Phenix City Story, The (1955)

[bunniefuu]

This is Clete Roberts

reporting from Phenix City, Alabama.

I'm here to learn the truth

about Phenix City.

Like many other Americans

and people throughout the world...

...I had heard the story

of the criminal syndicate...

...which allegedly controlled

this city for many years.

And I'd heard the tale

of the cold-blooded m*rder...

...of Albert A. Patterson...

...Alabama's attorney

general nominate.

The declaration of martial law

in Phenix City...

...was also well-known to me.

And like many of you,

I had read of it in the pages

of national news magazines...

...such as LIFE, TIME, Look,

and The Saturday Evening Post.

Recently, I learned that the

Columbus, Georgia Ledger Enquirer...

...was being considered

for a Pulitzer prize.

A prize later won

for the part it played...

...in unmasking the criminal syndicate

here in Phenix City.

This prompted me as a reporter

to come down here...

...to find out what really happened.

To learn how the good people

of Phenix City had triumphed over evil...

...and how democracy

had successfully asserted itself...

...over a very real dictatorship.

I learned many shocking facts...

...from the people who lived


the Phenix City story...

...the real people involved.

You will meet them in a moment

as I talk with them...

...and I warn you

that what you hear them say...

...you will find hard to believe...

...but they speak the truth.

I warn you too


that what you are about to see...

...in the picture

which follows my news report...

...will shock you too.

It is brutal, it's shocking...

...but it is based upon the actual story

of what happened here in Phenix City.

We in the news reporting profession


are agreed that this gentleman...

- How are you, Ed.

- Fine. How are you?

Fine. Come on down, Ed.

This gentleman is one of the

great reporters in the South.

He's Ed Strickland

of The Birmingham News.

Ed, will you look right straight


at the United States of America now...

...while I ask you some

questions about...

the job of reporting

that you have done...

...on the Phenix City story?

When did you first become interested

in the situation in Phenix City?

How long ago?

About 1950, Clete,


I first went to Phenix City...

...and began making some investigation

for my paper from time to time...

...and later for another organization.

I want you

to tell those people right there.

Look at them while you talk to me...

...because I want them to have

a good look at a great reporter.

How many months did you spend

or years did you spend on the story?

On the story of the

Patterson m*rder...

...of course it began on June 18th

of 1954.

I went there within three hours

after the m*rder...

...and stayed for six months

without a break...

...with more than two or three days

at a time during that time.

You mind telling us about the news break

from the point of view of a reporter...

...that you got on the news

of Mr. Patterson's m*rder?

I did have a wonderful news break

in that...

...I happened to be

trying to reach Mr. Patterson...

...via long-distance telephone

at the time of the sh**ting.

And got the word immediately from

the operator in Columbus, Georgia...

...that Mr. Patterson

had been k*lled.

A few moments later,

with my photographer,

I was on the way down there.

Ed, do you think that the story about

conditions that existed in Phenix City...

...has been exaggerated in any way?

It has not been exaggerated.

It could not be exaggerated.

From my knowledge of the things that

went on there prior to the sh**ting...

...and sometime thereafter...

...it would be impossible to

exaggerate, I would believe.

You put this all down in a book,

have you not?

Yes, I have.

Gene Wortsman of the

Birmingham Post-Herald and myself...

...have collaborated

in writing a book on Phenix City.

Another question.

Do you believe

that the so-called machine...

...the threat,

still exists in Phenix City?

I'm sorry to say that it does.

It will be some time, apparently

before it will be completely eradicated.

There is evidence

that it is trying to come back.

Thank you very much.

Ed Strickland of

The Birmingham News...

...who played one of the major roles

in bringing this story to public attention.

With me now is Mr. Hugh Bentley...

...a resident of Phenix City...

...whose life was constantly threatened

and whose home was dynamited...

...because of his determination

to fight the criminal syndicate.

Do you believe, Mr. Bentley, that

these people who blew up your home...

...knew that your family was in the house

at the time the dynamite was detonated?

Oh, yes...

...we've been dealing with a

problem here of organized crime...

...operated by the syndicate.

It was one of the acts of violence,

of about 14 or 15...

...that was perpetrated

on our people.

Mr. Bentley, after these

constant acts of terrorism...

...these threats against yours

and your family's life...

...why did you, and why do

you continue to live in Phenix City?

Well, I was born and raised here,

and this is my home.

And during this...

During the past 25 years...

...I've had an opportunity

to teach a lot of children...

...in my Sunday school class.

During that time, actually,

we won a lot of them to Christ.

And we feel like that there's more good

in the community than there is evil.

We're basing all our strength of faith

in the good of our community...

...hoping someday

that they will rise up...

...and throw off

this ugly reputation it has...

Our town has had

for the past 100 years.

I feel like it's a dirty filthy code...

...that I inherited from my father...

...that I don't wanna hand down

to my children.

Thank you, Mr. Bentley.

One of the men who worked...

...one might say fought,

side by side with Mr. Bentley...

...is a member of the

Russell Betterment Association...

...in combating the criminal syndicate

was Mr. Hugh Britton...

...also a resident of Phenix City.

We have an appointment now

to talk with him at his house.

How many honest elections

have you experienced here in Phenix City...

...in your lifetime?

Well, I'd say...

...the only honest election

that I know anything about here

in the last 43 years...

...was one that we have held here...

...it was a local election,

since we had our new sheriff...

...and police department here.

I talked with Mr. Britton

before the camera was sh**ting.

He told me a story about a man

who asked him once the same question.

What was that answer you gave him?

Well, I'd have to explain

that when I was a boy...

...that we, just for a pastime...

...at night, used to take flashlights

and broomsticks...

...and go down to the city dump

to hunt rats.

We k*lled some big ones.

And that...

That a rat, if you turn a light...

...a bright light in a rat's face...

...that he'll run for cover.

And it didn't make any difference

whether that rat is in the city dump...

...or in the city hall.

All right,

thank you very much, Mr. Britton.

This gentleman you see is Quinnie Kelly,

who was pointed out to me.

Mr. Kelly, will you come up here please?

He was pointed out to me earlier today.

- I'm Clete Roberts.

- Kelly's my name.

Happy to know you.

Look this way, will you please?

Would you mind taking your hat off

so the folks can see you?

Quinnie Kelly is a janitor here in the

Russell County court house, are you not?

Yeah, that's correct.

You are a witness, I know,

in the current m*rder trials...

...now under way

in Birmingham, Alabama.

And I have heard that you have

been threatened, is that true?

Yeah, I've been threatened many,

many times.

- Many, many times?

- That's right.

How did these threats come to you?

- Over the telephone.

- What did they say?

Well, the first one comes...

...he wanted me to remove my p*stol

and badge, I wouldn't.

He said if I didn't remove

it I wouldn't live...

...and if I did I wouldn't live.

- If you didn't remove it?

- Yes.

And your badge is as a deputy sheriff.

How long have you been a deputy sheriff?

Well, I've been deputized ever

since Rhett Tanner has been here.

I see. All right, now,

what other threats have you received?

Well, I got a call Sunday.

Threatened and asked me had

I seen what was in the newspaper

and I told him I did.

