How you doing, Ed?
Ooh, terrible.
I feel like that drill was driving
right through
the top of my head.
It might be
a good idea at that--
let out some of that beer you slopped up last night.
Quit riding me, will you?
Oh, I ain't even
started on you yet.
Come on. Let's eat.
Oh, no, Frank. I--
come on. It'll do you good.
You got to eat.
I got just the thing over there to straighten you out.
Yeah? What is it?
A nice ice-cold oatmeal
smothered with lard.
Oh, tomato juice, eh?
Well, next best thing in the world for a hangover.
Yeah? What's
the best?
Laying off of
the booze entirely.
Hey, Grogan,
what time did he roll in last night?
Oh, I wouldn't know that.
I never check up on me boarders.
Your daughter's kind of checking up on him,
ain't she?
I wouldn't be surprised
if she was trying to.
She better, before
that Pearl Danvers
makes a tr*mp out of him.
Lay off, will you?
You know I'm through with that dame.
I was just out with her last night to tell her good-bye.
Yeah? What'd she say
when you told her?
She said, "good-bye.
Call me up soon."
Shame on you guys,
wasting your time
in idle chatter.
Look at Joe over there.
Hey, dombrowski!
What do you got there?
A hunyak back scratcher?
Just a slide rule to figure out these stress formulas.
What's that got to do with running a lathe?
Nothing, but it's got a lot to do with designing one.
Oh, running a lathe ain't good enough for you, huh?
Now you got to learn
how to design one.
It ain't your time he's wasting,
is it?
Yeah, his going to night school don't hurt you any.
Naw. He's always got
his nose in a book.
It's his nose, ain't it?
And a plenty big one at that.
Hey, Cliff, why don't you stop?
Man: Hello, fellas.
Hello, Tommy.
Hiya.
I got a little news for you.
This just came
from the division super.
"To: Mr. Thomas w. Smith.
Subject: Promotion.
"Effective Monday, July 12,
"you will report to
division superintendent James
to assume your new duties as
assistant general shop foreman."
All: Congratulations.
Thanks.
Hey, you seem kind of glad
to get rid of your old foreman.
No, we ain't at all.
We're glad to see you get it.
Tommy, who's going to crack the whip in your place?
Far as I know,
the job's still wide open.
I guess they'll fill it the way they always have--
move the best man up.
Well, uh...
Who would you say
the best man is, Tommy?
Ha ha! Well, kid,
if they ask me,
I'll have to tell them
you're all pretty good.
You know darn well
I'm better than pretty good.
Sure. You're the guy
that wrote those books
dombrowski's always studying.
There's one for you, wise guy.
There she blows.
Let's go back.
Till Monday, I'm still
the best man.
Yes, sir,
Mr. Smith.
Hey, you big ape!
You get in there.
Look, Tommy was only kidding.
You've been here longer than any of the rest of us,
and you can run this
shop just as well
as you run that drill press,
and I'll fight the guy that says that you can't.
I hope they think
that way up front.
Forget it.
You're a cinch.
You're sure you're rooting for the right guy?
Sure.
You better think it over,
because I'm warning you--
there ain't gonna be
no hangovers
in no shop I'm boss of, get it?
Ok, Mr. Taylor.
Oh, starting to red-apple
the boss already, huh?
Ha ha! Come on. We'll
give him a week's worth
between now and quitting time.
Sure that'll do
you, Mrs. Taylor?
Yes, thanks,
Mrs. Grogan.
I'll return it first thing in the morning.
Even if you don't,
it's all right,
because I still owe
you those 4 eggs
and that half bottle of bluing I got from you last Monday.
Oh, gee, Betty,
that looks swell.
I hope it tastes all right.
The men around here are certainly getting hard to please.
Not your pa.
He eats anything.
I trained him like that.
You know you got to train a man just like you would a dog.
Oh, so it's Ed Jackson's
getting hard to please.
Now, Ruth,
are you going to start that again?
Yes, I am,
and I'm going to keep it up
until you and Ed do something about it.
What on earth are
you waiting for?
That's just what
I keep telling her.
I guess it's polite
to wait until you're asked.
Don't be silly.
No man ever proposes unless he's sort of pushed into it.
Isn't that right,
Mrs. Grogan?
It most certainly is!
And with that blonde hussy
chasing after Ed,
he's going to need a lot of help to shove him into proposing.
That's what I keep telling her.
Oh, mother, please!
All right, but I know
what I'm talking about.
You've got to make up
Ed's mind for him
just like I made up
your father's,
men being the simple-minded creatures they are.
There are the boys.
I've got to run.
Much obliged for the butter, Mrs. Grogan.
I'll return you the eggs and bluing, Mrs. Taylor.
Oh, hello, Ruth.
Hello! I'm robbing
you again. Hi, Ed.
Hi, Ruth.
Hello, sweet.
How's everything?
Couldn't be better.
I got to talking to the grogans and almost forgot your supper.
I'm glad you said almost,
because I'm hungry,
and I'm a man that
really gets hungry.
Oh, no!
What you got there?
Margarine?
No. Butter.
I borrowed it.
Butter, huh?
What is this,
Christmas or something?
Hello, pop!
Hey, get a load of this.
Buddy, look at yourself!
What's the matter?
Oh, he's all right.
We'll run him through the ringer.
He'll wash clean.
Hey, how was the ball game?
We beat the daylights
out of them.
You did, eh?
What was the score?
63 to 40, but we
only played 5 innings.
Fat hit a home run,
and we lost the ball.
And you've torn
your pants again.
I was sliding into third,
and muggy spiked me.
Yeah? What'd you
do to him?
I smacked him.
You know, when I was his age,
I could lick any kid
in the neighborhood.
Ouch!
What's the matter?
That's where he smacked me back.
That's about all there is.
Most of the fellas seem to think
I'm going to get the job, and I?
I'm the best man
in the shop, ain't I?
Gee, pop, you'll be foreman,
and that's about the highest job there is,
ain't it?
Well, I wouldn't say that,
but it's pretty high.
Wait till I tell
muggy about this.
He thinks he's hot because his uncle used to be a foreman.
Yeah. We'll get
muggy, won't we?
Come on, boys.
Dinner's ready.
And if I'd have known
about this,
I'd have fixed us a real spread!
Don't you worry, kid.
We got from now on to celebrate.
Aw.
I'm not hungry,
Mrs. Grogan.
You've got to eat!
All you had for lunch was a can of tomatoes.
Go on and eat your supper.
Don't worry. I'll be
over this tomorrow.
You will if you
stay home tonight.
Never mind.
I'll get it.
Hello?
Oh. Just
a moment, please.
Ed, it's for you.
A Mrs. Danvers.
Thanks, Betty.
You're welcome, I'm sure.
Hello?
Hello, eddy.
Oh, I'm fine.
I just wanted to find
out how you were.
Huh?
Aw, gee, that's too bad.
Yeah. Must have been
the gin chasers.
It couldn't have been
the beer. Ha ha.
I just called up
to tell you I'm not mad
about what you said last night.
No.
Well, you know-- about our not having any more dates.
No. I've forgiven
you already.
Huh? Ha ha!
I couldn't stay mad
at a swell guy like you.
Well, that's fine.
No. No, I couldn't.
Saturday, I got to work.
