Not so many months ago,
the president asked the nation...
for 60,000 planes, 45,000 tanks
and 8 million tons of ships.
He asked this from the hearts,
minds and hands...
of 130 million free men,
women and children.
He asked us to evolve the greatest and most
efficient industrial system in history;
to turn our workshops
into mighty forges of war;
to out-build the aggressors
in every category of modern arms.
In his very words...
"Only by this accomplishment
can we build the arsenal of democracy. "
Planes, guns, tanks and ships have begun
to flow from our factories and yards.
The flow is accelerating from day to day.
The stream is becoming a river.
The river will become a torrent,
a torrent that will engulf...
the totalitarian tyranny which
seeks to destroy the world.
Our answer to the request of the president
flies from atop our flagpole today.
The credit for
its flying there...
belongs to each
and every one of you.
To my partner,
Pittsburgh Markham.
To your friend and mine,
a man, who many years ago...
saw more in a lump of coal than anybody
else in the world, Doc Powers.
To your union leader,
as much responsible for the maintenance...
of our production schedule
as any executive of this firm, Joe Malneck.
But most of all,
it belongs to you.
For you are the partners of our American
boys who are shedding their blood...
on the stormy waters of the North Atlantic,
the desert wastes of Africa...
the rocky crags of the Aleutians,
the steaming jungles of the South Pacific.
For all over the world our partners are
fighting because they know as we know...
that America is more
than a country; it's a cause.
A way of life that is given
even to the poorest man...
more than he could dream of
anywhere else in the world.
What do you say we show
those boys we're behind them...
and get back to work?
To the three of us.
The four of us.
Don't forget Hunky.
To Hunky.
You boys might've
spent your lives in darkness...
if it hadn't been for that girl.
I give her credit for my success too,
for I came up with you.
Remember those days when I was an
old nut with ideas about coal...
and you two were gay young blades
of Coal Town?
Coal Town was your oyster then,
filled with black pearls...
but you couldn't see them.
Maybe it was the sooty mist hanging over the
shabby streets that hid them from you...
as you marched with the daily swarm of
other men up the hill to Wilson's colliery.
A man does not see well when he lives
too long away from the sun.
But like the power in the coal you dug, locked
deep in the earth for a million years...
the force in you
still awaited release.
And the stench and grime of Shaft
Number 7 was part of your heritage.
Hey, that's awful!
- I ran into Joe Malneck this morning, that guy from the union.
- Yeah?
- He's gonna make a deal for us with Wilson.
- What kind of a deal, Johnny?
- Startin' next week, we get six cents more a ton.
- Six cents?
- We'll never get fat on that kinda dough.
- Well, it adds up to around...
- 12 to 15 bucks a month.
- That'll put a lot more grub on our table.
- What're ya gonna do with yours, Johnny? Buy a yacht?
- Aw, go on and laugh.
It ain't much,
but it's a starter.
You guys have been shinin' them bug
torches in your eyes so long you're dizzy.
What're you doin', Pittsburgh?
Pickin' coal or posin' for a statue?
Come on,
get hot on that banjo.
- How'd ya like to have me play a
tune around your ears with it?
- Hello, fellas.
- Hiya, Joe. - Hello.
- You hear about the deal we put over with the company?
- You're doin' a swell job...
- since you threw away your pick.
- First thing you know, we'll be millionaires.
- We'll be rollin' in dough. Lend me five bucks, will ya?
- Can't hear ya.
- I said, five clankers.
- I got coal dust in my ears.
You were flush when we left
the room this morning.
Aw, all right.
Here's two bucks. It's all I got.
- How do ya expect me to get anywhere on two bucks?
- I don't.
Don't even expect to get it back. All you
do is spend my dough on your hunky gal.
I'm through with those bo-hunk babes.
This one's a classy, long-legged dame...
that's got everything...
and a Model "T".
- I wonder where we can get a drink?
- Over at Barney's Speak.
I didn't say "buy a drink. "
- Hey, Doc, where are ya?
- Quiet!
He usually keeps that
prescription stuff in here.
What's that?
They still must be working on
Number 5 down there.
The tunnel's underneath. If they aren't
careful, they'll completely undermine the house.
Hello, boys.
- Hello, Doc. - Hiya,
Doc. - Somebody sick?
- Uh... yeah, it's Cash's stomach.
- My stomach?
Look at him, he's all bent over. We didn't
wanna bother ya, knowin' how busy ya are.
Well, I'm never too busy
to look out for my patients.
However, I don't
keep the whisky...
in that cabinet any more.
- Come in here, Cash.
- He don't keep the whisky in that cabinet any more.
You know, Doc,
I'm not feelin' so good myself.
- You boys know Dr. Grazlich, my junior partner.
- Hi, Junior.
- I'm feelin' sicker than Cash.
- Here, down this.
I'll be glad when
Prohibition's over.
- That stuff tastes like coal tar.
- It is coal tar.
At least it's a derivative
of coal tar. Cash?
Mm, not for me.
I feel all right now.
Go on, take it.
It's good for your stomach.
Mm. No, thanks, Doc.
- Much better for you than whisky.
- I'll take whisky.
A hundred years ago, they threw the
coal tar away when they made coke.
Then they realized it was good for
everything from munitions to medicine.
We have barely scratched
its possibilities.
- What are you lookin' for now?
- We don't exactly know.
- How do you know if you find it?
- Because it'll be something new...
something we haven't found.
You see, when scientists find a waste in
nature's gifts, they accept that as a challenge.
And no gifts have been lavished
more profusely than in coal.
- Now, you take that one little piece.
- Mm-hmm.
That's composed of several elements that
have been combined and changed by nature...
over thousands of years into a mixture
of very complex compounds.
Our job is to split those compounds and
then recombine them to suit our needs.
Hundreds of compounds have been made,
but many others are still possible.
A hundred and 50 years ago,
a man put lumps of coal in water...
and had
the sick drink it.
He was burned at the stake. The methods
employed then were very primitive.
But ever since then, scientists
have followed the same principle.
Dr. Grazlich and I are only two men out of
thousands who are going on with the work.
You can have that bottle, Pittsburgh.
You'd talk me out of it, anyway.
I love ya, Doc.
So help me, I love ya.
Well, a pint of whisky, two bucks and a date.
Now all I need's a decent suit of clothes.
- Come on, Cash. So long Doc.
- Goodbye, Doc. So long, Junior.
For a ready-made suit, he looks just like
a "Breau Bummel!" Such style, such class.
- Believe me, I wouldn't know my own merchandise.
- Figure it up, Shorty.
With pleasure.
What're you gonna
use for money?
I don't know. Used to call you Cash
because you always had some.
But lately you've put me
in some very embarrassing positions.
I wonder how much it would take
to make him careless?
One suit at the special price of $18. There's
buckram, there's piping, there's lining.
- And accessories brings it
up to $33.50. - Fine. Have a drink.
Oh, thank you, thank you.
- Expensive stuff.
- What's money?
Sure. Don't mean a thing.
Thanks all the same, but I don't drink.
Now, what were you saying about money?
- About these duds, put 'em on the cuff, will ya?
- Cuff? Whose cuff?
- Your cuff, Shorty.
- My cuff?
Play along with me, and one day
I'll let you make me custom-made suits.
Never mind that. The custom today is cash.
You're not gonna swing any pickaxe in my suit.
- Take it off or I'll call the police.
- Wait a minute.
Come back with my suit!
I told you, positively no credit.
You didn't even
give me a deposit.
You got nothin' to worry about, Shorty.
Look at that sign.
"A hundred dollars in gold to any man
who can stay three minutes in the ring...
with the heavyweight champion,
Killer Kane. "
It's an invitation to your own funeral.
I sold the Killer a suit.
He's got a 48-inch chest,
a 23-inch arm...
- and a 19 neck.
- And a six-inch skull.
- You'll do no fightin' in my suit.
- Come on, Cash.
- Suppose he flattens you?
- He won't flatten me.
- Not in my suit!
- Nothin's gonna happen to your suit.
My suit!
Look at my suit!
- For a lead nickel, I'd smash your teeth in!
- Is anything wrong?
Plenty!
I oughta pull-
Oh, you got
your suit muddy.
His suit? My suit! He walks outta my shop
with a brand-new suit.
Then he wants to fight Killer Kane
in my suit. Now look at it!
