Original subtitles

If you want to make a deal, see TJ.

If you want to make a deal, see TJ.

You'll make a deal you can't refuse.

You'll get a car that's hardly used. If you want to make a deal, see TJ.

If you want to make a deal, see TJ.

If you want to make a deal, see TJ.

You'll make a deal you can't refuse. You'll get a car that's hardly used. If

want to make a deal, see TJ.

Smokey here, and I want you to know that Brenner's always makes you the sweetest

deal. Best cars at the best prices. Well, right over here, we have our blue

plate special for the low prices. It's $27 .99.

And new today, this beautiful convertible, but just $31 .99.

Now, me and my car are old, babe. We've been all over this great country of

ours, and I'll tell you, I ain't never seen deals like this. So y 'all come on

down now, you hear?

Waiting on you.

Just moved in next door.

Just call me Ace.

Ace? Glad to meet you. I didn't even know that house was for sale.

Well, you've been busy with the Wurtz case.

Oh, well.

You did a good job getting that woman off.

Oh, thanks.

You and I both know she really poisoned old man Wurtz.

What? My client was innocent.

Oh, come on, Benj. I know dames.

Sophie Wurtz is a poisoner.

She's got those little slitty eyes.

That's astigmatism.

Are you kidding?

Bite into a tuna sandwich within a mile of that cutie and it's good night,

nurse.

Are you a lawyer?

Me? No, I'm retired.

Retired, huh?

Yeah, did pretty good, too.

Made plastic eyelet. You know, those little loops on your sneakers.

There's good money in it?

Ate chop suey and wore lizard skin shoes every day.

Guess what I'm going to do right now?

I don't know.

I'm going to go out and get some wheels.

Wheels? Yeah, you know, a car.

I saw your car, Benji. And let's just say it's not an action car.

It's not? No.

And the ladies like a little flair, you know.

So when you and I are out on the prowl, that's what they're going to get.

Flair.

Flash, huh?

Have I got a car for you. Come here.

See this, baby?

You'll love this.

Look at that. Flames on the side and everything.

Take a look at it.

Ah, a real beauty.

And I can make you an offer you can't refuse.

Really? Really.

Smokey here and I want you to know the printer is all... Always makes you the

sweetest deals. The best cars at the best prices. Well, right over here we

our... Oh, you don't want to go over to Brenner's.

That guy's a real crook.

And his partner, the cowboy, he wouldn't know a carburetor from a cactus.

This is the deal you want.

I've never seen deals like this. Y 'all come on down now, you hear? We're

waiting on you.

Gorgeous, isn't it?

It certainly is.

It's a real classic.

Would you like to go for a test drive?

Oh, my, yes.

I've been all over your car.

Transmission shot, brakes are gone.

You'd be lucky if it gets you home.

Eight hundred.

Pops. What are you talking about? My car's a fine piece of machinery. All

all right. Let me talk to him. See what I can get.

Come here. What do you think about this?

Well... I'm breaking a lot of rules for you, you know.

Excuse me.

Well, looks like you're in luck. Looks like he's coming out to see you.

Well, how we doing out here?

Well, TJ, sorry to bother you, but my friend Leslie here, uh... Ace.

Ace? Just insisted on meeting you.

How you doing, Ace?

Okay. I sure do enjoy your commercials. Where'd you get this car? Well, it just

came in special made from L .A. last week. Huh. Well, I hope my pal Jesse

got you fixed up with that car you wanted. Oh, yes.

Well, why don't we just go take a look?

You and me can talk turkey about them turns.

yourself a great little car here which one is

I'm going to kill him. Take everything he's got.

I'm going to blacken his name.

What's the matter?

My car.

I bought a lemon.

I know.

It's that DJ Cassidy and his damn commercials. Take it back.

Take it back? The car. Take it back. Then make him take it back.

Y 'all come on down to Brenner's. We're going to rope you the deal of your life.

Remember now, no one gets corralled in a bad deal at Brenner's. So come on down

and get acquainted with your old horse trading friend, T .J. Cassidy, and see

I haven't got one of these beauties with your names banded on it.

We're filming a television commercial here.

You sold me a lemon. I demand my money and my own car back.

