Perry Mason (1957–1966): Season 1, Episode 35 - The Case of the Lazy Lover - full transcript

Why did Bertie have
to park his car there?

Because he is
inconsiderate and selfish.

Hello, hello, hello!

Ah, what a welcome sight.

May I assume that a share

of this pale
restorative is for me?

Naturally.

You didn't think Mother was
going to swill all of it, did you, Bertie?

Well, of course not,
my dear Patricia.

Though I would admit your mother
is a woman of infinite capacity,

though not necessarily for
martinis, you understand.



Droll, Bertie. Very droll.

Oh, Lucille, do you suppose
cook could hold up dinner a bit?

I kept Bob Fleetwood
working so late,

I asked him to join us.

If, uh... If it won't cause an
upheaval, you understand.

Of course not.

Thank you.

By the way, Bertie,

your car's blocking the
driveway pretty badly.

I had to clip the
hedge to miss it.

I know, I thought I
was going out again.

I... I'll move it presently.

Well, it could be
pretty dangerous

for somebody who
doesn't know the drive.



All right, my dear. All right.

Call off the dogs. I'll
move my car right now.

(ENGINE STARTS)

Lucille! Pat!

BERTIE: Lucille!

What happened? Who is it?

It's Bob!

Bob Fleetwood? That's right.

Here, put him over here.

What's wrong?

I don't know.

I found him lying in the
driveway by the hedge.

Oh, no.

No, you couldn't
have hit anyone!

Is he hurt badly?

I think he's dead.

Anything interesting this
bleak Monday morning?

This little item on top

might bring you
a ray of sunshine.

Just this bare, naked check?

Just that bare,
naked 2,500 clams.

Della, when it's over 1,000,

you don't refer to
them as "clams."

They become "dollars."

"Lucille Faxon Allred,

911 El Paseo
Drive, Los Angeles."

Now, that's what really
puzzles me. What?

There's a wire here
from the same woman

that came just a little bit ago,

only this is from Mountain View.

Let me see it.

"Please accept check for $2,500

"as retainer to represent
my daughter, Patricia Faxon,

"or myself if the
need should arise.

"Lucille Faxon Allred."

Isn't she married
to Bertrand Allred?

Yes, the mining man.

A pretty slick
operator, I understand.

Here.

What do you want
me to do with it?

Well, it's drawn on our bank.

Just deposit it to
my special account.

Ask the cashier to give
it a good, close look.

You don't even know
what she wants you to do.

I don't even know if it's
her check, we can always

give her back her money

if it turns out to be something
I don't want to handle.

Oh, and before you go,

see if you can get
her on the telephone.

Information, I'd
like Bertrand Allred,

911 El Paseo Drive...

(TELEPHONE RINGS)

Hello?

DELLA: Mrs. Allred, please.

She's not at home.
Who's calling?

Mr. Perry Mason, the attorney.

Can you tell me when
she will be home?

Well, is it anything important?
Can I take a message?

Just have her call
Mr. Mason, please.

Yes, well, all
right. I'll tell her.

Mrs. Allred's check.

Good as gold, I wish
we had a dozen of them.

In fact, I gathered, it didn't
even make a dent in her account.

(TELEPHONE BUZZES)

Yes, Gertie?

Hold on just a minute.

Mr. Bertrand Allred is here.

Send him in, please, Gertie.

He didn't waste any
time getting here.

Good morning, Mr. Allred.

Come in, won't you?

Delighted to meet you.

Heard a great deal about
you, of course. Who hasn't?

Please sit down. Oh, Miss
Street, my confidential secretary.

Delighted.

How do you do?

Are you representing
my wife, Mr. Mason?

Why do you ask?

I should be quite frank
with you, Mr. Mason.

But, if you don't already know this, I
hope you will regard it as confidential.

My wife has run away with
Bob Fleetwood, my secretary.

Actually, secretary was a misnomer.
He really was my right hand.

When was this?

Night before last,
Saturday night to be exact.

It really stunned me, Mr. Mason.

What is it exactly you are here
to see me about, Mr. Allred?

If Lucille wants a divorce,

heavens knows I shan't stand in
her way, much as I would regret it.

But if you could just
persuade her to come back

and go about it a little less
sensationally, you know.

Are you concerned only
about the newspapers?

Well, to tell the
truth, I need Bob.

I am dissolving a partnership
with a man named Jerome,

and actually, Bob was
much closer to many

of the details than
either Jerome or myself.

And all you want me to do,

if I should happen to
be in touch with them,

is urge them to come back.

I will cooperate with
them in any way they wish.

