The Sellout (1952) - full transcript

"It was the afternoon of September 8th."

"The News Intelligencer, one of
St. Howard's three newspapers .."

"Was cranking up as usual
for tomorrow morning's edition."

"As usual it would print whatever its
editor Haven Allridge had decided."

"Within the limits of
truth and decency."

"Without fear, favor or
permission of anybody."

"A good old American custom
called Freedom of the Press."

"This day being Wednesday .."

"Allridge was planning to spend the
evening with Peggy and Randy Stauton."

"His daughter and son-in-law."

"The Stautons lived in the county about
30 miles from the heart of St. Howard."



"The Factory Creek bridge was
the boundary between the city .."

"And the sprawling sparsely
settled county of Bridgewood."

"It was a nice drive
on county Route 54."

"The permanent campaign signs
of Bridgewood Sheriff Burke .."

"Reminded voters who they could
thank for the newly paved highway."

"The county seat was
the town of Bridgewood."

"On the surface, like any other
small American community .."

"It had its shops, its square,
its courthouse."

"Randy, who was county prosecutor."

"Had his office here and his car
was usually parked near the court."

"He had probably gone home already."

"The Stauton's house was in the
residential section on Saxbury Road."

"A few blocks from the courthouse."

"Yes. Randy was home."



"And so was Haven Allridge."

"This was their story.
The story of a family."

"And it could have happened to you."

"An hour or so after dinner .."

"Allridge left the Stautons to drive
to the office and put the paper to bed."

"This was to be the
beginning of an experience."

"A month in his life which
Allridge would never forget."

No damage, mister.

Mr Allridge, Willy. May I
give you a lift to the city?

Good evening, Mr Allridge.

It will be a real favor, I am sure.

County buses never come
along when you want one.

I don't guess you're going to
the building at this time of night?

No. Just drop me off anywhere
after the bridge, Mr Allridge.

Alright.

I wonder who they are chasing.

What's the trouble, officer?
- Let me see your driver's license.

Sorry. I'm afraid I have left my
wallet in my office jacket.

Yeah?

How about you?

He is not driving.
- Give me your papers.

Trouble, Grayton?

No driver's license, Sheriff.

Get out, you.

Look at old Cliff go.

Boy, he must be loaded tonight.

Sheriff, I can have my license
out here within an hour.

Just about the time you get old Cliff.

What's this all about?

You're a city man, ain't you mister?

Out here we don't hold
court on the highway.

Take him in.

I want to use the phone.

Anything you want
to say you can tell us.

Tank keys. Number 11.

Sixty-eight bucks.

Two dead moths. They starved to death.

Okay, get going.

Forgetting your license
isn't a jail offence.

You know all about the law, don't you.

An important man.

A very important man.

Okay, very important man. Who are you?

A citizen.

Who isn't?

Take him, Cannell.

The first two. Ain't nobody
driving cars tonight?

How do I know.

Come on.

You get used to the smell.

Keep moving.
You are going to court first.

Well that's good news.
- The prisoners' court.

A kangaroo court?

In this state?
- In this county.

Let's go.

A couple of new fish
for you, Little Jake.

The big one.

You. Wait over by the bunks.

You. Stand against the wall.

Take your coat off.

Take off your coat.

Put your hands in them rings.

You swear to tell the truth, and nothing
but the truth so help you, Burke?

Court is now in session.

The charge is breaking and entering this
jail without the consent of Little Jake.

What is the evidence?

What's the evidence?
He's here, ain't he?

Guilty.

That's a fairer trial than you
will get tomorrow morning.

See if he's got any dough.

A buck and a half.

I fine him a buck and a half buck costs.

Next prisoner.

Hey. This guy ain't got
nothing but a bus token.

Hold it.

He was hiding a quarter
in his vest pocket.

Well.

A smart man, huh?

What do you say Cannell?

You know the rules.

Okay, boys.

Send out for sandwiches
will you, Cannell.

Yep.

According to evidence presented you are
charged with obstructing a highway.

You plead guilty?

I hauled my rig over to the shoulder.
- Changing a tyre, wasn't you?

You saw it yourself.
My rig over on the shoulder.

Don't argue with the Sheriff.

Guilty or not-guilty?

Guilty.

You should have thought of that in the
first place. Saved us all a lot of time.

The fine will be ..

Fourteen dollars.

I'll take a receipt for this. My boss ..

You're walking out of here in one piece.
That's enough of a receipt for you.

Who is next?

Hey, you. You're up.

What's the charge?

County Ordinance 72.
Soliciting rides on highway.

Guilty or not-guilty?

I didn't ask for a ride.
I was waiting at a bus-stop.

Here is his wallet. Not money.

I had a bus token.

I was waiting for the
bus when Mr Allridge ..

Answer the question.
Guilty or not-guilty?

Not-guilty, sir.

If you plead not guilty you
will have to stand trial.

Thirty days from this date.

I remand you to the
custody of the Sheriff.

Who is next?

Call that man back. I will go his bail.

He's got thirty days on the
labor gang. You want to do that?

But he had no idea he was
breaking your ordinance.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

You're doing alright.

One more funny crack, mister.

And you'll be back in the
crib on contempt charges.

What's the charge on this fellow, K.C.?

No license. Damaging county property.
Running from the scene of an accident.

What accident?

You backed your car into the
marker at Saxbury bus stop.

What kind of a home-made law is that?
- Quiet, you.

Remember the dignity of the court.

I find you guilty.

The fine will be 50 dollars.

And 18 dollars costs.
That will 68 dollars total.

There is a lawyer of you want him.

A little late to get legal, isn't it?

Why didn't you tell us who you was?

We never would have hauled you in if
I'd known you was kin to Randy Stauton.

I didn't know. Until now ..

That there was a special kind of law for
fathers-in-law of county prosecutors.

I thought the same law covered
truck drivers, salesmen and ..

Candy peddlers.

Last night the kangaroo court in your
jail fined me a dollar and a half.

The only difference I see between that
court and this is 66 dollars, 50 cents.

Burke.

I'm going to skin this tin badge
off that floppy shirt of yours ..

If it's the last thing I do.

It's been tried before.

It will be tried again.

Goodnight, son. Sleep tight.
- Sweet dreams.

Randy.

I've got to ask you to do something.
- Anything you need, dad. You know that.

No. This isn't personal. It's official.

Shoot.

This rough-riding Sheriff of yours
has got to be blasted out of office.

And it is on your doorstep.
- What can I do?

You're the county prosecutor.

Go to the Grand Jury for
an indictment against Burke.

No. It wouldn't work.
- Why not?

Because there is an election coming up.

They'd stall hearings until after their
boys chewed my ears off at the polls.

And then their new boy
would quash the charge.

Why were you elected?

To hold a job, or do one?

Dad, these things take time.
- Time for what?

For another hundred Willy Jacksons
to be beaten up like animals?

Time for Burke and his gang
to spread out of their county ..

And move on to the city and the state?

