Original subtitles

So...

Honey, I'm reading.

I'm just trying to make you feel good.

I know, baby, but this is Hemingway. I've got to concentrate.

Harry?

Shall I get my eyes done?

Baby, you've got great eyes.

Really? Oh, yeah. Look at these lines.

I have lines.

See, look.

Lines.

Let me see.

Right there.

Let me just get a little closer to you, though. What? I want to see.

No.

Right now?

No problem.

Okay. Bye -bye.

What? Joanna Wilkin wants a workout.

Now? Well, it seems she bought this band -aid dress and thinks her thighs look

like tree trunks.

Oh, baby, come on. I'm a personal trainer.

I gotta go.

Peace.

Hurry home, okay?

You've wrecked me.

Oh, honey.

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to, you know, work you out.

It's all right.

I feel very tuned up.

Where are you going?

Oh, baby, it's late.

You've been here a crummy 20 minutes.

Crummy?

Here. Oh, it's there.

Go ahead, open it.

Tropical Capricorn, Henry Miller. Whoa.

The first edition.

Wow, this is fantastic.

Read the inscription.

Joanna.

How can I thank you?

Oh, baby, come on. I can't.

No, the book is yours.

Next time, honey.

Plan to spend the evening.

Stand here. You stand behind your work.

Yes, that's right.

We should have been standing under it last night. You'd have been as wet as my

rug and my sofa.

Your new roof is leaking?

Yes. Come on. Come on where?

To my house. Fix my roof. No, no, no, no, no. I'll send a couple of men out

there in the morning. In the morning?

Everyone is gone. It's the best I can do.

You're going to have to replace my rug, my sofa, and anything else that gets

ruined. Your roof will be fixed, Mr. Matlock. I employ people who do that.

I also employ people who will negotiate a fair settlement for your furniture. I

even employ people who will listen to your complaints with a smile.

I employ those people so I don't have to do that. What the hell do you do?

Hire, fire, expand, invest.

Excuse me.

Go to dinner at the Peachtree Country Club.

It's late and I'm going. The roofers will be there tomorrow.

They better.

Harry, what are you doing?

Bridget, I need to talk.

Talk?

You?

Bridget, please.

No, it's just that sometimes my life seems so empty.

I need to settle down.

You should.

With Dee Dee.

Oh, I know. Dee Dee's a great kid. She's great. It's just that... I'm in love

with you.

Of course you are.

Ever since I stopped sleeping with you.

So, who's the new boyfriend?

None of your business.

Oh, baby, baby.

Why didn't I marry you when I had the chance?

Oh, Harry.

You're a mess.

Get out of here.

I'll call you.

Love, Joanna.

What the hell?

Joanna, what is this?

What? This!

Oh, damn.

Who's Harry?

Your personal trainer. George, your blood... In our bed!

George, it isn't what it seems. It's...

Harry's going to be thrilled to see his lighter.

What's with them?

Harry, hi.

It's me.

Maybe you shouldn't go to work today.

Good, okay.

25 what?

25?

You are a fuller Sabina today.

Are you happy?

Yeah. Wouldn't you be?

Harry's the best.

He's so considerate and loving.

Harry Slade. Good morning, may I help you? Yeah, yeah, Harry Slade. Do you

an appointment? Yeah, here's my apartment right here. Harry!

Harry Slade!

George, what are you doing?

I'm looking for Harry Slade.

Harry? Why?

It's personal.

George, Harry is not here.

So now take the gun, put it back into your glove compartment, get into the

and get out of here before your blood pressure goes through the ceiling.

George, go.

Now.

Get me the home address of a Harry Slade. He's a personal trainer.

Works in a place called Maury's Gym downtown.

Certainly, sir. Right away.

didn't come this morning.

Well, they forgot.

Forgot?

Look, I'm building a shopping center in Somerville. As soon as I could spare a

couple of guys, I'll send them to your house.

My easy chair got soaked last night. I've been sitting in it for years.

It fits my body like skin. It's irreplaceable. What are you going to do

it? I didn't call you down here to talk about your rule for your easy chair. I

called you down here because I'm being charged with first -degree murder.

And I want you to defend me, and I'm willing to pay you twice your fee.

You damn right you will. And you'll fix my roof.

And you'll replace my furniture. And you'll put my house generally back in

same order it was before your lousy workmanship screwed it up. Right?

Right? Right.

Sit down.

Now.

