"In accordance with the regulations of the state of Mississippi we gather today to lay to rest the remains of inmates R. Gibson, number 4316 and C. Banks, number 4317." "'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.'" "May God have mercy on their souls." " Amen." " Amen." "You can go ahead, fellas." "Look like you finally free now, boys." "Finally free." "Friends of yours, old-timer?" "Let's just say we spent some time together." "Now, why do I get the feeling when you say 'some time,' you mean some time." "I'd been here a good while when they come." "They come here, must've been 1932." " Man!" " Shit, that's like..." "Wait a minute." "That's 65 years, son." "Shit." "Didn't they burn in that fire yesterday?" "Listen, man, I seen them niggers before they put them in the box." "And when I tell you, them niggers, they was bacon burnt." "It was like from the X Files, man." "What you got in that bottle anyway?" "This is Rayford's special recipe." "He had what we call exacting standards when it comes to the hootch." " So, what were they, bootleggers?" " Something like that." " Hank, my man, how you doin'?" " No, not tonight, Ray." " Spanky's not happy with you." " Is Spanky here?" "Find a place where they let you in the front door." "Wait." "Remember I bought your girl the alligator shoes?" "What's wrong?" "I came through for you!" "She was wearin' pigskin when I met her." "She's in alligator now." "Let me in." "Yeah, that's how it goes, brother." "Thank you, man." "I appreciate it." " How does this tie look?" " Lookin' sharp, man." "I feel lucky tonight, too." " Here's to your new job down at the bank." " Thank you." "I always knew you'd make something of yourself." " With my first paycheck, I'll buy..." " What, baby?" "Season tickets to the Yankees, right on the first base line." "What's wrong?" "I was hoping you were gonna say an engagement ring, Claude." " Engagement ring?" " That's what respectable folks do." "Get a job, get married, start having babies." "Isn't that what you want?" "I just don't see no reason to rush into things." "I got to clean this." "I'll be right back, baby." " Good evening, sir." " Can I have a towel, please?" " Of course." " Look at this." "Hey, there ain't no reason to get violent." "I tried to call." "Sit your ass down." "Congratulations." "You finally got yourself a job." "Now you can pay Mr. Riley that 50 bucks you owe him." " I got a bill to pay out there." " Lookie here." " $22." " Not bad... for a start." "That's two weeks' pay." "I'm with my girl." "You gotta leave me something." " How about your legs?" " My legs?" "Those are good." "That's good." "I'll keep the legs." "Excuse me." "How'd he get in here?" "Evenin'." " You got any of that French shit?" " Yeah, bro." "That's the one there." " Thanks, man." " All right." " Do I smell French?" " That's it." " Here, you keep the change." " Thank you." " Hey, don't I know you?" " I don't think so." " Yes, I know you." "What is your name?" " Claude Banks." "Claude Banks!" "Hey, it's me, Ray Gibson." "We went to high school." "How you doin'?" " You went to Monroe?" " Yes!" "How you doing?" "You lookin' all sharp." "Good to see colored folks doin' good." "I went to Jefferson." "You must have another Claude Banks in mind." " Excuse me." " I'm sorry." "My mistake." "Are you wearin' that dress?" "Hey, what's goin' on?" "Is it about my tab?" "Don't worry, it's covered." "It's hot in here tonight." "Hot." "This ain't about your tab." "You got bigger problems than that." "Hold up one second..." "You shouldn't have run numbers on Spanky's side of Broadway." " I think we gotta get out of here." " Excuse me, sir, your bill." "The bill?" "Of course, the bill." "How can I forget the bill?" "Such an incredibly large bill." "Just tell me where you want me to go." "Get over here." " You took my ankle." " All right, that's not nice." "Yeah, right?" "What do you think they're gonna do to us?" "What'd you do, dine and ditch?" " Over ten bucks?" " Yeah." " Probably just a thumb." " Who is he?" "Friend of yours?" "I never met this man before tonight." "He's a lowlife that hangs around in bathrooms pickpocketing people." "I'm a professional man." "I got a job that starts on Monday." "I'll pay you back with my first paycheck, with interest." "I won't tell you how to run your business but if you cut off my fingers, you won't get nothing." "Working on adding machines, I got to be whole." "I need these for praying'!" " Drop him." " What does 'drop him' mean?" "This ain't the way you treat somebody." "Spanky, you ain't got to do that to that guy." "He's a square." "He didn't know who he was fucking with." "It's filthy down there." "Damn, there's a rat." "I hate rats." "But you do." "What does that say about you?" "What does that say about me?" "I'm just tryin' to get by." "You remember when you started out?" "Nigger, please." "Wait a second." "I want you to see this." "Check this out." " I got access to that." " Is that some more of your bathtub brew?" "Hell, no, this come up from the Mississippi." "I can get more." "I want to go into business." "Under present circumstances, I think I may want a partner, OK?" "I was supposed to wear this suit on Monday!" "If you give me the front money and a truck I can get there in two or three days, if somebody helps me with the driving." " Come on, now!" " Come on, Spank." "I'm gonna tell you something." " You fuck me on this, I'll spare no expense." " I understand." " Do you hear me?" " I hear you." " You got a deal." " All right." "Pick a man and get outta here." "With all due respect to you gentlemen I think I'm gonna just take the choirboy." "You got to be crazy." "At least pick somebody who can watch your back." "I want someone who won't shoot me once the truck's full." " Lift him." " Not that you'd do that." " Lift him!" " You know what I mean." "There you go." "Sure he ain't dead?" "Sure hope you can drive." "This rum run we're doin' is gonna really improve my relationship with Spanky." "Good man to have on your side." "He's got capital connections." "I ain't got capital yet, but I will." "Then I'll have my own place." "Don't get me wrong, I like Spanky's." "I want my own." "I'm gonna call my place Ray's Boom-Boom Room." "Don't that sound like a place where it's fun?" "Sound exciting'." "Ray's Boom-Boom Room." "I like that." "Wouldn't you want to check out a place like that?" "Hell, you'd want to." "The Boom-Boom Room." "What you think?" "You ain't said nothin' since we left." "The least you can do is give me friendly conversation." "I don't want a friendly conversation." "I don't want to be your friend." "I just want to do this thing and get back to New York in time to start my job." "What the hell kind of job you got?" "If you must know, bank teller at First Federal of Manhattan." "What's so funny?" "I'm just laughing at myself." "Excuse me." "No, you found something very amusing." "What's so funny?" "'Bank teller' just sounds like ladies' work, I always picture a woman doing that." "Maybe I should dig around in other people's pockets for money." "It's obviously been highly successful for you." "You'd be surprised what you find there." "I've never heard of a man setting' out to be a bank teller." "This time next year, I'll be a loan officer." "So, I go to the bank for a loan I gotta deal with a tight-ass like you?" " That's right." " Well, how do I get a loan?" " You?" " Yes, me." "What's 'you'?" "I can't get no money?" " You need collateral." " What, you think I ain't got collateral?" "I have..." "Look at this." "What about this?" "That thing?" "Who'd you steal it from?" "I ain't steal that." "My daddy gave it