Sunday, I'm going to a picnic.
Well, no, I couldn't take you.
It's not exactly a picnic.
Some fellas and I
are going fishing.
Well, yeah--
I'll call you up
sometime. Good-bye.
I see by the paper
they're having a sale
of vacuum cleaners
down at the fair.
I think I'll get you one.
Plenty of time for that.
When will you know about the job for sure, Frank?
Oh, I ought to hear
from the super tomorrow.
After I get you
the vacuum cleaner,
I'm going to get you a new coat.
I think maybe we can doll this house up a little bit,
and maybe we can get rid of that old heap and get us a real car.
You think we should?
The old car runs all right.
Listen, I got the swellest wife and kid in the world,
ain't I?
And the best ain't none
too good for them.
Aw, that's swell of you, honey,
but first we got
to pay back the folks
that helped us when
you were out of work.
Oh, we'll clean that up
in no time.
I think maybe we ought
to get some new dishes, too.
Hey, pop, come on!
You're missing out on speed foster.
What's he doing now?
Still hanging on by his teeth?
Yeah, but he's
in terrible danger.
Go ahead, darling.
Hang on by your teeth,
and I'll hang on to the dishes.
Radio announcer:
...Hand over hand at the rope.
With superhuman courage
that defies anything
else he's ever done before,
he fights his way up out
of the blackness of the pit,
while the man-eating crocodiles
gnash their teeth in rage
at the escape of their victim.
Gee, crocodiles!
Oh, boy!
He'll get away from them,
like he did from those man-eating sharks.
I bet I could
if I was speed foster.
...poisoned spear
ready to strike.
Man: Kadunka k*ll 'em
white devils.
Announcer: Speed laughs
at him in scorn and roars:
Foster: Throw that spear at me,
and you die, kadunka.
Kadunka heap big warrior.
Hold poison spe...
Man: All right, lay one
down there boy.
I sure hope Frank
gets to be foreman.
Boy, how we'll stall on him.
Or maybe you guys are too dumb to know how to stall.
I guess everybody around here is pretty dumb-- except you.
That's telling them, eddy,
old boy. That's telling them.
Frank will do
all right in the job.
He's got a lot of good,
practical experience in this shop.
Every time I say anything,
you always want to start an argument. What is it?
Don't be discouraged.
Keep trying.
Maybe someday you'll say something that makes sense.
Hey, Joe? Come here.
I need you.
Sure, Tommy.
Anything wrong?
Nothing dombrowski can't fix.
Come on. I want
to have a little talk.
Doesn't it make you feel proud and dignified
sitting behind that wheel?
Oh, boy!
And it's a honey of a dashboard, too.
Strictly aeroplane
type, Mr. Taylor.
Yeah, airplane, huh?
And pretty good-looking
cigarette lighter.
Does it work?
Sure it works.
Try it.
You get 18 miles on the gallon with this car.
That ought to mean a lot to a man in your circumstances.
Ow! It works
all right.
Sure it works.
I tell you, you get
more for your dollar
than on any car made
in this country.
Of course,
you'll want immediate delivery.
I won't know till tonight.
You see, I'm getting
a new job and a raise.
Congratulations!
I wouldn't want to sign up till they tell me definite.
I hate to see you wait too long.
This is the only light-colored phaeton we have on the floor.
Tell you what you do. You got my phone number.
Give me a buzz tonight.
Be glad to.
Ok.
Thank you.
If my wife answers the phone,
don't tell her who you are.
I'm getting this as a surprise for the family.
I'm wise.
Wait till you meet them.
I got the cutest wife
and kid you ever saw.
So long.
Man: Congratulations, Joe.
Glad to see you get it.
Congratulations, Joe.
Glad to see you get it.
Hey, Frank.
Come here and meet our new foreman-- Joe dombrowski.
Nice going, Joe.
Thanks.
He won't feel like
going to a movie.
Best thing to do is leave him alone.
He'll get over it.
Oh, come on.
At least we can try and help him.
Come on.
All right.
Hey! Anybody home?
Mrs. Taylor: Hello,
Ed. Hello, Betty.
Hi.
Come on, folks.
How about a movie?
No, thanks.
I don't want to.
Why don't you
and Buddy go, Ruth?
I'd rather not.
It's kind of late for Buddy,
and I ought to finish
these socks.
Come on, Frank.
You and Ruth can chaperon us.
Lay off, will you?
I told you I don't want to go.
What are you going to do,
stay here and make faces
at yourself all night?
Will you go on to the movies and let me alone?
Aw, come on, Frank.
No job's worth eating your heart out.
Yeah, but it was my job,
wasn't it? You said so yourself.
Sure, I said so,
but the company didn't.
They got their own ideas.
Where'd they ever get the idea
dombrowski was so hot?
You know he invented that oiling system that their using now,
and he's saving them
plenty of dough.
I guess they figure
a guy who could do that
could save them
in other ways, too.
Besides he's always
got his nose in a book
and going to night school,
while we lay around the house and listen to the radio.
Frank, you got
to hand it to him.
They've already handed
it to him, ain't they?
I suppose if I went around
showing off, reading books,
they'd make me president
of the company or something.
Ok, if you want to be a sorehead,
forget it.
Sorehead?
Sure, I'm a sorehead.
Ain't I got a right to be?
How would you like it
if you'd been counting on a good break for a long time,
you was sure you was going to get it,
and all you got was laughed at?
Just because some guy's
been sucking around the boss.
Yeah?
Hello, Mr. Taylor.
This is Jenkins of the zenith auto sales company.
Remember I showed you
the car this afternoon?
Forget it. I changed my mind.
I don't want the car.
I tell you I don't want it.
I can't afford it.
You two better go on.
You'll be late for the show.
Yes, we'd better. Come on,
Ed. Good-bye, Ruth.
Good-bye. Good-bye.
Have a nice time.
So long, Frank.
Announcer: Good omen
was second...
Man: ...Hordes of grasping,
pushing foreigners
who are stealing jobs
from American workmen
and bread from American homes.
It is to combat this peril,
to preserve and protect
standards of living
which have made American workmen the envy of the world
that we the challengers have raised our
rallying cry "America for Americans."
The problem has got
beyond the point
where the individual American
workman can cope with it alone.
He needs guidance,
solidarity, and expert advice
on the subject
of protecting his job.
We the challengers are
organized to provide
just that solidarity
and expert advice.
Pop?
Can we listen to speed foster?
No. Listen to this guy.
He's talking sense.
...it is also an organization of which it might be said,
"he who is not with us
is against us."
The choice, my friends,
is a simple one.
Do you want our beloved
red, white, and blue flag
replaced by the vile banner
of anarchy?
The time has come when we must realize what is going on
in this great land of ours,
when the real 100 % American
must stop and think.
How'd you like the picture, Ed?
Huh! Gee, it's good
to get out in the air.
It was hot in there, wasn't it?
I didn't notice it,
but I suppose I would if I'd been drinking as many beers as you have.
Hmm. Thanks for reminding me.
Let's go get some.
Why don't you have an ice cream soda for a change?
Oh, no!
Do you have to wake up every morning with a hangover?
Come on. Let's go
into Nick's.
All right.
Well, kids,
how do you like
the moving picture tonight?
I thought it was grand.
Kind of sappy, if you ask me.
