Detour (1945) - Full Movie - Film Noir - Drama
Transcript
00:00:30♪♪
00:00:44♪♪
00:01:09♪♪
00:01:24Well, here we are. I'd turn down here at the next block.
00:01:27Thanks, mister. I'll get off there.
00:01:30♪♪
00:01:36Want anything else?
00:01:38No.
00:01:39Hey, you.
00:01:43Me?
00:01:44Yeah, you.
00:01:45Where you heading?
00:01:47East.
00:01:48You're dead.
00:01:50I thought if you was heading north, I might be able to help you out.
00:01:53I'm pushing the Salt Lake and I don't like to ride it alone at night.
00:01:56I'm one of those guys who's got to talk or I fall asleep.
00:01:59Oh, sure, you might.
00:02:00Pardon me, he's got Lou to keep company, but I ain't got nobody at all.
00:02:04Where you coming from?
00:02:06West.
00:02:07Yeah, sure, I know, but where, L.A.?
00:02:09Maybe.
00:02:10I got a cousin out in L.A.
00:02:12You don't say.
00:02:13Yeah, he's been out...
00:02:15You're not much of a talker, are you?
00:02:17My mother taught me never to speak to strangers.
00:02:19Oh, a wise guy.
00:02:20So what?
00:02:21Okay, okay, don't get so off.
00:02:23He's trying to be sociable, that's all.
00:02:26Hey, Glamorous.
00:02:27Get changed for a dime, will you?
00:02:37Let's have something quieter this time, Joe.
00:02:39My head's splitting.
00:02:40Is that what's wrong with it?
00:02:44Done with your coffee?
00:02:46No.
00:02:47And don't rush me, will you?
00:02:56Hey, turn that off.
00:02:57Will you turn that thing off?
00:02:58What's eating you now?
00:02:59Yeah, what's eating you?
00:03:00That music, it stinks.
00:03:01Oh, you don't like it, huh?
00:03:02No, turn it off.
00:03:03Now, wait a minute, pal.
00:03:04That was my nickel, see?
00:03:06This is a free country.
00:03:07And I play whatever I wanted.
00:03:11Sure, and if you don't like it,
00:03:12you don't have to listen to it.
00:03:13And you can leave here anytime you want to.
00:03:15Okay, okay, I'm sorry I asked.
00:03:17First good piece played tonight,
00:03:18and you don't like it.
00:03:19Some 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?
00:03:42Following me around, beating in my head,
00:03:43never letting up.
00:03:49Did you ever want to forget anything?
00:03:51Did you ever want to cut away
00:03:52a piece of your memory or blot it out?
00:03:54You can't, you know.
00:03:56No matter how hard you try.
00:03:58You can change the scenery.
00:04:00But sooner or later,
00:04:01you'll get a whiff of perfume
00:04:02or somebody will say a certain phrase
00:04:03or maybe hum something.
00:04:05Then you're licked again.
00:04:09I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:04:11I used to love that song once.
00:04:13So did the customers
00:04:14back in the old break at dawn club in New York.
00:04:17I can't remember a night
00:04:18when I didn't get at least three requests for it.
00:04:21Sue, she was always selling it too.
00:04:24Those were the days.
00:04:35Your eyes are blue, your kisses too.
00:04:38I never knew what they could do.
00:04:41I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:04:47You're telling everyone
00:04:50that you're in love with me.
00:04:53I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:04:56I used to love that song once.
00:04:59So did the customers
00:05:01back in the old break at dawn club in New York.
00:05:04You'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.
00:05:15I have always placed you far above me.
00:05:21I just can't imagine that you love me.
00:05:27And 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.
00:05:45It 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.
00:05:56I parted the piano in there every night from eight
00:05:58until the place closed up.
00:06:00Which usually meant four in the morning.
00:06:02A good job as jobs went in those days.
00:06:08Then too there was Sue
00:06:11who made working there a little like working in heaven.
00:06:14But how we felt about each other
00:06:16well there was nothing very unusual in that.
00:06:19I was an ordinary healthy guy
00:06:21and she was an ordinary healthy girl
00:06:23and when you add those two together
00:06:25you get an ordinary healthy romance
00:06:27which is the old story.
00:06:30Somehow the most wonderful thing in the world.
00:06:41All in all I was a pretty lucky guy.
00:06:56Mr. Paderewski I presume.
00:06:58It's beautiful.
00:06:59Are you going to make Carnegie Hall yet Al?
00:07:01Yeah.
00:07:02As a janitor.
00:07:03I'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.
00:07:09Why someday.
00:07:10Yeah someday.
00:07:11If I don't get arthritis first.
00:07:13In the meantime let's blow this trap.
00:07:29Would you like to get something to eat hon?
00:07:31Oh I don't think so Al.
00:07:32I lose my appetite working in this flea bag.
00:07:35Let's go home.
00:07:36Okay.
00:07:38I can't stand much more of that dump.
00:07:40Did you see that drunk tonight
00:07:42trying to paw me?
00:07:43No what drunk?
00:07:44Does it matter what drunk?
00:07:47Say what's the matter with you tonight darling?
00:07:49That's the third time you start to tell me something
00:07:51and then stop.
00:07:52You shouldn't have been drunk.
00:07:54I'm not drunk.
00:07:55I'm not drunk.
00:07:56I'm not drunk.
00:07:57Al.
00:07:58We shouldn't have any secrets from each other Sue.
00:08:00Next week we're going to make with a ring and a 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.
00:08:10That's a funny way to talk darling.
00:08:12Don't you want to marry me?
00:08:13Al look I love you.
00:08:14You know I do and I want to marry you.
00:08:17But?
00:08:18But not now.
00:08:19Only after we've made good.
00:08:22Sunday I'm going away.
00:08:24Oh 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.
00:08:33That's the most stupid thing I ever heard of.
00:08:35Don't you know millions of people go out there every year
00:08:37and wind up polishing cuspid doors?
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.
00:08:43I'll make out alright.
00:08:44Maybe.
00:08:45But what about me?
00:08:46Doesn't it mean anything to you
00:08:47that you're busting up all our plans?
00:08:49We may not see each other for years.
00:08:50It won't be that long.
00:08:52I thought you loved me.
00:08:54I do.
00:08:55You know I do.
00:08:58Well.
00:09:00Here we are.
00:09:03Al.
00:09:05Al, 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.
00:09:15Really, darling.
00:09:16What I'm doing is the only sane thing to do.
00:09:21I hate the thought of being so far away from you.
00:09:25But we'll be together again someday.
00:09:28Maybe you'll decide to come out too later on.
00:09:31So long.
00:09:33Al.
00:09:34Aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?
00:09:37Sure.
00:09:38Why not?
00:09:41Goodnight.
00:09:55Al.
00:09:56Al.
