( noirish jazz theme playing )
( adventurous theme playing )
Bright Magic worked the mile in 1:36...
handily.
That's a good workout.
Mm-mmm, baby.
That's a great workout.
Tic's got a real live mount for the Pacific Derby Saturday.
Maybe we can put a bet on the horse.
Maybe Tic will be good for something...
before I tell him goodbye.
Now is that any way for you to talk about your husband?
And here you're gonna have to grin and bear him...
for a while longer, anyway.
Why?
A deal came up.
What kind of deal?
One with money in it.
What kind of money?
$10,000.
[CHUCKLES]
I don't want $10,000.
What do you want?
I've got what I want.
I haven't.
Let's not kid ourselves, baby.
What we need is scratch, money.
Something that will make Hialeah paradise this winter.
And I got a way to get some of it.
How, Johnny?
By Tic losing the derby.
What?
He pulls the horse, loses the race.
( mysterious theme playing )
I got a call last night from the operators of a future book.
They're overloaded on Bright Magic.
So they're offering up to $10,000
for Tic to pull the horse.
He wouldn't, not Tic. You don't know him.
I know he's in love with you, baby.
He brags about you all the time.
He's a big man when he talks about you.
You're his star, his shining rainbow.
He wouldn't throw the race.
He's never done anything like that before.
There's always a first time.
Now, all you gotta do is ask him,
but with the right questions.
( suspenseful theme plays )
( whinnying )
Good to have you riding for me, Tic.
This is a nice colt. That was an easy work.
And that's all hogwash
about you losing your nerve, eh, Tic?
I won't let you down, Mr. Bannion.
You bet you won't.
We're coming home with the bacon Saturday.
With the cup, anyway, Mr. Bannion.
And with your name engraved on the permanent trophy.
( laughs ): Right.
"23rd renewal of the Pacific Derby, winner: Bright Magic.
Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Dion Bannion."
How does that sound, Vicky?
Let's wait until the race is won, dear.
( laughing )
Okay, I won't cash my future book tickets
till after the race.
So long, fellas.
Eddie, walk him a good hour.
Right, Mr. Allen.
Come on, horse. Come on.
We've got a good chance, Tic.
Yes, sir.
The colt's got a nice way of going.
He runs kindly for you too, boy.
I don't think you're any different a jockey
than you were a year ago before your spill.
Thanks for giving me a chance to prove it.
Oh.
I'm a lucky man, Mr. Allen.
( chuckles ): Lucky?
I think you've had more than your share of bad breaks lately.
I've got an owner
who's proud to have me ride his horse in the derby,
a trainer who believes in me
and a wife who loves me.
Gloria is a...
beautiful woman, isn't she?
( mysterious theme playing )
She sure is, Tic.
Hiya, Gloria.
Mmm-mwah!
It's beginning to shape up pretty good.
That colt's improving every day.
Tic...
Tic, now, don't get all upset.
I want to talk to you about something.
It's about the Pacific Derby.
Well, what about it?
Well, it-- It's such a long shot for us to win.
That's what I've been talking about.
Bright Magic had a sensational work this morning.
He's got a great chance to win.
How many horses in the last year
have had a great chance to win, and didn't?
Oh, Tic, I'm so tired of always being broke,
so tired of never having anything for us.
How can I convince you that it will be different, Gloria?
If Bright Magic wins the derby--
You can convince me, Tic...
if Bright Magic loses the derby.
If he loses the derby? But how?
If he loses?
You want me to pull the horse?
It's so much simpler to lose a race than to win it, Tic.
I can get us $10,000 in cash.
You haven't thought it all out, Gloria.
This is my comeback.
A win like this will give the trainers
confidence in me again, and...
Who gave you this proposition?
Mm, somebody.
Is it that tout, Johnny Starr?
I thought I saw him on the rail this morning.
No. There's no other way out.
It's got to be this way.
What way?
That I become dishonest, that I become a thief?
You're putting terrible names on it.
All I'm asking you to do
is to run into a blind switch or get left at the gate.
( tearfully ): It's got to be like that.
Got to?
I mean, I can't go on like this anymore.
You mean we can't go on like this anymore.
You'll..
You'll want a divorce?
Yes.
Is there another guy, Gloria?
Of course there isn't. You know there isn't.
I-I-I kind of thought, a few times lately--
Of course there's nobody else.
