All language subtitles for Helter.Skelter.S01E01_English

[indistinct radio chatter]

[distant sirens]

[gentle music]

- I'm nobody.

I'm a tramp, a bum, a hobo.

I'm a boxcar
and a jug of wine.

[helicopter whirring]

You think that my mind is
like your mind, but it isn't.

There's no need
to feel guilty.

I haven't done anything
I'm ashamed of.

Because we're outlaws.

[music intensifies]

Yeah, when you're in war,
you're in war, mister.

Believe me, if I started
murdering people,

there'd be none of you left.

♪

- Friday night
in Los Angeles,

a movie actress and four
of her friends were murdered.

The circumstances were lurid.

- In a scene described
by one investigator

as reminiscent of
a weird religious rite...

- This was at the home of
movie director Roman Polanski.

It was his wife...
- Eight months pregnant.

- ...who was one
of the victims.

- Bodies were
scattered inside,

on the lawn and the driveway.

- The others were
a male hairdresser,

the heiress to
a coffee fortune, a writer,

and a boy just out
of high school.

- A scene more tragic
than any horror movie.

- Stunned the city
and shocked the world.

- In all my years
I have never seen anything

like this before.

- You all know it?
- No.

- At 8:30 this morning,
Winifred Chapman,

an employee,
came to work at 10050 Cielo

and found several bodies
in the house,

and immediately the police
were notified.

The tentative identification
of the persons are as follows.

Sharon Polanski,

Jay Sebring,

Wojciech Frykowski,

Abigail Folger,

and another man
who is unknown.

- Where were the bodies found?
All in one room?

- No, two of the bodies
were found inside the house,

one in a vehicle,
and two on the front lawn.

- We understand she was
pregnant, is that correct?

- Yes, she is pregnant, but
I'm not going to discuss how--

- Were any of the bodies
badly mutilated?

- This I'd rather
not discuss.

- Was there anything scrawled

on the front door
of that house in blood?

- I can't answer
that question.

♪

- Do you have
any kind of an idea

of who might have done it?

Do you have any kind of
APBs out, any suspects at all?

- No, the only person we have
at this time is Mr. Garretson,

whom we are questioning,
because he was on the premises

this morning
when the maid arrived.

- Why is this case more
complicated than other cases

that you can't comment?

What's the difference
in this case?

- Well, how many cases
and how many times do you have

five persons that are found
murdered at the same time?

- ♪ Around, around

- Living is what scares me.

Dying is easy.

- And a short time later,
not far away,

a middle-aged couple
was found murdered

in similar circumstances.

- The latest murders were
discovered during the night.

The bodies of a man and his
wife found in their home.

Leno LaBianca,
a supermarket owner,

and his wife had both
been stabbed to death,

repeated stab wounds.

On his body, the word "war"
had been carved in the chest.

Then, with blood, the killer
had scrawled the words

"death to pigs."

♪

- Oh my God,
it's happened again.

- The slaughter
of innocent people.

- That set off a panic state
in Los Angeles.

- People locked
their doors at night.

People started
arming themselves.

[police sirens]

[tense music]

[gentle music]

♪

- We thought
she was a British star.

Come to find out,
she's an American all the time.

A beautiful young lady you're
gonna be hearing a lot from.

She's in London filming
"The Vampire Killers,"

a new film by director
Roman Polanski.

Sharon Tate
is the young lady's name.

- I was born
in Dallas, Texas.

- And lived all of your life
in America?

- Not really, I lived
in Italy for four years.

- Why was that?
- My dad's in the Army.

- An Army brat made good, huh?

- Yeah, I try.
- Oh, that's great.

And now you have
a monster movie.

- And now--not really.
- What's it called?

- It's called "The Vampire
Killers," Roman Polanski.

- Sharon?

Sharon?

Looking at him,
not at me, okay?

- Looking at the husband?
- Yeah.

- You know, uh--
- Yeah.

- Quiet in the back.
- Turnover.

- During that period
when I was in London,

I remember an instant
when I was thinking,

"I'm happy now and
I don't want anything else."

- London: two top film
folk got spliced,

and the present public
turned out in force.

He is Polish-born director
Roman Polanski.

She's American
actress Sharon Tate.

And the huge public interest
their wedding created

shows that the magic
of motion pictures

is as strong today as ever.

