- 7/10/2025
Cell 2455, Death Row is a 1955 American crime film noir directed by Fred F. Sears and starring William Campbell and Robert Wright Campbell. It is based on the 1954 book of the same name.
Plot: Whit Whittier, condemned and awaiting execution, reviews the events of his life that has brought him to Cell 2455 on San Quentin's Death Row, a story he had told in a autobiography that became a sensational best-seller. As a boy, the young Whit stole groceries to help feed his impoverished family, later moving on into major crime to impress a young gang moll, Jo-Anne, and turns into a cold-blooded thug when he is repudiated by the girl he loves, Doll. And by his own lawyer when he is arrested and tried as the infamous Lover's Lane Bandit. In cell 2455, he studies law to the point where he wins stay after stay, twice within minutes of his scheduled execution.
Plot: Whit Whittier, condemned and awaiting execution, reviews the events of his life that has brought him to Cell 2455 on San Quentin's Death Row, a story he had told in a autobiography that became a sensational best-seller. As a boy, the young Whit stole groceries to help feed his impoverished family, later moving on into major crime to impress a young gang moll, Jo-Anne, and turns into a cold-blooded thug when he is repudiated by the girl he loves, Doll. And by his own lawyer when he is arrested and tried as the infamous Lover's Lane Bandit. In cell 2455, he studies law to the point where he wins stay after stay, twice within minutes of his scheduled execution.
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Short filmTranscript
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00:02:00This is cell 2455. The date is July 29th, 1954.
00:02:25Fifty times I've heard that elevator take men on their last ride.
00:02:30And I'm next.
00:03:00I want to have a last chat with you alone.
00:03:04You got everything in order?
00:03:06Yeah, I think so.
00:03:09It's a simple will.
00:03:10I'm going to leave the proceeds to the book to a couple of fatherless boys and their mother.
00:03:16That way she won't have to work and let them run the streets.
00:03:19And I want to be cremated.
00:03:20And after that, oblivion.
00:03:25Well, the state cannot have their law books back now.
00:03:28I hope they serve the next guy as well.
00:03:29I'm going to leave the proceeds to the book to a couple of fatherless boys and their mother.
00:03:35That way she won't have to work and let them run the streets.
00:03:37And...
00:03:38And...
00:03:39I want to be cremated.
00:03:41And after that, oblivion.
00:03:46Well, the state cannot have their law books back now.
00:03:53I hope they serve the next guy as well.
00:03:58You kept yourself alive with legal maneuvers for nearly six years.
00:04:03You certainly have had every chance the law allows.
00:04:07Chances.
00:04:08Yeah, but they've been narrow.
00:04:11I've been within a few feet of that little green room four separate times.
00:04:18Much closer now.
00:04:19You've accomplished something remarkable during your six years here.
00:04:23You've educated yourself right here in this cell.
00:04:26You've studied law.
00:04:28You know much more about criminal law than the average lawyer.
00:04:31Yeah.
00:04:32And I'm still here.
00:04:34But you can't claim that you haven't had your day in court.
00:04:36Oh, no.
00:04:37I've had that all right.
00:04:39You've become a well-known author.
00:04:41The critics have acclaimed your book.
00:04:43It's been read by thousands and thousands of people.
00:04:46Ah, the book's nothing but the story of a failure.
00:04:49A book that can't even answer one question.
00:04:51What starts a man here?
00:04:53What brings a man to death row?
00:04:55I don't think anyone will know the right answer to that question in a hundred years.
00:05:01I'll live a hundred years.
00:05:04Between now and morning.
00:05:06What?
00:05:07Why'd he have to kill me?
00:05:08It'll solve nothing.
00:05:09Look, let him keep me in jail for as long as I live.
00:05:11I didn't mind a book to save my life.
00:05:12I wrote it to help thousands of others who might travel the same wretched road.
00:05:13I want to save him from the hell I've been through.
00:05:14I want to write more.
00:05:15Look, I know what I'm talking about.
00:05:16Sure, sure, I acknowledge lots of crimes.
00:05:17But I'm worth more alive now than dead.
00:05:18That's not for me to judge.
00:05:19No.
00:05:20It's up to my fellow man.
00:05:22Oh, it's a slim hope now.
00:05:23You know, you can spend the rest of the night downstairs and play some records.
00:05:26No, no, no, no.
00:05:27I'll sweat it out up here if you don't mind.
00:05:28What's the hell I've been through?
00:05:29I've been through.
00:05:30I want to write more.
00:05:31Look, I know what I'm talking about.
00:05:32Sure, sure, I acknowledge lots of crimes.
00:05:33But I'm worth more alive now than dead.
00:05:35That's not for me to judge.
00:05:36No.
00:05:37It's up to my fellow man.
00:05:42Oh, it's a slim hope now.
00:05:47You know, you can spend the rest of the night downstairs and play some records.
00:05:52No, no, no, no.
00:05:53I'll sweat it out up here if you don't mind, Warden.
00:05:56After all these years, the cell is like...
00:06:00Okay, Whit.
00:06:02Thanks for coming up, Warden.
00:06:04I'll be seeing.
00:06:06Yeah, I'll see you at 9.30, Warden.
00:06:17What brought me here?
00:06:27Why am I here?
00:06:29Why did it happen to me?
00:06:31From all sides, I'm condemned.
00:06:34He's no good.
00:06:36He's a menace.
00:06:38Nobody is my friend.
00:06:40I'm a criminal.
00:06:42The worst kind.
00:06:44Why?
00:06:45Why?
00:06:46I wasn't born a criminal.
00:06:49I didn't spring full grown from hell.
00:06:52So why am I here?
00:06:55I had good parents.
00:06:57Loving parents.
00:06:59They gave me more than I ever gave them.
00:07:02I was a sickly kid and I had asthma since I was four.
00:07:06Dad moved the family from Michigan to the coast for my health.
00:07:11I can still remember my first night at downtown Los Angeles.
00:07:15Dad used to take me to different street corners and we'd just stand there and once the hundreds of people and automobiles go by.
00:07:22I think that's when I wished hard that someday I'd have my own automobile.
00:07:26Be the best driver on the road.
00:07:28We rented a small house and Dad had high hopes for all of us.
00:07:34Yep, and I guess I never will forget the first time we went to the zoo.
00:07:39Big Kitty, I called it.
00:07:49I remember I wanted to let it go free but Dad told me they had to keep it caged.
00:07:54I'd never forgotten his words.
00:07:56Everything dangerous has to be caged.
00:08:01Things were going pretty good with Dad and it wasn't long before he was able to make the first payment on a second hand card.
00:08:07Mom!
00:08:08Mom!
00:08:09Mom!
00:08:10Mom!
00:08:11Mom!
00:08:12Mom!
00:08:13Mom!
00:08:14Mom!
00:08:15Mom!
00:08:16Mom!
00:08:17My nose was broken but the worst had happened to Mom.
00:08:21Her spine was snapped, paralyzed from the waist down.
00:08:28I drew the death watch.
00:08:29I brought you some coffee.
00:08:30Thanks.
00:08:31Where was I?
00:08:32Where was I?
00:08:33Mom!
00:08:35Mom!
00:08:37My nose was broken, but the worst had happened to Mom.
00:08:40Her spine was snapped, paralyzed from the waist down.
00:08:46Whit, I drew the death watch.
00:08:48I brought you some coffee.
00:08:52Thanks.
00:08:59Where was I?
00:09:01Mom's accident.
00:09:03A blur of memories.
00:09:06Five or six years of poverty.
00:09:08All her dad's savings spent on surgery for Mom.
00:09:12But it was useless.
00:09:14She never walked again.
00:09:20Whit!
00:09:22Whit!
00:09:23Yeah, Mom?
00:09:24Your father!
00:09:26I smell gas!
00:09:27In the kitchen, hurry!
00:09:32Pa!
00:09:37What you doin' for, Pa?
