Daniel (1983) - full transcript

The fictionalized story of Daniel, the son of Paul and Rochelle Isaacson, who were executed as Soviet spies in the 1950s. As a graduate student in New York in the 1960s, Daniel is involved in the antiwar protest movement and contrasts his experiences to the memory of his parents and his belief that they were wrongfully convicted.

Electricity is a form of energy.

It is generated by power sources

driven by water,

steam, or atomic fission.

The two leading electric

power producing countries

in the world are

the United States of America

and the union of the Soviet

socialist republics.

The theory of electricity

is that atoms

gain or lose electrons.

Thus become positively

or negatively charged.

In this way,

a current is produced

and a current is designed

to flow through a circuit.

In 1889, the first

electric chair

was put into use

by the State of New York

and it was hailed

as the most humane means

of putting someone to death.

Or as electrocution,

the condemned individual

is simply made a part

of the circuit.

Now who will be a witness

for my lord

yes, who will be a witness

for my lord

now who will be a witness

for my lord

who will be a witness

for my lord

give peace a chance

all we are saying

is give peace a chance

No more war! No more war!

No more war! No more war!

No more war! No more war!

No more war! No more war!

Get out of here!

Look at this.

How horrible.

Can you believe it?

And what they aim for

is your crotch.

Forget want

to think about the police today.

We want

to have a nice holiday dinner.

The turkey is cooling.

And Robert,

you will mentally prepare yourself

to carve in just a few moments.

So, to get back

to the subject...

A foundation.

Right.

The Paul and Rochelle Isaacson foundation

for revolutionary studies.

Did you know

anything about this?

Well, uh... Your sister's

been thinking about it,

and...

Oh.

She has been talking

to some people here

and in New York.

She asked me if it's

technically feasible,

which it is. This is the year

you come into equal

possession of the trust.

The way Ascher set it up,

there are no conditions.

It's our legacy, Daniel.

What the movement

needs is money.

We can do great things together.

Well, I mean, suppose...

You know,

I happen to feel that demonstrating

and getting busted

is not the way to do great things.

All right. That's fair.

Resistance is

just one thing, one alternative.

But there are

other things going on

everywhere.

I'm going through changes

every day of my life.

So is everyone.

The proper stance...

I believe, is not to

criticize from the outside,

but to get inside

and help create.

Susan, how is it

whenever you present me with an idea,

you know, or ask me

to do something,

it's in... it's in

a way calculated to turn me off?

Maybe because not much is

required to turn you off.

Let's try to keep the discussion

at a reasonably high plane.

I try to, Robert.

But anything that comes from me

is automatically suspect,

right, Daniel?

No, no. No.

It's just that I hear about it

almost as a privilege,

you know, after

the decisions have been made.

Forget it, Daniel, ok?

Forget I said a thing.

This really

makes me sad. It really does.

Here we are in this

horrible imperialist war,

we're burning people in Vietnam,

and the issue is

how I happen to talk.

No, I'll tell you

what the issue is,

the issue is if you want

to give away your money,

why not just do it? I mean,

what do you got

to put the family tag on it for?

What do you have

to advertise for?

Because the name Isaacson

has meaning.

It's important.

What happened to the Isaacsons is history.

Do you hear that?

She fucking calls

her own

mother and father the Isaacsons.

Look, you two,

if you can't conduct a civil discussion...

I'm not ashamed of my name.

I'm proud of who I am...

Unlike you.

You should see the schmucky

way you come on in this world.

Well, that may be.

But I don't think a foundation

is necessarily a good idea

just 'cause it has

the name Isaacson.

How's it going to

work? Who's it for?

What'll it do?

Well, why not just let it...

Happen? Give it a chance!

You cop out

with this phony cynicism.

Maybe you have a better idea what

to do with that blood money.

That blood money

earned you a college education,

straightened your teeth.

Why can't you just admit

that you're a selfish prick?

I don't want the bread.

I mean, I thought...

I thought

we'd give it to the Lewins.

No. As guardian,

that's the one alternative

that I can't permit.

Yeah? Well,

you ought to reconsider.

You're just due

for all the bullshit

you put up with

the last dozen years.

Don't worry, Daniel.

You can forget

about the foundation.

It doesn't need you.

Go back to your life.

Take this milk cow

with you and go back home.

If this doesn't stop

right now, I'm not serving.

Go back to the stacks, Daniel.

The world needs

another graduate student.

I don't have to go

out and get clubbed

to... to justify my existence!

No, you'd rather jerk off

behind a book!

Stop it, you two!

Susan, you're

not handling this very well.

Yes, she is! She is, she is!

She's a revolutionary!

She's been to the barricades!

She's got all the answers!

Once it was sex.

Sex was going to do

it for you, right?

Then it was acid.

Acid was going to do it for you.

Remember that, Susie? Huh? Huh?

And before that, it was God.

You knew all about God!

And now it's revolution!

The revolution!

I thought we did

that! I thought we'd been through that!

Susan.

I don't believe it.

Ah!

I don't believe you.

You really think...

he thinks they were guilty.

That's why he's like this.

Can't you see?

I mean, what did they die

for? This piece of shit.

Susan, please.

My mother and father

were murdered!

Why do you let him

sit here and do it again?

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Wages up, hours down!

Make New York a union town!

Cossack!

Capitalist goons!

Cossack!

Look out!

Cossack!

Cossack!

You go to city?

At night.

Me, too.

The fascists

are taking Europe, the world is dying,

and you're playing

Trotsky as politics!

There would be no Hitler

today if not for Stalin.

True or not? That is simplistic!

Where was Stalin

when united front and Germany

could

have kept Hitler was seizing power?

Now you're all

big anti-fascists.

We're prepared

to grant you your righteousness. What then?

Remember how you

broke up our meeting?

Your people threw

chairs. I remember.

Yesterday we were social fascists.

Today, we're your comrades.

You're a simplistic sectarian.

No, I'm not. I'm Jewish.

Then maybe you'll

explain to the Jews

in Nazi concentration camps

the fine points

of your dialectic!

What about Spain?

What about

the Trotskyists in Spain?

I have to get home.

I'll see you home.

Don't be foolish.

All the way to the Bronx?

First you have to ride downtown.

So what?

I can't invite you in.

My mother.

I'll picket your mother.

"And this possibility

now exists.

"The seizure of the means

of production by society

"puts an end

to commodity production

"and therewith to the domination

"of the produce

over the producer.

"To carry through this

world-emancipating act

"is the historical mission

of the modern proletariat,

"and it is the task

of scientific socialism

"to bring to the consciousness

of the now oppressed class

"the conditions and

the nature of the act

which it is its destiny

to accomplish."

I had a meeting.

A meeting.

With a boy?

He's not my boy.

Mama, would you like me

to ask him to dinner? Even tomorrow.

And the three of us

can spend an evening.

50 cents for my car fare,

$2.00 for my allowance.

No.

I gave $3.00

to the Scottsboro boys.

The Scottsboro boys?

Mama, we're trying to keep

them from being lynched!

As God protected papa

from the sweatshops.

Oy.

Oy.

We shall not be moved

prouder is our leader

we shall not be moved

just like a tree

that's standing by the water

we shall not be moved

Louder!

Prouder is our leader

we shall not be moved

prouder is our leader

we shall not be moved

just like a tree

that's standing by the water

we shall not be moved...

And those who excuse

the infamous Munich betrayal

are loudest

in their condemnation

of the non aggression pact.

And why?

Because by forcing Germany

to sign this pact,

with one stroke of the pen,

the Soviet union

overturns the design

of Western imperialists.

