09x22 - The Case of the Avenging Angel

[bunniefuu]

[BAND PLAYING POP MUSIC]

- Glad to have you with us.
- Thank you.

No hard liquor, you understand.

- Mostly teenagers here.
- Of course.

I recommend the k*ller Shark.

It's pineapple juice with tonic.

Sounds fine.
We'll have two k*ller Sharks.

All right.

What's going on? This was supposed
to be a business appointment.

It is.

Here?

Does this look like business?
It's $ , .

Five thousand dollars?

What's going on?

You disappear with a client
mysteriously and alone,

come back with all the cash,
pick me up, and bring me to this.

All in the line of duty.

I can't hear you.

We're doing this for my client.

Ah.

And who is this cash-money client?

You've heard of
Cameron McBain Burgess.

Who hasn't?

The kind of a man every girl wants
as a father-in-law.

Millionaire, civic leader,
philanthropist.

What kind of a problem
could Burgess have

that would make him give his attorney
a cash retainer?

Apparently he wants to
become an angel.

[CHUCKLES]

You're putting me on.

No, and by the way,

Cameron Burgess' name is not
to be mentioned outside the office.

He agreed that only my secretary and
an investigator would know the facts.

MAN:
Gentlemen.

Boys and girls,
may I have your attention, please?

You know how one cat said
to the other cat:

"How do I get
to Carnegie Hall, man?"

And the second cat said:

ALL:
"Practice, man, practice.”

HENNY:
Yeah!

So here's one cat you dig the most,
and he's been practicing.

So let's hear it for Sandy Chester.

SANDY:
Thank you.

Sandy Chester.

He's the boy
Mr. Burgess wants to sponsor.

Thanks so much, mods.

You know, since I came
to this country,

it's been Henny
what's done everything for me.

Gave me this job
and a chance to sing.

So this song's for Henny.

[BAND PLAYING POP MUSIC]

[SINGING] I'm walking the same road
I used to walk you home

But this time, it's different
I'm walking alone

Oh, why did you leave me
To be by myself?

I feel like a millionaire
Who's just lost his wealth

Oh, how dark and lonesome
This road seems to be

It used to be sunny
When you walked it with me

Since you've been away
It has never been the same

Oh, come back, my darling
And let's start again

Oh, lonesome road, lonesome road
Why did she go?

Are you sure this is the boy
your client wants to sponsor?

Unlimited backing. Any amount.

- Why?
- I don't know, Della.

I honestly don't know.

No, Mr. Hawley.
I can't give you my client's name.

But he says you're the best personal
manager in show business.

And he wants you
to handle the boy's career.

Your guy wants him put over, huh?
Made big-time?

Well, he does wanna give him
a chance.

Now, I'd imagine that first
you'd like to hear the youngster.

Find out if he has any talent.

Ha. What's that got to do with it?

You think it's talent puts over
these creepy kids today?

- Forget it.
- What does it take?

Two things: guts and money.

Big money.

You look down there in that street.

Pick out a kid. Any kid.

Give me enough dough
to do the job,

and in six months,
I'll have him a national sensation.

Remember Archie and Shel?
The Tongo Trio?

I did it for them.
They were nothing when I took them.

Far as I'm concerned,
they're still nothing.

Anyway, I can do the same thing
for this what's-his-name of yours.

- Sandy Chester.
- Yeah.

America's new singing discovery.

Did I tell you my terms?

Your man picks up all expenses,
I get percent and full control.

No dice without full control.

And a contract nobody can break.

I'll draw up an agreement
between you and Sandy.

When it's signed,

I'm authorized to deliver $ ,
for a start.

That'll do, for a start.

When would you like to talk
to the boy?

Right away. After all,
America is waiting to see its new star.

[PLAYING PIANO]

It's just smashing, Henny.
Think of it.

Clete Hawley,
the Clete Hawley, calling me.

Well, it was sure to happen
sooner or later.

- Goon.
- It's true.

Besides brains, looks, personality,
there's a certain, well, quality.

Star quality.

And I've got it?

You've been drinking
too many k*ller Sharks.

It's true.

If it weren't, why would a big manager
like Clete Hawley be interested in you?

There is that.

Well, let's hope you're right,

because then that percent of me
that you have will be worth something.

Enough to fix this place up.

Your name's Sandy Chester?

Yes, sir.

You must be Mr. Clete Hawley.

I can't tell you what a thrill it is--

Oh, Henny, this is Mr. Clete Hawley.

Henny's real old-time
show business.

She was a headliner in vaudeville
for years and years.

Well, not actually a headliner,
but, uh, feature billing.