00:09:39What you doin' for?
00:09:43Pa!
00:09:44Pa, what you doin' for?
00:09:46I'm sorry, son.
00:09:55Then I saw those charity packages.
00:10:01What I saw on Pop's face that night was despair and fear, and I remember how scared I got.
00:10:06Scared of poverty.
00:10:07Scared of what it had done to us.
00:10:10I had to find some way to help.
00:10:13When the folks questioned me about the extra groceries, I told them I had a paper room, and I got away with that lie for weeks.
00:10:19At what stage does a wayward boy turn into a delinquent?
00:10:32I guess you don't subtly turn.
00:10:34You curve in.
00:10:36You curve in.
00:10:37You curve in.
00:10:38You curve in.
00:10:39I'm going nowhere to happen.
00:10:40I'm going nowhere to think that's what happened.
00:10:41You curve in.
00:10:42I'm going nowhere to think about you.
00:10:43I'm going nowhere.
00:10:44I'm going nowhere to go.
00:10:45Joanne was the girl's name.
00:11:03I'd watch her play in the pinball machine, the malt shop, every day for about a week.
00:11:08Usually had a couple of fellas hanging around her, but on this day she was alone.
00:11:12When my boyfriends take me out, they have cars, she said.
00:11:17I was sure they didn't have any as good as the one I had just stolen.
00:11:31My, keep your cars in good shape, Mr. Rockefeller.
00:11:35You ordered it, didn't you? Come on, jump in.
00:11:42Come on.
00:11:54What's the matter, little boy?
00:11:56Big bad policemen scare you in your stolen car?
00:11:58No.
00:12:00Where do you want to go?
00:12:02Right straight to the end of the line.
00:12:04Where?
00:12:06I know a shortcut.
00:12:08Drive fast, crazy fast.
00:12:34Where do you want to go?
00:12:35Where do you want to go?
00:12:36Where do you want to go?
00:12:37Well, here we are.
00:12:38You're crazy, little boy.
00:12:39Yeah, crazy about you.
00:12:40Got a cigarette?
00:12:41Wish I had a drink.
00:12:42Sorry, the guy who owned this carpet got to build a bar on it.
00:12:48You know, I've been watching you a lot.
00:12:49I know.
00:12:50You've got pretty legs.
00:12:51Oh, you've noticed them.
00:12:52What's crazy about you?
00:12:54Got a cigarette?
00:13:04Wish I had a drink.
00:13:06Sorry, the guy who owned this carpet got to build a bar in it.
00:13:10You know, I've been watching you a lot.
00:13:12I know.
00:13:14You've got pretty legs.
00:13:16Oh, you've noticed them.
00:13:18You've got a pretty mouth.
00:13:22Well, what did we come here for?
00:13:26To go crazy, I guess.
00:13:32Instead, I've got a pretty mouth.
00:13:34Why don't you kiss it?
00:13:42Hey, looky.
00:13:44How do you like that?
00:13:46Lovers.
00:13:47Beat it, you guys. You too.
00:13:49You fellas, get out of here.
00:13:51Shame on you, Joanne.
00:13:53You know them?
00:13:54She knows us.
00:13:55What are you doing, Joanne?
00:13:57Cradle snatching?
00:13:58What do you think you're doing?
00:14:03Lay off, will ya?
00:14:04What?
00:14:09That shows you how an expert works.
00:14:11Lay off him.
00:14:12I'll snatch your ball headed.
00:14:13I'll take them both on.
00:14:14Well, listen to Buster.
00:14:15Leave him alone.
00:14:16He's an all right guy.
00:14:17He's a square.
00:14:18Look at the car he's got.
00:14:19He kiped that car.
00:14:20Oh, so he kipes car.
00:14:21Yeah, and he knows how to wheel him too.
00:14:22I was gonna introduce him to Skipper and the bunch at the shack.
00:14:24Hey, we need a guy who can collect cars and wheel them.
00:14:26If he's as good as Joanne says.
00:14:27How about a little proof?
00:14:28You want a fast ride?
00:14:29Yeah, that's the idea.
00:14:30Oh, I can wheel it.
00:14:55He wheeled.
00:14:56Didn't I tell ya?
00:14:57Put to the floor, boy.
00:14:59Watch the corners, chauffeur.
00:15:07Look at the drivers, right off this hill.
00:15:09Julian, wait, wait!
00:15:11Careful, Whit!
00:15:21Hey, Whit! What do you say?
00:15:23Hello, kid.
00:15:24Here he is. Skipper Adams.
00:15:26Hey, this is the guy I was telling you about.
00:15:28Yeah?
00:15:31Is this the guy?
00:15:32This is the guy.
00:15:35You got a record?
00:15:36No, I've never been pinched.
00:15:38And what makes you think you're tough enough to get in with us?
00:15:40I don't know how tough he is, but he can be plenty useful.
00:15:43You should see this guy drive. He's great.
00:15:45I think he's yellow.
00:15:49Let's see.
00:15:55Watch your nose, boys.
00:15:57Good job.
00:15:58That a girl, Julian.
00:15:59All right. All right, kid.
00:16:00Tell us, Skipper.
00:16:03So you want to prove you've got guts?
00:16:04Any time you're ready.
00:16:05Okay, you'll get a chance.
00:16:06When?
00:16:07When I tell you.
00:16:12Here you go, Whit.
00:16:13These bullies were car thieves, shoplifters, check kiters.
00:16:21But they were stupid, too.
00:16:23I knew I had more brains than all of them put together.
00:16:28It was a wild run of crime for almost a year.
00:16:30That gun made me ten inches taller.
00:16:34I'm sure you're mistaken, officer.
00:16:37My boy's a mechanical wizard.
00:16:40He spends most of his time when he's not in school taking the family car apart and putting it together.
00:16:45Whit, somebody wants to talk to you.
00:16:47Don't you hear me, son?
00:16:48Now, just a minute, officer.
00:16:49Nobody's gonna hurt him, mister.
00:16:50Now, drop that wrench, kid.
00:16:51Drop it.
00:16:52We're going for a little ride, sonny.
00:16:53Officer.
00:16:55This will break his mother's heart.
00:16:56She's a cripple, sir, bedridden.
00:16:57It'll be very hard to tell.
00:16:58You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
00:16:59It's a bad bunch of kids, mister.
00:17:00Stick-ups and store boosters and they kite cars and give us a bad time.
00:17:03One of these days, they're gonna kill somebody.
00:17:05But my boy's not like that.
00:17:06Well, you'll have to tell it to the judge, mister.
00:17:07He picked up one of his powers, sir.
00:17:09The judge, mister.
00:17:10He picked up one of his powers.
00:17:11He picked up one of his powers and he killed a friend.
00:17:13He's a old man.
00:17:14He's a old man.
00:17:15He's a old man.
00:17:16He's a old man.
00:17:17He's a old man.
00:17:18But my boy's not like that.
00:17:20Well, you'll have to tell it to the judge, mister.
00:17:23He picked up one of his pals, Skipper Adams.
00:17:25He racked up the rest of them, name by name.
00:17:27Put your kid's name at the top of the list.
00:17:29Quit, why don't you speak up?
00:17:30Tell this man it isn't true.
00:17:35You got nothing on me, copper.
00:17:37You see, mister?
00:17:38They pick up that kind of talk in the comics,
00:17:41hear it on the radio.
00:17:43Come on, kid.
00:17:45So I drew a stretch in the reforms.
00:17:48School with the others.
00:17:50Fingerprinted, numbered, catalogued.
00:17:52I was furnished with a record that's stuck to me ever since.
00:17:56You can't handle Skipper yourself.
00:17:59I'll soften you up for you.
00:18:00You can have what I leave.
00:18:02We've only been in this joint since this morning.
00:18:05You sure this is the way you want to start your career here?
00:18:07I'm sure.
00:18:08Just as soon as I can lay my hands on it.
