(chattering)
MAN: Wait a minute. Copyboy!
Make it snappy and hurry back -Where’s the rest of this story?
-M0/'n/hg Post. -M0/'n/hg Post.
City desk? Just a moment. I’II connect you -Just a moment, please.
If anybody asks for me, I’m down at the courthouse
-M0/'n/hg Post. Elevator! Going down!
-Hello, Hildy. Oh, hi, Skinny
Hello, Ruth. Hello, Maisie -Hello, Hildyi
Tell me, is the lord ofthe universe in? -Yes, he’s in.
-In a bad humor. Somebody must have stolen the crown jewels
-Shall we announce you? Oh, no, no, l’ll blow my own horn
Even ten minutes is a long time to be away from you.
What did you say? -Huh?
-WMM- Goon
-Uh - (chuckles) Well, go ahead.
I just said even ten minutes is a long time to be away from you
l’d like to spoil him just once. Sure you don’t want me to go in with you?
-No, I can handle it. lfthings get rough, remember I’m here
l’ll come a-runnin’, partner
-Well, hello, Jim. Well, hello, Hildy
-How are you? Hi, Hildy! Welcome back!
Hello, Hildy. How ya been? -Hi, Hildy.
Oh, hello, Beatrice. How’s “Advice to the Lovelorn”?
Fine. My catjust had kittens again -lt’s your own fault.
Hello, Hildy. Glad to see you back -Glad to see you.
Hi, Tim. Mildred, he still around? -Oh, hello, Hildy.
-(buzzing) MAN: A little more around the chin, boss
-What do ya want? Your ex-wife is here. Do you want to see her?
Well... Well, hello, Hildy
Hello, Walter -Hi, Hildy.
Oh, hello, Louie. How’s the tixed slot machine king?
Oh, I ain’t doin’ that no more. I’m retired. Ya know what I mean?
Say, Walter - Hello, Hildy -I’m busy, Duffy.
-Get going. I’m busy. I thought you ought to know
the governor didn’t sign that reprieve -What?
Tomorrow morning Earl Williams dies and makes a sucker out of us.
-Well, what are you gonna do? Get the governor on the phone
-Can’t locate him. He’s out tishing. How many places to tish are there?
At least two -the Atlantic and Pacitic
All right. That simplities it, doesn’t it? -Oh, yeah.
Get him on the phone -And tell him what?
HILDY: Quiet, Duffy, he’s thinking
Tell him if he’ll reprieve Earl Williams we’ll support him for senator.
-What? The M0/'n/hg Post will be behind him hook, line and sinker.
You can’t do that! -Why not?
Because we’ve been a Democratic paper for over 20 years.
All right, after we get the reprieve we’ll be Democratic again.
-Oh, Walter- Go on, Duffy! Get going!
Remember, the Mom/hg Pos! expects every city editor to do his duty
You too, Louie. Get outta here -Okay, boss.
Well, Walter, I see you’re still at it
Would you mind ifl sat down?
There’s been a lamp burning in the window for you, honey. Here
Oh, I jumped out that window a long time ago, Walter.
Oh, may I have one of those?
Thank you
And a match
Thank you
Well, well, how long is it? -How long is what?
You know what. How long is it since we’ve seen each other?
Oh, well, let’s see
I spent six weeks in Reno, then Bermuda
Oh, about four months, I guess Seems like yesterday to me.
Maybe it was yesterday, Hildy
Been seeing me in your dreams?
No, no, Mama doesn’t dream about you anymore.
You wouldn’t know the old girl now -Ah, yes, lwould.
l’d know you anytime, anyplace -Anyplace, anywhere.
You’re repeating yourself, Walter. That’s the speech you made the night you proposed
I notice you still remember it -Of course I remember it.
If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have divorced you
Sort of wish you hadn’t done that, Hildy -Done what?
Divorced me. It makes a fellow lose all faith in himself
Gives him a - almost gives him a feeling he wasn’t wanted.
Oh, now look, Junior, that’s what divorces are for
Nonsense. You’ve got an old-fashioned idea
divorce is something that lasts forever till death do us part.
Just a few words mumbled over you by a judge.
We’ve got something between us nothing can change.
Mmm, well, I suppose you’re right in a way -Sure, I’m right.
I am fond of you, you know -That-a-girl.
I often wish you weren’t such a stinker _Eh _
Latin, I suppose. You must meet my mother She’d like that phrase.
Then why did you promise not to fight the divorce
and do everything you possibly could to gum up the whole works?
I meant to let you go, but you know how it is
You never miss the water till the well runs dry.
Oh, a big, fat Iummox like you hiring an airplane
to write, “HiIdy, don’t be hasty Remember my dimple. Walter
Delayed our divorce 20 minutes while the judge went out to watch it
I don’t want to brag, but I’ve still got the dimple, and in the same place.
Look, Hildy, I only acted like any husband that didn’t want to see his home broken up
-What home? Don’t you remember the home I promised you?
Sure, I do. That was the one we were to have right after the honeymoon.
(laughs) That honeymoon
Was it my fault? Did I know that coal mine was gonna have another cave-in?
I intended to be with you on our honeymoon, Hildy. Honest, I did
All I know is that instead of two weeks in Atlantic City with my bridegroom,
I spent two weeks in a coal mine with John Kruptzky.
You don’t deny that, do you, Walter? -Deny it? I’m proud of it!
We beat the whole country on that story -Suppose we did?
What I came up here to tell you
is that you must stop phoning me a dozen times a day, sending me 20 telegrams -
I write a beautiful telegram, don’t I? Everybody says so.
Are you going to listen to what I have to say? -Look, what’s the use of fighting, Hildy?
I tell you what - come back to work on the paper
If we find we can’t get along in a friendly fashion, we’ll get married again
-What? Certainly. I haven’t any hard feelings
Oh, Walter, you’re wonderful in a Ioathsome sort of way.
Now please be quiet long enough for me to tell you what I came to say
-We’II have some lunch - I have a lunch date already
-Well, break it. I cannot break it
-Take your hands off me! What are you playing, osteopath? -Temper, temper.
Oh, listen, Walter, you are no longer my husband and no longer my boss.
And you’re not going to be my boss -What’s that supposed to mean?
-Just what I say. You’re not coming back to the paper?
You are right, Mr. Burns for the first time today.
Uh-huh. Got a better offer, huh? -You bet I’ve got a better offer.
All right, go on. Take it. Work for somebody else
That’s the gratitude I get! -Stop hamming.
What were you five years ago? A college girl from a school ofjournalism. A doll-faced hick!
You wouldn’t take me if I hadn’t been doll-faced
I thought it’d be a novelty - a face around here a man could look at without shuddering.
-Listen, Walter - I made a great reporter out of you, Hildy
But you won’t be half as good on any other paper. We’re a team!
-(imitating auctioneer) -You need me, I need you, the paper needs both of us!
-Sold, American! Oh, all right, go ahead
Listen, Walter, please -Mm-hmm.
The paper’s gonna have to get along without me. So are you.
Just didn’t work out, Walter
Butnotyou. You had to marry me, spoil everything
I wasn’t satisti
I suppose I proposed to you? -Well, you practically did.
Making goo-goo eyes at me for two years until I broke down. “Oh, WaIter.”
If you’d have been a gentleman you’d have forgotten about it.
-Why, you - You’re losing your eye
You used to pitch better than that
Hello. Yeah. What?
Sweeney? What can I do for you?
What? Wait a minute. I’m not Sweeney. I’m Duffy
Listen, Sweeney, you can’t do that to me! Not today of all days!
Jumping Jehoshaphat! Now listen, Sweeney, this is no time
Yes, if you have to, you have to
365 days in the year, and this has to be the day
-Dead? He mightjust as well be
The only man on the paper that can write and he picks today to have a baby!
He didn’t do it on purpose, did he?
I don’t care! He’s supposed to be covering the Earl Williams case. And where is he?
Walking up and down in a hospital. Is there no sense of honor in this country?
Haven’t you got anybody else? -No.
No, there’s nobody else on the paper that can write
This will break me
Unless - Hildy
No. Not a chance. Don’t bother me -You gotta help me just this once.
Get outta here, Duffy. I’m busy! Now look -Save your breath.
That’s what I’m afraid of- Anytime, anyplace, anywhere!
This is bigger than anything that ever happened to us! Don’t do it for me. Do it for the paper.
Forget the other offer. l’ll raise you 25 bucks a week
Listen to me, you bumble-headed baboon -Thirty-tive bucks and not a cent more.
Walter, are you gonna listen? -Good grief!
How much is that other paper gonna pay you? -There isn’t any other paper.
Oh. Well, in that case, the raise is off You go back to your old salary.
-Trying to blackjack me - I want to show you something
-I’m busy. It’s a ring. Take a good look
You know what it is? It’s an engagement ring
Engagement ring?
Uh-huh
I tried to tell you right away, but you would start reminiscing
I’m getting married, Walter
and I’m also getting as far away from the newspaper business as I can get
-What? (chuckles) I am through
Get married all you want, but you can’t quit the newspaper business
-Oh, why not? I know what quitting would mean to you
You can’t sell me that, Walter Burns -Who says I can’t?
You’re a newspaperman -That’s why I’m quitting.
-I want to go someplace where I can be a woman -You mean be a traitor.
-A traitor to what? A traitor to journalism
-You’re a journalist, Hildy! Ajournalist? Now, what does that mean?
Peeking through keyholes? Chasing after tire engines?
Waking people up to ask them if HitIer’s gonna start another war?
Stealing pictures off old ladies?
I know all about reporters, Walter
so a million hired girls and motormen’s wives will know what’s going on.
why, |
Oh, what’s the use?
Walter, you wouldn’t know what it means to... well, to want to be respectable
and live a halfway normal life
Where’d you meet this man?
-Bermuda. Rich, huh?
He’s not what you call rich Makes about 5,000 a year
-What’s his line? He’s in the insurance business
Insurance business? -Uh-huh.
That’s a good, honest business, isn’t it? -Oh, certainly, it’s honest.
It’s also adventurous. It’s romantic
Listen, Hildy, I can’t picture you being surrounded by policies.
He doesn’t treat me like an errand boy either He treats me like a woman.
I don’t know from water buffaloes but I do know about him.
He’s kind and sweet and considerate -(mocking, high-pitched) Mm-hmm.
He wants a home and children -(chuckles)
Uh, Baldwin. Bruce Baldwin
Baldwin, Baldwin. Oh, I knew a Baldwin once
A horse thief in Mississippi. CouIdn’t be the same fellow, could it?