Sure. Too much love stuff.
Is not for me.
I like the racketeer
pictures, boy.
You know, sh**t them up
is more excitement as love.
Why, Nick,
where's the romance in your soul?
Where is the what, please?
Romance--you know.
Two people falling in love and sitting in the moonlight,
gazing into each other's eyes.
Well, I like this, too,
but I like better to do it myself personal
than to see some guy
in the movies do it.
Huh, kid?
I don't care what they say.
I think that love story was beautiful tonight.
Oh, it's a lot of bunk.
No real man would ever
propose like that.
Oh, they don't?
No.
You don't have to look at a girl and tell her
her eyes are like the twinkling stars and all that stuff.
Oh, you don't?
No.
Well, how would you say it?
I don't know.
I guess I'd call her up and ask her to a dance.
Or a movie?
Yeah, or a movie.
Then we'd go and get
something to eat.
Or drink?
No! Not any girl
I'd propose to.
Oh, I see.
Well, go on.
Well, then, when the time came,
I guess I'd hold her hand.
You mean, uh--
like this?
Yeah.
Then what would you say?
I'd say, "Betty,
I'm crazy about you."
"Will you marry me?"
Well, let me think.
Yes, Ed, I guess I will.
Well, then we're engaged!
I think that's
what they call it.
Oh!
Swell, isn't it?
Yeah.
Hey, what will your mother say?
She'll probably say,
"thank heavens!"
Come on. Let's get
out of here.
Ok.
Well, how you like the sodas?
Ok, Nick. Take
it out of there.
Hello, Ed.
How are you?
Why haven't you called me up?
Why, I--
our--our phone's
out of order.
Well, you could have
come to see me.
No. No, I couldn't.
You see--
the girl I'm engaged to
wouldn't like it.
So long.
Say, was he trying to insult me?
Oh, no worry about that.
Is nothing.
You know
the old saying--
is just as many good fish in the ocean as there ever was.
Fish in the ocean.
There she is, boy,
give her the g*n.
Yeah? What's
the hurry?
They told us to step
on it, didn't they?
You know what
Joe says--
they got enough orders in here to paper the shop.
Oh, dombrowski said.
Hey! What's
the matter with you?
That's the fourth drill
you've burned up today.
Yeah? What's it
to you?
Dombrowski's trying to sweat a record out of us,
ain't he?
Let him worry about it.
Listen, get down to work
and quit knocking Joe.
Let her down.
What's the matter, fellas?
Well, we're having a little trouble with these drills.
No more spares?
No. They're all
shot, too.
Well, turn them in.
Get some new ones.
Frank, these drills cost money.
We got to be more careful.
Yeah? Well, you asked us
to speed it up.
Maybe you'd better get some drills that'll stand this gaff.
They'll stand up
if they're used right.
Maybe you can use them better.
Yeah, and so can you.
Did you check your setting?
Yeah, it's all right.
That's tool steel.
You're giving her too much speed.
Come on, boy,
you're too good a guy for boners like that.
I see that greaseball's
been picking on you, too.
Yeah.
How's it feel being pushed around by a hunyak?
I don't like it at all,
and I ain't going
to stand for it no more.
No? What are you
going to do?
Take a poke at him
and lose your job?
Sure, I'll take a poke at him,
and I'll get another job, too.
That don't worry me none.
You were a long time
getting this one.
Weren't you, Frank?
Yeah.
All right, then.
Why don't you get wise to yourself?
You don't have to be pushed around by no foreigners.
There are a lot of guys
in this town--Americans--
who feel just like you and me.
They've been giving this thing a lot of thought.
They can show you
how to protect yourself.
Would you like to meet them?
Sure.
But, Mr. Osgood,
the "stay-on"
lasts so much longer.
Ha ha! Yes,
so I've heard.
Anything else?
No.
That'll be 50 cents.
50 cents? For
ajax shaving cream?
Why, I can buy it for 37
down the street at molyneux's cut-rate.
You better try there, then.
We don't cut nobody's
prices or throats.
Molyneux's
cut-rate store!
If you haven't got the stay-on kind,
Mr. Osgood,
I'll take this--
"my lady beautiful."
Anything else,
Mrs. Danvers?
Oh, a package of henna-- the good kind.
How do you do,
Mr. Taylor?
Hello.
Seen our friend eddy these days?
Yeah.
You ain't going to let him marry
that Grogan girl, are you?
Why not?
It's still a free country,
ain't it?
That'll be $1.39.
Oh.
Oh, I think I spent all my money,
Mr. Osgood.
Will you charge it, please?
Well...
I guess so,
Mrs. Danvers.
Gee, you're sweet.
Good-bye,
Mr. Taylor.
Yes, sir.
What'll it be?
Give me that third bottle from the end on the second shelf.
Little late, ain't you?
Yeah, a little.
I had some trouble
getting away from home.
Sure. I know.
Cliff been around?
Cliff who?
Cliff summers.
He's around.
Tend the store, will you?
All right, Dan.
...multitudes that have
swarmed to our shores,
take refuge under the protection of the greatest government on earth.
And how have they rewarded the fine,
generous Liberty-loving people
who opened to them
their hearts, their homes,
and their horizons
of opportunity?
I will tell you how:
With the basest ingratitude
and the vilest of treachery,
spurning American ideals
and the sacred principles
of which our forefathers fought.
They have clung tenaciously
to their alien doctrines,
foreign faiths,
and un-American morals.
Like poisonous vipers,
they have patiently bided their time,
while they fed and fattened
on the bleeding bosom
of our country!
Now, enriched with the jobs
they have chiseled
away from Americans
and drunk with the impudent power of their stolen prosperity,
they are openly plotting to
seize control of our government,
overthrow our glorious Republic,
and subjugate
the American people
to their own dastardly designs!
Standing alone,
you and I are helpless
to defend ourselves
against this deadly peril,
helpless to protect
our homes and families
from the menace
that threatens them,
but if we unite with millions of other red-blooded Americans
under the banner
of the black legion,
we are invincible!
With fire and sword,
we'll purge the land
of these traitorous aliens
and trample
their every deadly scheme,
till once more our beloved
stars and stripes
will wave o'er a united nation
of free, white, 100 % Americans!
Will the new candidates
for membership
please step forward and get
their application blanks?
Go ahead.
Ain't you joining?
I joined last month.
Hey, I want to ask a question.
Yeah?
If we joined up,
don't we get a uniform
or something?
Man, the black legion's got the
doggonedest uniform you ever laid eyes on,
one that'll grow plenty of fear
into the hearts of all them rotten,
ungrateful foreigners.
Cliff: Go on.
Man: Candidate
Frank Taylor is ready.
Second man: We are ready
to receive him.
Candidate Frank Taylor?
You will kneel and take
the oath of allegiance.
Raise your right hand.
Read.
"In the name of god
and the devil,
"one to reward
and the other to punish,
"and with powers of light and darkness,
good and evil,
"here under the black arch
of heaven's avenging symbol,
"I pledge and consecrate my heart,
my brain, my body, and my limbs,
"and swear by all the powers
of heaven and hell
"to devote my life to the obedience of my superiors,
"and that no danger
or peril shall deter me
"from executing their orders,
"that I will exert every possible means in my power
"for ex--extermination
of the anarchists,
"the Roman hie-hierarchy
and their abettors.
