's for sure
they're not alive.
Bodies ain't lost either.
The Klan know exactly where they are,
but the Sheriff's Department
is the Klan, so no one talks.
Certainly not to the FBI.
I could make 'em talk.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Yeah, that you could.
But your methods wouldn't
be admissible in court.
Fuck court.
What we need is more
of that street justice.
Amen to that.
[REPORTER] east on Highway
19 about 10:30 Sunday night.
Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney
were pulled over for speeding
by Deputy Sheriff Cecil Parmenter,
reputed to be a Klan member.
Nothing scares white people
more than Black people voting.
Look at you.
You remember what I said
about the Black gangster
gaining political consciousness
and then white America
will fall to its knees?
Indeed, I do.
The FBI, local and state
authorities, and
Maybe you're getting political.
searching the area for weeks.
♪
Goddamn it ♪
[KLANSMEN CHANTING] America first!
- Love your race!
- Made me wanna grab my fully automatic ♪
Pull up, let 'em have it ♪
They won't be happy ♪
Till they see me hanging
from the bridges ♪
I'm pushin' product, that's a
product of my circumstance ♪
They wanna take me out the
game, I might take a chance ♪
They violatin' me ♪
Now violence, that's the only answer ♪
I might just catch a KKK ♪
Take the crack for race ♪
We want justice, damn it! ♪
America first!
- Love your race!
- Goddamn it ♪
- America first! Love your race!
- Goddamn it ♪
[CHANTING CONTINUES] America first!
- Love your race!
- Goddamn it ♪
- America first!
- We want justice, damn it ♪
- Love your race!
- God damn it, yeah ♪
- God damn it, yeah ♪
- God damn it, yeah ♪
We want justice, damn it ♪
♪
Yeah ♪
Change ♪
Yeah ♪
Open up my window again ♪
Open up my window again ♪
I can hear death callin' my name ♪
I can hear death callin' again ♪
I swear to God,
things ain't gon' change ♪
I swear to God,
things ain't gon' change ♪
I keep a revolver with your name ♪
I keep a revolver with your name ♪
Just in case ♪
[RAPPING] Lay on my back
watchin' the ceilin' fan ♪
I had a dream to touch a kilo gram ♪
Still at odds with the Irish mob ♪
Rolls-Royce down Malcolm X Boulevard ♪
Lord, these really out here ♪
Preyin' on me ♪
Got the .40 on me and his hand on me ♪
Snow-white mink like
I'm Dutch Schultz ♪
Run the books and let me
show you how the numbers look ♪
You can't be Lucky like you Luciano ♪
The kilos slammin'
like they new pianos ♪
And Fat Boy got the big body ♪
Coast-to-coast,
I could shoot product ♪
Open up my window again ♪
Open up my window again ♪
I can hear death callin' my name ♪
I can hear death callin' again ♪
I swear to God,
things ain't gon' change ♪
I swear to God,
things ain't gon' change ♪
I keep a revolver with your name ♪
I keep a revolver with your name ♪
Just in case ♪
[SIREN WAILS IN DISTANCE]
Huh? You see what I'm doing there?
Like, I'm drawing the tic-tac-toe
thing over and over again.
You know what I mean?
And then I'm playing the game
over and over again. You get that?
I don't like that one. That's no.
- No?
- No.
You know the guy stands on the
corner of Houston and Lafayette?
- Yeah.
- Been there forever.
Looks like he's gonna cross the street.
He never goes anywhere.
He just stands there.
Pbbbbbht. Pbhhhht.
- Very good.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
So, it's like
Pbhhht. Pbht.
- Okay, let me
- That That's good.
- Let me just say something.
- Would you stop?
- Not with the fucking
- This robe smells like piss.
- I don't understand.
- And I need to get you a clean one,
- please.
- Would you stop with the
Just stop with the robe, all right?
Look, I could spend the
rest of my life in jail.
I'm about to get arrested.
For what? Since when are
you getting arrested?
Since birth! That's since when.
I got this under control.
I can handle it.
Just calm down. Where are my slippers?
Go scratch your ass with
these frickin' slippers.
You leave them all over the
goddamn house. Come on.
I had my hands out. You could
have handed them to me.
Where's our fucking Jew lawyer, anyway?
- I don't know where
- Where is he?