00:18:18You stinkin' stool pigeon.
00:18:22I'll get you!
00:18:24Stop it!
00:18:25Oh!
00:18:25My friend!
00:18:27God!
00:18:28No!
00:18:31No!
00:18:32All right!
00:18:34No!
00:18:35All right!
00:18:35No!
00:18:36No!
00:18:37No!
00:18:37No!
00:18:38We are going!
00:18:38No!
00:18:39Never!
00:18:39No!
00:18:40I don't mind!
00:18:40No!
00:18:41My friend!
00:18:41No!
00:18:42No!
00:18:42No!
00:18:42No!
00:18:43You!
00:18:44No!
00:18:45No!
00:18:45Nothing!
00:18:46Oh, no.
00:18:56Did you do this? No, not me.
00:18:58And who did? Come on, names.
00:19:01Who punched this fella? Santa Claus.
00:19:03Oh, a wise guy. Is that a crime too?
00:19:05Well, you're making a good start for a new arrival.
00:19:07How many of these boys worked you over?
00:19:09Just one. Him.
00:19:12Shut up!
00:19:14Take him over to the hospital.
00:19:17All right, come on, come on, break it up.
00:19:19I warn you, Whittier, if you think you're tough, we tame lions here.
00:19:23The tougher it gets, the better I like it.
00:19:25I conformed to nothing.
00:19:27I drew one punishment after another and told them what to do with our rules.
00:19:32Within six months, I was warned and balled out 20 times
00:19:36and listed as an incorrigible.
00:19:38What's the matter with you?
00:19:40You're pounding up a record an inch thick.
00:19:43It'll bog you down in time.
00:19:45When are you gonna grow up?
00:19:47Got them to give you a job in the office.
00:19:49And what happens?
00:19:50You use that privilege to juggle the files
00:19:53and put bad credits against other inmates you don't like.
00:19:55They had it coming.
00:19:56You've stolen from the commissary.
00:19:58You've been caught gambling, smoking in the dormitory.
00:20:01You're full of resentment and defiance.
00:20:03You're on a downhill toboggan.
00:20:05Into a snowbank, sir.
00:20:07Into the penitentiary.
00:20:09At least I'll steer the course myself.
00:20:10Don't you do me any favors.
00:20:12I won't.
00:20:13Take it the hard way.
00:20:1590 days in the brickyard.
00:20:16I'll go with the nick- 지.
00:20:18Go with the net.
00:20:21Later they'll move.
00:20:22They'll be some summarize in the des vagyis in the brickyard.
00:20:24No question.
00:20:25...
00:20:26Go with the net, I'll go with the net.
00:20:27Go with the net, I'll R 입.
00:20:28Go with the net.
00:20:29Go on, go with the net.
00:20:31Go and meet the net.
00:20:32Go on, go inside.
00:20:33What are you trying to prove?
00:20:53I'm in training to take on ignorant bulls like you.
00:20:56Ten at a time!
00:20:59Lush! Light up!
00:21:03I know you got complaints about the food.
00:21:22Light rations and hard work is the order as long as you deserve it.
00:21:25It's up to you.
00:21:26At that moment, all the guard meant to me was another cop,
00:21:30another stupid authority telling me what to do.
00:21:33Well, if I'd had a gun that day, I would have emptied it into him.
00:21:42Tiger!
00:21:43He needs to be fumigated.
00:21:52He needs to be fumigated.
00:21:59That was my first dose of tear gas, and I've never forgotten.
00:22:05I was still against authority, against society, against the law.
00:22:18But I vowed from that day on to yes, everybody, to rub my nose in any kind of dirt, to get out.
00:22:24I finally got out, older, taller, wiser.
00:22:37Upon arrival in town of residence, report at once to your parole officer.
00:22:41I've been over your record carefully, Whittier.
00:22:43You're gonna have to walk a tight rope from now on.
00:22:46You slip, you fall right into San Quentin.
00:22:48I'd like to ask one question, sir.
00:22:50Hmm.
00:22:51Eight more waiting, huh?
00:22:54Now, there's no time for questions.
00:22:57You report here once a week until I think it's okay for you to come in only once a month.
00:23:01Now, you've read the rules about consorting with other parolees, getting off the streets at night.
00:23:06Remember, no liquor, no firearms.
00:23:08Why can't you cut a record of that?
00:23:11Now, listen, boy, that's not the right attitude.
00:23:13I've got 70 like you that I've got to keep track of, and more coming in every day.
00:23:17Now, I'll help you as much as you want to help yourself.
00:23:20I doubt that.
00:23:22Now, look, boy.
00:23:23Thank you, sir.
00:23:24Good day, sir.
00:23:38Come on.
00:23:40Come on.
00:23:41Come on.
00:23:42Come on.
00:23:43Come on.
00:23:44Come on.
00:23:45Come on.
00:24:06My answer to parole?
00:24:07To parole, to cops, to the devil himself, to strike first.
00:24:11The brand's on us deep and we gotta fight back.
00:24:14There's no Ten Commandments in this gang.
00:24:17Just one. Don't get caught.
00:24:20Squares, here we come.
00:24:22All I want is the long green stuff with the dead presidents on it.
00:24:37The End
00:24:59Ten robberies in a night.
00:25:01I'd stolen a shortwave radio and rigged it up to receive the police broadcasts.
00:25:06I always knew where I was going, but the police didn't.
00:25:20I was in the dough.
00:25:22When you have dough, you have a dame.
00:25:31I called her doll.
00:25:33She could be a doll, too.
00:25:35All looks and clothes and feminine cuteness.
00:25:39Or she could be a hard-boiled realist.
00:25:42I like both sides of her character.
00:25:44And all points of her compass.
00:25:47What took you so long?
00:25:48With the cops tailed us.
00:25:49Oh, are you crazy? What'd you lead them up here for?
00:25:52I couldn't help it. They didn't dog us till we got on this road. There ain't any other...
00:25:59Bust the ignition on that car. Jerk the wire.
00:26:00Hit the brush.
00:26:01Hit the brush.
00:26:02Hit the brush.
00:26:04Hit the brush.
00:26:05Hit the brush.
00:26:06Hit the brush.
00:26:07What?
00:26:08What?
00:26:09What?
00:26:10What?
00:26:11What?
00:26:12What?
00:26:13What?
00:26:14What?
00:26:15What?
00:26:16What?
00:26:17What?
00:26:18What?
00:26:19What?
00:26:20What's the
00:26:44Let's go.
00:27:14We got time. We busted the ignition.
00:27:16Well, I didn't get a chance to bust a two-way radio on my car.
00:27:20They'll caulk up this road down below. Head in.
00:27:22Who's doing the driving?
00:27:2963, 40, 10 to Flintridge Mountain Road and Main Highway.
00:27:34All-speed intercept flight squad car coming from Hills.
00:27:38San Fernando Valley, Malibu, Santa Monica.
00:27:40All highways. All cars.
00:27:42Police radio car number 34. Repeat 34.
00:27:45Stolen from patrol. Three men in this car, all armed.
00:27:48May head back into city. Repeat.
00:27:51You guys couldn't catch cold.
00:27:55Don't come too close behind us.
00:27:58Calling up, Dyke. Revolving Flintridge Circle XYZ.
00:28:02Reverse battleship Normandy.
00:28:04That tossed them into using code.
00:28:053, 40, 10.
00:28:07Patricia, effective Flintridge, Malibu.
00:28:09Repeat.
00:28:20They're going to ask me for it.
00:28:21Do you see that, Whit?
00:28:35He went over the rail like a fractured duck.
00:28:36Huh?
00:28:37One shot. That's all it takes me is one shot.
00:28:38Good shooting.
00:28:39Good shooting.
00:29:09The gas tank burning.
00:29:10The gas tank will explode.
00:29:11Let's get out of this bomb.
00:29:13Let's get out of here.
00:29:21They're trapped.
00:29:22They're trapped.
