Perry Mason (1957–1966): Season 2, Episode 18 - The Case of the Jaded Joker - full transcript

No, no, no.

I'm not a chuckle man.

Don't these guys know
they're writing for a real comic?

Where are the boff laughs?

I'll die on my
feet with that jazz.

Danny, your biggest laughs
you ever got were from ad libs.

I can't depend on ad libs.

I gotta be right.
Rehearsed and right.

Millions of old friends

are gonna be
watching that first show.

They're waiting for
me to come back.



You want me to disappoint 'em?

Come on, it ain't that bad, boy.

All right, say it
for me, Freddie.

You're scared.

I've always been scared.

This is the worst.

Three years, I've
been off television now.

Ah, but they're
all waitin' for you,

all your old friends,
millions of them.

What time is it? Almost 5.

Five? Goff said he
was gonna call at 4

about the contracts.

So it took longer
than he figured.

They got a lot to talk about.



I've got to get that show.

Don't want it that bad, Danny.

You're askin' for travelin'
music to the nut house.

I can't help it. I
want that show.

I've got to have
it. You'll have it.

After all, you're Danny Ross,

the biggest, the best.

They love you, baby.

They always have,

and they always will.

Hello?

Hello, Mr. Ross?

Speaking.

Mr. Goff closed the
Bryant-Hallsy show

at 3 this afternoon.

He used you to get the deal,

but you're not
doing it, Mr. Ross.

What? What'd you say?

Wait a minute. Hello?

Hello? Speak up.

Hello...?

I can't believe it.

What, Danny? What?

I don't get the show.

But Charlie Goff promised you.

She said he sold me
down the river. Who?

Some dame. I don't know.

We'd better check that.

Yeah, we'd better check that.

We closed it this
afternoon, that's right.

The Bryant-Hallsy
account is mine,

all $8 million worth.

Absolutely on the level.

Of course you can check it.

Can't blame him.

I could hardly
believe it myself.

Where was I, Miss Hiller?

"Bryant-Hallsy is
one of the biggest

soap companies in the world."

Hold it.

Go ahead.

"Its executive board

considered my
proposal and found it..."

Times?

Mr. Riller, please.

"so absolutely
perfect that they're..."

Joe? Charlie Goff.

I got an exclusive for you.

I just got the
Bryant-Hallsy account.

On my mother's grave.
Eight million bubbly bucks.

How?

Genius, absolute genius.

It'll have to pay
off sooner or later.

I sat there listening to him
blowing to the newspapers.

I couldn't stand it any
longer, I just couldn't.

The thief... The lying thief.

Thief?

He stole a year's work from you.

Well, they won't
arrest him for that.

There's no law about
breaking a promise.

How can you be so calm about it?

Lisa, I have no choice,

just an impressive title.

My job is simply
to dream up ideas

for the jaded
tastes of his clients.

But this entire Bryant-Hallsy
idea was your own.

You did it on your own time.

A vice president doesn't
have any time of his own.

At least, that's what
a court would say.

He promised you a big
percentage of the profits.

Yes, but not in writing.

Look, we can't let this happen.

We've got to do
something about it.

Lisa, I am gonna do
something about it,

but I need a little more time.

Yes?

Is Miss Hiller with you?

Yes.

If she's not too busy,
I'd like to finish dictating.

I'll tell her.

I won't go back
there. I'm quitting.

Lisa, not until I tell you.

Why?

Well...

I... I just want you
to stay in that office.

Please.

Is he in?

Yes, he is.

Well, well, well.

Danny boy, am I glad to see you.

Great news, positively fabulous.

You'll be reading about
it in the papers tomorrow.

You were supposed
to call me at 4:00.

No chance yet.

Been busy as a dog
chasin' four rabbits.

How about a drink?

How about tellin'
me what happened?

What happened?

Heh! I just closed
the Bryant-Hallsy deal.

Well, what about me?

Good news for you too.

Yeah, I'll bet you have.

They're signing you for the
next show we put together.

What do you mean,
"the next show"?