After the ceremony
at Chelsea Registry Office,

the mini-gowned bride
and the mod-geared mate

made for the Playboy Club
and a star-studded reception.

Bunnies lavished champagne

on some of the top names
in show business.

Michael Caine
keeping company

with very dishy
Candice Bergen.

The bride will keep working.

Hubby says he wants
a hippie, not a housewife.

That was the only serious
note of the day.

Tony Newley got the star
set really shaking.

[upbeat music]

- California.
Mean temperature 73 degrees.

The sun that never quits.

It acts on the unburned
hydrocarbons

and oxides of nitrogen
from auto exhaust.

Los Angeles County,
with four million cars

and the odd bike suffers most
because it's in a basin.

The breezes are balmy.

There's nothing to stir up
that brown cloud

that can make
your eyes tear.

85% of it attributed to cars.

The more general effect, our whole climate is warming up

because there's so much
carbon dioxide in the air.

It's so heavy that it prevents
the radiation of heat

from the Earth's surface.

[inhales deeply]

Ahh, breathe in, city folk.

[Charles Manson's
"Don't Do Anything Illegal"]

♪

- ♪ Don't do
anything illegal ♪

♪ Beware of the eagle

♪ That's right
in the middle of your back ♪

♪ Don't be illegal ♪

♪ They got

♪ You in a sack

♪ They got you in a sack ♪

♪ And they keep you
looking back ♪

♪

♪ Don't do anything illegal

♪ Beware of the eagle
that's got you by the neck ♪

♪

- This is where they lived,
among the stables, barns,

and phony buildings
of an old,

run-down movie location
20 miles from Los Angeles.

They called themselves
"The Family."

- ♪ I gotta see your ID
my friend ♪

♪ I gotta see
where you begin ♪

♪ I gotta see your ID
my friend ♪

- Back and forth,
lugging their sleeping bags.

They just lived anywhere
they felt like it.

With they're family.

- They were constantly
taking dope,

and they just
sit around all day

and sleep and got loaded.

- Police said they were
a pseudo-religious cult.

The family's leader,
Charles Manson--

- He's a good person.
A very good person.

He's got a lot of peace.

- He was introduced to us
as their idol and leader,

and he was always
interested in music.

And everywhere he went, some
of the girls kinda followed him

and laughed and talk and sang.

- Well, when I first met him,
the man talked to me,

and he says,
"Why don't you come up?"

"and the rules are that,
you know, there is no rules."

"You just look at it,
and just be beautiful with it,

and it's just
beautiful to you."

- Yeah.
- You know, and I love him.

- His so-called power, which is-it only lies in his happiness.

That's what attracts people
is he's completely happy.

- And warm.
- Gentle.

He dances, he sings,
he looks beautiful,

he looks happy,
and this draws a lot of people,

just like people
are drawn to little babies.

- That's all there is,
that's all there is,

is brothers and sisters,

and Charles Manson
is your brother.

- Morning.
- Why?

- Sun's shining this morning.
- It is.

- Yeah.
- Well, what are your plans?

- I have none.

Going to the desert.

- Desert?
- Yeah.

- So you were 14, 15, 16
during that time?

- I met him when I was 14.

He was kind of impish
and playful, you know?

He could be funny.

[gentle music]

♪

He was in the circle
playing music,

and he got up and
offered me his root beer,

and gave me a big hug,

and "Come,
join us in the circle."

We, you know,
"We've been waiting for you."

It just all ended up seeming,

you know, like providence
or something.

♪

Spahn Ranch had been a movie
set for lots of westerns.

And when we first saw it,
that's what it was.

It was kind of
a run-down movie set.

The corral was way to the left
and there was a big barn.

There was the jail
and there was a big saloon.

But there were
rooms behind them.

And then there was
the kitchen.

There was a band of, like,
we called them outlaw shacks.

And then all the way to
the right was George's house.

He was blind,
and it definitely showed.

You know, the house was
in as bad disrepair as,

you know, the facade.

It needed paint,
inside and out.

And we cleaned.

You know, there was always
tons of sweeping to do.

We mucked out the stalls.

And we helped out
in the corral.

We helped rent the horses.

There were trails all over for
riding horses into the hills

where all
the fabulous rocks are.

We got high.

