Original subtitles

The big men circle in the center of the ring

here at the Olympic Auditorium.

The crowd is agog.

They want The Annihilator to lose.

Sailor Jack in the blue trunks takes a shot

to the pit of the stomach

from the foot of The Annihilator.

The Annihilator, with an arm hold,

throws him against the ropes and hits him

under the Adam's apple with an elbow,

a vicious, hurting blow.

And here is a body slam by The Annihilator.

Sailor Jack to the canvas

with The Annihilator trying for the pin.

The count got to two

and Sailor Jack kicked out of it.

Oh, that was close, ladies and gentlemen.

He had a count of two and one half.

That means, simply, another half-second

he would've lost the Global Association

championship title.

Yeah. Yeah, you got him.

Now, hold him. Come on, Annihilator.

Kill him!

Fun, huh?

Come on, twist that sucker!

Kill him! Come on, Annihilator!

You can do it.

You don't come to these things to make friends, do you?

These people don't know The Annihilator. I do.

His name's Vic Garrett. Used to be one of the good guys.

They called him Go-Go Garrett

until Sailor Jack hurt him one night.

Sailor Jack always fights dirty.

Tell that to Sailor Jack.

Get him, Sailor.

His arm!

Come on, ref, that's a foul.

Come on, big guy!

All right, one shot. Cut it out.

Kill him, Sailor.

One, two, three.

Well, the better man won,

as the crowd seems to think so too.

We're going to have a word with Sailor Jack

as he makes his way to the locker room.

It was quite a fight out there tonight.

The Annihilator was very, very good.

Hey, Sailor Jack.

How about a word for our TV audience?

Yeah. Once the champ, always the champ.

What's this I hear about you jumping ship, Sailor?

Rumor has it that you're going over to the Federal Association.

Like you said, it's only a rumor.

What's the matter with you?

Figure you didn't do enough damage two years ago?

You know, you're a bad loser and a worse wrestler,

you know that? Get him out of here.

Hurry up. Vic, please.

Do you mean to tell me you want to get right back into the ring

with Sailor Jack? Are you kiddin'?

I'll kill him. I swear it. I'll kill him.

Vic, we've gotta take care of your arm.

Folks, in case Sailor Jack does jump associations,

there cannot be a rematch.

Tommy O'Keefe is here.

He heads up the Global Association.

Any truth to this rumor?

Absolutely, positively none. Thank you very much.

I'm going over to his place tonight and let him have it.

He didn't mean to hurt you, Vic.

Yeah. Take it easy, Vic.

You know Sailor. He just got carried away.

Okay, people. Let's close the store, huh?

Let me take care of the kid, please?

Huh, Gentleman George?

Sleep on it. See you tomorrow, Vic.

How bad is it?

Well, it's nothing that a little hydrotherapy won't cure.

Rotate it.

What a mess.

Don't dwell on it, Vic.

Who am I kidding, Bobby?

I'm getting too old for this. It's no good.

Well, you won't get an argument from me on that, pal.

You could've argued a little.

Hey, you weren't serious about going after Sailor, were you?

Yeah, I was. Sort of.

But what's the point?

You know, Sailor and me used to be good friends,

but that was messed up somewhere.

Maybe we oughta talk it out,

just Sailor and me.

Hey, hold it right there.

Who is it you're here to see?

Jack Saunders.

Not so fast, pal.

Yeah, get me the police.

Sailor?

Sailor?

Don't move. Just hold it right there.

Uh, Ben?

Yeah?

What are you doing?

Tryin' to fix my chair.

Oh. Well, can I help you?

No, I'll get it.

Uh, Ben?

You know how sometimes you take on a new client

because the case interests you

or you think an injustice has been done

and the person is innocent?

Yeah.

Well, those are all real good reasons.

I think so.

And sometimes you take on a client

because somebody asks you to, don't you?

Sometimes.

If I asked you to, would you?

What are you talking about?

Well, we have a new might-be client. Maybe.

I mean, Michelle's bailing him out

down at the jail.

Michelle's bailing him out for what?

Murder.

Who is this person?

It's Vic Garrett. Friend of yours?

Well, not exactly.

I mean, I know him.

