- 1 day ago
A journey changes when the path no longer follows the plan. Where the Road Bends tells a quiet story of choices, uncertainty, and the courage to move forward when life takes an unexpected turn.
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Short filmTranscript
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00:03:00THINK
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00:03:16And you can leave here any time you want it.
00:03:18Okay, okay, I'm sorry I asked.
00:03:20First good piece played tonight and you don't like it.
00:03:22Some people just ain't got any good taste.
00:03:36That tune.
00:03:38That tune!
00:03:39Why was there always that rotten tune?
00:03:41Following me around, beating in my head, never letting up.
00:03:46Did you ever want to forget anything?
00:03:50Did you ever want to cut away a piece of your memory or blot it out?
00:03:53You can't, you know.
00:03:55No matter how hard you try.
00:03:57You can change the scenery.
00:03:59But sooner or later you'll get a whiff of perfume
00:04:01where somebody will say a certain phrase or maybe hum something.
00:04:04Then you're licked again!
00:04:07I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:04:10I used to love that song once.
00:04:12So did the customers back in the old Break of Dawn Club in New York.
00:04:16I can't remember a night when I didn't get at least three requests for it.
00:04:19Sue, she was always selling it too.
00:04:23Those were the days.
00:04:25When your eyes are blue, your kisses too.
00:04:27I know you're the days.
00:04:28You're the days.
00:04:30When your eyes are blue, your kisses too.
00:04:40Your eyes are blue, your kisses too
00:04:54I never knew what they could do
00:04:57I can't believe that you're in love with me
00:05:01You're telling everyone you know
00:05:06That I'm on your mind each place you go
00:05:09They can't believe that you're in love with me
00:05:13I have always placed you far above me
00:05:20I just can't imagine that you love me
00:05:26And after all is said and done
00:05:30To think that I'm the lucky one
00:05:33I can't believe that you're in love with me
00:05:37It wasn't much of a club really
00:05:47You know the kind
00:05:49A joint where you could have a sandwich and a few drinks
00:05:51And run interference for your girl on the dance floor
00:05:53I pounded the piano in there every night from 8 until the place closed up
00:05:59Which usually meant 4 in the morning
00:06:02A good job was jobs went in those days
00:06:04Then too
00:06:09There was Sue
00:06:11Who made working there a little like working in heaven
00:06:14But how we felt about each other
00:06:17Well there was nothing very unusual in that
00:06:19I was an ordinary healthy guy
00:06:21And she was an ordinary healthy girl
00:06:22And when you add those two together
00:06:24You get an ordinary healthy romance
00:06:25Which is the old story
00:06:27Sure
00:06:28But somehow
00:06:30The most wonderful thing in the world
00:06:32All in all
00:06:41I was a pretty lucky guy
00:06:42Mr. Paderewski I presume
00:06:57It's beautiful
00:06:58You're going to make Carnegie Hall yet, Al?
00:07:01Yeah
00:07:01As a janitor
00:07:02I'll make my debut in the basement
00:07:05I don't blame you for being bitter, darling
00:07:07But you mustn't give up hope
00:07:08Why, someday
00:07:10Yeah, someday
00:07:10If I don't get arthritis first
00:07:12In the meantime, let's blow this trap
00:07:14Like to get something to eat, hon?
00:07:35Oh, I don't think so, Al
00:07:36I lose my appetite working in this flea bag
00:07:39Let's go home
00:07:41Okay
00:07:41I can't stand much more of that dump
00:07:45Did you see that drunk tonight
00:07:47Trying to paw me?
00:07:48No, what drunk?
00:07:49Does it matter what drunk?
00:07:52Say, what's the matter with you tonight, darling?
00:07:55That's the third time you started to tell me something
00:07:56Then stop
00:07:57We shouldn't have any secrets from each other, Sue
00:08:00Next week we're going to make with the ring and the license
00:08:02You and me will be a team
00:08:03Yes, that's right
00:08:04In the Bush League
00:08:06I don't get you
00:08:07We've been struck out
00:08:09That's a funny way to talk, darling
00:08:12Don't you want to marry me?
00:08:13Al, look, I love you
00:08:15You know I do
00:08:15And I want to marry you
00:08:17What?
00:08:18But not now
00:08:19Only after we've made good
00:08:21Sunday I'm going away
00:08:23Oh, I know you'll think it's silly
00:08:26That's why I hesitated to tell you
00:08:28But I'm going to California
00:08:30I want to try my luck in Hollywood
00:08:32That's the most stupid thing I ever heard of
00:08:35Don't you know millions of people go out there every year
00:08:38And wind up polishing cuspidors?
00:08:39I thought you had better sense
00:08:40You sound as if you don't think I have any talent
00:08:42That has nothing to do with it
00:08:44I'll make out all right
00:08:45Maybe
00:08:45But what about me?
00:08:47Doesn't it mean anything to you
00:08:48That you're busting up all our plans?
00:08:50We may not see each other for years
00:08:51It won't be that long
00:08:52I thought you loved me
00:08:54I do
00:08:55You know I do
00:08:56Well
00:08:59Here we are
00:09:01Al
00:09:04Al, why can't you see my side of it?
00:09:08I'm young
00:09:09We both are
00:09:11And we've got all the time in the world to settle down
00:09:14Really, darling
00:09:16What I'm doing is the only sane thing to do
00:09:19I hate the thought of being so far away from you
00:09:24But we'll be together again someday
00:09:26Maybe you'll decide to come out too later on
00:09:30So long
00:09:31Al
00:09:33Aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?
00:09:37Sure, why not?
00:09:41Goodnight
00:09:41I don't know
00:09:45I don't know
00:09:46I don't know
00:09:46You can't
00:09:47I don't know
00:09:48You can't
00:11:08Say, Roberts, you hit the jackpot this time.
00:11:29Ten bucks.
00:11:31Thanks.
00:11:38So when this drunk handed me a tin spot after a request, I couldn't get very excited.
00:11:42What was it I asked myself?
00:11:44Piece of paper crawling with germs.
00:11:46Couldn't buy anything I wanted.
00:11:49It couldn't...
00:11:50Then I thought of something.
00:11:54Long distance.
00:12:19I'd like to put a call through to Los Angeles.
00:12:22Miss Harvey.
00:12:23Sue Harvey.
00:12:24H-A-R-V-E-Y.
00:12:26The number is Crestview 65723.
00:12:28H-A-R-V-E-Y.
00:12:35H-A-R-V-E-Y.
00:13:01too. What's that? You do? Oh, me too, darling. I thought I'd go batty without you. I just
00:13:07had to... Huh? You're working as a hashlinger? Gee, honey, that's tough. Those guys out in
00:13:14Hollywood don't know the real thing when it's right in front of them. You just stick it
00:13:18out, Sue, baby. Keep going around to those casting offices. I'm sure you'll click. Look,
00:13:23I'll tell you what. You stay put out there. I'll come to you. No, don't try to stop me.
00:13:27Just expect me. Train? Who knows? Train, plane, bus, magic carpet. I'll be there if I have
00:13:32to crawl, if I have to travel by pogo stick. And then let's get married right away, huh?
00:13:41That's the stuff. That's what I've been wanting to hear you say. Well, goodbye for now. I'll
00:13:49be seeing you soon. Yeah. Bye.
