Original subtitles

[opening theme music playing]

Taxi, taxi, taxi!

Excuse me, you got any, uh--

Get away from me.

All I was asking was for some change.

Yeah, about I do a little dance for you, huh?

Wo, wo, wo, wo, wo,

Get out of here.

Humphrey, Humphrey.

Relax lady, he won't hurt you.

You bet your life he won't.

I don't think she has time for you, Humphrey.

Looks to me like she's just blown all of her change

on a $200 pair of shoes.

Oh, oh, oh, that's good.

That's really very good.

Excuse me?

The good cop, bad cop routine.

Your friend hits me up for money, gets me upset,

and then you come to my rescue.

Here.

Keep it lady.

I got a feeling you might need it more than me.

Hey, uh, don't pay any attention to him lady.

He's got these weird standards, you know?

And thanks a lot, huh?

Hey, Matty, look.

Hey, Matty, look, huh?

Is that them, our assignment?

Just one of them, the one called Matthew.

I thought you said there was two.

That's right.

She's the other one.

Okay, I'm going to the law building, please, all right?

Court house.

Thanks.

If we don't get some more change pretty soon,

we're going to have to go down to the mission

and sit through one of the Reverend's sermons.

Well, at least we got a dollar from that cranky lady, huh?

If it were up to me, I'd rather listen to the Reverend.

Hey, what do you say, fellows?

Not much, how about yourself?

I've been better.

Me and my partner bumped into hard times,

you know what I'm saying?

Can you help us out?

What do you mean, with a job?

I didn't say I was desperate, old-timer.

Old-timer?

A couple of dollars will do.

Hey, look, I can do better than that.

All right.

My friend and I will buy you and your partner dinner.

What do you say?

Humphrey, run for your life, they're social workers.

What, have you got something against a free meal?

Hey, look, old-timer, I can get all

the food I need in the trash cans but I wanted a drink.

Well, you're not going to get it from me.

Humphrey, we're wasting our time with these guys.

No, no, no, wait, wait wait, I've got an idea.

How about you two do-gooders take us to the nearest bar

and fill us full of booze and then maybe

we can discuss dinner.

I'm sorry, I can't do that, Humphrey.

Figures.

Hey, you know me?

Yeah, Humphrey, I know you.

Then you also know I won't go for that food dodge.

Let's go, Matty.

Why do you think he knew you?

I don't know.

Who is he?

Good work, now what do we do now?

We wait.

You are hereby sentenced to serve not less than two years

in the State Correctional Institution.

This court is adjourned.

-Ms. Reynolds. -Yes?

My name's Alan Peterson.

Of course, Councilman Peterson, Fourth District.

-How are you? -Just fine.

That was a nice job.

Piece of cake, anyone could see the man

was a menace to society.

Well, I doubt that anyone could make Judge Wheeler

throw the book at him.

I'm looking for someone to assist me in a project that is

vitally important to this area.

Would you be interested?

All according to what it is.

Well, why don't we meet for drinks later and discuss it?

Why don't we?

And I am very excited about the prospect of working with you.

Maybe you'd better be more specific.

In what way?

For instance, just how do I fit in?

Ah, my district includes the so-called Skid Row area.

I need someone to help me clean it up

and the first order of business is to get the winos

and deadbeats out of the area.

I agree but where do we send them?

What happens to them down the line?

That's not my problem.

As long as they are not in my district,

I don't care what happens to them.

Why me?

You are intelligent, energetic, and ambitious.

We work together, we both benefit.

Oh?

What do I get out of it?

The reputation for being the lady who cleaned up Skid Row.

That's a nice little campaign slogan.

Slow down, where do you get the idea that I'm

running for public office?

Don't get coy with me, Ms. Reynolds.

The talk is that you want to be the next DA and I can be

very helpful in that endeavor.

Think about it.

We make a hell of a team.

Can I drop you anywhere?

No, I have my car.

I'll just stay and finish this.

I'll be in touch.

How about another one, bartender?

This is an extraordinary vintage.

This is a full-bodied flavor and an excellent bouquet.

Tell me something, Matty.

What are you doing here?

I'm having a drink with my friend.

That's not what I mean.

I mean, what are you doing here in this life?

You don't belong here.

I'm here.

That's all that counts.

But I get the feeling you don't like this life.

Who does?

Me.