Very well.

If the opportunity arises,

I'll be glad to pass along
your message, Mr. Allred.

You have been most
generous with your time.

(DOOR CLOSING)

Now, let's see if Paul
Drake can come in.

I want to find this
Lucille Faxon Allred.

You mean you're going to represent her
when you don't even know what she wants?

I don't know what
she wants, Stella.

But any woman married to
Betrand Allred can use some help.

I'm so glad you could
come, Mr. Mason.

Did you hear from my mother?

Yes, I heard from her.

Mr. Mason...

Well, you see, Mr. Mason,

I thought it was silly
to retain a lawyer

and not explain anything to him,

so I'm going to
tell you all about it,

and I'll do whatever you say,

even if you think I
should go to the police.

You probably don't realize,

but you're a very singular
person, Miss Faxon.

Go ahead.

Well, the night
before last, Saturday,

I...

I hit a man with my car!

You know we have some high
hedges in front of our place?

Yes. Well, that
night, Bertie parked...

Your father?

No, no, he's my stepfather.

He parked his car so that
it stuck out in the driveway,

and I had to swerve
to keep from hitting it.

I don't quite understand.

I was driving pretty fast,

and, well, I felt this sort of

a... a thump,

and I thought it was the hedge,

and then later, when Bertie
went out t-to move his car,

he found Bob!

Was he injured badly?

Yes, we thought he was dead!

And then he came to,

but he didn't know
who he was or anything.

You mean he had amnesia?

Mmm-hmm.

Bertie was going to
take him to the hospital,

and then he said,
"What if he should die?"

Well, I'd be charged
with manslaughter

and maybe even prison!

Go on.

So... so Mother and Bertie
took him away some place,

but I don't know where!

And what did you do?

I stayed here, but...

But what?

(CRYING) I don't
know, Mr. Mason.

It just doesn't seem right
letting Mother get all involved

just to cover up for me.

And besides,

if Bob does die,

I'm not going to try to hide it,

and if he doesn't,
what do we gain?

And the way things are,

I don't exactly
trust my stepfather.

What do you mean,
"The way things are"?

Well, Mother's divorcing Bertie,

and he's pretty upset about it.

You see, she has
quite a fortune,

and it isn't community property.

Has it occurred to
you, Miss Faxon,

that you might not have
hit Fleetwood with your car?

But if I didn't, what
happened to him?

Suppose someone
slugged Fleetwood

and then left him lying there

where he would have
been if you had hit him.

D-do you think
Bertie tried to kill him

and put it on me?

I don't know,

but if he did, it means
he's dangerous,

and the danger could
extend to your mother.

Well, looks like
you ran into the rain.

Uh-huh. What did you run into?

Pay dirt. Mrs.
Allred is registered

at the Mountain View Motel.

How long will it
take us to get there?

About an hour. Sooner,
if this rain lets up.

Oh, hello, Della.

Hello.

(DOOR CLOSES)

You sure this is the right unit?

This is it.

But shouldn't we check at
the office before we go in?

I don't think that
will be necessary.

Face powder.

I guess we're a
little late, Paul,

but they haven't been gone
long. It's still warm in here.

Ice cubes haven't quite melted.

That room's been occupied.

Fleetwood?

Probably.

There are only two glasses.

Apparently, Mr. Allred
wasn't with them.

His daughter told me

the three of them
went away together,

and Allred told me his wife
and Fleetwood ran off together.

Now, who's telling the
truth? A good question.

See what you can find out from
the manager, I'll wait in the car.

Okay.

Perry, they left
about 20 minutes ago.

The manager remembers
hearing their car pull out.

And earlier, Mrs. Allred went to
the office and put through a call to

El Paseo 67729.

When we get back to town,

get your men started looking for
Fleetwood and Mrs. Allred again.

Put a tail on her husband
when you locate him.

Okay.

Mr. Mason, this is my mother.

I'm relieved to see
you, Mrs. Allred.

How do you do, Mr. Mason?

A bit confused, at the moment.

According to your husband,
you ran away with Bob Fleetwood.

Why, that's preposterous
to think such a thing!

I see.

Then, where is Bob Fleetwood?

I don't know.

You were with him at the
Mountain View Motel, weren't you?

Yes.

Then, what happened?

We were sitting in the
motel room last night

waiting for my husband
to arrive, having a drink.

Bob seemed
perfectly comfortable,

but then he excused himself
and went into his room.

Through the bathroom? Yes.

When he didn't come back for such
a long time, I began to get worried,

so I called to him,
and he didn't answer.