You’re now talking about the man I’m marrying tomorrow.
Mm-hmm
Well, at last I got out what I came up here to tell you
Guess there isn’t any more to the story
So long, Walter -So long, Hildy.
And better luck to you next time -Thanks.
Oh, Hildy -Huh?
Uh... well, you kind of took the wind out of my sails.
Look, honey, I just want to wish you everything I couIdn’t give you.
This other fellow - Well, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see him.
I’m more or less particular about whom my wife marries
-Where is he? He’s right on the job, waiting for me out there
Oh. Do you mind ifl meet him?
Oh, no, Walter. It wouldn’t do any good, really
You’re not afraid, are you? -Afraid? Of course not.
Well, then, come on. Let’s see this paragon
Is he as good as you say? -Why, he’s better.
Then what does he want with you? -Oh, now you got me.
Back in an hour, Mildred
I suppose Bruce - What’s his name? -Baldwin.
When he’s with a lady, he takes his hat off -Oh, I am sorry.
And when he walks with a lady he waits for her.
Oh, well, in that case
Allow me
Well, I can see right away my wife picked out the right husband for herself
-How do you do, sir? Must be some mistake. I’m already married
Already married? (clicks tongue)
Oh, Hildy, you shouId’ve told me. Congratulations again, Mr. Baldwin
No, my name is -Mr. Burns.
Excuse me. I’m terribly busy. Just leave your card. What did you say?
Mr. Burns. Mr. Burns -My name is -
Some other time. I’m busy with Mr. Bruce Baldwin here
-I didn’t hear what you said. I was going to say that my name
Look, what is it with you? -I’m Bruce Baldwin.
Oh, }/OUTG Bruce Baldwin -Yes.
Well, who is he? Who are you? -My name’s Pete Davis.
Mr. Davis, is this any concern of yours? -No.
From now on l’ll thank you to keep your nose out of my affairs
And don’t let it happen again
Oh, that’s wrong, isn’t it?
Well, Bruce - You don’t mind ifl call you Bruce?
After all, we’re practically related -No, not at all.
You see, my wife - That is, your wife - I mean, Hildy
Hildy, you led me to expect you were marrying a much older man
Oh, really? What did I say that led you to expect such
(chuckles)
-You always carry an umbrella, Bruce? Well, it looked a little cloudy this morning
That’s right. Rubbers too, I hope
Attaboy. A man ought to be prepared for any emergency.
I think we’d better be running along -Yes, we’d better be going.
-Where are we going? I’m taking you two to lunch. Didn’t you tell him?
-No, she didn’t. I guess she wanted to surprise you
After you. After you, Hildy
You’re wasting your time It won’t do a bit of good.
No, I’m glad to do it. Glad to do it
Well, hello, Gus
-I can’t complain. I can. I’m hungry
Get me a roast beef sandwich Rare on white - Oh.
-Sorry. On white bread. Over there, Bruce
-You, Hildy? l’ll have the same, I guess
-You, sir? Yes, that’s all right for me
Bring some mustard too, Gus -Yes, sir.
So, you two are gonna get married, huh? -(Bruce chuckles)
-Well, how’s it feel, Bruce? Feels awful good. Yes, sir.
Things have been different for me ever since I met Hildy. I’ve never met anyone like her.
Everybody else I’ve ever known
But HiIdy’s not like that. You can’t tell that about her
-That’s nice. Yes. You’re getting something else too
You’re getting a great newspaperman -No orchids, Walter.
l’d like to believe you meant that -I do mean it.
If you ever want to come back to the newspaper business -
Which I W0n"t
Ah, well, in spite of everything, if I ever do there’s only one man l’d work for.
l’d kill you if you ever worked for anybody else -Hear that, Bruce? That’s my diploma.
It must be quite a business if it’s
Hildy, are you sure you want to quit? -What do you mean?
I mean, if there’s any doubt about it or if there’s anything that -
No. This is your chance to have a home and to be, like you said, a human being.
And I’m going to make you take that chance -Certainly. Why, I wouldn’t let her stay.
No, she deser\/es all this happiness, Bruce all the things I couIdn’t give her.
Yeah, all she ever wanted was a home -l’ll certainly try to give her one.
I know you will. Where you gonna live? -Albany.
Albany, huh? Got a family up there? -Just my mother.
Just your mother, huh? Mmm. You’re gonna live with your mother?
Well, just for the first year
Oh, well, that will be nice. Yes, yes
A home with Mother. In Albany too
Mighty nice town, Albany. They’ve got the state capitol there
Yeah, I know. We were there once
Listen, will you ever forget the night you brought the governor back to the hotel?
You see, I was in taking a bath I came walking out without -
(clears throat)
She didn’t know I was in town
Well, uh, Bruce, how is business up there? Any better?
Most people there take it out early in life -Yeah, well, I can see why they would.
Statistics show that most of our policies
You know, I’ve got a feeling I ought to have taken out a little insurance.
Course, that really doesn’t matter now that Hildy and I have, uh -
Well, you know, we’ve, uh - pfft. Does it? Or does it? What do you think?
Still, it might’ve been a good idea if we - if I had
Well, I honestly feel that way. I figure I’m in one business that really helps people
Course, we don’t help you much while you’re alive, but aften/vard.
That’s what counts -Sure.
I don’t get it -Ouch!
-Nice going. I’m so sorry, Gus. My foot must’ve slipped
Oh. That’s all right. What would you like to drink?
-Coffee, Gus. Shall I put rum in? It’s a nasty day
-Sure. Me too, Gus, please
-And you, sir? Not for me, thanks
-Go on, Bruce. No, I have a lot to do this afternoon
I have to buy the tickets, check the baggage -Do it tomorrow. There’s plenty of time.
But we’re leaving today at 4:00 Taking the sleeper for Albany.
Oh. You, uh
-Doesn’t give us much time No, and I’ve got a lot to do
Look at that! Isn’t that silly? All down over my front.
That’s nothing new. Here -Never mind. Hey, Gus.
Gus, do something about this, will you?
(whispering) Call me to the telephone as soon as I get back to the table.
-Sure. (normal voice) Thanks, Gus
That’s fine. Thanks, it’s fine
(clears throat) I’m terribly sorry about that. Silly, wasn’t it?
Listen, Bruce, let me get that straight I must’ve misunderstood you.
You’re taking the sleeper today and then getting married tomorrow?
Oh, well, it’s not like that -Well, what is it like?
Oh, poor Walter. He’II toss and turn all night
Perhaps we’d better tell him Mother’s coming along too.
Mother? Your mother kicked the bucket -No, my mother. My mother.
Oh, your m - Well, that relieves my mind
It was cruel of us to let you suffer that way
Isn’t Walter sweet? Always wanting to protect me
I don’t think she’II need you, Mr. Burns. I aim to do most of the protecting myself
Mr. Burns, telephone
For me? Yes, sir.
That’s strange. Uh, pardon me
Hildy, he’s not such a bad fellow
No. He should make some girl real happy
-Mm-hmm. (whispering) Slaphappy
He’s not the man for you. I can see that But I sort of like him.
He’s got a lot of charm
Well, he comes by it naturally His grandfather was a snake.
Hello? Hello? Hey, Duffy, listen
Is there any way we can stop the 4:00 train to Albany from leaving town?
I/I/e /77/LQ/7f0'}//73/77/16 /I. -Could we?
Oh, well, maybe we couIdn’t All right, now get this.
Get ahold of Sweeney and send him out of town on a two-weeks vacation
All right, keep your shirt on HiIdy’s coming back.
She doesn’t know it yet, but I promise you she’s staying here
Tell Louie to stick around the office I may need him. Good-bye.
Thanks, Gus
-This is bad business. What’s the matter, Walter?
-Oh, the Earl Williams case. I’ve been reading about that
-It’s pretty bad. What is the lowdown on it?
Simple, honey. Poor little dope who lost his job and went berserk
Shot a cop who was coming to quiet him down They’re gonna hang him tomorrow.
What a shame -Your paper -
If he was out of his mind, why doesn’t the state just put him away?
It happened to be a colored policeman You know what that means, Hildy.
Mm-hmm. The colored vote’s very important in this town.
Especially with an election coming up three or four days
That mayor, he’d hang his own grandmother to be reelected
I should think you could just show that the man wasn’t responsible.
-That’s not so easy. Mmm, maybe it isn’t so hard either
What do you mean, Hildy?
Don’t they have to have another expert examine him before they hang him?
Sure. A bird named Egelhoffer is gonna do it He’II say the same as the rest.
-Suppose he does? What’s your scheme, Hildy?
Look, you get the inten/iew with Earl Williams print EgeIhoffer’s statement.
And right alongside of it, you know double column, run your interview.
Alienist says he’s sane. Interview shows he’s goofy
-Uh-uh-uh. No. You could - Oh, yeah
-How long would the inter\/iew take? An hour. Another to write it. That’s all
We could take the 6:00 train if it’d save a man’s life.
No, Bruce
If you want to save Earl Williams’ life you write the inten/iew yourself.
-You’re still a good reporter. You know I can’t write that kind of thing
Get Sweeney. He’s the best man on the paper for that sob-sister stuff
Poor Sweeney. Duffyjust told me his wife finally had twins. Isn’t that terrible?
Sweeney went out to celebrate, and now we can’t find him anymore
So, Sweeney has twins, Earl Williams gets hanged tomorrow
Now, Walter, look - You argue with her
Othen/vise you’re going on a honeymoon with blood on your hands.
How can you have happiness after that?
because she was too selfish to wait two hours.
Earl Williams’ face will come between you on the train tonight
and at the preacher’s tomorrow and all the rest of your lives.
Stop, Walter! The whole pIace’II hear you -Stop what?
What an act -Huh? Huh?
I just remembered Sweeney was only married four months ago
(Walter snickers, laughs)
All right, Hildy, you win. I’m licked
Then Mrs. Sweeney didn’t have twins -(Hildy chuckles)
No, indeed. The twins were WaIter’s. All his -Oh, it was nothing.
Well, let’s forget it. We’II start all over again
l’ll offer you two a business proposition -We’re not interested.
You’II be interested. You’re a smart young man -Don’t listen. I know him from way back.
Excuse me, will you? I’m talking to him Now look, Bruce.
Persuade Hildy to do the story and you can write out a fat insurance policy for me
Oh, no. I wouldn’t use my wife for business purposes.
Wait a minute, Bruce
-What? $50,000
What’s the commission on a $100,000 policy? -Around $1,000. But, Hildy -
What’s wrong with $1 ,000? We could use that money.
