Force of Evil (1948) - full transcript

(Bell ringing)

(Joe) 'This is Wall Street.

'And today was important
because tomorrow, July 4th,

'I intended to make
my first million dollars.

'An exciting day in any man's life.

'Temporarily, the enterprise
was slightly illegal.

'You see, I was the lawyer
for the numbers racket.'

- Buck on 823.
- 823, one dollar.

- Good morning, Mr Morse.
- Good morning, Mr Morse.

- Morning.
- Good morning, Mr Morse.

- Put a dime on 776 for me tomorrow.
- 776.



How do you like that for luck, Bob?

Today's winner's 114.
I had a dime on 113.

- Didn't I?
- (Bellhop) Yeah, you did.

I nearly made 60 bucks
except for that one little digit.

600 to 1.

- You gonna play 776 tomorrow?
- Nah, 823.

This morning,
I nearly got hit by a car.

And you know what the last number
of the license was? 823.

I figure if I live through today,
it's my lucky number.

Am I right, Mr Morse?

If you don't get killed,
it's a lucky day for anybody.

- Nickel on 776.
- 776? That's a nickel.

'The suckers bet on any combination
of three numbers

'selected from the totals bet
at some race track that day.



'20 million bettors a day in the US.'

Tell Mr Wheelock I wanna see him.

'Annual income to cheap crooks
and racketeers?

'Over one hundred million dollars.

'It seemed a shame for so much
good money to go to waste...'

- (Phone buzzes)
- '...in other people's pockets.'

Yeah.

Oh, Mary, hold all my calls
and cancel everything.

Well, make it for Friday.
Thank you.

(Phone ringing close by)

Hello?

Mr Tucker?

- Well, sure. Put him on.
- (Knocking at door)

One minute, Hobe.

Hello, Ben?
Fine. Right. Right.

I'll be there in a few minutes.
Bye.

Come in, Hobe.

- Morning, Joe.
- Morning.

I wonder if you can help me out
with this.

No shine today, Louie.
Thanks.

You know that new Galahad,
the governor appointed?

Our new special prosecutor?

(Hobe) Link Hall?
(Joe) Yeah, Hall.

His father was in the class
ahead of me at Harvard.

You know the son?

I gave the boy a pony
for his 4th birthday,

but I haven't seen
a great deal of him since.

- Since when?
- Since the market fell in on me in '29.

Do you think you can manage
to invite the son up for dinner soon?

- Why?
- Well, I...

Louie, would you mind stepping out
a moment, please?

Thank you.

If we knew which side of the street
Hall was working,

our client, Mr Ben Tucker,
might appreciate it.

We don't want any collisions
we don't have to have.

We've got a big retainer to change
the numbers racket into a legal lottery.

Joe...

...you usually know
what you're doing,

but it's one thing to represent
Tucker legally, as his lawyer, I mean.

I mean, it's the business of lawyers
to protect a lot of people.

They, er... even teach that
at Harvard.

Yes?

But the minute you start
doing business for Tucker,

doing Tucker's business,
it's a different thing, Joe.

Lawyers are not protected
from the law.

Tucker is making me rich,
Hobe,

and I'm your partner
who's making you rich.

I wear his old school tie
and you wear mine.

You can buy one for yourself
during lunch hour off any pushcart.

Louie.

Finish his shine.

(Tucker) How much
have you got here, Joe?

25,000. There's another 60
in my office safe.

Well, there's 50 more here.
It will be more than plenty.

We only want to finance
12 of the banks, Joe, the big ones...

...and your brother's little bank,
of course, so it makes 13.

The rest can go to the wall,

and the combination
will take over their trade.

You going up
to see your brother now?

Can I be frank with you, Ben?

Edna always says that to me.

She says,
"I'm going to be frank, Ben."

Then out it comes, something
mean and terrible about me

or something foolish
about herself.

I'll be foolish, Ben.

I'm a lawyer,
your clever little lawyer,

and I've taken over the formation
of this numbers monopoly

to make it legal, respectable,
and... very profitable for you.

- And I've done it for two reasons.
- What's the second reason?

Frankly, the first is money.

But the second reason
is my brother.

He's 50 years old,
a man with heart trouble...

...and when 776 hits tomorrow
and wipes out his capital,

it will wipe out his life.

He'll turn white and die...

...ashamed to be old and broke.

That's my problem.

He won't come into the combination
unless I force him,

and I can't force him
unless I tell him about 776.

You'll tell him
nothing of the kind.

- It's the only way, Ben!
- It's the only way to ruin us! No!

- I tell you, it's safe!
- No!

You'd better not go up
and see your brother at all.

Now, look, Joe,
let's get the picture clear.

Tomorrow's the 4th of July,

the one day in the year
when there's a superstition

to bet one number, 776.

Tomorrow, the nickels and dimes
and pennies of every sucker

goes on 776, right?

That's right.

Now, we're fixing
that number to hit,

and the bankers
are gonna go broke

because they got no distribution
on the betting.

You know, I didn't have to invest
all this money, Joe.

I could have called in
my ex-beer partner Ficco

with his handful of Chicago shooters
and just taken all those banks.

Like I did beer in '27.

But you, you said no.

You're my smart lawyer.

- Right?
- That's right.

You said you were trying
to work up public sentiment

to get a law passed
making numbers a legal lottery,

like lotteries are in Ireland or Cuba
or like race track betting is here,

and that any rough stuff
would kill the chance dead.

And I said "All right, Joe."

- Right?
- Right.

I can't help it if you have a problem
with an older brother, Joe.

I can't risk 200,000 dollars
for sentimental reasons.

Don't worry
about your brother, Joe.

He won't die of heart failure

as long as he remembers
he has a rich brother.

Rich relatives are better
than doctors or medicine.

- OK, Ben, OK.
- And just remember, Joe,

you and I are the only ones
who know about 776.

I have no reason
to tell anybody.

- Don't you trust me?
- Of course I trust you, Joe.

I just want you to know
how worried I am.

Got a match, mister?

Keep them.

'I hadn't seen
my brother Leo for years,

'and here he was,
back in the slums

'where we were born.

'He ran a small numbers bank

'the way another man
runs a restaurant or bar.

'These collection offices
were called banks,

'and they were like banks
because money was deposited there.

'They were unlike banks because
the chances of getting money out

'were 1,000 to 1.

'These were the odds
against winning.'

What do you want, mister?

I would like to see my brother,
Leo Morse.

I'm Joe Morse.

'The banks were located
behind poolrooms,

'in lofts, cellars, or hidden
in slum apartments like Leo's.'