00:29:25Whick!
00:29:27Whick!
00:29:29Right through the head, I think.
00:29:56But the rabbit's foot wasn't good enough to keep me out of San Quentin.
00:30:06That was my first trip in. Let me see. It was in August, 41.
00:30:13The minimum sentence totaled 26 years. The maximum could be five lifetimes.
00:30:19Attention, old man, attention. Warden Duffy will speak to you. Warden Duffy.
00:30:26Hear this, please. I've got some big news for every man in this prison.
00:30:33The state of California has just completed and put into working order an honor farm.
00:30:38You can regain your dignity as men. The aim is rehabilitation and a parole for you as soon as you're entitled to it.
00:30:44The name of this place is Chino.
00:30:51Hmm. Business is picking up.
00:30:54There'll be no bars and no walls. The only thing that will bind you to Chino is your own word of honor.
00:31:01Until the authorities believe you're ready to go free. This is your chance, men. Good behavior will get you there. That is all.
00:31:08You could grow old gracefully in a place like Chino. Live among the flowers, the birds and the bees.
00:31:17I don't intend to grow old in any joint. Hey Al, are you gonna stay around L.A. when your parole comes through?
00:31:25Right close. I'm gonna give you a telephone number. Dame. Good looking?
00:31:32Yeah, she's all mine. Remember that. Look how long the minute I make Chino. Unless you get yourself jammed up again.
00:31:43Ah, not a chance this time. I've learned how to be careful.
00:31:48Well, stay out of trouble till I shake this joint at least. Let me know the day you get to Chino. I'll be your outside contact.
00:31:55If I don't have a long gray beard and an ear trumpet by that time.
00:31:59I get before you're on the streets a year.
00:32:02Mr. Starr's never seen the kind of good con I'm gonna be.
00:32:07I have so many credit marks to want to make me the chaplain.
00:32:29Mr. Starr's never seen the ignition on the train.
00:32:32Mr. Starr and your bell!
00:32:35Mr. Starr- there were towers used by the plane spot here.
00:32:37Mr. Starr!
00:32:39Mr. Starr...
00:32:41Mr. Starradt!
00:32:42Mr. Starr.
00:32:44Mr. Starr!
00:32:51Mr. Starr.
00:32:53Mr. Starr.
00:32:56Mr. Starr!
00:32:57There were towers used by the plane-spotting details.
00:33:01They were quite a distance from headquarters.
00:33:04I promised myself I'd be up in one of those things in less than a year.
00:33:16Chino looked like a sugar-covered birthday cake to me.
00:33:20In a way, it was a birthday present.
00:33:28I had just reached 24.
00:33:31It took a long, long time before my smartness paid off.
00:33:42Regular airliner, 10.30.
00:33:46No. It didn't drop no bombs.
00:33:55We are lucky being here, Whit, aren't we?
00:33:58We're luckier when we get out.
00:34:00Nah. I don't know that I want to get out.
00:34:03Beds are good. Meals are good.
00:34:06It's comfortable here.
00:34:08Nah, I don't like it out on the street.
00:34:11I've tried the old world.
00:34:13The world's all right if you use it.
00:34:15Make it pay off.
00:34:17Grab it by the throat. Shake it.
00:34:20Slap it in the face a couple of times.
00:34:22Turn it upside down.
00:34:24Out rolls your bread and butter.
00:34:26Maybe a little cake.
00:34:27It's a cinch.
00:34:28If you're lucky.
00:34:30Ah, I make my own luck.
00:34:32Yeah, but crime don't pay.
00:34:34Pays off 87% to the smart cookies and never end up in jail.
00:34:3887%. Is that bad?
00:34:41Bad for the other 13%.
00:34:43That includes us.
00:34:45We're here.
00:34:46I belong here, boy. You're happy. Don't wake up.
00:34:53You're expecting that dame again, aren't you?
00:34:55Yeah.
00:34:56Dames is grief.
00:34:57Not for me. They've been my best friends.
00:35:00I was married once.
00:35:02The trouble a lousy $2 can get you into.
00:35:06There she is, right on time.
00:35:09I just picked up a light over in a brush.
00:35:12I knew you were up to it. I knew it.
00:35:14Well, tonight I'm strictly rabid. It's jump and run.
00:35:17Whit, give it a good long thought. You're here on your honor.
00:35:21Not me. I haven't got any. All I need is an hour.
00:35:26Going over the fence?
00:35:27Through it.
00:35:28I borrowed a pair of wire cutters last week.
00:35:31My little blood.
00:35:37You're telling I fell through the trap door and cut my head.
00:35:40Whit, don't do this.
00:35:41You're gonna make it tough on the rest of us.
00:35:44You're gonna go along with me on this hour's delay, aren't you?
00:35:48If you don't, I'll square you the day you get out.
00:35:55It's your party.
00:35:56And now we call the switchboard.
00:35:58Tell them I fell through the trap.
00:36:00Cut my head. Started for the hospital.
00:36:03Tell them you want to know how I'm coming along.
00:36:06They say I haven't arrived yet.
00:36:09Tell them I must be wandering around dazed. Get it?
00:36:12You're dazed, all right.
00:36:14Tomorrow you can have my piece of pie.
00:36:16So long.
00:36:31My God.
00:36:32Whit!
00:36:33Oh, you old greybeard.
00:36:43Meet the monk, my good left arm. Straight as they come.
00:36:47Hiya, farmer.
00:36:48Hi, monk.
00:36:49Everything okay? Any changes?
00:36:51Just like we said, it's straight for town. Let's go wheel it.
00:36:53Wheel it?
00:36:54I suddenly lost my taste for Chino.
00:36:56They haven't done away with traffic cops since you've been in.
00:36:59Yeah, relax.
00:37:01Okay, kid, so I'm nervous. After you've been in as long as I have been, you-
00:37:04Who are you talking to? Amateurs?
00:37:06You sure they ain't showing a buzzer on you right now?
00:37:08I got a good hour ahead.
00:37:10We've got a good year ahead.
00:37:12You're looking up pink, Whit.
00:37:13Feel good.
00:37:14Been doing a little gardening around the house just for the exercise.
00:37:17Look, I cut my thumb.
00:37:19Did you meet any interesting dames in that country club?
00:37:24They all had beards.
00:37:26How about those lips I've been waiting for?
00:37:49Well, after the big heat's off on you, we head for the mountains. Lay low for a full month.
00:37:58Never mind me. Just how hard are you, Al?
00:38:02The law is blind. They've been looking for me for two years. I've been right here every minute of the time.
00:38:08You're safe here. It's a breeze.
00:38:10I've been reading about you in the papers there.
00:38:12My last big hole? A pushover. Upstairs windows are never locked.
00:38:17I got myself a couple of handfuls of real ice in a big Bel Air mansion.
00:38:21I'm fencing them right tonight.
00:38:23We will be financed for a year.
00:38:25You know, I used to know all the angles and all the double crosses.
00:38:30How will you know this fence?
00:38:32How suspicious could you get in stir?
00:38:34I done business with this guy 50 times. He's gotta be right.
00:38:37It's taken me a year to get here.
00:38:39I'd like to stay overnight at least.
00:38:42You're safer hidden in church.
00:38:45I'll be back in two shakes of a cocktail mixer.
00:38:49With the olives.
00:38:51I think I'll take a shower.
00:38:53Make yourself the hole.
00:38:55You got no business here.
00:39:08We know all about that, so open the door.
00:39:10I lost my key.
00:39:11Maybe you got somebody in there.
00:39:13Open up, will you?
00:39:14I got no key.
00:39:16I told you, I got no key.
00:39:25Well, you got the stuff you want. Let's move on.
00:39:27You're a little too anxious, Al.
00:39:29I told you, there's nobody here but the termites.
00:39:31Who's the extra bed for?
00:39:33I got a pet cat.
00:39:34Your pet cat just took a shower.