I've told you all about it.
I've tried to explain it to you.
Oh, I'm sorry, Tic.
You'll just have to make up your mind.
Either you throw this race, or I'll get a divorce.
( somber theme playing )
Is it understood, Mr. Mason,
I'm paying you $100 for ten minutes time?
I want your advice.
I'm not saying I'll take it, and I'm not saying that I won't.
It's understood, Mr. Barton.
This is strictly private and confidential, isn't it?
Oh, I'm Mr. Mason's
strictly private and confidential secretary.
As a jockey, I run across it every once in a while:
Some sharpie trying to put in a fix.
Someone's approached you to fix a race?
Someone's approached my wife.
I see. Who?
I don't know.
That is... I don't know for sure.
I think his name is Johnny Starr.
Johnny Starr.
Now, you must understand, Mr. Mason...
Well, my wife is a beautiful woman.
But like most women, she needs security.
You can't blame her for that.
She needs to feel safe and needed.
Your wife wants you to throw the race?
She's upset. She doesn't really mean it.
But now she says...
if I don't throw the Pacific Derby on Saturday,
she'll leave me.
Divorce?
I don't handle divorce cases, Mr. Barton.
I love my wife, Mr. Mason.
I don't want to lose her,
and I don't want to throw that race.
First things first.
A crime has been committed, an attempt to fix the race.
My advice would be
to turn the matter over to the proper authorities.
Then that would be the end of it.
I wouldn't have any choice left.
If I decided that I wanted Gloria more than--
I've never thrown a race, Mr. Mason.
I've never done a crooked thing in my life.
If you had, you wouldn't be wrestling with yourself now.
If...
If I...
decide not to throw the race...
and Gloria still wants a divorce...
will you help me, Mr. Mason?
Yes, I will.
Thanks.
I'll think it over.
( door closes )
Maybe we can supply Mr. Barton
with an ounce of prevention, Della.
Get ahold of Paul.
See what he can dig up on Johnny Starr.
( mysterious theme playing )
Hi, Eddie.
Hello, Tic.
You should be sleeping the night before.
Yeah. It was lonesome at home.
My wife's out someplace.
Yeah, I know.
How do you know?
She left a message for you, Tic.
She said if you had anything to tell her,
you could reach her at Webster-1-2499.
Where's that? Whose number is that?
I don't know, Tic.
If I thought someone
was trying to take Gloria away from me, I'd...
I'd-- I'd kill 'em, Eddie.
Did you ever feel like that?
Like you could kill someone?
( phone rings )
Hello.
Who--? Who is this?
Johnny Starr.
Who's this? Barton?
Hello?
( playful knocking on door )
Good morning, on this beautiful Saturday morning.
Oh, so cheerful and working too, Mr. Drake?
Morning, Paul.
A report on John Woodruff Starr. Ready?
Just a minute.
Ready.
Well, he's not what you'd call a steady worker.
His last regular employment
was the United States Army 1946 through '48.
He was married June 1950, divorced October 1951.
Arrested four times for suspected bookmaking,
no convictions.
Married for the second time December 1953,
Las Vegas, Nevada, to a French girl.
Divorced again?
I don't know, we're still checking.
The, uh, girl went back to France.
Paul, don't tell me
you got all this information since yesterday?
I got more.
Johnny Starr is a two-bit gambler,
and he does part-time work for a gambling syndicate.
So it's possible he might be trying
to fix the derby for them on a fee basis.
You know, I'll just never understand this.
Now, why would they want Bright Magic to lose?
They offer odds months before a race, Della.
Now, Bright Magic was 50-to-1.
They probably took a lot of good-sized bets at those odds,
never figuring a horse would improve so much.
Now, if Bright Magic wins, it'll cost them a fortune.
Speaking of Bright Magic in the Pacific Derby,
that reminds me.
What's that, Perry?
I thought we all might go to the track today.
I'm curious to see how Tic Barton rides Bright Magic.
What seats do you have?
Section E.
It just so happens
that I have three seats here, section B.
Well, we'll use yours. They're better.
All right. Hold it.
We'll use mine.
Box seats on the finish line.
( crowd chattering )
...is the favorite, 8-to-5.
Plumber is 3-to-1, and Bright Magic is 7-to-1.
( over P.A. ): The horses are approaching the gate.