Obviously, we got high.

You know, I could just
remember dancing together

and just, you know,
maybe cooking.

Helms Bakery would come by

and give us their day-old
stuff at the ranch.

And Charlie introduced us
to dumpster diving

behind the grocery stores.

We had our favorite ones,

because they had better food
that they threw out.

You know, in the beginning,
it was different.

I mean, there was just like
six of us girls.

Mary was pretty reserved,
actually.

You know,
she was very quiet.

Mary really was like
the matriarch of the Family.

I think Mary probably
a little bit resented,

you know, like all of us did,
sharing Charlie.

Patty Krenwinkel
was just like Mother Earth,

I mean, she was just
one of the sweetest, humblest,

most nurturing girls
in the Family.

Leslie, she was just like
a giggly high schooler.

I viewed her
as a little hottie,

and I hadn't been
to high school.

She'd been like
a homecoming queen,

and she really
came off like that.

Sandy was very smart,
but she was very needy.

You got that sense
that she was entitled.

She has remained
one of Charlie's

most ardent followers.

Susan Atkins was definitely
more worldly.

She'd been a stripper, maybe
she'd even been a sex worker.

You know, she'd been
around the block.

Gypsy came to the Family
at Spahn Ranch.

Gypsy liked that lifestyle.

She was playful.
She played the violin.

She was definitely
a true hippie.

I was closest
to, really, Lynette.

Lynette was kind of
looking out after George.

Lynette was really the closest
confidante to Charlie.

He confided more in her
than anybody.

And I think that Charlie
played a different role

for each one of us.

I was falling
under Charlie's spell.

- We were in a group marriage
with all the lines blurred.

We were brothers, sisters,

mothers, fathers, lovers,
everything to each other.

One of the reasons
we were pulled to Charlie

was because
he was a musician.

All of us wanted
to be musicians,

and that's what we did every
single night is play music.

[upbeat guitar music]

- ♪ Walking all alone
not going anywhere ♪

♪ Walking all alone
and nobody seemed to care ♪

♪ Restless as the wind,
this town is killing me ♪

♪ Got to put an end
to this restless misery ♪

- Usually we'd get
in the circle,

and Charlie would
administer the acid,

like a sacrament, almost.

Taking LSD, you can see
the trees growing.

I mean, you just
really feel like at one

with the Earth
and the universe.

I mean,
you just kind of like,

everything starts
making more sense.

And then at some point,

he would orchestrate
a love-in,

you know, an orgy,
for lack of a better word.

I mean, we didn't think
of it as an orgy,

but that's really what it was.

[gentle music]

We were dependent
upon each other.

He didn't want us to think
about our families.

Forget your parents.

You know,
get rid of your inhibitions.

You know, what the outside
society says is wrong.

You know, we're going
in the right direction.

♪

[The Litter's "Action Woman"]

♪

- ♪ Hey Miss High and Mighty

♪ I've had all I can take

♪ Walking right on by me

♪ That's your last mistake ♪

♪ I've got to find
myself some action ♪

♪ Before I lose my mind

- This is Hollywood,
the most famous,

the most glamorous place
in the world.

It's a place of dreams,
hopes, and riches.

Let's go Hollywood backstage
and see this unique

and fascinating place
called Hollywood.

♪

- The Hollywood scene
was quite a vibrant scene.

It was a period when
the Beach Boys were very big,

Buffalo Springfield,
the Byrds.

They were all coming up fast.
They were all big.

The scene in the nightclubs

was a crazy mélange
of characters

from the rock and roll world

and characters
from the underworld.

You could see the celebrities
hanging out

at Jack Hanson's Daisy Club
in Beverly Hills.

Jack Hanson and his wife,
Sally, designed Jack Slacks.

- Hollywood is the place

where women
started wearing pants,

led by Marlene Dietrich
in the '30s.

Slacks are now an accepted
item of feminine apparel.

But at Jack's
of Beverly Hills,

they achieve
a new, impressive status.

- He could make women,
particularly actresses,

look sleek and sexy.

Jack made a lot
of money from it,

and he opened his own club.

You didn't apply
for membership to Jack's.

You were invited to join.

Steve McQueen, Roman Polanski
there with Sharon Tate.

Then of course,
there was Jay Sebring,

who earned huge
amounts of money

for giving a movie star
a haircut.

