Original subtitles

Bye.

Here we are, back in port.

What time is it? I don't know.

Nice moon, though, out over the reef.

Did you see if Mr. Harper was in his office when we drove by?

We've been riding miles above the sharks and alligators.

We were supposed to be back in town at four o 'clock.

Annalise, shut up.

I bring you to this scenic place and you talk about... I'm sorry.

It is a beautiful home. Well, and the, uh, and the wind in the palm trees.

Me? I can hear drums.

Well, uh, what do you call this scenic place?

Love is legal.

Well, can you kick in the drum?

Hey, what do you think you're doing, you dumb stupid? I'm losing money. That's

what I'm doing. Five o 'clock.

You know that it's five o 'clock already?

I'm sorry, Mr. Lynch. It took a little longer than I figured to pick this one

up. See, it was down in the ditch. Did you pick which one?

That wreck of a girl. Wait a minute, Mr. Lynch.

I'd like you to meet... I know who she is. She ought to be ashamed of herself

for so many nice local boys here in Harper Junction.

Small, small.

Cut it out. Where do you lay off the kids?

It's all right, Mr. Dillingham. Big politician here just likes to hear

yak. Oh, that grabbed you a little, didn't it?

Well, just let me tell you what your joyriding costs.

I'll leave out the surfing for three hours yesterday, and you're ducking out

the golf matches last week.

Not more, it brought my sprinkler heads, remember?

And I'd better be running along.

Thanks, Gary.

I'm sorry, Mr. Lynch, it was my fault.

Forget it, honey.

Just don't let that stuffed shirt boss of yours know how you've been slumming,

that's all.

So the doctor finally turned me loose today.

Said I should walk around a little every afternoon.

So I thought if my gardener built a potting green back on my place, I could,

uh... Well, anyway, who wants to pay the hardware store for new fixtures?

Oh, sure, sure, Mr.

Dillingham. Well, what you need to help find your staff is an engineer.

A student of construction.

Don't worry, kid. I'll take care of the dirty work.

You just go ahead and stroll around with the customer, okay?

Sure, Mr. Dillingham. I'll help you.

Hey, Mort.

I grant you maybe some of our younger generation do need a little jaunting,

that... I had a partner once named Jay Davis.

I remember him way back in the war.

I did. It was his nephew.

Oh?

I guess it just runs in the blood.

Ellington!

Did you get Dillingham all fixed up?

Couldn't make up his mind. Half inch and three quarter pipe. I'll let him put it

around by himself.

Oh, you're a great salesman, you are.

What are you taking those away for?

They belong to me.

I didn't ask you what you're stealing them. You'll need a heavy pair of gloves

for tomorrow morning.

You're taking a load of sheet metal into San Diego. Well, the Mexican boys can

handle it better than I can.

Oh, a good time for surfing tomorrow, I suppose?

Maybe. Or maybe a bullfight in Tijuana?

Sure. Or maybe you just want to sleep late. Relax, will you? I'm just

that's all.

Quitting? You barely even started.

Look, Mr. Lynch, I know the only reason you hired me was because of my uncle.

Two months ago, I needed somebody. I still need a good man.

Well, the debts paid it. That's why you did it.

Kid, kid.

What's the matter with you? You quit one job, you quit another. I call you for

goofing off. You don't even care.

Get out of the way, will you? Now you're getting out because you can't stand me

riding you. Haven't you got any pride, any ambition?

A couple, sir. If I called you a thief like Miss Spanish, would that make you

sore? There, yeah, right there.

You stole my toolbox, you said.

Then it's out someplace. I just found it. I don't know where. If I called the

cops, would that make you mad enough to stand up and fight back?

There's nothing in it but an old copper plate. You said I could keep any metals

I wanted to fool around with. All right, all right.

I let you work on my shop at home, didn't I?

Well, why didn't you keep working on it?

Why didn't you learn to do something? Why didn't you go back to school?

What? You know, the trouble with you is, I respect things too much.

Why, you young cunt!

Mr.

Lynch! Mother, are you all right?

Sit!

So we don't owe each other anything!

So, uh, tough man.

Can I get you a doctor?