Where is he? Listen.
I pay that guy to be on a fucking leash.
- That's a long fucking leash.
- Those fucking Jews.
- Those fuckin' Jews.
- [POUNDING ON DOOR]
[MAN] Open up! FBI!
- [POUNDING CONTINUES]
- Pbhhhhht.
Don't you see that my
husband is a sick man?
Have some respect in front of his wife!
Vincent Gigante, I have a
warrant out for your arrest.
- Pbhhht.
- What the hell's
- Get him in the car.
- He didn't do anything!
[VEHICLE APPROACHES, TIRES SCREECH]
Pbhhht.
Hold on, Officers. Release
that man. Release him.
I'm Mr. Gigante's lawyer, Jonah Fineman.
This is a writ from Judge Sawyer.
My client is non compos mentis
and is to be remanded
to Stony Hill Sanitarium
for an immediate psychiatric evaluation.
Can't you see this man is
sick? Put your hand down.
Pbhhhht.
He didn't do anything, okay?
Judge Sawyer, huh?
Good move, Fineman. [CLEARS THROAT]
- All right, let him go.
- Yeah, "let him go" is right.
Come here, come here. Come here.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
You come to my house like this?
Ashamed!
Game's not over, Mr. Gigante.
Don't get too comfy in those slippers.
Nice fuckin' suit and
shoes, too, you prick.
- [CHIN BLOWS RASPBERRY]
- [MELLOW JAZZ PLAYS OVER RADIO]
[MAYME] It's too dangerous.
I'll send Chance, Pettigrew,
and Junie Byrd.
No, there's too many FBI down there.
It's best you stay away.
The FBI can't do shit.
Nor can LBJ's Marines.
- It's been over three months.
- Any Black man from out of town
who steps foot in Mississippi
will get lynched.
- You know that.
- Maybe I need a white guy.
Powell says it is LBJ's
number-one priority.
It is the government's
problem now, not yours.
I need you to go to Powell's office
and just ask him for a favor, all right?
[DOORBELL RINGS]
That's probably Elise.
She took Margaret to the park.
Okay, I got it.
Thank you.
Ellsworth Johnson, we have a
warrant out for your arrest.
- On what grounds?
- Trafficking 500 kilos of heroin
from Marseilles to New York City.
Cuff him.
What is happening? What's going on here?
- Call Duncan. Arrange bail.
- [HANDCUFFS CLICK]
And don't worry. I'll be fine.
On the contrary.
You should be very worried.
♪
Oh, Ellsworth.
♪
♪
[PEN THUDS]
[PAPER RUSTLES]
♪
- [GLASS SHATTERS]
- [BETTY SCREAMS]
- Betty!
- [BETTY] Malcolm!
- Are you okay?
- [BREATHING SHAKILY] Oh, God.
- Are you hurt?
- I'm fine.
Are you cut?
This is the third time.
Did you see anyone?
Who was it?
Oh, thank God the children aren't here.
They're trying to intimidate me.
They're trying to keep me quiet.
And you won't let them, will you?
I can't.
I can't back down now.
Those Freedom Riders risked their lives
just to get people to vote.
I cannot be expected
to do anything less.
Nor should you.
God, I'm just scared, is all.
Malcolm.
[SNIFFLES]
- Betty.
- [INHALES DEEPLY]
If you asked me to stop
to just be a minister,
to lead a calm, quiet life somewhere
without struggling for our freedoms,
our rights, and our equalities,
Betty, I'd do it.
I'd do it.
I'm not telling you that.
You're fighting for us.
For our children.
For the future of our people.
If anything, I want you
to fight twice as hard.
We'll get through this, Malcolm.
♪
[BREATHING SHAKILY]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[MAN] Leave me alone.
- That's mine.
- We'll put Polly right here for you.
[WOMAN ON PA] Dr. Cooper
to Room 214, please.
- Dr. Cooper to Room 214.
- I-I don't want any of those.
[MAN #2] That's check, not checkmate.
[CHIN] Could you
Could you stop it?
- Cut it out.
- Mr. Gigante, you have a visitor.
Doctor, can you get this fucking guy
to stop banging his head
against the fucking wall?
All fucking day. Come on.
If I could, he wouldn't be here.
Well, maybe you could,
you know, slice off his balls,
shove them up his ass.
