Original subtitles

Does that sort of crime, in this case murder, have a name?

Called a sadistic murder.

How do your studies describe such a killer? It's usually someone who

emotional trauma followed by long emotional isolation.

Is there a purpose to the crime?

Revenge.

Thank you for watching!

Am I you or are you me?

Hurry up.

Okay, okay. Do you have my notebook?

Emily, let's go. You don't need it.

Okay. Julia, can't we do this another night?

Emily, you should have been at the library ten minutes ago. Let's go.

Julia!

Come on.

You like playing with fire.

Good night, Ann Esther.

Good night.

Don't you girls believe in having a little fun now and then?

This is fun.

Studying day and night?

Actually, we're working on a project right now.

Abnormal psychology.

Oh.

Well, have a nice time.

How's the book?

Incredibly great.

This poor girl has just been swept off her feet and ravished by the highwayman

who killed her father in a duel.

Very romantic.

Aunt Esther, I... We have to go.

Bye.

Goodbye.

Good evening, Ms. Reed.

Thank you, Mrs. Reed.

Is that you?

Yes? Oh.

Very well, Emily.

That work is, uh, in French, you know. Yes, ma 'am.

Esther?

Esther, you are a...

Now, you say you came home at what time, Mr. Henderson? About a half an hour

ago.

I got here just before the cop.

I mean, you boys got here.

And I can prove it. I got witnesses.

Well, why don't you get yourself a cup of coffee? We'll talk some more.

Lieutenant, found these boots around back.

They fit the prince in the flower bed.

Have you ever seen these boots before, sir?

Yes, they're mine. I keep them out in the shed for gardening.

What's that got to do with the... They're yours, you're sure?

Well, of course I'm sure, but why?

Mr. Scully, can you explain why the glass is broken from the inside?

The inside?

And the intruder, why would he be wearing your boots, sir?

Uncle Harold?

What happened?

Esther is dead.

She's been murdered.

Well, good morning.

Good morning, all right. It's for the good part. I'll tell you after I wake

Bad night?

Irving Turley's dog barked all night.

Then my hot water heater went out and I had to take a cold shower. Then the car

wouldn't start.

Why didn't you talk to Turley about that dog?

I would have, but I had to wake him up to push the car.

What's the emergency?

I couldn't find Charlene until I came down.

You couldn't find Charlene? No.

Where was she?

I don't know. That's why I couldn't find her.

Well, who's the client?

Harold Scully.

Harold Scully?

I'm going back to bed. Ben, it's a homicide.

A homicide?

Harold Scully couldn't kill anybody. He might bore a few people to death.

It's his wife.

Happened last night.

Harold Scully?

I don't know, Frank. I think you've got enough to question him, but I think

you're getting ahead of yourself.

How's that, Ben?

What's your evidence?

Got it right here.

Boys found it this morning, hidden in the basement.

How's it, Ted?

It's all there.

Hair, blood.

Now, the killer tried to clean it off, but he botched it.

Want to see your client now?

I have to discuss it with my advisor.

Excuse me.

They're going to charge you.

He's in the interview room.

I can't stand Harold Scully.

I used to like to play golf at Lakeside.

Somehow Harold always wound up in the foursome.

He'd tell me how to stand, how to look at the ball, how to swing at it.

Half the time he'd go in the woods. He'd run and find it and point to it like a

Labrador retriever.

Tell him I'm busy.

You tell him you're busy.

Tell him I moved to Philadelphia. You tell him you moved to Philadelphia.

You're a hard case, Tyler.

I'm terribly sorry about Esther.

Terribly sorry.

Ben.

Thank you for killing me.

Why would anyone want to kill her, Ben?

Why? Why?

Harold, you're going to have to turn me loose.

Sit down there.

Ben.

They think I did it.

Can you believe that?

Harold, let go of my hand.

Now, it's true they are gonna arrest you.

I loved her, Ben.

I loved her. Why would I kill her?

Harold, you're gonna have to sit by yourself.

Now, there's something I want to say to you. Let me just say something to you

first.

I've always looked up to you.

You know, I'm just some guy who married a rich woman.

And I know you've always thought I was a bore.

I am.

I bore myself.

And I know you've avoided me. I don't blame you.

I know I made a pest out of myself trying to get you to like me.

I miss our golf.

I don't know why I'm going on about this. I guess I should just say...

Thank you for taking my case, Ben.

Thank you.

Harold?

Yes, Ben?

I'll go see about Bale.

Thank you, Ben.

Where is he?

Well, we got a locked house and a locked shed.

If Harold didn't do it, then somebody keyed both places, dear. The gardener

lives above the garage.

Is he there?

If he is, he's not answering.

Well, Harold says he got keys to both places.

The gardener said he was at a place called Archer's Tavern during the

We'll see if he was.