And they could go wild,

and they could know
that no paparazzi

would take their picture.

Drugs were being used.

If you saw it,
you didn't talk about it.

Many stars were
probably looking

for a little bit
of an extra kick,

so anybody with kind of
a rough reputation

might have been adopted
into the scene.

- They're doing this movie
in Topanga Canyon,

just a stupid nudie cutie,

and they want a bunch of girls
that can look like Indians.

I read for them,
and they said,

"We'd like to offer you
one of the main roles."

So that was "Ramrodder."

I show up,
and just a little ways off

I see this stunningly
handsome young man.

And he came over, and he got
really, really close,

and he said,
"I'm your love interest."

And he said, "Do you mind
if I get a preview?"

He lifted my top and goes,

"Perfect,
just like I thought."

Turned around and said,
"I'll see you later."

And that's how I met Bobby.

♪

- Topanga was laid back
compared to Los Angeles.

You had the feeling that
you were out in the country,

even though it was
fairly close to civilization.

The first time I met Charlie
was down in the Topanga Canyon

where it meets the highway.

I heard music coming
from this old wooden house.

I went up
the spiral staircase.

There was a guy in a plaid
shirt singing, playing guitar.

I started playing
this little instrument

I found on the table,

and just did the best
I could to fit in

with the man who was singing,

who I was later introduced
to as Charlie.

After I moved into Topanga,

I wanted to try to get
some jobs playing guitar.

One day I did get a call
from the bass player

in a band called
The Milky Way.

The band was built around the
songs that Charlie was doing.

We played at the Topanga Corral I think two nights

or three nights
before we were fired.

I wasn't gonna
join his commune.

I had no interest in that,

but he is a person,
as a musician,

I did have an interest in.

I thought he was
worth investing

a little of myself in.

It was enough of an interest
to me that I kept coming back.

♪ ♪

[mellow guitar music]

- ♪ Pretty girl

- A couple of girls
met Dennis Wilson.

He picked 'em up hitchhiking,

and they introduced him
to Charlie.

- ♪ Cease to exist

♪ Just come
and say you love me ♪

- I think the two must have
hit it off.

Suddenly we were, like,
living there.

- Give up your world ♪

♪ Never learn
not to love you ♪

- When we first drove
into Dennis Wilson's estate,

there was peacocks
roaming around

and big eucalyptus trees,

and just a rambling log home
with a lot of glass.

It was really beautiful.

There was a guest house.

Big swimming pool.

Just a beautiful place,
the inside, huge fireplace.

Fireplace that
you could walk into.

Charlie was teaching Dennis
how to play the guitar,

and Dennis welcomed Charlie
and us girls into his home,

and we would take his Rolls
Royce and go dumpster diving.

We made food,
and he was impressed.

I remember making the
strawberry cake, you know?

And he was like,
"Wow, this came out of a--"

You know, "This came out
of a dumpster?"

He would introduce Charlie

to his other musician friends
with pride.

- [Charlie] Common people,
man, so...

- Both Terry Melcher
and Gregg Jakobson came

and listened to Charlie
play the guitar and sing.

- Dennis called me up
and was very excited,

and said, "Come on,
you've got to meet this guy

and these girls,"
and he went on and on.

And sure enough, it was
quite an interesting scene.

Everybody was having
a good time,

drinking beer,
smoking a joint.

Girls were in
the swimming pool.

Charlie was inside,
and he was very demanding.

He did garner your attention.

He was
a fascinating character.

He was really interesting.

- If you had a camera,
I could dance.

- Dennis used to call
Charlie "the Wizard."

He really thought
that Charlie was magical.

In the beginning,
he was really enamored by him.

- I wrote about a couple
hundred songs, you know?

- Dennis had an affinity
for finding the waifs

and people
that seemed to be misfits.

They would all seem
to find him.

That's where Charlie Manson
came into the scene.

He was one
of Dennis's projects.

- [chuckles] Huh?
Yeah, well, I mean, you know--

- He wasn't a friend of mine,
but I knew him.

And he would find
the places that we were,

and he would just be there.

I just thought he was
a seedy little character,

and I just, you know,
and he also didn't bathe.

And none of those people did.

And so you knew
he was there a block away,

just, you know,
'cause that's who he was.

