Oh, that's the cocktail bar, huh?
What's in there?
It's a private dining room.
From now on, it's the gambling room.
- Make a note of that, Charlie.
- Right.
Take him out for a walk.
It's too stuffy in here.
That, it's crummy. Change it.
But, Mr. Vanning, it's French.
I had it specially designed.
It's still crummy. None of the classy
spots use that kind of stuff anymore.
I want the kind that sticks up
in the ceiling.
- Indirect lighting.
- That's what I want.
- Hello, Gabby. Still around?
- Yeah.
Emmy Lou is the name, Mr. Vanning.
All right, now. This is it.
I'm taking over this joint.
From now on,
you're working for me, understand?
Most of you have been around long enough
to know how I operate.
If you don't,
read the papers and find out.
Up to now, this night club racket's
been run on a penny-ante basis.
That's out.
From now on, I'm organizing it.
When I organize anything,
I make it pay big money, or else.
Now, this town is full of big shots
from the sticks.
They keep pouring in by the carload,
looking for one thing:
The kind of time they can go home
and brag about.
And torch songs with soft lights
aren't going to satisfy them.
We know the action they want,
and we are going to give it...
...from tiddlywinks to roulette.
But they're going to pay for it plenty,
understand?
In other words, a clip joint.
Yeah, and run on a high-class basis.
Your job is to soften them up
so they can be taken.
There's only one way to work
on chumps: Our way.
With no holds barred.
High-class?
- You don't like it, huh?
- It all depends.
How much is there in it for us?
About 50 times what you're getting now.
But you don't get it for nothing.
Every week, you're going to kick back
part of what you make to me.
That goes for protection, hush money,
lawyer's fee, bail bonds, anything else...
...to square the rap
in case the law steps in.
That's one thing
you won't have to worry about.
Anybody that sticks with me
gets taken care of.
Maybe you like this setup,
maybe you don't...
...but you're going to take it.
I got every nightclub in town...
...and every girl working in
every nightclub, sewed up.
You're going to work the way I tell you,
or you don't work at all.
You got that straight?
All right, the place will be closed
until we get it fixed like I want it.
And cut a peephole in the door. The chumps
go for that "hard to get in" angle.
Come on, let's get out of here.
- Wait till I get my pay.
- Hurry up. We'll be outside.
Hey, you. Yeah, you.
Kind of old ain't you?
I need young dames here,
the kind men go for in a hurry.
- But I've been here a long time...
- That's the trouble.
You won't do. You're through.
You said you took care
of people who were loyal to you.
- She never worked for me.
- But she has for Beler.
And she's always been on the level.
How do you know what she can do?
Why kick her out
just because you're taking over?
Sure, she's okay, Vanning.
Why don't you give her a break
and let her prove it?
- You know, she can't wreck the place.
- Yeah?
- Okay.
- Thanks, Mr. Vanning.
- Pretty smart girl, aren't you?
- I get along.
How about coming up to my place
for a drink? I'd like to know you better.
- No, thanks.
- Why not?
Well, you've told me I was working for you.
So I work for you.
That's as far as it goes.
Anyway, I'm sort of afraid
of your social set.
- Afraid?
- Yes.
I might get to learn too much about you,
like Audrey Fleming did.
Remember?
If I'd wanted to end up in the river...
...I'd have taken a jump
off Brooklyn Bridge five years ago.
- You're not afraid to talk anyway.
- We're among friends.
And I think we'll get along a lot better
if we understand each other.
- I think I'll be a big help to your business.
- Maybe you will at that.
Good night.
- Smart girl.
- Maybe too smart.
- Thanks, Mary. You were swell.
- Forget it, Estelle.
- Good night, Mr. Vanning.
- Good night.
- What's her name?
- Emmy Lou.
Make a note of it.
Here you are, girls.
Wait a minute, let's walk.
We'll need some fresh air after that one.
That sign, what's it mean?
- Well, come on. What does it mean?
- Intimate.
- What does that mean?
- You know, intimate.
Personal. Get together. Like this:
Oh, well, why don't it say
what it means?
- Change it.
- To what?
- What was that you said?
- Intimate.
- Intimate. Make a note of it.
- Right.
Good morning.
I don't really look old, do I?
What does he expect a girl
to look like at 6 in the morning...
...after dragging heavyweight
salesmen around a dance floor?
Like a debutante?
If he saw me when I'd come to work
and my makeup was fresh...
Oh, let's skip it, Estelle, and go to bed.
We're all fagged out.
Well, let him fire me.
What do I care?
I don't want any part
of his clip joints anyway.
And if you do, you're crazy.
He might as well put a gun in our hands
and send us out on stickups.
Well, what are you going to do?
You heard what he said.
It's Vanning or nothing.
Well, this isn't the only way
to make a living.
- Do you know a better one?
- Well, I can always go back into vaudeville.
Oh, stop kidding yourself, Estelle.
Your dancing days are over.
You'd need counterweights
to keep your arches from falling.
Well, then I'll get a job in a factory,
behind a counter, anyplace.
- At 12 and a half a week?
- That's enough for me.
For cigarettes.
We've all tried this 12 and a half
a week stuff. It's no good.
Living in furnished rooms,
walking to work.
Going hungry a couple of days a week...
...so you can have some clothes
to put on your back.
I've had enough of that
for the rest of my life.
And so have you.
Well, of course she has.
She's just burned up
because Johnny said she was getting old.
Aren't you, honey?
You're a sweet little hyena, aren't you?
Well, it's true, isn't it?
You know, working for Vanning
isn't gonna be any bed of roses.
- And you don't have to rub it in.
- You're gonna work for him.
But I'm not getting into his trap.
And I'm not taking any chances of getting
a slap in the face with a spade either.
You know, we're letting ourselves in
for enough as it is.
Some will wind up in the short end,
but not me, baby.
I know all the angles, and I think I'm smart
enough to keep one step ahead of them...
...till I get enough to pack it all in and live
on easy street the rest of my life.
- I know how to beat this racket.
- Yeah? How?
That's what I've been trying
to find out for years.
- Good evening, gentlemen.
- Hey.
- Oh, look at that.
- Keep the change.
This way, please.
Where are they from?
Picked them up at Waldorf-Ritz,
metal industries banquet.
It's locked. Hey, captain,
commodore, come on.
Just a second, gentlemen.
From the Waldorf-Ritz.
McGrew sent them.
Say, are we having fun?
- Good evening.
- How do you do?
- How many?
- Four, please.
Right this way, please.
Are there going to be any more
in your party?
I don't know.
Are there?
Carrie.
Florrie, sit here.
- Sit right down, honey.
- Oh, no, no. I saw her first.
All right, I've got my gal right here.
Gabby, go to work on them.
Well, how do you want it, honey?
Soft and smooth, or loud and hard?
Soft and smooth.
Only don't put them to sleep just yet.
What is your party drinking?
- Why, what have you been drinking?
- Oh, champagne.
Fine. We don't wanna change your diet.
- Champagne for everybody.
- Everybody, champagne. Gallons of it.
Are you in the mood for music?
- I'll say I am, baby.
- All right. Hey, Gus.
- They're all set.
- Who ordered?
The young fellow with Mary. Champagne.
- Well, tell Mary the dice table for him.
- Okay.
Come on. Come on over here
and sit up here, baby.
Here's how.
Thanks, sugar.