Come on, Humphrey, we're just here because we're stuck here.

Not me, I'm here because I want to be here.

Oh, yeah, you want to be here.

You like begging for coins and eating

the food out of the trash cans.

It beats working all day inside in a factory.

You have to understand.

My mother was a full-blooded Navajo.

I grew up on the reservation.

What a place.

All the space you'd ever need, so beautiful.

Why did you ever leave that place?

I could no longer look into the faces of my people.

Their sadness, their pain.

Nobody's got a job.

Their sacred lands taken away.

Hey, your name really isn't Humphrey Bogart, is it?

-Is too. -No, it's not.

My father was a white man named Bogart.

I was named after my uncle Humphrey.

My mother had never seen a movie in her whole life.

Never even heard of that other guy.

Well, this is a long way from the reservation.

I know.

You know it's hard being a bum on the reservation.

You can't bum from people that got no jobs.

So how did you end up here?

One drink at a time.

That's it, the whole story?

Let me make one thing perfectly clear,

I did it with utter proficiency.

See, that's what I mean.

Nobody talks like that down here, huh?

Come on, I opened up for you.

Oh, this is very depressing.

We need another bottle.

Hey, sounds like a plan.

Let me see what I can dig up.

Hey, any special brand?

The stronger the better.

Beggars can't be choosers.

That's very good, Matthew.

Beggars can't be choosers.

Hey, what are you doing?

You got any money on you, stiff?

No I don't have a thing.

You're lying.

Cough it up.

Hey, you!

What is this?

I don't have any money.

I lost him.

I don't have any money. Honest, I spent it all.

Come on, Matthew, on your feet.

Why? Where are we going?

I'm trying to help your friend Humphrey.

Humphrey?

What's wrong with him?

He's in jail.

Come on.

A felony requires a bail hearing and we--

Wait, wait, wait, a felony for being drunk?

He tried to swipe a bottle of whiskey.

What kind of damn fool DA would call swiping

a bottle of booze a felony?

This kind of damn fool.

Is there a problem here?

Yeah, why do you want to go make

a federal case out of some poor bum trying

to steal a bottle of liquor?

The man is a thief.

He's a drunk.

In my opinion, that might be worse.

Do you generally try these kind of cases as felonies?

I try my cases the way I see them

and I don't need the advice of some Skid Row bums.

Who the hell was that?

Her name is Kathleen Reynolds.

Hot, young assistant DA, going to make a name for herself.

Here's what happens.

The court appoints you a lawyer.

The lawyer gets you out on bail.

-You mean the public defender? -Yeah.

He was here already.

He wants me to plead guilty.

To a felony?

He said what with this being my first offense.

That's crazy.

Well, I got his card here somewhere.

Maybe you should talk to him.

No, I can't.

That wouldn't be right.

But they'll put me away.

Matty, this place is starting to get me crazy, you know?

You know how I get when I get closed in.

Please, Matty, please.

How's Humphrey?

He's going to be okay.

Did he ask you to help him?

Who told you that?

Are you going to?

I want a drink.

Are you going to help your friend?

What do you want me to do, go out and hire some hot shot

attorney to defend him?

I don't have a cent.

I'm a bum, remember?

You're also a lawyer, remember?

Who told you that?

I know a lot of things about you, Matty.

I also know the best way to help Humphrey is for you

to represent him in court.

Heh, you're very weird, you know that?

You're weird and I'm going to go get a drink.

You make a lousy friend, Matty.

You know what being locked up is going to do to Humphrey.

It's going to kill him.

Hey, you think it all takes is you stand up in court,

you recite a few laws and then everybody goes free?

It's been too long.

Matty, the moves will come back.

Anyway, I would have to be reinstated.

That's already been taken care of.

I've got a friend who will let you use his law library.

You can bunk in with us. We've got an extra bed.

What's going on here?

You two guys, you show up out of the blue.

You know all kinds of things about me.

You somehow get me reinstated?

I don't know who you are or why you're here.

We're here to help you get back on your feet.

Why?

Because it's time you stopped hiding in a bottle, Matty,

and started getting on with living your life.

Maybe this is my life.

Oh, no.

No, it isn't.

If it was, I wouldn't be here.

Now, are you going to help your friend or not?

We seem to be stuck between floors.

Great, I'm due in court in 15 minutes.

I know.

Oh, there it goes.

Wait a minute.

