Original subtitles

Hail, all hail!

Hail to Harvard, dear old Harvard,

sacred are thy halls.

Tower of learning, we are yearning still

to hear.

Your call Truth and patience

Youth and ancients All must meet the test

Hail to Harvard

Snap him up like that and make a partner out of him. You're late, Warren.

Sorry, guys, my car wouldn't start.

This damn cold weather.

Get me a cup of coffee, honey.

So, where are we?

We were discussing Skip Walker's promotion to partner.

Seems as if we're all in agreement. I move we vote him in.

Hold on, hold on. Nobody asked me.

Thanks, honey.

All right, Warren, we're asking you.

I'm against it, George.

May we inquire as to why?

Bad timing. He's not ready yet. Not ready? Look at the clients he's brought

What else has he done besides break clients? How much business have you

in lately? What is your problem, Warren? You just don't want to see Skip getting

too successful. That's it, right? Don't push me, George. I'm warning you.

Gentlemen!

Whatever Warren's considerations are, they are his prerogative.

And I might add, we'll become academic if we can bring this to a vote.

All right. I call a vote.

Wait a minute. We haven't heard from Victor yet.

What's your take on Skip?

Well, maybe the timing is bad right now.

I vote no.

All right.

Since we seem to be divided on this, why don't we table it till the next

partners meeting?

I'll move to adjourn.

I'll second that.

Well, we don't want to be late for the reunion, now do we?

How'd it go?

Not this time, Skip. But it's going to happen. Be patient.

I don't understand. Didn't Warren put me up for the partnership?

Not exactly, no.

What do you mean?

He didn't put you up.

He put you away.

Warren?

Oh, sorry, Skip.

I tried but I couldn't talk him into it Maybe next time

Now, don't you remember we were walking across the campus, and you weren't

looking where you were going. Yes, I know. I had both a bear and a

What was I going to do? I couldn't think of anything else.

The sign was right in front of you, and you walked right into it like that. I

know, I know. You got angry with me because I kept laughing. Excuse me, Mr.

Bailey. Yes. But there's a gentleman who says he was invited and lost his

invitation. Oh, well, we're not dealing with national security matters here, so

it's all right. Well, he doesn't look quite right.

Oh.

Let's see him.

Can't wait to see who this is.

Ben!

It's good to see you.

Well, Ross, good to see you.

Ben Matlock. Lord, you're looking good. Thank you, thank you. I think we're

catching up with you on the gray hair.

Ben.

Oh, Florida.

Well, I'll be. I'll be myself. You got my $10? Damn right, and I'm keeping it.

knew I could count on you.

Hello, Ben.

Victor, how are you?

Oh, just great, just great.

Well, here's to all of us. Wait a minute. Let's have a drink.

Ben. Thanks.

Yeah. Okay, here's to all of it.

You bet.

And here's to Ben Matlock.

Glad you could make it, Ben. You're the best.

Just a jailhouse lawyer. You boys are the big time.

I wonder whether People magazine would like to know that Ben Matlock once

my shoes to the floor.

Deny it. Deny it. Remember the time you got caught in the sorority? Oh, when

Warren discovered Ross was colorblind and mismatched all his socks.

Well, he was making a move on my girl.

I wanted her to see that he wasn't all that perfect.

Well, I guess it was a low blow.

Some things never change, do they, Warren?

Excuse me.

Raj, just a minute.

I remember that girl.

Grace Coolidge. Whatever happened to her?

We got married.

Oh.

Oh. How is she?

Grace died last year, Ben.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Well, it's all part of life, isn't it? Hold it, guys.

Thank you.

Who's that?

Gary Springer.

You remember that?

Oh, the big... Long, wavy hair.

Well, I used to weigh 148 pounds, too.

I think the weatherman went to Yale.

I know you all remember the cold weather, but I want you to remember this

reunion, so I picked up a little souvenir to help remind you of both.

Wool mufflers.

Wear them with pride.

Well, thank you for joining us here today, and we'll see you all at the

tomorrow night.

Allergic to wool. Got any polyester?

Sorry, Gary. Maybe next year.

It doesn't matter.

Let's have a group shot of you guys.

Hold it.

Wait a minute. I've got to change the batteries.

Hold that pose.

Are you kidding? Gary can't stand here grinning all day.

Is this really necessary, Gary?

Of course it is.

It's your sense of history.

Just be a second.

Gary Springer hasn't changed a bit. He's still a pet.

That's why he's so suited to his job. What's his job?

Collections attorney for the IRS.