No. Time to ..

Marcia.

Marcia, you little monkey.
Climb right back in that bed.

Dad, I wish you'd listen to Randy.

Do you remember all that
fuss about that Tom Kenny?

Randy was right then.

Tom Kenny was a dead man who looked
murdered. My information was that.

But Willy Jackson is alive and I saw
what happened to him with my own eyes.

I still say he knows these
men better than you do.

You both have to do
what you think right.

Randy is not a newspaper man.
He's a public official.

She's right, dad. These men are
dangerous. We're thinking of you.

Look, youngsters.

When I cashed my first 12 dollar
check as a kid reporter ..

I took on the newspaperman's job chore
of playing watchdog to a free society.

And it is my job to bark my lungs out
when I see a burglar prowling around.

And believe you and me,
I'm just getting tuned up.

Well, as an editor you are
a hundred percent right.

But my job is staying in office.

Your job is to carry on your
obligations to the public.

I'll show you and bite off that
pretty pink nose of yours.

Sorry I blew off, kids.

That's enough Marcia.
It's bedtime for the dolls.

Give grandpa his bunny hug.

Goodnight, sweetheart.

Off you go.

Goodnight, Marcia.

Dad, we all have to blow off sometime.

Don't worry. Someday we'll
get Burke and Tarsson.

It won't be easy but we'll get them.

Right now I think you are
being sensible to let it drop.

Let it drop?

Not on your life.

These hoods think they
are nice and safe.

But there is one court that can
burn even Burke's tail feathers.

Public opinion.

And Grandpa has got just
the blowtorch to heat it up.

Put your gloves on before
you pick up tomorrow's paper.

"So Haven Allridge went
back to the paper .."

"And threw the libel laws out of
the window and started to blast."

"The case of Sam Slaper
was a tip-off that .."

"The cash-and-carry court had
a lot of dissatisfied customers."

"The speed trap was only a beginning."

"Gambling had long
been illegal in our state .."

"But according to Slaper,
a service station attendant by day."

"Amboy's was more than a
dine and dance roadhouse."

Those guys are loaded. I knew it.
I've been trying all night.

"Slaper stated a pair of house dice were
heavier on one side than the other."

"He was shown his error by a
conviction for disturbing the peace."

"A disgruntled horse
player supplied to Allridge .."

"The details of how the bookies
serviced the city of St. Howard .."

"From behind the safe
refuge of the county line."

"The parents of 12 high
school boys blew the whistle .."

"On the dime-bet bookie joint
behind Bridgewood high school."

"Where the kids had been
losing their lunch money."

"Several men who were unfortunate enough
to go to county court without money."

"Reported their experiences with the
Burke/Tarsson version of public works."

"Day by day the blowtorch burned
brighter and was getting hotter."

"The court of public opinion
was beginning to flame."

"And Burke had to put out the fire."

Okay, folks. Kindly step back please.

Step back. That's the way.
Now hold your places there please.

Keep back please. That's the way.

You know who did it?
- Who do you think?

Burke's stooge wanted a description.

Mr Allridge, you know
Captain Maxwell, river precinct?

Since he walked the beat.
How are you, Buck?

Fine thanks.

You getting along with your model cop?
- What do you mean "cop"?

He's just a cheap election
fixer with a star on his shirt ..

And a gang of war heroes for deputies.

Please don't call him a cop.
- I was only kidding.

Chief.

Mr Mayor, this is no longer a private
fight between Burke and The News.

First, an ordinance forbidding delivery
of newspapers outside daylight hours.

Yesterday, they stopped us bringing our
newsprint in over the county highway.

This wreck is just
their topper for today.

Now, what next?

Well, it's no field day for us either.

Ask Buck. It's his precinct
that's taken the beating.

You tell us something we can do
and we'll give you a monument.

Haven, you know the city
hasn't an ounce of authority ..

When it gets two inches
beyond that county sign.

But the state has.

Andy. Walt.

I want you fellows to
appeal to the capital.

Try to get the state's attorney general
send down a special prosecutor.

Bridgewood county delivers 18,000 votes
on the barrel head every election.

And who do you think delivers
Bridgewood county?

Burke.

"You couldn't blame Maxwell
for feeling a little cynical."

"But counties don't deliver
the conscience of a state."

"The conscience of my state
had already been aroused."

"When clippings from Allridge's articles
came to the capital in every mail."

"A file was laid on
the desk of my boss."

"The attorney general's assistant
in charge of the trial section."

"And that is where I came in."

How is his mood?

Don't be silly, Chick.
Only people have moods.

Mr Johnson is coming in now.
Goodbye, sir.

That was the attorney general.
- Uhuh.

Mr Morrison.

I want to tell you how much I've enjoyed
working with you over the last 4 years.

He wants us to take action
on a civil rights case.

And how deeply I regret having to submit
my resignation from the department.

Up in Bridgewood County.

I saw you lunching with Dan Bayliss
last week. You going to work for him?

That's what I've been shooting
for ever since I came here.

You will go up to St. Howard tonight
on the flyer. Contact Captain Maxwell.

The St. Howard Police Department is
loaning him to us as an investigator.

He knows all the local people there.

Hold on a minute, Mr Morrison.
I don't work here anymore, remember?

You will work here until
I accept your resignation.

I have a lot of things to clean up.
I must get my cases ready for turnover.

The editor .. whatsisname?

They have accumulated enough evidence
to build up a section 21 indictment ..

On a dozen counts.

You can put in the wheres and
wherefores in two weeks.

What happens if the case stretches out?

Bayliss talked to Stan
Walters too you know.

What you are being hired for is what you
are taking away from this department.

You owe the department a duty
and you'll pay it in St. Howard.

Your job finishes when the Grand
Jury returns an indictment.

Or a No Bill.

Okay. Okay.

Can I stay in a decent hotel this time?

Three weeks from now Bayliss
can buy you a suite in the Ritz.

But until that time you are on
the regular state per diem.

Mr Morrison.

I didn't mean to get personal
but you must know how I feel.

You've been knocking yourself
out here for the last 31 years.

And what have you got to show for it?

That is something you will have
to find out for yourself, Charles.

When you do, maybe you
will make a good lawyer.

Well, don't just stand there.
You've got a train to catch.

Mr Johnson?
- I'm Johnson.

Are you Captain Maxwell?
- Yeah.

Glad to meet you.
You're certainly an early bird.

Burke is an early worm.
- The earlier the better.

I'd like to set up this hearing and be
out of here by the first of the month.

It may not be such a pushover.

You haven't seen this morning's paper.

Dropped out kind of sudden, didn't they?

The man who was riding them
dropped out even suddener.

Was he bought off or scared off?

That's a fool thing to say
about Haven Allridge.

A lot of chips on the table.

Any report why he dropped out?

Yep.

At 2 o'clock this morning
he phoned the city editor ..

That he had to take a vacation
because of his health.

Which his doctor doesn't know about.

Then he woke up his daughter to say he
had to leave town on urgent business.

