Taxi.
Taxi.
Taxi!
- Excuse me, you got any--?
- Get away from me.
All I was asking
was for some change.
Yeah, how about I do
a little dance for you, huh?
- Get out of here.
- All right, Humphrey. Humphrey.
Relax, lady, he won't hurt you.
You bet your life he won't.
I don't think she has time for you,
Humphrey.
Looks to me like she's just blown
all of her change
on a $ pair of shoes.
Yeah, that's good.
That's really very good.
Excuse me?
The good cop, bad cop routine.
Your friend hits me up for money,
gets me upset,
and then you come to my rescue.
Here.
Keep it, lady.
I got a feeling
you might need it more than me.
Hey.
Don't pay any attention to him.
He's got these weird standards,
you know.
And thanks a lot, huh?
Hey, Matty, look.
Hey, Matty, look.
That them?
Our assignment?
Just one of them.
One called Matthew.
Thought you said there was two.
That's right.
She's the other one.
Okay.
I'm going to the law building,
please, all right? Courthouse.
Thanks.
If we don't get
some more change soon,
we're gonna have to
go to the mission
and sit through
one of the reverend's sermons.
At least we got a dollar
from that cranky lady, huh?
Up to me,
I'd rather listen to the reverend.
Hey, what do you say, fellows?
Not much, how about yourself?
I've been better.
Me and my partner
bumped into hard times.
You know what I'm saying?
Can you help us out?
What do you mean, with a job?
Hey, I didn't say I was desperate,
old-timer.
- "Old-timer"?
- Couple of dollars will do.
- Hey, look, I can do better than that.
- All right.
I will buy you and your partner dinner.
What do you say?
Humphrey, run for your life.
They're social workers.
What, you got something
against a free meal?
Hey, look, old-timer,
I can get all the food I need
from the trash cans.
What I want is a drink.
Well, you're not gonna get it
from me.
Humphrey, we're wasting our time
with these guys.
No, no, no. Wait, wait, wait.
I got an idea.
How about you two do-gooders
take us to the nearest bar
and fill us full of booze,
and then maybe
we can discuss dinner.
I'm sorry. Can't do that, Humphrey.
Figures.
Hey, you know me?
Yeah, Humphrey, I know you.
Then you also know
I won't go for that food dodge.
Let's go, Matty.
- Why do you think he knew you?
- I don't know.
- Who is he?
- Good work.
Now, what do we do now?
We wait.
You are hereby sentenced to serve
not less than two years
in the state correctional institution.
This court is adjourned.
- Miss Reynolds?
- Yes?
My name is Alan Peterson.
- I wanted to thank you--
- Of course, Councilman Peterson.
Fourth District. How are you?
Just fine. That was a nice job.
Piece of cake. Anyone could see
the man was a menace to society.
Well, I doubt that anyone could make
Judge Wheeler throw the book at him.
I'm looking for someone
to assist me in a project
that is vitally important to this area.
Would you be interested?
All according to what it is.
Why don't we meet for drinks later
and discuss it?
Why don't we?
And I'm very excited about
the prospect of working with you.
Maybe you'd better be more specific.
- In what way?
- For instance, just how do I fit in?
My district includes
this so-called skid-row area.
I need someone
to help me clean it up.
And the first order of business
is to get the winos and deadbeats
out of the area.
I agree,
but where do we send them?
What happens to them
down the line?
It's not my problem.
As long as they're not in my district,
I don't care what happens to them.
Why me?
You are intelligent, energetic
and ambitious.
We work together,
we both benefit.
What do I get out of it?
The reputation for being the lady
who cleaned up skid row.
That's a nice little campaign slogan.
Slow down.
Where'd you get the idea
that I'm running for public office?
Don't get coy with me,
Miss Reynolds.
The talk is that you want to be
the next DA
and I can be very helpful
in that endeavour.
Think about it.
We'd make a hell of a team.
Can I drop you anywhere?
No.
I have my car.
I'll just stay and finish this.
I'll be in touch.
How about another one, bartender.
This is an extraordinary vintage.