What about this one?

This show isn't for you, Danny.

That's not what you
said three months ago.

Three months is a long time ago.

I remember every
word. So does he.

Tell him what he said, Freddie.

"This is the perfect
show for you, Danny."

That's what you said.

"The one we've been waiting for,

and it's perfect for your
old sponsor, Bryant-Hallsy."

"They love you. You love them."

I said the next show.

I set this one up for you.

This one, not the
next one. This one!

I told you, they
wouldn't buy you, Danny.

They said you were old stuff,

deader than last season's jokes.

They said that?

You asked me.

I don't believe it!

Are you calling me a liar?

If it'll make it
any clearer, yes!

You shouldn't have
done that, Charlie.

He's little, and
he's not very strong,

but he's got a crazy temper.

I sold you to Bryant-Hallsy,

and now you've sold
me down the river.

I told you, they
wouldn't buy you, Danny.

You lie.

Now please hit me so I can
break every bone in your body.

Both of you, get out of here,

or I call the police.

You'll need them

when I come back with the truth.

Well, don't stand
there like a wet tree.

I've got work to do.

Where was I?

"so absolutely perfect..."

What's the idea of letting
them in unannounced?

They didn't wait.

So absolutely...

Answer it.

Mr. Goff's office.

This is Sheila Hayes.

Moment please.

Miss Hayes. I don't want...

Hi, Sheila.

Did you get it?

We Closed the
deal this afternoon.

That's the most wonderful
news I've had in years.

I'll tell you what.

We'll go out on the town
tonight, drink champagne,

have the craziest, silliest
time we can think of.

I'll expect you at, um...

Sheila, I can't see you tonight.

Why not?

I've got to finish work

on another idea
for Bryant-Hallsy.

Look, Charles, I've waited
six years for this night.

I've worked as hard
as you did to get it.

I've earned it,

and I'm going to have it.

I'll expect you at 8:30,

black tie.

What did I say last?

"Absolutely perfect."

That's right.

Absolutely... perfect.

Yes, Gertie?

Mr. Danny Ross.

The comedian? Mm-hm.

Right about here, we
could use a few laughs.

Have him come right in, Gertie.

I just love that man.

Nobody double-crosses
me without a fight,

and I'm gonna fight if it
takes every cent I have.

Well, good afternoon, Mr. Ross.

I'm not gonna let him
get away with it, either.

I'm talkin' about Charlie Goff.

Would you care to sit
down, Mr. Ross, please?

Now, um, who is
this Charlie Goff?

He's the schlock who did it.

He's in the
advertising business.

He's a pure,
14-carat, solid rat.

A no-good, low-crawlin'...

Danny, Danny,
you're runnin' long.

Okay, okay. I wanna sue him.

Why?

Because he... Ah, you tell him.

Well, this Charlie Goff's a
chest-beater from a way back.

He pushes the word for some
of the seconds in the mag racket,

a real ganef, with his hot
mitts in anybody's tuss-bag.

Speed it up. You're dying.

But Danny, this ain't
no comedy routine.

It ain't no pep talk either.

Eight years of belly laughs,

and the laughs just
don't come out of the air.

Every joke, you
sweat blood over.

Pretty soon, maybe
you run out of blood,

maybe you run out of writers.

Who know what goes wrong?

Anyway, the sponsors tell me

I need a new format, a new idea.

But ideas don't come
overnight, Mr. Mason,

you gotta have time to think.

And before I can
come up with somethin',

all of a sudden, I'm canceled.

You know how it feels
to be a canceled comic?

It's like somebody
put you in a dark cave.

Whole world suddenly disappears.

You gotta get out of that cave.

You get desperate.

You're willin' to
do almost anything

to get back on top where
you feel you belong.

That's why I listened
to that guy, Charlie Goff.

What did he tell you?

Well, he had an
idea for a show for me

that was sensational.

I go all out for it.

I agree to do it.

It's a natural for
Bryant-Hallsy.

I cut all the red tape,
open all the doors,

get him in to see the
top brains like that.

