Underworld U.S.A. (1961) - full transcript

♪ Should auld acquaintance
be forgot

♪ And never brought to mind? ♪

New Year!

Rolled a drunk, huh?

Hey, go roll your own.
The streets are
full of them.

Come on,
divvy up, Tolly.

No dice.

♪ In Dublin's fair city,
where the girls are so pretty

♪ It was there that I first
met sweet Molly Malone

♪ As she rolled her
wheelbarrow

♪ Through the streets
wide and narrow



♪ Crying cockles and mussels
alive, alive, oh

♪ She was a fish monger
and that is no wonder

♪ Her mother and father
were fish mongers, too

♪ They rolled their
wheelbarrows

♪ Through streets
that are narrow

♪ Crying cockles and mussels
alive... ♪

There was a prize
given for the world's
worst old man,

your father
would cop it.

He's learning you to be
nothing but a punk like him.

He's learning me
how to hustle.

Sure.
Dodging truant officers,
rolling drunks,

lying to welfare workers.

He's teaching you how
to hustle all right,

right into
the electric chair.



Sandy?

Yeah? Hold still.

Sandy?
What is it?

I want to buy him
a bottle of bourbon,
bonded stuff.

Not from me.

Come on, Sandy.
You own this gin mill.

You can do
what you want.

No dice.

Then I take
my business to
another joint.

Go ahead.

Can I wait here for him?

You can wait here with me
as long as you like.

You know that, honey.

Here, hold this.

My father told me
why you collect
these dolls.

How would he know?

He said you can't
have kids of your own.

Well, I'm going
to wait for him
in the alley.

We've got a
New Year's date,
12:00.

Wait a minute, Tolly.
I've got something for you.

I've been trying to
get it to you all week.

I don't trust
these characters
around here,

so I had to stash it
in a real safe place.

Merry Christmas, Tolly.

Well go ahead
and open it.

Yeah.

There.

It was a pretty tough
break you had,
being born in prison

and your mother
dying there.

That was Vic Farrar.

Forget it,
if you want to live.

Who's the guy?

Why you looking
at me like that?

Pa!

I understand, Sandy.

Are you... Are you sure
you didn't recognize
any of them then?

She didn't see them.
I did.

Do you know
any of them, son?

I'm no fink.

You want us to get the men
who killed your father,
don't you?

I don't want no help
from you cops.

I'm no cop.

My name is Driscoll.
I work for
the District Attorney.

You still smell cop to me.

I'll get those
punks my own way.

You Mrs. Farrar?

Yes.

I'm a friend of Vic's.

You're a friend of Vic?
Yes, ma'am.

I got something for him.

I'm sorry, shorty,
he ain't here.

They slapped him
in prison today.

What for?

An old rap.

When'll he come out?

When he's dead.

Hey,

I hear Vic Farrar
is in this joint.
Is that right?

For life.

Mmm-hmm.

Yeah. Funny I never
see him around.

He's been in
the hospital
for months.

Yeah? What's wrong?

Bum heart.

I used to know Vic
when I was a kid.

I think I'll
pay him a visit.

Not in this chateau,
you don't.

He's in isolation.

So I get sick.

Not with Doc Meredith,
you don't.

Yeah.
What will it cost me?

A pint of red juice.

What?

You mean they
got a blood bank
in this joint, too?

Hey, Doc?
Yeah?

How do you get
a job in this joint?

Why?
So you can get your hands
on a little joy powder?

I ain't no junky.

I didn't say you were.

You know,
I think I would have
made a good doctor,

if I only hadn't
tried to make a buck
the smart way.

I know you.

Sure I seen you
somewhere.

Yeah?

Yeah.

Sure I seen you
somewhere.

Save your wind,
Farrar.

Give me the chaplain's
office, please.

Hello.
This is Doctor Meredith.

You'd better look
in on Vic Farrar.
He's going fast.

Stick close to Farrar.
I'll be right with him.

Vic. You're dying, Vic.

You know why you thought
you saw me before?

I'm a dead ringer for
my father, Tom Devlin.

Devlin?

Yeah.

You beat him to
death that night.
You and your three pals.

You remember, Vic?

Forgive me.

Forgive you?

I've gotta die
with a clean slate.

Who were the other guys?

I'm no fink.

You want to meet your
maker with a clean slate,
don't you?

Yeah, yeah,
I got to.

Well, you're gonna
meet him in a
couple of minutes.

Now you tell me who
the other guys were,
and I'll forgive you.

And you'll meet your maker
with a clean card.

Promise?

Sure, I promise.

Who were they, Vic?
Who were they?

Gela.
Gela, yeah?

Gunther.

Gunther.
Yeah, yeah, yeah?

Smith.

Gela, Gunther, Smith.

So long, Vic.

Don't do this to me.
Please, you promised.

Forgive me, forgive me!

Fink!

What are you so
happy about, meathead?

Tolly!

Oh, my baby.