Hitler's warrings are

contained in the East,

and mankind is diverted

from the abyss

of darkness and destruction.

The Soviet union is

the only socialist nation in the world,

and she has done something

for the world

which the world

will someday understand,

if it doesn't already.

Fantastic, comrade. Fantastic!

Great honour!

A great honour! Thank you, sir.

I'm Dr. Selig Mindish,

the camp dentist.

This is my wife Sadie.

A pleasure to meet you.

Sadie. And my little girl Linda.

Oh, you were wonderful.

You were just wonderful.

Hello, Linda.

Wait, wait, wait.

Paul! Paul! Paul!

Right here! Right here!

Comrade Bernheim? Yes?

Paul Isaacson.

Hello, Paul.

He's brilliant, brilliant.

Nice to meet you.

Rochelle.

A gold and a cup.

This is my friend Rochelle.

Hello, Rochelle.

Nice to make your acquaintance.

I got to hand it to him.

Imagine making

a radio technician of Paul Isaacson.

Well, you know something?

I do it well.

I was first in my training.

I understand the army.

I get along with the men.

In basic, I pulled my weight.

I was determined

those crackers would not have the occasion

to laugh at a Jew from New York.

I ran with the heavy pack,

I climbed ropes,

I crawled under machine gunfire

with real bullets.

I did the push-ups,

and they came to respect me.

And at night,

in our bull sessions,

I told them our beliefs,

and they listened.

And you know...

Those Georgia crackers

living down there in the red Clay,

they taught me a few things...

the dignity of ordinary men...

And the unsung heroism

of men who work the earth

with their hands,

and the good common sense

of the masses

who have not had an education.

And now, Paul.

What now?

Ah, who knows?

I don't have my orders yet.

God forbid you should

end up overseas.

Why "God forbid"?

Should we let the Soviet union

fight our battles for us?

I'd be proud to be a part

of the second front,

to meet our gallant

Soviet allies

and to link arms with them.

She was depressed,

but that was nothing new.

We wanted her

to come home for the weekend.

She said she had plans.

I didn't realize.

She was making her classes,

she was doing her work.

Well, it's the politics.

Last winter when Susan

terminated therapy,

I warned her not

to get too involved.

All that radial stuff.

Who gets a strawberry

ice cream soda?

Here.

But of course she did.

SDS, resistance. Who knows what?

In this family,

descent is traumatic.

It's understandable.

She bit off more

than she could chew.

Susan's a wilful person.

I have great faith in her.

If you're not

finishing that, pass it over here.

Of course, I would be

insulting your intelligence

if I didn't admit

that this is a pretty serious business.

She's been down before

but this is the worst.

What'd you do,

put ketchup on this?

What?

You... you put ketchup

on a club sandwich.

Why not ketchup?

On the other hand,

she's got tremendous resources.

We'll get her all settled

and then we can go to work.

You don't put ketchup on

a club sandwich. Yuck.

Yuck!

Would you like something else?

How about ordering something?

No, thanks, dad.

I'd still have to sit here

and listen to this schmuck

doctor talk about my sister.

Daniel, I hope that you are prepared

to apologize to Dr. Duberstein.

What is it about Susan and me

that makes anyone

feel privileged

to say anything at all to us?

Who is this creep?

Who needs him?

I called Dr. Duberstein

because I think we need him.

Very badly.

I think Susan needs him and I don't

think you're handling yourself well.

She stopped going

to him because he was no fucking good.

Now he can't even get

her out of there.

Can't get her out

of a public asylum for wards of the State.

Bums they pick up

off the street.

One more night

in what happens to be

one of the best hospitals in the

east is not going to hurt her.

The situation's under control.

We are a little late.

I can tell from here

a tremendous crowd.

You should feel proud.

Do you hear it?

Now, when you get up there,

keep your hands up,

stand straight,

don't slump, so that

everyone can see you.

Understand?

I have something in my eye.

We have no time, Susan. Come.

Just a minute, Mr. Ascher.

Please, Daniel, we are late.

This is very important.

Hurry! Hurry!

I ask you, is this our

so-called American justice?

Is this an example to the world

of American fair play?

Can anyone believe this

heroic young couple,

torn from their homes, separated

from their precious children

are being persecuted

for anything more

than their proudly held

left-wing views?

For believing... for believing

in the dignity of man

and the right of each

and every individual to the...

These are the children.

These are the children.

Let us through, please.

I got their children. Please.

The trial of Paul

and Rochelle Isaacson.

All the world

looks on with horror

at this blatant

persecution of people...

The platform. Please.

Get the children up there.

The children.

Daniel!

Careful. The children.

Let them by.

Susan! Susan!

The children.

Here are the children!

Be careful, be careful.

Daniel!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Here are the children!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them! Free them!

Free them.

Are you ok?

She was on her way to New York.

Perhaps to see you.

I don't think so.

Dan, I see no reason

why you shouldn't

hold onto the car...

Till she gets better.

We should have

spent more time...

We should've never

stopped talking.

She's a separate person, Daniel.

You lead separate lives.

You know, maybe when

she gets better,

Susan can come stay with us.

I really want her to.

We would love her

and the baby would love her.

Daniel, this is an illness,

and like any other illness,

it'll be treated.

Well, what if she's...

Not ill?

I mean, what if she's...

Inconsolable?

Buy everything mommy

asked for, Daniel?

Yes.

See you got your

favourite cereal.

Who's on the back?

Joe DiMaggio.

Why you suppose

they put his picture on a box of cereal?

'Cause he's strong.

That's right.

And although it doesn't say so

in so many words,

it puts an idea in your mind...

that if you eat this cereal,

you'll be strong like he is.

Yet if you look

at the nourishment

this cereal contains,

you'd see

you'd do better with ordinary oatmeal.

Oatmeal has lumps.

So they're lying,

and that is what

advertising is...

lying.

Now, uh... Of course

not Joe DiMaggio,

but one or another

of your baseball heroes,

he sells his name

and his picture

to the cereal company for money,

saying he eats their cereal

when in fact

he probably drinks beer

and he smokes cigarettes.

Yeah, it's funny.

But what is

he but a worker like anyone

who earns his bread

by his labour?

And the fact

that he plays a game called baseball,

that makes no difference.

He is no better than the man

who works in a factory.

Do you know why?

Because he doesn't own the team.

That's right.

You're very smart.

But at least he plays.

And there are Negro

baseball players,

marvellous athletes

who are not allowed to play

because of?

Because of Jim crow.

Right.

No matter how good they are.

Truman announced today...

it's working.

Hi, grandma.

Susan.

The smell is terrible.

Can you open the window?

All the windows are open.

Maybe if the driving

were smoother,

the children would

not get carsick.

Everyone had

the same idea today.

I find no fault in the driving.

Paul, that's nonsense.

Foster and Dennis are in jail.

The party is a shambles.

Under Browder... Browder?

All right, all right.

But under Browder,

the party was at least

connected to something.

Now we're alone.

And what they're not destroying,

we're destroying ourselves.

Sometimes I wonder

what's happened to our lives.

I find it hard

to remember what we've accomplished.

So, things are bad

at the moment.

They're very bad.

The party's had some effect,

or there would be

no reaction, huh?

What have we done

for the working class?

Is it nothing? And the Negroes?

You having a good time?

Yep. Heat and the traffic,

they don't matter now, do they?

Nope.

Ocean's beautiful, huh? Uh-huh.

So you see?

Some things are worth

the effort, huh?

Yeah!

Ha ha ha ha!

Sadie, how are ya?

Daniel's a good boy.

This is for a good boy.

Daniel is a good boy.

Can't I go?

It's time to go!

I'm ready.

The sandwiches are in the icebox.