Standish, I think I finally reached that young man.

Hey, let me go.

Well, you don't have to act crazy with me. Honestly, every time I try to

I'm playing the attractive.

Get me a can of gasoline.

What?

Mortgage? Honestly, what's the matter with you? You heard me. A can of

Australia. You know in Australia they got waves as high as... Barry, I asked

something. Only trouble is the sharks.

They got sharks as long as... Barry, what are you going to do now?

Insurance.

Now there's a good dodge.

Like that guy Dillingham. Make a lot of friends when you're young. Sell them all

life insurance.

Then settle back and collect coupons the rest of your life.

You think I'm a drag, don't you?

Positively talking the things one sees on a beach these days.

Mr. Hunter.

And what am I to tell your boss, my dear brother?

Tell him his secretary wasted a lunch hour trying to lure me from the ranks of

the unemployed.

Don't yield, young man. Do not yield.

There you see. He walks on the beach every day I see him. You stare at that

ocean, you wash out this crazy world, right?

Well, I'm afraid, young man, that when I count those waves, I'm just doping

seven horses.

And when the biggest one breaks, I'm listening for the name of the winner.

You're all right, Mr. Harper. Hang loose, you know what I mean?

I do believe I've just been paid a tribute.

Well, I'm getting back to the office. Then we win.

Yes, wait, I haven't paid my tribute yet.

To the stalwart slugger. To the badger newcomer who beat up the town bully.

To the mauler of mort. Who told you?

The news travels fast in a small town, young man, as you'll discover when

a reporter.

Five years ago, he's made trouble for everyone.

I guess you don't want him to be married, do you?

Well, I know how this must sound, but my family's lived here since 1873.

We've had our ups and downs, but we've been honest, Barry.

We've guided the town, never used it.

My brother, before he started drinking, built the paper, for instance, as a

public service.

Never really makes money.

I always thought Mort Lynch was honest, at least.

Is he? Does a leopard change his spots?

What do you mean?

Well, Mort Lynch was here before, way back during the war.

All he owned was a fly -by -night trucking outfit, mostly back and forth

Mexican border towns.

But then his partner died and he moved to L .A., bought his first junkyard, had

money hand over fist, rich overnight.

That's as far as I can get.

I could never figure out quite how he did it.

What do you expect me to do, Mr. Harper?

Barry, this morning I just discovered something.

That partner of his who died in some sort of a big fight, accident or

in Tijuana, that was your uncle, right?

Someone named Jay Davis.

Real nice guy, too, I guess.

Of course, I was only a baby at the time. I don't really remember.

There might be some other relatives who... No, Mr. Harper.

That one uncle's about the only family I ever heard about.

And even him, my mother used to run down sometimes just because he stopped

helping her out.

You didn't give me much time, you know. And with just those few facts on the

telephone, I couldn't... I don't know much.

See, mother's dead now.

Well, she never said one word about my father. But this Uncle Jay, I remember

his picture over the fireplace. He was a big guy, good looking.

Whose name wasn't only Jay Davis.

Well, yes, it was.

Didn't you say your mother told you he was missing sometimes?

Well, sure, he'd disappear now and again.

You know, he's one of those carefree guys.

Sailor sometimes, cowboy, steeplejack, the kind of guy who really lived a good

life. Uh -huh.

And sometimes he lived at his Gleason, and once he lived at his Ginsburg.

Now, why would he do that?

Why do you want this information?

What are you going to do with it?

Well, use it, maybe.

See, it's just possible a man named Lynch clipped him in some way. Lynch is

good. He cheated my uncle. He stole from... Harry, your Uncle Jay Davis

time under all sorts of names.

He did what?

Done for all sorts of romantic things.

Assault, bad check, three years for counterfeiting.

My uncle was a crook?

Look, kid.

When you look up old relatives, it rarely turns out the way you hope it

Maybe your mother was just dreaming a little when she told you things.

What's so funny?

Mr. Drake, you know the biggest dream my mother ever had?

That she'd get hit by a streetcar so she could sue the transit company.

No, you won't call me back.

I'm on my way home right now, and you're going to meet me.

Yes, right now.

Look, kid, I'm busy. Send me a postcard.