Well, come back later. We'll talk about it. It's okay, Abe. Come back later.

You liar.

You cheat.

I'll punch your lights out.

You all get out of here or I'm going to call the police on you.

You want me to take her right from the top, okay?

These two fillies of mine, I tell you, we have some of the finest selections

crowded under one roof.

Are you crazy?

You told me to return the car.

I didn't tell you to destroy the place.

Are they going to send me up the river to the big house? No, you're going home.

I got the charges reduced from us all with a deadly weapon to disturbing the

peace. Thanks, Ben.

You're great.

What about my car? Well, forget about the car until everybody cools down.

about the car. Forget about the car.

Forget about the car. Go home.

I had dozed off. Oh, don't you just hate that?

I hate that. I can't tell you how many times I've just dozed off when along

comes someone wanting something.

Don't you just hate that? Can I borrow your car for an hour?

Why? Well, I have to go back to Brenner's.

I left my reading glasses in the glove compartment.

Well, I can't go to sleep if I can't read.

Reading's the only thing that works. Of course.

We could talk.

You know, the other day, this was before I came over to see you, I stopped off

at a bar.

Templin's, I think it's called.

Anyway, there were these two dames in there. They couldn't have been over 48.

And built... Boy, you know when I say built, you know the saying?

The old...

You have a key, though.

Move the car!

I can't get the... Oh my God.

was by a clunker from the guy.

Well, first, you call him a liar and a thief.

Then you threaten to punch his lights out. Then you drove your car right

his commercial.

And if that weren't enough, you're found at the scene of the crime behind the

wheel of the murder weapon on top of the body.

Okay, okay, maybe it doesn't look good.

But with us working together like a well -oiled machine... You've done enough.

T .J. Cassidy and his partner, George Brenner, did not get along.

How do you know?

Because the day I bought that lemon, they were having one heck of a fight.

You heard them?

No, but I saw them through the glass, and they were real mad.

Well, we'll start with that.

When I say we, that we does not mean you. Not you. Not you. Pay is big.

What are you doing here?

Oh, I'm Ben Matlock. I'm looking for my car.

What car?

This car.

Released from the DA's office.

Oh. Oh, yeah. Oh, the guy that murdered TJ left his car here.

What are you, a friend of his? I'm his lawyer.

Well, this way.

I guess you must be, uh...

Worried about your business with T .J. Cassidy, huh?

Not really.

He was just some peach picker I discovered. I made him into T .J.

whole thing was my idea.

My client said that he saw you having a big fight with him the day of the

murder. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. I mean, his expense account was astronomical.

Hell, I was about to fire him anyway.

I'll just go discover somebody else.

Maybe I'll do the TV commercials myself, huh? Oh, yeah.

You know, an interesting thing. After the murder, the key was still in the

ignition of Mr.

Cassidy's car, and the engine was still running when my client and the police

arrived. Yeah?

And according to the police report, Mr. Cassidy had another key in his pocket.

How many keys were there to that car?

I don't know.

A couple of sets, maybe.

Well, who else had access to them?

Jesse Martin.

Lady? Yeah, my head salesperson.

Was she in T .J.

clothes?

Yeah, very.

Until she caught T .J. clothes in the deal in the back seat of her car.

That could be motive, I guess.

But since you were going to fire him anyway and maybe do the commercials

yourself, I guess you didn't have a motive.

Yep.

Well, I mean, why kill a fellow when all you have to do is fire him? Yeah, that

makes a lot of sense. That makes a lot of sense. So nobody else had access to

those keys?

No. Except you, of course.

Well, sure, I had access. I mean, I do own the store.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, your car's out there right next to a two -tone gray truck. Oh, okay.

Yeah, and I see what you mean. Why kill a fellow when all you need to do is fire

him?

How are we doing with him? Any luck?

I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I'm sure he's our man.

And I think that fight was about something more than his expense account.

And he had opportunity.

Classic.

Les, I want you to listen to me.

You're not doing yourself or your case any good by being here. You know that.

And you know what they say, the killer always returns to the scene of the

So you knew Mr. Cassidy was working late last night.

Well, T .J. was a real workaholic.

He worked on commercials, customers, female, of course.

Right. But when I left last night, T .J. wasn't alone.