It has a full-bodied flavour
and an excellent bouquet.
Tell me something, Matty.
What are you doing here?
I'm having a drink with my friend.
That's not what I mean.
I mean what are you doing here,
in this life?
You don't belong here.
I'm here, that's all that counts.
But I get the feeling
you don't like this life.
Who does?
Me.
Oh, come on, Humphrey.
We're just here
because we're stuck in it.
Not me.
I'm here because I wanna be here.
Oh, yeah, you wanna be here.
You like begging for coins
and eating the food out of trash cans.
It beats working all day inside
in a factory.
You have to understand,
my mother was a full-blooded Navajo.
I grew up on the reservation.
What a place.
All the space you'd ever need.
So beautiful.
Then why did you ever leave
that place?
I could no longer look
into the faces of my people.
Their sadness.
Their pain.
Nobody's got a job.
Their sacred lands taken away.
Hey,
your name really isn't
Humphrey Bogart, is it?
- Is too.
- No, it's not.
My father was a white man
named Bogart.
I was named after
my Uncle Humphrey.
My mother had never seen a movie
in her whole life.
Never even heard of that other guy.
Well, this is a long way
from the reservation.
I know.
You know, it's hard being a bum
on the reservation.
You can't bum from people
who have got no jobs.
So how did you end up here?
One drink at a time.
That's it?
The whole story?
Let me make one thing
perfectly clear.
I did it with utter proficiency.
See? That's what I mean.
Nobody talks like that down here.
Come on, I opened up for you.
Oh, this is very depressing.
We need another bottle.
Hey, sounds like a plan.
Let me see what I can dig up.
Any special brand?
Stronger the better.
Beggars can't be choosers.
Hey.
That's very good, Matthew.
Beggars can't be choosers.
Hey, what are you doing?
You got any money on you, stiff?
No, I don't have a thing.
You're lying.
Cough it up.
Hey, you.
You're your wasting time.
I told you I don't have any money.
I lost him.
I don't have any money, honest.
I spent it all.
All right, come on, Matthew.
On your feet.
Why? Where are we going?
Try and help your friend Humphrey.
Humphrey? What's wrong with him?
He's in jail. Come on.
A felony requires a bail hearing
and we haven't--
Wait, wait, wait.
A felony? For being drunk?
He tried to swipe a bottle of whisky.
What kind of damned fool DA
would call swiping
a bottle of booze a felony?
This kind of damned fool.
- Is there a problem here?
- Yeah.
Why do you wanna go make
a federal case
out of some poor bum
trying to steal a bottle of liquor?
- The man is a thief.
- He's a drunk.
In my opinion that might be worse.
Do you generally
try these kind of cases as felonies?
I try my cases the way I see them.
And I don't need
the advice of some skid-row bums.
Who the hell was that?
Her name is Kathleen Reynolds.
Hot young assistant DA.
Going to make a name for herself.
Here's what happens.
The court appoints you a lawyer.
The lawyer gets you out on bail.
- The public defender?
- Yeah.
He was here already.
He wants me to plead guilty.
To a felony?
He said what with this
being my first offence...
- That's crazy.
- Well, I got his card here somewhere.
Maybe you should talk to him.
No.
I can't. That wouldn't be right.
But they'll put me away.
Matty,
this place is starting
to get me a little crazy, you know.
You know how I get
when I'm closed in.
Please, Matty. Please?
How's Humphrey?
He's gonna be okay.
Did he ask you to help him?
Who told you that?
Are you going to?
I want a drink.
Are you gonna help your friend?
What do you want me to do?
Go out and hire some
hotshot attorney to defend him?
I don't have a cent.
- I'm a bum, remember?
- You're also a lawyer, remember?
Who told you that?
I know a lot of things about you,
Matty.
I also know the best way
to help Humphrey
is for you to represent him in court.
You're very weird, you know that?
You're weird,
and I'm gonna go get a drink.
You make a lousy friend, Matty.
You know what being locked up's
gonna do to Humphrey?
- It's gonna k*ll him.
- Hey!
You think all it takes
is to stand up in court
and recite a few laws
and then everybody goes free?