00:09:57Al.
00:09:58Al.
00:09:59Al.
00:10:00Al.
00:10:01Al.
00:10:02Al.
00:10:03Al.
00:10:04Al.
00:10:05Al.
00:10:06Al.
00:10:07Al.
00:10:08Al.
00:10:09Al.
00:10:10Al.
00:10:11Al.
00:10:12Al.
00:10:13Al.
00:10:14Al.
00:10:15Al.
00:10:16Al.
00:10:17Al.
00:10:18Al.
00:10:19Al.
00:10:20Al.
00:10:21Al.
00:10:22Al.
00:10:23Al.
00:10:24Al.
00:10:25Al.
00:10:26Al.
00:10:27Al.
00:10:28Al.
00:10:29Al.
00:10:30Al.
00:10:31Al.
00:10:32Al.
00:10:33Al.
00:10:34Al.
00:10:35Al.
00:10:36Al.
00:10:37Al.
00:10:38Al.
00:10:39Al.
00:10:40Al.
00:10:41Al.
00:10:42Al.
00:10:43Al.
00:10:44Al.
00:10:45Al.
00:10:46Al.
00:10:47Al.
00:10:48Al.
00:10:49Al.
00:10:50Al.
00:10:51Al.
00:10:52Al.
00:10:53Al.
00:10:54Al.
00:10:55Al.
00:10:56Al.
00:10:57Al.
00:10:58Al.
00:10:59Al.
00:11:00Al.
00:11:01Al.
00:11:02Al.
00:11:03Al.
00:11:04Al.
00:11:05Al.
00:11:06Al.
00:11:07Al.
00:11:08Al.
00:11:09Al.
00:11:10Al.
00:11:11Al.
00:11:12Al.
00:11:13Al.
00:11:14Al.
00:11:15Al.
00:11:16Al.
00:11:17Al.
00:11:18Al.
00:11:19Al.
00:11:20Al.
00:11:21Al.
00:11:23That Rocks!
00:11:27Say, Robert.
00:11:28You hit the jackpot this time.
00:11:3110 bucks.
00:11:32Thanks.
00:11:39So when this drunk handed me a tent spot after a request...
00:11:42I couldn't get very excited.
00:11:43What was it, I asked myself?
00:11:44Piece of paper crawling with germs.
00:11:47Couldn't buy anything I wanted.
00:11:49It couldn't...
00:11:52Then I thought of something.
00:12:17Long distance. I'd like to put a call through to Los Angeles.
00:12:21Miss Harvey. Sue Harvey. H-A-R-V-E-Y.
00:12:25The number is Crestview 65723.
00:12:5175...
00:12:57Hello, Sue? This is Al.
00:13:00Oh, baby, it's great to hear from you, too.
00:13:02What's that? You do? Oh, me too, darling.
00:13:05I thought I'd go batty without you. I just had to...
00:13:08Huh?
00:13:10You're working as a hashlinger?
00:13:12Gee, honey, that's tough.
00:13:14Those guys out in Hollywood don't know the real thing when it's right in front of them.
00:13:17You just stick it out, Sue, baby.
00:13:19Keep going around to those casting offices. I'm sure you'll click.
00:13:23Look, I'll tell you what. You stay put out there. I'll come to you.
00:13:26No, don't try to stop me. Just expect me.
00:13:28Train? Who knows? Train, plane, bus, magic carpet.
00:13:32I'll be there if I have to crawl, if I have to travel by pogo stick.
00:13:35And 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.
00:13:45Well, goodbye for now.
00:13:49I'll be seeing you soon.
00:13:52Yeah.
00:13:54Bye.
00:14:00The only way I could cross country was to thumb rides.
00:14:03For even after hocking everything, I only had enough money to eat.
00:14:07Money. You know what that is.
00:14:10It's the stuff you never have enough of.
00:14:12Little green things with George Washington's picture that men slave for,
00:14:16commit crimes for, die for.
00:14:19It's the stuff that has caused more trouble in the world than anything else we ever invented.
00:14:23Simply because there's too little of it.
00:14:26At least I had too little of it.
00:14:28So it was me for the thumb.
00:14:46Ever done any hitchhiking?
00:14:49It's not much fun, believe me.
00:14:51Oh yeah, I know all about how it's an education, how you get to meet a lot of people and all that.
00:14:56But me?
00:14:58From now on, I'll take my education in college, or in PS62,
00:15:02or I'll send a dollar ninety-eight in stamps for ten easy lessons.
00:15:06Thumbing rides may save your bus fare, but it's dangerous.
00:15:11You never know what's in store for you when you hear the squeal of brakes.
00:15:16If only I had known what I was getting into that day in Arizona.
00:15:22Here, throw that in the back seat.
00:15:26Okay, let's go. Make sure that door is closed.
00:15:29You know, Emily Post taught her how to write a book of rules for guys thumbing rides.
00:15:33Because as it is now, you never know what's right and what's wrong.
00:15:37He wrote her a book of the rules, but the book was not the only thing she had.
00:15:42There was a book about it, too.
00:15:45The Bible.
00:15:47The Bible was too much for her.
00:15:50Maybe she had to read it again.
00:15:53I'm sure she didn't.
00:15:56I never know what's right and what's wrong.
00:15:59We rode along for a little while,
00:16:00neither one of us saying anything.
00:16:03I was glad of that.
00:16:05I never know what to say to strange people driving cars.
00:16:08And two, you can never tell if a guy wants to talk.
00:16:12A 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.
00:16:21Hand me that little box that can pop it, will you, pal?
00:16:26Hold the wheel, will you?
00:16:39How far are you going?
00:16:40L.A.
00:16:41Wow, you're really traveling, aren't you?
00:16:44Yeah, 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?
00:16:49Sure, all bad.
00:16:50Not many people stop for a guy these days.
00:16:53Afraid of a stick-up, maybe.
00:16:54Well, you can't blame them.
00:16:56Where are you coming from?
00:16:57New York.
00:16:59Well, New York.
00:17:01You're in luck this time.
00:17:02I'm going all the way, right through to Los Angeles.
00:17:07Can you drive a car?
00:17:08Sure.
00:17:09Whenever you're tired, let me know.
00:17:11I'll holler.
00:17:14I guess at least an hour passed before I
00:17:15noticed those deep scratches on his right hand.
00:17:18They were wicked, three puffy red lines
00:17:21about a quarter of an inch apart.
00:17:23He 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
00:17:36to have done that.
00:17:37Right on both counts, New York.
00:17:39I was tussling with the most dangerous animal
00:17:41in the world, a woman.
00:17:44She must have been Tarzan's mate.
00:17:46Looks like you lost the bout.
00:17:48Certainly wasn't a draw.
00:17:50You know, there ought to be a law against games with claws.
00:17:54I tossed her out of the car in her ear.
