Original subtitles

The flag is up.

And off.

Doughboy. It's a horse, Mr. Mason.

A horse?

Naturally. He's running today in the fourth race, and those are the tickets I

bought on Doughboy to win. And all I want you to do... Now, just a minute,

Miss... Smith.

Nancy Smith.

Miss Smith.

Naturally. Well, you had to buy these tickets at the racetrack. And since the

windows aren't open until a half hour before each race... All I want you to do

is to hold the tickets, and if Doughboy wins that race... But why didn't you

stay at the track to see if he'd won?

Mr. Mason, there's no need to know everything.

If Doughboy does win the race, then I want you to go out to the track tomorrow

and collect the money for me.

Oh, I'm quite prepared to pay you for it.

Is $27 enough?

Well, it seems to me, for someone who's willing to toss around the kind of money

you do and just in the nose of one horse... Oh, I'm not that kind of

don't usually bet on horses, Mr. Mason.

It's just that today I simply...

Please don't ask questions, Mr.

Mason. Today you had a hot tip. Is that what you mean?

No. Then why did you bet on Doughboy?

Because I need the money. Because he was wearing pretty colors.

Because he smiled at me.

Take a bath with Suggsy. Terry, who's the station? Terry, that fourth race is

next.

Would you mind telling me what it's all about?

Well, she's about to oblige a few other odds again. And she works at a chop

farm.

Look, what kind of a crazy... And they're off.

Breaking on top is Fisherman.

Fisherman? Hey, is that what this is all about?

He's real ready, you know. I got a couple of bucks bet on him myself.

What do you know about Doughboy?

It's a horse.

No, Del, it's a dog.

Dead last and fading at last these carts, as I remember.

Coming into the stretch, it's Del Fisherman on top by... Perry, you could

probably buy that slug for a couple of bucks if that's what you wanted to know,

but what are you going to use him for? Hobby horse? Pull a lawnmower?

It's Fisherman and rusticity.

Betting on long shots like that is usually just a waste of... It's

Doughboy... Come on, Fisherman, come on! ...on the rail with Doughboy getting up

and winning...

He did it, Terry. He did it. He won.

Exactly,

Paul.

Five of them.

$14 ,250.

Oh, boy, I've got to be dreaming.

Terry, how in the name of... Never mind the expert, Dylan.

You and I are going to the race track tomorrow.

You don't have to be so obvious, do you? I want to be obvious, Dylan.

Come to pick up your laundry, Max?

Doughboy. Wow, what a day you must have had yesterday.

How do you want your money?

Nothing bigger than 20s, please.

Quite a horse, Doughboy.

Here's a longer shot to come in all week.

Me, I couldn't pick a winner, so the horse stepped on my head.

Hey, uh, stacks of 2 ,000. You better count them.

14 ,000.

Perry, those men.

And 250.

That's him. Arrest him. He's got my name. Just a minute, Mr. Fremont.

It's all right, officer.

You're from the police department, aren't you? I'm an attorney. My name is

Mason.

Perry Mason.

I thought I'd seen you before someplace when you turned around there.

I'm Sergeant Berdetson.

Sergeant, that's my money. You saw him hand those tickets on Doboy through the

window. He's a basic accomplice.

Who's your noisy friend, Sergeant?

I'm the man Rodney Banks stole from. I'm Marvin Fremont, just as if you didn't

know it. Just as if you didn't help him. Now, just a minute, Mr. Fremont.

Mr. Mason, if you're acting as Rodney Banks' attorney, then don't take things

for granted, sir.

You mean you're not?

I didn't say that either.

Oh, for the love of... Are you going to stand there listening to that crooked

lawyer? He's obviously involved.

Mr. Mason, yesterday we picked up a young fellow named Rodney Banks over at

$50 window.

Today he's in jail, accused of embezzling funds from Mr. Fremont.

Seems the lad have been dipping into the office till he gets dough to spend on

the horses.

Yesterday he bet some of that dough on the winner, Doughboy.

When we picked him up, he only had one ticket.

We think he bought a lot more.

Which he slipped to an accomplice. And here you are with all those tickets on

Doughboy. So naturally the... What do you think you're doing?

You just called me a crooked lawyer.

I'll call you a jester.