Snake eyes.
- Well, honey, I guess this isn't our night.
- Oh, keep on trying, you'll get hot.
Not with three pair
of snake eyes in a row.
- How much am I in for?
- Eighteen hundred dollars.
- Is that all?
- Yes.
Would you mind taking my check?
I don't like leaving myself without any cash.
- Glad to accommodate you.
- That's what I call service.
I believe you ordered for the party.
You might as well add this to it.
- That's a lot of party. Where are the others?
- They got a bit tight and left with the girls.
- Thanks.
- Come on, honey, let's go.
- Cab.
- Yes, sir.
Good night.
Need a cab?
Tail that cab.
- Boy, they sure took me to the cleaners.
- You had a good time, didn't you?
Never had a better time in my life.
I'd like to do it all over again.
- Well, I guess you can afford it.
- Afford it?
- What's so funny?
- You were thinking I can afford it.
Listen, sister, I don't make
that much money in a year...
...let alone spend it.
You mean that you haven't
got the money to pay off?
No, not a red cent.
I was just putting on an act.
Boy, I'd like to see the look on their faces
when they try to cash that check.
- Will that be funny.
- Yeah, like a funeral. Yours.
And that's what you're going to have
if they don't get their money.
What are you talking about?
You're messing with the toughest gang
in town. They'd cut your throat for a dime.
So you can imagine what they're
going to do to you for that kind of money.
Say, are you kidding me?
Well, if you don't believe me,
stick around and find out.
Well, what am I gonna do?
You got enough money
to pay your hotel bill?
I paid that in advance.
Got my railroad ticket too.
Well, use it.
Check out of that hotel...
...and grab the first train home
before it's too late.
- Good night.
- Good night.
- Remember what I told you.
- Oh, I will.
- Mary.
- Yeah?
Mary, l... I haven't even got enough
to pay for the cab.
- Here.
- Thanks. I'll send it to you.
- What's your address.
- Forget it.
No, no, no.
Please, write it down here.
All right.
Oh, gee, you're swell.
I don't know why.
A sap like you deserves to be taken.
I guess you must bring out
the mother instinct in me.
Now, go on, get in. Hurry.
- Good night, chump.
- Good night.
- Be careful.
- All right.
Take him to Waldorf-Ritz
and step on it.
- Good night.
- Good night.
- Hello, McGrew.
- Hiya.
Mind if we park here for a while?
Gotta keep an eye on one of those guys
you sent till we can get his check through.
- How much did you take him for?
- Plenty.
Yes, sir, 319?
Yes, sir. Right away.
He's checking out.
Pennsylvania Station.
What a night.
Oh, does it feel good
to stand up and stretch.
Good morning.
- What's good about it?
- You all look as if you had hangovers.
No, stomachaches.
I never ate so much chop suey in my life.
Me neither. One more dish and I'd have
put my hair in a braid and opened a laundry.
Well, I like chop suey.
- You like anything.
- What happened?
Well, our boyfriends' idea
of a swell evening...
...was to take us from
one chop suey joint to another.
Did we have fun.
The only laugh I got
was when the screwball I was with...
...tried to show off and darn near
choked to death on a chopstick.
- How did you do, Mary?
- Oh, all right.
- Did they take that chump for much?
- Well, l... I don't know.
- Where did you go after you left the club?
- Home.
Gee, it must be swell to get some sleep.
And where did you disappear to last night
that makes you so smug?
I spent a very charming evening
with Mr. Vanning.
Emmy Lou.
- You're a fool.
- Don't kid yourself.
Girls, good morning.
Don't you believe in knocking twice?
- Don't you believe in paying once?
- No.
So we're even.
How about it, girls?
According to my book, you owe me for
enough dresses to start a new business.
Now, it's gonna come to a showdown.
Either you're gonna pay me or you ain't,
one or the other.
Louie, I'm afraid it's gonna
have to be the other.
Give us a break, will you, Louie?
You know us. We're good for it.
Listen, girls, if it was up to me,
honest, I'd do it in a minute. Why not?
I like you, you like me.
But what am I gonna do?
That guy Vanning and his bunch are on my
neck every minute of the day.
Collect, collect, collect.
- Vanning? What's he got to do with it?
- Everything. He's taken this over too.
Yeah, it's the truth.
All my life I've been
in business for myself.
If I lost all the money I made,
at least it was mine.
But now I don't even get
that satisfaction.
Everything is his.
Just like with you girls. Nice, huh?
You know, pretty soon that guy
is gonna charge us for breathing.
- Listen, if you'll promise to pay a little...
- Yeah?
- I'll show you some new stuff I got.
I positively guarantee you that it was stolen
from the best shop in town.
But you gotta promise.
- Sure.
- Oh, we promise.
- Sure.
- I'll bet we're gonna love it.
- Oh, it's heavy.
- I want the white one!
- Hey, take it easy, take it easy.
- You can't do that, that's mine.
Oh, look at this. Isn't this?
Yes, sir.
Pick me up in about a half-hour?
- So long. Bye.
- So long.
- Emmy Lou, look.
- Isn't it adorable?
That's one of the most beautiful pieces
of merchandise I ever seen.
- Come in.
- Come in.
- Betty.
- Hello, Mary.
Gee, I'm glad to see you.
Girls, this is my kid sister, Betty,
that I've told you so much about.
How do you do?
- Oh, Betty, this is Louie, our designer.
- Designer?
Yes. You see, our store
is giving a fashion show...
...and they sent him up
with some models that we are to wear.
And, well, we were rehearsing.
That is, Emmy Lou was.
Weren't you, Emmy Lou?
Oh, yeah, yeah. Sure.
- You have to rehearse for a fashion show?
- Sure. Just like being an actress.
And you have to keep on rehearsing,
don't you girls?
Sure, sure.
Louie, we'll see you back
at the show room.
Show room?
So this is the sister you're always talking
about, huh, Mary? Nice-Iooking girl.
Nice-Iooking coat too.
It looks like... Sure, I remember.
I sold it to you a year ago.
- I said goodbye, Louie.
- Yes, goodbye, Louie.
- What about the money?
- You can send us the check.
Send you a check?
Are you crazy, or am I?
- Come on, Louie.
- Now, wait a minute.
Cut it out, will you?
What is this?
Halloween.
We're putting on a masquerade.
Can't you get it through your skull...
...that she doesn't want her sister
to know what she's doing?
- I get it now.
- I thought you'd get it sooner or later.
Oh, come on, will you, quit kidding.
You've never seen so much
excitement in your life.
For weeks the whole school has talked
about nothing else but this football game.
See, the boys who we're playing come
from college right near us.
We know most of them all, and...
And, you know...
- Sweet.
- Like sugar.
So we decided to come and see it.
It didn't cost much, Mary.
Besides, I was dying to see you.
Oh, I'm glad you came, darling.
Gee, it must be fun going to school.
Oh, it's not exciting,
if that's what you mean.
Mostly going to classes and studying.
Of course, once in a while we have
dances and parties, and that's about all.
I don't think you'd like it.
It sounds easier than
standing on your feet all night...
- How long are you going to stay, Betty?
- Just for the day.
We're going to the game,
then going right back.
You're coming with us, aren't you?
No. No, you go with your friends.
L... I think I'll just stay home and rest.
You're tired, aren't you?
You all look so tired.
You must work awfully hard
in that dress shop.