It's been too long.
Matty, the moves will come back.
Anyway,
I would have to be reinstated.
That's already been taken care of.
I've got a friend
who will let you use his law library.
You can bunk in with us.
We've got an extra bed.
What's going on here?
You two guys,
you show up out of the blue.
You know all kinds of things
about me.
You somehow get me reinstated.
I don't know who you are
or why you're here.
We're here to help you
get back on your feet.
Why?
Because it's time you stopped
hiding in a bottle, Matty,
and started getting on
with living your life.
- Maybe this is my life.
- Oh, no.
No, it isn't.
If it was, I wouldn't be here.
Now, are you gonna help
your friend or not?
We seem to be stuck
between floors.
Great. I'm due in court
in minutes.
I know.
Oh, there it goes.
Wait a minute.
You're the one who was with Bogart,
the other bum.
What are you doing here?
I'm Bogart's attorney.
What?
You are charged with violation
of public statute ,
wherein you did,
on the night of October th,
steal a bottle of liquor
from Manny's Liquor Store
on East rd Street.
How do you plead?
Not guilty, Your Honour.
Very well.
Trial is set for Thursday, the nd.
Prosecution has requested bail
to be in the amount of $ , .
Isn't that excessive, Your Honour?
This is hardly a capital offence.
- It's a felony.
- It was a cheap bottle of wine.
If this were a misdemeanour,
accused would be released
on his own recognisance.
The accused is a drifter
with no ties to the community.
Accused has lived continuously
in this community for the past --
He has no permanent address.
Twenty three years
which is a lot longer
than the residents
who have permanent addresses.
Anyway, where does council think
he's gonna run off to?
That will be quite enough.
I'm setting bail at $ , .
- Kathleen Reynolds.
- What happened in court today?
- It was nothing.
- That's not what I heard.
It was nothing, I said.
Listen, trying this boozehound
as a felon was a great idea,
but we've gotta maintain
the momentum.
We can't let anything
take it away from us.
It was just a bail hearing.
It's going to be different
when we go to trial.
Counting on that.
Count on it.
How long does it take
to fill out the papers
to get somebody out on bail?
You know,
I should have gone with him.
Hey.
- Hi, Mark.
- Where in the devil have you been?
Humphrey and I stopped off
for a little celebration.
Oh, great.
We really did it, didn't we?
We got old Humphrey out.
Right, right.
Where is he?
Where's Humphrey?
I don't know.
I don't know.
Get your hands off me.
Hey, please, don't do this.
Hey.
Hey, tell the man I'm sorry.
Don't lock me up.
Please, don't lock me up.
Don't lock me up.
Don't lock me up, please!
I'm sorry. It's all my fault.
What happened last night?
You were just starting
to get it together.
Nothing happened last night.
I'm a drunk.
That's no answer.
I don't handle pressure very well.
It was always like that.
You say I was a good lawyer?
That wasn't enough.
I had to be the best.
My father was a judge.
Federal bench.
I was his number one son
and I was supposed to measure up.
But I couldn't.
Pressure was just too much.
I started making stupid mistakes.
And then one day,
I decided to have a couple of drinks.
Take the edge off.
It worked.
And before I knew it
I was down there with Humphrey.
I really want a drink.
No, no, not today.
- Yes.
- I said no.
Now, you've got work to do in court.
Easy for you to say.
You don't have any idea what it's like.
The hell I don't.
I know exactly
what you're going through.
What, do you think
you're the only recovering drunk?
- You?
- Yeah, me.
Now, look,
you are gonna get through this.
You're gonna get through it
and we're gonna be
right there with you.
And so the law is reallyvery clear.
Stealing is defined as one person
taking something from another person
with the intent of depriving
the owner of the use of that article.
We intend to prove that the accused,
Humphrey Bogart, did just that.
And therefore you must find him
guilty.
Mr. Kane.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
this case is not about stealing.
It's about discrimination.
See, usually when a man is charged
with taking something
that costs $ . ,
it's called a misdemeanour.