Which is news to his
publisher and lawyer.

Well, we won't need him.

All we really need is that mess
of leads and evidence he filed.

I can still be out of here by the first.

Whether or not your nail Burke?

Don't worry. I'll nail him.

Now where do you suppose Allridge kept
his evidence? That is if he had any.

You might be interested in this. It was
here in his typewriter when he left.

55. Wilfred Jackson. 55.

Affidavits from 55 cash
and carry victims.

It looks like he planned to stop these
articles when he left here last night.

He made a string of
appointments for today too.

Is it alright if we borrow
these for a few days?

Sure.

What I'm really interested
in are those 55 affidavits 55.

That's no problem.

Tell me, was Allridge a heavy drinker?

You picture he's one of those dreamboy
reporters racing round stealing photos.

With his coat collar turned
up and his hat brim down.

And a pint in every pocket.

Always wanted to meet one of those but
I never got far enough from the paper.

So he isn't out of town
losing a ten-day weekend?

Not Mr Allridge. Here we are.

That's funny.

I saw him put that folder back in the
drawer and lock it before he went out.

Does your night elevator
man sign people in and out?

Just a minute.

Sandy?

Did Mr Allridge come back into
the building after I left last night?

Take a look will you.

Thanks.

He came back in about 2:40 am
and left ten minutes later.

What do you suppose he
did with those affidavits?

He's probably holed up somewhere
putting together a mop-up story ..

That'll blow Burke and
company right out their shoes.

I hope he is a speed typist.

Nellie. Nellie.

What are you doing out of the
courthouse at this time of day?

We've got to do something or
I'm going to break it my way.

Got to?

About what?

This smart kid from the
attorney general's office.

He arrives this morning on the flier and
right away he starts smelling around.

Well?

Well, we got to do something.

You're worried, aren't you, Burke.

Why not?

With State house guys
crawling all over us.

And the only rebuttal you can
think of is a gun or a blackjack.

These State Capital guys.
They ain't got any handles on them.

Perhaps we can put a handle on this one.

You ain't even seen the guy.

He's human, isn't he?

Pass the word to be
careful for a few days.

Put the covers on the tables,
lay off the highways.

Take the re-men off the labor gang.

Keep your blackjack in your pocket.

Play it my way.

What do you have that's
good for sore feet?

More bourbon, less walking.

With plain water.

Say.

What does a guy do with
an evening in St. Howard?

That is without walking.

Well.

You saving this for somebody?

Yes. You.

Light?

Now you're going to say a
little more than that, aren't you?

All day long I've walked around the city
talking to people who won't talk to me.

It's getting me down.
- Really?

Did anybody ever tell your
fortune with ice-cubes?

Like tea leaves.

These ice-cubes tell me we've
been wasting a lot of valuable time.

Cute little ice-cubes.

They are working themselves
around to a great big idea.

They suggest you waste a little more
time and have dinner with me.

The cubes aren't very clear on that.

Come now. Let's approach this sanely.

Here I am, a lonely
guy in a strange city.

Here are you.

The most beautiful, most glamorous, most
exciting woman in the whole wide bar.

Why Mr Johnson, how you do rattle on.

You know.

These ice-cubes reveal more than I knew.
They've even got my name on them.

Maybe you are not wasting
your time after all.

I really blew that one wide open.

Well, as I always say.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Ill-gotten gains are the
devil's form of waste.

Waste not, want not.

I'll think of one.

Don't. I ran out too.

What did Burke want
you to get out of me?

Get friendly. Have you come to Amboy's.

Is that all? There must be more.

You are to make a date with me.

Or to meet at Amboy's.

Burke is there, Tarsson is there.

We all play drop the handkerchief.

Could you think of something else?

Well, yeah.

Okay.

Well maybe we'd better play
it their way. Dinner at Amboy's.

No.
- Why not?

Very smoky. Bad air.
You wouldn't like it.

I don't breathe much.

I'll try it another way.

I wouldn't want to pick up your pieces.

Are you being nice to me
by some strange reason?

It's part of our service.

I'll say this, you are a new type.

It's confusing isn't it.
- Yeah.

I know this won't make
much sense to you but ..

Don't come out there.

Look. We've all got an
angle. You, Burke and I.

What are you smiling about?

I was just thinking.

It would have been kind of nice if I'd
have really come in here by accident.

But then you would have
lit your own cigarette.

Would I?

And would you have let that stop you?

I don't think so.

I don't see Amboy's.

It's another ten miles out on Route 54.

This is where you switch cabs.

What do you mean, switch cabs?
What's wrong with this one?

Look mister, I'm a city hack.

If I try busting over onto
Burke's territory ..

I end up in the clink with a
busted noggin and no dough.

So, you switch cabs.

This is a new twist.
He hasn't missed a bet.

Let's chance it. Keep driving.

You sound like you never had your dome
creased with the deputy's blackjack.

Be a nice fellow, mister.

Take one of them county cabs and
save everybody a lot of trouble.

Alright.

"Them that's good, them that's mean."

"Them that's somewhere in between."

"But it looks to me
from what I've seen."

"That if you can't do wrong, do right."

"Look at that gal, Delilah."

"She had them all in a spin."

"Then the mighty Samson."

A guy could get himself
fired doing that.

A beautiful thought, Jack.
Only she is my wife.

Let it be a warning to you.

"Just one road for you and me."

"He said no, he's lost the fight
because you can't do wrong .."

"When you're doing right."

Hello there.

Is there something you'd
like me to play for you?

I thought I told you not to come here.
- Do you know ..

"You are all I need"?

I told you I have my angle.

Maybe these characters have theirs.

That's just what I want to find out.

Whatever it is you lose,
why don't you go.

Darling, not while you're
playing our song.

Good evening, Miss Bethel.

You are playing beautifully tonight.

Any friend of mine should
be a friend of yours.

Alright.

Mr Tarsson, meet Mr Johnson.

Johnson?

Mr Charles Johnson from the capital?
What a pleasant coincidence.

You mean it's a small world?
- Exactly.

Some people were asking
about you only today.

Funny. I've been asking
some people about you too.

If you gentlemen would
like to dance I'll excuse you.

Would you spare it my dear?

We could have a little private talk.

Get lost, greasy.

Sit down, Mr Johnson.

Make yourself comfortable.

Cigar?

No thanks. What's on your mind?

Suppose we consider this a pre-trial
conference between opposing counsel.

In an attempt to find
areas of agreement ..

May I ask.

May I ask Mr Johnson what charges
you intend to lay against my client?

According to the writings of one
Haven Allridge in Bridgewood County ..

It is not etiquette to tell a
defendant what he's charged with.

The same?
- Yep.

My usual, Ben.

Mr Allridge was guilty of using his
paper to air purely personal grievances.

You say he was.

He seems to have discontinued
his foul attacks, but ..

We are getting off the subject.

Well.

I am asking an indictment
of Burke and his deputies ..

On the basis of Section 21
of the revised penal code.