Give me presence of witnesses, Mr. Fremont, which gives me a cause of

against you, so I suggest... Now, now, now, you just listen to a little law,

Mason. Banks stole from me. I don't know how many thousands of dollars we'll

have to make an audit. But if a man bets my money on a horse, I am entitled to

the winnings. Causa sine qua non.

Now, Sergeant, I want you to impound that briefcase and arrest that man.

And Mr. Fremont, you're not leaving here with this $14 ,000.

I am. And I'm not arresting an attorney.

But I'm warning you, Mason.

If those tickets you just cashed are Rodney Banksy, you sure better see to it

that nothing happens to that dog.

Take a point.

Good day, gentlemen.

Hey, that's no fair.

You allow chummy here?

Hi. Want a pole? Only a dollar. Oh, I'm not here for the fish, but thanks,

Nancy.

Won't Lorraine do?

Very nicely.

But, uh, what is all this? I thought trout farms were only for kids.

You'd be surprised how many men stop by here on their way back from the

mountains. Yeah, I can imagine.

To catch the fish they didn't catch on their fishing trips.

We'll also wrap your fish for storage or shipment.

What a racket.

Takes less driving, and you get to see prettier scenery, and... And what else

on your mind?

Look, I'm a stranger in town. But I have this friend who used to live in Los

Angeles, and he met this girl who worked on a trout farm. And her name was

Nancy. Well, he thinks it probably was.

The trouble is, I've already been to three places.

But what I mean is, he doesn't really know too much about her. And he wanted

to find out if I could... Lorraine.

Lorraine, where's Nancy?

Isn't Nancy here?

Not today.

Didn't you hear about her brother?

Of course, that's what I wanted to talk to her about.

Uh, look, uh, come on inside, Mr. Hoffman. Oh, Lorraine.

Look, mister, why don't you come back here tomorrow? I'm sure Nancy will be

then. Yeah, but the point is, Nancy who?

Nancy Banks.

All right, so I did lie to you about half my name.

But, Mr. Mason, please... Jesus, and it's true.

Rodney Banks is my brother, and he is in trouble.

And all I'm trying to do is help him. So I went to the bank yesterday, and I

took out every single penny I have, and I went out to the racetrack and... You

bought those tickets with your own money?

Of course.

I bet every cent I owned on Doughboy.

And your brother just happened to bet $50 on the same horse.

Well, that's true.

Only when he went to collect, he was arrested for the trouble he was in.

So I suppose you got panicky and ran away.

Because when you came into my office, you already knew your horse had won,

didn't you?

Yes. I guess that's how it was.

Cindy Stella?

Yes. I had to tell you some lies. I was afraid if the police caught me, then

they'd either take away the tickets or the money. So that's why I asked you to

meet me here in this motel instead of in my apartment.

Here.

Sign this.

What is it?

It's a receipt.

It says you gave me certain parimutuel tickets, which I have cashed, and now

have received your winnings in full.

Oh.

You're not going to leave me now?

Wasn't that all you said you wanted?

No, you have to get Rodney out of jail. You just have to right now.

They see me with all this money.

His bail is set at $5 ,000.

Here.

He's being framed. somehow, don't you understand? And I'm the only one who can

protect him.

Nancy, tell me the truth.

How did you happen to pick Doughboy to win that race?

Because of the way he looked at me.

I told you that.

Okay, Della. Write out another receipt.

There you are.

Wallet, one watch, and a Coleman. I guess that's it.

Wait a minute.

Where's my ticket from the racetrack?

They arrested me before I could catch it and I saw that big sergeant stick it

right into his pocket.

Real life, buddy. Nobody's robbed you.

The ticket was impounded?

That's right.

Notice of the court order right here.

Case of Fremont versus Banks.

Embezzlement. But that ticket's worth 1 ,400 bucks. I could catch it and pay him

back, don't you see? All right, officer.

Thanks.

You mean you... did steal money from Mr. Fremont?

We told you that, my sister. She worries too much.

Besides, she's always reading mystery stories and believing people.

I asked you a question.

Well, all that jerk Fremont ever screamed about was maybe the office was

thousand bucks short of one thousand.

You mean that's all the alleged embezzlement amounts to?

Look, Mr. Mason, you're going to sue that guy for me. You're going to take

from me. Now you listen to me.

No matter how unpleasant your boss may be... Unpleasant? He ought to be

strangled. And just as soon as I get out of here, I'm going to find him. No,

you're not. You're going straight to your sister and thank her for getting

out of here.