Wait here a minute.

(Man) Big play on 776 today.

People got a superstition
to play it every 4th of July.

The old liberty number...
never hits.

Mr Morse, there's a man
outside to see you

who says he's your brother.

My brother?
What does he look like?

Like a firecracker, you dope...
like your brother.

- How are you, Leo?
- What do you want, Joe?

I came to see you, Leo.
Do I need a particular reason?

You wouldn't come around here
if you didn't have a particular reason.

What's the difference?
We're brothers.

Is it a social visit
or a business visit?

I haven't seen you
in an age.

What is it? I'm busy.

Leo, I've come to take you
out of this air shaft

and put you in a real office
in a real business

to pay you back for everything
because you're my older brother.

- That's why I'm here.
- Come around after I'm dead.

I had to fight to get
this proposition for you, Leo.

I had to stick my neck way out.
Now, you listen to me!

Something very serious is about
to happen to your business.

You're one of 20 or 30 numbers banks
in the city, one of the smaller ones.

Suppose a combine moves in.

Suppose it organizes
and merges these banks,

eliminating the little ones,
like yours.

You're listening now, aren't you?

Suppose it reduces the overhead,
legal fees, bail bonds.

Supposing it reduces the cost
and guarantees the profits.

A man like you would be
out of business, wouldn't you?

You couldn't compete, could you?

But suppose you had a brother

and this brother made your bank
the number one bank

in the combination, in the merger,
in the corporation.

What corporation?
Tucker?

- (Knock on door)
- Come in.

I've got the tickets
for the winners, Mr Morse.

And what does this corporation
expect from me, brother Joe?

In return for the organization...

I have no secrets from Doris.
If you want to talk, talk. If not, go.

In return for the organization
and service,

in return for taking you
into the combination,

the corporation gets 2/3 of the profits
and you get 1/3...

2/3 for Tucker, brother Joe,
and 1/3 for me, for my own business?

Do you know what that is, Joe?
Blackmail!

That's what it is!
Blackmail!

My own brother blackmailing me!

You're crazy!
You're absolutely crazy mad!

- You're not listening to me!
- I don't want it!

You know why you don't want it?
I'll tell you why,

because you're a small man.

Because if it's a small thing,
you're a tiger.

But if it's a big thing, you shout
and yell and call me names.

"Oh, no, a million dollars for Leo?

"Oh, no, must be the wrong address.

"It must be somebody next door."

The answer is no!

You understand your "no" won't stop
the merging of these banks,

yours included!

Leo, Leo, this is your chance,
the one I got for you.

You take your chance, Joe,
and get out of here.

I'm an honest man here,

not a gangster
with that gangster Tucker!

Are you telling me,
a corporation lawyer,

that you're running
a legitimate business here?

What do you call this?

Payoffs for gambling.
An illegal lottery. Policy.

Violation 974 of the penal code.
Policy. The numbers racket.

I do my business honest
and respectable!

Honest? Respectable?

Don't you take the nickels,
and dimes and pennies

from people who bet,
just like every other crook,

big or little, in this racket?
They call this racket "policy"

because people bet
their nickels on numbers

instead of paying their weekly
insurance premium.

That's why policy.

That's what it is,
and that's what it's called.

And Tucker wants to make millions,
you wanna make thousands,

and you, you do it
for 35 dollars a week.

But it's all the same,
all policy!

This is my secretary,
my stenographer,

my friend Doris Lowry.

She's been with me a long time.
She's like a daughter to me.

And you...

I wanted to be the lawyer,
and I could have been the lawyer

if I threw you out of the house
when our parents died.

But, no, I worked
for you like a fool.

For you!
And I gave you everything!

Why do you talk this way
to me in front of strangers?

She's no stranger to me!
You're the stranger!

And I'll tell the whole world
because you're my brother.

And I owe it to the whole world,
because you're my brother,

what you are: a crook
and a cheat and a gangster.

Leo, be calm.

Tucker will make you honest,
Tucker will make you respectable.

He's giving me a quarter
of a million dollars

to create public sentiment
to make policy legal,

like bingo, bango,
and the Irish sweepstakes.

I'm paying you back, Leo.
I'll make you rich,

with an office on Wall Street
up in the clouds!

Be calm, Leo.
Be sensible.

All right. I am sensible.
I am calm.

I'll give you my answer
calmly and sensibly.

My final answer.
My final answer is finally no.

The answer is no,
absolutely and finally no.

Finally and positively no!

No! No! No!

N-O!

Bunte, this is Morse.
Are you clean? Can I talk?

I want you to get a tip in
to the police

so they throw a raid
into my brother's bank.

I'll take the responsibility.

I want this done right away,
this afternoon.

I want my brother to know
that Tucker is running policy.

I wanna force him in.

I'm on the street.

Let's not make a big spiel
out of this.

I want my brother kept in jail
till I get him out.

Going home, Doris?

Yes, Mr Morse, but I wanted
to talk to you first if I could.

About what?

Well, that's not very easy
to say, Mr Morse.

It's not very easy to say.

I've been thinking
about it all afternoon.

If there's something
you want to say, say it, Doris.

Well, I just wanted to say that...

You know I'm grateful for everything
you've done for me.

You know that, don't you?

You sound so sad.
Is there something wrong?

Has something happened?

I haven't forgotten that you gave me
my first job, Mr Morse.

Believe me,
I haven't forgotten it.

And I haven't forgotten how,
when times were bad

And you had no money to take home,
I always had my salary.

I haven't forgotten that.

You sound as though
you were leaving me, Doris.

No, Mr Morse,
I'm not leaving you.

There's nothing I wouldn't do
for you or Mrs Morse.

You've both been so kind.

But I'm leaving this job.

Something my brother said
upset you.

Black sheep like to make
everybody else look black.

That's right, and it's very easy
when they are black.

But I'm only here to say
that all afternoon

I've been thinking
that's the way I feel now,

and I simply can't work here
anymore, Mr Morse.

- I simply can't. I have to leave.
- Then leave.

Then quit.
You're young, Doris.

You'll discover as you grow older

that sometimes a man does things
he'd prefer not to do.

I'm not trying to say
anything about you, Mr Morse.

I'm only talking about myself
and why I feel I can't stay here.

Then leave.

I'm sorry, Mr Morse.

Thanks for the tears.

That Mr Morse's brother
is Tucker's lawyer,

isn't he, Mr Bauer?

He's worse.
He's Tucker's brains.

(Screams)

- That's Tucker's brains.
- What are you talking about?

(Knock on door)

- Who is it?
- Open up. The police.

