"Hurry!" "Here's your chance..." "The world's most beautiful girls." "And the star of the show, from right here in St. Louis America's pride and joy, Sherry Useleets." "Now we don't try to deliver hope this is not exotic dancing going on in here!" "It's burlesque!" "We call it "the burly," you know, the big, bold, beautiful burlesque." "Call it a fun house if you will, but it's a house of no mystery!" "Yeah?" "Pio Gentile, I want to talk to you." "Hi, little guy!" "Come on in." "It's been awhile, Pio." "I haven't seen you around." " You know." " Yeah." "Sure." "So?" "What it is, you see..." "We need a place." " Sure." "I'll help you find a pad." " No, this place." "Not now, tomorrow night." " What's the caper?" " The burly." " You're in for a third." " The burly?" "Here's the bit." "We beat the burglar alarm by comin' in through the skylight." "But the minute we blow the safe, everything busts loose." "And we gotta move." "Now your backdoor's right over the alley from the burly." "Wait a second." "You're going to blow the safe." "We're swingin', man." "We got a real pro for the job." "Yeah?" "Where?" "Him?" "Who's he?" "Jackson." "Billy Lee Jackson." "I never heard of you." "He's tops." "He's been bustin' rocks with the best." " What walls?" " Jeff City." "That what they sent you up for?" "Blowin' a safe?" "Two years he was with 'em." "Kept his ears open and he's learned from the best." " You know how to handle glass?" " I know how to handle glass." " You got a high-speed drill?" " I'll get one." " You good with jelly?" "You know soup?" " Look!" "That's my end of it, ain't it?" "How do you take glass outside with you when you gotta cut through a skylight?" "Come on." "He's no peek-man." "What'd they send you up for?" "Armed robbery." "What was it, a gas station?" "Payroll?" "What, a bank?" " There was..." " For what?" " There's this guy and..." " How much you make off it?" " What's the difference?" " You must have made something." "Was it $1,000?" " $500?" "$100?" "What?" " $19." "$19!" "Little guy, you want to pull a job go knock over the ice cream wagon down on Bent Street." "Try a smash-and-grab on that burly the cops will be riding you piggyback." "Look, buddy, I spent two years in that can." "They put me out that gate with $25 and a cardboard suit." "They say stay clean." "I want to stay clean." "Sure, why not?" "But, grubbing around, I ain't gonna grub no more." "That burly gives me a chance to break out of here!" "And sends you back for a 10-year stretch." "He knows that." "He's learned from the best." "From a pack of cons that missed?" "Billy!" "Pio!" "Take it easy, will you?" "You queered it!" "Why'd you grill him like that?" "You queered it." "How long's he been out?" "A one-shot deal." "We was goin' to Venezuela." " How long has he been out?" " One week." " Does he have a place to stay?" " He's gonna stay with me." "Play it smart, will you?" "Tell him to cool it." "I'll think of something." "Yeah, Father." "Joe?" "Joe?" " Hi." " Hello, Father!" " I thought you might pass us by today." " No." " Hi, Father." " Good morning, Sam." "How did you sleep?" " A lot better." " Good boy." "Wait a sec, will you?" "These things I'm gettin', they may be okay." "I slept better for the first time." "Could you maybe get me..." "I don't mean a blast, Father." "Just a little somethin' stronger, you know?" "Sam, I don't want you to have anything stronger." "I want you to be on your toes and get out of here." "You dig?" "That's great." "Thanks, Father, thanks a lot." " Robby." " Father!" "Boy, this is cool!" " What happened?" " This time they got me on a real bum rap." "I didn't do anything." "I'm clean." " What's the rap?" " Some diner job, or something like that." " How long you been here?" " Just yesterday." "Listen, I'm clean." "Where did they pick you up, Robby?" "On North Market and..." "On North Market." " North Market and what?" " Fullerton and North Market." "You got a lawyer?" "What're you, jazzin' me?" "You know I ain't got no lawyer, Father." " You didn't cop out to the bulls?" " I wouldn't do nothing like that." "No, I didn't cop out at all." "I'm really clean." "Robby, I'm going to get you a lawyer." "If you're clean, you've got nothing to worry about." " I'm clean on this one." " Okay." "Thanks, Father." "I'm clean." " I'll take care of it." " I'm clean on this one." "Father Clark." " I'd like a word with you." " Certainly, Father." "What's this one about?" "Word of your extracurricular activities is spreading, Father." "Even to the good ladies of the Sunday Breakfast Club." "I'm glad they've got something to talk about." "Look, Charles, I don't like having to answer letters like this." " I don't like having to defend our teachers." " I'm sorry, Father." "Good morning, Father." "Charles, I've known you as student and as teacher." "I wanted you here." "I asked for you." "It isn't a simple matter finding teachers who can reach young people." "You've a talent for that, a