That means if he's convicted,
he has to pay a fine
and he's sent on his way.
But the defendant, Mr. Bogart,
is being called a felon.
That means he could be sentenced
to jail for at least one year.
For taking a bottle of wine
that costs less than $ dollars?
- Your Honour.
- Excuse me, I didn't interrupt you.
You do seem to be going far afield,
counsellor.
Not really, Your Honour.
Prosecution described
only one law to the jury.
He's only being charged
with violating one law.
That's not true.
He is charged with being a thief
and with being a career criminal.
That's how they throw
this felony thing in.
They call Mr. Bogart
a career criminal.
Well, Mr. Bogart's career
is not crime.
His career is that of a vagabond.
If you like, a bum.
And that's why
he's being discriminated against.
Because he chooses to live his life
outside the mainstream of society.
I would like to add,
that in a higher court
this case might very well
be called unconstitutional.
Your Honour, I really must object.
Objection sustained.
You are out of order, Mr. Kane.
You're absolutely right, Your Honour.
I am.
I'm sorry.
Due to another matter
that this court must resolve,
court is recessed
until : tomorrow morning.
All rise.
Matty,
in case I don't get out of here,
I want you to promise something.
Don't talk like that, Humphrey.
We're gonna win this.
Listen to me.
You know
where I mostly sleep nights?
Yeah, in that loading dock
over on Front Street.
Right. In the bottom slot
of the dumpster,
you'll find a leather pouch.
In the pouch there's a stone bear
and a small bag of pollen.
I want you to send it to my uncle.
That way he'll do
a Blessing Way sing.
- Blessing Way?
- For my spirit.
And another thing.
Promise me
you'll stay out of the gutter.
You don't belong there.
Hey, Humphrey.
- Nothing is gonna happen.
- You have to promise.
All of it.
All right, I will.
Hey, stop worrying, okay?
Hey.
Take a look who's here.
When do we start to work on her?
Right now.
- Good evening.
- It was, until now.
Oh, come on.
Just because we sit at opposite tables
in the courtroom
doesn't mean we have to continue
the practise on the outside.
What do you mean?
I thought you'd like to join us.
I'm meeting someone.
Councilman Peterson.
That's my business.
Certainly.
You know you might wanna ask
the councilman about all that property
he's been quietly buying up
at depressed prices
in the skid-row area.
I don't know
what you're talking about.
Oh, I'm sure you don't,
but Councilman Peterson does.
Now he's pressuring the city council
to clean up the area
so he can sell out at a nice profit.
He is quite a humanitarian, isn't he?
Enjoy your evening.
Waiter.
Yes, ma'am?
- Another double.
- Right away.
So I'm in the back
stacking beer cases
when I notice him
walking to the checkout stand
carrying his jug of wine.
So I tell him to wait a minute,
I'll be right there.
Next thing I know,
he's walking out of the store
with the bottle stashed under his arm.
No further questions, Your Honour.
He just walked out.
Did he say anything?
Oh, yeah, he said,
"Keep the change."
Something like that.
And when you got back to the counter,
was there any change there?
- Yeah, but--
- How much?
About cents, something like that.
How do you think it got there?
Objection, Your Honour.
Calls for a conclusion
on the part of the witness.
Sustained.
You say that
this is the bottle of wine
that Mr. Bogart was supposed
to have stolen?
Yeah, that's the one he took.
That's my mark right there.
Tell me, how do you know how much
a bottle of wine like this costs?
There's a price tag on it.
You see, it says . .
Where's the two?
Well, the two is kind of faint,
but I know my stock and--
But you're not the one buying it.
Isn't it entirely possible that Mr. Bogart
only read the cents
and then put cents on the counter
and told you to keep the change?
Objection, Your Honour. Calls for a
conclusion on the part of the witness.
I have no further questions.
Any further questions
of this witness?
No, Your Honour.
You may step down.
Court will take a -minute recess.
No!
- I'm not going back in there.
- Humphrey, it's a recess.
No, I won't go back in there.
The walls are getting to me.
Humphrey, calm down.
Mr. Kane, restrain your client.