Take it easy. Take it easy, Bright Magic.
We've got a long way to go.
Everything all right, Allen?
Everything's fine.
Tic seems nervous to me.
Can we trust him?
Got to. It's in his hands now.
It's up to Bright Magic and him.
The flag is up.
And they're off!
It's Sir Plumber going to the front,
Hill Down is second, Tracer is third,
then Bright Magic, Fly Away and Sunburst.
Into the clubhouse turn, it's Sir Plumber in front a head,
Tracer on the outside, second, two lengths,
Hill Down is third, then Fly Away,
Bright Magic on the rail, Sunburst and Jigger.
Turning into the backstretch,
it's Tracer now taking the lead
and drawing clear by a length and a quarter.
Sir Plumber is second, two-and-a-half lengths,
Hill down third by two,
Bright Magic fourth, Fly Away and Sunburst.
Bright Magic's moving up, Perry.
Turning for home,
and here comes Bright Magic and Fly Away.
Fly Away on the outside,
but it's Tracer in front a head.
Bright Magic by a half-length, and Fly Away on the outside.
Into the stretch,
it's Fly Away on the outside by a half-length,
Tracer second a half-length,
and Bright Magic on the rail looking for racing room.
It's Fly Away, Tracer and Bright Magic.
Fly Away, Tracer and Bright Magic.
At the 16th pole, it's Fly Away by a head,
and now Bright Magic is moving up to challenge him.
All right, Tic. Go through, go through!
And now Fly Away is pulling away,
and here comes Sunburst.
Down the wire, with Fly Away in front and Sunburst outside.
And at the wire it's Fly Away winning.
Sunburst is second a length, Bright Magic is third,
and Tracer is fourth.
Bright Magic lost.
So, what happened, Barton?
Bright Magic never quit before.
The colt acted sluggish.
He didn't move when I asked him to.
Well, you're moving.
You'll never ride for me again,
you're through!
You deliberately pulled it!
The colt didn't have it, Mr. Bannion.
He backed up.
You too. I don't need excuses.
You're fired, all of you crooks!
You cheated me!
I don't know how, but I'll find out.
If there was any business done,
I think I know who handled it.
( knock on door )
Hello, Starr.
What is this?
Is Gloria here?
Of course not, is that what you come up here for?
I wanna know how you fixed that race.
Did you dope the colt?
Now, you look, Barton, I'm sorry you lost,
but don't come up here looking for an out.
You were outridden in the stretch,
You didn't have the guts to go through the middle.
You--
I want to know two things, Starr.
I want to know how you fixed Bright Magic,
and I want to know about my wife.
Are you and she--?
( thud )
( grunts )
Why, you little punk, pulling a gun on me.
Wise up, little man.
( door slams )
( gunshot )
( suspenseful theme playing )
( gunshot )
Hey, is somebody shooting?
Name is John Woodruff Starr.
Here's his driver's license and some papers.
Go on, Mr. Horty. Don't let me interrupt you.
All right, lieutenant.
Well now, there was this second shot,
so I knew it couldn't be a backfire or anything,
so I went out into the hall.
And here was this fella just sprintin' down,
almost reachin' the stairs,
and he was lookin' back over his shoulder, like this...
and then on down the stairs he went.
Close enough so that you could recognize him again
if you saw him?
Oh, sure.
He was shot twice.
Once in the face, and again when he was on the floor,
in the back.
How can you be so sure
you can identify this man again, Mr. Horty?
You only caught that one glimpse of him, didn't you?
Saw him hundreds of times, Lieutenant Tragg.
Live in the building, does he?
Nope.
But you've seen him hundreds of times?
In the paper...
Now, you remember, lieutenant, I told you he was a shortie.
You remember I said he was maybe 5'1" or 5'2"?
Tic Barton, the jockey.
Why, yes, Mr. Mason.
Lieutenant Tragg asked me a lot of questions.
Mostly, over and over, about where Tic was.
Didn't Tic show up here at all?
No.
Does he own a gun, Mrs. Barton?
Yes. He has a permit for it.
Where does he keep it?
It's in the bureau drawer in the bedroom.
The police asked me that too.
Is it there now?
No.
Mrs. Barton, I want you to know that Tic came to my office
and told me all about the attempted bribery.
Oh?
Who offered the bribe?
Johnny Starr.