- The smartest people
in the world

are really the most cut off.

- And he would make you
listen to this guy,

and people were doing it
to humor Dennis,

or because of who he was,

people were giving him
the respect.

- Take all the words away

and don't think
in right and wrong.

Just think in truth
and all the answers are there.

The weirdest thing was

first the parties
were in the guest house,

and this Manson and his crew
would be there.

And then it
kind of flipped itself,

and Dennis moved those people
into his house,

and he stayed in the guest
house on his own property.

So, for some reason, Charlie
was able to manipulate him.

- Oh, yeah, this'll make
you some money.

This is a money song, yeah.

- Charles had convinced him
that the music

that he was playing was good,

and that he was
gonna be a superstar,

and so I guess Dennis
went along with it,

I guess, and tried
introducing him to people,

and to try to get him
a record deal and all of that.

- You do whatever
you feel, man.

- Yeah, well, then I won't--
I won't do--

- You know, whatever comes
in your mind.

- Yeah, all right.
- I'm just sitting here,

gonna groove with you
for the next hour and a half,

or hour and 45--

- We went to Brian Wilson's

to a session that they were
gonna record maybe a demo.

- Let's see, hmm-hm.

[gentle guitar music]

♪ There's a time for living

♪ The time keeps on flying ♪

♪ Think you're loving baby ♪

♪ And all you're doing
is crying ♪

♪ Can you feel
are those feelings real ♪

♪ Look at your game, girl

♪ Look at your game, girl

♪ What a sad, sad game

♪ Mad game

♪ Sad game

- Summer was coming
to an end.

At some point,
Dennis would have to leave.

The Beach Boys
were gonna go on the road.

And that's when things
would start to fall apart.

I remember at one point
Dennis is gone,

One of the accountants
for Dennis says,

"You have a $1,200
Alta Dena Dairy bill."

They were
charging everything.

They would--The Alta Dena
Dairy man would, like,

be unloading his truck
there at the place.

So that started
to play on Dennis.

He didn't want people
to take advantage of him,

nobody does, and that became
more and more apparent

that that's
what was going on.

That was, maybe more
than anything else,

the formal beginning
of the split,

of going their separate ways.

He was gonna go away
for two weeks, on the road,

and he said, "Gregg,
can you get me out of here?

Can you find a house for me?"

So, literally, I hired
a moving company

to take Dennis's personal
stuff out of there.

And the whole idea
was to not let

the girls and Charlie know.

He was really trying
to divorce himself from that.

He was really done with it.

all: We want the Beach Boys!

We want the Beach Boys!
We want the Beach Boys!

[dramatic music]

♪

- In 1967, '68 and '69,

we had bigotry,
racial prejudice.

[all chanting]

And there were race riots
in every major American city.

- The simple fact is this.

We are in the worst crisis we
have known since the Civil War.

And time is running short

to try to find
some answers to it.

[all singing]

This was the image
of the negro revolution

only a few years ago.

Negro and white,
side by side.

Patient negroes.

The violence we saw was quite.

We saw negroes hosed
and beaten,

harassed with dogs.

Then, abruptly, shatteringly,
the images were different.

"Burn, baby, burn" drowned out
"We shall overcome."

♪

- America is shocked
and saddened

by the brutal slaying tonight
of Dr. Martin Luther King.

I ask every citizen to reject
the blind violence

that has struck Dr. King.

- When the racists
shot Martin Luther King,

the bullet that killed him
killed non-violence.

- During rebellions, brother,
you got to stop looting

and start shooting.

Black power, brothers.

- Black power!

- Charlie Manson thought
black people were inferior,

but he also feared them.

He began by being afraid
of the black Muslims in prison.

[all chanting]

So what Charlie talks about
is a race war's coming.

- The call was for violence,
and it filled the air,

it seemed, everywhere.

I saw myself reflected

in the wildness
of their hopes and stares.

- We have been too non-violent!
Too non-violent!

- You are either for it
or you are against it.

- There is no such thing
as a non-violent revolution!

- He was convincing them,

they were either gonna be
murdered by the blacks,

or the blacks
would make them slaves.

♪

The problem for a guru
is if you promise

that some great thing
is gonna happen

and it doesn't, you've
let down your followers.

You don't have
the magic after all.