- He didn't even gimme a deposit!
- Quiet, Shorty.
- It's nothing, Countess, nothing at all.
- I'm so very sorry.
- It's awful, awful!
- It's awful nice.
Good evening. Mr. Brawley's
down front, right aisle.
Thank you.
How about your date with
the long-legged gal with the Model "T"?
I like this chassis better.
Tickets, please.
- Uh, Shorty, you forgot to buy the tickets.
- I forgot to buy the tickets.
Three tickets, and I'm not
gonna like the show.
- Your coat.
- My suit! I'll be right back.
Hey, down in front.
Sit down, will ya?
Find someplace. I wanna see the show.
- Where's your collar?
- I got it right here.
Put your neck
in it. Here.
Hey, down in front.
Will you park your body? The clinch is on.
There ya are. The cost of the tickets
brings it up to $35 even.
- He don't look so tough.
- I'm glad that's not my head he's punching.
Ladies and gentlemen, you've just witnessed
a masterful exhibition of bag punching...
by the undefeated marvel
of the prize ring...
and contender of the world's
heavyweight championship, Killer Kane!
And now, gentlemen, one hundred dollars
for the man who'll remain on his feet...
- after three minutes of boxing
with Killer Kane. - Bring 'im on!
He wants a fight, does he?
I'll fight him for nothing!
- Come on!
- Oh, no, you don't, mister. You're plastered! Sit down.
Who'll be the first to challenge the Killer
to one round of exhibition boxing?
- I'm callin' you, Butch.
- Come on, sucker.
Come on. A fella needs
a second, doesn't he?
- We'll fix his-
- Come on, sit down!
- Please, boys, don't fight in my suit.
- Hello, Countess.
- Who is the challenger?
- Not me!
Coal miners, eh?
What's the matter
with coal miners?
We carried four of 'em out
this afternoon.
Yeah, well, here's one you aren't gonna
carry out. Cash Evans. That right, boys?
You dirty double-crosser!
- What's the matter, you afraid of him?
- Afraid? Why, I'll knock...
that big palooka
right in the countess' lap!
Sit tight, Countess.
- That palooka's gonna land
in your lap. - Aren't you fighting?
Me? I've been changing
a lot of my plans this evening.
- Friend of yours?
- No.
I'm gonna change that too.
Who is he?
Nobody. He seems awfully sure
of himself, doesn't he?
Who do you want us to notify
in case you're killed?
- What if that coal slinger throws a lucky punch?
- He better not.
I spent a lot of dough
building up that big baboon.
You're looking at the next title-holder,
baby- Champion Killer Kane.
And when that happens,
you're gonna have everything.
You already told me
I had everything.
Let's have a good fight
and don't dawdle.
Shake hands and go to your corner
and come out punching.
- Watch yourself. This guy's dynamite.
- You just think of that?
Keep that left goin' Cash!
Attaboy!
That's it! Stick your left out!
You know what it means to me!
Let him have it!
What're ya backin' up for?
A right! Hit him with
a right! He's a big phony!
Wise guy, eh?
- If that dummy loses this fight, I'll-
- Lose a hundred dollars.
Keep it up, Cash.
Two minutes to go.
- One, two, three...
- How'm I doin'?
- Not so hot. He just slipped.
- four, five, six-
That's it! Go ahead!
You got him goin', Cash!
He's groggy! What's holding him up?
Keep that left goin'!
That's it, use the other hand!
Your right, your right!
In the breadbasket!
Keep it up,
the suit's almost mine!
Duck that light, Cash!
- Go on, get up!
- Get up! Get up!
- Get up, Cash! He didn't hurt ya!... two, three, four...
- Come on, take him!
- five.
Gimme that dough!
Come on, Cash,
here's your dough!
Get the cops! Police!
There's your boyfriend, Countess!
Nice company you keep, Countess.
It's me, it's me.
Congratulations, you won.
- Here you are, Shorty. Forty bucks and keep the tip.
- Thank you, thank you.
It's a pleasure to do business
with honest men.
I'm glad you officers arrived.
It's terrible inside.
- Some boisterous characters started a fight in there.
- Oh, they did? Come on, boys.
Musical little things, aren't they?
They're gonna do a Charleston
right down Barney's Bar.
Heh-heh, I love ya, Cash.
So help me, Hannah, I love ya.
- Now, if we can only find the countess.
- Yeah, she's so sympathetic.
- What's the dope?
- Big cave-in at Eversville, Tunnel 5.
- You hear that? Tunnel 5.
- Holy smokes, that's right under Doc's house.
Hey, buddy, run us out to Eversville-
There's no one here.
It's the countess' car.
Let's take it. Come on.
- What's the big idea?
- Uh-oh, the countess.
- You'll get in plenty of trouble stealing this car.
- Oh, cool off, Countess.
There's a cave-in at the mine.
Look out!
- Where do you think you're goin'?
- Get outta the way, O'Toole.
- We've got to find Doc Powers.
- Sure. Go ahead, Pitt.
Dr. Grazlich! Doc, I'm glad you're all right.
Where's Doc Powers?
- His house didn't cave in? - No, the cave-in
was underground. Caught some of the night shift.
- But where is Doc?
- Down there someplace.
- Hold that cage!
- Hey, Doc's trapped in Number 5.
We were on our way up when the whole
wall caved in. We need more help.
This is no place for you, Countess.
You'll get your nose dirty.
Never mind about that.
- Hey, Doc!
- Here, boys!
Look out for that beam.
This shoring's apt to
give away any minute!
- We'll have you out in no time.
- I said, stand back!
It- It's my leg.
- Steady, Doc, you'll be all right.
- Well, hello, Miss Nightingale.
Okay, Pitt.
Drag him out!
Look out!
Don't worry, Tilda.
Dr. Grazlich's a fine doctor.
Did your husband
get hurt too?
- Bill!
- Tilda, that thick skull you was always talking about saved me.
- You fool!
- They'd like to break the needle sewing him up.
Your man's okay.
You can go in now.
You boys wait here.
How is Dr. Powers?
Got a busted leg.
Wouldn't let Grazlich work on him...
'til everybody else
was taken care of.
You seemed to know what it was all about
down there, Countess.
Pitched in like a regular hunky.
That's what they used to call me
when I was a kid, "Hunky. "
- My real name is Winiewitsky.
- Winiewi- What?
My father changed it to Winters.
He couldn't speak English,
but he could dig more coal than two men.
- He could, eh?
- He was killed over there in Shaft 15.
Oh. Sure had me
skippin' rope tonight.
I thought you were the royal magoo.
Now you turn out to be just a hunky.
- Is that against me?
- No, you can't help it.
Oh, yes, I can help it. I never meant
to go near a coal mine again.
Only tonight,
seeing that cave-in, I-
They say coal means
warmth and life.
All it means to people like us
is death if you stay around it long enough.
- I'm after something better.
- So you tie yourself...
- to a cheap four-flusher.
- Not for long.
- Aimin' for the moon, eh?
- Yeah! If you're gonna shoot for something, shoot big.
- Well, I ain't so little.
- What I said about coal goes for the miners too.
- I ain't always gonna be slingin' a pick.
- What else can ya do?
I don't know yet.
But there ain't a thing I can't do...
- once I set my mind to it.
- The way you said that I could almost believe you.
You're gonna hear a lot
about Pittsburgh Markham.
You're gonna remember
the night I told you that.
You're gonna
remember tonight.
I'm your kind of a guy, see?
And you're my kinda gal.
- We were cut from the same chunk.
- Yeah, of dirt and smoke.
And sweat, hunger and strikes.
And a life as black as one of those mines.
That's all I've known
since the day I was born.
Maybe that's what you want,
but I've got other plans.
Want me to drive
you back to town?
Not if I have to go through that
routine with you.
If Pittsburgh couldn't get to first base,
I'll wrap up the bats.
Let's go.
You know, Pitt, this is the first time
I ever saw you fan out.
I took her to the station. She wasn't sure
whether she'd go to Philadelphia or New York.
- I said goodbye for ya.
- That was nice of ya.
- Where you been goin' nights?
- Over to Doc's.
- You're givin' me the runaround.
- Ahh-
- You haven't been goin' over to Doc's every night.
- I sure have.
I've been gettin' a load
of that coal tar stuff.