Of course, I really wasn't serious about it.
I admit, I considered it for a little while.
We needed the money so badly.
Didn't you threaten Tic with a divorce
unless he threw the race?
Why, no, Mr. Mason.
Did Tic say that?
Johnny Starr was quite a good-looking young man.
Was he? Did you know he was married?
Was I supposed to?
Are you thinking
that Johnny Starr and I might have been in love?
And that because he was married and didn't tell me,
I might have had a reason to kill him?
Mightn't you?
That's ridiculous.
What else did you tell the police?
Nothing, really, Mr. Mason.
Just what I've told you now.
The police issued a warrant for Barton's arrest.
They found an eyewitness who identifies him
as being on the scene of the crime.
Barton's fingerprints were found on the door panel
and in the murder room.
What about the murder weapon?
Tic Barton's, registered in his name.
They've got a pretty good case.
Tic's wife and Johnny Starr were very chummy.
There's a rumor that Tic may have pulled his mount,
and Starr reneged on the payoff.
Rumor?
Yeah, it's flying around the homicide offices.
Where'd it start, Gloria Barton?
Strangely enough, Perry, no.
She seems to be on Tic's side.
What other side's left? Starr's gone.
Paul, if you were gonna fix a race,
and you weren't sure you could depend
on one person to come through,
what would you do?
Take out insurance. How?
Hire somebody else.
Get two people working independently,
have two chances to get the job done.
You mean one with the jockey, the other with the horse?
There's a rumor about Bright Magic being doped too.
I've got information
about Johnny Starr's activities in the barn area
in connection with Eddie Davis, the assistant trainer.
Let's get over there, Paul.
Can I be of any help?
You better stay here, Della,
in case Barton calls.
No, I don't know where Mr. Allen is.
He was fired too.
Just packin' my things.
What happened, Davis, you get kicked by a horse?
No.
There's a rumor Bright Magic was doped for the Pacific Derby.
Why? Because he lost?
Can't a horse lose or win without him being doped?
Sure, but there's always
some reason for losing, isn't there?
Suppose Bright Magic was doped, Eddie?
Any idea who might've done it?
Now look, Mr. Allen and I took shifts
guarding Bright Magic.
From Friday evening on, to post time Saturday.
I know I didn't do it, and I don't think Mr. Allen would.
Now you can't watch a horse every second.
And it only takes a second to put a needle in him.
Don't they automatically test each horse,
following every race?
No, just the winners.
Who roughed you up, Davis?
Now, look, I told you that's my own business.
Coulda been Johnny Starr.
Sure.
He hired you to dope Bright Magic.
You did the job, and he reneged on the payoff.
So you had a fight with him.
Just because I'm all banged up?
Who did it, Davis?
( suspenseful theme playing )
Hey there. Easy, boy. Whoa, whoa.
Come on there. Slow down there.
Now come on there. That's all right, baby. Come on.
Easy, easy.
Whoa. Come on.
Slow down there. That's all right.
Come on, baby.
Easy, easy. That's gonna be all right.
Come on now.
There's a phone call for you.
You can take it in the barn extension.
Mason's office?
No.
You've been avoiding his phone calls, haven't you?
Mason wants to talk to me about Tic Barton.
I don't want to talk to him about Tic or anything else.
Mason's a very dangerous man.
Dangerous?
I mean, he can-- He can twist things around,
make you seem to say things that you don't mean at all.
I've heard a lot about him.
He's a very clever man.
Just on general principles,
I'd rather you didn't speak to him either.
Hello.
Hello, Mr. Bannion. It's me, Eddie Davis.
What do you want, Davis?
We finished our business last night.
Oh, no, Mr. Bannion. That was just a start.
You see, Perry Mason was here a couple of minutes ago,
and he asked about this black eye.
He thought Johnny Starr gave it to me,
but I was a real pal, I covered for you.
I didn't pop that you were the one that slugged me.
I wouldn't care if you told the whole world.
What was that?
I said, "You'd better think about it, Mr. Bannion."
Suppose the cops heard that you were up to my place
on the night of the murder,
trying to find out who doped Bright Magic.
And you finally admitted it was Johnny Starr.
I admitted it was Johnny Starr
after you beat the living daylights out of me
and chased out of my place like a four-alarm fire!
The next thing I read in the paper
is that Johnny Starr is murdered.