to me." "Who'd he steal it from?" "Watch what you say about my daddy." "My daddy's dead." "Say what you want about me." "Don't drag my daddy into it." "This watch is sterling silver." "It's top-shelf, top of the line." "It's very near and dear to my heart, so no wisecracks or I'll whup your ass." "Looks like a fake to me." "Loan denied." "Fuck you." "I'll take my business elsewhere." "And for future references, you will not be welcome at Ray's Boom-Boom Room." " There's no Boom-Boom Room." " When there is one." "When there's one, don't come, 'cause you ain't gettin' in." " Smell that?" " Yeah, I smell something." " Smells good, right?" " I think we should go to another place." "The ambiance ain't really very welcoming." "Are you kiddin'?" "Tell me you don't want one of these pies right here." "Them pies look good, but I kinda lost my appetite." " When I came in, my appetite left." " Good afternoon, Billy." "We'd like some coffee and a couple slices of pie." "How do you know my name is Billy?" "It says it right there on your shirt." "If you boys can read so good, how come you missed that sign on the door?" "That sign on the door..." "Why didn't we see that sign that say 'No Coloreds Allowed'?" "We rushed in." "We was really hungry, so we missed it." " We see it now, so bye." " Look, ma'am we've been traveling all day." " Let's go." "All we want is some coffee and a couple slices of pie, all right?" "No." "These are whites-only pies." " Well, do you have any Negro pies?" " Claude, come on." "This woman ain't got the recipe to it." "Where would she get that?" "At another establishment we can get us some pies." " How far to the next town?" " Thirty-five miles." "I'm not driving no 35 miles to get no pie." "Lady!" "Ma'am!" "Okay?" "Now we want some pie." "We are hungry." "Billy, we want some pie." " Let me take care of this." " Someone must die 'cause we want pie?" "Let me take care of 'em." "We're from New York, my name's Ray Gibson." "How much will it cost to turn one of them white-only pies into nigger pie?" "How about I turn y'all into nigger pie?" " So you said about 35..." " 35 miles." "We'll find another establishment down the road." "Yeah, I didn't know white folks so serious about pie down here." " Hey, we're lookin' for Slim." " You found him." "That's it, fellas." "Thirty-six cases of Mississippi's finest." " Five bucks a case." "That's $180." " All right." " What do we got?" " Come on." "Pay the man." "That music's hot." "What goes on down there?" "That there's Natchez-Under-The-Hill." "Colored folks welcome down there?" " Green's the only color that matters there." " Is that right?" "They got gambling, girls." " You boys ought to check it out." " Maybe we will." "Nice doing business..." "Let's go have ourselves a reward, see what's shaking." " Reward?" " There's people there having a good time." "I wanna be one of 'em." "I want you to be one of 'em." "Let me tell you something." "Listen." "Monday, you can go be a bank teller." "Tonight, you're a bootlegger with a truckload of hootch and a fistful of cash." "That's gas money, Ray." "Come on." "Think." "Man, you are incredible." "Tell you what." "Here's $2." "You stay here, watch the truck." "I'm gonna go have fun." "I got the keys, if you want to leave me in the woods." "I know how you think, you motherfucker." "This looks like something here." "I'll keep an eye on you." "Make sure you don't do nothin' stupid." " Oh, really?" " Yeah." "Well, step lively." "Don't want them to think I'm from here." "They'll know by how I walk, I ain't from around here." "'Cause I'm from New York City!" " How y'all doing?" " What's up, country boy?" "Tens over nines." "I ain't never seen you in here before." "That's 'cause I ain't never been in here before." "My name's Sylvia." "What's your name?" " Can't you remember your own name?" " I know it begins with a 'C.'" "Well, Mr. 'C.'" "How about buyin' a gal a drink?" "Two bourbons." "I really shouldn't." "I gotta keep an eye on my friend over there." "He look like he can take care of hisself." "Claude." "That's my name..." "Claude." "You know that's never happened to me before." "You're cute." "Thank you." "You got any money, Claude?" "Two dollars, but I need that to get home." "What's wrong?" "What you wanna go home for?" "It's so early." "I'll take one." " One for New York." " Thank you." "Me's want one." " Can I get that for you?" " Thanks, baby." " Give me a deuce." " Here you go, honey." " Thank you." " All right." " You all want to pick up this country pace?" " Bet's to you, sir." " Bet a dollar." " I'll sees that." "You sees that." "Well, I sees that dollar, and I raise you $2." "Is 'sees' a word?" " All right now." " I'm out." "You goin' back to the farm now?" "Pick your tomatoes?" "I'll see the two." "And I raise you ten." "Damn." "Out." "Mr. Hancock, I don't think I have any more money." " Big city boy." " Well, that's too bad." "Now, hold on." "Just give me two seconds." "Top shelf." "It look good to me." "I think that'll cover it." "Call." "I got a full boat with the ladies doin' the paddling'." "I don't think they come in much stronger than that, sir." "Four treys." "What the fuck?" "Broke again." "New York." "New York." "Don't take it too hard, New York." "Have a round on me." " Can I get you something, sir?" " No, I'm all right." "Hey!" "What the fuck is this?" " You're hurtin' my arm." " Where you goin'?" "Hell, no!" "Hey, Hancock!" "Oh, shit." "My goodness." "My old friend, Winston Hancock." "I thought we agreed that you was gonna leave town." "I was gonna leave, Sheriff Pike but your wife, she begged me to stay." "You just committed suicide, boy." "Ray, I've been lookin' for ya." "Guess we better get goin'." "You still got that $2?" "Not exactly." "I met this girl." "Real nice girl." "A God-fearing girl." " The same girl I seen you over here with?" " Yeah." " Yeah, she looked religious." " Yeah, well..." "So you gave her the $2?" "She was in a tight spot." "Her mama needs this operation." "She ain't have the money for it, and so..." "The church took up a collection, but they're short..." " $2 short?" " Uh, yeah." "So I gave it to her." "When the spirit moves me..." "We both got fucked." "While you was doing God's work I was getting jack-legged by a farmer and one of these waitresses." "I know the bitch is in here." "They beat me down to my socks." "You lost all our money in a card game?" "Fuck the money." "It's not even about the money." "I lost my daddy's watch." "Fuck that cheap-ass watch." "I apologize." "You're right, it has to stop." "Once more, I'll take all your fronts out." "See how you go back to New York." " That's how you gonna be in the car." " I'm sorry." "Say something about the watch." "In fact, just bring up watch." "Look like you was fixin' your mouth to say 'watch.'" "I'm gonna whup your ass." "Don't even say 'watch.'" "Don't say it around me." "Say 'little clock' or some shit." "Say 'watch,' I'm gonna dive." "How do we get home without money?" "We got 36 cases of booze." "That's better than money." "So we gonna drive home drunk." " Is that it?" " Let me pay, get out." " Where's the girl who was here?" " What girl?" "'What girl?" "' Next time I come here, whichever bitch I start choking, that's her." "Big-time hustler, came and got girked by a couple of farmers." "Can it, Claude." "I'm all shot, I just wanna get back to New York." "Oh, shit." "I think he's hurt pretty bad." "This guy's dead." "I ain't never seen no dead body before." "What are you doin'?" "The man's been dead two seconds, and you're in his pocket." " Don't you have any respect?" " It ain't here." " What ain't there?" " My