gift." "If I thought you could be of better service some place else, I'd be the first to tell you." " Your job is here, this school." " I understand that, Father Dunne." "Good." "You won't forget about the parent-teachers meeting tonight?" "Tonight?" "Could I be excused just for tonight?" "I have to be with my parishioners." " Father, would you like to have a drink?" " No, thanks." "Hi, Reverend." " How you doing?" " Just fine, considering' this joint." " Hi." "Haven't seen you around lately." " I've been kind of busy." "Genny!" " I got those things for you." " Hi, Father." "Three beers!" "This is your bus ticket." "This will get you to Joliet, Monday morning, right before he gets out." "This is a letter from Mr. Harlan in Chicago." "He's going to give him a job." "What's the matter?" "You're not chickening out on me, are you?" "You really think we can make a go of it after all this time?" "Six years?" "Two hamburgers and some fries." "Hurry up!" "We want 'em today!" "Sure you can make a go of it, Genny." "Charlie's a good man." "Get movin', Genny, will ya?" "Hey, buddy." "Is that for real?" "You bet your phony eyebrows that's for real." " I'm giving 3-2 here. 11 is the point." " Come on out, sugar." "And a five." "That's half it, boy." "Make it grow." " Hi, Father." " Hello, Pio." "Hi, Billy." "Father, you shouldn't be in here." "Don't sweat so much, Weasel." " What do ya know!" "He really is a priest." " Sure." "I told you." "Father, if you're short, I can spot you a sawbuck." "No, I just wanted to talk to you." "You got anything you can say that's goin' to match this?" "What's the difference?" "You never hang around to listen." "Shooter, you're holdin' up the game." "Come on!" "Let's go!" "Bring back one." "All righty!" "And an eight." "Did you see that?" "A winner." " What?" " Let it ride." " Let it ride?" " I've got $25 of it." " I'll take $50." " I'll take $50!" "That's a lot of cash there, Billy." "Come on, man." "Slow down." "Smart guys know when to pull back." "Yeah?" "$375, make or break." " I'll take $50." " No more bets." "Nine!" "Nine's the point." "Come on, Billy." "Ten!" "Nine's the point." " Come on, be nine!" " Twelve." "Okay, Billy-boy." "I'm with you." "Come on!" "And a ten." "Ten." "Nine." " We did it!" " Venezuela, here we come!" "Father!" "Here's for your poor box, Father." "Hold it!" "Let me see those dice!" " What's the matter?" " The dice!" "What's there to see?" "They're house dice." "He's clean." "Look in his pockets." "What kind of a game is this?" "What's the story here?" " Tops!" " Take your mitts off that kid!" "What do ya mean, "take your mitts off that kid"?" "Look at these dice." "Highs!" "No way for a seven." "Billy, follow me!" "This way!" "This way!" "Get off me, you grub!" "Lay off him, will you?" "I told you, he was pushed into this." "I saw it!" "He's been in two years already." "He's only out a couple of weeks." "You want me to throw over all my cases for a routine disturbing-the-peace?" "Assault and disturbing the peace!" " And what's routine about a boy's life?" " So tell him to say he was framed." "He'll take the rap himself before he'll blow on the gambling bit." "He's hip to what happens to a fink." " I'll talk to an associate for you." " He had a second-stringer the last time." "The bum copped him out." "Got him two years for mugging a guy, no parole." "You know what my minimum retainer is?" "$1,000." "You got $1,000?" "I'm a Jesuit." "We take a vow of poverty." "We all got our problems." "The greatest doctors do clinic duty for nothing." "You're the great criminal lawyer!" "So what makes you so different?" "What did you say your name was?" "Charles Dismas Clark." " S.J." " Dismas?" "The good thief." "All right, Father Good Thief." "Come on." "We'll talk." "This is St. Louis County versus Simon Hatch." " This man was in a bar and he got..." " Amended Penal Code, 1947." "It's a precedential case." "I checked it out." " You see, there were these three guys..." " Father." "You're a very fine lawyer but you're paying me nothing to handle the case, so, please let me handle it." "Okay." "All right!" "Now, calmly and quietly tell me what happened." "This kid is just out of Jefferson City, but he's a real good kid." "I know the guy." "His name is Billy Lee Jackson." "William Lee Jackson." " This is the one." " Just eight days out of Jeff City." "William Lee Jackson you are charged with assault, disturbing the peace, inciting a riot." "How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?" " Do you have a lawyer, son?" " No." " You have a right to legal representation." " I ain't got no rights." "Who told you that?" "I was in the jug." "I'm a felon." "I had all my rights taken away." "I think you're a little confused." "Certain civil rights are denied you, that's true such as the right to vote, to hold public office or to become a union official." "But you never lose your right to legal representation." "Remember that." "Mr. Clerk, have the