How long would it take to get him examined? -I could get a doctor here in 20 minutes.
-Well, get him. You keep out of this
All right, Bruce, suppose you have Mr. Burns examined over in his office
and see what they’ll allow on that old carcass of his.
Now look, Bruce, l’ll go back and change After you get the check, you phone me.
l’ll be in the press room at the criminal courts building
Walter, by the way, I think you’d better make that a certified check.
-What do you think I am, a crook? Yes. No certified check, no story. Get me?
It’II be certified. Want my fingerprints? -No. I’ve still got those.
Gus, how much do I owe you?
Thank you, dear. Oh, Bruce -Oh, I’m sorry.
How much money have you got with you? -Everything we have - $500.
-Give me the $500. I have to buy the tickets
l’ll buy the tickets. I know what I’m doing
He’ll get you in a crap game or -I don’t gamble.
I know a lot of people that never did anything till they met Walter Burns.
All right, but remember it’s everything we have
-I know. WALTER: Oh, Bruce
You got change of ten? -I just-
See what I mean, don’t you, Bruce? Ijust gave everything I had to Hildy.
All I’ve got left is -Come on, Hildy
For the waiter
-(Bruce laughs) Come on, Bruce. Really
l’ll open for a dime -I’m in.
-l’ll stay. Wilcox 3-400
(phone ringing) -I’m in. Two.
Take that, one of you birds. You ain’t doing anything, Ernie
-l’ll take two. And one for the dealer
What’s the matter with you guys? Crippled or something?
Press room. Huh? Wait a minute
Hello, Sarge. McCue talking Hold the line, will ya.
What? No, I told you this is the press room in the criminal courts building.
Jake, new lead on the hanging
This alienist from New York Dr. Max J. Egelhoffer-
Egelhoffer. Yeah
He’s going to inten/iew Williams in about half an hour in the sheriff"s office
Must be about the tenth alienist they’ve put on Williams.
If he wasn’t crazy before, he would be by the time ten of those babies got through
Give me the desk
ls this guy Egelhoffer any good? -Figure it out for yourself.
He’s the guy they sent to Washington to inten/iew the brain trust.
He said they were sane
Here’s the situation on the eve of the hanging -l’ll pick up a little fudge.
This is Murphy. More slop on the hanging
A double guard has been thrown around the jail, municipal buildings
railroad terminals and elevated stations
to prepare for the expected general uprising of radicals -
The sheriff has just put 200 more relatives on the payroll
to protect the city from the red army, which is leaving Moscow in a couple of minutes
What do ya got? -ls that good?
HILDY: Sure looks good from here -Hildy, when did you get back?
-Hi, Ernie. Hiya, Hildy. Glad to see ya
-Where’d you get the hat? I paid 12 bucks for that hat
I’m going into business for myself -What doin’?
I’m getting married tomorrow -What? Again?
-She’ll never learn. Are we invited to the wedding?
I might use you for a bridesmaid, Roy -Uh-oh.
-How are you, Murphy? What are you gettin’ married for, Hildy?
Look what I’ve got in here. Three tickets to Albany on the 6:00 train tonight.
What do you mean, three? -For me and my beau.
-What kind of marriage is that? It’s gonna be all right. I’m gonna settle down
I’m through with the newspaper business
Can you picture Hildy singing lullabies and hanging out didies?
Swapping lies over the back fence -Sour grapes.
She’ll be back soon as she gets tired of beating rugs
I’m not gonna beat any rugs -(bell ringing)
Hey, that’s Third and Jefferson. lsn’t that where Central School is?
-No school this time of day. What do you care? You quit
Just thought it might be a good fire, that’s all.
-Qhuds) What’s that?
Just practicing for the Williams party in the morning
Gonna miss a nice hanging, Hildy -Not interested.
Tell 'em to pipe down
Hey, keep quiet down there! How do you expect us to get any work done?
Very little respect for the press around here
Did anybody phone me? -Not that I know of.
Say, does Walter know you’re gettin’ married? -Just had lunch with him.
-Does he know you’re quittin’? Yes, I told him. Any more questions?
Shall I deal you in? -I haven’t got time.
I have to do a yarn on Williams
Did he know what he was doing when he fired that gun?
If you ask us, no. If you ask the state alienist, yes
Who is he? What’s he do? -He was a bookkeeper.
He starts at $20 a week and after 14 years he gradually works himself up to 17.50.
Got more gum? -No.
McClosky company goes out of business and Williams loses his job.
Can’t get another? -No.
I’m in
So he starts hanging around the park
listening to soapbox spellbinders making phony speeches and begins to believe ’em
And makes some of his own
Up a dime -I’m in.
(exhales sharply) Anything else, Doc? -No, that’ll be about all, Mr. Burns.
-Everything okay? You have nothing to worry about
Good, good. How you doing, Bruce?
-Uh, there’s just one more thing. Good day, Mr. Burns, Mr. Baldwin
Good-bye, Doc. Thanks very much -Good day, Doc.
-Who’s the beneficiary? Uh, excuse me? Excuse me?
That is, in case of your death, who do we pay the money to?
Why, Hildy, of course!
Aw, I don’t know. That’d make me feel pretty funny
-I feel I should take care of her. But you will take care of her, Bruce
Look, Bruce, this is a debt of honor with me
I was a bad husband to Hildy
She could’ve claimed a lot of alimony if she’d wanted to, but she wouldn’t take any
-Well, I’m independent too. I know you are, Bruce. I know you are
But look, you just figure it this way
I’m good for, well, we’ll say at least 25 years yet
By that time, you’ll probably have made enough so that the money won’t mean anything to you.
Ah, I can see her now
White haired. Lavender and old lace
Can’t you see her, Bruce? -Yes. Yes, I can.
She’s old, isn’t she?
Now, Bruce, don’t you think that Hildy’s entitled
to spend her last remaining years without worries of money?
-Of course you do, Bruce. Of course, if you put it that way
WALTER: And remember, I love her too
Yes, I’m beginning to realize that
And the beauty of it is, she’ll never have to know until I’ve passed on.
WALTER: Oh, well, maybe she’ll think kindly of me
after I’m gone
Gee
(blowing nose)
You make me feel like a heel comin’ between ya.
No, Bruce, you didn’t come between us
It was all over for her before you came on the scene. For me -
-Hey, Walter. lt’ll never be. What do you want?
Can I see you a minute, please?
Excuse me, Bruce
Did you get it? -Yeah.
Where is it? Come on -There.
-Certified? Sure. But, Walter, that’s for $2,500
But she’ll know someday -Ah, yes.
Bruce, you promised to phone her as soon as you got the check.
Oh, yes, yes. Of course
Get me Hildy Johnson, press room criminal courts building.
Sit down. The operator will get her for you -Thank you.
Excuse me, will you? -Yes.
(ringing)
Start hollerin
Hildegarde Thank you
Hildy Johnson speaking. Oh, hello, Bruce
-I’ve got a dime left. We’ve been playing for an hour!
Take it easy, will you?
Hello, Bruce. Did you get the check? ls it certified?
Oh, in your pocket. That’s fine
Wait. Maybe it isn’t so fine Bruce, where are you?
Look, Bruce, I don’t want you to carry that check in your pocket
Well, because - Yes, yes, I know all that, but, uh
Bruce, there’s an old newspaper superstition
It sounds silly, but do it for me, please Yes, yes, right now.
There you are. I’ve done it Anything else?
Oh, yes. All right. Uh-huh
Yes, yes, l’ll tell him. Good-bye -Everything all right?
Hildy said to tell you she’ll get right to work -Fine.
Well, I must be going now -All right.
Oh, Bruce, don’t forget this. It might rain -Oh, thanks.
You don’t mind ifl don’t show you out? -No. Thanks for everything.
Excuse me, what’d you say? I said, thanks for everything.
Nonsense. Don’t thank me I should thank you.
Solong Solong
I want an inter\/iew with Earl Williams -Mm-mmm. No more inter\/iews.
-Why not? Sheriff’s orders
Besides, the doctor’s coming over Can’t do it.
Say, is this your money?
I don’t think it is -Twenty bucks
-Yeah, I guess maybe it is. That’s what I thought. Come on
Hey, Joe, open up here
Now, Hildy, don’t be -I won’t be long.
Hello, Earl -Hello.
My name’s Johnson. Mind if I talk to you for a few minutes?
No. I haven’t anything else to do -I guess that’s right.
So, you see, I couldn’t plead insanity because I’m just as sane as anybody else
You didn’t mean to kill that policeman, huh? -Why, of course not.
It’s against everything I’ve ever stood for.
They know it was an accident I’m not guilty.
It’s... It’s just the world
I see what you mean. Sorry about the lipstick, Earl
Look, after you lost yourjob what did you do?
-I tried to find anotherjob. I mean, how did you spend your time?
I used to sit around the park, anyplace Oh, I don’t smoke.
When you were in the park, did you hear any of those speeches?
You mean those fellas that talk too much? -Yeah.
Well, is there anything you remember? Anything in particular?
-There was one fella - What did he talk about?
Yes, he said everything should be made use of.
-Makes quite a bit of sense. Yes. He was a good speaker
When you found yourself with that gun and that policeman coming at you,
what did you think about? -I don’t know exactly.
You must’ve thought of something. Could it have been “production for use”?
-I don’t know. I... What’s a gun for, Earl?
A gun? -Mmm.
Why, to shoot, of course -Oh.
And maybe that’s why you used it -Maybe.
Seems reasonable -Yes. Yes, it is.
I’ve never had a gun in my hand before
That’s what a gun’s for, isn’t it? M-Maybe that’s why.
-Sure, it is. Yes, that’s what I thought of
It’s simple, isn’t it? -Very simple.
You’ll write about that in your paper, won’t you? -You bet I will.
-Who sent you the roses? Miss Mollie Malloy. She’s a wonderful person
-That her picture? Yes. She’s beautiful, isn’t she?
COOLEY: Time’s up, Hildy -Oh, all right.
Good-bye, Miss Johnson
Three landladies, boys. -You did well, didn’t ya?
I wonder what the Posiis gonna do without Hildy.
Do you suppose Walter Burns will ever let her go?
Remember what he did to Bill Fenton when he wanted to go to Hollywood.
Had him thrown in jail for arson -Forgery.
Was that it? -Yeah.
Gimme some change -Hey, Mac.
Hey, Stain/vay Sam -Huh?
Would you mind turning on some lights? -Sure.
So dark you can’t see anything in this place.
Who’s this guy Hildy’s gonna marry? -I don’t know. Bruce something.