You're a doctor, right?
You know, gently, and then
fssht up the wazoo.
Doctor. Doctor!
Doc!
How you holding up?
Fucking miserable.
How long I gotta be
in this fucking place?
This place is keeping you out of jail.
Unfortunately, Judge Sawyer's just
been transferred out of state,
and his writ of non compos
mentis has been invalidated.
They can do that?
Morgenthau. He's playing dirty.
He also selected a new doctor
to determine your sanity.
[SCOFFS SOFTLY]
You think they can make this stick?
I think so.
Our discovery shows
they have a deposition
from a confidential informant.
- Who?
- We won't know that
until they take the stand unless
you can find out somehow.
Let me check.
I got a couple of Feds in my pocket.
This is bad, huh?
Look, if there's some
reason you can't, uh
I've been informed Morgenthau
might be willing to make a deal.
I'm not gonna rat anybody out.
What, are you fuckin' kidding me?
Come on, you let me do what I do,
- and you just hold them off.
- Fine.
Meanwhile, you do everything
you can to stay here.
Try to convince this new doctor
that you're nuts, all right?
That shouldn't be too difficult.
All I gotta do is bang my
head against the wall
like this fuckin'
sempliciotto over here.
Look at him. Hey, a
little faster. Come on.
♪
♪
[MORGENTHAU] Thank you.
[SIGHS]
Sorry I arrested you
in front of your wife.
No, you're not. You did it on purpose.
[CHUCKLES]
You have much to lose,
which is why I am hoping
you'll listen to reason.
I don't snitch.
You and Chin Gigante are guilty
of importing hundreds
of kilos of heroin.
We're talking decades in jail.
I haven't seen any evidence yet.
Got any witnesses?
Who? Jehan?
Monsieur 98?
I know it ain't the Italians, so, uh
Obviously, that information
is confidential,
but I can assure you that
we have multiple informants.
Mm-hmm.
I have a good case, Johnson.
I urge you not to be a
martyr for a lost cause.
- What cause is that?
- This Omertà bullshit.
Stop protecting the mob.
Work with me.
The only cause that I'm interested in
is my family and their safety.
Though
I understand you donated
money for the buses
that took the civil rights
activists down to Mississippi.
What's that got to do with anything?
Schwerner and Goodman are Jews, as am I.
In Jewish law,
if two men are thirsty
and only one has water,
it's allowable for the man with water
to drink at the expense of the other.
[LAUGHS]
I appreciate you citing Jewish law
to get me to snitch.
Blacks and Jews share a
common history of oppression.
We're survivors.
Mm.
I'm offering you a lifeline, Ellsworth.
You offering Chin a lifeline, too?
Not yet.
Hmm.
But I will do whatever it takes
to see that justice is served.
For Blacks and Jews,
justice is a dish always served cold.
Hmm.
Jewish law also says
that life is precious
before the eyes of God
and before the eyes of your children.
Don't let yours have to see you
waste your precious life behind bars.
[SCOFFS LIGHTLY]
[CELL DOOR CLANKS, CLOSES]
That little fuck.
[LOCK CLICKS]
[BUMPY'S VOICE]
Six feet of chambered stone
the nation gives us for a home.
Ten feet from top to floor,
a barred-in gate serves as door.
The weak will perish where they start.
The strong will play a greater part,
and they leave behind
them when they pass
- a monument in Alcatraz.
- [DOOR CLOSES]
[GUARD] Stop right there.
♪
There is nothing in there.
- Give me that. Give me! Give me!
- No. Please.
♪
No!
Ellsworth! Oh, God.
[THUDDING]
You get off of him!
[SCUFFLING, THUDDING]
[GRUNTING]
[BUMPY'S VOICE]
A special jail for special men
that someone hopes won't rise again.
Yet be man low or be he great,
no one controls a strong man's fate.
[MELLOW CROONER MUSIC
PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
♪
Well?
This is the most powerful
speech you've ever written.
Well, it's not quite finished yet,
but it puts the white man on notice.
And calls up civil rights leaders
and people of all faiths
from all over the world to take action.
[CHUCKLES]
Now you'll have enemies on
all four corners of the Earth.
Well, the way I see it,
"freedom" shouldn't be
a word in our vocabulary
if we aren't willing to die for it.