00:39:45Come on, Kitty. Slow and easy.
00:39:47You might catch pneumonia.
00:39:51Take a good look at this mug.
00:39:52I think he's the answer to the hot broadcast.
00:39:54Fits the description.
00:39:55Dark curly hair, dark eyes, slight hump and bridge your nose.
00:39:59Bright height, weight.
00:40:00Your news, son.
00:40:01Hot news.
00:40:02Whittier himself.
00:40:04You got this guy all wrong.
00:40:06Oh, no. We got him all right.
00:40:08Your next stop, Mr. Honor Farm Whittier, is Folsom.
00:40:11That dick was telling me the truth all right.
00:40:14The next stop was Folsom.
00:40:17The home of maximum security.
00:40:20The home of nightmares.
00:40:22If I had tried the wall, I'd be dead now.
00:40:26The row of machine gun bullets where my belt ought to be.
00:40:30Almost four years of it, I pounded that parole board with weeps.
00:40:36Folks needed me.
00:40:38Father had money troubles.
00:40:40Mom was sick.
00:40:42It was my responsibility.
00:40:44Any reasons I could think of to get out of there sooner.
00:40:47I was on the free side, but the old resentment against any authority was stronger than ever.
00:41:00Dependable doll, that's you.
00:41:02Whitt, be careful.
00:41:04What if I've been careless?
00:41:06I remember reading a story once about the wife of an air pilot.
00:41:10How whenever her man went out on a trip, she died a little until she heard that he'd landed.
00:41:16That's how I feel about you.
00:41:21I always land.
00:41:23And I always die a little.
00:41:25Mammy, you're getting sentimental.
00:41:27What do you want me to do?
00:41:29Sell shoes or gasoline?
00:41:31I wouldn't care what you sold.
00:41:32Now, wouldn't that be a dumb life?
00:41:34Big thrill of the week.
00:41:36Come home to a hamburger dinner with a blue ribbon from the boss for having sold more shoes during March than old man Tweedletooth.
00:41:43Sure.
00:41:44A dumb life.
00:41:45No kicks in it.
00:41:47I can be really stupid, can't I?
00:41:49Look, baby, things get hot, we'll cash our chips and fly south.
00:41:53This'll be, uh, clean-up year.
00:41:56Just a year?
00:41:58A year.
00:41:59There'll be no cheating, mister.
00:42:01Tomorrow, I buy a calendar.
00:42:04I want you to promise me, doll.
00:42:07Whatever happens.
00:42:08Any dough I can get to you.
00:42:10You'll buy Mom and Dad things.
00:42:12You know, you'll...
00:42:14Go see them, fix them up.
00:42:16Nothing but the best is going to happen to you from here in.
00:42:19But I promise anyway.
00:42:20I'll see them.
00:42:26That'll be Monk and the boys.
00:42:29The door's unlocked.
00:42:31He's still, he's ringing.
00:42:33All my chips out.
00:42:35You sure they're hand-picked?
00:42:37The cream.
00:42:38They're what you ask for and more.
00:42:40Monk's known her for years.
00:42:41He wouldn't fool us.
00:42:43Wish old Al were out there.
00:42:45Won't see him for 20 years.
00:42:47Hello, Monk.
00:42:48Hey, Monk!
00:42:49Hiya, pal!
00:42:50Delivered as advertised.
00:42:51You know what I told you about my friends.
00:42:52They know all about you.
00:42:53Glad to know you.
00:42:54Nice to have so many questions and answers behind us.
00:42:55Monk says you got a patent on how to get rich quick.
00:42:56Get no exchanges.
00:42:57Well, it's no new technique, but it has a news language.
00:43:00Monk tells me you know all the better-class joints in the county.
00:43:02Know them and been in them.
00:43:03Most of the runners for the syndicate and the rackets.
00:43:04Hey, those boys can be rough.
00:43:05They shoot straight.
00:43:06There's no copyright shooting straight.
00:43:07I'm making it plain.
00:43:08I've got a few things around here I treasure.
00:43:09You're not using this apartment for a headquarters.
00:43:10I know a very old hideout will use it.
00:43:11All right.
00:43:12Now, what's the full pitch?
00:43:13What's the full pitch?
00:43:14I don't know how to get rich quick.
00:43:15I don't know how to get rich quick and no exchanges.
00:43:16Well, it's no new technique, but it has a news language.
00:43:17It tells me you know all the better-class joints in the county.
00:43:18Know them and been in them.
00:43:19Most of the runners for the syndicate and the rackets.
00:43:20Hey, those boys can be rough.
00:43:21They shoot straight.
00:43:22There's no copyright shooting straight.
00:43:23I'm making it plain.
00:43:24I've got a few things around here I treasure.
00:43:25You're not using this apartment for a headquarters.
00:43:26I know a very old hideout will use it.
00:43:27All right, now let's see what's the full pitch.
00:43:39Hijack the hijackers.
00:43:40Well, thieves like us against thieves like them.
00:43:43It's all in the family.
00:43:45Nobody complains, nobody informs the police.
00:43:48Law don't bother us because we don't step on the law's toes.
00:43:51Plain enough?
00:43:52I wish you'd talk about this when I'm not an earshot.
00:43:54The law's one thing, but racket runners, not for me.
00:43:59Whit, you're the only one I care about.
00:44:02Let me know what is in the remains.
00:44:04How's it sound?
00:44:06Thieves like us against thieves like them.
00:44:08That's okay by me.
00:44:10No, I'm already dead.
00:44:11But I'll go along just for the floor.
00:44:13I'll recheck.
00:44:14This is a deal.
00:44:20We warmed up by heisting the messengers
00:44:23who carried the dough for the horse racing and gambling syndicates.
00:44:27Inside no noise, Pat.
00:44:29You're the only spout.
00:44:49Go on, get that hood up.
00:44:59Get up, hands up, and stay up.
00:45:00Well, nice big bills. Thanks.
00:45:01Johnny Albert's gonna have 50 rods looking for you cheap punks.
00:45:03You must be huffed up.
00:45:04No, just a little war between smart guys and men.
00:45:05You must be huffed up.
00:45:06You must be huffed up.
00:45:07No, just a little war between smart guys and men.
00:45:08You must be huffed up.
00:45:09You must be huffed up.
00:45:10No, just a little war between smart guys and smarter guys.
00:45:12The last is us.
00:45:13You better tell Johnny Albert to send a hundred rods.
00:45:14He'd better be carrying machine guns.
00:45:15We're huffed up.
00:45:16You must be huffed up.
00:45:17No, just a little war between smart guys and smarter guys.
00:45:20The last is us.
00:45:22You better tell Johnny Albert to send a hundred rods.
00:45:26They'd better be carrying machine guns.
00:45:27We're hard to catch.
00:45:30Turn this heap up, huh?
00:45:33Just a little mare.
00:45:34You just got a punch.
00:45:35You just got a punch.
00:45:36That's some old...
00:45:37You're just gonna have 50 rods looking for you cheap punks.
00:45:39You must be huffed up.
00:45:42No, just a little war between smart guys and smarter guys.
00:45:44The last is us.
00:45:45You better tell Johnny Albert to send a hundred rods.
00:45:48They'd better be carrying machine guns.
00:45:50We're hard to catch.
00:45:51Turn this heap around. Keep a gun in the seat.
00:45:59I'll do.
00:46:21A Mr. Do-Re-Me, a guess.
00:46:23I suppose Joe sent you.
00:46:25Mr. Johnny Albert suggested we drop by.
00:46:27Oh. Oh, Mr. Albert sent you.
00:46:30Oh, well, come in. Come in.
00:46:34We have to be careful, you know.
00:46:36And after all, you do look just a little like, well, rookie cops.
00:46:40That, dear lady, is the supreme insult.
00:46:43Forgive me. And call me Blanche.
00:46:46Now, were you interested in any particular game?
00:46:49Birds.
00:46:51Rare birds of paradise.