- Uh-huh.

- And he says time is running out...

...and if I didn't I wouldn't never live

to testify in this next trial.

How do you feel? Does that scare you?

We're not scared one bit in the world.

And you're gonna go down there

and tell the truth, are you?

I'm gonna tell the truth.

If I tell anything, it'll be the truth.

Has anybody...? Is any guard on you?

Anybody trying to help you stay alive

until you get to the trial?

No, sir, they are not.

- You carry a g*n?

- Yeah, I carry a g*n.

- You know how to use it?

- Yeah.

- Will you use it?

- Yeah, I'll use it.

Thanks. Quinnie Kelly,

ladies and gentlemen.

Janitor, right here in Russell County.

- You're not afraid?

- No.

How about your family?

Well, my wife's upset.

Been upset since they talked to her.

Been in the care of a doctor

ever since she...

- They went down there and talked to her.

- All right, thanks very much, Mr. Kelly.

I know that you're a busy man.

Pleasure meeting you.

- Glad to meet you.

- Goodbye, sir.

It is now my privilege

to take you with me...

...to the home

of Mrs. Albert A. Patterson.

Mrs. Patterson is the widow...

...of the man who was m*rder*d

on June 18th, 1954...

...the attorney general nominate

of this state of Alabama.

She is a grand Southern woman...

...mother of four boys...

...very proud of her son, John,

who came home from the wars...

...and took over the task

that his father laid down...

...when he died

under an assassin's b*llet.

John, today, her son...

...is the man who must prosecute,

indict...

...and bring to justice

the K*llers of his father.

Mrs. Patterson lived here

under the threat of the machine...

...and she can answer our question

as to what life was then like.

We go now to her home.

How many free elections...

...and honest elections have you

experienced here, Mrs. Patterson?

Well, I've never experienced

any free elections here...

...until this cleanup we had

in our city elections.

What about John?

Do you worry about John's future at all?

Do you think that he may be threatened

by the machine the way Mr. Patterson was?

Well, I don't think he will be

hurt in any way.

I believe he's all right.

Do you think

that there's no offer, no chance...

...of him being treated

the way your husband was?

Well, I hope there's no chance.

Mrs. Patterson, you're obviously

a woman of great courage.

You've had the strength to carry on.

Where did that courage come from?

Why, Mr. Roberts...

I suppose I got the courage

from being in this fight so long.

And we had friends

that were really doing their best...

...to try to help make our town

a clean place to live in our state.

And I have sons and, of course,

I wanted them to have a chance.

And we have good people in this town.

And they were under bondage

and they had to have freedom.

And it just took...

It took something terrible...

...to get people to wake up.

And, I think, if the good people of America

could take a lesson from this...

...to always be on the alert...

...and go to the polls and vote.

And do everything they can

to make a good America.

For the past few minutes

we have been dealing in fact...

...fact about the Phenix City story.

The people with whom we have talked

are real people.

The people involved...

...in what has been described

as an infamous and sordid chapter...

...in American city politics.

There has been no careful rehearsal

of speech.

No careful phrasing.

People have spoken from the mind, and

from the heart as they felt they should.

We have been with our microphone

and our camera...

...on the streets

of Phenix City, Alabama...

...and at the Jefferson County courthouse

in Birmingham, Alabama...

...where the second in the series

of m*rder trials is now under way.

This is Clete Roberts reporting.

I return you to your city.

On the banks of the

Chattahoochee River stand two cities...

...joined by two bridges

but living in worlds apart.

This is Columbus, Georgia.

Eighty thousand people live here

and work here...

...on the lathes and drill presses,

on the looms and spinning machines.

Here, thousand of boys

become soldiers every year...

...for Columbus is the site

of Fort Benning.

It isn't far from

the fort to Phenix City.

You take a bus or thumb

a ride into Columbus...

...you walk across this bridge.

Sidney Lanier wrote a poem about

the river flowing under this bridge...

...a long, long time ago.

It was much lovelier then.

This is Phenix City,

my father's town.

My town.

It has more churches than any city

of its size in the state of Alabama.

Twenty-four thousand people

live here...

...send their kids to school here,

just like they do across the river.

Decent, God-fearing people...

...most of them, who practice law

and medicine, tend store, keep house.

Not a big city.

You wouldn't think to look at it,

that until my father died...

...its income from one industry alone

was $100 million a year.

This is, or was,

the section where Phenix City's

principal industry flourished...

...and gave employment

to a part of the town's citizens.

Some worked in factories like this one,

making the industry's tools...

...dice, shaved by skilled hands,

or loaded with mercury.

Slot machines, rigged to pay off

one cent on the dollar, if at all.

Whiskey that looked like bonded stuff,

but wasn't.

Cards marked with tiny pinpricks

or trimmed...

...so the dealers could recognize the aces

and face cards.

Tools of an industry

that flourished for half a century...

...because the good men

looked the other way.

An industry run by men

I went to school with.

Their fathers ran it

and their fathers' fathers before them.

An industry that made Phenix City

the most vicious town in the United States.

That industry was vice.

I love

Your ever-loving

Loving arms

Satan's a woman all dressed up to k*ll

Satan's a woman

all dressed up to k*ll

In a h*nky-tonky city of sin

With a sawdust soul perfumed with gin

Satan's a woman

all dressed up to k*ll

Fancy women, slot machines and booze

Fancy women, slot machines and booze

With no more money in the sock

And 30 days in the Dixie dock

You wind up with those

Phenix City blues

Lose those Phenix City blues

Lose those Phenix City blues

You gotta hold me tight

You gotta hold me Oh, so tight

In your ever-loving

Loving arms

You gotta kiss me sweet

'Cos when you kiss me

Oh, so sweet

I shiver

From my eyebrows

Right down to my feet

Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm

Got me with your

Captivating charms

Oh, t'ain't no sin

To wanna just be in

Your ever-loving

Loving That's what I love

Your ever-loving

Loving arms

Woman's body

is made of flesh and bone

Woman's body is made

of flesh and bone

Tied together with a ball of twine

With a paper heart for a valentine

A woman's mind

That's strictly all her own

Tell me, tell me

Have you heard the news

Tell me, tell me

Have you heard the news

You can't go sinning there no more

They put a big fat padlock on the door

Now you can lose

those Phenix City blues

Lose those Phenix City blues

Lose those Phenix City

Blues Ah

I love

Your ever-loving

Loving arms

More, more.

Make your bets, boys.

Up jumped the devil again.

And me with 20 again.

Gotta double up to beat the house.

- There's no way to beat this house.

- You're kidding, sport.

If you don't know the game, honey,

Ellie can teach you.

Well, Mr. Ed Gage's son.

What are you doing here?

Fred's a friend of mine, Cassie.

And you don't play with friends,

I suppose.

I guess I'd better put up or shut up.

Young Gage.

You'd better not let me win.

With these cards?

Wipe the dirty look off.

I can't, as long

as you work for Tanner.

Tanner's no worse than the others.

You ought to take

a look at the others.

Do you know any other place

a girl can make 200 bucks a week?

The way things are at home,

we can't get along for less.

I'll be earning money soon as I finish

law school and I pass my bar exam.

