- 21 hours ago
The Deadly Road of Fate (1945) is a classic film noir crime thriller that follows a troubled drifter whose life takes a dark and unexpected turn after a chance encounter on a lonely highway. Filled with suspense, mystery, deception, and unforgettable noir atmosphere, this timeless classic explores fate, guilt, and the consequences of one wrong decision. Widely regarded as one of the greatest film noir movies ever made, this gripping story continues to captivate audiences with its intense storytelling and haunting mood.
If you enjoy vintage crime dramas, psychological thrillers, detective mysteries, and classic Hollywood noir films, this unforgettable movie is a must-watch.
If you enjoy vintage crime dramas, psychological thrillers, detective mysteries, and classic Hollywood noir films, this unforgettable movie is a must-watch.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00:05The End
00:00:32The End
00:01:07The End
00:01:35Well, here we are. A turn down here at the next block.
00:01:39Thanks, mister. I'll get off there.
00:01:47Want anything else?
00:01:49No. Hey, you.
00:01:55Me? Yeah, you. Where are you heading?
00:01:59East.
00:02:00You're there.
00:02:02I thought if he was heading north, I might be able to help you out.
00:02:05I'm pushing to Salt Lake, and I don't like to ride alone at night.
00:02:07I'm one of those guys who got a talker, I fall asleep.
00:02:10Oh, sure, not much.
00:02:12Pardon me, he's got a new to keep him coming, but I ain't got nobody at all.
00:02:16Where you coming from?
00:02:18West.
00:02:19Yeah, sure, I know, but where, L.A.?
00:02:21Maybe.
00:02:22I got a cousin out in L.A.
00:02:24You don't say.
00:02:25Yeah, he's been out.
00:02:27You're not much of a talker, are you?
00:02:29My mother taught me never to speak to strangers.
00:02:31Oh, wise guy.
00:02:32So what?
00:02:33Okay, okay, don't get sore.
00:02:35He's trying to be sociable, that's all.
00:02:38Hey, Glamorous.
00:02:39You change for a dime, will you?
00:02:51Let's have something quieter this time, Joe.
00:02:53My head's splitting.
00:02:54Is that what's wrong with it?
00:02:58Done with your coffee?
00:03:00No.
00:03:01Then don't rush me, will you?
00:03:09Hey, turn that off.
00:03:10Will you turn that thing off?
00:03:11What's eating you now?
00:03:12Yeah, what's eating you?
00:03:13That music, it stinks.
00:03:14Oh, you don't like it, huh?
00:03:15No, turn it off.
00:03:16Now, wait a minute, pal.
00:03:17That was my nickel, see?
00:03:19This is a free country, and I play whatever I wanted.
00:03:24Okay.
00:03:25Sure, and if you don't like it, you don't have to listen to it.
00:03:27And you can leave here any time you want it.
00:03:29Okay, okay, I'm sorry I asked.
00:03:31First good piece play tonight, and you don't like it.
00:03:33Some people just ain't got any good taste.
00:03:46That tune.
00:03:48That tune!
00:03:50Why was there always that rotten tune?
00:03:52Following me around, beating in my head, never letting up.
00:03:59Did you ever want to forget anything?
00:04:02Did you ever want to cut away a piece of your memory or blot it out?
00:04:05You can't, you know.
00:04:06No matter how hard you try.
00:04:09You can change the scenery.
00:04:10But sooner or later, you'll get a whiff of perfume
00:04:13where somebody will say a certain phrase or maybe hum something.
00:04:16Then you're licked again.
00:04:19I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:04:22I used to love that song once.
00:04:24So did the customers back in the old Break of Dawn Club in New York.
00:04:28I can't remember a night when I didn't get at least three requests for it.
00:04:33Sue, she was always selling it, too.
00:04:34Those were the days.
00:05:02Your eyes are blue, your kisses, too.
00:05:05I never knew what they could do.
00:05:08I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:05:14You're telling everyone you know
00:05:17That I'm on your mind each place you go.
00:05:21They can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:05:26I have always placed you far above me.
00:05:32I just can't imagine that you love me.
00:05:37And after all is said and done
00:05:41To think that I'm the lucky one
00:05:44I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:05:57It wasn't much of a club, really.
00:05:59You know the kind.
00:06:00A joint where you could have a sandwich and a few drinks
00:06:03and run interference for your girl on the dance floor.
00:06:07I pounded the piano in there every night from eight until the place closed up
00:06:11which usually meant four in the morning.
00:06:14A good job as jobs went in those days.
00:06:19Then, too, there was Sue
00:06:23who made working there a little like working in heaven.
00:06:26But how we felt about each other,
00:06:28well, there was nothing very unusual in that.
00:06:31I was an ordinary healthy guy
00:06:32and she was an ordinary healthy girl.
00:06:34And when you add those two together
00:06:35you get an ordinary healthy romance.
00:06:37Which is the old story.
00:06:39Sure.
00:06:40But somehow
00:06:41the most wonderful thing in the world.
00:06:51All in all, I was a pretty lucky guy.
00:07:06Mr. Paderewski, I presume.
00:07:08It's beautiful.
00:07:10You're going to make Carnegie Hall yet, Al?
00:07:12Yeah.
00:07:13As a janitor.
00:07:14I'll make my debut in the basement.
00:07:16I don't blame you for being bitter, darling,
00:07:18but you mustn't give up hope.
00:07:20Why, someday...
00:07:21Yeah, someday.
00:07:22But don't get arthritis first.
00:07:24In the meantime, let's blow this trap.
00:07:27Because...
00:07:54Like to get something to eat, hon?
00:07:55More of that dump.
00:07:57Did you see that drunk tonight, trying to paw me?
00:07:59No, what drunk?
00:08:01Does it matter what drunk?
00:08:04Say, what's the matter with you tonight, darling?
00:08:06That's the third time you started to tell me something, then stopped.
00:08:09We shouldn't have any secrets from each other, Sue.
00:08:12Next week, we're going to make with the ring and the license.
00:08:14You and me will be a team.
00:08:15Yes, that's right.
00:08:16In the Bush League.
00:08:18I don't get you.
00:08:19We've been struck out.
00:08:21That's a funny way to talk, darling.
00:08:24Don't you want to marry me?
00:08:25Al, look, I love you.
00:08:26You know I do, and I want to marry you.
00:08:28But?
00:08:29But not now.
00:08:31Only after we've made good.
00:08:34Sunday, I'm going away.
00:08:36I know you'll think it's silly.
00:08:38That's why I hesitated to tell you.
00:08:40But I'm going to California.
00:08:42I want to try my luck in Hollywood.
00:08:45That's the most stupid thing I ever heard of.
00:08:47Don't you know millions of people go out there every year and wind up polishing cuspidors?
00:08:51I thought you had better sense.
00:08:52You sound as if you don't think I have any talent.
00:08:54That has nothing to do with it.
00:08:55I'll make out all right.
00:08:56Maybe.
00:08:57But what about me?
00:08:58Doesn't it mean anything to you that you're busting up all our plans?
00:09:01We may not see each other for years.
00:09:02It won't be that long.
00:09:04I thought you loved me.
00:09:06I do.
00:09:06You know I do.
00:09:11Well, here we are.
00:09:15Al.
00:09:17Al, why can't you see my side of it?
00:09:20I'm young.
00:09:21We both are.
00:09:22And we've got all the time in the world to settle down.
00:09:27Really, darling.
00:09:28What I'm doing is the only sane thing to do.
00:09:32I hate the thought of being so far away from you, but we'll be together again someday.
00:09:39Maybe you'll decide to come out too later on.
00:09:42So long.
00:09:44Al.