I went into his
room, and he'd gone.

Just walked out
through the door,

taken my car, and driven away.

Had Fleetwood
regained his memory?

No.

I... I don't know.

What time did he leave?

What time? About
a quarter to nine.

Oh, Mr. Mason, this whole
thing has me so upset.

I'm afraid I'm not very
clearheaded in an emergency.

How did you get back
here from the motel?

I brought her.

Mother called me here earlier

when Bertie didn't
show up at the motel.

Had he been there?

Yes, off and on all weekend.

He was keeping an
eye on Bob Fleetwood.

(KNOCK ON DOOR) What time
did you arrive at the Mountain View?

MASON: Why, hello.

This is Lieutenant
Tragg, of Homicide.

Mrs. Allred, her daughter.

Are you Mrs. Allred's
lawyer, Mason,

or are you just acting as an MC?

I happen to be her
attorney, Lieutenant.

When was the last time

you saw Robert
Fleetwood, Mrs. Allred?

You're entitled to the
reasons for any questions

before you answer
them, Mrs. Allred.

Very well.

Your car was found at
the bottom of a canyon

completely wrecked.

Fleetwood was in
that car and dead.

Dead?

Oh, then he must have...

I last saw him about a quarter
of nine last night, Lieutenant.

I think you and your daughter
had better come into headquarters.

Now, wait a minute, Tragg,

there's no
justification for that.

Isn't there?

The car was in neutral.

Nobody drives down
a steep grade like that.

Somebody stopped the car,
got out, released the brake,

and let the car
plunge down the grade

and through the
guardrail. In other words,

Fleetwood was murdered.

Your client left the
Mountain View Motel

with Fleetwood in that car,

and about a half an hour later,
she returned alone and on foot,

at which time, her
daughter picked her up.

Now, you, uh, still think
there's no justification?

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

I'll, uh, get that.

I'm afraid there's been
a mistake, Mrs. Allred.

You mean it wasn't my car!

Yes, it was your car. The
facts remain the same.

But there was a
mistake in identification.

The dead man wasn't Fleetwood.

Who was he?

He was your husband.

You'd better come along. Oh, no.

Mother!

Paul said he's
onto something big,

and he's staying with it.

In the meantime,
he said he found out

that Mr. Allred had received
severe blows on the head

before he went over the cliff.

In fact, these could have
been the ones that killed him,

(INTERCOM BUZZES) but
the police can't be sure yet.

Yes, Gertie?

Oh, good, put him on.

Hello, Paul.

Perry, I think we
found Fleetwood.

PERRY: Where?

Up the canyon from Mountain View

about eight miles east
in a small ranch house.

Is he all right?

Well, he's still got amnesia,
if that's what you mean.

Now, listen, there's a
turnoff on a little side road.

A man by the name of
Overbrook has the ranch.

You'll see a sign.

Good, Paul. We'll see
you when we get back.

PAUL: Okay, Perry.

We get back from where?

How would you like to be
married for a couple of hours

to a fairly nice-looking
man about 40 years old?

(VEHICLE APPROACHES)

(GROWLS)

(BARKING)

(DOOR BUZZING)

Good boy. That's
enough. I hear it.

(BARKING)

Mr. Overbrook?

Yes?

Is Robert here?
Robert Fleetwood?

Robert? Yes.

It's her husband, the
man that lost his memory.

Oh, sure, come on in!

(GROWLS)

It's okay, Prince.
They're all right.

How'd you know he was here?

We've been
tracing him bit by bit.

Is he all right?

Yes'm, I reckon he's
been sleeping, mostly.

I'll go get him.

Just a moment, Mr. Overbrook.

Chances are Mr. Fleetwood
won't recognize us.

It's happened before.

Sometimes if we appear
suddenly, he snaps right out of it,

so don't tell him who we are.

Okay, sure.

Well...

You're a fine boy, Prince.

OVERBROOK:
They're right in here,

they just want to talk to you.

Robert!

Oh, Robert, we were
so worried about you!

What is this? Who is she?

Don't you remember
me? I'm Mabel, your wife.

You are not.

I never saw her
before in my life.

How do you know?

Well... I just feel it.

I know, dear.

That's the way it was last
time, don't you remember?

DELLA: Come on, let's go home.

Come on. Come on.

Come on, Robert.

In view of certain past
accusations, Lieutenant,

I'd like this instance

of my cooperation with
the police duly noted.

Remember, I turned
Fleetwood over to you.

Oh, would carved in
stone be satisfactory,

or shall we etch it in bronze?

Whichever's more expensive.