00:13:57The only way I could cross country was to thumb rides. For even after hocking
00:14:04everything, I only had enough money to eat. Money. You know what that is. It's the stuff
00:14:11you never have enough of. Little green things with George Washington's picture
00:14:14that men slave for, commit crimes for, die for. It's the stuff that has caused more
00:14:20trouble in the world than anything else we ever invented. Simply because there's too
00:14:24little of it. At least I had too little of it. So it was me for the thumb.
00:14:31Ever done any hitchhiking? It's not much fun, believe me. Oh yeah, I know all about how
00:14:39it's an education and how you get to meet a lot of people and all that. But me, from now on, I'll take my education in college, or in P.S. 62, or I'll send $1.98 and stamps for 10 easy lessons.
00:15:00Thumbing rides may save your bus fare, but it's dangerous. You never know what's in store for you when you hear the squeal of brakes.
00:15:07If only I had known what I was getting into that day in Arizona.
00:15:10If only I had known what I was getting into that day in Arizona.
00:15:14Here, throw that in the back seat.
00:15:16Okay, let's go. Make sure that door is closed.
00:15:19To help me, look, never hide away.
00:15:21I'll be right at that point.
00:15:22I'll be right at that point.
00:15:23Too much on the wrong side.
00:15:24I'll be right at that point.
00:15:25I'll be right at that point.
00:15:26I'll be right at that point.
00:15:27You have to be right at this point.
00:15:28Just in the back seat.
00:15:28I'll be right at that point.
00:15:29Stopinding me, sir, tell you, sir, you'll be right at this point.
00:15:31You never know what's in store for you.
00:15:32You hear the squeal of brakes.
00:15:34If only I'd known what I was getting into that day in Arizona.
00:15:40Here, throw that in the back seats.
00:15:41Okay, let's go. Make sure that door is closed.
00:15:46You know, Emily Post ought to write a book of rules for guys thumbing rides.
00:15:55Because as it is now, you never know what's right and what's wrong.
00:15:58He rode along for a little while, neither one of us saying anything.
00:16:02I was glad of that.
00:16:04I never know what to say to strange people driving cars.
00:16:08And, too, you can never tell if a guy wants to talk.
00:16:11A lot of rides have been cut short because of a big mouth.
00:16:16So I kept my mouth shut until he started opening up.
00:16:20Hand me that little box to complop it, will you, pal?
00:16:26Hold the wheel, will you?
00:16:39How far are you going?
00:16:40L.A.
00:16:41Well, you're really traveling, aren't you?
00:16:43Yeah, but I don't expect to make it for a couple of years.
00:16:45At the rate I've been promoting rides.
00:16:47Not much luck, huh?
00:16:48Sure, all bad.
00:16:50Not many people stop for a guy these days.
00:16:52Afraid of a stick-up, maybe.
00:16:54Well, they can't blame him.
00:16:56Where you coming from?
00:16:57New York.
00:16:58Well, New York.
00:17:00You're in luck this time.
00:17:02I'm going all the way.
00:17:04Right through to Los Angeles.
00:17:07You drive a car?
00:17:08Sure.
00:17:09Whenever you're tired, let me know.
00:17:11I'll holler.
00:17:13I guess at least an hour passed before I noticed those deep scratches on his right hand.
00:17:18They were wicked.
00:17:19Three puffy red lines about a quarter of an inch apart.
00:17:22They must have seen me looking at them, because he said.
00:17:27Beauties, aren't they?
00:17:29They're going to be scars someday.
00:17:32What an animal.
00:17:34Whatever it was, it must have been pretty big and vicious to have done that.
00:17:37Right on both counts, New York.
00:17:38I was tussling with the most dangerous animal in the world.
00:17:42A woman.
00:17:44She must have been Tarzan's mate.
00:17:46Looks like you lost the bob.
00:17:48Certainly wasn't a draw.
00:17:50You know, there ought to be a law against dames with claws.
00:17:53Yeah.
00:17:54I tossed her out of the car in her ear.
00:17:57Was I wrong?
00:17:58Give a lift to a tomato, you expect her to be nice, don't you?
00:18:01Yeah.
00:18:02After all, what kind of a dame's thumb rides?
00:18:05Sunday school teachers?
00:18:06Yeah.
00:18:08A little witch.
00:18:10She must have thought she was riding with some fall guy.
00:18:14A me who's been booking horses around race tracks since I was 20.
00:18:18I've known a million dames like her.
00:18:20Two million.
00:18:21Yeah.
00:18:24Stopped the car, opened the door.
00:18:27Take it on the art of Duffy's sister, I told her.
00:18:29That's the stuff.
00:18:30As I was done, huh?
00:18:33But if you want to see a real scar, brother, get a load of this.
00:18:38Wow.
00:18:40I got that one doing.
00:18:41Dueling?
00:18:43Yeah, we're just kidding, of course.
00:18:45My dad owned a couple of Franco-Prussian sabers.
00:18:47Kept them on the wall for decorations.
00:18:50Well, one day, the other kid and I took them down.
00:18:52The old man wasn't around.
00:18:54Had a duel.
00:18:56You got me in the arm here.
00:18:58Pretty mean cut.
00:19:00Affection set in later.
00:19:02Yeah, I can see that.
00:19:04Now, give me that box again, will they?
00:19:05Yeah.
00:19:18Pain made me lose my head, I guess.
00:19:20I began slashing.
00:19:22Before I knew it, I put the other kid's eye on.
00:19:25That was tough.
00:19:27Well, it was just an accident, of course.
00:19:29Do you know how kids are?
00:19:30I got scared, decided I was going to run away from home.
00:19:33The old man almost caught me when I was packing my duds.
00:19:37The bloody rag I had wrapped around my wrist hadn't caught his attention.
00:19:41You've seen the bundle for sure.
00:19:44But I beat him when he was phoning for a doctor.
00:19:47I was 15, 16 years ago.
00:19:49I haven't been home since.
00:19:50Pull in there for a bite or something, huh?
00:19:57A bite or something.
00:19:59Brother, was I hungry.
00:20:01I hadn't had anything in my stomach for hours.
00:20:04Yet even with that gnawing in the pit of my belly,
00:20:06I didn't want to be in too big a rush to put on the feed bag.
00:20:10First, I had to make sure this guy knew the score.
00:20:12If I got him down on me, I'd buy a ticket to Hollywood.
00:20:16I'll wait out here for you, mister.
00:20:18If it's the money, don't worry about paying for it.
00:20:20This time it's on me.
00:20:21Well, that's why you're...
00:20:22Pascal, take nothing of it.
00:20:23You make your first million, maybe you can do the same for me.
00:20:25Come on, New York.
00:20:26I gotta make the West Coast by Wednesday.
00:20:28There's a horse running in Santa Anita named Powered Bicycle.
00:20:31You can sell to me if I'm on him.
00:20:32You'll make it, all right.
00:20:35He did most of the talking during the half hour we were in the place.
00:20:39I ate.
00:20:40He rambled on about his old man,
00:20:42whom he hadn't heard from since he ran away as a kid.
00:20:45And how he happened to become a bookie.
00:20:47And then all about how he got rooked in Miami.
00:20:48One race, 38 grand.
00:20:51They cleaned out my book.
00:20:52How do you like that?
00:20:54That was tough luck.
00:20:55Yeah, and I'm supposed to be the smart guy.
00:20:57Well, you just wait.
00:20:58I'm going back to Florida next season with all kinds of jack.
00:21:00And you'll watch those stinkers run for cover.
00:21:03Do you want anything else?
00:21:04No, thanks.
00:21:05I've had plenty.
00:21:05Do you want to check that, sister?
00:21:16Oh, just a minute.