(Officer) Go on! Open up!

(Man) Hey!

Stay where you are!
Don't anybody move.

The other door!

Open up!

Open up!

(Glass shattering)

Open up!

- What's going on here?
- Sorry, Mr Morse.

You did that too late.

Everybody gone crazy all of a sudden?
Who sent you?

We got a warrant,
violation 974.

Milletti's office.

- (Woman) What's going on, Mr Morse?
- That's all right. Take it easy.

Take it easy now.
It'll be all right.

(Officer) Now listen, everybody.

We're going downstairs quietly,
you understand? In single file.

There's a patrol wagon
at the curb.

Who are you calling, Mr Morse?

Hello! Hello!
Ruddy, please. Leo Morse.

Who do you think
you're pushing around here?

Ruddy? Guess what.

The whole place
is full of police.

No, they dropped in for tea!

Never mind.

I'm taking it easy!
Milletti, yes!

Where are your handcuffs?
My lawyer will meet us with a key.

This lady was just visiting here
to see a friend.

- She doesn't work for me.
- That's got nothing to do with me.

Please, Mr Lieutenant,
I can't ride in the patrol wagon.

It's too narrow,
and it's too dark!

Don't put him in the patrol wagon.
Put him in a taxi, I'll pay the fare.

Taxi? We're not going
to a dance, Mr Morse.

The wagon's no good for him.
He's a sick man.

- He's got a complex.
- Claustrophobia.

I can't help it, I got it!

When he was a taxi driver,
his cab fell in the river with him.

He got a disease
under the water, a fear.

He can't stand being cramped
in a small, dark space.

He should have thought of that
before he began committing violations.

We'll let him ride up front
in the open. Come on.

Don't give your right name so
your mother won't read it in the paper.

Oh, please, Mr Morse.

Mary, what took you
so long to answer?

Has my brother called yet?

Well, he will, the dumb mule.

No, I'm still at Tucker's apartment.
I'll be here.

Yes.

- Nothing yet, Joe?
- No, Ben, nothing yet.

But he'll call.

The spot I put him in,
where else can he go for help?

- Let's get on with this.
- Sit down.

I've got 25,000 dollars for you
to play with, two & two.

- Will that be enough?
- You'll get change.

Does he know exactly
what he has to do?

I been telling him all day.
He knows it like a poem.

What number do we wanna hit?

776. Don't worry, Mr Morse.
It will come out 776.

One: I throw in the last layoff bet
on the third race.

Johnson's lined up the tote clerks
to help me there.

Two: I throw in enough of a bet
to make the last three digits

on the odds pay-off
come out 7, 7, and 6.

Three: all the change that's left over
from the 25 you give me,

I give back to Johnson,
or I'm in trouble with Johnson.

Four: the minute it's 776
on the tote board,

I check in at Mr Morse's
telephone number,

bowling green 75432.

Five: I meet Johnson at his office
9 o'clock tomorrow night

and get paid.

- (Joe) And the telling. The telling.
- I swear on my grave, the bible,

I tell nobody nothing
and forget how I did it,

or I'm in trouble with Johnson.

(Joe) Fine.

Give me the totals on this.

784,324.

- Say that again, will you?
- 784,324.

I was wondering, Ben.

Everybody downtown
is walking around on tiptoe,

and I was wondering

if we couldn't ease up a little
on this thing for the time being.

Look, Bunte, you look after the politics,
I'll take care of the business.

It's a normal operation.

776 will hit tomorrow
because Taylor makes it hit.

Tomorrow night, every bank
in the city is broken,

And we step in and lend money
to those we want

while we let the rest
go to the wall.

We're normal financiers.

Nothing's normal downtown since
the governor set Hall up in business.

(Tucker) Does he get the cigar?

Hmm. He gets the cigar.

Ben, I'll call night court again.

How do you do a thing like this?

I was born that way,
like a man with two heads

or a dope with a million bucks.
It's my gift.

'Oakhurst station house.
Sergeant Denute speaking.'

This is Joe Morse.
Is my brother there?

'Yes, Mr Morse.
We have the pleasure of his company.'

- Put him on the phone.
- 'It's irregular to without...'

- Well, see if you can, please.
- 'One minute, Mr Morse.'

- 'Hello?'
- Hello?

'He says
he don't wanna talk to you.'

Tell him I wanna help
get him out of there.

- Tell him I wanna talk to him.
- 'One minute, please.'

Sometimes you act
like a human being,

Like a person who worries.

You're wide open, Joe.

I can see into you
without looking.

Don't bother.
Besides, it's not nice to do.

More interesting than when you have
a rock for a husband, like mine.

He's a stone, that man.

Whole world are rocks
and stones to him.

Why tell me? Tell him.

Never tell him anything.

Makes me feel unnecessary.

If I make you feel necessary,
then I'm making a mistake.

- 'Hello, Mr Morse?'
- Well?

'Well, Mr Morse, your brother says
write him a letter.'

I oughta let him rot in there.

At least a woman could tell
whether you were happy or sad.

She could be happy
or sad with you.

Just because I'm killing myself
over that dumb brother of mine

doesn't mean I'm ready to die
for anyone else.

- Where can I call home?
- Right around the corner, lady.

All that Cain did to Abel
was murder him.

I had nothing to do with it.

All right, you didn't,
but thanks for paying my fine

and unlocking me with the same key
you used to lock me up with.

After tonight, Leo, it will be too late.
Too late, I tell you.

I'll tell you something more, Joe.

You opened my eyes tonight,
and the police opened them further.

I'm closing up after tomorrow.

I'm taking my capital and getting out.
I'm through, I'm finished.

Then get out tonight.

Close up tonight.
Don't wait for tomorrow.

I'm not that big a crook.

People have bets in my bank.
That's a debt.

I'll pay off what I owe tomorrow,
whatever it is,

and then I'm finished.

I'll be able to look in the mirror
and see my face, not yours.

Leo, I'm trying to help you.

Cup of coffee
and a glass of milk.

- Coffee's cold, sir.
- It's a hot night anyway.

I'll have 10, 15,000 dollars
for my capital.

That's all the help I'll need,

but there is one thing
you can do.

Anything, Leo,
if you'll only listen to me.

You listen to me.

That girl Doris,
she needs help.

She quit just before the raid.

You tipped off the police to
on my bank.

And now, like the rest of us,
she's got a misdemeanor

and a fine against her.

She's lost her references,
and it's all your fault.

You've got fancy friends
down on Wall Street.

She's a good secretary.
Get her a job.

I'll thank you for that,
for her, not for me.