Oh, no, no. It just happened
that this week was a very busy week.
Yeah, sugar. They practically
rushed us right off our feet.
I wish there was something
I could do, Mary.
- You keep right on going to school.
- I know.
But it sort of makes me
feel so helpless.
I go to school
and a have good time...
...and you have to work so awfully hard
to keep me there.
I'll pay you back for it someday, Mary.
You'll pay me back every time
I look at you.
That must be my friends. I'll answer it.
- Which one of you is Mary Dwight?
- I am.
Know a fella named Ralph Krawford?
Ralph Krawford?
Yes, I was out with him last night.
Did you ever see this before?
Sure. Sure, I gave it to him.
- What about it?
- Nothing.
Only it was in his pocket
when we found him. Murdered.
- Murdered?
- We found him in an alley this morning.
What's that got to do with me?
You'll find out when we get down
to headquarters. Get dressed.
No, I don't want to go.
Tell me what I'm being arrested for.
Well, if you must know, sister,
we're holding you on suspicion of murder.
The rest of you get your clothes on.
Well, you don't think
it took all of us to kill him.
You'll get a chance to answer that.
Get going.
And these four men approached you
and asked you to recommend a nightclub?
Yes, sir.
- Why did you send them to Club Intimate?
- No particular reason.
It was just the first place
that popped into my head.
Because you were paid so much a head
by Vanning for steering suckers in there?
Vanning? Who's Vanning?
Never heard of him.
Never heard of two years
in jail for perjury either?
I make a living out of tips.
If a guest in the hotel asks me a question,
it's part of my job to answer it.
What he does and where he goes after that
is none of my business.
That's all. Thanks.
Well, I guess that's that.
He was lying,
and so were the rest of them.
They all know how and why that man
was murdered and who was back of it.
Just as you and I do.
It's marvelous, isn't it?
One man, Johnny Vanning,
completely terrorizes the city.
Commits every crime
from murder to mayhem.
We all know it,
yet we can't do a thing about it.
Look, son.
My files are bulging
with quashed indictments...
...hung juries,
verdicts of "not guilty."
So long as Vanning is able to buy
politicians and hire unscrupulous lawyers...
...who take advantage
of every technicality of the law...
...who coach and buy
perjured testimony...
...and so long as Vanning is able to
continue intimidating witnesses, it's futile.
Well, how long is it gonna keep on
being futile?
I don't know.
We've got to wait for Vanning
to make that one false move.
Yeah, well, I don't like waiting.
- Do you wanna take the case into court?
- Sure.
- With those witnesses?
- Sure, why not?
If Vanning can get away with intimidation,
why can't I?
You're a young man, Dave.
At this stage of your career,
a fiasco isn't going to help you much.
- Yeah, well, I'll take that chance.
- All right.
From now on, it's your case.
Go to it.
- Thanks.
- Good luck.
- Did you pick up those girls?
- They're in with the others.
- Would you mind stepping into my office?
- Not at all.
You too, Casey.
Right this way, gentleman.
Step right over here.
- Oh, Casey, will you close that blind?
- Yes, sir.
Ferguson, have all those girls line up
facing this way.
Stand up, please.
Those the girls
you were with last night?
You've got nothing to be afraid of.
They can't see you.
- Were those the girls?
- Yes, sir. Yeah.
- All except that one on the end.
- Which one?
The one with the leather coat.
The girl with the leather coat,
step forward.
- Sure you didn't see her around the club?
- Yes, sir.
All right, which one was with Krawford?
- The one on the end, the blond.
- That's Mary Dwight.
Ferguson, bring Mary Dwight
into my office right away.
All right, thank you. That's all.
- Mary Dwight?
- That's right.
Sit down.
Go ahead, sit down.
All right.
- You work at the Club Intimate?
- Are you telling me or asking me?
- Those other girls, they work there too?
- You know everything.
That little girl with the leather coat,
what does she do?
She's got nothing to do with this.
- We'll find out about that later.
- No, we'll find out about that right now.
That kid's my sister.
And she was down here visiting me...
...when those gorillas of yours blew in
and pulled us all in.
And I'll tell you something else.
If you get her mixed up in this, I'Il...
I'm not. If she had nothing to do with it,
I'll let her go.
Just as I'll let you go,
if you had nothing to do with it.
Now, last night about 10:00
four men came into the club.
And they sat down with you girls.
You had some drinks and you danced.
There isn't any law against that,
is there?
One of those men was Ralph Krawford.
He was with you.
The other four left about 1:00.
You and he stayed.
He lost a lot of money gambling.
Then you left together in a cab.
- Where'd you go?
- Home.
- What'd you do when you got there?
- Nothing.
I got out, and he went off in the cab.
Where?
I don't know.
The cab driver testified minutes ago...
...that you told him to take Krawford
to the Waldorf-Ritz Hotel.
How do you account for that?
- Supposing I did?
- Then you did know where he was going?
Well, I knew where he was starting for,
but I didn't know where he'd wind up.
You didn't see him between the time
he checked out of his hotel...
...and the time we found him murdered?
- No.
Can you prove you didn't?
Can you prove I did?
- You're a pretty smart girl.
- So they tell me.
Much too smart to be protecting
a murderer like Vanning.
I'm not protecting anybody but myself.
Now, Mary, we're trying to help you.
- I'm doing all right.
- For how long?
Until Vanning gets as much as he can
and throws you in the ashcan...
...just like he's done with everything
he's ever laid his hands on.
And we're trying to put a stop to that,
help people like you.
But there's nothing we can do
unless you're willing to help yourself.
Now, why don't you give us a break.
What kind of a break
have you ever given us...
...outside of kicking us around
every chance you could get?
There's only one kind of a break we want
from you, and that's to leave us alone.
And let us make a living
in our own way.
Or is that asking too much?
Anything else you wanna know?
How do you like the inside of a jail?
- Me?
- Yes, you.
Because that's where you're going.
Maybe you don't know it,
but there's a law in this state...
...that makes an accessory to a murder
equally as guilty as the murderer himself.
Now, unless you tell me
exactly what happened and who did it...
...I'm going to indict you for murder.
Nice. Just when I got
everything running fine.
- It'll blow over.
- Yeah.
In the meantime, every one of my joints
gets a bad reputation.
What do you suppose people thought
they were before this happened?
- Ice-cream parlors?
- Never mind that.
I want it stopped.
What kind of a guy is this Graham?
Young, ambitious.
What's his price?
Did you ever hear the story
about the virtuous young man?
Someday you're going to give me
one of those answers...
...and I'm going to bust you
right in the nose.
Tell it to me in English.
He can't be bought.
Is that plain enough?
Yeah.
Too plain.
Anybody that wouldn't take dough is crazy.
Crazy men are dangerous.
A guy like that is liable to get too big
and really put the clamps down.
And where will we be?
Oh, I've got something worked out
that will take care of that.
- Is it cute?
- Everything I do is cute.
When I get through with him...
...he'll be lucky to be able get a job
as a second assistant to a notary public.
Swell.
- Did you spring the girl yet?
- No.
What are you waiting for?
When I promise to get my girls out
in case they get jammed up, I mean it.
- Get her out.
- She stays in jail.
Listen, Gordon.
You're doing all right as my lawyer.
But I don't like it
when you start trying to be my boss.
Get that girl out
before she starts squawking.