For your information, Fremont has a perfect legal right to prefer charges

claim you're winning. Now look, I'm not going to let my own lawyer treat me like

I'm already guilty. I'm not your lawyer. I'm Nancy's lawyer.

If you tell anyone else where he is right now, if you get any ideas about

jumping bail... Okay, okay, okay.

Look who's getting sore now.

So, you did your job.

Thanks, forget it. You're all finished.

That's all there is to worry about.

Is it?

Hello.

Oh, yes, Nancy.

Mr. Mason, I've got to see you right now. Something terrible's happened.

Well, this afternoon after you left, I went back to my apartment.

Yes, well, that's where I am right now. I mean, I'm just leaving.

Could you meet me in that motel room?

The same motel room.

It's the money, the rest of the money that I won.

I know you told me I should be so careful and keep it in a safe place,

There was this man wearing a mask waiting for me in the parking alley.

Yes, he took every cent.

I've been robbed.

Nancy?

Nancy?

I had you here already.

I had car trouble and I never thought I'd get out of town.

The thoughtful of you to leave that door unlocked.

Oh.

This afternoon when I left, do you mean?

Did I?

All right now, Nancy.

What are we going to do, Mr. Mason?

That man robbed me. I couldn't tell who he was. He had this white thing over his

face.

That's the only reason you got me here?

Well, of course, I tried to call you earlier, but you must have been out to

dinner or something. It happened about, well, two or three hours ago, right in

the alley behind my apartment house. Why didn't you call the police?

Oh, I couldn't. They might still think that it was Mr. Fremont's money and

well, maybe I was trying to buy him off so that he wouldn't make any more

trouble for Rodney.

I think your brother makes his own trouble very nicely.

Oh, no.

Rodney wouldn't do anything really awful.

He just wouldn't.

I have to take care of him. Now take it easy now.

Nancy, your hands are ice cold.

I... I can't help it.

Maybe you could get me a drink of water in the bathroom.

Nancy, you're going to call the police right now.

From that phone right there.

Furthermore, I'm going to leave you alone here so you can tell them whatever

like.

You can't leave me. Good night, Nancy.

Yeah, that's him, all right.

That's my ever -lovin'. You

don't sound very upset over your husband's death, Mrs. Fremont.

Why should I be?

Lieutenant, our divorce would have been final two years ago if Marvin could have

made an honest settlement.

My men found you so quickly, I assumed you were at least living together.

I wouldn't live with that man's toothbrush.

Look, I only just happened to visit his house tonight.

I only just happened to need my last two months' allowance. That's all.

Besides, he's so stone cold. This must have happened sometime this afternoon,

don't you think?

Tell me, what sort of business was your husband in?

Wholesale antiques.

Art objects.

Really junk, if you know what I mean.

Just the sort of junk nobody needs.

But there's always somebody to buy it if you charge too much for it. And don't

think he didn't. Excuse me.

Hello?

Oh, McClanahan.

All set?

Yes, right away.

Sergeant, hand me that thing over there, will you, please?

Mrs. Fremont, I don't think we need to impose any longer on your time of

Sorry to keep you so long. No luck on the weapon?

We haven't found the gun yet, no, Terry.

What's the... Miss Banks, this story of yours about being held up in an alley

tonight, you didn't get a very good look at the man, you say?

No, it was so dark and I was so scared.

Anyway, he had this white thing over his head with two holes in it.

Like this?

Yes, that's exactly what it was. Oh, wait a minute, Nancy.

Where did you get that, Andy?

Side pocket of Fremont's jacket.

Fremont? Do you mean it was him?

Fremont was the one who was... I'm surprised you didn't recognize his

You'd met him before, hadn't you, Miss Banks?

Yes, I used to work for him. He was an awful man.

I mean, I quit nearly a month ago.

He kept making passes and telephoning me.

I don't think you need to say any more about that just now, Nancy.

Oh.

No. No, I don't think it's necessary just yet.

Now, what's that other gadget?

This?

Part of a dry ice container, Perry.

We found it under the body.

Otherwise, I guess you would have noticed.

A what?

There were probably a number of these originally, and the inside of his jacket

was moist in several places.

I did notice how cold the body was. I assumed he'd been dead for several

That's exactly what somebody wanted us to think.

Body temperature is a prime way of setting the time of death.