Okay. Great.

glad you could come over come on in hang your coat up make yourself comfortable

I'll get you a drink must be freezing out there have to admit you were right

about the reunion everybody showed up it was great

Yes, sir. George Dutton.

Warren Coates is expecting me.

Yep.

Drive right in. Thank you.

There's not one empty room in the whole hotel?

I know there's a convention. It's in the next room.

I'll appreciate anything you can do. All right.

Find a room?

What?

George, do you know what time it is? I'm trying to get some sleep. There's a

party going on next door. Is this some kind of practical joke?

In jail?

For murdering who?

The prosecution's got a strong case.

They can place you at the scene, and the guard claims that Warren said you shot

him.

Ben, I never even went inside that house.

Police found a murder weapon nearby, and it's registered in your name.

The gun must have been stolen out of my house.

Whoever framed me didn't miss a trick.

I don't blame you, Ben. If I were in your shoes, I'd...

I turned this case down in a second. I know I couldn't win it.

I didn't say I was going to turn it down.

This is going to be tough.

I am innocent, Ben.

I swear it.

But there's something else you should know.

I'm the one who kept you out of the law review.

I always wondered who did that.

Why'd you do that?

You were a little older than the rest of us.

Hell, I was a lot older than the rest of us.

I'd worked for nine years to get up there. I had to be older than the rest

you.

Ben, you were different from us.

Oh.

Oh.

You're talking about my background.

No, that's okay.

I noticed then that everybody was, you know, pleasant enough, but I just

just never did fit in.

Listen, if we're going to get you a acquittal, we're going to have to dig.

So who knew you were at Warren's for a meeting that night?

Amy, my wife, knew I was going to Warren's to go over some deposition.

And my partners.

Oh, yes, and Skip Walker.

Skip Walker.

Did he go to school with us?

No, he's a young attorney.

He's almost a partner in a firm. Oh, well.

I guess the firm's a good place to start.

Blackballed me, huh?

We're behind you all the way on this case.

Anything you want, it's yours. Well, thanks.

My associates should be here pretty soon. All I need right now is a desk and

telephone. You got it. Give me Skip Walker, please. Okay, right away.

Make yourself comfortable, Ben.

Oh, nice.

You like it? Well, it makes the right impression for prospective clients.

They know what kind of a bill to expect.

You run the marathon, do you?

Yeah, I haven't missed one since I started. Not one year.

That's why I have to run ten miles every night just to try to keep in shape.

Oh.

There's you and Warren and Grace Coolidge.

Yeah. That was taken right after I was drafted.

Two months later, she married Warren.

Now she's gone.

How did it happen?

Automobile accident.

Sit down.

Grace had been drinking over the course of the years. She had turned into an

alcoholic.

Did Warren have a problem with drinking, too? Oh, yes. That's what got her

started.

Oh.

Do you hold him responsible?

Yeah. It's no secret.

Of course, he stopped drinking after Grace died, but he kept going downhill

anyway. He used to be a brilliant litigator. Brilliant.

Did anyone ask him to resign from the firm?

Yes, I did.

Of course, he declined, and my other partners wouldn't vote him out, so...

come? You'd have to ask them.

Yes? Skip Walker's here. Send him in.

Ben Matlock, I'd like you to meet Skip Walker, one of the bright young men in

our firm. Nice to meet you. He'll be available if you need any help. Okay. I

put, uh...

Mr. Matlock in Warren Coates' office. So, would you show him the way, please,

Skip? Sure. Thank you.

Thanks, Ross. We'll see you, man. Okay.

Warren's office. It's right down here. Oh, okay.

Very nice.

Ben? Ben!

Ben! Look, I ran into you.

Saves me a trip to your hotel.

Uh, Gary, what are you doing here?

Distributing the pictures I took at the reunion.

Here's your set.

Oh, that's very nice of you.

A photograph is a picture of history.

Oh.

Too bad about Warren.

Yeah.

By the way, I understand you're defending George.

Do you have any idea who the judge will be?

Not yet.

If it's somebody I know, maybe he'll let me drop in at the trial and take a few

candid shots.

Oh, hold the elevator.

The bill for the pictures is in the envelope. Just...

Drop a check in the mail.

What bill? I didn't order these.

You beat that bill.

I didn't order these. It's up. It's right down here.

I understand that you were almost a

partner in the firm.

Almost. And Warren blocked it.

That's what they say.

Well, maybe with... His being gone, that will clear the way for you.

You're not implying that I would kill someone just to be a partner in this

Besides, George killed him, didn't he?

Oh, Victor, I'm sorry. I thought this was Warren's office.

Morning, Ben.

It is.

It was.

I was looking for some files Warren borrowed from me.