- That's just what I want her to do.
- What?
Only she's going to squawk
the way I tell her to.
How do you do, Miss Dwight?
Sorry I was delayed.
I got here as soon as I could.
Now, before we accept this case, there are
several things I'd like to discuss with you.
- Who sent you?
- Vanning, and keep it under your hat.
It's about time.
- Well?
- Sit down.
Look, that's all I've been doing
for the past two days...
...is standing up and sitting down.
I don't need a lawyer to tell me that.
- When do I get out of here?
- You don't.
- Oh, I see. A little conniving.
- Yeah, that's right.
I go to bat for Vanning...
...and I get paid off
by taking the rap for him.
Listen, jurisprudence, I pay Vanning
good money to settle little things like this...
...and he's going to get me out of here.
Now, listen, you know Vanning takes care
of all the people that play ball with him.
- You've got to stay here and help him.
- Help him?
What is this, a charity affair?
He's gonna help me, and do it fast.
Now, if he doesn't get me out of here
by tonight, I am going to...
Do nothing.
Vanning was telling me
that you said something about a girl...
...that was found in the river
by the name of Audrey Fleming.
Now, you don't wanna be found
in that spot, do you?
You sit down and listen
to what I got to say.
What did you want to see me about?
- How long are you going to keep me here?
- That entirely depends on you.
You wouldn't do this to me
if I were somebody important, would you?
No.
You'd be afraid.
Somebody higher up might find out.
You might lose your job.
But with me, you can get tough.
People like us, we don't count.
We're nobodies. Setups to be kicked about
by whoever feels like it.
Well, I won't stand for it.
- Either you let me out of here, or I'Il...
- Or what?
Coming in here like this
isn't gonna help you at all.
There's only one way
for you to get out.
Tell me what happened
the night Krawford was murdered.
- I can't.
- Why not?
- I'm afraid.
- Of Vanning?
Yes. He'll kill me.
- He did have something to do with this?
- No, he didn't. He was...
Oh, please don't ask me to talk.
He'll kill me.
Help me to prove he's responsible,
I'll put him where he won't kill anybody.
You don't know what he's like.
He stops at nothing.
People disappear
and are never heard of again.
I don't want that to happen to me.
I'm young and I wanna live.
I don't wanna die.
All right. Come on, now.
Pull yourself together.
Here, use this.
Thanks.
- Pretty tough going for you girls, isn't it?
- Yeah.
Sometimes it's too tough.
There's no use crying about it.
That's the way it is.
That's the way it's gotta be.
No, it doesn't.
You're not the only one that was born
with two strikes against him.
I probably got kicked around
just as much as you did.
I didn't like it any better than you do.
The only difference between us...
...is that, well, I did something about it.
You won't.
Now, Mary, if you'll help me to put Vanning
and his crowd where they belong...
...you'll not only be helping yourself...
...but you'll be helping
thousands of other girls just like you.
If you won't...
...well, then you'll just keep on getting in
deeper and deeper until...
Well, l... I guess you know the rest
of the story just as well as I do.
- Now, you see that, don't you?
- Yeah, I see.
Well, now, why won't you tell me
what you know?
Well, what have you got to lose?
Nothing. Not a thing.
Then you'll talk?
- Why not?
- Good girl.
Oh, Smith, come in here
and bring your book.
And now, Miss Dwight...
...you've testified that when you arrived
at the Waldorf-Ritz Hotel...
...you saw the deceased being dragged
into a taxicab by two of the defendants.
- Is that right?
- Yes, sir.
Can you identify these men?
Yes, sir.
Will the defendants please rise?
Will you indicate the men
you saw that night?
Go ahead, Miss Dwight,
you have nothing to be afraid of.
Which are the men?
Those men standing there
behind Mr. Vanning.
And you positively identify
William Borno and James Meller...
...as the two men you saw drag the
deceased, Ralph Krawford, into the taxicab?
Yes, sir.
- Have you ever seen these men before?
- Oh, sure.
They're a couple
of Vanning's strong-arm men.
They work as bouncers at the club.
Thank you, Miss Dwight.
Your witness.
- You say your name is Mary Dwight?
- Yes, sir.
Is that your true name?
Answer the question.
- Is that your true name?
- No, sir.
- Then what is it?
- Mary Strauber.
Why did you have to change it,
Miss Strauber?
- For professional reasons.
- What is your profession?
I object. That's immaterial.
I'm merely trying to establish
the character of this witness.
- Overruled. Proceed.
- I repeat the question.
- What is your profession, Miss Strauber?
- I'm a hostess in a nightclub.
Now, will you please explain to the jury
just what your duties as hostess are?
Well, we have to entertain all the men
that come into the club alone.
And just how do you entertain
these men?
I object. That's a deliberate attempt
to degrade the witness.
Overruled. I believe it's material.
And now, just how
do you entertain these men?
Well, we dance with them
and get them to buy us drinks.
Is that all?
Well, we're nice and pleasant to them
and see that they have a good time.
In other words, you've got to be nice
and pleasant to men you don't know...
...who ordinarily you'd have nothing
to do with, isn't that right?
- Yes, sir.
- Now, Miss Strauber...
...isn't it true that a week previous
to the night in question...
...you were threatened
with dismissal by Mr. Vanning...
...for exceeding your duties as hostess?
Objection, Your Honor.
It's irrelevant and immaterial.
I believe it both relevant and material
to inquire into the motives of this witness.
Overruled.
I ask you again, is it true that in spite
of repeated warnings by Mr. Vanning...
...that he would not tolerate such conduct
in any establishment of his...
...you persisted in entertaining the men
outside the club?
- Yes, but l...
- That's all, Miss Strauber.
Thank you.
The people rest.
The defense calls John Truble.
Will you please take
the witness stand, Mr. Truble?
Put up your right hand.
Do you swear to tell the truth
and nothing but the truth?
- I do.
- What's your name?
- John Truble.
- Please be seated.
Mr. Truble, as sheriff for Maco County...
...do you recall arresting two men
named William Borno and James Meller...
...for drunken driving?
- Yes, sir.
What disposition was made
of that charge?
They both pleaded guilty, so they got
a $50 fine and 10 days in jail apiece.
Please look around this courtroom
and see if you see...
...either William Borno
or James Meller or both.
There's the two of them, sitting there
behind the table.
Will you two men rise, please?
- You mean these two men?
- That's right. That's them.
May the record show that the witness has
indicated the defendants Borno and Meller.
Now, Mr. Truble...
...you positively identify them as
the two men remanded into your custody...
...at Maco County Jail
from October 4th to October 14th?
Yes, sir.
And you're certain that you didn't
permit them to leave the jail...
...so that they could be seen dragging
the deceased into a taxicab...
...on the night of October 9th?
No, sir. I'm very strict about that.
Your Honor, I wish to offer
into evidence...
...these duly attested records of the arrest,
conviction and imprisonment...
...of the defendants,
William Borno and James Meller...
...on the charges and for the period
just stated by the witness.
They may be so received.
And so, ladies and gentlemen
of the jury...
...you can understand why
the district attorney...
...floundering in his desperate attempts
to prosecute my client...
...has the effrontery to bring into this court
such an obviously trumped-up charge.
And as if this were not enough...
...he expects an intelligent jury
to convict the defendants for murder...
...on the testimony of a woman he tells you
is an innocent victim of circumstances...