If any officer ..
- Of the law ..

Wilfully deprives any citizen of any
rights or privileges or guarantees etc.

That's out of the
old territorial statutes.

It's still in the books isn't it.

But any such charges
of course be baseless.

There are none of those
restraints in Bridgewood County.

Why did I have to switch
cabs at the county line?

A highway safety ordinance.

Mr Johnson.

Under our unfortunate judicial system.

Accusations of crimes can be as damaging
to my client's name as convictions.

Funny. That was one of the things
Haven Allridge was beefing about.

And the way you keep
talking about clients.

You are going to be
a client too, you know.

Mr Johnson, my clients
and I are sensitive men.

We have ..

Have reputations in the community.

Although we are innocent of your
charges we wish to avoid the ..

Difficulties of a trial.

Mr Johnson.

You have impressed me
as an alert young man.

With an eye for the main chance.

Pick a card.

Any card.

As long as it is the Jack of Diamonds.

Ah, the young eye is
quicker than the old hand.

As a lawyer myself ..

I know drawing valid indictments under
section 21 will be a tricky business.

If a key clause or two were,
let us say to be ..

Inexpertly phrased.

Mr Johnson.

Would you care to make a
small wager on your skill?

Say ..

One dollar of yours against
five thousand of mine ..

That you can pick the Jack again.

Quite a team.

Burke swings the blackjack
and you toss the bankroll.

Is the attorney general
making any better offers?

The Jack of Diamonds?

You win.

Enjoy the dance?

Divine if you can stand the partner.

You should try the fat one.

Oh, you mean the one with the badge?

Yes. They'd make a lovely couple.

Were you just browsing or do
you have something in mind?

You.
- Well.

What are you doing next month?

You impetuous impulsive boy.
- No. What I meant ..

You walked out up there without getting
your drink. And Nelly was buying.

Thanks.

Anything for you, Cleo?
- No thanks, Ben.

You were about to say something.

I'll try it another way.
What's your angle?

Try it another way.

Well. This place.

These people.

You.

Thanks.

That's the nicest thing
anybody didn't say to me.

No. What I mean is, isn't there a thing
you'd like to do next week, next month?

Next year? Haven't you any plans?

Who makes plans?

You do the best you can.

Sometimes you wish it
had turned out differently.

Thanks for the song, honey.

Bless you, sir.
- Not if you're smart.

Part of our service. Bye-bye, baby.

Look, I ain't going to talk. I ain't
going to put my mark on nothing.

Because I am afraid of K.C. Burke.

Burke says he'll get a lot of us
after he runs you out of town.

I can make you talk, my friend.
Ever hear of a subpoena?

Did you ever hear of a lousy memory?
Let me tell you, mister state capital.

If you subpoena me up on a witness stand
I won't be able to remember my own name.

Buck, is everybody around here chicken?

You ever been scared of losing our job?

Having your little store burned
out or your truck wrecked?

Getting beat up, maybe crippled
or lying around on a phony rap?

Maybe having your wife
bothered. Even your kids.

Yes. For what?

Court guys talk slick.

These guys talk sore. Here.
You notice this thing?

These guys were all
called in for the treatment.

To Amboy's?
- It's likely.

Allridge too?

He wouldn't know how to find the place.

Look, Buck.

I know I said we wouldn't
need Allridge, but I was wrong.

We've had forty-three complainants
fizzle out like wet firecrackers.

Some of them pretty strong characters.

Now, if Burke put the heat on
Allridge we've got to know.

Ever since I was a rookie he's
been the big man in town.

Why? Because no-one else
ever came up to his shoulders.

No, you're banging on the wrong door.

Alright, so it's slim. But it's
the only lead we've got.

I'm a cop, Johnson. I know a man like
him doesn't just change overnight.

Then you ought to enjoy running me out
to Amboy's and showing me up for a dope.

What about it, Buck? Right now.

Just walk in and ask the man, huh?
- Yep.

First, you got something to learn.
- What?

Why policemen have flat feet.

"But we didn't have to go to Amboy's."

"Because Maxwell's flat feet led to some
information that brought Amboy to us."

You were right. Dig long enough
and there is always a soft spot.

Or maybe it just looks soft.

Come in.

I am Bennie Amboy.

One of you guys phoned me to come in.

On the evening of the 21st ..

You made a phone call to Haven Allridge
editor of The News Intelligencer.

Why?
- So what?

Then you did phone him?
- Who told you to phone?

Is that why Tarsson paid you the $100?
- Huh? For crying out loud.

You ordered room service to room 14 when
Allridge arrived. What happened there?

Now wait a minute you guys.
- What about this $100 from Tarsson?

What hundred dollars from who?

On the 21st, Tarsson drew a counter
check for $100 on Bridgewood National.

On the 22nd you deposited
the same check ..

In your single name account
in the Sennheier trust.

Now, ain't that a coincidence.
- Bennie.

Don't you realise we can knock
your place over any time we like.

A gambling rap, liquor violations.

A sanitation charge.
Anything else in the state statutes.

First you got to knock
over Burke and Tarsson.

Would you testify to that in court?

What a comic. You kill me.

About this hundred-dollar check.

Why didn't you put it in the Bridgewood
Bank in a joint account with Mrs Amboy?

Does Mrs Amboy know that you keep a
single name account in another bank?

You're not knocking down on
your own wife, are you Bennie?

Holding out dough on a hot-tempered
woman like Mrs Amboy.

We've been selling you short, Bennie.
You're a very brave fellow.

You boys are out of your league.

You picked the wrong guy to bluff.

Don't think you can threaten to tell
Jenny about my St. Howard bank account.

She knows all about it.

If you crack one word to her
I'll the both of you in the clink.

It's blackmail. That's what it is.

A dirty blackmailing
trick to make me sing.

Why you so worried about this punk
of a newspaper editor anyway?

He comes out to the joint
wanting to sell us an Ad.

Just a shakedown to pay us to quit
printing them fancy newspaper stories.

He's alright, ain't he?

For crying out loud say
something, can't you?

You were doing fine all by yourself.

Bennie, you're in deeper
water than you know.

You'd better start
swimming for dry land.

What happened up in
that room that night?

What's in it for me if I talk?

We don't make deals.

How about you don't ..
- I told you.

You don't make deals.

Plus, for what it's worth Bennie,
Captain Maxwell here is a married man.

You ain't planted a squeal
box on my have you?

Not that I don't trust you,
you understand.

Okay.

Call your shots.

That night at a quarter to ten, someone
called Allridge on your payphone.

Was it you?

Yep.
- What did you say to him?

Well, I says to him like
Nelly Tarsson tells me.

That's right, Mr Allridge.
This will be strictly the low-down.

Amboy's, room 14.

No there is nobody. Nothing.
Just go right upstairs into the room.

Yeah.

But allow me to say this.

Although I disagree with what you print.

I admit your sacred right to print it.

And I envy your consummate
skill with the pen.