Can't I go?

Your father's in charge.

Please, Rochelle,

don't start that.

If there was the slightest

chance of trouble,

do you think I'd let you go,

let alone the boy go?

Be sensible.

Don't talk to me

of being sensible.

There's a court order,

for God's sake. What could happen?

Well, what's the problem?

No problem.

We're having a meeting

in the bathroom.

We're deciding

whether to take Daniel.

My Linda's coming. Why not?

Lots of children are going.

Is the little prince

afraid to go?

Don't you want your son

to hear one of

the great voices of our time?

Is it such a terrible

crime if he can see Robeson,

the great people's artist?

Danny, go get your blue jacket,

and tie your shoelaces

and pull up your socks,

and then when you get

back, I want you to go to the bathroom

even if you don't have to.

Come on. It's about time.

Grandma's running away again.

I see. Don't worry.

Why is grandma crazy?

She can't stand

the torment of her life.

Far and wide

as the eye can wander

heathen folk are everywhere

not a bird sings out to cheer us

folks are standing

gaunt and bare

we are the people's soldiers

we're marching

with our strengths

to beyond

Hi.

How's your wife?

Fine.

Your baby?

He's fine, too.

He's fine.

He came along.

He's downstairs.

It's serious.

Mm, no. I don't think it's...

I don't think it's so serious.

But the Lewins, too.

Uh, yeah,

their car just... just pulled in.

That's pretty serious...

When my whole family's here.

How su-supportive...

Of miss.

What?

Good God, am I going

to have to see them?

And I like Ira, believe me.

I got to believe that gnome.

No matter how bad it gets,

you and I can never

bring him down totally.

And that's

his saving grace, isn't it?

The right to do irreparable harm

is a blood right.

Oh.

It's...

It's just that I...

I'm...

I'm so overcome with it.

Overcome with

the calamity of it.

Hey, it's ok.

Hey.

And I feel like, uh...

And I feel like, uh,

something's been, uh...

Torn...

Torn...

I forget what...

What it is you're

supposed to expect

from being alive.

It's ok.

It's ok.

Glad you came.

Daniel.

You know,

I had something to tell you.

I can't remember what it was.

I can't.

They're still

fucking us, Daniel.

You get the picture?

Drawing and quartering

was a form of execution

favoured by the English kings,

except if he was an aristocrat,

in which case,

he was simply beheaded.

The offender was hanged

and cut down

before he was dead.

Then he was emasculated,

disembowelled.

And his entrails were set on

fire in front of his eyes.

This ritual was completed

with a hacking

of the body into four parts.

The quarters being

thrown to the dogs.

Where did you get that?

It was on order.

Can I take it home?

Just a minute, Danny. Come here.

Radio.

Mindish has been arrested.

What?

Keep your voice down.

Early this morning,

while I was eating breakfast,

the FBI comes,

takes him downtown.

Oh, my God.

Well... Don't say

anything to anyone.

You just, um...

Go about your business

and let everything

remain the same.

I get upstairs, we'll talk.

How do you know this?

Sadie Mindish told me. I don't

understand the brains of some people.

She says Selig wanted me.

No, he tells her to call me.

Oh.

What did he do?

You got to keep count.

Where is Dr. Mindish?

They're insane.

They think he's done

something wrong.

Ah! That's my honey! Huh? Ah!

How's my little girl?

If they didn't arrest people,

they'd have nothing to do.

Do me a favour, Rochelle.

Take the groceries upstairs.

I'll be home at the usual time.

It's only the coming of fascism.

Why should we be surprised, huh?

I'm glad they arrested him.

Danny!

He likes to hurt you.

He says stupid things.

Hi, mom.

Hello, Danny.

Danny...

Stay out of there.

Hello there, young fellow.

Home from school?

What grade you in, son?

Yeah, right.

Well, uh, our lawyer's

just advised me

that, um, I don't

have to talk to you

if I don't want to.

A particular that you

neglected to mention.

Oh, yes, sir, Mr. Isaacson,

we were just hoping that

you would cooperate with us.

See, we're looking

for some information.

You're a friend of Dr. Mindish,

and you might be able

to help him.

I'll be glad to answer

any of your questions

in a court of law.

Are you denying now

that you know him?

I will answer any questions

in a court of law.

I don't know what they want.

They are fishy.

They're

dumb, clumsy, obvious people.

"Polizei" don't have to be smart.

Don't worry.

Mindish is not going to suffer

from anything we say.

There's no reason to be afraid.

They're still here.

What?

That's just part

of the treatment! Huh?

Damn them.

They can sit out there forever

for all I care, huh? Huh?

Come here.

You don't understand!

Do you understand that?!

You're not here all the time!

You're behaving

like a child. Now stop it!

You cannot expect

to handle this without a lawyer!

So, who do you recommend?

What's his name?

The first one you called.

He wants

no part of it. None of it.

I'm looking in the phone book!

Ascher. Jacob Ascher.

Maniacs... With guns!

They think they've got

John Dillinger.

Haven't you hounded us enough?

Can't you leave us alone?!

Morning.

Let's go.

I'll kill you! I'll kill you!

I'll kill you!

I'll kill you! I'll kill you!

Paul...

Ascher!

I suppose I'm a religious man.

For many years now,

when I've had the time,

I've been working on a book

showing the contributions

of the old testament

to American law.

What is happening today

in this country is paganism.

That's the only word for it.

He's been indicted,

along with Selig Mindish

and nine others,

for conspiring to violate

the espionage act of 1917.

Bail has been set at $100,000.

On the basis of what evidence?

Well...

A... conspiracy charge

usually requires evidence

like a confession.

Somebody in the conspiracy

has to say it existed.

What conspiracy?

In legal terms, it means simply

an agreement among people

to do something,

that they intended

to do something.

Paul...

Is not accused

of stealing atomic secrets.

That is correct.

He's accused

of conspiring to steal secrets.

That is correct.

With Selig Mindish.

That is correct.

That doesn't sound as serious.

It's as serious as it can be.

But if they don't

charge espionage,

but only what,

intending to do espionage,

that means they have no evidence

that anything was done.

That... that is correct.

Well, isn't that weaker?

What evidence can you provide

of what was in someone's head?

Tell me. I don't understand.

As I said, a conspiracy

is, by its nature, secretive.

Only the people in it

can prove its existence.

That's why I think they

have forced a confession.

Who? How can they?

I think they have Selig Mindish.

Are you all right?

Are you all right?

Where's the boy? Daniel!

I'm all right.

Help! Bring your mother

a glass of water. Quickly!

My God. Oh, my God.

I think about moving

out of New York.

I think about it all the time.

You know, after Susan gets well.

Maybe we could go out west

or Northwest somewhere.

She's not going to get well.

Some small campus,

when you finish your degree.

What?

It's conceivable.

She may not want to make it.

Daniel, don't talk like that.

She's planning to die on me.

It's the family tradition.

That's gross.

Listen, how can someone

with such a big arse

have such a small brain?

Now listen, my sister Susan

stopped off in the ladies' room

at a holiday inn

on the Massachusetts turnpike,

and she slit her wrists

with a stainless steel

razor blade.

I mean, wouldn't you say

something was communicated?

Huh?

I guess.

You guess.

Well, what happened

when we found out?

What did we do?

We went up there.

We went to see her.

You're right.

So it was kind of

a summons, wasn't it?

I mean, what she did

acted on us as kind of a summons, right?

Daniel, when you're unhappy,

you always take it out on me.

Doesn't it bother you

that in Susan's mind

everything

I've done as an adult,

including marrying you...

Is a waste?

Go back to the stacks, Daniel.