So you've got to do
the sleight of hand.

He's playing them the Beatles'
"White Album" over and over,

and "Hear the messages
the Beatles are sending us."

"Blackbird"
works in very well,

"Piggies"
works in very well.

Then there's the song,
"Helter Skelter,"

coming down fast.

One of Charlie's basic creeds
is that there is no crime,

there is no sin,
that it's all just a game,

and that God's getting ready

to pull down the curtain
on this game

and start it over again
with his chosen people.

And that when
Helter Skelter comes down,

that the cities
are gonna be mass hysteria,

and that the beast will fall,

and the black man
will take over.

♪

- So what do you want to do?
You want to die,

or do you want to come with me
and rule the world?

[all chanting]

♪

- These communes undergo
a metamorphosis

as this kind of culture
is established.

I think it's rather benign,
but as it continues on,

I think the degree
of criminality increases

until the whole spectrum
of criminal activity

is ultimately a result.

[indistinct chatter]

- We'd been at Dennis's house.

That had all,
you know, ended.

Dennis had moved out, and then
we moved back to Spahn Ranch.

And that's when things

started going a little,
little crazier.

The recording thing had--
didn't go well with Dennis.

And then they were still
kind of dangling a carrot,

you know, to make a record,
and then that didn't happen.

And after that,

then all the energy
was about getting money.

We got introduced
to the desert.

Race war, the Helter Skelter
was gonna take place,

and that this was gonna be
a hiding place.

[uneasy music]

Most of the people
on the Earth would be gone,

and so he wanted
beautiful people

to help repopulate and rule.

[coyotes howling]

And that's when I realized
everything had changed.

♪

The Straight Satans, the
motorcycle gang was involved,

and there were knives,
and there were guns.

They were
like a protection,

and a provider of weapons.

Danny DeCarlo was probably
like the leader,

or the most vocal and
the most friendly with Charlie.

- When did Charlie
start to change.

Initially he
didn't like the guns.

- A couple months,

because at first
he wasn't into it, you know?

When I first went to the
ranch, I brought everything.

I brought my whole arsenal up.

You know, I had three rifles,
I had a couple of handguns,

I brought a machine gun
out there.

He got that machine gun
like John Wayne,

spray that thing
all over the place,

and bullets went everywhere.

It made him feel good.

We had fun.

We had fun shooting guns.

Forgot about that.
I did.

- Who was the best shot?

- Sadie.
I'd say Sadie was.

You know,
firing the machine gun.

- Did she get off on that?

- Oh, everybody did.
I did too, watching them.

[chuckles]

♪

- Back at Spahn Ranch,
now they're really building up

this kind of army,
you know, really,

and trying to get money
to fund guns and gas,

and the different vehicles.

♪

[horse neighs]

- Charlie sent word to Bobby,
who was living in Hollywood,

with his then-girlfriend
Kitty Lutesinger,

to come help us get protected.

So Bobby came on the ranch,

and he hung out
with the bikers,

and he got enthralled
with them.

He thought, you know,
iron horses, freedom,

so he wanted
to be a prospect.

- I really wanted to be
a part of it, you know?

I was a wannabe and
I wanted to be accepted.

I was building a bike,
I liked the lifestyle.

The whole motorcycle culture,

the biker culture represented
a kind of freedom

that I longed for.

I wanted to ingratiate
myself with the club.

And when I heard
that they were looking

to get some
sort of party drug,

I offered to, you know,
score for them.

The only guy I knew
who might have anything

that would have been
of interest to them was Gary.

After I left San Francisco
and went to L.A.,

I met Gary Hinman,
who was a friend of a friend.

He let me rent
for a very low rental fee

the basement
of his little house.

He had a baby grand piano
in the living room,

which was also his bedroom
and also his library.

He did teach piano
out at UCLA,

played piano
for a dance troupe.

- Gary loved music.
He loved books.

He went on to pursue
a master's program.

His mother was very proud
of his musical ability.

He became involved
with Buddhism,

and he and his parents

were going to go to Japan
on a pilgrimage.

His parents were paying
for the trip.

He did not have
the money to do that.

Gary was a gentle
human being.

- Gary wasn't like
a real dealer by any means.

He was just a guy
who sometimes

helped to make ends meet

by selling a little bit
of pot to his friends.