The lids.

Thank you for watching.

More. More.

Wait. You can't look at this.

Sergeant.

Sergeant.

Sergeant.

Not my desk. I've got bills to pay.

What about today's deliveries? There are companies that are counting on this

yard. Don't worry, Miss Sandy.

This has to be done.

When they're finished checking, they'll release everything.

Oh, Mr. Mason, what am I going to do?

Fifteen years at work, Mr. Lynch.

Why don't you go home and get some rest?

They've already let your men go back to work. The police will lock the office.

But somebody killed him.

I can't eat. I can't sleep. I can't do anything until I find an awful place.

I know.

I've worked lunch with my friend for years. I'm just as eager as you are to

that... What are you doing here?

Just wondering if there's anything I can do.

I mean, I just now found out what happened and... I mean, I was up in Los

Angeles all day yesterday and I...

I'm terribly sorry.

Sorry?

Sergeant, that's the man who was fired by Mr. Lynch. Who struck him down. All

right.

We already talked to the boy over at headquarters.

So I just thought if there's anything I can do, I... Well, I remembered the

sheet iron for San Diego, and I figured if you didn't have enough Mexican boys,

then maybe I... All right. Go on.

There's a lot of sheet metal in San Diego. Of course, Perry. I understand.

We may be a little slow, Mr. Drake, but we always get there.

You borrow technicians from the city?

Just to double -check my own man, that's all.

You mean he didn't find anything?

You can tell Mr. Mason we've got several people we're keeping an eye on.

Look, Chief, open up, will you? What actually happened here last night? He

hit over the head with something.

Haven't found out what yet.

When? 10 p .m., maybe.

Only been dead a few minutes when Mr. Harper found him lying there.

Is that the Mr. Harper who owns the newspaper and maybe half the money in

town? I said that's the Mr. Harper who spends half the money in this town.

Wrong horses, wrong dice.

Oh. At least he was sober enough to call me quick.

It looks like Mr. Lynch put up a pretty good fight for his life.

What else was messed up around here?

It wasn't robbery, if that's what you're thinking.

At least nothing touched.

Still have $500 in his wallet.

What's this?

$510.

Look again.

Well, it's been folded like he carried it a long time. Good luck piece, maybe?

Let's try once more.

Series 1940.

Mr. Drake, that's one of the finest pieces of counterfeiting you'll ever see

your life.

But you were at the junkyard last night.

Miss Standish said you were talking to Mr. Lynch when she left.

That's right.

I stopped by with the station wagon to pick up some more pipe and things. Mort

was upset about something I don't know what.

What did the two of you talk about?

Well, he was curious about something that I've been checking on for this

man, Barry Davis.

Seems the boy had an Uncle Jay Davis, who was Lynch's original partner. He

back in 1944.

I find that he had $40 ,000 in life insurance and that Lynch was the

beneficiary.

If Lynch was the beneficiary, he must have already known all of that.

We did, of course, and Mort got the money and then moved on to Los Angeles.

Well, then... Well, he also knew that when he and Davis first teamed up, that

he'd insisted on Davis making him beneficiary in an old life policy that

Why was that?

To protect Lynn?

To show good faith, perhaps?

Since Davis was an ex -convict?

That would have been my guess, yes.

Well, I suppose other people may use a different interpretation since the man

died. Oh, nonsense.

Now, look here, Mr. Dillingham.

What exactly did you find out that Mort Lynch didn't know about that old

insurance policy?

I found that Jay Davis had listed all the beneficiaries, none of whom

of course.

And third and fourth down on the list were the names of his sister and that of

her infant son.

Named Barry?

Mm -hmm.

Thank you, Mr. Williams.

Oh, one thing more.

Why didn't you tell the boy this?

Before telling Lynch, I mean.

I never had a chance. I never saw the lad.

And I certainly wasn't going to leave any messages at his office.

Barry's office?

At the newspaper, I mean.

I could put the lad up to this thing.

Nosing into ancient history.

Mr. Harper.

Dale Harper.

Mr. Harper isn't tasting anymore, would you think?

When several flavor management is good.

All's fair in love and politics.