Well, I mean, I know who he is.

Uh, he's a professional wrestler.

Cassie, you know my opinion of these buffoons

you find so entertaining.

Ben, they're finely-tuned professional athletes.

But these wrestlers don't wrestle.

It's vaudeville, bad vaudeville.

One pratfall after another.

Ben.

They're nothing but clowns

lurching around in these costumes

about the size of their IQs.

They're nothing but a bunch of gorillas

that look like they escaped from a hormone farm.

Ben.

This is The Annihilator.

Vic Garrett.

Well, hell, any friend of Cassie's is a friend of mine.

Hello.

Uh, this is Ben Matlock, an attorney,

and this is our client, Vic Garrett.

Yeah.

I understand you tried to keep Mr. Garrett from going up

to see Mr. Saunders last night.

Yeah, that's right.

Sailor had phoned down earlier in the evening,

and he described him to me.

Said if he showed not to let him up,

and if there was trouble, call the police.

Oh. Oh, okay.

Thanks.

Uh, w-why don't you see if we can get something

out of the paparazzi out there?

Okay.

Any idea how Sailor Jack knew you were coming here last night?

His manager, Connie Hammond. She must've told him.

She was in my dressing room when I was shooting my mouth off

about getting even.

Who else was there?

My manager, Bobby Devine,

Tommy O'Keefe, head of the Global Wrestling Association,

and a pro-wrestling friend of mine named Gentleman George.

I'll tell you one thing:

If you were framed, whoever did it had to know

you were coming up here last night.

You can forget about Bobby.

He'd give his life for me.

Yeah. Like a freight train went through here.

This is the way it looked when I walked in.

Huh. Was anybody in the corridor out there?

I didn't see anybody.

Was the door ajar or open or...?

I thought it was closed, but when I banged on it,

it swung open.

Then what happened?

Well, I stood here looking around.

Then I saw the wall over here,

came around and found Sailor.

Did you touch anything?

Just him when I was feeling for a pulse.

The police report said you had a cut on your hand. Let's see.

Yeah. I did that when I was kneeling down.

It said you had red wine on your pants.

Like I said, I kneeled down.

There was wine all over the floor.

Said you have these bruises all over.

I was just in a championship match.

Hey, I didn't do it. You make it sound like I did.

Oh, I'm sorry.

It's just a bad habit.

Boy, Sailor Jack must've been in great shape.

I guess so. He did a number on me.

Oh. Just look at this equipment.

Oh, sauna.

What are you doing here?

How dare you come back here.

I'll wait for you outside.

Okay.

Uh, I'm Ben Matlock, Vic's lawyer.

You were Sailor Jack's manager, Connie Hammond, right?

That's right.

Could I ask you a few questions?

I don't think Sailor would've approved of me

talking to his murderer's lawyer.

Well, I, uh... I hate to get technical,

but this is the scene of the crime, and we...

We have a right to be here,

and we have to talk,

uh, here or anywhere, uh, in court.

Okay. Look, I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to lose my temper,

but Sailor and I were very close.

What do you wanna know?

Are you the one who told Sailor

that Vic might come up here and confront him that night?

I warned him, yes. For all the good it did.

And when was that?

On our way over here, I guess.

Oh, you came up here that night too.

Yes. I came home with him after the match.

How long did you stay?

A half-hour, 45 minutes.

We discussed some business, and then I went home.

Did you talk about his possible move

to the other wrestling association?

Yes. As a matter of fact, we did.

Were you for it or against it?

I was for anything that would make us more money.

Huh.

The coroner said he was killed between 10:30 and 11.

I was at Chez Robert's, having dinner with some friends.

Roughly 30 waiters, wine stewards

and fellow diners can attest to that.

Does that answer your question?

Oh, yeah. More than answers it.

Mr. Matlock, why are you treating me like a suspect?

Sailor Jack was my meal ticket.

Why on earth would I wanna kill him?

Beats me.

Thank you for your time.

Oh. Those paparazzi gave you some pictures?

Yeah. Some of them that were outside Sailor's place

the night of the murder.

They didn't wanna give me anything at first.

Yeah.

So I told them how they might be able

to help convict the real killer

and how much you would appreciate it

and how it would be the right thing to do.