00:21:17Your change, sir.
00:21:18Keep it, sister.
00:21:19Oh, thank you.
00:21:20Say call again.
00:21:21I'll be waiting outside for you when you finish work.
00:21:23Shop check, huh?
00:21:33I drove all that night while Haskell slept like a log.
00:21:37After a while, I began to get sleepy myself.
00:21:41I was happy, though.
00:21:43Soon I'd be with Sue again.
00:21:46The long trip was practically over,
00:21:47and I'd be no more hoofing it down the concrete.
00:21:49I began to think of the future,
00:21:53which couldn't have been brighter
00:21:54if I'd embroidered it with neon lights.
00:21:57It was nice to think of Sue shooting to the top.
00:22:01It's amazing what a full belly can do to your imagination.
00:22:07Your eyes are blue, your kisses too.
00:22:12I never knew what they could do.
00:22:16I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:22:24You're telling everyone you know
00:22:29I'm on your mind each place you go.
00:22:33I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:22:55Mr. Haskell.
00:22:57Mr. Haskell.
00:22:59Mr. Haskell, wake up. It's raining.
00:23:05Don't you think we ought to stop and put up the top?
00:23:15Mr. Haskell, I'm going to put up the top.
00:23:29I'm going to be in love with you.
00:23:32Until then, I've done things my way.
00:23:34But from then on, something else stepped in
00:23:36and shunted me off to a different destination
00:23:38than one I had picked for myself.
00:23:40But when I pulled open that door...
00:23:47Mr. Haskell, what's the matter?
00:23:48Are you hurt?
00:23:50Are you hurt, Mr. Haskell?
00:23:51Mr. Haskell, start yourself.
00:23:54I'll listen to it.
00:23:56But I know what you're going to hand me
00:23:57even before you open your mouths.
00:23:59You're going to tell me you don't believe my story
00:24:01of how Haskell died
00:24:02and give me that don't make me laugh expression
00:24:04on your smug faces.
00:24:09I saw it once, he was dead.
00:24:11And I was in for it.
00:24:12Who would believe he fell out of the car?
00:24:14Why, if Haskell came too, which of course he couldn't,
00:24:16even he would swear I conked him over the head for his dough.
00:24:18Yes, I was in for it.
00:24:19Instinct told me to run.
00:24:22But then I realized it was hopeless.
00:24:24There were lots of people back down the road
00:24:25who could identify me.
00:24:26That gas station guy and the waitress.
00:24:28I would be in a worse spot then,
00:24:29trying to explain why I beat it.
00:24:31The next possibility was to sit tight
00:24:33and tell the truth when the cops came.
00:24:34But that would be crazy.
00:24:36They'd laugh at the truth.
00:24:37Not having my head in the noose.
00:24:41So what else was there to do but hide the body
00:24:42and get away in the car?
00:24:44I couldn't leave the car there with him in the gully?
00:24:46That would be like erecting a tombstone.
00:24:49My idea was to cover him with brush,
00:25:18not to rob him.
00:25:20But then I remembered that even if I only drove the car
00:25:21for a hundred miles or so,
00:25:22I would need money for gas.
00:25:25Besides, it was stupid of me
00:25:27to leave all that money on a dead man.
00:25:29Not only that,
00:25:30I'd have to take his driver's license
00:25:31in case I was stopped for something.
00:25:35I didn't like to think about it.
00:25:36But by that time,
00:25:37I'd done just what the police would say I did,
00:25:39even if I didn't.
00:25:41My clothes.
00:25:42The owner of such an expensive car
00:25:44would never be wearing them.
00:25:44Some cop might put me in on suspicion.
00:25:47Hey, you, this your car?
00:26:14Don't you know better than to leave a car
00:26:16with the wheels halfway in the middle of the road?
00:26:18That's the way accidents happen.
00:26:20I'm sorry, officer.
00:26:21I was just putting up my top.
00:26:23I didn't think.
00:26:24Well, the next time, think.
00:26:25I'll let you go now,
00:26:26but watch your step in the future.
00:26:28I know that's a lonely stretch,
00:26:29but cars come by here once in a while
00:26:30and we have plenty of crack-ups.
00:26:33Thanks, officer.
00:26:33I left nothing in the car
00:26:58to give me away his robber's.
00:26:59If they found a dead man in the gully now,
00:27:02it would be me.
00:27:11As I drove off,
00:27:12it was still raining
00:27:13and the drop streaked down the windshield
00:27:16like tears.
00:27:19I kept imagining I was being followed,
00:27:21that I could hear sirens back in the distance.
00:27:23Just how long it took me
00:27:26to cover the 60-odd miles
00:27:27to the California state line,
00:27:28I don't know.
00:27:30I lost all track of time.
00:27:32But the rain had stopped
00:27:33and the sun was up
00:27:34when I pulled up
00:27:35to the inspection station.
00:27:41Hello.
00:27:42Is there any fruits or vegetables?
00:27:44No.
00:27:45Any livestock or poultry?
00:27:47No.
00:27:49Let's see your registration
00:27:50and driver's license, please.
00:27:51Anything in the baggage compartment?
00:27:58What's baggage?
00:28:00Charles Haskell, Jr.,
00:28:01age, 30 brown eyes, dark hair,
00:28:04identifying marks, none.
00:28:06Are you Charles Haskell, Jr.?
00:28:07Yes.
00:28:08Well, remember,
00:28:09if you're employed
00:28:09and you stay over 30 days,
00:28:10you take out California plates.
00:28:12All right, officer,
00:28:13but I'll only be in the state
00:28:13a short while.
00:28:16Right, you can go now.
00:28:17I couldn't drive any farther
00:28:26without some sleep.
00:28:27Cops are no cops.
00:28:29I knew I had to hit the hay
00:28:30and hit it hard.
00:28:33I was dead tired.
00:28:34I was dead.
00:28:36We'll be the writer of the Nielsen.
00:28:46All right.
00:28:48Oh, you can't, Mr. Haskell.
00:29:08No.
00:29:18Mr. Haskell, he can't die.
00:29:22I don't think I did it.
00:29:26No, Mr. Haskell, no.
00:29:29No.
00:29:44Who's there?
00:29:45It's the maid.
00:29:46Can I come in and clean?
00:29:49Later.
00:29:50In a half hour.
00:29:52All right, sir.
00:30:16There was no time to lose.
00:30:19Every minute I had to be Charles Haskell was dangerous.
00:30:22I'd have to be Charles Haskell until I got to some city where I could leave the car and
00:30:25be swallowed up.
00:30:30That meant driving the car as far as San Bernardino, maybe even to Los Angeles.
00:30:36In a little town I might be noticed, but in a city I should be safe enough.
00:30:41Then, after I ditched the car, I could go on to Sue.
00:30:45But those five minutes at the state line made me realize it might be a good idea to find
00:30:49out a little bit about Mr. Haskell.
00:30:51Then, if anybody asked me questions, I could give the right answers.
00:30:55The first thing I found out was that I had $768.
00:31:00This was a lot of jack, but believe me, it was the kind of money I'd rather not have.
00:31:05And then I found out from a letter Haskell was carting around in his bag that he wasn't
00:31:17the open-handed, easy-going big shot who went around buying dinners for strange hitchhikers.
00:31:21Before I got done reading it, I saw him more as a chiseler.
00:31:25It was written to his old man in California, the one he hadn't seen in so many years.
00:31:31In it, Haskell posed as a salesman, of hymnals, of all things.