Okay.

How are you going to plead him?

I don't know.

Poor Harold.

I just don't think he did this. He hadn't exercised since 1948. I don't

he's strong enough to kill Esther.

He had motive and he had access.

He is the sole beneficiary to Esther's will.

I don't believe that masked intruder story for a heartbeat, do you?

I don't know. And his boots.

His boots are the ones that made the footprints.

You keep trying to make me feel better, don't you?

There she is.

Good morning.

Morning.

People have been looking for you all morning.

People concerned or just curious, Dad.

Goodbye.

We do have a case, you know.

I've done a complete interview with Harold Scully.

I booked him into a hotel away from the press. There's a couple who live in, but

they're away on vacation.

Anything else?

What about the sisters watching us from the window up there?

Yeah. Parents killed when they were young. Boarding schools all their lives.

Living here while at college. Big inheritance from their father. Brilliant

students.

Where were they during the murder?

They were at the library studying.

Want me to check it out? Yeah.

Will you be somewhere where I can... I'll be around.

Yes? I'm Charlene Matlock.

I'm an attorney representing Harold Scully, and I wanted to ask you a couple

questions about Emily and Julia McCullough.

What about them?

Oh, well, now, were they both here the night of the murder?

They came in at 8 and left at 10 with the library closed.

Oh, and they were both here the whole time?

What are you suggesting?

Oh, I'm not suggesting anything.

Well, let me put your mind at rest.

Shortly after 9 o 'clock that particular evening, Emily asked me for a reference

book. And a few minutes before that, I saw Julia up there in the stacks.

Huh.

Very precise.

I suppose that is unusual.

Yeah. Well, thanks, Mrs. Reese.

Hey, you Jim Henderson, ain't you?

I heard about the murder over at your place.

Yeah.

Hey, bartender.

Give me a beer over here and another one for my friend.

Heard you spent a lot of time in Nam.

I don't talk about it. I don't blame you since you spent your entire hitch in

the stockade at Fort Denning.

How do you know that? Oh, I know a lot of things, Jimbo. And I know the cops

looking you over for the murder of Esther Scully.

You're a cop.

Cops do not wear $500 suits, my friend. I talk to cops. Cops talk to me. And you

know what the cops told me? That you are the only other person with a key to the

shed where Harold Scully keeps his boots.

I was here.

Can you prove it? Ask anybody.

And where were your keys?

With me.

They're always with me.

You know, Harold Scully is a dear friend of mine.

Harold Scully is a killer, and I hope he fries.

Harold was going to fire you, wasn't he, Jimbo?

He said that you are hopeless drunk and he was going to make sure that you never

got another job.

Don't move,

Jimbo.

Don't move.

See, I was it. Now, I'm the real thing.

Green beret, black belt, silver star. I was the POW and the MIA. It was so bad

where we were. We slept in body bags just in case. Don't you move, Jimbo.

I'll take you out.

By the way,

Hey, you key.

Oh, I'm so sorry. Would you look at that?

I'm sorry.

I thought it was by myself.

Who are you?

I'm Ben Matlock, Harold's lawyer.

You must be his niece.

Yes, we are.

What gives you the right to come in here?

Oh, I'm so sorry to intrude. I have your Uncle Harold in a hotel room. He gave

me the key, and I thought you girls were at the library.

Julia, Harold said you were the one that did the talking, that Emily was real

shy. Don't burn yourself with that.

Oh, I'm not going to burn anything.

Or anyone.

What are you looking for?

Silver polish.

Why? Whoever killed your Aunt Esther tried to clean that candlestick before

police found it.

I can't find the silver polish.

If Harold tried to clean it, where did he put the polish?

How are you going to defend Harold?

I don't know.

Do you suspect Henderson?

Well, I wouldn't rule him out.

Look.

Silver polish.

Isn't that interesting?

Have I just found that one?

I guess you can't have too much silver polish.

Well, I'll be on my way, and again, I'm...

Good night.

Julia?

Julia?

I missed you by two inches.

Is that what it was like?

Except for the two inches.

I

forgot

to tell you, if you need anything, just call.

Good night.

Don't worry.

He's smart, but he's not smart enough.

Good morning, Ben. You ready to go to work?

Well, just about.

Good. Mrs. Matlock?

Mr. Burton?

I called you last night, but you aren't home.

I know.

Morning,

Harold. Morning.

Ben, I'm very nervous.

Harold, the most important thing you can do is sit up straight.

Look right at the jury like you haven't done anything and you're not afraid of

anything. How long do I have to do that? Until I tell you. Don't.

Hi.

Lieutenant Daniels.

I show you People's Exhibit 5 and ask you if you recognize it.

Yes, it has my mark on it there.