SANDY: I've sure been a lucky bloke
having somebody like her.

She's taught me everything I know
about singing, how to act.

Well, maybe it's not too late
to undo the damage.

Look, kid, if you and I get together,

you're gonna forget
everything you think you know.

You're gonna start over again
from the top and learn it my way.

If you get together?

I thought you told the boy
over the telephone--

All depends on his situation.
All depends on his...

Oh.

All right, split, kid.

The lady and I have got something
to discuss.

But if you're gonna talk about me,
I ought to be here, shouldn't I?

Look, kid, there's one thing
you ought to start learning right off.

I tell you something once.

Now split.
I'll send for you when I want you.

It's all right, honey.

There's only one thing
we three are interested in:

your career.

Mr. Hawley and I won't have
any trouble.

Now,

first thing I wanna know
is exactly where you and the kid stand.

I'll have perhaps minutes
before my case is called.

- Time for some coffee?
- Sure.

Oh, what do you have
on Sandy Chester?

- Who is he?
- Nobody. Just another English kid.

His mother d*ed about a year ago
and he came over here.

In time, he showed up
in Henny's Coop.

Why would a capable star-builder
like Hawley

wanna bother with an unknown,
untried kid like Sandy,

without even hearing him?

Surely not for the money.

Don't be too sure.

Hawley's often been on the verge
of making it.

But so far, he's always just missed.

The, uh, rock 'n' roll business
is a bare-knuckled racket.

Some kid makes a halfway name
for himself

or hits a hit record,
and the big boys snap him up.

That would explain why Hawley
was so insistent on full control

and what he calls
an ironclad contract.

I'm afraid I haven't been much help.

I still can't explain Burgess'
interest in the boy.

That's not all that intrigues me, Paul.

There's also the fact that Burgess
wanted Clete Hawley

and no one else
to be Sandy's manager.

Now, why Hawley?

How would a man like Burgess
have even heard of him?

All right, all right,
once again from the top.

Go out and enter again.

Let's go, let's go.

All right. Applause, applause.
Clap, clap, clap.

Wait a minute. Straighten your back.

And turn those feet in.
You walk like a duck.

All right, come on.

[SIGHS]

Don't grab that microphone
as though you're gonna throttle it.

Pretend it's a girl. Play up to it.
Make love to it.

And straighten that back.
You're gonna--

You're gonna be somebody,
you gotta look like somebody.

Now, go out
and make the entrance again.

Look, that's not singing.

Kid, you're so far from singing,
you couldn't reach it in a sleeper jump.

- Then what do you got me here for?
- You stay put, Riff. You stay put.

Now look, you, from the time
you get up in the morning

till the time you hit the pad at night,

you're gonna learn to do things
the Clete Hawley way.

Catch? You're gonna learn to walk
into a restaurant, to give an autograph.

Yeah, to brush your teeth the way
a Clete Hawley product does it. Catch?

All right.

Take five, take five.
I'll round up your music.

Don't let him throw you, Sandy.

The only way to make it
in this business

is to put up with the Clete Hawleys.

That's the sad part of it.

But that is how it is.

Did you hear what he said, though?
I mean, about signing autographs.

You think I'll ever get that far?

I was just gonna ask you
for your first one.

It's for my daughter, Sherry.

She's getting to be quite a fan
of yours.

That's a bit of all right, that is.
I'd like to meet her.

[RIFF PLAYING PIANO]

Hey, what's that?

Oh, it's one of mine.

"Da, da, da, Surfin' Moon."

- That's real boss.
- Heh.

[SINGING] Cool cats are clinging
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Wild waves are winging
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Sand dunes are swinging
Yeah, yeah, yeah

CLETE:
Cool it.

We were just noodling.

I said, cool it. Not his style.

Sandy, after a while,
we're gonna work on these.

Right now I wanna
smooth out that entrance.

Clete, there's not one of mine here.

And you said that we could--

You mean I'm gonna have trouble
with you?

After everything I've done for you?

That's my boy, Riff.

All right, Sandy.
Make that entrance again.

And this time,
do it the way I told you.

Ready? All right, applause.
Clap, clap, clap.

Applause, applause.
All right, kid, make your entrance.

Come on, come on. Okay.

[PLAYING PIANO]

[SINGING]
Bye-bye, baby

Remember, you're my baby

When they give you the eye

Although I know that you care
Won't you write and declare

That though on the loose
You are still on the square

I'll be gloomy

But send that rainbow to me

All right, kid, all right.

Take five. We got things to discuss.

Well, I just wanted you to see
where the money goes.

That's quite a change.