I guess anybody who reads mystery stories knows that.

I... I still don't understand.

Whoever killed him must have placed several of these dry ice containers

the body and then later disposed of them.

Of course, I know it's a little far -fetched.

The killer must have been somebody who knew this method and...

Also knew where to find dry ice in a hurry.

But anyway, it gives us enough of a lead to call signals off for a while.

Call signals off.

At least you're free to go now, Miss Banks.

Just don't leave town, please. That's all.

Andy, what sort of a lead? Well, the killer must have handled this, Perry.

We're pretty sure the lab downtown can develop fingerprints from it.

Good night.

They'll probably have you followed, so I'll drive right behind you to watch.

What? Now, take the freeway. Drive straight to Della Street's apartment.

Here's the address.

Use the Wilshire turnoff.

I want someone to be able to account for every minute of your time from now on.

They'll be watching me?

Then the lieutenant wasn't telling the truth.

Of course he wasn't. They can't get fingerprints off a paper, can they?

Yes, they can.

I didn't know.

Nancy, there's a great deal you don't know yet about life or how to get along

it.

Now, maybe this isn't the time for a fatherly lecture, but if you would only

trust me enough to... Mr. Mason, I've told you everything, honestly.

Except for one little lie.

Yes, I was here before you came, and I did see the body first, but I just

thought that if I went away and came back when you were here and we saw the

together, well, they couldn't accuse me of...

All right.

We'll talk about it later.

Now get going. Now hurry.

All right, Miss Cole.

Thank you for not keeping us waiting.

Take this, will you, Jill?

What? Who?

Glanahan's the name, lady.

Police.

But here.

You're not going to leave these behind, are you?

The murder weapon?

I just passed. not believe that that girl could have killed him. Anyway, when

read about his death this morning... Just a minute, Mr. Halstead. This is Mr.

Caldry. Oh, so that's who you are. I told him that Perry was downtown with

Nancy, but maybe you could take... Sure.

What's on your mind, Mr. Halstead?

Fremont. Marvin Fremont.

He was a crook, I'm sure of it. He was no more than a crook. But I thought you

worked with him or something. Same place Rodney Banks worked. Oh, no, I don't. I

was called in, that's all, to set up a proper bookkeeping system when Fremont

was threatened with tax trouble.

Drake, I don't like the things I've been finding there the past week or two.

You mean that embezzlement business?

You mean the banks?

No.

Oh, no.

That boy only took $3 ,000 or $4 ,000.

According to Fremont, that is.

I'm not sure that Fremont didn't dig him into it.

They always asked the boy to bank cash. He was leaving money around on nights

and weekends.

Fremont knew what temptation would do to a horse player.

All right. What else did you find?

I think that antique shop was mostly a cover -up.

I think Fremont was a fence.

You still believe that?

No, but I'm sure going to now. I just thought Mr. Mason should hear about it

first. The idea of suspecting a poor little kid like Nancy.

Wait a minute.

What makes you think Fremont was a fence?

Well, I wasn't sure, of course.

But they did exchange and sell a lot of items with jewels in them.

And for some strange reason, all the business that Fremont handled personally

was done in tags. A lot more tags than showed on the book.

How do you mean, Mr. Halstead?

He had a hiding place, a private strongbox in his office.

I just happened to spot him in there one night. He was taking out a wad of bills

that thick.

Now, I have my own reputation to think of.

So I just watched until I figured the thing out, and I got in there myself.

Mr. Drake, I am positive.

On the day before Fremont died, that strongbox contained over $30 ,000 in

Force this open, will you, Sergeant? Yes, sir.

Now, Mr. Holt, you said you wrote down some serial numbers of bills you spotted

in the box here. I wanted to see if any of that same money turned up out in the

outer office.

Well, I never thought I'd live to see the day that I'd be grateful to Marvin

Fremont, but now that I am his widow...

I've been robbed!

No, that's not possible.

That money was there Friday night.

The very last time he was in this office.

Gentlemen, you have got to believe me. There were $30 ,000 in that. It's all

right, Mr. Halston. It's all right. We believe you.

Now, the cupboard is bare.

Mystery stories.

Nothing but mysteries.

Yeah. My sister don't have such good taste, I guess.

And you say she mentioned this dry ice gimmick to you?

To everybody.

She was always breaking everybody up about new ways to kill people.