You're the one who was with Bogart, the other bum.

What are you doing here?

I'm Bogart's attorney.

What?

You are charged with violation of public statute 23759.

Herein, you did, on the night of October 18th,

steal a bottle of liquor from Manny's Liquor Store

on 405 East Third Street.

How do you plead?

Not guilty, your honor.

Very well, trial is set for Thursday, the 22nd.

Prosecution has requested bail to be in the amount of $25,000.

Isn't that a little excessive, your honor?

This is hardly a capital offense.

It's a felony.

It was a cheap bottle of wine.

If this were a misdemeanor, accused

would be released on his own recognizance.

The accused is a drifter with no ties to the--

Accused has lived continuously in this

community for the past...

He has no permanent address.

...23 years, which is a lot longer than most

of the residents who have permanent addresses.

Anyway, where does council think he's going to run off to?

That will be quite enough.

I'm setting bail at $1,000.

Kathleen Reynolds.

[Councilman Peterson] What happened in court today?

It was nothing.

That's not what I heard.

It was nothing, I said.

Listen, trying this boozehound

as a felon was a great idea,

but we've got to maintain the momentum.

We can't let anything take it away from us.

It was just a bail hearing.

It's going to be different when we go to trial.

Counting on that.

Count on it.

Whoa, hey, and where in the devil have you been?

Humphrey and I stopped off for a little celebration.

Oh, great.

Oh, oh, we really did it didn't we?

We got old Humphrey out.

Right, right, where is he?

Where's Humphrey?

I don't know.

I don't know.

Hey, cop, hey, hey, please don't do this.

Hey, hey, tell the man I'm sorry.

Don't lock me up, please.

Don't lock me up!

Don't lock me up!

Don't lock me up, please!

I'm sorry. It's all my fault

What happened last night?

You were just starting to get it together.

Nothing happened last night. I'm a drunk.

That's no answer.

I don't handle pressure very well.

It was always like that.

You say I was a good lawyer?

That wasn't enough.

I had to be the best.

My father was a judge, federal bench.

I was his number one son and I was supposed

to measure up, but I couldn't.

The pressure was just too much.

I started making stupid mistakes

and then one day, I decided to have a couple of drinks,

take the edge off.

It worked and before I knew it, I was down there with Humphrey.

I really want a drink.

-No, no not today. -Yes.

I said no.

Now, you've got work to do in court.

Well, that's very easy for you to say.

You don't have any idea what it's like.

The hell I don't.

I know exactly what you're going through.

What do you think, you're the only recovering drunk?

You?

Yeah, me.

Now, look, you are going to get through this.

You're going to get through it and we're going

to be right there with you.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

this case is not about stealing.

It's about discrimination.

You see, usually when a man is charged with taking

something that costs $2.85, it's called a misdemeanor.

That means if he's convicted, he has to pay a fine

and he's sent on his way.

But the defendant, Mr. Bogart, is being called a felon.

That means he could be sentenced to jail for at least

one year for taking a bottle of wine that cost less than $3.00.

Your honor?

Excuse me, Counselor, I didn't interrupt you.

You do seem to be going far field, Counselor.

Not really, your honor.

Prosecution described only one law to the jury.

He's only being charged with violating one law.

That's not true.

He is charged with being a thief and with being

a career criminal.

That's how they throw this felony thing in,

they call Mr. Bogart a career criminal.

Well, Mr. Bogart's career is not crime.

His career is that of a vagabond, if you like, a bum.

And that's why he's being discriminated against,

because he chooses to live his life outside the mainstream

of society.

I would also like to add that in a higher court

this case might very well be called unconstitutional.

Your honor, I really must object.

Objection sustained.

You are out of order, Mr. Kane.

You're absolutely right, your honor, I am.

I'm sorry.

Due to another matter that this court must resolve,

court is recessed until eight o'clock tomorrow morning.

Matty, in case I don't get out of here,

I want you to promise me something.

Hey, don't talk like that, Humphrey.

We're going to win this.

Listen to me, you know where I mostly sleep nights?

Yeah, on that loading dock over on Front Street.

Right, in the bottom slot of the dumpster

you'll find a leather pouch.

In the pouch, there's a stone bear and a small bag of pollen.

I want you to send it to my uncle.

That way he'll do a blessing way sing.

Blessing way?

For my spirit.

