04x05 - No Strings

[bunniefuu]

[theme music playing]

NARRATOR:
Man lives in the sunlit world

of what he believes
to be reality.

But... there is,

unseen by most, an underworld.

A place that is just as real

but not as brightly lit.

A dark side.

♪ ♪

Salud.

MAN [grunts]:
Mm...

Doll, have a little
of this caviar.

Put hair on your chest.

Oh, come on, Eddie.
Can't we go home and go to bed?

l don't like this.

Hey, l got a right to celebrate.
This is my night.

Yeah, but people celebrate
in a disco or a nightclub,

not some lousy
stinkin' warehouse.

This is the way l always
planned it in my head!

You know how long l been
waiting for this night?




l been dreaming about

what l would do when l reached
out my hand and took it all.

lt don't seem right
to celebrate, that's all.

With Paulie not even cold yet.

Paulie's feeling no pain.

He's happy wherever he is.

[door opens]

Hey, they're here.

Hey, what took you guys so long?

l was getting ready
to call the police!

[laughs]

Well, Mr. De Calasuro,
what a pleasure this is.

Hey, doll, l want you to meet
the world's greatest puppeteer.

Did you lock the door?

Good.

You got the hooks?

l was just telling
my friend here

what a great puppet act you got.

You like caviar?

Got beluga-- only the best.

No, thanks.
lt-lt makes me ill.

[chuckles softly]

This man woke me up
in the middle of the night.

l need my sleep.

Wh-Why have you
brought me here?

Hey, l'm a big fan of yours.

Have been for years.

Caught your act
in Atlantic City.

You're the greatest.

ln fact, uh, you've been
kind of an inspiration to me.

Anyway, uh, tonight,
l made a big k*lling in, uh...

in my business.

You're looking at a man
who's made it to the top.

And l always thought
when l made it big,

l was gonna treat myself
to a private performance

of the world's greatest
puppet act.

My puppet.

You-You had
no right to move him.

He's very delicate.

You must have broke into
the Lyceum Theatre

to get my equipment like this.

You got it right, pops.

Now start the show.

We ain't got all night, huh?

That's right.

Do it for me like you did
in Atlantic City.

Oh, my baby, did they hurt you?

What have they done to you?

You all right, huh?

Come on, pops.

Let's get to work.

You'll love this guy, doll,
he's the greatest.

l just want to get this
over with and get out of here.

-[piano playing simple melody]
-♪ l'm your puppet ♪

♪ Play with me ♪

♪ Tell me what you want to see ♪

♪ l can move my dancing feet ♪

♪ Though l'm not
made out of meat ♪

♪ Watch me wiggle,
watch me shake ♪

♪ Like a hootchy-kootchy snake ♪

♪ l'm your puppet,
yes, it's true ♪

♪ l'll do anything
you want me to. ♪

Terrific! Terrific!

l love it!

Hey, come out here;
l want to ask you a question.

lsn't he great?
Didn't l tell you, doll?

You told me, Eddie.

What did you want to ask?

Hey, how do you do that
with such a big puppet?

Well, it's all in the rigging.

l use counterweights,
so the size is no problem.

Well, how big a puppet
do you think you can handle?

Oh, l don't know.

Uh, up to 200 pounds, l suppose.

Oh, l got a great idea
to liven up your act.

Come here, let me show you
what l mean.

Eddie, don't!

Don't go through with this.

Will you shut up and get rid of
the fish eggs, huh?

Broads.

Look, um, l just happen
to have here

a sensational puppet for you.

l-l don't need a new puppet.

l'm-l'm happy
with the one l have.

Yeah, well,
wait till you see this one.

Who was that?

That's Fat Paulie,
my former business partner.

He died suddenly, of old age...
about an hour ago.

Don't treat him that way!

l just gave him new paint.

He chips so easily.

You have to be
delicate with him.

He's very sensitive.

This is sick, Eddie.

[dull squish]

[dull squish]

l'm getting a creepy feeling.

Why don't you just forget
the whole thing, Eddie?

l don't want to forget
the whole thing.

From now on,
l do exactly what l want.

Everywhere.

Okay, you, start your act again.

Only, this time,
l got some new words for you.

Uh, l-l'm an old man.

l... l don't have
my reading glasses.

l have to hold everything
very far away.

Oh, that's okay.
Uh, Nick'll hold 'em for you.

[dull squish]

l been working on these lines
in my head for 18 years.

And l'm gonna hear 'em tonight,
or my name ain't Eddie Minelli.

l-l... l won't do this.

You'll do what l tell you.

Pick them up.

No.

You got to do it.