00:09:45Aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?
00:09:48Sure.
00:09:49Why not?
00:09:52Goodnight.
00:09:53Goodnight.
00:10:23Goodnight.
00:10:24Goodnight.
00:10:26Goodnight.
00:10:35Goodnight.
00:10:38Goodnight.
00:10:40Goodnight.
00:10:42Goodnight.
00:10:44Goodnight.
00:10:48Goodnight.
00:10:48Goodnight.
00:10:49Goodnight.
00:11:37Say, Roberts, you hit the jackpot this time.
00:11:41Ten bucks.
00:11:42Thanks.
00:11:49So when this drunk handed me a tin spot after a request, I couldn't get very excited.
00:11:54What was it I asked myself?
00:11:55A piece of paper calling with germs.
00:11:57Couldn't buy anything I wanted.
00:12:01It couldn't...
00:12:04Then I thought of something.
00:12:29Long distance.
00:12:30I'd like to put a call through to Los Angeles.
00:12:33Miss Harvey.
00:12:34Sue Harvey.
00:12:35H-A-R-V-E-Y.
00:12:37The number is Crestview 65723.
00:12:40The number is Crestview 65723.
00:13:09Hello, Sue.
00:13:10This is Al.
00:13:11Oh, baby, it's great to hear from you, too.
00:13:13What's that?
00:13:14You do?
00:13:15Oh, me too, darling.
00:13:17I thought I'd go batty without you.
00:13:18I just had to...
00:13:19Huh?
00:13:21You're working as a hashlinger?
00:13:24Gee, honey, that's tough.
00:13:25Those guys out in Hollywood don't know the real thing when it's right in front of them.
00:13:28You just stick it out, Sue, baby.
00:13:30Keep going around to those casting offices.
00:13:32I'm sure you'll click.
00:13:34Look, I'll tell you what.
00:13:35You stay put out there, I'll come to you.
00:13:37No, don't try to stop me.
00:13:38Just expect me.
00:13:40Train?
00:13:41Who knows?
00:13:41Train, plane, bus, magic carpet.
00:13:43I'll be there if I have to crawl.
00:13:45If I have to travel by pogo stick.
00:13:46And then, let's get married right away, huh?
00:13:52That's the stuff.
00:13:53That's what I've been wanting to hear you say.
00:13:56Well, goodbye for now.
00:14:00I'll be seeing you soon.
00:14:03Yeah.
00:14:05Bye.
00:14:11The only way I could cross country was to thump rides.
00:14:14For even after hocking everything, I only had enough money to eat.
00:14:18Money.
00:14:19You know what that is.
00:14:21It's the stuff you never have enough of.
00:14:24Little green things with George Washington's picture that men slave for,
00:14:27commit crimes for, die for.
00:14:30It's the stuff that has caused more trouble in the world than anything else we ever invented.
00:14:34Simply because there's too little of it.
00:14:37At least I had too little of it.
00:14:39So it was me for the thump.
00:14:57Ever done any hitchhiking?
00:15:00It's not much fun, believe me.
00:15:02Oh, yeah, I know all about how it's an education,
00:15:05how you get to meet a lot of people and all that.
00:15:08But me, from now on, I'll take my education in college,
00:15:12or in P.S. 62,
00:15:13or I'll send $1.98 in stamps for ten easy lessons.
00:15:25Thumbing rides may save your bus fare,
00:15:27but it's dangerous.
00:15:30You never know what's in store for you
00:15:32when you hear the squeal of brakes.
00:15:35If only I'd known what I was getting into that day in Arizona.
00:15:41Here, throw that in the back seat.
00:15:45Okay, let's go.
00:15:46Make sure that door's closed.
00:16:01You know, Emily Post ought to write a book of rules for guys thumbing rides.
00:16:06Because as it is now, you never know what's right and what's wrong.
00:16:10We rode along for a little while,
00:16:11neither one of us saying anything.
00:16:14I was glad of that.
00:16:15I never know what to say to strange people driving cars.
00:16:19And, too, you can never tell if a guy wants to talk.
00:16:22A lot of rides have been cut short because of a big mouth.
00:16:27So, I kept my mouth shut until he started opening up.
00:16:31Hand me that little box, the compartment, will you, pal?
00:16:37Hold the wheel, will you?
00:16:50How far are you going?
00:16:51L.A.
00:16:52Well, you're really traveling, aren't you?
00:16:54Yeah, but I don't expect to make it for a couple of years
00:16:57at the rate I've been promoting rides.
00:16:58Not much luck, huh?
00:17:00Sure, all bad.
00:17:02Not many people stop for a guy these days.
00:17:04Afraid of a stick-up, maybe.
00:17:05Well, they can't blame him.
00:17:07Where you coming from?
00:17:08New York.
00:17:10Well, New York.
00:17:12You're in luck this time.
00:17:13I'm going all the way.
00:17:15Right through to Los Angeles.
00:17:18You drive a car?
00:17:19Sure.
00:17:20Whenever you're tired, let me know.
00:17:22I'll holler.
00:17:24I guess at least an hour passed before I noticed those deep scratches on his right hand.
00:17:29They were wicked.
00:17:31Three puffy red lines about a quarter of an inch apart.
00:17:34He must have seen me looking at them because he said,
00:17:38beauties, aren't they?
00:17:40They're going to be scars someday.
00:17:44What an animal.
00:17:45Whatever it was, it must have been pretty big and vicious to have done that.
00:17:48Right on both counts, New York.
00:17:50I was tussling with the most dangerous animal in the world.
00:17:53A woman.
00:17:55It must have been Tarzan's mate.
00:17:57Looks like you lost the bob.
00:17:59It certainly wasn't a draw.
00:18:01You know, there ought to be a law against dames with claws.
00:18:04Yeah.
00:18:05I tossed her out of the car in her ear.
00:18:08Was I wrong?
00:18:10Give a lift to a tomato, you expect her to be nice, don't you?
00:18:13Yeah.
00:18:14After all, what kind of dame's thumb rides?
00:18:16Sunday school teachers?
00:18:18Yeah.
00:18:20A little witch.
00:18:22She must have thought she was riding with some fall guy.
00:18:25To me, she's been booking horses around race tracks since I was 20.
00:18:29I've known a million dames like her.
00:18:31Two million?
00:18:32Yeah.
00:18:35Stopped the car, opened the door.
00:18:38Take it on the Arthur Duffy's sister, I told her.
00:18:41That's the stuff.
00:18:41As I was done, huh?
00:18:44Well, if you want to see a real scar, brother, get a load of this.
00:18:49Wow.
00:18:51I got that one doing.
00:18:53Dueling?
00:18:54Yeah, we're just kidding, of course.
00:18:56My dad owned a couple of Franco-Prussian sabers.
00:18:58Kept them on the wall for decorations.
00:19:01Well, one day, the other kid and I took them down.
00:19:04The old man wasn't around.
00:19:05Had a duel.
00:19:07You got me in the arm here.
00:19:09Pretty mean cut.
00:19:11Affection set in later.
00:19:13Yeah, I can see that.
00:19:15Now, give me that box again, will they?
00:19:17Yeah.
00:19:29Pain made me lose my head, I guess.
00:19:31I began slashing.
00:19:33Before I knew it, I'd put the other kid's eye out.
00:19:36That was tough.
00:19:38Well, it was just an accident, of course.
00:19:40Do you know how kids are?
00:19:41I got scared and decided I was going to run away from home.
00:19:45The old man almost caught me when I was packing my duds.
00:19:49The bloody rag I had wrapped around my wrist hadn't caught his attention.
00:19:52You've seen the bundle for sure.