court appoint a public defender." "Your Honor!" "Your Honor, forgive my tardiness." "The defendant is my client." "Mr. Clerk let the records show that the accused is being represented by Mr. Louis Rosen member of the Bar of Missouri." "If the court please, I would like to confer with my client for a few moments." "Granted." " Who's this guy?" " He's the best!" "Gentlemen, do you mind?" "Did you say anything to the police?" "No." " You didn't answer any questions in court?" " No, I didn't say nothing." "I don't get it." "How does this kid rate getting Rosen?" " Any good rapes for the evening edition?" " Better." "Louis Rosen!" "I tell you I never seen such a kook." "There I am trying to help him." "We were trying to straighten him out a little bit." "Cool him down." "Paf!" "Right in the kisser!" "Thank you, Mr. Weitzelkowski." "Your witness, Mr. Rosen." "Mr. Weitzelkowski you're also known as "The Weasel."" "Where do you live, Mr. Weitzelkowski?" "Central Post Office, Box 61134." "That's a nice address." "What do you sleep in?" "The box?" "I got a room at the Zonba." " Where you work for Mr..." " Stern." "What do you do for Mr. Stern?" " You know." " No, I don't know." "I sort of help keep things quiet." "From all that happened, you're not very good at your job, are you?" "Object, Your Honor." "He can hardly be held responsible for the actions of..." "I withdraw the question, Your Honor." "But the fact of it is, you were present when all of this happened." "I was there." "You saw young Jackson come in..." "Crotched." "I mean, juiced." " So you went up to him?" " I didn't go up to nothin'." "Till he bust loose." "Tanked." "Tanked, to the gills." "You shoulda seen him." "Your Honor this is a thermo-fax of the Police Department's arresting report." "A sobriety test was performed on young Jackson within an hour of detention." "Results, negative." "The punk was gassed." "I seen him!" "He was standing at the table, with his fists full of greens." "Your Honor!" "There's a witness under interrogation, Mr. Stern." "It's quite all right." "If Mr. Stern has a point of clarification to make I'm sure it will be appreciated by all of us." "I don't want no trouble." "I run a square joint." "Maybe it wasn't the punk's fault." "The Weasel, he was polluted." "He threw the first punch." " Good luck, Billy!" " Thanks." "Mr. Rosen, I don't know how I'm going to repay you." "Father, it was a pleasure." " Can I buy you a cup of coffee, anyway?" " Call on me anytime." "I need the business." "Where do you think you're going?" "You heard what the judge said." " A job, sure." " Not, "sure." A job!" "I'll buy me a bank." "Listen, you don't know what went on for you in there." "That judge could've nailed you to the wall if he wanted." "Lay off, will you?" "Hello there, Father." "You remember me?" "George MacHale, Times-Herald." "Yeah, sure." "It was impressive the way you handled things." "I'd like to get a few of the details." "How it all came about." "How you met the kid here." "Hello there, boy, and how you managed to get Louis Rosen." "I'd like to make you famous." "Charles Dismas Clark, the Hoodlum Priest, friend of..." "No." "We don't want any publicity." "I appreciate your humility, but a man like you..." " Come on, Billy!" " You're a real tribute to the cloth." "You're not going to make suckers out of us." "We're way out on the limb for you." "Preach to me, Daddy." "You were told to get a job, and that's what you're going to do." " Sure." "Real fine." "Doing what?" " There are things you know." "Like making' license plates or busting' rock?" "I'll help you." "Why?" "It's one thing to have Louis Rosen against you but you got God against you, too." "I'm after justice, not convictions." "That's nobly said, Fred." "It's nobly intended." "I just wonder if the end is as noble as the means, you know?" "What's that supposed to be all about?" "I don't know." "It just seems to me that Father Clark seems to spend more time with his hoods than he does with his own students." "So?" "It sort of makes you wonder." "About?" "Is the good Father's preoccupation compassion or just plain complicity?" "I wouldn't pursue that line of thinking." "Who was it that said, "I don't know for certain what he is..." ""...but when I see someone..." ""...who walks like a duck and talks like a duck..." ""...and is seen continually in the company of ducks..." ""..." "I can only assume that he is duck."" " Wait over here, will you, Billy?" " Okay." "Father Clark, what a big surprise!" "I'm sure glad to see you." " How've you been?" " Fine, Angelo." "How about you?" "Very good!" " How's business?" "Okay?" " You know." "Wonderful." "What's the matter?" "What you got, trouble?" " You need a few bucks or something?" " No." "Nothing like that." "I need a job, for my friend over here." "Mario!" "Just a second." "I got to tell you about the kid." "Come on!" "He's with you?" "What more I gotta know?" "Mario, come here!" "You remember Father