00:31:37It was easy to see where Haskell expected to raise a new stake for his book in Miami,
00:31:42by rooking his old man.
00:31:45That was about all I found out from his effects, and it was enough.
00:31:50I told myself, maybe old man Haskell was lucky his son kicked off.
00:31:55He would never know it, but it saved him from taking a flyer in sacred literature preferred.
00:32:01Near the airport at Desert Center, I pulled up for water.
00:32:29If there was a woman.
00:32:35Hey, you! Come on if you want a ride.
00:32:59Come on, let's go.
00:33:25How far are you going?
00:33:27That took me by surprise, and I turned my head to look her over.
00:33:32She was facing straight ahead, so I couldn't see her eyes.
00:33:35But she was young. Not more than 24.
00:33:39Man, she looked as if she'd just been thrown off the crummiest freight train in the world.
00:33:44Yet in spite of this, I got the impression of beauty.
00:33:48Not the beauty of a movie actress, mind you.
00:33:50Or the beauty you dream about when you're with your wife.
00:33:53But a natural beauty.
00:33:55A beauty that's almost homely because it's so real.
00:34:00Then suddenly she turned to face me.
00:34:02How far did you say you were going?
00:34:04Los Angeles.
00:34:05L.A.?
00:34:07L.A.'s good enough for me, mister.
00:34:09That's what I was afraid of.
00:34:11What did you say?
00:34:12Oh, nothing. Just thinking out loud.
00:34:14People get in trouble for doing that.
00:34:17What's your name?
00:34:18You can call me Vera, if you like.
00:34:21You live in Los Angeles?
00:34:22No.
00:34:24Where are you coming from?
00:34:25Oh, back there.
00:34:26Needles?
00:34:27No.
00:34:29Oh, sure. Phoenix.
00:34:31You look just like a Phoenix girl.
00:34:33Are the girls in Phoenix that bad?
00:34:34The girl must have been pretty tired.
00:34:36Because she fell asleep not twenty minutes after she stepped into the car.
00:34:40She lay sprawled out with her head resting against the far door.
00:34:44Like Haskell.
00:34:46I didn't like that part of it much.
00:34:47But I didn't wake her up.
00:34:48It wasn't that this girl still worried me.
00:34:52I'd gotten over that funny feeling I had when she looked at me.
00:34:55Which I put down as just my jangled nerves.
00:34:58With her eyes closed and the testes gone out of her.
00:35:01She seemed harmless enough.
00:35:03And instead of disliking her, I began to feel sorry for her.
00:35:07The poor kid probably had had a rough time of living here.
00:35:11Who was she anyway?
00:35:13And why was she going to Los Angeles?
00:35:15And where'd she come from in the first place?
00:35:17The only thing I knew about it was her name.
00:35:20Not that it made any difference.
00:35:22A few hours more and we'd be in Hollywood.
00:35:25I'd forget where I parked the car and look up Sue.
00:35:28This nightmare of being a dead man would be over.
00:35:31Who this dame was?
00:35:32Well, it was no business of mine.
00:35:34Where did you leave this body?
00:35:36Where did you leave the owner of this car?
00:35:38You're not fooling anyone.
00:35:40This buggy belongs to a guy named Haskell.
00:35:42That's not you, mister.
00:35:43You're out of your mind.
00:35:44That's my name, Charles Haskell.
00:35:45I can prove it.
00:35:46He's my driver's license.
00:35:47Save yourself the trouble, mister.
00:35:49Having Haskell's wallet only makes it worse.
00:35:51It just so happens I rode with Charlie Haskell.
00:35:53All the way from Louisiana.
00:35:55He picked me up outside of Shreveport.
00:35:57You rode?
00:35:58You heard me.
00:35:59Then it all came back to me.
00:36:01All the talk about dueling and scars and scratches.
00:36:04There was no doubt about it.
00:36:06Vera must be the woman Haskell had mentioned.
00:36:08She must have passed me while I slept.
00:36:10Well?
00:36:12Well, I'm waiting.
00:36:14My goose was cooked.
00:36:16She had me.
00:36:18That Haskell guy wasn't dead yet.
00:36:20He wasn't stretched out stiff and cold in any Arizona gully.
00:36:23He was sitting right there in the car laughing like mad while he haunted me.
00:36:26Well?
00:36:29There was nothing I could say.
00:36:31It was her move.
00:36:33Vera, whatever her name was, was just my luck picking her up on the road.
00:36:38It couldn't have been Helen or Mary or Evelyn or Ruth.
00:36:42It had to be the very last person I should ever have met.
00:36:45That's life.
00:36:47Whichever way you turn, fate sticks out a foot to trip you.
00:36:55I told her everything, but she didn't believe my story.
00:36:58I should have saved my breath.
00:37:00That's the greatest cock and ball story I ever heard.
00:37:03So he fell out of his car.
00:37:05Say, who do you think you're talking to, a hick?
00:37:07Listen, mister, I've been around.
00:37:09And I know a wrong guy when I see one.
00:37:11What'd you do, kiss him with a wrench?
00:37:12Now, wait a minute.
00:37:13What I told you was true.
00:37:14You see, that's why I had to do it.
00:37:16You think I killed him.
00:37:17Well, the cops would have thought so, too.
00:37:19Yeah, well, maybe they still think so.
00:37:21What makes you so sure I'll shut up about this?
00:37:24Vera, I'm innocent.
00:37:25Give me a break, will you?
00:37:28It won't do me any good, having you pinched.
00:37:30The cops are no friends of mine.
00:37:32Now, if there was a reward, but there isn't.
00:37:35Thanks.
00:37:36Don't thank me yet.
00:37:37I'm not through with you by a long shot.
00:37:40Let's see that roll.
00:37:42Is that all Haskell had?
00:37:45Isn't it enough?
00:37:46No, I thought he had more.
00:37:47Not that I know of.
00:37:48You can search me and think I'm holding out on you.
00:37:49Well, maybe I will at that.
00:37:51He told me he was going to bet $3,000 on a horse named Paradisical on Wednesday at Santa Anita.
00:37:56He was stringing you along.
00:37:57He meant 300.
00:37:58Maybe.
00:37:59Sure, three bucks, 300.
00:38:00He was a piece of cheese, a big blowhard.
00:38:02Listen, mister, don't try and tell me anything about Charlie Haskell.
00:38:04Remember, I knew him better than you did.
00:38:05Okay, then you knew he was a four-flusher.
00:38:06That explains the three grand bet.
00:38:07I'm not so sure he didn't have that three grand.
00:38:08Why should I believe you?
00:38:09You got all the earmarks of a cheap crook.
00:38:10Now, wait a minute.
00:38:11Shut up.
00:38:12You're a cheap crook and you killed him.
00:38:13For two cents I'd change my mind and turn you in.
00:38:14I don't like you.
00:38:15All right, all right, don't get sore.
00:38:16I'm not getting sore.
00:38:17I'm not getting sore.
00:38:18But just remember who's boss around here.
00:38:20If you shut up and don't give me any arguments, you'll have nothing to worry about.
00:38:23But if you act wise, well, mister, you'll pop into jail so fast it'll give you the bends.
00:38:25I'm not arguing.
00:38:26See that you don't.
00:38:27You know, as crooked as you look, I'd hate to see a fella as young as you wind up sniffing
00:38:31that perfume that Arizona has.
00:38:32I'm not arguing.
00:38:33You're not arguing.
00:38:34You're not arguing.
00:38:35I'm not arguing.
00:38:36You're not arguing.