Oh, did you have any luck?

No. My secretary must have them.

So, um, what's your strategy on George?

Are you going to try to plea bargain him?

I don't know.

Do you think he's guilty, too?

Warren and George hated each other.

George had a violent temper.

Any evidence?

Who else could have done it?

I don't know.

Of course, there's different ways of looking at evidence.

The way George sees it, he was framed.

Oh, boy.

Oh!

Victor Kendall, these are my associates, Michelle Thomas and Tyler Hudson. How

do you do?

Very nice to meet you. Thank you.

Tyler. Nice to meet you.

Well, if you'll excuse me, I'll let you all get to work. Okay, Victor.

Well, where do we start?

Well, we've all got our coats.

Let's go outside.

Ben, now you know what the temperature was when we left Atlanta.

78 degrees.

Tyler. Yeah, I know. Outside.

Here's what I want you to do. Ben, you know how cold it is.

Blood? Another shot hit an artery.

I'm Joe Donato, assistant coroner. Ben Matlock, attorney for the defense.

Got this, Paul?

Sure. It's been dusted.

The deceased paid his bills.

Has anything been moved in here since the murder?

Other than the body, nothing.

I don't envy you this case.

It's a real loser.

And it's all yours.

I'm here to see Mrs. Dutton. I'm Michelle Thomas.

I'm Amy Dutton. Please, come in. Oh, thank you.

Can I take your coat?

No, it's okay. Thank you.

Is Mr.

Matlock saying he's going to be relieved?

Well, the arraignment is set for tomorrow.

I'm sure they'll grant bail.

Good. Could I see his gun collection?

Of course.

Here it is.

Some of these pistols are very rare.

Who knew about this collection?

Well, anyone who'd ever been in the room.

George is that proud of it.

What about his law partners?

Well, of course they knew.

George often had business meetings in here.

And I assume this is kept locked?

Yes, but George keeps the key in the cabinet.

Is there anything else you'd like to know?

No, not a thing.

How long have you and George been married?

Almost four years.

I met him at the office.

I was the secretary.

Must have been terrible for you when the police came to arrest him.

Actually, I wasn't here.

I was at Faneuil Hall.

I attend a lecture series there.

I didn't find out about it until later.

Well, thank you for your help, Amy.

The counterman at Arthur's Coffee Shop remembers seeing Ross Bailey there. Said

he stopped in at his regular time.

What about Skip?

Well, his secretary says he was at the movies.

What movie?

La Nuit de Moët.

Just tell me if you went to the movies.

All right, the usher and the counter girl don't remember seeing him there.

What about Amy Dutton?

I don't know. I had the feeling someone was with her in the house when I was

there.

Did she have any kind of alibi?

She said she was at a lecture.

What do you mean?

He had to feel somebody was in the house. Somebody hid?

Oh, yeah.

Maybe Miss Amy's up to something.

Tyler? You want me to check her out?

That corporate room.

Au revoir.

Au revoir.

I truly believe my husband didn't kill Warren Coates.

In fact, I'm sure of it.

I agree with you.

But somebody did.

And I'd like to take your name off the list of suspects.

Me? I was at a lecture that night. No, ma 'am.

The lecture was canceled.

The heating system went out in the auditorium and there was no lecture.

I know about you and Victor Kendall.

Mr. Matlock, my husband is a fine man.

He's a good man.

But you know him. He's always been hard to please.

Well, you don't have to give me an explanation.

I just want to know where you were at the time of the murder.

I was with Victor.

I, um... I couldn't tell anyone.

You understand?

Yes. I understand.

I'll see you myself.

Mr.

Frazier, you testified Mr.

Dutton drove past the guard gate to Warren Coates' house, and then he drove

five minutes later.

That's right.

How was he driving?

Was it fast?

Slow? Fast.

He was going hell -bent for leather.

As if he were upset?

Frightened?

Objection? Calls for speculation?

Sustained.

So Mr.

Dutton drives out.

Then what happened?

About a minute or two later, Mr. Coates called me on the phone and said, call an

ambulance. George Dutton just shot me. I think I'm dying.

George Dutton just shot me.

You're absolutely sure that's exactly what he said?

Yes, sir.

Absolutely.

No further questions.

Cross -examine.

Thank you.

I suppose security gating

wealthy estates is a good idea. You keep track of who drives in and who drives

out, and therefore there's... No crime.

That's the idea.

Of course, that's not exactly true.

There were two reported break -ins at Long Ridge Estates last year, weren't

there? Yes.

And the big wall doesn't go all the way around the grounds.

No, the rear of the development backs up against some woods. They left it

unwalled for the view.