Clark, no?" " Hi!" " He's got a new worker for us." "Very good boy." " What's your name?" " Billy Lee Jackson." " This is Mr. Mazziotti." " And that's my brother, Mario." "He's gonna be your boss." "I'm his boss." "Go on." "Everything's going to be fine." "Don't worry about it." "Come on, priest-boy." "You are too skinny." "Johnny, bring a nice basket of fruit for the Father over here." "Hello, there." " Mrs. Gillespie?" " Yes?" "How do?" "I'm George MacHale, Times-Herald." "I'm the one who called you about Father Clark." "Oh, yes." "I'll be happy to let you know a few things about Father Clark!" "You know what I'm going to call it, Lou?" ""Dismas House."" "I've dreamed of a house like this for a long time." " You're a man of simple tastes, Father." " We can fix it up." "The thing is, Lou, I can get 60 guys at a time in there." "How much?" "I have four men on my hands right now." "What am I going to do?" "So, I put them in some kind of a boarding house." "Soon, the landlady starts going through their things she finds parole papers and they're out on their ear." " How much?" " $40,000." "$40,000." "Come on, Lou." "Father "Good Thief" Clark, you got $40,000?" "The land is worth that much." "It costs $1,700 a year to keep a man in prison, right?" "We can process 400 men every year through this place." "400 times $1,700." "That's $680,000 a year." "How does your $40,000 stack up against that?" "Come on, I'll show you around." "Come on, Lou." "Over here, Lou." "Isn't that great?" "Watch your step there!" "Thanks." "Look at that woodwork." "They don't make it like that anymore." "You see the high ceilings?" "Your high ceilings are leaking on your $40,000 woodwork." "I know it's a bundle, but I've got to find a place for these guys." "Everybody's closing down on me." "I got no place else to go." "You got a lot of friends." "I wouldn't ask you to put the bite on, of course." "No." "Perish the thought." "The idea never crossed my mind." "Hello, there." "Nice to see you again, Mr. Jackson." " What do ya say?" " So you're the one Clark's got on display." "Get a shot, will you?" "Thank you very much." "Nice hubcaps, huh?" "Hello, there." "Where's the guest of honor going?" " Who are you?" " Ellen Henley." "I live here." "You're staring." " You really live in this place?" " Sure." ""Sure." Like, "Doesn't everybody?"" "Come on." "I'll show you around." "When Louis said I'd be speaking before you good ladies I was kind of scared." "I'm just not used to being in the company of square people." "What?" "What'd he say?" "Excuse me." "I gotta explain." "When I use the word "square" I don't mean that you're stupid or you're not hip." "I don't use the word "square" like a musician, or like the beatniks." "You see, I use the word like my boys use it." "To a con, there are only two kinds of people in the world the hoods and the squares." "The hoods, of course, are the people who've been in trouble with the police." "The squares are the people who haven't." "So, you're squares." "Nobody home." "What's your angle, anyway?" " Angle?" " Yeah, this clambake here." "You get your old lady to invite all these bluenose babes so Rosen can put the squeeze on for this dumb house Father Clark wants for ex-cons, right?" " Something like that." " But why?" "What's in it for you?" "Your looks and loaded." "You could get any guy you want." "How come you aren't out doin' the world instead of hangin' around here?" " Is there something wrong with you?" " What do you mean?" "Do you have TB, or a weak heart or somethin'?" "Can't you conceive of somebody just wanting to be of help?" " lf they got an angle, sure." " That's ridiculous." "Look what Father Clark's done for you." "I suppose he has an angle." "Are you kiddin'?" "He's got the biggest angle of all." " What?" " The Church." "He helps guys like me to get a better break for himself in Heaven." "You people don't realize this but 65% of the men released from prison without a home and without jobs go back into prison again." "And 95% of those paroled with a job and with a place to live never go back to jail again in their lives." " Father Clark!" " Yes?" "Are you planning on having a chapel in Dismas House?" "Yes." "A very fine couple is buying us a chapel for Dismas House." "I'm Miss Cook and I'd like to start things rolling today, if I may by being the first to donate a statue to your chapel." "Any statue that you want." "That's very nice of you, Miss Cook, but the statues go with the chapel." "I'll tell you what we really need, though." "We need bathtubs." "If you donate a bathtub, I'll put a plaque over it in memory of whoever you want." " Father Clark!" " Yes, Mr. MacHale." "George MacHale, Times-Herald." "Father, just to keep things straight what you been doing is getting them jobs and finding these hoods excuse me, ex-convicts, places in private homes till now." "Is that right?" "That's right." " Single women?" " Sometimes." "Widows, with spare rooms." "They've