"I swear that I will die
fighting those
"whose serpent trail has winnowed the fair fields
"of our allies and sympathizers.
"I will show no mercy,
but strike with an avenging arm
"as long as breath remains.
"I further pledge my heart,
my brain, my body, my limbs
"never to betray a comrade,
"and that I will submit to all the tortures mankind can inflict
"and suffer
the most horrible death
"rather than reveal a single word of this,
my oath.
"Before violating
a single clause
or implied pledge
of this my obligation--"
do I have to say this?
Say it.
"I will pray to an avenging god and an unmerciful devil
"to tear my heart out and roast it over the flames of sulfur.
"And lastly, may my soul
be given into torment
"that my body be submerged into molten metal
"and stifled
in the flames of hell,
"and that this punishment may be meted out to me through all eternity.
In the name of god
our creator, amen."
All: Amen.
Soldier of the black legion,
you see before you
an instrument of death.
We give you this half...
As a symbol of our trust.
The other half--
you will receive the day
you betray that trust.
Our sacred oath is now
engraved on your heart.
You'll need that
perishable paper no more.
Step forward and consign it
to these flames.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
Congratulations, Frank.
New candidates,
you'll report to the office
of supplies immediately
we'll issue to you
your black legion uniform
for the nominal sum
of $6.50.
Those of you who
do not own a revolver,
will place your orders at the office of ordnance
for the black legion special,
a regular $30 revolver for the small sum of $14.95.
Say, hargrave,
I think I can manage the $6.50,
but could I kind of hold off on the revolver--
private Taylor,
you've got your orders.
Dig up the money somewhere.
We in the black legion must make every sacrifice for our cause.
You want to protect your home and family,
don't you?
Ok, Buddy.
And when you address
your superior officer,
say "sir."
Yes, sir.
Well, you're one of us, Frank.
Feels great, don't it?
Come on. Let's get
out of here.
Hello, pop!
Oh, hiya, Buddy.
Are those real b*ll*ts?
Yeah, and
steel-jacketed, too.
Come on, now.
Leave them alone.
Don't monkey with them.
Ruth: Buddy?
Yes, mom?
Buddy, did you
get the--
oh, yes. Now,
go on upstairs
and do your homework.
Oh, gee, mom.
I got plenty of time for that.
Now, go ahead, Buddy.
Do like your mother says.
Will you let me
sh**t it sometimes?
Yeah. I'll let you
sh**t it sometimes.
Oh, boy!
Frank, why'd you buy that g*n?
Hmm?
Well, because--
with all these holdups and kidnappings
you've been reading
about in the papers,
a man's got a right
to have something
to protect his home, ain't he?
After what you paid for it,
there's nothing left in the house to steal.
It's worth any sacrifice,
ain't it,
to be able to protect your home and family--
and things like that?
Wait a minute.
I'll get that.
Yeah?
Oh, yeah, Cliff.
Yeah, when?
What, tonight?
Where will I pick you up?
Ok. I'll be there.
Frank:
Oh, Ruth?
Yes?
Say, I got to go
out for a while.
That lodge again, huh, Frank?
Yeah. Yeah. That was
that phone call.
Something special's
just come up about
that group insurance plan we've been figuring out.
You won't be
very late, will you?
No. No, I won't
be late.
I'll be right back.
Oh, say, but don't
wait up for me.
You don't bother.
I go open.
That's his old man.
What--what?
What do you want?
We want you,
dombrowski and your son.
But what have I done?
I know nothing!
What is this?
What's this all about?
You Joe dombrowski?
Yeah, that's him.
Our committee has decided
that you're
an undesirable alien,
so you're leaving
town right now.
Why do you say leave town?
We good American citizens.
We got farm.
We pay taxes.
Shut up! Nobody's
talking to you.
Man: Get them
out of here quick!
Haul them quick!
Hey, you!
Some more beer.
This time, it's on me, boys.
Hey, Charley!
Did you see how my pal took care of those fresh guys?
Boy, I'd like
to have died laughing.
The look on their faces when we shoved them on that freight train.
They won't be
sticking their noses
around this town again
for a long time.
Cliff, you should have
given them that book
and the slide rule
to take along with them.
Well, Frank,
how do you like the way we do things?
I like it fine, chief.
See, Frank, what did I tell you?
We don't take no lip
from nobody.
Yeah. That's the stuff.
Hit hard and quick.
We ain't afraid of nothing
and nobody, are we?
Frank!
I thought I told you
not to wait up for me.
I've been so worried about you.
You said you'd be home early,
and it's after 4:00.
Checking up on me, huh?
You've never done this, Frank.
I was afraid something had happened to you.
You mind your own business.
I can take care of myself.
Boy, did you feel them brakes?
Smooth as velvet!
Yeah.
You sure got a sweet-running car here, Frank.
Yeah, and get a load
of that dashboard.
Strictly airplane type.
I want to get a load
of Ruth's face
when this buggy rolls
up to the house.
So do I!
If I were you, Ruth,
I'd have fruit c*ck.
They went over swell
at our church dinner.
All right.
Here, put that down.
First we'll have fruit c*ck,
and then we'll have tomato soup,
like we said.
What are you going to have for the main course?
Well, I'd like
to have fried chicken,
but it's awful expensive.
That's what we thought, too,
but when mother was in charge of our church dinner,
she got a swell buy on chickens from old dombrowski.
Say, wasn't that an awful thing?
I wonder if they'll ever find out what really happened there.
I don't know.
I read in the newspaper that the police were still investigating,
but I don't think
they'll find anything
until they locate
the dombrowskis.
Frank says there's
a rumor around town
that Joe and his father might have done it themselves for the insurance.
Oh, that's crazy!
They're fine people.
They wouldn't think of doing anything like that.
Well, it's awful, anyway.
I sure hope the police
find out who did it.
Hey, Ed.
You ever think of joining any organization?
Sure. I'm
a union man.
No.
I mean a lodge-- one of them secret societies.
Oh, that's
for half-wits.
Now, don't you believe it.
There's some things fellas like us ought to belong to.
Yeah, maybe I ought to,
but I'm not going to.
Hey, come to think of it,
I am thinking of joining a lodge.
Yeah?
The ancient order
of henpecked husbands.
Fooled you that time,
didn't I, big shot?
Hey, look out.
Buddy: Hey, mom!
Come on out,
quick! Quick!
Look! Ain't
it a pip?
It's not ours?
You bet it is!
Pop just bought it.
Boy! Look how
she shines!
Oh, darling!
A new car!
Oh, you shouldn't have.
Oh, no?
Oh, Frank!
Now, now.
Wait a minute, lady,
and that ain't all.
Here you are, son.
Try this out on muggy.
Oh, boy!
A louisville slugger!
And here's that vacuum cleaner
I was talking to you about.
Ruth, he's the original
Santa claus.
That's a man for you.
Now, for goodness' sake,
what is all this?
Frank Taylor,
have you been betting on the races?
No, I ain't been
betting on the races,
and nobody died
and left me any money.
They just got around to making me foreman of the shop,
that's all.
Oh, honey, that's wonderful!
Oh, boy!
Wait till I tell muggy about this,
and am I going to tell him!
Foreman? Wasn't that
Joe dombrowski's job?