Uh, tot that you didn't have potential,
Sandy.

CLETE:
Don't you believe it.

That kid's a product. I made him.

All right, kid, split.

Well, that's the sample.

I had to give him a new hairdo,
a bath, new clothes.

Now starts phase two, the buildup.

Here.

Dotty Merrill, publicity. Perry Mason.

- Hello.
- Hello.

- You got those swoon sh*ts?
- Right here.

These are for the fan mags.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, a few months of these,

and that kid with the two left feet
we saw at the Coop

will be the dreamboat
of every chick in the country.

And that takes bread, Mr. Mason.
Money, money.

From the vouchers
you've been sending me,

I'd say you've been spending bread
like water.

[CHUCKLES]

Make that bread on water.

I've got a few dates lined up
for Sandy out of town.

Easy ones.
When he gets back here,

then he'll be ready for
the choicer spots, and a record.

I'm gonna get that record
into the hands

of every disc jock in the country.
See where the money goes?

You mean you have to pay them
to play his records?

Of course not. That's illegal.

But we offer incentives.

Same for the fan mags.

Clete can get you top exposure
for your dollar.

[CHUCKLES]

You wanted this kid on top, Mason?

Only one way to do it. My way.

Now let's talk serious money.

I sank grand in my last project.

I'm talking the same kind
of money here.

I want it up when we get
back to town.

And no more vouchers.

I hate paperwork.

I'll report to my principal.

He'll wanna know precisely
what he's buying for his money.

Well, among other things,
he's leasing

one of the choicest collections
of skeletons in show business.

I've made kind of a hobby
of skeletons.

Oh, there's nothing like it
when you're promoting new talent

to be able to pull out a nice choice
skeleton and kind of rattle it around.

Or putting it another way,
knowing where the bodies are buried.

CLETE:
Oh, ho, ho, ho.

You're with it, counselor.
You're with it.

You tell your principal that.

On that, you have my word.

I think the counselor's
chickening out.

Mr. Burgess, at the moment,
Mr. Hawley has the boy on tour.

But when he gets back next week,
he wants $ , free and clear.

No vouchers, no accounting.

Purely on good faith alone.

By, uh, what day?

You're not actually considering
giving him the money on his terms?

Well, I was aware
when I first came to you

there'd be considerable expense
involved if we expected results.

Expense, yes,
but let me come to the point.

If you're determined
to go ahead with this,

I recommend very strongly
you do it with another manager.

You mean fire Clete Hawley?

Oh, Mr. Mason,
this is my wife, June.

A pleasure, Mrs. Burgess.

I'm sorry if I'm intruding,
but I just happened to overhear...

Uh, my wife knows all about
our arrangements, Mr. Mason.

- You can speak freely.
- Of course.

Here's a full report on Mr. Hawley,

prepared by
the Drake Detective Agency.

This report concludes that
Mr. Hawley is less than exemplary

and hardly the person to be entrusted
with a large sum of money.

Well, the point is, I don't know
very much about show business,

but they tell me
that if you want results quickly,

you've got to go through
people like Hawley.

- And they all agree he's the best.
- At getting results quickly.

But what about lasting results?

Mr. Mason, I'm sure that Cameron
picked the best lawyer available

to draw up a contract
that would protect the boy.

The contract can only protect
Sandy financially,

it can't govern his day-to-day
relationship with his manager.

And that's what concerns me
most of all.

From our telephone conversation
this afternoon,

I gathered you're not very happy
with Hawley's attitude,

his manner of dealing with the boy.

But discipline, I'm sure,
is just as important in show business

as it is in anything else and if--

Well, if Hawley is a little strict
or hard,

I'm sure it's just his way
of getting the job done.

It's not only that. It's his methods.

He suggested for instance
that in promoting the boy,

he wouldn't hesitate to use,
and I think he said:

"Skeletons in the closet.”

But he meant a form of blackmail.

In fact, although he doesn't know
who you are,

that's one of the messages
he told me to give you,

that he knows
where the bodies are buried.

Well, I'm sure
you're able to deal with Hawley

and I'm certain I am.

Now let's get on with it, Mr. Mason.

Well, take a look at that report.

You'll note that the youngsters
Hawley did put over

broke away from him
at their first opportunity.

And all of them, to a man, said that
Hawley did everything he could

once they'd broken away
to destroy them.

Now, is that what you want
for Sandy Chester?

Because with Mr. Hawley
as his manager,

I'm afraid
that's exactly what you'll get.

All hail the conquering hero.

Oh, Mr. Burgess' discovery.

Or Mr. Hawley's creation.
Who knows which?

Sandy's late.