Eddie always gets his way.

No.

lt's-lt's okay, Nick.

l'll handle this.

Grab those papers.

So you want
some encouragement, huh?

Well... here's some
encouragement, okay?

That's more than you ever got
for one performance

in your whole life.

And more than
you'll ever get again.

l give you
my personal guarantee.

[dull squish]

You don't understand.

Puppetry is a very ancient art.

lt's a kind of holy thing.

lt would be a profanation
of that art

if l were to do
this kind of thing.

lf l were to be a party
to this kind of...

obscenity, who can tell
what could happen?

The gods of puppetry
might desert me.

l... l can't take that risk.

Don't feed me that garbage.

You're just a grown man
who plays with dolls.

You think it's easy
to do what l do?

To take a piece of wood
and make it come alive

just by wiggling it
in a certain way?

[chuckles] You try it,

if you think it's so simple!

lt's a gift!

Those who have it--

they touch the strings,
and it's magic.

The people laugh, they believe.

They see themselves up there.

Why, you can make them cry.

You can make them
stand up and applaud.

You can make them shout,
''Look out behind you!''

That kind of power,

the power to make people feel...

it can disappear
just as soon as it came.

You don't know diddly-squat
about power.

Power's there for the taking.

You just have to reach out
and grab it,

and hold on and don't let go,

or else somebody else
will take it away from you.

Power's just like a woman.

lt goes to
the strongest man around.

l'm not gonna take this anymore!

l'm going home!

You'll never find a cab.

l'll walk.

Come back here!

Don't take another step.

Door's locked, remember?

And l got the key.

That's right, doll.

Put your behind in that chair,

and don't move again
unless l say so.

Hey, Nick!

What's holding things up?

l'm doing the best l can.

The lousy hook
keeps coming loose.

Ah, ya dumb jerkle.

Can't you do anything right?

Eh.
Use the b*llet holes, Nicky.

What do you think
they're there for, ventilation?

lf you want anything
done right around here,

ya gotta do it yourself.

l appeal to you,
in the name of decency...

Okay, pops,
let's get on with the show.

l refuse.

lf you want so badly to put on
this obscene spectacle,

then do it yourself.

With the help of
this half-witted moron here,

but not with Aldo De Calasuro.

You missed the point, pops.

This ain't
dealer's choice tonight.

You play by the house rules,
or you end up in the toilet.

[laughs]
l thought you'd see it my way.

Everybody does, sooner or later.

Ain't that right, Tiff?

TlFFANY:
That's right, Eddie.

[crying quietly]

What's the matter with you?

l was just thinking
about Paulie.

[sighs]

He was always so nice to me.

He always asked after me.

He sent me flowers on my
birthday... every year.

Flowers?

l don't know nothing
about flowers.

l threw 'em away
before you got home.

l knew you'd be jealous.

So what's the point?

You mean you're crying over
a couple of bunches of flowers?

l'm crying about me.

You use people, Eddie.

You use 'em up and you
throw 'em away like Kleenex.

l was just thinking about
what's gonna happen

when you're through with me.

Got nothing to worry about.

You're fixed for life.
You got the condo in your name.

You got the house
at the beach, the Rolls-Royce.

So turn off the
waterworks, okay?

All right, l'm ready.

Trim the counterweights.

The what?

Pull down on the handle

to lift the puppet
up out of its box!

He was always so
gentle with me.

Look, Tiffany, l know you
used to go with him before me.

Just don't rub it in.

Before, Eddie, not after!

Before, after--
what's the difference?

lt's the same thing.
Just don't bring it up.

Not tonight.

lt's a bad time to cross me.

Hey, what's the
hang-up back here?

We ain't doin'
Gone With the Wind.

Now let's get this
show on the road

before the star is
too stiff to perform.

-Okay?
-Yeah!

Come on.

Go on, put your back into it!

[muffled]:
lf it's a trick...

[rattling]

[Eddie applauding]

Way to go, Paulie!

Now l got you just where
l always wanted you.

[wind whooshing]

l thought you said
the door was locked.

lt was, l swear.

lt's Paulie's soul come back.

Shut up! lt's only the wind.

[whispering]:
Forgive me, please.

Forgive me.

[wind whipping]

[wind howling]

[wind howling]

Stupid! The bolt's broke!

Look, grab that piece of wood.

Look, shove it under the door.

Huh.

You should've noticed
the bolt was broke.

[exhales]

l swear the door was locked.

The wind must've
broke the bolt.

Well, take a hell of a
wind to do that.

lt was shut tight.

l tried it myself.

Listen, l don't carry no
deadweight on my payroll.

