Original subtitles

She was so close, and I lost her.

She's not going to show up at the trial, is she?

Not looking like it.

It's all my fault.

I could have had a case, but I... I let her disappear.

If she just hadn't been a witness at the preliminary, but she was.

So her testimony can, must, and will be introduced at the trial, and we can't

even challenge it. If I could have just asked her a few questions at that

preliminary, we can object that the district attorney hasn't really tried to

find her, but he has to be looking for her. He'd be a fool not to be.

Diplomatic immunity may be the only way out of this for him.

I'd sooner that car had killed me.

I know to sweep.

Sugar -free cooking.

Looks like Shelby Russell was concerned about her figure.

Autopsy said her husband was a diabetic.

There's lots of books in antiques, too.

What is it?

A monthly statement.

Bills for somebody staying at Miles Carson Convalescent Home.

Elizabeth Ferrell. Now, who's this?

Shelby's mother?

I'm going to... What can I do? Find Tyler.

Right.

Tyler!

Tyler? Not a... Nothing. No lead, no trail. The police have nothing.

Where's Ben?

I went to visit her mother.

Mother.

I'll ask you a question.

Why'd you think Mike Russell was murdered?

That I don't know. But those three guys.

Baldwin, Kramer, Clark.

Those three did it.

Or at least one of them did.

A business deal going sour, right?

See, now that's what I think, too.

You know, we gotta get inside the pharmaceutical company. I can't get in

All three of the partners have seen me.

They haven't seen me.

You mean you want to go in?

Yeah. What do you think?

Nah.

What do

you

think you're going?

What do you have?

I thought this was going to be a meeting with all three of you.

Please, sit.

Pasquale, bring him the manicotti. Is that okay with you, Mr.

David Long?

Yeah, that'll be fine, Pasquale. Great, thank you.

Should we wait for your partners?

I speak for all of us. Now, what is this proposition of yours?

Well, as I sent you over the phone, I used to be Michael Russell's

accountant. I know all about the pharmaceutical company, the silent

and I know just how profitable your partnership is.

What's your point?

Well... Michael's dead.

C 'est la vie.

Why don't you let me take his place?

I know bookkeeping, I know sales, I know management, and I know that things at

the pharmaceutical company weren't exactly kosher, if you know what I mean.

I know what you're saying, Mr.

Long.

In fact, we have been looking for a replacement for Michael, and in view of

situation, I think you'll do just fine.

Good. Good. I mean, great. That's great.

I'm glad you approved.

Yeah. Well, I think the first thing you'll need to do is take a firsthand

at our operation, so shall we?

Well, you know, I've been having a hankering for manicotti lately. Why

I... We'll keep it warm for you, Mr. Long.

Who is it? Mrs. Farrell.

My name is Ben Matlock. I'm an attorney.

Stop crying out loud. It's about time. I called you four weeks ago.

You did?

Look, are you going to help me sue the phone company or not?

You want to sue the phone company?

They keep connecting me with wrong numbers. They send me bills that I can't

understand. Oh, well...

Modern life can be frustrating, I know, but we can't sue for everyday

aggravations.

What about what they're doing to my brain?

What would that be?

They're tapping in.

They keep stealing my thoughts.

Wouldn't you want to sue?

Oh, yes, I think I probably would.

Miss Farrell, in cases like this, it's often beneficial if the attorney

can get statements from the next of kin.

I believe you have a daughter.

Maybe I do, and maybe I don't.

But you get me if I do.

Oh.

Help in your suit against the phone company, Mrs. Farrell.

After all, your daughter would know better than anyone else how valuable

thoughts are.

Valuable? Oh, yes.

Somebody tried to steal your thoughts, they could owe you a fortune.

Her name is Shelby Russell.

Wonderful girl. She calls me practically every day.

Oh, thank

you.

This is Bruno.

You and he'll have a nice little chat and you'll tell him exactly what the

you're doing here.

Alex, your driver's license.

Alex, your credit cards.

Alex, your American Bar Association card.

Alex, your wallet.

Alex.

Oh, Bruno, say hello to Alex.

Now, think back.

Didn't anybody ever call her on the phone?

Or leave messages on her door? Or postcards? Everybody gets postcards.

How about vacations? Somewhere she'd like to go?

Well, I... Well, somebody somewhere has got to know where she is.

Hello? Stay away from my mother.

Shelby? She has nothing to do with any of this.

We have to talk.

Shelby, either you talk to me or your mother talks to me. Leave her alone.

ill. Couldn't you see that?

Clear as day.