Now, if we're to believe
those newspaper clippings,

the tour was an unqualified success.

Or Dotty Merrill
is a great press agent.

- Why, Della, you're becoming cynical.
- Heh, heh.

That's showbiz.

[DOOR OPENS]

DELLA:
Well, Sandy, welcome home.

You look wonderful. How did it go?

First-rate, Ms. Street.

The audiences all seemed to like us.

Good to see you again, sir.

Della and I
have just been reading about you.

You've become quite a celebrity.

Not really.

Well, maybe in a few small towns.

We're back in Los Angeles because
Clete's setting up a recording date.

Well, that's good, isn't it?

Good? I think it's little short
of a miracle.

[PHONE RINGS]

Perry Mason's office.

Just a moment, please.

It's the police.

They're looking for Sandy.

OFFICER:
Don't do anything foolish, now.

Just try to stay relaxed.

Stay right where you are.

Now, just take it easy up there,
young lady.

We've got the Fire Department
coming. We'll get you down.

Stay right where you are. Relax.

Don't make any moves.
Stay right where you are.

That's right. Try to relax.

We'll have you down in a little while.
Now, just be careful.

No, no, no. Don't make any moves.
Stay right where you are.

That's a girl. Hold on to--

Now you're fine.

They're on the way.

No, no. Don't move around.
Stay right where you are.

Dotty, what's going on?
Take a look at the sign.

Don't try anything up there.
Just stay where you are.

Be careful now.

Kids are crazy these days.

Why would she pull a stunt
like that?

Tell me the truth, Sandy.
Do you know that girl?

Honestly, sir,
I've never seen her before.

We've been trying to talk her down
for a half hour.

She could break her neck.

Sandy, I just hope this isn't a stunt.

We've got to get that girl down.

Do you know the song
"Surfin® Moon"?

I think so.

- Can we use the microphone, please?
- All right.

All right, honey, if you'll just sit still,
I'm going to sing for you.

[SINGING] Cool cats are clinging
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Wild waves are winging
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Sand dunes are swinging
Yeah, yeah, yeah

'Neath that surfin' moon

I know how you feel, Clete.

It was a crazy shtick,
but we hit the front pages.

[SANDY PLAYING "SURFIN' MOON"
ON PIANO]

Well, don't blame me,
it wasn't my idea.

What did you expect Sandy to do,
just stand there and refuse to sing?

Let the doll get hurt?

Well, I don't understand
why you're so teed off with me.

Sherry, if you ever, ever pull a stunt
like that again, so help me, I'll--

Dad, I'm sorry.

It got so late, I wondered
if you were coming to rehearse.

Miss Goof-of-the-Year here and I
were detained in juvenile court.

The judge finally released her
to my custody,

which may or may not have been
a smart move on his part.

Now, Dad, you wouldn't have
let them lock me up.

You know how much
it's gonna cost me?

For those fire trucks and the police?

Well, maybe Clete will help out.

Clete?

Well, after all,
you did get us a lot of publicity.

Oh, like, wow, didn't we, though?

Now everybody in the country
wants to hear Sandy Chester

sing your song, "Surfin' Moon."

Everybody except one guy.

- And he's the only one that counts.
- Clete?

He's in New York,
pitching an album deal.

And you had to cut the ground
right out from under him.

How?

The only tune the record exec wants
to buy is a single called "Surfin' Moon."

Oh, tough. Dad, did you hear that?

So that's why you climbed out
on that billboard

and had that crazy sign painted.

You don't wanna build Sandy.

You just wanna plug
your father's song.

And it worked too.

Except that Clete
didn't call the sh*ts.

And when he doesn't,
head for the b*mb shelters, baby.

This check and letter are going back
to Mr. Burgess by special messenger.

Cashier's check for $ , .
You sure don't see many of those.

I imagine Clete Hawley may be
a little disappointed not receiving it.

He may receive it anyway,
but not from me.

You mean Burgess is going
to deliver it on his own?

Well, he says he's paying for results,

and Hawley apparently
is getting results.

You'd think the last thing a man
with Burgess' reputation would want

would be to associate
with someone like Hawley.

Well, he hasn't actually
associated with him.

The contract is between Hawley
and Sandy.

And I've been acting for Burgess
while he remained anonymous.

But not anymore.

Once he gets that letter, I'm through.

- Wash my hands of the whole thing.
- And Sandy Chester?

No, Paul, I can't do that.

I still feel responsible for that boy.

- Anything I can do?
- Maybe there is.

There are still some big,
unanswered questions in this affair.

Why was Clete Hawley is so willing
to take on an unknown boy

without ever hearing him?

