" Freeze!" " Whoa!" "You move, you die." "Don't shoot." "Don't shoot us, okay?" "Shut up." "Come on, guys." "We're flat broke." "We've been out of work." "The club we played got raided." "This look like a robbery?" "My mistake." "Could be the guns." "Problem?" "We're on it." "What's in the cases?" "Show us." "Slow." "Okay, okay." "The theaters are letting out soon." "Catch the crowds and pass the hat." "We're just trying to scratch together a meal." "So scratch." "Act natural." "Keep playing." "All right, then." "Pull them out." "All right, come on, come on, come on." "Get down!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "Run!" "That guy with the dreamy eyes and movie-star looks -- in about 20 years, he'll be the man who invents Las Vegas." "His partner is a little guy with big ideas." "One day, he'll be the man who organizes crime." "Their buddy is a sociopath who figured out how to make that a job description." "He's good at it -- always on time, dependable." "Bugsy Siegel." "Meyer Lansky." "Sid Rothman." "Three punks making their mark during prohibition." "It's guys like them that made the roaring '20s roar." "Run, you monkey!" "And tell your boss we'll have a drink on him, at his Irish wake." "Oh, Benny, no, come on." "In years to come, Bugsy and Meyer will make history." "Sid -- he'll just make trouble." "Wait." "I can't find my gun." "I think it's flooded." "We're here to hijack the booze, Benny, not blow it up and us with it." "Keep the pedal down." "You worry too much." "You don't worry enough." "White hats, black hats -- that's what they always wore in those old Westerns we watched growing up so we could tell the good guys from the bad guys." "That works in a kids' Western." "In real life, it's different." "In real life, the bad guys often wear flashy shoes." "Their ties aren't bad, either." "Expensive, anyway." "Silk." "White hats and black hats -- they do exist." "They try to shape the world in their image." "Guys like me have to make do somewhere in the middle." "I live in a world of gray hats." "Joe." "You've finally come for me, to take me from this place, to sweep me off my feet." "I just needed a light." "Why would you not sweep me off my feet, hmm?" "I know plenty of guys would." "Pick one." "I have." "He's sweet, but a fool." "I throw myself." "He never catches." "He sounds like a sap." "What are you afraid of, hmm?" "That you'd break my heart?" "I'd crush it." "Well, only if you were on top." "But I like that." "It gets the job done." "A rendezvous." "Here, Joe?" "Oh, Anya." "Don't be bitter." "Is she more beautiful than me?" "More beautiful wouldn't be possible." "Sexier?" "Oh, think carefully before you answer." "It's almost 8:00." "I guess we'll both find out." "Oh, Joe." "Darling Joe." "A blind date." "You could do better." "Knock me a beer, hon." "You the guy?" "No." "The guy left." "I'm the other guy -- the one drinking." "No, you're him." "Master Gunnery Sergeant Teague." "Marines, right?" "Not lately." "Not now, but then." "Joe Teague." "That's what the fella said." "What fellow?" "Fella that said you'd be here." "Said I should look you up." "He told me to call you Master Gunnery Sergeant Teague." "He said you'd get a kick out of it." "What else did he say?" "Said you killed every Jap on Guadalcanal single-handed." "Is that true?" "Look." "You don't know me." "Why ruin a good thing?" "Might be a grand in it for you is why." "Could it hurt to listen?" "I need a pal." "Get a dog." "Ah, they shed." "You got to walk them." "I need a real pal -- a marine, let's say, a guy who can handle himself." "You show up, you look mean -- an hour of your time tops." "You walk away a grand richer." "Add some details." "All right, the guy that said you killed those Japs says you're a man who can be trusted." "I asked around -- people are of that general opinion." "I can confide?" "Confide away." "There's a guy, see?" "Not the guy who said I killed those Japs." "No, no, he's just the go-between." "He lawyers sometimes for this other guy -- the guy that I'm talking about." "Now, I can't say his name, but you'd know who he is." "How?" "You read the papers?" "The funnies." "Is it Popeye?" "No." "It's not Popeye." "But you'd know him." "Now, this guy, who is not Popeye, wants something that I have." "Now, I'm happy to give it to him, but I want to be compensated." "It's a transaction." "So transact." "There a hitch?" "The guy's the hitch." "He's not famous for being reasonable, and he seems to resent the fact that I've invited him to do this business." "Why?" "What's the