How are you, Duchess?

I'm just great.
Just great.

I didn't expect you
here for an hour.

I'd have died rather
than have you see me

in this deshabille
and the coiffure.

Yeah.

So why didn't
you write me
you've been sick?

Oh.

I'm in the pink
of condition now
that you're here.

Yeah?
See that?

Hey, back up.
Back up.

Well, well, well.

What?

Where did you steal
the horse blanket?

What do you mean,
"steal it"?
I made it in the pen.

You what?
Sure.
Helps rehabilitate us.

Oh.

But the tie stinks.

Well, I didn't make that.

Wait a minute,
I got something for you.

Here, look.

Oops. Polka dots.
Your favorite.

Polka dots.

Hey, who's tending
your gin mill?

I sold it.

Yeah?
You get a good price?

I had to take
what Gela offered.

Did you say Gela?

That's what I said.

Yeah,
it must be some other guy
with the same name, I guess.

No. There's only
one Mr. Gela,
the dope king.

Hey, you know, they're...
They're using coffee
joints as fronts now.

That's what my
old bar is right now,
a coffee house.

No kidding?
On the level.

What characters!
You know what they do?

They just sit around
and just drink coffee.

Coffee.

But they still
call it the Elite.

The Elite Expresso
or Espresso.

Or whatever it is,
but it's still the Elite.

Remember that guy
from the D.A.'s Office?
Driscoll?

Uh-huh.

Yeah,
he tried to question you
that night in the alley.

You know,
when you were a kid?

Yeah,
I remember Driscoll.

Now, how about you?

What?

Well, have you
got anything in mind
in the way of a job?

A job?

Yeah, job.
It's a word.

Meaning work.
You know,
legitimate work.

Yeah, I got a job.

Look, if you tell me
you're going to
bust another safe,

I'll kick you right
out of this house,
so help me.

No, nothing like that.

That's what
I wanted to hear.

For five years,
I lost you in prison.

And for five years
I've been praying that
you learned a lesson,

and you finally did.

Yeah, yeah,
I learned a lesson.

I learned plenty.

What do you mean?

I learned who
killed my father.

I finally caught up
with Vic Farrar.

Did you kill him?

Didn't have to.

He died in a prison hospital
asking me to forgive him.

And he named names.

You wanna know
who they were?

No.
Yeah.

No, I don't wanna know.
I don't wanna know.

There! There they are.

That's my job.

Gela, Gunther, Smith.
Those are the three
punks I'm gonna get.

Punks?
You call them punks?

Why, they're better guarded
than the President
of the United States

and you're gonna
get them?

Oh, stop the
crazy talk, man.

Tolly, I know it's
been like a disease

with you since
you were a kid,

but you're
a grownup man now.
Act like it.

Don't eat your heart out
with hate and revenge.

Look at you.

Thirty-two years old
and what have you done
with your life? Nothing.

One year in one prison,
two years in another,
the last rap, five years.

But you're only
on this earth once,
so take advantage of it.

Enjoy it, live it.

All I need is one break

to get to Gela.

Yeah.
And Gela uses your saloon
to stash his dope, huh?

Who knows?
Could be.

Hello.
Is Mr. Gela there?

You'd better get word
to Mr. Gela
the girl backed down.

She wouldn't make
the pickup.

Yeah, she's
still here with me.

The key?
I'll leave it on the shelf
in the closet for you.

What about the girl?

Cuddles.

Cuddles!

Did...

Did he...
Did he get sore?

Give me the key, baby.

Yeah, in here.
Sure. Sure.

Here.

Did he get sore?

Gee, I'd rather be dead
than handle that stuff.

I mean,
do you know
what I mean?

I went there,
and when I got
halfway there,

I couldn't. I...

Hey! Hey,
I'll pick it up.

I'm gonna
miss you, baby.

Call him and tell him
I'll it pick it up
and I'll deliver it.

Call him and tell him.

Come.

Hey, hey, hey,
hey, hey.

Hey! Hey, I'm beat.
I'm beat.

Come on, come on.

Who are you?

Narcotics.

I never pushed
any of that stuff.

Yeah?

I'll tell the department
to give you a soft knock
if you cooperate.

Honest, I don't know
enough to make a trade
with the law.

You know where
that fits, don't you?

This stuff uncut?

Hey, I need a doc.

What's the name of
that guy I clobbered?

Give me a break.
Don't push me for names.

That's where it hurts.

What place is this?

It's all right, lady,
you're among friends.

Why didn't you take me
to headquarters?

Well, it may not
be safe there.

Well, your lover might have
a pipeline to the police.

He's not my lover.

If he's not your lover,
who is he?

Hey, look,
I don't want
no more trouble.

I done you a favor,
you do me a favor.

What's his name?

Gus.

Gus what? Come on!

Cottahee.

What's his phone number?

Wilton.

Four.
Four.

Five.
Five. Yeah?

Five.
Five.

One.
One. Yeah.

