09x30 - The Case of the Final Fade-Out

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Perry Mason". Aired: September 21, 1957, to May 22, 1966.*
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Defense attorney Perry Mason defends dozens of falsely accused people during courtroom drama, and he manages to clear all of them, usually by drawing out the real criminal on the witness stand.
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09x30 - The Case of the Final Fade-Out

Post by bunniefuu »

ERNA:
Hey, look out!

[ALL GRUNTING]

MAN:
Cut. Print.

- How was it, Cliff?
CLIFF: Good.

Okay for camera?

That does it here.
We'll move the trackside green set

and pick up the fight then.

MAN: All right, boys,
let's move to the trackside green set.

Barry.

Well, what are you doing
on the set, Andy?

Trying to make
like you're earning your percent?

I earn it. I got the ulcers to prove it.

Jack Sidemark just called.
He's got next year's contracts ready.

Come on, I'm gonna enjoy this.

- Say, uh, Barry, in this next scene--
- Call lunch, will you, Phil?

Barry, baby, no can do.

We're already
a half a dozen setups behind.

Well, suit yourself.

But you'll have to get along without me.
I'm hungry.

Now what do we do?

Hmm? Why ask him?
He's only the director.

The real boss is:

[STRUMS GUITAR]

[SINGING] Barry Conrad, he's real neat
When he's hungry, we all eat

[STRUMS GUITAR]

- We call lunch.
- Now, that's lunch, boys.

One hour
for the grip and electric.

- How do I look?
- Just marvelous, Miss Glover.

Once you have it,
you just never lose it.

My, thank you.

- Darling. Barry. Barry.
- Hello, Winnie, how are you?

Andy,
you remember Winifred Glover.

Of course I do.
One of the great stars in our business.

The minute my agent called
and the script was delivered,

I knew who'd done it.

- Who?
- Why, who else but Barry Conrad?

The boy who was playing
in an attic workshop theater

and wrote a letter begging me
to come and see him act.

Once I'd seen him,
I told my director--

That's right, Winnie, that's right.

You discovered me.
Gave me my first break.

And all Hollywood has heard about it
how many times?

Mr. Rubin, I hope you appreciate

what a fine person
you're representing.

When someone says becoming a star
is bound to turn a youngster's head,

you remind them of Barry Conrad
and tell them it's just not so.

It isn't?

WINIFRED: Why, after becoming one
of the biggest stars in television,

Barry remembers back ten years

to the forgotten old lady
who gave him his break

and calls her out of retirement
to be his guest star.

Guest star?

Then I'll see you later, Barry,
in front of the camera like old times.

- Is Sidemark nuts casting her?
- It wasn't your idea?

Are you kidding?
That lushed-up old has-been?

Next season's firm.

Thirty episodes in color
with a nice boost in the budget.

How many TV series
can make that statement?

- Okay, Mr. Sidemark?
- Looks legal to me.

You own me again, body and soul,
for one more season.

This where we view the deceased?
The slumber room?

[SIDEMARK CHUCKLES]

Hardly a wake, Barry.
More like a celebration.

See these?
Next season's talent contracts,

every one signed,
sealed and delivered.

What about a star?

Hottest property in the business.

Fellow named Barry Conrad.

I have his contract right here
with everything he asked for:

new dressing room, kitchen,
carpeting, story approval, the works.

You wanna read it
before he signs it, Andy?

I'm not signing, Jack.

- What?
BARRY: I can't take your deal.

I've already got a deal.

A real honey. My own series.

- The whole package from word one.
- You can't do--

Oh, Barry, baby,
don't even joke about things like that.

[CHUCKLES]

It'll be announced
in the trades when, Andy?

Thursday morning.

But...

But you gave me your word.

You told me
you wanted to go another year.

We had an agreement.
Everything I did was based on that.

You have my agreement on paper,
autographed?

Well, I-- I went ahead in good faith.

Good faith?

You know this business better
than that.

But why didn't you tell me?

All it takes was-- Is one word.

Why'd you let me go out on the hook

for a million dollars in contracts
that I can't honor?

- Sorry.
- Sorry?

I suppose you went along
with this, Andy.

What do you want from me?

I just handle the talent.
I don't tell it what to do.

You've k*lled me in this business.

All it would have taken is one word
from you about your new TV series

before I put my reputation on the line,
and I wouldn't have had all this.

Tough, old buddy.
That's your problem, not mine.

Well, if you think
I'm going to let a super-egomaniac

get away with something like this,
you've got--

What are you gonna do?
Chain me to the camera?

I'm gonna bury you in this town.

I'm going to bury you
six feet under that phony star of yours

in the sidewalk
along Hollywood Boulevard.

That's what I'm gonna do.

You k*ll me, Jack. You really do.

I'm scared to death.

I feel dirty, Barry.

There are many producers worse
than Jack Sidemark.

And very few who'd put up
with the tsuris you've been giving him.

Well, well, Leif Early, boy writer.
How's the ivory tower?

- Cloistered. Is the boss man in?
- Yep.

Uh, Barry, uh, did you have a chance
to find out anything

about that format presentation
I gave you?