- Guess I better visit Doc too.
- What for?
I, uh, I always say "hello" for ya.
You sure been takin' care
of my hellos and goodbyes.
Ah, you'd do the same for me, pal,
wouldn't ya? Or would ya?
I brought this over
to liven things up.
Oh, that's very
thoughtful of you.
I feel like getting up
and shaking a leg.
You haven't seen Pittsburgh
around tonight, have you?
No, I guess
he must be at Barney's.
- What's Barney's got that's
so wonderful? - Red-eye.
I sure have been fooling Pitt about Josie.
How long do you think I can keep it up?
Not for long, I'm afraid.
- Well all's fair in love and war.
- You said it, Doc!
Hello, Countess.
You should've come through the door.
It's much easier.
I was afraid you'd drop in,
but not so hard.
What's the idea of lyin' to me,
your best friend?
So this is Philadelphia,
or was it New York you were going to?
- This backbiter couldn't decide
where you went. - What if I changed my mind?
- Who sent for you?
- My conscience.
- I knew you'd want to see me again,
so here I am.
Fellas like you will make me
change my phone number.
Why don't you run along?
You're wasting your time.
Wasting my time!
You should've heard that hyena
tryin' to keep me away from you.
- Too bad he didn't succeed.
- Come on, get down off your stilts.
You got black dust in your veins,
same as I have.
Yeah, but I haven't got it
under my fingernails.
I don't know why I take it from you. I
usually kiss 'em goodbye and leave 'em crying.
I want to tell you something. After the
other night, I woke up thinking about you.
- And a week later, I was still doing it.
- No law against a miner thinking.
And I'm the thinkin'- est
miner you ever met.
Those big ideas I was tellin' you about?
I been workin' on 'em.
Since you made a confession,
I'm going to make one.
Yeah?
- I did want to see you again, Pittsburgh.
- You did?
- But now that I've seen you, I'm disappointed.
- Wait a minute. Why?
Because you talk like all the rest
of the coal miners.
When they get up in the fresh air,
it makes them dizzy.
Hold on a minute. I'm not just talkin'.
I'm really gonna do somethin'.
- When?
- Oh, one of these days.
Write me a letter
because I won't be around.
I'm through diggin' coals. But I can't go
out and set the world on fire tonight, can I?
- You could start tonight.
- How?
You're asking me, big shot?
Why don't you give up, Pitt?
- Can I use your phone, Doc?
- Why not?
Hello?
Is this the foreman of Shaft Number 7? Well,
Pittsburgh Markham wants to quit his job.
She's crazy!
Sorry to have bothered you.
I guess I'm crazy.
Don't hang up. You're not so crazy.
I am quitting,
and I'm not drunk, Kelly.
Sure, this is Pittsburgh Markham.
Me and Cash Evans
won't be workin' for ya any more.
- That's my job you're talkin' about!
- And tell Wilson...
I'm gonna buy that mine from him
one of these days.
- So are you, Kelly!
- For me it goes double.
You boys may be needing those jobs.
- Yeah, what're we gonna buy beans with?
- Beans are out. From now on...
it's fancy roast chicken
and French champagne.
I've got an idea
that's worth a million dollars.
- Uh, good morning.
- Good morning.
- This is for Mr. Prentiss.
- Leave it on the desk.
Well, uh-
But the party
who sent it expects an answer.
Well, wait here, please.
- Mr. Prentiss.
- For me?
- The men who brought it said an answer is expected.
- Hm. This must be for you.
Well, what
in the world-
Oh, no. I rather think this is for you.
What sort of nonsense is this?
"How would you like coke
of this quality at $3 a ton less...
than you can make your own?"
- That's a good proposition.
- Very good.
- Maybe you'd better show them in.
- Yes, sir.
A friend of mine once refused
to see a young man named Henry Ford.
Mind if I stay, Father? I'm rather
interested in men with ideas like this.
Mr. Prentiss wishes to see you.
- Mr. Prentiss.
- Gentlemen.
- I'm Pittsburgh Markham. This is Cash Evans.
- How do you do, sir?
- How do you do? This is my daughter.
- How do you do?
- Glad to know you, Miss Prentiss.
- What's your proposition?
Go ahead and tell him, Cash.
Your company is the biggest
consumer of coke in Pennsylvania.
You've been buying coal, paying freight
and coking at your plant.
If we coke at the mines,
we can get it to you $3 a ton cheaper...
than you're getting it now.
It'll make a lot of difference
at the end of a month.
Then how about a contract to furnish
your next year's supply of coke?
Can you keep
those furnaces going?
- Well, uh-
- Sure, we can keep 'em going.
Well, we can talk business.
What's the output of your mine?
- We haven't got one right now.
- You contract your coal.
- What's the size of your coking equipment?
- We haven't any equipment.
You come here without a mine, no equipment
and expect me to give you a contract?
If you'd give us the contract first,
we could get credit to set up the ovens.
We'll put what we know about the coke
and coal business up against anybody.
I'll be very glad to sign
a contract with you...
providing you bring me proof
that you have the coal...
the equipment
and the ability to deliver.
Roughly, that would
require a backing of...
oh, about a quarter
of a million dollars.
Quarter of a million dollars?
Well, I'm surprised that should
present a problem to you, Mr. Markham.
- Come on, Pitt.
- Wait a minute. How long are ya gonna be here?
- 'Til about 6.00.
- I'll be back at 5.00.
Come on, Cash.
What're ya up to?
Where'd you get that?
Prentiss sure doesn't
bother to dot his "I".
"Morgan Prentiss. "
What're you gonna do, Pitt?
Forge a cheque?
Why, I wouldn't do
a thing like that.
I was just gonna sign his name
to a contract that says we have a deal...
to deliver coke to
Prentiss Steel Company.
Then I suppose you're going to the colliery
and flash it in front of Wilson...
and bamboozle him into furnishing
the cash and equipment?
No, I was gonna take it to the bank.
But your idea's better.
And to cinch it, I'll give him 50 percent.
Well, maybe only 40.
There's no tellin' where this'll end. It'll
run into the thousands, maybe millions.
We'll be rollin' in dough!
Would you gentlemen roll me $4
on last week's rent?
Pay her off.
Cash, you wouldn't object to
a few thousand bucks, would ya?
I wouldn't object to just four.
Two's all I can spare,
Mrs. Higgins.
You millionaires oughtn't to have any
trouble digging up the other $2 by tonight.
Two bucks! Why, we'll be smoking
$2 cigars before long.
Maybe you will.
Count me out, Pitt.
What's the matter with you?
Wanna be a hunky all your life?
I just don't like it.
Maybe you're afraid.
Nobody's gonna get hurt.
If you weren't so selfish,
you'd think what it'll mean to others.
What about the guys we'd be giving jobs
to, and paying a living wage for a change?
Free hospitalization if they're sick.
Won't cost 'em a dime.
Look, Cash, you know
what this money can mean to us?
Doc Powers can have a new lab.
A place to develop all those drugs
and things he's been workin' on.
What do ya say?
Where ya goin'?
I said, where ya goin'?
With you.
I love ya, Cash.
- So help me, Hannah, I love ya.
- Sing Sing, here we come.
Hey, Doc, where are ya?
We did it, Doc. We put 'er over.
Show him the contract, Cash.
Get an eyeful, Doc.
Signed, sealed and delivered.
Boys, I can't tell you
how happy I am for you.
What we told you
about the new lab goes.
You and Junior will have a joint so big,
you'll have to have a guide.
Bust open this bottle, Cash.
The fireworks is gonna start right here.
And finish in the biggest nightclub
in town. You're going along, Doc.
- Who, me?
- Yeah, wheelchair and all.
Gonna get all those chorus cuties
to autograph that plaster shank of yours.
- Where's Hunky? Isn't she here yet?
- No, I don't think she's coming.
- Not coming?
- Why not?
That's something
you'll have to find out yourself.
You bet I will. I'll go get her.
I'll be right back.
We put it over, Hunky. Prentiss gave us
the green light to go ahead.
- Where do you think you're going?
- Oh, I don't know.
- New York, Philadelphia, Chicago-
- Wait a minute.
You're part of this outfit.
We're partners.
And we've got the brass ring
right in our hand.
There are no brass rings. I know,
I've been on too many merry-go-rounds.