I'm trying to, Your Honour.
No!
Hey, they don't understand.
I can't go back in there.
Matty, help!
I cannot have my court
disrupted in this fashion.
Your Honour,
I think I have a solution.
You heard that clerk in there.
You'll never be able to prove intent.
Reduce the charge
to a misdemeanour,
which is what it should've been
in the first place
and we'll plead to that charge.
The charge stands,
and as for your client's histrionics--
Histrionics? The man is terrified,
can't you see that?
I know a good act when I see one.
You can't believe that was an act.
Don't tell me what I can
or can't believe, counsellor.
Listen to me.
To put Humphrey in jail
is like a death sentence.
Maybe it's claustrophobia.
Maybe it's being raised a Navajo
on a high plateau in New Mexico
with an unlimited horizon,
I don't know.
But I do know him, Your Honour,
and I'm telling you this will k*ll him.
Ball's in your court, Miss Reynolds.
The charge stands.
We will resume at
tomorrow morning.
That will give you time
to counsel your client
on courtroom behaviour, Mr. Kane.
Please.
Don't do this.
- Miss Reynolds.
- What are you doing here?
I wonder if I could talk to you
for a few minutes.
I've been through it all already
with your friend, the skid-row lawyer.
Isn't a man's life
worth a few minutes?
I'd offer you a drink,
but you're not gonna be here
that long.
So where's the vagrant's answer
to Perry Mason tonight?
He went down to jail
to see Humphrey again.
What's on your mind?
I wanted to ask you one more time
to drop the felony charge.
I told you, I've been through all that.
- Look, Miss Reynolds, if you'd listen--
- No, you listen to me.
My job is to make this town
a better place to live in
by getting the criminals
off the street.
Humphrey's not a criminal.
He's a sick man who needs help.
I didn't make him a bum.
I didn't make him a drunk.
And I most certainly
didn't make him a thief.
These people
have got to be taught a lesson
and stiffer penalties
are the only way.
We're going to clean up this town,
Smith.
Oh, you bet you are
by frightening the homeless
into moving somewhere.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Let somebody else worry about it.
Your few minutes are up.
You can show yourself to the door.
Did you ever see someone
lying on the sidewalk
and wonder how he got there?
I mean, he wasn't born that way.
He was a crying infant,
just like you and me.
Was he abused?
Were his parents alcoholics?
What happened to him?
I told you your time is up.
I'm not gonna spend the evening
discussing a drunk.
How many drinks have you had today,
Miss Reynolds?
No, not that one.
You're not gonna compare me
to Humphrey.
Oh, no, of course not.
You can afford to pay
for your Scotch.
And if there ever comes a time
when you need help,
I hope there'll be someone there.
All rise.
The th District Court
is now in session.
The Honourable
Judge Helen Watanabe presiding.
You may be seated.
I'd like to see counsel
in my chambers, please.
I...
I have some terrible news.
The defendant, Mr. Bogart, has...
He hung himself this morning.
No.
No, no, no.
No.
And that's all that's left.
And nobody cares.
Nobody.
Including you.
Oh, why don't you two guys
just leave me alone, huh?
You're not alone, Matthew.
You got everything you need.
Your self-pity.
I mean, the hell with Bogart, right?
What do you mean
"the hell with Bogart"?
He's dead.
What more can I do for him?
You can keep your promise,
for one thing.
You promised him you wouldn't
wind up back in the gutter.
Yeah.
And I also promised him
that everything
would turn out all right.
And he's dead.
Damn it, he's dead.
That's right, he's dead.
Humphrey is dead
and nobody cares.
But you care.
And you have the ability
to make other people care,
not just about Humphrey,
but all the other Humphreys
that are lying in alleys in the city.
I'm just a broken-down lawyer.
Who's gonna hear my voice?
Nobody, unless you raise it.
Raise it to the rooftops.
Make people listen.
Make them hear
what they don't wanna hear.
Make them face what's happening
to people all over this country.
- I can't.
- You can.
Matthew, you can.
Humphrey was right.
You don't belong down here.