Let's skip the small talk
and get down to cases.

Your man on the telephone
promised me the low-down.

I presume he referred to
information and not the company.

Nelly, I ain't going to
let him pop off like that.

Mr Allridge, you've collected a
number of letters and statements ..

From certain disgruntled individuals ..

Who claim to have been
wronged in Bridgewood County.

You should see them.
Some of them are Lulus.

As the High Sheriff of
Bridgewood County ..

Mr Burke is the lawfully constituted
guardian of the public welfare.

He demands that turn this so-called
evidence over to him forthwith.

Just like that, eh?

Well, naturally of course we are
prepared to compensate you.

This compensation.

I suppose you would expect me
to discontinue my articles?

Of course.

Name the sum.

Well, every man has his price.

Mine is the satisfaction of seeing
you hoodlums behind bars.

Goodnight, gents. Don't miss tomorrow's
paper. You make the front page as usual.

Allridge, you're making grave mistake.

You've made yours.

Get out of my way.

Tarsson, call off your dogs.

Mr Allridge, we've tried every
means of peaceful persuasion.

For the last time I appeal to you.

Now.

Maybe you'll talk a deal.

This is a waste of time.
Take him inside.

Get him a double brandy and
leave it outside the door.

Then I go downstairs and
after that I know from nothing.

When you went back with the
brandy what did you see or hear?

Nothing. They was in the back room.

How much longer was Allridge up there?
- I never seen him again.

They probably let him
out the back stairs.

You sure you don't want to see none of
the junk I lugged all the way down here?

What is in it?

You just said come in.
You didn't say what for.

So I brought my income tax returns
and my liquor tax papers.

My social security records and
my wage and hour schedules.

My unemployment insurance carbon ..

My vittler's inspection cards, my
gas tank slips, my draft registration.

And a last year's Christmas card
from my aunt Effie in Peoria.

We'll put you up for a
pension, Bennie. Thanks.

Remember. I never said a word.

Buck, what happened in that back room?

Well all the lines are out. City police.

Your department. Everybody is checking.

We'll have Allridge for you.
- In time for the hearing?

Who was the speedboy
that set up the date?

I'm not exactly a favored character
am I. Look, I want to win this case.

Yeah. You want to win a case.
- What's wrong with that?

I want to pull the pin
on a bunch of leaches ..

That have been sucking the blood
from a lot of decent people.

Okay. Not mad are you?

I don't get mad. Goodbye.

"Maxwell was right. Allridge came back."

"But it wasn't the city police or my
department that got him home. It was .."

"Well, something that
meant more to him."

Daddy.

Darling.

Daddy.
- How are you?

You are alright?
- Of course I'm alright.

You'd think I'd never
been off on a trip before.

This one worried me.

Grandpa!
- Hello, sweetheart.

How are you?

Give me a big kiss.

Did you get me something?
- I brought you something from Detroit.

For Marcia?
- Look right in there and see.

Is there something there, huh?

Blow it.

There you are. There you are.

You were sweet to remember.

I'm even sweeter than you think.

No. In Peggy's pockets?
- Where else?

You had the other one since graduation.

Well, sounds like that
man is here again.

Welcome home.
- Hello, Randy.

I'll set another place for dinner.

Do you like you hash
medium or well done?

Darling, I can't stay for dinner.
I've got to get back.

You win. I'll give you lamb chops.

No, I'm not joking. I've really
got to go back to the club.

I've a lot of things to do.
I've got to pack.

I am .. going back to Detroit.

Detroit? For how long?

Well, for quite a while I think.
There is a job.

Well, doing what for heaven's sake?

The same old routine.
Working on a paper.

Well, what do you know.

I suppose they made you an
offer you couldn't turn down?

Something like that. Yeah.

What offer could possibly be good
enough to take you away from here?

Why, your whole life is
in St. Howard. With us.

It just doesn't make sense.

Peggy, darling. Don't get upset.
Detroit is only hours away by plane.

We'll still see a lot of ..

[ Banging noises ]

Uhoh.

I wonder what that monkey is up to now.

Excuse me.

Why are you going to Detroit?

Darling, you heard what Randy said.

An offer I just couldn't turn down.

Dad, I'm not a child.

I'm entitled to a better answer
than that and you know it.

Darling, I can't give
you any other answer.

I've another job on a paper in Detroit.

I could think of pretty terrible things.

You could think what?

Dad, why did you drop
the articles about Burke?

You could think what?

I could think your offer
was from the Sheriff.

Oh dad, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry.

[ Door knocks ]

Bring it in, Marty and
set it there by the desk.

I'll bring it in but I'm not Marty.

I'm Johnson from the State
Attorney General's office.

Glad to meet you, sir.

To say that I'm glad to meet you is the
prize understatement of modern times.

I ..

I suppose you know why I'm in town.
- Yes. I just heard.

Sorry I can't be at
your hearing tomorrow.

Don't even joke about things like that.
You are my star witness.

In fact you almost my whole case.

Anything I could say has
already appeared in the paper.

You don't mind if I go on packing?

But newspaper articles aren't admissible
as court evidence. You know that.

And I'm counting on those 55 affidavits
that you got from Burke's victims.

Did the paper mention things like that?
- You did.

On that sheet you left in the
typewriter the night you left town.

Mr Allridge, I don't have to tell
you about the rights of citizens.

No, that's right. You don't.
- Then why ..

One of them is a man's right
to keep his mouth shut.

Not if he can help other people
when they yell for help.

Look.

A supposedly courageous newspaperman ..

Uncovers something in his community
which is rotten and corrupt.

This newspaperman says to his
fellow citizens and public officials.

Let's get these so-and-sos.
Let's have some action.

Well, I come down here to give you
the action you've been yelling for ..

And you scuttle back into your
hole like a scared rabbit.

Maybe I am scared.

Now if you will excuse me.

Get a judge to excuse you. Here.

I was hoping you'd
be a friendly witness.

You wanted to get tough
so there is your subpoena.

Mr Johnson.

In all goodwill.

I warn you most seriously against
putting me on that stand.

Don't think I'm going to let you run for
cover under the 1st or 5th amendments.

You will talk alright.

I'll cross-examine you until you bleed.

Mr Allridge, it is your duty as a
citizen and as a newspaperman.

To help us rid the state
of these vicious men.

You will win your case without me.

You're going to make a
good lawyer, Mr Johnson.

And you're going to make
a good witness, Mr Allridge.

Goodnight.

I tell you I tried
everything on the guy.

Flattery, insults, tears, civic duty,
the flag and American fatherhood.

I'll say this much for him,
he's an honest man.

When he sells out he stays sold.

Haven Allridge wouldn't sell
out any more than me or you.

Look, are you ..

Skip it. It doesn't matter.
I'm lucky I found out in time.

If I'd gone through with the hearing I'd
look like the prize sap of the state.

What do you mean, "if"?

I'm a smart fellow, Buck.

When I'm dead, I fall over as
un-publicly as I can arrange it.