That's a funny coincidence, ain't it, Mr. Bannion?
I'd like to talk to you about it.
I don't want you coming here.
I'll see you at the stable.
You won't be sorry, Mr. Bannion.
I'm a very reasonable man.
Very reasonable.
This, uh, Bob Allen has been more than a friend to Tic.
He's helped him with cash and given him mounts
when no other trainer would have anything to do with him.
Mr. Allen?
Yeah.
My name is Mason. I'm an attorney.
This is Mr. Paul Drake.
Howdy.
May we come in?
Why not?
I'm sorry Bright Magic lost the race, Mr. Allen.
Lose a $2 bet, Mr. Mason?
As a matter of fact, I did.
Well, I lost a bet too.
I'm also sorry you lost your job as trainer.
That really hurts.
Do you know what a trainer has to do
to get a horse like Bright Magic?
Starts out a gyp at the fairs.
$200 claimers: lame, brittle, wind-broken.
Then you work yourself up,
but you don't find a horse like Bright Magic.
Oh, no, they don't even run at the half-milers.
You have to sort of graduate, move up to the mile tracks.
Then to the Big Apple.
Big Apple?
Yeah, Saratoga, Belmont.
You know, the equivalent of Santa Anita
and Hollywood Park out here.
And then you work and slave and pray and hope
that you'll find a horse like Bright Magic.
Even then, as 6-to-1 even, you'll never make it.
Anyway, I almost had a derby winner, didn't I?
Well, goodbye, Bright Magic.
Was that horse doped?
Could've been.
Are you, um, married, Mr. Allen?
No.
Live alone here?
Yes.
Aren't those shoes a little small for you?
Where is he, Mr. Allen?
Who?
Tic Barton.
( door opens )
It seems we meet in the strangest places, lieutenant.
Yes, doesn't it?
How about answering the question? Where is he?
Who are you?
Lieutenant Tragg, Homicide.
We got a call that Barton's hiding out here.
A call from whom?
Someone we've done business with for a long time,
His name is anonymous.
( door opens )
Tic!
It's okay, Bob.
You'll have to come along with me, Barton.
I went to Starr's apartment.
I wanted to force him to confess that he doped the horse.
You don't know who made the noise in the other room?
No.
What happened after Starr threw you out?
I got up and heard the shots.
I realized my gun was back in there,
so I tried to go back in.
But the door was locked.
I took off.
And then this fella from the other apartment
came into the hall.
Then I-- And I ran.
Right to Bob Allen?
No, I went home.
Where was your wife?
You don't think she was in Starr's other room?
I don't know.
How'd you happen to go to Allen's?
He phoned, I told him what had happened.
Who do you think tipped off the police
as to where you were staying?
I don't know.
Why didn't you call me?
I was scared.
Almost as scared as I was to find out
if you wanted to be my lawyer or not.
I didn't think you could throw a race.
How could I think you'd murder someone?
Yes, sir. This is the murder weapon.
Ballistics has checked it out.
Has a police permit been issued, and is it registered?
Yes, it is.
To Francis "Tic" Barton, the defendant.
I see.
Now, lieutenant, what else was found in the murder room?
Well, we found some fingerprints.
Yes. These prints have been identified
as belonging to the defendant.
Whereabouts in the murder room were they found?
Well, the full handprint on the coffee table,
the one near the davenport,
and this print of a middle fingertip
on the door panel.
I see. Thank you, lieutenant.
If it please the court,
I should like these photographs
and this gun marked for identification.
No objection.
Your witness.
No questions.
JUDGE: Step down, lieutenant.
Now, all these apartments are the same.
So there's no rear-door exit.
He had to come out the front door.
Could you identify this man in the hallway?
Sure. Tic Barton, the jockey.
What time was this?
Well, it was a couple of seconds after the shots.
Must have been around 7:30.
Mr. Horty, how well did you know Johnny Starr?
Just to say "hello" to. You know, apartment neighbors.
How many times did you say "hello" to him
in the past few weeks?
Twice or three times, when he was alone.
And a couple of times
when he was escorting a woman into his apartment.
A woman?
Was it the same woman on both occasions?
That's right.
I ask you now to look around this courtroom
and tell us if that woman is here today.
Sure. It's that woman.
The lady sitting there in the second row.
Are you positive of that, Mr. Horty?