Now.

Harry Slade was sleeping with your wife, right?

Yeah, and charging me for it.

He was a personal trainer. He made house calls. He sent bills.

Yesterday, you go down to the gym where he works, yelling for him, waving your

gun around, making a general jackass out of yourself.

I didn't kill Harry Slade. You went to his house and were arrested standing

his body.

He was dead when I got there.

Shot by your gun.

Anybody could take the gun out of my glove compartment. I never lock the car.

Someone wants to steal it, they could have it. I'll buy another one.

You're a pretty arrogant fellow, aren't you?

Yeah.

And you got a lousy temper.

Are you going to take this case or not?

You better hope I'm a better lawyer than you are a roofer.

I'm Ben Matlock, George Wilton's lawyer.

Mr. Matlock, please, another time. Dee Dee's terribly distraught.

It's okay, Maury. Let him in.

Thank you, Maury, but I have to... I have to deal with this now, okay?

Hi, I'm Dee Dee Lambert.

I have just a few questions.

I loved Harry.

Go ahead.

You can ask me anything that you want.

Okay.

Did it seem curious to you that Joanna Wilton wanted a workout at such a late

hour? No.

Harry would do anything to keep his client happy.

He was very dedicated.

Now, he left here at nine. What time did he return?

Oh, it's after midnight.

Because we missed Nightline.

Harry really, he loved Nightline.

Dee Dee, come on. You're going to bed.

How can you be so cruel?

I'm just trying to get the truth.

Well, that's no reason to destroy that poor child. Talk to me.

I'm Maury.

I was Harry's confidant.

I know everything.

Can we sit down?

Well, there's nowhere to sit unless you want to get your hind end wet.

What do you want to talk about?

Harry Slade. Do we have any leads?

Oh, I don't know.

Dee Dee, that's his live -in girlfriend, said that he left the house at

nine and didn't get back till midnight after midnight. And Joanna,

though, said that he got to her house around 10 .15 and left.

by 11, and that's only a 10 -minute drive.

So at least an hour before and an hour after on a car. Yeah.

Yeah. Oh.

Oh, yeah.

When are they going to fix your roof?

Well, they were supposed to be here today, but guess what?

Roofers don't work in the rain.

George, you've only been here 30 seconds. You're going to be gone in 12

I spent the night in jail, half a million dollars on bail. I got a company

run.

Yes?

What the hell are you doing here?

George, I'm here trying to find out about the women in Harry's life. What

hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be climbing my roof, not her.

How are you, Richard?

Did you say the women in Harry's life?

Bridget.

Harry was a long, long time ago.

You weren't one thing but you. I loved you.

And I love you.

Yeah, me and Harry and God knows who else.

Pack up your stuff and get out of here.

George. And leave the jewelry. Hold it. You heard me. Come on, get up. Hold it.

And not a word of this to anybody.

I own this house. She's out. Are you out of your mind? If one word gets out

about Hanny having an affair with your wife and your mistress, the D .A. will

kill us.

to tell him about Harry?

Well, the way I hear it, Harry's over here a lot.

Maury told you?

Yeah.

Does it stand to reason that George finds out about you and Harry, he's

get mad and put an end to this little arrangement pretty quick?

Harry's and my romance was over long ago.

We were friends.

Is that what you were talking about when he stopped by here on his way back from

Joanna's that night?

Maury knew about that?

No.

Lucky guess.

What happened?

Nothing.

He, um, he was here for about 45 minutes talking.

Then George pulled up and we went out the back.

Okay?

When Harry was shot, you were... At Mason's department store.

Shopping.

Alone.

Yes.

You didn't speak to a clerk.

No, I didn't buy anything.

No. We mistresses, we window shop a lot.

We don't have to go home to fix dinner.

Well...

Whichever way this turns out, quite a few people are going to have to spend a

lot of time in church.

Mom,

this is Miss Thomas. She's one of George's attorneys.

I have a few questions, if you don't mind.

Bobby? I want to hear this.

Bobby?

You have kids?

Not yet.

Bobby's from my first marriage.

When you have kids young, you can't lie about your age. It drives me crazy.

I imagine.

You told the police Harry got to the house at 10 .15.

The guest house?

Yeah.

Why the guest house?

Thomas, where else would I entertain Harry?

Harry left his house around nine.

Did he say what took him so long?

No.

And I didn't waste time asking.

At the time of the murder, where was I?