been most helpful." "Like Mrs Gillespie?" "For one." "The man you sent her, how long he'd been in for?" " One, two, three..." " Eight years." "Did Mrs. Gillespie, know what he'd been sent up for?" "No, I don't think I bothered to mention that to her." "What was it, Father?" "He, must've been sent up for somethin'." "Was it gambling'?" "Robbery?" "It was for murder." "Hello, Fred." "George." "You're up so late tonight." "It's hot." "I think you'd be more interested in this brief, Mr. Prosecutor." "Father Clark turns out to be a duck, after all." "And quite a duck." "Morning, Joe." "Sorry, Father." "Why?" "You better see the warden." "He's got orders to keep you out." "Father Clark!" "I want to talk to you!" "My kid's in trouble!" "Father, I can't get to him!" "Hey, there, Mr. Onion-Piling Man." "Hi!" "What're you doing here?" "I don't know." "I got tired of doing social work among the rich so I thought I'd come down here and organize a union." "Look, I thought maybe we could..." "There's a little place I know down by the river." " Let me take you out to dinner tonight." " No!" "I can't stand rich food." " Just catfish." " I'm allergic to cats." "All right, we'll have hot dogs." "Come on." "We'll just listen to the music." "What do we got here, a marketplace or a dance hall?" "I gotta work." "Sorry if I got you into trouble." "I finish at 11:00." "Do you still wanna have dinner?" "I'll pick you up here." "If you're through goldbrickin', grab those bags." "What do you got, putty in your arms?" "You gotta work up a sweat, priest-boy." "Now go upstairs to my brother and get the bill on these." "Hey, Billy." " Mario wants the bill on these cantaloupes." " Sure thing." "Billy, please." "Newspaper, that's garbage." "What do they know about Father Clark?" "Here, give these to Mario." "Billy, please." "When you see Father Clark, tell him I say hello." "And tell him he gave me a good boy." "Thanks." "Father Clark advised a criminal against testifying in a case where he had agreed to supply evidence for the State." "What's wrong with that?" "A case of a religious figure misusing the special credence proffered to him due to his cloth." " The Rogers boy had..." " I don't care what he'd admitted to." "Father Clark or anyone else has a perfect right..." "Gentlemen, please!" "If I must remind you, this is not a trial." "There have been serious charges laid to Father Clark." "I have agreed to hear both sides of this matter and to offer my private opinion of what legal steps might be indicated." " I'm sorry, Your Honor." " We understand." "I find it particularly distasteful having to question the conduct of a priest." "But whenever this man comes into a court with his turned-around collar he prejudices my case." "But, you're not here to question the conduct of a priest, Mr. Prosecutor." "That responsibility rests entirely with Father Michaels Father Provincial of the Society of Jesus for the Midwestern States." " You may continue." " Thank you, Your Honor." "Repeatedly, Father Clark has been told about crimes about to be committed yet, he has never turned a criminal in or warned the proposed victim of the crime." "That's not all." "Now, the ultimate." "The proposal, the foundation of a so-called halfway house where convicts supposedly can make the transition from prison to the outside world." "Any intelligent person knows that the central concept of the parole system is to keep the criminal away from those elements conducive to a return to crime." "In short, to keep them away from each other." "Now, I submit what better gathering place could they have than a house filled with ex-convicts?" "My report will recommend that halfway house should not be permitted to open." "And that for unduly influencing witnesses for putting prejudicial pressure on the court and for acting as an accomplice before the fact a warrant should be sworn out for the arrest of Father Clark." "Oh my, Mr. Pagel." "There are right now, in this country, 3 million people in colleges 4 million in our armed forces and there are 5 million people in our prisons." "Within those prison walls they learn crime so thoroughly and over such a long period of time that two-thirds of those you let out, with no place to go, no home, no jobs..." "You say to them, "All right, you're free men now." ""Forget what we did to you these past years." ""Forget that we took away your freedom, your dignity..." ""...your manhood, your rights." ""Broke your spirit, made you live like machines, like animals." ""Forget that you carry the stigma of a prison record."" "Mr. Assistant District Attorney Father Clark is trying to rid these men of that stigma." " Louis!" " Put him in prison?" "Instead, you ought to get down on your knees and pray for a Father Clark in every city in this country." "Louis, please, may I speak for myself?" "All right, Father." "Gentlemen." "You're going to have to forgive me because I didn't hear all that was said tonight." "Sometimes, when