Did you tell them that you
were to go with the show?

Well, look, I'm pedalin' Goff.

Goff is supposed
to be pedalin' me.

The sponsors go for it but big.

I think I got me another show.

Suddenly, I ain't got it.

It's my life, Mr. Mason.

If Goff is tellin' the truth,

then Danny Ross is
washed up, finished.

I got to know.

This Charlie Goff's a liar.

I told him so.

And then he slugged me.

Did you sign a
contract with Mr. Goff

to represent you in this deal?

No, we just talked.
You know, words.

"You do this, I do that."

Then you have no correspondence

or written proof of any kind

to support your oral agreement

that you were to be
sold with the show?

Nothing.

I guess I was a
real schnook, huh?

Well, the best
evidence, of course,

is a written contract.

However, there are
some exceptions,

when it can be proved
that an oral contract

has been partially performed,

which you seem to have done.

Yeah, but it doesn't
look too good, huh?

I'll do the best
I can, Mr. Ross.

Yeah.

Mr. Ross.

I always thought
your shows were great.

Thanks.

He makes me wanna cry.

Della, get ahold of Charlie
Goff for me, will you?

I want an appointment
with him as soon as possible.

Perry, what's a schnook?

It's kind of, um, a dope.

A likeable dope.

Try Yellow Bellies
for relief of headaches.

Five world-famous
quitters guarantee it

to be the chickenest
way out of all troubles,

small, medium or large.

Take the easy way out.

Yellow Bellies are for you.

And I do mean you.

Hello?

Hello?

This is Sheila Hayes.

Oh, good morning, Miss Hayes.

I had an appointment
with Mr. Goff last night.

He didn't show up.

I'm still waiting for him.

Do you know where he is?

No, I haven't seen
him as yet this...

This morning.

I'll have him call you
as soon as he gets in.

Thank you.

Operator, may I have
the police, please?

Hello?

I'm Mr. Charles
Goff's secretary.

I just found his body

wedged in the
kneehole of his desk.

The address is

1172 Wilshire.

You don't look so good.

Yeah.

Did me a big favor last night.

You did me plenty.

I never kept you
from killing yourself.

Could be you did a
hundred times. So what?

Okay, okay.

Lox?

Heard the news?

What news?

Radio, 10:00 news.

Somebody rubbed
oue friend Charlie Goff.

I'll be happy to be a
guest at his funeral.

Freddie, you didn't
go out last night.

You were right here
with me every minute.

And we worked real
late until daylight,

like we often do.

Remember?

I remember.

Good lox.

Nova Scotia?

Mm-hm.

Where you been, Buzzie?

Probably out with the beatniks.

There's a real megillah for you.

First half of the night
they don't do nothin',

second half they
don't say nothing

in a lingo that's
from out of left field.

Dopey.

Well, if you ask me, it's
that crazy coffee they drink.

Did Mr. Goff have
any close friends?

Women friends?

Well, one that used to
telephone him quite often.

How often?

Well, at least once a day.

Her name?

Sheila Hayes.

Could you identify her?

Oh, I never saw her.

I only spoke to her
on the telephone.

I... I don't think

they were getting
along too well.

Why?

Well, he was always
annoyed when she called,

avoided speaking
to her if he could.

He was always
breaking dates with her.

Do you have her, uh,
telephone number and address?

Yes, sir.

Get a warrant
out for his arrest.

Miss Hiller, when
was the last time

Mr. Goff saw Danny Ross?

Yesterday.

Where?

Here.

Friendly?

Well, thanks very much.

We'll talk more
later in my office.

Please keep
yourselves available.

Well, Mr. Mason,

I didn't know you were coming.

Just what kept you so long?

My appointment was for 11:00.

Appointment? With whom?

Mr. Charles Goff.

Oh, I see.

Are you acquainted
with the gentleman?

No. Oh.

This is Mr. Goff.

Hello, there.

I heard the music, and I
figured somebody was home.

I guess you, uh,
didn't hear the doorbell.

I heard it.