I told you,
when and if, I'd let you know.

Of course, if, uh, you'd like it back...

Oh, no, I was just interested,
that's all.

You got a real bad deal,
Mr. Sidemark.

Look, if you'd like me
to tear up my contract--

No, no, I'll try to work something out.
I don't know. I...

Erna, you're a doll.

What's a nice girl like you
doing in this business?

Just lucky, I guess.

Well, I'd better get back to the set.

- Well, hello.
- Thank you.

Jack, you want to, uh, glance
over these blues

before I give them to the assistant?

Not now.

But the scene comes up
right after lunch.

Leif, you've been in this business
for a while.

Tell me something.

Do you know of any reason why actors
shouldn't be locked up in cages

and then just let out to act?

- Barry Conrad?
- Our star.

I'll, uh, take care of these.

BARRY: Say, Jack--
Oh, am I breaking something up?

Oh, no, just leaving.

I bumped into Winnie Glover.
She says she's our guest star.

It means a lot to her.
And it won't hurt you.

It's worth a couple of rating points,

the way she started you out
in this business.

I'm sick of hearing about that.

Anyway, I can't act with the old harpy.

- So pay her off.
- Fire her?

She's been counting on this part.

And it wouldn't look good in print,
you turning your back on her.

Not me, you.

Think of some excuse,
but don't use me.

Just get rid of her.

Barry.

I don't wanna hurt her, Barry.

And I don't wanna get laryngitis.

But it might be coming back.

[WHISPERING] I may not even be able
to finish the episode.

All right.

[IN NORMAL VOICE]
You catch on.

You may go a long way
in this business.

Perry Mason, please.

This is Jackson Sidemark calling.

I don't know whether you know
Tad Wyman, Mr. Shields.

Sure, I know him.

When I was number three
in box-office rating,

I never let anyone but Tad
take a still of me.

So I hope you don't mind

if he makes a few sh*ts
of your set operation.

It'll be good publicity.

- Anything you say, Winifred.
- Fine.

I have a few ideas of sh*ts
for Barry Conrad and myself,

you know,
harping back to yesteryear.

It was I who started Barry
in the business, you know.

Hey, Cliff, would you mind, uh,
passing out these blues for me?

- Sidemark okayed them?
- Yeah, I just came from his office.

Huh?

[ALL LAUGHING]

Now, listen. Don't laugh.

It's just because
you don't understand it.

Now, first there was folk,
then rock, then folk-rock.

- That's what you do?
- No, no, I go a little farther.

Mine is folk-rock-blues.

Why doesn't somebody
tell me these things?

You know, it's hard enough trying
to prop this show with no preparation.

You know what my contract says.

No rewrites unless I get the pages
hours in advance.

Look, there are no dialogue changes,
Barry, only action.

- It doesn't--
- I don't care what it is.

Just talk to the producer, huh?
Not me.

Let's have a rehearsal.
We'll overlap the fall out of the boxcar.

- Right.
- All right, rehearsal, boys.

- Take your places.
MAN : Stuntman.

And, policemen, get your g*ns.

MAN :
Take your places, boys.

Come on, boys.

- Hello, Herman.
- Hello, Mr. Sidemark.

- How's Bernice?
- Great.

Miss Glover,
could I have a word with you?

Certainly. Excuse me, everybody.

MAN : Now, when Barry and the two
heavies fall out of the door of the boxcar,

Erna jumps out too.

You don't pull your g*ns right away,

not until you try to Kn*fe Barry
and he knocks Number down.

What is it?
Some business you want me to use?

Just tell me whatever it is.
I'm not temperamental.

Miss Glover, I want you to know

you'll get a full check plus overtime
even though--

Full check? That's not important.
I'd play the part for nothing.

It'll be good film
to help my coming out of retirement.

That isn't what I mean.

What I'm trying to say is that I'm going
to have to recast the part.

Replace you.

You've got to be joking.

You mean just like that, I'm out?

After telling all my friends,
the columnists?

Putting myself in the position
of even getting Tad Wyman

to come here for old times' sake
and photograph me? No.

I'm sorry, Miss Glover.

I don't like this any more than you do,
but it has to be.

What kind of a man are you?

Thank goodness
when I came into the business,

there was still some heart in it.

I'll have that to remember, anyway.

What will you have, Mr. Sidemark?

MAN : All right, let's make it.
MAN : This will be picture.

All right, clear it, boys.
Here we go.

MAN :
Bell.

[BELL RINGS]

Now, let's have it very quiet
in the back.

Here we go. Roll it.

SLATER: Rolling. Take one.
MAN : Move the slate, Dennis.

MAN :
Clear the frame line, please.

MAN :
It's clear.

MAN :
Mark it.

MAN :
Action.

[MEN GRUNTING]

MAN : Police car.
ERNA: Cop! Cop!

[g*nf*re]

Cut. Print it. Fine.

PETE: All right, fellas,
let's have those g*ns back.

Good job. It was a good scene.

Hey, come on, let's go.

Hey, somebody come here, quick.

Something's happened to Barry.
He won't get up.

- Barry?
- What's the matter?

What's the matter with him?