Because she won’t be able to stay away from the paper
That’s what l’d like - a job on the side
With a desk and a stenographer. I wouldn’t mind a nice, big blonde
-With big brown eyes. l’ll bet 10-to-1 it don’t last six months
She’s just like us, and we wouldn’t be stickin’ around, waitin’ for that guy -
Well, well, Miss Mollie Malloy -Hello, Mollie.
-Hi, Mollie. How’s tricks? I’ve been lookin’ for you tramps
Come to pay a call on Williams? -He’s right across the courtyard.
-You’d better hurry up. Nice roses you sent to Earl
What do you want done with ’em tomorrow morning?
-A lot of wise guys, ain’t you? You’re breaking up the game, Mollie
What do you want? -I came to -
I came to tell ya what I think of all of ya -Keep your shirt on.
What are you sore about? Wasn’t that a swell story we gave ya?
You crumbs have been making a fool outta me long enough.
I never said I loved Earl Williams and was willing to marry him on the gallows
You made that up
And about my havin’ a love nest with him -You did, didn’t you?
You’ve been sticking around that cuckoo ever since they threw him in the death house
-That’s a lie! Everybody knows you’re his girlfriend
I met Mr. Williams just once in my life
How many? -Two.
The day before the shootin -Give me one.
I went up to him like any human being would and I asked him what was the matter.
And - And he told me about bein’ fired after bein’ on the same job for 14 years
-Who bets? Bet 20 cents
I brought him up to my room because it was warm there.
MURPHY: Oh, put it on a phonograph
MOLLIE: Aw, listen to me, please!
I tell ya he just sat there talkin’ to me all night.
He never once laid a hand on me
And in the morning he went away, and I never saw him again till that day at the trial.
MOLLIE: Sure I was his witness! -WILSON: And what a witness.
That’s why you’re persecutin’ me!
Because Earl Williams treated me decent and not like an animal, and I said so!
This is the press room. We’re busy! -Go see your boyfriend.
-Yeah, he’s got a nice room. He won’t have it long. He left a call for 7:00 AM
(gasps) It’s a wonder a bolt of lightning don’t come down and strike you all dead!
(trap door slams)
They’re fixin’ up a pain in the neck for your boyfriend.
Shame on ya. Shame on ya!
(sobs) A poor little fella that never meant nobody no harm
sittin’ there this minute with the angel of death beside him, and you crack a joke?
All right, get outta here
-Take your hands off of me! Come on, Mollie, let’s get outta here
-They ain’t human. I know. They’re newspapermen
All they’ve been doin’ is lyin’. All they’ve been doin’ is writin’ lies!
(rings)
Hello? Who? Hildy Johnson?
Hang on. She’ll be back in a minute
You guys wanna play any more cards? -No.
What’s the use? I can’t win anyway
Gentlemen of the press
Hildy, phone for ya
Hello?
Oh, hello, Bruce
What? Where are you?
You’re where?
Well, how did that happen? Never mind, never mind. l’ll be right down
Oh! I’m sorry! Sorry!
-Ooh! Ow! Hiya, Sheriff. How ya doin’?
-Bruce was in trouble. Lioness rushes to defend cub
-But - Man forgets hankie. Mama goes to wipe nose
-I still give that marriage six months. I don’t know what you fellas are talking about
What do you want, Pete? -Oh, uh, uh -
I’ve got the tickets for the hanging here, boys
Pete, why can’t you hang this guy at 5:00 instead of 7:00?
It won’t hurt you, and we can make the city edition
That’s kinda raw, Roy
After all, I can’t hang a man in his sleep just to please a newspaper.
No, but you can reprieve him twice so the hanging’s three days before election
You can run on a law-and-order ticket You can do that.
Honest, boys, I had absolutely nothing to do with those reprieves.
Yeah? How do we know there won’t be another reprieve tonight?
What if this Egelhoffer finds Williams insane?
He’s just as sane as I am -(together) Saner!
-(all chuckling) Now, be serious, boys
After all, this is a hanging, and it’s gonna go according to schedule
7:00 in the morning and not a minute earlier
After all, there’s such a thing as being humane, you know.
All right, Pinky, wait till you want a favor
And please don’t call me Pinky! -Why not?
What’s the “B” for? -Bull.
But I’m innocent. I didn’t do anything I never stole a watch in my life.
I can’t, Hildy. He’s accused of stealing a watch, and they found the watch on him
-But I never stole - Please, Bruce. And who accused him?
Diamond Louie, the biggest crook in town -I know. It’s no good, Hildy.
Don’t “Hildy” me. Are you gonna let him out? -No.
I never stole - Bruce, please
All right, you’re not. Well, perhaps you’d better read the Pos! in the morning.
I can’t think of any enemies I have -I’m sure you haven’t any, Br -
-Have you got the check? Oh, yes. I have it right here
That’s a funny superstition you newspaper people have
Yes, isn’t it?
About being arrested, at first I thought Walter Burns might have something to do with it.
But then, of course, I realized he couldn’t have
-Why? Well, he’s a very nice fellow, Hildy
-Oh! Oh, yes. I found that out
What’s the matter? -I’ve lost my wallet!
Yes, well, Bruce, never mind. I have the money You’d better give me the check too.
And that picture of us in Bermuda -Don’t bother, Bruce.
You’ll find lots of things missing
No, Bruce dear, you wait here. I’m not taking any more chances
l’ll be down in three minutes We’re taking the next train.
Oh, sorry
And so into this little tortured mind
came the idea that that gun had been produced for use.
And use it he did
But the state has a production-for-use plan too It has a gallows.
And at 7:00 AM, unless a miracle occurs
that gallows will be used to separate the soul of Earl Williams from his body
And out of Mollie Malloy’s life will go the one kindly soul she ever knew
That’s as far as she got -(soft whistle)
I don’t think it’s very ethical, reading other people’s stuff
Where do you get that ethics stuff? You’re the only one who’ll swipe any of it
I still say that anybody that can write like that ain’t gonna give it up permanently
to sew socks for a guy in the insurance business
Now I give that marriage three months and I’m laying 3-to-1. Any takers?
HILDY: l’ll take that bet
Hello, P0sL get me Walter Burns will you, please?
Don’t get sore, Hildy. We were only saying a swell reporter like you wouldn’t quit so easy
This is Hildy Johnson
I can quit, all right, without a single quiver
I’m gonna live like a human being not like you chumps.
Yes, I got the interview, all right, but I’ve got some more important news
Perhaps you’d better get a pencil and take it down. All ready?
Now get this, you double-crossing chimpanzee
There ain’t gonna be any inten/iew and there ain’t gonna be any story.
And that certified check of yours is leaving with me in 20 minutes.
I wouldn’t cover the burning of Rome for you if they were just lighting it up.
If I ever lay my two eyes on you again I’m gonna walk right up to you
and hammer on that monkey skull of yours till it rings like a Chinese gong.
Oh, so you don’t know why I’m angry with you?
Perhaps you’d better get Louie to tell you the story of his watch
There’s just one other thing I want you to listen to.
Hear that? That’s the story I just wrote
Yes, I know we had a bargain. I said l’d write it. I didn’t say I wouldn’t tear it up
And that, my friends, is my farewell to the newspaper game
I’m gonna be a woman, not a news-getting machine
I’m gonna have babies, take care of ’em give ’em cod-liver oil
and watch their teeth grow and... and
-If I ever see one of ’em look at a newspaper, I’m gonna brain ’em -(ringing)
Where’s my hat? -Hello? Hello?
Oh, Mr. Burns? Yes, she’s still here -Give me that!
And another thing I wanna - Oh!
Ooh, you
Where is my - Oh, there it is
Hello, Doctor. Sorry to be late -That’s quite all right.
These boys from the newspapers they take up so much of my time.
They wanted me to hang Williams at their convenience.
Oh, hello, Earl -Hello.
These newspapers, what they did to me in Chicago
Always after me for interviews -Yes, me too.
Of course, I did rather promise to make them some sort of statement when I finished here.
-You don’t mind, do you? Well, that’s hardly ethical, Doctor
Well, what do you say to giving them some sort ofjoint interview?
I can discuss some of the psychological aspects of the case and you -
We’d have our pictures taken together? -Yes, yes, shaking hands.
Of course, I don’t take a very good picture
That doesn’t matter, Doctor. The publicity is the main thing
Doctor, I’m getting awful tired Can’t I go back to jail again?
That’ll help us with what we have to do over here
Now, let m6 See
Mr. Williams, you know, of course that you’re going to be executed.
Now, who do you feel is responsible for that?
I’m innocent. It wasn’t my fault
-Well, Murph. Send us a postcard
When’ll we see ya again, “Yonson”?
Next time you see me, I shall be riding in a Rolls-Royce, giving interviews on success
When you’re crawling up fire escapes and getting kicked out of front doors
and eating Christmas dinners in one-arm joints don’t forget your pal, Hildy Johnson.
-We won’t. When the road beyond unfolds
(gunfire)
(alarm ringing)
-(gunfire continues) Look out! It’s a jailbreak!
What’s the matter? What happened? -(gunfire)
Hey, watch where you’re aimin’, will ya?
MAN: Block the gate! He’ll try the gate!
Who got away? Who was it? -Earl Williams!
(excited chattering)
Hello. Hurry up. This is important -Give me the desk.
-Call you back. Williams took a powder -Went over the wall.
(gunfire continues) -(siren wailing)
Hello, P0sL get me Walter Burns quick It’s Hildy Johnson.
Walter? Walter, Hildy. Earl Williams just escaped from the countyjail.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah! Don’t worry. I’m on the job
(sirens continue wailing)
Hey, Cooley! Wait!
He
Hey! Wait a minute!
(phone ringing)
(phones ringing)
This is Endicott. Give me rewrite -(ringing)
He ain’t here. Hello, Gil? Here’s the situation now. You ready?
Williams was taken over to the sheriff"s private office
In a few minutes he shot his way out Nobody knows where he got the gun
He went upstairs to the infirmary and got out through the skylight.
He must have slid down the rain pipe to the street. Nobody knows where he got it
-If they do, they won’t talk. Hello, sweetheart. Give me the desk
Crime commission offers $10,000 reward for Williams’ capture
Here’s a little feature though. There’s been an accident about a tear bomb.
Yeah, tear bomb, tear bomb Criminals cry for it.
I don’t know
This tear bomb went off unexpectedly in the hands of Sheriff Hartwell’s bombing squad.
What went off?
The following deputies were rushed to the hospital
Fine friend you are
Their names are Men/vyn D. Wilkerson the mayor’s brother-in-law.