Believe me, I've tried to catch them.
There just aren't any.
There are on this one, Countess.
I tell ya, we're on our way up.
And we're goin' up together,
you and me.
Why, I'd still be diggin' coal
if you hadn't sunk the spurs into me.
I need you.
I'm crazy about you.
I've heard that before too.
From now on we're gonna be together,
no matter what.
No matter what.
It was wasn't easy,
those first days.
But you both rolled up your sleeves
and went to work like two demons.
You boys nursed those coke ovens as though
they were newborn babes with the colic.
And you went to bed at night proud in knowing
that you'd done an honest day's work.
Markham & Evans looked pretty good when those
wagons started rolling to the steel mill.
Hard work meant
happiness and success.
And when you got your first cheque, you didn't
forget that you were all three partners.
And now, instead of beans and red-eye,
it was champagne and fancy roast chicken.
Of course, Mrs. Higgins' rooming house
couldn't hold you now.
Josie picked out a new apartment
for you and Cash.
And I moved too, into that
new laboratory you boys promised me.
The company
couldn't stop growing.
And you did that on only
50 percent of the profits...
for old Wilson at the colliery
was holding you to a strict accounting.
Success like that was bound
to make changes in all of us.
But the greatest change
was in you, Pittsburgh.
- Good morning, Miss Fordham.
- Good morning, Mr. Markham.
- Mr. Milgrane is waiting to see you.
- Who?
- Mr. Milgrane.
- Oh, come on in, boys.
- Good morning, Mr. Prentiss. Did I keep you waiting?
- Yes, you did.
I don't want any third assistants working
on my duds. Are you Migraine himself?
The name is Milgrane, Mr. Markham.
Milgrane and Milgrane.
I'm both of them. Carlos.
These aren't the terms
we agreed on.
Our understanding was that I could renew
at the same figure.
- You can.
- The latest imported worsteds. Very smart this season.
- But I've already talked with Wilson.
- I've got to see him!
- It's important!
- Wilson said you had no right to make a proposition like that.
And he hasn't! I invested a great deal
of capital in this venture.
I'm entitled to a fair return. The price is up
to you and all the other companies.
Wilson, you've already made more money
than you ever made before.
- It's still cheaper than coking your own coal.
- I won't be held up!
Don't waste your breath on this two-bit
chiseller, Prentiss. Our deal sticks.
- Make me up six of these in assorted colors.
- Nice and conservative.
- Not too bright.
- You shouldn't say things like that about Mr. Wilson.
- The price is up to all other companies, but not to you.
- I don't understand.
- Your daughter can explain it.
- You haven't the power to grant special favors.
For two cents, I'd squeeze you
out of this company!
You're a little late for that because
you're already squoze. Or is it squeezed?
- Anyway, you're out.
- What?
You were so busy counting your profits,
you didn't bother to find out...
who owns all the shares you issued.
I started buying 'em up
the day we went into business.
An aspirin, Mr. Wilson?
You can't do this to me!
I'll see about this!
How about a $2 cigar, Prentiss?
Mr. Markham, please.
Miss Winters calling.
Hello, Hunky, how's tricks?
Hello, Pitt. You haven't
forgotten about tonight?
Doc Powers is going to be at my apartment and
he wants you to be there. It's very important.
Well, uh...
all right, if it's important,
but I may be a little late.
- All right, goodbye, dear.
- What did he say?
He's coming, but he said
he might be late. Little business.
What little business?
He didn't say.
- 'Night. Pittsburgh doesn't know what he missed, the big lug.
- Goodnight.
I'm sorry to hurry along, but I've
some work to finish at the laboratory.
- I hope it's a success.
- Any problem can be solved with patience.
Goodnight.
- Pour me a drink, will you, Cash?
- So soon after dinner?
I feel like it.
And anyway, I'm a hunky.
Hunkies are supposed to have
stomachs lined with slag...
and hearts of anthracite.
I doubt that.
You might feel better, Josie,
if you let your hair down.
I might not be able to get it
pinned up again. Let's leave it.
Pitt's all right. This success
he's having now has perhaps...
- gone to his head, but-
- Pour me a drink.
I want to get out of here.
Would you take me out, Cash?
- Sure.
- I want to go to the biggest speakeasy in town.
I've got a new dress.
The one I'd made for last new year's eve,
and then Pitt had to go to Harrisburg.
Never worn it.
I want to get all dressed up.
I want to have a good time.
And I want to
drink and dance!
We're dressed up, we're dancing-
Having a good time.
And the drinks are on the table.
Cash Evans special, Mr. Evans.
Only one permitted to a customer.
Now, just what kind of a something
is a Cash Evans special?
Long, strong and sneaky...
but tastes as innocent as a milkshake.
One part Demera rum,
two parts gold rum, one part light rum...
One lime juice
and with a dash of absinthe.
Cool gently with a blowtorch
and you're ready for danger.
Sounds like the sort of a drink
that can stand up and walk around.
Here's looking at you while I still can.
- Only one Cash Evans special to a customer, Mr. Evans.
- You can't even feel 'em.
I hear you can't feel anything
when Jack Dempsey hits you, either.
It gives you that restless feeling. Makes
you want to keep traveling for a refill.
Mm-hmm. I think I'll put a cap
on this and send it out to get some more.
I bet over at Barney's
they serve three to a customer.
Hold still!
Only one pitcher of Cash Evans special
to a customer.
- Ah, it's nice to see you two again.
- Thanks, Barney.
We always used to have
a lot of fun here.
When you and Pitt got your first cheque,
this is where we celebrated, remember?
I remember. Excuse me.
- That's all right, Barney.
- Sure.
And they played that same song too.
Do you see who I think I see?
How quaint!
- Well, well! Long time, no see, Pittsburgh.
- Hello, Barney.
- We're slumming tonight. - Sure, heh-heh!
Same old Pitt. You've come to the right place.
- Got a table for us?
- Sure. Over here. Heh!
Some friends of yours are here.
Maybe you'd like to sit with them.
- Yeah, who's that?
- Cash and Josie.
- The tired businessman!
- I beg your pardon.
Isn't your name Markham,
of the monkey business Markhams?
- Would you like to sit here?
- Why, uh-
Of course, sit down.
Miss Prentiss, Miss Winters.
- How do you do?
- Oh, very nicely, thank you.
Now, Pitt didn't introduce me properly.
I'm really the former Countess Winiewitsky
of the Polish nobility.
Our estates are completely underground.
- How very amusing.
- Very. Have you ever been down in a mine tunnel?
- Why, no, I haven't.
- Oh, you must come down sometime and meet the boys.
Or do you like them better
out of the shaft?
Uh, would you care
to finish this dance?
I'd love to. Would you order me a drink,
please, Charles? Something mild.
- Small world, isn't it?
- Mm-hmm.
Small world, small people.
Is that the little business you were
giving me the business about?
That's big business. I've been doing us a
lot of good through Prentiss and his daughter.
You make it sound so clear
when you say it that way.
Hey, you know me, Josie.
Business before pleasure.
Say, you're a little splashed up tonight,
aren't you?
What did you expect?
Find me waiting at the telephone,
holding my breath?
No, but I expected you to grow up in the
head along with your other improvements.
Waiting for the latest bulletins
about big shot Markham.
Oh, skip it.
Was there anything really important that
you and Doc wanted to see me about tonight?
No, we were just going
to celebrate something.
It was a mistake in the first place.
What's that?
Your birthday.
Oh.
- Here's your usual, Pittsburgh.
- Bring the lady something mild.
Oh, maybe she'd like some punch, no?
Well, yes, I would like some.
Thank you.
Ooh, that's delightful. What is it?
Oh, just a little moonlight and rose thorns.
Harmless as molasses taffy.
- Shall we be going, Josie?
- Going, going, gone.
- Goodnight.
- Goodnight, Barney.
- Goodbye, Miss Prentiss. So
long, Pitt. - Goodnight.
- So long, Barney.
- So long, Cash.
One pitcher to a customer.
- Keep your chin up.
- Yes, up and out where it can be hit.
If anybody hit that chin of yours, you'd
break his hand. You're no china doll.
I was so crazy,
blindly in love with him.
You know, Cash,
he's great in his way.
He can do anything
he sets his mind to.
But he's no good now.
No good for anybody.
Well, who let you in?