...but who, by her own admission,
is not only unreliable, unscrupulous...
...and unfit to be heard and believed
in any court of justice...
...but is definitely objectionable...
...in the eyes of all decent and
upright men and women.
"We, the jury in the above entitled action,
find the defendants, and each of them...
...not guilty."
The clerk will record the verdict as read.
The jury is excused
and the defendants are discharged.
Boy, I've been in some rotten ones,
but this smells to high heaven.
Nice going, kid.
Thanks.
Yes, it's reached my nose by now.
Oh, just a minute.
You know, for a little while,
you had me believing in you.
I thought maybe you were different.
My mistake. Thanks for the ride.
You know, if I weren't in such a hurry,
I'd break right down and cry.
So long, chump.
I'll be seeing you.
I wish it was all over.
It's getting on my nerves.
Yes, and your talking about it
is getting on mine.
- Well, what happened? Where's the kid?
- Inside.
- Vanning won, didn't he?
- Yeah, Vanning won.
- How's she taking it?
- Pretty tough.
If you want me to,
I'll talk to her first, Mary.
No, thanks, Estelle.
Had to happen sooner or later.
So I...
Suppose I might just as well go in
and face it now.
Hello, Betty.
Betty?
You know, this isn't gonna
get us anywhere, darling.
Why didn't you tell me?
Why did you let me believe that?
Well, I...
I just couldn't.
I guess I didn't ever
want you to find out.
I wish now I had.
I've hurt you, haven't I, darling?
Betty...
...you're not going to let this make
any difference between us, are you?
Are you?
You can't.
You'll see.
You'll forget all about it.
And in a couple of weeks,
you'll be going back to school.
Mary...
...I'm not going back to school.
Not going back to school?
Why?
Oh, I don't know.
I just don't like school anymore,
that's all.
I've been thinking of leaving
for a long time.
- That's not the reason.
- Yes, it is.
Betty, I want you to tell me the truth.
I wanna know why
you're not going back to school.
All right, I'll tell you.
I can't.
Don't you think my friends
have read the papers?
Don't you think they've seen your picture
and mine plastered all over the front pages?
I couldn't go back and face them now.
I'd be too ashamed.
- Ashamed of what?
- Of you.
Mary?
Mary, please, I didn't mean it.
Oh, please, don't. I didn't...
I know you didn't, Betty.
That's all right.
Let's forget all about it.
Pretend you never said it.
Hello?
- Oh, it's you. You scared me.
- I'm sorry.
Don't you ever get tired sitting around
in the dark all by yourself?
- I like it.
- I like it too, but not by myself.
I'm going to a party,
gonna get dressed up.
Wanna be a sweet gal
and give me a hand?
- Love to.
- It's gonna be a great big party.
I'm gonna wear the prettiest dress I got.
Everybody in town is gonna be there.
Which one do you want?
The silver one with the little black jacket.
It's hanging toward the back.
Oh, this one.
- Why, Emmy Lou, it's beautiful.
- Well, all my dresses are beautiful.
They gotta be in this racket.
There's nothing like clothes, honey.
That's the sugar
that makes the flies come around.
I'll bet it'd look nice on you too.
I once had a dress like this.
Of course, it wasn't nearly so pretty,
but it was silver.
I wore it to the junior prom.
Gee, I had fun that night.
- Lots of boyfriends, huh?
- I never missed a dance.
You miss dancing, don't you?
Kind of.
How'd you like to go the party
with me tonight?
- Party?
- Sure.
Vanning's throwing it.
One of the classiest affairs in town.
You'd have the time of your life.
Come on, what do you say?
- Why, I'd love to, but...
- But what?
It's all right for an old maid
to sit around...
...but a swell-Iooking kid like you
ought to go out and enjoy life.
Get some fun out of it.
You could use a little fun, couldn't you?
- Yes, l...
- That settles it. You're going in this dress.
- But, Emmy Lou, l...
- Come on, get out of these pajamas.
And you're gonna have a marvelous time.
You're gonna meet loads of people.
All right, but, Emmy Lou...
- Swell, isn't it?
- Marvelous.
Very lovely, Johnny.
Where have you been keeping them?
- The one in silver?
- Like it?
- What do you think?
- It's yours.
- Who's the kid?
- Friend of mine.
Is she all right?
Think I would have brought her along
if she wasn't?
Okay.
Particular friend of mine I want her
to meet, understand?
- Sure, Johnny. Where is he?
- Over at the bar.
Big fellow by the end.
- What's his name?
- Crandall. Bob Crandall.
Okay, Johnny.
Come on, sugar.
Well, if it isn't Bob Crandall.
- Well, where you been keeping yourself?
- Well, hello. How are you?
I want you to meet Betty Strauber.
Bob Crandall.
I've known him for years.
- How do you do?
- Will you have some champagne?
- Champagne?
- Oh, why, sure, we'd love it.
- More champagne.
- Yes, sir.
Would you excuse me?
There's somebody I've gotta see.
I'll pick you up later.
- Won't you sit down?
- Thank you.
I'm way ahead of you.
Do you think you can catch up?
- I'll try.
- Great. Here's to a large evening.
Tickled? Good.
- How you doing, sugar?
- Swell.
Eighty cents.
Wait a minute.
I ain't got no change for no $ 100 bill.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Thank you.
- Oh, hello.
- Hello.
- Where were you?
- At a party.
- Who took you?
- Emmy Lou.
I'm sorry for having come in so late, but
we were having a marvelous time, and I...
Where did you get that money?
- Oh, this. Mr. Crandall gave it to me.
- Why?
I told him I had to leave,
and he gave it to me for taxi fare.
I guess he must've been drunk.
- I suppose you're going to see him again?
- Yes, tomorrow for lunch.
You little fool.
- Take it easy.
- Shut up!
- Mary, what's wrong?
- Get upstairs.
- What have I done?
- I said, get upstairs.
- The kid didn't know.
- I told you to shut up. This is my affair.
I wanna know why it's all right for you
to go to Vanning's parties and not for me.
So that's where you were.
Betty. Betty, you listen to me.
If you wanna go to a party again,
you get advice from me.
Do you hear?
But you still haven't answered
my question.
Well, you're different, that's why.
- Maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm just like you are.
- Betty.
Think I'm gonna stay cooped up forever
because you're afraid...
...I'm liable to do
the same things you do?
- Oh, Betty, be quiet.
- No, I won't. It's the truth.
You're afraid.
Well, I'm not. Not anymore.
I've got the whole thing figured out.
Betty. Betty, listen to me.
You know, I've done an awful lot for you.
All you've ever done for me
is mess up my life.
Fixed it so the things that I wanted to have,
I can't have anymore.
All right. If I can't live one way,
I can live another.
- Why not? I'm young and pretty and...
- And dumb.
But you're smart.
You can teach me the rest.
All right.
If that's the way you feel, you can
go anywhere you want to from now on.
You can even go back
to Vanning's party.
That's exactly what I'm going to do.
Hello, beautiful. You back again?
Hello. I'm looking for someone.
You can stop looking right now,
because you've found him.
That's something to celebrate about,
isn't it? Or is it?
- Yes, it is.
- You look sad, beautiful.
I don't wanna see you look sad.
- What you need is champagne, lots of it.
- Maybe I do.
Not there, out on the terrace.
All by ourselves.
That something to cheer
your little heart up?