He's been sh*t.

I mean really sh*t.

I think he's dead.

DRUMM:
May I have your attention, please?

Now, this stage has been sealed off,

and nobody will be allowed
to leave or enter

until you've been questioned
by either Sergeant Brice or myself.

Now, the more you cooperate,
the sooner we'll all get out of here.

And where were you
during the take of scene ?

Well,
I'm the construction coordinator.

Buck Jones, the mill foreman, and I,
we were over checking the sets

to make sure everything
would be ready for tomorrow morning.

Well, I'm the costumer,

and I was standing on the set
watching the scene--

All right, miss, that's enough.

- What's your job, miss?
- I'm the producer's secretary.

- What department are you in?
- I'm in the Camera Department.

Mm-hm. What do you do?
You work the camera?

I operate the camera.

- What's your name?
- Jack Wolf.

- And your name?
- Uh, Gus Dalzell.

- And what do you do?
- I'm the assistant cameraman.

What does
an assistant cameraman do?

Oh, focuses the best he can.

I'm trying to corroborate
a few things here.

Your name is, uh, Harry...

- Harry Jones.
- That's right.

- What do you do?
- I'm the key grip on the show.

What's a grip?

I rebuild and reconstruct sets
to correspond with the camera angles

and assist in the lighting.

- Were you on the scene of the crime?
- Yes, I was.

- Did you see the m*rder?
- No, I didn't.

My name is Larry Keyes.

Where were you
during the filming of the scene?

I was behind the camera,

checking the lighting
with the cameraman.

- What is your name?
- C. Slupton.

- What do you do?
- I'm the best boy.

DRUMM: Mm-hm. And you?
- I'm the dimmer boy and practical.

- Practical, huh?
- Yes, sir.

- What's your name?
- Jim Lowry.

I'm the cutter.
The m*rder happened at : .

I'm long gone by then.

Now, tell me this,
did you see or hear anything unusual?

Uh, no, sir,
I was right here doing makeup.

- And tell me, ma'am, what do you do?
- Hairstyling.

Mm-hm.
Did you see anything unusual?

No, sir.

- And you?
- I help Irving.

- Irving. You're...?
- Irving.

DRUMM: Your name is, uh...?
- Pete Desmond.

- I'm in charge of props.
- Pete Desmond.

Did you see or hear anything unusual
during the take, Mr. Desmond?

Well, not during the take,
but right afterwards.

And what was that?

Well, we'd just been handed
these new blue pages.

- Blue pages?
- Yeah, it's a last-minute rewrite.

So I had to run to the prop room
to get this case of handguns.

The original script
only called for knives.

Knives. I see. Go on.

Well, one of my g*ns
had disappeared,

so I had just six g*ns
to hand out to the actors

- just before the take.
- Uh-huh.

Well, right after
the director yelled "Cut,”

I asked for my g*ns back,

and like I said before,
I'd only handed out six g*ns,

but when I checked my case
after the take,

there were seven,

and they'd all been fired.

Well, where did the other g*n
come from, do you think?

Oh, from my prop room.
I checked the number.

Thank you.

Hello, Frank.
Where can I find Mr. Sidemark?

I'm sorry, Mr. Mason,
nobody can come in

without Lieutenant Drumm's okay.

- Lieutenant Drumm?
DRUMM: It's all right, Frank.

Sorry to hold you up, Perry, but we had
to complete our investigation.

Investigation of what?
I'm here to see Jack Sidemark.

Well, now, how in the devil
did you find out about him so quickly?

Find out what?

We've arrested him.
Suspicion of m*rder.

- Whose m*rder?
- Barry Conrad.

You can talk to your client
after we book him downtown, Perry.

Okay, let's go.

All I know about Desmond

is that Steve Drumm
was keeping me away from him

and he's been with the district attorney
most of the afternoon.

Well, Pete's a straight man, Perry.

He wouldn't do anything
or say anything to hurt me.

- You can count on that.
- Well, I hope so.

I'll see you
as soon as I have something.

Well?

Well, the more he talks,
the more he incriminates himself.

But I happen to believe him.

I've been talking
to the members of the crew.

The only thing I've got
that's worthwhile

is there was a still photographer
on the set taking pictures.

Now, if he covered any of the action
at the time of the sh**ting...

Maybe we can place
some of the people on the set,

know where they were
when Barry Conrad was sh*t.

It's not much, but it's all we have.

For the moment,
Burger holds the Tr*mp.

Your Honor,
there's no possible doubt

about this defendant's
being criminally involved

in the m*rder of Barry Conrad,

and there is certainly no doubt

about the state's
having ample evidence

to justify his being bound over
for trial.

Well, that's generally the prosecution's
point of view, Mr. Burger.

But in view of the public interest
in this case

and the play it's getting in the press,

due, of course,
to the extreme prominence

of the principals here,

it seems to me
it would be good judgment

to avoid further sensationalism
by agreeing here and now

that this defendant be bound over
for trial and in effect

closing these proceedings
before they begin.

Well, since I haven't heard any
of the evidence,

that kind of a horse trade
is strictly up to you, Mr. Mason.