The world needs

another graduate student.

Why don't you just admit

that you're a selfish prick?

You cop out

with this phony cynicism.

I'm not ashamed of my name!

I'm proud of who I am!

I mean, what did they die for?

This piece of shit.

They're still fucking us,

Daniel.

You get the picture?

The cake is a big success.

I'm glad.

It's not smart

to come here, Ben. You're a foolish man.

Today we have only

police for company.

Police and photographers.

The party in its wisdom

has decided we don't exist.

Would you like more tea?

Don't fuss, don't fuss.

It's all right. I like

to have things to do.

I've been keeping

the store opened since the FBI unsealed it.

I thought Paul's

customers would want their property back.

We need every dollar

but nobody comes.

We're contaminated, you see.

What possessed him to do it?

Can you tell me?

All these years.

I just can't understand

what possesses a man

to do something so terrible.

To ruin a family,

the lives of children.

And I can't forgive

his wife either.

There's never been any love lost

between Sadie Mindish and me.

God knows what they

concocted between them.

Look, I want you

to tell your lawyer

that I'll make myself

useful in any way I can.

I'll testify as your

witness, anything.

Paul discussed this with Ascher.

Anyone who associates

with us is suspect.

He says he couldn't

bear the responsibility.

Neither could I, Ben.

It's enough to know you've offered.

Some financial help...

I miss him so.

Ascher says he's fine.

His letters say he's fine.

How can a man in jail be fine?

He's locked up

like some common criminal.

Good morning, Daniel.

You remember Mrs. Bittleman?

She was a friend

of your grandma's.

She's sitting with Susan.

Where are you going?

I have to go downtown

to testify

before the grand jury.

Thank God for Mrs. Bittleman.

She lost her son

Jerome in the war.

For her, misery has no politics.

How does this look?

Good.

You want to shut

the clasp for me?

Your father gave me this

before we were married.

This I won't pawn,

no matter what.

Danny.

Don't go.

I don't want you to go.

But I have to go.

The government lawyers

want to talk to me about your father.

I'll be able to tell them

what a terrible thing they're doing.

I always forget

how young you are.

You are such a big, brave boy,

and you take

such good care of Susan,

I forget you're a baby, too.

I'm not a baby.

You're my baby.

I should be back

before you're out of school.

In case I'm not,

have a snack

and take Susan to the park.

For lunch, I made you

a peanut butter sandwich

and an apple.

In the icebox.

Your mama leave you here alone?

Mrs. Bittleman was here,

but she went home

to make us some dinner.

Ain't nobody told you?

What?

Dear Jesus. Is on the radio.

I'm a widow. I have no one.

I stand on my feet

12 hours a day.

How can I afford to do

what you're asking?

Mrs. Stein,

I'm not asking you to do anything.

Paul's your brother, not mine.

God help me. I was always

the responsible one.

From the time we were children,

if you didn't

put his food in front of him,

he wouldn't eat.

If you didn't

hold his money for him, he would lose it.

It was always Frieda...

the good-natured slob.

They seem to enjoy

the television.

Do you have

a television, Mrs. Stein?

What? No. Who can afford it?

It's an expensive item.

When the dealer

comes to assess the belongings,

I'll tell him

not to include the television.

Can there be a greater tragedy?

My Paulie, a communist...

And worse.

What do you mean, worse?

God only knows!

I'm lucky if I keep my store.

If someone should

make the connection,

if someone should find out...

What are you saying?

How do I explain

who these children are,

how do I explain

where their parents are?

Their parents are in jail.

They're in jail

because their bail Bond is prohibitive.

It helps the government

establish

how dangerous they must be.

If the shame

of that is too much for you,

say they're in Florida.

I don't blame him.

He couldn't help himself.

She is his ruination.

In school, he had a 96 average.

Townsend Harris High School...

which is nothing but

brilliant children.

And then

to go and get these crazy ideas!

All right. So you

join a radical club,

it's the thing to do.

He would

have outgrown all that craziness,

but she drove him.

She is the one who did this!

Mrs. Stein, do you

really want the children to hear all this?

Oy-vey-zmeir.

So...

What am I to understand

from your answer?

They can't stay here.

There's no money.

The black man can't take them.

The neighbour can't take them.

I can't take them.

Babies. What do

I know from babies?

Where will I put them?

What do they eat?

Lady...

They are not animals

from the zoo.

Have you no pity?

Don't... don't you

know what trouble is?

Don't you know

what terrible trouble these people are in?

Go ahead. Take it.

I'm not making promises.

I'll do my best. But that's all.

You remember the trial?

We weren't allowed to go.

The government had no case.

All they had was Mindish,

the testimony of an accomplice.

They had to believe

it was possible

for a radio repairman

without training or education

to draw up plans of the most

sophisticated technology

and then reduce them

so they'd fit

on dental X-ray film...

it was all too much...

and that this stuff

was valuable to the Russians.

You know, it was insane.

The Russians had

everything they wanted.

They had their own men

right there on the spot.

You sure you don't

want something?

The New York times

is a big spender.

No, thanks.

Anyway...

The day after the times

ran my 10th-anniversary

reassessment piece on the case,

I was having lunch downtown.

And just as I'm leaving

the restaurant,

Red Foyerman comes up behind me.

The chief prosecuting attorney.

Well, he's judge Foyerman now,

of the Southern district.

It was a career-making case.

Everybody did well.

Anyway, uh, Foyerman

grabs my elbow

like it was a tit or something.

He says, "Jack, can't believe"

"that you let

the wrong guys get to you.

I can't believe

you buy their story."

"What story, red?

"You're not going to stand there

and tell me, without smiling,

that you guys had a case."

"Someday when you have

the time," he says,

"come up to my office.

And I'll show you some things."

What things?

It's bullshit.

They all talk that way.

Even before the execution,

when the heat was on

to commute the sentence,

they kept dropping these hints

about testimony they had

that they couldn't

reveal because of national security,

like there's supposed to be this big

report in the justice department?

Well, a friend of mine

in justice told me

if they had evidence like that,

they'd have used it, all right.

Well, there's a report,

all right.

The reason it's classified is

because it favours the defence.

I'm glad you popped up.

And I'm glad you're

alive and kicking.

Now...

Now what is the name

of your foundation, hmm?

The Isaacson

foundation for revolutionary studies.

What's it supposed to do?

We're going to fund

community action programs.

We're going to start

a magazine maybe,

raise revolutionary

consciousness, everything.

Great. Can you tell me

where the money is coming from?

Yeah. It's no secret.

It's our trust money.

That the old lawyer

put together...

from the defence committee?

Right.

How much?

Uh, well, I can

find out for you.

I haven't been counting.

That's beautiful.

You're all right.

Uh, where's your sister?

I'd like to talk to her.

Well, I don't think

she wants to talk to anyone right now.

She's recovering from the trial.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I think I heard

something like that.

How old is she now?

Susan's 20.

And where is she?

Out of state.

That's all I can tell you.

Well, how about

your foster parents?

Can I talk to them?

Look, I don't care

about blowing our cover.

I don't think any

of us care anymore.

Whoever's interested,

they could have traced us up to Boston.

But I mean there are

certain family things

that have to be

settled by all of us

and not me acting alone.

I mean, we got

responsibilities to each other.

Kid, you called me.

Yeah, I know, but

I'm trying to lay the foundation

on you, not the family.

It's the same story, isn't it?

What?

Don't worry. I don't

fuck around, but...

What you're trying to do

is impossible.

What? Clear their names.

No, that's not what

we're trying to do.

Oh, sure, sure, sure. Well,

let me tell you something.

A radical is no better

than his analysis. You should know that.