We're running slightly behind schedule, Mr. Benabi. The penicillin is only now

being transferred to the loading dock. Right. Well, give me a chance to examine

your facilities.

This is

our quality control.

What's the rate of dilution? It's 66%, sir.

Next shipment, make it 70.

You all right?

I had her full for about two minutes.

I still don't know what they're doing here.

They're diluting drugs for shipment to third world nations.

You should blame their profits.

And if we don't get to her phone in the next ten minutes, all our proof is going

to be headed for Zaire.

Come on.

We need a phone when I've seen this over there

What

do

you want from me

Why did you lie at that period?

Money.

But I don't care about money now. My mother's sick, and I don't want anyone

bothering her.

Who paid you?

I can't tell you.

Edward Kramer?

Thomas Baldwin?

Douglas Clark?

I know lots of things, Mrs. Russell.

I know you're not Mrs.

Russell.

No record of your marriage anywhere.

Michael and I lived together.

Our affair started out as a convenience.

Wealthy men often like the companionship of a woman they like to feel they own.

And you were rewarded by being... Kept is the word you're looking for, Mr.

Matlock. Well kept.

Why pretend marriage?

Because Michael wanted to move in international circles where casual

are understood, but carefully hidden.

As Anthony, carefully hid ours.

Michael was possessive, and we felt it was best that he didn't.

Delvey?

Who paid you to lie and then disappear?

Who are you protecting?

The meeting's over, Mr. Matlock. Unless you tell the truth, Anthony Stewart will

be destroyed.

But if he invokes immunity... It'll be the end of his career.

If he goes through the trial, he might very well be found guilty.

In either case, it'll be nobody's fault but yours.

I held up my end of the deal.

Now you stay away from my mother. Consider this.

The man who paid you is a murderer.

He already killed Michael.

He tried to kill me.

He came very near to killing Anthony.

If you disappear again, it might very well be forever.

One million dollars.

American, as you requested.

Fine.

Party's breaking up. Better do something.

As soon as they're all looking the other way, you head for the phone.

Mr. Benavi?

need the police.

There is a crime in progress in the warehouse at the end of Pier 12.

Hello?

Hello?

Good.

In the headlines this morning, three prominent New Yorkers, Edward Kramer,

Thomas Baldwin, and Dr. Douglas Clark, were arrested yesterday on charges of

conspiracy and fraud for selling mislabeled and diluted antibiotics.

In an interesting sidelight, all three men were subpoenaed to appear in English

Ambassador Anthony Stewart's sensational murder trial, now entering its third

day. That's right, I was working my usual shift, 4 p .m. to midnight.

Do you recall admitting anyone to the building at around 10 .30 that evening?

I let Mr. Stewart in. I remember it very well, because I assumed that he was

going to see Mrs. Russell, which I thought was odd, because I knew Mr.

was up there, too.

You knew about the affair Mr.

Stewart was having with the decedent's wife?

Being a doorman, seeing them coming and going, I had a good idea something was

going on. Yes.

Did anyone else visit the Russells' penthouse that night?

Not that I saw.

You're positive?

I lock the front door of that building every night at 8 o 'clock.

After that, nobody can get into the building, unless they have a key or

let them in.

You can get out by going down the back stairs, but you can't get in.

But what if they had a key?

What if someone found one or borrowed one from a tenant or had a copy made?

Isn't it possible that someone other than Mr. Stewart came into the building,

went up to the Russell's penthouse and murdered Michael Russell?

Hey, anything's possible.

But it's my job to stand at that door from 4 in the afternoon till midnight.

And if anybody else come in, especially someone with a key who wasn't a tenant,

I would have noticed it.

That's all, Mr. Gillespie.

Wish to cross, Mr. Matlock?

Yes, sir.

You know, being a visitor here, I can't get over how much

things cost.

I mean, $1 .75 for a hot dog, $12 for a taxi cab ride, $1 ,500

for a little tiny apartment.

You live in Manhattan?

Yes, sir.

Well, it must be pretty difficult to make ends meet on a dormant salary.

Oh, I manage to get extra work here and there. A little construction, some

plumbing, hard jobs, you know. Oh, oh, oh.

Do you do any work for anyone in the apartment building?

Oh, yeah, now and then.

How about the Rothbergs in 12D? You ever do anything for them?

What was that, sir? I say the Rothbergs in 12D.

I've probably done something for everybody in the building at one time or

another.

Mr.

Gillespie, I think in all the excitement, you're overlooking something

that happened the night Michael Russell was murdered.

Did Mrs.

Rothberg ask you to take her dog for a walk?

Yes, yes, she did, yes. And did you take her dog for a walk?

That's right.