Yeah. Sure.
Well, here.
Take this in the house.
Give me a hand, will you?
Come on over after supper,
and I'll give you
a drive in a new car.
Ok, Mr. Taylor.
Zowee! Bam!
A three-bagger!
Oh, boy!
Are we in for
another reign of terror
by a new ku klux klan?
That is being asked
in the face of the mounting toll
of floggings, beatings,
and burnings
here and in several
of our neighboring states.
Again we have hooded hoodlums
riding through the night
with whip and torch
spreading terror and violence.
Who are these new marauders?
By what distorted ideals
are they inspired?
What do they hope
to accomplish...
Wouldn't they like to know?
Turn that sap off.
We got to get back to business.
Hey, jonesy,
where were we on that monthly statement?
I was just giving you the gross receipts on membership dues.
7,163 members at 10 cents a month-- $716.30.
What? Less than a grand?
Are you crazy?
You misunderstand me,
Mr. Barham.
Those are just the figures from general moffet's brigade.
Total income from charters
and dues from all brigades--
$5,891.10.
Well, that's more like it.
What's the gross on that other stuff up to date?
Sale of uniforms and regalia,
after deducting regional
commanders' commissions,
sale of black legion special revolvers with ammunition,
making a grand total
of $221,499.58.
That's only chicken feed.
We got to get this thing set up on a national basis,
so we can really go to town.
I wouldn't be
too optimistic, Fred.
Don't forget the millions
we were all set to make
on oil explorers incorporated
before the district attorney
started sniffing around.
Let him sniff this time
to his heart's content.
We're producing,
aren't we?-- Pure 100 % patriotism.
Yes, but of a rather low
specific gravity.
But of a high cash content.
What this country needs is bigger and better patriots.
At so much a head.
Hey, jonesy,
get this order out to all brigades immediately.
Yes.
The black legion
must go forward.
Although our enemies are already crying in consternation,
our battle is not yet won.
We must press on relentlessly,
redoubling our efforts,
strengthening our forces.
Got that?
It is therefore imperative
that each member
shall personally
secure the enlistment
of two new recruits
within the next 10 days.
Underline the "two."
Hey, Cliff.
Yeah?
Weld this.
Sure.
Oh, hello, Ted.
Hello, boss.
I want to talk to you a minute.
All right.
Watch this, Jake.
Ok.
Smoke?
It's against the rules,
ain't it, sir?
Yeah, but it's
all right. Go ahead.
Thank you, sir.
Where are you from, Ted?
Texas, sir.
Yeah? What church
you go to?
Mr.
Taylor, the fact is I don't go much to any of them.
Seems like I kind of got out of the churchgoing habit.
Like your job here?
Yes, sir.
This is about the best job I ever had, sir.
I suppose you'd like
to keep it then.
Yes, sir.
I sure would.
Well, I want to keep you.
You've been doing
good work here.
Nowadays, that
ain't always enough.
But I ain't sure I quite understand,
Mr. Taylor.
I mean,
are you willing to protect your job?
You bet, sir.
I'm glad to hear that,
because we got a pretty bad problem here in this state.
It's full of foreigners
all trying to chisel jobs
out of Americans
like you and me,
well! I certainly
am obliged to you
for telling me,
Mr. Taylor.
The first one of them foreigners that comes messing around my job
is going to find himself
in a heap of trouble.
Oh, it ain't going
to be one, metcalf.
You got to fight all of them.
You see, they stick together,
these foreigners,
and they'll knife
you in the back
before you even know
who they are.
An American alone
ain't got a chance.
Oh, no!
That's awful!
Yeah, that's pretty bad,
but we got a way to protect ourselves.
I want you to meet
a bunch of fellas
that feel just the same way about this thing
as you and I do.
Man: Hey! Hey!
Where's Ted?
He's out in the washroom
with Taylor.
Leave that machine alone
till I get back.
What'd you do to it?
They're kicking around all the American ideals
and the sacred things that your forefather and my forefather--
oh, hello, Tommy.
Go on back to work.
Yes, sir.
And put that cigarette out.
What's the big idea, Frank?
What idea?
Taking one of your men
off his machine
to come in here and smoke.
It's pretty tough when a foreman can't take a minute
to get acquainted
with a new man.
An expensive minute.
While you were getting
acquainted with metcalf,
his helper stripped
every gear off his machine.
They're still
picking up the pieces.
There wasn't anything
I could have done
unless I happened
to be right there.
Accidents will happen.
This one wouldn't have happened
if metcalf had been
where he belonged.
He wasn't tending to his job,
and you weren't
tending to yours.
Yeah, I know,
but it won't happen again.
Say, listen, Tommy,
you can cover me up
just this once, can't you?
I'm not so sure.
Mike, this is wonderful!
I'm proud of you!
Thanks, Nora.
I'm glad you're pleased.
What's the matter with you?
You're acting as sober as if this was bad news.
Well, it ain't all good news.
And why not?
It's what you've always wanted, isn't it?
Oh, sure. I wanted
the job, all right,
but not enough for them to take it away from Frank Taylor.
Good heavens!
You don't mean to say they fired him?
No, no. Not fired.
He just had a little trouble at the shop,
and they put him
back on the machine.
Oh, I feel terrible about that.
That's a shame.
And Ruth was so proud
of his being made foreman.
Well, it's no picnic
for Frank either.
Well, what happened, Ed?
Oh, nothing.
Oh, just a little
mixup at the shop.
It didn't amount to anything.
You know,
I tried to talk to Frank about it.
He wouldn't even talk to me.
Seemed like he was sore at me.
Say--
I hope that boy don't think
I was trying to take his job away from him.
Oh, no. Frank's
not like that.
Sure, he's taking it kind of hard,
and you can't blame him.
Just leave him alone for a couple of days,
and he'll be all right.
Oh, I hope so.
Sure, I wouldn't do anything to hurt Frank or Ruth.
Who's there?
Man: Mr. Grogan?
Yeah?
Telegram.
Man: That ought to give the Irish something to remember us by.
Thank you, Mrs. Riley.
Yes. Heaven be praised.
The doc says he's out of danger.
How could we know who did it?
Mike hasn't an enemy
in the world.
You're right, Mrs. Riley.
To think that such a thing could happen in this country and today!
Dad certainly liked your soup, Ruth.
He wants some more.
Oh, fine.
I'm going to make him some custard this afternoon.
You are not.
You've been here practically all week.
You even missed church
this morning.
Oh, well,
it's a fine world if neighbors can't help each other.
Besides, Frank wanted
to sleep late this morning.
Now, run along with this
before it gets cold.
All right.
Frank go to that lodge again last night?
Yeah.
What time does he generally roll in from those meetings?
Oh, pretty late.
I don't bother to wait up for him anymore.
Must be pretty important things they do at that lodge.
Seems important to Frank,
but he never tells me anything.
It's one of those
secret organizations.
Yeah, sure is.
What do you mean?
Oh, nothing, Ruth.
Forget it.
Ed, you've got something on your mind.
Now, what is it?
Well, Frank's been acting pretty strange lately.
Every time I go to talk to him,
he stalls me off.
Ruth, I don't mean to poke my nose in your business,
but somebody's got to talk to that guy.
What about?
About those new friends he's running around with.