Your folks were set up

on a bad rap.

But that doesn't mean

they were innocent babes.

Well, I don't believe they

were a dangerous conspiracy

passing defence secrets,

but I don't believe either

there was a conspiracy

in Washington against them.

I thought you said

the evidence was phony.

That's right. Those guys had

to bring in a conviction.

That was their job.

In this country, people

don't get picked out of a hat

to be put on trial

for their lives.

Your parents were

up to something.

They had to be.

They were little

neighbourhood commies

with a third-rate operation.

Probably meant Bupkus.

What they were doing was

worth maybe five years. Maybe.

But that would've been

in the best of times.

In the best of times, nobody would

have cared enough to falsify evidence.

Nobody would have

been afraid enough to throw a switch.

One of the most

emotional moments

in the history of congress.

General MacArthur stood

and spoke

as a nation

stopped and listened.

I know war as few other men...

hi, my dearest Danny.

What do you think of Brooklyn?

Is it interesting?

Have you made any friends yet?

I know it's boring for you

to be out of school, my honey,

but this is only temporary.

In the meantime,

you should get aunt Frieda

to take you to the library

and get lots of books.

Mr. Ascher, Uncle Jacob,

is trying to get you into

the public school there

but that

may take a few more days.

My beloved little Susan

will go to nursery school.

Listen, my dear sweetheart.

Uncle Jacob will

be bringing a present

for each of you from us.

I hope you enjoy it.

Your father and I discussed

what we would get

you in our letters

since we are in different jails,

and we have asked him

to purchase it

from the store

and bring it to you.

By the way, I'm writing

this for your father, too.

He wants to tell you

not to worry about us

because we are fine,

and everything

is all right with us,

even though

we miss you very much.

Please write me again,

my sweet angel boy.

I enjoy your letters so much.

Tell me what is on your mind.

You are such a comfort to me.

Please cooperate with your aunt

and take care of your sister.

I know you'd do that

without my even asking.

And before you know it,

we'll all be together again.

With lots and lots of love,

your mom.

Settle down here!

What is this, some fucking zoo?

All right. Come on.

Now, listen, somebody get

El stupido down in his bed.

Otherwise, he'll

stand there all night.

Ok?

All right. No more

trouble tonight, you hear?

Otherwise, I'm kick some arse.

I catch anybody jerking off,

I'm gonna tie it in knots.

Ah!

Daniel!

Hey! Get back here.

Hey!

How many times do I

have to tell you?

To stay with your own...

Why you little bitch!

So, let's forget

your throwing the tray.

I would probably have

done the same thing if it was my sister.

It's Susan who worries me.

She's giving us

a very hard time.

She doesn't eat. She keeps

the other kids awake.

She won't cooperate in anything.

Do you have any ideas?

I mean, what do you think

the problem is?

She thinks it's a jail.

Jail?

Why?

In jail, people

are kept apart from each other.

Well, there are rules here.

The boys are in one section,

the girls in another.

Those are the rules.

Sir, that's like a jail.

Dan, this is not a jail.

It's the east Bronx

children's shelter.

Did I ask you to come here?

No.

Did I force Susan to come here?

No.

No.

Then how could it be a jail?

I don't know.

You're here because your parents asked

the city if you could stay here.

Are you saying

your own parents would put you in jail?

They don't put children in jail.

In this country, they don't put

anyone in jail without a trial.

My mother and father

haven't had a trial.

Well, they're...

They're waiting for their trial.

Why can't they wait

at home with us?

I don't know, Dan.

I'm not a lawyer.

Maybe, uh, they're...

The government's

afraid they would try and run away.

Well, they wouldn't

be afraid of that

unless they were

going to kill them.

Have you discussed this

with Susan?

No.

Does Susan think

this is a jail where

children are killed?

All right.

Do you have to go to the bathroom?

No.

I don't know where

to find any bathroom.

So you better go now,

just to make sure.

I'll wait for you.

I don't.

Now the most important thing

is to listen to me carefully.

Do what I tell you,

and don't argue.

Say you promise.

I promise.

Get ready.

Go.

Don't run.

'Cause if you run,

lot of people will notice you.

This little light of mine

I'm gonna let it shine

this little light of mine

I'm gonna let it shine

this little light of mine

I'm gonna let it shine

let it shine

let it shine

let it shine

Not so fast.

You're going to make me fall.

Everywhere I go

I'm gonna let it shine

Are you tired?

Yes.

Everywhere I go

I'm gonna let it shine

everywhere I go

I'm gonna let it shine

let it shine

let it shine

let it shine

What are you crying about?

I'm not.

Oh, the cool of night

How much more?

Are we going to be there soon?

Be quiet.

All through the night

I'm gonna let it shine

all through the night

I know where we are!

I can see our house!

Let it shine

let it shine

let it shine

What can I tell you?

Some people are singled out.

I would run away, too.

Thank God I knew where to look.

Do you enjoy

these Halloween presents?

Huh?

This family has given me

itself as a present.

Oh, my children.

What can I tell you?

Soon...

Soon we will be in court.

We shall have our trial.

Knouting was the primary

means of punishment

for capital offences

in Czarist Russia.

It was used

exclusively on serfs,

just as drawing and quartering

was reserved for the lower

classes of England.

The institution of serfdom

depended on the use

of savage corporal punishment.

Knouting was also popular

in military services

of Europe and on plantations

in the American South.

You are a student still?

Yes.

Married with a baby?

Yes, yes.

Your sister?

She's getting better.

Still... Yeah, yeah.

I don't want to take

up a lot of your time, Mrs. Ascher.

My time?

What do you think

I do with my time?

See, I wanted to know if

there were any papers.

Maybe letters

you know about, files.

Papers, letters?

Yeah. See, uh...

Well, I guess I think

they belong to me.

There are none.

Robert Lewin has all the files.

I gave him everything.

When Jacob died,

when I sold the practice

and closed the office,

I had to first clean up

the garbage of 35 years.

He threw away nothing.

For months,

I went through papers.

It was very difficult

for me. I made myself ill.

Robert Lewin didn't

want the practice.

Can I get you something?

A glass of milk?

No.

You know, there was a point

Jacob and I seriously discussed

adopting you ourselves.

I didn't know that.

It is true.

How we would have managed it

at our age I can't tell you.

It was his idea,

of course, not mine.

I held my breath and

he talked himself out of it.

Only after he died did I think

maybe he knew he hadn't long.

And that's why he

decided to quit.

Otherwise, who knows...

Well, he was very kind to us.

Your parents should

have been so kind.

I don't know what to tell you.

I have no love

for the memory of your parents.

They were communists

and they destroyed everything they touched.

You don't think

they were innocent?

They were not innocent

in permitting themselves

to be used and in using other

people in their fanaticism.

Innocent?

The case ruined Jacob's health.

They were very difficult

to deal with.

They were very stubborn.

He would come home furious.

He wanted to do something

and they wouldn't let him.

He wanted to do something

for their sake

and they wouldn't allow it.

Like what?

He wanted to call certain

people as witnesses.

And they wouldn't let him.

All sorts of things like that.

Who... who... who did

he want to call as a witness?

Who knows?!

Jacob was a very

brilliant lawyer.

And today, whenever

they talk about the case,

it is Jacob they criticize.

He should have done that,

he shouldn't have done that.

Do they know what

he had to put up with?

I do not know

why oft' round me

my hopes all shattered

seem to be

God's perfect plan

I cannot see

but someday

I'll understand

someday

he'll make it plain to me

someday

Susan, please!

When I his face shall see

some day from tears

I shall be free

for someday

I shall understand

I cannot tell

Oh, Susan, Susan.