- How much and where?

- Fifty a week in Mr. Patterson's office.

Ellie, that's enough

to keep you and me.

But there's not only you

and me, my honey.

You don't think I'd let my wife work

in a joint like this.

I'm not your wife.

You will be.

Even if I keep on working here?

Well, maybe this place

won't stay open much longer.

Fred, we...

This place has been here

since we were old enough...

...to climb up on an apple box

and reach the slot machines.

Nobody's ever gonna do anything

about it, there's too much profit.

Well,

not everybody's interested in profit.

The ones who are

throw a lot of weight.

Mr. Tanner among them.

The cards are marked!

Look at them.

You cheated me,

now give me my dough back.

Come on, you cheat, are you gonna give

me my money back? Or do I call the cops?

No, stay out of it.

Do you want to wind up in the river?

Ellie, you've gotta get out

of here right now.

I can't. You know I can't.

You can't be around this filth

and not get it all over you after a while.

- Come on, Ellie.

- And if I don't?

Mind letting go of her hands

so she can deal?

You must rate around here, chum.

Hi, Ellie.

Hello, Slim.

Where's your sidekick?

I lost him to some babe

out in the front room.

Boy, is she gonna be disappointed when

she finds out all he's got is 10 bucks.

- So long, Ellie.

- Will you be back?

Do you want me to?

You know I do.

How about a bet?

What's he got I haven't?

I don't know.

I never went to kindergarten with you.

Any extra matches, sir?

You ought to keep away

from here, sir.

Mr. Tanner might not take too kindly

to Mr. Ed Gage's boy being around.

You know, there ought to be a way...

...to make a lot of money

with these little turtles.

Huh?

Yeah, have them in a turtle race,

you know.

If I could just figure out a way

to fix the winner.

You work on that,

I got to go over and talk to Al Patterson.

- Uh, Rhett.

- Hm?

I think we ought to

get rid of Ellie Rhodes.

Well, why?

She's a nice kid. I like her.

Yeah, so does Ed Gage's boy.

Why, sure he does.

What's wrong with that?

They're both

a couple of nice healthy youngsters.

It might not be so healthy if she decided

to tell Ed Gage details of this operation.

Well, that depends on whose health

you're worried about.

Anyway, she wouldn't do a thing like that.

She's happy here.

Like quite a few others.

So you won't fire her?

Oh, now, Cassie, show some sense.

If I were to fire her,

she'd have something to beef about, huh?

Maybe something to talk about, huh?

Anyway, she brightens up the joint.

You won't get anyplace with her.

You know, it never crossed my mind.

And, Cassie, your claws are showing.

- How's it going there, Mamie?

- Very good, Mr. Tanner.

Good. Good.

- I'm good.

- Hit me.

Pay me, baby.

- Well, you having a good time, fellas?

- And how.

Now, don't go sh**ting your whole wad.

You know you could lose it.

I'm hot.

It's the house that's gotta worry.

Good, that's the kind

of talk I like to hear.

You know, a satisfied

customer always comes back.

Well, take good care

of them now, Ellie.

What happened to the noisy gentleman?

- The boys came and got him.

- Good.

- Well, thank them for me.

- You know it.

- Hi there, Bob.

- Hello, Ma.

Hi there.

Well, Ma Beachie. Say, how are you?

Tell me, how are things, huh?

Just fine. Fine.

Good to see you.

You know,

I swear you look younger every day.

Mr. Tanner, you do carry on.

Tell me, how are things?

And how's business?

- Just fine. Just fine.

- Good, good.

Well, nice to see you, Ma.

- Bye.

- Bye.

Hi, Mac.

- You hear from Jeb?

- Uh-huh.

It's tonight...

...but he doesn't know where yet.

Afternoon, Mr. Seymour.

Howdy, Tanner. Where were you Sunday?

Well, my dad was under the weather.

I spent the day out there.

You missed a rattling good sermon.

That new preacher puts out more fire

and brimstone than Billy Sunday.

- His text was Sodom and Gomorrah.

- Mm-hm.

I sure wish I'd heard him.

Excuse me, please.

Hello there.

Well, you're looking

as well as ever, Lucille.

You too, Mr. Tanner.

Please go right in.

Mr. Patterson's waiting for you.

Thank you.

Come in.

Well, you're taking on

a new partner, huh?

Yeah, my son, Johnny.

I read a piece in the Ledger

that he was coming home.

Him and his wife and...

- Well, two kids now, isn't it?

- Yep.

Well, the baby girl is 18 months now.

Time surely does fly, huh?

You know, I remember

when Johnny was courting Mary Jo.

Yeah, it seems just like last week.

When is he getting in?

Late this afternoon. I'm meeting him.

Well, it looks like I showed up

just about the right time, huh?

- You will be needing business.

- No, it will be enough for Johnny and me.

Now, there's never enough these days.

Kids to feed, buy shoes for,

taxes going up.

It's rough.

Even on 14th Street?

We've got a lot of people

to take care of.

- Everybody has got his hand out.

- Yeah.

If you want to stay in business,

you've got to keep those hands filled, huh?

That's just about the size of it.

No, thanks.

- Are you complaining?

- Oh, no, no, no, things are good.

But I don't have to kid you, Pat,

you know all the answers.

You ought to be with us, Pat.

I've been wondering

when you'd get to that.

No, I mean it. We'd get along fine.

Now, there's a lot to be said

for mutual respect...

...and that's something

we've always had.

Well, maybe it isn't a question

of respect, Rhett.

- Habit enters into it.

- Well, what's the matter with habit?

Half the trouble with the people

in the world today is...

...that they just don't want

to let things stay the way they are.

Meaning 14th Street

and what it represents, huh?

Gambling?

It was good enough for my father,

and his father before him.

Yours too.

Besides, a grand jury has said

there is no gambling in Phenix City.

A dictionary definition.

Meaning a gambler

is one who plays a game of chance.

They're right, there's no gambling here.

Nobody in Phenix City has a chance.

Oh, now, Phenix City's okay.

There's room enough

and there's money enough for everybody.

We're old friends, Pat,

I don't like trouble.

I despise it.

It keeps one awake at night.

Why can't those others see that?

- Others?

- Yeah.

Ed Gage, Britton, Bentley.

I'm minding my own business.

I know you are,

and I respect you for it.

But they've been trying

to get you in on their side.

Well, then I don't have to tell you

what my answer was.

No. Your answer was no.

Rhett, I'm not sticking my neck out.

Why should I?

Phenix City has been what it is

for 80, 90 years?

Who am I to try to reform it?

Who are they?

Once, I represented you boys.

I even saved a couple of you

from a m*rder charge.

Now, you don't think

people aren't grateful?

I don't think at all.

I don't want to.

It's more relaxing, and safer.

You'd be safe enough as our attorney,

Pat.

And it's worth 25,000 a year.

So that's why you dropped in.

Sorry, I want to sleep nights too.

Now, Pat, now look. Lots of people

don't lose any sleep on our account.

- People who go to the same church we do.

- Yeah, well...

...you keep quite a few awake.

Yeah. Gage, Britton, Bentley.

Somebody ought to tell them

to pipe down.