You just didn't feel like
answering, is that it?

Like, I'm, uh, busy.

Drag?

No.

I thought I smelled tea.

Small world, isn't it, baby?

Did I?

Shamus?

Later for you, okay?

Where's Mr. Ross?

Why?

Police business.

Past me. I'm not,
uh, civic-minded.

Mr. Ross's attorney
is looking for him too,

Perry Mason.

Would you mind telling
him where Mr. Ross is?

Look, man, you're buggin' me.

Why don't you split?

Mr. Mason.

Who's your friend?

Lieutenant Tragg of Homicide.

You Danny Ross?

You know I am.

You Freddie Green?

I am.

I've got a warrant
for your arrest,

charging you with the
murder of Charles Goff.

Man, this is the wildest.

So I want you to
handle Freddie's case,

whatever it costs.

All right.

First off, we'll
have to find out

why Freddie's fingerprints were
on the murder weapon: your gun.

Oh, that's easy.

I was foolin' around
with it the other night,

cleaning it, and he
wanted to take a look at it,

so I handed it to him.

What'd he do with it?

Well, I don't know.

All I know is Freddie
didn't kill Goff.

What makes you so sure?

Well, I know. Freddie
was with me all night.

Where were you?

Home. All night?

All night. You go
and see Freddie.

He'll tell you the same thing.

I will.

Just get him off, Mr. Mason.

He sure goes all out for
his friends, doesn't he?

Maybe too far.

Paul, did you find
out how the police

were able to check Freddie's
fingerprints so quickly?

That was no problem.
Freddie's got a record.

Petty stuff, nothing recent.

It goes back a long time,

before he latched
on to Danny Ross.

What do you mean
by "latched on"?

I don't know yet.

One day, he's
picking up pennies,

doing two-bit
errands for any guy

that's got two
bits in his pocket.

The next day, he's living
in luxury at Ross's expense.

About that gun.

There were no other
fingerprints on it?

Nope.

That's all Burger has?

Well, let's say that's
all my informant

was able to get.

All right, Paul.

I'd like you to check
every restaurant, nightclub

and bar where Ross,
Freddie and Buzzie are known.

See if they were
there separately.

Well, we covered the town.

Freddie was at
Sammy Gleck's place

the night of the murder,

and he was carrying a gun.

You sure?

The waiter saw it
sticking out of his pocket

while he was sittin at the bar.

Says he's never known
Freddie to carry a gun before.

Buzzie?

Buzzie was at the Purple Wall.

And he was there
again last night

with some weird-looking chick.

What's the Purple Wall?

It's a beat joint.

No liquor, no life, no laughs.

They just sit around
hating themselves.

Ross?

None of the places we hit.

Well, try some more tonight.

Who was the woman with Buzzie?

Oh, Sheila Hayes.

She lives at, uh,

1621 Beverly Glen, Apartment 3B.

She drives a 1958 300 SLR,

which sells for $13,000.

How do you know
it belongs to her?

Registration slip.

Got her name in the
joint, followed her home.

Name and address check out.

Mm.

Oh, don't mind me.

Who are you?

I'm, um, Sheila Hayes.

I, uh, own all of this.

You what?

The furniture,

the, um, pictures,

um, that.

The whole business.

Including...

the Bryant-Hallsy contract.

I don't wish to appear
rude, Miss Hayes,

but if I were you,

I'd take this matter
up with my lawyer.

Oh, but I have.

I've paid for everything here,

and I have the canceled
checks to prove it.

Niles is leaving here,

and he's taking
his show with him.

I don't think so.

We'd better be
very good friends,

the three of us.

Well, if we're not,
the, uh, district attorney

may be given reason
to wonder about us.

As a matter of fact,

I'm wondering myself.

Here we are:

three people with
awfully good reasons

to hate dear Charles.

Do you suppose, uh...
one of us killed him?

Okay, okay, so I'm
at Sammy Gleck's

two minutes for a gargle.

Then I go home, and
we're together from then on.

Ross told me he wasn't home,

that he went for a long
drive along the beach.