So many other things happened that night, I forgot about it. Oh, sure,

It's not as if you did it every night.

What time would that have been?

About 10 .15.

Now, how long were you gone?

10, 15 minutes.

So it is possible someone could have entered the building without your seeing

it.

I'm afraid so.

Thank you.

No further questions.

Redirect?

No, Your Honor.

Mr. Gillespie, you're excused.

Due to the lateness of the hour...

Court is adjourned until 10 a .m. tomorrow morning.

What was that about?

He walks that dog every night at 9 .30. He was lying to save his job.

You protected him.

I just made it easier for him to tell the truth.

Thanks for the note.

Does this mean you'll testify?

I can't.

I'm scared.

Everything you said is true, Mr. Matlock.

He'll eventually get rid of me, too. It's just a matter of time. Ooh.

A deal first.

You give me immunity, I give you the killer. I can't give immunity.

That's up to the district attorney.

But I promise I'll talk to him, get him to go as easy as possible. Just tell me

who the killer is.

He shouldn't have come.

How do you know?

I heard him say that's where he dumped it.

Hey, hey, what are you doing here?

I have a search warrant for you, Mr. Kramer. For what?

Hey, Lieutenant.

Lieutenant.

Lieutenant.

Another week or two, this area would be flooded out, and we never would have

found it.

How stupid do you think I am?

Why would I... Everything matched.

The blood on the candlestick holder matches Michael Russell's blood.

Size and shape of his wound match the size and shape of the candlestick. The

candlestick matches the one that's still in the penthouse.

And it's over.

It appears to be.

It appears to be.

I'm going to call the embassy.

That fella Kramer seemed to be particularly stupid to you.

No.

You might as well have a little fun.

Ladies and gentlemen, it means a great deal to me not only to celebrate this

moment, but to do so with friends.

And one of my best friends is my attorney, Mr. Ben Matlock.

Where are you, Ben?

Come up here and take your work.

Well,

I really don't have a lot to say.

I haven't done very much.

It's almost as if everything was handed to me.

On a silver platter, as they say.

Well,

we still have court tomorrow.

No time for speeches. Have fun.

But you want it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey,

Matt, what are you doing? That's evidence you're defacing in. What's the

with you?

Hey.

to dismiss.

Good.

I don't want him to dismiss.

What? If he makes the motion and he dismisses, you'll have a cloud over your

head the rest of your life. You don't want that, do you?

All rise.

The court of the state of New York for the county of New York is now in

The Honorable Raymond Kawhi presiding.

Be seated.

I understand the prosecution would like to make a motion.

Your Honor, before any motions are made, our commitment to justice compels me to

ask the court to permit the defense to call one additional witness.

Counsel?

No objection.

Call your witness, Mr. Matlock. Defense calls Dr.

Douglas Clark.

Dr. Clark, you were a partner in the Russell Pharmaceutical Company. Is that

right? Yeah, I was. And who were the other partners?

Thomas Baldwin and Edward Kramer. And, of course, the late Michael Russell. He

ran the whole thing.

Is there any truth to the allegation that your company was

peddling watered -down antibiotics to unsuspecting third -world nations?

On the advice of counsel, I invoke my Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to

answer that question. You know, the fact that you won't say whether you were

selling watered -down antibiotics suggests that you were.

Mr. Matlock, your question is irrelevant, argumentative, improper, and

unconstitutional. In fact, it's not even a question. The court is sustaining its

own objections and admonishing you.

to limit this examination to the issues in this trial.

Yes, sir, Your Honor, I apologize. I was just trying to get truth anyway. I

can't.

Withdrawn.

Was the Russell Pharmaceutical Company profitable?

Yes, it was. That's why I invested in it.

But you have a lot of money problems, don't you?

No, I don't. Are you kidding?

You're up to your ears in debt.

You owe $2 million on your Park Avenue co -op, $800

,000 on your Fifth Avenue offices, and about that same amount on the East

Hampton summer house.

Those figures sound about right? I don't know. I would have to check with my

accountant. I don't know what you call...

Being three and a half million dollars in debt, but myself and anybody I know

would call that turning the page on Chapter 11, wouldn't you call? Excuse

this entirely necessary?

You're from New York, aren't you?

Yes. Any other relatives?

My mother.

And she resides at the Miles Carson

Convalescent Home.

because of some mental problems.

And her name is Elizabeth... Farrell. Farrell. She changed her name from Clark

when she remarried. Yeah, yeah.

You know, I went to see your mother last night.

And it just, it took forever for her to admit that you're her

son.

She has a paranoia where she...

She believes the telephone company plugged into her mind and they can read

thoughts.