Nine.
Nine.

Thanks, Cuddles.
Thanks.

I brought some warm milk.
It's better than black coffee.

Here, drink this.

Who are you?

Sandy.

Thanks for
letting me stay here.

Huh?

That's all right.

He's nice, for a cop.

For a what?

I'll fix up
the couch for you.

Don't bother.
I'm going out.

Where you going?

Look, let's have
a little dose of
straight talk

right now, shall we?

That Cuddles character.

Who and what?

She got in a jam.

And you helped her
out of it.
That's right.

Uh-huh.

It's the first time you
ever stuck your neck
out for anybody.

Well, you know me,
I got a big heart.

Who is she?

Just a broad.

You're telling me.

And why did you
bring her here?

It helped swing weight
to fix things up.

Why did you tell her
you were a cop?

I told you,
it helped swing weight
to fix things up.

What things?

She didn't want to
make a junk pickup.

Where did
all this happen?

In a back room of
the Elite Espresso
where they all they do

is sit around and
just drink coffee.

You never handled
a gun in your life.

That's right.

Then what's this box
of bullets doing here?

Hello, Gus?

Yeah. Who is this?

Gus, I'll sell you back
that box of bullets.

What are you talking about?

Meet me in the alley
at Elite Espresso
in one hour.

Hey, who is this?

Come alone and
bring 50 grand cash.

50 grand...

Hey, listen, I can't...

Asking for dough like that
has got to get me to Gela.

Hold it, Gus.

What'd you
coldcock me with?

The phone.
Where is the dough?

You hung up on me
before I could tell you

that amount's tough to get
this time of night.

When can you get it?

Tomorrow.

I'll call you noon sharp.

Now blow.

All right,
where's the package?

A bullet won't buy
that cartridge box.

I file faces and
yours is familiar.

Yeah, well,
I've been around.

You say you're
a peteman?

Yeah, that's
my trade, yeah.

Prove it.

Prove it.

You heard the girl
tell Gus she wouldn't
make the pickup.

Yeah, that's right.

So you hit Gus
and took the key.

Yeah.

How'd you get her
to take you to
the sports shop?

Told her I was
on the vice squad.

She bought that?

Yeah. Well, I had to
rough her up a little bit.

Where is she now?

Who knows?
Check the hospitals.

My talking stopping you
from concentrating?

Yeah.

But not on
this old box.

I've known this hole
since I was a kid.

Close it.

So now you know
I'm a peteman.
What about the dough?

Gunther?
Penny-ante stuff here.

Smith still there?

Yeah, he's still here.

We could've had this
meeting in my place,
you know.

Or mine.

Yeah. I'm leaving
right now.

It's okay with him, Gus.

Take care of the transfer.

Mr. Gela, I'm sorry
I called you away
from your meeting.

For 50 grand,
you didn't have
to bother me.

Mr. Gela.

I didn't know
that package
belonged to you.

So now you know.

Yeah, now I know
and the deal is off.

Now don't push your luck.

I may be
a sentimental meathead,

but this time,
this package
on the house.

On the house?

Why on the house?

Tom Devlin.

Who?

Tom Devlin.

He was my father.

I'm Tolly Devlin.

Devlin? Devlin. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You used to work with him
in the '30s, right?

Now I know why you
look so familiar.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I used to work with him.
I used to work with him.

You and him was
like brothers,

till my old man
got bumped off.

Who told you
we were like brothers?

Vic Farrar. I met him
in a prison hospital.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
He's from the old days, too.

Mr. Gela,
you know them four gunsels
that bumped my father off?

Yeah?

They got paid off.

Burned to death
in a car wreck.

Who told you that?

Vic died in my arms
in a hospital.

I ain't taking
no package from you.

You trying to tell me
that you're dumping
50 grand

just because
of sentiment?

It would be like
tapping my own father.

Hello.

It worked.

I scored with Gela.

Now keep that broad
in the house. She's hot.

Tolly! Tolly, wait a minute!

Tolly! Tolly!

Tolly!

What do you mean,
he's no cop?

He's a thief,
and he just got
out of prison.

He used me to get his
hands on that stuff,
didn't he?

Yes.

Well, I don't care.

He saved my life.

He thinks his old man
and I were blood brothers.

So I put him on
for a fast 75 a week
as a numbers collector.

Relax, relax,
he's loaded
with loyalty.

Anyway, I'm running
a check on him.

The name Devlin
still rubs me
the wrong way.

Well,
I'm a sentimental slob

when it comes to
loving a parent.

I wish my kid felt about me
the way Tolly feels
about his old man.

Hey, what's this?

What?

This report on
the police chief.
What is this?

Oh.

Chief Fowler.

He wants me to
lay off my houses
for a few months.

Why?

He thinks someone
in our camp

is selling him out
to Driscoll.

Well, what are you
paying him?

5,000 a week.

That's a fat bonus
for a police chief.

That's more than
I grease my
union lobbygows.