Yeah.

Then I gave them some money.

Good.

So, uh, these are the pictures of who went in and out

the night of the murder.

Good morning.

Morning.

Now, there...

There's a picture of Connie Hammond

going in with Sailor.

And a picture of Connie Hammond coming out.

A couple of Japanese guys.

Pictures of other paparazzi.

Other than that, I don't recognize anybody.

Tyler, how about going down to the auditorium?

No.

Say what?

Ben, the people down there are big.

I mean real big. They are too big for me.

Forget it.

I'm not asking you to wrestle anybody.

I just want you to go down there and talk with Tommy O'Keefe.

He's the head of the wrestling association here.

The man is wacko.

I just want you to talk with him.

Sailor was gonna leave him and fight for somebody else.

See how he feels about it.

He's not in any of those pictures.

Maybe nobody took his picture. Maybe he walked in backwards.

You know what's gonna happen.

Nothing's gonna happen.

Will you go down there and talk with him?

Ben, Julie March wants to see you.

Oh, okay.

Um, so, Ben, what do you think of Vic's chances?

I should be back about 2.

Thank you very much.

Well, Connie Hammond's alibi checks out.

Michelle, what do you think of Vic's chances?

Of being convicted?

Yeah.

Very high.

Do you think he did it?

Well,

certainly all the evidence seems to point that way.

However, that's not to say...

You think he did it.

Yes, but it's our job to defend him.

Yeah, right.

Uh, thanks.

Anyone see you come in?

No. Get in here.

Oh, I guess this isn't the will-call office.

Mr. O'Keefe.

He was listenin' in at your door.

Hey, how about a little help?!

He go that way.

Fan out and find him.

There he is.

Who are you?

Ha-ha. Tyler Hudson.

I, uh, work for Ben Matlock.

He's the lawyer that's defending Vic Garrett.

So, what are you doin' here?

Looking for suspects.

Like who? Like me?

I'd rather not say.

I'll tell you one thing. I don't think Vic did it.

He didn't have it in him.

That Connie Hammond, that's another matter.

She was here the other day looking to invest 50 grand

in another wrestler. Fifty grand?

Yep. Sailor Jack paid her off and kicked her out.

That's where she got it.

That's why she killed him, because he dumped her.

Look, she says she was in another place

at the time of the murder.

Where were you?

Why would I kill Sailor Jack? He's my star.

Yeah, but he was gonna leave you.

You would've had to replace him anyway.

Replace him? Replace Sailor Jack?

You don't understand.

Wrestling is theater. Every match is a morality play.

A battle between good and evil and villains,

and Jack was a hero.

Every man and woman in this country

who paid the price of admission completely identified with him.

He stomped the vicious.

He wiped out the criminals.

He killed the terrorists.

He wasn't a wrestler. He was America.

Replace him?

That oughta take me a couple of years at least.

Get rid of him.

Come on in, Ben.

How'd you know it was me?

I always know when it's you.

Besides, a good criminal lawyer

never keeps a prosecutor waiting.

Oh, yeah.

How's your day?

Oh, fine. Yours? Great.

Is this new?

No, it's old.

I got it at a rummage sale in Athens.

The Athens in Georgia.

Oh, yeah.

It's not comfortable, is it?

Not much.

Well, it keeps unwanted visits short and sweet.

Oh.

Here. Oh, yeah, thanks.

You know, this case seems pretty one-sided,

so if you wanna cut a deal, I'll listen.

I thought this meeting was about the Vic Garrett case.

It is.

Well, aren't you overplaying your hand a little?

Overplaying my hand?

Well, yeah, Julie, I... I...

I know that Vic made some threats

and went over to Sailor's apartment that night

and was seen leaning over the body,

but all of that's circumstantial.

Oh. You haven't heard?

Heard what?

Ben, I'm really sorry.

The investigator was supposed to have notified you immediately.

Notified me?

They have an eyewitness.

In fact, she was just here in my office.

She saw your client kill Jack Saunders that night.

I'm really s... They should have notified you.

Oh.

Excuse me.

Uh, I'm Ben Matlock, Vic Garrett's lawyer.