The champagne, the terrace and me.
That worth a smile?
Come on, give it to me.
That's better.
Well, now for a little champagne.
Well, here we are.
Big, isn't it?
Yeah, but it's not so big
you can't have anything that's in it.
It's too big.
It makes you feel Ionely and scared.
Well, if that don't suit you,
there's the moon.
You can ask me for that.
Or the stars.
But you don't need them.
They're right in your eyes.
- You say pretty things.
- Pretty things, pretty people.
I say them and give them.
- Please don't.
- You're a funny kid.
Don't, please. No, please don't.
No, you don't. Come on, honey.
Don't act that way. Give me a little kiss.
That's right, beautiful.
Go right up to the sky. I'll meet you there.
- Emmy Lou.
- Why, Betty, what's the matter?
Take me home.
Please take me home.
What's eating her?
She stewed or something?
Come on, kid, stop putting on an act.
- Oh, Johnny, wait...
- Shut up. You heard me, come on.
- Let go of me!
- Johnny.
- You're going to go nice?
- No, I won't do it!
Looks bad. She ain't breathing so good.
Shall I get an ambulance?
And have her talk?
Don't be a sucker.
Where's Betty?
Betty?
You heard me. Where's Betty?
- Well, didn't she come home?
- She did, but she went back.
She didn't come back to the party.
At least, I didn't see her.
- Emmy Lou, you're lying.
- Well, why should I lie to you?
- Where did she go?
- I tell you, I didn't see her.
- I could kill you.
- You leave me alone.
- Who told you to take her?
- I didn't take her, she wanted to go.
She's not the kind of kid
to get mixed up in a party like that.
- Why didn't you look after her?
- Why didn't you look after her yourself?
She was your sister, not mine.
If anything happens to her...
Nothing's happened to her.
- How do you know?
- I just know, I'm telling you.
I just know.
- Where you going?
- I've got to find her.
Stick around a while.
She might show up.
Oh, I can't wait, Gabby.
- Where's my sister?
- Your what?
- My sister.
- How should I know?
I never saw your sister in my life.
You're lying.
She was here last night at your party.
She came with Emmy Lou.
- Oh, was that your sister?
- Yes.
Nice-Iooking kid.
Yeah, she was here,
but went home about 2:00.
- Ain't that right, Charlie?
- Yeah.
- You're lying. Both of you.
- Now, take it easy.
You're lying and you know it.
Betty came back here again,
and I can prove it.
- Yeah, by who?
- Never mind that.
- Where is she? What happened to her?
- What's the matter with you, Mary?
Don't you think I'd tell you
if I knew?
- Why should I wanna hold out on you?
- I don't know.
But I'm gonna find out.
All right, I tried to be nice to you.
- Now get out, and fast.
- You don't scare me.
Oh, hot-headed, eh? Just like...
- Like who?
- Like me.
I'm the same way.
Now, go home and cool off.
I'll send some of the boys out.
Maybe they'll help you find her.
Listen, Vanning, all I know is that kid sister
of mine came back here again last night...
...and nobody's seen her since.
And get this straight:
If I find out that you or anybody else
has laid a finger on her...
You'll what?
I'll get you.
Even if I have to crawl back
from my grave to do it.
Her sister, eh? That's bad.
- Who do you think tipped her?
- Who do you think?
Emmy Lou. Go over there and grab that
ditzy blond before she shoots off her face.
I know she went back to the party,
and I can prove it.
Emmy Lou is just covering up
for Vanning.
He just tried to pawn
the same story off on me.
And you know that Vanning doesn't start
ducking around corners for nothing.
That's what's driving me crazy.
- And that's why...
- All right, now. Take it easy.
You reported her disappearance
to the missing persons bureau?
Yes.
Then there's nothing I can do about it.
I'm sorry, but that's out of my department.
Did they cut your heart up
into departments too?
That kid's my sister. Any one of a million
things could have happened to her.
- What do you expect me to do about it?
- Arrest Vanning.
- Will you testify against him?
- Yes.
Like you did last time?
You'll pardon me, but I don't believe
a word you're saying.
You think I'm pretty low, don't you?
Now, what do you expect me to think?
I meet a lot of people in this job.
Some of them I feel sorry for because they...
They just can't help themselves.
They don't know any better.
They're the misfits of the world.
But you're not that kind.
You know what's right
and you know what's wrong.
You know better,
but won't do anything.
You choose to think that you can
get through the world by outsmarting it.
Well, I've learned that those kind of people
generally end up by outsmarting themselves.
And that's exactly
what's going to happen to you.
And I won't feel a bit sorry about it,
because, lady, you've got it coming to you.
Thanks for telling me.
The coroner's reports.
Oh, Mary, will you come here
a moment, please?
Sit down.
They found your sister.
Where?
In the river, dead.
It isn't true.
It isn't true.
- I'm sorry.
- Oh, no.
No, you don't have to be sorry for me.
You were right.
I had it coming to me.
Oh, but why did it have to happen to her?
Why did it have to happen to her?
All right. Now, let's go back.
You say that Emmy Lou looked as though
something terrible had happened to her?
Did she say anything?
- Well, when she came...
- She didn't say a thing.
I told you before, she went into
the bedroom and didn't say a word.
I suppose you didn't
hear her say anything?
Well, I was kind of tired
and I wasn't paying much attention.
Oh, why don't you all stop stalling?
You know you heard
every word she said.
I said we didn't hear a thing.
Not a thing.
I suppose you girls realize that Emmy Lou
is the key witness to this whole business.
Now, you know as well as I do
who murdered Betty.
For years we've waited for Vanning
to make one false move, and this is it.
And... Oh, what's the use?
- I thought they were your friends.
- So did I.
If they're not, I don't have to handle them
with kid gloves any longer.
Let's understand each other.
I've given you a chance to come
on the right side, you turned it down.
Now, when I get Vanning, which I will...
...I'm gonna get everybody connected
with him, and that means all of you.
- Mary.
- Get away from me.
- Mary, you got this all wrong.
- Get away from me.
I know you got us down,
but what else could we do?
You know the law
isn't for people like us.
Then what is?
That's another thing
I've been trying to figure out.
Well, I'm sick of figuring things out.
Sure, we know all that.
We know how hard it's hit you.
We know what you'd like to do about it.
So would we.
We're in a spot.
Remember, once, I wanted to quit this.
You told me there was nothing else
we could turn to.
That we didn't know any other way
of making a living.
Well, you're right, Mary, we don't.
But if we go to Graham now...
...we're gonna really find out
just how tough it can be for us.
That is, if we're lucky enough
to be alive that long.
Oh, you can understand that,
can't you, Mary?
I only understand
that Betty was my sister...
...that Vanning killed her, and that
you won't help me do anything about it.
Mary, there's nothing we or anybody else
can do to bring her back.
We can get Vanning, make him pay for it,
put him where he belongs.
So what?
So somebody else will take his place.
There will always be somebody else.
Sure, as long as they are gals in the world
like us who are afraid of guys like that.
I said that once
to a guy I was crazy about.
He worked for Vanning
and got into a jam.
I thought I saw a chance for us to get out
of this racket without being afraid.
I told him. He listened to me.
They killed him.
I was crazy about him, Mary,
just like you were about Betty.
Oh, what's the use?
It all adds up to the same thing
if you wanna live.
You took the words
right out of my mouth.