Yeah, I did know
that Gary had some mescaline

and Straight Satans
gave me some money

to go score from Gary,

and I went
and got mescaline for them.

It was a really
stupid idea on my part

that mescaline would be
a good thing

to give to some bikers
for a party.

They came back to me
and confronted me,

saying that they thought
it was bunk.

Some of the guys
had gotten sick on it.

If guys are drinking beer
and popping red devils,

they take mescaline
on top of that,

yeah, they're gonna get sick.

They wanted to get
their money back.

[tense music]

♪

I thought I could just explain
what the problem was,

and he would give me
the money back.

Bruce and Danny drove me over,
and Mary Brunner and Sadie

asked me
if they could come along,

because they were
friends of Gary's.

Honestly, I didn't think
it was gonna be a big deal.

I had the gun because
Bruce had given it to me.

I guess Danny recommended
that I take the gun,

and that it'd be, you know,
this sort of confrontation.

I didn't see it that way,

because I didn't see
Gary that way.

We talked about it, and I
told him what had happened,

and he says, "Well, Bobby,
I don't have the money."

He showed me his wallet
and his checkbook.

He had $57
in his checking account

and a few bucks
in his wallet.

And then I was starting
to get frantic.

And so I did hit him with
the gun a couple of times.

I didn't hit him very hard.
I'm just not that kind of guy.

And that is exactly
what Gary said to me.

He says,
"Bobby, this isn't you."

You know,
and I apologized.

I said, "I just--I need to
get something, Gary."

I need to take something
back to these guys."

I needed to be able
to look around the house

for something that
might be worth some money.

I gave the gun to Sadie,
told her, you know,

like I'd seen done
in cowboy movies as a kid,

"If he moves, shoot him."

Sadie had begun yelling
that Gary had got the gun.

I just immediately
ran into the kitchen

and saw Gary trying
to turn the gun on me,

and I just dove at him.

I got my hands on the gun.

As we were struggling,
then the gun went off.

♪

In that instant,

with both of us looking
into each other's eyes,

and I could see
the same thing in his eyes,

that were--
that I was feeling,

which was,
"I wonder if I've been shot."

I was able to take
the gun from him.

We both calmed down.
I put the gun away.

And Gary and I sat down
at the table again.

We came to the solution
that he would sign over

the pink slips to his VW bus
and that little jalopy.

The two of them
probably weren't worth

what I was in debt
to the bikers over.

What I didn't know
at the time

was that one of the women
had called the ranch.

[phone rings]

- The phone rang.

There wasn't anybody else
around, so I answered it.

And it was Mary Brunner,
and she said, "Get Charlie."

- After Gary had given me the
title to the two little cars,

we were on
cordial terms again.

Call it water under the bridge
and leave it behind.

We became aware that someone
was coming to the front door,

and Gary went to answer it.

And he opened the door,
and said, "Hi, Charlie."

And Charlie stepped
into the front door

and just slashed him
across the face,

not a word,
without warning.

I said, "Charlie,
why did you do that?"

And he said, exact words,
"Showing you how to be a man."

♪

And then Bruce turned to Gary
and says, "Where's the gun?"

And I said, "I've got it."

Bruce took the gun, as quick
as they came, they left,

and Charlie said, "Tell them
to clean this mess up."

Gary was bleeding.

He was holding his hand
up to his cheek,

and maybe I was just horrified
and Gary was horrified.

I spent the next day
with Gary.

And I didn't know what
the fuck to do at that point.

I was getting increasingly
desperate over the situation.

So I called the ranch.

[phone rings]

And got Charlie
on the phone and I said,

"Man, you know,
you created this problem,

"and I need you
to take it back,

because I don't know
what to do."

And he said something
to the effect,

"You know what to do as well
as I do," and hung up on me.

And maybe a half hour later,
I stabbed Gary to death.

- He was found in the living
room directly up here,

and he was lying on his back
with multiple stab wounds.

He had been dead
approximately one week

at the time
that he was found.

After we entered the home,
we saw signs of a struggle,

and it appeared as though
there had been a

some degree of violence.

I would never have
killed a man had Charlie

not come into Gary's home,
slashed his face,

and then left me there
with that responsibility.

I don't remember writing
in blood on the wall.

I don't know
that I did that.

I had always
assumed it was me.