That was her unconscious wish to kill you, I suppose.

Look, that's not funny.

I've had cops all over my own place upstairs this morning. And I don't have

stand cracks from you.

You're two years older than Nancy, aren't you?

Yet ever since your parents died, you've made her worry about you. Work for you.

Cover for you. Bail you out of jail.

I've never been in jail before except for this. Except for delinquency,

driving, vandalism.

Now embezzlement.

Stealing.

It's a natural progression, I guess.

You shut up.

You think you're going to get me so rattled I'll admit to something, don't

Well, even if I did say I borrowed a few bucks to play the horses, that wouldn't

do Nancy any good.

Sure, I want to help her.

But even if I did steal from that jerk Fremont, what good would it do for me

to... Excuse me, Rod.

There's a phone call for Mr. Mason.

Oh, sure, baby.

Lorraine Lawton. She lives across the hall.

How do you do, Miss Lawton?

Oh, yes, Paul.

Della told me you were... It was empty?

I understand.

Mr. Banks, if I were you, I'd find myself the shrewdest lawyer in town.

Oh, Rod.

No.

They're not going to say he killed him. No, Miss Lawton?

Nancy will be taken before the grand jury, then go right into trial for first

-degree murder.

So if you meant what you said about wanting to help her, don't worry.

I'll see that you get your chance.

It will not be the contention of the state, ladies and gentlemen, that Marvin

Fremont was a good or even an honest man.

On the contrary, we will prove that his true business was the fencing of stolen

jewelry.

We will even concede that Marvin Fremont committed an armed robbery shortly

before his death.

Nor should it concern you that the defendant, Nancy Banks, sometimes acted

in defense of her brother Rodney, a brother who not only embezzled from his

employer, but who actually broke into Marvin Fremont's store and stole from

Do you wonder that Marvin Fremont was upset that night?

Do you question why he followed Nancy Banks to that motel room and demanded

her, the brains of the family, the return of the rest of his money? No.

No, ladies and gentlemen, the one shocking fact here is that Nancy Banks

without an accomplice, without even her brother's help, did then kill Marvin

Fremont. And we will prove.

How she tried to create for herself a fantastic alibi. How she was actually

caught in the act of trying to destroy evidence.

And we will demonstrate that the weapon she chose was the decedent's own gun.

Marvin Fremont's gun.

Caliber 38, one shot fired.

Yes, sir, this gun was test fired under my supervision.

And I agree with the ballistics expert.

It's the murder weapon, all right.

A murder weapon which your Sergeant McClanahan clearly testified he found in

trash bin.

That's right, sir.

Along with the empty dry ice containers.

Well, uh, the dry ice is kept in a sort of shed there.

It's got a padlock on it, the same as the gate.

Did Nancy Banks have a key that would fit those locks there at the trough

Yes. What I mean is, it used to be my key, only Nancy borrowed it from me

a week before the murder.

Thank you, Miss Lawton. That'll be all.

Well, she only borrowed it from me because she forgot her gloves at work

night. That's all, Miss Lawton.

Miss Lawton, you stated a moment ago that the defendant once told you of

discovering in a mystery story how a body could be chilled rapidly with dry

thereby confusing the time of death.

Well, do you know if Nancy ever told anyone else about it?

Yes, he did. I remember it.

She said the same thing one night at a party at her brother's because I heard

her. So any number of people, if they wanted to blame a murder on Nancy, might

have used her dry ice gimmick.

Of course.

In my opinion, anybody who wanted to make it look like she did would have

planted those.

Jackson, Your Honor.

Sustained.

The jury will disregard the witness's last remarks.

Miss Lawton, did you know Marvin Fremont?

No, not really.

Did you ever go out with him?

Just once, that's all. When, Miss Lawton?

The day before he was killed.

I just wanted to ask him to be nice to Rodney, that's all.

You can ask Mr. Halstead. Him I even borrowed some money from the next day.

help Rodney get out of trouble, that's all.

But when I begged and begged Mr.

Fremont... Oh, well... Anyway, he wouldn't listen.

I walked home.

Of course he chased girls. All sorts of girls.

I watched him.

You watched your husband, Mrs. Fremont?

Well, sure.

The more I could prove he ran around, the better my chances for a good

settlement. You know how divorce courts are.

A girl can make only one slip, but a man, he has to make ten before a silly

judge... Present company accepted, Your Honor.