Well, don't look at me.

By the way, Rhett,

what are you afraid of this time?

Well, now that you're playing

hands-off, Pat...

...I'm not afraid of a thing.

I'm not afraid of a darn thing.

Flattery won't help you.

Not with Britton or Gage either.

I would not demean myself.

It's them who should worry.

You know how we're fixed.

People tried to put us

out of business before, yeah.

Last year. The year before.

They broke into our places,

destroyed our property...

...made citizens' arrests,

and what did it get them? Nothing.

Except a few of them were fined

for disturbing the peace.

Yeah, well, you've made your point.

The only thing I'd say is,

you could help this town and not hurt it.

Hurt it?

Now, where would

Phenix City be without us?

Yeah, well,

we're both wasting breath.

Yeah, but it's all in

a spirit of friendship, Pat.

I wish everybody felt

the way you did.

Give my best to

Johnny and Mary Jo, huh?

You're a good man, Pat.

You know, I like old friends.

It gives you sort of a warm feeling

just to know they're around.

But how many friends

do you really have, Rhett?

Or maybe that doesn't worry you.

Maybe I don't care to think much,

either, Pat.

Well, nice to have talked to you.

Maybe you'll change your mind

about going in with us?

I won't change my mind either way.

So long, Rhett.

Well, I'll be seeing you, Pat.

Well, I'll be seeing you, Lucille.

You be doing that, Mr. Tanner.

Well, Hugh Britton.

- This saves me a phone call.

- Does it?

Hugh, we're getting pretty fed up with

your citizen's committees, the rest of it.

We're fed up too.

Has that penetrated your mind?

Mm.

That's a nice-looking boy

you got there.

- What?

- No, Dad.

And he is smart too.

Attention, please. Attention, please.

Announcing the arrival

of Trans World Airlines...

...special chartered flight 8653...

...arriving from Germany.

John!

Mary Jo!

- Hi.

- How are you, Dad?

- Great to see you.

- How are you?

- Where's mother?

- Oh, she's home getting dinner.

- Mary Jo, you look wonderful.

- Thank you. How are you, Mr. Patterson?

Never felt better than right now.

- Shake hands with your grandad.

- Hello, Grandad.

Well, if you aren't the big one.

You're gonna be bigger than your dad.

And she, I'm happy to say,

looks more like her mother...

- ...just as sweet.

- Oh, only when she's asleep.

- Well, we're back, Dad.

- Yes, sir.

Well, I hope you haven't forgotten

how to practice law.

What do you think

I've been doing over there?

- Prosecuting people.

- w*r criminals who deserved prosecuting.

Well, this will be a little different.

We're going to defend people.

Help straighten out

their legal tangles.

- We?

- Sure.

Patterson and Patterson from now on.

Your name's already on the door.

So we're going to settle down

in Phenix City?

Well, why not, Mary Jo?

It's a pretty nice town.

Well, then it must have changed.

Oh, yes, in some ways.

Schools are better.

More decent people moving in

all the time.

- Three new churches.

- Yeah?

Well, that's something.

Oh, boy, is your grandma

gonna be glad to see you.

Three more churches.

I see 14th Street's still here.

We live a long way from 14th Street.

You've forgotten?

I haven't forgotten this.

All right, all right, worrypuss.

I was born and raised in this town,

remember?

I didn't turn out too bad, did I?

Do I sound like I'm bragging, Dad?

You once told me that you cut

your eyeteeth on a slot machine handle.

Well, what's the matter with that?

Getting your vices out of your system

early in life.

It doesn't look like everybody

got their vices out of their systems.

Tourists mostly, and a few soldiers

from Fort Benning, of course.

There, 14th Street's behind us.

Do they still let the children play

with the slot machines?

Sure, they always will, so long as their

fathers profit by it one way or another.

Not all the fathers profit by it.

I do, in a manner of speaking.

- Pop, get my bat and gloves.

- All right.

So does everyone else

who has his business here.

That's why nothing will ever happen

to alter matters.

- You don't mean they've given up trying?

- Oh, no.

They're having a meeting tonight.

The Russell County Betterment Association,

they call themselves.

What happened to the

Christian Layman's Association?

The Good Government League

and The Citizen's Committee?

All failed, mostly because in essence,

they were vigilante groups.

Mob violence, even in the hands

of decent people, solved nothing.

- Well, what about this new outfit?

- Same men belong to it.

Gage, Britton, Bassett.

- Do you?

- No, I don't, Mary Jo.

Oh, they've asked me,

matter of fact they've asked me to head it.

- Are you going to?

- No, I'm too old and too tired.

What's the use of banging your head

against a brick wall?

- How's the m*rder rate?

- It's high.

Of course, most of them are listed on

the police blotter as accidental death...

...mostly drowning.

That's what I've been trying

to tell John.

Mary Jo, way up here,

you won't even know 14th Street exists.

I'd almost forgotten it myself.

Oh, there's Ed Gage and Hugh Britton,

come to say hello, I guess.

- Welcome home, John.

- How are you, Mr. Gage?

A little bit rusty in the joints.

Well, John.

- Good to see you again.

- How are you?

Fine, how's the wife and kids?

Just fine, thanks.

- Pat?

- Good evening.

- Care for a cigarette?

- I'll just stick to the old pipe.

- Why the g*n?

- Never go out without it, son.

Not as things are.

Well, not since

we started the new association.

Well, that sounds like business.

Let's call it

a means of staying in business.

You hope.

We're glad you're back, my boy. Maybe you

could help get your dad off the dime.

He's gone stubborn on us.

He won't join up.

I never did care

about carrying a g*n.

But you could come along with us

tonight.

Well, just come along and listen.

I've listened for 50 years.

Uh-uh.

Saw Tanner coming out of your office.

Yeah, he wanted me to listen, too,

to his side.

You did at one time.

Well, sure,

when they needed a lawyer.

They bought my services,

but they didn't buy me.

You gentlemen can buy my services

any time you want.

Mine and John's.

We check trust deeds,

handle divorces...

...not that you'd be interested

in that, Ed...

...but you might be interested

in drawing up a new will.

I told you we'd be wasting

our time, Ed.

Better get along.

Hello.

Hello there, Mary Jo.

Hello.

Mr. Britton, Mr. Gage,

it's nice to see you again.

Good evening.

John, we're out of baby oil.

Okay, I'll go on downtown

and get some.

- Want a ride?

- Fine.

- You'll have to walk back.

- All right. I can use the exercise.

I won't be long.

Does Mr. Gage always carry a g*n?

Sure, guess so. Why not?

He's got a license.

I sure do thank you. Night.

I wish you'd get your dad

to change his mind, John.

Oh, I'm afraid

that would take an act of Congress.

- How about you?

- No.

I've been through one w*r already.

Good night.

Do me a favor, will you?

Call my mom and

tell her I'll be late.

That's right.

Who you honking at?

You.

Do you mind asking your friends

to get out of the way?

Hey, what's with you? Cut it out.

Hey, what is this?

What?

What? Ugh!

Let's go.

Police. Hey, you, there's a fight.

They're k*lling him.

Do something. Stop them.

Do something.

Do something. Stop them!