He told you that?

I convinced him the
alibi wouldn't stand up.

What do we do now?

Tell me just what happened.

Well, like I told
you, I went home.

Ross wasn't home?

Nobody...

not even Buzzie.

Then what did you do?

I went to bed.

What else was there to do?

You tell me.

Nothing.

We found the bullet
lodged in the brain,

and we found
injuries both to the left

and the right
sides of the brain.

What could have
caused these injuries

to both sides of the brain?

To the best of my belief,

the injuries on the
left side of the brain

were caused by the
penetrating bullet,

and those on the
right side of the brain

were caused by a
ricochet of that same bullet.

You mean it's
possible for the bullet

to pass forward on
the left side of the brain

and then ricochet against
the skull in such fashion

that it would go backwards
on the other side of the brain?

That's exactly what I mean.

Do you know from your
own personal experience

any case where
it was established

that a bullet fired into
the back of the brain

ricocheted around the
skull in this manner?

I have never had
such an actual case

in my own experience,

but it's an established
fact that it can happen.

It's been described
in the textbooks.

Do you know of a
case so described?

Yes, I do.

In the book entitled

Legal Medicine:
Pathology and Toxicology

by Gonzales, Vance,
Helpern and Umberger,

in the second edition,

on page 423, it is mentioned...

If the court please,

I object to the witness
testifying from a book.

Sustained.

Very well. Now, Mr. Coroner,

you testified that
it's your opinion

that the injuries
to the deceased

were caused by a bullet

ricocheting around
inside the skull.

What factors influenced you

in arriving at this opinion?

My knowledge of anatomy,

my experience with trauma,

and, uh, the research work
that I have been able to do.

I see. Thank you,
doctor. That will be all.

Your witness.

Doctor, this, uh, research work

took in a certain amount
of reading, did it not?

It did.

And part of your research work,

uh, consisted in
the study of the book

you previously referred
to in your testimony?

It did.

Is this that book?

Yes, it is.

Is it a standard and
authoritative book?

It most certainly is. It's
one of the leading books

in the field of
forensic medicine.

And, doctor, you
perhaps also read

on page 304,

that a violence to
the back of the skull...

If it please the
court, I object.

If the witness can't
testify on the book,

certainly Mr. Mason can't

cross-examine him on the book.

If it please the court,

the witness has now testified

that in reaching his opinion,

he relied upon certain
statements in a certain book,

that that book is
standard and authoritative.

I have the right to
cross-examine him on his opinion

and the means he used
in reaching that opinion.

Your Honor.

We're dealing
with a technicality,

and I'd like to hear the rest
of Mr. Mason's statement.

Go ahead, Mr. Mason.

Since the witness testified
this book was a factor

in reaching that opinion,

I'm entitled to refer to
other parts of the book

for the purpose of bringing
out other statements

which the witness
should have evaluated

in reaching that
portion of his opinion

which is based upon the book.

I believe that's the law.

Objection overruled.

Now, doctor, on page
304, doesn't it state

that a violence to
the back of the skull,

in some instances, might
produce contrecoup lacerations

of the frontal or
temporal lobes?

Yes, it does.

And from such lacerations,

a fatal hemorrhage might
occur in the subdural space?

Yes.

Also that a direct laceration

of the brain posteriorly

is not likely to occur
in a trauma of this sort?

That's true.

Now, doctor, turning to
page 297 in the same book,

doesn't it also state

that a fatal
concussion of the brain

can be diagnosed at
autopsy only by inference,

that is, by demonstrating

severe scalp, skull
and brain injuries

consistent with the development

of the complication?

That's correct.

Now, doctor,

did you find the passage
of a bullet on one side

and evidence of a
contrecoup lesion on the other?

I cannot be altogether certain

that the damage
was not so caused.

There was a very
considerable damage

to the contents of the brainpan.

I am quite satisfied
that most of this damage

was caused by the
ricocheting bullet.

But it is possible that
this ricocheting bullet

could have destroyed evidence

which would have
indicated a contrecoup lesion

with resulting damage

that could have
been very serious.