00:19:55But I beat it when he was phoning for a doctor.
00:19:58I was 15, 16 years ago.
00:20:00I haven't been home since.
00:20:06Pull in there for a bite or something, huh?
00:20:08A bite or something.
00:20:10Brother, was I hungry.
00:20:12I hadn't had anything in my stomach for hours.
00:20:15Yet even with that gnawing in the pit of my belly, I didn't want to be in too big a
00:20:18rush to put on the feed bag.
00:20:21First, I had to make sure this guy knew the score.
00:20:24If I got him down on me, I'd buy a ticket to Hollywood.
00:20:27I'll wait out here for you, mister.
00:20:29If there's the money, don't worry about paying for it.
00:20:31This time it's on me.
00:20:32Well, that's why you're...
00:20:33Paschal, make nothing of it.
00:20:34You make your first million, maybe you can do the same for me.
00:20:36Come on, New York.
00:20:38I gotta make the West Coast by Wednesday.
00:20:40There's a horse running at Santa Anita named Tired Bicycle.
00:20:42It means it ought to me if I'm on him.
00:20:44You'll make it, all right.
00:20:46He did most of the talking during the half hour we were in the place.
00:20:50I ate.
00:20:52He rambled on about his old man, whom he hadn't heard from since he ran away as a kid.
00:20:56Now he happened to become a bookie.
00:20:58And then all about how he got rooked in Miami.
00:21:01One race, 38 grand.
00:21:02They cleaned out my book.
00:21:04How do you like that?
00:21:05That was tough luck.
00:21:06Yeah, and I'm supposed to be the smart guy.
00:21:08Will you just wait?
00:21:09I'm going back to Florida next season with all kinds of jack.
00:21:12And you'll watch those stinkers run for cover.
00:21:14Do you want anything else?
00:21:15No thanks, I've had plenty.
00:21:22Do you want a check there, sister?
00:21:27Oh, just a minute, your change, sir.
00:21:30Keep it, sister.
00:21:31Oh, thank you, sir.
00:21:32Call again.
00:21:32I'll be waiting outside for you when you finish work.
00:21:36Sharp check, huh?
00:21:45I drove all that night while Haskell slept like a log.
00:21:48After a while, I began to get sleepy myself.
00:21:53I was happy, though.
00:21:55Soon I'd be with Sue again.
00:21:57The long trip was practically over, and I'd be no more hoofing it down the concrete.
00:22:01I began to think of the future, which couldn't have been brighter if I'd embroidered it with neon lights.
00:22:08It was nice to think of Sue shooting to the top.
00:22:12It's amazing what a full belly can do to your imagination.
00:22:18Your eyes are blue, your kisses, too.
00:22:23I never knew what they could do.
00:22:27I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:22:35You're telling everyone you know
00:22:40I'm on your mind each place you go.
00:22:45I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:23:07Mr. Haskell.
00:23:10Mr. Haskell.
00:23:14Mr. Haskell, wake up.
00:23:15It's raining.
00:23:16Don't you think we ought to stop and put up the top?
00:23:27Mr. Haskell, I'm going to put up the top.
00:23:43Until then, I'd done things my way.
00:23:46But from then on, something else stepped in and shunted me off to a different destination than the one I
00:23:50had picked for myself.
00:23:51The one I pulled open that door.
00:23:58Mr. Haskell, what's the matter?
00:24:00Are you hurt?
00:24:01Are you hurt, Mr. Haskell?
00:24:04Start yourself.
00:24:06I'll listen to it.
00:24:07But I know what you're going to hand me even before you open your mouths.
00:24:11You're going to tell me you don't believe my story of how Haskell died
00:24:13and give me that don't make me laugh expression on your smug faces.
00:24:20I saw it once, he was dead.
00:24:22And I was in for it.
00:24:23Who would believe he fell out of the car?
00:24:25Why, if Haskell came too, which of course he couldn't,
00:24:27even he would swear I conked him over the head for his dough.
00:24:30Yes, I was in for it.
00:24:32Instinct told me to run.
00:24:34But then I realized it was hopeless.
00:24:35There were lots of people back down the road who could identify me.
00:24:37That gas station guy and the waitress.
00:24:39I would be in a worse spot then, trying to explain why I beat it.
00:24:43The next possibility was to sit tight and tell the truth when the cops came.
00:24:46But that would be crazy.
00:24:47They'd laugh at the truth.
00:24:48And I'd have my head in the noose.
00:24:52So what else was there to do but hide the body and get away in the car?
00:24:55I couldn't leave the car there with him in the gully?
00:24:57That would be like erecting a tombstone.
00:25:28My idea was to cover him with brush, not to rob him.
00:25:31But then I remembered that even if I only drove the car for a hundred miles or so,
00:25:34I would need money for gas.
00:25:37Besides, it was stupid of me to leave all that money on a dead man.
00:25:40Not only that, I'd have to take his driver's license in case I was stopped or something.
00:25:46I didn't like to think about it.
00:25:47But by that time I'd done just what the police would say I did, even if I didn't.
00:25:52My clothes.
00:25:53The owner of such an expensive car would never be wearing them.
00:25:57Some cop might pull me in on suspicion.
00:26:24Hey, you, this your car?
00:26:26Don't you know better than to leave a car with the wheels halfway in the middle of the road?
00:26:29That's the way accidents happen.
00:26:32I'm sorry, officer.
00:26:33I was just putting up my top.
00:26:34I didn't think.
00:26:35Well, in the next time, think.
00:26:37I'll let you go now, but watch your step in the future.
00:26:39I know that's a lonely stretch, but cars come by here once in a while,
00:26:42and we have plenty of crack-ups.
00:26:44Thanks, officer.
00:27:08I left nothing in the car to give me away as Roberts.
00:27:11If they found a dead man on the gully now, it would be me.
00:27:22As I drove off, it was still raining, and the drop streak down the windshield like tears.
00:27:31I kept imagining I was being followed, that I could hear sirens back in the distance.
00:27:36Just how long it took me to cover the 60-odd miles to the California state line, I don't know.
00:27:41I lost all track of time.
00:27:43But the rain had stopped, and the sun was up when I pulled up to the inspection station.
00:27:52Hello.
00:27:54Carrying any fruits or vegetables?
00:27:56No.
00:27:56Any livestock or poultry?
00:27:58No.
00:28:00I see your registration and driver's license, please.
00:28:07Anything in the baggage compartment?
00:28:09What's baggage?
00:28:11Charles Haskell, Jr., aged 30, brown eyes, dark hair, identifying marks, none.
00:28:17Are you Charles Haskell, Jr.?
00:28:19Yes.
00:28:19Well, remember, if you're employed and you stay over 30 days, you take out California plates.
00:28:23All right, officer, but I'll only be in the state a short while.
00:28:27Right, you can go now.
00:28:36I couldn't drive any farther without some sleep, cops or no cops.
00:28:40I knew I had to hit the hay and hit it hard.
00:28:44I was dead tired.
00:28:57I had to hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit
00:28:58the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit
00:28:58the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit
00:28:59the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit
00:29:02the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit
00:29:04the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit
00:29:06the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay and hit the hay.
00:29:17No, no, you can't, Mr. Haskell, no, Mr. Haskell, you can't die, I think, I think I did it, no,
00:29:38Mr. Haskell, no, no.
00:29:56Who's there?
00:29:57It's the maid, can I come in and clean?
00:30:00Later, in a half hour.
00:30:03All right, sir.
00:30:28There was no time to lose, every minute I had to be Charles Haskell was dangerous, and I'd have to
00:30:33be Charles Haskell until I got to some city where I could leave the car and be swallowed up.
00:30:37All right, sir.