And why was Cameron Burgess
SO anxious

to sponsor an unknown boy
in the first place?

Well, I don't like to be threatened,
Mr. Hawley.

Well, how did you find out about it?

What's it matter?
Let's just say I got friends.

And when I smell a double-cross,
I do something about it.

Now, nobody's double-crossing you.

All right, then where's the bread,
the cash that was supposed

to be up for me the minute
I got back from New York?

BURGESS: it's ready,
but my attorney won't deliver it.

He's advised me against
going any further with you.

Now listen, Clyde,
I'm gonna level with you.

You think that kooky little girl
on the billboard got newspaper space?

What kind of coverage
you think they'd give the real story

of why Cameron Burgess,
civic leader,

is playing angel to the career
of Sandy Chester?

[OVER PHONE]
Think it over, friend. Think it over.

[LINE DISCONNECTS]

[DIALING PHONE]

Mr. Mason, it's urgent that
I see you right away.

Very well, Mr. Burgess.
Within the hour.

Now, calm down.

I'm sure we can find Henny
easily enough.

I don't know what's happened to her,
Mr. Mason.

When I went down to the Coop,
it was shut down.

A sign on it that it was closed
for nonpayment of taxes.

And she's moved too
and left no forwarding address.

Well, I suppose business
became slack

and she couldn't meet
her expenses.

But she had the money.

I knew she was worried
about those taxes.

That's why I told Clete to send her
the percent right away.

Henny had percent interest
in you?

I told Clete it had to be like that
when I signed with him.

And Clete Hawley agreed to that?

Of course.

So I've got to find out what happened,
where she is.

Mr. Mason, Henny's
about the last friend I've got.

I wouldn't let her down.

We'll check the court records.

I promise you'll be able to talk to her,
certainly by tomorrow.

Good on you, sir.

Have her catch me in my dressing
room at the recording studios.

We're doing "Surfin' Moon"
tomorrow.

And Henny will get a great thrill
out of that.

Now, how about you, Sandy?

Is everything else going well?

I don't really know, sir.

It seems as if...

Well, everything's happening
just as Clete said it would.

The tour dates and now this chance
to make a recording.

You're not happy about it.

It's just that everyone around me
seems to hate everyone else

or compete with everyone else
or envy everyone else.

And I can't understand why.

When Clete Hawley came out
to Henny's and wanted to take me on,

I thought it was a whole new world
opening up.

But now that I've seen it,

I'm not sure I want to be part
of that world.

When I said "confidential,” Mr. Mason,
that's exactly what I meant.

I didn't tell Clete Hawley you were
backing the boy, Mr. Burgess.

Then how could he possibly
have found out about me?

That, I can't answer.

And you still refuse
to deliver the check.

Absolutely, and my advice to you
remains the same.

Get rid of him.

No, no, I can't do that now.
I must turn over the money.

Mr. Burgess, I have the feeling
that you're acting under duress.

If you care to tell me what it is, I might
be able to suggest a course of action.

Is Clete Hawley threatening you?

No, no.

It's my problem.

I'll have to handle it myself.

[INTERCOM BUZZES]

Hello?

Oh, right. Right away.

I said I'd sell you "Surfin' Moon."

This gives you the rights
to the whole song.

Look, that sand-for-brains daughter
of yours crawling up on that billboard

cut the rug out from under me.
I don't want to buy your song.

You two are forcing it on me.

Sherry's only a kid, Clete.

She was trying to help me.

- She doesn't know about--
- Riff, Riff, baby,

there are a couple of things
she doesn't know about.

Now, do we wise her up
or do you sign that paper?

[DOOR OPENS]

Hi, Dad.

Thanks, Riff.

You're supposed to be in school.

Oh, high school can get along
without me for one afternoon,

especially when Sandy's taping
a new hit song, our song.

Come on in.

That two-bit piano player.

What you got?

Oh, album covers.

This one's nice.

This one stinks.

Why don't you go easy on Riff,
honey?

Why don't you let me take care
of the business, honey?

[INTERCOM CLICKS ON]

CLETE: We've got Burgess
right where we want him.

He's coming through with a check
for $ , , no strings attached.

DOTTY:
What will we do with that money?

CLETE:
We're gonna go places.

Okay, and reading me in two?

Two's clear. Try number three.

The wire's crossed over here
somewhere.

It's m*rder to locate.

Who, Mr. Hawley?

Mr. Hawley wanted an echo chorus
on the kid.

I think he went to the chamber
to set it up.

CLETE: I knew about the percent.
SANDY: What did you give Henny?

The back of my hand. What else?