The depth of love

we choose the father's

breast above

my faith to test

my love to prove

but someday I'll understand

someday he'll

make it plain to me

someday when I

his face shall see

someday from tears

I shall be free

someday I shall

no longer stay

Are you sure you're up to this?

Sure.

Listen, do you know of anything

my parents might have done

to hurt the case Ascher

was putting together?

What do you mean?

Like testimony?

Uh, evidence they

wouldn't let him use.

Who have you been

talking to now?

Fanny Ascher?

Yeah. Of course.

You got to understand Fanny.

Jake was in poor health.

And she blames

his death on the case.

That means she blames

the Isaacsons.

Of course she's going

to resent any criticism

of the way he handled

the defence.

She wants you to take

over the practice.

My father and Jake

Ascher were law partners in the forties.

I was the heir apparent.

Fanny never forgave

me for wanting to teach law.

I don't remember Jake

ever saying anything

along those lines.

Of course I didn't

really get involved until the appeals.

Who knows?

Her parents were party members.

Perhaps they felt

they had to handle their defence

with an eye out for the party.

Maybe there is something to it.

Maybe they did hold

back. I don't know.

If they did, the party didn't

show any gratitude, did it?

They were no help until

after the sentence.

The propaganda value

of the case was too good to be ignored.

In those days it was fashionable

to downgrade

Russian technology...

before Sputnik.

The joke

was how they copied everything

and claimed it for their own.

So when they got the bomb,

it was our bomb.

That meant we were betrayed.

It's good, Lise.

Yeah, it's great.

If I'd had more notice,

I could have made

something special.

But we never hear from you.

We never know

when to expect you.

After the war,

we built our entire

foreign policy on a bomb,

on our having the bomb,

and the Soviets not having it.

Terrible mistake. It

militarized the world.

And when they got it,

the only alternative

to admitting our bankrupt policy

was to find conspiracies.

It was one or the other.

You stopped at Susan's?

I washed her hair this morning.

I bought her a lovely robe,

but it's too big.

I'll have to get

the smaller size.

You know, I...

Used to think

about the odds against it.

What?

That it would happen to us,

you know?

That particular family...

Out of millions.

Well, if you're the FBI

and you know you

have to bring in something,

what do you do?

You go to your files.

You have a file

of known left-wing activists.

And if you find

somebody in there

who gives off

a sense of his own vulnerability,

you go to work on that.

Selig Mindish?

They questioned him for weeks

before they arrested him.

And they questioned

him for weeks

after they arrested him.

And Selig Mindish

became their case.

Robert, I wish we wouldn't

talk about this.

He became their case

because he named your parents.

And if they had

named other people,

they could have

become prosecution witnesses like Mindish.

But they didn't so they

became the defendant.

What is this family's

continuing desire for punishment?

Lise, the boy

is asking questions.

Yes, and I know what

this is going to lead to.

You're going to tell him how you

would have conducted the defence

with the Isaacsons

a dozen years now in their graves.

How comforting!

Mom.

Mom.

Did I say I needed comfort?

Huh?

Did I ask for comfort?

Lisa.

You'll forgive me.

If you remember,

we never thought

it was a good idea

to discuss the case with Susan.

Today, Jake wouldn't have

the same problems

to contend with.

If they were on trial today,

the prosecution

couldn't pull this stuff in court.

If you admit this line

of questioning,

their political beliefs,

their political affiliations,

that is what

the trial will rest on.

Your honour, we simply

want to establish

motivation for what

they stand accused of.

The defence

counsellor's concerned

that if his clients

are forced to answer questions

concerning their

political affiliations,

presumably the unpopularity

of these affiliations

would prejudice

the minds of the jury.

That's part of it, your

honour. I see nowhere...

If I may set precedent...

you can build a charge

that they belong to a political party.

If their politics

is to be answered for,

then why is it not written

in the indictment?

In U.S. versus Schmidt, 1942,

the political

affiliation of the defendant

was admitted as

establishing motive.

People commit crimes

for reasons.

And sometimes

those reasons are political reasons.

That seems reasonable,

Mr. Ascher.

Pardon me. I don't see

the humour in this situation.

Schmidt was a Nazi.

He was indicted as a traitor.

Treason is defined

in the constitution

as levying war

against the United States

or adhering to its enemies

in time of war and giving

them aid and comfort.

I'm grateful to Mr. Ascher

for keeping us up on things.

If you want to put my clients

on trial for treason,

that's fine for me.

Then the uncorroborated

testimony of one witness

will not be admitted

as evidence,

as it is under the present

conspiracy charge.

Then you will have to prove

that they did something,

as you do not now.

Mr. Ascher, you're not

really saying

that a Nazi's politics

should be in the record,

but a communist's should not?

These are momentous times.

We're not technically

at war with the reds,

but we are at war.

Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Ascher?

I'm going to go ahead and

rule for the prosecution

on the grounds that

the politics of your clients

are crucial

to the argument of this trial.

Over my strenuous

objections, your honour.

Noted.

You continue to try

my clients under one law

as if they had broken another.

Poor old Jake.

What he was up against.

The whole temper

of the times was medieval.

Selig Mindish needed

no one else to commit his crime.

The dentist

working in the darkness

of his dental laboratory

to steal the formula

for atomic fission,

there is your spy!

"Selig Mindish, ladies

and gentlemen of the jury,

"he is your spy!

He and he alone is responsible."

God knows.

The pressure was enormous.

I couldn't have come up

with anything better myself.

Perhaps no one could.

I don't understand.

The strategy was

to turn everything back on Mindish,

to show him guiltier

than he himself confessed to being,

to... to show his self-interest

in testifying

against the Isaacsons

to save himself.

He is your spy.

He and he alone.

What?

Don't you see the terrible flaw?

It admits there was a crime.

Your parents and Ascher

gave the prosecution

the one premise

it shouldn't have...

that any crime

was committed at all.

But Mindish confessed.

Why would Mindish confess

if no crime was committed?

Why indeed?

I don't know how well

you remember Selig Mindish.

An ignorant man,

never properly naturalized,

a dubious degree from some

third-rate dental college.

A very ordinary man

perfectly capable of

joining the communist party

for no more than

an exalted sense of himself.

So you ask, what

is the motivation

for a man to do what he did?

Well, one motivation

is to believe,

or to have been

persuaded to believe,

in his own guilt

and to live in mortal fear

of the consequences.

Another is to believe,

or to have been

persuaded to believe,

in the guilt of his friends

and to live in mortal fear

of the consequences.

But there's a third possibility.

Don't you remember

what their lives were like?

They believed.

They had the faith,

and they were prepared

to suffer the passion

of their faith.

We are the people's soldiers

we're marching

with our strengths

to beyond

far and wide

as the eye can wander

heathen folk are everywhere

not a bird sings out to cheer us

folks are standing

gaunt and bare

That's Paul Robeson.

We are the people's soldiers

we're marching with...

This isn't the way we came.

Commie cocksuckers!

Jew bastards!

Are you crazy?!

Officer!

Paul!

You dirty rats! Officer!

Paulie!

Get down!

What are you doing?!

This must not be permitted!

Open the door! Open the door!

Paul!

Ah!

Stop them before

they break him in half!

Commie rats!

You dirty rats!

You commie bastards!

Burning at the stake.

Known to all European nations

through the 19th century.

Used into the 20th century.

Always, in whatever country,

used on the lower classes.

Like the knout,

like drawing and quartering

no accident Joan

of arc was a peasant.

Is this the right day?

Yes, Daniel.

Do they know I'm coming?

I told you, yes.

They're dead.

No...

My little girl...