00:31:01I was worried about Mr. Haskell.
00:31:03Then if anybody asked me questions, I could give the right answers.
00:31:06The first thing I found out was that I had $768.
00:31:11This was a lot of jack, but believe me, it was the kind of money I'd rather not have.
00:31:23And then I found out from a letter Haskell was carting around in his bag that he wasn't the open
00:31:28-handed, easy-going big shot who went around buying dinners for strange hitchhikers.
00:31:33Before I got done reading it, I saw him more as a chiseler.
00:31:37It was written to his old man in California, the one he hadn't seen in so many years.
00:31:43In it, Haskell posed as a salesman of hymnals, of all things.
00:31:49It was easy to see where Haskell expected to raise a new stake for his book in Miami, by rooking
00:31:54his old man.
00:31:57That was about all I found out from his effects, and it was enough.
00:32:02I told myself, maybe old man Haskell was lucky his son kicked off.
00:32:07He would never know it, but it saved him from taking a flyer in sacred literature preferred.
00:32:37Near the airport at Desert Center, I pulled up for water.
00:32:42There was a woman.
00:32:48Hey, you!
00:32:48Come on if you want a ride.
00:33:36How far are you going?
00:33:38How far are you going?
00:33:40That took me by surprise, and I turned my head to look her over.
00:33:44She was facing straight ahead, so I couldn't see her eyes.
00:33:47But she was young, not more than 24.
00:33:51Man, she looked as if she'd just been thrown off the crummiest freight train in the world.
00:33:56Yet in spite of this, I got the impression of beauty.
00:34:00Not the beauty of a movie actress, mind you, or the beauty you dream about when you're with your wife,
00:34:05but a natural beauty.
00:34:07A beauty that's almost homely because it's so real.
00:34:11Then suddenly she turned to face me.
00:34:13How far did you say you were going?
00:34:15Los Angeles.
00:34:17L.A.?
00:34:18L.A. is good enough for me, mister.
00:34:20That's what I was afraid of.
00:34:22What did you say?
00:34:23Oh, nothing.
00:34:24Just thinking out loud.
00:34:25People getting in trouble for doing that.
00:34:28What's your name?
00:34:29You can call me Vera, if you like.
00:34:32You live in Los Angeles?
00:34:33No.
00:34:35Where are you coming from?
00:34:36Oh, back there.
00:34:38Needles?
00:34:39No.
00:34:40Oh, sure.
00:34:41Phoenix.
00:34:42You look just like a Phoenix girl.
00:34:44Are the girls in Phoenix that bad?
00:34:46The girl must have been pretty tired because she fell asleep not 20 minutes after she stepped into the car.
00:34:52She lay sprawled out with her head resting against the far door, like Haskell.
00:34:56I didn't like that part of it much, but I didn't wake her up.
00:35:01It wasn't that this girl still worried me.
00:35:04I'd gotten over that funny feeling I had when she looked at me, which I put down as just my
00:35:08jangled nerves.
00:35:10With her eyes closed and the testes gone out of me, she seemed harmless enough.
00:35:15And instead of disliking her, I began to feel sorry for her.
00:35:19The poor kid probably had had a rough time a little.
00:35:23Who was she, anyway?
00:35:24And why was she going to Los Angeles?
00:35:27And where'd she come from in the first place?
00:35:29The only thing I knew about it was her name.
00:35:32Not that it made any difference.
00:35:34A few hours more and we'd be in Hollywood.
00:35:36I'd forget where I parked the car and look up Sue.
00:35:39This nightmare of being a dead man would be over.
00:35:42Who this dame was?
00:35:43Well, it was no business of mine.
00:35:45Where did you leave this body?
00:35:48Where did you leave the owner of this car?
00:35:49Well, you're not fooling anyone.
00:35:51This buggy belongs to a guy named Haskell.
00:35:54That's not you, mister.
00:35:55You're out of your mind.
00:35:56That's my name, Charles Haskell.
00:35:57I can prove it.
00:35:58It's my driver's license.
00:35:59Save yourself the trouble, mister.
00:36:00Having Haskell's wallet only makes it worse.
00:36:02It just so happens I rode with Charlie Haskell all the way from Louisiana.
00:36:06He picked me up outside of Shreveport.
00:36:08You rode?
00:36:09You heard me.
00:36:10Then it all came back to me.
00:36:12All the talk about dueling and scars and scratches.
00:36:16There was no doubt about it.
00:36:18Vera must be the woman Haskell had mentioned.
00:36:20She must have passed me while I slept.
00:36:22Well?
00:36:24Well, I'm waiting.
00:36:25My goose was cooked.
00:36:27She had me.
00:36:29That Haskell guy wasn't dead yet.
00:36:31He wasn't stretched out stiff and cold in any Arizona gully.
00:36:34He was sitting right there in the car laughing like mad while he haunted me.
00:36:40Well?
00:36:40There was nothing I could say.
00:36:43It was her move.
00:36:44Vera, whatever her name was,
00:36:46was just my luck picking her up on the road.
00:36:50It couldn't have been Helen or Mary or Evelyn or Ruth.
00:36:53It had to be the very last person I should ever have met.
00:36:57That's life.
00:36:59Whichever way you turn, fate sticks out a foot to trip you.
00:37:07I told her everything, but she didn't believe my story.
00:37:10I should have saved my breath.
00:37:12That's the greatest cock and ball story I ever heard.
00:37:14So he fell out of his car.
00:37:16Say, who do you think you're talking to, a hick?
00:37:18Listen, mister, I've been around,
00:37:20and I know a wrong guy when I see one.
00:37:22What'd you do, kiss him with a wrench?
00:37:24Now, wait a minute.
00:37:24What I told you was true.
00:37:26You see, that's why I had to do it.
00:37:27You think I killed him.
00:37:28Well, the cops would have thought so, too.
00:37:30Yeah, well, maybe they still think so.
00:37:32What makes you so sure I'll shut up about this?
00:37:35Gurr, I'm innocent.
00:37:36Give me a break, will you?
00:37:39It won't do me any good having you pinched.
00:37:41The cops are no friends of mine.
00:37:43Now, if there was a reward, but there isn't.
00:37:46Thanks.
00:37:47Don't thank me yet.
00:37:48I'm not through with you by a long shot.
00:37:51Let's see that roll.
00:37:59Is that all Haskell had?
00:38:00Isn't it enough?
00:38:01No, I thought he had more.
00:38:02Not that I know of.
00:38:03You can search me.
00:38:04You think I'm holding out on you?
00:38:05Well, maybe I will at that.
00:38:06He told me he was going to bet $3,000
00:38:08on a horse named Paradisical
00:38:10on Wednesday at Santa Anita.
00:38:11He was stringing you along.
00:38:12He meant $300.
00:38:13Maybe.
00:38:14Sure, $3,000, $300.
00:38:15He was a piece of cheese, a big blowhard.
00:38:17Listen, mister,
00:38:18don't try and tell me anything about Charlie Haskell.
00:38:20Remember, I knew him better than you did.
00:38:22Okay, then you knew he was a foreflusher.
00:38:24That explains the $3,000 bet.
00:38:25I'm not so sure he didn't have that $3,000.
00:38:27Why should I believe you?
00:38:29You got all the earmarks of a cheap crook.
00:38:31Now, wait a minute.
00:38:32You're a cheap crook and you killed him.
00:38:34For two cents, I'd change my mind and turn you in.
00:38:36I don't like you.
00:38:38All right, all right.
00:38:38Don't get sore.
00:38:39I'm not getting sore.
00:38:40But just remember who's boss around here.
00:38:42If you shut up and don't give me any arguments,
00:38:44you'll have nothing to worry about.