-After all I’ve done for you. Howard Schuster, the sheriff"s uncle
-On his mother’s side. WILSON: Hello, Jim?
Sidelights on Sheriff Hartwell’s manhunt
William Mansfield, the sheriff"s landlord and Lester Winthrop,
who married the sheriff"s niece
You remember, the very homely dame Call ya back.
Mrs. William Rice, age 55, scrub lady while scrubbing the eighth floor,
was shot in the left leg by one of Sheriff Hartwell’s deputies
Look, I’m not -(gunfire)
There goes another scrub lady! -It was only a flesh wound.
-They took her to the hospital. McCue speaking. Give me the desk
Mac, any dope on how he escaped?
A man answering the description of Earl Williams was seen boarding
-(gunfire) Call ya back!
Thought you’d gone -I thought so too.
Get me Walter Burns, quick
Walter, Walter, listen
I’ve got the whole story on how Williams got that gun and escaped
And I got it exclusive. Yeah. That’s right, and it’s a pip
It cost me 450 bucks to tear it out of Cooley
Never mind that. What’s the story?
Just a minute, and l’ll give you the story
I had to give him all the money I had and it wasn’t exactly mine.
It’s Bruce’s money, and I want it back
Bruce’s money? Sure, sure, sure, you’ll get it. Now, what’s the story?
l’ll send the money right down to you I swear it on my mother’s grave.
All right, here’s the - Wait a minute. Your mother’s alive
My grandmother’s grave. Don’t be technical. What’s the story?
You get that money down here All right, here’s your story.
It seems this expert Dr. Egelhoffer, the profound thinker from New York
was giving Williams a final sanity test in the sheriff"s office.
You know, sticking a lot of pins in him so he could get his reflexes.
He decided to reenact the crime exactly as it had taken place
in order to study Williams’s powers of coordination.
I’m coming to it. Of course, he had to have a gun to reenact the crime with
Who do you suppose supplied it? Peter B. Hartwell - “B” for brains.
(snorts, laughing) No kidding!
I tell you, I’m not kidding. I’m not good enough to make this one up
The sheriff gave his gun to the professor The professor gave it to Earl.
Earl shot the professor right in the classified ads
No, ads. Ain’t it perfect?
lfthe sheriff had unrolled a red carpet and loaned Williams an umbrella,
it couldn’t have been more ideal
Who? Oh, no, no. Egelhoffer wasn’t badly hurt
They took him to the county hospital where they’re awfully afraid he’ll recover
Oh, that’s great work, Hildy. Huh?
Stop worrying about the money l’ll see you get it in 15 minutes.
l’d better get it in 15 minutes. Bruce is waiting in a taxicab for me
-We’re in a hurry. Hold on a minute. Hey, come here
There’s a guy waiting in a taxi in front of the criminal courts building
His name is Bruce Baldwin -What does he look like?
He looks like that fellow in the movies You know, Ralph Bellamy.
-Oh, him? Can you handle it?
I’ve never flopped on ya yet, have I?
Yes, dear. Sorry to keep you waiting How much was it again?
$450? Just a second
Louie, I need $450 worth of counterfeit money.
Can’t carry that much
Just the 450 counterfeit Where can I get it?
-Oh, I got that on me. Quite a coincidence. Take it over to Hildy
Hello. It’s coming right over. I’m sending it over with Louie
Thanks for your story, dear, and good luck on your honeymoon
No, no, never mind the thanks Just see that money gets here
Hello, Hildy. You still here? -No, I’m in Niagara Falls.
McCue speaking. Emil, I got a good feature for you on the manhunt.
Ready? Mrs. Phoebe DeWolfe, 861 1/2 South State Street, colored
gave birth to a pickaninny in a patrol wagon
with Sheriff Hartwell’s special rifle squad acting as nurses
So they coaxed her into the patrol wagon and started a race with the stork.
When the pickaninny was born, the rifle squad examined him to see if it was Earl Williams.
Well, they knew he was hiding somewhere
-(phone rings) Here’s the payoff
They named the kid Peter Hartwell DeWolfe -Press room.
Bruce! I thought you were downstairs in the
What? Arrested again? What for this time?
Oh, well, they called it mashing
NO! I didn’t, Hildy
The young lady seemed to have a dizzy spell and I just
Huh?
Yes, she’s a blonde. Yes, very blonde
Never mind. I know how it happened. Just a minute
Get me Walter Burns. Hildy Johnson
Bruce, where are ya? 27th Precinct? Hold on a minute, will ya?
Walter, you - Well, he was there a minute ago
But, I - (mimicking) Sorry, I can’t locate him, Miss Johnson
Why, that double-crossing Hello - No, not you.
Bruce, I can’t get there right away How about 20 minutes?
You see, I have to wait here for the Uh, l’ll tell you when I see you.
If I ever get my two hands again on that Walter Burns -
Hold on a minute. Anything I can do to help? -How much money you got?
-$1.80. Sixty-four cents
-Welcome to it. Thanks. You’d better buy an annuity
What’s that, Emil? No, I can’t give you an official statement.
How ’bout a statement, Mayor? -Don’t pester me now.
-I’ve got a lot on my mind. His Honor won’t say anything
Have you seen Sheriff Hartwell? -It’s hard to tell.
There’s so many cockroaches around here -
Wait a minute. How about a statement, Your Honor?
-Sure, we go to press in 20 minutes. I have nothing to say. Not at this time
How’d he get out? Where’d he get the gun?
-Wait a minute, boys. Not so fast. Give us a statement on the election then
What effect will this have on the voters? -None whatsoever.
How can an unavoidable misfortune like this have any influence
on the upright citizens of our fair city?
ls there a red menace or ain’t there?
How did Williams get out of that rubberjail?
Have you learned to stand the gaff, or have you picked somebody to be responsible?
ls there any truth in the report you’re on Stalin’s payroll?
Yeah, the senator claims you sleep in red unden/vear
Never mind the jokes. Don’t forget I’m the mayor. Hartwell, I wanna see you!
How’d he get away? Where’d he get the gun?
Hi, Your Honor. Any statement on the red uprising tomorrow?
-What red uprising? There’ll be no red uprising
The governor says the situation calls for the militia
-Get me rewrite. You can quote me
Anything the governor says is a tissue of lies.
He claims the mayor and sheriff have shown themselves
to be a couple of eight-year-olds playing with fire, yeah.
You can quote him as follows
“lt is a lucky thing for the city that next Tuesday is election day
as the citizens will thus be saved the expense of impeaching the mayor and the sheriff.”
That’s all. Call ya back. Nice to have seen ya, Mayor
Excuse me, boys, I’ve got so much to do -Quit stalling, Pinky!
Who engineered this? -Was it the Reds?
-No! Who was it? You?
Me? No! I’ve got him located -Williams?
-Where? Where he used to live. Ijust got a tip
-Why didn’t you say so? The rifle squad is just going out
-Get me outta here! Catch them if you hurry. Please
Pete, I wanna talk to you I have got so much to do
Now, see here, Fred Pete, you’re through
-You mean I’m through? I’m scratching your name off the ticket
I’m running Sherman in your place
“Reform the Reds with a rope.” Williams isn’t a Red, and you know it
There are a lot of communistic sympathizers around.
I thought ifl got a slogan like that I could -
I know it, but that’s got nothing to do with this case.
-(knocking) There are 200,000 votes at stake
We’re going to hang him. Come in! He can’t get away.
What do you mean? He did get away!
What do you want? -I - Uh -
I’m he. What is it?
-What’s from the governor? It was a reprieve for Earl Williams
-For who? Earl Williams’ reprieve
You said there wasn’t gonna be a reprieve -I didn’t know about this.
It frightens me to think of what l’d like to do to you
Who else was there when he gave you this? -Nobody. He was out fishing.
Bought a red hat -Duck shooting.
A guy who’s done nothing for the last 40 years but play pinochle
gets elected governor and thinks he’s a Tarzan
Read that! “lnsane,” he says! He knows Williams isn’t insane
I never met the man -Ah! Pure politics.
It’s an attempt to ruin us We gotta think fast.
-What are we gonna tell the reporters? The party’s through on account of you.
-Oh, Fred! Tell ’em I want your resignation now
Hello? Yes. Yes, this is Hartwell
What? Where? Where?
Holy Moses! Hold the wire! -What is it?
Tell them to hold the phone -I did. Hold the wire!
Listen. You never arrived with this -Yes, I did. Remember?
-Huh? What’s your salary?
-Forty dollars a week. How’d you like to make $350 a month?
-Almost $100 a week. No, I couldn’t afford - Who, me?
Who do you think? They need a fellow like you in the city sealer’s office.
-In the what? City sealer’s.
-I should work - Wait a minute! I’m in conference!
My wife wouldn’t want me to do that -Why not?
Bring her in here. We’ll pay all the expenses
-No, I don’t think so. For heaven’s sakes, why not?
I got two kids going to school. lfthey change towns, they lose a grade.
No, they won’t. They’ll skip a grade
l’ll guarantee ya they’ll graduate with highest honors
Hold your horses! Hurry up, Fred.
What do you say?
Puts me in a kind of peculiar hole -No, it doesn’t.
Remember, you never delivered this -Yes, I did.
No, you got caught in the traffic -No, I came -
Pretend you did. Get out Don’t let anybody see ya
-Wait a minute. But how do I know
Come in and see me tomorrow What’s your name?
Pettibone. What’s yours? -Pettibone?
Really? -No.
-I’m tired anyhow. Go to this address
Homey place. They’ll take good care of ya. Tell ’em Fred sent ya.
-Here’s $50 on account. Will ya wait, Olsen? l’ll tell ya in one minute
-ls it hard? No, no, easy. Very easy
That’s good, because my health isn’t My wife -
We’ll fix that too -My wife?
-Yeah, fix anything. Go ahead. Fred, they’re still on the phone
All right, tell ’em to shoot to kill -What?
You heard what I said But the reprieve, Fred
-Do as I tell ya. Hello, Olsen? Shoot to kill
That’s the orders. Pass the word along -$500 reward.
$500 to the man who does it l’ll be right over.
Hi, Hildy
You double-crossing hyena, l’d like to -What’s the matter?
Don’t give me that innocent stuff. What did you pull on Mr. Baldwin this time?
-Who, me? You and that albino of yours
You talkin’ about Evangeline? -None other.
She ain’t no albino. She was born right here in this country.
She tries anything else, she’ll have to stay here in this country
Did you bring that money? -Oh, yeah.
400 bucks -450.
All right. You can’t blame a guy for tryin
Better give me a receipt -l’ll give you a scar.