That fancy pants with an accent
you call a butler.
- I just dropped around to tell you something.
- Yeah? What?
Your two-timing finally
caught up with you.
- You mean about tonight? That was nothing.
- Wasn't it? You're through.
- You're washed up.
- You seem awfully happy about it.
I am. You had your chance
and made a mess of it.
Now here's where I step in.
You always did have an eye
for Josie, didn't you?
What're you tryin' to do?
Catch her on the rebound?
Something like that.
You don't care for her any more
than you do for that $2 cigar.
But I do.
- Got it all figured out, haven't you?
- Sure.
Then why tell me about it?
I don't know why, but for some cockeyed reason
she still thinks that she's in love with you.
But if she'll have me, I'm just
crazy enough to marry her anyway.
You're thinking, "Shall I step aside
and give him a chance?
Or shall I run to her and show him that
the great Pittsburgh is still the head man?"
You think you can take her away
from me any time you want to.
If you snap your fingers, she'll run
right into your arms. Turn around.
From now on, keep that charm
under lock and key.
You'll do that, won't you, Pitt?
What are you laughing about?
Read the morning paper.
Coal marries steel. You were
climbing up in the world, Pittsburgh.
But if you'd hit Josie between the eyes with
your fist, you couldn't have hurt her worse.
Naturally, it was too much to expect
that she would be at your wedding.
It was the biggest wedding we'd
seen around here in a long time.
Then do you remember at your
wedding reception afterward, Pittsburgh?
- Charles, I want you to meet Mr. Symonds and Mr. Channing.
- It's a great pleasure.
- How do you do?
- They're on the board of Prentiss Steel.
Prentiss was just
talking about you.
That's a father-in-law's privilege.
As your wedding present, I just suggested that
the board appoint you to a vice-presidency...
of the Prentiss Steel Company.
Well, that'll suit me fine,
temporarily.
- Are you a devotee of the opera, Mr. Markham?
- I beg your pardon?
Are you a devotee
of the opera, Mr. Markham?
Oh, uh, yes, indeed.
Oh, I think I see Mr. Evans leaving.
Excuse us, please.
- Well, goodnight, Mr. Prentiss.
- Goodnight.
- Cash, you're not leaving?
- I'm afraid so. Sorry I have to go.
I had a wonderful time. I want to
wish you both a great deal of happiness.
- Thank you, Cash.
- Goodnight. Goodnight, Pitt.
Cash! Excuse me.
You don't have to go yet.
I've been trying
to get you alone.
- I'm sorry I blew my topper the night I barged in on ya.
- Oh, that's all right.
Why didn't you tell me you were
gonna marry Shannon Prentiss?
- You know me. Never tip my mitt
'til the deal's closed. - Mm-hmm.
Stick around, will ya? Don't leave
me alone with all these strangers.
- I don't speak their language.
- Sorry, Pitt, but this is what you wanted.
- And it looks like you got it.
- I know where there's a nice quiet corner...
in this museum where we
can cut a few touches.
- You mean sit on the red plush and talk about old times?
- Yeah!
No, thanks, brother.
Goodnight.
Hey, buddy.
- Hiya, Hunky.
- What are you doing here, Pittsburgh?
Got a little chilly uptown. I thought
I'd come down here where it's warm.
- Aren't you gonna invite me in?
- Are you out of your senses?
When I look at you I am. You really are
a countess in that outfit. New?
What are you thinking of,
coming here tonight?
Oh, that gang'll never miss me.
Why didn't you come to my wedding?
- You didn't even send a telegram.
- Congratulations.
I hope you'll both
be very happy.
Aw, you got it
all wrong, Hunky.
Marriage with that crowd is a business,
like everything else.
I played my angles right
and made a solid deal.
But that's got nothin'
to do with you and me.
- You and me?
- Sure!
Pittsburgh, remember?
A big name for a big guy.
And I'm gonna be as
big as this town, like I said.
- And all because you got me started.
- You've done all right.
Oh, I'm not talkin' about money.
I'm talkin' about us, you and me.
We're still gonna see a lot
of each other, same as always.
- Take your hands down, Pitt.
- Oh, come on, Hunky. You got the wrong slant.
You gotta see this thing
the right way.
For the first time,
I do see it the right way.
Why did you come here?
I'm not sure.
Guess I had the wrong slant.
You don't know me at all, do you?
Now I realize
you've never known me.
A few minutes ago I thought
I couldn't stand what you'd done.
Oh, I get all mixed up when you're
not around. I don't wanna lose you.
I need you.
You should've thought
of that before.
- Listen, Hunky-
- I've been around a long time, Pitt...
and in my stupid mind
there was never anybody else but you.
And you could've had me forever.
But now I'm glad
it has worked out the way it has.
You picked the kind of life you want.
So go back to it and to her...
and at least let me keep
a little respect for you.
Please go, Pitt.
Okay, Hunky.
Maybe you were thinking
of those long days when you sweated...
for old Wilson in
Shaft Number 7, Pittsburgh.
Now you own that very mine.
It gave you a feeling of triumph.
The name "Markham and Evans" began spreading
out over the city like a circus tent.
It became a household word.
Coal, coal tar
and its by-products:
dyes, paints, asphalts,
varnishes, roof coverings.
You made coal pay, Pittsburgh.
You were in the driver's seat.
And coal to you meant dollars
and dollars meant power.
Enough power to take the leadership of
Prentiss Steel away from Morgan Prentiss.
How you chuckled at the stockholders' meeting
when they announced you were elected.
You made another enemy
that day, Pittsburgh.
While to Cash Evans, it meant
something else than money:
how could it best serve
the people who depended upon it?
And somewhere in the parade
of years, Pittsburgh...
you'd forgotten a promise you made
to Cash and Joe Malneck and his friends.
- Come on out!
- We wanna talk to ya!
- Take it easy, boys, take it easy.
- Take it easy?
- Be yourself. This is me, remember?
- I remember.
- I'm not so sure you and Pittsburgh do.
- I oughta bust you in the nose for that crack.
Listen, men. I know what Pittsburgh
promised you, and he meant every word.
More gab. What about
the new safety shafts?
What about the higher wages
we're supposed to get?
All's we get is gab, gab, gab!
Now wait a minute! Our companies have
grown fast. It takes money to expand.
It takes money for these men to live too.
Wait. I'll give you my word.
At the end of the quarter...
Joe and anybody else you guys name
can examine the books.
If Pittsburgh is making money,
you'll get your share.
- Is that fair enough?
- What do we know about books?
All right, men.
We'll let it ride this time.
Go back to work.
Keep your eyes open, Joe.
Those boys are tired
of stalling, Cash.
You stuck your neck out this time.
I hope you don't get it chopped off.
- Thanks, Joe. Have a cigarette.
- Sure.
I don't care what ya promised.
I don't show my books to anybody.
I gave the men my word,
and you're gonna back me up.
- Am I?
- What about the hospitalization you promised?
- The schools you were going to build?
- Schools?
- And make 'em as smart as me?
- Sometimes I wonder if you're smart or just plain lucky.
You're heading for trouble
if you don't change your thinking.
My thinking's all right.
My partnership in this outfit
gives me some right to say what's done...
so I'm gonna keep my promise
to Joe Malneck.
Hold on, ya hothead!
We're pals, Cash, remember?
- Do you?
- All right, you win.
If it means that much to ya, I'll put the
books on display at the public library.
How's that?
I'm a rat, Cash.
That's why I gotta have you around,
sorta keep me in line.
Get a sharper knife.
You could slice it thinner.
- I love ya, Cash. So help me, I love ya.
- Yeah.
Say, don't forget that party tonight.
You haven't been around in a long while.
You oughta mix with
the big boys more. It pays off.
You should know.
By the way, uh,
why don't you bring Josie?
I haven't seen her in a long while.
Maybe I will. It might amuse her
to see that mausoleum you live in.
You two set the date yet?
You'll know it when we do.
Is it bothering you, Pitt?
- Nice to be dancing with the host.
- Hmm?
Or am I dancing alone? You're doing
the steps all right, Charles...
but your mind seems to be elsewhere.
I can't understand what's happened
to Cash. He's usually right on time.
- I'm worried about him.
- You're not worried about Miss Winters, are you?
Well, your worries are over.
- Hello, Josie, Cash!