- Well--
- The evidence I can present

is certainly gonna have
a tremendous effect on public opinion,

and that will make it
much more difficult

to impanel an unbiased, impartial jury
when the time comes.

No deals, Hamilton.

I know you'd rather not
show your hand

for the benefit of the newspapers,

but since my client has the right
to a hearing,

I think we'll take a look at the cards.

Well, it was about three months ago.

I was in a little joint with Barry
in Malibu.

Jackson Sidemark
came barreling in,

came right up to our table,
hit Barry in the mouth,

split his lip, broke a tooth.

BURGER: Well, did Sidemark explain
why he att*cked Barry Conrad?

No, he just clobbered him.

He did say if Barry pulled another stunt
like that on him again, he'd k*ll him.

Yes, Mr. Sidemark flipped,

but then, everybody's entitled
to blow his top once in a while.

So the defendant
has a violent temper.

- Is that right, Miss Landry?
- Oh, no, no.

Mostly he's, uh, like, uh, calm.

Fact is, for a producer,
he's a real pussycat.

[CROWD LAUGHS]

BURGER: Yes, but your description
of the defendant's behavior

with Conrad the afternoon
of the m*rder

would indicate
that he's anything but calm.

Well, Barry pushed him.

Look, do you know how much green
was riding on that deal?

Pulling out on a producer
at that stage of the game is like, uh...

Well, it's like snatching raw meat
from a hungry lion.

BURGER: Why, that's an apt
comparison, Miss Landry.

I'm sure the court can visualize
what the lion would do next.

A hungry lion. Yes, thank you.

Yes, sir, that's my p*stol.

Well, so much for the ownership
of the m*rder w*apon.

Now, Mr. Desmond,

was the defendant, your producer,
Mr. Sidemark, disturbed

when you told him that one
of your prop pistols was missing?

No, sir, he said he had other things
to worry about.

I see, and you, of course,
reported it immediately to the police?

No, sir. Uh, Mr. Sidemark told me
not to. He was sure it would turn up.

- And did it turn up?
DESMOND: Yes, sir.

Right after the scene
when Mr. Conrad was k*lled,

I checked the prop box
where the extras had put the weapons,

and the missing g*n was back.

The missing g*n was back.
Thank you, Mr. Desmond.

Oh, uh, one thing I forgot.

When we realized
that Mr. Conrad had been sh*t

and everybody sort of rushed to him,
why, I happened to look up,

and I saw Mr. Sidemark standing
by the prop box,

and I saw him drop a p*stol
in the box.

[CROWD MURMURING
AND GAVEL BANGING]

Order. This court will be in order.

Bailiff, if I hear another ooh or ah
from the spectator area,

you are to remove
those responsible.

Mr. Burger.

Your Honor, I'm going to reserve
the right to recall this witness.

But for the moment,
cross-examine, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Desmond, since your weapons
are kept under lock and key,

how is it possible one was stolen?

Well, at the time--

Did the defendant have a key
to the prop room?

- No, sir.
- Then who did have such a key?

Well, the guard at the gate
in case of fire.

- And you.
- Yes, sir.

Then how did someone,
without breaking a lock,

get into that prop room?

By, uh--

Oh, I got a phone call.
Yeah, I remember now.

I got this call,
and I must have left the room open

for maybe four or five minutes.

So any one of a hundred people
in the crew or the staff or cast

could have taken that g*n.
Is that correct?

DESMOND: Yes, sir, but I saw Mr.
Sidemark put the p*stol back in the box.

I saw him.

Oh, yes, I remember
your telling the court that.

Yeah, he was standing
right by the box.

MASON:
After the fatal scene was completed?

- Yes, sir.
- No, he was not, Mr. Desmond.

DESMOND:
Oh, but I'm sure, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Desmond,

I show you this defense exhibit.

It's a photograph.

A photograph which was taken
as the cast and crew rushed

toward the decedent
after the scene.

- Now, where is Mr. Sidemark?
- He's, uh--

MASON:
He's on the same side of the set

the camera is on, Mr. Desmond,
not the opposite side.

Not the opposite side
by the prop box.

He is where he told the police he was,
Mr. Desmond,

not where you have sworn he was.

Your Honor,
this witness has perjured himself

in a deliberate and malicious attempt
to implicate my client.

- I'm through with the witness.
- Well, I'm not through with him.

Mr. Desmond, did you know
that the defense counsel

was gonna introduce that photograph
to this court?

Well, speak up.
You were glib enough a moment ago.

I didn't know anything
about any pictures.

You didn't?
Well, I find that odd, Mr. Desmond.

I wasn't even there,
and I knew about the photographs.

You were on that set all day,

and you didn't know
pictures were being taken?

Well, I knew about it,
but I guess I forgot.

It-- It's like I saw something
that I thought was something else,

and I got mixed up.

And why didn't you tell
Lieutenant Drumm

or me when you spoke to me
in my office

that you saw Jackson Sidemark
return that g*n?

I guess I was excited. I forgot.

And weren't you excited
or equivocating or just plain guessing

when you said
that you saw the defendant

return the g*n to the prop box?