Thank you, doctor.

No further questions.

The witness may stand down.

I call Lieutenant Arthur Tragg.

And where did you find
the weapon, lieutenant?

It was half hidden
under a chair,

approximately six
feet from the body.

Thank you, lieutenant.
That'll be all. Your witness.

Now, lieutenant, did the office

show any indications
of a struggle?

No.

You testified that the
body was found wedged

in the kneehole of a desk.

You've heard testimony that
there were bruises on the head.

Now, as an expert
police observer,

wouldn't this indicate to you

some kind of physical action?

Well, not necessarily.

It's quite possible the victim
could have been hit, shot

and dragged to the desk

without disturbing
the furniture.

Mr. Goff weighed
approximately 180 pounds.

Also as an expert observer,

would you say that the
defendant has the strength

to have done all that?

It's been my experience

that, uh, people do things
under emotional stress

they would ordinarily
be incapable of doing.

Did you find the
defendant's fingerprints

anywhere other than on the gun?

No. No, sir.

He touched nothing in that room?

There were no
other fingerprints.

Doesn't that seem
strange to you, lieutenant?

I mean, the office
was in perfect order,

and cleaned so efficiently
that the defendant's fingerprints

appeared only on the gun.

It has happened.

Thank you,
lieutenant. That's all.

I call Lisa Hiller to
the stand, please.

Stand down, lieutenant, please.

What did Mr. Goff say

when Mr. Ross stopped the fight?

He told them to get out
or he'd call the police.

And what did Mr. Ross say?

He said, "You'll need them

when I come
back with the truth."

Thank you, Miss
Hiller. That'll be all.

Your witness.

Miss Hiller, do you
remember the day

the Bryant-Halsey
deal was closed?

Yes.

What time did Mr. Goff
return to his office that day?

Around 3:30.

Did he tell you about
the deal at that time?

Yes.

Did he, in your presence,
inform anyone else about it?

Mr. Niles.

Then as far as you
know, you and Mr. Niles

were the only persons
informed of the transaction

before 3:30 that day?

As far as I know.

Did he attempt to
telephone Mr. Ross?

I don't know.

Why was Mr. Niles told?

The entire campaign,

from commercial tie-ins
to the television show itself,

had be conceived and
worked out by Mr. Niles.

He had to be informed.

Then it wasn't Mr. Goff's idea?

No.

Miss Hiller,

was the Bryant-Hallsy
presentation

created especially to sell
the talents of Danny Ross?

He wasn't even
mentioned by Mr. Goff.

Then no one at Bryant-Hallsy

had any reason to
associate Mr. Ross

with Mr. Goff's
presentation? No.

You were told about
the contract before 3:30.

Yes.

Why did you wait
until almost 5:00

to telephone Mr. Ross?

I couldn't...

I mean, I...

I don't know what
you're talking about.

Only three people knew of
Mr. Goff's promises to Mr. Ross.

One is dead. The other
two are you and Mr. Niles.

It was a woman's
voice on the telephone.

Was it yours?

Yes, I telephoned Mr. Ross.

Why?

I felt sorry for him.

Why the sudden
sympathy for Mr. Ross

after the show was sold?

No further questions.

Uh, you may stand down.

You were present
in Mr. Goff's office

when the defendant
attacked Mr. Goff?

Mr. Goff attacked first.

Just answer my question.

Well, if I wasn't there,

how could I know
Goff attacked first?

Would you please
answer "yes" or "no"?

Would you please
repeat the question?

You were present in
Mr. Goff's office when...

Yes.

And you saw the
defendant attack Mr. Goff?

It was self-defense.

Your Honor, would you
instruct this witness please

to confine his answers
to simple responses

to my questions?

The court recognizes
your high degree

of temperament, Mr. Ross,

but it will not tolerate

a wanton disregard
of its dignity.

Proceed, Mr. Burger.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Now, Mr. Ross,
when the defendant

struck back at Mr. Goff,
what did you do?