daddy's watch." "He took my watch." "Motherfucker, you fucked with the wrong person." " Now look at your ass out here bleeding." " Hey!" "What you boys doin' out here?" "Hey, how y'all doin'?" "We're just takin' care of our friend here." "What's wrong with this one?" " Drink." " Yeah, he's just a little drunk." " Nothing at all, just a little drunk." " Nobody drank like old..." " Ah, Winston." "...Winston." "Old drunk-ass Winston is always drinking." "This fella looks like he's dead." "No." "He's not dead." "He's drunk." "He drinks until he passes out." "Let's leave him here to sleep it off." "I'm gonna tell his wife we left him." " Let's go to the car." " You boys better come with us." "That's right." "We're gonna go to your car then." "Let's go." "We're gonna go with this guy." "You know what, Ray?" "You're responsible for this whole situation." "I blame you for everything." "If it wasn't for you, I'd be home now about to have a hot meal." "If not for me, your black ass would be floating up on a beach." "Remember that, 'my finger and thumbs for adding' shit?" " I saved your life." " They think we killed somebody." " This is blood, okay?" " Just shut up." "Listen." "Just sit down." "Let me work it out." " I got a job, it starts Monday." " You'll be late." " 'Cause I got to work this whole thing out." " What the..." " Evening, boys." " Evening there, Sheriff." "Well, well." "What do we have here?" "Billy Bob and the boys found 'em under the hill with Winston Hancock." "He was dead." "Looks like murder." " Yep, it does." " Is that right?" "Looks like they was runnin' hootch." "Got 36 cases of evidence." " How about a little reward, Billy Bob?" " Thank you, sir." "Why bother with bootlegging' when we got a clear-cut case of murder?" "Sheriff Pike, like I told your associate, we didn't kill nobody." "He was like that when we found him." "He was already dead." "Now as far as bootlegging' goes I happen to work for a very important man back East." "Does the name Spanky Johnson mean anything to you?" "Spanky Johnson?" " No, I'm afraid not." " Hey, Sheriff Pike." "Sheriff Pike, listen." "This guy, Spanky Johnson, is very well-connected." "Very well-connected." "And if you were to give us a break I can guarantee you, he would do something to show his appreciation." " Now I'm sure." " Mr. Pike." "You can buy your way out of trouble in New York City but down here, we take murder very seriously." "We didn't kill him." "He was dead when we found him." "That's the truth." "The liquor was ours." " There was no breath in him." " It was our liquor, but the man was dead." "If that's true, you boys don't have anything to worry about." "I guarantee it." "I'll see y'all in the morning." "You believe us?" "What time you gonna be here in the mornin'?" " Don't drink all that stuff tonight." " All right, Sheriff." " See you in the morning." " He sounded like he believed us." "The man's got a point." "We didn't kill nobody." "What about the truckload of booze?" "That's Spanky's booze!" "Tomorrow, I'm gonna tell that judge, 'Judge, we didn't murder nobody." "'That was Spanky's booze.'" "What's the worst that can happen to us?" "Life!" "What do you mean, 'life'?" "I ain't doin' no life." "I didn't kill nobody." "The man was dead when I got there." "Welcome to Mississippi." "Here, you will be provided with ample opportunity to repay your debt to society through the rigors of hard labor." "We got fields need clearing', roads need building' and ditches need digging'." "You will eat only what you can grow." "Your crop don't come in, you go hungry." "This here is Camp 8." "Camp 8 is for incorrigibles." "But whatever you done to get here, believe me, I'm not impressed." "I've seen it all before." "We ain't got no fences here at Camp 8." "We don't need no fences." "We got us the gun line." "Tell 'em about the gun line, boss." "This is the gun line." "It runs from shack to shack, clear around the yard." "You are now inside the gun line." "You step outside the gun line without my permission, you will be shot." "You trip and fall over the gun line, you will be shot." "You spit, you pee you so much as stick your Johnson out over the gun line you will be shot." "And you, Slick, don't try to run, don't try to escape." "One of my trusties will put a bullet in your head." "You prisoners are now the property of the state of Mississippi which is to say I own your ass." "And in case you haven't met this handsome young fella this is Hoppin' Bob." "You run afoul of Bob, you run afoul of me." "Everybody, shut up!" "Right now." "I don't wanna hear a sound." "Got some fresh meat for ya." "Right there." "Take yourself right there, find your ass a bunk." "Move it." "Actin' all scared." "We ain't got no wallflowers in Camp 8." "Don't y'all worry none." "Ain't nobody gonna mess with ya tonight." "That'd take all the fun out the courtship." "You hear me, boy?" "I didn't see nothing special the first time Ray and Claude walked into the cage." "To me, they were just a couple of fools whose luck had run out." "'Course, I was wrong about that." "I don't believe this 'before Abe' shit." "I didn't go to night school to dig no ditch." "What are you doing?" "I wouldn't do that." "Shut up." "What do you know anyway?" "It's too damn hot." " Why ain't that boy's pick swingin'?" " Why ain't that pick swingin'?" "Why ain't that pick swingin', nigger?" "It's too hot." "I'm tired, boss." "He said he's too hot, boss." "He's tired." "Too hot?" "He's tired?" "You tell that lazy jigaboo the state of Mississippi ain't interested in his meteorological assessments!" "Listen up, jigaboo!" "The state of Mississippi ain't interested in your your 'metacalogical' assessments!" "You tell him the state of Mississippi is only interested in gettin' this here ditch cleared by sundown." "State of Mississippi wants this here ditch cleared by sundown." "Got that?" "Got it, boss." " He don't sound like he from around here." " He from New York City, boss." "That one there too." "They'll find we do things different here." "Yeah, we noticed." "Don't smart me, boy." "Just shut your mouth and do your work." "Looks like we got a couple of live ones." " How long these boys in for?" " The judge gave 'em the long ride, boss." "Life, huh?" "They step out of line again, we'll shorten up that sentence real fast." "Get them picks a-swinging!" "You heard me, New York Cities." "You don't want me to come down there." "I ain't nice like Boss." "I'll slap the black off your ass." "Get to work!" "Either one of you new fellas know how to read?" "I know how to read." "Why?" "I've been carrying this letter for four months." "You mean none of y'all can read?" "Last fella that could read made parole around Christmas." "I don't even know who this come from." "Give me this." "You can't read?" "Almost 60 years old, motherfucker can't read." "It's from your mama's neighbor, Mrs. Tadwell." "You know who?" "She thought you ought to know your second cousin, Bo, died." "Bo died." "And your cousin, Sally, on your daddy's side, she died." " And apparently your sister died too." " Jenny?" "No, it say Marleen here." "Marleen died." "Oh, no." "Jenny died too." "Jenny and Marleen both dead." "It goes on for a while about how the crop didn't come in on account of the frost." "She ends saying there was a big tornado in which your mama and daddy were both killed." "Don't worry, 'cause she gonna take care of the dog." "That is, if he gets over the worms." "Dog had worms." " Appreciate it." " Yeah, you know, anytime I can help out." "Anybody else got something they want read?" "Can't blame y'all." " How ya doin'?" " I'm fine, thanks." "Good." "First