I get with you square people, my mind starts to wander." "But, it doesn't really make any difference, anyway because I don't intend to answer every little point that the Assistant Prosecutor brought up." "I'm just going to tell you what's in my heart because that's where all my actions with these cons come from." "You say I ought to turn in these men when they come and tell me they're going to commit a crime." "That isn't even very bright." " See here, Father." " You had your go." "Let me yap for a while!" "If I turn one of these men in, I'm finished with the cons." "I can reach these men and I can help them because they trust me." "You can't change a man by mouthing a lot of pious clichès at him." "What do you expect me to say to a kid who's on the make for a heist?" ""Johnny, you be a good boy or you'll go to Hell."" "You can imagine where he'd tell me I could spend my eternity." "I was brought up in the coal mines of Pennsylvania." "My father was one of the original Molly Maguires." "That was the first attempt at organizing a coal miners' union." "One of my earliest memories was the night when the company goon squad came in to the homes and dragged 13 Molly Maguires out and hanged them." "I have spent my entire life with outcasts." "I know I don't talk so nicely and I offend people sometimes because of it, I'm sorry." "But I know convicts." "I know that you can't change a man by punishing him." "You just build his hatred." "Now look I don't have any illusions at all about these guys I work with." "I know that some of them would axe their own brothers in two and make book on which is the bigger half." "I'm sorry." "I believe that some convicts must be isolated from the rest of society but in private rooms, with baths, and with rugs on the floor and receiving proper psychiatric care not herded together like a bunch of beasts learning to become more bestial." " Is it all that dull, Mr. MacHale?" " I've heard you before." "You hypocrite!" "You condemn the criminal, but you glorify crime." "Not just you, all over this country, magazines, newspapers, TV, movies all exploiting crime and violence." " Crime's a fact." "I didn't invent it." " Why don't you tell the truth about it!" "Every line I write..." " Like what? "It doesn't pay"?" " You bet your collar." "It pays you and well!" "The more you exploit it with hate and fear, the more you're gonna have." " It seems to me you do your bit." " Yeah." "MacHale says that I'm furthering crime." "That my halfway house is going to further crime." "I want to tell you gentlemen that if you succeed in keeping my halfway house closed you'll have, on your heads, the crimes caused by all the men I could have helped." "Even the deaths caused by these men will be flat on your heads." "I don't care about the decision of any secular court as affects me personally." "You do not have jurisdiction over my life but only over my body." "Which is not from where my life stems." "The only thing I care about in this hearing tonight is the decision of the Church." "If I am released from my order of the Society of Jesus I will have lost the only thing that I really need that I really want for myself personally." "I would rather bear the rest of my life in prison than give up this collar." "And, yet, I would say to the Church, "Take away my collar."" "And I will say to the State, "Take away my life." ""But give these poor, lost human beings a chance."" ""Give my boys liberty or give me death."" "What do you want to do, Fred?" "I don't know." "Don't tell me you were convinced by that maudlin oratory." "No, I'm not convinced." "I'm just not sure that I could argue against him with any real conviction of my own." " Let me tell you what I think." " Mr. MacHale we are all well aware of what you think." "I don't know which is greater, my pity or my shame for you." "Charles, though the court must make a secular decision in this case I am prepared to speak for the Society of Jesus." "You are to be relieved of your duties as teacher at the high school just as soon as you can be replaced." "So that you may devote full time to working with your cons." "And there's another thing." "I want all tiles in the bathrooms." "Not just head-high, but from the floor to the ceiling." "Where're we gonna get all that money?" "I'm in such a hole to you now." "Father, you let me worry about the money." "You take care of your boys." "Hey!" "This man here, he wants to ask you some questions." "Why?" "About what?" "Billy, were you the last man to leave the cold room yesterday?" "I'm not sure." "Maybe." "Where did you go after work?" "Why don't you tell me what this is all about?" "Ten cases of canned meats was stolen from the cold room." "You saying I took them?" "Go on, tell me he ain't a thief." "I didn't take 'em." " I asked you where you were." " You were the last one to leave the cold room." "I found the door open this afternoon when I came in to work." "I asked where you were." "I