Lieutenant, blood and particle tests have been done on this candlestick. It's

been stipulated by the defense that this is the weapon that killed Mrs. Scully.

Please tell the court where the candlestick was found.

Yes, it was found wrapped in that newspaper in the cellar of the

home.

So it was hidden in the cellar of Harold Scully's house.

That is correct.

Lieutenant. You've already testified that the glass door was broken from the

inside, that the footprints in the flowerbed were made by the defendant's

boots. Now you tell us that the murder weapon was found in his home.

Lieutenant, as an experienced investigator, what do you conclude about

defendant's claim that he saw an intruder?

Objection, Your Honor. Improper opinion. Relevancy. I withdraw the question.

There's nothing further.

Any cross?

No, Your Honor.

You may step down.

Your Honor, the state rests.

Mr. Matlock?

Defense calls James Henderson to the stand.

Mr. Henderson, the night of the murder, you were in town at Archie's Tavern. Is

that correct?

Yeah. I got witnesses.

And before you left home, you locked up everything?

Sure. Like always.

There are only two sets of keys, yours and Mr. Scully's. That's right. Okay.

Now, the night of the murder, how did you get home?

I got a ride from one of my buddies.

Would Mr. Robert Delaney please stand, please?

That's the gentleman who drove you home?

Yeah. Now, Mr. Henderson, I want you to think very carefully.

When you got home the night of the murder, you did not open the gate, did

Now, I can put Mr. Delaney on the stand. He saw you.

You climbed over it, didn't you?

Yeah.

Why'd you do that?

I didn't have the damn keys.

Nobody else had them either. I found them in my apartment.

Well, Mr. Henderson, you just testified that you locked everything up. If your

apartment was locked, how'd you get in it?

Door was open.

Oh. So you or someone else could have gone in your apartment, gotten the keys,

and unlocked that shed.

It wasn't me.

But somebody could have unlocked that shed and gotten those boots. Is that

correct? That's right.

Okay.

Yeah.

Now, Mr.

Henderson, you don't drive, do you?

No.

I lost my license.

Well, how did you get into town the night of the murder?

I got a ride.

From whom?

Julia and Emily.

Julia and Emily.

That's very nice of them.

Thank you. No further questions.

Researching the case.

Interpretation of perception.

It's good.

Julia would enjoy this.

It's all about how sometimes we see things that aren't there, and other

don't see what is.

What?

Sorry.

Where's Julia? I'd like to have a word with her.

Um, she's here somewhere.

Let's go ask Miss Reese.

She may have seen her.

Mrs. Reed, have you seen Julia?

Right over here.

I could have sworn.

Amazing how our eyes can fool us sometimes.

Mr. Hudson was interviewing your sister.

He tricked me.

I thought it was you.

So did Mrs. Reese.

I don't think she's so certain now it was you she saw in the stacks the night

the murder.

We have money.

Oh, one other thing.

The penis for both of you.

You can come to court together.

It'll be like always.

Well, that's it. Yes, sir.

Take your dinner? No, thanks, Dad.

You're not trying to ask me where I'm spending my evening, are you? Oh, I

respect your privacy.

Drop you off somewhere?

Good night.

Tyler, did you have the keys to the Scully house?

Why do you want to go there?

Harold asked me to pick up a few things.

Some soap that doesn't dry his skin, some cologne that doesn't burn him,

bedroom slippers and pajamas with the horses on them. I didn't tell Dad

well, you know how I feel about Harold.

And you want to go alone?

Yeah. Nobody's there and the girls are still studying.

You got it.

Is anyone there?

Julia?

You all right? Yeah.

I could have broken my neck.

We didn't know you were here.

We were just playing a game.

I'm sure you were.

Harold told me you were here. I got worried.

They did it, Dad?

I know.

Morning, Julia.

What are you doing here?

I think we should talk.

I'll let you in on a secret.

I put a little cream cheese in the eggs.

Make them richer.

There's toast. I couldn't find jelly.

For a can at Second Children's.

Oh.

I got a level with you, Julia.

I didn't want to represent Harold.

I'm really glad I am.

I never had a case like this one.

Why is that?

No motive.

Harold hated Esther.

Harold didn't kill Esther.

And you think you know who did?

Let's just say maybe I do.

But I still can't figure out.

No motive.

Destroy your life if you go along with Julia. I don't know what to do.

Come with me. Please.

Before it's too late.

Are you all right?

work, Ben.

Julia's hold on her is too strong.

What are we going to do, Ben? Ben, what are we going to do?

Harold, we're both going to fall down.

Ben, what are we going to do?

I'll get to the bottom of it. I hope.

Emily, where were you Wednesday night, the night of the murder?

I was at the library.

With your sister?

That's right.

But don't you usually have bridge club on Wednesday night? Yes.

I bet you're pretty good.