time in?" "Nah, not at all." "I've been in and out of prison, mostly in." "So you won't have no problem adjusting?" "Shouldn't have a problem, no." "If you need anything of any kind, give me a holler." "My name's Jangle Leg." " I appreciate it." "Jangle Leg?" " Jangle Leg, Jangle Leg." " I'm Claude." " Claude." "Your hand nice and supple, like a lady." "Jangle Leg!" "What the hell I tell you about pitching' woo on the job, boy?" "Sorry, Cap'n." "Story time is over." "All you sissies get back to work right now." " He made a pass at me." " Yeah, I see." "Why do you think they call him Jangle Leg?" "You're gonna find out before me." " Eyes front, mister." " Everybody doing that." "I'm hungry." " See how you get that off?" " Eat and stop aggravating people." "I ain't aggravating nobody." "You got nerve, scraping toast and shit, making excess noise." " You're making a lotta noise there." " The spoon, it's filthy." " Filthy, ain't it?" " Fuck that spoon and just eat." " I'm Ray Gibson, this is Claude Banks." " Willie Long." " You seem sensible." "Why you in here?" " It's a long story." "At 13, he killed a son of a bitch with a claw hammer." " So they say." " A lot of people say it." " Wait, you been in here since you were 13?" " That's right." "How about you?" "How long you been here?" " He chopped his sister with an axe." " She was my half-sister so I cut her ass in half, but I didn't poison my ma and pa." " Now tell that." "Tell that." " They deserved it, Radio." "What you talkin' about?" "You skinned your landlady alive and made a jacket out of her." "Well, at least he didn't kill Santa Claus." "Santa?" "Which one of you killed him?" "It wasn't Santa Claus." "He was just wearing the suit and ringing a bell." " He had presents." " I ain't get nothing." "You killed a Salvation man, the dude on the street with the bell?" " Something like that." " He did." "Nobody tried to escape?" " They never get too far." " Cookie got to Greenville a few years ago." "Take a mighty cagey country boy to navigate the woods." "Gotta know what you're doin'." "What'd y'all do?" "What the fuck did y'all do?" " We went on..." " The most violent a violent killing spree." "All around the country we've been killing people." "All month." "If y'all was out and reading the papers..." "Ain't heard about it?" "Claude and Ray?" "Sometimes you got to do certain shit..." " He'd cut your throat." " I go where I need to go to get it done." "If you push my button, there's no telling what I may do stab you, choke you, bite you." "I'd do whatever it takes to make a motherfucker stop existing." "I could stab a nigger right now." "I beat a motherfucker to death." "Don't fuck with us." "You don't really wanna fuck with us." "Press the wrong button, nigger pop." "Hey, girl." "You gonna eat your corn bread?" " Oh, trouble." " Don't say nothin' to him." "You talkin' to me?" "Yeah, I think he's talking to you." "No, not at all." "I want you to have it." "Willie, you mind passing this down to..." "No." "Don't pass your corn bread to him." " That's your corn bread." " I'm a grown man." "I'm not gonna eat this." "If he wants the corn bread, have it." "If he wants corn bread, let him up to the front and get his own." "That's your corn bread." "Fuck him." "He gonna eat his corn bread." "Fuck you." "I don't need you to take up for me." "I'm a grown man." "I can handle it." "If you let him have it, you'll be ironing his drawers." " I ain't gonna be ironing." " Maybe I ought to eat your corn bread." "Motherfucker, you can't have my corn bread, that's for damn sure." "If you try to take it, part two of my killing' spree gonna begin up here on your ass now." "If you're thinkin' about my corn bread, forget it." " That's for sure." "Fuck that." " Cool it." "I'm from New York City, goddamn it." "Nobody take no corn bread from me." "That go for you and any other of you motherfucking farmers." "You fuck around with me, there's gonna be consequences and repercussions." "Get up!" "Come on!" "Show that son of a bitch how y'all do it in Harlem." "Come on, New York." "I appreciate you taking the trouble over my corn bread." "You don't get a lot of compliments here." "Get up!" "I think you made your point, whatever that is." "Now's a good time to throw in the towel, you know what I'm sayin'?" "Not over no corn bread." "Goldmouth, I know a bitch named Della hit harder than you." "That's it." "The man's taken enough of a beating." "Goldmouth, pick him up and carry him on inside." "He ain't gettin' my corn bread." "You were scared, huh?" "Don't be scared." "Papa!" "That's my boy." "Request permission to go to the tonk, boss." "Conjugal visits are for married prisoners only and I don't see no wedding' ring." "Can't you make an exception?" "I could issue a temporary marriage license, for a nominal fee." " Here you go." " Sure is pretty." "I now pronounce you man and wife." "You go have a good time." "Claude Banks going to the tonk!" " Come on, now." " Five cents." "Hey, New York." "You ever been to that Cotton Club?" "The Cotton Club in Manhattan?" "Many times." "I damn near lived in the Cotton Club." "It's all right." "They ain't got nothin' on the Boom-Boom Room." "You ever go to New York, go to Ray's Boom-Boom Room." "What is the Boom-Boom Room?" "That's my spot." "Most happening space in Manhattan." "So you got your own nightclub?" "It's kinda in the development stages, but I'm working on it." "So it don't exist?" "It exists in my mind." "It start your brain first." "As a man think it, so shall he get." "Some shit like that." "You know, you read the Bible." "Did you go see my cousin Melvin like I asked you to in my letter?" "Of course, I did." "He said he'd file an appeal right away." "Melvin wanted to know if he should file an appeal for your friend." "Ray Gibson?" "No." "No, Daisy." "He's the reason I'm in here." "He's got a record a mile long." "I got a better shot of gettin' outta here on my own." "You tell Melvin to think about me." "Just concentrate on me." " Cookie made me a map to Greenville." " So?" " You know what I'm sayin'." " I know what you're sayin'." "If you made it that far, they'd check every train that pulls out of the station." "We ain't taking' the train." "There's a farm on the map and a boat on the farm." "You know about boats?" "You probably don't know how to swim." "I know a boat can help sail our ass away from here." "We can do this shit." " Why are you always saying 'we'?" " What?" "There's no 'we.' There's a me, and there's a you." " Why're you talkin' so loud?" " There ain't no 'we' between us." "Hey, Ray!" "Yeah?" "What's the name of that nightclub of yours again?" " You talkin' about the Boom-Boom Room?" " Yeah." "That's it." "I'd sure like to see that place when you get it all up and runnin'." " Yeah, me too." " Me too." "I'd like to see that room too." "You should've been there last night." "You'd have had big fun." "What you talkin' about, 'last night'?" "Just like I said, last night." "Satchmo was there and nearly blew the roof off." " Ray, who that?" " Satchmo." "You mean Louis Armstrong?" "I call him Satchmo." "I know him." "I call him Satchmo, and he come by whenever he in town." "Ain't nobody wanting to hear that bullshit." "Shut the fuck up." "Always saying things at the wrong time." "Go to sleep." "Let us have our fun." "Finish telling us about Satchmo." "Go ahead, tell me more." "As I was sayin', last night y'all should've come by." "You'll never guess who'll be there tonight." "Who gonna be there?" " Who that, Ray?" " Just guess." "'I got a man that's more than 8-foot tall" "'Four foot shoulders and that ain't all" "'He's a king-sized papa" "'He's