All right, I'll do that,
but if anything happens, Leo...

What could happen
that I would need your help?

Oh, I better see Bauer home.

- Would you like a lift, Miss Lowry?
- No.

What am I around here,
a leper?

Just like the rest of us, Mr Morse,
only they haven't caught up with you yet.

I got you all out.
I paid your fines.

What do you want
of me, Mr Morse?

I've got my whole life
to think about now,

- and you won't be of any help.
- How do you know?

You know, everything I touch
turns to gold.

It's raining out, and I promised
my brother to take you home.

Well, that's a lie.

Well, it's not true,
but I would have had he asked.

You know, you can't tell about your life
till you're all through living it.

Come on, I'll give you a lift.
You're tired, I'm tired.

What can happen
to either one of us?

You tell me
the story of your life,

and maybe I can suggest
a happy ending.

I went to a business college
for ten weeks

because my mother
wanted to give me advantages.

- You have many advantages, Doris.
- So did you.

I've known Leo
since I was 13.

I've heard about you
since then.

What did you hear?

Oh, story of the prodigal brother
who never came home,

how much Leo did for you,
how little you did for yourself,

the wild boy in the streets,

the wild man who said
he was a wildcat in the jungle.

That's what I heard.

Your brother kept me on
even when business was bad.

I guess that's why
I pretended to believe

what he pretended to believe:

that running a lottery
was not so bad.

Now my name's in a book,
my fingerprints are in a file,

and no matter how long I live,
people will remember and know it.

And I'll remember and know it.

Oh, I'll know it.

Forget it. You were just
a telephone caller,

came into the police station
and it was a wrong number.

How does it feel
to be a wrong number, Miss Lowry?

Not very nice, Mr Morse.

Not very nice.

Blame me, blame me.
Everybody does.

They do.

Keep the change.

You're a strange man
and a very evil one.

And you're a sweet child
and you want me to be wicked to you.

Now what are you talking about?

Because you're wicked,
really wicked.

What are you talking
so crazy for, Mr Morse?

Because you're squirming for me
to do something wicked to you.

Make a pass for you,
bowl you over, sweep you up,

take the childishness out of you,
and give you money and sin.

That's real wickedness.

What are you trying
to make me think, Mr Morse?

What are you trying
to make me think about myself...

...and you?

Do you know
what wickedness is?

If I put my hand in my pocket
and gave you a ruby,

a million-dollar ruby for nothing,

because you're beautiful
and a child with advantages

and because I wanted to give it to you
without taking anything for myself...

Would that be wicked?

Have you got one?

No.

You know, when I was a little girl,
magicians used to fool me, Mr Morse,

with their high hats and their black capes
and their ruby rings

because I listened to what they said,
they talked so fast,

instead of watching
what they did.

But I'm a big girl now
with a police record, thanks to you,

and I know it's not wicked
to give and want nothing back.

It's perversion.
Don't you see what it is?

It's not natural.

To go to great expense
for something you want,

that's natural.

To reach out to take it,
that's human, that's natural.

But to get your pleasure
from not taking,

from cheating yourself deliberately
like my brother did today,

from not getting,
from not taking...

...don't you see what a black thing
that is for a man to do?

How it is to hate yourself
and your brother,

make him feel that he's guilty,
that... that I'm guilty?

Just to live and be guilty.

'July 4th, Independence Day,
was a normal day at the race track.

'Some horses won,
some horses lost.

'The sun shone equally
on the rich and the poor,

'but for Tucker and me,
a million-dollar business was at stake.

'The numbers banks
exploded into bankruptcy

'as the lucky players won.

'But I had a last proposition
for my brother

'to save his money,
to save his life,

'to clear my conscience.

'And I went up to see him
and his wife.'

Hello, Sylvia.
I was in the neighborhood,

so I thought I'd drop in.

Hello, Leo.

I heard what happened today,
so I came up to tell you

it can be the happiest day
of your life.

You lost a crooked little peanut stand,
now you can open up on Fifth Avenue.

I don't know what he's got in mind,
Leo, but it's not for you.

I'm sorry we've got no money,

but I'm not sorry you're through
with the gambling business.

You never listen to me, Leo.
Listen to me now.

- What's your advice, Sylvia?
- (Sylvia) You're a thief.

A thief's advice is no good.

Listen, Leo, you go down
to your business tomorrow,

and I'll be there,
and I'll see to it

that you get out of the business
in a couple months a rich man.

Don't have anything to do with him, Leo.
You're a businessman.

Yes.

I've been a businessman
all my life.

And, honest, I don't know
what a business is.

Well, you had a garage,
you had a real-estate business.

A lot you know.
Real-estate business?

Living from mortgage to mortgage,
stealing credit like a thief.

And the garage...
That was a business.

Three cents overcharge
on every gallon of gas,

two cents for the chauffeur
and a penny for me.

Penny for one thief,
two cents for the other.

Well, Joe's here now. I won't have
to steal pennies anymore.

I'll have big crooks
to steal dollars for me.

I've got it fixed for you the way I said
because you're my brother.

That's why I'm here.
To tell you it's not so bad.

Well, I'll have to go down
to the office anyway.

Why?

Even a bankrupt
has to put his books in order.

I'll be there, Leo,
with a new set of books for you.

All right, let's eat.

If you're here, you might as well
sit down and have some supper.

Thanks, I... I have a few things
to attend to.

I'll see you tomorrow.
Good night.

Good night, Sylvia.

Well, if it isn't Miss Lowry.

How are you, Doris?

You look fine in my roses.
Where are you going?

Upstairs. I'm having dinner
with your brother and his wife.

- I wouldn't go up there, Doris.
- Why? I go up there all the time.

Don't you have
anything better to do?

- I'm free the rest of the night.
Well, enjoy your freedom.

I wouldn't interrupt them up there.
They're in the wrong mood.

You see, I dropped
a million dollars in their laps

- and they're learning how to count.
- They're waiting for me, Mr Morse.

I'm in a wonderful mood, Doris,
happy, relaxed...

Wouldn't you like to find out
how charming I am?

Why not?

- Now I've lost the elevator.
- I'll get you a better one.

Wouldn't you like to celebrate
on a really large scale, Miss Lowry?

What are you celebrating,
Mr Morse?

- A clear conscience.
- Oh? Whose?

- Now, don't be self-righteous, Doris.
- I don't approve of you instinctively.

I don't approve of myself.
See? We agree.

Come out with me, and I'll wine you
and dine you and dance you.

And in the early hours of the morning,
when you're relaxed and tired, I'll...

...I'll kiss you good night.