The lady that you're pointing to
is the wife of the defendant, Tic Barton.
Well, I'm sorry about that,
but I couldn't mistake her.
Not her.
Thank you, Mr. Horty.
Your witness.
Mr. Horty, after hearing the second shot,
how much time elapsed before you came into the hall?
Oh, not long.
How long is not long?
Uh, 15 seconds, maybe.
Maybe more?
Maybe.
I don't want to bait you, Mr. Horty,
but a man's life is at stake.
You heard the first shot, is that right?
Oh, yes, but I thought that was a car backfiring.
But it did alert you.
I mean, you stopped and thought, "What was that?"
Yes, that's right. I did.
The door to Johnny Starr's apartment was closed,
your door was closed,
yet you heard the shots?
Well, these apartments are far from soundproof.
You can hear voices in the halls sometimes?
Oh, sure.
And now you were listening intently?
Well, I guess so. I was on my way to the door.
And you heard nothing more?
Nothing. All right.
You opened your door, you looked down the hallway,
and you saw the defendant near the top of the stairs?
That's right.
In between the second shot
and the time you reached the hallway,
you heard nothing?
Nothing.
Not even the door
of Starr's apartment opening and closing?
No, nothing.
Then how did Tic Barton get out into the hallway?
Well, he just--
Why, I... I don't know.
He could have gotten out before the first shot,
couldn't he?
I mean, you weren't alerted then.
You could have heard a door opening and closing.
You would have paid no attention to it.
No, I wouldn't, that's right.
Mr. Horty, you saw Barton run down the stairs.
What did you do?
I went across to Starr's apartment, and I rang the bell.
Then I called out, but nobody answered.
So I rushed to my apartment and called the police.
While you were calling the police,
the murderer could have gently eased out of Starr's apartment
and quietly made his way out of the building.
Your Honor, I object.
That calls for a conclusion of the witness.
I'll withdraw the question.
I have no more questions of this witness.
JUDGE: Step down, Mr. Horty.
I call Robert Allen.
And now, Mr. Allen, what did the defendant say
when Mr. Bannion accused him of throwing the race?
Tic denied it,
said the colt acted sluggish and didn't put out.
He inferred that the horse had been doped?
MASON I object, Your Honor.
Prosecution knows that's a leading question.
If the court please,
this is at best, a hostile witness,
a longtime friend of the defendant,
a man who harbored him
when the defendant was wanted by the police.
I ask the court's recognition of this man as a hostile witness.
Proceed, Mr. District Attorney.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Now, Mr. Allen, did the defendant say, quote,
"If there was any business done,
I think I know who handled it," unquote?
Yes.
When the defendant secreted himself in your apartment,
did he tell you that on the night of the murder,
after he left the track, he went home,
got his gun and then went to Johnny Starr's apartment?
Yes, but that doesn't--
I think this court is quite capable
of making its own interpretation, Mr. Allen.
Thank you.
Your witness.
Mr. Allen...
when the defendant was staying in your apartment,
did you tell him to give himself up?
Yes, I did. But he was afraid, Mr. Mason.
You can understand that.
So you let him stay on for those two days,
just long enough to establish him as being in hiding,
and then you turned him in?
Didn't you telephone the police
and tell them Tic Barton was in your apartment?
He didn't kill Johnny Starr.
I didn't ask whether he did or not.
I asked you if you called the police.
Yes.
I called the police.
After I thought it over,
I realized the longer Tic stayed in hiding,
the worse it would look for him.
I thought this was the best way.
That will be all, Mr. Allen.
You may step down, Mr. Allen.
Did you have a conversation with the defendant
the night before the derby?
Yes, sir.
Would you relate to this court
the substance of that conversation?
Yes, sir.
I relayed a message to Tic from his wife
that if he had anything to tell her,
he could reach her at Webster-1-2499.
Did you subsequently learn whose phone number that was?
Yes, sir, I did.
Johnny Starr's.
All right.
Now, Mr. Davis, would you please tell us
what the defendant said
when you gave him the message from his wife?
Well, he said that if he thought somebody
was trying to take his wife away from him, he'd...
He'd kill them.
Thank you.
Your witness.
Now, Mr. Davis, were you acquainted
with the deceased, Johnny Starr?
Yes.
Did he approach you to help fix the Pacific Derby
by tampering with a horse in any way?