What did you tell that DA?
- Did she say anything?
- Nothing.
- Did any of you?
- No.
Why did you go to the law?
Why did you kill my sister?
- Answer me.
- You answer me.
- Why did you kill my sister?
- I don't know what you're talking about.
Maybe Emmy Lou does.
Where is she?
- What did you do with her?
- You listen to me.
You lay off that guy Graham,
understand?
You got any beefs, you come to me,
I'll straighten them out.
Not this one. You can't.
You heard what I said.
Stay away from that guy.
- And that goes for all of you.
- Not for me, it doesn't.
I'll tell him, and plenty more.
You'll tell him nothing.
All right, get out of here.
Charlie.
- Johnny.
- Shut up, or you'll get the same.
Go ahead, Charlie.
No, no.
Oh, please. Please don't.
Remember, if anybody asks any questions,
you came home and found her that way.
Mary. Mary.
All right, break it in.
All right, keep your seats, everybody.
This is a raid.
Put that stuff down and
stay where you are.
All right, here you are.
Break that in.
You better get up there
and search that floor.
- Take those girls and line them up here.
- There's not enough room.
Yeah, I know Graham is working fast,
but we got to beat him to it.
Tell Williams to put up all the bail
they want. The sky's the limit.
Okay. Keep me posted.
Better think fast, Gordon.
It don't look like
that DA is fooling this time.
Either Graham is trying to put
on a show to shut up the newspapers...
...or he's got something on you
we don't know about.
Nobody's ever got anything on me
I don't know about.
Yeah.
Okay, I'll tell him.
Graham is on his way here.
He's after that girl.
He wants to sweat it out of her.
And if he does, you'll fry.
- Get her out of here, fast.
- Take it easy, Gordon.
Nobody's going to get a chance
to sweat her.
Charlie.
In a series of raids, police are swooping
down on nightclubs and gambling joints...
... owned or controlled
by Johnny Vanning.
Neither police nor the DA
would disclose the reason...
... for this sudden interest in Mr. Vanning.
It's not hard to guess that it all ties in
with the killing of Betty Strauber...
... and the beating
of her sister, Mary...
... who is still in serious condition
at the General Ho...
All right, Johnny, you wait out here.
Come on, sister, you're going places.
- Where to?
- Never mind. Just places.
Get her stuff out of here.
No. No, I won't go.
I won't. Johnny promised me.
He promised me he'd take care of me.
He can't double-cross me.
He can't. He cant. No.
Oh, no! No!
No.
Wait a minute, Charlie. Vanning's phoning
down. Let's take her to the lobby.
Come out.
Gotta open it.
Get on the phone.
Tell the doorman to stop her.
- Tell him she's drunk.
- Right.
Around the back.
- Did you see a blond come through here?
- No, sir.
Get that dame and get her fast.
You feel better now, don't you?
Yes.
- We'll have to go soon.
- Goodbye.
Oh, don't take it so hard, Mary.
The doctor outside told me he could fix
that scar so nobody'd ever notice it.
I got things wrong with me
that all the doctors in the world can't fix.
Mary, we were figuring
that when you got out...
...we'd send you away,
maybe to Florida...
...and you could lie in the sun
and rest for a few weeks.
It'll do you a lot good.
You'll forget all about this.
How?
By just closing my eyes
and pretending it never happened?
I wish it was as easy as that,
but it isn't.
You see, I keep seeing
that poor little sister of mine...
...lying there with that fear
still in her eyes...
...and her pretty little head all twisted.
Me too.
- I see her too, just like you do.
- Emmy Lou.
Mary.
Oh, Mary.
You go on back to headquarters
and I'll see you there later.
If you pick up any news of Emmy Lou,
call me here at the hospital.
All right, Mr. Graham.
I didn't mean to take her there, Mary.
- You know I didn't.
- Never mind.
Never mind, Emmy Lou.
It's all over now.
There's only one thing
that I'm interested in.
- Estelle, call Graham's office, will you?
- What are you gonna do, Mary?
Have Emmy Lou tell him the same story
she just told us.
- Do you know what you're doing?
- Sure, I do.
I swore that I'd make Vanning pay for this
if it was the last thing I ever did.
Well, why make her pay for it too?
Once she tells Graham, she's gone.
Don't you realize that?
And you'll be just as responsible
for her being bumped off as Vanning will.
Well?
Go ahead, Mary.
It doesn't make any difference anymore.
My number's up anyhow.
He'll get me,
just as he'll get every one of you.
As long as we're alive,
there's a chance of someone telling.
And Vanning doesn't take chances.
One by one, he'll get us.
Well, maybe if we went to him and said:
"Look, Johnny, you know
we won't talk."
Maybe we could make a deal.
I'm sick of making deals.
Well, you wanna keep on living,
don't you?
If this is what you call living,
I don't want any part of it.
Always being afraid.
Never knowing from one day to the next
what's going to happen to you.
I'm fed up with being afraid
of Vanning or anybody else.
There must be some other way
for me to live.
If there isn't, I...
Well, I'd just as soon put a bullet
in my head right now and end it.
- Hello, Graham.
- Hello, Mary.
Emmy Lou?
What does she know?
- Everything.
- Will she talk?
Yeah, she'll talk, and so will we.
I'm telling you, Johnny,
we've got to make a deal.
What do you mean?
Plead guilty.
Throw yourself on the mercy of the court.
Mercy? Don't make me laugh.
They've been waiting to get me
in a spot like this for years.
We haven't got a chance
with that Emmy Lou testifying for them.
- Our only way out is a deal.
- Me?
I don't make no deals with nobody.
They make deals with me.
All the time I've been that way,
ever since I was that big.
You think I care for money?
All I care about is to make people do
what I tell them.
You're crazy, Johnny.
Yeah, maybe I am.
Maybe I ain't.
I just know one thing.
I ain't going to let no five crabby dames
put the skids under me now.
You wanna deal? Here it is:
You get word to those dames
that maybe I get them before the trial...
...and maybe I got to wait
until after it's over.
But if they talk, sure as my name's
Johnny Vanning...
...I'll get them.
I wish that guy Graham would stop
sending these banquets.
He's ruining my girlish figure.
- Don't have to make a pig out of yourself.
- Well, it's free, why not?
- Come on, Mary, your stuff's getting cold.
- No, I'm not hungry.
Gabby, look.
See that guy down there across the street
with the gray hat on?
He looks like Joe Donnera,
one of Vanning's pet executioners.
Right. Get away from that window, Mary.
That little hophead isn't out there walking
for his health.
That's all.
Be seated.
Proceed with the case
of The State v. Vanning.
The state calls Florrie Liggett.
And when Betty got out of the taxi
and came up the stoop...
...she had money in her hand, didn't she?
- Yes, sir.
- It was a hundred dollar bill, wasn't it?
- Yes, sir.
Where did she tell you
she got that hundred dollar bill?
- From a man at the party.
- Just as a sort of a little present?
No, sir. She said she got it
for taxi fare.
She told you that she accepted
a hundred dollar bill for taxi fare?
Yes, sir. We always got that
at Johnny's parties.
Thank you. That's all.
The state calls Estelle Porter.
- You knew the deceased, Betty Strauber?
- Yes, sir.
Will you speak a little louder
so the jury can hear you?
Yes, sir.
- What kind of a girl would you say she was?