He's worth it.
We're clocking
100,000 a week

in girls, numbers
and distribution.

Five grand's
a bargain.

Yeah, yeah,
but maybe he's using
Driscoll as an alibi.

He's been trying to
get out for months.
You know that.

No, I don't think so.
Look, he's very close
to his family.

He's worried stiff
about that daughter
of his.

Besides, I warned him
he'd be putting
her head on the block

if he even tried to
think of crossing us.

The syndicate bosses
in the field
command the rackets

like generals
in the field
command divisions.

And lording it over
the syndicate wheels

is the top brass,

the underworld's
combined chiefs of staff.

Each chief commands
a specific department.

Gela, narcotics.
Gunther, labor.

Smith, prostitution,
and so on.

They all have
substantial business fronts,

pay taxes,
wear respectable suits.

Lording it over
all of them
is Earl Connors,

their chief of staff,

shrewd, warm, charitable,

an animal.

He arbitrates the disputes
between the syndicate bosses,

pulls national strings,

and controls gangdom
from their headquarters
at National Projects,

a building only
20 minutes away
from us,

a beehive of
concealed activity

with a legitimate
business facade,

from the basement
to the penthouse
executive offices.

Now,

the most vicious
increase in vice

is the teenage dope addict

and the recruitment
of school girls

into the ranks
of prostitution.

They're using coffee houses
and soda shops as fronts.

The underworld is
reaching the young
people of this country.

Our job is to
get people
to prosecute.

Getting anybody
to talk is tough.
Families of informers

have been butchered,
burned, bludgeoned
to death.

However, we have
found a man
who is not afraid.

He's called Menkin.

He works as a bookkeeper
for National Projects,
and he has agreed

to bring me evidence
that Earl Connors

is paying
Police Chief Fowler

$5,000 a week bribery
to permit local traffic
in dope and girls.

Connie, we've
always leveled
with each other.

I'm washed up.

What are you
talking about?

I've been on the take.
I've been getting
$5,000 a week

for turning my back
on dope traffic
and prostitution.

I'm sorry, Connie.

I haven't got the stomach
to face your mother.

You'll have to.
I'm not going
to tell her.

I don't know
what you did
with all that money,

but you're gonna have to
tell her this yourself.

Those lectures
you gave the rookies
every year,

telling them that
the lowest crook
in the world

is a crooked cop.

Why did you do it? Why?

Because they
threatened to chop your mother
in a meat grinder

and send the pieces to me
in a basket, that's why!

You're alive.
That's all that
counts to me.

You and Mother are alive.

Where are you taking him?

To the Federal Building,
Connie.

Come on, Dad.
Let's go.

Tell Mother I'll
be down in a minute.

We'll be waiting
downstairs,
Mr. Driscoll.

I wish I had
a daughter
with her guts.

You tell your story
to the world, Bill,

and a lot of
frightened witnesses

are gonna crawl out
from under their rocks.

Are you crazy?

Ten minutes before
you get me on the stand,
they'll chop her.

I know how they operate,
and so do you.

No, John,

my family's dead
while I'm alive.

God forgive me.

Bill!

Devlin.
Who?

Tolly Devlin.

From here on,
when you make a pickup,

bring the money here
immediately.

What? After each one?
Yeah.

We can't have our
collectors walking around
with a big bundle.

It's always an invite
to lone-wolf hijackers.

Yeah.

What are you worried about?
I got Gus with me.

Uh-uh. I've been making
the rounds with you,

so the customers
could get to know you.

Now you make
your pickups alone.

Devlin,
here's tomorrow's route.

Gus, Mr. Gela's
looking for you.

Come on,
I'll give you
a cook's tour

of how the higher
echelons work, upstairs.

Hey, what do you got?
A swimming pool down there?

Yeah.

On a roof?
Sure.

Well, let's take a swim.

Nope, it's just for
the big wheels and
underprivileged kids.

Once every week,
National Projects
turns it over to them

and every month
there's a swim meet.

Well, Tolly.

Mr. Gela.

I haven't seen you
all week.

Getting along okay?
Well, yeah.

They've been keeping me
on the run, you know.

Hey, that's
a nice suit you got.

Gus' tailor.

Hey, that bookkeeper
that dropped out
of circulation?

Menkin?

Yeah, Mr. Menkin.
Find him.

See you, boys.

And as I was saying,
the Chamber of Commerce

gave us a plaque for
sponsoring youth clubs.

I even acted as lifeguard
for the kids one day.

I liked that.

Menkin's got
to be the man.

He was the only one
who paid the chief
every week personally.

What about his family?

Not a trace.

I just gave Gus
the assignment.

Send for the boys.

Ask Smith and Gunther
to come to the pool.

I've been on the phone
to at least nine cities
in the past hour.

About Driscoll?

No, they know
he's my headache.

They're disappointed
in your figures.

I'm stretching
the rubber band
from coast to coast.

I want to hear it snap.