00:17:57Was I wrong?
00:17:59Give a lift to a tomato, you expect her to be nice,
00:18:01don't you?
00:18:03After all, what kind of a dame some rides?
00:18:05Sunday school teachers?
00:18:09A little witch.
00:18:11She must have thought she was riding with some fall guy.
00:18:14To me, it was been poking horses around race tracks
00:18:16since 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 Arthur Duffy 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,
00:18:35get a load of this.
00:18:38Wow.
00:18:40I got that one dueling.
00:18:42Dueling?
00:18:43Yeah, we were 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 kid and I took them down.
00:18:52The old man wasn't around, had a duel.
00:18:56He got me in the arm here.
00:18:58Pretty mean cut.
00:19:00Infection set in later.
00:19:02Yeah, I can see that.
00:19:04Now, give me that box again, will you?
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'd put the other kid's eye out.
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.
00:19:34Old man almost caught me when I was packing my debts.
00:19:38The bloody rag I had wrapped around my wrist
00:19:39hadn't caught his attention.
00:19:41He'd have seen the bundle for sure.
00:19:44But I beat him when he was phoning for a doctor.
00:19:47That was 15, 16 years ago.
00:19:49I haven't been home since.
00:19:55Pull 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.
00:20:13If 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 what you're asking.
00:20:22Take nothing of it.
00:20:23You make your first million, maybe
00:20:24you can do the same for me.
00:20:25Come on, New York.
00:20:27I got to make the West Coast by Wednesday.
00:20:28There's a horse running in Santa Anita named Pirate Bicycle.
00:20:31You can sell it to me if I want him.
00:20:32You'll make it all right.
00:20:35He did most of the talking during the half hour
00:20:37we were in the place.
00:20:39I ate.
00:20:41He rambled on about his old man, whom
00:20:42we hadn't heard from since he ran away as a kid.
00:20:45Now he happened to become a bookie.
00:20:47And then all about how he got rooked in Miami.
00:20:50One 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 check.
00:21:00And you watch those stinkers run for cover.
00:21:03Do you want anything else?
00:21:04No, thanks.
00:21:05I've had plenty.
00:21:11That check there, sister?
00:21:13Oh, just a miniature change, sir.
00:21:15Keep it, sister.
00:21:16Oh, thank you.
00:21:17Say call again.
00:21:18I'll be waiting outside for you when you finish work.
00:21:21Sharp check, huh?
00:21:31I drove all that night while Haskell slept like a log.
00:21:34After a while, I began to get sleepy myself.
00:21:38I was happy at the time.
00:21:41I was happy, though.
00:21:43Soon I'd be with Sue again.
00:21:45The long trip was practically over and I'd be no more
00:21:47hoofing it down the concrete.
00:21:50I began to think of the future, which couldn't have been
00:21:53brighter if I'd embroidered it with neon lights.
00:21:56It was nice to think of Sue shooting to the top.
00:22:00It's amazing what a full belly can do to your imagination.
00:22:04Your eyes, oh, your kisses, too.
00:22:09I never knew what they could do.
00:22:14I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:22:22You're telling everyone you know.
00:22:27I'm on your mind each place you go.
00:22:32I can't believe that you're in love with me.
00:22:53Mr. Haskell?
00:22:56Mr. Haskell?
00:23:02Mr. Haskell, wake up. It's raining.
00:23:04Don't you think we ought to stop and put up the top?
00:23:15Mr. Haskell, I'm going to put up the top.
00:23:18I'm going to put up the top.
00:23:31Up until then I'd done things my way.
00:23:34But from then on something else stepped in and shunted me off
00:23:36to a different destination than the one I had picked for myself.
00:23:40The one I pulled open that door.
00:23:43Mr. Haskell, what's the matter?
00:23:45Are you hurt?
00:23:47Are you hurt, Mr. Haskell?
00:23:49Start yourself.
00:23:51I'll listen to it.
00:23:53But I know what you're going to hand me even before you open your mouths.
00:23:56You're going to tell me you don't believe my story of how Haskell died
00:23:59and give me that don't make me laugh expression on your smug faces.
00:24:06I saw it once. He was dead.
00:24:08And I was in for it.
00:24:10And 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.
00:24:20Instinct told me to run.
00:24:22But then I realized it was hopeless.
00:24:24There were lots of people back down the road who could identify me.
00:24:26That gas station guy and the waitress.
00:24:28I would be in a worse spot then trying to explain why I beat it.
00:24:31The next possibility was to sit tight and tell the truth when the cops came.
00:24:34But that would be crazy.
00:24:36They'd laugh at the truth.
00:24:37And I'd have my head in the noose.
00:24:40So what else was there to do but hide the body and get away in the car?
00:24:43I couldn't leave the car there with him in the gully.
00:24:45That would be like erecting a tombstone.
00:25:11My idea was to cover him with brush.
00:25:13Not to rob him.
00:25:14But then I remembered that even if I only drove the car for a hundred miles or so,
00:25:17I would need money for gas.
00:25:19Besides, it was stupid of me to leave all that money on a dead man.
00:25:23Not only that, I'd have to take his driver's license in case I was stopped for something.
00:25:29I didn't like to think about it.
00:25:31But by that time I'd done just what the police would say I did,
00:25:34even if I didn't.
00:25:36My clothes.
00:25:37The owner of such an expensive car would never be wearing them.
00:25:40Some cop might put me in a suspicion.
00:26:07Hey, you, this your car?
00:26:09Don't you know better than to leave a car with the wheels halfway in the middle of the road?
00:26:12That's the way accidents happen.
00:26:14I'm sorry, officer.
00:26:16I was just putting up my top.
00:26:17I didn't think.
00:26:18Well, the next time, think.
00:26:20I'll let you go now, but watch your step in the future.
00:26:22I know that's a lonely stretch, but cars come by here once in a while,
00:26:25and we have plenty of crack-ups.
00:26:27Thanks.
00:26:28I left nothing in the car to give me a road trip,
00:26:30so maybe I'll be going to the wrong place.
00:26:32And I got no money either.
00:26:34Well, your car's not going anywhere.
00:26:37It's only a little bit closer to the country.
00:26:39I'll be right back.
00:26:42Wait a minute.
00:26:43Where are you going?
00:26:45I'll make sure I get him out of here.
00:26:47You can't go any further.
00:26:49You can't leave your car on the road, either.
00:26:51Now, listen.
00:26:53You can't leave your car on the road, either.
00:26:55It's only a little bit closer to the country.
00:26:57If they found a dead man in the gully now, it would be me.
00:27:09As I drove off, it was still raining.
00:27:12And the drops streaked down the windshield like tears.
00:27:18I kept imagining I was being followed, that I could hear sirens back in the distance.