That Cliff summers-- I don't like that guy.
And I don't like those rumors floating around
that those beatings have been done by some g*ng.
You don't think Frank had anything to do with it.
Where was he the night
that Grogan got his?
Ma, pop wants something to eat.
I think you'd better come over right away.
Tell the folks I'll be back as soon as I get something for Frank.
Why don't you take care of your own home?
Do I have to eat
a lot of cold junk
just because Grogan got himself beat up in a drunken brawl?
Why do you say it was
a drunken brawl?
That's what they're saying around town,
ain't it?
Let's quit worrying about Grogan and get me something to eat.
It's you I'm worried about.
You don't have
to worry about me.
You were angry at Grogan that night,
weren't you?
I--will you quit
gabbing about Grogan
and get me something hot to eat?
And you were sore at dombrowski when they made him foreman,
and you were out till after 4:00 the night his farm burned down.
I told you I was
at a lodge meeting.
And you were at a lodge meeting when they beat up Grogan.
Yeah, yeah.
That's what I said, and it goes.
Not anymore, Frank.
You've been lying to me.
Don't you call me a liar.
You are, Frank.
You did have something to do with all those terrible things,
you and those
new friends of yours.
You shut up about my friends.
I won't.
Only a bunch of dirty,
contemptible cowards would do a thing like that.
Why, you--
oh!
Do you think grandpa
will let me milk the cows like he used to?
I guess so, that is,
if he's up and about.
Is he very sick?
Well, the telegram didn't say,
but I thought we'd
better go there anyway.
Well, when pop comes up,
we can go fishing, can't we?
He may not be able
to come up for some time.
Not even for a weekend?
Well, we'll see, now.
Now, read your book, dear.
Oh, yeah!
"It was nothing to nothing at the end of the 9th inning,
"when Frank blakewell,
cool as a cucumber,
came up to bat with a look of do or die on his face."
Oh, hello, eddy.
Hello.
Say, wait a minute.
Isn't your new girlfriend
afraid to let you out alone at this hour?
No. I just came in here
to buy some medicine.
Hey, wait a minute, eddy.
What am I, poison?
When am I going to get a chance
to congratulate you on your marriage, huh?
Oh, I don't know. Pretty soon,
I guess. We're not sure yet.
Well, I hope your new wife will give you a chance
to see some of your old friends once in a while.
I don't know. You know how it is.
Wives are funny about things like that.
Yeah. You'll find
they're funny
about a lot of
other things, too.
Maybe it won't be so bad
if you learn to handle her good right at the start.
Don't worry.
I'll smack her down whenever she needs it.
Can I depend on that?
Sure. I'm starting already.
So long. So long.
Hey, Frank.
Oh, hiya, Cliff.
Hey, wait a minute.
Where you going? Come here.
What are you trying
to do, high-hat me?
Me? No. Why?
You been acting kind of
funny lately.
Haven't seen you
around with the boys.
I've been having
some trouble at home.
What's that got to do
with the g*ng?
Say, Cliff,
I'm glad you said that
because I don't think
I'm going to be able
to give that organization
the time it needs...
You're not trying to crawl out on us,
are you, Taylor?
No, not exactly that,
but I got to have some time to get myself straightened out.
You better get yourself
straightened out.
You don't want any
real trouble, do you?
No.
Now you're getting some sense.
Now you're getting
wise to yourself.
Go on, loosen up.
Have a good time.
I got a date with a dame.
See you later.
Why, hello,
Mr. Taylor.
Oh, hello.
How's Mrs. Taylor
these days?
I wouldn't be knowing.
Well, what do you mean?
You don't mean she's left you.
Aw, you poor lonely man.
Come on, tell me all about it.
* I've been working
on the railroad *
* all the livelong day *
* I've been...
The railroad *
shut up! * Just to...
Time away... *
hey! Shut up!
* Oh,
they hear the whistles blowing *
* all, uhh, morn *
that ain't the way
you sing that.
Why not?
Listen.
Both, discordantly: * I've
been working on the railroad *
* all the livelong day
* I've been working on...
That shameless woman.
I bet she had him fired out of his job on purpose
so they could
carry on like that.
I'd like to slap her face.
Ed, this is terrible.
What's got into Frank?
I don't know,
but I'm going to find out.
* All the livelong day
Oh, hello, eddy.
Come on in.
You're just in time
for a little drink.
Come on, you, get out of here.
Aw, eddy, don't be silly.
You heard what
I said, didn't you?
Hey. Hey, what's
the idea talking...
I'll tell you about it later.
I'm not fooling.
Hey, listen,
I'm the guest of Mr. Taylor!
Hey, let me go, you big drunk!
Hey, Frank, get me out of here!
Let me go!
Let me take him on!
Hey, let me go!
You're hurting me!
Put me down!
If Frank had--
don't come back.
You needn't think you can beat me like you do your girl!
Frank, come on, snap out of it.
What's eating you?
Who do you think you are,
throwing my friends around?
Don't you think it's about time you laid off that booze?
Yeah?
What's it to you?
Enough to want to try to keep you out of the gutter.
You still got a wife
and kid, you know.
Yeah?
Fat lot she cares,
running out on me.
Oh, so she's left you?
Yeah. What can you
expect from a dame?
You ought not talk
about Ruth like that.
She's the best thing
that ever happened to you.
Yeah, well,
she ran out on me, didn't she?
Whose fault was that?
I suppose she started you
running around half the night
with a bunch of rotten th*gs.
Who says they're th*gs?
I do, and you can
tell them I said so.
I wouldn't go around
sh**ting my mouth off like that if I was you.
We don't like it.
Oh, we don't?
No, we don't.
And the sooner you learn it,
the better.
Frank, you ought to know
I don't learn easy.
You will if you get a dose of what the dombrowskis got.
Yeah? What did they get?
Plenty. And anybody else
that monkeys
with the black legion
will get the same thing.
The black legion.
So that's what your
rotten g*ng calls itself.
It ain't a g*ng.
It's a fighting organization of real Americans.
Real Americans--
running around the country
in nightshirts,
ganging up on helpless people.
The cops are going to be glad to hear about this.
Go on.
Tell me some more.
What?
Now, wait a minute, Ed,
you can't go to the cops.
I can't help it.
That's exactly what I'm going to do unless you quit that g*ng.
Listen, they'll k*ll you.
They'll k*ll me for telling you.
Those black legion
guys don't fool.
I'm not fooling either.
You're going to quit that g*ng.
I can't get out. I've tried.
They won't let me out.
Nobody ever lived to get out of the legion.
Ed, I swore a sacred oath to stick to them.
You swore a sacred
oath to Ruth, too.
Yeah...
Yeah, I know.
What am I going to do?
You're going to do
exactly what I tell you.
Tonight I'm sending Ruth a wire in your name,
begging her to come back.
You got to straighten
yourself out
and be a decent guy like you used to be,
or I'm going to the cops.
Sure, Ed. Sure. But I tell you,
they won't let me out.
You can't go to the cops.
You got to give me a break.
I'm giving you a better break than you deserve,
and don't make me
change my mind.
Hello.
Yeah, Frank.
Not tonight.
I got a date.
You did what?
Ok. I'll be right over.
You sure fixed us up,
didn't you, big mouth?
I couldn't help it, I tell you.