Hurry.

They aren't hurting each other.

Well, if it ain't my old school chum.

What goes on here?

Let go of me.

Don't be so darn smart.

You want me to run you in?

- Yeah, why don't you?

- Some more of your lip, and I will.

Let's get you inside

and wash some of that blood off.

Oh, I'm all right, but see how Ed is.

Better get a doctor. Here.

They play rough.

So let's us play rougher.

My name's Bassett.

This is Pat's boy, John.

Oh, glad to know you.

Looks like you got more fight in you

than your dad has.

- My dad's done his share of fighting.

- Sure, I know that.

I just wish he'd go along with those of us

who believe in direct action.

Now, me, I'm for going down

to 14th Street right now...

...and putting the torch to it.

I'm not. I don't like vigilantes

any more than my dad does.

As soon as I get through

talking over old times...

...with an old school chum,

I'll check back with you.

Hey, buddy, how about a drink, huh?

- Fred. Fred Gage.

- When did you get back?

What are you doing

in this neck of the woods?

- Waiting for my girl.

- You better get out of here.

Clem Wilson and a couple of other guys

just beat up your dad.

- They what?

- He's over in Gunter's office.

Are you looking for someone important,

or will I do?

I'm looking for Clem Wilson.

Oh.

Behind those drapes.

Thank you.

I've beat up lots of soldiers.

This is my first chance at a major.

- Judy.

- John.

Judy, put the floor show on.

Put the floor show on.

Leave him alone.

Keep the civilians out of this.

Fred, get out of here,

this fight is none of your affair.

Yes, it is, Ellie.

Go on back and trim your suckers.

Keep those civilians

back in there, all right?

Hey, everybody, come on,

you're gonna miss the strip.

Floor show on. Striptease starting.

- Rhett, aren't you gonna stop him?

- Nope.

Why not?

That's young Patterson.

Do you want to invite his dad

to go in with Gage's bunch?

Rhett, I think you ought to stop him.

Relax, Cassie.

Nice work, major.

Good work, major.

John, John, that was wonderful.

Are you all right?

I thought I told you

to get out of here.

We'd better get out of here,

Mr. Patterson.

Zeke.

Yeah, I reckon we'd better.

Thanks again, Zeke. We'll find you a job,

so don't go back to 14th Street.

I sure won't.

- And thanks, sir, good night.

- Good night.

- That goes for you too.

- I know, I won't go back.

I... I've made up my mind to that.

I made up my mind to something too.

Let's go.

Dad?

- John, what have they done to you?

- It's all right, looks worse than it is.

- You're all bloody.

- I caught one on the nose.

- Who did it?

- An old school chum.

What's the matter?

Walk into the drugstore door?

- We're going to that meeting.

- Do no such thing.

Go on back to bed, now. Go on.

John, we ought to get out

of this awful town.

Why? Why should we?

It's my town and Dad's.

We'll do something about it.

- What's that?

- I'll tell you on the way.

You go on, go on back to bed.

I'll see you later, good night.

John, I don't want you to go.

- It's Pat.

- Yeah, it's Pat.

- Dad, you all right?

- I'm okay.

If you've come to deliver that

lecture about mob violence,

you're wasting your breath.

We got a plan of action.

Yeah, well, I haven't.

It's John that wants to talk.

So you got it too?

You... You should have seen what he did

to Clem Wilson.

I just wanna say this.

You've underestimated the intelligence

and the decency of the voters in this state.

How long since

you visited the state house?

Or city hall?

All right, all right, I'm naive,

but I still have faith in that ballot box.

Next election day,

just watch them being stuffed like turkeys.

Let me just tell you something.

Let me just give you the first quotation

my dad ever taught me.

To wit:

"The only thing necessary for the triumph

of evil is that good men do nothing."

This doesn't apply to any of you,

heaven knows you've tried.

But it does apply

to the Alabama voters.

They're the ones we've gotta turn to

to clean this mess up.

Go on, tell us how.

All right, who's the most powerful

law enforcement officer in this state?

I know who's supposed to be,

the attorney general.

So let's concentrate on that office.

Let's find a man that we can elect

and trust him to do that job.

Oh, if you're thinking of running me,

stop right now.

I'm too poor a risk.

Campaigning across 67 counties

is too big a job for a man of my age.

You're not old, Pat.

No, not as men go.

But I'm stiff in the joints,

I got a bum leg.

I can't even put on

my own pants and shoes.

You'll have plenty of help

to put them on.

Yeah, but what about the voters?

Most of them don't know

what goes on here.

Even in Phenix City, they don't.

You tell ordinary people like the man

on the corner...

...or the housewife in the market.

You tell them that a

one-block bunch of h*nky-tonks...

...represents one of the most powerful

vice organizations in the States...

...they'll laugh in your face.

The voters sent you to the Senate,

didn't they?

In spite of the organization.

Yeah, and that same organization

beat me on two other occasions.

They're richer.

They'd spend a fortune to beat me again.

- But things can't go on as they are.

- Can't they?

You and your dream world, Jeb.

What's the use of starting

a fight you can't win?

Why, of course we can win.

How? By appealing to the courts?

By asking the state house

to send out the militia?

It's like shouting at a whirlwind,

nobody listens.

There are enough decent men here

to wipe 14th Street off the map...

...if you'll tell them to.

Ed, I won't.

- But you saw what they did to these two?

- Sure I did, what's new about it?

People have been beat up before,

they've been k*lled, tossed in the river.

Going on since we were born,

it will go on after we're dead.

- Why that's defeatist talk, Dad.

- Sure it's defeatist, I am defeatist.

I started talking reform

back as far as '48.

I fought and I lost.

- And I'm not gonna fight again.

- Well, I will.

I'm sorry, Dad, but I don't agree

with one word you've said.

We're gonna win if it kills us.

Yeah, it could do just that.

Well, good night.

- Hi, Mr. Tanner.

- Hi.

- Barton inside?

- Yes, sir.

Hi, Barton.

- Jim, Harry.

- Hello, Rhett.

Well, what's the dope?

Hey, where's...?

Hello, Jeb.

- Well, did they tell you?

- I just came in.

Well, who was there?

- That Gage, of course.

- Mm-hm.

Britton.

Bentley.

Al Patterson.

- Pat?

- He came with his son.

- So Pat's gone in with them, has he?

- That's just what he hasn't.

He said he wouldn't join in a fight

he couldn't win.

Well, Pat's a good boy.

But maybe it was a good thing I did have

that little talk with him yesterday.

Been better if

you'd talked with the boy.

- With John?

- He has gone in with them, Rhett.

Could be he'll even head the group.

- Young Patterson?

- He's a fighter, Rhett.

And the Patterson name means more

than all the rest of them put together.

- There could be trouble.

- We don't want trouble.

It does not make me happy...

...nor anyone else.

It won't make anyone else

happy up top, either.

Do you wanna know something?

That boy's no crumb.

It's my bet he'll work

on his dad till Al Patterson runs

for attorney general.

Attorney general?

Why, do you think Pat would have

a chance of winning if he did run?

I'm not doing the thinking.

Oh, if people

would only mind their own...

- How do you figure it, Barton?