Now there are at least
13 million kids
in this country

between the ages
of 10 and 15.

Don't tell me
the end of a needle
has a conscience.

Put more field men to
work around the schools.

Mr. Gunther.

The mister
means trouble.

Real trouble.

The coast wants to know
why you haven't

made any headway
with the longshoremen.

Strong arm isn't helping
the teamsters situation.

It's the unions themselves.
The locals are kicking
our men out of office.

Hello, Smith.

Everybody's asking me
about Driscoll.

Think he's got
a pipeline
to the girls?

We don't know yet,
but what we do know

is that you showed
a loss last month.

Saint Louis, Chicago,
San Francisco,
all showed drops.

Let's have
another drink.

Think I like
sitting on you
like this?

I hate it,
but it's got
to be done.

But we won't stay big
if we lose our grip.

Well, there'll always
be people like Driscoll,

and there'll always
be people like us.

As long as we
don't have any
record on paper,

as long as we run
National Projects,

legitimate
business operations

and pay our taxes
on legitimate income

and donate to charities
and run church bazaars,

we'll win the war.
We always have.

Hello, Jenny.

Remember me?

Boy, this is a nice bike.

You're Jenny Menkin,
aren't you?

Yes. How did you
know my name?

I'm a friend
of your daddy's.

Say, you haven't seen
him today, have you?

No. He went away on
important business,
Mommy says.

He went away on business.
Do you know where he went?

No.

Say, would you
like some gum?

Uh-huh.

Go on, take it.
It's all right.

I'm not a stranger.
I'm a friend
of your daddy's.

Thank you.
Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Yes?

This is Gus.

I couldn't find
Mr. Menkin,

but his wife and two kids
are living with his cousin.

I just got through
talking with his little girl.

Well, the only way
to keep Mr. Menkin's
mouth shut

is to teach him
a lesson.

Get rid of that kid.

Bye-bye, mister.

Jenny! Jenny!

There you are.
How about that?
That's for you.

And I got a little
something here
for Cuddles.

There. There.
How's that?

Hey. How is
the muffin anyway?

She's gone.

Gone? What do
you mean, gone?
Out.

Out where?
Who knows?

Well, why didn't
you stop her?

I did try to stop her.

Did you ever try to grab
a handful of dynamite?

Anyway, she called
a little while ago
and said she'd call back

and then hung up.
Asked for you.

Why did she leave?

She got lonely.

Lonely? What do
you mean, "lonely"?

She got a problem,
so she got drunk.

Problem.
Everybody's got a problem.
What kind of a problem?

Yeah? Wait
a minute, honey.

Yeah?

The park,
the park where lovers park.

Where are you?

I got tired of
wearing one dress,

and I went back
to my joint to pick up
some of my gowns.

Where are you?

Ace Bar.

But I'll meet you
in the park.

Listen,
you stupid little broad,
you get over here...

What are you? Nuts?

Going back to
your house like that,
for Pete's sake.

Well, now, why don't
you suck on some ice?
Sober you up.

That's that. Come on.

Don't pull me,
or I'll call the cop.

I know, I'm drunk.

But my brain's okay,

clear as ice.

Now,
nobody saw me in that bar.
Will you quit worrying?

Sandy told me
what's eating you.

I... I once saw
a movie like that,

all about revenge,
ex-con's revenge.

Very touching.
Close to home, huh?

Only he was smart.

Not like you.
You're not smart.

You know why
you're not smart,
Tolly?

'Cause the day's gonna come
when you want out

and the only way
you're gonna get off
their payroll

is on a nice, big,
cold, marble slab.

You know how I know?
'Cause I got one
waiting for me.

Yeah.

You think Gus was
gonna polish me off

just 'cause I didn't
pick up that package?

Uh-uh.

I know too much.
I know names and things.

Like, for instance, I saw...

I saw Mr. Smith kill a dame.

She was a hustler.

Who was the broad?

Yeah, Tolly.
I saw too much.

And that old Gus,
he would have killed me
if it hadn't been for you.

Sandy told me
all about your old man,

how he was a nothing,
a real nothing,

but to you,
he was like a god.

You must have
an awful lot
of love in you.

Isn't there
a story about a guy

all alone in a desert
for years and years
and then he meets an ocean?

I sure like
the way you kiss.

What was the name
of that broad?

What broad?

The broad that
Smith got rid of?

Huh?

The broad that
Smith got rid of.

Oh, brother,
I really ran off
at the mouth, didn't I?

Well, your story's on
the level, wasn't it?

Yeah. Yeah, it was.

There's a federal man
named Driscoll.

So?

So he'll get rid of
Mr. Smith for good.

Is he one of the wheels
who killed your old man?

That's right.

And you want me
to walk the plank so
you can even the score?

Mr. Driscoll will
protect you like
you was his own mother.

If I'm gonna have
my head blown off,

it's not gonna be
because you're
on a revenge kick.