And another thing, promise me you'll stay out of the gutter.

You don't belong there.

Hey, Humphrey, nothing's going to happen.

You have to promise, all of it.

All right, I will.

Hey, stop worrying, okay?

Hey, take a look who's here.

When do we start to work on her?

Right now.

Good evening.

It was until now.

Oh, come on, just because we sit at opposite tables

in the courtroom doesn't mean we have to continue

the practice on the outside.

What do you mean?

I thought you'd like to join us.

I'm meeting someone.

Councilman Peterson?

That's my business.

Certainly.

You know, you might want to ask the Councilor about all

that property he's been quietly buying up at depressed prices

in the Skid Row area.

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

Oh, I'm sure you don't, but Councilman Peterson does.

Now he's pressuring the city council

to clean up the area so he can sell out at a nice profit.

He is quite a humanitarian, isn't he?

Enjoy your evening.

Waiter.

Yes, ma'am?

Another double.

Right away.

So I'm in the back stacking beer cases

when I notice him walking to the checkout stand

carrying his jug of wine.

So I tell him to wait a minute, I'll be right there.

Next thing I know, he's walking out of the store

with the bottle stashed under his arm.

No further questions, your honor

He just walked out.

Um, did he say anything?

Oh, yeah, he said, keep the change, something like that.

And when you got back to the counter

was there any change there?

-Yeah, but it-- -How much?

About $0.90, something like that.

How do you think it got there?

Objection, your honor, calls for a conclusion

on the part of the witness.

Sustained.

You say that this is the bottle of wine

that Mr. Bogart was supposed to have stolen?

Yeah, that's the one he took.

That's my mark right there.

Tell me, how do you know how much a bottle of wine

like this costs?

There's a price tag on it.

You see, it says $2.85.

Where's the two?

Well, the two is kind of faint, but I know my stock and--

But you're not the one buying it.

Isn't it entirely possible that Mr. Bogart

only read the $0.85 and then

put $0.90 on the counter and told you to keep the change?

Objection, your honor, calls for a conclusion

on the part of the witness.

I have no further questions.

Any further questions of this witness?

No, your honor.

You may step down.

Court will take a 15-minute recess.

No, I'm not going back in there.

Humphrey, it's only a recess.

No, I won't go back in there.

The walls are getting to me!

Humphrey, calm down.

Mr. Kane, restrain your client.

I'm trying to, your honor.

No, hey, you don't understand.

I can't go back in there. Matty, help!

Ms. Reynolds?

What are you doing here?

I wondered if I could talk to you for a few minutes.

I've been through it all already with your friend

the Skid Row lawyer.

Isn't a man's life worth a few minutes?

I'd offer you a drink,

but you're not going to be here that long.

So where is the vagrant's answer to Perry Mason tonight?

He went down to the jail to see Humphrey again.

What's on your mind?

I wanted to ask you one more time to drop the felony charge.

I told you I've been through all that.

But Ms. Reynolds, if you just listen, Humphrey--

No, you listen to me.

My job is to make this town a better place to live in

by getting the criminals off the street.

Humphrey's not a criminal.

He's a sick man who needs help.

I didn't make him a bum, I didn't make him a drunk,

and I most certainly didn't make him a thief.

These people have got to be taught a lesson

and stiffer penalties are the only way.

We're going to clean up this town, Smith.

Oh, you bet you are, by frightening the homeless

into moving somewhere else.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Let somebody else worry about it.

Your few minutes are up.

You can show yourself to the door.

Did you ever see someone lying on the sidewalk

and wonder how he got there?

I mean, he wasn't born that way.

He was a crying infant just like you and me.

Was he abused? Were his parents alcoholics?

What happened to him?

I told you, your time is up.

I'm not going to spend the evening discussing a drunk.

How many drinks have you had today, Ms. Reynolds?

No, not that one.

You're not going to compare me to Humphrey.

Oh, no, of course not.

You can afford to pay for your scotch.

If there ever comes a time when you need help,

I hope there'll be someone there.

All rise.

The Fourth District Court is now in session,

the Honorable Judge Helen Watanabe presiding.

You may be seated.

I'd like to see counsel in my chambers, please.

I... I have some terrible news.

The defendant, Mr. Bogart, is--

He hung himself this morning.

No, no, no, no, no.

And that's all that's left and nobody cares, nobody.

Including you.