Like those Freedom Riders?
Those kids were on a bus ride to hell.
My speech is a bus ride
into the hearts of the Black community.
Without Black nationalism,
we will never take charge
of our political future.
[SIGHS]
What's bothering you?
This speech could get you killed,
especially if you broadcast
it on the radio.
I've dealt with threats before.
I hear the way people
talk at the mosque.
I have seen the FBI following you around
like a dog chasing a bone.
When I look into the
eyes of my children,
there isn't anything
I wouldn't do to give them
the kind of justice
that's been denied us.
I feel the same way
when I look at Margaret.
Then you understand my purpose.
♪
[SIRENS WAILING]
- Hey.
- Thank goodness you made bail.
Daddy, I was so worried about you.
[SIGHS]
Don't worry. I'm okay, little one.
Your daddy's home now.
Everything is going to
be fine. [SNIFFLES]
Will you have to go back to jail?
No.
Margaret, why don't you
go finish your homework?
We'll all sit down to dinner
later and talk then, okay?
Okay.
I love you, Daddy.
Love you, too.
Honey, don't worry.
I ain't ever going back to jail.
- Okay?
- Okay.
- Yeah.
- Ain't never going back to jail.
[LAUGHS] Okay.
- [QUIETLY] What if you do go?
- [DOOR CLOSES]
That little girl is going
to be devastated.
I will handle this, all right?
It's that goddamn drug business.
That's what gets you sent to
jail, not the other things.
The government wants to
make me their puppet.
Tie strings to my limbs
and make me dance.
I won't do it.
That's not freedom.
That's That's enslavement.
I waited 11 years for you
while you were in Alcatraz.
Bumpy.
I'm not sure I can do it again.
You won't have to.
- [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
- I promise.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
Who is that?
- That is my new lawyer.
- [PAPER TEARS]
[PEN CLACKS]
I, um I must admit,
I was surprised to get your call.
You're Chin Gigante's lawyer.
I want to make you mine.
Representing you might create
an acute conflict of interest.
Morgenthau already tried
to get me to snitch.
No doubt he'll try with Chin.
We both need to nip that in the bud.
Our interests are the same.
With all due respect,
Mr. Gigante hates your guts.
Almost as much as I hate his.
But there's something we can do
for each other of mutual benefit.
I'm listening.
I'm not talking yet.
Not until that attorney-client
privilege kicks in.
I'm very expensive.
I can afford it.
And I don't want to know
about anything illegal.
[LAUGHING]
You're joking, right?
I have to say that.
Oh, man.
Here's a $5,000 retainer.
That good enough for you?
Bumpy Johnson, I am very
happy to represent you.
Mm.
So, what do you have in mind?
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Mr. Gigante. How you doing?
What the fuck you think?
Right.
[SIGHS]
Your appointment with
the government shrink,
uh, Dr. Susan Beck, is in about an hour.
You need to convince her
that you belong here.
Yeah, I got that under control.
I forced that fucking finocchio doctor
to give me some crazy pills.
Good idea.
[SIGHS]
My mother was in a place like this.
She was never the same
after the shock treatments.
What, is that supposed to cheer me up?
Did you reach out to
my federal contacts?
I did. They confirmed
there's an informant,
one with immunity from both
the Feds and INTERPOL.
INTERPOL?
Well, then, it's gotta be
one of them frogs, no?
What are we gonna do?
[CHUCKLES]
Uh
something interesting came up.
I, uh
I recently became counsel to a man
that you hate more than
anyone in this world.
What are you talking about?
Bumpy Johnson.
And he just might be the
key to your salvation.
♪
I want to thank you for seeing me
on such short notice,
Congressman Powell.
You know, Mayme,
I would do anything for you.
Glad to hear it, because
I have a big favor to ask.
If this has anything to do
with your husband's problem
with Robert Morgenthau,
my hands are tied.
I know that.
But there might be something
your friend can do.
My friend? What friend is that?
The president of the United States.
[LAUGHS]
Oh, that friend.
The president won't have anything to do
- with Bumpy Johnson.
- Of course.
I'm talking about what Bumpy
Johnson can do for him.
You and I both know LBJ's top priority
is to find those Freedom Riders.
What the hell does that
have to do with Bumpy?
He thinks he can do it.