Look, God knows
neither does anybody else,
but they can't get out without help.
You can.
You got the skills.
You've had the opportunities
they never had.
You can make a difference.
How did you feel about Humphrey?
How did you feel about him?
I loved him.
He was my friend.
Then make sure this isn't all
that's left of Humphrey Bogart.
Matthew, make people remember.
Make them remember
that he was here.
As you can see, redevelopment
of this eight-block area
will bring people
back into the city again.
It will provide a place where people
want to shop after work,
where they want to have dinner.
Now, it can be a model
for other areas of this great city.
But it is up to us to lead the way.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
We are now open to a public debate.
Could we have order, please?
I insist upon having order.
My name is Matthew Kane.
I represent the street people
of this district.
You not only represent them,
but you are one of them.
Is that not true, Mr. Kane?
What does "one of them" mean,
Mr. Peterson?
I think you know.
I know what you mean by it.
The poor,
the mentally ill, the great unwashed.
To me it means American citizens
living in your district who need help.
You cannot help people
who do not help themselves, Mr. Kane.
I agree.
But first you gotta let them know
that somebody cares,
that they do mean something,
that they have value.
We have tried, Mr. Kane.
To get rid of them, yes, you have.
To give them an opportunity
to help themselves, no, you have not.
Councilman Peterson's solution
is to intimidate these poor people,
to frighten them into living
somewhere else.
My friend,
my best friend,
d*ed in his cell yesterday.
He was in prison,
charged with a felony
for stealing a cheap bottle of wine.
What Mr. Kane neglects to mention
is that the man in question
was an alcoholic.
He hung himself.
Yeah, he was an alcoholic.
There are a lot of alcoholics
in your district, Peterson.
But you people keep granting
more and more licences
to the liquor stores every day.
Have you noticed
that every other business
in this district is a liquor store?
It's a free country, Mr. Kane.
Free if you can afford to pay for it.
If a president's wife or a celebrity
admits to alcohol addiction,
they are given a lot of respect
and a lot of attention
for having the guts to come forward.
They're treated like heroes.
But if one of these people
is in the same boat,
he's just another drunken bum.
And as for my friend's su1c1de,
Mr. Peterson,
I must tell you that there are worse
things in this life than death.
Mr. Chairman, I, for one,
am getting very tired of this rhetoric.
You're absolutely right, I apologise.
It's time that you took the floor
and explained to your constituents
exactly what you have
to gain personally
from this redevelopment project.
Who do you think you are
to accuse me in this fashion?
I'm one of the people you work for.
How many parcels of land
have you bought up, councilman,
in your various partnerships?
I will not stand here
and be insulted anymore.
Okay, you can run out of here
if you want to, councilman,
but we will be heard.
If we have to shout it
from the rooftops, we will be heard.
We will be heard!
We will be heard! We will be heard!
We will be heard!
- Hello.
- Kathleen Reynolds, please.
She's no longer here.
Oh, where is she?
This is Councilman Peterson calling.
Oh, councilman, I'm sorry.
I don't know. She quit today.
She quit?
Yes, sir. She came in, quit and left.
She didn't even bother taking
anything with her.
Thank you very much.
I can't believe what's been
accomplished in the last two weeks.
They've given us a building
and the money to refurbish it.
Sounds great, Mr. Lawyer-Man.
Yeah, look,
I've got an AA meeting tonight,
but could we all have dinner
tomorrow?
I'd like to,
but we've gotta get on our way.
We've got another assignment.
Well, we'll be having a ribbon-cutting
ceremony when the building is ready.
If there's any chance
you could make it...
- We wouldn't miss it for the world.
- Great.
Keep raising that voice.
I will.Thank you both.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
Another assignment?
What about Kathleen Reynolds?
- She's not my assignment anymore.
- You're kidding.
You know who's taking it over?
No.
I just hope they have better luck
with her than I did.
Three months later the building
for the homeless opened.
Matthew Kane had raised his voice
and been heard.
And a Native American,
Humphrey Bogart,
would not be forgotten.
If the time ever comes
that you need help,
I hope there'll be someone there.