item?" "I can't tell you that." "Well, it's been nice knowing you." "No, just -- no, relax, relax." "I can't name the item, you understand?" "Let's just say that it could make life difficult for this guy if it, say, fell into certain hands other than his." "You're blackmailing somebody." "That's a harsh word." "It fits." "You want me there in case the guy who isn't Popeye, he decides to be unreasonable." "You tag along, you watch my back, that's it." "Bingo." "You do know I'm a cop, right?" "Telling me you don't moonlight?" "Come on." "All you cops do it." "It's your Christmas fund." "A grand buys a lot of tinsel." "Get a tree to put it on." "Why me?" "Why a cop?" "Because you're a cop." "These people -- they don't kill cops." "There's too much business at stake, so they don't do it ever." "The mugs who show up for this thing -- they see you standing there, they'll have to play nice." "You should shine that badge up, wear it right here on the front of your belt, right above your pecker where they can see it." "I'll think about it." "All right, well, don't think too long." "Okay, this thing's got to happen soon -- next night or two." "Here's my card." "It's got my name on it." "I know who you are." "Hecky Nash." "Caught your act at the Clover a couple years back." "Clover Club, right, yeah." "You bring a date?" "She laugh?" "I was funny, right?" "Not as funny as you were tonight." "Oh, zing!" "And I thought I was the comedian." "Try this one -- a guy walks into a bar." "By the end of the week, he's a grand richer." "No joke." "See ya, toots." "Want some company?" "Ooh, okay." "Whoa, whoa." "Hang on." "Why?" "They were very cozy." "How long has it been since your last confession?" "Um, a while, I guess." "What sins do you have to confess?" "Look, I-I'm a little pressed for time here." "Your sins." "That's why you're here, isn't it?" "Don't you want to unburden your soul?" "Come on." "Tell me your sins, you rat bastard." "Listen, you -- you've got it wrong." "It ain't me." "It's that Leslie." "He's the one you want." "Guy's nuts, I tell you." "A-a bed bug." "That so?" "Why anyone would hire a guy like that i-is beyond me." "Just being in a car with him that night gave me the creeps." "Makes my skin crawl." "And that's no lie." "This thing he's into -- it's all him, do you understand?" "Look, it's his move." "I-I got nothing to do with it." "I didn't even know about it." "Y-you got to believe me." "Sid, p-please." "Okay, I believe you." "I'm in the clear?" "W-what else I got to do?" "How about an act of contrition?" "What, like -- like, say a Hail Mary?" "Couldn't hurt." "I frankly find this sort of talk offensive." "Let's call this loose talk what it really is." "These latest rumors of corruption are an attempt to undermine confidence in this city's police department and my administration." "I remind these critics that my office has been at the forefront of rooting out and eliminating the corruption that existed in the past." "With the vigilance and dedication of fine officers..." "Excuse me." "Surely." "...like Police Chief Horall, the efforts we have spearheaded will continue with all the vigor and resources at our disposal as long as I am mayor of this great city." "Chief?" "A few words?" "I echo the sentiments expressed here today by Mayor Bowron." "My department is a proud and honorable one, and I will not stand by while the malcontent press dwells on a few bad apples and drags our good name down." "Don't forget where you found it." "Thanks, Jimmy." "Hmm." "Don't make me come looking for you." "I won't." "I'm sitting in his office right now." "Yeah, he just walked in." "Yes, Jimmy." "It's in his hands." "I will make sure he brings it back." "It won't leave his desk." "He promises, right?" "He just nodded, Jimmy." "It looked sincere." "Okay." "Would you give us a minute?" "Read any good files lately?" "Herschel Nussbaum, A.K.A. Hecky Nash." "Huh." "Stage name, I bet." "Detective Morrison, I see you made yourself at home." "What can I do for you?" "Two of my boys were up all night on a follow job." "I can't help wondering why the guy they were tailing stopped at a seedy jazz club on Central Avenue last night and had a drink with a detective from this division." "It's not that seedy." "Friend of yours?" "Caught his act at the Clover a couple years back." "And?" "And he spotted me last night at Bunny's." "He came up." "He offered me an after-hours job." "Doing what?" "He's blackmailing somebody." "Wants me to tag along, see that he doesn't wind up in a dumpster." "The mayor is out there