my king-sized papa'" "Sing, girl!" "'I take the door off the hinges When my baby comes to call'" "Catch any cab heading' uptown all the drivers know about Ray's Boom-Boom Room." "Ray!" "Where am I?" "Goldmouth, somebody's gotta watch the door." "Now I could get used to this." "Ladies." "Ray, this steak tastes like butter." "Made it just for you, Cookie." " You got some steak sauce?" " Boy, get us some Worcestershire sauce." "And clean off that damn table, or I'll whup your ass." "Is something wrong with your ears?" "Move it!" "Ray!" "I know your club got gambling." "Poker." "Wouldn't be a club without some dice." "Lucky seven!" "My man!" "Let it ride!" "All right, Poker, letting' it ride." " Raid!" "Don't move!" " Shit!" "Party's over." " Son of a bitch!" " Goddamn!" "Party over." "Get the back door!" "Put all the women in my car!" "Gibson!" "You about ready to spend the night in the hole." "Now shut up and go to sleep." "You got that?" "That goes for the rest of you girls too." "Now I don't wanna hear another peep about no fuckin' Boom-Boom Room." "Sorry, Cap'n." "Shut your mouth and your fat ass." "Don't be playing with yourselves." "You gotta work in the morning." "Mail call!" "That's mine." "You know I hate this part, it's too hard for me." "I'm gonna get back to that game in a little while." " Right here." " Melvin Banks, Esquire, Attorney at Law." " What's going on?" " This don't concern you." "Excuse me." "Yeah, obviously not." "Slow up." "You see me countin'." "Go on." "Come on." "This here is Biscuit." "This is New York City One..." "Let's move on!" "Only 15 hours of daylight left." "Got all my rocks here, boss." "Sure is hot." "Think it's gonna rain later?" " What you want?" " What makes you think I want something?" "My dad told me when someone talks about the weather, watch your wallet." "Your daddy must have been a wise man." "Cut the shit and tell me what you want." "You still got that map?" "Yeah, I still got it." "Why?" "If you thinkin' about booking' it, I want in." "I think we can make it." "Didn't you tell me there was no 'we'?" "Now it's 'we' again?" "What happened?" "Bad news in that letter?" "My cousin Melvin is a lawyer and he filed an appeal on my behalf." "On your behalf?" "What happened to 'we'?" " The appeal was denied." " I'm glad." "Daisy fell for Melvin." "They're engaged to be married." " Can you believe that?" " That's hard to believe." "He a big, successful New York lawyer and you here with a bright future in cotton." "Let me figure it out for you." "Eenie, meenie, miney, Melvin!" "Come on, Ray." "I'm serious." "Don't shut me out." "You, me, the map... we can go places." "The whole time we been here you just blame this shit on me." "And you just think about yourself." " Your little scheme." "Was I part of that?" " No." "You'll be honest now 'cause you wanna be friends." "Let me tell you somethin', Mr. My-Shit-Don't-Stink Banks." "You got to learn a whole lot more about friendship." "Boss, he ain't workin'!" " Does this mean I'm in?" " Nah, you'd probably slow me down." "You'll be worrying about your silverware being clean." "You one of them soft motherfuckers." " What you say?" " I said you soft." "So what?" " What you gonna do?" " No man calls me soft." "I hate that!" "I'm a man, and I called you soft." "I don't like you swelling' all up." "Why you takin' in all this air for?" "What's on your mind?" "You gonna put your chin up?" "That mean something to me?" "'Cause I said 'soft'?" "So what?" "I spell it." "S-O-F-capital-T!" "Soft!" "What you gonna do?" "You must be crazy." "I'll kill you." " Oh, this is good." " Break it up!" "I'm gettin' ready to shoot somebody here!" "I'm gonna shoot a motherfucker today." "Ain't gonna forget this, you New York Cities." " He started it." " Don't go to sleep, nigger." "I don't mess with nobody." "You know that." "Get back to work." "This ain't over, nigger." "I don't give a fuck what he say." "I'll shoot your ass." "Don't go to sleep!" "We'll see who go to sleep." "Shit." "Come on!" "Two running!" "I know these trees all look alike, but this one is awful familiar." "Let me see that map." "You call this a map?" "What was Cookie smokin' when he drew this?" "Cookie didn't draw it." "I drew it up." "We're in the middle of nowhere." "You don't know where we're goin'." "I drew it 'cause you wouldn't come unless I had a map." "Now come on!" "Wait up." "Wait up!" "Take the dogs around the house!" "Y'all bring the dogs with me!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Here they are, Superintendent." "Tracked 'em all the way to the Tallahatchie." "That's quite a ways, isn't it?" "I'm glad you New York boys got to see some of our beautiful countryside while we got you here." "Mae Rose!" "What do you think we oughta do to teach 'em a lesson?" "A night in the hole?" "A night in the hole." "Better make it a week." "No, don't move so fast." "Fuck y'all!" " Hey, Claude!" " What?" "You got a toilet in yours?" "That was the first time that Ray and Claude ran but it sure wasn't the last." "Japan suffers its most crushing defeat of the war." "Years passed, and the world went to war for a second time." "While they was fightin' for freedom on the outside we were dreamin' about it on the inside." "Camp 8 is for incorrigibles." "Whatever you done, I'm not impressed." "I've seen it all before." "You probably noticed that we got no fences at Camp 8." "We don't need fences 'cause we got a gun line." "It runs from..." "What the hell you doin'?" "The boy can't talk." "Somethin' wrong with his head." "Just can't get right, boss." "'Can't get right.'" "All right." "We'll see how long he lasts." " Where was I?" " We don't need no fences at Camp 8." " What?" " We don't need no fences here at Camp 8." " The gun line, boss." " Yes." "You prisoners are now inside the gun line." "When Dillard found out that Claude was a baseball man he put him in charge of the team." "That way, when we lost, he could blame it on somebody else." "No, that's not it." "Try to teach 'em the finer points of the game share my wisdom, but do they listen?" "They damn sure don't learn." "You're dealin' with a total lack of talent." "Ain't nobody got no talent." "Every year, Camp 12 wins the championship." "Every year they get to roast a victory pig." "This year, I want that pig." "Jangle Leg, put it right to him." "That's what I'm talking about!" "Who wants to hit next?" " Find the card." " Don't nobody wanna hit?" "Do you wanna hit?" "Let Can't Get Right have a swing." " Him?" " He can't be worse than the rest." "Let the boy have a swing." "Let's see what you can do." "Put that bat in your hand, hold it tight and take a nice swing." "Jangle Leg, a little easy on him." " He's new, so we don't wanna..." " Don't try to hurt the man." "Even swing, Can't Get Right." "Don't be scared of the ball." "That wasn't bad." "Put that on it." "That might have been one of those retard mistakes." "Give him that tricky one." "Damn." "Daddy!" " That's just like fresh water." " Hey, my little girl." " Look like little Mae Rose done growed up." " And out." "That girl got gams." "How was the honeymoon?" " You gonna stay for supper?" " 'Fraid not." "I'm shipping' out this afternoon." "You lookin' a little bit too hard." "Duh, my ass." "You better just..." "Turn around to the left." "We have a problem." "It's all right to glance occasionally but you look like you wanted to go and start fucking." "Turn around." "I'm keepin' you out of some trouble." "Paint the fence." "Banks!" "Get over here." "I'll be right back." "Stan Blocker, a scout for the nigger leagues." "Negro leagues, actually." "Pittsburgh Crawfords." "Ever