00:38:37I'm not arguing.
00:38:38You're not arguing.
00:38:39I'm not arguing.
00:38:40I'm not arguing.
00:38:41I'm not arguing.
00:38:42I'm not arguing.
00:38:43I'm not arguing.
00:38:44You wind up sniffing that perfume that Arizona hands out free to murderers.
00:38:47I'm not a murderer.
00:38:48Of course you're not.
00:38:49Haskell knocked his own head off.
00:38:50He fell.
00:38:51That's how it happened.
00:38:52Just like I told you.
00:38:53Sure.
00:38:54And then he made you a present of his belongings.
00:38:55I explained why I had to do that.
00:38:56Oh, skip it.
00:38:57Doesn't make a difference one way or another.
00:38:58I'm not a mourner.
00:38:59I liked Haskell even less than I like you.
00:39:01Yeah, I saw what you did to him.
00:39:03What do you mean?
00:39:04Well, scratches on his wrist.
00:39:05Sure, I scratched him.
00:39:07Well, so you did.
00:39:09So your idea was to drive the car a little way.
00:39:12Maybe into San Bernardino and then leave it.
00:39:14You weren't gonna sell it?
00:39:15Sell it?
00:39:16You think I'm crazy, somebody else's car?
00:39:19See, all I wanna do is leave it somewhere and forget I ever saw it.
00:39:21Not only don't you have any scruples, you don't have any brains.
00:39:24I don't get you.
00:39:25Maybe it's a good thing you met me.
00:39:27You'd have got yourself caught sure.
00:39:29Why, you dope.
00:39:30Don't you know a deserted automobile always rates an investigation?
00:39:33Huh?
00:39:34Look, the cops find a car.
00:39:37Then they get curious.
00:39:38They wonder where the owner is.
00:39:40So all right, they don't trace Haskell.
00:39:42They trace you.
00:39:43I never thought of that.
00:39:45The only safe way to get rid of the car is to sell it to a dealer.
00:39:48Get it registered under a new name.
00:39:50Say, stop at the next store.
00:39:51I wanna get a bottle and do some shopping before we hit L.A.
00:39:54Okay.
00:39:55Since we find a place, I'll drop you off and pick you up later.
00:39:57Nothing doing.
00:39:58You're coming in too.
00:39:59From now on, you and I are like the Siamese twins.
00:40:02Have it your way.
00:40:03I don't get the point.
00:40:04The point is, I don't want you to get lost.
00:40:06I'm not gonna beat it if that's what you're afraid of.
00:40:08I'll say you're not.
00:40:09Well, I'm gonna see that you sell this car so you don't get caught.
00:40:12Thanks.
00:40:13Of course, your interest wouldn't be financial, would it?
00:40:16You wouldn't want a small percentage of the profits.
00:40:19Well, now that you insist, how can I refuse?
00:40:22A hundred percent will do.
00:40:24Fine.
00:40:25I'm relieved.
00:40:26I thought for a moment you were gonna take it all.
00:40:28I don't wanna be a hog.
00:40:31A few hours later, we were in Hollywood.
00:40:33And I was recognizing places Sue had written about.
00:40:36It struck me that far from being at the end of the trip,
00:40:39there was a greater distance between Sue and me than when I started out.
00:40:43Vera wasn't kidding with that Siamese twins crack.
00:40:47She rented a little apartment as Mrs. Charles Haskell.
00:40:51When I objected to this, she explained that it was on account of the car.
00:40:55A dealer might think something was funny if he called and found we were using different names.
00:41:04Home, sweet home.
00:41:06Yeah.
00:41:07Not bad either.
00:41:08In case there's any doubt in your mind, I'll take the bedroom.
00:41:19Yeah.
00:41:21Sure is stuffy in here.
00:41:23Keep the window shut.
00:41:24Okay.
00:41:25The old crow downstairs said there's a folding bed behind this door.
00:41:38You know how to work it?
00:41:42I invented it.
00:41:55Some joint.
00:41:56One can't have everything.
00:42:01I'm first in the bathtub.
00:42:03I don't know why, but I figured you would be.
00:42:18Boy, oh boy.
00:42:19It sure feels good to be clean again.
00:42:22I must be ten pounds lighter.
00:42:24You must be.
00:42:26Well, hitching rides isn't exactly the way you keep your school or complexion.
00:42:35I wish that guy with the sacks would give up.
00:42:38It gets on my nerves.
00:42:41Forget it.
00:42:45Have a drink.
00:42:47Aren't you afraid I might take you up on it?
00:42:49If I didn't want to give you a drink, I wouldn't have offered it.
00:42:54Why be as sorry it, Roberts?
00:42:56You got yourself into this thing.
00:42:58You should be grateful I'm not turning you in.
00:43:01Why, if I wasn't regular, you'd be in the pen this minute,
00:43:04being photographed, fingerprinted, and being pushed around by the cops.
00:43:08So cheer up.
00:43:09Get rid of that long puss.
00:43:13Or is your conscience bothering you?
00:43:19No.
00:43:22It isn't.
00:43:23Well, that's the spirit.
00:43:26He's dead and no moment around will bring him back.
00:43:32Anyway, I never could understand this worrying about something that's over and done with.
00:43:35Now look, Vera, for the last time I didn't kill him.
00:43:37Haskell was a sick man.
00:43:39Maybe he was dead before he fell out of the car.
00:43:40I don't know.
00:43:41Sure, sure.
00:43:42He died of old age.
00:43:44All right.
00:43:46So if it'll make you sociable.
00:43:50You didn't kill him.
00:44:02Thanks.
00:44:14We're out of liquor, Roberts.
00:44:16Yeah.
00:44:17Too bad.
00:44:18I felt like getting tight tonight.
00:44:20Well, I think he succeeded.
00:44:22Am I tight?
00:44:24As a prima donna's corset.
00:44:26That's good.
00:44:27I wanted to get tight.
00:44:29Why?
00:44:30What have you got to get tight about?
00:44:32Oh, I don't know.
00:44:33A few things.
00:44:37You should have my worries.
00:44:39If I had your troubles, I'd stay sober.
00:44:41And I've got the key to that door.
00:44:46Yeah.
00:44:48Maybe you're right.
00:44:49I'm always right.
00:44:52You know, I don't like your attitude, Roberts.
00:44:55Well, there's a lot of things I don't like.
00:44:58Shit.
00:45:02But life's like a ball game.
00:45:03You've got to take a swing at whatever comes along before you wake up and find it's a ninth inning.
00:45:09You read that somewhere?
00:45:10That's the truth, Roberts.
00:45:12All you do is bellyache.
00:45:14Taking it easy and trying to make the better things.
00:45:18Maybe that's what's wrong with the whole world.
00:45:21Get the professor.
00:45:23People knock themselves out trying to buck fate.
00:45:25Now, take you for instance.
00:45:27You're lucky to be alive.
00:45:29Why, suppose Haskell had opened your door.
00:45:31You'd be playing a harp now.
00:45:33Think of that.
00:45:35You think of it.
00:45:37I'm tired of thinking.
00:45:39There's plenty of people dying this minute.
00:45:42That would give anything to trade places with you.
00:45:46I know what I'm talking about.
00:45:49I'm not so sure.
00:45:50At least they know they're done for.
00:45:52They don't have to sweat blood wondering if they are.
00:45:56Your philosophy stinks, pal.
00:45:59We all know we're gonna kick off someday.
00:46:02It's only a question of when.