right now... defending his record as a crusader against police corruption." "There's a lot of heat these days, a lot of scrutiny." "I was just sitting there." "Minding your own business, having a drink, and out of the blue, this guy comes up you haven't seen in years -- met him only once -- and he tries to engage you in a criminal conspiracy?" "Right." "More." "Well, you'll love this part." "The guy he's blackmailing -- he give you a name?" "No, but it's somebody high up in the mob." "How high?" "High." "Somebody who gets his name in the papers." "You were gonna bring this to me, right?" "Why else would I pull the file?" "Detective Teague reported the incident to me immediately." "We brought it straight to you." "Well, if it's enough to blackmail a high-ranking mobster, it must be strong evidence." "We get our hands on it, we can bring down someone big, cripple organized crime in this city." "That is a win we could use right now, silence some of the criticism." "You know, things like this get mayors re-elected." "Mayor Bowron's a mayor who remembers his friends." "All right, bring in everyone who shows up at the exchange and the evidence." "Catch him in the act, fellas." "That's the key -- key to the kingdom?" "And you -- you're on loan to Hal's unit until further notice." "Bring home the bacon, Detective Teague." "Do this right, you could make some friends." "Gentlemen." "Bill Parker just teed you up to be his golden boy." "A thing like this could put him one step closer to being our next chief." "There's two things you need to know about bill the boy scout -- one, it's a position he deserves." "Two?" "He's also a man who remembers his friends." "You'd write your own ticket." "We both would." "So don't screw this up." "***" "A wannabe that never was and a bad gambler." "That rap sheet doesn't say "mobster."" "No, but he's been hip-deep in their world his whole life." "He's rubbed a lot of elbows." "Hell, he's friends with Mickey Cohen since forever." "And this guy knows things -- a lot of things." "He'd make a formidable witness." "We tried to squeeze him a few times, but he wriggles away." "What's special about now?" "Why were you guys tailing him?" "Sooner or later, a guy like this, he's ripe to get flipped." "Lately, he's been riper." "Mr. Nash's fortunes are in serious decline." "He's racked up a lot of gambling debts." "He owes a lot of money to the wrong people." "They carry him for old time's sake, but that kind of patience runs out, and when it does... you want to be there to catch him when he falls, offer him a way out long as he goes witness." "Told you he was bright." "I didn't believe you." "Where'd you get these guys?" "Me he found under a rock." "Pat here washed up on the beach one day." "Eddy there crawled out of a drain pipe." "True." "And Nick and tug got left in a basket on his doorstep." "He raised us from puppies." "You -- you pull this off, you're on all our Christmas lists." "Yeah, who's this?" "No, no, now is a fine time." "No, I'm just waking up." "Who is it?" "Shh." "Really?" "No, that -- that's great news." "No, that's worth waking up for." "Uh, let me make a call and, um," "I'll set this thing in motion." "There's a place in the hills..." "Okay." "If that's where they agree." "Right." "He's got a gig tonight at the Griffin." "You know it?" "Yeah." "It's a dive." "I'll meet him when he gets off." "We drive to the exchange from there." "Baldwin Hills." "The oil fields." "Oh, son of a..." "Oil fields are 1,100 acres of horse shit." "The terrain's wide open." "There's no place for us to be, no place to hide." "No way to know where you'll be in those 1,100 acres." "Closest we can be to you is down the hill around Jefferson." "That's over half a mile away." "That's no good for backup." "It would take us three minutes to get up that hill, maybe longer." "How's he gonna signal us?" "Our radios are crap in those hills." "There's too much interference." "A flare gun." "I sign one out, have it in my trunk." "It's dicey." "He's up there, he's on his own, exposed, especially after he fires that flare." "Three minutes." "That's a long time to wait, your ass hanging in the breeze." "You just watch for my signal." "I'll worry about my ass." "Your ass?" "No kidding." "I thought that was your wife!" "He's got her smile." "So I, uh " " I pull out, I apologize to the guy." "It's an honest mistake, you know?" "I thought I was getting a flutter." "Give her my regards..." "Senator." "Oh, you like that one, right?" "Remind me to check your pulse later." "Uh, speaking of pulses, here's