Well, I stopped him, naturally.

The big guy had 75
pounds on little Freddie.

I see.

Now, I show you this weapon
marked "People's Exhibit 1",

and ask if you've
ever seen it before.

Honestly, I don't know
one gun from another.

Well, this gun happens
to be registered

with the police as
belonging to you.

Well, then it's my gun.

It also has been referred
to as the murder weapon.

With the court's permission,

I object to the gun being
referred to or identified

as the murder
weapon until it is proven

that the decedent did
not die of a skull fracture.

Your Honor, Mr. Mason
knows perfectly well

that he's standing
on a technicality.

Your Honor, Mr. Burger's
devotion to the obvious

sometimes causes him to
confuse my clients' interests

with standing on a technicality.

Under the circumstances,

I'll have to sustain
the objection.

Devotion to the obvious.

Now, Mr. Ross, shortly after
the arrest of the defendant

you told the police that you
and he were together all night.

Was that true? No.

You lied to the police?

I'm admitting it. What
more do you want?

I want the truth. If you
weren't with the defendant,

where were you? At the beach.

What beach? How
do I know what beach?

There was water and sand
and a highway, and I was driving

and I wanted to clear
my head, to think straight.

Alone? Alone.

I didn't stop for coffee
or gas or gossip.

Nobody saw me. Nobody.

As a matter of
fact, isn't it true

you weren't at the beach at all?

You were with the
defendant all night,

except for a few moments that
he was at Sammy Gluck's saloon.

That's not true.
And that you decided

to change your story because
you thought you could help

him more if you weren't able
to testify to his movements.

I changed my story because
I was advised to tell the truth.

Having lied once,

do you think this court
is going to believe you

without substantiating
witnesses?

If the court please,

because I recognize the
hostility of the witness,

I've not previously
interposed an objection.

But I now object on the
grounds that the question

is argumentative, incompetent,
irrelevant, immaterial,

All right. And an attempt

by the district attorney to
discredit his own witness.

All right. I'll withdraw
the question.

Now, Mr. Ross,

did you telephone H.W. Bryant,

chairman of the
board of Bryant-Hallsy,

about 9:30 the
evening of the murder?

Yes.

Would you tell this court
please, in your own words,

what Mr. Bryant told you
during that conversation?

I... I don't remember

exactly.

Well, I have a deposition here,

made and sworn
to by H.W. Bryant.

Maybe it would refresh
your memory if you read it.

I remember.

He said Mr. Goff convinced
him that I was wrong for the show.

And that's the truth that
you threatened Mr. Goff with?

Yes.

Did you tell the defendant about
this telephone conversation?

No. Why not?

Well, he'd already
left the house,

I didn't see him till
the following morning.

So you didn't know he'd
also phoned Mr. Bryant,

and received the
same information?

If Freddie killed
Goff, he did it for me,

so I'm the guilty one, not him.

And you should be sending
me to the gas chamber, not him.

Mr. Ross, I'll have to ask you
to refrain from such outbursts.

But Freddie didn't kill
Goff. I know he didn't.

How do you know?

I just know.

Any further
questions, Mr. Burger?

Not at the moment, Your Honor.

Your witness, Mr. Mason.

No questions.

Mr. Burger, do you expect

a lengthy examination
of your next witness?

About a half an
hour, Your Honor.

You may stand down, Mr. Ross.

It's 4:35 now.

We'll adjourn until
10:00 tomorrow morning.

Could I talk to you a
minute, Mr. Mason?

All right, Freddie,
I'll catch up with you.

I'll meet you in the car.

All right.

That Burger, he's pointi"
the finger at Danny. Why?

I don't know, Freddie.
Maybe you can tell me.

He didn't have
anything to do with it.

How do you know?

He was at the beach. He said so.

He can't prove it.

Well, I can prove
he didn't kill Goff.

How?

Because I did.

How? I shot him.

You hit him first? That's right.

With what? Something.
I don't remember.