- I don't like it.

Young Patterson's a smart lad.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

I'm just wondering how smart.

Well...

...let's give him the full test.

Ain't you Zeke Ward's kid?

Mommy, Mommy!

Mommy!

Hey, Dad,

see if that kid's all right.

There on the lawn, Mommy.

There it is, there it is.

John!

Mommy.

Mommy.

Who is she?

Zeke's baby.

Did they k*ll her just for this?

They've k*lled for less.

- Mommy.

- Don't cry, Johnnie, just don't cry.

Everything is gonna be all right.

It's got to be.

I said, get out here and get here quick,

or I'll be down there with a g*n.

- Now, I mean it.

- Okay, I'll send somebody right over.

Somebody just threw a dead n*gg*r kid

on Patterson's lawn.

Go out and have a look.

Okay.

All right, darling, now just...

Please, just calm down.

It's gonna be all right.

John, help me,

we gotta get out of here.

All right, sweetheart,

just take it easy.

- Will you listen to me?

- I'm through listening.

Help us get the rest

of our things packed.

We'll take the children

to your mother's for a while...

For a while?

What do you mean for a while?

Do you think I'm coming back here?

No, not me, not my children.

Stop it.

Look what you're doing to the children.

I'm scared, Daddy,

I wanna go with Mommy.

You go see your grandma

for a few minutes.

- But I'm scared.

- Go on, all right, just go to Grandma.

Come on, honey,

now, calm down, no more tears.

No, no more tears.

What's there to cry about?

Rockabye baby, go to sleep.

- Go to sleep forever.

- Now, stop it, Mary Jo.

- Are you gonna stay with us?

- Honey, I can't.

- There's a w*r on, I can't run away.

- Well, then fight it out without us.

Honey, the kids will be perfectly safe

at your mother's.

Safe? They were safe in Germany.

We should've stayed

there like I wanted to.

All right, why were we safe?

Because we fought and we won.

The good people didn't turn their backs.

Well, you won't win here.

It's been like this since you were born

and it's gonna be like this forever.

So we're leaving.

But you won't leave.

No, you're so brave.

- Don't we mean a thing?

- Yes, honey.

Yes, you mean the world to me, but...

Well, then take your choice,

right now.

Well, Mother's not leaving,

she's staying with Dad.

Well, your mother's not me.

So you can just take us to Georgiana

and leave us there.

But you just remember...

...I waited for you through one w*r

I'm not waiting through another.

Oh, please, don't say that.

I love you, darling.

Well, not enough. Not enough.

John.

John.

I love you too.

But why did we come here?

Why did we have to come here?

- Where's Fred?

- I don't know.

When you drove up

I thought it might be him.

His car's down on 14th Street,

there's a ticket on it from this afternoon.

- Dear God.

- What happened?

He chased a car.

It's the car they threw

Zeke Ward's baby out of.

- I've checked everywhere he could be.

- The police?

They know nothing,

that's what they say.

Go away.

- Go away.

- No, Ellie.

If anything's happened,

it isn't Ellie's fault.

Yes, it is.

Wait. We'll look for him together.

We've looked everywhere,

but there's no sign of him.

I've got news.

I was gonna call your house.

- We've just found the boy.

- Where?

Laying in a ditch,

just outside of town.

- Is he...?

- No, Miss Rhodes.

He's unconscious, but still alive.

Pretty bad shape.

Looks like he's been in an accident.

But how could he be,

if he didn't have the car?

He could've been in someone else's car.

We'll find out as soon as he talks.

They've located him

over to the hospital.

Ellie. Oh, Mr. Gage.

I'm so glad you came in.

We've been trying

to get in touch with you.

I just can't understand how such

a thing could happen to that boy.

Neither can we.

- We want to see him as soon as possible.

- Of course you do.

There's just one formality.

You know the red tape in a hospital.

Where do you want us

to send the body?

To what mortuary?

Oh, I'm terribly sorry.

Forgive me, I thought you knew.

You see, he was dead on arrival.

I tell you, it was m*rder,

no question about it.

They k*lled that boy

because he saw the car.

You could be right, John.

Well, all right, do you still say

we shouldn't stick our necks out?

Well, I've been a lawyer all my life.

I guess I'm still one.

You may proceed, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Coroner.

All right, it was you who

found Fred Gage's body?

That's right, sir.

It's the coroner's opinion that

Fred Gage died of a fracture of the skull...

...caused by a fall

from a speeding car.

- Do you agree with that opinion?

- Yes, sir.

What was the nature of the ditch

in which you found him?

Well, it was just a roadside ditch,

like any other ditch.

Well, would you say

it was a rough, rocky ditch...

...in which a violent fall could cause

a fracture of the skull?

I sure would, sir.

Here's a photograph of that ditch.

Do you recognize it?

Why, yeah, I guess I do.

Why, you need glasses.

It borders the

Coulter Sawmill property.

And as you can see, it's filled

with sawdust, not a rock within a mile.

As soft as any bed in town,

softer than most.

Gentlemen, Fred Gage's skull was fractured

before he was flung into that ditch.

I conclude you believe you can prove

this assertion, Mr. Patterson?

I'm not given to wasting breath, sir.

I'd like to call Clem Wilson.

Clem Wilson.

- Verdict in?

- Not yet, Mr. Tanner.

- You're Clem Wilson?

- I sure am, sir.

You work at the Poppy Club

on 14th Street?

Yeah.

Did you know Fred Gage?

I've seen him around.

When did you see him last?

That'd be four nights ago.

When you were fighting with my son?

When your son come in the club

and slugged me.

- Do you have a car?

- Yeah.

Did you drive that car by my house

and throw a body from it?

Not me.

I got nothing against n*gg*r*s,

as long as they behave.

Then you didn't see Fred

following that car?

I did not.

How would I, if I wasn't there?

Yesterday you missed

a rear seat cushion from your car.

Yeah, somebody stole it.

Is this it?

I don't know.

The cover has been identified

by the man from whom you bought it.

Yeah, I reckon that's it.

You can charge me with the theft.

I instigated it.

If it please you, Mr. Coroner,

I'd like to call one more witness,

Mr. James Kirby.

Mr. James Kirby.

You're dismissed, Wilson.

Will you please tell the coroner's jury

who you are?

James Kirby, in charge of the laboratory

of the Birmingham Police Department.

Did you analyze the stains

on this seat cover?

- I did, sir.

- What are they?

It was human blood, sir.

- Could you name the blood type?

- Yes, sir.

It is type B positive.

Is that the same type of blood

that stained the clothing of Fred Gage?

It is, sir.

Thank you, Mr. Kirby.

- No more witnesses, Mr. Coroner.

- You're dismissed.

- You have reached your verdict, gentlemen?

- Yes, sir.

What is your verdict?

After due deliberation, our verdict is that

the death of the deceased was accidental.

They were scared to death.

Can you blame them?

Let's get out of here.

Pat.

Well, looked like you had a point

there for a minute about Clem Wilson.

Except Clem never left the club,

I remember it.

You have a convenient memory, Rhett.

Too bad about young Gage.

I was thinking,

we could get up sort of a fund.

Ed Gage doesn't need money.