George Brenner was there.

Interesting.

Uh, Miss Martin, could you tell me where you were at the time of the murder?

Me? Well, I was at home watching the ice skating special.

You know all the Olympic winners?

Well, thank you for your time.

Jesse Martin just lied to me about her alibi for last night. Yeah?

Yeah. She said she was home watching an ice skating special.

It wasn't on.

No? Well, I was going to watch the same show.

But the basketball game went into overtime, and it never aired.

I'm tired.

Meet the arrangements for tomorrow night. No problem.

So, that's it.

She went to the bar.

Then she drove to the motel.

And then, bam!

Ouch! Oh, sorry.

Well, the swelling's gone down. I'll get more ice. No, no, no, thanks. I'm all

right.

No, I'm not all right.

I woke up face down in the dirt.

I hate that.

You know, I'm confused. Aren't they going to a lot of trouble to cover up an

affair?

Maybe it isn't an affair.

What else could it be?

I don't know, but she said something big was gonna happen tomorrow night.

And it didn't sound like romance to me.

Mr. Edward?

Mr. Edward?

Ben?

Lask, what are you doing here?

What if somebody had come in here besides me? Do you realize the danger,

trouble? Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Sorry don't feed the bulldog.

What do I have to do to convince you this is not a game? You're going on

for murder.

I know. That's why I'm here.

I was wrong about George Brenner.

Honest Earl did it. Les.

Look, you told me that before you could accuse a man, you had to have proof.

Yeah. All right, here it is. Look at this.

Honest Earl did it. Where'd you get this?

Right here.

It's the contract.

Honest Earl was trying to lure T .J.

Away from Brenner.

How about that? Yeah.

I just opened the door and there it was.

Some instinct, huh?

How about that?

All these girls out there looking at my car.

I'm going to go talk to them. When I get us back to the door, you get out of

here.

Oh, Mr. Edwards.

I've been looking for you all over.

Well, here I am on a sterile. Sorry if I kept you waiting, but I had to take

these people for a test drive. Oh, that's okay.

Can't give you very much on the trade -in.

Why not?

Well, this baby needs a lot of work.

Does not.

That's the best car I ever owned. Runs like a top.

Not for very long.

Oh, look over there.

There's a car I could put you in real cheap. Mr.

Edwards, I'm not here to buy a car.

I'm an attorney, Ben Matlock.

I represent Les Calhoun, the man accused of killing T .J. Cassett.

Uh, Mr. Edwards?

What is it, Mr. Matlock? Where were you at the time of the murder? I didn't kill

him. No, I didn't say you did. I just asked where you were at the time. I was

here, doing my paperwork.

My client said he drove by here on the way to Brenner's Lot, and the light was

on all right, but he... He said he didn't see you. If you'd been working

he would have seen you.

Maybe I was in the job.

How the hell do I know? I was here. Anything else?

Anybody else you know of would want Mr.

Cassidy dead?

Sure.

Anybody who ever bought a car from that jerk. He was a disgrace to our

profession.

Why did you want to do business with the man?

Who says I did?

I saw the contract.

You saw what?

You tried to get him to leave Brenner's and come over here to you, didn't you?

Absolutely not. And he turned you down, didn't he?

Beat it.

Don't get ugly about it.

What are you doing, Neal? Well, I'd just like to ask you a question.

I'm busy.

I wonder if you'd let me take a look at the contract you had with T .J.

Cassidy. That contract is none of your business now. Get the hell out of here.

Either you let me look at it or I can subpoena it. Either way, I'm confident

I'll find that your contract with him was about to or had already expired.

Now, listen, I renewed T .J.'s contract every two years. If it was about to

expire, I would have renewed it again. Unless he planned to go someplace else.

You were aware that he was negotiating.

With honest Earl Edwards.

That's what you were fighting with him about the day of the murder. Not his

expense account. You had lost him. I'm aware of no such thing.

Then let me see his contract with his name on the bottom line.

Get the hell out of here!

Now, I let you come along on...

And nothing may happen, but something may.

And if it does, you've got to do what I say, okay?

Okay.

I don't have a pickle.

She's flying out. She better hurry. It's getting late.

Everybody else has a pickle.