00:46:53No pheasant or quail.
00:46:55Not the San Quentin kind.
00:46:57I'll show you a rough.
00:47:02These are our hostesses.
00:47:04Name your game. They play them all.
00:47:07Do you like what you see?
00:47:09Do you like what you see?
00:47:11A gun.
00:47:13A correction, a loaded gun.
00:47:15Now, keep walking forward, Blanche, darling.
00:47:18Stop trembling.
00:47:20This can only hurt your pocketbook, or should I say Johnny Albert's.
00:47:23Okay, everybody, hands of sight.
00:47:25Don't look at that rod, get it.
00:47:27Get it through, right here. Hurry it up.
00:47:29What do you got here?
00:47:30Let's head over there.
00:47:31Come on, come on.
00:47:32You, come on. Give me that ass.
00:47:34I worked very hard for these rocks, you louse.
00:47:37Oh, work again, honey.
00:47:39You know practice makes perfect.
00:47:41Perfect. Come on, Blanche, get the mood up.
00:47:42We've got something to stash. Let's go.
00:47:46All right, now, out of here. Let's go.
00:47:49Goodbye, Blanche.
00:48:01Don't touch any buttons, Johnny.
00:48:03Okay, honey, you gotta open this chair easy and quick.
00:48:10Wipe your mouth, Johnny. Strictly business.
00:48:13Know what we're after.
00:48:16Three of you, huh?
00:48:19You paid a social call on Blanche. Am I guessing right?
00:48:23You're the same hoods that held up the boys in my treasure bar last week.
00:48:27Cheap punks.
00:48:28We're not gonna be so cheap tonight, Johnny.
00:48:31I can smell the stink of the jail tank on all of you.
00:48:34Huh? Make you homesick?
00:48:37Okay, Johnny, on your feet.
00:48:38You're going along with us, and we'll take the dial to keep you company.
00:48:41Get rid of him, Johnny. I don't want to be tied up in no drafty basements.
00:48:44Well, we'll fix you up real nice, baby.
00:48:47Let me phone.
00:48:49Don't kid us.
00:48:51Tomorrow you can use our phone.
00:48:52And tomorrow your lawyer can start getting the dough ready.
00:48:54We can talk business right here.
00:48:56How much dough are you asking?
00:48:59How much do you think it's worth?
00:49:01I'll go 30 G's.
00:49:03Keep a slush fund for just such an emergency.
00:49:0630 G's now. Small bills.
00:49:08You're only gonna ask for 25.
00:49:11Well, do you a favor. We'll take the 30.
00:49:13With no hard feelings.
00:49:15All right, we'll find it.
00:49:17We'll get it.
00:49:20My second drawer.
00:49:26For my collection.
00:49:32Naturally, I had no intention of trying that.
00:49:35Against three of you.
00:49:36Oh, no.
00:49:38Naturally, no intention.
00:49:41Duck soup, isn't it?
00:49:43You ought to know.
00:49:45Brought down many a duck.
00:49:46Sorry for interrupting your party, Johnny.
00:49:59Wheeler!
00:50:07Your line must have been hooked up to that drawer we opened.
00:50:09Come on, Wheeler!
00:50:10Come on, Wheeler!
00:50:18Give me that, Wheeler!
00:50:26Okay, brace yourselves!
00:50:27I'm gonna take this, Wheeler.
00:50:41Give me that, Lou.
00:50:43We're hot now.
00:50:44Yeah, well, we're hot from now on.
00:50:46We're the hottest set of characters ever crossed Johnny Albert in his mouth.
00:50:49We're nuts if we go back to L.A.
00:50:51Every goon in town will be gunning for us.
00:50:53I'd just as soon not go picking buckshot out of my front teeth.
00:50:55How about it, Whit?
00:50:57Try the Glendale Monk.
00:51:06Here.
00:51:08Splitting it four ways thins it down, doesn't it?
00:51:11You sure you're not sore, Whit?
00:51:13Nah.
00:51:15We've had our kicks.
00:51:17Safer we split up.
00:51:19Australia, here I come.
00:51:22It was Africa a while back.
00:51:23That ain't far enough anymore.
00:51:26Look, you guys ditched this hot heap and scattered.
00:51:28I'm going to Canada.
00:51:29Any use asking you where you're heading with?
00:51:30Leaving California?
00:51:32Right now?
00:51:34I'll find some mischief.
00:51:36You'll read about me in the papers.
00:51:37It's the cops, honey.
00:51:38Nothing to be scared of.
00:51:39It's the cops, honey.
00:51:40Nothing to be scared of.
00:51:41It's the cops, honey.
00:51:46Nothing to be scared of.
00:51:48It's the cops, honey.
00:51:49Nothing to be scared of.
00:51:52It's the cops, honey. Nothing to be scared of.
00:52:06File out. This is a stick-up.
00:52:11Oh, mister, listen, I only got a few bucks.
00:52:14Booty out!
00:52:16You stay here, honey. Don't worry.
00:52:19Oh, let go of me. Please, let go! Keep moving!
00:52:23No, stop! Let go! Please, let go!
00:52:26No, stop! Let go! Please, let go!
00:52:30No! No, stop! Let go! Please, let go!
00:52:33Stop!
00:52:49No, stop!
00:53:09Ah, this is a stick-up.
00:53:11Oh!
00:53:12Oh!
00:53:13...
00:53:16No, stop!
00:53:17No, stop!
00:53:18No, stop!
00:53:20Oh!
00:53:22Crab!
00:53:24No, stop!
00:53:26Call me!
00:53:27Oh, my God.
00:53:57Who is it?
00:54:11Open up, honey.
00:54:18Whit, it's 2 o'clock.
00:54:22Aren't you glad to see me? No greeting?
00:54:25Whit, I...
00:54:27Look, I...
00:54:29You can't stay here.
00:54:32Just drop by.
00:54:34The police might...
00:54:35They've been here.
00:54:36No.
00:54:37No, but I'm afraid.
00:54:38Some guy's going to see you.
00:54:39No, no, quit it. You're hurting me.
00:54:42Well, look, nobody's been here.
00:54:43Nobody's liable to come.
00:54:44What are you sweating about?
00:54:47What in...
00:54:47It's what's in the papers.
00:54:49Robbery is one thing, but this other, this red-light bandit business.
00:54:55These girls.
00:54:56You're going to leave everything you read in the paper.
00:54:59There's a drawing in the newspaper where it looks like you.
00:55:02The law thinks you're in the sky.
00:55:13What do you think?
00:55:14Oh, I've got to go home, honey.
00:55:35Oh, not yet, honey.
00:55:36Oh, Dad'll be furious.
00:55:37Let him be furious.
00:55:43Let him be furious.
00:55:48What?
00:55:49Ah!
00:55:51Ah!
00:55:51Ah!
00:55:52Ah!
00:55:52Ah!
00:55:53Ah!
00:55:53Ah!
00:55:54Ah!
00:55:55Ah!
00:55:56Red-light job again.
00:55:57Victim's state of collapse.
00:55:58Abandoned driving a Ford.
00:56:00Probably souped up.
00:56:01Look for this Ford.
00:56:02Dark coupe.
00:56:03Late 1946 and 1947 model.
00:56:06Wanted man is a male Caucasian.
00:56:08Young, a dark curly hair.
00:56:09Five feet six to five ten.
00:56:11Weighs 150 to 170 pounds.
00:56:14I sure wish that guy would pick on us.
00:56:16Four nights on these clothes.
00:56:19I wish they'd have picked you to wear this girdle.
00:56:26Hey.
00:56:27Over there, that coupe just pulling in for gas.
00:56:36Let's look it over.
00:56:47We're spotted.
00:57:06Don't touch that weed.
00:57:22All they got on us in them hot clothes and a car theft.
00:57:24I ain't gonna get tripped for that.
00:57:26I got 11 years parole on me and then some.