And let Burke walk away from
here without even a scratch?

:Listen.

Even if you get beat you can
maul him on your way down.

Keep your shirt on. It looks big
tonight but it's just another case.

Can't you ever get it through
your smart legal head ..

That a crime ain't just
a case it's a club.

It's hurts people.

And there are 150 million
people in this country.

Nobody can worry about all of them.

4,651 live in my precinct.

They're not animals. They're not robots.

People like your mother and father and
your sister and brother if you got any.

They all want to make something of
themselves and they've all got feelings.

As long as Burke stays on top
they'll keep taking it in the head.

I'm wasting my breath.

You won't know what I'm talking about
until a club hits near you. Never mind.

Don't disappoint me, Buck.

We'll cancel our subpoenas and take our
complainant up to Canada in the morning.

I'll drop in on you before I leave town.

331 please.

Thanks.

By the way I'll check out tomorrow.
You can have the room about noon.

Cone on out, Bennie.

Why are you tagging me?

Because you know something I don't
now and that always makes be nervous.

Come on out.

I want to bail out a prisoner.
- A hundred bucks.

What kind of a car was he driving?
- It's a woman. Cleo Bethel.

Oh, the woman. Let me see.

We ain't got no woman.

Goodnight.

Hey, you can't go down there.

Operator.

What?

Johnson, special prosecutor.
I want to see the woman.

She is staying in twelve.

Hey, Cannell.

Twelve.

Cleo.

Cleo, you in there?

Cleo.

Chick.

You alright?

No.

Open this door.

You got something to show from Burke?

Yeah.

Come on, let's get out of here.

Easy, mister.

What are you doing here?

Shut up!

Do you hear me? Shut up!

Why, it's Mr Johnson from the capital.

You got a nerve busting here like this.

You have a nerve holding this woman on a
phony vagrancy charge and without bail.

Let her loose, Burke.

She's been shooting off her
face too much. She stays in.

I warned you weeks ago Nellie that you'd
square this beef or I'd break it my way.

I regret this scene, Mr Johnson. We'll
set bail as soon as court convenes.

Wait a minute.
I've finally got my bellyful.

This capital snoop comes down here to
poke his nose into everybody's business.

Getting my wife so upset
that I hate to go home.

Even digging into my bank records
to find out how much money I spend.

And now he comes snooping
into my court. Busting into my jail.

Your court? Your jail?

Shut your fat mouth.

I'll shut my mouth when I give this
snoop one more hunk of advice.

Go back to your 2-bit hotel, pack your
shiny suit and trot back to the capital.

Sheriff Burke might waive
bail and release Miss Bethel ..

If she agrees to leave this part
of the country before morning.

I ain't finished yet.

You tell the attorney general
or whoever you work for ..

That 12,000 people elected me
Sheriff of this county three times.

Because they like the
way I take care of them.

And when K.C. Burke wants help to run
his county he'll ask for it himself.

Shut up!

Now you get.

I'm taking the girl with me, Burke.

I warn you.

You're aiding a prisoner to escape.

You bet I am.

Don't do it, K.C.

What do you think you're doing here?

I'm throwing a gun on you K.C. as a
deputy to the attorney general's office.

I can show you the card.

It gives me the right to shoot you dead
if you don't drop your gun right now.

You too.

Let's go.

I'll see you in court.
- We'll beat you, Johnson.

I'll maul you as I go down.

I guess Burke uses the back door.

"Train 209 arriving on time. Track 4."

"Train 117 westbound on Track 3."

Maybe we should have
bought a copy of that book:

"What to say before
the train pulls out".

Or, how to say goodbye
for twenty minutes.

No laughs, huh?

You ought to be laughing at me.

They're driving you
out and I can't stop it.

I'd have moved on anyway.

I suppose my car is at the
very end, a mile away.

The cattle car.

B71. Here you are.

You're not in a cattle car after all.

Excuse me.

Will you give me a
penny for my thoughts?

I'm silly for fortunes.

I didn't think you were the kind
of girl that cared about the future.

Lower sixth. Here.

I just found out when to duck.

All aboard.

Cleo.

Don't make pretty noises just
because you're saying goodbye.

We're like those ships you're always
hearing about that pass in the night.

We ruffle the water up a bit but pretty
soon it's as if no-one had been there.

I still don't know what to talk
about before the train pulls out.

Just say goodbye.

Goodbye, chick.

Good luck tomorrow.

Goodbye, Cleo.

Good luck from here on out.

Window dressing.

I could write out my case on
the inside of a match cover.

That depends on Allridge.

I'm gambling that he is decent. If he is
I think I can show him he's got to talk.

Anyway, you will be in on something
new to the annals of jurisprudence.

A prosecutor presenting his whole
case to one witness instead of a judge.

You can still move for
a dismissal, Johnson.

I never will learn to pick
the Jack of Diamonds.

Court rise.

Superior Court of Bridgewood
County now in session.

Judge Neeler presiding.

The people versus Burke et all.

I've been sent to this district to find
from evidence presented at this hearing.

Whether there is probable cause to hold
the defendants for subsequent trial.

I will hear the prosecution.

Your Honor, as prosecuting attorney
for the county of Bridgewood.

I ask permission of the court to
hear councillor Charles Johnson.

Appointed as special prosecutor in this
case by the state Attorney General.

Is this all you will have to do
with the case, Mr Stauton?

The primary witness for the
prosecution, Mr Allridge.

Is my father-in-law.

Proceed.

Your honor, the state asks the court to
find cause to indict Kellwin C. Burke ..

Elk M. Ludens and Edward Grayton under
section 21 of the revised penal code.

Covering the invasion
of constitutional ..

I've read your specifications.

Yes, Your Honor.

I now wish to add a further
count under section 46.

To wit, that said defendants,
and in addition Nelson S. Tarsson.

Did conspire to intimidate
and did intimidate and restrain ..

Haven D. Allridge, editor
of a daily newspaper ..

From the exercise of his constitutional
right to freedom of the press.

The amended charges are also detailed
in the brief. The state is ready.

Does the defence wish additional
time to study the amended charges?

The defence waives its rights.

Proceed.

With Your Honor's permission I call the
first state witness. Haven D. Allridge.

Haven D. Allridge.

Do you swear to tell the whole truth and
nothing but the truth, so help you God?

I do.

State your name.
- Haven D. Allridge.

Mr Allridge. You are a
newspaper man by profession?

I am.
- Thank you.

Witness dismissed, subject to recall.

Oh.

Please stay in the
courtroom, Mr Allridge.

The defence objects.

Your Honor, this is merely a device to
compel the witness to sit in court ..

Where he must hear and be
influenced by the testimony of others.

The prosecutor's tactics are unorthodox
but within his technical rights.

Overruled.

Call Walter O. Hickby.

Walter O. Hickby.

Do you swear to tell the whole truth and
nothing but the truth, so help you God?

I do. - State your name.
- Walter O. Hickby.

Mr Hickby.