I don't think you'd enjoy
my company, Mr Morse.

Of course not,
but you'd enjoy mine.

Don't say no
when you wanna say yes,

and don't say yes
when you wanna say no.

You're like Leo. He wanted to come
into the combination all the time

but he wanted to be forced,
the way you do,

in order to maintain a moral superiority
over me, which doesn't exist.

Did you make him come into
this Tucker thing with you?

Did you make him do that?

I pretended to make him
and he pretended to be forced.

Is that what you want?

There must be something in you
that's evil and corrupt.

If you're going to preach,
you need a soapbox.

You're not very receptive tonight.

That's because you don't know
what you want from me,

but when you come down
to the office tomorrow for that job,

- I'll try again.
- You'll never see me there.

I still have that ruby, Doris.

You got 35 dollars a week
working for Leo.

I'll get you 100, and I'll bet you
a barrelful of roses you'll be there.

Joe.

- Who are you?
- It's our bookkeeper, Mr Johnson.

It's Mr Bauer.

This is a fine time to be getting in.
From now on, get here on time.

(Leo) 'The rest of you, if you don't
wanna cooperate, leave now.

'All right. Combination supplies
the financing on the following terms:'

the capital we advance
to pay off 776

is to be a prior lien
on the business itself

with regular 6% interest
and a 5,000 dollar bonus

for making the loan.

It's to be paid off by the week,
so much a week,

as much as the business
can handle.

And each banker gets a drawing account
of 75 a week

till the debt's paid off,
then 1/3 of the profits.

Is that clear?

You're a bookkeeper now
for a big organization, Mr Bauer.

Mr Richards, I won't waste time.
I've got bad news for you.

I'm getting used to it.

Mr Morse, I got to speak to you
right away.

Excuse me.

Now, Bauer,
what's the trouble?

Just like Doris, Mr Morse,
I'm quitting.

I just wanted to tell you so you could get
somebody else for tomorrow.

- Tomorrow?
- This place makes me sick.

You've got eyes, Freddy.

You can see for yourself
I'm not alone in business anymore.

Mr Morse,
what did you put me into?

I didn't put you into anything.
They put me!

Did you put me into this
without my knowing or saying?

Did you do a thing
like this to me?

You came to work in a racket
because you wanted the extra money.

Now you'll get a raise.

You're working for a big corporation
instead of a little man.

You're bookkeeper
for 13 banks instead of one.

You're getting ahead
in the world.

I don't want it!
I'm not your slave!

Wait a minute.

- Leo, what's the trouble?
- He wants to quit.

If he quits, how will
I handle the merger?

All right, you go in and write off
the rest of those gravestones.

- I'll talk to Bauer.
- I'll tell you the truth, Joe.

I don't have the stomach
for this kind of business.

What do you mean,
"this kind of business"?

Every organization has to rely
on its people when it needs them.

Go ahead.

Mr Bauer, will you come in here
a moment?

Mr Bauer... I'd like to straighten out

whatever trouble
there seems to be here if I can.

- There's no trouble, I just wanna quit.
- Is that fair?

Maybe it isn't,
but that's what I wanna do.

Why go out of your way
to make trouble for yourself?

What do you mean?

Well, we're reorganizing
the whole business now.

We need every man's loyalty
at this time.

You can't make me stay, you can't.
How can you make me?

What are you gonna do?

I want to be friends
with all you people.

I'm looking ahead to where we can work
on a nice, friendly basis.

I don't believe in an employer
who has to say to his people,

"You've got to."

I like an employer whose people
do things by themselves

because they like to, because
they're loyal to the business.

If I go now and walk out of here,
how are you gonna stop me?

How, if I say I won't stay
and walk out of here,

how are you gonna stop me?

The combination
will stop you, Bauer...

Stop you dead... in your tracks.

You see, Mr Bauer,
I'm just trying to help.

What do you say?

Now, if you have any more trouble,
just let me know,

and I'll try to straighten it
out for you. That's my job.

- Good night, everybody.
- Good night.

I think I'm gonna quit this job.

I don't like working in a place
run by gangsters

- and where they have police raids.
- See this nickel?

It belongs to Tucker,
and so do we.

Well, I'm gonna quit,
just the same.

It frightens me
to work here.

What are you talking about?

We can't quit.
They won't let us.

You heard them. They said
they'd kill me if I quit.

They said they'd kill you,
Mr Bauer.

You're the head bookkeeper here.
They need you.

They don't need us.

Maybe we'll all be
without a job soon.

I read in the papers
where Hall said

he's going to raid these banks
out of business.

And he could, too, if he knew
where all the banks were

and where they moved
each time.

Are you coming, Mr Bauer?

No, I have a few things
to do yet.

- Good night.
- Good night, Mr Bauer.

Hello?
I want Mr Hall's office.

Hello? I want to report a policy bank,
a numbers bank.

I want you to raid them
right away,

tomorrow when they open
for business.

And when they open again,
I want you to raid them again.

Wherever they open,
I'll tell you where.

I want them raided
out of business.

Never mind who I am.

If you raid this bank, I'll tell you
where the others are, too.

And if they move, I'll tell you
where they move to.

The address is 1721 Edgecombe.

I can't talk anymore now.

Just a minute there.

I wanna talk to you.
You're Bauer.

- Who are you?
- I'm Wally.

I got a proposition
for you, Bauer,

a chance to make
a little money for yourself

on the QT, under the rose.

I'm not interested
in any propositions.

Just a minute.
I'm doing a job for Bill Ficco.

He used to be Tucker's partner
in the beer days.

What's that got to do
with me?

Ficco's going into
the numbers business.

He needs a little information
and I'm trying to help.

He wants a list of Tucker's banks,

the bankers, the collectors,
the controllers.

He wants to arrange a meeting
with Leo Morse to discuss the matter.

Why don't you ask Mr Morse?

He'd be afraid to get together
with Ficco on account of Tucker.

We're the competition.

But if you could get Leo Morse
to some quiet place, we'd be there.

That's all you have to do.

Just get him there,
and we'll do the rest.

I don't wanna have anything to do
with gangsters.

What do you mean, gangsters?
It's business.

- Good night, Mr Wheelock.
- Good night.

- Good night, Mary.
- Good night.

- Hey! What is this, a parade?
- I guess so.

Good night.

Take the rest of the day off.

Mr Morse, there's someone
waiting to see you in the office.

Want that ruby, don't you?

(Wheelock) Joe,
may I see you a moment?

Excuse me.

Mrs Tucker's been waiting to see you
for over a half-hour.