Mrs. Fremont, did you ever observe the defendant, Nancy Banks, in the company

your husband?

Yes, about three weeks ago.

And what did you see at that time?

Well, it was in this bar after work.

Marvin must have whispered something to her because she slapped him one, a real

beauty, and walked out.

You should have seen that place. He had friends there. They nearly died

laughing. Me too.

Well, I thought Marvin would bust his blood vessels.

That little something, he said.

I'll fix that little something. If it's the last something, something I do.

No, I can't state any facts that would prove Mr. Fremont set out to get the

girl's brother in trouble, but he did leave money lying around, as I've said.

Well, was there an actual cash shortage to support Mr. Fremont's claim of

embezzlement? Oh, yes. The police checked that. In three weeks' time, the

failed to balance by almost $4 ,000.

Now, Mr. Halstead, we intend to call a couple of other employees who could have

known that Mr. Fremont had a private place for hiding his own much larger

reserves. Do you know if Rodney Banks was aware of that private strongbox?

No, I have no information on that.

But this list of serial numbers...

You said you copied from bills you found in that strongbox. Well, I only copied

a half dozen or so, Mr. Berger. I wanted to see if the money fluctuated from one

place to the other.

Whether Mr. Fremont was juggling his own account, in other words. But these

listed $20 bills were in that strongbox Friday, before Mr. Fremont's death.

Yes, they were.

So between that time and the time the box was officially opened after

death, couldn't Rodney Banks, for example, have broken in and... Now look

I have no information that would indicate Young Bank stole that money.

Good heavens, I could have taken it.

The employees who spotted the thing, anyone could have taken it. Even Mr.

Fremont?

Yes, even Mr. Fremont himself.

Mr. Halstead, would you mind reading us just one of these serial numbers? Anyone

will do. The bottom one, for example.

Twenty dollar bill.

Serial number K00460975A.

Thank you, sir.

I recall Sergeant McClanahan to the stand, please.

Sergeant, I show you this $20 bill. I ask you to read us the serial number on

it, please.

K00460975A. That's the same number. Well, well.

Have you ever seen the bill before?

Yes, sir, I have.

The day after the murder, I searched an apartment occupied by Mr.

Rodney Banks.

In the top euro drawer, there was $550.

This bill was part of that money. Did you ask Mr.

Banks where he'd gotten the money? Yes, I did.

He said the night before his sister had... Objection, Your Honor.

Aside from the fact that this is hearsay... Never mind, Mr. Mason.

Objection sustained.

Well, did you then discuss this same money with your sister, Nancy Banks?

Oh, yes.

And did she tell you that she had given the money to... Your Honor.

Mr. Berger, I will not tolerate such leading and improper questions before a

jury. I beg the court's pardon, Your Honor. I withdraw the question.

Perhaps I should ask the sergeant to step down and call Rodney Banks himself

the stand.

You're calling Rodney Banks for the prosecution?

I seem to have no other choice, Your Honor.

Very well. Sergeant, you can step down.

Give the court, please.

I am Jarvis Nettle Gilmore.

I wish the record to show that I'm appearing here as counsel for Rodney

Morning, Mom. How are you? Uh, clerk.

Hold up your hand, son.

Hold up your hand.

Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the

truth? I do. State your name.

Rodney Banks.

Take the stand, please.

Mr. Banks, we've already heard that you were arrested on charges of

embezzlement. Now, do you remember the evening that you were released on bail?

I do.

Do you remember on that same evening receiving some money from your sister?

Objection.

This is plainly a hostile witness, Mr. Mason.

Now, I'm going to permit him to answer that question.

Well, Mr. Banks, do you remember your sister giving you money that evening?

Come on, Mr. Banks. I show you this $20 bill.

Serial number K00460975A.

And I ask you if it and the balance of the $550 found in your bureau the next

day by the police was all or part of the money given you that night by your

sister.

Well, Mr. Banks, was it?

I refuse to answer on the ground. The answer might incriminate me.

Well, you saw the police take the $550 out of your bureau, didn't you?

Yes. You saw them go through that money and pick out this one bill.

Yes. Where did you get that money?

Where did you get this bill?

On the advice of counsel, I refuse to answer.

Under the circumstances, this witness cannot be compelled to answer that

question. I believe he can, Your Honor, under a relatively new procedure.