hear of us?" "We get the games on the radio sometimes." "We played in Jackson yesterday heard you got a boy who can hit the ball." "You must mean Can't Get Right." "That's him over there." "'Can't Get Right'?" "That's the kid's name?" "Yep." "Can I talk to him?" "You could try, but you won't get too far." "Why're you interested?" "Crawfords are always looking for new talent." "Maybe you haven't noticed, but this is a prison." "There are ways around that." "Right, Sergeant?" "One never knows." "Nice looking squad." " Look at the way she glows." " She is pretty, isn't she?" "Thanks, Mom." "And we're gonna have a baby." "Oh my goodness." "Can't Get Right, no, you can't do that." "Let's keep what mind you got focused." "If you hit that ball, you might be our ticket off this farm." "Come on." "Think victory." "The ball!" "Keep your eye on the ball." "Get up underneath that motherfucker." "Do your thing!" "Put some of that dumb strength on it!" "We gonna knock that shit right off the team!" "That's what I'm talkin' about!" "Don't stand there!" "Run!" "Run!" "Go!" "Just haul ass!" "Run, nigger, run!" "Oh, that's our ticket off this farm." "You mark my words." "In five years, there'll be a colored man in the majors." "I don't think the world changed that much." "Maybe not yet, but it will." "I'll be out of a job." "That's some tasty hootch." "It's amazing what Ray can do with potato skins and some molasses." "What you think about our boy?" "He got something?" "He could be the next Josh Gibson." "It's getting late, boys." "We got a game in Memphis tomorrow." "What about us?" "Don't forget to mention us." "'Cause we like his handlers." "We take care of everything for him." "I'll put in a good word for you." "He can't function without us." " You've done a good job with him." " Thanks." " We're hands-on with him." " Okay." "All right." " Take care." " Have a nice day." " Walked off with my drink." " Sure did." "I ain't gonna say nothin'." "Have a good day!" " Y'all come on over here!" " Y'all got something to drink?" "Look what we got!" "Some of your stuff." "Can't Get Right, this one's for you, baby!" "What in the world?" "What?" " Is Mae Rose all right?" " She's doin' just fine." "What about the baby?" "He's a big'un." "'He'?" "It's a boy?" "Honey, it's a boy!" "Yeah, buddy!" "Let me see that boy!" "Where is that boy?" "Show me that grandboy!" "I want every man in this camp on the line right now!" "Right now!" "I mean right now!" "Bring 'em out here!" "Let me see 'em!" "Hope not." "It was somebody in this camp." "I can feel it in my bones." "Daddy, give me my baby back." "What you laughin' at?" "You laughing' at me?" "You know who the daddy of that chocolated baby is?" "You do?" "Well, who is it?" "Speak up!" "It's my baby, boss." "He's lying." "I'm the father of that baby." "Boss, I'm that baby's daddy." "Any fool can see that baby belongs to me." "I wanna differ." "That little rascal belong to me." "Proud to say, boss, I'm that baby's daddy." " I be the pa, boss." " I'm the pa of that there young'un." "I the pappy." "That was the last we ever saw of Superintendent Abernathy and little Mae Rose." "To celebrate his departure Camp 8 threw ourselves a little party." "Ray provided the moonshine and Claude managed to scare up some girls." "It wasn't quite the Boom-Boom Room, but it was close enough." "Come on, now." "She don't mean nothin' to him." "Don't pay that no mind." "To hell with him." "It ain't that." "What's your problem, sittin' around lookin' all sad and shit?" "It's almost all right in here today." "What's this?" "A release form." "You gettin' out this month." " What you sittin' around lookin' all sad for?" " What am I gonna do out there?" "I can't go home to my mama like this." "You are crazy." "Your mama gonna be happy when you get home." "But not like this, Ray." "Hey, look." "The world done changed a lot." "It's 1945, boy." "Not for me, it ain't." "You can't stay here." "That's for damn sure." "Anybody else in the place would give his right arm..." "I know I would." "Shit." "Fuckin' release papers, sittin' over here lookin' sad." "I won't sit here with you lookin' sad." "You got the best news of the day and you're sitting here looking sad." "You cheer up." "You're goin' home." "Hey, man, that's good news." "Come on." "You're goin' home." "You gonna smile?" "There you go." "I'll see you in a minute." "Where you goin', Biscuit?" "Where you goin'?" "Don't do that!" "Hold it right there!" "Man over the line!" "I got Chicago!" " Goldmouth, I got Chicago!" " Yeah?" "Come on, fellas." " Where you goin'?" " Why you all dressed up?" "What's this?" "What the fuck is going on?" "Blocker!" "What's goin' on here?" "The kid's gettin' out." "I got him a pardon." "What about me and Ray?" "Our names ain't on the pardon." " You said you put in a good word for us." " I did." "I mentioned you." "I mentioned both of you." "But the fact is, pardons don't come cheap." "That kid can hit." "What can you guys do?" "We're the ones who worked with him night and day." " Forget it, man." "Let it go." "I'm not gonna let it go." "The man said he was gonna put in a good word." "Explain yourself." "But the kid's gettin' out, that's what you wanted." "Yeah." "Of course." "You show them Crawfords how to play ball." "Make 'em throw you strikes." "Go." "You're a free man." "It's all right." " Come on, son." " We love you, boy." "Hit that ball, boy." "You hit one out the park for me." "Play hard, Can't Get Right!" "We'll catch you on the radio!" "All right." "So that's that." "A new boy told me they're farming that land by the swamp." " He saw a crop duster flying'..." " I'm not in the mood." "It's behind the barn." "It can't be that hard to fly it." " Lots of people do it." " They're called pilots." "I'm not in the mood for your fucked-up plans." "I don't hear you comin' up with no plan!" "My plan is on his way to Pittsburgh right now." "Can't Get Right just got a pardon signed by the governor, thanks to us." "But we can't do nothin' for ourselves." "Don't you feel a little frustrated right now?" " Crop duster." " I'm not gettin' in no airplane with you." "I'm finally wrapping my mind around this whole concept." " What concept is that?" " They threw us in this shithole for life." "Don't you get it?" "We gonna die here." "We might as well head to the cemetery, pick a plot and start digging." "My daddy died in a place like this because of what you're sayin'." "He gave up hope and hung hisself." "I ain't goin' out like that!" "Maybe you're foolin' yourself." "Maybe you just a chip off the old block." "Take that back, or we ain't friends no more." "News flash." "We ain't never been friends." "We just been stuck together for 12 years." "It's been nothin' but pure hell since the moment I ran into you." "Every time I look at you, I get sick to my stomach thinkin' what my life could've been if I never bumped into you." "Slow down, you might say something you'll regret." " You better quiet down, nigger." " Only thing I regret is the day I met you." " That's the way it is?" " Yeah, that's the way it is." "I ain't got nothin' else to say to your ass." "Thank you!" "Now if you ask me, when Can't Get Right left Camp 8 a piece of Claude left with him." "And with Ray and Claude not talkin' the place felt a little harder, a little colder." "I have a dream." "I'm the greatest!" "I'm the king of the world." "We got to fight for ourselves." "I'll see y'all in New York City!" "Oh, shit!" "Round about 1972 I got transferred to the infirmary and those two fools were still at it." "But no matter how tough a man is he spends enough time on this farm he'll find his breaking