My brother wrote that, his annual contribution to the paper.

This picture's been blown up so much, it's hard to know where it was taken.

Look here, Mason, I think the police are handling this pretty well.

Now, I can appreciate how you feel having a client murdered.

And I'm sure you're aware that I was Mort's worst enemy.

But I'll tell you why I'm really too busy to talk to you right now.

I'm writing an editorial, sir.

A public apology for all the unpleasant, even nasty things I've ever said about

Moore. I'm sorry, Mr. Harper.

There's something more important to do.

Hello, Mr. Mason.

Looking for somebody?

I was told at the junkyard that Barry Davis lives here.

Well, the kid's not here, I'm sorry to say.

What's that?

What are you going to do?

I thought it was the police.

What if it were?

Are you planning to throw rocks at them or just run away?

I was just sitting here trying to explain to Ann Lee, trying to figure it

You're not very good at it. Oh, look, Mr. Mason.

Mort Lynch told me all about you a couple of weeks ago. I can imagine. In

you can't print. Where were you last night?

I wasn't here. I said, where were you?

He was dead.

I heard somebody coming and I ran.

Look, Mr. Mason, there's this copper plate you make money with. He was all

and he had it locked in his desk, but I took it out of his car. But I was the

one who found it in the first place, just out in the junk. But I had to get

there. I spent the whole night trying to find every Mexican boy ever worked in

that place, and that's why I was there this morning.

And he gave me a check for $5 ,000.

Why?

Mr. Harbour said more was a crook, just like he told you I'm no good. Just like

my uncle, he said a bomb, a tipper, a poop -off.

Fine. Goof some more.

Right.

Two

of

the prettiest words in the language.

Power and water.

Like, uh, when you take a bath.

The horses seem to run between the flowers.

Let's talk about your brother.

I understand that he's always felt he's owned this house.

No. No, not always.

As a matter of fact, if it hadn't been for a handy inheritance my wife

thoughtfully left me years ago, he might have found her, too.

Oh, but inherited money is all right.

It's only when you make it with your bare hands like Mort Lynch.

You mean printed his own, maybe?

Drake, if I can remember anything about Lynch and his partner in those old, old

days... I'll tell you.

I'd like to help the kid.

All right, but what about now?

Your brother's been hammering pretty hard at Lynch.

That's the trouble.

Those who live here and are friends with both of them have to close their ears

and walk away to avoid a fight.

I don't know what's bugging my brother.

And believe me, family loyalty is not among my vast repertoire of virtue.

All right.

Let's get back to the hot water.

Come in.

The band.

The music.

And Tijuana. And business across the border.

And drink.

When those horses come floating between the flowers.

Will you tell the court, Mr. Dillingham?

When did you leave Mr.

Lynch alone?

There in his office at the junkyard.

About 8 .30, quarter to nine, no later.

8 .30, quarter to nine, no later.

Mr. Dillingham, did you hear the chief of police testify that he arrived at the

Seedon's house at 10 .15?

I did.

And the doctor's statement that Mort Lynch died no more than a half hour

he got there?

Yes. How long would you say it would take to drive from the Lynch junkyard to

the Lynch house?

Oh, about 10 to 15 minutes, I suppose.

And in that three quarters of an hour, more or less, after you left him, but

before his murderer must have met him, do you have any personal knowledge of

what Mort Lynch did?

Well, all I can tell you is that when I left, he was reaching for the telephone.

Oh, he must have made several telephone calls, or at least one long one.

And how do you know that, Miss Standish?

Well, it's over at my mother's that evening.

She's not well.

put her to bed, and then I decided to stay a little while to make sure that

was resting comfortably.

So I tried to reach the junkyard to tell Mr. Lynch that maybe he ought to stay

over and lock up by himself.

You say you tried to call?

Yes. The line kept being busy.

Finally, I reached him at 9 .20. At 9 .20? About 9 .20.

And he answered angrily like he thought I was somebody else. He said, look, I

told you.

But that's all he said, because I told him to mind his manners.

He was so impatient when I talked about locking up. He said, all right, all

right, as if he didn't care.

And then he slammed the phone in my ear.

So what did you do next?