- Mrs. Markham, Pitt.
- Say, Josie, you look like a real countess tonight.
- Thank you.
- We're sorry we're late, Mrs. Markham.
- Oh, that's all right.
- Hello, Cash. - How are you,
Cash? - Glad to see you, Cash.
- Hello.
- You haven't been getting around much lately.
- I wouldn't say that.
- Oh, Miss Winters. Mr. Cooper, Mr. Wilcox, Mr. Drake.
- How do you do?
- May I have this dance?
- Not with him!
- Nor with him! With me.
- It's a host's prerogative.
- Excuse me.
Prerogative! I wonder if he
knows what it means?
- You know, I just realized what's been wrong with these parties.
- What?
You. Ya liven 'em up.
It's like a Christmas tree.
It's dead 'til you turn on the lights.
- Thank you.
- I really missed you, Josie.
Dancing with you again, it's-
it's like old times.
Old times are old times, Pitt.
What's the matter? You afraid?
You're the same old Pittsburgh.
But I'm not the same Josie.
- Miss Winters, it was my dance.
- How about me, Miss Winters?
Sorry, boys. She's gonna dance
with the guy what brung her.
Bulls and bears of Wall Street
are nothing...
compared to the wolves
of the steel industry.
Shall we finish
our dance, Charles?
With pleasure, Mrs. Markham.
I've never had
a better time in my life.
Naturally. You were out
with an old swell-time expert.
Never had any complaints yet
from the female clientele.
The first good time
I've had in a month of Sundays.
And I always
remember firsts.
Like the first time
I rode on a streetcar.
- Or ate an ice-cream cone.
- Or the first long dress you wore.
Mm-hmm. Don't you ever remember
the first good times in your life?
Mm-hmm. My first long pants were
too tight and my first pay cheque too little.
The trouble with you, Josie, you've been too
nearsighted to see the good times around you.
- Too much Pittsburgh smoke.
- Yes.
But now the atmosphere
is getting pretty clear, Cash.
Well, it's about time.
I never could understand
what you saw in that big lug anyway.
Why, I used to beat him
at everything from pool to poker.
I could dig more coal in two hours
than he could in two days.
I did all his talking for him,
and his fighting.
I used to lick him every once in a while
just for the exercise.
Take his dames away from him just to prove
that old stuff about mind over matter.
And why did you stop
taking his dames?
I didn't. But when they were too dumb
to see straight, I wouldn't even bother.
But sometimes dumb girls get smart,
if you give them enough time.
- I've been learning a lot.
- For instance?
Oh, just that chinning yourself
on the moon isn't such a neat trick.
The man I want to marry must
have both feet on the ground.
About, uh, size 12?
Maybe.
I'm just an easygoing,
calculating guy.
But, sister, when I finally call 'em,
they drop right in the pot.
What if this bird you've been
talking about doesn't even ask you?
I hope he will.
He will. I'm sure he will, Josie.
The way you behaved. I've never seen
anything so ridiculous in all my life.
- You and that woman.
- Oh, stop it, will ya, Shannon?
I understand, Charles.
You love her.
You always have
and you always will.
Can't I have a laugh with an old friend
without you gettin' green-eyed?
Look in the mirror.
If ever I saw...
- a short-fused dynamite ready to
explode- - I want a divorce, Charles.
For what?
Because Hunky and I were dancing?
No. Because you're crude,
rude and a bore.
You always will be.
You've ruined my father's life...
- and now you're ruining mine.
- That's right, Shannon.
Then you'll
give me my freedom?
- No.
- But why do you insist on keeping me?
Is it because in me,
you have some alleged social standing?
- Or is it because you and
that hunky are after- - Stop it!
That isn't true.
I know what you're thinking...
and I'm tempted to wring
your lovely little neck.
I'll let you go
when I'm ready.
I hate you.
Oh, you'll feel better
in the morning.
It's not a fairy tale.
It's scientific history.
Breathtaking.
Taxing the imagination.
Out of coal tar came more than
200 different substances.
Dyes, explosives, sulpha drugs.
These are the products that come
from a simple lump of coal.
Thousands of derivatives.
And here is the big factor I've been
telling you about. The sulpha compound.
Big? Why, the word
isn't big enough to describe it.
What Doc's been telling us
is so big it makes your head swim.
Did I hear somebody
say "big"?
Brethren, you're
speaking my language.
I'm sure were are, Pitt.
That's why you're going to be...
one of the main contributors to the greatest
gift man has received in modern times.
Is that so?
What am I giving away?
If it works,
you'll be saving lives.
You'll be doing away
with a lot of suffering in this world.
Remember Doc told us
about a man who thought coal...
was the basis
for a medical cure-all...
and that scientists
have been trying to prove it ever since?
It looks like Doc
has finally found the trail.
I hope it's a short trail.
In my books...
every time the clock strikes
it oughta ring like a cash register.
- Go ahead, spill it, Doc.
- That's why we're here, Pitt.
Gonna take a lot of money to carry on this
research, but we're close to the answer.
A sulpha-type compound
made of coal tar...
that would check certain
bacterial growth in body fluids...
and at the same time
be as harmless to take as water.
Hmm. Very interesting.
Look, Doc, why don't you stick
to your paints and varnishes?
Let somebody else worry about
this sulpha whatever-it-is.
But this is something
that'll benefit all humanity.
Let's level on something that will benefit
Markham and Evans.
We're to drop our medical research
after all our work?
Medicine isn't up our alley.
We're in the coal business and that's that.
Wait a minute, Pitt.
If that's your verdict...
I'm getting out of the coal business.
Doc and I are leaving.
- Why don't you think it over, Pitt?
- His time's too valuable.
You can have my interest in
Markham and Evans at whatever it's worth.
It's a deal.
You can start packing.
- Grazlich, you're in charge from now on.
- I'm leaving too.
Pittsburgh, you're making
the greatest mistake of your life.
I doubt it, Hunky.
I probably made bigger mistakes.
- But I'll still do all right by myself.
- By yourself's right.
Just take the name "Evans" off of
Markham and Evans and that'll complete it.
With pleasure. And that
won't take very long.
- Oh, Mr. Markham?
- Yes?
Mr. Malneck and some
other gentlemen are here to see you.
- What do they want?
- They didn't say.
Oh, I remember.
Have 'em come in.
- Come in, gentlemen.
- Thank you.
Hello, boys. What's up?
- It's the end of the quarter, Pittsburgh.
- Yeah?
We hadn't heard from you,
so we decided to drop around.
We come to look
at the books.
This is Mr. Smith and Mr. Carney,
the union bookkeepers.
So if you'll get hold
of your company accountant...
the sooner we get to work,
the sooner we'll know where we stand.
- I don't know what you're talkin' about, Joe?
- What did I tell ya?
Wait a minute. We had a promise that
we could look at the company books...
- the end of this quarter.
- Did I give it to ya?
- No, but Cash did, and he's your partner.
- He was my partner.
Get this, Malneck. I'm running
this company now, my own way, see?
That means nobody looks at the books
unless I say so, and I say no.
- Suppose we make you let us look at the books?
- Go right ahead, Johnny.
- Well, we got ways of making you-
- Take it easy, Johnny.
If he won't let us see the books,
there's no law says he must.
It's only fair to tell you, Pittsburgh.
The men aren't gonna like this.
That gang of moles don't know what they
like. Now how 'bout diggin' a little coal?
- I'll dig coal!
- Johnny, Johnny.
Come on, let's go.
I know you were
on the level, Cash.
I've been keeping the men quiet
only because of what you promised.
What I promised.
That's the tough part, Joe.
I should've known he'd cross you
the moment I left the company.
Labor will never forgive him for it,
even if nothing can be done about it.
There's something I can do about it.
I'll be right with you, Joe.
- What are you going to do, Cash?
- Never mind, Josie.
Stay away from him.
You'll only make more trouble.
- She's right, Cash.
- Are you afraid he'll get hurt?
- No.
- I'll let you in on a little secret, Josie.
That night I took you to Pittsburgh's party
I wanted us to prove something for keeps.
I wanted to prove that you could look
Pittsburgh in the eye and laugh at him.
That he could take you in his arms,
you could still laugh, and mean it.
We did prove it, didn't we?
What else can I do to make you believe it?
Stop worrying about what's
gonna happen to him now. Come on, Joe.