00:46:05But what got us on this subject anyway?
00:46:08We'll be discussing politics next.
00:46:10Yeah.
00:46:13Where'd you hide the butts?
00:46:15On the tables, sucker.
00:46:20We bored each other with conversation for a couple of hours longer.
00:46:28Every five minutes one of us was wishing we had another bottle or a radio or something to read.
00:46:34Then finally we ran out of chatter.
00:46:36I know it's only 11 o'clock, but I want to get up early and make the rounds of the used car lots.
00:46:41No worry about that.
00:46:43We've got all the time in the world.
00:46:44Maybe you have, but if you think I want to stay cooped up in this place any longer than I have to, you're batting.
00:46:48It's not a bad place.
00:46:50We pay plenty for diggings like this in New York.
00:46:52I wouldn't like it if it was the Ritz.
00:46:53You brought me liquor.
00:46:55You got a mean cough, ought to do something about it.
00:46:58I'll be all right.
00:47:00That's what Camille said.
00:47:02Who?
00:47:04Nobody you know.
00:47:08Wasn't that the day in the dot of consumption?
00:47:10Yeah.
00:47:11Wouldn't it be a break for you if I did kick off?
00:47:14You'd be free with all Haskell's dough and car.
00:47:17I don't want to see anybody die.
00:47:19Not even me.
00:47:21Especially not you.
00:47:23One person died of me.
00:47:25If you did, well, that's all I need.
00:47:27You don't like me, do you, Roberts?
00:47:30I like you.
00:47:32I love you.
00:47:34I love you.
00:47:36I love you.
00:47:38I love you.
00:47:39My favorite sport is being kept prisoner.
00:47:44After we sell the car, you can go to blazes for all I care.
00:47:47But not until then.
00:47:55I'm going to bed.
00:48:05Good night, Roberts.
00:48:06Good night, Roberts.
00:48:07Don't try and sneak away during the night.
00:48:09All the doors are locked.
00:48:11Anyway, if I find you gone in the morning, I'll notify the police.
00:48:14They'll pick you up.
00:48:15Don't worry. I know what I'm in the spot.
00:48:18Well, good night.
00:48:19I hope that portable rack isn't too uncomfortable for you.
00:48:22Don't lose any sleep over it.
00:48:23Come back.
00:48:41Come back.
00:48:43Come back.
00:48:45Come back.
00:48:46Oh, yeah.
00:49:01Chris, you...
00:49:04Six...
00:49:06Five...
00:49:08Seven...
00:49:10Two...
00:49:12Three...
00:49:14Hello?
00:49:16Hello?
00:49:18Hello?
00:49:20Hello?
00:49:21Hello?
00:49:28No.
00:49:30Not yet, darling.
00:49:33Tomorrow.
00:49:35Maybe.
00:49:37If this were fiction, I would fall in love with Vera, marry her and make a respectable woman of her, or else she'd make some supreme class A sacrifice for me and die.
00:49:51Sue and I would bawl a little over her grave and make some crack about there's good in all of us.
00:49:57But Vera, unfortunately, was just as rotten in the morning as she'd been the night before.
00:50:04All right, all right, I'm coming.
00:50:06Look, Vera, it's almost noon.
00:50:09So what? The dealers will be there all day?
00:50:12They'll be there all year, too, but they'll wait that long.
00:50:14Shut up. You make us like a husband.
00:50:19Well, do I rate a whistle?
00:50:20You sure do, but let's go.
00:50:22Let's go, let's go.
00:50:23I spent 85 bucks in two hours preparing bait, and all you can say is, let's go.
00:50:29Come on.
00:50:35We packed a few used car lots last night down this way.
00:50:38What do you think we can get for this heap?
00:50:40I don't know. Plenty. He's let me handle everything.
00:50:43Think we can get $2,000?
00:50:44I don't know, but don't worry. I'll squeeze as much out of this guy as I can.
00:50:49If I let it go cheap without a fight, he might think we've stolen the car.
00:50:52And listen, don't make any slips and call me Roberts. That'll cook us.
00:50:57I don't need you to tell me that.
00:50:59You better just sit by and keep your mouth closed.
00:51:01Remember, we're both in the soup if anything happens.
00:51:03Forget it and drive.
00:51:05You're my wife, Vera Haskell.
00:51:07Look, after the deal's closed, let's go back to that place on Hollywood Boulevard,
00:51:11where I saw the fur jacket. I won't buy it.
00:51:14After the deal's closed, I'm saying goodbye to you.
00:51:17That's right. I forgot.
00:51:18I guess I'm getting kind of used to you.
00:51:21Well, that's a habit you can start breaking.
00:51:24Let's try this place in the middle of the block.
00:51:32Good afternoon. What can I do for you?
00:51:34We're interested in selling a car.
00:51:36If the price is right.
00:51:37Well, if it's in good mechanical condition, it should blue book for about 1600.
00:51:44Tony, take a look at this motor.
00:51:471600. Are you kidding?
00:52:00Well, maybe 1850.
00:52:02Before I let it go for 1850, I'll wreck it and collect the insurance first.
00:52:05Hey, this motor's seen a lot of driving.
00:52:12While the mechanic inspected the car, we haggled.
00:52:18At last, when we were all worn out, we hit a compromise.
00:52:22His price.
00:52:26Okay, it's a deal.
00:52:27All right, come on. We'll sign the papers.
00:52:29I have the ownership papers right here with me.
00:52:31Look, Vera, in the meantime, will you clean a dash compartment?
00:52:34There may be some stuff in it.
00:52:35All right, darling.
00:52:36Eighteen hundred and fifty bucks. That dirty cr-
00:52:37New York, huh?
00:52:38Yeah.
00:52:39But you bought the car in Miami.
00:52:40Yeah.
00:52:41Well, let's see about the insurance.
00:52:43We can either have it transferred or canceled.
00:52:45Uh, what kind of insurance do you have, Mr. Haskell?
00:52:46Well, uh...
00:52:47Aren't all the papers there?
00:52:48I don't see any.
00:52:49Surely you know what type of insurance you carry in the car?
00:52:50Is the name of the company?
00:52:51No.
00:52:52No.
00:52:53No.
00:52:54No.
00:52:55No.
00:52:56No.
00:52:57No.
00:52:58No.
00:52:59No.
00:53:00No.
00:53:01No.
00:53:02No.
00:53:03No.
00:53:04No.
00:53:05No.
00:53:06No.
00:53:07No.
00:53:08No.
00:53:09No.
00:53:10No.
00:53:11No.
00:53:12No.
00:53:13No.
00:53:14No.
00:53:15No.
00:53:16No.
00:53:17No.
00:53:18No.
00:53:19No.
00:53:20No.
00:53:21No.
00:53:22No.
00:53:23No.
00:53:24No.
00:53:25No.
00:53:26No.
00:53:27No.
00:53:28No.
00:53:29No.
00:53:30No.
00:53:31No.
00:53:32No.
00:53:33No.
00:53:34No.
00:53:35No.
00:53:36No.
00:53:37No.
00:53:38No.
00:53:39No.
00:53:40No.
00:53:41No.
00:53:42No.
00:53:43No.
00:53:44No.
00:53:45No.
00:53:46No.
00:53:47I almost threw away a gold mine.
00:53:491850 isn't to be sneezed there.
00:53:51The car doesn't book for as much as I thought.
00:53:53We're not selling the car.
00:53:55You want to keep it?
00:53:56Now, wait a minute, Vera, you said yourself
00:53:57I wouldn't be safe until the car was in someone else's name.