00:27:23Just how long it took me to cover the 60-odd miles to the California border.
00:27:27The California state line, I don't know.
00:27:30I lost all track of time.
00:27:32But the rain had stopped and the sun was up when I pulled up to the inspection station.
00:27:40Hello.
00:27:42Carrying any fruits or vegetables?
00:27:44No.
00:27:45Any livestock or poultry?
00:27:46No.
00:27:48I'd like to see your registration and driver's license, please.
00:27:50Anything in the baggage compartment?
00:27:52Just baggage.
00:27:55Charles Haskell, Jr., age 30, brown eyes, dark hair.
00:27:59Identifying marks, none.
00:28:01Are you Charles Haskell, Jr.?
00:28:03Yes.
00:28:04Well, remember, if you're employed and you stay over 30 days, you take out California plates.
00:28:08All right, officer, but I won't be in the state a short while.
00:28:12Right, you can go now.
00:28:20I'll be right back.
00:28:24I couldn't drive any farther without some sleep, cops or no cops.
00:28:28I knew I had to hit the hay and hit it hard.
00:28:32I was dead tired.
00:28:50Mr. Haskell.
00:29:05No.
00:29:07No, you can't, Mr. Haskell.
00:29:09No.
00:29:18Mr. Haskell.
00:29:21Nothing.
00:29:23I think I did it.
00:29:25No, Mr. Haskell.
00:29:27No.
00:29:29No.
00:29:44Who's there?
00:29:45It's the maid.
00:29:46Can I come in and clean?
00:29:48Later.
00:29:50In a half hour.
00:29:51All right, sir.
00:30:17There was no time to lose.
00:30:18Every minute I had to be Charles Haskell was dangerous.
00:30:21And I'd have to be Charles Haskell until I got to some city where I could leave the car and be swallowed up.
00:30:30That meant driving the car as far as San Bernardino.
00:30:33Maybe even to Los Angeles.
00:30:35In a little town, I might be noticed.
00:30:37But in a city, I should be safe enough.
00:30:40Then, after I ditched the car, I could go on to sue.
00:30:43But those five minutes at the state line
00:30:45made me realize it might be a good idea to find out a little bit about Mr. Haskell.
00:30:49Then, if anybody asked me questions, I could give the right answers.
00:30:53The first thing I found out was that I had $768.
00:30:57This was a lot of jack.
00:30:59But believe me,
00:31:01it was the kind of money I'd rather not have.
00:31:12And then I found out from a letter Haskell was carting around in his bag
00:31:15that he wasn't the open-handed, easy-going big shot
00:31:18who 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,
00:31:28the one he hadn't seen in so many years.
00:31:31In it, Haskell posed as a salesman
00:31:33of 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.
00:31:48And it was enough.
00:31:50I told myself,
00:31:52maybe old man Haskell was lucky his son kicked off.
00:31:55He would never know it.
00:31:57But it saved him from taking a flyer in sacred literature preferred.
00:32:13Near the airport at Desert Center, I pulled up for water.
00:32:17There was a woman.
00:32:22Hey, you!
00:32:24Come on, if you want a ride.
00:32:28Hey, you!
00:32:30Come on, if you want a ride.
00:32:32Hey, you!
00:32:34Come on, if you want a ride.
00:32:36Hey, you!
00:32:38Come on, if you want a ride.
00:32:40Hey, you!
00:32:42Come on, if you want a ride.
00:33:13How far are you going?
00:33:15How far are you going?
00:33:17That took me by surprise.
00:33:19And I turned my head to look her over.
00:33:21She was facing straight ahead, so I couldn't see her eyes.
00:33:24But she was young.
00:33:26Not more than 24.
00:33:28Man, she looked as if she'd just been thrown off the crumbs of a building.
00:33:32And I thought,
00:33:34I'd better get back to work.
00:33:36And I thought,
00:33:38I'd better get back to work.
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,
00:33:51or 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'd 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.
00:34:20You 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?
00:34:35The girl must have been pretty tired
00:34:36because she fell asleep not 20 minutes
00:34:38after she stepped into the car.
00:34:40She lay sprawled out with her head resting
00:34:42against the far door, like Haskell.
00:34:44I didn't like that part of it much,
00:34:46but I didn't wake her up.
00:34:49It wasn't that this girl still worried me.
00:34:51I'd gotten over that funny feeling I had
00:34:53when she looked at me,
00:34:55which I put down as just my jangled nerves.
00:34:57With her eyes closed
00:34:59and her testis gone out of her,
00:35:01she seemed harmless enough.
00:35:03And instead of disliking her,
00:35:04I began to feel sorry for her.
00:35:06The poor kid probably had had
00:35:08a rough time of it.
00:35:10Who was she anyway?
00:35:12And why was she going to Los Angeles?
00:35:14And where'd she come from in the first place?
00:35:16The only thing I knew about her was her name.
00:35:19Not that it made any difference.
00:35:21A few hours more and we'd be in Hollywood.
00:35:23I'd forget where I parked the car
00:35:25and look up Sue.
00:35:27This nightmare of being a dead man would be over.
00:35:29Who this dame was,
00:35:31well, it was no business of mine.
00:35:32Where did you leave his body?
00:35:34Where did you leave the owner of this car?
00:35:36You're not fooling anyone.
00:35:38This buggy belongs to a guy named Haskell.
00:35:40That's not you, mister.
00:35:42You're out of your mind.
00:35:44That's my name, Charles Haskell.
00:35:46I can prove it.
00:35:48Save yourself the trouble, mister.
00:35:50Having Haskell's wallet only makes it worse.
00:35:52It just so happens I rode with Charlie Haskell
00:35:54all the way from Louisiana.
00:35:56He picked me up outside of Shreveport.
00:35:58You rode?
00:36:00You heard me.
00:36:02Scars 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
00:36:22in any Arizona gully.
00:36:24He was sitting right there in the car
00:36:26laughing like mad while he haunted me.
00:36:28Well?
00:36:30There was nothing I could say.
00:36:32Vera, whatever her name was,
00:36:34it was just my luck picking her up on the road.
00:36:37It couldn't have been Helen or Mary
00:36:39or Evelyn or Ruth.
00:36:41It had to be the very last person
00:36:43I should ever have met.
00:36:45That's life.
00:36:47Whichever way you turn,
00:36:49fate sticks out afoot to trip you.
00:36:55I told her everything,
00:36:57but she didn't believe my story.
00:36:59I should have saved my breath.
00:37:00That's the greatest cock and bull story I ever heard.
00:37:02So he fell out of his car.
00:37:04Say, who do you think you're talking to, a hick?
00:37:06Listen, mister, I've been around,
00:37:08and I know a wrong guy when I see one.
00:37:10What'd you do, kiss him with a wrench?
00:37:12Now, wait a minute. What I told you was true.