That is not true.

They are alive.

Not anymore. They were killed.

It was in the newspaper.

How do you know? You can't read.

I can. I've learned how to read.

You sure they want to see us?

More than anything.

Mr. Ascher, any word

on the appeals?

Son, how long has it been

since you've seen your parents?

One more thing, Mr. Ascher.

Everyone knows they're dead.

Who's everyone?

My class.

You're a dope.

What's this?

He has to frisk me.

That's ok, kid.

No, go ahead and search me.

I might have a gun.

That's ok. I'm satisfied

you don't have a gun.

They haven't

seen their parents in over a year.

Yeah? Well, they're here.

Search me.

Now her.

Look at you. Look at you.

You're so big

I don't even recognize you.

We sent you pictures.

It's not the same.

Well, aren't you going

to give me a hug?

You're so big.

You're so beautiful.

You're my beautiful children.

When are they going to kill you?

My darling, they're

not going to do that.

That's just

their way of talking.

I'm sure Uncle Jake

told you about appeals,

about the lawyers who

have to examine the trials.

That takes time.

We're in no danger right now.

But what if they kill you

anyway, how will they do it?

Well, darling, they do

something called electrocution,

and it's very painless.

We don't want

to talk about that.

Aren't you warm?

Take off your coat.

Let me have a look at you.

You're very nicely dressed.

How lovely you look.

Here. I have a little surprise.

And how's school?

Fine.

I'm going to be a lawyer.

Then I can get you free.

This I haven't heard before.

He's going to make

a good lawyer, won't he, Jake?

I won't let them kill you.

I'll kill them first.

Oh, now, where did you

get that expression?

Where's my daddy?

First I get to visit with you,

and then he gets his turn.

Why not together?

Look how long your hair

has gotten. It's so pretty.

Do you see my daddy?

Yes. We get to talk once

a week through a screen.

We went home,

but it was gone.

It's hard to make up for all

the lost time, isn't it?

It's a strange feeling,

isn't it?

We're living with a family.

I know.

It's closer to here

than the shelter.

I know...

The judge made us.

Look, Danny,

you don't understand.

I chose the Lewins

from all the people.

I wanted that for you.

It's going to be some time

before this is over,

and it's too long

to stay in the shelter.

Already?

You'll come back

soon, won't you?

I love you, my sweetest angels.

I love your pictures,

I love your letters.

I'm so proud of you,

you know that?

But soon this will all be over,

and we'll have peace again.

It's a terrible thing

to do to people, isn't it?

But don't you worry,

we'll get out of here.

We'll have fun again.

How are the two best

children in the world?

How are my favourite children?

Oh, look at them, Jake.

A million dollars!

A million dollars!

You know what I got here?

Do you?

I'm going to show you.

Watch carefully.

Bug collection.

How did you catch them?

Paper cup. I can't keep

them from drying out.

And they won't let me

have preservatives.

But the insect world

is truly amazing.

Come here. Look at this moth.

Isn't that beautiful?

Aw, come here.

Isn't it beautiful?

I hate... I hate them things.

These are roaches.

I can usually find

all the specimens I need,

but you got to trick them.

Sometimes it takes hours.

Uh...

You know, I figured it out...

I'm not more than 20 feet

from your mother

as the crow flies.

I'm one floor below

and I'm one block over.

Of course, there's a lot

of stone between us,

and poor mommy's

all alone up there.

She's the only woman.

I, at least, have

murderers to talk to.

You still a baseball fan?

You know, they put

the giants game

over the, uh...

Over the loudspeakers.

They'll make a fan of me yet.

Also, I play chess

with the other inmates.

We put the, uh...

We make our boards and

our chessmen out of paper.

And then we shout the moves.

I always thought chess

was a waste of time.

And it is. It's

a terrible waste of time.

Time. It's valuable.

Now, you can put innocent...

you can put

innocent people to jail,

but you can't put

their minds in jail.

You understand?

What's wrong? I burn you?

Look here. It didn't fall.

The Ash is still here, you see?

Don't worry. I wouldn't

hurt my boy.

They are the ones

with the minds in jail.

But you can't put

innocent people to death

in this country

because it can't be done.

You'll see. Public opinion

will get behind us.

You'll see, my handsome boy.

Am I right, Jake? Huh?

Of course.

No, wait, no! Before

our trial even started,

we were convicted

by the paid hirelings of the kept press.

And it was not

a fair trial on that ground alone.

Paul, I don't think now...

no! You listen! You be quiet!

It's all right, it's all right.

I want my son to know

we're not alone, the Isaacsons.

Soon, the whole world

is going to be behind us

in our fight

to regain our freedom.

And he can help.

And you want to help,

don't you? Huh?

Yeah.

That's right!

Oh, you, you!

You know, you are

my brilliant boy.

You are my wonderful,

brilliant boy.

You know, you're getting

to look like me.

Am I?

You, ah... You're luckier.

You're the image of your mother.

You're a beauty

just like your mom.

Jake, isn't that

an ideal situation, huh?

What could a father ask for...

his son take after him,

and his daughter after his wife.

Is that not ideal?

Absolutely.

We have an ideal family.

Now my soul is a witness

for my lord

yes, my soul is a witness

for my lord

now my soul is a witness

for my lord

yes, my soul is a witness

for my lord

now Daniel was a Hebrew child

he went to pray

to his God for a while

king at once for Daniel did send

cast him into the lion's den

the lord sent an angel

the lion's but a king

and Daniel lay down

and went to sleep

Daniel was a witness

for my lord

yes, Daniel was a witness

for my lord

oh, Daniel was a witness

for my lord

yes, Daniel was a witness

for my lord

now who will be a witness

for my lord

yes, who will be a witness

for my lord

now who will be a witness

for my lord

who will be a witness

for my lord

Hi, Linda.

Mr...

Come on, Linda.

It's me. Danny Isaacson.

Weeks Avenue?

Jeez. Linda Meentan?

This is very nice.

I bet you're a very

good dentist, Linda.

You always had strong hands.

I can still feel

those pokes in the ribs.

You know, and you were good

at bending back fingers, too.

Sand in the eyes.

What do you want?

Hmm?

What are you doing here?

Oh, I... I happened

to be in the neighbourhood.

Danny, I, uh, I'd like

you to meet Dale.

He's a lawyer.

What can we do for you?

Pretty good.

Linda did the right thing.

You can't barge in

on people like this

and expect them to put

out the welcome mat.

She has no way of

even knowing you are who you say you are.

Oh, no, no, no, no. That's him.

That's Danny Isaacson.

Linda's a big girl,

and I can only

advise her what to do.

She and her family

have nothing to fear.

They are not obliged

to discuss that case or see you at all.

Do you need money?

What's your problem?

Dale, why don't you shut

up a fucking minute?

I want to warn you,

as a lawyer, an intimidation,

threatened or implied,

obscene language or slander,

in the State of California.

Uh, I'm hoping

your father can help settle some questions.

As far as I know, all the questions

were settled a long time ago.

Do you... do you want

me to talk in front of this guy?

This guy and I

are going to be married.

Um...

I'm interested to know

how you and your mother

supported yourselves

after your father went to jail.

It's none of his business.

You were 14 or 15,

but when you moved here,

you went to college

and dental school.

Linda, you're not obliged...

it's all right, sweetheart.

When, uh...

When my father went to prison,

my mother and I

suffered terribly.

But something good

happened, too.

You see, I discovered

resources in myself

I otherwise might not have.

And from what I understand,

neither you nor your sister

have been that fortunate.

In many ways,

it's been tougher

for me than for you.

I mean, your parents, after all, were

considered heroes in some circles.