a gal who will give yours a flutter." "Treat her nice, she'll do it twice." "Miss Dixie Hills!" "I'm reduced to working places like this." "It's like rolling in vomit." "Hi, Peaches." "Ma'am." "I need a minute." "What are you doing here backstage?" "Are you one of the new dancers?" "Yeah, it's me." "No, probably not." "I'm just checking in." "I said I'd call." "You waiting for somebody?" "You waiting for me?" " Well..." " Yes, tonight." "...I got business with the man over here." "Well, that's divine." "Maybe later?" "I get off at 2:00, just in case." "Knock them dead." "Jasmine, this is happening, okay?" "!" "You'll have your bags packed." "Tell me yes." "By the time I get there." "Look, just like we talked about." "I honk, you're at the door, no going back, not even for a toothbrush." "Yeah." "Packed and ready." "We're gonna be fine." "Love you." "Let's do this." "So, what do you think?" "I'd have picked a more public place." "Then again, no one around to get curious." "It's fine." "Wait." "You think you'll need that?" "Doubt it." "Maybe." "It's not too late." "Go a different way." "My way's fine." "You'll be looking over your shoulder the rest of your life." "The evidence you got, you could take it to the police, get protection." "What are you, my rabbi?" "No?" "Then save it!" "I'm paying you a grand to cover my ass." "That's a lot of money for one ass." "Well, I'm counting two." "That girl you called " " Jasmine?" "Oh, you got big ears." "Don't drag her into this." "You're the one who did that, sounds like." "She know the risk?" "Mostly." "Enough to not like it." "She don't have to, all right?" "She goes my way -- my way or the highway." "Look." "They don't know she's any part of this, all right?" "So just..." "leave it alone." "And don't confuse me for upstanding." "That's not what this is." "It's a winning hand." "My whole life, I've been dealt crap." "Finally, I got a royal flush." "Finally a win." "That's what this is -- my ticket out." "This city." "It's so damn beautiful." "It's like a sky full of stars, but only from a distance." "Up close, it's all gutter." "Those islands you fought on " "I bet they were pretty, too, huh?" "Until you went ashore." "They were always ugly." "Rocks, most of them." "A lot of men died for those ugly rocks." "Tell me the sense." "You could die for this scheme." "Is there sense in that?" "If only to see the looks on their stupid faces." "The wise guys -- they always get the best." "Money falls out of the sky for these idiots." "You know the kicker?" "Dumbest mugs you ever met." "I've been around them all my life." "Mickey Cohen." "Yeah, Mickey." "No secret." "Since the first grade I known him." "Of course, he never got past the second grade." "The shit this guy pulled." "He should be serving life or dead a dozen times over." "Not Mickey." "Mnh-mnh." "He just rises, makes like he's the king." "He's got like 300 suits in his closet, do you know that?" "The finest shoes." "The guy's so dumb he can barely tie the laces." "I thought the two of you were friends." "Right, friends." "Call it that." "We were kids." "He says, "Let's be a gang, pull a heist."" "Me and this other kid, Gabe Zamanski -- we thought it was a game." "Mickey took us up to 3rd Street, where all the movie theaters are, and what's he do?" "He smashes up a ticket booth with a baseball bat." "Girl's inside screaming her head off." "Two cops show." "I yell to Mickey, try and warn him." "Does he listen?" "Like hell." "Mickey never listens." "Me and Gabe run." "Mickey gets pinched." "You think he blames himself, even a little?" "Me he blames." "All these years, he rubs my nose in it." "He even gave me a nickname -- Jesse." ""Jesse" he calls me." "You know, like Jesse Owens." "He says, "That's you, Hecky -- a nigger who runs."" "Then he laughs his ass off, the mad bastard, 'cause he finds that funny." "That's a joke." "I'm a joke to him." "I ran." "I was 10, for Christ's sake!" "The guy you're blackmailing, is it Mickey?" "Mnh-mnh." "Above him." "Even Mickey answers to somebody." "Take my word, this will not reflect well on Mickey Cohen." "And you know what?" "That's Jake by me." "Why should they always get away with it, huh?" "Them and not me." "My whole life, they feast, I get crumbs." "Well, now it's my turn." "It's my score." "For once, the joke's on them, and I get to laugh." "Is it worth it?" "What do you think?" "I think they're here." "Get his attention." "Uh-huh." "Second thoughts?" "Backing out was five minutes ago." "If they make a move, go right." "Clear my line of