I also think it would
be no more than fair

to tell me just what
Fleetwood told you.

Oh, I think you have
that coming to you.

Before we took him to
General Hospital for observation,

Fleetwood said that he
was walking along the hedge

of the Allred place
Saturday night,

and something hit him.

And now, while he can remember
everything up to that point,

he can't remember a thing since.

Mmm-hmm.

That's the way he'd react
if he had true amnesia.

(DOOR OPENS)

MASON: Mrs. Allred.

Thanks for bringing
my client up here.

One good turn deserves another.

Lieutenant Tragg still maintains

that you left the motel
with your husband.

Lieutenant Tragg
is wrong! I didn't!

And no one could possibly
have seen me in that car!

I wasn't there!

You said Fleetwood
left the motel

about a quarter to nine

and Pat picked you
up about a quarter after.

Now, I was there at
9:00. Where were you?

I told you I wasn't very
clearheaded in an emergency.

When I was left
alone at the motel,

the only thing I could think of

was to get away,
to get back home.

I ran down to the road
to try and get a hitchhike.

That was a rather
foolish thing to do.

Mr. Mason, I was frightened!

Of what?

Not "of what," for Pat.

I went through that whole
ordeal with Bob Fleetwood

just to protect her!

She's my daughter, Mr. Mason.

She's the only thing in
the world I care about.

Then...

What happened when you
went out to the road to hitchhike?

Well, pretty soon I
realized how foolish it was,

so I went back to the motel
to try and telephone a taxi.

Before I could do that,
my daughter arrived.

What was your general
feeling about your husband?

Well, a woman,
naturally, likes to feel

that the man she
marries is rather special.

At first, anyway.

Then to realize,
gradually, day by day,

more clearly, more inescapably,

he's cheap, common, greedy,

a liar and a cheat,

both professionally
and personally...

Well, it's a pretty bleak
experience, Mr. Mason.

I can well believe it.

I was going to divorce him,

even though he threatened to make
it the most shameful case ever tried.

I understand you have
a considerable fortune

which wasn't community property.

Do you think he might have
been willing to kill you for it?

He might have.

I didn't kill him, Mr. Mason.

And if I had,

it wouldn't be because I
was afraid he might kill me,

if that's what
you're getting at.

I wasn't getting at it,

but let's say the
District Attorney will.

My man at headquarters
picked something up, Perry.

Fleetwood's girlfriend came
to see him at the hospital.

Brought him
cigarettes and a razor.

Who is she, Paul? Her
name's Bernice Archer.

She lives in an
apartment out on Laurel.

How long did she
stay at the hospital?

About half an hour.
Then she went home?

Uh-huh.

I think we should call
on Miss Archer, Paul.

Well, you don't need me, do you?

Yes, I want you to question her.

Just say you're a detective,

but not whether
you're police or private.

Maybe it'll help
get information.

(DOOR BUZZING)

I'm Paul Drake, a detective.
I'd like to talk to you.

May I see your
credentials, please?

Surely.

Just a minute, please.

I see, a private detective.

That's right.

And this gentleman with you?

My name is Mason.
I'm an attorney.

Oh, you're Perry Mason?

That's right.

Well, gentlemen, I don't
know what I can do for you,

but if you want to come in for a
few minutes, I suppose it's all right.

Excuse me. Mmm-hmm.

Thank you, Miss Archer. We
just want some information.

So I assumed.
Won't you sit down?

Thank you.

Now, Miss Archer, is
it too personal a thing

to ask if there's a
romantic attachment

between you and Bob Fleetwood?

I'm very fond of him,
and I think it's mutual.

And naturally, you
were quite upset

when he called
you earlier today.

Oh, but I'm afraid I
wasn't, Mr. Mason.

Why should I be upset?

You must have
known by the papers

that he'd run away
with another woman,

that her husband
had been murdered.

When he called and told you

he had amnesia and
was in the hospital,

then you weren't upset?

I don't quite understand.

It's perfectly simple.

Bob's had brief spells
of amnesia before.

The first thing he told
me was not to worry,

that he wasn't
mixed up in anything.

Well, Miss Archer,
you were entirely right

when you said you
wouldn't be able to help us.

Thank you again.

Good night.

Good night, Mr. Mason, and
good luck with Mrs. Allred.

You'll certainly
need it, won't you?

Why?

It won't be easy to
get her off, will it?

She's obviously guilty.

Why are you so sure?

Who else could it be?

Mr. Allred obviously
went out there secretly

in the rented car,

so no one knew he was
there except his wife and Bob.