This article signed by Haven Allridge ..

Reports certain facts concerning
your detention by the defendants.

Was your treatment
as Mr Allridge describes?

Like I told you, I refuse to answer.

On what grounds?

On advice of counsel.

Did Sheriff Burke or his agents
pay you for refusing to testify?

Did they threaten you with bodily harm?

I refuse to answer on
the advice of counsel.

My friend, you can't
refuse to testify ..

Without courting a
citation for contempt.

Did anyone tell you not to
talk to the newspapers?

I refuse ..

I don't remember.

On what grounds?
- On advice of counsel.

I'm not sure I got that last.

He doesn't remember
on advice of counsel.

He's telling the truth anyway.

Who is your counsel, Mr Hickby?

Well, that is one question you answered.

Your witness.

No questions.

Call Samuel Slaper.

He won't talk either.
- That's right.

Samuel Slaper.

Do you swear to tell the whole truth and
nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Mr Vetzer.

Earlier this month you
spoke freely to Mr Allridge ..

About the wrongs done to you by the
defendants. Now you can't remember?

I'll give you one last chance to
gain your self-respect, Mr Vetzer.

Your witness.

No questions.

Dismissed.

Mr Johnson.

The court has been very patient with
this long procession of witnesses ..

Who disclaim knowledge of the
situation under examination.

I remind you that we're taking a great
deal of time to apparently get nowhere.

The contrary, Your Honor.

We're building a picture of a
sinister pattern of threats, pressure ..

And intimidation of witnesses.

I'm now ready to back up these
indications with direct testimony.

Call Wilfred Jackson.

Somehow Mr Jackson's writ
didn't get served on your jail ..

Until after you gentlemen
had come upstairs.

Wilfred Jackson.

Do you swear to tell the whole truth and
nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Yes, sir. I do.
- State your name.

Wilfred Jackson.

Mr Jackson.

How long have you been
acquainted with Mr Allridge?

About eight years.

Do you work for Mr Allridge?
- No, sir. I'm in business for myself.

I sell ..

That is, I sold.

Candy and sandwiches
and stuff like that.

In Mr Allridge's newspaper plant.

You say "sold". What is
your present occupation?

I'm in the prison labor gang
working at Mr Tarsson's home.

Were you convicted of an
offence and sentenced?

No, sir. I haven't had my trial yet.

Object, Your Honor. Object.

The questioning is
irrelevant and immaterial.

It's material, pertinent and relevant.
- Overruled.

The witness's experience was quoted in
one of the articles you didn't suppress.

Did any of the defendants tell you
not to talk to the newspapers?

Yes, sir.

Will you point them out
to the court please.

I'm afraid you will have to speak
the names into the record.

Mr Burke.

Mr Tarsson.

And that man they call "Ned".

Did they threaten you with any
punishment if you talked?

They said that they would
throw me to the kangaroos.

Like Tom Kenny.

But Tom Kenny's body was
found alongside the highway.

Are you implying that these
men killed Tom Kenny?

Object, Your Honor. Object!

This is hearsay.
No connection with the charges.

Sustained.

This.

Is a newspaper article in
which Mr Allridge reported ..

What Sheriff Burke and others did
to you the night you were arrested.

Have you seen the article?
- Yes, sir.

My wife says she has
a copy in our scrapbook.

Are the facts in the article
correct as stated?

Oh yes, sir.

It was just the way
Mr Allridge wrote it.

Thank you, Mr Jackson.

May I say that I feel rather humble.

In the face of your courage.

Your witness.

No questions at this time.

Witness dismissed.

Recall Haven Allridge.

Your Honor, is it necessary
to hear this witness?

No evidence has yet been
offered to show that Mr Allridge ..

At any time had any contact
with any one of the defendants.

Without contact, obviously there
could have been no intimidation.

I will prove contact.

By a man who was there in the outer room
at Amboy's when your mugs beat Allridge.

Haven Allridge.

I'm calling Bennie Amboy.

He accepted the subpoena.

Your Honor.

At a late hour last night Mr Amboy
agreed to testify to what he had seen.

At an early hour this afternoon his
body was found at Factory Creek.

A few yards from the spot ..

Where unknown assailants wrecked
a News Intelligencer delivery truck.

The pattern I mentioned is now complete.

Do you wish to recess
the case, Mr Johnson?

No, sir. I'll present my final witness.

The courageous editor of the
St. Howard News Intelligencer.

Whose fearless investigative reporting
brought this issue to the light of day.

I call Haven Allridge.
- Haven Allridge.

Here we go off the high-board.
I hope there is water in the pool.

He'll talk.

Mr Allridge, you've been a member
of this community for your entire life.

I have.

Do you feel that each
member of a community ..

Owes a duty to his fellow members
keep it clean and safe?

I do.

Do you feel the editor of a newspaper
with his influence on public opinion ..

Holds a position of public trust?

Your Honor, the defence objects to this
line of questioning. It is immaterial.

Sustained.

Mr Allridge had been known favorably
throughout the state for many years.

Mr Allridge, you heard the testimony
of Wilfred Jackson a few minutes ago.

Yes, I did.
- Did he speak the truth?

Shall I repeat the question?

I heard the question.

Then did Wilfred Jackson
speak the truth?

I refuse to answer.

Quiet, please.

In your years in this community,
have its people been good to you?

Yes.

Do you feel you owe them anything
in the way of loyalty and devotion?

Do you?

Yes, I do.

Then you will answer
this final question.

On the night of September 21st you came
to the establishment of Bennie Amboy.

You proceeded to an upstairs room
where you rejected contemptuously ..

Various offers by defendants Burke and
Tarsson to discontinue your articles.

Then and there you were beaten
by defendants Burke and Grayton.

At the conclusion of this beating
you were led to an inner room.

Mr Allridge, what happened
in that inner room?

I refuse to answer.

On the advice of counsel?

On the grounds that it would
incriminate and degrade me.

Answering the question won't
incriminate or degrade you.

Your witness.

No questions.

Witness dismissed.

Why?

Is the defence ready, Mr Tarsson?

Listen, I ain't going
to sit still on this.

So we pick up a guy on the
highway now and then.

They are all outsiders and the
fines keep the taxes down.

12,000 people voted and elected
me three times running.

And when they want K.C. Burke
out they can quit voting for me.

Your Honor, the .. prosecution
having offered no evidence ..

For us to argue, we waive our rights.

Do you wish to summarise Mr Johnson
or rest on the evidence as submitted?

You have only the direct
testimony of the witness Jackson.

Uncorroborated.

So, unless you gave a new view to add.
- Your Honor, I have.

In the mute parade of
these frightened citizens.

Weak men and strong men
who have become weak.

Little men. Big men who have
become little. All frightened.

Their very silence testifies to that.
More strongly than shouted words.

Their first protection was the law.

Under the domination of brutal, ruthless
men the law was turned against them.

There is another protection.
Public opinion.

Public opinion finds
its voice in the press.