I slept on the couch at my mother's.

Your witness, Mr. Mason.

Miss Standish, are you a photographer?

I beg your pardon?

The local camera shop tells me you're quite handy with a camera, so I thought

perhaps... Your Honor!

If it please the court, I was really going to ask Miss Standish if she took

picture. We see no reason, Your Honor, for causing unnecessary embarrassment

here, and certainly no groundwork has been laid.

I appreciate your point, Mr.

Prosecutor, but frankly, I'd like to know who took that picture, too.

This is as good a time as any to find out.

Well, Miss Standish?

I've been watching them quarrel.

My camera was in the office with fast film.

Why did you take it?

Why did you then sell the picture to the newspaper?

I didn't sell it to Mr. Hopper. I gave it to him.

Why?

I didn't want more to be made.

Why not, Miss Standish?

9 .15, 9 .20. Yes, that was about the time... Mr. Harper, you've testified

that you hired Barry Davis to learn what he could about Mort Lynch.

You've even admitted that you didn't want a reporter, you wanted a

I didn't use any word like that. All right, a snooper, an angry investigator.

It's the same thing, isn't it? Mr. Mason, I wanted to make trouble for

I thought the boy might uncover something I hadn't been able to reach.

But in the light of what happened, I'm terribly sorry for what I did.

But I did it.

What exactly did you think the boy might uncover?

Well, I thought if he stirred the water, there was this matter of how Lynch got

his start, bought his first junkyard.

But couldn't you have learned that for yourself? Couldn't you have discovered

quite easily that Lynch received $40 ,000 life insurance money as a result of

his partner's death?

I had heard some talk of insurance, perhaps, but... And that there was

wrong with the policy?

That Lynch was properly listed as the first beneficiary?

I could have checked with the insurance company, yes, but... Of course you

could. So there was obviously something else.

Some other hornet's nest you wanted the boy to prod for you.

But see here, everybody in town knows now since the murder that Lynch and his

old partner must have been mixed up in some sort of counterfeiting thing, so

surely I could... You mean you already knew before the murder about some sort

counterfeiting thing?

No, no, I just... Mr. Harper, my investigator tells me that you've made

visits to Tijuana lately to the police office there. Now I'll ask you again.

What dirty water did you hope to stir?

Does the counterfeit $10 bill have anything to do with it?

No, I just told you I never dreamed of it. Leave the court.

May I speak?

Yes, I was wondering if you weren't going to make some objection here.

It hadn't been our intention to go into this just yet, Your Honor, since we

consider our case against the defendant to be quite open and shut on the factual

evidence.

In a matter of motive, however, reasons for the boy's violent anger against

Litch.

Well, investigations have just been reopened in Mexico that might give us a

clue.

Investigations of what, Mr. Prosecutor?

Well, perhaps that can be answered more easily if I just removed any objections

whatsoever to the witness answering Mr. Mason's questions.

Well, go on, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Harper?

All right, yes.

I did have a lead on something else.

There's a police officer down there, retired.

who says that Jay Davis did not die an accidental death in 1944.

He swears up and down that Lynch's former partner was murdered.

That's right, Perry. There was a possibility of murder, but that was

1944. Insufficient evidence. And I don't think any new investigator is going to

show anything different.

Anyway, here's some other stuff from Tijuana. Look, Mort Lynch didn't kill my

uncle or anyone else. He just went... I thought you didn't like Mort.

Go on, Paul. What about the conflict?

Well, the Treasury Department boys were all excited.

Seeing some duplicate bills for the one Lynch had in his pocket were picked up

during the war in South America.

But they were never traced to anyone putting them up here in the States. It's

one of their few unsolved cases.

I suppose a large number of those bills could have been tilted across the border

by a truck driver and disposed of by some confederate in Mexico. So, if Mort

Lynch and his partners... Ah, that's all crazy.

If Mort was counterfeiting once, why would he hang on to that bill all these

years? Or the counterfeit plate.

No, Della.

Barry found that. Sure, out in the junk.

Now, if I could figure how it got there, then maybe, just maybe.

Harry, I don't understand why anyone would want to keep that plate.