But he was a nice kid.

Used to come into the club.

I remember thinking he was kind

of sweet on one of our helpers.

Rhett, you may as well know

something now as later.

I've changed my mind.

- About what?

- I'm gonna fight you.

I'm gonna put you and all those others

out of business.

Wait a minute, you're upset, Pat.

You're saying more than you mean.

I'm running

for attorney general of Alabama.

I wonder why my bum leg always twitches

when I make up my mind.

The decision had been made.

From here in it was w*r.

I took Mary Jo and the children to safety

at her mother's home in Georgiana.

You go to sleep.

Well, I'll call you every night.

You keep smiling, huh?

- Can't I come with you?

- No.

No, somebody's gotta

look after your mama.

Now, don't you worry about a thing.

John, for the last time,

please won't you stay here?

Now, change your mind.

Honey, I can't do that.

I've got a job to do.

But I'm so afraid for you.

You know I came through one scrap

where they played for keeps.

That's what I mean, John.

These men play for keeps too.

Don't you worry about it.

In a year's time,

we'll have forgotten all about this.

So I'll be seeing you and you...

You just keep your fingers crossed

and everything will be fine.

Okay?

Bye. Bye.

John.

Wait for me, I'm going with you.

Why, you can't do that.

Do you really think

I'd let you go back there alone?

You can't come back with me.

You know how rough those boys play.

Then it will be rough for both of us,

I don't care.

But at least we'll be together.

Right now I love you more

than I've ever loved you before.

I'd said they'd play it rough.

Well, that was the

understatement of all time.

For this is how Dad's campaign began,

to get more violent every day.

Men who had the courage to defend him

were beaten half to death in broad daylight.

No, no!

No.

And they didn't stop with men.

When the free press cried out,

they tried to silence it.

When a parson raised his voice,

they tried to drown it out.

But they didn't stop Dad.

He limped across

the state of Alabama...

...telling the bitter truth in the cities

and villages of 67 counties.

He was no spellbinder.

His speech

was that of a plain and simple man.

But the people listened.

Because they were sick of lies.

Now, it's not easy

and it's not pleasant...

...to tell people such things exist

right in one's own hometown.

For many years...

...my friends and I

have been gathering evidence...

...that will convict and condemn

the murderers of Phenix City.

As well as other peddlers of vice.

That night in Phenix City,

they tried to destroy the evidence...

...by a fire of unknown origin,

to quote the police report.

The rule of the mob regarding evidence

is simple: If it's human, k*ll it.

If it's on paper, burn it up.

But we still had friends even then.

There was Ellie Rhodes.

Still working at Rhett Tanner's Poppy Club.

Her bright eyes always watching.

Only Dad and I knew that she'd kept on

with her job in the hope of helping us.

Then there was Hugh Bentley.

My friends,

I bring you news from hell.

On election day,

the will of the people will decide...

...if corruption or law and order

is to rule our lives.

For though this thing began

in the city I call my home...

...it could not exist

without the secret support of men...

...in our state government.

The shame of it is unparalleled

in the history of our country.

The only way to keep that plague

out of your home...

Mom, I wonder if Dad

thinks we're watching.

And destroy it at its evil source.

The men who are responsible for this evil

are efficient because they are organized.

They are effective...

...because you and I have failed

in our duty as citizens.

We need the help

of every decent citizen...

...to save our state

from this deadly danger.

I'm glad to see

some of you had the guts...

...to come out here tonight

and listen to me.

It needed guts too.

After what they did

to Hugh Bentley's home.

Now, I chose this place...

...because I wanted you

to face the cesspool...

...that has given your city the name

of Sin Town, U.S.A.

I wanted you to smell

the stench of it.

On more than one election day,

you could have cleaned it up.

By voting against the candidates

that were sponsored by the mob.

But you wouldn't take

the trouble to vote.

So now you can blame yourselves

for gambling...

...prostitution...

...dope peddling, r*pe.

Men, women and children m*rder*d.

Offices burned and homes bombed.

And where does this happen?

In some dictatorship across the sea?

No.

It's right here, in your town.

In our Alabama, our America.

Did I say your town?

Well, that's a laugh.

Phenix City is owned,

body and soul...

...by Tanner, Jenkins, Drew,

and the rest of the mob.

They hold the power of life and death

over you and your families.

Many of them are here tonight.

There's Rhett Tanner,

the big boss, right there.

There's Jenkins,

Clem Wilson and Rupe.

They're here to find out

who's against them.

So now's your chance to speak out.

And let them know where you stand.

Or are we gonna wait

till all of us are blown sky high?

Tell them. Tell them now.

Tell them where you stand.

Go, go get out of here. Go.

This was Phenix City on election day.

My dad asked the state house

to proclaim martial law.

And others asked,

but there wasn't any answer.

So the day was like all other

election days all over the years.

Strong-arm boys were out in force

to keep in line citizens...

...who thought they had a right

to vote for whom they pleased.

While votes were bought and sold,

and sex was often used in lieu of money.

But it was no guarantee

you could vote.

No one who voted for Albert Patterson

was guaranteed that right.

And where were the police?

On duty.

Keeping a sharp eye on things.

Come on, let's go.

Come on, everybody.

When the polls closed,

the mob celebrated.

For once, in every joint,

the good alcohol was on the house.

But they should have waited

to hear from the rest of Alabama.

What do you know?

A bare thousand votes.

He won that rerun

with a little more than a thousand.

That's still enough.

Well, he hasn't been sworn in yet.

If he is, come January...

...there will be so many indictments

flying around, we'll think it's snowing.

Mm-hm. If he is sworn in.

You talk

like you know something we don't.

I'm not talking. I got a hunch

there's been too much talking already.

And you know something?

You're right, Jenkins.

He hadn't been sworn in yet.

I could be wrong,

but I've had a feeling all evening.

It's like something's going on.

People have been coming and going

into Mr. Tanner's office.

Some even came in the back way.

I couldn't see who they were.

Well, who did you see?

I saw Mr. Jenkins and Drew

and Clem Wilson, of course.

Anyone else?

Oh, yeah, Rupe was here.

He's coming back right now.

He's going to Mr. Tanner's.

Probably nothing to worry about.

- Just keep those bright eyes open.

- Yes, Mr. Patterson.

You'd better get off that phone.

They can see you too.

- Yes, Mr. Patterson.

- Thank you, Ellie.

- Anything wrong?

- No.

No. What should be?

- Where you going?

- Over to the office.

Be back in an hour or so.

Dad, I heard about your speech

to the Ladies' Club last night.

You said you didn't believe you stood

a chance in a hundred to be sworn in.

Oh, did I say that?

It's just that they looked

so darn pleased with themselves.

I'll see you.

Okay.

Okay, miss, want my bank roll before

they button up this joint for good?

Hey, wait a minute.

Get ready.

He's got them all with him.

Well, they shouldn't have come here.

Hey, Rhett.

Why couldn't you have

talked to me on the phone?

Not this, I couldn't.

It's gotta happen tonight.

All right, it's gotta be tonight.

Ellie.

There are customers at your table.

What are you doing at that window?

- What is it?

- It was Ellie Rhodes.