So, even though the accused was the only one seen...

driving in at that time, that night. Someone could have walked in

through the woods.

In fact, Warren Coates' house, the back of it, is right on the woods, isn't it?

Yes.

Now, you've testified that the night of the murder, you

were watching TV in the guard shack. Is that right?

What was on?

Football game.

Patriots versus the Dolphins.

And was the television on when you got that phone call?

Yes, sir, it was.

Uh -huh.

So, uh... Over the noise of the TV,

how can you swear it was Warren Coates' voice you heard?

What? I missed that.

I'm sorry. Do you have a hearing problem?

My ears are fine.

I know it's hard to admit, but at our age, that's the kind of thing you have

expect, a little hearing loss.

You do have a little hearing loss, don't you?

Well, sometimes.

And you have been to an audiologist, a Dr. Royce?

Yes.

You don't always hear unless you're looking right at a person, do you?

I don't want one of those things stuck in my ear.

Doctor says it would help.

Well, I can tell you one thing.

If you had one of those things stuck in your ear, we could be a lot more certain

it was Warren Coates' voice you heard on the other end of that phone that night.

Objection. Argumentative. Withdraw the question.

That's blood, isn't it?

Yes.

Now,

why is there so much of it?

Well, the bullet severed a major artery. He bled profusely.

So, Mr.

Coates must have started bleeding immediately after he was shot, right?

Now, we've been told that after he was shot, he went to the telephone and

called the guard at the gate. Now, the telephone is over here, but you didn't

find any blood there, right?

No. And no blood by any of the extensions?

That's true. You checked them all? Yes. No blood? No, sir. You still believe

that Mr. Coates called the guard at the gate from the phone after he was shot?

Objection. Withdraw the question. Nothing further.

Victor Kendall was looking for something in this office and I just wondered if

he found it.

What is it?

Well, this drawer won't open as far as the rest of them.

There's got to be some way to get in there without using a crowbar.

I bet you...

Take

the plate.

The Atkinson Trust. What's that?

I don't know.

Blackmail.

Mr. Coates was blackmailing somebody.

I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have to ask you a question.

Is that what you were looking for in Warren's office?

Yes. May I have them?

He was blackmailing you, wasn't he?

Yes.

Ben, please.

Where were you at the time of the murder?

Were you with her?

Ben, you've got to let me have those.

Not that.

Are you sure you can't catch something? Oh, thank God.

Uh... Uh... Mrs. Dutton.

Please, Mr. Madeline, call me Amy.

Amy.

Uh... I know you were not with Victor Kendall the night of the murder.

What are you talking about?

Because... he was with her.

Oh, my God.

Warren was blackmailing Victor, wasn't he?

Yes.

And Victor led you to believe it was because of you.

I'm such a fool.

How could I get involved with such a man?

Well, where were you at the time of the murder?

Who was at our house at the Cape?

Did anybody see you there?

No. Victor stood me up.

But I didn't do it, I swear. I didn't kill Warren.

Oh, I believe you.

I had to ask.

Do you have to tell George about Victor?

Oh, no.

I don't think... I don't think your affair has

any bearing on the case.

I think I know who did kill Warren.

You know?

Yeah. Yeah.

I'm daggone if I know how I'm gonna prove it.

Hi. Hi.

How's it going?

Well, slow.

His cough came in while we were out.

Gary Springer.

Who's Gary Springer? He's a guy.

He's a nerd.

Took some pictures at our reunion and gave me a set.

Well, that was nice of him.

Came with a bill.

Gary Springer.

I'll hold.

They're awful, too.

Oh, they're not so bad.

That's the principle of the thing. You don't charge people for something they

don't order.

They're not very good, are they?

No, they're out of focus, too dark, too light.

This one's nice.

Well... Yeah, you look great in this one.

Now, that would be a nice memento. Well... It's cute, actually.

All of you there, nice big smile.

Well,

I'll be damned.

What?

I'm not sure.

I'll just be damned.

I'm going over to Warren's house.

You talk to Gary Springer.

What should I tell him? Tell him to check in the mail.

You had known Warren Coates for more than 30 years, hadn't you, Mr. Bailey?

I have. You went through college with him, through Harvard Law School with

and then later went in business together.

Yes, that's right.

And his death marked a very sad ending to our law school reunion, didn't it?

Yes, it did.

Yeah.

You know, the interesting thing about reunions...

is you get a chance to see how people have changed over the years.

You and Warren, in law school, were best friends.

But that friendship deteriorated over the years, didn't it?

Yes, but it wasn't only with me.

Warren alienated a lot of old friends.