I have here a written statement in which I request the court to order Mr. Banks

to answer the question. I also give you a written statement in which I, as

district attorney, grant this witness immunity from any crime in which he may

have technically participated in connection with accepting this money.

There you are, Mr. Mason.

And a copy for you, Mr. Gilmore.

Your Honor.

My client was accused of embezzlement prior to the date when... If counsel

just read a little further there.

You see, I have granted immunity for, quote, any crime disclosed by witnesses

answering the question, unquote.

Very well, then. The properly elected district attorney has granted you

for any crime within Los Angeles County which you may disclose in connection

with this money. I therefore instruct you that you must now answer the

I might suggest that the court report or repeat its exact wording, Your Honor.

Of course. By all means.

But... Question.

All right. Where did you get that money?

Where did you get this bill?

Well, Mr.

Banks... I have to say... You have to.

The court is so directed.

I got that $20 bill from the body of Marvin Fremont after I murdered him.

What?

Your Honor. Your Honor, I'm not certain I heard the witness correctly.

I asked that his last answer be read to us by the reporter.

I object to it being read, Your Honor. It's obvious that the witness is lying.

He's just taking advantage of the immunity. So I understand that the

attorney doesn't want the jury to hear a witness's proper answer to a proper

question? Well, it wasn't a proper answer. The witness is lying.

May it please the court.

Mr. Berger's remarked a prejudicial misconduct.

In front of a jury, he's making statements about a witness which... I

Mason. There are grounds here for a mistrial.

A mistrial?

You wish to make such a motion?

I'd like a recess to think about it, Your Honor.

Nancy, it's going to be all right.

Nancy. Nancy, I'm sorry I couldn't have given you some warning that that might

happen.

I thought that he did it.

That's why I tried to get rid of those dry ice things. When I found the body

saw him there, I knew I told him about it.

And it would have been an alibi because he was in jail earlier.

I know, Nancy.

And you got rid of the cartons.

Only, what about the gun, Nancy?

Tell me the truth now.

I never saw that gun before. I don't know how it got in the same barrel.

Mr. Mason, if I'd only been willing to trust you, then Rodney wouldn't be in

this horror.

Now, Nancy, stop.

Your brother was lying. I know he was.

He did it for you, Nancy.

Did he?

Did he, Mr. Mason?

Very.

You put him up to that, didn't you? Well, it's tricky. Now, take it easy,

Hamilton. I had no idea what he was going to say. Oh, no.

Oh, I know you wouldn't do anything unethical, but I'll bet you nudged him

the right direction.

I'm going to nail that boy for perjury, but the last thing I do... It'll be kind

of difficult, won't it? Why? Because in order to prove perjury, you'll first

have to prove that he didn't commit murder. Harry, listen.

I lost my temper. I made a fool of myself. Now, let's get your blasted

and get out of here.

Well, if you'd let me cross -examine young banks first, without any

interference, and perhaps if you'd ask the police to help Paul Drake do a hurry

-up job... I don't think I understand.

I'm simply asking you how much money you have in your pockets.

Oh, maybe $25.

In what denomination?

Oh, uh, uh, two tens.

No, no, there's a bunch of ones.

I guess I got two fives. In other words, you don't really know.

How about serial numbers?

Can you tell me the serial number of any bill in your pocket?

What, are you kidding? No, of course not.

When the police asked you about a particular $20 bill they found in your

apartment... Look, Mr. Mason, I didn't know one bill from another, then or now.

But your sister did give you some money the night before.

Yeah, I already admitted that.

What were the circumstances?

Well, when I got out on bail that night, I met Nancy downtown for just a few

minutes.

She said she thought I might need money, so she shoved this roll of bills into

my hand.

I stuck it in my pocket, and that night when I went to bed, I put it in my

bureau drawer like I always do. You mean it wasn't until the next day when the

police got there that you even knew there was exactly $550 in that roll?

No, I never bothered to count it.

You seem rather careless with money, Mr. Banks.

Now, what about embezzlement?

Mr. Mason, I would like to remind the witness that the district attorney has

quite properly withdrawn any further immunity.

Now, if you incriminate yourself again, young man, you can be prosecuted for

anything you may say.

I know. I understand.

How about it, Rodney?

Did you take office money to bet at the racetrack?

Yes, I did.

I dipped into the till for a little over $1 ,000.