00:37:14You see, that's why I had to do it.
00:37:16You think I killed him.
00:37:18Well, the cops would have thought so, too.
00:37:20Yeah, well, maybe they still think so.
00:37:22What makes you so sure I'll shut up about this?
00:37:24Vera, I'm innocent.
00:37:26Give me a break, will you?
00:37:28It won't do me any good having you pinched.
00:37:30You're no friends of mine.
00:37:32Now, if there was a reward, but there isn't.
00:37:34Thanks.
00:37:36Don't thank me yet.
00:37:38I'm not through with you by a long shot.
00:37:40Let's see that roll.
00:37:47Is that all Haskell had?
00:37:49Isn't it enough?
00:37:51No, I thought he had more.
00:37:53Not that I know of.
00:37:55You can search me if you think I'm holding out on you.
00:37:57Well, maybe I will at that.
00:37:58I'm going to Mexico on Wednesday at Santa Anita.
00:38:00He was stringing you along. He meant 300.
00:38:02Maybe.
00:38:04Sure, three bucks, 300. He was a piece of cheese, a big blowhard.
00:38:06Listen, mister, don't try and tell me anything about Charlie Haskell.
00:38:09Remember, I knew him better than you did.
00:38:11Okay, then you knew he was a four-flusher.
00:38:13That explains the three grand bet.
00:38:15I'm not so sure he didn't have that three grand.
00:38:17Why should I believe you?
00:38:19You got all the earmarks of a cheap crook.
00:38:21Now, wait a minute.
00:38:23Shut up. You're a cheap crook and you killed him.
00:38:25For two cents, I'd change my mind and turn you in.
00:38:26All right, all right. Don't get sore.
00:38:28I'm not getting sore.
00:38:30But just remember who's boss around here.
00:38:32If you shut up and don't give me any arguments,
00:38:34you'll have nothing to worry about.
00:38:36But if you act wise, well, mister,
00:38:38you'll pop into jail so fast it'll give you the bends.
00:38:40I'm not arguing.
00:38:42Well, see that you don't.
00:38:44You know, as crooked as you look,
00:38:46I'd hate to see a fella as young as you
00:38:48wind up sniffing that perfume
00:38:50that Arizona hands out free to murderers.
00:38:52I'm not a murderer.
00:38:54Of course you're not.
00:38:56I can tell the difference one way or another.
00:38:58I'm not a mourner.
00:39:00I like Tasco even less than I like you.
00:39:02Yeah, I saw what you did to him.
00:39:04What do you mean?
00:39:06The scratches on his wrist.
00:39:08Sure, I scratched him.
00:39:10So you did.
00:39:12So your idea was to drive the car a little way,
00:39:14maybe into San Bernardino and then leave it.
00:39:16You weren't gonna sell it?
00:39:18Sell it?
00:39:20You think I'm crazy? Somebody else's car?
00:39:22See, all I want to do is leave it somewhere
00:39:24and forget I ever saw it.
00:39:26It's a good thing you met me.
00:39:28You'd have got yourself caught, sure.
00:39:30Why, you dope.
00:39:32Don't you know a deserted automobile
00:39:34always rates an investigation?
00:39:36Huh?
00:39:38Look, the cops find a car.
00:39:40Then they get curious.
00:39:42They wonder where the owner is.
00:39:44So all right, they don't trace Haskell.
00:39:46They trace you.
00:39:48I never thought of that.
00:39:50The only safe way to get rid of the car
00:39:52is to sell it to a dealer.
00:39:54Get it registered under a new name.
00:39:56I'll drop you off and pick you up later.
00:39:58Nothing doing. You're coming in too.
00:40:00From now on, you and I are like the Siamese twins.
00:40:02Yeah, but it's your way.
00:40:04I don't get the point.
00:40:06The point is, I don't want you to get lost.
00:40:08I'm not gonna beat it if that's what you're afraid of.
00:40:10I'll say you're not.
00:40:12Well, I'm gonna see that you sell this car
00:40:14so you don't get caught.
00:40:16Thanks. Of course, your interest
00:40:18wouldn't be financial, would it?
00:40:20You wouldn't want a small percentage of the profits.
00:40:22Well, now that you insist, how can I refuse?
00:40:24A hundred percent'll do.
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.
00:40:33I 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
00:40:41than when I started out.
00:40:43Vera wasn't kidding with that Siamese twins crack.
00:40:46She rented a little apartment as Mrs. Charles Haskell.
00:40:51When I objected to this,
00:40:53she explained that it was on account of the car.
00:40:54The dealer might think something was funny
00:40:56if he called and found we were using different names.
00:41:03Home, sweet home.
00:41:05Yeah.
00:41:07Not bad either.
00:41:15In case there's any doubt in your mind,
00:41:17I'll take the bedroom.
00:41:19Yeah.
00:41:21Sure is stuffy in here.
00:41:23Keep the window shut.
00:41:25Okay.
00:41:28The old crow downstairs
00:41:30said there's a phone-a-bed behind this door.
00:41:39You know how to work it?
00:41:44I invented it.
00:41:48You're a genius.
00:41:49I invented it.
00:41:54Some joint.
00:41:56One can't have everything.
00:42:01I'm first in the bathtub.
00:42:04I don't know why,
00:42:06but I figured you would be.
00:42:17Boy, oh boy.
00:42:19It feels good to be clean again.
00:42:21I must be 10 pounds lighter.
00:42:24You must be.
00:42:27Well, hitching rides isn't exactly the way
00:42:29you keep your schoolgirl complexion.
00:42:34I 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?
00:42:50If I didn't want to give you a drink,
00:42:52I wouldn't have offered it.
00:42:54Why be a sorehead, 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,
00:43:03you'd be in the pen this minute
00:43:05being photographed, fingerprinted,
00:43:07and being pushed around by the cops.
00:43:09So cheer up.
00:43:11Get rid of that long puss.
00:43:13Or is your conscience bothering you?
00:43:19No.
00:43:21It isn't.
00:43:23That's the spirit.
00:43:25He's dead and no moment around will bring him back.
00:43:31Anyway, I never could understand this worrying
00:43:34about something that's over and done with.
00:43:36Now look, Vera, for the last time, I didn't kill him.
00:43:38Haskell was a sick man.
00:43:40Maybe he was dead before he fell out of the car.
00:43:42I don't know.
00:43:44Sure, sure, he died of old age.
00:43:46All right.
00:43:47Is he punishable?
00:43:49You didn't kill him.
00:44:01Thanks.
00:44:13We're out of liquor, Roberts.
00:44:15Yeah.
00:44:17I'm glad.
00:44:19I felt like getting tight tonight.
00:44:21Well, I think you succeeded.
00:44:23Am I tight?
00:44:25As a prima donna's corset.
00:44:27That's good.