- Good night, Mr Morse.
- Good night.

Mrs Tucker?
What does she want?

Well, you, apparently.
She wouldn't take a substitute.

Handsome woman.

- Have you, er... seen Hall?
- Yes. We're talking.

Well, what's it look like, Hobe?

I don't know, Joe.
Just talking.

- Fine. Good night.
- Good night.

(Joe) Wait for me, Doris.
I won't be long.

(Door opens)

What's on your mind, Edna?

I couldn't telephone,
so I came down in person.

Telephone about what?

Telephone you
about the telephone.

What about the telephone?

Your prosecutor friend Hall
has tapped Ben's telephone.

Well...

...Ben has to expect
those things.

Hall is in the business
and Ben Tucker is his stock in trade.

That's why Ben sent me.

So are you.

I'm an attorney.

Legally, I'm in a fiduciary relationship
with your husband.

Is your telephone with Hall?

Well, you tell Ben he has nothing
to worry about.

Wiretapping evidence
isn't always admissible.

I'll look it up for him.

Look it up for yourself, too,
while you're at it.

Ben tells me if you listen carefully,
if you try it several times,

you can catch them at it.

You can hear a little click.

A little click.

That's someone
lifting a receiver off the hook,

the man who listens.

Have you ever used
that telephone of yours

for anything he shouldn't hear?

I use it for everything.

I'm at the disposal
of my clients.

You might spend
the rest of your life

trying to remember
what you shouldn't have said.

What are you riding me for?
If the phone is tapped, it's tapped.

Well, don't get sore
just because you're scared.

Why don't you test it and see?
That's what Ben did.

That's what he would do.

Did Ben tell you to come here,

or did you offer
to deliver the message?

I offered.

Why are you always offering
to deliver bad news to me?

What do you want?
What are you waiting to see?

What kind of a man you are...
you really are.

Try it on your own man.

I'm trying you.

What are you afraid of,
to show you're afraid?

If you need a broken man to love,
break your husband.

I'm not a nickel. I don't spend
my life on a telephone.

If that's what you want for love,
you can't use me.

But you're not strong
or weak enough.

(Knock on door)

Come in.

Is there anything else
before I go, Mr Morse?

Yes. You can show
Mrs Tucker out.

(Door closes)

'I had expected a certain amount
of trouble from Hall,

'I'd figured on it.

'But it was a little shocking to find out
that he'd moved in so fast.

'It was something to worry about
and something to take care of

'and something to remember.

'Conversations over the phone
aren't much use

'as legal evidence,

'but they tell a smart lawyer
where the evidence can be found,

'what it might be.

'It was the first step in making a case
against the combination,

'and the combination
was Ben Tucker and myself.

'When you make a living,
you accept the risks,

'but I had taken an extra risk
because of Leo

'to give him confidence.

'I had shown my face
to the bankers that morning.

'I had been tough with Bauer
to make it easy for Leo.

'People can be made to talk.

'Was my phone talking, too?

'A man could spend
the rest of his life

'trying to remember
what he shouldn't have said.'

(Click)

(Operator) 'At the tone,
the time will be 7:23 and 1/4.'

(Intermittent signal)

'I had forgotten Doris
for a moment,

'and then I was glad
she was there, waiting.

'She was someone to talk to.

'We walked down Wall Street
to Trinity Church,

'and she kept watching me,

'wondering what had happened
there in that office of mine.

'I think she had made up her mind
to fall in love with me.

'And I wouldn't have minded
at another time.

'It would have been a change
from the kind of women I knew.

'She wanted me to talk,
to tell her, to convince her

'that I didn't realize
what I was doing,

'that I didn't understand
the business I was in,

'but I enjoyed the idea
of convincing her that I did.'

When was it, Mr Morse,
that Tucker walked in?

I'll tell you.

I will tell you, Doris,
how the boom was on,

and I could feel money
spread all over the city like air,

like perfume
from those flowers I gave you.

I could breathe
the smell of money.

And was that
when Tucker walked in?

Yes. And I'm a man.

What have I got to do
with Tucker?

But he opened his pocket,
and I jumped in headfirst.

I sat there
and measured my strength.

I had so much, Doris,

that's the way I figured,
so much strength,

and it all worked out
this way.

I didn't have enough strength
to resist corruption,

But I was strong enough
to fight for a piece of it.

I see.

And now you want
to get out.

Is that what your trouble is?

My trouble is, Miss Lowry,
that I feel like midnight,

and I don't know
what the morning will be,

except, for a little while,
I felt pretty easy here,

talking to you,
liking you.

You're the only one
I ever talk to, Doris.

You're the only one
I ever talk to,

and I don't know why,
except that you caught me tonight

when I would have talked
to the devil.

But I... thank you.

It's the truth, Doris.

A man doesn't tell lies
at midnight,

but now I talk to you
because you're Doris.

You see how lovely
that makes you?

What are you now?

Someone to say,
to fool himself or me, that...

...that you love me?

Not so soon.
I won't tell you that,

but it would be such a comfort to me
to kiss you.

Is that strange?

No.

No, that isn't strange.

Are you from the bus company?

Why? Would you like
to buy a bus?

You look like somebody
I used to know

in the downtown
detective office.

- I do? What's his name?
- I didn't know him that good.

I just used to see him around.

I'm a bus inspector.

If you have a complaint to make
about the service, I'll take it.

- Hello, Mr Bauer.
- Hello, Doris.

You leave early today?

No. I wasn't feeling
so good today,

so I didn't come in,
and then I decided to come in,

but now
I don't feel so good again.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I'm just going up to say goodbye
and get my things.

I'll tell Mr Morse for you.

No. It'll look better since I got so far
to tell him myself.

All right.

Step lively. Let's go.

Say, Miss, you forgot your hat.

- No! I can't ride in a patrol wagon!
- All right, come on.

- I'm not going in...
- Come on!

Let me go! Let me go!

I don't work here!
I don't work here!

Our case is up next, Ben.

I just told the district attorney's office
we'll plead guilty.

It'll be top fines all around.

Anybody can pay fines.

If someone can buy a raid on one
of my banks for a nickel phone call,

I want my 50,000 dollar-a-year
politician to tell me why.

Why and how is what I want to know,
why and how and who.

- It's one of those things.
- It's one of those things I don't like.

This is Goodspeed, Ben.
One of our bankers.

Well, let's hear.

I was taking my dog out for a walk
when they picked me up in this car.

It was Ficco. You remember Ficco
from the beer days?

What is this with Ficco, Ben?

Well, go on.
Don't make a book of it.