don't know." "He don't know." "I was out with a girl." " What's her name and address?" " Why?" "So I can check to see if you're telling the truth." "No." "You dirty, lying punk of a thief." "You're fired!" "Get out!" "All right, slowly." "Please, take it easy." "I'm sorry, Billy." "Maybe, you'd better go." "And don't let me see your thief's face anymore!" "Isn't this a very unusual crucifix?" "I've never seen the Christ tied to the cross before." "And he has such a strange look on his face." "What do you see in his face?" "I see strength and hope." "But I also see a certain fear pleading, and even anger." "That isn't Jesus." "That's Saint Dismas." "He was a thief a convict probably even a murderer." "And, yet, he was promised Heaven." "What do you think of a girl like me for one of your boys?" "Do you mean marriage?" "Yes." "I can tell you this much..." "When a boy like Billy falls in love with a square girl he's reaching out for all the goodness that he feels he lacks within himself." "When that goodness is given to him he holds onto it and he protects it and he loves it because he knows what a rare thing he's got." "Where'd they put the drill?" "That's worth $30, man." "I'll be the peek-man." "You go down and play chickie." "Hurry up!" "Operator." "Police dispatcher." "Stop!" "Let him go." "Priest-boy." "Not satisfied stealing meat." "Get out of here, Pio!" "Take off!" "So, you're gonna be a big hero." "You're gonna plug Mario." "I don't want to hurt you." "Get outta my way!" "Go on." "Cops got you anyway." "Go ahead." "Go on." "Operator, give me Father Clark." "Charles Clark on Cole Street." "Hurry up, will you!" "All cars in the vicinity Central Produce Market, watch for robbery suspect." "Last seen in freight yards." "No description." "He's seen going up." "Homicide and market robbery." "Suspect probably armed." "Car 7, here." "Central Market robbery suspect now in slum clearance area." "All right, kid." "Just come on out and you won't get hurt." "Do you hear me?" "Let me go!" "That's all right, officer." "Look, my name is Father Clark." "I've worked with these boys." "They won't hurt me." "Let me go inside." "Listen to me!" "I know this kid." "Let me go in there." "I'll get him out of there." "Can't chance it, Father." "He's put one of us in the hospital already." "Take him out of here!" "Clark wants to get himself shot." "He's been working up to it." "Billy?" "Buddy?" "Where are you?" " It's me." "Father Clark." " Stay away!" "Come closer, I'll kill ya." "Little guy, what kind of mouth is that?" "Pull that trigger and you blast the last friend you got left." "I don't need anyone!" "Come on now, don't be a punk." " You all right, Father?" " I'm okay!" "Just stay away from here!" "You sore at me?" "I'm sorry." "I know I ain't been around to see you much lately, but I've been in kind of a jam myself down at the D.A.'s office." "I ain't sore at you." "Can I come in there with you?" "Did you check this side over here?" "Okay, you stay here." "I'll look for you." "It's no good." "Are we in a mess." "What are you doing?" "Stay away from that window." "Are you all right?" "Look, stay down, will you?" "I'll look out the windows for you." "One of them snipers out there." "How many slugs you got left in your rod?" "Three." "Looks like we're not going to be able to slip outta here." "I guess you know that." "You've got just three slugs in the gun, and they've got dogs, shotguns, tear gas, everything!" "After they throw the tear gas, they'll be comin' in." "If we can hold out for a while..." "It's going to be rough, but here's what we do." "We'll lie down on the floor..." " You gonna stay with me?" " Sure." "Listen to me." "We don't have much time." "As soon as they let go with their tearjerkers, here's what you gotta do." "You gotta cover your mouth and your nose." "Do you have a handkerchief?" "Here." "You take mine." "Listen to me." "The gas is gonna be getting to us." "We gotta take it if you wanna get a crack at 'em." "That's what you want, isn't it?" "Okay." "Stay down here." "When you hear them come up those stairs and when they start firing' real close up that's when you shoot." "If you're lucky, you'll nick one." " I'll kill 'em all!" " No." "Quiet!" "There are 20 of 'em and all you've got is three slugs." " I'll kill three of 'em!" " The gas is gonna be getting to us." "It's gonna be fillin' the room." "You'll be shootin' blind." "All you can hope for is to nick one of 'em." "Listen to me carefully, will ya?" "After you let go with your three slugs, what you got to do is you gotta stand up high, because you want to get it good." "You want to go out fast and clean." "You don't want to lie in a hospital for five or six months." "Some guys spill their guts out." "I don't want to kill anyone!" "I don't want to hurt anyone." "Members of the Jury, have you reached a verdict?" "Yes, we have, Your Honor." "The State of Missouri versus William Lee Jackson." "On indictment for murder