00:57:29I'd rather get killed now than rot in Folsom.
00:57:31What the hell was that I was doing?
00:57:37Come on.
00:57:37Come on!
00:57:39Come on!
00:57:42섯 dInd domu
00:57:42Oh!
00:57:44Buddy!
00:57:56Tommy!
00:57:57Oh!
00:57:57Do the hell?
00:57:58Oh!
00:58:00Leave me alone!
00:58:17I didn't do it!
00:58:22Get out of here!
00:58:25Leave me alone!
00:58:26I didn't do anything!
00:58:27Leave me!
00:58:28Go!
00:58:30This red-lined thug we've been looking for used a .45.
00:58:34Victims swear it was a .45.
00:58:36Now, let's count the score.
00:58:38Number one, the gun.
00:58:41Found near your car.
00:58:43Coincidence.
00:58:43.45s aren't rare.
00:58:45Victims of the red-lined bandit identify you.
00:58:48Look, I'm not even the size they claim, not even the weight.
00:58:52I've been misidentified, not identified.
00:58:54It happens all the time, and you know it.
00:58:56You call up the victim, you say, we got your bandit.
00:58:58He's an ex-con who's already confessed.
00:59:01What can they do?
00:59:02Call a cop a liar?
00:59:03Number three, this pencil flash found in the glove compartment of your car.
00:59:07There's one in every car.
00:59:09You can buy them in any drugstore.
00:59:11Number four, the car itself.
00:59:13A stolen car.
00:59:15Description right.
00:59:16You driving it.
00:59:17Hundreds of cars of exactly the same description running all over the streets.
00:59:21You got lots of excuses, but not a bunch of a case.
00:59:24I say, there was a third guy in a car.
00:59:26He's your red-light bandit.
00:59:27He jumped out at the filling station.
00:59:29You sure?
00:59:30I'm sure.
00:59:31You say this third guy was riding in your car?
00:59:33Yes, he rode into the gas station with us,
00:59:35caught a flash of you, and jumped out the other side.
00:59:38You'll swear to this.
00:59:39Anytime.
00:59:40Well, you're the best help we've had.
00:59:44What's this third guy's name?
00:59:46What?
00:59:47I said, what's this third guy's name?
00:59:50Find out yourself.
00:59:51You're a cot.
00:59:52You lost him.
00:59:53I didn't.
00:59:53Okay.
00:59:54So now we've lost this third guy.
00:59:57Now we'll talk about you.
00:59:59Number five, you are a notorious police character,
01:00:03a notorious two-time loser.
01:00:06When the law wanted to question you,
01:00:07you made a fast run for it.
01:00:08Doesn't that look like you're guilty?
01:00:11Look, if I'd have stopped and been picked up
01:00:13by an ex-con and a car loaded with hot clothes,
01:00:16I'd have gone back to Folsom as a parole violator
01:00:18with new charges.
01:00:20Why wouldn't I run?
01:00:21Look, you're not gonna burn me for those red-light jobs.
01:00:24Come on, get him out of here.
01:00:28He's a girl-beater.
01:00:29He's a sex fiend.
01:00:30Want to leave him to us?
01:00:31We'll get rid of him for you.
01:00:31Turn off the lights for two minutes.
01:00:33We'll beef him.
01:00:34No extra charge for a broken head.
01:00:35The papers and the broadcasters had already convicted me
01:00:38of crimes that even these slobs hated.
01:00:41For five days, the police had rammed questions at me.
01:00:44Finally, I was turned over to the sheriff's custody.
01:00:47What a bunch of pigs.
01:01:10Is my lawyer come yet?
01:01:15Take him to my office.
01:01:16This is gonna be a party workout.
01:01:37Chains, nightsticks, kicks in the head.
01:01:39I've heard of it.
01:01:39Well, you two bit bulls aren't gonna get away with it.
01:01:41You leave one mark on me and you'll regret it.
01:01:43I'll have every reporter in the state.
01:01:44Pause, you take it easy for a couple of minutes.
01:01:46What about my lawyer?
01:01:47I don't talk without my lawyer.
01:01:48He'll be here, but first I got something to tell you.
01:01:50Well, it better be good, because I heard the worst.
01:01:52No, I'm afraid not.
01:01:55Your mother died last night.
01:01:57That stopped me cold.
01:02:00I remember trying to say something, but no words came out.
01:02:04I hadn't been home in a long time.
01:02:06I didn't have enough nerve to face the folks anymore.
01:02:09Now, Mom was gone.
01:02:12I never gave coppers any reason to be decent to me.
01:02:16I never gave any one of them credit for being kind.
01:02:19Till that day in the captain's office.
01:02:22Hey, look, Whittier.
01:02:23There's been no formal charges against you yet.
01:02:25VA's working on the list.
01:02:27I can give you a break.
01:02:30Don't put him back in the tank.
01:02:31I'll write you out an assignment to take him to the funeral parlor.
01:02:53I had seen death before, but this was different.
01:02:59I remember thinking.
01:03:01Mom, if I could turn back a little time.
01:03:05If I could speak to you again.
01:03:09Your pain is over now.
01:03:11All the pain.
01:03:15God knows I caused you plenty.
01:03:24I burned all the newspapers.
01:03:27She never knew.
01:03:31She kept coming to the family.
01:03:32No.
01:03:33No.
01:04:04Yes, sir. There's nothing like having a big-shot lawyer.
01:04:08Big enough to rate a private interview in a captain's office.
01:04:12It has its advantages.
01:04:14Can you wait outside, please?
01:04:18Now I got the dough stashed.
01:04:21We can whip this red light, Rapp.
01:04:23We can tie that D.A. and his five points of evidence into a knot.
01:04:27All this identification testimony's pure bunk, pure baloney.
01:04:31You know that, don't you?
01:04:32Here are the papers you sent me.
01:04:34Names of the alibi witnesses and so forth.
01:04:37You may want to hang on to them.
01:04:38Don't you need them?
01:04:39It's not going to be as easy as that, is it?
01:04:42It's going to be that easy for me.
01:04:45I wouldn't touch your money or your case if my life depended on it.
01:04:49Well, my life does.
01:04:51They're trying to gas me to the Lindbergh law.
01:04:54Be sure and take a deep breath.
01:04:56Now, wait a minute. I hired you. I got the dough, I tell you.
01:04:58There's a limit even to what a criminal lawyer can stomach.
01:05:01You've been a vicious, dangerous man all of your life.
01:05:05You've abused every privilege of social justice.
01:05:07Now, wait a minute. I got rights!
01:05:09This is one of my rights.
01:05:12You haven't got a gun in your hand and you've got to listen.
01:05:15You've robbed, wrecked, cheated.
01:05:17You've flaunted the laws of prisons and reform schools.
01:05:20You've peddled and fenced with the underworld.
01:05:23You've beaten innocent men.
01:05:25Shocked forever the minds of young women.
01:05:28You tried to kill law officers.
01:05:31You may even have committed murder.
01:05:34But now they've got you on the little Lindbergh law.
01:05:37And it'll execute you.
01:05:39And good riddance.
01:05:40Nah, that stupid law!
01:05:42Just for holding a gun on somebody and moving a few feet and you call that kidnapping?
01:05:46They'll be executing men for plain robbery if they get away with this.
01:05:48Doesn't my life mean anything to you?
01:05:50Nothing.
01:05:52Since when has any life meant anything to you?
01:05:54You drove your mother to an early grave.
01:05:57You're killing your father by inches.
01:05:59And you blame everybody.
01:06:01Society, law, authority, poverty.
01:06:04And it's all a big lie.
01:06:05You're a living lie.
01:06:08Wait a minute.
01:06:09Wait a minute.
01:06:10Wait a minute.
01:06:10Please, please.
01:06:11You're my only hope.
01:06:14Get out of my way.
01:06:20I told them all I wasn't guilty.
01:06:23That I wasn't a red light bandit.