I wonder if you could answer some questions for me.

My pleasure.

Oh, good.

Do you mind if I lift while we talk?

Oh, of course, of course.

Uh-huh.

Yeah. Um... Um,

I understand the other night after the match

you heard Vic say he was gonna go over to Sailor Jack's

and have it out with him.

Look, I wanted to help Vic, not hurt him.

Oh, I know it. I-I know it. I...

I understand you volunteered

to get even with Sailor Jack for him.

Ungh. Well, maybe Sailor had it comin'.

So did you?

Did I what?

Get even with him.

Never got the chance.

Where'd you go after the match?

What if I don't feel like sayin'?

Well, I'd have to assume you have something to hide.

How good are you assuming stuff

with your left foot in your right ear?

You see, it seems to me you had good reason

to want to hurt Sailor Jack.

How about I staple your lip to your nose?

If he jumped to your league,

he'd be the champ 'cause he'd be the good guy.

And all those Gentleman George dolls and T-shirts

and comic books the fans have been buying

would disappear from the shelves.

You'd lose a fortune.

How about a little heart bypass?

I punch out your heart and it bypasses your body.

Where were you at the time of the murder?

Me and Vladimir were at a poetry reading

at the Willow Springs Institute of Fine Arts.

Willow Springs Institute of Fine Arts?

Yes. I was reading a poem. Mine.

If you'll excuse me.

Hi, are you Michelle?

Donna Clifford?

Ready to take a little hike?

Yeah. How could you see

what was going on in that apartment?

It's on the fourth floor.

Let's take the hike.

Didn't figure I'd be seeing you again.

This'll be the last time. I just came to get my stuff.

Goodbye and good riddance.

From right here, you can see right into

the Sailor's living room.

It's still a wreck from the fight the other night.

Are you sure it was Vic Garrett you saw?

Absolutely it was him.

I know all the bigtime wrestlers,

and I know what he looks like without his mask.

Who else did you see in his apartment?

Mostly that witch of a manager.

She used to come around a lot.

Always looked like they were fighting.

Probably tryin' to run his life.

At least that's what all the magazines say.

Anyone else?

Not really.

How long have you been coming up here?

A couple months.

Since I found out where the Sailor lived.

Sometimes I sleep up here.

Heh. I loved the Sailor.

I really, really did.

He was my whole life.

Bye, Sailor.

Hey, Vic.

Hi.

Hi.

Uh, I never got a chance to tell you

how much I love to watch you wrestle.

Oh, thanks.

I don't like it when they call you the bad guy.

As far as I'm concerned, you are the good guy.

Thanks again.

I know you're really worried about everything,

but you have the best lawyer there is,

and everything's gonna work out.

I hope. How's my case look?

Oh, it's coming along.

It... It's gonna be fine, really.

Well, thanks for trying to make me feel better.

Yes.

The cause of death was a depressed skull fracture

causing a subdural hematoma,

which apparently occurred when he fell forward,

his head striking the corner of a coffee table

in his apartment.

Additional but non-fatal bruises were also found

along the base of the neck,

apparently the result of a blow from a blunt object

believed to be a wine bottle.

Death was instantaneous?

Yes.

And were you able to determine the time of death?

Sometime between 10:30 and 11 p.m.

Thank you, Dr. Carlin.

No further questions.

Cross-examine, Mr. Matlock.

Not at this time, Your Honor.

Next witness.

Prosecution calls Mr. Peter Lucas to the stand.

When I tried to stop him,

he grabs me by the front of my jacket,

lifts me up in the air and throws me out of the way.

What happened next, Mr. Lucas?

He went in the elevator.

I called the police.

Approximately what time was that?

Ten-thirty, 10:40, something like that.

Go on, Mr. Lucas.

Then the police showed up,

and I took 'em up to Mr. Saunders' apartment.

Did you find anything?

The place was in a shambles.

Mr. Saunders was dead,

and he was leaning over the body.

May the record reflect

that Mr. Lucas is referring to the defendant.

Thank you. No further questions.

So noted.

Mr. Matlock?

No questions, Your Honor.

Okay. You can step down. Next witness.

Prosecution calls Miss Donna Clifford

to the stand.