I think she saw you with Jeb Bassett.

She sure got out of here real fast.

- Hello?

- Hello, is Mr. Patterson there?

- I've gotta speak to him quickly.

- No, I'm sorry he's not here.

John, it's someone for your father.

Hello? Who is it?

It's Ellie, John.

I wanna speak to your dad.

Oh, he just went down to the office, Ellie.

He should be there in about five minutes.

- I can give you his number if you want.

- Thanks, thanks, I'll go there.

She sounded a little upset.

No, no!

Hey, that's Mr. Patterson.

Who shot you, Mr. Patterson?

Who shot you?

Yeah, yeah, Ellie Rhodes.

So you get off your fat behind

and have your boys pick her up.

- We'll find her, Rhett.

- Yeah.

You'd better find her.

k*lled him?

They k*lled him.

Oh, God.

- I should have gone with him tonight.

- John.

- John.

- I know I should have gone with him.

- How were you to know?

- I should have gone with him.

Stop.

Oh, God.

They're taking him across

to the funeral parlor, John, I...

I think we'd better get over there.

This is the end of the line.

- Life won't be worth living in this town.

- Has it ever been?

We've gotta drive them out.

The guts, murdering a man in cold blood

without giving him a chance.

They'll k*ll us all

if we don't do something now.

- Heard the news, where's Johnnie?

- Inside.

- Can't believe it, who k*lled him?

- Who'd know?

Somebody ought to.

They say a girl saw it.

- What girl?

- So, what are we gonna do?

Let the law take its course?

- Is that the answer?

- What law?

Up to now

they have k*lled with impunity.

And the only penalty they've ever paid

is lawyer's fees.

But suppose the man

who k*lled Pat is caught?

Indicted, convicted?

- That will never happen.

- But suppose it does?

What will he get from a jury

packed with his own kind?

A prison term, huh?

On a plea of self-defense

till he buys himself a pardon.

You think that's impossible?

The only law

the Phenix City mob respects...

...comes out of the muzzle of a g*n

and rips them wide open.

And we know the ones to go after.

- Sure we do.

- Yeah.

So I say give them a taste

of their own medicine.

Clean them out, as Pat would say,

"From stem to stern."

- Let's do it now, tonight.

- Let's go.

Stop it, stop it.

Do you think

that mob isn't waiting for you?

Every dive in town has its gunmen,

you know.

They're just waiting

for what you suggest.

- They k*lled your father, John.

- Yes, and they'll k*ll you too.

Innocent people will be shot down

and what good will it do?

The days of the vigilantes are over,

my dad said that.

What we need is the good opinion

of decent people all over this state.

But we won't get it

with riots and bloodshed.

Oh, no, you're wrong, John.

You're wrong.

Just a minute.

There's not a man here who wants

the k*ller of my father more than I do.

And if the law doesn't find him, I will.

And if the law doesn't take his life,

I promise you I'll do it myself.

Now, God knows I'm grateful.

But this is my job, not yours.

John's right.

Mr. Patterson,

you're wanted on the telephone.

She says it's urgent. Miss Rhodes.

All right, I'll be right in.

Thank you.

- Hello?

- Hello, Mr. Patterson?

Ellie?

I saw it, John,

I saw them k*ll your father.

- Did they see you?

- Yes, I'm sure they did.

Then they'll be after you.

- Where are you?

- At Zeke Ward's place.

I just ran out to telephone.

Get back in there

and don't show your face.

They'll have the police after you,

and heaven knows who else.

- I'll be right down.

- Yes, John.

Right away,

but you get back in there.

It's Ellie Rhodes,

she saw the murderers.

I'm going to Zeke's.

Bring Bentley and the others, follow me.

- Sure thing, Johnny.

- I'll see you at Zeke's.

Hello?

- Rhett, it's Jeb.

- Yeah, yeah, Jeb?

Rhett, John's on his way

to Zeke Ward's house.

You're nearer,

you can get there first.

Who cares about Zeke Ward?

I want Ellie Rhodes.

That's just it, Rhett. She's there.

She's at Zeke Ward's.

Ellie?

Ellie?

Zeke?

Ellie.

Ellie. Where's Ellie?

Down below.

- Mr. Tanner went there.

- Where?

Back porch cellar.

No, Zeke!

- You k*lled my dad.

- No.

- It was you.

- No, no.

You're lying. You gave the orders.

No, I k*lled Ellie. John, I...

I didn't k*ll your dad.

No, Mr. Patterson.

Don't do it, Mr. Patterson,

please don't do it.

If your father was here now,

he'd say the same thing.

You can't take the law

into your own hands.

- He k*lled Ellie.

- That don't make it right to k*ll him.

Listen, back there a few minutes ago,

I was gonna beat a man's brains out.

I was gonna take his body,

throw it out of a car like he did my girl.

But my wife, she took my arm,

and she said, "No."

Get away.

Please, Mr. Patterson.

No, don't do it.

Listen to me, she said,

"The Lord said not to k*ll.

'Thou shalt not k*ll,'

the Lord said."

Mr. Patterson, please.

Please, Mr. Patterson.

"Thou shalt not k*ll," the Lord said.

And I stood there looking at her.

She was crying

and all bloody where he'd beat her.

And I was gonna do it anyway.

But she said, "No, Zeke, no.

We been fighting

against things like this.

All our lives we been

fighting against people

taking the law

into their own hands."

So I... I handed her the g*n.

And I come out here.

Thanks, Zeke.

Don't k*ll anybody.

Come on, Mr. Patterson.

John, what goes on? Where were you?

What?

John, why? What happened?

I'll tell you what happened,

but there's something else first.

Hello? Give me the State Capitol,

it's an emergency.

Now, look, don't...

Just a minute now,

don't give me any more arguments.

This is an emergency.

I want him on there

and I want him on fast.

All right, hold it.

You just hold it.

Now, just hold it.

Come on up here.

Come on in close, I need your voices.

Now, before you say no again,

I want you to listen.

You've got to listen.

You want this city cleaned up?

Well, let the State Capitol hear

the voice of Phenix City.

Shout so he can hear it.

By tomorrow morning,

when they hear about my father's death...

...you'll hear 10,000 times that sound,

the voice of Alabama.

Now, will you send us help?

Yeah, yeah!

Thank you.

They're sending the militia.

Tomorrow Phenix City

will be under martial law.

The law came to Phenix City at last.

It took my father's death to bring it.

It wasn't the kind of law

my father fought and died for.

But it was the only law

the men who k*lled him could understand.

The law with

a loaded g*n in its hand.

The gamblers' men obeyed it.

They had no choice but to obey.

The doors through which the suckers

thronged were locked.

The devices that cheated them

were broken up and burned.

But how long would it last?

The evil men who had ruled our lives

for so long were still out there.

Waiting their moment to come back.

We'd won a battle,

but had we won the w*r?

That is the question that I,

John Patterson,

and all of our good friends

had to consider.

The people of Alabama elected me

attorney general in my father's place.

With two sacred duties to perform:

To seek out and bring to justice

the murderers of my father...

...and to keep the gambling hells

of Phenix City firmly closed forever.

With God's help, I shall not fail.