Yes, I am. In fact, you haven't missed a Wednesday of bridge in over a year,

have you?

No. But the night of the murder, you didn't go to your bridge party, did you?

No.

Objection. Relevancy.

Your Honor, we're looking toward developing facts to indicate another

person's commission of this terrible crime.

Very well.

But try to move it along.

Now, Emily, why didn't you play bridge that Wednesday night?

I told you, I was in the library.

Must have been something very important.

An exam?

No. A paper?

Yes. On what subject?

It was for my econometric seminar.

If I had spoken to Mr. Harvey Gleason, your professor, at his office over at

Campbell Hall, I would bet that he wouldn't have been able to recall any

assignment.

You're making me nervous.

Oh, take your time.

Take your time.

It was for Russian lit. No, it wasn't.

And it wasn't for statistics or economic history or advanced monetary theory

either.

You didn't have any papers.

You didn't have any tests.

Isn't it true? You didn't play bridge.

Because Julia made you go to the library.

No.

And didn't you go there to give your sister an alibi?

No.

Emily, when you were very young, your parents died in a

fire, didn't they?

Yes.

And you always felt bad about that, didn't you? Even guilty.

Yes.

Yes.

Did you know that fire was caused by a broken gas main?

No.

I have the fire department report right here.

Julia didn't tell you that, did she?

She needed for you to feel responsible for the fire and the death of your

parents. Because you used to like to play with matches.

Emily, if you'll help me, if you'll be strong, you can end the domination

of your sister over you right now.

Leave my sister alone!

Why are you letting him attack her like this? Can't you see what he's doing to

her? He's a liar!

Liar! Lord, order in the court. One more word out of you, young lady, and I'll

have you in contempt.

further questions?

I have no questions of this, Your Honor.

You may step down.

The court isn't finished with you.

Your Honor, I call Julia McCullough to the stand.

Now, Julia, you're a very smart young woman, aren't you?

No, not really.

I've got your records right here. You graduated college at 19, already have

master's degree, working on your Ph .D. in clinical psychology, aren't you? Yes.

Your master's thesis was on resulting criminal behavior in the emotionally

deprived and intellectually gifted adolescent.

You could almost be an expert witness in this case.

I don't think so.

Maybe you could help me out.

Based on your research, what sort of person commits a motiveless crime?

Actually, there have been some case studies on that subject.

Well, does that sort of crime, in this case murder, have a name?

It's called a sadistic murder.

How do your studies describe such a killer?

It's usually someone who suffered emotional trauma followed by long

isolation.

If we were to meet such a person, how would they appear on the surface?

Very self -reliant.

Do they usually show a lack of emotion, sometimes total?

Sometimes, yes.

Is there a purpose to the crime?

Revenge. Against whom?

They're rebelling against the world.

They find it cruel and unfeeling.

Do they think they're invulnerable?

Some of them.

Superior? Yes.

Do you consider Harold Scully to be a superior person?

That's not for me to say.

If he were, probably no one would be able to prove that he committed this

I wouldn't know.

If you committed this crime, would anyone be able to prove it?

Objection. Calls for speculation.

Sustained.

Do you consider yourself superior?

No.

Now, Julia.

You stole Mr.

Henderson's keys the night you drove him into town, didn't you?

No. Then made your sister impersonate you in the library.

No. Then you killed your Aunt Esther.

to prove you could commit the perfect crime and were therefore better than

everyone else.

No. Then you and your sister hid this candlestick in the basement for the

to find.

Of course not.

Who did?

Uncle Harold.

I don't think so.

I just noticed something that somehow evaded me until a moment ago.

If it had been a snake, it would have bitten me.

When does the paper arrive at the house?

In the morning.

What time?

About six o 'clock.

Well, Harold couldn't have used this newspaper to wrap the candlestick.

Why not?

Read the day of the week.

Read it.

It's Thursday's paper. I didn't hear you.

It's Thursday's paper.

And Uncle Harold was taken into custody by the police Wednesday night, wasn't

he?

Yes. What does that mean?

It means this candlestick was placed in the basement after Harold was taken to

police headquarters.

Who was at the house Thursday morning, Julia?

The police were with you.

They know that you and Emily were alone.

Only you and your sister could have placed this candlestick in the basement.

and in the interest of justice.

State moves for dismissal.

Motion is granted.

This court is adjourned.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ben, congratulations.

Thank you.

Charlene, Dale and Stephanie will meet us at the restaurant. I'll see you

I'll see you tomorrow, Dad.

Carol. Oh, Shirley.

Thank you.

Oh, Ben. Ben.

Thank you. Thank you. And we'll meet at the club tomorrow for golf. No golf. How

about lunch? Actually, I don't eat on Tuesdays.

Actually, Tyler and I have a case in Philadelphia.

You've got a case in Philadelphia.