00:38:45But if you act wise,
00:38:47well, mister, you'll pop into jail so fast
00:38:49it'll give you the bins.
00:38:50I'm not arguing.
00:38:51Well, see that you don't.
00:38:52You know, as crooked as you look,
00:38:53I'd hate to see a fella as young as you
00:38:55wind up sniffing that perfume
00:38:56that Arizona hands out free to murderers.
00:38:58I'm not a murderer.
00:38:59Of course you're not.
00:39:00Haskell knocked his own head off.
00:39:02He fell.
00:39:02That's how it happened.
00:39:03Just like I told you.
00:39:03Sure.
00:39:04And then he made you a present of his belongings.
00:39:05I explained why I had to do that.
00:39:07It doesn't make a difference one way or another.
00:39:09I'm not a mourner.
00:39:10I liked Haskell even less than I like you.
00:39:13Yeah, I saw what you did to him.
00:39:14What do you mean?
00:39:15Well, scratches on his wrist.
00:39:16Sure, I scratched him.
00:39:19I'll say you did.
00:39:21So your idea was to drive the car a little way,
00:39:24maybe into San Bernardino, and then leave it.
00:39:26You weren't going to sell it?
00:39:27Sell it?
00:39:28You think I'm crazy, somebody else's car?
00:39:30See, all I want to do is leave it somewhere
00:39:32and forget I ever saw it.
00:39:33Not only don't you have any scruples,
00:39:35you don't have any brains.
00:39:36I don't get you.
00:39:37Maybe it's a good thing you met me.
00:39:39You'd have got yourself caught sure.
00:39:41Why, you dope.
00:39:42Don't you know a deserted automobile
00:39:43always rates an investigation?
00:39:45Huh?
00:39:47Look, the cops find a car.
00:39:48Then they get curious.
00:39:49They wonder where the owner is.
00:39:51So all right, they don't trace Haskell.
00:39:53They trace you.
00:39:55I never thought of that.
00:39:56The only safe way to get rid of the car
00:39:58is to sell it to a dealer.
00:39:59Get it registered under a new name.
00:40:02Say, stop at the next store.
00:40:03I want to get a bottle and do some shopping
00:40:04before we hit L.A.
00:40:06Okay.
00:40:07As soon as we find a place,
00:40:07I'll drop you off and pick you up later.
00:40:09Nothing doing.
00:40:10You're coming in too.
00:40:11From now on,
00:40:12you and I are like the Siamese twins.
00:40:14Have it your way.
00:40:15I don't get the point.
00:40:16The point is,
00:40:17I don't want you to get lost.
00:40:18I'm not going to beat it
00:40:19if that's what you're afraid of.
00:40:20I'll say you're not.
00:40:21Well, I'm going to see that you sell this car
00:40:23so you don't get caught.
00:40:24Thanks.
00:40:25Of course,
00:40:26your interest wouldn't be financial, would it?
00:40:28You wouldn't want a small percentage of the profits.
00:40:31Well, now that you insist,
00:40:32how can I refuse?
00:40:34A hundred percent will do.
00:40:36Fine.
00:40:36I'm relieved.
00:40:38I thought for a moment
00:40:38you were going to take it all.
00:40:40I don't want to be a hog.
00:40:43A few hours later,
00:40:44we were in Hollywood.
00:40:46I was recognizing places
00:40:47Sue had written about.
00:40:49It struck me that
00:40:50far from being at the end of the trip,
00:40:52there was a greater distance
00:40:53between Sue and me
00:40:54than when I started out.
00:40:56Vera wasn't kidding
00:40:57with that Siamese twins crack.
00:40:59She rented a little apartment
00:41:01as Mrs. Charles Haskell.
00:41:04When I objected to this,
00:41:05she explained
00:41:05that it was on account of the car.
00:41:07A dealer might think
00:41:08something was funny
00:41:09if he called in front
00:41:10and were using different names.
00:41:16Home, sweet home.
00:41:18Yeah.
00:41:19Not bad, either.
00:41:28In case there's any doubt
00:41:29in your mind,
00:41:30I'll take the bedroom.
00:41:31Yeah.
00:41:33Sure is stuffy in here.
00:41:43Keep the window shut.
00:41:44Okay.
00:41:46The old crow downstairs
00:41:48said there's a folding bed
00:41:49behind this door.
00:41:56You know how to work it?
00:42:01I invented it.
00:42:06Some joint.
00:42:07One can't have everything.
00:42:13I'm first in the bathtub.
00:42:16I don't know why,
00:42:17but I figured you would be.
00:42:29Boy, oh boy.
00:42:30It sure feels good
00:42:31to be clean again.
00:42:33I must be ten pounds lighter.
00:42:36You must be.
00:42:39Well, Hitch and Rides
00:42:40isn't exactly the way
00:42:40you keep your school girl complexion.
00:42:46I wish that guy
00:42:47with the sacks
00:42:48would give up.
00:42:50It gets on my nerves.
00:42:53Forget it.
00:42:57Have a drink.
00:42:59Aren't you afraid
00:43:00I might take you up on it?
00:43:03I didn't want to give you a drink
00:43:04I wouldn't have offered it.
00:43:06Why be a sorehead, Roberts?
00:43:08You got yourself
00:43:09into this thing.
00:43:11You should be grateful
00:43:12I'm not turning you in.
00:43:13Why, if I wasn't regular,
00:43:15you'd be in the pen this minute
00:43:16being photographed,
00:43:17finger printed,
00:43:17and being pushed around
00:43:18by the cops.
00:43:20So cheer up.
00:43:21Get rid of that long puss.
00:43:24Or is your conscience
00:43:26bothering you?
00:43:31No.
00:43:33It isn't.
00:43:34Swell.
00:43:35That's the spirit.
00:43:38He's dead,
00:43:38I didn't know.
00:43:39A moment around
00:43:39I'll bring him back.
00:43:44Anyway,
00:43:44I never could understand
00:43:45this worrying about
00:43:46something that's over
00:43:47and done with.
00:43:47Now look, Vera,
00:43:48for the last time
00:43:48I didn't kill him.
00:43:49Haskell was a sick man.
00:43:51Maybe he was dead
00:43:51before he fell out of the car.
00:43:52I don't know.
00:43:53Sure, sure.
00:43:54He died of old age.
00:43:56All right.
00:43:58So if it'll make you sociable,
00:44:01you didn't kill him.
00:44:13Thanks.
00:44:25We're out of liquor, Roberts.
00:44:27Yeah.
00:44:28Too bad.
00:44:30I felt like getting tight tonight.
00:44:32Well, I think he succeeded.
00:44:34Am I tight?
00:44:35As a prima donna's corset.
00:44:37That's good.
00:44:38I wanted to get tight.
00:44:40Why?
00:44:41What have you got to get tight about?
00:44:43Oh, I don't know.
00:44:45A few things.
00:44:49You should have my worries.
00:44:51If I had your troubles,
00:44:52I'd stay sober.
00:44:53And I've got the key to that door.
00:44:58Yeah.
00:45:00Maybe you're right.
00:45:01I'm always right.
00:45:04You know,
00:45:05I don't like your attitude, Roberts.
00:45:07Well, there's a lot of things
00:45:08I don't like.
00:45:10Sure.
00:45:13But life's like a ball game.
00:45:16You've got to take a swing
00:45:17at whatever comes along
00:45:18before you wake up
00:45:19and find it's the ninth inning.
00:45:21You read that somewhere?
00:45:22That's a true, Roberts.
00:45:23All you do is bellyache.
00:45:25Taking it easy
00:45:26and we're trying to make
00:45:28the better things.