I was drunk, and he got me sore,
and it just slipped out.
We got to shut that guy up somehow,
or we'll all go to the can.
I can't go tell the boys.
You know what they'll do to me.
Now what do you want?
You needn't bark at me.
I just came back to get my purse.
It's got my keys in it.
Well, come in and get it and get out.
You ought to be
ashamed of yourself,
letting that big brute beat me up and throw me out.
Wait a minute.
Who beat you up?
That Ed Jackson.
He's always beating women.
He told me himself he beats up his girl all the time.
Oh. You don't say.
You don't have to worry, kid.
Everything's
going to be all right.
You don't think the boys are going to let any man beat up a woman,
do you?
Come on, Jackson.
Get going.
Oh. Taking me up
side roads, huh?
Aren't you the clever little
bunch of kidnappers,
and only an army against one.
Aren't you afraid
I might g*ng up on you?
Shut up.
It's too bad you can't put a nightshirt on your voice, Cliff!
Come on. Who are the rest of you guys?
Take off those sacks.
The cops will be glad
to hear about this.
What's the matter?
You afraid?
Maybe they better change
the name of your outfit
from the black legion
to the yellow legion.
Get him out.
Strip him down.
Get him! Get that man!
Ed...
I didn't mean it.
I didn't mean it.
I don't know why I shot.
Ed, I... I tried to tell you them
black legion guys don't fool.
Ed! Ed!
Man: And if any of our listeners see a man answering this description,
kindly notify the police.
Jackson disappeared
around midnight,
after leaving his family and some friends on the front porch of his home
while he went to put his car
in the garage.
And now, to continue our recorded program,
we hear fancy meeting you.
How do you like that?
A guy goes to put his car away and disappears.
Probably went out to play a little rummy with some of the boys.
What's yours, Buddy?
Give us a glass
of water, will you?
Yeah. Sure.
Kind of thirsty, ain't you?
Yeah. Mind if I
have some more?
No.
Hiya, boys.
Let's have some coffee,
and don't stick your thumb in it.
Look who's trying to rib me.
Man: Flash! Edward Jackson,
missing from his home since midnight,
has been found m*rder*d with a .38-caliber b*llet in his body.
Lewis Leonard,
26-year-old dairy farmer,
discovered Jackson's body
lying in a grove
at the northeast section
of Cobb's woods.
A possible clue to the m*rder is revealed by the discovery...
Turn it off!
Of a black hood fantastically decorated with skull and crossbones...
What's the matter, Buddy?
Man on radio: Police are
investigating the theory
that this black hood may have been the mask of mystery...
Why, it's a .38!
Yeah.
And 4 slugs used up.
Therefore, considered
internationally
as the greatest recorders of the news today,
we the sponsors invite you to listen to...
The news parade.
"Today the country is seething with excitement over the revelation
"of a mysterious and possibly sinister organization--
"the black legion.
"Ostensibly organized as a secret patriotic society,
"this black legion assumes an ominous appearance
"as authorities uncover
its strength and scope,
probe for its true purposes,"
says state's Attorney General George f.
Porter.
"At first we were amused
at the black legion's
"childish regalia
and its bloodcurdling oath.
"Then we began finding whips
studded with copper rivets
and g*ns of the type and caliber used in the m*rder of Edward Jackson."
Says the reverend
Dr. J.K. Lean,
president of the state council of protestant ministers.
Any organization that appeals to narrow prejudice
and attempts to enforce
its creeds by violence
is inimical to our democracy
and repugnant to the ideals
of every good Christian
and every decent American.
Meanwhile, in the cominga county jail,
police continue their questioning of Frank Taylor,
who is being held for the m*rder
of his friend, Edward Jackson.
Frank Taylor,
did the black legion order you to k*ll Jackson?
No, I told you, no.
Then why did you do it?
I don't know.
We know that your g*n fired the b*ll*ts that k*lled him.
Come on, Taylor,
why did you do it?
I don't know!
All right.
Come on.
Give us the story.
Do you belong to the black legion?
Did the black legion have anything to do with this?
Be a good fella.
Give us the story, will you?
You might as well.
It's coming out anyway.
Officer:
Leave him alone.
The guy don't feel like talking.
Oh, don't, darling.
Don't, darling.
Oh, please, Frank, please.
Taylor, here's your attorney.
How do you do, Mr.
Taylor? My name is brown.
Brown?
That ain't the name of the lawyer my wife told me she hired.
Well, confidentially,
I'm not a lawyer.
I had to say I was to get in here to see you.
Some friends of yours asked me to have a little chat with you.
What friends?
Good friends interested in making sure you get a fair trial.
You tell them guys I'm through with them and get out of here.
I got myself into this jam,
and I'm going to take what's coming to me.
Now, wait a minute,
Mr. Taylor.
You're taking rather a selfish point of view.
There are quite a few people who are mighty interested
in seeing this trial
comes out all right.
All right for them.
Well, if you don't want to be loyal to your friends,
you should consider
your wife and child.
What about my wife and child?
You love them, don't you?
Sure.
You wouldn't want anything unfortunate to happen, now,
just because you're stubborn...
Would you?
All right.
What do you want me to do?
That's better.
Now, when you see your lawyer,
you tell him the story I'm going to tell you,
and when you get into court,
you stick to that story.
You k*lled Ed Jackson in self-defense.
Now, here's the way it winds up,
step by step.
Yes, I see.
And you say that Jackson started swearing,
shouting at you, right?
Then what happened?
Well, I got out of the car
to argue with him.
Then he pulled a g*n on me.
I tried to get it away from him,
and while we was wrestling around that way,
it went off.
Mmm-hmm. And Mrs.
Danvers saw all this?
Sure. She was sitting
right there in the car.
Taylor, are you positive,
absolutely positive
that you're telling
me the truth?
Now, why should I
lie to my own lawyer?
All right. I'll have a talk with Mrs.
Danvers.
If she substantiates what you've just told me,
we've got a pretty strong case of self-defense.
You better see her today.
I certainly will,
because it looks as if that lady
is going to become a mighty important factor in this case.
Good-bye.
Good-bye, sir.
Keep your chin up.
I want to caution everyone
that I shall clear
this courtroom
if there is any demonstration
such as occurred yesterday.
You may proceed.
Now, Mrs. Danvers,
you knew the deceased-- Edward Jackson--
did you not?
Yes, sir, I did.
And is it true that you were at one time engaged to marry him?
Yes, sir.
Who, uh... Broke off
that engagement?
I did.
Why?
I was forced to.
Will you kindly tell the jury what forced you to?
Oh, please, I...
I'd rather not.
We all appreciate your feelings, Mrs. Danvers,
but I must remind you
that the defendant's
life is at stake.
The witness will please
answer the question.
Well, I broke off my engagement because I...
I found out that
Mr. Jackson drank.
I object, your honor.
This testimony's incompetent,
irrelevant, and immaterial.
Sustained.
But, your honor, this
testimony is relevant.
It is imperative to establish the relation of these people
so the court may realize that Edward Jackson met his death
as the unhappy result of his own jealous passions.
You may proceed,
but confine yourself to the issues involved.
Did Mr. Jackson ever
discuss with you
his attitude toward
miss Betty Grogan?
Oh, yes, sir.