The last few years
it seemed like

somebody else was
working the house,

like it was
another person, not me.

I sure...
I sure like the way you kiss.

What was the name
of that broad again?

He's got a wife
and another child.

Their lives won't
be worth two cents
if Connors finds them.

Everybody on
the police force

is trying to locate
the Menkin family.

If only he'd try
to contact us.

He evidently has no idea
that they'd be safer with us

than wherever
they're hiding.

With the murder
of that child,

it's gonna be impossible
for any of our leads
to testify now.

Yeah?
Let me talk to Driscoll.

This is Driscoll.

Hello, Mr. Driscoll.
This is Tolly Devlin.

Who?
Tolly Devlin.

Tolly who?

Tolly Devlin.
Don't you remember me?

No.

My old man was
beaten to death
in the alley

behind Sandy's gin mill,
about 20 years ago.

You remember that?
I think you were with
the D.A.'s Office then.

Yeah.

I was the kid
who wouldn't fink.

I told you I'd
get those punks

in my own way,
don't you remember?

Sure, I remember.

You were the kid
who jumped on that
morgue wagon,

the kid who wouldn't fink.

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah, I've often wondered
what happened to you.

Well, I'm still around.

Yeah, you said you were
gonna find the men
who killed your father.

Yeah, I remember,
all right.

Did you ever get a lead
on any of them?

Yeah. One of them
was Smith,

the big wheel
in prostitution.

Give me that again.

Mr. Driscoll,
I know a girl
who was eyewitness

to Smith
knocking off a broad.

Will she testify?

That's why I'm calling you.

Well, bring her
right over to my office.

No. You got to come here.

Well, where are you?

Yes, Smith shot
Francie twice.

You were an eyewitness.

Well, yeah,
that's what I
just told you.

What prompted
you to contact me?

You don't think
I'd stick my neck out

just to see Smith burn,
do you?

I did it for Tolly.

Would you please sign
all three copies?

Yes, sir.

Now get out a murder
warrant right away
for Smith's arrest.

Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for your courage.

There aren't many citizens
who will run this risk
for society.

Sucker.

I want all of you
to send out
a dragnet for her

throughout the country.

I want every syndicate
on the lookout for that girl.

What about those lawyers
on Driscoll's staff?

Maybe we can reach one.
You know, make a deal.

You can't trust
any of them.

If there is any
additional evidence,
we got to get it,

even if we have
to break into his files.

Gela's working
on that already.

Will you get that?

Yeah. It's Gela.

Well, maybe he's
made a contact.

Hello.

I got a man who will
crack Driscoll's safe.

Good.

I suggest for
the present

that we keep it
strictly to ourselves, huh?

I agree.

Well, Tolly,
if you come up with
the reports we want,

it will mean
an additional
$1,000 for you.

Yeah.

Well, it ain't
just the money,
Mr. Gela.

I mean, you know,
I can get 1,000
years for cracking

that government safe,
you know.

But I'd like a future
with your organization.

Well, I don't know,
I kind of always wanted
some kind of security.

That's the spirit I like.
Don't let anything
interfere with him.

Is he gonna tag along?

What's that?

No, nothing personal
with Gus.

It's just that
when I operate,

I like to operate alone,
you know.

I... Well,
that way I can...
I can...

Concentrate?

Yeah, concentrate.

That's understandable.

Leave him alone.

Thank you, Mr. Gela.

But stick close to him.

I arranged for the guards
to be off-duty tonight,
all except one man.

Was your friend
Gus suspicious?

No, no, no. He...

You didn't make much sense
when you phoned me
tonight about this job.

Did you say
Gela hired you
to crack my safe?

Yeah, that's right.

Listen, I've been
thinking of something.

I got an idea.
Yeah?

Remember what
you said to Cuddles
about getting...

Cuddles?
Yeah, Cuddles.

The broad that's
gonna sing on Smith.

You said something
to her about

getting a dogfight
started between
the bosses.

Yeah?

What about giving me
a bone to take to Gela?

You mean a phony report?

Why not?

Joseph Wilhelm Gunther...

...facts to be turned over

to committee Monday.

When you turn these
reports over to Gela,

I'm counting on all
hell breaking loose

against Gunther
and his racket bosses.

"US District Attorney Report,
file 5866. Confidential."

"Thursday, 11:00 p.m.

"Gunther agrees to deliver
narcotics data in exchange
for limited immunity.

"Facts to be turned over
to a committee Monday."

That's the day
after tomorrow.

I still can't believe it.

I thought you got
a tail on Driscoll.

I have,
but he must have lost it.

Mr. Gunther, please.
Yes, I'll hold on.
Thank you.

Your man,
what's his name?

Tolly. Tolly Devlin.

Did a good job.

- Tolly.
- Yes, sir?

Put this back in
Driscoll's safe.
Take Gus' car.

Yes, sir.

You come with me.

Gunther? Connors.
Come over to my
house right away.