Then I saw Sailor go to the door and open it,

and all of a sudden, Vic Garrett dove into the room on top of him

and started punching him,

and suddenly it was a flat-out fight.

Chairs being knocked over. Lamps breaking.

It was awful.

And the worst part

was when Vic Garrett picked up a bottle of wine

and smashed it over Sailor's head.

He fell face forward.

He was just lyin' there.

I was waitin' for him to move.

He never did. He was dead.

Thank you, Miss Clifford.

Nothing further.

Cross-examine.

You cared a great deal for Sailor Jack, didn't you?

I loved him.

Well, I know that sounds childish and dumb,

but I swear it's true.

Is that why you were up on that rooftop

day in and day out,

because you were watching over him?

That's exactly it.

I was just kinda trying to protect him.

So, what did you do when you saw he was dead?

Call the police?

No. Well, they were already there.

Did you go over and tell them what you'd seen?

No. I was in shock, I guess.

I just sort of sat there for about ten minutes.

And what did you do after ten minutes?

I went home and went to bed.

Hm. Like I said, I was sorta numb.

About what time did you go up on the roof that night?

About 9:30 or so.

And what time did you leave?

About 11.

Could you remove one of those sandals you're wearing

and hold it up for the court, please?

Looks like they've seen a lot of use.

I wear 'em every day.

They made a pretty distinctive sound

on the metal fire escape on the building

across from Sailor Jack's, didn't they?

I guess so.

Ooh. Don't you think they were pretty loud?

So loud that

I'd bet if we brought Mrs. Kowalski into court...

The woman who lives in the building.

I bet she'd testify she heard you

the night of the murder.

Only she'd say she heard you around midnight,

which is when you went up those stairs,

and at 7 the next morning when you came back down again.

Donna, isn't that what she'd say?

Yeah.

You didn't know Sailor was dead.

You didn't find out till the next day.

You made up the whole story, didn't you?

I had to do something. I loved him.

I just wanted the guy who killed him to pay for it.

We all want whoever did it punished, Donna.

It's just terribly important we get the right person.

Ah, Ben, I got somebody I'd like you to meet.

This is Sammy and Jimmy Ito.

Hello.

These are the gentlemen that were in the photos.

They were standing around outside Sailor Jack's apartment

the night he was murdered.

Oh.

What were they doing outside Sailor's apartment?

Casing the joint for Tommy O'Keefe.

He brought 'em in to lean on Sailor

to keep him from jumping associations.

They were gonna lean on Sailor. Mm-hm.

How were they gonna do that?

What was that?

Well, it was a table.

What are they doing here?

They work for us now. I made 'em a better offer.

Better offer?

More money.

Uh... Heh.

Did they see Gentleman George

go in Sailor's building that night?

No.

Did they see Tommy O'Keefe?

No.

They didn't. Mm-mm.

They didn't see anybody go in?

No.

Well, we know what this means.

All of our suspects have alibis.

I guess nobody committed this murder.

That's right.

Your services will no longer be required.

Well, I guess we're nowhere.

Gentleman George.

George's alibi checks out.

Connie Hammond.

Her alibi checks out.

The Ito brothers.

The Ito brothers swear that Tommy O'Keefe

didn't go in Sailor's apartment building that night.

Well, to quote a great legal mind,

what we need is a bright idea,

or else maybe it was The Annihilator.

No. No, Vic wouldn't do it.

He couldn't. I know it.

Cassie, there is no one else.

You know what our problem's been?

We didn't listen.

Somebody's been talking to us,

telling us the same thing over and over again,

but we refused to listen.

Take a look at these.

Take a good look.

Oh, right.

Ben?

Ben?

Ben?

Ben?

I'm in the sauna.

I-I got it.

I have too.

Uh, Dr. Carlin,

uh, I'd like you to clarify something for me.

You testified earlier that Sailor Jack Saunders died

that night sometime between 10:30 and 11.

That's right.

Would you please tell the court

how you arrived at that particular time?

One of the principal determinants

of a time of death is body temperature.

Uh, 98.6 is the norm, of course,

and there's a fairly reliable scale

by which it falls after death.