-I got plenty of them. Oh, and l’ll take Mr. Baldwin’s wallet too
-Mr. Baldwin’s what? His purse. Come on. Come on, Louie
All right, Hildy. l’ll do it for you because I like you
But you better tell that financier to be more careful in these hard times
Don’t talk that way. Here, l’ll take that l’ll take it to the station.
Wait a minute. You’ll take it over to the station, all right.
You’ll take it to the 27th Precinct and tell the cops how this all happened.
Burns would have me in Alcatraz in an hour.
That’s not a bad idea -Here, catch.
Drop that phone
Never mind
Put that gun down, Earl
You don’t want to shoot me, Earl I’m your friend, remember?
I’m gonna write the story on you and production for use.
Oh, yes. That’s right Production for use.
You don’t want to hurt your friend -Don’t move!
Maybe you’re my friend and maybe you’re not, but don’t come any nearer
I don’t blame you, Earl. If I were you I wouldn’t trust anybody either.
Don’t do that. Put it back! Put it back!
If you try any tricks, l’ll shoot you I can do it right from here.
S-Sure you could, Earl
But you don’t want to do that. You don’t want to kill anybody
No, you’re right. I don’t want to kill anybody
I was just going to close the door so nobody’d see you.
No, you weren’t. You were gonna get somebody
But I don’t want that. All I want is to be left alone
-I won’t get anybody. Yes, you will. You’ll get ’em after me again
I won’t let you do that! -(shade rattling)
-(gun clicking) Give me that.
I guess I fired all the shells Oh, I’m awful tired.
-I couldn’t go through - That shot. They’ll know you’re here!
I don’t care. I’m not afraid to die -Stop it.
I was telling the fella that when he handed me the gun
-Be quiet. Waking me up in the middle ofthe night
Talking to me about things they don’t understand.
-Shut up. I wish they’d take me back and hang me
They will if you don’t keep quiet
I couldn’t go through another day like this -Maybe you think I could.
Get me Walter Burns, quick! -(phone ringing)
Tell him I need him
Hello, hello
Bruce, I know I said l’d be down in 20 minutes but something terrific has happened. Hold on.
Walter, come over here! Bruce, just a second. l’ll explain everything
Walter, I got Earl Williams right in the press room. Hurry! I need you. Right
I’ve captured Earl Williams You know, the murderer!
-(knocking) Stay down, Earl. Wait a minute!
Bruce, as soon as I hand him over to the paper, l’ll be right down.
Bruce, I can’t! Don’t you realize -(pounding on door)
Come on! Let me in! -Who is it?
It’s me, Mollie Malloy Open the door!
What do you want, Mollie? -I gotta find -
-Where is everybody? They’re not here. They’ve all gone
Please tell me where they’ve gone -I don’t know. I’m busy.
Do you mind running along? -They got him surrounded.
They’re gonna shoot him down like a dog -They’re lookin’ for you too. Get out.
I don’t care! You gotta tell me. I ain’t afraid
All right, l’ll tell ya. They’re down at Center and Fourth
-Oh, that’s where he used to - EARL: Mollie. Mollie, don’t Q0
Oh, come in, Mollie. Draw up a chair
-Hello, Mollie. How did you get in here?
Down the pipe. I didn’t mean to shoot him. Really I didn’t.
-I know. HILDY (whispering): Shh. Be quiet
You believe me, don’t you, Mollie? -Sure, I believe you.
Thanks for the roses They were beautiful.
Oh, for heaven’s sake. Don’t you even dare. Be quiet
I want to get him out of here -Are you crazy?
But they’ll find him -I know it.
I’m trying to think before those reporters come back
Let ’em take me. What difference does it make?
No, l’ll never let ’em -(doorknob rattling)
Hey, who locked the door?
-(pounding) It’s too late
No, it isn’t. Earl, get in this desk -What’s the use?
Come on. Get in
-Open up! Pull yourself together. All right
-(Crying) Sit down
-(pounding continues) All right, all right. I’m coming
-Are you tryin’ to kick the building down? Gettin’ exclusive. We got phone calls to -
What’s she doin’ up here? -Get some smelling salts.
-What’s the matter? Came up here and had hysterics
-Looks pretty sick. How you feel, kid?
-No. You don’t look sick to me
You didn’t bump into Williams, did you? -Ain’t you funny.
-Yeah? Where is he? Let me alone, will ya?
Okay. Give me the desk -No harm in askin’.
They surrounded the house, but they forgot to tell Williams, and he wasn’t there.
Some Halloween going on outside. The whole police force standing on its ear
-Hildy, I thought you were gone. Been waitin’ for money from Walter
What a chase. Give me Emil
-(chattering) Any news, boys?
Yeah, I’ve never been so tired in my life.
Hey, fellas, this looks good -Call you back.
An old ladyjust called the detective bureau claims Williams is hiding under her piazza.
-Tell her to stand up. We looked every other place
-Don’t you want to go out on it? I have to stick around. l’ll cover this end
I spent $1.40 on taxicabs already -Let’s not do any more goin’ out.
-Never mind, Sarge. Tear it up. Who pulled the shades down?
I did. They were throwing those lights around.
J`J` (whistling)
You know, I got a hunch Williams ain’t anywhere they been lookin’ for him.
HILDY: Sure, hanging around like a duck in a shooting gallery
There’s that skylight to get out of. But how did he reach the ground?
I’m pretending there ain’t any Earl Williams -He could jump over to this roof.
It’s only about four feet
Once he got to the roof, he could slide down a drainpipe
And come in any one of these windows on this side
The story’s gonna walk right in the window -
Masterminds at work. You boys go home Maybe Williams will call on you.
WouIdn’t it be funny if he’s in this building?
Why not search the building? Everybody take a floor.
-I’m not gonna wander all over. A great bunch of reporters you are
The biggest story in two years and you’re too lazy to go out.
If I know you, you seem pretty anxious to get rid of us. You trying to scoop us?
Are you crazy? On my own time?
Maybe Mollie’s given her the story on how Williams got the gun.
-Come clean, Mollie. HILDY: Let the girl alone
Well?
Mrs. Baldwin. Mother - Don’t you “Mother” me
Playing cat-and-mouse with my poor boy keeping him locked up.
l’ll be with you in five minutes -You don’t have to go at all.
Give me Bruce’s money. You can stay here forever, as far as I’m concerned.
You and that murderer you caught -What’s that? What murderer?
Which one of these men is it? They all look like murderers.
-What murderer did you catch? I don’t know what she’s talking about
And he has never lied to me -That’s ridiculous.
I never said anything like that! -Yes, you did.
No, I said I was trying to find the murderer She’s got it all balled up.
Who you holdin’ out on? -Nobody. Let me go.
I don’t know where he is -Stop it. Stop it!
What are you askin’ her for? She don’t know where he is.
I’m the only one that knows
Where is Williams? -Try and find out.
-Come on, Mollie. Talk. Talk? Now you want me to talk?
-Sure. Ain’t that funny
You wouldn’t listen before, not for a minute and now you want me to talk.
HILDY: Don’t tell ’em anything, Mollie -I know what I’m doing.
-Stay out of this, Hildy. Why didn’t you listen to me?
-Cut that out! Keep your hands off me
What do you want to know for? So you can write more lies.
So you can sell more papers -Never mind that.
All right, l’ll give you a story a wonderful story!
Only this time it’ll be true! You’ll never find him now!
-(shouting) (screaming)
Darling, did you see that? -Where is he?
-She isn’t dead. Hildy, where have you got Williams?
He’s in the desk. Can’t believe she didn’t kill herself
Keep quiet. You’re sitting pretty -What’s in there?
-Who are you? Who is she? This is Mrs. Baldwin, Bruce’s mother
What are you doing? -Shut up!
I won’t! You’re doing something wrong -Take her out of here.
My name’s Louie Poluso -(screaming)
Knock her out. See that she doesn’t talk to anyone
-You can’t do this. What do I tell ’em?
-Tell ’em it’s a case of dt’s. Don’t worry, Mother. This is only temporary!
-Walter, let go of me. Where do you think you’re going?
I’m going after Mother, and I’m going to get Bruce out ofjail
How can you worry about a man who’s resting in a nice, quiet police station?
This is war. You can’t desert me now -Get off that trapeze.
You’ve got your story in the desk Smear it all over the front page.
Earl Williams captured by the M0/'n/hg Post. ”
I covered your story and got in a mess Now I’m gettin’ out.
You drooling idiot. What do you mean? -Just what I said.
There are 365 days in a year one can get married.
How many times you got a murderer locked up in a desk? Once in a lifetime
You got the city by the seat of the pants -Sure, I know.
You’ve got the brain of a pancake. This isn’t just a story you’re covering
It’s a revolution
-It’s the other way around. Don’t get technical at a time like this
You’ve taken a city that’s been graft-ridden for 40 years under the same old gang.
With this yarn, you’re kicking ’em out giving us a chance
to have the kind of government New York’s having under La Guardia
If I didn’t have your best interest at heart you think l’d waste time arguing?
You done something big. You stepped up into a new class
Huh?
We’ll make monkeys out of those ward heelers Nobody’ll vote for them, not even their wives.
-Expose ’em, eh? We’ll crucify that mob
We’ll keep Williams undercover until morning so the Pos! can break the story exclusive.
We’ll let the governor in on the capture -I get it.
You’ve kicked over City Hall like an apple cart.
You got the mayor and Hartwell backed up against a wall.
You’ve put one administration out and another one in.
This isn’t just a newspaper story it’s a career.
And you stand there bellyaching about whether you catch an 8:00 or 9:00 train
-We’d be the white-haired boys. They’d be naming streets after you
There’ll be statues of you in the park The movies’ll be after you, the radio.
We’ll take him to my private office Which is our phone?
On the end. How you gonna take him? -We’ll carry the desk over.
You can’t move that desk. It’s crawling with cops outside
-How much do you want? All the words you got. Hello! Give me Duffy
Can I call the mayor a bird of prey? -Call him anything you like.
How about the time he had his house painted by the fire department?
The works. Hello, Duffy? Get set We got the biggest story in years
Yeah! And I want you to tear out the whole front page.
I said the whole front page out
Never mind the European war. We got something bigger than that
Hildy Johnson’s writing the lead. l’ll give it to you as soon as she’s finished
Get hold of Butch O’Connor. Tell him to come up with half a dozen of his wrestlers
Butch O’Connor. I’ve got a desk I want moved
Never mind what -Hildy!
What the deuce do you want? -Hello, Bruce.