00:54:00I'd like to be free of this mess when I go.
00:54:02That's just it, Roberts.
00:54:03You're not going.
00:54:05There's a drive-in at the next corner.
00:54:07Pull in there and we'll get a bite to eat.
00:54:08And I'll explain.
00:54:10What is this, another one of your brilliant ideas?
00:54:17Oh, may I take your order?
00:54:19Make mine a ham sandwich and coffee.
00:54:21And for you, sir?
00:54:22Oh, I don't care.
00:54:23The same.
00:54:31Get this, Vera.
00:54:33I've been pretty patient so far.
00:54:35I've done everything you asked me to do, but no more.
00:54:36Shut up.
00:54:37You've taken Haskell's money.
00:54:39You can have the dough we get from selling the car.
00:54:41But you're not going to keep me a prisoner.
00:54:42It's a good thing I bought the paper.
00:54:43Take a look at that.
00:54:44Vera, I'm in no mood.
00:54:45Read that.
00:54:47No.
00:54:57No.
00:54:57Yes.
00:54:58No, I won't do it.
00:54:59Yes, you will.
00:55:00You think I'm crazy?
00:55:01It's impossible, I tell you.
00:55:02Excuse me.
00:55:09Blow the horn when you're through.
00:55:14No one could possibly get away with an act like that.
00:55:16You'd be wise to me in a minute.
00:55:17Don't be, Yella.
00:55:18You look enough like him.
00:55:19The same coloring and the same build.
00:55:21See how his clothes fit you?
00:55:23No kidding.
00:55:24You almost had me fooled for a while.
00:55:25Oh, grow up, Vera.
00:55:26Don't you think a father knows his own son?
00:55:28And there must be other relatives.
00:55:29The father won't have to know you.
00:55:30We'll wait till he gives up the ghost.
00:55:32He's an old geezer and he won't pull through.
00:55:34And as far as other relatives are concerned, they haven't seen you in 15 or 20 years.
00:55:38Eat.
00:55:39Eat.
00:55:40I'm not hungry.
00:55:41And I won't do it.
00:55:43It's not as tough as it sounds.
00:55:45Remember, you've got all kinds of identification.
00:55:47His car, letters, license...
00:55:48I could never get away with it.
00:55:49It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
00:55:51The old boy has scads of dough.
00:55:52Look in the paper there.
00:55:53Personal fortune assessed at over 15 million.
00:55:55He'll leave plenty, I tell you.
00:55:57Maybe he cut off his son.
00:55:58How do we know?
00:55:59It's out, Vera.
00:56:00I won't have anything to do with it.
00:56:02I think you will.
00:56:05Look, Vera.
00:56:06I'll do anything within reason.
00:56:08But not that.
00:56:09So forget it.
00:56:10Find yourself another stooge.
00:56:11You sack.
00:56:13You'll be fixed for the rest of your life as Charlie Haskell.
00:56:15You can take your inheritance and go away.
00:56:17No more worrying about the rent.
00:56:18No sweating, scheming, wondering where your next meal's coming from.
00:56:21Think about that, Roberts.
00:56:22Vera.
00:56:23Please, you're talking too loud.
00:56:25Unless I'm splitting 50-50 with you.
00:56:27Sure, why not?
00:56:28We're both alike.
00:56:29Both born in the same gutter.
00:56:30Take it easy, Vera.
00:56:31There's people around here.
00:56:32You don't know where you're talking.
00:56:34Well, wait till we read that old man Haskell's dead.
00:56:37And you show up.
00:56:38Like you read in New York that he was sick.
00:56:40No.
00:56:41I suppose he doesn't die.
00:56:43He will.
00:56:44I know he will.
00:56:45Something tells me.
00:56:48But as much as I insisted I would have no part of her scheme,
00:56:51Vera was taking it for granted I would.
00:56:55Neither of us had our mind on the cards as we played that night.
00:56:58I knew we were just trying to kill time between newspaper editions.
00:57:02This was a death watch for Vera.
00:57:05Maybe it was for me too.
00:57:07Don't you realize if I'm caught, they'll want to know where I got the car and stuff.
00:57:11And they'll have me on a murder charge.
00:57:12If you're smart, you won't get caught.
00:57:14I knocked with seven.
00:57:15And if I'm caught, don't you realize you'll be out too?
00:57:17Eighteen points, that gives me thirty.
00:57:23How will I be out?
00:57:24You'll be out eighteen hundred and fifty dollars we would have gotten on the car.
00:57:26Really Vera, you'd be an awful chump.
00:57:28You threw away all that dough on a dizzy long shot.
00:57:30Let me sell the bus tomorrow.
00:57:31With the money it'll bring and what you've already got,
00:57:33a clever kid like you can run it up in no time.
00:57:35Then we'd both be in the clear.
00:57:36I'll be in the clear anyway.
00:57:37Maybe.
00:57:38Maybe.
00:57:39But if I got caught,
00:57:42I'd get good and sore at you, you know.
00:57:43You mean you'd squeal?
00:57:44Oh no, not squeal exactly.
00:57:46Never mind what you meant.
00:57:48Even if you did tell the cops I was in on it with you,
00:57:51what could they do to me?
00:57:53They might give me the same medicine they gave you.
00:57:56Yeah.
00:57:57A rope.
00:58:00But I'm on my way anyhow.
00:58:04I'll be doing, we'll be rushing it.
00:58:06All right.
00:58:07But think of the eighteen fifty you'd lose.
00:58:09You'd kick yourself along the block and let get away from you.
00:58:11I'll take the chance.
00:58:14Want another drink?
00:58:15You're being a goon.
00:58:16That's the way people wind up behind the eight ball.
00:58:18Once they get a few dollars they become greedy and want more.
00:58:21My, my.
00:58:22Caesar.
00:58:23Who?
00:58:24You know that Roman general?
00:58:25He got his for being greedy.
00:58:26He wasn't satisfied so the final wind up was he took the count.
00:58:29A couple of days ago you didn't have a dime.
00:58:31Why you were so broke you couldn't pay cash for a post-it stamp.
00:58:34Now you've got almost seven hundred dollars with eighteen fifty in the offing.
00:58:37Take my advice, don't try for more.
00:58:39I'm tired of this game, let's have some blackjack.
00:58:41Play solitaire.
00:58:42Okay I will if that's the way you feel about it.
00:58:44That's the way I feel about it.
00:58:45Getting sore and throwing things won't help much Roberts.
00:58:47I'm really doing you a favor.
00:58:49I help you out of the jam by keeping my mouth shut.
00:58:51I show you how to make some soft money.
00:58:53And what thanks do I get?
00:58:54Thanks.
00:58:55Sure.
00:58:56I call the cops and tell them you killed a man and stole his money.
00:58:58I didn't tell anybody.
00:58:59Yes you did.
00:59:00No I didn't.
00:59:01You know I didn't.
00:59:02Alright then.
00:59:04Suppose I call the cops.
00:59:06If you're innocent what do you got to be scared of?
00:59:09Okay.
00:59:10Call them you mutt.
00:59:11Go ahead and call them see if I care.
00:59:13At least they'll give me a square deal.
00:59:15You want me to call them?
00:59:16You heard me.
00:59:17But I'm warning you.
00:59:18If I'm pinched I'll swear you were in on it.
00:59:20I'll say that you helped me.
00:59:21If I fry I'll get even with you.
00:59:23You wouldn't dare.
00:59:24You did.
00:59:25Yeah?