No.
Your Honor, I object.
That question's incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial.
It's also improper cross-examination,
touching on matters not covered in direct.
Mr. Mason?
Your Honor, I'm inquiring into possible bias of the witness.
Objection overruled.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Now, Mr. Davis, I have no desire
to trap you with the next question,
but I must tell you that a private detective
saw you in the company of Johnny Starr
on at least two different occasions
in the 48 hours immediately before the race.
Now, isn't it true that Starr offered you a bribe
to throw the race?
Well, he offered it.
How much did he offer?
$5,000.
$5,000 is a lot of money.
It's understandable, it could be a great temptation.
And doping a horse isn't murder, is it?
Your Honor, don't you think Mr. Mason--?
Now, tell the court, Mr. Davis, isn't it true
that you did accept Starr's offer,
that you did dope Bright Magic,
that after the race you went to Starr's apartment to collect,
that he tried to welsh on paying off?
So you had a fight
in which he gave you that black eye?
Okay, I did dope the colt!
So you did lie before?
Yes, I lied about doping the horse,
but I didn't have any fight with Starr!
He gave me the money!
Your Honor, I object to this whole procedure.
I can put a witness on the stand to clarify the matter
of the fight and the facial lacerations.
Then do so, Mr. Burger.
That is, if Mr. Mason
is finished with his cross-examination.
Yes, Your Honor.
But if it please the court, I would like
to reserve the right to recall this witness.
Very well.
Stand down, Mr. Davis.
I call Dion Bannion to the stand.
Now, Mr. Bannion...
do you know the previous witness,
Eddie Davis?
I do.
He used to be in your employ?
Yes, sir.
On the night of the murder, did you see Eddie Davis?
Yes. He wanted his job back. I had fired him.
Would you tell us, please, what happened?
Well, I lost my temper. I have a terrible, quick temper.
And what did you do?
I hit him. I can't excuse myself,
but winning that race meant everything to me.
So I blamed everybody. I blamed the whole world.
And you assaulted Eddie Davis?
I hit him a couple of times.
I guess it must have been harder then I meant to,
because the next day, when I saw him,
he had a split lip and a welt under his eye.
So you're the one who gave Eddie Davis that black eye?
Yes, sir.
That's all, Mr. Bannion. Thank you.
Your witness.
Just a moment, Mr. Mason.
Do you anticipate a lengthy cross-examination?
Yes, I do, Your Honor.
Well, since it's almost 5:30 now,
I think this would be a good time to adjourn.
Court stands adjourned until 10:00 tomorrow morning.
[CROWD CHATTERING]
I, uh, saw your light on.
Just burning a little midnight oil.
How's it coming?
Well, it isn't.
I was so positive that Starr gave Eddie Davis that beating,
it all worked out so beautifully.
Well, maybe this Bannion was lying.
It's possible.
If you would place any stock in a woman's intuition,
I'd say that Mr. Bannion was telling the truth.
You know, the way he described Davis
when he saw him the next day--
Della!
What?
You're a doll.
I didn't think you noticed.
Come on, let's get out of here.
I imagine winning the Pacific Derby
is a cherished dream for a horse owner, Mr. Bannion?
Like winning the Kentucky Derby.
So it would be a double blow to have a man like Johnny Starr
dope your horse or cause your horse to be doped?
What do you mean, a double blow?
Johnny Starr was an agent for gambling interests
who were concerned with a large, future book bet
on Bright Magic,
50-to-1 on the horse.
How much was your bet?
You're barking up a wrong tree, Mason.
How much was your bet, Mr. Bannion?
$2,000.
At 50 to 1, that's $100,000.
Plus the purse,
that's a lot of money to lose
because someone doped your horse.
Now, you testified on direct examination,
that you assaulted Mr. Davis on derby day.
That's right.
What time was this?
Around 8:30.
Are you sure?
I'm positive.
The reason I ask, Mr. Bannion,
is because you also testified
that when you saw Mr. Davis the following day,
he had a black eye.
That's right.
Why did you see him on the following day?
I'm not sure I understand you.
I think you understand me perfectly, Mr. Bannion.
He was a man whom you'd fired,
a man who admitted doping your horse
and whom you'd assaulted.
I want to know why you saw him again,
when common sense tells us
he'd stay as far out of your sight as possible.