Never mind the Chinese earthquake
-Not through any help of yours. You can’t come in here. We’re busy
I’m not talking to you. I had to wire Albany for $100 so I could get out on bail.
-I don’t care if there’s a million dead. I don’t know what they’re gonna think
They had to send the money to the police station.
-We’re waiting for that story. We’ll explain everything to them, Bruce
I can’t hear you, Duffy -Where’d she go?
-Out someplace. No, no, junk the Polish corridor
Tell me where my mother was going -She couldn’t say.
-This is more important. Did she get the money from you?
No, she left in a hurry -l’ll take that money.
-It’s right there in my purse. I can handle things around here
-l’ll take that certified check too. l’ll give it to you. Here are the tickets
You’ll find your money in the wallet -My wallet? This is my wallet!
Say, there’s something funny going on What are you doing?
Just wanted to look at it
-Hildy, I’m taking - WALTER: What’d you say?
Hildy, I’m taking the 9:00 train -Sure, sure.
The 9:00 train. Oh, Bruce, I put it in here
Hey, let her alone, will you, buddy?
-Do me a favor, Bruce? Just answer me one question
You don’t, do you? -No!
Take those Miss America pictures off page six.
Hildy, tell me the truth
-Did you ever love me, Hildy? Now look here, my good man!
You’re doin’ this to her
She wanted to get away from you and everything you stand for,
but you caught her and changed her mind
No, I am not, but something’s happened l’ll tell you everything -
You’ll tell him nothing! He’s a spy!
I am not a spy. Hildy, you’re coming with me now!
Give me a second. This is the biggest thing in my life!
Isee.VHkeep. I’m like something in the icebox
-Yeah. You don’t love me
That isn’t true. Just because you won’t listen, you say I don’t love you
That isn’t the point at all
-All right! Sebastian jumping!
-I’m trying to concentrate! I see what’s going on now
-You’re just like him and all the rest. HILDY: Sure, sure. That’s what I am
What? No, leave the rooster story alone That’s human interest.
-You get hold of Butch O’Connor? If you had any sympathy or understanding
I understand, all right -Wait.
There’s only one question I want to know.
Walter, the mayor’s first wife What was her name?
The one with the wart on her? Fanny What, Duffy?
You’re not working for the advertising department
If you want me, Bruce, you gotta take me as I am
I’m no suburban bridge player I’m a newspaperman.
That’s the stuff, Hildy. Keep it coming Get back in there, you mock turtle.
Duffy, did you tell Butch and his gang to take a taxi as a matter of life and death?
Stay on this wire. Butch is on his way We gotta hold out for 15 minutes.
The boys’ll be coming in here to phone -l’ll handle ’em.
Ah, now the moon’s out
(three knocks)
-Not very much. That better? You’re sitting pretty
-How’s it coming, honey? All right, I guess. Where’s Bruce?
-Oh, he went out. ls he coming back?
Certainly. Didn’t you hear him? What have you got so far?
shooting innocent bystanders spreading their reign of terror
Earl Williams was lurking less than 20 yards -Aren’t you gonna mention the Post?
-Doesn’t the paper get credit? I did that in the second paragraph
Who’s gonna read the second paragraph?
For ten years I’ve been tellin’ you how to write a story, and that’s what I get?
What’s the idea of locking this door?
-Who’s that? Bensinger. That’s his desk
Open the door, will ya? -(pounding)
What’d you say his name was? -Bensinger, of The Tribune.
- Tnbune, huh? Who’s in there?
Haven’t you any better sense Uh, hello. Hello, Mr. Burns.
Well, quite an honor having you come over here
-Hello, Bensinger Oh, you know my
-(chuckling) Excuse me, I just want to get my
It’s quite a coincidence seeing you tonight. lsn’t it, Hildy?
-Yes. How do you mean?
I was talking to our Mr. Duffy about you this afternoon.
Really. Nothing detrimental, I hope -On the contrary.
That was one swell story you had in the paper this morning
-The poem was great. I like the ending especially
And all is well outside his cell
but in his heart, he hears the hangman calling and the gallows falling
and his white-haired mother’s tears
Heartbreaking? -Uh-huh.
That’s fine. How’d you like to work for me? -What?
We can use a man like you. We got a lot of lowbrows like Johnson here.
Are you serious, Mr. Burns? -Serious? Wait a minute.
Duffy, I’m sending a Mr. Bunsinger over to see you
-Bensinger. Mer\/yn, isn’t it?
Roy V. Bensinger, the poet
Of course you wouldn’t know. You probably never heard of Shakespeare either.
(slaps back)
I want you to put Mr. Bensinger on the staff right away.
How much you getting on The Tnbune? -Ah, 75.
l’ll give you 100 and a byline. You give him everything he wants, understand?
Okay. Look
I want you to write me a story from the point of view of the escaped man
He hides, cowering, afraid of every sound, of every light
He hears footsteps. His heart is going like that. They’re closing in
Get the sense of the animal at bay -Sort of a Jack London style?
-Exactly. l’ll get my rhyming dictionary
It doesn’t have to rhyme
Well, I’m deeply grateful, Mr. Burns -Good.
Oh! If you should have an opening for a war correspondent,
I ,oar/er a little French
-l’ll keep you in mind. Au revoir, mon cap/ia/ne
Bonjour
Uaughs) His white-haired mother’s tears
That’s the stuff, isn’t it?
Listen, Bensinger is on his way to see you Handle him with kid gloves.
Put him to work writing poetry
No, we don’t want him. Just stall him until the extra’s out
Then tell him his poetry smells and kick him downstairs.
You said it. He won’t quit his paper without giving notice after this.
I mean you. You’d double-cross anybody
Wait a minute. I just remembered
Bruce isn’t coming back here He’s taking the 9:00 train.
In that case, he’s gone
Don’t sit there like a frozen robin Get on with the story.
We ought to have our plans finished by the time Butch gets here.
How you have messed up my life What am I going to do?
The window’s too small. We’ll have to carry the desk out
I oughta be on that train right now. What a sap I am, falling for your line
They’re gonna name streets after me Johnson Street.
-Get back to work. I’m not going back to work
(doorknob rattling)
-Who is it? It’s me, boss. It’s Louie
Louie
Holy smokes! What’s the matter with you? -Where’s Mrs. Baldwin?
-What happened? You been in a fight?
Down Western Avenue, we was going 65 miles an hour
Take that mush out of your mouth -Where’s the old lady?
We run smack into a police patrol busted it in half.
Was she hurt? -Where is she?
Imagine bumping into a load of cops They come rolling out like oranges.
What did you do with her? -Search me.
When I come to, I was running down 34th Street
-You were in the taxicab. The driver got knocked cold
Butterfingers! I give you an old dame to take somewhere and you hand her over to the cops
What do you mean, I handed her? The cops was on the wrong side of the street
She’s probably squawking her head off in a police station.
I don’t think she’s squawking much You know what I mean?
-Was she killed? Was she? Did you notice?
Me with a gun on the hip and a kidnapped old lady on my hands
I’m gonna stick around asking questions from cops? You know what I mean?
Dead. Oh, this is the end
It’s fate, Hildy. What Will be Will be
What am I gonna say to Bruce? What can I tell him?
If he really loves you, you won’t have to tell him anything
Would you rather have had the old dame dragging the whole police force in here?
I killed her. I’m responsible
How can I ever face Bruce again?
Look at me, Hildy
I am looking at you, you murderer
If it was my own grandmother l’d carry on for the paper.
Louie, where did it happen?
-Western and 34th. I gotta get out of here
We can do more here. Now be calm
-Listen - (phone ringing)
Hello? Hello? -Maine 4557.
Who? Well, Butch, where are you?
Mission Hospital? Receiving room, please -What are you doing there?
Haven’t you even started?
Was there an old lady brought in from an auto smashup?
Oh, for H. Sebastian! It’s a matter of life and death
-Nobody? I can’t hear
-Morningside 2469. They got who? Speak up. A what?
-You can’t stop for a dame now. Community hospital. Receiving room, please
I don’t care if you’ve been after her for six years. Our lives are at stake!
Was an old lady brought in there? -Butch.
l’d put my arm in fire for you up to here You can’t double-cross me!
-Look around, will you? Put her on. l’ll talk to her
Good evening, madam. Listen, you ten-cent glamour girl
You can’t keep Butch away from his duty. What’s that?
Say, what kind of language is that? Now, look here -
(whimpers) She hung up. What did I say?
Duffy. How do you like that, mousing around with some big
-Duffy! Will you shut up? I’m tryin’ to hear!
That’s cooperation. Duffy! -Nobody?
Well, where is Duffy? (whines)
Diabetes. I ought to know better than to hire anybody with a disease
Give me Olympia 218 -Louie.
-Yes, boss. Louie, it’s up to you
-Anything you say, boss. Beat it out. Get ahold of some guys
-Who do you want? Anybody with hair on his chest
Get ’em anywhere. Offer ’em anything We got to get that desk out of here.
-ls it important? Louie, you’re the best friend I got
I like you too
Then don’t fail me. Get enough people to move that desk
You know me, boss. The shirt off my back -Okay, don’t bump into anything.
That dumb immigrant will flop on me as sure as you’re born.
Try again at the hospital
If he’s not back in five minutes we’ll carry it out alone.
Do anything you want -We can start a fire.
-Have the firemen take it out. I don’t give a darn what you do
-See if we can lift it. What? Nobody? Oh, never mind!
Are you gonna help me? -No, I’m not.
You want me to strain my back? -I’m going to find Mrs. Baldwin.
I’m going down to the morgue and find her.
-Get your hands off me! Now look here, Johnson
-Hey, you! You mean me?
Yes, you. What do you mean by breaking in here like this, hmm?
You can’t bluff me, Burns. I don’t care who you are or what paper you’re editor of
Let go of me, will you? -Hang onto her.
Something’s happened to my mother-in-law -May be going out to get Williams.
-She had the door locked. She and Mollie were in here talking
I don’t know anything, and there’s been an accident
Johnson, there’s something very peculiar going on here.
Now, see here, Johnson Just a moment, Hartwell
If you have any accusations to make make them in the proper manner.
Othen/vise l’ll have to ask you to get out -You’ll ask me to what?
Get out
Oh, you will? Keep that door closed and don’t let anybody in or out.
-Get ’em talkin’, you got Williams, I’m going to get to the bottom of this
-Are you going to talk? What do you want me to say?
What do you know about Williams? What do you know about Williams?
Now we’re getting somewh Take her out of here.
She’s got a gun! -Grab it!