00:44:29I wanted to get tight.
00:44:31Why?
00:44:33What have you got to get tight about?
00:44:35Oh, I don't know.
00:44:37A few things.
00:44:39You should have my worries.
00:44:41If I had your troubles, I'd stay sober.
00:44:43And I've got the key to that door.
00:44:47Maybe you're right.
00:44:49I'm always right.
00:44:51You know, I don't like your attitude, Roberts.
00:44:54Well, there's a lot of things I don't like.
00:44:57Sure.
00:45:01But life's like a ball game.
00:45:03You've got to take a swing at whatever comes along
00:45:05before you wake up and find it's a ninth inning.
00:45:08You 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.
00:45:17Maybe that's what's wrong with the whole world.
00:45:20Get the professor.
00:45:22People 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
00:45:41that would give anything to trade places with you.
00:45:45I know what I'm talking about.
00:45:47I'm not so sure.
00:45:49At least they know they're done for.
00:45:51They don't have to sweat blood wondering if they are.
00:45:55Your philosophy stinks, pal.
00:45:58We all know we're going to kick off someday.
00:46:01It's only a question of when.
00:46:04But what got us on this subject anyway?
00:46:07We'll be discussing politics next.
00:46:09Yeah.
00:46:12Where'd you hide the butts?
00:46:14On the table, sucker.
00:46:16On the table, sucker.
00:46:25We bored each other with conversation
00:46:27for a couple of hours longer.
00:46:29Every five minutes one of us was wishing
00:46:31we had another bottle or a radio
00:46:33or something to read.
00:46:35Then finally we ran out of chatter.
00:46:37I know it's only 11 o'clock,
00:46:39but I want to get up early
00:46:41and make the rounds of the used car lots.
00:46:43No hurry about that.
00:46:45Do you think I want to stay cooped up in this place
00:46:47any longer than I have to?
00:46:49You're batty.
00:46:51It's not a bad place.
00:46:53They pay plenty for diggings like this in New York.
00:46:55I wouldn't like it if it was the Ritz.
00:46:58You brought me liquor.
00:47:00You got a mean cough.
00:47:02Ought to do something about it.
00:47:04I'll be all right.
00:47:06That's what Camille said.
00:47:08Who?
00:47:10Nobody you know.
00:47:13Wasn't that the day
00:47:15you left the hospital?
00:47:17Wouldn't it be a break for you
00:47:19if I did kick off?
00:47:21You'd be free with all Haskell's dough and car.
00:47:23I don't want to see anybody die.
00:47:25Not even me?
00:47:27Especially not you.
00:47:29One person died in me.
00:47:31If you did,
00:47:33well, that's all I need.
00:47:35You don't like me, do you, Roberts?
00:47:38I like you.
00:47:41I love you.
00:47:43My favorite sport
00:47:45After we sell the car,
00:47:47you can go to Blazers for all I care.
00:47:49But not until then.
00:47:55I'm going to bed.
00:48:05Good 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,
00:48:13I'll notify the police.
00:48:15Yeah, I know when I'm in the spot.
00:48:17Well, good night.
00:48:19I hope that portable rack
00:48:21isn't too uncomfortable for you.
00:48:23Don't lose any sleep over it,
00:48:25will you, girl?
00:48:46Come on.
00:49:00Crisp fuel.
00:49:03Six.
00:49:05Five.
00:49:07Seven.
00:49:09Two.
00:49:11Three.
00:49:13Hello?
00:49:16Hello?
00:49:18Hello?
00:49:20Hello?
00:49:28No.
00:49:30Not yet, darling.
00:49:33Tomorrow.
00:49:35Maybe.
00:49:40If this were fiction,
00:49:42I would fall in love with her,
00:49:43marry her and make a respectable woman of her.
00:49:45Or else she'd make some
00:49:47supreme class A sacrifice for me
00:49:49and die.
00:49:51Sue and I would bawl a little over her grave
00:49:53and make some crack about
00:49:55there's good in all of us.
00:49:57But Vera, unfortunately,
00:49:59was just as rotten in the morning
00:50:01as she'd been the night before.
00:50:03All right, all right, I'm coming.
00:50:05Look, Mary, it's almost noon.
00:50:08So what?
00:50:10The dealers will be there all day?
00:50:11They'll be there all year, too,
00:50:13but it doesn't await that long.
00:50:15Shut up, you're making us like a husband.
00:50:18Well, do I rate a whistle?
00:50:20You sure do, but let's go.
00:50:22Let's go, let's go.
00:50:24I spent 85 bucks and two hours preparing bait
00:50:26and all you can say is let's go.
00:50:29Come on.
00:50:35We've had a few used car lots
00:50:37last night down this way.
00:50:39What do you think we can get for this heap?
00:50:41Andy, he'd let me handle everything.
00:50:43Think we can get $2,000?
00:50:45I don't know, but don't worry.
00:50:47I'll squeeze as much out of this guy as I can.
00:50:49I'll let it go cheap without a fight.
00:50:51He might think we've stolen the car.
00:50:53And listen, don't make any slips
00:50:55and call me Roberts.
00:50:57That'll cook us.
00:50:59I don't need you to tell me that.
00:51:01You better just sit by and keep your mouth closed.
00:51:03Remember, we're both in this soup if anything happens.
00:51:05Forget it and drive.
00:51:07You're my wife, Vera Haskell.
00:51:09Look, after the deal's closed,
00:51:11I'm saying goodbye to you.
00:51:13That's right, I forgot.
00:51:15I guess I'm getting kind of used to you.
00:51:18Well, that's a habit you can start breaking.
00:51:20Let's try this place in the middle of the block.
00:51:29Good afternoon.
00:51:31What can I do for you?
00:51:33We're interested in selling a car.
00:51:35If the price is right.
00:51:38Well, if it's in good hands,
00:51:40well, if it's in good mechanical condition,
00:51:42it should blue book for about $1,600.
00:51:45Tony, take a look at this motor.
00:51:47$1,600? Are you kidding?
00:52:00Well, maybe $1,850.
00:52:02Before I let it go for $1,850,
00:52:04I'll wreck it and collect the insurance first.
00:52:10Andy, this motor's seen a lot of driving.
00:52:18Well, the mechanic inspected the car.
00:52:20We haggled.
00:52:22At last, when we were all worn out,
00:52:24we hit a compromise.
00:52:26His price.
00:52:30Okay, it's a deal.
00:52:32All right, come on, we'll sign the papers.
00:52:34I have the ownership papers right here with me.
00:52:36Look, Vera, in the meantime,
00:52:37put it in the dash compartment.
00:52:39Maybe there's some stuff in it.
00:52:41All right, darling.
00:52:44$1,850.
00:52:46That dirty crook.
00:52:55New York, huh?