Particularly his law partners.

Warren's work hadn't been up to snuff for a very long time. Is that right?

Yes, that's true.

Well, as senior partner, why didn't you push for him to retire?

Well, you just don't dump someone after all those years.

Yeah, yeah.

Your loyalty to Warren is admirable.

Particularly when you consider that he...

He married a girl that you were once in love with.

That was many years ago.

Yeah, yeah, but it must have been painful to see the way he neglected her

see the way she responded to that neglect by turning to alcohol.

Yes, it was painful.

Maybe that's one of the reasons you kept Warren on all those years was for his

wife. Objection, Your Honor. This line of questioning is irrelevant.

Your Honor, I will show relevancy if you will bear with me. You may continue,

Mr. Matlock.

You didn't keep Warren on all those years out of loyalty or

out of concern for his wife.

He was blackmailing Victor Kendall and he was blackmailing you, wasn't he?

That's absurd.

Is it?

Have you ever heard of the Atkinson Trust?

Yes, of course. It's an estate handled by our firm. And you're one of the

trustees? Yes.

Did you know that Warren kept a special Atkinson Trust file

hidden in his office?

I wouldn't know.

And in that file was an accounting of that trust done by a certified public

accountant that showed...

shall we say, certain creative accounting practices.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

You had embezzled from that account, hadn't you?

And Warren found out about it and was blackmailing you to force you to keep

in the firm. That is entirely false.

That's why you killed him.

That's why you framed his murder on George Dutton.

Your Honor.

This is pure speculation.

I did not kill Warren Coates. Your Honor, I don't speculate on matters of

importance.

Go ahead, Mr. Matlock.

Now, the way I see it, this is the way it happened.

You drove your car and parked it in the vicinity of the community where Warren

lived because you knew the guards only checked the cars that drove...

Through the gate.

So you walked in, through the woods, back of Warren's house.

You went in and shot him with a pistol you took from George's gun collection.

That is absurd.

Then you got rid of the pistol in a nearby dumpster, knowing the police

find it, and waited for George to come for his appointment.

When he knocked on the door, nobody came.

He left.

You went back in, picked up the phone, called the guard, pretended to be

said George had committed the murder with Warren's dying

breath. You're forgetting the fact that I was jogging at the time of the murder.

And I even stopped at Arthur's at my regular time.

How about this? How about this?

After you shot Warren, got rid of the gun, made the call, you drove to your

house, put on your jogging outfit, then drove to the coffee shop so it appeared

you had been jogging. I'm sorry, but I went directly home after the reunion.

I never saw Warren Coates alive again.

Directly home?

Directly. That's what I said.

Okay. Right?

Now, what color...

What color would you say this muffler is?

What? Blue?

Fine. Okay.

Could I borrow your muffler? Be my guest.

There you go. Thank you.

Is this your muffler?

You know it is. It was given to you as a souvenir at our law school reunion.

Yes. Okay.

Now tell us.

Tell us.

Tell us what the color...

is of this muffler.

And what's the color of this muffler?

I am not sure.

How come?

Because I'm colorblind.

A slight flaw, Your Honor.

Yeah, that slight flaw became a fatal flaw.

You set out to commit the perfect murder.

And as a lawyer, you should have, but you didn't.

I don't understand.

It's really quite simple.

It's quite simple.

See, you went up to Warren's house.

He knocked.

He let you in.

He said, oh, who knows what he said. He said, take off your coat, have a drink.

Anyway, in your nervousness, you took off your coat and green

muffler and hung them on the rack.

By Warren's coat and red muffler.

Then you shot him.

And in your haste to get rid of the gun, you picked up Warren's red muffler by

mistake. Only you didn't know it because you're colorblind.

Oh, that's ridiculous. I never had a green muffler.

Yes, you did. No, I didn't. Yes, you did.

This is a photograph.

This is a photograph that was taken.

At our law school reunion, just after these mufflers were handed out, that's

Warren.

That's the deceased wearing a red muffler.

You are wearing a green muffler. You can't tell that, but he's

wearing a green muffler.

Now, if you drove home directly,

After the reunion, as you say.

The only time these mufflers could have gotten mixed up was

at Warren's house after you murdered him.

You did murder him, didn't you?

We find the defendant, George Dutton, not guilty.

Thank you.

This court stands adjourned.

Let's say we take a little tour of Boston.

Ben, it's 27 degrees out there. We can start at Harvard Yard and then head down

to the Old North Church where they hung out the lanterns for Paul Revere. I want

to go home. We can't leave Boston without one lobster dinner.

I can.

There's a flight at 4 .20. Let's catch it.