You work with a man
for 30 years,

you know him
for 30 years,

it doesn't mean a thing.

My closest sidekick,
ready to sell me out.

What happened?
What's the matter?

Why the SOS
this time of the night?

If I hadn't seen
the proof with
my own eyes,

I'd never have
believed it.

What proof?
What are you talking about?

I'm talking about
the fat bulk of
double-crossing blubber

who made a deal to
save his own fat skin.

You must be...

Give me a light.

Come here.
Come here,
turn around.

Turn around.
Sit over there.

Well?

I'm gonna set you up
in an apartment.

Why?

'Cause you stuck
your neck out for me,
that's why.

I wouldn't be kept by you
if you gave me $1 million.

Wait a minute, honey.

I don't mean
walk the streets
or work a house.

I'm talking about
giving you a break.
I'm gonna set you up...

You know what
you can do
with that break?

Wait a minute.

Hey, you are
a mixed-up broad.

All right,
I'm a mixed-up broad.
So what?

So don't fly off the handle
when somebody's trying
to do something for you.

Do something for me?
Do what?

You don't have to con me.
I made my pitch,
you didn't buy it.

How do you know
what's inside me?

'Cause I know
what's wrong with you.

And I don't care.
You hear me.

I don't care. I know.

The day will come when
you won't get your kicks
from me anymore,

and you'll want to go out
and get yourself a new...

That was
kind of a low blow.
I'm sorry.

You like your way
of turning a buck.

I was wrong needling you.

No, no. You're right.

All my life it's
been near misses
with every guy,

until I met you.

You're more than that now.

Now I know something
I never thought I'd know.

We got a right to
climb out of the sewer
and live like other people.

We could start
from scratch,

make every minute count
twice for the one we lost.

I want your kids.

What?

We could quit our way
of turning a buck.

I want your kids, Tolly.

I want you for my...

My husband.

You must be
on the needle.

Marry you?

Marry you?

No woman can
tell the whole truth
about herself to a man,

but that broad did.

What is this with
marriage and kids?

Are you kidding?
With her?
Come on, for...

Why don't you take
a good look at yourself?

Look, Sandy, don't start.
Don't...

What do you see?
A doctor? A scientist?
A businessman?

You see a scar-faced ex-con,
a two-bit safecracker,

a petty thief who
don't know when he
really made the big time.

Where do you come off
to blast her?

No matter
what she's been,
what she's done,

she's a giant.

And you want to know why?
Well, I'll tell you.

Because she sees
something in you
worth saving.

If only one-tenth
of one percent

of all the good in her
could rub off on you,

you'd be a giant, too.

But you're a midget,
in your head,
in your heart,

in your whole makeup,
you're a midget.

I never felt
like this before.

How do you feel,
Cuddles?

Well,

some women,
when they kiss, blush,

some call the cops,

some swear, some bite,
some laugh, some cry.

Me?

I die. Die.

I die inside
when you kiss me.

Connors wants me to deliver
any reports to him first,
not to let Gela know.

Good.

Now there's no one
he can trust.

Are they ready?

No.

For the next few nights,
tell him you found
nothing in my safe.

What?

Make him sweat.

Yeah,
but we ought to get Gela
as soon as possible.

We'll get him.
We'll get him.

I got to figure out
a different angle.

Repeating
the same frame-up so soon
might make him suspicious.

You see what I mean?

Yeah, leave it
to Uncle Sam.

Meeting...

Meeting with Gela.

Yeah, meeting with Gela.

"Confidential from Driscoll.

"Wednesday, 2:00 a.m.,
meeting with Gela.

"Saturday, 10:00 p.m.,
meeting with Gela.

"Sunday, 4:00 p.m.,
meeting with Gela.
Monday meeting with Gela."

You brought this report
directly to me first,
is that right?

Yes, sir.

You say your name
is Tolly?

That's right.

Tolly Devlin, sir.

Good work, Tolly.

Put this back
in Driscoll's safe.

Tell Barney to tail Gela
around the clock.

And make sure
he personally gives me

an hour-to-hour
report on Gela.

Well, maybe he was
too drunk to know
what he was saying.

What did he say?

I'm at the pool, all right.
Gela's in the pool
with one of his punks.

You got the picture?

Gela's in the pool
with one of his punks.

No, not in the pool.
He's too drunk
to be in the pool,

but he's at the pool.
All right.

Gela's at the pool.
Yeah.

I hear him say
to this punk
that if he thought

he could get
a short sentence,

he'd make a deal with you
as long as nobody knew
he did the singing.

Gela said that?
That's what
I heard him say.

Call off your cannibals.
I won't bruise you, not here.

Relax, Danny.

Okay, Mr. Gela.

What are you prowling
around here for?

I wanted you to know
I understand your feelings.

Now get out of here.

I've got to be sure.

When I drove past him,
my lights picked up
his face.

It was big as life,
close to my car.

That guy was Driscoll,
all right.

Find Gus and
send him here.