point." "It could be triggered by any little thing." "A face." "A voice." "Even a smell." "White-only pies." "Man over the line!" "That boy went crazy." "You comfortable?" "As a pair of fur-lined bedroom slippers." "That's very amusing'." "We'll see how them slippers feel after about 24 hours." "I need a volunteer!" "Gibson, stand up." "I'll make you trusty right now." "If that pie-eatin' bastard step off them bottles if so much as one toe hit that dirt I want you to shoot him in his ass." "I want you to kill him." "I want you to shoot him dead." "You do that, I swear to God, you're a free man." "I'll walk you out the gate myself." "What d'ya say?" "I got to be honest with you, boss." "You don't wanna give me that gun, 'cause I'd probably shoot you with it." "That was the wrong answer, boy." "You a fool." "I'd have taken that deal." "I beg pardon?" "You say something to me?" "I'd have knocked you off, put a bullet in your ass and be halfway to New York right now." "Well, my goodness." "After all these years of blissful silence I forgot how annoying the sound of your voice is." "I hope you know I don't owe you a damn thing." "I ain't do nothin' for you to owe me." "What you got I ain't got?" "I did it for me." "I'm a man." "I ain't no motherfucking, bootlickin' trusty." "You'll make me fall off, talkin' to your ass." "It's about being poised." "Just poise yourself." "Poise, my ass." "Sorry to hear about your mama passing." "Yeah, about five years ago." "Thank you." "Since we're talkin', I thought I'd mention it." "We not talkin', you talkin'." "And doin' a little bit too much of it." "Every time you start talkin', I almost fall..." " Would you stop..." " Don't say nothin' else to me!" " You about to make me fall." " Hold still, don't say nothin'." "Oh!" "Damn, one of my toes in the bottle." "Damn it, Ray, shit." "What you laughin' about?" "What's so funny?" "Thinkin' about you runnin' with bullets flyin' over your head." "That's something to see there." "That was a sight to see." "Bullets weren't the problem, Ray." "That pie was too hot." "Burned my damn tongue." "It sure is good talkin' to you again." "Good talkin' to you too." "Come on!" "Let's move!" "We got 14 acres of land to clear today!" "Let's go!" "Gibson, Banks, get your sorry asses over here." "Every mornin' I wake up praying' that the two of you have died in their sleep." "And every mornin' you disappoint me." "Sorry, boss." "You two got 15 minutes to clear out your lockers." "The both of you have been transferred to the superintendent's mansion." "And I, for one, won't miss you." "Here's your medicine, Mr. Wilkins." "My pills." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "Oh, yard boy." "This myrtle could use some attention." "Perhaps some fertilizer would restore its exuberance." "Get your ass to work." "Tell me what you think of this place." "It's one of these new retirement communities they built down on the Gulf." "I ought to try to enjoy myself what few years I got left." "Let's take a look at this." "Eyesight ain't what it once was." "Ooh, this is nice here." "'Ocean views... palm trees.'" "'Two heated swimming pools.'" "Sounds a damn sight better than that infirmary across the way where I'm gonna end up, I'll tell you that." "I must apologize." "That was rude of me." "That's all right." "Takes more than some colorful brochure to hurt my feelings." "You've been on the farm for quite a spell, haven't you?" "Over 40 years now." "Me and Ray Gibson out there." "Forty years." "That's a long time for any crime, even murder." "It's a hell of a lot longer when you're innocent." "Half the men in this prison swear they're innocent." "Don't ya think that's kinda funny?" "You have to forgive me if I don't laugh." "Excuse me." "What you lookin' at, Ray?" " Just what the fuck you lookin' at?" " I noticed that I noticed you and Mr. Wilkins been mighty friendly lately." "Y'all wanna be a new couple or somethin'?" "Kiss my ass." "Mr. Wilkins just an old man that like to talk." "That's all that is, Ray." "That's all." "Y'all like to talk." "I'm lonely, and I like to talk too." "What you wanna talk about?" "I wanna talk about the plan you've been working on." "I ain't workin' on no plan!" "I know ya." "And I know when you got somethin' brewin'." "What I got brewing'?" " You tell me!" " You done lost your damn mind." "I don't care what you believe." "You got somethin' up your sleeve." "Think I'm gonna stay up arguing with you?" "You cutting' into my sleepin' time." "Kiss my ass and good night." "Go to sleep, nigger." "I hope it's the long one." "Why you talkin' instead of sleeping'?" "I'm going to sleep." "Why don't you?" "Why can't I just sit here and look at your ass?" "And wonder what you got up your sleeve." "I got somethin' brewin'." "I got an ass-whuppin' for ya if you don't stop fuckin' with me." " That's right." " All right." "Sleep tight." "I hope your ass piss the bed with that weak-ass bladder of yours." "If I do, then I'll put the sheets on you." "How you like that?" "Where the hell you think you goin'?" "Mr. Wilkins' driver got the flu, and he asked me to fill in for him." "How you gonna fill in for somebody?" "You can't drive." "You ain't got a license, ain't drove in 40 years." "He know you're takin' his life into your hands?" " Shut up." " No." "Where the hell you goin'?" " lf you must know..." " Then I must know." "I got to know." "Greenville." "Pick up the new superintendent at the bus station." "What's with the old pretty suit?" "You Harry Belafonte?" "I look very dapper, very debonair, don't I?" "Now don't touch this car." "I piss on the motherfucker." "Ain't gonna touch it." " Why you got to say nasty shit?" " 'Cause I'm a nasty motherfucker." "You know I trust you, Claude." " I hope so." " Be right back." "What the fuck?" "Naturally, I had to get set down next to your proverbial hypochondriac middle-aged fat lady with a goddamn wart on her nose hair growing' out of it, for Christ's sakes." "I tell ya, I got to know her goddamn gall bladder like the back of my goddamn hand." "Claude?" "Mr. Pike, Claude." "There you go, boy." "Come on." "It's time to go." "Let me get that door for you." "You just stretch out." "Now you're sure it was him." "Some faces you just don't forget." "Warren Pike is one of 'em." "Got a bird!" "That's quite a haul." "What d'ya say, Mr. Pike?" "You about ready to call it a day?" "Yeah, it's gettin' late and I sure as hell could use a nice, hot bath." "That's a mighty fine timepiece you got there, Mr. Pike." " Even play a fancy tune, huh?" " Yeah, it's special." " They don't make 'em like that anymore." " I'll bet they don't." "Would you mind if I asked where you got that from?" "My wife gave it to me on our anniversary some years back." "About 40 years back?" "Forty years." "Yeah, something like that." "She give you that scar on your face too?" "I oughta kill you for that remark." "What's goin' on here?" "I think I might just have to teach this uppity nigger a lesson in manners." "Ray, be cool." "You gonna get us in a lot of trouble now." "He's right, Gibson." "You put that gun down, or I'm gonna have to shoot ya." "Then we about to be some shot-up motherfuckers." "Don't nobody shoot nobody." "Ray I wanna see this son of a bitch dead." "I don't wanna see you go down with him." "Give me the gun." "He got my daddy's watch!" "He killed Winston Hancock!" "Don't listen to him." "He's crazy." " Stop." "Think about what you're sayin'." " I know what I'm sayin'!" "That's the only thing my daddy ever give me." "Is there any truth in what this man is saying?" "What the hell difference does it make?" "At least the state of