Bob didn't do it,
so she must have.

Well, those are the
only people we know of

who knew where Allred was.

Lots of others might have
known. You, for instance.

Oh, well,

you can grasp at
straws, of course.

Good night, Mr. Mason.

Coming, Paul?

Mmm-hmm.

Good night.

What's he doing here?

I was very disappointed

at your loss of
memory, Fleetwood,

and Mason thinks
he can help you.

I don't think you can.

Well, I'll be happy to try.

Now, as I understand it,
since last Saturday night,

when you were hit on the head,

you couldn't remember a
thing that happened to you

until you talked to
Lieutenant Tragg yesterday.

However, Monday,
you made a phone call

from Mountain View
to Westgate 69811.

What of it? Why
shouldn't I call my girl?

You didn't even know you had a girl then,
Fleetwood, let alone her phone number.

Withholding information in
a murder looks even worse

when you could be
the killer yourself.

All right.

All right, I'll tell you.

I'll tell you what
a spot I was in.

Bertrand Allred was
about to steal a fortune

from his partner,
Stanley Jerome.

How?

Well, they had bought
a mining property.

Allred forged a fake
report of the survey

showing that it was worthless.

Well, on Saturday night,

I stumbled across
the true report

showing that it
was worth millions!

You told Allred you found this?

Yeah, that was my mistake.

I was so surprised,
puzzled, when I saw it,

I blurted out, "What's this?"

Well, when I saw his face, I knew
what it was. He'd started after me.

I turned to run. I
didn't get very far.

He must have hit me.
Anyway, I blacked out.

I think he thought I was dead.

And the next thing
you remembered?

I came to in the living room
with the two women in hysterics,

Pat thinking that she'd
killed me with her car.

I must have been in a state
of shock, and I was scared.

I couldn't think of anything else,
until I came up with the amnesia thing.

That was when Mrs. Allred took
you to the Mountain View motel?

That's right.

Mr. Allred stayed with us at
the motel until Sunday night.

Then Monday night,
Allred came back to kill me,

and I think he was gonna kill
his wife, too, while he was about it.

Anyway, he pulled a gun,

he made his wife get
into the trunk of the car...

In the trunk? I
know, but he did.

He made me drive.

Go ahead.

Well, as we started
down the mountain road,

we were creeping along,
going downgrade in low gear.

Suddenly, I gave it the gun,
then I slammed the brakes on!

Allred was sitting
next to me, sideways.

It threw him off balance.
He slammed into the dash.

I grabbed the gun and conked
him with it before he could get up.

Well, I don't ever want to go
through anything like that again.

After that, you went to
Overbrook's farm. That's right.

Why?

Well, Overbrook had
lost some money, too,

quite a bit of it in
a deal with Allred.

He said that if he ever came
on his property, he'd kill him.

Overbrook didn't know
me, so I figured I'd be safe.

Anyway, I drove the car up there,
I pulled it off into a muddy field,

and then I headed for the house.

Leaving Mrs.
Allred in the trunk?

Oh, no, I was gonna let her out,

but when the car stopped,
she managed to open the trunk.

How could she do that?

I don't know! Maybe
it wasn't closed.

Anyway, she jumped
out and she took off.

I called to her, but she
kept right on running.

Since you were
so afraid of Allred...

I think that's enough for
now. But I want to ask...

I said you could hear his story,

I didn't say you could
cross-examine him.

You'll have a chance
for that in court.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Just a friendly word

before you get yourself
out on a limb for Mrs. Allred.

Just before you got here,
I received information

that completely confirms
Fleetwood's story in every detail.

And he has no knowledge
of that information yet.

Are you gonna
tell me what it is?

Well, that's for the
District Attorney to say.

And the State will further prove that a
witness found tracks in a muddy field

which show unmistakably

where the murder car drove in,

where Fleetwood left it
and walked to the house.

Where the defendant, Lucille
Allred, jumped from the trunk,

ran out to the road,

and where she then walked
back and got in the car.

Where the car turned
around and drove away.

And incidentally where her lipstick
was discovered lying on the ground.

All these facts, the State will
prove in support of its contention

that Lucille Allred

did willfully and with malice and
forethought, drive her husband

to the edge of
the mountain cliff,

disengage the gears of the car and
then send him over that cliff to his death.

Do you wish to make an
opening statement, Mr. Mason?

Defense will reserve its remarks

for the presentation
of its case, your honor.

I call Robert Fleetwood
to the stand, please.

(SPECTATORS MURMURING)

And what happened
then, Mr. Fleetwood,

after you left the
Overbrook place

with Perry Mason
and Miss Della Street,

the woman who
claimed to be your wife?