He just needs to know
who the FBI thinks are
the chief suspects.
Oh, he thinks that he can do
what 100 FBI agents and Marines can't?
Well, they're bound by the law.
Bumpy doesn't necessarily
have that problem.
That's right. He's a criminal.
I shouldn't be having this conversation.
Bumpy wanted to help
before he was arrested,
but I dissuaded him.
I thought it was too dangerous.
But now, maybe you can help him.
I would do anything to help my husband.
You can understand that.
[SIGHS]
♪
I-I've always thought
that justice delayed is justice denied.
And those poor boys have been
missing for over four months.
Yeah, I-I seem to recall
receiving an FBI file
on the latest leads in the case.
I just don't know where I put it.
[DRAWER RATTLING]
I seem to have misplaced it.
L-Let me look.
[SIGHS]
- [DRAWER CLOSES]
- Not there.
You know, it's not there, either.
[SIGHS]
Well, perhaps you'll let me
know when you find it.
Of course I will.
♪
♪
♪
[SCOFFS]
♪
♪
♪
♪
"Klan members Cecil Parmenter
and Sam Crawford,
both local police officers,
were part of the crew
who murdered and hid the bodies
of the Freedom Riders."
♪
[ELISE] Hello, Daddy.
I just stopped by to have a word.
Do you have a few minutes?
Elise, I always have time for you.
So, what you got, little one?
I remember the day they
took you to Alcatraz.
I think I was 12.
I said goodbye like you
were going off to dinner,
maybe a weekend vacation.
Wasn't till a whole week later
that I realized you weren't coming back.
They ain't gon' get me this time.
I promise.
I just feel like maybe my
whole world's falling apart.
I'm worried about you.
I'm worried about Malcolm.
Why Malcolm?
He showed me this
speech he wants to give.
It's brilliant
but so provocative.
You expect anything less? [CHUCKLES]
He has so many enemies.
And I tried to convince him
not to give the speech,
but he won't listen.
He's stubborn.
Yeah, like someone else I know.
Well, maybe sometimes
you gotta let stubborn
men just do their thing.
You're gonna be all right.
Everything's gonna be all right.
Promise?
I promise you.
♪
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
♪
Hello?
[MAN] The brick was just a warning.
Who is this?
Next time, we're gonna
firebomb your house.
Who is this, coward?
State your name, coward!
You'd better shut up, or
we'll shut you up for good.
- [LINE CLICKS, DIAL TONE]
- Hello? Hello?!
[RECEIVER SLAMS]
[TELEPHONE THUDS]
♪
[PAPERS THUD]
[SIGHS]
- [WIND BLOWING]
- [FENCE CREAKING]
I been told you wanted to see me.
That's right.
I asked Chin for three men.
This is all he can spare.
Besides which, he has great
confidence in this man.
Take it or leave it.
You ever been down South?
No, sir.
Won't be easy getting
these Klansmen to talk.
I wouldn't worry about that.
Hmm.
First picture you'll see in
there is Sam Crawford,
Sheriff of Neshoba County
and a Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
The other is of Deputy Cecil Parmenter.
There's a plane ticket
that goes to Mississippi.
You arrive at 6:00 p.m. tonight.
The Feds believe that these men know
where those missing kids are buried.
I'll get it out of 'em.
I don't like the fuckin' Klan
any more than you do.
Oh, yeah?
I read an article in LIFE magazine.
Nazis, Klan all the same.
Just need someone to pick on
to feel good about themselves.
Show them no mercy, then.
What's mercy?
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
Mr. Gigante wanted me
to give you a message.
♪
What's this?
We found the rat.
♪
[MAN SINGING IN FOREIGN
LANGUAGE OVER RADIO]
That smells delicious.
- [OLYMPIA] My God, it's to die for.
- Mmm.
Ah, quit it!
Ooh, that's nice.
Makin' it for your father
so he doesn't have to eat
that shitty nuthouse food.
I ate that shitty nuthouse food
- for two months, thanks to him.
- Dear God, Stella,
when are you gonna stop, huh?
Don't you have any
feelings for your father?
He's facing life in prison.
[SIGHS]
What?
What's on your mind?
You know when I was
little, I worshipped him.
He was so smart and funny.
He'd listen to me.
He'd give me quarters out of
his pocket every now and then.