It just doesn't make sense for a criminal to keep evidence of... Doesn't

Think again, Della.

What? On your way to the probate court.

Very. I think I know what you're driving at, but good, Paul.

Think about it some more while you do some driving.

Fast driving.

Where?

How about the Department of Motor Vehicles?

Mr.

Harper...

I asked to have you recall so we could clarify a small point in your earlier

testimony. It concerns that telephone call from Mr. Lynch which you received

your brother's house.

Now, you stated, I believe, that your brother had gone to the office that

evening. That's what I thought he went, yes.

How many telephones are in your brother's house?

Oh, several.

Two upstairs, I guess, and one in the study.

Isn't it possible that he actually was in the house that evening and that you

didn't know it?

Well, I...

I noticed that on the stand, your brother avoided saying where he was that

evening. Now, look, I may have been mistaken, but... Well, I took the call.

And told Mr. Lynch that your brother was not at home.

Yes. Then how could you have been mistaken?

Didn't you look for your brother, look in the other rooms?

I don't remember very clearly.

I was at the races that day.

All right.

Let's talk about the races.

How much did you spend that day?

It's too much, I'm afraid. See, I was a Caliente. Several hundred dollars?

A thousand, perhaps?

I'd be afraid to ask. Or is $20 nearer the truth?

Your Honor!

Just a moment.

Mason, what's the point of this line of questioning?

Your Honor, I'm curious about a man who pretends to lose large amounts of money

when he really doesn't. My investigator reports that Mr. Harper is well known at

the Caliente track as strictly a $2 plunger.

But, Your Honor, this witness isn't on trial.

However, he is well known for his gambling.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to allow this, Mr. Prosecutor.

Mr. Harper, how much do you lose every year at gambling?

Perhaps... perhaps $20 ,000 or $30 ,000.

Where? In Las Vegas?

The hotels report that you only see the shows.

Only play bingo or the slot machines.

Well, I go up to Santa Anita.

How do you really spend your money, Mr. Harper?

Answer the question.

Answer him, Sanford. Tell the truth.

I give my brother half the proceeds of our holdings, yes.

Why, Mr. Harper?

Why do you give him so much when he does so little to help you?

Sanford saved me once.

He turned over an inheritance to me. It saved me financially.

An inheritance?

From his wife.

She died in 1944.

Did you ever see a probate record of her holdings?

No, they were separated.

She died in the East.

Sanford went back there to take care of all that.

I see.

Tell me, what was Sanford's job at the time?

Well, he was trying to get the newspaper started.

Newspaper and printing shop, isn't that what you mean?

Yes. Mr. Harper, were you at home the night Lynch died?

Yes, I was.

Sanford said he'd answer the phone if it rang.

Well, there were a couple of calls.

That's all I know.

So he wanted to be in touch with Lynch.

He was afraid of your talking to Lynch.

Stanford, you've been paying Lynch money, haven't you?

That's where that money's been going the year after. We got it all figured out.

But he was dead when I got there.

And you're killing him.

You must have killed him.

Dillingham killed Barry's uncle, too.

Admitted it.

Dillingham caught on to the counterfeiting boys back in 1944.

Your uncle tangled with him, and that was it.

But Sanford Harper never guessed that. He just paid his blackmail and kept on

paying it.

The hang loose guy. The free and easy. Both of them.

Two nicest guys in town, I thought.

I'll control the impulse to say that the young can sometimes be wrong.

Well, the young don't stay young forever, Mr. Nathan.

What? Well, it's still really my fault Mort had to die.

No, Barry, it isn't.

Somewhere, somehow, he found that one bill.

When that copper plate turned up, Mort got stubborn and did some investigating

on his own.

He got so close to the truth that Dillingham panicked and had to kill him.

that's all there was to it.

Well, I'm not going to claim this or whatever you do with checks after people

die.

What's that?

$5 ,000 Mort gave me.

Conscience money, I guess. Just because I never got any of my uncle's insurance.

You said you were going back to college.

This check would be on it as a claim against Mort's estate.

Besides, what about Anna Lee?

Well, she's going to wait, too.

What I mean is, you hang on to that check, Mr. Mason, until I earn it.