They brought me to
police headquarters.

I think that's all.
Cross-examine.

How did it happen

that all your identification
and personal effects

were on Allred's body
when it was found,

and that you had nothing
whatever on your person

when you arrived at
police headquarters?

He took all that stuff off of me

the night he hit me in the head.

Why?

I don't know.

You could never tell
what was on Allred's mind.

You didn't put these
articles in his pockets yourself

after you had knocked
him unconscious? No!

Isn't it true that
you could simply

have walked out of
the motel on Mrs. Allred

any number of times

between Saturday
night and Monday night?

I don't know. I guess I could.

Wasn't the real reason

you didn't walk
out of that motel

the fact that you knew
there were millions

in the true mining report,

and that you thought there
might be an opportunity

for you to kill Bertrand Allred

and then cheat Stanley
Jerome and Mrs. Allred

out of their share
of this property?

No.

No further questions.

BURGER: Lieutenant
Tragg, you were present

when a diagram was made
of the Overbrook property,

this diagram, which has been
enlarged onto this blackboard?

Yes, I was.

Can you tell us, of your
own personal knowledge,

whether this sketch
includes all the tracks

that were found in that area?

Yes, I can.

We recorded every
track, sign, and indentation

in the whole area
for 100 yards around.

We even put in the dog tracks.

Thank you, Lieutenant.

Mr. Overbrook, have you had
much experience as a tracker?

Yes, sir, I was born
in big game country

and I worked as a
guide quite a spell

and I've tracked for
the police a time or two.

I wonder if you'd step
down to the board, sir,

and tell us everything
you saw and did

on the morning when you went out

to backtrack Robert Fleetwood.

Well, yes, sir. All right, sir.

You see, this was
the next morning

after Mr. Fleetwood
had been to my house.

See, now, this is my house,

and I came out
here, and this is, um,

oh, Mr. Burger, do you
mind if I just use my hands?

Go ahead.

Well, you see, I came
out here and I started there,

and I picked up... These
are Fleetwood's tracks

as he came from the
car the night before

up to the house. Okay.

And this is where I started

and backtracked
him around to here,

where the car had been sitting.

The car was about there?

Well, yes, just about like that.

Now, this is where it
backed up and turned around

and drove off down
the road, of course.

Like this.

Yes, sir.

Now, when I got to this point,

I could see right here

that some woman had jumped
down from the back of the car,

right from the trunk,
and run down to the road.

These are her footprints.

And then, from here,

she walked back up from
the road and got in the car.

Wait a minute, as an
experienced tracker,

it was beyond
question clear to you

that the woman
jumped from the car,

ran to the road,

and then walked back up
and got in the car again?

Yes, sir.

Fella wouldn't have to be
much of a tracker to tell that,

not in that soft ground.

All right, after you'd found these tracks
and everything, what did you do next?

Well, I figured the sheriff
ought to know about this,

so I walked back up along here,

these are my footprints

as I went back up
to my little farm road,

and then along here, and I
got a load of scrap lumber

and I brought it back and
I spread it out along here

so that people
could get out there

without messing things up.

Now, let's see, this would
have gone something like this?

Yes. Yes, sir, that's...

That's fine.

All right, what then?

Well, then I went
back in my house

and telephoned the sheriff.

Thank you, sir. You
may take your seat.

Yes, sir.

In the witness
stand, Mr. Overbrook.

(CHUCKLES) Yes, sir.

Mr. Overbrook, in your opinion,

could anyone have
gotten from that car,

to it or away from it,
without leaving tracks?

(LAUGHS) Not
unless he was a bird.

Cross-examine.

If those are your tracks,
you'd better tell me now.

But they're not mine!

I don't know whose they
are, but I've told you the truth.

Does counsel wish
to cross-examine?

Yes, I beg your
pardon, Your Honor.

I do have one question.

Mr. Overbrook,

you say that no one
could get to or from the car

without leaving tracks.

Now, suppose a very light
person in sock feet, say,

making every effort
to conceal his tracks,

well, do you mean such a person

could find no path to that car

which wouldn't
be clearly evident?

Mr. Mason, the way the
ground is around there,

and there's hardly
any grass at all,

I'm sorry, it just
couldn't be done.

Thank you,
Mr. Overbrook. That's all.

JUDGE: You may step down.

That's our case, your honor.

I move that the court
dismiss this case

and free the
defendant from custody.

There's certainly no
evidence sufficient to show

that she's in any way connected

with the death of the deceased.