00:45:30Maybe that's what's wrong
00:45:31with the whole world.
00:45:32Get the professor.
00:45:34People knock themselves out
00:45:35trying to buck fate.
00:45:37Now, take you, for instance.
00:45:38You're lucky to be alive.
00:45:40Why, suppose Haskell
00:45:41would put up in your door.
00:45:42You'd be playing a harp now.
00:45:44Think of that.
00:45:46You think of it.
00:45:48I'm tired of thinking.
00:45:50There's plenty of people
00:45:51dying this minute.
00:45:53I would give anything
00:45:54to trade places with you.
00:45:57I know what I'm talking about.
00:46:00I'm not so sure.
00:46:01At least they know
00:46:03they're done for.
00:46:04They don't have to sweat blood
00:46:05wondering if they are.
00:46:08Your philosophy stinks, pal.
00:46:09Well, we all know
00:46:12we're going to kick off someday.
00:46:13It's only a question of when.
00:46:17But what got us
00:46:18on this subject anyway?
00:46:19We'll be discussing
00:46:20politics next.
00:46:22Yeah.
00:46:25Where'd you hide the butts?
00:46:27On the table, sucker.
00:46:36We bored each other
00:46:37with conversation
00:46:38for a couple of hours longer.
00:46:40Every five minutes,
00:46:41one of us was wishing
00:46:42we had another bottle
00:46:43or a radio
00:46:44or something to read.
00:46:47Then finally,
00:46:47we ran out of chat.
00:46:49I know it's only 11 o'clock,
00:46:51but I want to get up early
00:46:51and make the rounds
00:46:52of the used car lots.
00:46:53No worry about that.
00:46:55We've got all the time
00:46:55in the world.
00:46:56Maybe you have,
00:46:57but if you think
00:46:57I want to stay cooped up
00:46:58in this place any longer
00:46:59than I have to,
00:46:59you're batting.
00:47:00It's not a bad place.
00:47:01They pay plenty
00:47:02for diggings like this
00:47:03in New York.
00:47:03I wouldn't like it
00:47:04if it was the Ritz.
00:47:10What?
00:47:10Liquor?
00:47:11You got a mean cough.
00:47:12I want to do something
00:47:13about it.
00:47:14I'll be all right.
00:47:15That's what Camille said.
00:47:17Who?
00:47:19Nobody you know.
00:47:24Wasn't that the day
00:47:25that died of consumption?
00:47:26Yeah.
00:47:28Wouldn't it be a break
00:47:28for you if I did kick off?
00:47:30You'd be free
00:47:31with all Haskell's dough
00:47:32and car.
00:47:33I don't want to see
00:47:34anybody die.
00:47:36Not even me.
00:47:38Especially not you.
00:47:39One person died of me.
00:47:41If you did,
00:47:42well,
00:47:43that's all I need.
00:47:45You don't like me,
00:47:46do you, Roberts?
00:47:49I like you.
00:47:51I love you.
00:47:54My favorite sport
00:47:55is being kept prisoner.
00:47:57After we sell the car,
00:47:58you can go to Blazers
00:47:59for all I care.
00:47:59But not until then.
00:48:08I'm going to bed.
00:48:18Good night, Roberts.
00:48:19Don't try and sneak away
00:48:20during the night.
00:48:21All the doors are locked.
00:48:22Anyway,
00:48:23if I find you gone
00:48:24in the morning,
00:48:24I'll notify the police.
00:48:26They'll pick you up.
00:48:27Don't worry.
00:48:27I know when I'm in a spot.
00:48:30Well, good night.
00:48:31I hope that portable rack
00:48:32isn't too uncomfortable
00:48:33for you.
00:48:34Don't lose any sleepover,
00:48:35will you, Bert?
00:48:44Come on.
00:48:48Bye Bigfoot.
00:48:50Bye Bigfoot.
00:48:52Bye Bigfoot.
00:48:55Bye.
00:49:02Bye Bigfoot.
00:49:05One, two, three, six, five, seven, two, three.
00:49:26Hello?
00:49:28Hello?
00:49:30Hello?
00:49:32Hello?
00:49:33Hello?
00:49:41No.
00:49:43Not yet, darling.
00:49:46Tomorrow.
00:49:48Maybe.
00:49:53If this were fiction, I would fall in love with Vera, marry her and make a respectable woman of her,
00:49:58or else she'd make some supreme class A sacrifice for me and die.
00:50:03Sue and I would bawl a little over her grave and make some crack about there's good in all of
00:50:08us.
00:50:09But Vera, unfortunately, was just as rotten in the morning as she'd been the night before.
00:50:16All right, all right, I'm coming.
00:50:18Look, Vera, it's almost noon.
00:50:21So what? The dealers will be there all day?
00:50:24They'll be there all year, too, but they don't have to wait that long.
00:50:26Shut up. You make us like a husband.
00:50:31Well, do I rate a whistle?
00:50:33You sure do, but let's go.
00:50:35Let's go, let's go. I spend 85 bucks and two hours preparing bait and all you can say is let's
00:50:39go.
00:50:42Come on.
00:50:48We've had a few used car lots last night down this way.
00:50:50What do you think we can get for this heap?
00:50:52I don't know. Plenty. He's let me handle everything.
00:50:56Think we can get $2,000?
00:50:57I don't know, but don't worry. I'll squeeze as much out of this guy as I can.
00:51:01If I let it go cheap without a fight, he might think we've stolen the car.
00:51:04And listen, don't make any slips and call me Roberts. That'll cook us.
00:51:09I don't need you to tell me that.
00:51:11You better just sit by and keep your mouth closed.
00:51:13Remember, we're both in the soup if anything happens.
00:51:15Forget it and drive.
00:51:17You're my wife, Vera Haskell.
00:51:20Look, after the deal's closed, let's go back to that place on Hollywood Boulevard where I saw the fur jacket.
00:51:25I want to buy it.
00:51:26After the deal's closed, I'm saying goodbye to you.
00:51:29That's right, I forgot.
00:51:31I guess I'm getting kind of used to you.
00:51:34Well, that's a habit you can start breaking.
00:51:36Let's try this place in the middle of the block.
00:51:45Good afternoon. What can I do for you?
00:51:46We're interested in selling a car.
00:51:48If the price is right.
00:51:52Well, if it's in good mechanical condition, it should blue book for about $1,600.
00:51:57Tony, take a look at this motor.
00:51:59$1,600. Are you kidding?
00:52:13Well, maybe $1,600.
00:52:14Before I let it go for $1,600.
00:52:16Before I let it go for $1,600.
00:52:16Before I let it go for $1,600, I'll wreck it and collect the insurance first.
00:52:22Hey, this motor's seen a lot of driving.
00:52:31Well, the mechanic inspected the car, we haggled.
00:52:35At last, when we were all worn out, we hit a compromise.
00:52:38His price.
00:52:43Okay, it's a deal.
00:52:44All right, come on, we'll sign the papers.
00:52:46I have the ownership papers right here with me.
00:52:48Look, Vera, in the meantime, will you clean a dashed compartment?
00:52:50There may be some stuff in it.
00:52:52All right, darling.
00:52:56$1,850.
00:52:57That dirty cro...
00:53:06In New York, huh?
00:53:08Yeah.
00:53:08But you bought the car in Miami.
00:53:10Yeah.
00:53:12Well, let's see about the insurance.
00:53:13We can either have it transferred or canceled.
00:53:15Uh, what kind of insurance do you have, Mr. Haskell?
00:53:19Well, uh, aren't all the papers there?
00:53:24I don't see any.
00:53:26Surely you know what type of insurance you carry in the car.