Pull these vultures out of the gutter,

they think they got a claw on you
for the rest of their lives.

But Henny's my best friend.

She took care of me,
gave me my first break.

Kid, I thought we understood
each other.

A Clete Hawley property
is a one-man show

and nobody but nobody cuts in.

I'm not your property.

MAN [OVER PA]:
Ten minutes. Recording studio.

Sandy Chester tape.

Clete, you're going to give Henny
her percent.

All the money due her so far or...

Or what?

Or you and I are through.

Right now.

Walt, you can call it off.
I'm not singing.

You little jerk.
Eighty-six me out, will you?

You do that
and you'll never work again. Never.

You can't afford to do that.

You've invested too much money
on me already.

Me, invest in you? Ha.

It's your father's dough.
He's your angel.

You're crazy. I don't have a father.

BURGESS:
Yes, you do, Sandy.

Sandy, allow me to introduce
your old man, Cameron Burgess.

I didn't know you existed, Sandy,
until three months ago

when I received a letter
from your aunt.

While your mother was alive,
she forbid her sister to tell me.

And I wished
it would have stayed that way.

BURGESS [OVER INTERCOM]:
Well, I didn't want you to find out.

Surely not this way.

Our deal was he wasn't to know.

Deals change.

MAN [OVER PA]:
Hey, Clete, how about that echo?

We roll in five minutes,
echo or no echo.

I just wanted to help you
have a career.

I was afraid if you knew about me,
you wouldn't accept it.

Right, and whatever I have taken
without knowing it,

I want you to give back.

[OVER INTERCOM]
And you can call off all this.

The session, our deal, everything.

Now listen, buster,
you read me loud and clear

or I'll throw you back in the gutter
where you came from.

When that tape rolls, you sing.

Because you've got
a contract with me

to sing what I say,
where I say, when I say,

or you don't sing at all ever.

- Now, just a minute, Mr. Hawley--
- Stay out.

I don't want your help.

Five minutes, punk.

Be here.

JUNE:
Mr. Mason.

I'm in luck. I was hoping to catch you
before you left your office.

I wanted to give you this.

Your husband is still determined
to do business with Clete Hawley?

He asked me to give this to Clete,
but I wasn't able to.

I want you to give it back
to my husband.

That would be rather embarrassing.

I'd rather he'd be furious
with his lawyer than with his wife.

Well, I'm off to San Diego
to spend the night with my sister.

By the time I get back,
he'll have cooled off.

Well, that's the first time I have seen
a woman take three suitcases

and two fur coats
for one overnight trip.

I know you're experienced
in such things, Paul.

But maybe you just don't know
how the other half lives.

[PAUL CHUCKLES]

Will somebody please snag
Sandy Chester and Clete Hawley

and sh**t them down to recording?

This crew's on salary here.

Hey, we're five minutes late--

Mr. Mason, could you help me
get a seat?

Well, I'll try, Henny.

It is going to be all right, isn't it?

I mean, how could those squares
even think a good kid like Sandy

could m*rder anybody?

They have a pretty strong case
against him.

I just know it's gonna be all right.

And you'll tell him that I'm here,
and, uh, what I said.

And, uh, tell him not to be so hard
on his father.

That poor man has been through
so much.

I'll tell him, Henny.
Now, you wait right here.

I'll see about getting you inside.

Your Honor,
the state intends to show

that this m*rder took place
because the defendant in this case

fell into the familiar show business trap
of believing his own press notices.

The decedent, Cletus Hawley,
was a thoroughly established,

highly proficient trainer
and manager of talent.

He took an unknown boy, Sanford
"Sandy" Chester, under his wing,

signed him to a personal contract
and then molded and trained him

into an exploitable personality

ready to be launched
on a successful career.

This boy, however,

unfortunately developed an inflated
sense of his own importance.

The star became too big
for his mentor.

And when the manager,
Cletus Hawley, now deceased,

became disgusted
with the behavior of his new star

and threatened to wreck his career
on the very threshold of success,

this boy, tragically and willfully,

stabbed his manager to death.

Then the defendant's apparent
success, his so-called career,

was not based on any natural
inherent talent or ability to perform,

but on a carefully engineered
and completely false buildup

manufactured by you
and the deceased, Cletus Hawley.

It's routine.

And Clete was a past master at it.

It's simple, really.

You hire a hundred screamers
like those kids outside, plant a gig,

and you can make an overnight
sensation out of a wooden Indian.

What about the girl on the billboard?
Was that part of the buildup?

DOTTY:
It turned out to be.

And it sure kicked the kid's career
into orbit.

But it wasn't Clete's idea or mine.