-No, you don’t! Walter! All right, Burns. l’ll take that gun
-Where did you get this gun? I’ve got a right to carry a gun
-Not this gun. I can explain that
When Hildy told me she was going to inten/iew Williams, I gave her a gun
That’s very interesting
This happens to be the gun that Williams used to shoot his way out with!
Are you trying to make me out a liar? -I ought to know my own gun -
Oh! So that’s where Williams got the gun -Hildy got it from Williams.
-Where is Earl Williams? You’re barking up the wrong tree, Hartwell
l’ll give you three minutes to tell me where he is!
Where is he? Ask the mastermind what he’s doing here.
Speak up. What do you know about this?
My dear fellow, the Morn/ng Pos! does not obstruct justice or hide criminals.
You oughta know that -You’re under arrest.
-And you too! Who’s under arrest?
Listen, you insignificant, square-toed, pimple-headed spy!
You realize what you’re doing? -l’ll show you what I’m doing!
You’re obstructing justice, and so is the Morning Pos!!
I’m going to begin by impounding the Poslis property
ls this your desk? -No!
Yes! What are you afraid of, Hildy? I dare you to move this desk out!
Try it -I Will!
You move this desk out l’ll put you behind bars!
He can do it too -ls that so?
l’ll see that Roosevelt hears about it -Tell him. Come on, boys!
-Confiscate this desk. This is your last chance
This is a federal offense, and you fellas will be accessories
We’ll take a chance. Go ahead, boys! -All right.
(pounding on door) -Open up this door!
Mother, I am glad to see you Are you all right?
That’s the man that did it, right there
-What’s the idea here? This lady claims she’s been kidnapped
They dragged me down the stairs -Just a minute.
Did this man have anything to do with it? -He was in charge of the whole thing!
He told them to kidnap me -Excuse me, madam.
Are you referring to me? -You know you did.
What about this, Burns? Kidnapping, huh? -Trying to frame me, huh?
I never saw this woman before in my life.
What a thing to say. I was standing here when that girl jumped out the window.
-Call the mayor! Get him here. Look here, madam. Be honest
If you were joyriding, plastered or got into some scrape,
why don’t you admit it instead of accusing innocent people?
You ruffian! How dare you talk like that to me!
-He’s just crazy, Mother. I can tell you something more
-In here? You’re a cockeyed liar, and you know it!
(knocks three times) -What was that?
-He’s in there. Give me the desk
-Give me the phone. What a break. Stand back, everybody. Get your guns out
-He’s harmless. Shoot right through the desk
He can’t hurt anybody You’ve got his gun.
-Oh, dear! Go on, you gray-haired old weasel!
Let me out of here!
Mother! I’ve been looking all over for you
-What’s happened? Hello, Jake? Hang on
Hildy, call Duffy! -No, you don’t!
-Comin’ up. We got you covered, Williams!
Have it in a minute -Don’t try to move. -Anytime now.
l’ll count three -It’s hot!
Ready for an emergency -One. Two.
Any second now. Three! Up with it!
Earl Williams just captured in the press room in the criminal courts building hiding in a desk
-On your feet. Don’t try any funny stuff
Williams was unconscious when they opened the desk
Williams put up a struggle, but the police overpowered him
He tried to shoot it out, but his gun wouldn’t work
Tried to break through a cordon of police.
Duffy, the Pos! just turned Williams over to the sheriff!
Put the cuffs on these people -More later.
An anonymous note led to Williams’ capture. Hold on!
The sheriff was tracing a telephone call which gave away Williams’ hiding place
Where’s the old lady? -She went out!
-Out? Call me back. l’ll call you back!
J`J` (humming)
Give me the warden’s office, quick
Hartwell, you’re gonna wish you’d never been born!
Oh, am I?
-Hello, Fred. Well, fine work, Pete
You certainly delivered the goods I’m proud of you.
Look natural, don’t they? -A sight for sore eyes.
What’s that? That’s the jail. There must be somebody there
Looks like about 10 years apiece for you two birds.
Does it?
Whenever you think you’ve got the Morning Pos! licked,
it’s time for you to get out of town
Whistling in the dark. That ain’t gonna help you this time. You’re through.
The last man who said that was Archie Leach just a week before he cut his throat.
ls that so?
We’ve been in worse jams than this haven’t we, Hildy?
You forget the power that always watches over the Morning Post.
Your luck’s not with you now -This is Hartwell.
I’ve caught him. Yes, Williams
Single-handed. We’ll proceed with the hanging per schedule
You’re gonna be in office exactly two days more.
Then we’re gonna pull your nose out of that feed bag.
l’ll tell you what you’ll be doing -What?
-Well, go on. Making brooms in the state penitentiary!
Joe, this is Hartwell. Come over to my office right away
I captured a couple of important birds I want you to take their confessions.
Duffy, get Liebowitz!
All the lawyers in the world aren’t gonna help you now.
You’re talking to the Morning Pos!!
MAYOR: Oh, power ofthe press. (laughing)
WALTER: Bigger men than you have found out what the power of the press is!
-Say, you - Get out of here You can’t bribe me. My wife
-Get out of here! Oh, no, I won’t! Here’s the reprieve
-What? I don’t want to be a city sealer
Who is this man? -Throw him out.
Just a minute. Who’s trying to bribe you?
They wouldn’t take this -He’s insane.
What did I tell ya? An unseen power!
What do you mean by coming here with a cock-and-bull story like that?
SHERIFF: He’s an impostor! -Arrest him.
Trying to hang an innocent man to win an election.
-That’s murder. Never saw him before
If I was to tell my wife -What’s your name?
-Joe Pettibone. When did you deliver this first?
-Who’d you talk to? They started right in bribing me
-Who’s they? Those. Them
That’s absurd! He’s talking like a child
Out of the mouths of babes! -Hi, babe.
He’s insane. Drunk
lfthis unfortunate man has really been reprieved, I’m tickled to death
-Aren’t you, Pete? You’d hang your own mother to be reelected
That’s a horrible thing to say about anybody -Oh, you’re mar\/elous.
Look here, Walter. You’re an intelligent man -Never mind that.
Now let’s have your story Mr. Pettibone.
Nineteen years ago, I married Mrs. Pettibone -Skip all that.
Only she wasn’t Mrs. Pettibone then -I mean -
Sheriff, this document is authentic Earl Williams has been reprieved.
And our commonwealth has been saved the painful necessity of shedding blood.
You said it. Get off the soapbox Save that for the Tnbune.
Pete, take those handcuffs off my friends.
I’m amazed at you, doing a thing like that -lsn’t he awful?
You don’t know how badly I feel -No.
-That’s all right. What’d you say your name was?
Pettibone. Here’s a picture of my wife
-A fine-looking woman. You haven’t seen her yet
She’s all right
She’s good enough for me! If I was to tell my wife - Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo!
l understand perfectly, Mr. Pettibone As long as I’m mayor-
Which ought to be about three more hours
Just long enough for us to get our special edition, asking for your recall
And your arrest. You boys ought to get about 10 years apiece.
Don’t make any hasty decisions Mr. Burns.
You might run into a big libel suit!
You’re going to run into the governor
My old friend, the governor, and I understand each other perfectly.
-Yes, and so do I. So do you what, you hoodoo?
Mr. Pettibone, if you’ll come with us, we’ll take you to the warden’s office
and deliver this reprieve
-Come along, Pete. If I was to tell my wife
-You won’t have to. PETTIBONE: Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
Wait till those two future jailbirds read the Morn/ng Pos! tomorrow
That’s the worst jam we’ve been in in a long time
Where is he? Get him
Remember the time we stole old lady Haggerty’s stomach off the coroner’s physician?
Anytime you need this guy, he’s never there -We proved she’d been poisoned.
We had to hide out for a week Remember that?
We could’ve gone to jail for that too You know that.
Yes, you’re right, Hildy It’s a bad business.
You’re gonna be better off You’d better get going.
But you know he’s gone He took the 9:00 train.
Send him a wire. He’ll be waiting in the station when you get into Albany
Why doesn’t that guy have a phone in there? -I got it so messed up.
-Get going, Hildy. Get going”? What is that with you?
Wait a minute. Can’t you understand?
I’m trying to do something noble for once in my life. Get out of here
Walter, just a minute
Send the fellow a wire. He’ll be waiting -Who’ll write the story?
l’ll do it myself. Won’t be half as good as you can do it
It’s my story. l’d like to think
-Oh, at last! I get it, Walter. The same old act
Trying to push me out, thinking l’ll be stupid enough to want to stay
I know I deser\/ed that Wait a minute, Duffy.
But this is one time you’re wrong
But a whole new world’s gonna open up for you.
I made fun of Bruce. You know why? -Why?
I was jealous
I was sore because he could offer you the kind of life I can’t give you.
That’s what you want, honey
I could stay and do the story and take the train in the morning
Good-bye, dear, and good luck
Duffy. This is how it goes so far
-(phone ringing) Oh, just a minute
Hello. Who? Hildy Johnson?
-No, she just left. I’m still here. I can take it
Hang on a minute
Hildy Johnson speaking
The Fourth Precinct Police Station?
Bruce, I thought you were on your way to Albany.
-What for? For having counterfeit money
-Counterfeit money? (clears throat) Hold on a minute, Duffy
Where did you get it?
/ gave it to you?
Oh, all right. l’ll try and do something about it
(Crying)
(sobbing)
Oh, honey
Honey, don’t - don’t cry, please
Come on. I didn’t mean to make you cry What’s the matter with you?
You never cried before. Hildy
I thought you were really sending me away with Bruce
I didn’t know you had him locked up
I thought... you were on the level for once
that you were just standing by and letting me go off with him
and not doing a thing about it
Aw, come on, honey. What do you think I was, a chump?
And I thought you didn’t love me
Well, what are you standing there gawking for?
We have to get him out ofjail
Send Louie down with some honest money
and send him back to Albany where he belongs.
Duffy, everything’s changed. Tell Louie to stand by. We’re coming to the office.
Don’t worry about the story Hildy’s gonna write it.
Oh! Can we go on a honeymoon this time? -Sure.
Duffy, you can be managing editor No, no, not permanently.
Just for the two weeks we’re away on our honeymoon
-What? I don’t know where. Where are we going?
-Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls, Duffy!
Two whole weeks, Walter? -Sure. You’ve earned it!
What? What?
Strike? What strike?
Where? Albany?
I know it’s on the way, but I can’t ask Hildy -We’ll honeymoon in Albany.
Okay, Duffy. (weak laugh)
lsn’t that a coincidence? We’re going to Albany I wonder if Bruce can put us up.
Say, why don’t you carry that in your hand?