On the contrary, your honor,

the evidence here
is beyond dispute.

Somebody had to drive
the car out of that field

and back up the highway
and off into the canyon.

An eyewitness's testimony
put the defendant at that car,

and her own footprints
in the muddy field

irrefutably confirm
that testimony.

BURGER: The
purpose of this hearing

is only to prove that a
crime has been committed

and to show reasonable
grounds for believing

that the defendant
committed that crime.

I've not only proved that,

I've proved that no one
else could have committed it!

Yes, your evidence
is ample, Mr. Burger.

Motion denied.

However, I see we've
reached the noon hour,

and court will adjourn
until 2:00 this afternoon.

Defendant remanded to custody
of sheriff. Stand adjourned.

(GAVEL FALLING)

Lunch, Perry?

We'll grab some
sandwiches along the way.

Along what way?

We are going to Overbrook's
to examine those prints.

Do a little
reconnoitering. Come on.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

Perry,

why were you so
easy on Fleetwood?

Well, he's lying
about Mrs. Allred,

but until I know why,

pushing him could do
more harm than good.

And he couldn't have
driven the car away himself

because he left just
one set of footprints

leading from the
car to the house.

Now, from here to there,

where the trunk of the car
would be, it's about six feet.

Coming and going.

That's right. Perry,
I hate to say this,

but how could Fleetwood
be lying about your client?

After all, he knew nothing
about the tracks coming back

when he said she
ran away from the car.

DELLA: Maybe they're his girlfriend's,
Bernice Archer came out here.

She could have...

No, no, no, we
checked her thoroughly,

just as the police must have.

She was positively in town

all Monday evening
and all Monday night.

I tell you, to me, it
just looks hopeless.

Maybe not.

Della?

Hmm?

Start here and run
toward the road.

But the car was here.
There aren't any prints here.

I know. Try it anyway.

Run?

Run, starting here.

Come on, now.

(SIGHS) Well?

What Paul said

may change the whole
conception of this thing.

Better get back to court.

What I said?

What'd I say?

Your honor, I
strenuously object to this.

Counsel has had every
opportunity to examine Miss Archer.

For him to recall her now...

Your Honor, I can
now definitely state

that if I'm permitted
this cross-examination,

I can bring out evidence

which will exonerate
the defendant

and completely refute
Robert Fleetwood's testimony.

Well, in that case,

the situation becomes
quite different.

The Supreme Court has held

that the order of
examination of witnesses

is exclusively in the
discretion of the trial court.

JUDGE: It has also held
that the trial court exists

for the purpose of doing justice

and not for enabling lawyers
to practice legal gymnastics

at the expense of the equities.

Court's going along
with Mr. Mason here.

Miss Archer, take the
stand again, please.

(SPECTATORS MURMURING)

Now, Miss Archer,

just a few questions about
the night of the murder.

Certainly, Mr. Mason.

You previously testified

you spent the evening
with your sister?

Yes.

Did you get any telephone
calls at your sister's house?

Telephone calls?
Not that I remember.

Well, is the phone number

Olive 17723 familiar to you?

Yes, that's my sister's number.

I have a record here
of a long-distance call

put through to
you at that number

on Monday, the
night of the murder.

Now, I ask you now,

did you speak to Robert
Fleetwood that night?

I may have.

Well, did you or did you not?

Yes, I did.

PERRY: Now, Miss Archer,
when you spoke to Mr. Fleetwood

on the phone the
night of the murder,

did he tell you he
needed your help?

No.

Did he tell you he wanted
to involve Mrs. Lucille Allred

in a murder already committed
or in process or planned?

No.

Did you drive to
the Overbrook place,

Miss Archer, sometime
just before dawn

the morning after your
visit with your sister?

And weren't yours the woman's
tracks found near the car?

No, they were not.

Wasn't this the scheme

Robert Fleetwood evolved
to implicate the defendant,

Mrs. Lucille Allred?

No. No?

Then was it your
scheme, Miss Archer?

That's all.

Your Honor, now
for a point of proof,

I would like to
have Mr. Overbrook

return to the witness stand.

Mr. Overbrook, please.

Now, Mr. Overbrook,
would you kindly explain

how the tracks of this woman

prove that she ran
from the car to the road

and then walked back
to the car from the road?

Well, they just show it, is all.

You see, they start
there at the trunk...

No, no, Mr. Overbrook,
what I mean is this,

how do these tracks
prove that this woman

first didn't walk to
the car from the road

and then run from
the car to the road?

Well, I, uh...

Gosh, Mr. Mason,
I reckon she could.