Well, Mr. Bannion?
Davis came out to my place to see me.
That tells us the where, Mr. Bannion.
Now tell us the why.
He threatened to go to the police.
Certainly not over that beating.
If he wanted to see the police,
he'd have gone the same night.
The reason I gave Davis that beating
was to find out who was responsible for doping my horse.
You had no idea it was Johnny Starr?
No.
But you did beat the truth out of Eddie Davis?
Yes.
All right.
Now, what did you do to Johnny Starr?
Nothing!
You would have us believe
that when you learned the name of the man
who was responsible for your defeat,
you did nothing?
Then why did Davis come to your home the following day?
I asked him to
when he threatened to go to the police.
How did you persuade him not to go to the police?
I gave him $5,000.
You gave him $5,000, Mr. Bannion?
I knew how it would look to the authorities--
You mean, they might ask embarrassing questions,
such as, "Did you go up to see Johnny Starr
on the night of the murder?"
I'll ask that question right now, Mr. Bannion.
Did you go up to see Johnny Starr
on the night he was murdered?
Yes, but he was dead.
I tell you, he was dead when I got there!
I swear that's the truth!
If it please the court,
I reserved the right to recall Edward Davis.
I ask now that he be returned to the stand.
Mr. Burger?
No objection, Your Honor.
Edward Davis to the stand.
Step down, Mr. Bannion.
You're still under oath, Mr. Davis.
Mr. Mason.
Your Honor.
Well, you were quite a busy man on derby day,
weren't you, Mr. Davis?
First you performed the chore of doping a horse,
and then you followed it with a little blackmail.
It wasn't blackmail.
Then what would you call it?
Or did you find some detail in Mr. Bannion's testimony
that was false?
No, no.
But it wasn't blackmail.
I was entitled to some dough, after the beating he gave me.
You hit upon the sum of $5,000 as fair compensation?
That's right.
But it wasn't blackmail?
Now, look, I don't care what Bannion said,
he made it sound like
I thought he murdered Johnny Starr!
When we all know that wasn't possible.
What?
You agree that Mr. Bannion assaulted you
at 8:30 that night.
Yeah.
At that time, Johnny Starr had been dead for nearly an hour.
Mr. Horty testified he heard the shots at 7:30.
I didn't know that.
You should have, Mr. Davis. You fired those shots.
You're crazy. Why should I?
Because Johnny Starr double-crossed you.
He refused to pay off when you doped Bright Magic.
Look, I told you he gave me five grand.
That's what you went to his place for,
to have it out with him.
In the midst of the discussion,
the defendant knocked at the door.
You went into the kitchen.
When Johnny Starr threw Tic out,
you returned from the kitchen,
picked up Tic's gun, and killed him.
I tell you, you're wrong!
You ain't gonna let him frame me, are you judge?
Look, I admitted doping the horse,
and I blackmailed Mr. Bannion.
Why? Because I needed dough!
But you claimed Johnny Starr gave you $5,000.
He did. I needed ten.
What for?
For a deal I was going into.
What kind of deal?
It doesn't matter. it fell through!
Then you still must have that $10,000.
I have here
a certified copy of your bank account
at the Van Nuys Banking and Loan.
Would you please read your current balance?
Go on, read it, Mr. Davis.
Very well, I'll read it for you.
"$5,108."
Now, where's the other $5,000?
That $5,000 can save your life, Mr. Davis.
Can you produce it?
( ominous theme playing )
I'm afraid you'll have to ask Mr. Mason that question.
Mr. Mason, what put you on Eddie Davis?
When he talked about accepting Starr's $5,000 offer.
At the time, he thought it was better to admit doping a horse
than to be involved in a murder charge.
When you started pressing him
on the $5,000 he got from Mr. Bannion--
He overlooked the fact that one event didn't tie into the other.
Yes, you see, it works like a jigsaw puzzle.
All these pieces have to fit together.
Well, it sure worked for me.
( phone rings )
I can't tell you, Mr. Mason,
how wonderful it is to be free.
I think I know, Tic.
Yes, Gertie.
Oh. It's for you, Tic.
It's your wife.
I got nothing to say to her, Mr. Drake.
Like I told you, Mr. Mason, it's wonderful to be free.
And from now on, I'm gonna pick on girls my own size.
( noirish jazz theme playing )