in the first degree." "Verdict." "The jury find the defendant guilty and assess his punishment as death." "Twice Mazziotti was arrested and charged with assault and battery." "Billy was a confused and terrified boy who killed in self-defense." "He killed a man who was armed with a weapon that, at close range was just as lethal as the boy's pistol." "But the man was protecting his property." "But he had this huge crowbar and he was swingin' at the kid." "Mr. Governor." "I know this boy." "He's a good boy." "He was going with a fine girl from a good family." " Just because he's an ex-convict..." " That's just it." "The habitual nature of the boy's criminal record is against him." "Governor, if you kill this boy you're denying the basic nature of man to change." "Capital punishment is..." "Capital punishment is not involved in this discussion." "I am deeply in sympathy with your views in that but I'm elected to represent the people of this state and to uphold its laws no matter what are my personal views on this matter." "When the people of this state elected you they elected your conscience, too." "If you deny your conscience, you'll be cheating every man and woman that voted you into office." "You're not going to change the world by carrying around that sign, buddy." "I'm not trying to change the world." "I'm trying to keep the world from changing me." "I'm sorry." "Just forget about me." " I'll never forget about you." " Then you're a sucker!" "Don't cry." "I can't talk to you, if you cry." "I didn't mean to." "You're not losing anything." "You know I love you." "I wish..." "Do you know what I wish?" "I wish I was just being born." ""Into Thy kingdom, O Lord." "Receive..."" " Did you see him again?" "The Governor?" " Rosen's with him right now." "We're still fightin' for you, little guy." "Have you been listenin' to the prayers the Father's been sayin' for you?" "Listen." "They're very beautiful." ""And may Saint Michael, the chief of the heavenly host, conduct him." ""Let the holy angels come out to meet and carry him to the city of heavenly jewels."" "Father." "I don't know these people in the Bible." " They ain't my kind of people." " You know Dismas, don't you?" ""May the blessed Peter the Apostle, to whom you..."" ""May the blessed Peter the Apostle..." ""...to whom You have given the keys to Heaven, receive him." ""May holy Paul the Apostle, the chosen vessel of election, assist him."" "In constant session with Jackson's lawyer throughout the day the Governor heard and reheard arguments for the convicted murderer." "Although he is a declared foe of capital punishment it is expected that he will submit to what he has termed "the will of the people" and permit the execution to proceed at midnight." "There was a storm over northern Missouri today, expected to move south..." "I want to tell you about Saint Dismas." "He was a hood, a real hard con, in the time of Jesus." "They busted him and this other con, just when they got ahold of Jesus." "And the three of 'em were put up on crosses together." "This other con, he starts in yellin' at Jesus." "He says, "If you're the Christ, save yourself, and save us, too."" "So Dismas jumps right on him." "He says, "Lay off that kind of talk." ""We're getting just what's comin' to us." ""But this man is takin' the rap for somebody else."" "Then he turns to Jesus and he says:" ""Lord, when you get to your kingdom, remember me."" "And you know what Jesus said?" "Jesus turns to Dismas and he says:" ""I say to you, truly..." ""...today you will be with me in Paradise."" "You see what that means?" "All through the Bible Jesus never promises anyone that they're gonna go to Heaven except this one hood, Dismas." "All the squares out there, they think they got a corner on Heaven but that's not the truth." "The only one in the Bible we know for sure got to Heaven was a convict, just like you." "Evening, Warden." ""Now, on September 23, at midnight..." ""...you the defendant, William Lee Jackson, are to receive your sentence..." ""...in accordance with the verdict convicting you of first-degree murder." ""And, it appearing that no legal reasons exist against the execution of sentence..." ""...you shall suffer death by the administration of lethal gas."" "Father." "Too tight." "When I walk outta here, I want you to think about what I told you." "I want you to look me right in the eye and nowhere else." "I want you to think about Dismas." "Hi, Father." "Glad to see ya." "I been out celebrating'." "Celebratin' your victory." "You finally got Billy into Heaven." "Why ain't you celebrating', too?" "The grand opening of Dismas House, where the cons come to get conned." "What do you say we christen it, anyway?" "In the name of the good Father Pio and Billy's holy ghost." "What a crummy place!" "For all those stinkin' lawyers." "For all those lousy judges." "For that sleazy jury." "For the rotten cops." "For you and all your angels!" "For all the holy Joes."