- I'm sorry.
- You're sorry, Mr. Desmond?

You're not anywhere near as sorry
as you're going to be.

I'm gonna ask you a question,
Mr. Desmond,

and I suggest
that you give it careful consideration

before you answer me, very careful.

Isn't it true, Mr. Desmond,

that you talked
with the defense counsel

before you took the stand here today,
and didn't you then learn

that he was going
to introduce that photograph,

and didn't you then agree
to perjure yourself

in order to entrap the prosecution?

- Objection.
- Answer me!

- Objection. Objection.
- Answer my question!

All charges against the defendant
are dismissed,

and the defendant
is released from custody.

Court is adjourned.

SIDEMARK: Thank you, Mr. Mason.
- You're very welcome.

Mr. Mason, you knew what
Desmond was gonna say on that stand,

and you knew that photograph
would refute his testimony.

Furthermore, you knew
that he was gonna surprise me

by volunteering information
I'd never heard before.

And you knew that in the process,
he was gonna perjure himself.

I did not know
what Desmond's testimony would be,

and I was under no obligation
to discuss it with you.

Of course you knew.

You knew because you planned it
and then sat there and waited for it.

You planned to entrap me,
and you know it.

Hamilton,
Desmond was your witness,

and I'm surely not suggesting
that you were suborning perjury.

Bah! Listen, Sidemark,
you're free for the moment,

but I'm not through with you.

If I have to put every man in Homicide
on this case,

I'm gonna nail him to the wall.

And next time, it's gonna take more
than a cheap shyster trick

to keep him out of the gas chamber.

I don't know why Pete turned on me,
perjured himself to incriminate me.

I've been his friend.

Doesn't make sense to me either.

Well, anyway, it's all over.

No, it's not over.

Burger's not gonna let it be,
and I'm not gonna let it be,

not until I get some answers.

I'm going to get some answers too.

Oh, Mr. Early.
Mr. Sidemark's been calling for you.

- Said to tell you he wants to see you.
- Thanks, Frank. Where is he?

- He's in the cutting room.
- All right.

MAN:
Oh, Mr. Mason.

- Mr. Sidemark's in the cutting room.
- Thanks. I'll see him later.

Right now I want Pete Desmond.

Well, he's more than likely
in the, uh, prop room.

Unless he's with his lawyer.

After what he pulled today,

I'm surprised Mr. Sidemark
let him on the lot.

Where is the prop room?

Over there, next to the cutting room.
You can park right in front.

Thank you.

I want to talk to you, Mr. Lawyer,

about the fine day's work
you did today.

Well, hello, Miss Glover.

Paul, will you look for Pete Desmond
while I hear what the lady has to say?

Sure.

Now, Miss Glover.

I always knew a good lawyer could
buy a divorce or break a contract,

but I didn't know he could help you
get away with m*rder.

Nobody's getting away with m*rder.
The police will find the k*ller.

Find him? They had him.
Your client, Jackson Sidemark.

Calls himself a producer
when in my day,

he was cutting B pictures,
bad B pictures.

Miss Glover, why tell me this?
Why not tell Mr. Sidemark?

I just did, to his face.

Didn't he give you an acting job

when no one else in town
would take a chance?

He gave me a job?

That's his story.

It was poor Barry.

He never forgot a friend.
He wanted me as guest star.

And Sidemark didn't?

Do you know what he tried
to tell me just now?

That he fired me
because Barry Conrad told him to.

Did you ever hear anything lower,

more despicable,
with poor Barry lying dead?

You got that m*rder*r his freedom,
Mr. Mason,

but I promise you this:
He's not going to enjoy it.

- Miss Landry, isn't it?
- Oh, you scared me.

Sorry. I'm looking for Pete Desmond.

He isn't here.
That's why I have to get my own props.

I'm looking for a deck of cards
for the next scene.

Will, uh, these do?

Oh, thanks.

Well, I guess I'd better get back

before the assistant, uh,
sends out a search party.

Perry!

Well, are you ready
for the revelation?

Revelation?

Didn't your client call you?
He called me.

Told me
he's got the m*rder*r picked out.

He asked me to meet him
in the cutting room,

so I agreed to do so
to get away from Hamilton Burger.

Boy, you really turned that guy on,
didn't you?

So you broke your heart and came.

When I send for someone,
I expect them to come at once,

not when they get good and ready.

What's wrong with my money?

Or is it that you don't want me
as your client?

There's nothing wrong
with your money, Miss Glover.

It's your cavalier attitude I don't like.

And as for wanting you as a client,
I already have a client,

Jack Sidemark.

- But he's dead.
- He's still my client, Miss Glover.

And I intend to clear his name.

That's why I'm here,

because the state is saying
your motive for k*lling Sidemark

was your belief that he
k*lled your protégé, Barry Conrad.

And you're trying to tell me he didn't?

I intend to prove he didn't

and, hopefully, clear you of the charge
of m*rder at the same time.

So you finally get around to me

after first telling the police
I was the last one

to see Sidemark alive
in the cutting room.

- You put me in this cell.
- Miss Glover, I didn't come here to--

I must be out of my mind
to ask you to defend me.