00:52:57Yeah, but you bought the car in Miami.
00:52:59Yeah.
00:53:01Well, let's see about the insurance.
00:53:03We can either have it transferred or canceled.
00:53:05What kind of insurance do you have, Mr. Haskell?
00:53:07Well, aren't all the papers there?
00:53:11I don't see any.
00:53:13Surely you know what type of insurance
00:53:15you carry in the car.
00:53:17The name of the company?
00:53:19Yeah, but...
00:53:21Well, if you'll just tell me the name of the company,
00:53:23I'd be very glad to take care of all the details.
00:53:25Well...
00:53:27Did you sign the papers yet?
00:53:29Not yet.
00:53:31Well, don't.
00:53:33We're not selling the car.
00:53:35Well, wait a minute, Mrs. Haskell.
00:53:37Let's go.
00:53:42You got me out of a tight spot, Vera.
00:53:44But I still don't understand all this.
00:53:46You will in a minute.
00:53:48I almost threw away a gold mine.
00:53:50$1,850 isn't to be sneezed at.
00:53:52The car doesn't book for as much as I thought.
00:53:54We're not selling the car.
00:53:56You want to keep it?
00:53:58Now, wait a minute, Vera.
00:54:00You said yourself I wouldn't be safe
00:54:02until the car was in someone else's name.
00:54:04I like to be free of this mess when I go.
00:54:05There's a driver at the next corner.
00:54:07Pull in there and we'll get a bite to eat.
00:54:09And I'll explain.
00:54:11What is this, another one of your brilliant ideas?
00:54:17Hello.
00:54:19May I take your order?
00:54:21Make mine a ham sandwich and coffee.
00:54:23And for you, sir?
00:54:25Oh, I don't care. The same.
00:54:27Thank you.
00:54:31Get this, Vera.
00:54:33I've been pretty patient so far.
00:54:35I know what you want me to do, but no more.
00:54:37Shut up.
00:54:39You've taken Haskell's money.
00:54:41And you can have the dough we get from selling the car.
00:54:43But you're not going to keep me a prisoner.
00:54:45It's a good thing I bought the paper.
00:54:47Take a look at that.
00:54:49Vera, I'm in no mood.
00:54:51Read that.
00:54:56No.
00:54:58Yes.
00:55:00No, I won't do it.
00:55:02Yes, you will.
00:55:03Excuse me.
00:55:09Blow the horn when you're through.
00:55:14No one could possibly get away with an act like that.
00:55:16He'll be wise to me in a minute.
00:55:18Don't be yellow.
00:55:20You look enough like him.
00:55:22The same coloring and the same build.
00:55:24See how his clothes fit you?
00:55:26No kidding, you almost had me fooled for a while.
00:55:28Oh, grow up, Vera.
00:55:30Don't you think a father knows his own son?
00:55:31He really gives up the ghost.
00:55:33He's an old geezer and he won't pull through.
00:55:35And as far as other relatives are concerned,
00:55:37they haven't seen you in 15 or 20 years.
00:55:39Eat.
00:55:41I'm not hungry.
00:55:43And I won't do it.
00:55:45It's not as tough as it sounds.
00:55:47Remember, you've got all kinds of identification.
00:55:49His car, letters, license.
00:55:51I could never get away with it.
00:55:53It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
00:55:55The old boy has scads of dough.
00:55:57Look in the paper there.
00:55:59Personal fortune assessed at over 15 million.
00:56:01It won't have anything to do with it.
00:56:03I think you will.
00:56:05Look, Vera.
00:56:07I'll do anything within reason, but not that.
00:56:09So forget it.
00:56:11Find yourself another stooge.
00:56:13You sack.
00:56:15You'll be fixed for the rest of your life as Charlie Haskell.
00:56:17You can take your inheritance and go away.
00:56:19No more worrying about the rent, no sweat and scheming,
00:56:21wondering where your next meal's coming from.
00:56:23Think about that, Roberts.
00:56:25Vera, please, you're talking too loud.
00:56:27On this, I'm splitting 50-50 with you.
00:56:29Sure, why not?
00:56:31There's people around here.
00:56:33You don't know who you're talking to.
00:56:35Well, wait till we read that old man Haskell's dead.
00:56:37Then you show up.
00:56:39Like you read in New York that he was sick.
00:56:41No.
00:56:43Suppose he doesn't die.
00:56:45He will, I know he will.
00:56:47Something tells me.
00:56:49But 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
00:56:57as we played that night.
00:56:59I knew we were just trying to kill time
00:57:01with our additions.
00:57:03This was a death watch for Vera.
00:57:05Maybe it was for me, too.
00:57:07Don't you realize if I'm caught,
00:57:09they'll want to know where I got the car and stuff,
00:57:11and they'll have me on a murder charge.
00:57:13If you're smart, you won't get caught.
00:57:15I knock for seven.
00:57:17And if I'm caught, don't you realize you'll be out, too?
00:57:1918 points, that gives me 30.
00:57:22How will I be out?
00:57:24You'll be out $1,850 we would have gotten on the car.
00:57:26Really, Vera, you'd be an awful chump
00:57:28if you threw away all that dough in a dizzy long shot.
00:57:29Let 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.
00:57:37I'll be in the clear anyway.
00:57:39Maybe, maybe.
00:57:41But if I got caught,
00:57:43I'd get good and sore, too, you know.
00:57:45You mean you'd squeal?
00:57:47Oh, no, not squeal exactly.
00:57:49Never mind what you meant.
00:57:51Even if you did tell the cops I was in on it with you,
00:57:53what could they do to me?
00:57:55They might give me the same medicine they gave you,
00:57:57a rope.
00:58:00But I'm on my way anyhow.
00:58:04All I'll be doing will be rushing it.
00:58:06All right.
00:58:08But think of the $1,850 you'd lose.
00:58:10You'd kick yourself along the block if they let get away from you.
00:58:12I'll take the chance.
00:58:14Want another drink?
00:58:16You're being a goon.
00:58:18That's the way people wind up behind the eight ball.
00:58:20Once they get a few dollars, they become greedy and want more.
00:58:22My, my.
00:58:24Caesar.
00:58:25Who?
00:58:27You know that Roman general?
00:58:29A couple of days ago, you didn't have a dime.
00:58:31Why, you were so broke,
00:58:33you couldn't pay cash for a postage stamp.
00:58:35Now you've got almost $700 with $1,850 in the offing.
00:58:37Take my advice.
00:58:39Don't try for more.
00:58:41I'm tired of this game.
00:58:43Let's have some blackjack.
00:58:45Play solitaire.
00:58:47Okay, I will if that's the way you feel about it.
00:58:49That's the way I feel about it.
00:58:51Getting sore and throwing things won't help much, Roberts.
00:58:53I'm really doing you a favor.