01:06:25But no one believed me.
01:06:28No one.
01:06:29What was I to do now?
01:06:32Are you represented by counsel?
01:06:35I wish to represent myself.
01:06:37You don't want to trust this to a lawyer.
01:06:40I don't.
01:06:41If you wish to try your own case, we can't tell you not to.
01:06:45Many times, men with past experience such as you've had,
01:06:48you know the tricks of the trade.
01:06:50They've come before me later with the excuse of their inability to prepare for defense.
01:06:54They wait till the last minute to get a lawyer
01:06:56and then have him ask for a continuance just to stall off the case.
01:07:01Now, do you really want to try your own case?
01:07:04That's correct.
01:07:06How do you plead?
01:07:08Not guilty.
01:07:10The case is set for trial on April the 29th, 1948.
01:07:14Well, it's about time.
01:07:20You must think we're running a law school around here.
01:07:23Wouldn't harm any.
01:07:24You know I'm entitled to a couple of books.
01:07:25You're getting everything that you're entitled to.
01:07:28But don't you think you're running a good thing into the ground?
01:07:30No, I don't.
01:07:32My whole future.
01:07:34There is any.
01:07:35It's in these books.
01:07:36What's the matter with a public defender?
01:07:38He's fine.
01:07:40He's a nice old fella.
01:07:42He'll be around.
01:07:43For experience.
01:07:45You think you're smarter, huh?
01:07:47Well, I've got more at stake than he has.
01:07:50Look, is there any harm in a guy trying to find out what makes him tick?
01:07:53You were a young pup.
01:07:54Somebody wound you up with a crooked key.
01:07:56You've been running backward ever since.
01:07:59Yeah.
01:08:01It's not the way to win, is it?
01:08:03You ought to know.
01:08:04The day for my trial, my future was up to my own cleverness to twist the law to my advantage.
01:08:14I was alone fighting for my life.
01:08:17Only one man in the world had my total interest at heart.
01:08:21Only one man in the whole world would dedicate his life to save mine.
01:08:30The courtroom was another kind of jungle.
01:08:33The jungle of civilization where the intelligent battle to the death and to the acquittal.
01:08:39This was the arena.
01:08:41The weapons were books and speeches.
01:08:43Evidence and witnesses.
01:08:45The recognized weapons of legal combat before a jury.
01:08:49I remember looking each one of them over carefully.
01:08:52These twelve.
01:08:54They were all good, stout citizens.
01:08:57Carefully selected for their lack of prejudice.
01:09:00I was the grand prize of this battle.
01:09:03A novice entering a bullring could not have felt more uncertain than I.
01:09:08A brilliant talker.
01:09:09The prosecutor set the stage when he told the jury that he would prove I was the red light bandit.
01:09:14And would prove 18 separate major felonies against me.
01:09:18Under the Little Lindbergh law, he would demand capital punishment.
01:09:23The gas chamber.
01:09:26Witnesses, witnesses.
01:09:28Identifying, accusing, condemning me with gestures as well as words.
01:09:33As the case against me grew stronger by the hour and by the day, I looked in vain for one expression of sympathy, one ray of hope.
01:09:40I searched the faces of the jurors, and I looked for understanding and tolerance in the expressions of the men from the press.
01:09:49I saw nothing on those faces but scorn and contempt.
01:09:53Witnesses, witnesses.
01:09:54I couldn't shake their testimony.
01:09:56The jury listened to them, fascinated.
01:10:00I wondered if that old saying was right after all.
01:10:04I was my own lawyer.
01:10:06Had I a fool for a client?
01:10:09the prosecutor closed summation to jury just now said whittier's alibis were just drivel
01:10:16no alibi at all for the crime of the 17th and none for the 22nd
01:10:20oh hold your horses yeah i think so he's downright depraved
01:10:25yeah positive here it is yeah da quote to convict him of robbery is just like you going home
01:10:33doing time means nothing to him wait a sec here's something to quote
01:10:37parole violator bestial crimes morally wrong lawless cold calculating vicious
01:10:47sure he's a sadistic fiend and the cinch for the gas route okay bye
01:10:54then it was my turn to address the jury ladies and gentlemen of the jury
01:10:59you heard the prosecutor
01:11:05i say to you here that i'm not guilty of the crimes ascribed to the red light bandit
01:11:13i say to you here i'm not the red light bandit i swear i'm telling the truth
01:11:17i'd like to point out that these crimes were committed by a bungling amateur
01:11:22the prosecutor says i'm a long time hardened and professional criminal
01:11:28certainly a man of my experience wouldn't be nervous with a gun as the witnesses said the attacker was
01:11:35i'd like you to consider the descriptions broadcast by the police
01:11:41male caucasian smooth face young dark curly hair dark eyes this could be me
01:11:53but it could also be thousands of others
01:11:57the description also said
01:12:00five foot six to five foot ten
01:12:04weighs 150 to 170 pound
01:12:09some of the victims reported the red light bandit talked with an accent
01:12:14does this description fit me
01:12:17i'm over six feet tall
01:12:19i weigh over 180
01:12:21i talked for a day and a half
01:12:25and in the end
01:12:27the jury has found you guilty on 17 of the 18 charges
01:12:31on two of which the penalty is death
01:12:34your honor aside from the automatic appeal to which i'm entitled
01:12:37i move now for dismissal on the grounds of mistrial
01:12:41as you know the court reporter died two days ago before this trial ended
01:12:45the law requires a proper transcript of trial testimony
01:12:50i maintain it's impossible for another person to prepare from a dead reporter's shorthand notes
01:12:55a proper transcript of this trial
01:12:58i shall take the motion under advisement
01:13:00the motion was denied
01:13:23i argued that i was being unconstitutionally convicted
01:13:27the double death sentence held
01:13:29they brought me here to death row
01:13:32six years ago
01:13:35six years in death row
01:13:37six years in a living coffin
01:13:40a coffin ten and a half feet long
01:13:43four and a half feet wide
01:13:46my home
01:13:48my office
01:13:50fighting the law with the law
01:13:53searching for legal miracles
01:13:55writs
01:13:57stays
01:13:58appeal after appeal
01:14:00four times to the supreme court of the united states
01:14:04hundreds of law books studied
01:14:07thousands of words written
01:14:09twice before now within hours of the gas chamber
01:14:12i've already died fifty times
01:14:16the night is gone
01:14:23this is it
01:14:24i can't show fear
01:14:26but i am afraid
01:14:29god in heaven forgive me
01:14:32it's been all my fault
01:14:34i know now what brings a man to death row
01:14:37not society
01:14:40not heredity
01:14:41not environment
01:14:43only the man himself
01:14:46i alone am to blame
01:14:49you've done it again wit
01:15:06no kidding
01:15:12i stay from the state supreme court
01:15:15i thought it was the bad news
01:15:29listen did the judge make any comment when he granted to stay
01:15:34here
01:15:34i took some notes over the phone
01:15:37you'll be able to read the facts and the judge's opinion in the morning papers
01:15:41time
01:15:44that's all i need
01:15:46over 100 more days of life
01:15:50i gotta start on my new brief right away
01:15:54the reporters are downstairs
01:15:56they want to see you
01:15:57my pleasure
01:15:58anytime you say would
01:16:01i'll call you
01:16:03wit filed his new brief but the united states supreme court again refused to review his case
01:16:10the date for his execution was once more set by the trial court
01:16:14on january 11th just three days before wit was to die the chief justice of the circuit court stayed the execution pending a hearing
01:16:23so the story of the story of this man is not yet over nor is the story of cell 2455 death row
01:16:32whether wit descends to the gas chamber or whatever the future holds for him
01:16:36cell 2455 still stands ready and waiting for the next whittier
01:16:43for the next whittier
01:16:50the
01:16:52the
01:16:54the
01:16:56the
01:16:57the
01:16:58the
01:17:00the
01:17:02the
01:17:04the
01:17:06the
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