You want me to keep
on Gela's tail tonight?

No, it won't be necessary.

I just got your note.
What's up?

Phone Gela at home
right now.

Tell him you've
got some reports
out of Driscoll's safe.

He'll ask you to
bring them over
right away.

It's about 11:00 now.
He'll expect you at 11:30.

Only you won't be there.
I'll be there for you.

Yeah?

Mr. Gela, this is Tolly.

Hello, Tolly.

Good, good.
Bring them right over.

Take you about a half hour.
I'll let you in myself.

You got
the reports for me?

Mr. Gela,
when I was a kid,
I seen a messy thing.

I seen four shadows
on a wall kill a guy.

You know,
I never could rub that
out of my mind,

'cause the guy
was my old man.

Huh?

That's right.

You know,
it took me 20 years

to find the faces
of them shadows,
but I found them.

The first guy,
he conked out at a hospital,
asking me to forgive him.

Vic Farrar.

The second one,
he's getting the chair.
Smith.

The third one,
he got barbecued.
Gunther.

There's one punk left,
Mr. Gela. That's you.

You wrap up the package.

That's Gus.
No.

I set you up for a hit.

It was the only way
I could even up.

What's the matter,
don't you pay
the light bills around here?

How you doing?

You're not the only one
with ideas, you know.

I got ideas, too.

You made your point.

Quitting our way of
turning a buck, I buy.

But I don't buy the lawn,
I got to have a partner.

Like Sandy said,
the only good partnership
is between a man and wife.

What are you
getting at, Tolly?

I want you to be
my wife and all,

everything that
goes with it.

There's a man outside
that wants to see you.
His name is Tolly Devlin.

He's here?

He wants to see you alone.

Well, tell him
to come on in.

All right, everybody,
let's take a
10-minute break.

Hello, Mr. Driscoll.

I stopped by your house,
they told me you
were working late.

Are you crazy?
What are you doing here?

Gela's dead.

Did you kill him?
No.

Who did?

How do you know
he's dead?

He's dead.

And you set him up,
didn't you?

What difference
does that make?

Mr. Driscoll, it's been
a good partnership,

but with Gela on ice,
that wraps it up,
and you're on your own.

Come on,
our job isn't
finished yet.

Mine is.

Tolly, you've got
a perfect pipeline
to Connors.

Connors.
What do I care
about Connors?

That's your headache.

Well, what are you
going to do now?

I'm going to get married.

I'm going to get married,
and I'm going
to dump my trade.

What about Connors?

I'm going to
dump him, too.

I'm going to
start from scratch,
me and my broad.

Oh.

What? Don't you think
I can turn a buck
the right way?

Of course you can,
and I'll help you
get started,

but right now, don't
run out on me, Tolly,
until we get Connors.

You got cops,
you use them,
all right?

You can't quit him,
not while he's top butcher,
and you know it.

I know one thing,
I'm getting out of this.

He'll never buy it.

Tolly, you'll never be able
to start from scratch

unless you help us
put Connors
out of the way.

He'll buy it.

He'll buy it.

I'll tell him I'm hot,
he'll tell me to get lost.

Then tell your bride
to wear black.

Yeah?

Well, come over here.

And please, please hurry.

Yeah. Right after
I see Connors.

Listen to me.

The best time to
check out is right now.

He's always relaxed
when he's in the pool.

You got to listen to me.

Love you, doll.

Tolly. Tolly.

What's up?

Here.
That's for you.
I got my own.

What's this for?

You know that
bookkeeper Menkin
who bribed the police chief?

Yeah.

His kid was killed
by a hit-and-run.

Yeah, I read about it.

I ran her down.

I just found out
where he's holed up.

So what's the gun for?

Connors wants me
to break you in
and see how you operate.

We're going to
wipe out Menkin,
his wife and his other kid.

And Cuddles.

Mr. Connors tells me
she's the broad
that sang on Smith.

Yeah?
Yeah.

Driscoll's got her
stashed away somewhere,

but she'll get it
like Gunther got it,
like Gela got it.

A man like Connors,
everything goes.

After these hits,
there won't be
a rubber lip

left in the country
who'll sing to Driscoll.

And if you show
any professional
ability tonight,

Mr. Connors may
give you the crack
to polish off Cuddles.

Who knows? Let's go.

That's Connors' car
and Gus' car
right behind it.

We're crazy to be
in this neighborhood.

Hello, Tolly.

Hello, Barney.

Hello, Mr. Connors.

Hi, Tolly.
Didn't Gus reach you?

What's the matter with you?

Barney!

Maybe he's already
up there.

Tolly!
Cuddles, wait!

Tolly! Tolly!
Cuddles, wait,
don't be a fool!

Tolly!
Cuddles!

Tolly!

If they find you here,
they'll kill you, too.

You've got a job to do.

You got to sing on Smith.

I don't care about Smith.

You've got to
finish the job for Tolly
or he died for nothing.

Come on.