00:53:29The name of the company?
00:53:31Yeah, but, uh...
00:53:33Well, if you'll just tell me the name of the company, I'd be very glad to take care of all
00:53:35the details.
00:53:37Well...
00:53:37Did you sign the papers yet?
00:53:39Not yet.
00:53:39Well, don't.
00:53:40We're not selling the car.
00:53:42Well, wait a minute, Mrs. Haskell.
00:53:43Come on, darling.
00:53:43What's the matter?
00:53:44Did you change your mind?
00:53:45Yes, I'm sorry.
00:53:46I guess I have.
00:53:47But, Vera...
00:53:47Let's go.
00:53:54You got me out of a tight spot, Vera.
00:53:56But I still don't understand all this.
00:53:58You will in a minute.
00:53:59I almost threw away a gold mine.
00:54:011850 isn't to be sneezed at.
00:54:03The car doesn't book for as much as I thought.
00:54:05We're not selling the car.
00:54:06You want to keep it.
00:54:07Now, wait a minute, Vera.
00:54:08You said yourself I wouldn't be safe until the car was in someone else's name.
00:54:12I'd like to be free of this mess when I go.
00:54:13That's just it, Roberts.
00:54:14You're not going.
00:54:17There's a drive-in at the next corner.
00:54:18Pull in there and we'll get a bite to eat.
00:54:20And I'll explain.
00:54:21What is this?
00:54:22Another one of your brilliant ideas?
00:54:30Hello.
00:54:30May I take your order?
00:54:31Make mine a ham sandwich and coffee.
00:54:33And for you, sir?
00:54:34Oh, I don't care.
00:54:34The same.
00:54:43Get this, Vera.
00:54:44I've been pretty patient so far.
00:54:46I've done everything you asked me to do, but no more.
00:54:48Shut up.
00:54:49You've taken Haskell's money.
00:54:50And you can have the door we get from selling the car.
00:54:52But you're not going to keep me a prisoner.
00:54:54It's a good thing I bought the paper.
00:54:55Take a look at that.
00:54:56Vera, I'm in no mood.
00:54:57Read that.
00:55:08No.
00:55:09Yes.
00:55:10No, I won't do it.
00:55:11Yes, you will.
00:55:12You think I'm crazy?
00:55:13It's impossible, I tell you.
00:55:15Excuse me.
00:55:21Blow the horn when you're through.
00:55:26No one could possibly get away with an act like that.
00:55:28It would be wise to me in a minute.
00:55:30Don't be, Yella.
00:55:31You look enough like him.
00:55:32The same coloring and the same build.
00:55:33See how his clothes fit you?
00:55:35No kidding.
00:55:36You almost had me fooled for a while.
00:55:37Oh, grow up, Vera.
00:55:38Don't you think a father knows his own son?
00:55:40And there must be other relatives.
00:55:41So father won't have to know you.
00:55:43We'll wait till he gives up the ghost.
00:55:44He's an old geezer and he won't pull through.
00:55:46And as far as other relatives are concerned,
00:55:48they haven't seen you in 15 or 20 years.
00:55:52Eat.
00:55:52I'm not hungry.
00:55:54And I won't do it.
00:55:55It's not as tough as it sounds.
00:55:57Remember, you've got all kinds of identification.
00:55:59His car, letters, license...
00:56:00I could never get away with it.
00:56:01It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
00:56:03The old boy has scads of dough.
00:56:05Look in the paper there.
00:56:06Personal fortune assessed at over 15 million.
00:56:08He'll leave plenty, I tell you.
00:56:10Maybe he cut off his son.
00:56:11How do we know?
00:56:12It's out, Vera.
00:56:13I won't have anything to do with it.
00:56:15I think you will.
00:56:18Look, Vera.
00:56:18I'll do anything within reason.
00:56:20But not that.
00:56:21So forget it.
00:56:22Find yourself another stooge.
00:56:24You sack.
00:56:25You'll be fixed for the rest of your life as Charlie Haskell.
00:56:28You can take your inheritance and go away.
00:56:30No more worrying about the rent.
00:56:31No sweating, scheming, wondering where your next meal's coming from.
00:56:33Think about that, Roberts.
00:56:34Vera.
00:56:35Please, you're talking too loud.
00:56:37Unless I'm splitting 50-50 with you.
00:56:39Sure, why not?
00:56:40We're both alike.
00:56:41Both born in the same gutter.
00:56:42Take it easy, Vera.
00:56:43There's people around here.
00:56:44You don't know where you're talking.
00:56:46Well, wait till we read that old man Haskell's dead.
00:56:49And you show up.
00:56:50Like you read in New York that he was sick.
00:56:53No.
00:56:54I suppose he doesn't die.
00:56:55He will.
00:56:56I know he will.
00:56:57Something tells me.
00:57:00But as much as I insisted I would have no part of her scheme,
00:57:03Vera was taking it for granted I would.
00:57:07Neither of us had our mind on the cards as we played that night.
00:57:11I knew we were just trying to kill time between newspaper editions.
00:57:15This was a death watch for Vera.
00:57:18Maybe it was for me too.
00:57:20Don't you realize if I'm caught,
00:57:21they'll want to know where I got the car and stuff.
00:57:23And they'll have me on a murder charge.
00:57:24If you're smart, you won't get caught.
00:57:26I knock with seven.
00:57:28And if I'm caught, don't you realize you'll be out too?
00:57:3118 points.
00:57:32That gives me 30.
00:57:35How will I be out?
00:57:36You'll be out.
00:57:37$1,850 we would have gotten on the car.
00:57:39Really, Vera, you'd be an awful chump.
00:57:40He threw away all that dough in a dizzy long shot.
00:57:42Let me sell the bus tomorrow.
00:57:44With the money it'll bring and what you've already got,
00:57:45a clever kid like you can run it up in no time.
00:57:47Then we'd both be in the clear.
00:57:48I'll be in the clear anyway.
00:57:50Maybe.
00:57:51Maybe.
00:57:52But if I got caught,
00:57:54I'd get good and sort you, you know.
00:57:56You mean you'd squeal?
00:57:57Well, no, not squeal exactly.
00:57:58Never mind what you meant.
00:58:01Even if you did tell the cops I was in on it with you,
00:58:04what could they do to me?
00:58:06They might give me the same medicine they gave you.
00:58:08Yeah.
00:58:09A rope.
00:58:13But I'm on my way anyhow.
00:58:16All they'll be doing will be rushing it.
00:58:19All right.
00:58:20But think of the $1,850 you'd lose.
00:58:21You'd kick yourself along the block and let it get away from you.
00:58:24I'll take the chance.
00:58:26Want another drink?
00:58:27You're being a goon.
00:58:28That's the way people wind up behind the eight ball.
00:58:30Once they get a few dollars they become greedy and want more.
00:58:33My, my.
00:58:34Caesar.
00:58:35Who?
00:58:35You know that Roman general?
00:58:37He got his for being greedy.
00:58:38He wasn't satisfied so the final wind up was he took the count.
00:58:41A couple of days ago you didn't have a dime.
00:58:44Why you were so broke you couldn't pay cash for a post stamp.
00:58:46Now you've got almost $700 with $1850 in the offing.
00:58:50Take my advice.
00:58:51Don't try for more.
00:58:51I'm tired of this game.
00:58:53Let's have some blackjack.
00:58:54Play solitaire.
00:58:55Okay I will if that's the way you feel about it.
00:58:57That's the way I feel about it.
00:58:58Getting sore and throwing things won't help much Roberts.
00:59:00I'm really doing you a favor.
00:59:01I help you out of a jam by keeping my mouth shut.
00:59:03I show you how to make some soft money.