The little chick ad-libbed
the whole bit.

BURGER: All right, now,
according to your previous testimony,

it was that stunt
that precipitated the final argument

between the defendant
and the decedent, is that right?

The teeners were screaming for a disc
of Sandy doing "Surfin' Moon."

On the recording date,

Sandy told Clete that he wouldn't sing
under his management.

You just didn't do that
to Clete Hawley.

Split on Clete and after that,
nowheresville.

Clete would just pull the rug.

And Sandy Chester knew that,
didn't he?

Knew that Clete was about to pull
the rug from under his career?

Objection.
Mr. Burger is leading the witness.

I'll withdraw the question,
Mr. Mason.

Your witness.

MASON:
I have no questions at this time.

You say you overheard
part of the conversation

between the decedent
and the defendant?

How was that possible
if you weren't in the same room?

Uh, the engineers were having
some trouble with crossed wires.

BURGER:
What sort of trouble?

Perry, I checked
with the studio electricians.

With those wires crossed,
there were only two places

Riff could have overheard
that conversation over the monitors.

Sandy's dressing room
and the echo chamber.

- Where Clete was m*rder*d?
- Right. Here, take a look at this.

BURGER: And this conversation
took place only a few minutes

- before the body was discovered?
- Yes, sir.

Thank you.
Cross-examine, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Lawler,

your daughter told the court

that in all the years you worked
for Mr. Hawley,

he paid you a meager salary.

You wrote songs, turned them over
to your employer for nothing,

to be published under his name.

Now, why, Mr. Lawler?

It was a job. Steady.

I, uh, show you this paper.

State's exhibit F.

A paper found in the pocket
of the deceased.

An assignment of all rights
to the song entitled "Surfin' Moon"

to the benefit of Cletus Hawley,
for good and valuable consideration.

What was the good and valuable
consideration Cletus Hawley paid you?

- Nothing.
MASON: You gave him the song?

Why, Mr. Lawler?

What was the hold that Clete Hawley
had over you all those years?

I refuse to answer the question

on the grounds that my answer
may tend to incriminate me.

You're taking the Fifth Amendment?

You're afraid of incriminating yourself
in Clete Hawley's m*rder?

- No.
- Then answer the question.

- I refuse to answer on the grounds--
- Now, one moment.

Mr. Mason, in view of this surprising
turn in the witness' testimony,

I'm going to adjourn this court
until : this afternoon

to give Mr. Lawler opportunity
to obtain advice of counsel.

This court stands adjourned.

You sure put that guy
over the jumps.

Has to be done, Paul,
to get at the truth.

Yeah, but does it have to be done?

Perry, I've searched a lot of records.

I've had my people check old friends
and relatives of Riff.

I've gone
through old newspaper files.

It's clear to me
what Hawley had on Riff.

It's all in the report I handed you.

A combination of circumstances.

Some people never learn
to face the truth.

It all started at a drinking party.

On the way home Riff had an accident.
His wife was k*lled instantly.

He wasn't arrested?

PAUL: Clete was the first one
on the scene.

It's my guess he told the police
the wife had been driving.

Riff wasn't even held.

But the worst he might have faced
was involuntary manslaughter.

Yes, but how could he face
his daughter?

Well, she wasn't really his daughter.

She was born
before Riff met her mother.

Then Riff must have lived in dread
of Sherry finding out

how he'd k*lled her mother,

turning against him,
probably leaving him.

You can see why he'd do
almost anything to keep it quiet,

work for next to nothing,
give away songs.

Or commit m*rder.

Good evening.

Maybe it's better to live with our
mistakes than to try to correct them.

It was a wartime marriage,
matter of a legal affair.

Sandy's mother knew
it wasn't any good as quickly as I did.

She wrote me in France
that she'd had it annulled.

Of course,
the boy never knew about me

so I was trying to help him
anonymously through you.

- Mr. Burgess?
- And now-- Yes.

- Your office is on the telephone.
- Oh, thank you.

Well, it seems as if everyone
who's come in contact with Hawley

- has suffered in some way for it.
- That's right, Paul.

You know, I wanna help that boy.

But the only way I can do it
is to implicate his father.

What do you mean?

- I'd have to put him on the stand.
JUNE: You can't do that.

Put me on instead.

For what purpose?

Because I was the one that brought
him together with Clete Hawley.

Clete and I were...

Well, we were very close.
It was before I met Cameron.

Then you told Clete
that Sandy was Burgess' son?

- Why?
- Well, the truth is,

Clete and I were going away
together.

On your husband's $ , ?