He told me that he only pretended to be fond of her
just to make me jealous,
just to make me take him back.
Now, will you kindly
tell the jury
what Mr.
Jackson's attitude toward you was generally
after you broke off your engagement to him?
Oh, he was very angry and kept threatening me all the time.
Then when he found out that Mr.
Taylor wanted to marry me,
he said he'd prevent it if it was the last thing he ever did.
I object, your honor,
on the same grounds.
Objection overruled.
Will you kindly tell the jury in your own words
just what took place on the night of the sh**ting?
Well, after we came out
of the movies,
it was such a lovely night,
we thought we'd take a little ride in the car.
We were taking a shortcut through the woods to silver lake
when suddenly Mr. Taylor
stopped the car
and began pleading
with me to marry him
after he could get
a divorce from his wife.
Um, I told him he ought to consider his wife and child,
but he wouldn't pay
any attention to me.
Then, suddenly, Ed Jackson appeared,
just as if from nowhere.
He was crazy mad and began shouting and swearing at us.
Mr.
Taylor got out of the car to try to reason with him,
but that only made Ed madder,
and he began threatening us.
Threatening to do what?
To... To k*ll
the both of us.
Go on, Mrs. Danvers.
Well, then Ed grabbed his g*n,
and Mr. Taylor tried
to take it away from him.
They struggled,
and the g*n went off.
How many times?
Oh, a lot of times.
Would you say 3...
Or 4?
Uh, I think it was 4.
Yes, it was 4.
What happened then?
Well, then when Mr.
Taylor saw Ed lying dead on the ground,
he got frightened
and sort of hysterical,
and he just ran away
into the woods.
And what did you do?
Well, I was so frightened,
I didn't know what to do.
I couldn't stay there all alone,
so I-- I just drove away.
Your witness.
Mrs.
Danvers, why didn't you report this sh**ting to the police?
Oh, I couldn't do that.
Don't you know that by your failure to do so,
you're liable to imprisonment for compounding a felony?
You wouldn't want me to snitch
and get the man I loved into trouble,
would you?
Oh, I see.
You don't like to make trouble.
Your method of avoiding it
is to encourage the attentions of a man with a wife and child.
Oh, but you don't understand.
I felt so sorry for Mr.
Taylor when he was so lonely and unhappy
after his wife deserted him.
This sympathy ripened into love, eh, Mrs. Danvers?
Yes, sir.
Yet you're willing to let this man divorce his wife
so you can marry him!
Because I knew it was his only chance for happiness.
That's all,
Mrs. Danvers.
Your honor, I should
like to call
Mr. Frank Taylor
to the stand.
Call the witness.
Frank Taylor, take the stand.
You understand,
Mr. Taylor,
that you are within your constitutional rights in refusing to testify?
Yes, sir.
Proceed.
Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth,
the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth,
so help you god?
Yes, sir.
Attorney:
Now, Mr. Taylor,
your wife recently left you,
did she not?
Yeah.
Will you please tell the jury why she left you?
Well, my wife is a fine woman,
but she's awful ambitious,
and she wanted
a lot of things I couldn't afford to give her.
I tried hard,
and I finally got a break.
They made me shop foreman
and raised my pay.
Then we got along
a little better.
A bought her a new car
and a vacuum cleaner.
I was going to fix up the house a little bit when I lost my job.
I couldn't afford
to keep up the payments
on the things I'd
already bought, and...
So she left me.
And it was Mrs.
Danvers who pitied your distress
and gave you her sympathy after your wife left you?
Yeah.
Will you please speak a little louder,
Mr. Taylor?
Speak a little louder, Mr.
Taylor, so the jury can hear you.
Yes!
And your gratitude
to Mrs. Danvers
gradually developed into love,
did it not?
No! It's all a pack of lies!
The black legion made me do it!
I belong to it,
and so do a lot of other guys sitting right here in this courtroom.
Your honor!
Let me alone. Let me talk.
Let him go on.
They threatened to k*ll my wife and kid
unless I helped them to frame up this case.
There ain't one word of truth
in what Pearl Danvers has been saying or what I been saying up to now.
I ain't never cared nothing about any other woman except my wife.
About being in love with Pearl,
that's all lies.
Yeah, and all she said about
Ed being in love with her,
that's all lies, too.
We tried to make it
look like the black legion
didn't have nothing
to do with Ed's death,
but they did, and plenty!
I k*lled Ed Jackson because he found out too much about the legion
while he was trying
to make me get out of it,
and I was afraid he'd go to the cops,
and so I k*lled him,
and the guys that helped me do it are sitting right over there.
Come on, Cliff,
and you, hargrave,
and the rest of you guys--
stand up and tell the truth.
I don't care what you do to me.
If ever a guy had it
coming to him, I have,
but I want you to take care
of Ruth and Buddy,
and don't let them rats make her suffer no more than she has.
Judge: Lock those doors.
Don't let anyone leave this room.
You will identify every member of the black legion in this room.
Yes, sir.
I can't begin to tell you
what a shock Taylor's confession was to me.
And to me.
Naturally, if I'd had the slightest suspicions to what the facts were--
I understand, billings.
Knowing you as well
as I do, I'm positive
you had nothing whatever
to do with the perjury.
Thank you, sir,
and may I have your permission
to withdraw from the case now?
Of course, billings.
Of course you may.
Thank you.
Judge: Furthermore, your idea
of patriotism and americanism
is hideous to all
decent citizens.
It violates every protection
guaranteed them
by the bill of rights
contained in our constitution.
The bill of rights,
assuring to us all
freedom of religious opinion
and security
of person and property
against the attack of
ill*gal and extralegal forces,
is the cornerstone
of true americanism
and must be jealously guarded if we are to remain a free people.
We cannot permit
racial or religious hatreds
to be stirred up
so that innocent citizens
become the victims of
accusations brought in secrecy.
We cannot permit unknown
tribunals to pass judgments,
nor punishments to be inflicted
by a band of hooded t*rrorists.
Unless all of these ill*gal and extralegal forces are ruthlessly wiped out,
this nation may as well abandon its constitution,
forget its bill of rights,
tear down its courts of justice,
and revert to the barbarism
of government
by primitive violence.
This would mean relinquishing everything that civilized man has won
by the most prodigious effort
over a course
of the past 5 centuries.
The American people
made their choice long ago.
Their blood and their sacrifices
secured for us
the basic human rights:
Life, Liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
Their wisdom
built the whole structure
of our Democratic
form of government,
expressly to keep sacred and inviolate these same human rights.
It is our duty
to guard them zealously
if we are to remain
a nation of free men.
As Abraham Lincoln said,
"our reliance is in the love of Liberty which god has planted in us.
"Our defense is the spirit
that prizes Liberty
"as the heritage of all men
in all lands everywhere.
"Destroy this spirit,
and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors."
All of you men
have been tried and convicted
of the m*rder of Edward Jackson.
It is therefore
the sentence of this court
that you be confined
in the state penitentiary
for the rest
of your natural lives.
Guard: Come on, men.
Get going.
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Black Legion (1937)
Moderators: Maskath3, GabrielAlejo2341, sidolanters
Watch on Amazon Merchandise Collectables
The older Classic's that just won't die. Everything from before 1960's.
The older Classic's that just won't die. Everything from before 1960's.