You're the last person
I ought to trust.

No, no. Where are you going?

You sent for me, Miss Glover.

I came here
intending to take your case,

give you the best defense I could,

because I believed
I could clear Jack Sidemark,

and I believed--

I believe you're innocent.

But if defending you means putting up
with your tantrums

and accusations and bad manners
and juvenile logic,

you'll have to find yourself a lawyer
who can swallow it, not me.

Then you're going to abandon me
like the rest of the world,

throw me to the lions.

Miss Glover, you're not acting now.
You're facing a m*rder charge.

And you're up
against a formidable case:

motive, opportunity,

and your fingerprints
on the death w*apon, the reel of film.

The police asked me about that.

I must have touched it
when I was in the room.

And that disposes of the evidence.

Oh, it's hopeless. Hopeless.

They'll send me to the chair.

That's a line from a period play,
Miss Glover.

We have the gas chamber
in California.

What am I going to do?

You're an actress.

To give a moving,
believable performance,

you have to take direction.

From you?

If I decide to represent you, yes.

All right, Mr. Mason.

From now on, you're my director.

I had my reasons, good reasons.

As far as I'm concerned,

there are no good reasons
for turning on a friend.

Jackson Sidemark countersigned
at least two notes for you.

He gave you a job
when, as an alcoholic,

no one else in town
would take a chance on you.

- And he made you prop master.
- That's right.

You've been reading up on me,
haven't you?

And you sure repaid him.

I repaid him by getting him off,
the best way I knew how.

Now, look,
suppose I'd had to testify for him.

So, what could I say?
Oh, he's a great guy.

I'd cut off my arm for him.

[SCOFFS]

A lot of good that would have done.

Then the district attorney was right.
You deliberately entrapped him.

I knew you got those pictures
for Mason.

Tad Wyman, the photographer,
let it slip.

And I knew that Mason
could tear down anything I said.

I saw something like it
in a movie once

where a wife did that
to save her husband.

- You used the court.
- It worked, didn't it?

Boy, you treat perjury
as if it was a little white lie you tell

when you're late for work.

Look, I did what I had to do,
and I'd do it again.

To help Jack Sidemark,
I'd get up on that stand and--

No, you wouldn't.

An admitted perjurer
can't testify convincingly

that the sun rises and sets
every day.

You know,
all this might not have happened

if it hadn't been such a rush job.

Those blue pages at the last minute

and no chance
to get my props ready

and then my running out of here

and giving somebody a chance
to walk off with the g*n.

Then your story still is
that you took six g*ns to the set

and seven were returned.

That's right.

Did anyone see
that you took six g*ns,

see that one of your g*ns
was missing,

see that you used
only blank amm*nit*on?

No, I guess not.

Hey, what are you getting at?
Don't you believe me?

Believe you?

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING
AND PEOPLE CHATTERING]

Why don't you talk
so I can hear you?

Because I don't wanna talk
while you make me just--

- Listen, I'll tell you about features.
- Hi, Louis. How's Val?

GIRL: You may be a little older than I--
- Whoa, whoa. Wait.

Now, all I said was to be nice
to the producer. Shh.

But, Mr. Marx, all I said--

All I said was I'd do anything
Mr. Hibbs told me to do.

And, Mr. Marx,
he said that I was just supposed to--

I don't know for sure.
I've never done this before.

Two Scotch Anne.

I wouldn't take that show.
Who wants to be opposite Bonanza?

Thank you, doctor.

MAN:
Now he's a network vice president.

I knew him
when he played the piano.

So she gets a million dollars
a picture.

So what? She can't act.

I was all set for a series,
feature billing.

Then I broke up
with the assistant director.

Me, take a walk-on?
I'd rather draw my unemployment.

- What was I saying?
- Hmm?

- What was I saying?
- Oh, uh...

Oh, you were telling me
how you were gonna make me a star.

A star?
I'll make you a whole constellation.

I got a series idea
that'll set this town on its ear.

But it's strictly entre nous.
I haven't registered it yet.

Oh, do I get to play the guitar
and sing?

Not the guitar. That's ordinary.
The zither.

That's what you'll play. It takes talent.
And it's sort of camp.

Oh, but I don't know
how to play the zither.

Mm.

Doesn't matter. We'll dub it.

Oh, boy,
I can really see it now in Variety:

"Erna Landry Boffo in Zither Vidpix."

Uh-uh. The zither's only a gimmick.

See, what we have is a young kid.
That's you.

You're sort of down on your luck.

You come from a place
like, um, Pittsburgh.

You come to Los Angeles,

and we have this scene
with the real pathos.

You're out in front
of Grauman's Chinese,

trying to fit your feet
in the footprints of the stars.

And this guy comes along
and he says--

"You ought to be in pictures.”

EARLY: It's a little more subtle-like,
you know.

I've got another idea.
Suppose she doesn't meet him yet.

She goes to a drugstore,
has a soda.

- Schwab's?
- Exactly.

We'll sh**t it right there,
documentary-style.

- How do you like it so far?
- Oh, love it, love it.

It's got that, uh, marvelous, uh,
Italian-French, uh,

low-key Fellini-Magnani feel.