Were you at all influenced

by the physical details,

the fact that the police found Vic Garrett

leaning over the body at approximately 10:45?

Of course, but such factors

serve mainly to confirm what the physiological evidence

had already led me to believe.

Well, what about this?

Well, what if just prior to death,

Sailor Jack's body temperature had been artificially raised?

Uh, maybe he had been exercising

or he was in a hot room or a sauna?

Would your computations still hold true?

Well, no. They'd be completely off.

It would've taken much longer

for the body temperature to fall.

So under those circumstances,

your time of death could be off by an hour?

Or more.

Thank you, doctor.

I have no questions, Your Honor.

You can step down.

Next witness, Mr. Matlock.

Ms. Connie Hammond.

Did you attend a wrestling match

between Jack Saunders and Vic Garrett

on the evening of the 18th?

Of course. I was present for all Jack's matches.

I was his manager.

Well, did you go back to Vic Garrett's dressing room

after the match?

Yes. Things got a little rough in the ring.

I wanted to make sure Vic was okay.

Did you hear Vic Garrett

threaten to go over to your client's apartment

later that night and kill him?

Yes.

What did you do?

I warned Jack, and he, in turn,

alerted the security guard in his apartment building.

Did you go to his apartment that night?

Yes.

What did you do?

We talked.

What time did you leave?

Around 9, 9:15.

Actually, I knew that, because...

that's approximately when this photograph was taken.

Actually, there are two photographs.

This is a photograph of you

entering the building with Sailor Jack.

Let's call that defendant's exhibit E.

And this is a photograph of you leaving the building alone.

Let's call that defendant's exhibit F.

Now, these are photographs of you

entering and leaving the building

the night of the murder, are they not?

I suppose, but there were a lot of photographers

around that night.

That's right. There were. That's right.

Now, tell me this:

Why was your hair curly

in this picture, like it is now,

and straight in this one?

Um, Jack and I took a sauna.

My hair always goes straight like that after a sauna.

Oh.

Heh.

We're both adults. It's hardly a big deal.

Oh, that's okay. That's okay.

But the medical examiner,

uh, has just told us

that if Jack Saunders took a sauna

just before he died,

it would've elevated his body temperature.

He could've been killed

long before we previously believed.

You just destroyed your own alibi.

I don't know what you're talking about.

I believe that's true.

I believe you didn't know that his taking a sauna

would elevate his body temperature

and almost work in your favor.

I think it was simpler than that.

I think, during an argument,

you hit him in the head with that bottle of wine

and killed him,

and then decided to make it look

like a huge brawl had taken place.

And since Vic Garrett had already threatened him,

everybody would just naturally assume

that he had killed him.

These are ridiculous accusations.

And pure speculation. I object.

Your Honor,

I have two more items I'd like to enter into evidence.

Proceed, Mr. Matlock.

The first... is a still photograph

made from a videotape.

Let's call this one defendant's exhibit G.

Do you recognize yourself standing next to Jack Saunders

when he was being interviewed after the match

the night of the murder?

Yes.

This is the same dress

that you were wearing

when you entered the building and when you left, is it not?

Yes.

It's a pretty dress. It looks expensive.

It's very expensive. It's an original.

I imagine that's why...

you took it to Barrington Cleaners

instead of throwing it out.

Let's call this defendant's exhibit H.

This is the dress, isn't it, Connie?

I suppose.

And I suppose that's why

you took it back after they didn't get it cleaned

the first time.

Care to tell us how it got soiled?

When you hit Jack Saunders with that bottle,

red wine splattered everywhere.

And red wine, once it's set,

they can't get it out.

Your Honor, move for dismissal.

Ms. March?

State concurs.

Case dismissed.

Take him. Come on, Annihilator.

Come on, get him!

Come on, Vic.

Come on, now! Yeah, okay.

Ben, it was really nice of you to come down here.

Well, it's his last fight and everything.

I think Vic really appreciates it.

Well...

Wait a minute. He's fightin' dirty.

Hey, wait a minute!

Hey, wait a minute!

Hey, Vic, get out of there. Get out of there.

Get out of there.

Pound him. Twist him. Throw him. Throw him. Throw him.

Get your legs around him.

Kill the son of a...!

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