I never thought about that.

Only... No, wait a minute.

After she got back
to the car, or in it,

how'd she get from there
around and into the trunk

without making any sign?

(CHUCKLES)

What if the car wasn't there?

Huh?

Well, let me illustrate.

Suppose a certain woman
wanted to implicate Mrs. Allred

and protect Robert Fleetwood.

PERRY: Now, suppose
Fleetwood and this woman

invented this story about
Mrs. Allred being in the trunk,

and early in the
morning after the murder,

this woman took a lipstick

of the same brand
Mrs. Allred carries

and went out to where
the car had been sitting

and left that lipstick there

in order to confirm their story.

Now, wouldn't it
be quite evident

to this woman when she got there

that if she walked
out onto that field,

she would inevitably
leave tracks?

Why, sure, unless she was blind.

Well, suppose the
woman were bright enough

to have walked
from here up to here,

and then by using
a piece of brush

or something to stand on,

she was able to
cross this area here

where the car had been,

and then she had run
along here back to the road.

Now, if she had done that,

wouldn't she have left the
same tracks that you discovered?

Well, she sure would,
and come to think of it,

there was a little bush
growing right there

that she could have stepped
on and jumped to that other spot

without leaving any sign,

because it was already
messed up on account of the fact

that the car had been
parked right over it.

Then those tracks
could have been made

without anyone having been
in the trunk of the car at all?

Well, yes, sir, I guess
you could be right.

Now, Mr. Overbrook,

is the telephone number
Olive 17723 familiar to you?

No, sir, I never even
heard the number

till you brought it
up here in court.

But Mr. Fleetwood called
that number from your house.

It's a very small house.
You must have heard him.

No, sir.

I see.

He must have made the call
while you were out of the house.

Hmm.

Uh, Mr. Overbrook,

the day we called on you,
I noticed your dog, Prince.

OVERBROOK: Yes.

I also notice they
have his tracks

here on the sketch.

Well, anywhere I go,
Prince is always with me,

unless I give him a job to do,

like watching the
house or something.

I see.

Now, would you
explain to this court

how it happens that there
are so many of Prince's tracks

in this area where
you left the car

and none at all through here

where you were going to the car?

Well, uh...

To tell you the
truth, I... I don't know.

I guess he was, uh,

I guess he was out chasing
a rabbit or something.

Isn't it a fact that
your tracks here

and your tracks over here

were made at
two different times,

and that Prince was with
you one time and not the next?

Of course not! That's crazy!

How could it be when
you can see right there...

I'll tell you how it could be.

On the night of the murder,

on Monday night, when
Fleetwood was in bed,

you left Prince to watch him,

and right then, without
taking your dog along,

you backtracked Fleetwood
along here, to the car.

And lying in the car unconscious

you found Bertrand
Allred, a man you hated,

a man you had
threatened to kill,

and you drove that
car out of the field

down to the highway,

and then you sent
it off into the canyon.

No, no! I never done it!

And later, you
suddenly remembered

that while your tracks went
to where the car had been,

your tracks did not
return from the car,

so you got those boards

and laid them out
on the field like this.

And then you walked
out on those boards

to this point here,

stepped off, walked back,
towards the farm road,

making these tracks
here at that time.

And then you went to your house.

Isn't that the truth,
Mr. Overbrook?

Isn't that exactly the way
you killed Bertrand Allred?

No, he was already dead!

He was dead when I got
there. I... I just hauled him away.

You can see the spot I was in if
they found him there. I was afraid.

No, that's a lie!

That isn't true! That's a lie!

He wasn't dead!
He was all right!

Actually, Paul started
me thinking right

when he mentioned the
woman's tracks in reverse

as coming and going.

Well, I guess I can't
complain, Perry.

After all, you got an
innocent woman off

and you handed me the murderer.

I did?

Certainly. Which one?

Why, Overbrook, of
course. Don't you see?

Fleetwood never
would have left Allred

if Allred were dead.

He expected Allred to
come to and drive away,

only Overbrook got there first.

What if Allred was hurt
worse than Fleetwood thought

and really was dead?

Well, in that case...

On the other hand, Overbrook
could be honestly mistaken.

He might have thought Allred
was dead when he wasn't,

and the crash could
have killed him.

Thank you, Mr. Mason.
You've been a big help.

(CHUCKLES) Any
time at all, Mr. Burger.

All right, who
really did kill Allred?

Overbrook.

Burger had it
right the first time.

I just couldn't bring myself

to the point of
agreeing with him.

Might establish a
dangerous precedent.

(LAUGHING)