- I had seen Bobby and Mary
and Susan Atkins

kind of huddled
and whispering.

The twinkle in his eye
was gone.

He looked scared
and didn't look like Bobby.

So I asked him,
"What's wrong?"

And he said, "Nothing."

So, I said, "Okay."
And I just kept on walking.

[coyote howling]

[uneasy music]

♪

- Bobby Beausoleil,
in his stupidity,

gets into the car of
the murder victim, Gary Hinman,

and he drives 120 miles
to San Luis Obispo.

- And drove off in Gary's car
with the murder weapon.

- It was very early
in the morning.

The car broke down.

The engine was still smoking

when the Highway Patrol car
passed by.

So I jumped
into the back seat

and pretended to be asleep.

I didn't know what I thought
that would do to help.

- The highway patrolman
discovered,

it is the car of the murder
victim, Gary Hinman.

Mr. Beausoleil was arrested,

accused
of first-degree murder.

[camera shutters clicking]

- After the murder,
Charlie leaves town.

Things were getting
too crazy in L.A.

[gentle music]

♪

- When I met Charlie,
I was 17 on a road trip.

And we were on our way home,
it was probably about,

I don't know, 3:00
in the morning or something.

We stopped for gas.

I went to go to the bathroom.

There was Charlie,

and a couple of fellows,
I think,

that were just hitchhiking
were with him as well.

He said some things, like,
"Well, what's a beautiful girl

like you out here
so late at night?"

And in just
a short period of time,

he was able to tell me

everything I ever
wanted to hear.

"I bet your dad
doesn't really love you.

I bet nobody really
takes you seriously."

And I was like,
wow, you know?

And I saw there was guitars
in his van,

and I thought,
"This is neat."

We were near Big Sur,

and I had always
wanted to see Big Sur.

So I don't know what happened.

I told the fellow
that I was with,

I said, "I'm gonna go
with these guys."

The attraction
was just immediate.

Yeah.

♪

We pulled up
to the Esalen Institute.

He took his guitar
and he told me,

"Stay in the van
while I go in there

and I'll be back
in a little bit."

So, okay, so I just waited.

I think that he was thinking
that they were gonna be

really blown away
by his talent,

and, you know,
his music abilities,

and, you know, ask him to come
back and possibly pay him.

But, uh, they didn't.

He was pretty upset
when he came back.

The fact that these people
were not impressed

with his talent
made him angry.

Put his guitar in the van,

and hardly said, you know,
two words, and off we went.

When we met at
the gas station, I said,

"If I go to Big Sur
with you,

will you take me to
San Diego to get my things?"

And he promised me
that he would.

And he did.

We spent a couple of hours
with my sister

and Charlie,
and my sister's boyfriend,

and I don't think
they were happy.

You know, they were
on the outside looking in,

and I don't think
they were real glad

that I was going with him,
but nevertheless, I was, so.

Basically,
I didn't take much.

A few clothes, my dog,
and my guitar.

When we pulled up
to the ranch,

everything was turned over.

Any clothes that I brought
went into a communal pile.

My driver's license,
any money I had,

which was probably
very, very little.

Everything that
we had went into,

like a communal pot,

and everybody
just used whatever.

Kind of gave up
your identity, you know?

♪

[indistinct singing]

♪

- I asked Charlie, "Hey, do
you know what's up with Bobby?"

He said, "Yeah, he got busted
in a dead man's car,

and now he's in for murder."

And I said, "Bobby?"

And he kind of said it
with disdain.

And I said,
"Well, what jail is he in?

I'll go see him."

And he said,
"I've got this covered.

You stay out of it."

♪

[uneasy music]

♪

- In my world,
there is no wrong.

You think that my mind is
like your mind, but it isn't.

This confusion belongs to you.
It's your confusion.

Living is what scares me.
Dying is easy.

- But there is something
else here.

We have known what Manson did
without understanding why.

- Charlie played a different
role for each one of us.

- We were everything
to each other.

- This wasn't
what I signed up for.

- These were
America's children.

- It was the '60s.
It was a perfect storm.

- People have been
brainwashed to believe

the real reason
behind these murders

was to start a race war.

He said,
"Will you die for me?"

- Helter Skelter
simply means confusion.

♪

- Greg, move your head.

[lion roars]