That's right.
Now, don't breathe a word of this.

I haven't written it down yet.

They're not gonna take this one
from me.

Al got to sell is ideas.

From now on,
I'll see the color of their money

before they hear a line.

ANDY: Oh, Leif.
EARLY: Mm. Mm.

It's about time, Mr. -Percenter.

I think you and I
should have a little chat.

Yeah. Well, honey,
why don't you just run along?

Andy and I
are gonna talk some money.

I'm afraid
I have some bad news for Perry.

I guess he's still with Miss Glover.
What's the bad news?

The still photographer, Tad Wyman.

We've looked for him,
but we can't find him.

His wife says he's
on a fashion assignment someplace,

but she doesn't know where.

- Neither does anybody else.
- That's too bad.

It's one of the first things on the list
that Perry had for you to do.

"Get all available
Tad Wyman negatives printed."

- Well, can't do that, obviously.
- It seemed very important to the case.

Of course,
we'll keep looking for Wyman, but...

Wait a minute.

Why couldn't we use the movie film
sh*t of that scene instead of the stills?

Maybe. Why not?

When you hear from Perry,
have him get me a court order

so I can have the lab print up the film
on the m*rder take.

Then we can examine it
frame by frame.

Right.

The state has assembled a mass
of evidence here,

all of which points directly
to this defendant.

But, Your Honor, this evidence

will only take on clarity
and significance

when we understand the motives
of this k*ller,

when we understand
the peculiar mentality

of a star like Winifred Glover,

a star who glitters no longer.

That snide second-rater.

Are you going
to let him get away with that?

- Shh.
BURGER: --thwarted and frustrated.

Your Honor, here we have a m*rder

which is not so much
a crime of passion

as a crime of temperament.

That's the way it goes in the business.
Anybody who makes it big,

they're bound to leave behind
a trail of dead carcasses.

BURGER: Heh.
For those of us who are more literal

and less literary than yourself,
Mr. Early,

perhaps you'd better explain
what you mean

by that figure of speech,
the part about the dead carcasses.

What I mean is, uh,
well, like in this case,

Barry Conrad
gave Sidemark a bad deal,

walked out into a new show.

That left Sidemark in hock
to the bank,

in trouble with the network.

And Sidemark gave Miss Glover
a bad deal,

dropped her
so half the town was laughing.

That's the game, everybody giving
everybody else a bad time,

trying to hold on to what they got
no matter what.

It's a dog-eat-dog racket.

Now, Mr. Early, were you present

when Jackson Sidemark
fired the defendant?

Yeah. He tried to let her down easy,
but, uh, she's been around a long time.

She wasn't fooled by the soft soap.
She raised the roof.

Like I say,
you can't blame either one of them.

Of course. Thank you, Mr. Early.
Cross-examine.

Your Honor, there's no point
in cross-examining at this time.

The district attorney
has elicited a diatribe about Hollywood

which has nothing to do
with this case

and, in my opinion,
little to do with reality.

This town doesn't need defending.
I do.

Why don't you ask him
some questions?

I worked with Miss Glover
five or six years ago.

They canceled her contract
when she blew her top one day

and threw a paperweight
at the director.

Hit him too.

She's got a lousy reputation.

A good actress
but impossible to work with.

A few years ago,
I saw her slap a press agent

because there were visitors
on the set.

Not a cameraman in town
ever wanted to photograph her.

She's been known to, uh--

Well, she hit me over the head
with a prop bottle.

Temper?
I once corrected a line she m*nled,

and she nearly ran me over
in the parking lot.

BURGER:
Your witness, Mr. Mason.

He's a liar. I read that line perfectly.

Uh, no questions.

When are you going
to start defending me?

Miss Glover,
you promised you'd take direction.

I think you're the one
who needs direction.

Mr. Rubin,
as the first witness for the defense,

can you tell us who was responsible
for f*ring the defendant?

Barry Conrad.

Will you explain that, please?

Well, he said that she was
a lushed-up old has-been

and he wouldn't work with her.

He had Jack Sidemark fire her.
He wouldn't do it himself

because if the word got out,
the publicity would hurt him.

So much for that portion
of the m*rder motive ascribed

by the state to my client.

Cross-examine, Mr. Burger.

Mr. Rubin,

did anyone else
besides yourself know

that Barry Conrad was responsible
for the f*ring of Winifred Glover?

- Certainly. Jack Sidemark.
- But not Winifred Glover?

I don't know how. I didn't tell her.
Barry certainly wouldn't.

And so motive in this case
does not depend

on who actually fired her
but on who she believed fired her.

And there can be no question
that the defendant believed

it was the decedent,
Jackson Sidemark.

And that belief, Your Honor,
as we have contended all along,

constituted for her
a powerful motive for k*lling him.

No further questions.

Court stands adjourned
until : this afternoon.

Perry, I just spoke to Paul,

and the film is ready for us
to screen at the lab.

Now, as I understand it,

you were responsible
for the trouble on the set,

the, uh, take of scene .

I don't understand.

Well, weren't you responsible
for the infamous blue pages,

the, uh, last-minute rewrite of the scene
that substituted g*ns for knives?