Miss Thomas, Harry and I got along fine.

We understood each other.

Now, if it was my husband who'd been shot, I could understand you're asking

these questions.

I beg your pardon?

George is slime.

I should have realized it when his attorney showed up at our wedding

with a prenuptial contract.

But I was naive.

I had no reason to kill Harry.

See, rumor has it that you'd been promising to back him in his own gym.

I was thinking about it.

But... not coming up with the cash.

So maybe Harry got tired of being strung along and threatened to tell your

husband about the two of you.

Wouldn't it have just been easier for me to tell George and let him kill Harry?

I suppose you have an alibi for the time of the murder.

No, I don't need one.

I didn't kill Harry.

Got your message.

What's up? Well, we're keeping an eye on Bridget Laird. She said she was

shopping at Mason's when Harry was shot, but they're closed on Mondays.

What about the wife?

She's an ice queen, and she doesn't have an alibi or a motive. Well, then we

know.

We can't underestimate Harry. He was... I know.

Amazing. Oops.

There we go.

We have the purse.

All right.

Sir,

sir, excuse me.

That nice -looking lady that just pulled up in the Mercedes there, her name is

Bridget Laird.

She dropped her purse when she got on the elevator. I wonder if you could tell

me where she's going.

Miss Laird's purse was black patent leather.

Oh.

We want to know where she went with it.

It's going to cost you Jackson.

Jackson. As in Andrew.

Twenty big ones.

Twenty dollars.

Six forty

-nine.

Help you? Yeah, well, I wonder... I'm ready, Alex.

Miss Blair.

I don't believe it. You followed me?

You know them?

Mason's was closed the day Harry was shot.

All right.

All right. I was here with Alex.

You and him?

No. We're friends. We went to high school together. He married my cousin.

I'm a painter.

Bridget is my subject.

Well, why didn't you just tell us you were here in the first place?

Because I'm Alex's nude subject.

And if George were to find that out, I would have become Alex's homeless nude

subject.

A lot of people are going to have to go to a lot of churches.

Mr. Matlock, I'm Bobby, George Wilkins' stepdaughter. Hi.

What's up?

Well, this is kind of hard.

I mean, this is a secret.

Secrets have a way of coming out in a murder trial.

Well, that's what I'm afraid of.

It's about where Harry was for an hour before he saw my mom.

Yeah?

He was with me.

He was with you?

You and Harry?

I'll be 22 in January.

This guy was truly amazing.

Yeah.

I thought so.

Does anybody else know?

No. Does anyone else have to know?

Well, that depends.

Where were you when Harry was shot?

I was with my mom. You can ask her.

No, your mother says she doesn't have an alibi.

Oh, Mr. Matlock, my mother's protecting me.

From what?

Well, I was convicted of shoplifting.

Shoplifting? Yeah.

My shrink says that I do it because I need attention.

It's the byproduct of low self -esteem.

I come from a dysfunctional home.

Your shrink told the judge that?

Yeah.

I even cried.

And then the judge says that I'm spoiled, rotten, and he sends me to

service at Betty Harding's child care center.

So that's where you were at Betty Harding. Yeah, my mom takes me.

We were there when Harry was shot.

Hmm.

You were both there. You sure of that?

Yeah.

Oh, I know. I know.

Mom's kind of bitchy.

She's had crummy luck with men.

But she tries to be a mother.

Sometimes.

Ben.

Oh, hi. Hi.

Did you get anything on Dee Dee?

A possible motive. I mean, she was the spurned lover here. And no alibi.

Then she couldn't have killed a fly.

You don't think so? Do you?

I don't know. What about Joanna?

She got herself an alibi.

She did? Yeah.

Hey.

Harry was having an affair with... Guess.

I don't know.

She's gonna be 22.

Isn't everybody?

I can't guess.

Stepdaughter? I don't know.

George Wilton.

Bobby? Yeah.

Yeah, the wife, the girlfriend, now the stepdaughter. The D .A. is going to have

a ball with this one. If I didn't hate him so much, I'd feel sorry for this son

of a... Hey, what's up, George?

How we doing?

Oh, pretty good, pretty good.

My men get to your house yet? Oh, no.

No. Well, we better go inside.

Thank you.

Ben, what are we going to do?

About what?

About the case.

Oh, well, try to pick a jury and hope there aren't too many women who were

amazed by the late Harry Slade.

Oh, yes.

There it is.