But Selig Mindish,

he was a hero to no one.

To say the least.

We, uh...

We lost our friends,

and we lost our honour.

And the years he spent in jail

ruined his health.

I'll tell you something.

I often dreamed that

if we could change places,

the Isaacsons and the Mindishes,

I'd be glad to stand

in your shoes,

just so you could stand in mine.

Could I please

have your hankie, Dale?

Well, it's a nice

thought, Linda.

It's a nice thought.

A nice thought! You know,

I owe you nothing!

Your parents were

full of high ideas,

except when it came

to other people!

Except when it came to ruining

the lives of friends!

What does that mean?

What does that mean?

They led my father down

the garden path.

He chauffeured them

where they wanted to go,

he fixed teeth for them,

he... he turned

into a spy for them.

Linda, honey, calm yourself.

Well, Linda, the awful

Isaacsons are dead. They're dead!

Now all you have to

worry about is me.

But what can

I do? Tell people your real name?

No, this is...

this is Southern California.

This is orange county. I mean,

after all, Selig helped

bust a commie spy ring.

His testimony is

a matter of record.

Yeah, it is, it is,

but things that

seemed clear then aren't clear now.

For instance,

you ever ask him why he testified?

Why... why he confessed?

That's a naive question.

Why? Why? Why?

'Cause he was... 'cause he was caught?

He had no choice? Or

because he was sorry for what he had done

or... or because he wanted

to save himself?

That's what Jake Ascher thought.

That Selig fingered my

parents to save himself.

As for my parents,

I don't know what they thought.

Robert Lewin thinks it

was an act of sacrifice.

What are you talking about?

Nobody knows what happened!

Nobody knows what

really happened!

Even the government!

They were never satisfied.

They had the...

the criminal masterminds

they've gotten

the death sentence for.

I mean, right up to the end,

they were ready to deal.

They only arrested my mother

to get my father to talk,

to try to break my father.

You know, they had this...

this little phone...

In the death chamber...

In case he wanted to confess.

Confess to what? Didn't

they already have him?

I mean, they... they sat

him down in the chair,

in the electric chair,

right?

Where he could see

the fucking phone...

And they were ready

to commute the sentence

if he told them

who really ran the atomic spy ring.

You know, there

was this other couple

that lived, uh, in the Bronx.

They belonged to

the Bronx membership.

And everyone believed they'd gone

underground to do dangerous work.

Even I heard that.

Did your... did your dad ever mention them?

Did he ever mention them?

Their name or

anything like that?

No, Danny.

No one did. No one ever

mentioned their name...

Without lowering their voices.

The daredevil heroes

of the Bronx.

I mean, after all, the

party was falling apart.

People needed to feel

good about something.

And, you know,

this other couple...

They were supposed to have

lived a few blocks from us.

And they were

supposed to have had two children.

You poor tormented boy.

Yeah, well, it's hard

to get it down. I know.

I'm not sure I understand.

Of course you

have no proof of this.

Of course, and that's

why I want to see Selig.

You stop calling

my father Selig.

I've got his fillings

in my teeth!

Let me... let me see

if I understand.

Oh, Dale, it's insane.

You're saying that Dr. Mindish

lied about your parents

in deference to another couple

who looked like them?

No, I don't know

if they looked like them.

No, I mean... I mean,

to protect another couple,

that everyone thought when

undercover to do dangerous work.

Uh... To keep the FBI away

from people of real value.

They were closing in

to get the heat off.

And that this mythical couple,

these other people.

Are the ones

who actually stole the secrets?

Well, not necessarily.

You know,

it's never been proven.

It's never been proven

that any secrets were stolen.

It's not what happened

or was going to happen.

It is what Selig and/or some of

the others thought had happened!

I mean, it... it was

as much fantasy

as what the, uh,

FBI thought had happened!

And your parents

lent themselves to this deception?

Uh...

My father...

Yeah, I think he would

have figured it out...

And gambled.

I don't think my mother would

have known anything about it.

You know...

I feel sorry for you.

I knew that's

why he came here...

To find, uh, you know, some

way of squirming out of it.

God.

It's pathetic.

Ha ha. Oh, God.

The more I think about it.

You know, my papa didn't

tell the half of it.

They were into all sorts

of things that never came up at the trial.

Missiles, germ warfare,

gas, everything.

Your parents

ran the show, Danny.

They planned things,

they paid people off.

Lasers! You know,

they were into lasers

years before anybody had

even heard of lasers.

So don't tell me my papa

sacrificed them or anybody.

Another couple?

My God. It's pitiful.

Linda, I didn't come

3,000 Miles to hear the family line.

Look, I've wasted enough time.

Please. I-I-I'm sorry.

We can't do anything for you.

Oh, Linda.

You're not the little

hipster I used to know.

Dale here with his Dacron suit,

his little tie,

his nice little haircut.

I mean, if they were

his parents,

he'd want it to be

another couple.

But look at me.

Do I look like Dale?

Whatever it is, Linda,

I can live with it.

Shit, this could

be another planet.

I think there's

something wrong with you.

Don't you want

your life on earth?

Don't you want to come

back to the world?

Whatever it is, Linda,

I want to live with it.

Let Selig tell me

what you just told me.

Let him tell me,

let me know the guys he put the finger on,

the guys who did it

or didn't do it...

I want to hear it from him.

I want to know.

That's all.

Hello, papa.

Papa...

Do you remember Danny Isaacson?

Hmm?

You see?

You can ask him

anything you want, Danny.

Hello, Dr. Mindish.

It's Danny.

It's Danny.

Danny Isaacson.

Paul and Rochelle's son.

Danny?

It's...

It's Danny.

It's all right, papa.

It's all right.

Do you remember Susan,

your little girl Susan?

I wanted to give her something.

Is there such a thing

as too much hope?

Electricity is a form of energy.

It is generated by power

sources driven by water,

steam, or atomic fission.

The two leading electric

power producing countries

in the world are

the United States of America

and the union of the Soviet

Socialist Republics.

The theory of electricity

is that atoms

gain or lose electrons.

Thus become positively

or negatively charged.

In this way,

a current is produced

and a current is designed

to flow through a circuit.

Aw, Paulie.

Aw, my pop.

Oh, Rochelle.

I will not have him here.

Let my son

be bar mitzvahed today.

Let our deaths

be his bar mitzvah.

You'll have to do it again.

There's a man going 'round

taking names

there's a man going 'round

taking names

he has taken my mother's name

and has left my heart in pain

there's a man going 'round

taking names

there's a man going 'round

taking names, taking names

there's a man going 'round

taking names, taking names

he has taken my father's name

and has left my heart in pain

there's a man going 'round

taking names

now death is the man

taking names

yes, death is the man

taking names

he has taken my brother's name

and has left my heart in pain

there's a man going 'round

taking names

We're ready for the service.

You wanted your own rabbi.

The name?

Uh, Susan. Susan Isaacson.

That's Susan Isaacson.

Yes, sir.

That's Susan...

Susan...

Isaacson. Susan Isaacson.

And then when you're

through with that,

in the name of Paul...

Paul...

And then

in the name of Rochelle.

And Rochelle.

In the name of all of them.

This little light of mine

I'm going to let it shine

this little light of mine

I'm going to let it shine

this little light of mine

I'm going to let it shine

let it shine

let it shine

let it shine

everywhere I go

I'm going to let it shine

everywhere I go

I'm going to let it shine

everywhere I go

I'm going to let it shine

let it shine

let it shine

let it shine

All through the night

I'm going to let it shine

all through the night

I'm going to let it shine

all through the night

I'm going to let it shine

let it shine

let it shine

let it shine