In a free press.

Here, a courageous editor brought
his newspaper to the battle.

He fought.

His blows began to hurt.

And little men who had been
fooled or frightened began to stir.

To fall in behind his waving banner.

Then something happened.

Exactly what happened we
don't know. We may never know.

But we do know that the
voice of the public was stilled.

The press had been enslaved.

When the press lost its freedom
these people lost their freedom.

And freedom is no idle phrase.

It's close and personal.

It's the right of Wilfred Jackson,
Walter Hickby, Bennie Amboy.

These people. Of you and me,
weak and strong, big and little.

To follow our normal pursuits
in peace and without fear.

Your Honor.

The situation uncovered here
today is a symptom of civic cancer.

We smell its malignancy not only
in the terror-stricken avoidance ..

Of civic duty by this parade of
bribed and intimidated witnesses.

Not only in the treasonable misconduct
of these of these public officials.

Not only in the violence, abuse
and even death which we've observed.

But in the growing helplessness of all
decent people and their apparent apathy.

To the tightening grip
of these ruthless men.

This cancer must be
traced down to its roots.

It must be cut out or it will spread.

When it spreads far enough
the community will die.

I therefore plea that this court free
the people of Bridgewood County ..

From this dictatorship of fear by
binding these defendants over for trial.

The state rests.

You mauled them, boy.

Are counsel ready to hear
the judgement of the court?

Despite the eloquent and sincere
plea of counsel for the state.

He well knows that my decision
must be rendered solely on the law.

And on the evidence
lawfully presented here.

No matter how strongly the court
may feel as a private individual.

The law is a stern master.

The law must govern.

I therefore find that ..
- Your Honor ..

Mr Stauton.

If the court permits.

On the grounds that evidence vital
to a proper decision in this case ..

Has not yet been disclosed.

May I recall a witness to the stand?

I object, Your Honor.

This is a hearing, not a trial.

Go ahead, Mr Stauton.

I call Haven Allridge.

Haven D. Allridge.

Mr Allridge, would you please
tell the court what happened ..

In the inner room at Amboy's
on the night of September 21st.

Were you or were you not present?

In the inside room on that night?

Mr Allridge, answer that question.
- It's not only you involved in this.

Were you in that room?
- Randy.

Peggy Stauton.
- Do you know what you're doing?

Object, object, object!

Would you please tell the court where
I was on the night of September 21st.

You were in room 14 at Bennie Amboy's.

Object, Your Honor. Object!

This is beyond all bounds.

Objection sustained.

Alright.

On the night you met with the defendants
in the upstairs room at Amboy's.

Did you accept money from them?

I did not.

Did you accept some other
form of consideration?

I did.

Would you please tell the court
what happened in that room.

In full and true detail.

Mr Johnson's intimation of
the bribe offer and the beating.

Was true.

I was in a daze for a little while.

When I came out of it I was ..

"Being led into another room which I .."

"Took to be Tarsson's office."

Come here please, Mr Allridge.

What are you doing here?

I'm going to explain that now.

Remember, we've tried
every other means ..

Of persuading you to stop
printing your abusive articles.

This, as you can see is an indictment
concerning the death of Tom Kenny.

You may recall that at the time shortly
after Randy became prosecutor.

Some question was raised
about the coroner's finding ..

That Kenny's injuries were
inflicted by a hit-and-run driver.

This indictment alleges that he died
in the Bridgewood county jail ..

As the result of questioning by the
by the so-called kangaroo court.

And that his body was later
dumped beside the highway.

Why wasn't this indictment
returned by the grand jury?

Insufficient proof as I recall.

Although you may find it hard to believe
after reading these sworn statements ..

Of eyewitnesses who were
present in the jail that night.

The originals are safe
in the courthouse vault.

Not so fast, Mr Allridge. You're
missing the most interesting aspect.

These marginal notes.

Are in Randolph's handwriting.

It's a frame-up.
- Ask him.

Randy.

You didn't know about these when
you quashed that indictment, did you?

And why did he endorse this
cashier's check for $7,500?

The date coincides with the
withdrawal of the indictment.

Why, Randy? Why, why?

It wasn't the money, dad.

I was ambitious.

It was.

You know.

You make deals.

They promised me if I'd string along
they'd send me to the state capital.

Send you to the state capital?

They'll send you to
the state penitentiary.

For ten to twenty years.

A long, lonely time for your
daughter and the little one.

A child needs her father
in the springtime of her life.

As I said once before to Tarsson.

Every man has his price.

Mine was my daughter
and my granddaughter.

So I paid it.

Then I went back to the office
and turned over my evidence.

And sneaked out of
the city like a thief.

Your Honor has of course
perceived this obvious ..

Cloak and blackjack
story as a pure fabrication.

Mr Stauton has his eager young
eye on the coming election.

Partly.

Mr Stauton has just deliberately
and courageously ..

Nominated himself for a term
in the state penitentiary.

Does defence wish to cross-examine?

Your Honor.

I ask for an emergency search warrant on
the documents for the Tom Kenny case.

Now Your Honor, obviously ..

The gravity of the situation demands a
thorough and painstaking investigation.

I would like to read certain
relevant matter from the statutes.

Your Honor. The emergency
demands an immediate ruling.

You missed the best part, K.C. Where the
good guys chew the ears off bad guys.

Buck, let go of my arm.
You want to break it off?

Yeah.

And I would further like to
read from the state reports.

In the case of the
people versus Addison.

Your Honor.

Your Honor, physical duress
right before your eyes.

I offer this in evidence.

It certainly seems to have been
executed with admirable despatch.

Has Mr Stauton identified the documents?

Your Honor, the prosecution rests.

Prosecution will rest more comfortably
after dismissing its witness.

Witness dismissed.

Forgive me.

I thank you.

Counsel and defendants will
rise to hear judgement.

The court finds in favor
of the prosecution.

And orders the defendants
bound over for trial.

And in view of possible
physical danger to witnesses ..

While these defendants are at large.

I order that they be held without
bail in the Bridgewood County Jail.

Mister, you are in my county.

Who is going to put us in there?

The law, Mr Burke.

It is bigger than men.
Stronger than force.

You can't shoot it, you can't
bribe it, you can't threaten it.

Nobody.

No person, no group, no gang.

Nobody in this country has ever
been big enough to defy it for long.

Because the law is the united will
of all people acting in concert.

Are you that big?

Come on. Let's go.

Session adjourned.

Jackson. Judge says come on out.

It's going to be pretty
rough on Stauton.

That was no joyride he just finished.
- I guess not.

No. Not for any of them.

Can you delay your leave a few weeks and
help me get this case ready for trial?

What became of your big outside job?

l want to nail these characters
down so they don't come loose.

You'll spend the rest of your life
in the attorney general's office.

And what will you have to show for it?
- Satisfaction, Buck.

Satisfaction of pulling your
own share of the wagon.

With all its creaks and squeaks it's
a pretty good wagon to be hitched to.

(t-g)