Jason Langer's birthday.

Ah.

Bobby and Mrs. Wilton were definitely here.

I remember greeting them at the curb.

Right where you're parked.

Mrs. Wilton needed my help with Jason's present.

What time was that? Oh, ten. Maybe a little bit after.

Hey, that's nice.

Looks like a jungle.

That's nice, that's nice.

Mr. Matlock, I'm so sorry. Oh, that's all right.

Robert, we don't touch other people with paint on our hands, okay?

Good, good, good.

Now, you were saying?

Do you remember what time Mrs. Wilton and her daughter left?

They left at once.

And Mrs. Wilton waited here the whole time?

Upstairs. She was doing some routine to an exercise table.

Some of us have time to be upset with maintaining our youth.

Was she alone?

Yes.

Nathan, watch where you're going.

Is it possible that she could have left and come back without being seen?

Douglas, Roland, we have to share.

I'm sorry, you were saying?

Well, you're busy.

May we speak with some of the other staff?

Oh, please, be my guest.

Katie, don't put Play -Doh up. your nose sweetie

did i tell you i once

taught school you did i hated it so no one actually saw

joanne at the time of the murder no one saw her leave either well

what

did i do to get a ticket

thing to get there. Yeah.

Mr. Matlock, hello.

Hi. Come in.

Oh, everything looks different.

Yes.

I'm trying to become more spiritual. Oh.

How about some tea? I have mint, chamomile, comfrey. Oh, no thanks.

Are you sure?

Mm -hmm.

Ever since you called, I've been thinking about the night of the...

Yeah.

The only thing I can remember is that that night when Harry got home, he was

really excited about this book Joanna had given him.

What book?

That's the thing. I can't figure out what happened to it. It's gone.

Are you sure?

I looked everywhere for it.

I know it's just a material possession, but it belonged to Harry, and

now it's gone.

I don't think this is a very good idea.

No choice.

You don't know anything about roofing, Ben.

I bet I know as much about it as George I'll be there tomorrow does.

Ben, be careful.

Miss Thomas, does Mr.

Matlock know he's supposed to be here? Of course, Your Honor. He's just been

delayed.

I apologize, Your Honor.

It took me ten minutes to get up the stairs. Then I just had to wait there

somebody opened the door. You're excused, Mr.

Matlock. We'll proceed as soon as you've caught your breath.

Your Honor, could I have a moment with my client? All right, five minutes.

What the hell happened to you?

I fell off my roof.

I was trying to fix it.

It was leaking.

The man who said he'd fix it lied to me, cheated me, and now has crippled me.

Well, that's great.

The jury will feel sorry for you. George, you're going to have to get

another lawyer.

What? Well, I just realized I have a conflict of interest. See, I planned to

you for damages, and I can't represent you at the same time. It's a conflict of

interest. You can't drop me now. Where the hell am I going to get another

attorney? I don't know.

But I can't be suing you and representing you. I mean, it just isn't

a conflict of interest.

Well, look, I'll pay.

I'll pay.

Don't sue me. I'll pay for all the damage done by your leaky roof.

You don't understand.

There's the damage to my house. There's the stress that I've suffered during all

this. And now my medical bills.

And we're talking.

$250 ,000 minimum.

And you don't want to go through all that, so I'm just going to have to drop

and sue you. I'll pay you.

I'll pay. Just don't sue me and don't drop me now, okay? Because you're the

hope I have.

Mrs. Welton, how would you describe your relationship to the defendant?

He's my husband.

Is it a good marriage?

How do you mean?

Well, do you love him? Have you been faithful? Objection.

Relevancy.

Relevancy?

The state has accused my client of killing Harry Slade in a jealous rage.

How can testimony about his relationship with the object of that jealousy...

Overruled. Mr. Matlock. Thank you. Would you repeat the question?

Is it a good marriage? Do you love him? Have you been faithful?

Well, let's see.

It isn't.

I don't.

I haven't. Huh.

Why don't you divorce him?

It's no secret.

Money. Now, a prenuptial agreement keeps you from your husband's money if you

divorce. And his will specifically disinherits you upon his death.

So I guess you'll have to stay married if you wish to continue the life to

you have been so accustomed, won't you?

So it would seem.

Of course, if he's found guilty and goes to prison, as his wife, that kind of

puts you in charge of his business and his money, doesn't it?

Objection. Relevancy. It's also argumentative, Your Honor.