00:59:26Then try it and see.
00:59:27Call them.
00:59:28Yeah.
00:59:30Okay I will.
00:59:44Information?
00:59:45I want the number of the Hollywood police station.
00:59:51Okay I got it.
00:59:52Thanks.
00:59:56Wait a minute Vera.
00:59:57You wouldn't do that.
00:59:58You wouldn't do that and I'll show you if I wouldn't.
00:59:59Take it easy now.
01:00:00Let's talk this over.
01:00:01This was early in the evening.
01:00:03And the conversation while hectic was at least pitched low.
01:00:07But as the minutes passed and more obstacles to her plan popped into my head.
01:00:12The air got blue.
01:00:14Each word coming from our lips cracked like a whip.
01:00:17I reminded her that as Charles Haskell I didn't even know my mother's name.
01:00:21Where I'd gone to school.
01:00:23The name of my best friend.
01:00:25Whether I had an Aunt Emma or not.
01:00:27My religion.
01:00:28And if I'd ever owned a dog.
01:00:30I didn't even know what my middle initial stood for.
01:00:32I also pointed out that the real Haskell had a scar on his forearm.
01:00:37His people never saw that scar.
01:00:38He told me he ran away right after putting out the kid's eye.
01:00:41Yeah but his father knew he was cut.
01:00:42It had to be some kind of a mark.
01:00:43So what?
01:00:46The old man's dead or will be.
01:00:47I hope by tomorrow morning's papers.
01:00:50Anyway.
01:00:51You could cut yourself a little couldn't you?
01:00:54Boy for that kind of dough I'd let you cut my leg off.
01:00:58You're drunk and you're crazy mad Vera.
01:00:59Turn him in if you want to.
01:01:00But I won't get mixed up in this.
01:01:01Besides how do we know Haskell was such a phony.
01:01:03Maybe it wasn't the man's son at all.
01:01:04Maybe he just dreamed it up.
01:01:05Well dream it or not you won't be dreaming when the law attacks you on the shoulder.
01:01:11There's a cute little gas chamber waiting for you Roberts.
01:01:15And I hear extradition to Arizona's Ascension.
01:01:18Where's that phone?
01:01:20Vera.
01:01:21Leave me alone.
01:01:22Vera.
01:01:23I want a phone call.
01:01:24Please.
01:01:26I hate you.
01:01:27You're a stinker you.
01:01:29Leave me alone.
01:01:30I'll let you alone when you promise to leave the phone where it is.
01:01:32You're drunk you don't know what you're doing.
01:01:33You're hurting me.
01:01:34Will you promise?
01:01:36All right.
01:01:43You hurt me.
01:01:44I'm sorry but.
01:01:45It's hot in here.
01:01:46Open up the window.
01:01:47It's not hot.
01:01:48Don't tell me.
01:01:49Now do you do it or do I do it.
01:01:53You're no gentleman see.
01:01:55Yeah.
01:01:56All right.
01:01:57I'll open up the window.
01:02:04Vera open the door.
01:02:05Please open the door.
01:02:06Vera open the door.
01:02:07Don't use the phone.
01:02:08Listen to me.
01:02:09I don't like you Roberts.
01:02:10You're no gentleman see.
01:02:11You hurt my hand.
01:02:12And I'm going to get even with you.
01:02:13If you don't open the door I'm going to kick it down Vera.
01:02:15Vera don't call the cops.
01:02:16Listen to me.
01:02:17I'll do anything you say.
01:02:18Vera let me in.
01:02:19I'll break the phone.
01:02:20I'll break the phone.
01:02:21I'll break the phone.
01:02:50The world is full of skeptics.
01:03:11I know.
01:03:13I'm one myself.
01:03:15In the Haskell business how many of you would believe he fell out of the car?
01:03:18And now after killing Vera without really meaning to do it.
01:03:21How many of you would believe it wasn't premeditated?
01:03:24In a jury room.
01:03:26Every last man of you would go down shouting that she had me over a barrel and my only out was force.
01:03:33The room was still.
01:03:35So quiet that for a while I wondered if I had suddenly gone deaf.
01:03:39It was pure fear of course.
01:03:41And I was hysterical.
01:03:43But without making a sound.
01:03:45Vera was dead.
01:03:47And I was her murderer.
01:03:50Murderer.
01:03:51What an awful word that is.
01:03:53But I'd become one.
01:03:54I'd better not get caught.
01:03:56What evidence there was around the place had to be destroyed.
01:03:59And from the looks of things there was plenty.
01:04:01Looking around the room at things we'd bought was like looking into the faces of a hundred people who'd seen us together and who remembered me.
01:04:06This was the kind of testimony I couldn't rub out.
01:04:12No.
01:04:13I could burn clothes and hide bottles for the next five years.
01:04:16There'd always be witnesses.
01:04:18The landlady for one.
01:04:19She could identify me.
01:04:20The car dealer.
01:04:21The waitress in the drive-in.
01:04:22The girl in the dress shop.
01:04:23And that guy in the liquor store.
01:04:24It could all identify me.
01:04:27I was cooked.
01:04:28Done for.
01:04:29I had to get out of there.
01:04:31While once I'd remained beside a dead body.
01:04:34Planning carefully how to avoid being accused of killing him.
01:04:37This time I couldn't.
01:04:39This time I was guilty.
01:04:41I knew it.
01:04:43Felt it.
01:04:45I was like a guy suffering from shock.
01:04:48Things were whirling around in my head.
01:04:50I couldn't make myself think right.
01:04:52All I could think of was the guy with the saxophone and what he was playing.
01:04:56It wasn't a love song anymore.
01:04:59It was a dirge.
01:05:15For me.
01:05:16I was like a guy sorry?
01:05:17I would like to mourn my mind.
01:05:18Yeah?
01:05:19But he was like the knife and glue that I can cure.
01:05:20Well, I'd be walking.
01:05:21I could walk a sip of the earth in my head.
01:05:22Well, my gosh, Harold, we're alive.
01:05:23Mike's a compare.
01:05:24God pointer
01:05:28Paper and Tariq.
01:05:30You go to the Grinnell.
01:05:31but my problems weren't solved i had to stay away from new york for all time because al roberts
01:05:57was listed as dead and had to stay dead and i could never go back to hollywood someone might
01:06:03recognize me as haskell then too there was sue i could never go to her with a thing like this
01:06:12hanging over my head all i could do was pray she'd be happy
01:06:17i was in bakersfield before i read that vera's body was discovered
01:06:32that the police were looking for haskell in connection with his wife's murder
01:06:36isn't that a laugh haskell got me into this mess and haskell was getting me out of it
01:06:44the police were searching for a dead man
01:06:46i keep trying to forget what happened
01:06:52and wonder what my life might have been if that car of haskell's hadn't stopped
01:06:58but one thing i don't have to wonder about
01:07:02i know
01:07:04someday a car will stop to pick me up that i never thumbed
01:07:10yes fate or some mysterious force can put the finger on you or me
01:07:22for no good reason at all
01:07:24no good reason at all
01:07:37no good reason at all
01:07:38no good reason at all
01:07:39no good reason at all
01:07:40no good reason at all
01:07:41no good reason at all
01:07:42no good reason at all
01:07:43no good reason at all
01:07:44no good reason at all
01:07:45no good reason at all
01:07:46no good reason at all
01:07:47no good reason at all
01:07:48no good reason at all
01:07:49no good reason at all
01:07:50no good reason at all
01:07:51no good reason at all
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