- You remember that?
- I certainly do.
I thought he could do no wrong.
Clearly, I was wrong about that,
but I never stopped feeling
that way about him.
He's my dad.
That's very sweet of you, Stella.
At the same time, I can't help
feeling like him in the nuthouse
is some kind of payback
for what he did to me.
Stella, your father is
not your enemy, okay?
He just wants what's best for you.
You gotta know that.
Yeah, I want what's best for him, too.
He'll find that out soon enough.
[DR. BECK] It says here
Dr. Cooper diagnosed you
with psychotic schizophrenia.
When did you first experience
symptoms, Mr. Gigante?
[LAUGHS]
I mean, just look over
there for a second.
Can you see that?
Mr. Gigante, I asked you a question.
Just
Holy shit. [LAUGHING]
Did this doctor prescribe
anything for your condition?
Just Just one second.
I'm answering the frickin'
the questions as much as I can.
- Mr. Gigante
- Just hang on one second,
because you're reading my thoughts,
and that's a little weird for me.
That's something that I
never been through before.
I It's okay. There's no
There's no problems here.
Did this doctor prescribe
anything for your condition?
Yes.
- And?
- Pills.
- What pills?
- Pills. Doop!
- What pills?
- Is it the "P"?
Is it the "P" in "pills"?
Pills. Doop.
That's weird.
Frills.
- Nothing.
- What pills?
I took what he called "acid,"
but not the kind of acid you
throw on somebody's face.
LSD?
I think so, yes.
Who gave you LSD?
Did Dr. Cooper give you LSD?
There's water.
Mr. Gigante, you
probably don't realize
- I think that you're
- LSD has many qualities in common
with sodium pentothal, a truth serum.
- How do you do that like that?
- [TEETH CLICKING]
Am I doing that now?
Do I do it as fast as you? Watch.
[TEETH CLICKING]
- That's fuckin' wild.
- Mr. Gigante, did you take LSD
to try to convince me
you are legally insane?
[SIGHS] Th
In this reality right here,
but the one over there
is different, okay?
That's different, 'cause there's a lamp.
Mr. Gigante, I asked you a question.
Did you take LSD to try to convince me
you are legally insane?
Yes. The answer to that is yes.
Thank you. I think we are done here.
That's amazing. You're so sweet.
You're such a sweet person.
♪
[BETTY SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
♪
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
[CLEARS THROAT]
Betty Shabazz, what are you doing?
It's
It's magnificent.
You read it?
Every word.
The call to unity.
The political power that
they try to steal from us.
The call to Black nationalism
I can't give this speech.
And why is that?
Broadcasting this speech
will only provoke more
violence against us.
I can't allow that for
your sake or the children.
Come here.
[SIGHS]
This is your path, Malcolm.
It would be wrong for you to deny it.
Hey.
The kids and I will be just fine.
♪
♪
[MATCH STRIKES]
[POWELL] LBJ gifted me
a box of these Cubans.
Let me know what you think of them.
I haven't smoked one yet. [BLOWS]
Not entirely sure I understand,
Congressman.
What exactly are you asking me to do?
Well, I'm not quite sure I understand
why you've wrapped Ellsworth Johnson
into this prosecution.
Well, because he's guilty
of drug trafficking.
Mm. Yes.
And that is against the law.
But the purpose of this investigation
was to loosen the hold of the
Italian mafia on this city.
Exactly.
Vincent Gigante was just deemed sane
by one of our certified doctors.
- [LIGHTER FLICKS]
- Gigante and Johnson are in partnership.
Both men are equally guilty.
- I have to follow the law.
- Of course you do.
[EXHALES SHARPLY] But,
inasmuch as the law on earth
is stamped in black and white,
the laws of heaven,
perhaps, are more fluid.
With all due respect, Congressman,
what the fuck are you talking about?
Bumpy Johnson, it seems, is
doing some very valuable work
for the federal government as we speak.
Let me be clear, Congressman.
If Ellsworth Johnson isn't prosecuted,
the case against Gigante
falls apart, too.
Well, I'm sure that Mr.
Gigante will give you
plenty of opportunities to
arrest him in the future.
Yeah, and, um
I'm a little deaf in my right ear here.
I'm not sure I I heard you correctly.