But it's you, Cash, not Pitt.
Cash! Oh.
You better stay here, Josie.
Oh, Doc, he doesn't understand.
- Who was the message from?
- I don't know, Mr. Evans.
I know. It was from that crazy Johnny.
We'd better get over to the mine quick.
First I heard of it.
If you think there's gonna be trouble...
- I'll call the shift off.
- And have 'em think I'm scared to go down in my own mine?
- Number 7. I'll handle it.
- Maybe I better go with you.
- I hear there's trouble down below.
- I wouldn't know.
You wouldn't know,
or you wouldn't tell me?
I understand there's somebody down here
wearin' a chip with my name on it.
- Know anything about it?
- You better ask Johnny.
Johnny, huh?
Where is he?
Up ahead.
I warned him not to go down alone.
He's the boss.
Johnny's bad medicine
with a pick in his hands.
- What's the matter with the automatic? Won't it run?
- Yes, but it's not safe.
Keep it slow.
A little thing I've been trying to get
Pittsburgh to fix.
- Johnny?
- Yeah?
- I wanna talk to you.
- You'll never get a better chance.
Pick up your pay cheque and beat it.
The rest of you men get back to work.
- What is this?
- I'll tell ya what it is, big shot.
Playin' us all for suckers
with a promise you never figured to keep.
Lettin' us break our backs
diggin' for more dough...
when you had the cards
stacked against us.
Well, the cards are still stacked,
only this time we're dealin'.
Look around ya, big shot.
See what the boys think of ya.
And when we finish with you this time,
you'll never gyp anybody again!
All right, break it up.
I said, break it up!
Rush him, fellas. We got him
where we want him now!
Hold it, Johnny! If you think
this guy's double-crossed you...
it's nothing to what
he's done to me.
If there's anything left
when I'm finished, you can have him.
This is one time you're
gonna do your own fighting!
- Trying to be a hero, huh?
- Get 'em up!
Giving yourself a build-up
in front of the men.
Go get him, Cash!
So tough he used to break a pick
handle with his bare hands.
And I can still break 'em.
And necks too.
You once stayed three minutes
for a hundred bucks.
I'll give you a thousand
if you can do it again.
- What are you backing away for?
- Go get him, Cash!
Shall I get you a pillow?
Fight him like a miner, Cash!
Anything goes!
- Where's Mr. Evans? Thanks.
- He went down to Number 7.
What happened?
Josie.
All right, back it up!
Back up here!
- Give 'em room.
- Give 'em room. Back up.
Back it up.
Come on, people.
Stand back there.
Come on, break it up now.
Clear out.
Move on out.
Better get some coffee.
No, Doc, I-
May be some time yet.
How is she?
She's in a very critical condition.
They're operating now.
I wish I could tell you
how sorry I am, Cash.
You're a little late
waking up to that, aren't you?
- You gotta listen to me.
- All your life there's only been one person, you.
Now you think you can clean up everything
that's been happening for years.
It isn't that easy. Even if you went back
to the beginning you couldn't change.
What do you mean, couldn't?
There isn't a thing I can't do.
That's what you used to tell Josie,
but she got wise.
She once told me you were
no good, not for anybody.
Funny how it's worked out, because
the one you're least good for is yourself.
All the mistakes
you've made have piled up...
and someday they're gonna come down
on you like a ton of slag.
If I live to be a hundred,
I hope I never see you again.
Come in.
Hello, Shannon.
Going out?
Yes, I'm having
dinner with Father.
Well, you're
a charming picture.
It appears that
for once in your life...
you ran into something
you couldn't talk your way out of.
Brawling like
a common coal miner.
I thought it'd be nice
if we had dinner together.
Just the two of us.
What a lovely idea, Charles.
It would be a novelty.
I'd like to make a new start
with you, Shannon.
The things
I've said and done-
I don't expect you
to forgive me, but-
Well, that's very
generous of you.
And I'm glad
you feel that way...
because I'll never
forgive you, Charles.
Shannon. I'm not trying to defend myself
for what I've already done...
but I'd like
to make things right.
Maybe we could go
away for a year.
- Take a trip around the world.
- Why have you changed so suddenly?
Is it because
Josie Winters may die?
Is that why you've come running back,
to make sure of me?
If that's cruel of me,
I'm sorry, Charles.
All right, Shannon.
You can have your divorce.
- I won't stop you.
- Markham, as time goes on...
you'll realize that retribution has a way
of overtaking people, even as clever as you.
Come, my dear.
I'll never rest 'til
I break that fellow.
I'll put him back where he was the day he came
into my office if it's the last act of my life.
This is Charles Markham calling.
Any news about Miss Winters yet?
She is?
If there's any change, will you have
Doc Powers call me, please? Thank you.
From now on, we're gonna
be together, no matter what.
No matter what.
I beg your pardon.
Isn't your name Markham?
Of the monkey business
Markhams?
I really missed you, Josie.
Dancing with you again,
it's- it's like old times.
You picked the kind
of life you want...
so go back to it
and to her...
and at least let me keep
a little respect for you.
- Hello?
- Hello, Pittsburgh.
Yeah, Doc Powers.
Yes, I heard you'd called
several times.
Well, I'm glad to be able to report
to you that Josie's out of danger.
Yes, but it will be many, many months
before she's fully recovered.
Thanks.
Thanks for calling, Doc.
Thanks to guys like you
who forgot the human element...
labor's gonna be good and solid.
You're the father of practically a thousand
new unions just because you tried to be smart.
How do you like that?
How do you like being...
a guardian angel left-handed
just because you forgot to be human?
I came to tell you things
are gonna be different.
Different? I wouldn't believe a word you
said if you swore it on a stack of Bibles.
I'm goin' whole hog for the miner.
I'm gonna make Pittsburgh...
the greatest town to work
and live in in America!
Nah. The boat sailed, Pittsburgh,
and you're not on it.
Nobody'll ever like
or trust you again.
We'll see about that.
I'll make 'em like me.
I'll cram it down their throats.
Even you'll be singing
my praises, Joe.
I don't have so good
a voice, Mr. Markham.
So it's
Mr. Markham now, eh?
There you are, something new.
The model city
of Markham, Pennsylvania.
Markham, huh? Named after?
Joe Doakes. Look at it.
For the coal and steelworkers
of Pittsburgh.
Sunshine in every room. Movies.
A hospital. A recreation center.
Practically rent-free.
The land is bought and paid for...
and ready for occupancy
in ten months, right, Thornton?
- Yes, Mr. Markham.
- How do you like it, boys?
Where do you come in, Mr. Markham?
What's your angle?
My angle?
This is all for the people.
A Christmas present
from Pittsburgh to Pittsburgh...
and no strings attached.
All you big guys are just alike.
The harder you are when you're young, the
more you think of heaven when you pass 35.
Now if you gentlemen will excuse me,
I have another appointment.
I'll have that lug fired.
Did you hear what he said?
You don't fire
newspapermen, Mr. Markham.
They always have
the last word.
As long as you rook
everybody, they like it.
Treat 'em nice,
and they start wisecrackin'.
Beg your pardon.
What's this building going up here?
That's the new hospital
Charles Markham is giving the city.
Charles Markham, the big coal
and steel man? I hear he's a great guy.
That's what he says.
But believe me, he's so crooked...
he could hide
behind a corkscrew.
Oh. Well, I hear
he does a lotta good.
Any guy that's double-crossed
all the people he has...
can't be on the up-and-up.
- Cigarette?
- Thanks.
I may be needin' this.
- Dinner is served, Mr. Markham.
- All right.
May I wish you many happy
returns of the day, sir?
You certainly may.
Thank you.
- Mike.
- Yes, sir?
Have I ever done anything
you didn't like?
Well, sir, I can, uh, I can only speak
of personal contact, sir.
In that respect you've lived up
to my highest standards.
Then you can honestly say,
man to man, that you actually like me?
Well, sir, speaking free and easy, and
man to man, I honestly would say it, sir.
You're a good, democratic guy, Mike.
I'm gonna ask a favor of you.
By all means, sir. What is it?
- Have dinner with me.
- But, Mr. Markham!
I'll be darned if I'm gonna
celebrate my birthday alone!
Cash told you once
that all the mistakes you had made...
were going to pile up and someday
fall on you like a ton of slag.