Oh, why don't you two guys just leave me alone, huh?

You're not alone, Matthew.

You've got everything you need, your self-pity.

I mean, the hell with Bogart, right?

What do you mean the hell with Bogart?

He's dead.

What more can I do for him?

You can keep your promise for one thing.

You promised him you wouldn't wind up back in the gutter.

Yeah, I also promised him

that everything would turn out all right and he's dead.

Damn it! He's dead.

That's right, he's dead.

Humphrey is dead and nobody cares,

but you care

and you have the ability to make other people care,

not just about Humphrey but all the other Humphreys

that are lying in alleys in the city.

I'm just a broken down lawyer.

Who's going to hear my voice?

Nobody unless you raise it, raise it to the rooftops.

Make people listen.

Make them hear what they don't want to hear.

Make them face what's happening to people

all over this country.

-I can't. -You can.

Matthew, you can.

Humphrey was right, you don't belong down here.

God knows neither does anybody else,

but they can't get out without help, you can.

You've got the skills.

You've had the opportunities they never had.

You can make a difference.

How did you feel about Humphrey?

How did you feel about him?

I loved him.

He was my friend.

Then make sure this isn't all that's left of Humphrey Bogart.

Matthew, make people remember.

Make them remember that he was here.

As you can see, redevelopment of this eight-block area

will bring people back into the city again.

It will provide a place where people want to shop after work,

where they want to have dinner.

Now it, it can be a model for other areas of this great city,

but it is up to us to lead the way.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

We are now open to a public debate.

[people chattering]

Could we have order, please?

I insist upon having order.

My name is Matthew Kane.

I represent the street people of this district.

You not only represent them, but you are one of them.

Is that not true, Mr. Kane?

What does one of "them" mean, Mr. Peterson?

I think you know.

I know what you mean by it, the poor, the mentally ill,

the great unwashed.

To me, it means American citizens

living in your district who need help.

You cannot help people who do not help themselves, Mr. Kane.

I agree, but first you've got to let them know

that somebody cares,

that they do mean something,

that they have value.

We have tried, Mr. Kane.

To get rid of them, yes, you have.

To give them an opportunity to help themselves,

no, you have not.

Councilman Peterson's solution

is to intimidate these poor people, to frighten them

into living somewhere else.

My friend, my best friend, died in his cell yesterday.

He was in prison, charged with a felony

for stealing a cheap bottle of wine.

What Mr. Kane neglects to mention

is that the man in question was an alcoholic.

He hung himself.

Yeah, he was an alcoholic.

There are a lot of alcoholics in your district, Peterson.

But you people keep granting more and more licenses

to the liquor stores every day.

Have you noticed that every other business in this district

is a liquor store?

It's a free country, Mr. Kane.

Free if you can afford to pay for it.

If a president's wife or a celebrity

admits to alcohol addiction, they're given a lot of respect

and a lot of attention

for having the guts to come forward.

They're treated like heroes.

But if one of these people is in the same boat,

he's just another drunken bum.

And as for my friend's suicide, Mr. Peterson.

I must tell you that there are worse

things in this life than death.

Mr. Chairman, I, for one,

am getting very tired of this rhetoric.

You're absolutely right.

I apologize.

It's time that you took the floor, Councilman,

and explain to your constituents exactly what you

have to gain personally from this redevelopment project.

Who do you think you are to accuse me in this fashion?

I'm one of the people you work for!

How many parcels of land have you bought up, Councilman,

in your various partnerships?

I will not stand here and be insulted any more.

Okay, you can run out of here if you want to, Councilman,

but we will be heard if we have to shout it from the rooftops.

We will be heard!

We will be heard!

We will be heard!

We will be heard!

We will be heard!

We will be heard!

We will be heard!

We will be heard!

We will be heard!

We will be heard!

We will be heard!

We will be heard!

Hello?

-[Councilman Peterson] Kathleen Reynolds, please? -She's no longer here.

Well, where is she? This is Councilman Peterson calling.

Oh, Councilman, I'm sorry.

I don't know. She quit today.

She quit?

Yes, sir.

She came in, quit, and left.

She didn't even bother taking anything with her.

Thank you very much.

[Johnathan Smith] Three months later,

the building for the homeless opened.

Matthew Kane had raised his voice and been heard

and a Native American, Humphrey Bogart, would not be forgotten.

[theme music playing]