Are you saying that
you draw a distinction
between Black and white criminals?
No, just a distinction between
good and bad people.
Well, I'm not entirely interested
in judging someone's
character, Congressman.
More care about whether or
not they've broken the law.
And I am sworn to uphold the law.
All I am saying is that sometimes
there are criminals
who do good deeds.
You're protecting Ellsworth Johnson.
W-What exactly is he doing
that is so important?
I don't know. Maybe nothing.
It's a gray area.
That's all.
- [CROW CAWS]
- [COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYS NEARBY]
[PARMENTER] Are you drunk?
I ain't drunk. You're drunk.
Get a move on. The meetin'
starts in 15 minutes.
♪
[THUD]
Change of plans, fellas.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
[BLUES ROCK MUSIC PLAYING OVER RADIO]
♪
You heard that Chin Gigante
and myself were arrested?
Absolument, oui.
Which is why we're
leaving town tomorrow.
If they came after you,
it's most likely that we
were compromised, no?
How do I know you're not skipping town
'cause you cut a deal with the Feds?
You must be out of your mind.
[JEHAN] No, no, no, no,
no. He has every right
to ask us these questions.
The Sicilian will track us
down and cut us to pieces.
We're not suicidal, Bumpy,
and I'm surprised you can't guess
- who is behind this.
- Who's that?
Why, Bonanno, of course.
He hasn't forgotten that little show
you put on for him at your club.
Bonanno wouldn't snitch.
Against his own, maybe.
But which rule or code prevents him
from telling the FBI about you?
We did not betray you.
Not "we."
You.
[LAUGHS] You're insane.
I've known this man for years.
We fought in Algeria together.
- He would never betray us.
- He gave you up pretty quick
when I cut his face.
Maybe that's the reason.
You want to get back at me for that?
If I thought he was doing
that, I'd kill him myself.
I have it on good information
that your man here
is cooperating with Robert Morgenthau.
That's a lie.
Well, what proof do you have?
You can't accuse a man without proof.
According to my lawyer,
Morgenthau's informant
cut a deal with the Feds
and with INTERPOL
so that he could get immunity
here and in Marseilles.
You said you'd kill him yourself, right?
Hold on.
♪
[MORGENTHAU] Ellsworth
Johnson's behavior is immoral.
If we're being religious now,
morality is the key to
mishpat, or Jewish law.
Jesus was a rabbi, so I've
made a study of your religion.
And in Judaism,
morality relates to man's
inner consciousness,
not only his deeds.
Mm.
Unless he is importing heroin.
Congressman, let me ask you.
Have you ever stopped to consider
that the man who you're protecting
is destroying this city?
[BUMPY] Go on.
Pick it up.
Pick it up.
Pick it up, or Chance is gonna
put a bullet in your fuckin' head.
Pick it up!
[SIGHS] I'm sorry.
I never thought that you'd betray me.
Forgive me.
♪
- [DRY CLICK]
- [GUNSHOT]
♪
♪
Your boss was a rat.
And don't worry. The gun wasn't loaded.
Just wanted you to see
what kind of man he is.
What is this?
He was willing to kill
you to cover himself.
He's got warrants in
two different countries.
That's why he cut a deal,
the little piece of shit.
♪
What do you want?
I want you to come work for me.
[MALCOLM] 1964 threatens to be
the most explosive year
America has ever witnessed.
Why?
Well, because it's
also a political year.
This is the year when all
of the white politicians
will be back in the so-called
Negro community
jiving you and me for some votes.
Now, you never see 'em
until election time.
You can't find 'em until election time,
but this is the year when all
of the white political crooks
will be right back in
the Negro community
building up our hopes for a letdown
with their trickery and treachery
and their false promises which
they don't intend to keep.
Now, as they nourish
these dissatisfactions,
it can only lead to one
thing an explosion.
[CRAWFORD] What the fuck do you want?
[ERNIE] All's you gotta do is tell me
where the Freedom Rider
boys are, dead or alive.
You just don't know who
you're messing with, boy.
[SCOFFS] Yeah, I do.
A couple of fuckin' hillbillies
dressed in bedsheets.
[PARMENTER] You're a dead man.
Sieg Heil, motherfuckers.
[MALCOLM] I'm no politician.
I'm not a Democrat nor a
Republican nor an American,
and I got sense enough to know it.