Prentiss also knew it
when he promised to break you.
And the day finally came
when Prentiss kept his promise.
And that wasn't the end
of your bad luck, Pittsburgh.
It seemed as though some special kind of justice
kept following you through the next years...
until at last you were
counting your assets with a minus sign...
and your friends on one finger.
In all those years, you'd never
seen Cash and Josie again.
In a way, I suppose,
they were grateful to you...
for indirectly you had brought them closer
together than either of them had ever dreamed.
And as the parade of years went by, you thought
often of their happiness and your troubles.
Suddenly, one day all your little troubles
became less than nothing.
The day the laughter
went out of the world.
And in the weeks
and months that followed...
the shadow of destruction spread its
darkness across the face of the earth...
until what some people called
"the impossible" happened.
I appreciate your coming down here
when I phoned you, Doc.
I'm all mixed up.
You gotta help me.
That sounds odd
coming from you, Pittsburgh.
I remember as though
it were yesterday.
I never heard a baby squawk so loud
and determined...
as though he were shouting
for everybody to hear...
"There's nothing
in the world I can't do!"
That was a long time ago.
And yet there was one thing
you never learned.
- What was that?
- Humility.
You destroyed a great company just
because you wanted to be the whole show.
Well, I've learned a lot
of things, but what can I do?
- I guess I can still fight, eh, Doc?
- I wonder.
You haven't thrown
a decent punch in years.
Always promoting. Why don't you stop
trying to be a skyrocket?
Come down to earth.
Find a spot.
In what spot do you think
I'd do the most good?
Well, there are some
problems, Pittsburgh...
that every man has gotta
solve for himself.
So long, Pitt.
- Where you goin', Barney?
- Oh.
I'm goin' over to a meeting
of the third district defense committee.
Here. I'm a senior
air raid warden.
Heh-heh. See you later, Pittsburgh.
Report at 8.00
in the morning. Name?
Charles... Ellis.
Charles Ellis.
Experience?
Coal miner.
You thought no one would know
anything about Charles Ellis...
but Josie, Joe Malneck
and I did.
And we knew it was
the start of something good.
That like black coal
on the way up to sunlight...
you too were beginning
to work out of the darkness.
No job was too hard
for you, Pittsburgh.
You were down to earth,
finding in honest work...
the first real satisfaction
you'd known in years.
It felt good to work
and sweat again, didn't it?
To match muscle and might
against a job that had to be done.
Yes, it's good for the soul
to work with the hands, Pittsburgh.
It cleans a man
all the way through.
Matching your strength against steel,
you took on the strength of steel itself.
Self-pity was forgotten...
and as the weapons of war were forged,
so were you as a human being and a man.
You have the figures in front of you.
The list calls for an all-out effort.
I read the list very carefully, Mr. Evans.
You've committed us
to too great a quota.
We're committed to a war, Burns.
From now on it's planes, guns and tanks.
- I've said we could do it.
- Yes, but-
All we've been getting out of you for the
past month has been ifs, ands, and buts.
I'm sorry, Mr. Evans. I'm not
trying to be unduly pessimistic.
I'll admit that I'm not a war expert.
I'm only your production manager.
You mean you were
my production manager.
Very well, sir,
if that's the way it is.
I know it's going
to be tough, gentlemen...
but the production race
is on and we're in it.
Jones, can you get your men
to roll up their sleeves an extra notch?
I don't think they'll
let us down, Mr. Evans.
Let's face the facts, gentlemen.
We're all in this together.
Every man and woman in our factory
should have the same goal as our soldiers.
Now let's get back to the job.
Well, he finally got
around to firing Burns.
But how could he?
He can't carry the entire load.
Don't you think you're taking on
about four jobs too many?
I can handle it, dear.
And stop worrying about me.
Who's gonna take
Burns' place, Cash?
Think any of the men
in that room are big enough?
- Well, I-
- I know a man who's big enough.
A man who's on your payroll
this very minute.
He started on the labor gang
and he saved you one day out of seven.
When he moved up to the assembly lines,
he cut one hour out of every ten.
With an idea for spot welding, he gave
you an extra 500 man hours a month.
Yesterday I heard him cutting
costs in supply and procurement.
- Why haven't I heard of him before?
- I don't know...
but he's tougher than a dozen red-hot,
spittin' wild cats.
- Who is this man?
- His name's Charles Ellis.
Send me Charles Ellis.
Josie, you better run along.
Apologize for me to the guests.
I won't budge from here
until you come with me.
Mr. Charles Ellis, Mr. Evans.
Send him in. You win, Josie.
I'll be right with you.
Ellis, I've been hearing
nice things about you...
and I've decided that
you're the right man for-
- What are you doing here?
- Don't ask me. You sent for me.
I sent for Charles Ellis.
Oh. So you're the wonder boy
I've been hearing about.
I thought we had
an understanding.
We still have
as far as I'm concerned.
- I didn't tell ya to ask for me.
- Okay, so I asked for you.
- Now I'm asking you to go.
- Fine.
But after this, before you
call me off a job, be sure you want me...
'cause I'm particular
how I waste my time.
If I call you off a job again
it will be for one reason.
- To repeat what I once told you.
- Just a minute, Cash.
- This is none of your business.
- I don't care whether it's my business or not.
I have something to say
and I want you to listen.
This is no time to think about personal
feelings and personal grievances.
There's a greater,
far more important emotion.
The only emotion that should guide every
one of us today: devotion to our country.
That's the only thing
you must think about.
You've got to forget
about everything else.
If you can use Pitt, use him.
Pitt, get that chip off your shoulder!
- Oh, Josie, I-
- Let me finish!
I started you two on the road
that led to this very room.
You've said it so many times
that I finally believe it myself.
This is an emergency.
You need each other.
Your country needs you.
What are you going to do about it?
I need a production manager, Pitt.
Okay, you got one.
Put an order through right away.
There'll be a meeting of all department heads
in Mr. Evans' office in exactly one hour.
Hello?
Hello? Who?
Mr. Evans said you'd get
your equipment Thursday?
You'll get everything Wednesday, Johnson.
My partner made a mistake.
Partner!
Once again you both rolled up
your sleeves and went to work...
only this time it was for something
bigger than yourselves.
You tore out or converted
the old tools.
In some places
you put in new ones.
And where articles of luxury
once poured forth...
now streamed the guardians
of our American life.
It was happening not only in your plants,
but in thousands of others.
It was machine guns now,
instead of typewriters.
The work and material that made
lipstick cases now made cartridge shells.
Plastic bomb noses
instead of lamps.
And automobiles? No.
It was planes, tanks, trucks...
artillery and guns
flowing from the assembly lines.
American industry
on the firing line.
Labor and capital planning,
working side by side.
It takes a lot of muscle and sweat
to put over a job as big as this one...
and that's where the women
of the nation came in.
Josie Evans and thousands
of others like her...
doing their part
wherever they could.
And there were others who found
they could run a drill press...
drive a 30-ton tank or run
a stamping machine as well as any man.
Yes, millions of Americans,
men and women on the production line...
to feed the supply lines
to the courageous Americans...
fighting on battle fronts
all over the earth.
Fighting for a decent world.
Fighting for the survival
of free nations.
There's a reason
in my telling this story, Pitt.
I think it should be told to
every man and woman in America.
You two made a decision
that everyone in the land has to make.
That the most important word
in any man's language is "partners. "
What's this? A war production
plant or old home week?
Where've you been, Josie?
You missed the ceremony.
Well, I was busy,
but I heard you over the loudspeaker.
Now, look. This is the plan
of the recreation room for the workers.
I've made arrangements for the lunch-hour
shows, and for that we have to enlarge the stage.
We could do it easily by-
Oh, come on, I'll show it to you.
Maybe you have some better ideas,
although I don't think so. Come on.
Come on, Doc, let's have a look.
Doctor?
Dr. Powers?
- Here it is, Doctor. - Well,
what do you know? A brand-new tire.
Yes, made of synthetic rubber.
All from coal tar products.
Put it back on the treadmill
for another thousand miles...
- and we'll test it again.
- Yes, Doctor.
Say, uh, Doc,
about those tires.
Uh, my front ones are, uh-
How's chances?
- Pittsburgh.
- Will you listen to that chiseller?
I love ya, Cash.
So help me, I love ya!