00:58:55I help you out of a jam by keeping my mouth shut.
00:58:57I show you how to make some soft money.
00:58:59You know I didn't, you know I didn't.
00:59:01All right, then.
00:59:05Suppose I call the cops.
00:59:07If you're innocent, what do you got to be scared of?
00:59:09Okay.
00:59:11Call them, you mutt.
00:59:13Go ahead and call them, see if I care.
00:59:15At least they'll give me a square deal.
00:59:17You want me to call them?
00:59:19You heard me, but I'm warning you.
00:59:21If I'm pinched, I'll swear you were in on it.
00:59:23I'll say that you helped me.
00:59:25If I fry, I'll get even with you.
00:59:27You wouldn't dare.
00:59:29Okay, I will.
00:59:43Information?
00:59:45I want the number of the Hollywood police station.
00:59:50Okay, I got it, thanks.
00:59:55Wait a minute, Vera.
00:59:57You wouldn't do that.
00:59:59Take it easy now, let's talk this over.
01:00:01This was early in the evening.
01:00:03And the conversation, while hectic,
01:00:05was at least pitched low.
01:00:07But as the minutes passed,
01:00:09and 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,
01:00:19I 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,
01:00:29my dog.
01:00:31I didn't even know what my middle initial stood for.
01:00:33I also pointed out that the real Haskell
01:00:35had a scar on his forearm.
01:00:37His people never saw that scar.
01:00:39He told me he ran away right after putting out the kid's eye.
01:00:41Yeah, but his father knew he was cut.
01:00:43It had to be some kind of a mark.
01:00:45So what?
01:00:47The old man's dead or will be,
01:00:49I hope by tomorrow morning's papers.
01:00:51Anyway, you could cut yourself a little, couldn't you?
01:00:54Boy, for that kind of dough,
01:00:56I'd let you cut my leg off.
01:00:57You're drunk and you're crazy mad, Vera.
01:00:59Turn me in if you want to, but 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.
01:01:05Maybe he just dreamed it up.
01:01:07Well, dream it or not, you won't be dreaming
01:01:09when the law taps you on the shoulder.
01:01:11There's a cute little gas chamber
01:01:13waiting for you, Roberts.
01:01:15And I hear extradition to Arizona's a cinch.
01:01:18Where's that phone?
01:01:20Vera!
01:01:22Leave me alone!
01:01:24Vera!
01:01:26I hate you.
01:01:28You're a stinker.
01:01:30You leave me alone!
01:01:32I'll let you alone when you promise to leave the phone where it is.
01:01:34You're drunk, you don't know what you're doing.
01:01:36You're hurting me.
01:01:38Will you promise?
01:01:40All right.
01:01:43You hurt me.
01:01:45I'm sorry, but...
01:01:47And it's hot in here.
01:01:49Open up a window.
01:01:51It's not hot.
01:01:53Don't tell me.
01:01:55Yeah.
01:01:57All right, I'll open up the window.
01:02:01Vera!
01:02:07Vera, open the door.
01:02:09Please open the door.
01:02:11Vera, open the door. Don't use the phone. Listen to me.
01:02:13I don't like you, Roberts.
01:02:15You're no gentleman, see?
01:02:17You hurt my hand.
01:02:19And I'm gonna get even with you.
01:02:21If you don't open the door, I'm gonna kick it down, Vera.
01:02:23Vera, don't call the cops.
01:02:25Listen to me. I'll do anything you say.
01:02:27Vera, let me in.
01:02:30I'll break the phone.
01:02:56Vera.
01:03:10The world is full of skeptics.
01:03:12I know.
01:03:14I'm one myself.
01:03:16In the Haskell business, how many of you would believe he fell out of the car?
01:03:19And now, after killing Vera without really meaning to do it,
01:03:21how many of you would believe it wasn't premeditated?
01:03:25In a jury room,
01:03:27every last man of you would go down shouting that she had me over a barrel
01:03:30and my only out was force.
01:03:33The room was still.
01:03:36So 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.
01:03:46Vera was dead.
01:03:48And I was her murderer.
01:03:50Murderer.
01:03:52What an awful word that is.
01:03:53But I'd become one.
01:03:55I'd better not get caught.
01:03:57What evidence there was around the place had to be destroyed.
01:04:00And from the looks of things, there was plenty.
01:04:02Looking around the room at things we'd bought
01:04:04was like looking into the faces of a hundred people who'd seen us together
01:04:06and who remembered me.
01:04:08This was the kind of testimony I couldn't rub out.
01:04:12No.
01:04:14I could burn clothes and hide bottles for the next five years.
01:04:16There'd always be witnesses.
01:04:18The landlady, for one.
01:04:20She could identify me, the car dealer, the waitress in the drive-in,
01:04:21the girl in the dress shop, and that guy in the liquor store.
01:04:24They could all identify me.
01:04:27I was cooked.
01:04:29Done for.
01:04:31I had to get out of there.
01:04:33While once I'd remained beside a dead body,
01:04:35planning carefully how to avoid being accused of killing him,
01:04:38this time I couldn't.
01:04:40This time I was guilty.
01:04:42I knew it.
01:04:44Felt it.
01:04:46I was like a guy suffering from shock.
01:04:48Things were whirling around in my head.
01:04:49I couldn't make myself think right.
01:04:51All I could think of was the guy with the saxophone
01:04:54and what he was playing.
01:04:56It wasn't a love song anymore.
01:04:58It was a dirge.
01:05:19It was a dirge.
01:05:49But my problems weren't solved.
01:05:51I had to stay away from New York for all time
01:05:55because Al Roberts was listed as dead and had to stay dead.
01:05:59And I could never go back to Hollywood.
01:06:01Someone might recognize me as Haskell.
01:06:05Then, too, there was Sue.
01:06:09I could never go to her with a thing like this hanging over my head.
01:06:14All I could do was pray she'd be happy.
01:06:20I was in Bakersfield before I read that Vera's body was discovered.
01:06:24That the police were looking for Haskell
01:06:26in connection with his wife's murder.
01:06:29Isn't that a laugh?
01:06:31Haskell got me into this mess
01:06:33and Haskell was getting me out of it.
01:06:35The police were searching for a dead man.
01:06:40I was in the hospital.
01:06:42I was in the hospital.
01:06:44I was in the hospital.
01:06:46I was in the hospital.
01:06:48I keep trying to forget what happened
01:06:51and wonder what my life might have been
01:06:54if that car of Haskell's hadn't stopped.
01:06:58But one thing I don't have to wonder about.
01:07:01I know.
01:07:04Someday a car will stop to pick me up that I never thumbed.
01:07:12Yes.
01:07:14Fate.
01:07:15Fate
01:07:17or some mysterious force
01:07:19can put the finger on you or me
01:07:22for no good reason at all.