00:59:05And what thanks do I get?
00:59:07Thanks.
00:59:07Sure.
00:59:08I would rather I call the cops and told them you killed the man and stole his money.
00:59:10I didn't tell anybody.
00:59:11Yes you did.
00:59:11No I didn't.
00:59:11You know I didn't.
00:59:13All right then.
00:59:17Suppose I call the cops.
00:59:19If you're innocent what do you got to be scared of?
00:59:21Okay.
00:59:22Call them you mutt.
00:59:23Go ahead and call them see if I care.
00:59:25At least they'll give me a square deal.
00:59:27You want me to call them?
00:59:28You heard me.
00:59:29But I'm warning you.
00:59:30If I'm pinched I'll swear you were in on it.
00:59:32I'll say that you helped me.
00:59:33If I fry I'll get even with you.
00:59:35You wouldn't dare you did.
00:59:37Yeah?
00:59:38Then try it and see.
00:59:40Call them.
00:59:41Yeah.
00:59:42Okay I will.
00:59:58Okay.
01:00:03Okay.
01:00:04I got it.
01:00:04Thanks.
01:00:08Wait a minute Vera.
01:00:09You wouldn't do that.
01:00:09I wouldn't do that.
01:00:10I'll show you if I would.
01:00:11Take it easy now.
01:00:12Let's talk this over.
01:00:13This was early in the evening and the conversation while hectic was at least pitched low.
01:00:19But as the minutes passed and more obstacles to her plan popped into my head the air got
01:00:25blue.
01:00:26Each word coming from our lips cracked like a whip.
01:00:29I reminded her that as Charles Haskell I didn't even know my mother's name.
01:00:33Where I'd gone to school.
01:00:35The name of my best friend.
01:00:37Whether I had an Aunt Emma or not.
01:00:39My religion.
01:00:40And if I'd ever owned a dog.
01:00:42I didn't even know what my middle initial stood for.
01:00:45I also pointed out that the real Haskell had a scar on his forearm.
01:00:49His people never saw that scar.
01:00:51He told me he ran away right after putting out the kid's eye.
01:00:53Yeah but his father knew he was cut.
01:00:54It had to be some kind of a mark.
01:00:56So what?
01:00:58The old man's dead or will be.
01:01:00I hope by tomorrow morning's papers.
01:01:02Anyway.
01:01:03You could cut yourself a little couldn't you?
01:01:06Boy for that kind of dough I'd let you cut my leg off.
01:01:10You're drunk and you're crazy mad Vera.
01:01:11Turn me in if you want to.
01:01:12But I won't get mixed up in this.
01:01:14Besides how do we know Haskell was such a phony.
01:01:16Maybe he wasn't the man's son at all.
01:01:17Maybe he just dreamed it up.
01:01:18Well dream it or not.
01:01:19You won't be dreaming when the law attacks you on the shoulder.
01:01:23There's a cute little gas chamber waiting for you.
01:01:26Roberts.
01:01:27And I hear extradition to Arizona's Ascension.
01:01:31Where's that phone?
01:01:33Vera.
01:01:33Leave me alone.
01:01:34Vera.
01:01:35I want a phone call police.
01:01:38I hate you.
01:01:40You stinker you.
01:01:41Leave me alone.
01:01:42I'll let you alone when you promise to leave the phone where it is.
01:01:45You're drunk you don't know what you're doing.
01:01:46You're hurting me.
01:01:47Will you promise?
01:01:48All right.
01:01:55You hurt me.
01:01:56I'm sorry but.
01:01:58And it's hot in here.
01:01:59Open up the window.
01:02:00It's not hot.
01:02:01Don't tell me.
01:02:02Now do you do it or do I do it.
01:02:05You're no gentleman see.
01:02:07Yeah.
01:02:09All right.
01:02:09I'll open up the window.
01:02:14Vera.
01:02:20Vera open the door.
01:02:21Please open the door.
01:02:22Vera open the door.
01:02:23Don't use the phone.
01:02:24Listen to me.
01:02:25I don't like you Roberts.
01:02:26You're no gentleman see.
01:02:28You hurt my hand.
01:02:30And I'm going to get even with you.
01:02:33If you don't open the door I'm going to kick it down Vera.
01:02:36Vera don't call the cops.
01:02:37Listen to me.
01:02:38I'll do anything you say.
01:02:39Vera let me in.
01:02:42I'll break the phone.
01:02:54I'll break the phone.
01:03:22The world is full of skeptics.
01:03:24I know.
01:03:26I'm one myself.
01:03:28In the Haskell business how many of you would believe he fell out of the car.
01:03:31And now after killing Vera without really meaning to do it.
01:03:33How many of you would believe it wasn't premeditated.
01:03:37In a jury room.
01:03:39Every last man of you would go down shouting that she had me over a barrel and my only out
01:03:42was force.
01:03:45The room was still.
01:03:48So quiet that for a while I wondered if I had suddenly gone deaf.
01:03:52It was pure fear of course.
01:03:53And I was hysterical.
01:03:56But without making a sound.
01:03:59Vera was dead.
01:04:00And I was her murderer.
01:04:03Murderer.
01:04:04What an awful word that is.
01:04:06But I'd become one.
01:04:07I'd better not get caught.
01:04:09What evidence there was around the place had to be destroyed.
01:04:12And from the looks of things there was plenty.
01:04:14Looking around the room at things we'd bought was like looking into the faces of a hundred people who'd seen
01:04:18us together and who remembered me.
01:04:20This was the kind of testimony I couldn't rub out.
01:04:24No.
01:04:25I could burn clothes and hide bottles for the next five years.
01:04:29There'd always be witnesses.
01:04:30The landlady for one.
01:04:31She could identify me.
01:04:32The car dealer.
01:04:33The waitress in the drive-in.
01:04:34The girl in the dress shop.
01:04:34And that guy in the liquor store.
01:04:36They could all identify me.
01:04:39I was cooked.
01:04:41Done for.
01:04:42I had to get out of there.
01:04:44While once I'd remained beside a dead body.
01:04:47Planning carefully how to avoid being accused of killing him.
01:04:50This time I couldn't.
01:04:52This time I was guilty.
01:04:55I knew it.
01:04:56Felt it.
01:04:58I was like a guy suffering from shock.
01:05:00Things were whirling around in my head.
01:05:02I couldn't make myself think right.
01:05:05All I could think of was the guy with the saxophone and what he was playing.
01:05:09It wasn't a love song anymore.
01:05:11It was a dirge.
01:06:01But my problems weren't solved.
01:06:04I had to stay away from New York for all time.
01:06:07Because Al Roberts was listed as dead and had to stay dead.
01:06:11And I could never go back to Hollywood.
01:06:14Someone might recognize me as Haskell.
01:06:17Then too, there was Sue.
01:06:22I could never go to her with a thing like this hanging over my head.
01:06:26All I could do was pray she'd be happy.
01:06:40I was in Bakersfield before I read that Vera's body was discovered.
01:06:45That the police were looking for Haskell in connection with his wife's murder.
01:06:50Isn't that a laugh?
01:06:52Haskell got me into this mess.
01:06:54And Haskell was getting me out of it.
01:06:56The police were searching for a dead man.
01:07:02I keep trying to forget what happened.
01:07:05And wonder what my life might have been if that car of Haskell's hadn't stopped.
01:07:12But one thing I don't have to wonder about.
01:07:15I know.
01:07:18Someday a car will stop to pick me up that I never thumbed.
01:07:26Yes.
01:07:28Fate.
01:07:29Or some mysterious force.
01:07:31Can put the finger on you or me.
01:07:34For no good reason at all.
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