After you shot him,

you stuffed him in the
kneehole of the desk,

and carefully
cleaned up the office,

then not only forgot to
take the gun with you,

you even forgot to
wipe off the fingerprints?

Pretty dumb, huh?

No, pretty loyal.

Why do you think
Ross killed Goff?

I didn't say that.
Yes, you did...

when you confessed to a
murder you didn't commit.

Suppose you tell
me the truth now.

You might even be helping Ross.

Well,

I guess it begins

when I stopped Danny
from committin' suicide.

Yeah.

I talked him out of it
with a fake commercial,

then I take the
gun away from him.

But I'm afraid to
leave it in the house,

so I lug it with me.

I go to Sammy
Gluck's for a snort,

and then I call
this Bryant gent,

and when he tells me that
he already spoke with Danny,

my stomach starts spinnin'.

I rush home, but
Danny's not there.

Buzzie tells me
he went for a ride.

I tell him, "For Pete's
sake, if Danny comes back,

don't let him leave the house."

Did you tell Buzzie why? Natch.

I covered all the joints,

but nothin'.

Then I get a horrible idea.

It makes me sick all over.

I went to Goff's office.

The door's open. I walk in.

The office shows a big fight.

And I find Goff
wedged under the desk.

Danny's been here.

Poor Danny.

I shot the guy once

and threw the gun under
a chair and scrammed.

Was Goff dead when you shot him?

He wasn't breathin'.

And you didn't
clean up the office?

I never thought of it.

May I?

Feel like talking, Buzzie?

Can you figure it?

The cool ones take
the tail out of their faces.

A lost tribe of rejects.

Slobs go for smash.

Maybe wind up in the island

doin' five to nine for jostlin'.

But the squares.

Oh, the squares.

Tell me about the squares.

Go, go, go.

Run through the ruts.

Splash mud on
clean little people.

Stay in the muddy rut,

splash mud at the sun,

wear a mask to
hide a muddy face.

Squares?

Ask me about the squares.

I'm Madam Berta.

Mystic reader.

I understand it
better than anybody.

I put 'em down.

Liars. Hypocrites.

Slaves.

What are you, Buzzie?

I'm beat, daddy.

I'm beat.

No past. No present.

No future.

Alone, me.

Nothin' else except
chaos and confusion...

and squares.

Who's me?

I don't know.

Where am I?

I guess a hipster said it best:

"At the bottom of my
personality, lookin' up."

What gives with
the squares, Buzzie?

They don't make it, baby.

They don't swing.

No chance?

Only a chance to be born again.

Like you did with Goff?

Goff was a square.

He didn't belong.

Boffo.

Now he gets a new start.

A new scene.

Let's split.

Hello, Perry. Della.
I know it's late.

I just had to
stop by to tell you

that I think you
are a great host.

Well, thank you.

We'll have to try
it again sometime.

Well, maybe, uh, Sheila
Hayes will invite us.

We're releasing
her in the morning.

You know, she had
nothing to do with it.

Goff didn't show that
night, she was depressed,

and she went to the beat joint.

And Buzzie came
in after she did?

Yes, and she told
him about Goff.

And adding that to
the Ross double-cross,

it was too much for him to take.

He says he borrowed her
car, went to Goff's office,

killed him with a wrench
he found in her car,

and about an hour after that,

he was back at the Purple Wall.

Will somebody please tell
me who cleaned the office?

Mm-hmm.

It was, uh, Lisa Hiller.

Yeah, she thought her
boyfriend, Niles, killed Goff.

She was trying to cover for him.

But now it's your turn.

How did you get onto Buzzie?

Well, I never could understand

why that body was
stuffed into the kneehole.

It seemed completely
crazy to me.

But it had to mean
something to someone.

Actually, I wasn't sure
until I heard Buzzie say,

"The only chance for a
square is to be born again."

And then you knew? Mm-hmm.

Well, I'm glad this one's over.

I'm beat.

Dig the hipster.

Don't bug me, granny.

I'm one of the cool ones.

I don't dig slick chicks
tryin' to goof me up.

Daddy-o.

Good night, counselor.