Ficco wanted to know
the whole who's who on the banks,

where they were,
who the bankers were,

the facts and figures
on the combination.

I told them I didn't know
because I don't.

Then they kicked me around a little,
took a century out of my pocket,

and dumped me.

Is that all?

We never had anything like this
before you came into the picture, Ben.

- What'll I do?
- Sell your dog.

What is it, Ben?
What's happening?

I know what Ficco wants
and he's not going to get it.

He was up last night
asking for it.

He knows about Hall, too,
and he thinks a little rough stuff

will scare us into
bringing him in.

I told him to his face,
Hall or no Hall,

if he wants to make a deal with us,
he'll make it with a gun.

- Now's the time to be sensible, Ben.
- I am sensible.

But I'll see you all in the gutter,
and I'll see myself in the gutter,

before I lose one nickel of the money
I've invested in this combination.

I didn't bring Leo into the combination
to take a beating,

but that's what it's going to be
from now on in.

I can smell it in the air,
and I want him out.

I want him paid off and out.
I want him out tonight.

That's a fine way
to talk to me, Joe,

after we establish him in the trade
as the number-one bank.

I'll take over instead then.

I'll pay off Leo
and take over myself personally.

That's OK with me, Joe.

The minute you start working
out of the banks,

meeting a hundred people a day,
handling details,

you won't be able to say
you're just Tucker's attorney.

You'll be Tucker's partner.

- But suit yourself about your brother.
- I think we're on now.

(Officer) 'The people versus Leo
Morse, Doris Lowry,

'Frederick Bauer, Edgar Ryan...'

She's in there, Mr Morse.

Can't you see I'm busy
talking to someone?

I wanna talk to you, Doris.

Just send me a bill.
I'll pay your fee.

So I'll be right home, Mother.
Don't worry.

I don't have time
to argue with you.

I wanted to say how sorry I was for
all this, but it doesn't seem necessary.

I'm perfectly all right.
You'd better worry about Leo,

and you'd better worry
about yourself.

When you make a living,
you accept the risks,

but that has nothing
to do with you.

I kept watching you
in the courtroom, and I...

And what, Joe?

If I ever thought of loving you,

it was to love something rotten
and corrupt in myself.

I don't wish to love you
or see you or know you,

And I'll try not to remember you.

I didn't ask you
to go down there.

- You forced Leo to stay in the business.
- He wanted it.

You tempted him,
the way you try to tempt me now

to forget what's so plain here
in front of me.

Well, you'll see.
Leo's not like you, he'll die of this.

Oh, you'll make him rich...
in his death.

Well, I don't wish to die
of loving you.

Leo, I arranged with Tucker
for you to quit tonight.

- I'll pay off your investments.
- I don't want it, Joe.

The money I made
in this rotten business

is no good for me, Joe.
I don't want it back.

And Tucker's money
is no good, either.

The money
has no moral opinions.

I find I have, Joe.
I find I have.

And now I'm speaking to you.
I'm speaking to you

as your older brother
who slaved for you.

You stop now.
Stop now, Joe,

Because I'm getting old,
and old people die.

There will be nobody
to cry for you.

I'll get you the money,
and you're out.

Freddy. You come along
with me, Freddy.

I wanna get a glass of water.

I'm going down to my office.

Mr Morse, I just want you
to know something.

I want you to know that every time
a tip comes over the phone,

you're gonna get a raid,

whoever you are
and whoever you know.

Go ahead and raid, Mr Detective.
You're talking to a retired man.

And next time, Mr Bauer,
next time you call,

just ask for Egan,
the bus inspector.

You'll get personal service.

You, you, you...
do you wanna kill yourself?

To get yourself killed?

Hello? This is Wheelock.

Got everything else,
but I can't get into the safe.

He must have changed
the combination.

All right.
I'm leaving now.

(Puts receiver down)

(Door opens and closes)

'I knew I would never come back
to this fancy office again.

'I could see the cobwebs
on the walls

'and a sign: "Office for rent
for a smart young lawyer

""trying to get ahead
in the world.""

Go in and get your rolls.
I'll wait for you.

Freddy!

Dumb, rotten dog.

Freddy!

Freddy!

Freddy. Freddy!

You stupid fool!

- Do you know what you're doing?
- Let me alone.

What do you think you're doing?

Do you want to make a butcher
of my brother? A murderer?

You want to live, don't you?
You want to live to eat these, don't you?

- Let me alone, please.
- Don't say that to me.

I'll kill you with my own hands

rather than let you put
the mark of Cain on my brother.

Remember me, Bauer?
I'm Wally.

Now is the time to set up that meeting
between Ficco and Leo Morse.

- Tonight.
- I can't do a thing like that.

Come on, Bauer, I'll show you
how you can get out of this jam.

Alive.

Your friend didn't show yet.

What's the matter?
You in a hurry for the table?

Did I say that?

There's no one here.
You're not losing any tips letting me sit.

It makes no difference to me.
I'm here till 3 o'clock anyway.

I thought maybe
you might want to order.

It's getting late, Mr Bauer.

He said he'd come.

I thought you'd never come.

My car was put away.
I had to find a taxi.

I'm glad you called me, Freddy.

I'm glad you thought it over
to listen to me.

To calm down and listen to me
so I can help you.

Coffee.

I know how bad you feel, Freddy.

It was a wicked, foolish thing to do
to put a gun in my brother's hand

for him to kill you.

That's what you wanted to do.
That's what it was.

I know how it feels
to try to find someone to kill you,

to finish you off,

to take the crimes of your life
on his head, in his hands.

Please, Mr Morse, all I want is to quit.
That's all, nothing else.

They won't let me quit, and I wanna quit.
I'll die if I don't quit.

I'm a man with heart trouble.
I die almost every day myself.

That's the way I live.
It's a silly habit.

You know, sometimes you feel
as though you're dying.

Here and here.

Here... You're dying
while you're breathing.

Freddy, what have you done?

Freddy, what have you done to me?

- Take it easy, Pop. You won't get hurt.
- You're coming with us, Pop. Come on!

You can't take all night.
Stand up and walk!

Stop him! Stop him!
He knows me!

Kill him! Kill him!
He knows me!

(? Jazz)

Joe, I'm not going to eat
if you don't eat.

Eat something, you'll feel better.

I'm eating and I feel better.

Why don't you do something
that's good for yourself?

Why don't you stop drinking and eat?
Why don't you go home?

- Just why don't you do something right?
- Hey!

Tell them to play louder.
I have something private to tell the lady.

Yes, Mr Morse.

It's true. It's something private
and I don't want the whole world to hear.