I'm one of the 22 million Black
victims of the Democrats,
one of the 22 million Black
victims of the Republicans,
and one of the 22 million
Black victims of Americanism.
And when I speak, I don't speak
as a Democrat or a Republican.
I speak as a victim of America's
so-called democracy.
Why, you and I, we've
never seen any democracy.
All we've seen is hypocrisy.
We don't see any American dream.
We experience only the
American nightmare.
[ERNIE] Bet this is
what a Negro feels like
when you got 'em all tied up, huh?
[GRUNTING]
If I had a ladder, I'd
have lynched you both,
but this'll have to do.
- Where are they?
- We don't know nothin'
about no fuckin' Jewboys
or niggers from New York.
[MALCOLM] It's time for us
to submerge our differences
and realize that we all
have the same problem
a problem that'll make you catch hell
whether you're a Baptist or a Methodist
or a Muslim or a Nationalist.
We all in the same bag,
we all in the same boat,
and we all gon' catch the same
hell from the same man.
That man just happens to be an
old blue-eyed, blond-haired,
bad-smelling white man.
And when he get ready
to wring your neck,
why, he's not going to stop to inquire
about your religious beliefs.
No, he's gon' hang you
'cause you're black.
Now, in speaking like this,
it doesn't mean that we are anti-white.
No.
But it does mean that
we are anti-oppression,
anti-degradation, and anti-exploitation.
Now, you're startin'
to get me pissed off.
I'm gonna ask you again.
Where the fuck are they?
- I don't know.
- All right.
You take your time, boys.
I got all fuckin' night.
[LIGHTER CLICKS]
[MALCOLM] So, if the white man
doesn't want us to be anti-him,
then let him stop socially degrading us,
politically oppressing us,
economically exploiting us.
Every time there's an election,
the races are so close that
they have to have a recount.
They had to recount over in
Massachusetts, it was so close.
Same thing with Kennedy and Nixon
when they ran for president.
What does this mean? Well,
it means that every time
these old, white politicians
are evenly divided
and Black people have a
bloc of votes to their own,
it's left up to you and me to decide
who's going to sit in the White House
and who's going to be in the doghouse.
The time is long overdue for you and me
to become more politically mature
and realize exactly what
the ballot is for
what we're supposed to get
when we cast a ballot
and that if we don't cast a ballot,
it's going to end up in a situation
where we going to have to cast a bullet.
♪
[ERNIE] Last chance. Where are they?
Fuck you.
♪
Oh, shit! No! Aah!
[SCREAMING]
[MALCOLM] There's a
new type of Black man
on the scene in America today
one who doesn't intend
to just sit around
and turn the other cheek.
It'll be a ballot, or it'll be a bullet.
It'll be ballots, or it'll be bullets.
It'll be liberty, or it'll be death.
The only difference with
this kind of death
is that it'll be reciprocal.
Now, if you never hear from me again,
if you never see my face
another time in your life,
if I happen to die in the morning,
why, you better believe
I'll die saying one thing
the ballot or the bullet.
- [WAILING]
- The ballot or the bullet.
Where are the Freedom Riders?
No!
Aah! No!
[SCREAMING]
[REPORTER] Ending four
months of speculation,
the bodies of James Chaney,
Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner
were found underneath an earthen dam
on Burges Farm in Neshoba
County, Mississippi.
The activists were found
after an informant
discussed in FBI reports
only as "Mr. X"
passed along a tip to
federal authorities.
- The focus shift
- I was hoping they would find them alive.
when their burned-out
station wagon
We all were, honey.
Thank God for Mr. X.
Mr. X did a good job, right?
I'm gonna get ready for school.
In the process, the
remains of eight other
[SIGHS]
So?
The Feds just dropped the
case against you and Chin?
For now.
The witness disappeared on 'em
from what I understand.
But I don't think we can rest easy.
There might be more than one of them.
garner sympathy for
the Civil Rights Movement.
Listen, my case has fallen
apart for the time being.
As soon as I can, I'm gonna re-file.
But next time, you're
gonna need to testify.
I already told you everything I know.
Don't you ever call me again.
- [SIGHS]
- [DOOR OPENS]
[OLYMPIA] We're home!
[CHIN] Stella!
[DOOR CLOSES]
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