You realize, don't you,
if I do put you on the stand,

it'll destroy your marriage?

But I may be able to save
my husband's son.

Now, Mr. Lawler,
I presume you've had opportunity

to consult with counsel on your desire
to plead the Fifth Amendment?

Yes, sir.

All right, Mr. Mason,
you may now repeat your question.

Your Honor,

I wish to withdraw the question.
I'm finished with the witness.

Very well. Witness may stand down.

I have nothing further, Your Honor.

I'm satisfied that the state
has proved its case.

The prosecution rests.

Defense calls as its first witness
Mrs. Cameron Burgess.

Thank you.

BAILIFF:
Raise your right hand.

Do you swear to tell the truth,

the whole truth
and nothing but the truth?

State your name, please.

MASON: Then you pretended to be in
sympathy with your husband's desire

to finance his son's career,

but actually this was only a means
of getting money from him?

That's true, yes.

MASON: What did you intend to do
with that money?

Clete and I were planning
on running away together.

MASON: When you asked your
husband for the cashier's check

ostensibly to deliver to Hawley,

you intended to go
to the recording studio,

pick him up and never return home?

Yes.

MASON:
Did you go to the studio?

Yes.

But I got there too late.

Clete was dead.

And she'd k*lled him.

MASON: Who k*lled him?
- Objection.

That little publicity woman who had
been making such a big play for him.

[SPECTATORS MURMURING]

She must have found out
about Clete and me.

JUDGE:
Order. I will have order.

[JUDGE BANGING GAVEL]

You maintain under oath
that it was you and not Mrs. Burgess

with whom Clete Hawley
was planning to run away?

That's right, as soon as he got
the money from her husband.

It's clear enough now,

as soon as she found out
that Clete was using her,

that it was Burgess' money he wanted,
not his wife, she k*lled him.

JUDGE: Mr. Mason, I'm not going to
allow these unsubstantiated charges.

It must be as obvious to you
as it is to me

that one of these witnesses is lying.

Do you have any evidence to offer

that would assist the court
in discriminating?

Your Honor, there is a witness
now present in the courtroom

who may be able to throw some light
on the question.

Now, would you tell the court,
please,

which of these ladies
was telling the truth?

[CHUCKLES]

How should I know?

Didn't you hear Clete Hawley talking
to one of them at the recording studio?

Well, uh...

Weren't you in Sandy's dressing room
waiting to talk to him

when the technicians
got the wires crossed

and fed the microphone signal
into part of the public address system?

You must have been, Henny.

Otherwise how would you have known
that Mr. Burgess was Sandy's father?

Well, I, uh, heard it here in court.

But you mentioned it to me in the lobby
before court opened, remember?

Hasn't the time come
for the truth, Henny?

When you heard over the PA

what Clete Hawley
was going to do to Sandy,

destroy his career, his future...

Clete Hawley told me nobody cuts in
on a piece of a Clete Hawley product.

So for Sandy's sake,

I gave him my percent.

I said I wouldn't tell Sandy.

But I warned Clete,
if he ever did anything to hurt him,

he'd have to answer to me.

That day in the studio,

when I heard Clete talking
SO vicious,

I went looking for Clete.

Clete was in the echo chamber.

I went in and...

...k*lled him.

Sandy's like a son.

If you hadn't been able
to get him off,

I wouldn't have let anything
happen to him.

Honest.

I'm leading my own one-man w*r
against primitive noise

by organizing the society for
the preservation of my kind of music.

And just what is your kind of music?

Good old sentimental ballads
like "Flat Foot Floogie"

and "b*at Me Daddy
Eight to the Bar"?

MASON: Clay's hit parade is made up
of Strauss waltzes,

the two-step and Irish ballads.

And what's wrong with that?

Sandy?

- Hello, Mr. Mason, Mr. Drake.
- Hi, Sandy.

Sandy is the best busboy I ever had.

Well, don't give him compliments,
give him a raise.

Sandy, I understand you're
keeping busy.

Well, let's see. In the morning,
I take voice, dancing or acting class.

I work here all day,
and when I've finished,

I'll go down to Riff Lawler's new club,
maybe do a couple of songs.

Oh, Riff's opened a club?

Come on now, Mr. Mason.

I know you're supposed to act like it's
a secret, but Sherry already told me.

You talked my fa-- Mr. Burgess
into advancing Riff the money.

Well, that's not entirely true, Sandy.

I made the arrangements,
but it was your father's idea.

Well, if you're going to do
any of that caterwauling tonight,

you better take off that jacket
and get moving.

Thank you, sir.

Good night.

Shame about that boy.

Heart of gold and a tin ear.