And you have a hard -boiled egg.

Well, how about this?

I'll give you my hard -boiled egg and my pickle if you promise to stay in the

car.

Promise?

Okay.

Uh -oh. Showtime.

What's going on in there?

Beats me.

You stay in the car. I promise.

Well, that was sure some sideline. Maybe TJ found out what you were doing and

wanted to be cut in. Maybe you figured out a way to permanently cut him out.

wait a minute, wait a minute. Maybe we were selling hot cars off Brenner's lot,

but we didn't kill TJ.

And if you're asking if we have an alibi for the night he was killed, here it

is.

Well, I really thought that... chop shop was our answer. I really did.

What is this chop shop?

Well, you were there.

Cars and parts everywhere.

It's where they take hot cars apart.

Take stolen cars apart.

Well, if what George Brenner said is true, that he and Jesse

were the only two with access to the keys, and we know where Jesse was, then

guess it has to have been George.

Well, couldn't Honest Earl have stolen a key, made a copy?

I don't see hardly how he could. It's really locked up tight. I don't see how

could have gotten in there.

Hmm.

Chop shop, huh?

Say you need a new radiator for your car.

You go to a regular mechanic, he installs one, right?

Well, I always thought... Unless you go to a garage that deals with a chop shop.

Get a radiator out of a stolen car.

Same make and model of your car. Put it in your car.

It's nearly all profit.

You want a water pump? Same thing. You never know the difference.

Anything. Gas cap.

It's hard to believe but parts of these cars are probably in a dozen other cars

by now That

work

I Observed the decedent to be lying beneath the front portion of the

vehicle in addition to that What else did you see which appeared to suggest

the victim was killed by his very own automobile?

I observed fresh blood, skin tissue, and bone fragments actually embedded in the

front grill of the vehicle.

According to the testimony of the officers on the scene, they discovered

defendant behind the wheel of the murder weapon.

Was there any physical evidence linking Mr. Calhoun to the crime?

His fingerprints were on the steering wheel.

Thank you, Lieutenant.

That will be all.

Mr. Madlock?

No questions, Your Honor.

No questions?

Why aren't you going to ask him any questions?

The more he talks, the worse it gets.

Defense calls Honest Earl Edwards to the stand.

Mr. Edwards, you own Honest Earl's used car lot on Jackson Boulevard. Is that

right? Yes, sir, I do.

That's quite an accomplishment.

You were a mechanic, and now you own your own lot.

Yeah, it's the American dream. Yeah, yeah.

Then three years ago, George Brenner moved in across the street, but you

did okay.

I like to think so.

Then two years ago, George Brenner joined up with T .J.

Cassidy. And the more of those...

Crazy commercials he did.

The more business George Brenner did, and the more you had to struggle to

survive. Isn't that right?

I do okay.

You tried to get T .J. Cassidy to leave Brenner's and come to your lot, but he

refused. Isn't that right?

Hey, I'd rather the guy work for me than the competition.

But it was no big deal.

No? Why not?

Because T .J. brought in customers.

And if they didn't find the car they wanted at Brenner's, they'd come right

across the street to my place so everybody benefited. Yeah.

You really needed all the help you could get, didn't you?

Told you, I'm doing fine.

Mr. Edwards, you're in deep financial trouble.

I've had a couple of slow months, according to the bank.

You've had a couple of slow years.

And if things don't improve, you're going to have to go into bankruptcy,

you? Objection.

Argumentative. No relevancy, Your Honor.

Sustained.

I'll tell you what I think.

I think you knew you had to do something. Your business was going

fast.

Well, what you decided, instead of getting rid of your debts, you would get

rid... Of your competition.

No, that's crazy. That meant getting rid of T .J.

Cassidy, didn't it?

Objection. No foundation is argumentative, Your Honor. If the court

with me, Your Honor. Please come to the point, Mr. Matlock. Yes, sir.

I believe that you not only wanted to get rid of T .J. Cassidy,

you wanted to destroy George Brenner's business. And what better way to do

than to have T .J. run over by his own car.

The one he used in all those TV commercials.

You claim, the night of the murk, you were in your office working.

Yes. You were alone, no one came in, no one called.

That's right.