Mississippi got 40 years of cheap labor out of the deal." "Motherfucker, you took our lives." "Gimme the gun." " I'm gonna kill this motherfucker myself." " No!" "Put it down, Pike!" "I believe this belongs to me." "My daddy's watch." "We were walkin' back." "A bird came out low on our left." "I swung on it." "Mr. Pike walked directly in my line of fire." "Where were the two convicts when the shot was fired?" "They were loading' up the truck." "They'd gone on ahead." "Why don't he just tell him the truth?" "Nobody wanna hear it." "He gonna tell 'em what they wanna hear." " I don't know." " We'll talk." "Here he comes." "I think they bought it." "One of the deputies is a member of my church." "Gibson, I don't think there's any way that I could, uh..." "Claude..." "There's no way to make up for 40 years." "I'll get Charlie to to draw up your pardon papers in the morning." " Would you mind helpin' me upstairs?" " Sure, boss." "I'm not your boss." "I'm not your boss." "Not anymore." "So Ray and Claude get their pardons, right?" "No, ain't get their pardons, man." "If they got their pardons back then, we wouldn't be burying' them today." " That's right." " Damn." "What happened is old man Wilkins never come out of the bathroom." "Sat right there and died on the shitter." "That must've been pretty messed up for them." "What happened to them after that, old-timer?" "Let's see." "What happened after that?" "Oh, yeah!" "They got old." "Shit." "We all got old." "And getting out took on a whole new meaning." "Looks like Jonsey got his walking papers." "Yeah, there he go." "Over to the morgue, up the hill to the cemetery." "You were right when you said what you said." "You said we wasn't never gonna get out of this place." "And you were right." "You said the only way we gonna get outta here is through the morgue and the cemetery." "And you're right, 'cause we right here." "Right here, right now." "Yeah, I remember saying that." "We next." "Let's be real." "We next." "You like baseball?" "We on deck." " On deck for what?" " For what?" "That upper room, nigger." "'The upper room" "'When Jesus... '" "Know where that is, the upper room they're singin' about?" " 'The upper room'" " Yeah, I'll tell you what." "You die first, I'm gonna sing at your funeral." "I'm gonna just bust up in the motherfucker and go 'Upper room.'" "Let 'em shoot me." "I don't give a fuck if they take me out singing'." " You crazy, Ray." " Hell, yeah." "Friend." "Yeah." "We next." "I wanna be at the game." "I'm on a roll." "'Mama and my daddy don't know how'" "Two Percodan." "There you go." "Gimme what you got." "I'll raise ya." "Yo, what the fuck are those?" "It helps keep the cholesterol down." "Do I look like I give a damn about my cholesterol?" " You want a bump, G?" " No, I don't want none of that shit." " That's right." " I wouldn't put that in my nose." " You know how they get it in here?" " Tell him how." "People smuggle it in... in their ass." " Say what?" " I know the motherfucker that bring it in." "That come out of somebody's asshole, so go on, enjoy." "I know if I got to get high I got to smell some shit, I ain't gonna have none." "That ain't high." "That's low." "That cocaine, heroin, marijuana, all that shit, bring it all in here in their ass." "Look like it's up to you, ass-sniffer." "Boys, come and get it!" "Jell-O!" " Jell-O pudding!" " Play one more hand." " I'm gonna get my Jell-O." " Come on." "Y'all gonna take all my money and go run off 'cause nurse said 'Jell-O.'" " Ray." " I don't want no Jell-O." "I ain't said nothin' about the Jell-O." "I was thinkin' about what we talked about this afternoon." " I think I got a plan." " You got a plan?" "I'm a visionary on this one." " You got it all worked out?" " I think I really do." "Listen here." "Any plan you got I don't even wanna hear 'cause I know it's fucked up." "All fucked up." "If you don't wanna believe me, don't." "I'm too old." "I ain't got time for no plan." "I'm 90 years old." "I never thought I'd see the day that old Ray Gibson give up hope." " Never thought..." " Say what now?" "I said I never thought I'd hear the day that old Ray Gibson give up hope." "I ain't give up no motherfuckin' hope." "I'm keepin' it real like them niggers in here keep it real." "Ain't nobody give up nothin'." " You'd probably slow me down anyway." " Said which?" "You'd slow me down." "You must be high if you think I'd slow you down." " I got a plan." " I tell you what." "Fuck your plan." "Lou." "Cover that up." "Don't nobody wanna see that shit." " Put your drawers on or something." " Oh, cover it up." "Don't touch it." "That turn my stomach." "I don't want no Jell-O after I seen them old-ass balls." "Who gonna enjoy Jell-O after I seen what I've seen?" "I don't even want Jell-O." "Lou ruin my stomach." "Anybody seen Claude?" "I been here the whole time." "He ain't come out." " Claude ain't out!" " Claude has died, God!" "No, Ray, don't go!" " Claude!" " Ray, you can't go in there!" " Ray, come back!" " Claude!" "Claude!" " How did it start?" " Probably old wires." "Place was a tinderbox just waitin' to go." "I guess we should've torn this old building down a long time ago." "Gibson made it this far before he was probably overcome by smoke." "From the looks of things, Banks didn't even make it out of bed." "You really bummed me out." "That's a terrible story." "You cryin'?" "No, I got allergies." "I'm cool." "Oh, my God." "Ain't nothin' wrong with a man cryin' every now and again." "So what was Claude's plan, anyway?" "Claude figured he could steal a couple of bodies from the morgue, right?" "That way, when he set the infirmary on fire in all the commotion, him and Ray could just slip right onto them fire engines, see?" "Hide out, wait until the mornin' and roll right on out with 'em." "That way, when they find the two bodies, they think it was them." "What makes you think that ain't work?" "I never said it didn't work." "You mean this is not Ray and Claude in these two boxes?" "Is it, old man?" "Hey, old-timer, is it?" " See?" " I like that." "You feel part of this baseball game, don't you?" "They only get one out of me today." "We were arguing about something." "I didn't appreciate when you said something about..." "You had just said I was..." "You said that, uh..." "Hell with it." "It's a hell of a day for a ball game." " Yankees on fire." " Motherfuckers kickin' ass." " Which ones the Yankees?" " Well, the ones up at the mound." "Go, go, you!" "Run!" "That's the Yankees right there." " Which ones there?" " That's the Yankees right there." "It's a perfect plan." "We're out." "What's so perfect?" "Took 65 years to come up with it." "Why can't you just say thank you?" "You want me to say thank you, you can kiss my ass too." "I'm ready to go back right now." "Then let's go, Ray." "Help a nigger!" "Don't make me stand in this cold." "Your bitch'd be standing..." "I'm sorry." "Fuck around with me, it's gonna be consequences and repercussions." " What's repercussions?" " Uh-oh." "Let me get that." "I know it's 1932." "I'm the first one to have this." "Hey, watch..." "Shit." "I almost got stung by a bee." "You were scared, huh?" "Don't be scared." "Don't be scared, and don't laugh either." "'Cause it ain't funny." "That boy got God-given talent." "God made his..." "What's wrong?" "The moustache too big?" "He give up hope, hung himself because of the airplane that's coming over." "Make me have to loop this shit." "I ain't looping' shit!" "We get it now or not at all!" "My name Jangle Leg, Jangle Leg." "You think that's funny?" "That's probably the last time." "Sorry." "MY bad." "This ain't my daddy's watch."