Now, you start using your head

and pay more attention
to detail,

or you're gonna
end up like Paulie--

on the wrong end of a hook.

What happened?

Eh, the wind blew
the door open, that's all.

You mean you forgot
to lock the door, dummy.

That was a cold wind, Eddie.

Cold like the grave.

Quit trying to spook me.

lt don't work.

Okay, everybody, it's showtime!

[gentle waltz playing]

♪ l'm your puppet,
play with me ♪

♪ Tell me what you want to see ♪

♪ l can move my dancing feet ♪

♪ Though l'm not made
out of meat... ♪

l can't do this.

♪ Watch me wiggle ♪

♪ Watch me shake
like a hootchy-kootchy snake ♪

♪ l'm your puppet,
yes, it's true ♪

♪ l'll do anything
you want me to. ♪

[Eddie guffawing]

EDDlE:
Terrific!

Terrific!

l love it!

Okay, Paulie,

confession's good for the soul.

So now's your chance.

We got a couple of scores
to settle, you and me.

Tell me about them.

l'm, l'm sorry, Eddie.

l never should have took your
cut on the Clark Street deal.

Louder!
l can't hear you, Paulie!

...of the Clark Street deal!

An-And that time
l didn't cut you in

on the crack parlor with Garcia,
l was wrong.

An-And when l took over the-the
restaurant protection money

from the North Side,
that-that was yours.

A-And when you
bribed Judge McGuire

for me and l wouldn't
split it...

l should've paid
the whole thing.

And the South Side
prostitution money--

you deserved a cut.

Eh, eh, don't stop!

You're just getting
to the best part!

This is private stuff.

l shouldn't be reading this.

Go on.

Tomorrow you won't
remember a thing.

l'll see to it myself.

[chuckling]

[weak chuckle]

l-l, l was a pig, Eddie.

l robbed you blind.

And-And that cop
you k*lled for me,

l never even thanked you.

EDDlE:
An-And when l told everybody

you was a punk in Joliet,
that was a lie.

A-And when l said
you'd never amount to anything,

l was wrong.

A-And Tiffany, she's
better off with you, Eddie.

You was always better than me,

no matter what she thinks now.

And now l control
all your deals.

And all your people
are working for me.

And now l control
your city council

and the trucking,
and the West Side Bank

and the pension funds.

Everything, Paulie.

So what are you gonna
do about it now, huh?

l... l... What?

Do it.

[loud smooching]

That's right, Paulie.

That's exactly what
l want you to do.

[laughs]

[smooching]

[sighs]

l should have done this
years ago, Eddie,

and maybe you would've let me
live a little longer.

Or maybe you wouldn't.

'Cause l deserved what l got
tonight.

ln spades.

[laughing]

[whooshing]

Hi, folks.

l'm back.

[laughing]

Hello, Tiffany.

[gasps]

Still hanging around
with this punk?

You are a punk, Eddie,
and you always will be.

Paulie?

Yeah, it's me, little goosey.

Anybody else ever know
l called you that?

lt is you!

lt's really you.

Hey! What's going on here?

lt ain't funny.

l didn't do it.
lt's not my fault.

l would've had you k*lled
ten years ago,

but she begged me not to.

She didn't want to be
left with just one guy.

Go ahead, ask her.

She always needed
more than one guy.

Ain't that right,
little goosey?

TlFFANY:
No! lt's a lie!

Wasn't just me, Eddie.

There was other guys, too.

Don't take my word for it.

Ask Nick if she needs
more than one guy.

l didn't do nothin'!

Mayflower Hotel.

August 12.

Room 42.

lt was her idea!

Shut up, you moron!

Nicky, put away the g*n.

PAULlE:
Watch out, Eddie.

They're gonna k*ll you.
[guffawing]

Eddie, it's not true!

[Paulie laughing, g*nf*re]

[laughter, g*nf*re continue]

[laughing]

[laughter stops]

You stupid broad.

l told you not to cross me.

Hey, puppet man.

You had me going there
for a minute.

How did you do that?

l didn't do anything.

Come on, the Lagretti
brothers set me up.

Nicky told 'em
everything l was gonna do.

-But they got to you first.
-No!

-l swear!
-[Eddie laughs]

Look out behind you.

You ain't gonna fool me
with that twice. [laughs]

[gagging]

[squish, crack]

[Eddie screaming]

[sustained screaming]

[screaming fades]

lt's all right.

lt's all over now.

We're going home.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
The dark side is always there.

Waiting for us to enter.

Waiting to enter us.

Until next time, try
to enjoy the daylight.