So you can't prove that's where you were.

You don't have what we call a substantiated alibi, do you?

No, I guess not.

At this time, Your Honor, with the court's permission, I'd like to move

to the matter we discussed in chambers.

People restate their objections.

So noted.

Now, Mr.

Edward.

You have testified that you are a mechanic.

Now, in your expert opinion, would you tell me why it is when

I bring my car in for repairs, it costs so much money?

Labor is expensive.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And parts.

Oh, yes. Parts have gone way up. So, when you buy used cars for your lot, you

must do a lot of work on them. Yes, we do.

So I guess you have a lot of parts around.

Yes. Do you sometimes do the work yourself?

Yes.

Now, as you see here, with the court's permission, I have had the murder

T .J.'s car, brought here to Brenner's lot. And this here

is People's Exhibit 7.

This is the key that was found in TJ's pocket at the time of the murder.

Now, would you just walk over here with me? Just right over here. Right over

here. Okay,

now I'll open her up.

And you just get right in. It's okay, go ahead.

There you go. Now, take the key, start the car.

Doesn't fit, does it?

No.

Wonder what?

Wrong key.

Wrong key.

I don't think so. Come over here.

I'll show you something.

This is Defense Exhibit H.

This was T .J.'s spare key found in his home.

It's identical to the key that was found in his pocket.

These are the keys to T .J.'s car.

Why won't they start it? I don't know.

Well, you're a mechanic.

What about this? What if that's not the original

ignition that was in T .J.'s car? What about that? What do you mean?

Ignitions can be interchanged sometimes, can't they? I mean, adapted.

Yes. But that would explain why T .J.'s keys won't start his own

car, wouldn't it?

I guess it could.

So if that were true, then someone must have snuck into Brenner's lot the night

of the murder, popped the ignition out of T .J.'s car, replaced that ignition,

With another one.

So that that person could get in T .J.'s car, start it up,

and run him over.

That's possible, isn't it?

I don't know.

But if we can find an ignition that the key that was found in T

.J.'s pocket would turn over, then we'd know that was the original ignition that

was... in TJ's car, wouldn't we? And we would have a pretty good idea who the

murderer was, wouldn't we? I don't know.

You think these keys would fit any of the cars on your lot?

No. Want to try a few just for fun? You know.

No. Your Honor, we will be here all afternoon.

I don't think so, Your Honor.

Uh, Mr. Edwards.

You recognize this little black truck?

No, I don't.

Mr. Edwards, this little black truck is from your lot.

Would you please just step over here and get in this truck?

No.

Please?

No. Come on.

Your Honor, would you instruct the witness to do as he's told?

Mr. Edwards?

You changed the ignition, didn't you?

But you have the mind of a mechanic, and you couldn't see throwing away a

perfectly good ignition.

So you put it in this car.

You ran him over, didn't you?

You don't have to tell me.

Maybe I'll read about it in the paper.

Nothing further.

Did you hear that?

He ran him over. He changed the ignition.

Did you just hear that? Les, Les, Les. That was great. You can't talk to the

jury, Les. You can't, Ace. You can't talk to the jury.

Well, that was some experience.

Yeah.

Try to hang a murder one on me. You know, you really had that guy.

You really had him. Well, I felt like I was on the right track. You did great.

Just great.

What a nice neighborhood.

Yeah. You lived here long?

Since the war.

Long time.

Yeah.

You ever notice when guys our age talk about the war, nobody asks which one?

We've seen it all, huh? Yeah.

We're a lot alike, you and me.

Yeah, I suppose so. Yeah.

We're both successful.

Both got our hell.

You've got better hair.

Well...

Look at your shape.

But you know something? I get the

feeling that you're kind of a lonely guy.

Yeah? Yeah.

So you know what I'm going to do?

I'm going to introduce you to some real dolls.

Yeah? I got it.

Victoria Bizzle.

You know the ladies, don't you? Well, they don't call me Ace for nothing.

Victoria Bizzle loves to dance.

I'm not much of a dancer.

Oh, it doesn't matter. Victoria likes to lead.

You can dip, can't you?

Not really.

Then she'll dip.

Oh, nice neighbor. Yeah.

to hang a murder one on me.