I don't want the whole world to know
what you know.

That Hall, Link Hall,
my partner's friend,

is gonna take my life away
in the morning.

Why are we sitting here, then?

If it's so serious, if it's so bad,

what are you doing here getting drunk
and talking so crazy?

I'm celebrating.
I'm celebrating.

It's a holiday. A holiday is when you
celebrate something that's all finished up

and happened a long time ago

and now there's nothing left
to celebrate but the dead.

- You talk as if you were dead.
- That's what I am.

Dead, disbarred, done for,
finished, kaput.

When did this happen, Joe?

The day I was born.

And I'm sorry for you,
that I got you into this.

A girl with advantages
trying to make a living.

But I was a man, a boy with advantages
trying to make a living.

Let's dance.

Joe, I wanna help you
if you'll be serious.

I'm serious.

- Joe, please.
- Don't be afraid.

You don't know what it is
to have real fear in you.

You don't know what it is to wake up
in the morning and go to sleep at night,

and eat your lunch
and read the papers,

and hear the horns blowing
in the streets,

and the horns blowing
in the clubs.

And all the time, wherever you are,
whatever you're doing,

whatever you're seeing,
wherever you are,

you're afraid in your heart.
Is that what life is?

Joe.

Play louder. Come on, play.

(? Jazz)

Is that what life is?

Joe, you didn't know
what was right for you.

A person has to know what's right
for them and do it, no matter what.

I took a risk to make a million.
Wasn't that right for me?

I lost, but Hall is wrong

if he thinks I'm gonna spend
the rest of my life in jail.

I'm leaving, Doris. I'm running away
with a pocketful of money.

You wanna come?

The money is for you, too,
if you want it.

Oh, Joe, I don't want this money.
Nobody wants it.

I want somehow to get you, Joe.
To save you for yourself and myself.

Somehow you're wild and crazy
and stuck in a trap.

And somehow you won't fight
to get out.

And somehow I love you.

Thanks.

Sam.

(Music stops)

Joe!

- You make up your mind yet, Ficco?
- I'm thinking it over, Ben.

It's only going to be one way, Ficco,
and no other.

You took that gun of yours
and jazzed up the town.

You killed one man.
And kidnapped another.

I was on the outside, Ben,
with a gun and broke.

You was on the inside
with the money and the organization.

- I wanted in.
- All right, I'm taking you in.

On my terms, Ficco, not yours.

Any way you say, Ben,
as long as I'm in.

All right, here's the situation.

All the legal Charlies from the corner cop
up to Hall and the governor

are gonna be screaming for action
after what you did tonight.

They'll raid my banks
up and down the line, night and day.

And everybody working for me
is gonna wanna quit.

I want you to take your boys
and hold those people in line.

Do what you have to do.
Go as far as you have to go.

No matter how tough Hall gets,
those banks are going to operate.

I want that money coming in.
No matter what.

An nobody quits, understand?
Not even the janitor.

It's a deal, Ben.

(Phone ringing)

(Tucker) Phone's no good to us.
Hall's got it tapped.

It's a direct wire,
right to the special prosecutor's office.

And another thing, Ficco.
No phones.

Nobody talks over the phone
about anything.

Everything's tapped
right down to Hall.

You'll get in touch with me
through Joe Morse.

You report to him personally.
Everyday, everything.

You know where I am.

I don't think I can do business
with Joe Morse.

What do you need him
in this for anyway, Ben?

Blow him off, get rid of him.

He won't be worth a dime
when the going gets tough.

The shysters scare easy.

Besides, he won't wanna do business
with me on account of his brother.

I'll handle him.
You just turn his brother loose.

- I'll take care of Joe.
- We got a problem there, Ben.

(Knock on door)

Joe, are you crazy?

Are you crazy, coming here like this
in the middle of the night?

(Tucker) I've been waiting for you
all night, Joe. Where have you been?

Where's my brother, Ben?

Where's my brother?
Where's my brother?

Where's my brother? Where's Ficco?
Where did Ficco take my brother?

This is Ficco.

I made all my arrangements, Joe.
He's coming in with us

to help us hide this mess
from Hall's glory boys.

Joe!

Settle down.

I've had enough of you, Joe.

I've had a bellyful of you and your brother
right from the beginning.

- Where's my brother?
- I'm running this combination.

And you're working for me.
Just like Ficco. Is that straight?

I'll have Ficco turn your brother loose
in the morning.

You see to it
that he keeps his mouth shut

when Hall works him over.

Leo Morse won't talk.
He's dead.

- Why didn't you tell me?
- You weren't interested.

Where is he?

I had him dumped on the rocks
near the river,

by the lighthouse,
under the bridge.

(Tucker) Well, let him stay there.

(Phone ringing)

I'll tell you what, Ficco.

I'll take Joe out of town
for a while.

I don't want him here
when the police find his brother's body.

(Ficco) Why don't you
leave town alone, Ben?

Morse ain't no good
for the combination.

Sure, Ficco is better
for the combination.

He's a killer.

He wants to kill me.
Don't you, Ficco?

(Ficco) I will.
(Joe) Like you had Bauer killed.

(Ficco) Like Bauer.
(Joe) Like my brother.

(Ficco) Yeah, like your brother.
(Tucker) Shut up, Joe.

I'll give it to straight, Ben.
I'm not going to my own funeral.

You're no better than Ficco.

You were a gunman and a killer
before we became partners.

And I showed you how to hide
your business from the police.

Now you are going back
to your old trade.

You made a deal with Ficco.

To run the racket with a gun.
And I'm in the way, is that it?

You've killed before
and now you wanna kill again.

But I'm not gonna end up
on the rocks in the river, like my brother.

I'll walk out of here alive
to hang the both of you.

(Gunshot)

(Gunshot)

(Gunshots)

This is Joe Morse.

Tell Mr Hall and the police
I'll be down to see them in an hour.

(Drops receiver)

'Doris was waiting for me downstairs
and we left before the police came.

'I wanted to find Leo,
to see him once more.

'It was morning by then, dawn.

'And naturally I was feeling
very bad there,

'as I went down there.

'I just kept going down
and down there.

'It was like going down
to the bottom of the world.

'To find my brother.

'I found my brother's body
at the bottom there,

'where they'd thrown it away,
on the rocks, by the river.

'Like an old dirty rag
nobody wants.

'He was dead.

'And I felt I had killed him.

'I turned back
to give myself up to Hall,

'because if a man's life
can be lived so long

'and come out this way,
like rubbish,

'then something was horrible and
had to be ended one way or another,

'and I decided to help.'