fire." "Hecky." "Is that you?" "Sid?" "Y-yeah, it's me." "Lower the thing, will you?" "What am I, a moth?" "Who's that?" "Who's back there?" "It's a friend." "Show me him." "Makes me nervous in the dark back there." "You bring a cop to a thing like this?" "What ails you?" "He's just a pal." "Tagged along." "He skunked us, the prick." "The skeevy little hebe." "What do we do?" "We got no choice." "We got to do it the other way." "Boss won't be happy." "Yeah, he can get in line." "I don't like this should happen with a cop." "Just pals, like he said." "Okay, fine." "As long as we're pals." "Go easy." "Let's stay pals." "I'm easy." "Now you." "A little light here." "These all the negatives?" "Got to be all of them." "You know that." "Every single one." "And beautifully displayed." "Those clear sleeves they're in -- you can't even get those in L.A." "Here you get wax paper." "These sleeves -- only one place makes them back east." "There a reason we should care?" "Only the best for the big man." "Am I right?" "That's a roll of tri-x, very sensitive film." "Push it a stop, you can shoot most anything, even at night." "Right." "They're a little grainy, but they, uh, really show off his profile." "He's very handsome." "All right." "We done?" "Hmm." "We walk away whistling." "Smart move tonight, Hecky." "Well played." "See you around." "Doubt it." "I won't be showing my face much." "Yeah, might be best." "You burned bridges with this." "Goes without saying." "I said it anyway." "You made your score." "How does it feel?" "That's how the hand is played!" "Ace-high straight, suckers!" "Read 'em and weep!" "And take this back to the son of a bitch that sent you!" "This right here!" "With my highest regards!" "We should go now." "Just give me a sec." "Give me a sec." "I-I-I need a sec." "I got to..." "I got to take this in." "Did you see?" "!" "Did you see their faces?" "!" "That's the look I'm talking about, when they see the cards laid down on the table!" "'Cause of you." "All I did was show up." "What you did took balls." "You did good, Hecky." "My whole life, I dreamed of a moment like this." "Now I get to rise." "I'm king." "Me!" "Hecky Nash!" "I'm, like, freaking Cagney!" ""Top of the world, ma!"" "Top of the world, Hecky." "Why?" "I'm sorry." "No!" "He's over there." "What the hell happened?" "I told him if I fell behind on the ride over here, he should pull off down the hill, wait for me." "We'd come up together." "I don't know why he didn't." "God, what a moron." "They were waiting for him up here." "Get the lab boys up here." "Wake them up if you have to." "Looks like they clipped him there." "He got out of his car, left the gun behind." "What about the evidence?" "As soon as I found him, I fired off the flare and waited for you." "Check the body and tear his damn car apart." "Okay, we got us a crime scene." "Fan out." "Check down there." "Son of a...bitch." "Scotch rocks." "Thanks." "That's 50 grand under my hat." "That much?" "Mm." "Yeah, your boss will be happy to get it back." "Ah, he doesn't care about that." "He cared about not getting taken by a two-bit loser." "Then he should be doubly happy." "You're missing the point." "He wants you to have it." "Your boss thinks he just bought himself a cop, huh?" "An enforcer with a badge?" "That a bad thing?" "I could steer a lot of work your way." "That is a good offer." "Here's my counter." "You tell Bugsy Siegel to take his money." "Tell him to shove it up his ass." "He hates being called Bugsy." "Makes him bitter." "It is a bitter little world." "No, no." "I got this." "Come on." "The least you could let me do is buy you a drink." "So if not for the money, why?" "Do you need to ask?" "You fed me the guy." "You knew what would happen." "Maybe." "Maybe I'm just that clever." "Maybe I just want to hear you say it." "Why did you kill the comedian?" "Maybe I didn't like his jokes." "I heard you passed the bar exam." "Passed?" "Hell." "I aced it." "Top 5%." "I always said you had brains, kid." "Yeah, you always did." "Semper fi, gunny." "Yeah." "Semper fi, marine." "There are a lot of reasons to kill a man." "In my line of work, you see them all -- greed... lust... despair." "Murder is often meager and selfish." "Lives are taken because somebody lost at the track that day or because dinner was late on the table." "Sometimes there's no reason at all." "Just boredom and booze on a Saturday night." "For me, there's only one reason that ever made sense." "It doesn't make your hands any cleaner, but maybe it'll let you sleep at night." "You do it for love."