Well, I was trying to get it all back when Fremont discovered it. Only he said

could go for $4 ,000.

That's when your sister became so panicky she put all of her savings on

of one horse.

Yeah, and he won.

But by then it was... Mr. Banks, did you ever take any money from the hidden

strong box in Mr. Fremont's private office?

Oh, no. I never even knew there was such a thing. Get somehow a bill from that

strongbox.

Look here.

After putting your money in the bureau that night, did you leave your room at

any time?

Sure. Do you lock your room?

Not often, no. I mean, the place is sort of like a clubhouse. People coming in

and going out all the time. So someone could have added that 20 to the roll

without your even knowing it.

Yeah, sure. I suppose so.

I mean, I know Lorraine was up.

I went in there to borrow a handkerchief.

I tell you, I was crying.

Yet you did not notice the roll of money there in the bureau drawer.

I was crying, I said.

Poor Nancy being arrested and everything. Now, Miss Lawton, you

earlier that Nancy Banks told any number of people about the dry ice gimmick.

That's right, at a party.

Can you recall who attended that party?

Well, uh...

It was up in Rod's room.

There were a lot of people there.

Hey, wait a minute.

He was there, sure, from Rod's office.

Larson Halstead. Mr. Halstead was there.

Now, see here, I didn't go planning $20 bills, if that's what you mean.

If I were planning a murder as complicated as this one, I'd certainly

better job of it. Mr. Halstead, hasn't it occurred to you that this murder

wasn't planned?

But most probably, Fremont suddenly discovered he'd been robbed of over $30

and so went after the two persons on whom he'd been blaming his troubles.

But somehow there in Nancy's motel room, he suddenly realized she and her

brother weren't responsible at all.

But couldn't it have been the real thief who fought with him there and shot him?

And the dry ice thing was just an act of desperation to the killer?

To point toward Nancy and Rodney, of course.

And if the murderer had still been there when Nancy arrived.

Couldn't he have followed her and planted the gun in that barrel?

And then later on planted the $20 bill on her brother.

Exactly, Mr. Halston.

So now will you tell us who else knew of... Excuse

me, Your Honor. May I have a moment?

Mr. Halstead, the police will inform you that with a proper warrant,

they are now conducting a thorough search of your living quarters.

Their what?

I remembered you wrote down the serial numbers of several other bills from that

strongbox. Let's see.

Exhibit 17.

What are you getting at? What are you trying to do? I wonder if you'd look at

the numbers there for me to compare, please.

What is that bill in your hand?

This?

Another 20, Mr. Halstead.

My investigator just handed it to me after returning from the apartment of

Lorraine Lawton.

Oh, no, no. I didn't do it. I didn't. No, I didn't kill him.

Of course you didn't.

But you did say you borrowed some money from Mr. Halstead. That was before the

murder, of course, but after the strongbox had been robbed, obviously.

Well, I doubt that you'd be foolish enough to keep any of those numbered

around your own place or in your own wallet, Mr. Halstead. But this

20.

Now, would you read me those numbers there?

But who else even knew about them but you?

Who else could have convinced Fremont that Rodney Banks was four times the

he really was?

Who else could have stolen $30 ,000 and planned to blame that too on Banks? Who

else? Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!

I was with Fremont all that evening.

When he held up Nancy, and he went back to the motel for the rest of his money.

And he got wilder and wilder.

And then I said something, I don't even know what it was.

Suddenly he turned on me, suddenly he realized that I...

Yes.

Yes, I did it.

Then the $20 bill really didn't come from Lorraine's apartment.

Of course not, Della. I borrowed that from Andy. Sure did the trick, though,

didn't it?

Oh, what about Rodney, Mr. Mason?

What's going to happen to my brother after all those things he admitted in

court?

He's still in trouble, Nancy.

But I'll do the best I can.

Besides, you promised you'd stop doing his worrying for him, remember?

I think Rodney's begun to grow up.

And that winds it up.

Well, I guess it's about time to... Hold it, Paul.

I've got a question.

There's only one thing you've never really explained, Nancy.

How on earth did you pick that horse, Doughboy, to win?

Oh, well, he did have the highest odds.

But it's true, Mr. Mason.

When I looked at those horses, and he looked at me, right in the eyes... Come

on, Nancy, cut it out.

Oh.

Don't cast those pearls before swine. Come on, we've got to hurry up. We'll

the first race.