- She was the sweetest kid you ever saw.
And up until very recently...
...she didn't know the kind of work
you and her sister were doing?
No, sir. She thought we were
models in a dress shop.
Mary kept her in a swell school.
Wanted her to grow up
to be a god kid, and...
Objection, as irrelevant
and cheap pathos...
...in an attempt to play
on the sympathies of the jury.
I merely offer it in rebuttal to the cheap
insinuations cast upon the character...
...of the deceased Betty Strauber.
Overruled. Proceed.
The state calls Dorothy Marvin,
known as Gabby Marvin.
Then why did you refuse to talk about
this case to the district attorney at first?
I had a reason.
And was it for the same reason that you
tried to persuade the other girls not to talk?
- Yes.
- And just what was that reason?
- Vanning.
- What do you mean, Vanning?
A boy I was crazy about
used to work for him.
He wanted to get out of this racket
so we could go away together.
But he knew too much.
Vanning wouldn't let him out.
So the boyfriend got sore and talked.
George, he was that kind of a guy,
sort of hotheaded and wild...
Never mind that. What happened?
They found him in a ditch,
full of slugs.
The state calls Mary Dwight.
When you defied Vanning's command
to stay away from the law...
...and threatened to tell me
all you knew about him, what did he do?
- He slapped me hard right across the mouth.
- And then what happened?
He ordered all the other girls
to leave the room.
And after they left?
Charlie and another member
of the gang went to work on me.
And by that you mean?
They started slapping me around.
They'd keep crashing their big fists
in my face.
And threatening me with worse...
...if I didn't keep my mouth shut
like Johnny said.
Then when I fell down,
they started kicking me.
Oh, I begged them to lay off,
but they wouldn't stop.
Then when I saw Charlie...
...lean over me
and take out his knife...
...I screamed and fainted.
And you don't remember anything
that happened after that?
No, not until I woke up in the hospital.
Was there any particular reason
why Charlie cut that cross on your cheek?
Sure.
Sure, that's Johnny's little trademark
for anyone who double-crosses him.
Emmy Lou Eagan, take the stand.
Then Betty pleaded with Vanning
not to make her go with Mr. Crandall.
And that only made Johnny mad.
He grabbed her,
and when she tried to fight him off...
...he hit her
and she fell down the stairs.
- She fell down the stairs?
- Yes, sir.
Then Vanning didn't deliberately push
or throw her down the stairs, did he?
Well, no, sir. He hit her so hard
she lost her balance and...
Accidentally fell down the stairs,
isn't that right?
- Yes, sir.
- Then Vanning didn't kill her?
- He did. He did.
- But you said it was an accident.
- Now, which is it?
- He killed her, I'm telling you.
I saw him, and that's why
he wanted to kill me too.
And in summing up, I cannot
impress upon you too strongly...
...you must never lose sight
of the background of this case...
...a viciously ruthless background
from which sprang the motive...
...for this killing of an innocent girl.
You should consider not only
Vanning the murderer...
...but also Vanning the vice czar...
...who at this very moment is exacting
his staggering tribute...
...from a supine and cowardly city.
To defend this empire of vice
and crime...
...Vanning is pursuing the same methods
he used in building and maintaining it:
Insidious bribery to corrupt,
brutal violence to intimidate...
...and cold-blooded murder
to silence any who dared protest.
Had all these succeeded
as they had so often in the past...
...I wouldn't be here prosecuting Vanning
for murder.
And why did he fail?
Was it because our leading citizens
had risen in righteous indignation...
...to rid the city
of this criminal racketeer?
Ladies and gentlemen...
...these leading citizens, men of reputation,
men of standing, men of righteousness...
...who cried to high heavens that the city
was overrun with crime and corruption...
...when they were called upon to testify,
to do something about it...
...to risk even a little, did they? No.
They were either too busy or too afraid.
Out of all the teeming millions
of this great city...
...only five girls had the courage
to take their very lives in their hands...
...and accuse Johnny Vanning.
In spite of all threats of reprisals,
the horror of which they knew too well...
...they were ready
to appear before you to testify.
And let me be the first to admit
the truth of the accusations...
...that were brought against these girls
in a desperate effort to discredit them.
Frankly, they're... They're everything
the defense has said they are.
Their characters are questionable.
Their profession, unsavory and distasteful.
Oh, it's not been difficult to crucify them,
but it has been difficult to crucify the truth.
And that truth is that these girls...
...in the face of sheer, stark terrorism,
did appear in court...
...exposed themselves to the public gaze,
told the truth about themselves...
...told the world what they really are.
Then surely you must believe that
they were telling the truth...
...when they testified that Johnny Vanning
was responsible...
...for the death of Betty Strauber.
And if you do believe that...
...there is but one verdict you can reach,
and that is guilty.
Be seated.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
have you reached a verdict?
- We have, Your Honor.
- Hand it to the clerk.
Read it.
"We, the jury, in the above
entitled cause...
...find the defendants guilty
on counts one, two, three and four."
Your Honor, at this time we give
oral notice of our intention...
...to move for a new trial.
An intelligent, courageous
and discriminating jury...
...has found you, Vanning,
guilty of heading a combination...
...to commit and profit from
every vicious and reprehensible crime.
This makes you responsible, in law
and morals, for every foul and cruel deed...
...performed at your command
by your henchmen.
The evidence against you
is overwhelming.
Your previous record shows you
to be an incorrigible criminal...
...a low and brutal character...
...an unprincipled and aggressive egotist.
It is my sworn duty to administer
to each of you...
...the justice and punishment
of an outraged community.
But before I do, let me warn you...
...that should any of the people's witnesses
be injured or harassed...
...specifically, if anything should happen
to those five girls...
...the court will request
the parole authorities to retain in prison...
...the defendants against whom
such witnesses testified...
...for the maximum terms
of the sentences to be imposed.
Since all of you have been found guilty
on every count in the indictment...
...it is the judgment and sentence
of this court that you be imprisoned...
...for a term of not less than 30 nor more
than 50 years in the state penitentiary.
Well, that's that.
Come on, kids.
Let's go.
- Congratulations.
- Nice work, Dave.
Just a minute, Mr. Graham.
Look this way, please.
Joe.
Johnny says to lay off.
Okay.
Mary.
Yes.
Aren't you gonna wait?
What for?
- It's all over, isn't it?
- Over?
Why, sure.
You better go back inside.
They all wanna congratulate you.
Oh, no, you're the one that should
be getting the congratulations, not me.
I don't want them.
- But where will you go?
- Places.
- But what will you do?
- Do?
Oh, I'll get along. I always have.
Mary, I'd like to help you.
- Why?
- Why? Because I...
Because I think you've got
a break coming to you.
And?
And I'd like to see that you get it.
What's the use of stalling?
We both live in different worlds,
that's the way we gotta leave it.
I don't want to leave it that way.
I said to you that
if you ever started helping yourself...
...I'd be the first one
to go to bat for you.
And that still goes.
No matter what you do
or where you go...
...we'll meet again.
Goodbye, Graham.
I'll be seeing you.
- Here's Graham.
- Been looking all over for you.
How about pictures of our next DA?
What do you mean DA?
He'll be our next governor.
Come on.
Give that old personality smile.
You know, Graham, the old chin out.
- Attaboy.
- Just a couple of more now, Graham.
Wait a minute, Graham.
Let's get two more.