And you told her that if she told anybody you're her son, the phone

would find out about it.

Why didn't you want anybody to know?

Well, it's what you said. She has these mental problems and I'm trying to

protect her. I don't think so.

I don't think...

The connection between you and your mother is what you don't want people to

out about. I think it's a connection between you and your sister.

Your sister is Shelby Russell, isn't she?

Yes. Now, now we're coming to the good part.

This whole crooked...

The pharmaceutical scheme was your idea, wasn't it? I object. Allegedly crooked.

Allegedly crooked.

Huh?

You needed money?

You have connections with legitimate drug manufacturers. All you needed was

scheme and a front man.

Someone to run the business and to keep your involvement quiet.

Michael Russell. The business was Michael's idea.

He approached us with it. I'll bet if we could speak to Michael in the great

unknown, he would tell us it was your idea.

I object. I object myself. That was very corny. Let's change the subject.

You didn't really get along with Michael, did you? You didn't trust him

point that your sister, Shelby, moved in with him.

and actually pretended to be his wife, all to look after your interests. Isn't

that right?

That's absolutely absurd. She lived with him because she loved him. Loved him?

Loved him.

Well, if she loved him, why did she have the hot affair with Anthony Stewart?

If Mr. Matlock is making a point, I wish he'd get to it. I wouldn't mind that

myself. Oh, I'm getting to it, Your Honor.

I'm getting to it.

Something went wrong between you and Michael.

You got too greedy. He got too greedy.

Anyway, you went up there that night.

Mr. Gillespie was walking Mrs. Rothberg. Dog, he didn't see you enter the

building, but you had a key.

Shelby's.

You let yourself in, went up to the penthouse, confronted Michael, argued

him, fought with him, took the candlestick from the mantelpiece and

How am I doing?

You're dead wrong. Now comes your most imaginative idea.

The most imaginative.

Michael's dead.

Now what do you do?

You and your sister frame the man she's been having the affair with, the

ambassador.

He'll claim diplomatic immunity and go to England. It's all over.

The only problem, Anthony is an honorable man.

He wants to go to trial.

He wants to be found innocent.

Now what do you do?

Well, well, hell.

You just find somebody else to frame.

The original murder weapon is gone, probably somewhere in the East River.

You find a duplicate.

Smear it, as it were, with Michael's blood, plant it on Mr. Kramer's

have your sister notify the proper person, me.

Your Honor, this is all conjecture. Your Honor, a moment more, please. I can

prove. I have proof.

Very well, but you'd better.

Now, according to the coroner's

report, Michael Russell is a diabetic.

What does that mean to you as a doctor?

It can mean many things. What?

Well, he'd have to have insulin for one. Every day? Yes.

Would that mean he'd need syringes, bottles of insulin for his daily

injections, pharmaceutical bottles with labels with his name

and the doctor's name?

You were the doctor, weren't you?

No. Mr. Matlock, is this going any further?

Is there proof?

Yes, sir. Your Honor.

I'm showing the witness People's Exhibit 15, the alleged murder weapon.

I ask you to look on the bottom there. What do you see?

Looks like a scratch. It is a scratch.

I made it myself last night. Scratched it right down to the bare metal. What

this is made of?

Brass.

This isn't silver.

This is silver plate. The one up in Michael's.

Apartment is solid silver.

This is not.

You know what that means?

This is not the murder weapon.

The police found that candlestick. And when they did, it was completely covered

with Michael's blood. That's right.

And you had removed all the syringes, all the insulin from Michael's apartment

so that no one would ever see your name.

But sooner or later...

Someone was bound to stumble onto this.

Would you tell the court what this is?

That's a receipt for a blood bank.

This is where the sample of Michael Russell's blood was kept.

20 cc's of type O negative blood.

That was removed on October 19th, two days ago.

You can tell it's signed by a doctor if you can't read the signature.

Now, we can have an expert tell us, but since you're sitting right here, want

to take a shot at telling us whose signature that is?

It's mine.

That's right.

It's yours.

Well, that's about it.

Your Honor, I believe there is reasonable doubt

that my client is guilty of any crime.

I believe the court, district attorney, and I have

fulfilled our commitment to justice, and I now ask this case be dismissed.

Case dismissed.

A compliment to the British Embassy. Nothing like traveling home in style.

Well, now, if you ever get back to New York, you know where I am. You really

like it here, don't you?

It's a big apple, Ben.

Anything that happens in the whole world happens here first.

Don't you feel the energy?

No.

Listen,

if you ever feel like unplugging yourself from all this energy, stop by

sometime. Okay, thank you. I will.