Yes. Uh, putting it that way,
I guess I was.

Now, I asked you to bring copies
of those blue pages.

- I assume they're in the briefcase.
- Yes.

Your Honor, may these be marked
for identification as defense exhibit?

Uh, one more thing, Mr. Early.

Do you happen to know
whether the director staged

and sh*t the scene exactly
as you wrote it in the blue pages?

No, I wouldn't.
Uh, as I said, I wasn't on the set.

I haven't had an opportunity
to see the film.

But, uh, from past experience,
I'd have serious doubts.

- Objection.
- Sustained.

I would imagine any screenwriter
would, uh, concur in your doubts.

I believe that's all I have at this time.

- Mr. Burger?
- No questions, Your Honor.

You may stand down, Mr. Early.

Excuse me, Your Honor.
We're ready to project the film now.

What film is that, Mr. Mason?

Well, the lab reprint of scene ,

the film that was
on Mr. Sidemark's Moviola

at the time he was k*lled.

Your Honor,
the state has already examined

the original print of that film
frame by frame

and found nothing helpful.

I fail to understand why Mr. Mason
would waste the court's time

by projecting a reprint of it here.

MASON:
To be certain, Your Honor,

the court sees all the film
from that camera.

We have seen all the film,
from the opening slate to the end.

It hasn't been cut.

I still feel it would be constructive,
Your Honor,

especially with a member of the cast
on the stand to watch it with us.

Which cast member?

We should like
to call Miss, uh, Erna Landry.

[MEN GRUNTING ON VIDEO]

MAN: Police car.
- Cop! Cop!

[GRUNTS]

[GRUNTS]

- Well, Miss Landry?
- No, I didn't see anything.

I did see Barry fall after he was sh*t.

But I'm not sure that's what
I'm supposed to be looking for.

All right. Once more,
uh, from the beginning this time.

Your Honor,
that time was from the beginning.

No, Mr. Burger,
it was only from the camera slate,

not from the head of the reel.

Uh, we'll run it again, please.

MAN [ON VIDEO]:
Roll it.

MAN : Rolling. Take one.
MAN : Move the slate, Dennis.

MAN :
Clear the frame line, please.

There.
Now, uh, run it back a few frames.

Right there.

Now zoom in, please,
and enlarge it as far as you can.

There, do you see it, Miss Landry?

- A briefcase.
MASON: Whose briefcase?

Do you recognize it?

- Leif Early's.
- Yes.

Yours, Mr. Early.

The author of the blue pages,

who saw to it there were plenty of g*ns
in the scene,

giving you an opportunity
to use one of them on Barry Conrad

while the cameras were rolling.

No, I--

MASON: Afterwards, you hoped
to escape detection in the confusion,

slipped the w*apon back into
Pete Desmond's g*n case undetected.

Well, why would I wanna k*ll Barry?
Why?

MASON:
Stealing, Mr. Early.

The dog-eat-dog racket.
Your own words.

Didn't Barry Conrad steal your story,
your idea,

make it the format
for his new series?

Your Honor,

Mr. Mason may be perfectly correct

in his solution
of the Barry Conrad m*rder,

but may I remind this court
and Mr. Mason

that we are trying Winifred Glover
for the m*rder of Jackson Sidemark?

Your Honor, Mr. Burger,

the solution of the one case
also solves the other.

Once Leif Early found out

Jackson Sidemark
had solved Barry Conrad's m*rder,

he had to k*ll him too.

But how could Sidemark
have figured out

who k*lled Barry Conrad?

The film ahead of the slate,

revealing Mr. Early's briefcase
to the camera.

Ordinarily,
that part of the film is cut off

and thrown away by the editor.

Just as you did with the print
in Sidemark's Moviola

after you k*lled him, Mr. Early,

trusting that no one would think
to have the original reprinted,

including the few feet
ahead of the slate.

He was an egomaniac.

He stepped on people
for the sheer enjoyment of it.

I'm sorry about Jack Sidemark.

He was one of the real good joes
in this filthy business.

I hated to do it.
For that, I deserve whatever I get.

But not for k*lling Barry.
He deserved to be k*lled.

I'm glad I had the guts to do it.

Perry, take a look at your client.

Nothing like being acquitted of m*rder
to get your picture in the paper.

Yeah, this publicity might open
a whole new career for her.

- Perry, I...
- Yes, Hamilton?

Well, what I was gonna say, Perry--

Well, Della and Paul too.

My thought was...

You tell them, would you, lieutenant?

What was that all about?

The district attorney
wanted me to tell you

that he made a reservation
at Clay's Grille

and would like very much
to have you all for dinner this evening

as his guests.

Why didn't he just tell us?

You know Hamilton Burger.

This is about as close
as he'll ever get to an apology.

What do you say?

I, for one, wouldn't miss it.

- Nor .
- None of us will miss it.

Good.

Paul, have you seen the notes
on our next case?

Hey, this is interesting.

This police report looks convincing.

But if we can get the witnesses
we need...

I can get a plane out tonight.

Now, it seems to me the place to start
is at the beginning.
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