I'll sustain the objection.

The night before the murder, you, I guess you could say,

rendezvoused with Harry out there in the guest house, didn't you? That's true.

And you'd been doing that out there in the guest house for four or five months,

hadn't you? Yes.

But you never met with him in the main house, did you?

Never. I'm not a tacky woman, Mr. Matlock.

Defense enters Exhibit H.

Would you examine this and tell us what it is?

It's a gold cigarette lighter I gave to Harry. Read the inscription.

Harry?

You're the best.

Love, Joanna.

Your husband found this, didn't he? And discovered your affair with Harry.

Yes.

Where did he find it?

In our bedroom.

I thought you said you never met him in the main house.

I guess I was mistaken.

Harry was an hour late meeting you that night, wasn't he?

Yes. Who else was in the house at the time?

Who could have been in the master bedroom?

I don't know.

Your daughter, Bobby, was at home that night, wasn't she? I don't remember.

I can subpoena Bobby's testimony.

No, no, Bobby.

Bobby was in the house. Yeah.

And Harry's lighter, having shown up in the master bedroom, you knew he was with

Bobby, didn't you?

Make you mad?

Very.

I'm her mother.

Didn't it make you so angry that you suddenly saw this whole sordid mess as

opportunity to get out of the marriage and keep the money? Isn't that why you

shot Harry Slade and framed your husband?

That's not true.

I couldn't have killed Harry. I was with my daughter when Harry was killed.

On the day of the murder, September 10th? Yeah. I take her to Betty

child care center every Monday from 10 to 1.

She works there.

Oh, she works there.

What do you do while she's working?

I exercise upstairs.

Alone?

If I wanted to sweat in public, I would join a gym.

Harry trained me at home. Yes, I was alone.

So how about the day of the murder? Did anybody see you between 10 and 1?

Maybe, maybe not. I don't know.

Let's see.

Let's see now.

Harry was... till, oh, sometime around 1220.

That would have given you plenty of time to have left and come back, wouldn't

it?

I never left.

Never, Mrs. Wilton?

Never, Mr. Matlock.

Did you drive your Jaguar that day?

Yes. Big blue Jaguar, license plate EGH6G5?

That's the one.

Where'd you park?

I don't know where I parked. Of course you do.

Remember, it was Jason Lange's birthday.

Does that job you remember?

That's right. I had a present for him. It was a big stuffed animal. I parked

right in front so I could carry it in. They have street cleaning in front of

child care center on Mondays from 12 to 1.

And they're very strict about their parking tickets. I got one.

Did you?

Well, I guess I must have. I really don't know. George's office manager pays

of those.

Uh -huh.

I'm showing you a computer printout

subpoenaed for the trial from the Violations Bureau, and we'll

mark this defense exhibit J.

This is a list of license plate numbers of all the vehicles cited for parking

violations on the street in front of the child care center on the day of the

murder. Now, look at it carefully.

And your blue Jaguar license plate,

EGH6G5, is not on that list, is it?

No, I don't know why I didn't get a ticket.

It's because you left before the street cleaners got there.

You drove to your husband's parking lot, took the gun out of his glove

compartment where you knew he kept it, went over to Harry's house and shot him

dead, didn't you? No.

You shot him, but before you left the house, you took the first edition of

Tropical Capricorn that you had given him the day before, didn't you? I have

never been to Harry's house, ever.

You're in court now.

You have to tell the truth.

It's all ridiculous.

You can't prove any of the things that you're saying.

For the record, and for you, this officer,

thank you, is handing me a book. I'm handing you the same book

for identification.

Examine that.

Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller.

That's the same book you gave Harry, isn't it?

Read the inscription.

Okay, I'll read it.

To Harry, you're the best.

Love, Joanne.

Any idea where it was found?

Let the record show that this officer, pursuant to a search warrant, retrieved

this book from the courthouse parking lot. It was found in the locked... a

Jaguar license plate EGH6G5, a car

belonging to Mrs. Joanna Wilton.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict?

We find the defendant, George Wilton, not guilty.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury.

Court is adjourned.

You are the best.

Do you remember our little meeting out in the hall?

Yeah, yeah, I remember. Do we have an agreement? Yeah, yeah, we have an

agreement. Thank you, Miss Thomas.

Congratulations.

I hope they have a good life together. I guess she still loves him.

Some women have incredible patience.

Well, she asked him to fix her roof.